NSA offering 'billions' for Skype eavesdrop solution

NSA offering 'billions' for Skype eavesdrop solution

www.theregister.co.uk

Counter Terror Expo News of a possible viable business model for P2P VoIP network Skype emerged today, at the Counter Terror Expo in London. An industry source disclosed that America's supersecret National Security Agency (NSA) is offering "billions" to any firm which can offer reliable eavesdropping on Skype IM and voice traffic.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Is it me, or is this one of the most audacious attempts by the US government to shed even more privacy away from the average Joe? It never fails to amaze me how many people don't see the little things that happen to erode our rights on a day-to-day basis. Why don't more people see the abuse here?

In times such as these, with the economy on the downturn, and the freedoms that we all hold so dear under fire, I wonder how much longer it will be before we are forced to let "Big Brother" listen in to everything that we do? How deep does the rabbit hole go?

Discuss.

TheBorg

www.theregister.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

Edited for clarity.

[edit on 14-2-2009 by TheBorg]

Originally posted by TheBorg


Is it me, or is this one of the most audacious attempts by the US government to shed even more privacy away from the average American?

Well....let me divulge a lil inside secret here.

NSA doesnt just spy on Americans.

Cheers!!!!

reply to post by RFBurns


Yeah, I just corrected that!! Thanks for the observation!!

TheBorg

reply to post by TheBorg


Good deal!

Thats why they offer the billions. NSA has been tapping people on the shoulder all over the world, capable of monitoring every bit of medium possible, including secret lines of communication of other governments.

Their capabilities are incredible. Though not usually that much of a concern to the world population, it should be. NSA has had a free ride ticket to invading the most basic human rights since its inception.

It is in effect, a "communist" like organization. The USA and the world did not need NSA prior to and after WWII, and it doesnt need it today. The CIA is bad enough, as is the FBI. But the NSA however..is worse than those two to the 12th multiple.


Cheers!!!!

Okay. When I hear stories like this, I immediately think: disinfo

My assumptions: Of course the NSA has access to Skype call meta-data, and if they want, content. They're a division of DoD, and the DoD created the Internet. Duh.

Second, don't be confused by discussion of 'stovepipes' within the US intelligence community. UKUSA, and an array of separate codicils, probably allow an 'inter-networked mesh' of intelligence-gathering effort, implemented by the agencies of the many English-speaking nations, to provide content such as the NSA (and others!) deem necessary. The 'rings' that have evolved, regarding the flow of this data, are both flexible and secure. As are the action/response mechanisms.

The question I ask, is who might be willing to believe, and possibly base actions, upon assumptions gained by 'face-value' acceptance of such an article? Pretty much limited to NGO, by competence alone. What's the target, and the incentive, then? And what led to the initiative, at this particular point?

Interesting questions.

The NSA, like most other big western agencies sees itself, or would like to be, the all seeing eye, watching over everything and everyone.
Sure, they spy on johnny foreigner a lot but they also recognise that it's the people who pay the taxes that fund them that are the biggest risk to government and thus their funding. This would explain all the files held on little old ladies attending anti-war meetings or anything else that smacks of dissent or subversion of "the American way", whatever that means.

I believe the Menwith Hill facility here in the UK is an NSA operation too. Ok, it's offially "RAF Menwith Hill" but it's an American operation, and a very big one too. Why would a "National" Security Agency need, or for that matter be allowed, such a large base operating on foreign soil?
As with any large organisation such as this, there is always the question of who controls them? What if those who run it, or departments within it, don't like the new administration, do they just knuckle down or do they work counter to it?
Who ultimately controls them and what they do? I'm sure it's not the White House.

reply to post by Ian McLean


There is nothing "disinfo" when it comes to big brother wanting to have even more ability to tap your shoulder when they already can friend.

Instead of filling the facts with more off the chart questions, better take it at face value. It is that reason why they have become who they are today, given that free ride outside the bounds of checks and balances oversight and you want to fill the already bloated issue with more questions?

Deal with the issue, not clutter it with more confusion that turns away the much needed attention.



Cheers!!!!

reply to post by RFBurns


Cheers, RF! Sorry, I'm of such mind that asking additional questions doesn't 'cloud the issue'.

I really do believe that the NSA is competent enough not to advertise actual intelligence deficiencies at public trade shows.

Cursory readers: feel free to ignore my more detailed questions!

i think this article is BS.

I think they can eavesdrop on skype just fine... hell the chinese hackers have been able to do it for years.

this is just PR to siphon more would-be threat-type people into false confidence in using it.

as in... terrorist 1: "oooh they cant hear what i'm saying in skype?!?! sweeet!! hahaah they're so desperate they;'re willing to spend billions!! BILLIONS MAN!! and only a few mil for someone who tries to make a space faring vehicle for the x prize hahaha ok lets all use skype now!"

terrorist 2: "i agree! hail satan!! i mean.. allah akbar.. ahem...can we get out of character now.. i mean the PR stunt is done right?... what? my mic's still on? crap."


with military advancement being what like 40 yrs ahead of public technology..
and they can't technically listen to skype?

give me a break.
they can and do.
and filter it through a carnivore type speech-recognition AI.

my 2 cents.

