Archive for the ‘cybersecurity’ Category

 It might be time to get our people and our stuff back from Americanized Nazi’s.

I noticed today how much better I would feel about working with local offices if I was merely spared the indignity of their recording my every interaction.  They can’t seem to perform the most rudimentary of actions without fear of being strung up for allowing a potential terrorist an opportunity.  Most of these offices are required to behave towards the public like everyone is a potential terrorist. Everyone they know is a potential terrorist. It’s still just Bob the plumber, and their Mom, but try telling that to the “federal authorities”.

They are equipped with meta tracking software; which pushes them to the discomfort of being inappropriate towards the majority of the public.  I use the word inappropriate because not every orifice of our society should be retrofitted for the National Security aperture. It occurred to me these local officials feel as bored down upon, if not more, as we do.  Due to the nearly inexhaustible demands of the National Security state they are urged to document every jot and tittle of every person’s movement in their immediate society or else.

I think one of the most glaring examples of where excesses of militarized status interferes with local life is our education system.  Children growing up in America are already firmly challenged in their ability to trust themselves and trust others. Their job is to recognize their responsibility to perform in their roles at learning institutions.  However, when the rules are arbitrarily administrated at the end of a gun by SROs, it takes a whole different tone.  If a permanent record is scribbled down in their National Security chart, you get the idea children can’t necessarily be who they are. A mark for throwing a ball when they should have tossed it or turning their head to the right or left against the unspoken wishes of a demoralized teacher.  Zero tolerance of what?  Children? For the crime of existing and being compelled to come to a school?  There are now crimes that aren’t crimes! We all get a vague feeling that we did something wrong.  That is certainly intentional.

The National Security state seems to be creating a subtier of crime where none existed so a certain segment of their employees have data to move around. We now worry about rules that are manufactured to coerce us into doing what the security state wants when no law exists to substantiate their claims. So don’t be surprised when someone with a gun and a security badge shows up and demands that you do something they have no right to ask you to do. They might try to refuse us the right to be where we are doing things that are clearly normal without a need to qualify it with a law.

The DNI expects too much from the innocent. The DoD does not respect the heiros of their charge to protect their citizens from enemies foreign and domestic.  When an agency abuses their potential and invents rules to rob, kill and demoralize otherwise productive decent citizens they become a self-defeating prospect for their own existence. It makes you quite curious about what is going on inside their closed doors.

I suspect, for living with someone who was used by the clandestine state for civil service, they are routinely terrorized and interrogated for the most nominal things and are themselves afraid to look to the right or the left for the paranoia of their bosses.  So I would say we lost the War on Terror before we ever took up arms to make it someone elses issue.  Our government committs acts of terrorism upon themselves every single day as Standard Operating Procedure.

Many active duty, reservists, former and current military dependents recognize patterns of militarism and on-base protocols. They know there is a difference between military life and civilian life.  They know when there is scope creep of operational security when it is applied to civilian networks. Unfortunately, this whole of the United States is being treated like one giant military base, by a handful of agencies.  For the sake of argument, it will not be legal if someone from the National Security blog patrol reads this and decides to correct us all tomorrow, saying, this whole of the United States, is in fact, declared to them a military base. Your person and property now their assets. Resistance is futile. Give up now and it will go easier on you?

That violates the 3rd Amendment in the US bill of Rights.

Now it’s a weird feeling to consider US martial forces occupying their own country, because your grocery store and the mall are not PXs. Surprisingly, for pointing out agenda potential of this I will be shouted at from three different directions the same message, “Be grateful for your security!!”  No. No, because I don’t feel safe.  Why don’t I feel safe?

I don’t feel safe because there are enforcement authorities behaving as if there is a war going on when there is none. Militarists are inserting their agenda into the most benign areas of my life without a discussion, or consent of the governed. I feel as if they are going to continue to barge into my life, my computer and my home to take what is mine so they will have it and I will be left without it.  That is a distinct feeling of insecurity.  So you can’t expect a ‘Thank You’ for undoing what securities were legitimate to expand the range of a military base, illegitmately at that.

