[ExI] Web’s Reach Binds N.S.A. and Silicon Valley Leaders

[spike]

>... On Behalf Of Eugen Leitl
Subject: [ExI] Web’s Reach Binds N.S.A. and Silicon Valley Leaders


>...http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/20/technology/silicon-valley-and-spy-agency-bound-by-strengthening-web.html?pagewanted=print

>...Web’s Reach Binds N.S.A. and Silicon Valley Leaders

>...By JAMES RISEN and NICK WINGFIELD

>...WASHINGTON — When Max Kelly, the chief security officer for Facebook, left the social media company in 2010...Mr. Kelly’s move to the spy agency, which has not previously been reported, underscores the increasingly deep connections between Silicon Valley and the agency and the degree to which they are now in the same business. Both hunt for ways to collect, analyze and exploit large pools of data about millions of Americans...


Foresight does have its advantages.  Recall about 15 or more years ago, when we had a discussion on this forum about this topic.  As I recall it was that every text you send or post to any forum theoretically lasts forever and that it is easily searched indefinitely into the future, being ASCII text.  Our German friends took note of this in particular, for they know how a country can become a brutal dictatorship inside of a decade.  Now we are seeing the same thing in the US.

Back in those days, among the actions we derived was to become a group of people.  Every time you have friends over, have them log on to your computer account, write random emails, do internet searches, generally obscure your own search patterns.  I did that.  Over the years I think there are at least 60 people who have posted stuff under my name or done internet searches.  At one party alone, the one after Extro-5, there were about 30 people doing that.  Now my online tracks have been made by a group of people some of which I don't even know.

Lesson, especially for Americans: get your friends to post stuff as you.  Do that early and often.

spike