MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
US and UK intelligence cracked encryption codes and security protocols, claims Snowden
US and UK intelligence have reportedly cracked the encryption codes protecting the emails, banking and medical records of hundreds of millions of people. Disclosures by leaker Edward Snowden allege the US National Security Agency (NSA) and the UK's GCHQ successfully decoded key online security protocols. Read full article
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Disclaimer & comment rulesTo the vast majority of people on this planet this is a NON story. Those of us who use cyber space for honest and legitimate purposes should not worry about this allegations - I certainly don't!
Sep 09th, 2013 - 03:41 am - Link - Report abuse 0Well, l don't think they'd find my mail very interesting.
Sep 09th, 2013 - 04:49 am - Link - Report abuse 01) stock market results
2) ordering parts etc
3) gardening tips
4) greetings to extended family
Not much earth-shattering there.
I don't understand the problem. For example, in 1917 British Intelligence intercepted and decoded what came to be known as the “Zimmermann Telegram”. There's a picture of it in Wikipedia. It's on Western Union paper. The “message” consists of obvious code groups. It was a proposal from the Foreign Secretary of the German Empire for Mexico to join the war on the side of the Central Powers, e.g. Germany. There were “inducements” such as funding and territories in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. It was sent just prior to the resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare and was obviously intended to split any U.S. war effort. And the interception and decoding was wrong? In this day and age, the jihadists and loonies get everywhere. So with its lovely close links with places like Iran, latam is a good place from which to direct terrorist activity. A lot of latam hates “the West” anyway and would love to see Europeans and North Americans killed, wounded, maimed. It's not as though many of them haven't done their own killing and maiming. Not to mention one-way “sightseeing” flights to the middle of the Rio de la Plata. Anyone think the NSA or GCHQ is interested in the sort of stuff Isolde mentions? So they will be looking for particular words. Can't say what those words might be. Wouldn't want to give info to argie terrorists!
Sep 09th, 2013 - 05:27 am - Link - Report abuse 0Good. I am glad the intelligence services are doing the job we trust them to do. We cannot and should not know everything they do for reasons of national security.
Sep 09th, 2013 - 06:23 am - Link - Report abuse 0@2 Ditto. Though occasionally I mind my words when communicating with people abroad. It is for their safety, not mine.
The Brits also cracked the German Enigma codes in WW2 and probably saved millions of lives and shortened the war by two years.
Sep 09th, 2013 - 06:52 am - Link - Report abuse 0They also cracked the Argentine codes in the Falklands war thereby saving the lives of many Argentines.
I'd rather have the Brits and Yanks cracking the codes than say, Iran or Russia.
If your not doing something illegal then you have no probs.
How could this be true? Impossible!!!
Sep 09th, 2013 - 07:23 am - Link - Report abuse 0You lot really expect the world to abandon their civil rights on the basis that you lot consider yourselves legit?
Sep 09th, 2013 - 07:32 am - Link - Report abuse 0Darn, that belly button is massive...
@7 Exactly. International companies are abandoning US based hosting and Internet services in droves. What gives the US the right to be the worlds Internet police.
Sep 09th, 2013 - 07:46 am - Link - Report abuse 0I see that Putin asked Snowden a rent check. And Snowden obliged. Didn't he promise a congressmen who was supportive of him that he would disclose nothing more? I am sure that the ALBAteers here would be just as supportive of an Argentine or Venezuelan Snowden fleeing to the US and giving a way the store to keep himself “marketable” in his new line of work.
Sep 09th, 2013 - 08:34 am - Link - Report abuse 0@3,4 and 5
Sep 09th, 2013 - 09:06 am - Link - Report abuse 0I agree with what you are saying and I think that the public of the UK and US at those times would have approved too (Zimmerman case, Enigma, etc). But the Snowden case if different and it is no surprise that a large part of UK and US public are angry about what has been going on.
Based on the premise that the enemy is amongst you, they justify blanket snooping. I understand the arguments for this kind of action, but at the end of the day public unease in strong democracies will push back the limits of the snooping. Just like public unease about Iraq has pushed back the limit of foreign intervention.
I heard today that Brazil is claiming that Ascension Island (UK) is being used by the US to spy on Brazil. This will have interesting implications for the FI. I am sure CFK will be saying to UNASUR “see, we have to get these foreign powers out” (I know Ascension is in the mid Atlantic), but it might help the Brits get the US off the fence on the FI issue - you may be thanking Snowden after all.
@1, 2, 4, 5
Sep 09th, 2013 - 09:34 am - Link - Report abuse 0SO WHY ON EARTH did all you four bewail, howl, and utter plangently strident laments about Argentina's currency laws?
I also have nothing to hide, so I have no problem declaring where I am going overseas and what I will be doing with my money to the goverment.
If PERSONAL CONFIDENCIAL information, both financial and family/personal, being fished by your two governments poses no issues to you (since you have nothing to hide), then why on Earth would you insult Argentina and Argentines so much the last year over the currency laws?
The conclusion is you are a bunch of pathetic losers who have a huge insecurity complex vis-a-vis Argentina. Because it is the same THING.
Your comments have been very enlightening, thank you.
Russia and China have also cracked these codes, as well as North Korea.
Sep 09th, 2013 - 10:10 am - Link - Report abuse 0Yup, intelligence agencies collecting intelligence on potential risks to the country.
Hypocrites like Snowden are quick to point the finger at Western powers, where they know that they won't get more than a few years in prison if caught.
However their principles fall extremely short when dealing with countries like Russia, China and North Korea, where at best you'd get 30 years hard labour and at worst you'd get put up against a wall and shot.
Double standards from the likes of Snowden and Wikileaks. Cowards all. Irresponsible, certainly.
