If ever there was a universally dangerous double edged sword this technology
definitely falls into that category along side nuclear energy and the likes.
One undetected false move has the potential to wipe out the planet.
From: Douglas Rankine
Sent: 11 December 2017 14:09
To: Cryptome Mailing List
Subject: [cryptome] UK: Britain's contribution to world wide mass surveillance
Dear Colleagues,
According to this film from the BBC investigative team. BAE are selling
mass surveillance systems to foreign governments including dictatorships
of all kinds. The software and hardware are capable of carrying out
mass surveillance, which includes collection of metadata and storing it,
once it is connected up. It can also decrypt messages, and be used to
set up tailored access operations which targets individuals, their
networks, including associates, friends, colleagues, and builds up a
picture of contacts, frequency of contact, who was contacted and when
and what about and whereabouts. Used in conjunction with other software
and hardware it can detect the devices being used, their location and so
on. Even biological information can be collected, via cameras in public
places, such as the way one walks, the retinal image, the voice
signature, as part of human recognition skills. Fine if it is only used
for targetting criminals and terrorists, but what happens when it is
used to target everyone. Data can be stored for as long as the nation
state likes. Private companies can get their hands on it too. And of
course there are no guarantees that it will only be used in pursuit of
law enforcement or genuine data queries on individuals.
It really is a frightening prospect when one thinks about the use of
such data in the hands of dictatorships, or conspirators against
privacy, or democratic governments who are interested in finding out who
it is that is organising perfectly legal opposition to a policy or party
or group with whom they don't agree, why they don't agree, how many
don't agree, and what the differences of opinion are, who put so called
national security before the liberty of the individual, but are more
interested in using such information to split and divide those people,
using fake news and other such techniques on social media and within
those groups?
By taking just one opponent, as soon as they start to organise
opposition to the status quo, they are surveilled, monitored and their
meta data and content can be stored and their habits, methods, views,
opinions, health issues, what they like and dislike, their proclivities,
sexual or otherwise can b analysed over a period of time, without any
guarantees whatsoever that it will not be used illegally, or to prevent
them from exercising their rights of protest or opposition. It affects
correspondence of all kinds between individuals and doctors, or
individuals and lawyers, or individuals and politicians, and between
politicians and other politicians.
This mass surveillance makes people think twice before they say or do
anything digitally, on the internet, particularly that which is critical
and which they feel could get them into trouble with the authorities,
particularly when an example has been made of someone they know who may
have done that very thing. Not only that, but through "middle man"
intervention, texts and email and voice contents can be changed without
the recipient noticing, and be used not only out of context but as a way
of attempting to "prove" that the individual may be using subversion or
non-peaceful means to promote their opposition. How is one supposed to
organise opposition to the status quo or to an injustice, perceived or
for real, or an improvement in mental and physical well being in a
society which considers itself and democracy and free, when people know
that such collection and monitoring is going on by the state
intelligence services of that country, and used by the leaders to
suppress opposition which is perfectly reasonable, and which acts as a
control or checks and balances on how power is exercised in society?
Even elections are affected with this gathering of information and use
of hacking techniques to change the voting on the ballots. If one
removes or limits the little democratic processes which we have of
expressing our views and action on them through the voting and
parliamentary systems, where do we go then. At the moment, in most of
those countries which are called democratic, there is at least an
agreement that governments can be changed through peaceful means. Are we
not in danger of destroying that?
With the spread of this kind of software and hardware to many different
countries, it also opens the companies and countries which sell the
stuff to others, to the very same surveillance from their opponents, as
has recently been discovered in a very public way. There is no
guarantee that the software will not be sold on, or used for purposes
other than for that which it was sold, and of course, as we have seen
from past evidence, often backfires on the country and those ruling
groups who have used it against others, to find it being used against
themselves. This kind of spying has gone on for a long time of course,
but it really has become intense today. If legitimate expression of
dissent is prevented, the power and number of dictators increase,
because they no longer see or hear of views and opinions or opposition
to themselves and their policies, they can no longer be held to account
and the acquisition and use of more illegal, immoral power becomes like
a drug addiction, with no regard to consequences. If people cannot
express themselves and get wrongs redressed through the political,
legal, social and economic system, then what else can they do?
All societies seem to be hell bent on this mass surveillance, but are
also hell bent in denying that they are doing it, or suggest that it is
controlled via checks and balances. All sorts of techniques are used
for hushing up the truth, for minimising its significance, for giving it
a low profile, but it just keeps coming back to the front again. If
data breaches can't be exposed, then they can't be repaired. Ignoring
them is not an issue, because there are others who just love it being
ignored, because they can then use those breaches for their own
advantage, political, economic, social, or otherwise.
That is the state we have got to in my view...and what a sorry state it
is...:-). Ah! Well! Having had my little say, it's back to the garden
allotment and tidying it up ready to sow some vegetables and fruit in
the spring, and, sing "God Save the Queen" or "Jerusalem" and "Hail To
The Chief" to the plants in case anyone is watching and
listening...forget about "The international" :-)
Just a thought,
ATB
Dougie.
On 10/12/2017 22:02, Douglas Rankine wrote:
see url:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-middle-east-40531967/weapons-of-mass-surveillance
UK's contribution to world wide surveillance software and hardware.
ATB
Dougie