The majority of us are not enrolled in any sort of military convention.  We don’t rely on military networks.  We don’t think we are in a war. People selling T-shirts on the beach are not in any kind of war in America.  I’m not at war with anyone. However, when a nation’s military leadership decides you are in a war, unless diverse diplomats and a lawfare army shows up to challenge that assertion, you are, unfortunately, in a war. It’s coming to you.

THE PROBLEM OF UNDECLARED WAR ON US SOIL BY US MILITARY

We cannot reasonably be expected to take military orders when we are not soldiers. There is no kinetic war on US soil, except for what may be maufactured on paper secretly by “experts”.  If they intend to spread the cause of war to us, The People, by way of an offensive to take what is yours to make it theirs, they will start with your dependencies: the safety of your family, your economic flows and your communications networks.  First, they must gather intelligence.

Let’s start with the martial takeover of your Internet interactions. That seems to be the least bloodless.  They have digital eyes quartered in every online store you visit. Daily, they rummage through your mail and listen to your phone calls. It’s not because they need the Intel.  It’s so you will feel owned, intimdated and demoralized.  If you cease to use conventions they spy on, then it’s a temporary win for your peace of mind. It won’t stop their intent.

ALL OUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US ALREADY

I see a problem. It’s not the usual problem other people see with this scenario. It’s the problem that US government networks are themselves compelled to do unnatural and abusive things against the commission of their oath to serve The People.  So the guilt for them is tremendously corrosive. They are forced hands. You can’t expect a whole lot of reason from within. The standard for US military compliance is austerely absolute, even among themselves.  For instance, “Lay down and do not resist,” was rape prevention advice in literature given to their own soldiers working amongst each other.

They are not given good excuses to do things against the US people.  They are urged to comply or face firing, or worse, jail time for refusing a military command.  What’s weirder than threatening a civil servant or a civilian for disobeying a military order when they are not a soldier, with an indefinite sentence in a brig?  This military always behaves as if there is absolutely no one who will defend them if they refuse the US military whatever it is they demand. It’s just not true. That’s a lie. The whole premise is a lie.  It’s a tactical mind game. They mean to defeat you mentally, to minimize your grounded right of refusal, when and if they show up to take what is yours or take you away.

The POTUS can scribble out and sign off 5 EO’s tomorrow; which defy the 3rd Amendment. Every single one will be shut down in a legitimate court.  Militarists have to resort to threatening you, Normal Guy, with a military court system and the peril of being submerged their seemingly bottomless dark state. To the credit of the legitimate courts, we have no small numbers of people who need not comply with an undeclared war on American soil.  They can walk away a free American and not worry about the use of force. They just have to know they can.

Do they still argue that the military MAY disappear anyone in broad daylight? Yes. The NDAA 2012 and the NDRP are still being contested in the courts.

There are definitely people in the press who lick the hands of the military and eat their table scraps because they’re “into power”. They will print propaganda as news; which is legally fake, but seems as real as any Hollywood set. On their propaganda sets they get their cast of expert actors to shake down scapegoats like criminal crash test dummies in courts, to make all the children fearful they are next. This military may take a few more “examples” to shock you with the absoluteness of their propaganda power. They may kill the victim in front of you, and say, “You’re next, if you say anything!”  Sounds a lot like, “Lay down and don’t resist,” to me.

If so, just know that’s their in-house literature. It doesn’t apply to you. Walk away. You’re not a soldier. You’re not in a war on your own land. If you can’t walk away, it’s because you work there.

What is this whole scenario about?  Fear. Intimidation. Power.