One day Russia will get fed up of Snowden, or realise they can't get anymore captial out of him, then they'll throw him away, and he'll have to face the music, and the people - that is the people of the USA - who he has betrayed.
@10 - Condorito
Isn't Ascension Island too far away to spy on Brazil? Especially when the USA is closer?
I feel a lot of these LATAM countries (Brazil in particular) are getting very excited over nothing.
Countries spy on each other. It's nothing new. The biggest threat comes from China, who employ people 24/7 to continuously hack into government and private sector computers and steal information. Brazil should be far more worried about this kind of intrusion.
@12 Lep
Sep 09th, 2013 - 11:03 am - Link - Report abuse 0I heard it on the Chilean news this morning, but can't find anything about it on the internet. I am sure there will be more to come.
Ascension is only 2000 km from Brazil. It seems to be one of those British islands, like Diego Garcia, that the US requisitions when useful. I wouldn't be the least surprised if there was a US eavesdropping base there.
Of course that doesn't mean it is just Brazilian rhetoric. If they were unaware (pre Snowden) that their telecommunications companies were cooperating with US intelligence agencies, it is unlikely that they have suddenly rumbled the evil empire.
10 Condorito (#)
Sep 09th, 2013 - 11:06 am - Link - Report abuse 0Sep 09th, 2013 - 09:06 am
I kind of agree. But only kind of. You see your government will aso be doing it. Germany got caught doing it very shortly after pointing the finger at the UK for doing it and crying foul.
Every government on the planet is doing it but so far only the US and the UK have an Edward Snowden. Give it time and everybody will have one. We're trend setters dontchaknow? It'll all come out in the wash eventually.
Condorito, you are fast.
Sep 09th, 2013 - 11:23 am - Link - Report abuse 0The news has been out for two days now, Echalon is named and Photos on massive satellite stations are shown from Ascension.
Courtesy of el Muerto que habla, from a Brazilian site.
Google on :)
@15
Sep 09th, 2013 - 11:48 am - Link - Report abuse 0Still nothing in the news on the subject.
@14 Furry
I agree most governments in the world probably do do it to some extent. But the trend setting has been done by Mr Snowden, not the US or UK government. He made the debate possible.
@5 Darragh
Sep 09th, 2013 - 12:11 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Not sure if it's the same information you're referring to, but during the Falklands War Argentina were furnishing the Soviet's with the positions of all their assets. The Norwegian's intercepted the signal's and informed the British.
@11 TTPT
“...plangently strident...” ??? Whose been teaching you grammar? Full marks for effort. low marks for accuracy
@17
Sep 09th, 2013 - 12:23 pm - Link - Report abuse 0“Whose been teaching you grammar?”
Who's been teaching you??
Sorry, couldn't leave that low hanging fruit for the fraudulent TTPT.
@18
Sep 09th, 2013 - 12:49 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Lol. Nice come back!
2 lsolde
Sep 09th, 2013 - 12:58 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Item 2)
But what if you were ordering a cruise missile that actual ignites and flies:
http://www.rocketrytoday.com/militaryset.html
LOLs
@ 1 Gordo1 who writes: “Those of us who use cyber space for honest and legitimate purposes should not worry about this allegations - I certainly don't!” - @ and several others
Sep 09th, 2013 - 02:09 pm - Link - Report abuse 0If you have nothing to hide, give us your bank account number(s) and netbank access codes.
It seems that only a couple of the posters on this forum are able to understand that the NSA deliberately has weakened internet security, e.g. protocols like HTTPS, so it has become easier for criminals to get to confidential material, business secrets, bank accounts, etc., etc.
Got a point there.
Sep 09th, 2013 - 02:31 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Also how much can we trust NSA staff who have access to bank passwords and secret keys and the like?
Who are the criminals that steal from bank accounts?
Everybody objects to all this personal info ,
Sep 09th, 2013 - 02:53 pm - Link - Report abuse 0And yet at the same time,
The same people are quite ready and willing to read all the gossip it creates,
They are willing to read other people’s private lives all over the papers,
As long as it’s not them.
Still,
To those who cannot read, it matters not,lol.
Justa thought..
.
Perfectly happy with what my government are doing to keep me safe Mr Snowdon, enjoy your exile in Russia, hope you like beetroot soup, you're gonna be getting a lot of it.
Sep 09th, 2013 - 04:11 pm - Link - Report abuse 0The Germans wera also perfectly happy with what their government was doing in 1938.
Sep 09th, 2013 - 04:18 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Good luck to you - you'll definitely need it.
@11 TTT,
Sep 09th, 2013 - 05:03 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Whats all this guff re Argentina's currency restrictions?
l don't deal with Argentina, so l couldn't care less what your currency does.
Actually, l'll modify that remark.
Because of Argentine meddling in Falkland affairs, l hope your currency crashes.
Maybe 10,000 pesos to the US$.
And it would be overvalued at that.
@3 Conqueror: Indeed, the Zimmerman telegram affair has been one of those situations, even if the goverment at the time was absorbed by the revolution and saw the events at Europe as a local affair of that continent, US too but was thinking of an intervention even before the telegram as UK and US have always worked closely at international and bussines affairs. Also before both WWI and the revolution Mexico had bussines affairs with France, Prussia, UK, USA, etc.
Sep 09th, 2013 - 06:35 pm - Link - Report abuse 0But on this specific question of Snowden, for one thing I understand his position of being troubled that an agencyof his govertment bassically is treating sensitive info from local and international affairs as potential menaces to them. That without considering the UN considers the right to privacy a human right for ppl of all countries. On the other hand he actually worked for NSR for years before this, so it seems a little too coincidental that all if a sudden him and others are protesting about something they knew for years, it could even just be a way to put pressure on some political actors, particulary Obama.
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