[Dailydave] I am the reason we cannot have nice things on the Internet.

[Thomas Quinlan]

I don't know anything about anything past my (now expired?) US Secret 
Clearance. The issue as I see it is that regardless of right / wrong, the 
bigger issue is trust. No one can trust the NSA and what it has to say. 
It's not just a matter of the fact that it's a spook organisation.  The 
issue is two-fold:


1 - "We constantly save you but won't tell you from what or how."  The boy 
who cried wolf at least told us there was a wolf.

2 - People like Alexander go on to "not" use the information learned at the 
NSA to charge $1,000,000 a month. (They also "don't" hire people actively 
still working there on the side.) It just rings so hollow.

Having worked at Booz I know the basics and that there are two sides to the 
story. The NSA side is arguably more difficult but they start by aiming two 
guns at their feet.

PS - As a dual US/UK citizen living in London I get both the NSA & GCHQ to 
think about!


On 22 October 2014 22:43:39 Andreas Lindh <andreas.lindh at isecure.se> wrote:

> Dave,
>
> I read that piece and thought it was quite well written. I also think that
> you¹re wrong on several accounts.
>
> First of all, the US is not the Internet. Saying that it¹s a good thing
> that the US has "the most sophisticated cyber arsenal of any other country
> on the planet² is just irrelevant in this context. You are addressing the
> claim that the US is the biggest threat to the Internet, not to other
> countries who happen to have a presence on the Internet. This is an
> Internet issue, not some military dick waving contest. Also, considering
> the US habit of starting wars, I¹d wager that large parts of the world
> actually think it would be an even better thing if the US did not have
> such an awesome arsenal at all.
>
> Second, you claim that the US is not hacking for competitive advantages. I
> get that you¹ve been a part of this machinery and probably knows what
> you¹re talking about, but still. Should we just take your word for it? And
> if so, why should your word carry more weight than when China says the
> exact same thing?
>
> Third, using ³but everyone else is doing it too² as an excuse is just
> childish.
>
> This is not a US military issue, this is about privacy for _everyone_.
>
> Andreas
>
>
> Read more:
> http://www.businessinsider.com/expert-here-are-4-things-edward-snowden-gets
> -wildly-wrong-about-the-nsa-2014-10#ixzz3GuB8jeC4
>
> On 2014-10-22 19:37, "Dave Aitel" <dave at immunityinc.com> wrote:
>
> >Article that dropped today. I have learned from the comments that I am
> >the reason we cannot have nice things:
> >http://www.businessinsider.com/expert-here-are-4-things-edward-snowden-get
> >s-wildly-wrong-about-the-nsa-2014-10
> >
> >Prepub Review Document:
> >https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B0jFP8bCQAA_jxQ.jpg:large
> >
> >Next week I'm going to give a talk here, available for beers/heckling!
> >http://www.eventbrite.com/e/georgia-tech-cyber-security-summit-2014-ticket
> >s-11887603141
> >
> >-dave
> >
> >
>
>
>
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