Why is this chicanery being levied onto us?  We didn’t think enough of our armed service members and civil servants to place more limits on interagency abuses when we had the chance.  It didn’t get this way overnight. However, it might have had something to do with the fact that we brought over thousands of defeated Nazis, to continue their worst crimes against humanity while the ink was still wet on Truman’s National Security Act.  If a lot of today’s spy complex looks like Nazi policy to you, there’s a good reason for that.

What do we do?  Refuse to be afraid. Don’t submit to unauthorized military force in strange areas of your life like your police departments and your schools.  Support agency watchdogs and get them private legal and physical protection when confronting abuses. Get behind legal contests to those who want to gather endless military intelligence on US citizens as potential targets. Repeal the NDAA indefinite detention clauses. Don’t pick fights you can’t win. Stay out of their prison cages.

Don’t share your mind with cowards who already forfeited their rights. You know who they are. They’re the ones who gave up before there was even a fight. They always believe you should give away your rights to serve the ones in power, just like they do. They obey whoever without much explanation, as long as they are in power. They don’t stand up for anyone. They always suck at defending rights. They act a lot like Adrian Llamo, who turned out PFC Manning for true public service. If this were 1775, they would be milquetoast crown loyalists cowering in their basements, while patriots were out their getting their asses handed to them and dying. The go-alongs-to-get-alongs get inherited into every population. Surprisingly, the only way to piss them off is commit the blasphemy of refusing the powerful what they want, because they believe they have to comply, even when they don’t! There will always be people like that. So don’t share and politely acknowledge their impotent advice without event of argument.

NO GOOD DEED UNPUNISHED

If you’re not a soldier, you shouldn’t get suckered into a fake, undeclared unending war on American assets. The State might try to pick a fight with you in 2015, because they’re used to winning over Americans. They’re very used to “winning” over the bureaucrats and other people they’re legally allowed to terrorize all day long in their ranks.  Those are, in fact, the people who are legally compelled to comply with their demands. They are told frequently how they are government property because they have a GS prefix on their HR documents or they signed up for the armed or clandestine forces.  It’s the lie they spread around like scat to mark their territory.

I feel very sorry how things went for them.  It’s very sad the way they surrendered their blood, DNA, fingerprints and every iota of privacy and sacred boundary in their life to perform public service. No good deed went unpunished.

However, they need to realize, I am not them. They don’t get to surrender my boundaries and my rights for me because they did. That’s not fair to Americans who are sure to prevail in other destinies other than government service.

The US National Security State does not really have the right to treat citizens like government serfs. The truth I can tell today is they never really had the right to treat one single American citizen like their property. They never had they right to compel soldiers to break their oath to this public or Geneva human rights conventions. I guess I can draw the line today. Maybe you will too.

You may not be their employee. However, now you might know what it’s like to work for the government these days.  It’s filled with Nazi exploits and Nazi enforced dark corporations who export hushed up Nazi policy. They want America to be one big Nazi farm in exchange for some clandestine stuff we can never know about.  The only way you can truly know if you’re dealing with an Americanized Nazi, is when they tell you precisely how your Bill of Rights do not matter and then tell you that you are a terrorist, if you choose to resist them.

All the space junk and military technology on this planet cannot give me my Liberty. I have to get that myself. However, I do know as Americans we can take our people and our stuff back from Nazis.  We’re proven.

You can call their bluff.

That’s the truth.

WSJ.com c/o Emily Steel & Julia Angwin 

“The device, which attaches to an iPhone, an officer can snap a picture of a face from up to five feet away, or scan a person’s irises from up to six inches away, and do an immediate search to see if there is a match with a database of people with criminal records. The gadget also collects fingerprints.” 


:::MORE HERE:::

BTC–HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?

As early as 2001, biometrics (iris scans and fingerprints) were pitched into the Senate ring as an amenity to control immigration.  An ad hoc public-private technology work group carried by the National Institute of Standards & Technology,  exactly like the groups today considering cyber identity governance[NSTIC],  came together and haggled over the best ways to deliver on roving biometric captures of would-be criminals. No privacy advocates made the work group cut.  Maybe some refused worry because the California DOJ was present for legal oversight.  [I believe that is an inequitable representation for the other 49 state’s interests affected by this policy group, but that’s just me…] From there the Dept of Commerce knighted the Mobil ID Work Group to complete their assessments and get their contractors on task.

