Category: Big Brother

Proton Mail strikes back

ProtonMail, the privacy-focused email business, has launched a Tor hidden service to combat the censorship and surveillance of its users.

The move is designed to counter actions “by totalitarian governments around the world to cut off access to privacy tools” and the Swiss company specifically cited “recent events such as the Egyptian government’s move to block encrypted chat app Signal, and the passage of the Investigatory Powers Act in the UK that mandates tracking all web browsing activity”.

The Register: ProtonMail launches Tor hidden service to dodge totalitarian censorship »

Apps, the next frontier of censorship

Blocking a website is like trying to stop lots of trucks from delivering a banned book; it requires an infrastructure of technical tools (things like China’s “Great Firewall”), and enterprising users can often find a way around it. Banning an app from an app store, by contrast, is like shutting down the printing press before the book is ever published. If the app isn’t in a country’s app store, it effectively doesn’t exist. The censorship is nearly total and inescapable.

NYT » Clearing Out the App Stores: Government Censorship Made Easier »

After Manning, let’s focus on Snowden

Yesterday we learned that Chelsea Manning will be released May 17 next year. Now, let’s keep an eye on the ball. Still, much can happen.

Given that Manning really will be released from prison – it’s time to boost the campaign for NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. Still, in theory, there is a possibility of a presidential pardon. But it is not very likely. Instead, the Snowden campaign will have to shift focus to asylum or sanctuary in a western democracy.

Needless to say, practically all western governments reject this proposal. If it is to happen, we will have to make them change their minds.

Politicians mostly care about their image and public opinion, i.e. votes. Factors that can make them more popular or unpopular and give them more or less public support are essential. So, it really should be possible to make them change their mind about Snowden.

The first thing should be to reach critical mass. Actually, this is the hardest phase. It requires hard work. But we know that focused campaigning can lead to a breakthrough. And we already have e.g. the European Parliament and several media organizations onboard.

Furthermore, politicians saying no to Snowden might stand out as elitist, shady and patrons of the deep state. The pro-Snowden campaign, on the other hand, is from the beginning perceived as fighting for a noble cause. We also have the psychological advantage of being the underdog, the people confronting the power elite.

We need to saturate the Internet and the media with pro-Snowden messages. But we also need action. Because action is a very effective tool for communication. We need to organize rallies, seminars, and media-friendly grass root activism. And we need to take every opportunity to bring this subject up when politicians meet the public.

It is possible to provide refuge for Edward Snowden in the western world. But to reach this goal, we will have to work really hard. Nothing will happen by itself.

/ HAX

Amnesty on European Bigbrotherism

The old adage goes ‘if you’ve got nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear’, but a detailed analysis of the human rights cost of the fast-expanding security state in Europe suggests otherwise. (…)

Overly broad definitions of terrorism are a big part of the problem. Because there is no universally agreed definition, states and international bodies have created their own. But in that process, definitions of terrorism have become increasingly vague, so that they can be arbitrarily applied, meaning law-abiding citizens can be subjected to unwarranted surveillance, administrative orders which restrict their liberties, intrusive searches and worse.

Amnesty International » Dangerously disproportionate: The ever-expanding National Security State in Europe »

Until the end, Obama expands mass surveillance

New rules issued by the Obama administration under Executive Order 12333 will let the NSA—which collects information under that authority with little oversight, transparency, or concern for privacy—share the raw streams of communications it intercepts directly with agencies including the FBI, the DEA, and the Department of Homeland Security, according to a report today by the New York Times.

EFF: Obama Expands Surveillance Powers on His Way Out »

Sweden – not so neutral, after all?

Possible targets might be the administrators of foreign computer networks, government ministries, oil, defense, and other major corporations, as well as suspected terrorist groups or other designated individuals. Similar Quantum operations have targeted OPEC headquarters in Vienna, as well as Belgacom, a Belgian telecom company whose clients include the European Commission and the European Parliament. (…)

Significantly, while WINTERLIGHT was a joint effort between the NSA, the Swedish FRA, and the British GCHQ, the hacking attacks on computers and computer networks seem to have been initiated by the Swedes.

It’s worth keeping in mind that Swedish intelligence agency FRA – together with British GCHQ – declined to participate in the European Parliaments hearings on mass surveillance.

The New York Review of Books: The Swedish Kings of Cyberwar »

Germany towards a centralised Police State?

German interior minister Thomas de Maiziere has announced a series of proposals that revolve around giving the German federal government more power over security agencies, cyber attacks, policing and deportations; permitting the deployment of the military internally; expanding the scope of the proposed EU Entry/Exit System and loosening the the EU definition of “safe third countries”.

There is this German proverb: History does not repeat itself. But it rhymes.

Statewatch » Interior ministry “wish list”: strengthen central government security, policing and deportation powers »

Assange on Fox: Governments hate transparency

“We’re in the business of publishing information about power,” Assange said. “Why are we in the business of publishing information about power? Because people can do things with power, they can do very bad things with power. If they’re incompetent, they can do dangerous things. If they’re evil, they can do wicked things.”

In Part III of the interview, which aired Thursday on the Fox News Channel, Assange also said that governments “hate transparency. They loathe it. Because they have to work harder.” (…)

Governments are “full of incompetent people,” Assange told Hannity. “And the more secretive the area is, the more incompetent it becomes because there’s no proper oversight.” (…)

“If you don’t know what’s happening in the world with powerful individuals, corporations and governments … immoral actors within the state or within those big corporations prosper,” Assange said at the conclusion of the interview.

Fox: ‘Hannity’ Exclusive: Wikileaks’ Assange: Governments ‘Hate Transparency. They Loathe It’ »

EU proposal: All travel to be registered

I cannot say that I am surprised. I have seen this coming, for a long time:

Jambon’s plan takes this initiative [PNR] and applies it to other means of transport. It will mean that anyone wanting to travel by rail, sea or by bus to another EU country will have to register their information.

Fighting terrorism is just a pretext. Politicians want ever more control and surveillance of the people. They will not be satisfied until there is total control.

• Euractiv: Belgium prepares to present passenger data plans to rest of EU »
• Techdirt: Belgium Wants EU Nations To Collect And Store Personal Data Of Train, Bus And Boat Passengers »