11, March 2016 NSA
OVERREACH
It is instructive that the NSA couldn’t cite a single instance
in which its mammoth-sized haystack of data circumvented an imminent attack —
including the San Bernardino shooters.
Dear
Editor: The National Security Agency has an insatiable appetite to
invade our privacy. Der Spiegel reported details of a secretive unit inside the
NSA called the Office of Tailored Access Operations. That office has developed
new ways to penetrate our privacy, courtesy of Microsoft, by gaining access to
Windows users who report technical problems. In addition, new computer orders
are intercepted in transit, and special malware is implanted to monitor all
activity of unsuspecting users.
William Binny, creator of some of the NSA surveillance code,
expressed concern that the agency is drowning in mountains of useless data
which has rendered it to be totally dysfunctional. He also warned that the
potential for abuse and misuse of the information is extremely troubling.
It is instructive that the NSA couldn’t cite a single instance
in which its mammoth-sized haystack of data circumvented an imminent attack —
including the San Bernardino shooters. In the last 15 years, the NSA had access
to information about potential terrorist attacks but failed to act on the
significance of the data.
It is ironic that the NSA paid millions in fees to Apple and
other high-tech companies to weaken their encryption standards by supplying a
back-door access. The same companies are now feigning outrage over government
demands to allow them access to their devices, thereby weakening their
encryption standards for all their customers.
As Dan Kaminsky, a security expert, commented: “When your
products have been intentionally flawed in the support of intelligence
missions, don’t expect people to buy them.”
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