As a result, taxpayers now get to pay police to license iPhones which also function like roving federal pre-crime database kiosks.   Gee, I wonder who the early adopters are?!!

Well, that would be the FBI.  There is a pecking order.

MORE ABOUT NIST POLICY WORK GROUPS

Today NIST will be evaluating the future implementation of what some are debating is a national ID system for the Internet.

Right now,  groups are assembling in Washington to add their 2 cents as to whether or not you are required to add your cyber ID to access account information on an energy smart grid or for your online banking. If you are poor or unemployed, they may require you to “voluntarily” adopt a government ID to access your benefits.  What are your concerns about this type of federal identity?

Data surveillance and privacy handling are also being discussed now.  If you aren’t part of that discussion or the work group, don’t worry.  You still have a voice in this matter.  Please see the details for public input below.

Here is second life for news that matters:

Cops to Get Facial Recognition Devices; Will They Need Warrants to Use Them?

Oakland Police equipped with body cameras

“[Capt. Ed Tracey]Tracey said the cameras are proving helpful to a budget-strapped police force that has reduced staff while covering what is still one of the country’s most dangerous cities, even though overall crime has trended downward.”

DIY GOVERNMENT

NOTICE OF PUBLIC COMMENT on NATIONAL STRATEGIES FOR TRUSTED IDENTITIES IN CYBERSPACE or NSTIC

  • Washington D.C. — Homewood Suites by Hilton DC 1475 Massachussetts Ave. NW, 20005
  • July 13th, 14th, 15th; 8 AM – 5 PM  EDT 
  • c/o NIST’s, Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board—Presentations from Mississippi [Docket No. 110524296–1289–02],  
  • Topics include Cloud Security & Privacy panel and NSTIC Implementation plans

If you can’t make it to Washington D.C. you may add your personal comments on the NSTIC plan for cyber identity.  Comments are due by July 22nd, 2011.  


Detailed Public Notice here
http://www.nist.gov/nstic/nstic-frn-noi.pdf

Please address your comments to:

The National Institute of Standards & Technology
c/o Annie Sokol
100 Bureau Drive, Mailstop 8930,
Gaithersburg, MD 20899

Electronic comments can be sent to: NSTICnoi@nist.gov

Special Instructions for Paper Submissions:

“Paper submissions should include a compact disc (CD).CDs should be labeled with the name and organizational affiliation of the filer and the name of the word processing program used to create the document.”

UPDATE: 8:30 AM EDT – PRESS CONFERENCE CANCELLED 


WASHINGTON – Tomorrow, Administration officials will host a press conference call at 11:45 AM EDT to discuss a green paper report released by the Commerce Department’s Internet Policy Task Force that proposes a new policy framework to strengthen cybersecurity protections for businesses online that fall outside of the critical infrastructure sector.  


U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, along with White House Cybersecurity Coordinator Howard Schmidt, Internet Policy Task Force Chair Cameron Kerry and Internet Policy Advisor of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Ari Schwartz, will join the call to outline the strategy and key components of the report, as well as answer reporters’ questions. 

SAN FRANCISCO — The National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace is expected to be finalized in the next few weeks, and its success will depend on the collaboration of a wide range of stakeholders in both the public and private sectors, information security officials said Feb. 15 at the RSA Security Conference.

Here is second life for news that matters.

NIST on Public-private Partnerships: ‘It is the Way We Do Business’

Microsoft Security chief pleads for “collective defense” of the Internet

RSA 2011: Schmidt-led Town Hall confronts public-private cooperation – again


JON & KATE PLUS HATE
http://mediaservices.myspace.com/services/media/embed.aspx/m=58344336,t=1,mt=video
Bill Maher | Myspace Video



Here is second life for news that matters:


Social Security Information Systems Near Collapse

Cato Analysis here.   Similar news here.

