Agitated Mark Zuckerberg "seems to have got on the phone to Obama"

[G_j]

http://www.democracynow.org/2014/3/17/snowden_docs_expose_how_the_nsa



Snowden Docs Expose How the NSA "Infects" Millions of Computers, Impersonates Facebook Server

New disclosures from Edward Snowden show the NSA is massively expanding its computer hacking worldwide. Software that automatically hacks into computers — known as malware "implants" — had previously been kept to just a few hundred targets. But the news website The Intercept reports that the NSA is spreading the software to millions of computers under an automated system codenamed "Turbine." The Intercept has also revealed the NSA has masqueraded as a fake Facebook server to infect a target’s computer and exfiltrate files from a hard drive. We are joined by The Intercept reporter Ryan Gallagher.

Transcript

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
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Joining us now is Ryan Gallagher from The Intercept, co-wrote the piece, "[How] the NSA Plans to Infect 'Millions' of Computers with Malware." Explain, Ryan.

RYAN GALLAGHER: Hi, Amy. Yeah, and the story we wrote last week, really, the key thing about it is the extent to which these techniques have really rapidly escalated in the last decade. And what we can see and what we reported was that, since about 2004, the National Security Agency has expanded the use of what it calls these "implants," which are sort of malicious software implants within computers and computer networks, and even phone networks, to basically steal data from those systems. About 10 years ago, they had, they say, about a hundred and a hundred and—between a hundred and 150 of these implants, but within the last decade that expanded to an estimated 100,000, in some reports, and they’re building a system to be capable of deploying "millions," in their own words, of these implants.

AMY GOODMAN: The revelation around the issue of Facebook has led Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to call President Obama on Wednesday and demand an explanation. He later wrote in a blog post, quote, "I’ve been so confused and frustrated by the repeated reports of the behavior of the US government. When our engineers work tirelessly to improve security, we imagine we’re protecting you against criminals, not our own government."

RYAN GALLAGHER: Yeah, and Mark Zuckerberg was definitely very agitated, we think, about the report and seems to have got on the phone to Obama. And interestingly, the NSA later issued a—actually claimed that they hadn’t impersonated U.S. websites. However, their own documents actually say that they pretended to be the Facebook server for this particular surveillance technique, so their denial sort of doesn’t really hold up to scrutiny when compared with their own documents. And there’s a bit of sort of a—you know, there’s questions to be asked about that.

..more..

[kelliekat44]

1. More unelected billionaires trying to run and ruin out government. They are all alike. nt

[frylock]

3. perhaps you can explain how zuckerburg is trying to run and ruin the govt?

[MADem]

2. The collar and cuffs don't match in that piece.

Collar: ...the NSA "Infects" Millions of Computers, Impersonates Facebook Server ....

Cuffs: ... the NSA Plans to Infect 'Millions' of Computers with Malware...


Now, anyone who has ever worked in any sort of "Planning" capacity knows that a shitload of ideas are thrown around that never, ever see the light of day. Pipe dreams are discussed, batted around, worked up...and abandoned.

So what's going on here? Is there actual "infection" or did some bozo at NSA, in the context of a planning/brainstorming session say "How's about this for an idea? We gin up a deal where we infect computers with malware via a fake fb portal!" That document--even though the program was never implemented--became part of the agency records...and here we are.

It's just not clear, and the transcript doesn't satisfy that question, either. Do the documents say they "pretended" or they "PLANNED to pretend?" NSA isn't going to say if they do or don't, and there's no real validation either way that this, in fact, is being done. Or not.

[randome]

4. Then there's this nonsensical sentence.

"...Mark Zuckerberg was definitely very agitated, we think,..."

Be afraid, everyone!
[hr][font color="blue"][center]The truth doesn’t always set you free.
Sometimes it builds a bigger cage around the one you’re already in.[/center][/font][hr]