Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
Hi all,
Vanilla are planning an update to the site on April 24th (next Wednesday). It is a major PHP8 update which is expected to boost performance across the site. The site will be down from 7pm and it is expected to take about an hour to complete. We appreciate your patience during the update.
Thanks all.

NSA Running a Massive IDS on the Internet Backbone

  • 16-06-2015 1:31pm
    #1
    anvilfour
    Closed Accounts Posts: 720 ✭✭✭


    Extract from Cryptogram magazine, June 15 2015:


    The latest story from the Snowden documents, co-published by the New York Times and ProPublica, shows that the NSA is operating a signature-based intrusion detection system on the Internet backbone:
    In mid-2012, Justice Department lawyers wrote two secret memos permitting the spy agency to begin hunting on Internet cables, without a warrant and on American soil, for data linked to computer intrusions originating abroad -- including traffic that flows to suspicious Internet addresses or contains malware, the documents show.
    The Justice Department allowed the agency to monitor only addresses and "cybersignatures" -- patterns associated with computer intrusions -- that it could tie to foreign governments. But the documents also note that the N.S.A. sought to target hackers even when it could not establish any links to foreign powers.

    Read full story at : https://www.schneier.com/crypto-gram/archives/2015/0615.html#2


Comments

  • #2
    Khannie
    Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 37,485 Mod ✭✭✭✭Khannie


    Fascinating. You can't fault their abilities in fairness. Still didn't stop the recent breach but I wonder if it helped catch it.


  • #3
    syklops
    Closed Accounts Posts: 18,969 ✭✭✭✭syklops


    Is anyone surprised by this?


  • #4
    Khannie
    Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 37,485 Mod ✭✭✭✭Khannie


    I don't think anything will surprise me any more tbh.


  • #5
    anvilfour
    Closed Accounts Posts: 720 ✭✭✭anvilfour


    Khannie wrote: »
    I don't think anything will surprise me any more tbh.

    I once open mouth kissed a horse.


  • #6
    daUbiq
    Registered Users Posts: 420 ✭✭daUbiq


    The yanks are assholes...


  • Advertisement
  • #7
    Khannie
    Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 37,485 Mod ✭✭✭✭Khannie


    anvilfour wrote: »
    I once open mouth kissed a horse.

    No tongues? Meh.
    daUbiq wrote: »
    The yanks are assholes...

    I don't think they're doing anyone in their shoes wouldn't, if that makes sense. They're at the top of the ladder and looking to protect that position. Having my privacy invasion considered fair game pisses me off, but I understand it.


  • #8
    anvilfour
    Closed Accounts Posts: 720 ✭✭✭anvilfour


    Khannie wrote: »
    No tongues? Meh.



    I don't think they're doing anyone in their shoes wouldn't, if that makes sense. They're at the top of the ladder and looking to protect that position. Having my privacy invasion considered fair game pisses me off, but I understand it.

    Of course there's a difference between understanding and accepting. We know why the Chinese censor the internet because they're fascist, Orwellian bastards, doesn't mean you have to put up with it! :)


  • #9
    the_syco
    Registered Users Posts: 37,295 ✭✭✭✭the_syco


    syklops wrote: »
    Is anyone surprised by this?
    It's the NSA. Ever thinking that they aren't having at least a bot read your mails is naive.


  • #10
    anvilfour
    Closed Accounts Posts: 720 ✭✭✭anvilfour


    the_syco wrote: »
    It's the NSA. Ever thinking that they aren't having at least a bot read your mails is naive.

    That said I don't think we need to give up and weep into our porridge over the awesome NSA... there are services like I2P and Tor which can be used to mask your network traffic, also you can use gpg to encrypt your e-mails.

    I have the enigmail plugin for my Mozilla Thunderbird and use BitMessage's tor address to keep in touch with some of my less savoury friends - the NSA are welcome to try and read those if they wish!

    Of course there is always the possibility that using services like these to encrypt your traffic will single you out for more invasive surveillance but it'll certainly protect against passive monitoring of your messages if used properly.


  • #11
    anvilfour
    Closed Accounts Posts: 720 ✭✭✭anvilfour


    My man in the van has told me that he prefers to use I2P for anonymous e-mail as he believes that it was designed as a "true" dark net from the beginning. I don't want to get too off topic here but it's certainly true that I2P's eepsites have received less coverage in the press.

    I am also impressed about the fact that all I2P traffic is internal, unlike Tor where you can use exit nodes to access the regular net. I would say though that using a tor hidden service + gpg for your e-mail would be enough to prevent passive surveillance. Indeed if your e-mails were encrypted, seizing the server as happened with Tormail in itself wouldn't reveal any useful info about you beyond your e-mail address (and probably the subject line!) :)


  • Advertisement
Advertisement