omnibus PRISM/NSA/free Edward Snowden/encryption tutorial thread

from the comments. Note the commenter:

Jane Hamsher August 21st, 2013 at 12:19 am
7
In response to DSWright @ 4
He has done a weird about-face. The last time I was in NY Glenn and I had lunch with him. He seemed very interested at the time about HB Gary and nefarious things the government was doing against Wikileaks. Maybe he was being disingenuous, or his position was nuanced in a way I didn’t understand. But his tone and perspective about government surveillance seemed radically different than they are now.

35 years in jail for Manning

optimistic speculation he could get paroled after serving 1/3rd of that

to be honest it's much better than i expected, even if the idea of spending longer in jail than i have literally been on earth is totally unfathomable to me

Yes, it's 'better', but I'm already sick of hearing everyone on twitter saying WOW it's ONLY 35 years! LUCKY BRAD! It's still criminaly long, an atrocity.

yes

it's just also worth keeping in mind that half an hour ago i was expecting them to say something like 75 years

Oh definitely, I'm glad it's 35 instead of 75. I still have trouble fathoming what it must be like to be in his shoes right now.

Obviously this below is tiny compared to Manning, but worth reading to see how even whistleblowers who follow the rules re issues without such national security importance get treated. The article is even written by inside the beltway centrist elist Milbank

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/dana-milbank-the-price-gina-gray-paid-for-whistleblowing/2013/08/20/9fe80c98-09cb-11e3-8974-f97ab3b3c677_story.html

She was the Army civilian worker who, before and after her employment, exposed much of the wrongdoing at Arlington National Cemetery — misplaced graves, mishandled remains and financial mismanagement — and she attempted to do it through the proper internal channels. Pentagon sources have confirmed to me her crucial role in bringing the scandal to light.

Gray, who worked in Iraq as an Army contractor and Army public affairs specialist, is now unemployed and living in North Carolina.

....
Snowden’s case is quite a bit different, and murkier; his dalliances with China and now Russia raise questions about his motives. But Gray’s case shows that Snowden was correct about one thing: Trying to pursue the proper internal channels doesn’t work.

If the Obama administration wants whistleblowers to take the “proper” route, it needs to protect them when they do.

Obviously this below is tiny compared to Manning, but worth reading to see how even whistleblowers who follow the rules re issues without such national security importance get treated.

Untrue. Jeffrey Toobin said it isn't so.

Sadly, the Toobin view is shared by many, I think. Most are unaware of how the Obama administration treats whistleblowers, and some even when aware are still not sympathetic. Most people don't know about whistleblower Thomas Drake who had all the charges but 1 dropped against him, but could not get his security clearance back and is now working in a mall Apple store.

But you know that.

Was PJ also saying that it's all well saying "use PGP" but the NSA are keeping things for as long as they need in the hopes of one day breaking them, so that's still no reassurance to her?

I was surprised at her reaction, but I can see her point, and I don't think it's just over-reaction.

― stet, Tuesday, August 20, 2013 5:13 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Yeah fair enough. It's tempting to go all spy games with encryption and Tor, but even if it's hypothetically possible for someone really savvy to hide their trail, it doesn't change the fact that we increasingly live in a police state.

via Greenwald, the WSJ shows how the NSA lurks on ILX:

http://graphicsweb.wsj.com/documents/PhotoAnnotations0113/index.php?slugName=NSA0820

http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/317971-nsa-surveillance-said-to-be-broader-than-initially-believed#ixzz2cZNG7EAZ

ACLU: "When a soldier who shared information with the press and public is punished far more harshly than others who tortured prisoners and killed civilians, something is seriously wrong with our justice system."

Amnesty International: President O should commute Manning's sentence to time already served.

waterface is a spy imo

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/closeread/2013/08/mannings-sentence-mirandas-detention.html

at least the NYer has davidson

http://getprsm.com/

@ggreenwald
It's strange that a media outlet would employ someone who sees investigative journalism as the equivalent of drug trafficking #DrugMule

The National Security Agency unlawfully gathered as many as tens of thousands of e-mails and other electronic communications between Americans as part of a now-discontinued collection program, according to a 2011 secret court opinion.

