How The Government Can Track You On the Internet

This is very interesting article on the HP

CSE Tracking

Here is an excerpt

Once a suspicious file-downloader is identified, analysts can plug that IP address into Mutant Broth, a database run by the British electronic spy agency Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), to see five hours of that computer's online traffic before and after the download occurred.

That can sometimes lead them to a Facebook profile page and to a string of Google and other cookies used to track online users' activities for advertising purposes. This can help identify an individual.

In one example in the top-secret document, analysts also used the U.S. National Security Agency's powerful Marina database, which keeps online metadata on people for up to a year, to search for further information about a target's Facebook profile. It helped them find an email address.

After doing its research, the Levitation team then passes on a list of suspects to CSE's Office of Counter Terrorism.

I read on ATS long ago get off of Facebook, looks the posters who said that were 100% correct.

originally posted by: Blue_Jay33
This is very interesting article on the HP

CSE Tracking

Here is an excerpt

Once a suspicious file-downloader is identified, analysts can plug that IP address into Mutant Broth, a database run by the British electronic spy agency Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), to see five hours of that computer's online traffic before and after the download occurred.

That can sometimes lead them to a Facebook profile page and to a string of Google and other cookies used to track online users' activities for advertising purposes. This can help identify an individual.

In one example in the top-secret document, analysts also used the U.S. National Security Agency's powerful Marina database, which keeps online metadata on people for up to a year, to search for further information about a target's Facebook profile. It helped them find an email address.

After doing its research, the Levitation team then passes on a list of suspects to CSE's Office of Counter Terrorism.

I read on ATS long ago get off of Facebook, looks the posters who said that were 100% correct.

Bounce from different proxy servers. Problem solved.

I don't like the idea of being tracked but I like the idea of bringing down peados by following their tracks. It's a double edged sword.

As for Facebook? Seriously, if you are over the age of 19 you really need to get a life and get off it. (Not directed at you OP).

The only reason to have a Facebook account is if you have friends / family in another country and are so stupid you forgot how to use your email account and telephone.

a reply to: and14263

FaceBook and other social media are the only way that much conservative ideas and disclosures of the agenda of those in power will ever reach the public. Certainly it makes one an easy target, but if one is able to enlighten 2 or 3 others, then perhaps it's worth it.

a reply to: Blue_Jay33

Why does it matter? If someone is up to no good they should be followed. And if you're not - there again, it doesn't matter.

a reply to: Tusks

disclosures of the agenda of those in power will ever reach the public.

Seriously? I think most people who use facebook have got very short attention spans...Put the latest gadget up and all they know is how to click "like it"

If you don't take some basic steps to protect your privacy like using a proxy, I can't really feel sympathy for a person who's being tracked by the government. The government has been tracking suspicious people on the internet since the technology allowed them to do so, so this isn't really anything new.

originally posted by: Staroth
a reply to: Blue_Jay33

Why does it matter? If someone is up to no good they should be followed. And if you're not - there again, it doesn't matter.

No...

This is the phrase used by TPTB to take away our freedoms.

Can we look on their hard drives? No. (Their's are probably full of indecent images).

originally posted by: Staroth
a reply to: Blue_Jay33

Why does it matter? If someone is up to no good they should be followed. And if you're not - there again, it doesn't matter.

This is true, and personally myself I am not worried at all, right now, but I am sure some Germans felt that way when the Nazi's came to power in the 1930's. Just sayin.

Things change and not for the best sometimes.

A really large DoD net mining project uses Facebook (among other social media) as "seed" for a relationship graph. Make sure you guys put all your friends on there, and photos of them all, tagged. Oh, and the ones you really like, make sure you post to them a lot. Thanks!

No that I like this kind of power, but just to put things in perspective here's another excerpt to stop the usual fear mongering:

Not surprisingly, extremists also use the online storage hubs to share propaganda and training materials.

To find those files, the document says Canada's spy agency must first weed out the so-called Glee episodes as well as pictures of cars on fire and vast amounts of other content unrelated to terrorism.

Analysts find 350 "interesting download events" each month, less than 0.0001 per cent of the total collected traffic, according to the top-secret presentation.

Surveillance specialists can then retrieve the metadata on a suspicious file, and use it to map out a day's worth of that file user's online activity.

By inputting other bits of information into at least two databases created by the spying partners, analysts can discover the identity and online behaviour of those uploading or downloading these files, as well as, potentially, new suspicious documents.

Emphasis mine... The point being that they only start poking around if it's actually suspicious, it wouldn't be practical or feasible to review everyone over benign things and wherever you like it or not there's going to be some sort of oversight which prevents excessive poking around - even if it is more to do with saving resources and money than people's privacy.

Looking at their successes:

The agency cites two successes as of 2012: the discovery of a German hostage video through a previously unknown target, and an uploaded document that gave it the hostage strategy of a terrorist organization.

I don't think they're going to care about anything you upload/download unless it's something we would all like you to get caught for. Not in reality.

a reply to: AgentSmith

Who says this? The government or independent bodies? You can't believe either.

Despite that, yes, you're right, they wouldn't bat an eyelid at most of the traffic. It's the principle though, the concept of Big Brother etc

a reply to: and14263

Which bit, the oversight? There's always going to be something to oversee what's happening, though not necessarily for or in the public interest. I imagine it would more likely be concerned with finances and distribution of resources so logic would conclude it unlikely they poke around at everything.

Yes it is indeed the principle and I don't like it, but at the moment in reality I don't think it's going to affect most people. Unless you download a lot of really, really dodgy material and are linked to other people of concern and/or buy materials and supplies that imply you could be a threat I doubt they will care. Can't say for sure, but seems likely.

Problem is, not what is happening now but what will happen in the near future as software improves for analysis and particularly when computers are taken to the next level hardware wise, i.e. something like quantum computing.
While we have a handful of desk analysts sifting through everything we're probably OK as they're actual people and intelligent enough to not flag up a regular prepper or something. It's when they throw the switch on some AI system that gets to run the show I'll really start worrying. And they'll just use whatever legal loopholes and things they use now to plough straight on with it.

a reply to: AgentSmith

You're talking perfect sense.

My non belief was in any official text released to the public by an official body.

Just an FYI to anyone not working in the field of IT these days;
your IP address is linked to your account information at the ISP level. That's your full name and billing information.
There are maybe a hundred ISPs in the US- and I guarantee every single one of them has given the US government full access to that information.

Most of us are on DHCP based connections- but the IPs change less and less frequently now. I've had the same IP address for almost a year.

Very easy for any website to track IP information- and any company big enough to have it (amazon, google, every ad service...) can track who goes where- and in the US, if you host services (websites, databases, email, payroll services, etc) the government has laws in place specifying they can demand you hand over everything that you have- and not tell your customer that you've handed over their private information.
I should probably pull the specific laws- but I'm not feeling it right now. As a service provider, I had to sign a bunch of paperwork regarding this.
One thing that stood out was a clause- they can come to me directly and force me to hand over client information without notifying the company I work for.

Super sketchy government is super sketchy.


edit:
facebook
linked in
ebay (owns craigslist)
microsoft (owns skype and a hundred others)
google (owns all of the things- even my phone, the thermostat, and smoke detectors in my home)
wiki
amazon
netflix
godaddy (owns the SSL certificates to probably half the websites you visit, and therefore the encryption keys that keep your browsing information safe)

Just a few of the companies who have no choice but to hand over any information they might have without notifying their customers....