-

[edit on 14-2-2009 by prevenge]

[edit on 14-2-2009 by prevenge]

reply to post by Ian McLean


There is one question that should be asked. Its a very simple one.

Why?

Why do they need even more capability when they already have that capability?

Lets put it into simple analogy.

You take one layer of a wall, then add another, and another, and another and another. Before long, that wall is so impenetrable even by those who put up the wall and paid for the wall.

Now deep inside those walls lies the ...well the lie, tucked away, out of touch and out of reach. Now they want to add another very thick layer of wall to be even further deep into the abyss of "out of sight out of mind..out of touch and out of reach".

And at one time, people thought the former Soviet Union was bad.

Not even close.




Cheers!!!!

reply to post by RFBurns


Isn't that a little facile? I mean, if I'm understanding you correctly, you're saying that repeated denial of capability leads to the creation of a 'believe structure', in the public opinion, that is interwoven enough that that denial becomes a ingrained part of the 'common perception' of such capability. Pulling apart any one portion would lead to the logical necessity of questioning other previously assumed portions, and the resulting cognitive dissonance would act as a deterrence factor, securing that concealment.

But who is really being fooled?


Edit: And of course, expand my use of the term 'public opinion' to also apply to the various attention-spheres you alluded to.


[edit on Feb 14th 2009 by Ian McLean]

reply to post by Ian McLean


What better way to ensure the secrecy and denial than to outright say it is needed when it already exists!

Here is the thing. They wont tell you exactly what they can do, yet if we just put all this into understandable levels for the common person, keeping in mind the technological level known to the common person, they will use that to their advantage to not only cover up the higher level of technological abilitiy they do have now, but to increase that already much more advanced level even further and be not just a few steps ahead of the rest, but even further ahead, which in turn makes them even more unreachable, and gives them even more ability to be further out of sight and out of mind.

The "dont worry someone is watching out for you" was just the begining of it all when it all was put together. Selling it as something beneficial and using the level of fear at that time as the key to opening the door for them to have a free ride into their unreachable abyss.

And why shouldnt they keep going? Why not continue to use the gullable and make themselves even that much more powerful..if the gullable is willing to let it happen, you bet they are going to use that to their advantage. Its been that way for decades.

In other words...why change something that already works quite well.



Cheers!!!!

[edit on 14-2-2009 by RFBurns]

You know Ian, I hesitated when making my initial post, cause I had a fleeting thought like the one you did, but I let it go, mainly because it didn't make sense. In hindsight though, it would be an IDEAL way for the NSA to filter out the "undesirables" through Skype, and have them tagged for further observation.

You, my friend, just hit a good point!!

Well done!!

TheBorg

reply to post by Ian McLean

If you're saying that the NSA already HAS this ability than I'm in total agreement with you. This article means..."You are still free using SKYPE-no one is watching/listening"
Yeah right!
I actually downloaded it and used it maybe a half-dozen times, but some weird stuff started happening. If I turned SKYPE off, I couldn't get my computer to to turn off. I had to turn it on to turn off my comp. It was very strange. To be honest, it made me paranoid from day one; I yelled at my girlfriend one day for forgetting to the camera to the wall. Finally, just got rid of it.

Wow this makes me wanna break the code for billions of dollars. The IM part of skype you could crack pretty quickly. Im not buying that they need this though. I know I could break into skypes protocol so why wouldnt the NSA be able to? I thought they had hackers that work for them?

Really?

Skype isn't monitored?

I hope no one buys into their offer... Skype is one of the only places left where I can be truly free and talk about issues freely.

I hope that no one takes on their offer...

Originally posted by Britguy


I believe the Menwith Hill facility here in the UK is an NSA operation too. Ok, it's offially "RAF Menwith Hill" but it's an American operation, and a very big one too. Why would a "National" Security Agency need, or for that matter be allowed, such a large base operating on foreign soil?

Menwith Hill definitely an NSA unit, and deals with the ECHELON program. I am in the military right now, and we have a website that has listings by job of all the different bases you can be stationed at. One of the listings for my career field is for RAF Menwith Hill. In the description it says that you will be dealing with the ECHELON program and require a TS-SCI clearance, with an additional polygrah and lifestyle screening.

Ridiculous...There is no privacy anymore as everything seems to be subjected to big brother.

Next it will be people's minds- they'll want to know thoughts before they become actions...

There's no stopping them if we continue to just sit by. The government needs to be put back into its place.