The 86-page opinion, which was declassified by U.S. intelligence officials Wednesday, explains why the chief judge of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court ruled the collection method unconstitutional. The judge, John D. Bates, found that the government had “advised the court that the volume and nature of the information it has been collecting is fundamentally different from what the court had been led to believe.”

...In addition to the October 2011 court ruling, which was heavily redacted, U.S. intelligence officials on Wednesday released other documents, including a follow-up order about the NSA’s revised collection methods.

The documents were released in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/nsa-gathered-thousands-of-americans-e-mails-before-court-struck-down-program/2013/08/21/146ba4b6-0a90-11e3-b87c-476db8ac34cd_story.html

(btw my targeted banner ad at the top of that page is BE PROUD -- JOIN THE NYPD)

tens of thousands of emails = one person's spam folder?

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/closeread/2013/08/mannings-sentence-mirandas-detention.html

at least the NYer has davidson

― k3vin k., Wednesday, August 21, 2013 2:35 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

otm: And against thirty-five years, a hundred and twelve days seems like a paltry penalty for Manning’s extreme solitary confinement and his abuse. Where is the deterrent for that?

Man I'm shocked Charlie Savage isn't dead yet for reporting this shit:

A federal judge sharply rebuked the National Security Agency in 2011 for gathering and storing tens of thousands of Americans’ e-mails each year as it hunted for terrorists and other legitimate foreign targets, according to the top secret court ruling, which was made public on Wednesday.

The 85-page ruling by Judge John D. Bates, then serving on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, involved an N.S.A. program that searches Americans’ international Internet communications for discussion of foreigners under surveillance. Judge Bates found that the agency had violated the Constitution for several years and declared the problems part of a pattern of “misrepresentation” by agency officials in submissions to the secret court.

The release of the ruling, under pressure from a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, was the latest effort by the Obama administration to contain revelations about N.S.A. surveillance prompted by leaks by the former agency contractor Edward J. Snowden.

Free Chelsea

Bradley Manning is now Chelsea Manning

“As I transition into this next phase of my life, I want everyone to know the real me,” Manning said in a statement read during an exclusive TODAY show interview with lawyer David Coombs. “I am Chelsea Manning. I am a female. Given the way I have felt since childhood, I want to begin hormone therapy as soon as possible.”

While Fort Leavenworth, the prison where Manning will serve her sentence, does not offer hormone therapy, Coombs told host Savannah Guthrie he would fight to ensure his client received the medical treatment she needed. He also said he and Manning had not discussed sex reassignment surgery, and that getting her access to the needed hormones is his priority at this time.

Asked why Chelsea Manning had not made a statement about her gender before the trial was over, Coombs said, “She didn’t want this to be something that overshadowed the case.”

http://tv.msnbc.com/2013/08/22/i-am-chelsea-manning-to-live-as-a-woman/

coombs switches pronouns after reading the announcement, which got me kind of emotional

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/federal_government/federal-court-curbs-appeal-rights-for-sensitive-defense-jobs/2013/08/21/8a4e518c-0a78-11e3-b87c-476db8ac34cd_story.html

The 7-3 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit prohibits the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) from hearing cases involving “non-critical sensitive” workers, a ruling that alarms labor groups and whistleblower advocates who say it strips away civil due process for employees.

...

In the dissent, Judge Timothy Dyk wrote that the ruling would “effectively deny MSPB review for hundreds of thousands of federal employees — a number that is likely to increase as more positions are designated as non-critical sensitive.”

Special Counsel Carolyn Lerner, head of the agency that handles federal whistleblower claims, concurred.

