Has ATS ever been approached by the FBI,CIA,or NSA for member account information?

Honestly, why would they have to? I am fairly certain that such agencies could get that information without the site owners even knowing about it.

reply to post by PulsusMeusGallo

You are expecting too much from the requiremt to enact of a warrant and way too little from the power of a threat of a warrant. Way too much from your ISP in terms of the privacy of your location and way too little from the ultimate resolution of a dynamic address lookup...if you know where to look.

I may be expecting too much, but then again, I'm not doing anything wrong, so I feel quite safe. Now, perhaps, IF I was going to partake of something unsavory, I would take the necessary precautions accordingly. There are ways to mask your IP address, anonymize your browser, and of course proxy servers to use. I've "heard" of "some people" embedding themselves seven proxies deep before partaking in anything unsavory. There's no reason to do that UNLESS you are doing something illegal, and then, you should expect a warrant.

ATS doesn't allow sharing of information about "illegal" activities. "Hacking" and "drug use" are two of the most highly censored topics here. In fact, try to find a good tutorial about "hacking" on ATS Search. You won't. There are a set of standards in place that are zealously enforced, and I think TPTB recognize that. Knowing that, I stand on my position of "feeling safe" on ATS.

What information "they" receive from ATS could very well be, and I suspect that it is, unknown to the Owners of ATS

Information that is publicly available anyway? Or, are you talking about information obtained without a properly executed warrant, which would be inadmissible in court also?

Originally posted by Druid42

I may be expecting too much, but then again, I'm not doing anything wrong, so I feel quite safe. Now, perhaps, IF I was going to partake of something unsavory, I would take the necessary precautions accordingly. There are ways to mask your IP address, anonymize your browser, and of course proxy servers to use. I've "heard" of "some people" embedding themselves seven proxies deep before partaking in anything unsavory. There's no reason to do that UNLESS you are doing something illegal, and then, you should expect a warrant.

Seriously? The "I'm not doing anything wrong, I'm OK" defense?

What information "they" receive from ATS could very well be, and I suspect that it is, unknown to the Owners of ATS

Originally posted by Druid42
Information that is publicly available anyway? Or, are you talking about information obtained without a properly executed warrant, which would be inadmissible in court also?

I'm at a loss for words.

Good day.

Originally posted by abe froman
...and if so were warrants ever issued? Has there ever been a "Garry Mckinnnen" type case where memebers "secret identities" were asked for by TPTB?

Cut to the chase, my boy. You have some juicy news with verifiable evidence and want to post it here?

Originally posted by holywar666

Originally posted by SplitInfinity

Very interesting. Would you mind posting some proof of this system and how it works? Its not that i dont believe you, i'm just curious. I had a feeling it was that sensitive of a process.

edit on 14-4-2012 by holywar666 because: (no reason given)

Just Google NSA super computing world data collection system. Split Infinity

I have an easier approach and it is calling it by its name......

Echelon (signals intelligence)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

ECHELON is a name used in global media and in popular culture to describe a signals intelligence (SIGINT) collection and analysis network operated on behalf of the five signatory states to the UK–USA Security Agreement (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States, known as AUSCANNZUKUS or Five Eyes).[1][2] It has also been described as the only software system which controls the download and dissemination of the intercept of commercial satellite trunk communications.[3]

ECHELON was reportedly[citation needed] created to monitor the military and diplomatic communications of the Soviet Union and its Eastern Bloc allies during the Cold War in the early 1960s.

The system has been reported in a number of public sources.[4] Its capabilities and political implications were investigated by a committee of the European Parliament during 2000 and 2001 with a report published in 2001,[5] and by author James Bamford in his books on the National Security Agency of the United States.[3]

In a report published in 2001, the European Parliament stated that the term ECHELON is used in a number of contexts, but that the evidence presented indicates that it was the name for a signals intelligence collection system. The report concludes that, on the basis of information presented, ECHELON was capable of interception and content inspection of telephone calls, fax, e-mail and other data traffic globally through the interception of communication bearers including satellite transmission, public switched telephone networks (which once carried most Internet traffic) and microwave links.[5]

Bamford describes the system as the software controlling the collection and distribution of civilian telecommunications traffic conveyed using communication satellites, with the collection being undertaken by ground stations located in the footprint of the downlink leg.

In any case it is old news for the computer savy. I remember reading about this at least 10 years ago in a magazine and was somewhat stunned. Anyone who thinks they have complete control over their computer is ignorant and misguided.

Sorry double post

Originally posted by Gemwolf
reply to post by abe froman

 

It's a lot to explain but this and this should get you started.

edit on 14-4-2012 by Gemwolf because: Spelling

HA, Ha , Ha I'm busting a gut, best sarcasim I've seen on ATS yet. If I could star you I would!
Good one,
brice

Originally posted by zorgon
reply to post by EarthCitizen07

 

When ever someone asks for my phone number or password... I automatically stop and hunt the fine print

Unfortunately many people just click away mindlessly then have to email friends to apologized for their stupidity. My email is one I use as a catch all for everything with really good crap filters so I don't really care who gets that

Same here but with youtube their strong-arm tactics are abnoxious. This started about 6 months ago, as far as I can recall, it is on and off for a few weeks, where in really bold letters and language it makes it seem imperative that you provide your mobile number for security reasons.

