Be careful what you search for…
I guess I never thought I’d see the day when I had to give a lot of thought before doing research for an article for our InfoAve Premium newsletter. Now I realize that I have probably put Cloudeight on the NSA’s observation list simply because I wrote about CyberGhost and the Tor Browser and other security software that I thought our readers would find interesting and ought to know. My bad!
I guess this article too will make it to the NSA’s observation list and we’ll be mired even deeper in the world of covert surveillance and government gone wild. But like Alfred E. Newman used to say, “What, me worry? ”
I found it interesting and disturbing that those who search for ways to protect themselves from illegal government snooping, get themselves put on a watch list. We all let this happen – it didn’t just start on 9/11/2001 – it started with driver’s licenses being used for more than just driving, Social Security numbers being used for more than Social Security, credit cards being used for more than just purchasing on credit; in short we started losing our privacy as soon as those in charge discovered the amount of information available from, let’s say, someone’s driver’s license.
The trouble with our governments, the NSA, the state license bureaus, the Social Security Administration, the Police, etc. is that they all rely on human beings. And most human beings, given such power are bound to abuse it. So now our quest for security and safety has us living in a virtual police state, with our privacy being peeled away like layers of an onion.
It’s absolutely true that power corrupts and that absolute power corrupts absolutely. It is also true in the information age that information is power just as much as money is power. We all at one time or another bought into the philosophy that security and safety are more important than privacy, even though, in time, by giving up our privacy we will inevitably lose our security and safety. It’s just a matter of time.
Now, that I’ve let off some steam, I’d like you to read the following article by Dann Albright of MakeUseOf, and when you’re done, come on back and take our poll on privacy and security.
Your Interest in Privacy Will Ensure You’re Targeted By The NSA
Are You on the List?
In previous documents, interviews, and other now-public materials, the NSA has stated that, while they can collect data from nearly anyone, they only target a small number of people who could be engaged in suspicious activity. Exactly what constitutes suspicious activity has never been very clear, but it’s safe to assume that anyone trying to get in touch with a terrorist organization, buy drugs online, or be in another way clearly intending to break the law, would be a target.
Turns out that a lot of things can get you on the list, including visiting a number of privacy-related websites, or even running searching for privacy-related tools. For example, a recent analysis of an alleged piece of XKeyscore code revealed that people would be targeted for surveillance if they searched for articles on TAILS, a secure operating system. The code states that TAILS is “advocated by extremists on extremist forums.” (I wonder if they know that it’s also advocated as a very secure Linux distro by tech writers on MakeUseOf.) …read the rest of this MakeUseOf article here.
I am with you our Privacy, Democracy and freedom of speech is slowly being eroded and for what. Too much Political Correctness now what a lot of rubbish.
Maggie, I agree! Amen to everything you said!
Our rights are disappearing faster, than, the citizens know.
You stated it perfectly. It’s an absolutely horrifically unconstitutional program that the American people should be livid about….but will probably just go shopping.