“This decision poses a significant threat to whistleblower protections for hundreds of thousands of federal employees in sensitive positions and may chill civil servants from blowing the whistle,” she said.

hey while we're calling out music writers for saying dumb shit on twitter

https://twitter.com/burn_amb/status/370530640049238016

i'd burn my copies of burning ambulance if i'd ever boughtone

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBj_uN7j1MQ

http://holdenweb.blogspot.com/2013/08/bradley-mannings-post-sentencing.html

‏@DennisThePerrin
"Ewww! Mom! Dad! Now I have a terrorist name!" -- Chelsea Clinton

chelsea clinton is 33 years old

same age as Jesus

woke up it was a chelsea manning

I christen thee n/p for 'no point'

the point is it's a terrible joke, bc why would a 33-year-old woman say "Ewww! Mom! Dad!"? also why would chelsea clinton care if she has a terrorist name? it's one of those things that looks like a joke but there's not really a joke other than that there are two people named chelsea

btw i still have no idea who dennis perrin is or why you think people should care what he says about stuff

"Ewww! Mom! Dad! Now my band has a terrorist name!" -- Thurston Moore of Chelsea Light Moving

The joke is her dad was a fucking terrorist, and she'll be a legacy politician like Mom.

you know what's fucking stupid? that. on every level. come on, you're capable of much better.

honestly not sure who you're talking to there

dr morbius

cool. i am not capable of much better than this.

it's funny cuz the Clintons are all cunts. Get it now?

charming

The joke is her dad was a fucking terrorist, and she'll be a legacy politician like Mom.

― Miss Arlington twirls for the Coal Heavers (Dr Morbius), Thursday, August 22, 2013 8:00 PM (18 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

is it?

oh I get it

Thing is, with added encryption, I don't think the NSA can crack RSA yet. *knock on wood*

Lots of talk at the BlackHat conference this year about how RSA is going to fall sooner rather than later. Also, you should be using at least 2048 bit keys for everything.

The encryption systems used to secure online bank accounts and keep critical communications private could be undone in just a few years, security researchers warned at the Black Hat conference in Las Vegas yesterday. Breakthroughs in math research made in the past six months could underpin practical, fast ways to decode encrypted data that’s considered unbreakable today.

Alex Stamos, chief technology officer of the online security company Artemis, led a presentation describing how he and three other security researchers studied recent publications from the insular world of academic cryptopgraphy research, which covers trends in attacking common encryption schemes.

“Our conclusion is there is a small but definite chance that RSA and classic Diffie-Hellman will not be usable for encryption purposes in four to five years,” said Stamos, referring to the two most commonly used encryption methods.

Any hints that those methods could be undermined must be taken seriously, said Stamos. They are used to protect banking, online commerce, and e-mail, as well as the mechanisms that ensure that updates downloaded by operating systems such as Windows and OSX are genuine. The result of the two encryption methods being broken would be, said Stamos, “a total failure of trust on the Internet.”

RSA and Diffie-Hellman encryption are both underpinned by a mathematical challenge known as the discrete logarithm problem. That problem is computationally difficult to solve, ensuring that encrypted data can only be decoded quickly with knowledge of the secret key used to encode it in the first place. Breaking RSA or Diffie-Hellman encryption today requires using vast computing resources for significant periods of time.

However, it is possible that algorithms able to solve the discrete logarithm problem quickly could exist. “We rely on that efficient algorithm not being found,” said Jarved Samuel, a cryptographer who works for security consultancy ISEC Partners and presented alongside Stamos. “If it is found the cryptosystem is broken.”

Earlier this year, French academic Antoine Joux published two papers that suggest such an algorithm could be found before long. “This is a big deal, since there was marginal progress for 25 years,” said Samuel. “This will spur researchers into looking more closely at the problem and most likely result in more progress.”

wait waht. Diffie-Hellman is about discrete log. RSA is integer factorization. Later on the article acknowledges that RSA "relies less directly on the discrete log problem". Another article I read states more honestly "history as has shown that advances in the discrete log problem are followed by advances in factorization."

if yr interested in cryptosystems that could be resilient to large advances in the problems we now rely on, this is a good place to start: http://pqcrypto.org/

Goddamnit, this is where I curse I didn't take any of the higher pay-grade/non-physics-related math classes in college...