Feds Subpoena Twitter Seeking Information on Ex-WikiLeaks Volunteer

Photo ID’s could be required to cast ballots in Wisconsin

Rush Holt vs. the airport scanners

Wes Benedict tackles TSA “adult” scanners

DIY GOVERNMENT:
1.11-22.2011 Fast for Justice with Witness Agianst Torture for Brad Manning

1.28.2011 International Data Privacy Day

BTC –  NSTIC or the National Strategy for Trusted Identity in Cyberspace will be discussed at Stanford University this Friday.   The program will be crossing into considerations of the Department of Commerce.  Oversight and execution of the program’s cybersecurity and identity perameters is currently under the Department of Homeland Security.  The project is due to be signed by President Obama in the next few weeks.

One of the major security issues with the Web is the emphasis on anonymity in the original design, making it extremely difficult to verify a user’s real identity. The NSTIC calls for the creation of an “identity ecosystem,” where individuals and organizations can conduct online transactions confident in the real identities of each other and the security of the infrastructure the transactions run on.   

– Hillicon Valley,  Obama Administration officials to discuss trusted IDs online

Related News:  NSTIC amid Identity trends for 2011 

BTC – This blog’s hosting technology goes through Google. This lead came in from friend of the blog, JP of NCard who sends us stuff all the time. He’s a long time, sure footed opponent of the National ID card.

“The hackers got access to the coding in the password system that controls millions of users’ access to many Google services.”


A vast amount of info in one place
c/o  StarTribune.com 

The new details seem likely to increase the debate about the security and privacy of vast computing systems such as Google’s that now centralize the personal information of millions of individuals and businesses. Because vast amounts of digital information are stored in one place, a single breach can lead to disastrous losses.


The theft began with a single instant message sent to a Google employee in China who was using Microsoft’s Messenger program, according to the person with knowledge of the internal inquiry, who spoke on the condition he not be identified. ::: MORE HERE:::

c/o TechDirt , Mike Masnick

With health care reform out of the way, lots of politicians are pushing out new legislative ideas, hoping that Congress can now focus on other issues — so we’re seeing lots of bad legislation proposed. Let’s do a two for one post, highlighting two questionable bills that many of you have been submitting. The first, proposed by Senators Schumer and Graham, is technically about immigration reform, which is needed, but what’s scary is that the plan includes yet another plan for a national ID card. Didn’t we just go through this with Real ID, which was rejected by the states? Jim Harper, who follows this particular issue more than just about anyone, has an excellent breakdown of the proposal, questioning what good a national ID does, while also pointing to the potential harm of such a plan.

Then we have the big cybercrime bill put forth by.. Senators Rockefeller and Snowe (updated, since there are two separate cybersecurity bills, and its the Rockefeller/Snowe one that has people scared), that tries to deal with the “serious threat of cybercrime.” But, of course, it already has tech companies worried about the unintended consequences, especially when it requires complying with gov’t-issued security practices that likely won’t keep up with what’s actually needed:

“Despite all [the] best efforts, we do have concerns regarding whether government can rapidly recognize best practices without defaulting to a one-size-fits all approach,” they wrote.

“The NIST-based requirements framework in the bill, coupled with government procurement requirements, if not clarified, could have the unintended effect of hindering the development and use of cutting-edge technologies, products, and services, even for those that would protect our critical information infrastructure.”

They added the bill might impose a bureaucratic employee-certification program on companies or give the president the authority to mandate security practices.


This is one of those bills that sounds good for the headlines (cybercrime is bad, we need to stop it), but has the opposite effect in reality: setting up needless “standards” that actually prevent good security practices. It’s bills like both of these that remind us that technologically illiterate politicians making technology policy will do funky things, assuming that technology works with some sort of magic.