Then in tiny, and I mean REALLY TINY script, it says skip for now, only to be harrased again in the near future. Am I the only one that has noticed this or is everyone really indifferent about basic security protocol??

Originally posted by brice

Originally posted by Gemwolf
reply to post by abe froman

 

It's a lot to explain but this and this should get you started.

edit on 14-4-2012 by Gemwolf because: Spelling

HA, Ha , Ha I'm busting a gut, best sarcasim I've seen on ATS yet. If I could star you I would!
Good one,
brice

Would have been more relevant to the thread if he had added ATS to the search

like HERE

and HERE

Originally posted by Gemwolf
There are several threads on Jared Loughner. And see also Jeff Weise. Many people have dug through their posts and found nothing worth mentioning. We're not proud of it, but then as with anything else in life, ATS cannot be held responsible for what our members do. With quarter of a million members, there are bound to be a few nuts in the mix.

edit on 14-4-2012 by Gemwolf because: Spelling

a FEW nuts???....i just spit soda out my nose from laughing....nice one, gem, subtle, but nice.

Careful.. you never know how many ABC agencies are reading your posts...

As a member of another popular internet forum I found I could not access the "medical" forum. So I asked a forum owner why this was.. i was told

" Those are only for medical professionals not laypeople - There are forums we have here for members of groups like the FBI and CIA that you cannot even see with your type of access"

Makes me wonder if ATS has secret hidden forums for the FBI or CIA that we cannot even see...

Originally posted by abe froman
...and if so were warrants ever issued? Has there ever been a "Garry Mckinnnen" type case where memebers "secret identities" were asked for by TPTB?

www.abovetopsecret.com...
It is hard to tell if ATS handed info over or if they had a warrant or if the whole thing was an elaborate hoax to get numbers up,
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Originally posted by EarthCitizen07

Then in tiny, and I mean REALLY TINY script, it says skip for now, only to be harrased again in the near future. Am I the only one that has noticed this or is everyone really indifferent about basic security protocol??

Rhetorical question surely. Google "Dreamland bust" the recent Dreamboard bust demonstrates that. We can
infer that a large number of people were not caught because they were using Tor, logging on from a public location, and taking various operational measures to protect their identity.

Those who were caught were leaking information about themselves by the messages they were sending (e.g. pictures of children that were identified), because they were using systems that were not very robust (VPNs or proxy servers), because they were operating in the open (Dreamboard itself was not a hidden service and the administrators knew each other's identities) and so forth. They were not caught by a global surveillance system, but by dedicated detectives who exploited various mistakes.

Here on ATS, easy pickings. The level of poster security intelligence is equal to that of raw cabbages.

reply to post by PulsusMeusGallo


Common sense dictates that you never give out any personal details, such as telephone numbers/address/name to anyone and for anything, other than something you explicitly solicit for. It is not just an out-of-control government one must be concerned of, it is people who know you but you may not know of and their intentions.

The world is far from perfect. Jealous lovers, business competitors, someone you have wronged in the past and who is looking to track you down for revenge, crazy people with strange agendas, etc.

reply to post by zorgon


what? i've never been asked to give my email password to FB to add friends.

Originally posted by PulsusMeusGallo
They were not caught by a global surveillance system, but by dedicated detectives who exploited various mistakes.

I can tell you from bitter experience that unless you really go out of your way to hide or obfuscate details, enough communication and you will provide sufficient info to be identified, given a good analyst with access to data and people, even if you don't do obviously stupid things.

Originally posted by PulsusMeusGallo
They were not caught by a global surveillance system, but by dedicated detectives who exploited various mistakes.

Originally posted by Bedlam
I can tell you from bitter experience that unless you really go out of your way to hide or obfuscate details, enough communication and you will provide sufficient info to be identified, given a good analyst with access to data and people, even if you don't do obviously stupid things.

And there is the rub.

It is not the information that you freely give, it is the information that 99.99% of the Internet participants lay to bare that they have no idea that they have handed over.

That includes on ATS and sites visited from links provided on ATS.

Mods and owners may want to claim that they do not collect, store, provide or otherwise compromise ATS participants, without legal direction, perhaps that is the case, perhaps it is not. We'll never know unless there is a public exposition of their cooperation or mismanagement (through a legal proceeding or a hacking event, for instance) as happened to Hushmail, the Assange-o-leaks, or the Dan Egerstad's Tor exit nodes experiment.

So my dear Bedlam, you are correct and the only way, the absolutely only way, to not give up vital, personal information is quite simple.

Cut off your Internet access.

I disagree that it is needed. It is not needed unless you are in fear of something? I am not afraid of someone doing something to us. I think the biggest threats are those within our own government. If people truly want to kill, they will always find a way. Prevention is good as long as it doesnt strip us of our rights and privacy. When it does that, then the "prevention", has turned into a threat itself.

Originally posted by SplitInfinity
reply to post by holywar666

 

I agree with others in that this is a highly controvertial program...and it has a great ability for misuse...but with the asymetrical warfare being waged...it is needed. But it is like the ultimate Big Brother System.
Split Infinity

reply to post by Jameliel


This program has it's issues but it is very sucessful. Many an enemy KIA has resulted from it's use.

Split Infinity

reply to post by abe froman

The answer is yes but under the new freedom and transparency initiative, they are prevented from telling you.