[quote]With characteristic subtlety, yesterday Vice launched "Hello, NSA", a site that generates keyword-laden, tweetable messages designed to overwhelm the National Security Agency with false reports. The fundamental principle behind this (besides extending a middle finger toward government surveillance) is the needle-in-a-haystack problem of intelligence collection.
By the very nature of intelligence issues, there's much more irrelevant communication than information actually related to potential terrorism. To sort through all this, the Department of Homeland Security has a list of more than 370 keywords used to identify suspicious and potentially terror-related communications. So long as only suspicious communication contains the right combination of these keywords, the metric works.
"Hello, NSA" is designed to gum up the workings of that algorithm. By increasing the amount of metaphorical hay, or irrelevant information, that gets flagged as terror-related, it makes it more difficult for spies and analysts to use information collected through broad surveillance. The phrases generated through VIce's new program are short enough to fit inside a tweet, append to a Facebook status, or include in an email.
Some of them are reasonable typos, like in the image above. Others messages I got from the generator seem to be deliberately provactive, such as, "More national preparedness please. Let's ramp up homeland security lest we be overrun by Basque separatists." Another fun one: "Q: Who'd win in a gunfight? The Taliban, FARC, Hezbollah, or Hamas? The catch: No suicide bombers."
[img]http://www.popsci.com/files/imagecache/article_image_large/articles/HelloNSA.jpg[/img][/quote]
[url]http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2013-06/vice-creates-spam-generator-befuddle-nsa[/url]
"Secret Service Porkin': the best human to animal porn ever filmed in a FEMA trailer."
well then
Sounds like a cool protesting idea.
if the NSA is actually collecting the 5 TB/Sec that the leaks claim, then this won't do shit.
[QUOTE=Foda;41230696]if the NSA is actually collecting the 5 TB/Sec that the leaks claim, then this won't do shit.[/QUOTE]
It would. This doesn't influence the overall collected data a lot but it DOES influence the result of the filters.
See you have 1 million green peas and a red one.
Your filter picks the red one. Now put in another red one, not much influence on the peas, eh? Yeah but your filter will yield 2 peas instead.
[QUOTE]Working titles for my grindcore band: Blister Agent, Spillover, Agro Terror, Brute Forcing, Temblor[/QUOTE]
You could have a lot of fun with band names :v:
There is only a few phrases on the site, if they want this to be effective, they are going to need more.
Cool. Let's support actual terrorists by making them undetectable! /sarcasm
[QUOTE=Doom64hunter;41230786]Cool. Let's support actual terrorists by making them undetectable! /sarcasm[/QUOTE]
Get a load of this guy.
[QUOTE=Killuah;41230796]Get a load of this guy.[/QUOTE]
Ha-Ha.
[QUOTE=Doom64hunter;41230786]Cool. Let's support actual terrorists by making them undetectable! /sarcasm[/QUOTE]
Or how about we make the FBI/CIA/NSA stop spying on legitamate citizens because they feel that everyones a terrorist unless proven otherwise ?
Iran the generator a few times but didn't get anything explosively funny, I'm sure with a bit more work this will terrorize the NSA
it's a dirty bomb of laughs
[QUOTE=Teddybeer;41230620]Unless you mix it up yourself you can easily ignore it with a filter.[/QUOTE]
It is certainly more effective than that campaign to send the exact same keyword-filled email at the same time.
EDIT: oh god
[QUOTE=Generator thing]A whole gang of us are going to the Anthrax show–Toxic Holocaust is opening. It's going to be explosive.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=laserguided;41230808]Ha-Ha.[/QUOTE]
What an incident. I hope this doesn't get explosive. That would make me sick.
If the NSA is gathering every text message, it'll still be getting every text message. The only difference is that the spam will disguise messages that would be flagged as suspicious. So all it's doing is making the program less useful at pursuing terrorism, without inhibiting its privacy-violating capacity in any way. What's the point?
this shit is the bomb yo
[QUOTE=catbarf;41231108]If the NSA is gathering every text message, it'll still be getting every text message. The only difference is that the spam will disguise messages that would be flagged as suspicious. So all it's doing is making the program less useful at pursuing terrorism, without inhibiting its privacy-violating capacity in any way. What's the point?[/QUOTE]
If it's going to spy on me, may as well give it a show.
[QUOTE=catbarf;41231108]If the NSA is gathering every text message, it'll still be getting every text message. The only difference is that the spam will disguise messages that would be flagged as suspicious. So all it's doing is making the program less useful at pursuing terrorism, without inhibiting its privacy-violating capacity in any way. What's the point?[/QUOTE]
if it becomes useless for tracking suspected terrorists then maybe the nsa will eventually stop gathering the data at all. the point is to take away any justification or use for the surveillance program.
[QUOTE=catbarf;41231108]If the NSA is gathering every text message, it'll still be getting every text message. The only difference is that the spam will disguise messages that would be flagged as suspicious. So all it's doing is making the program less useful at pursuing terrorism, without inhibiting its privacy-violating capacity in any way. What's the point?[/QUOTE]
A hint that they should target individuals instead of treating everyone as suspects?
Isn't this actually considered raiding?
Too bad there's zero evidence they're collecting all data sent over the Internet.
[QUOTE=yawmwen;41231174]if it becomes useless for tracking suspected terrorists then maybe the nsa will eventually stop gathering the data at all. the point is to take away any justification or use for the surveillance program.[/QUOTE]
Fair enough. Call me cynical but I don't think a tiny amount of extra chaff is going to discourage them. Better to fight them in court than try to subvert a program ultimately intended to keep people safe IMO, especially since if the program has more nefarious purposes than stopping terrorism that purpose isn't being inhibited at all.
[QUOTE=Teddybeer;41230620]Unless you mix it up yourself you can easily ignore it with a filter.[/QUOTE]
Yeah, I love how Vice is trying to be clever thinking this will actually do anything. Chances are the software is already sophisticated enough to ignore false flags like this. Either way it's very little effort to protect against it.
[QUOTE=Mio Akiyama;41231202]Isn't this actually considered raiding?[/QUOTE]
If it's actively attacking a website, person or organisation.
This is doing it passively while said organisations snoops on it.
I'm astounded that you somehow managed to mix those up.
"Watch this condom burst and I have his kid. Sorry ma, college is cancelled cause Bart is a Trojan hoarder"
Uhh
[QUOTE=catbarf;41231268]Fair enough. Call me cynical but I don't think a tiny amount of extra chaff is going to discourage them. Better to fight them in court than try to subvert a program ultimately intended to keep people safe IMO, especially since if the program has more nefarious purposes than stopping terrorism that purpose isn't being inhibited at all.[/QUOTE]
Intention doesn't justify cause or means.
[QUOTE=catbarf;41231268]especially since if the program has more nefarious purposes than stopping terrorism that purpose isn't being inhibited at all.[/QUOTE]
that's very true actually and should be a bit concerning.
[QUOTE=Van-man;41231332]Intention doesn't justify cause or means.[/QUOTE]
I agree, but if we're dealing with an evil with some benefit, I'd rather keep that benefit than reduce it to just evil. If the NSA are running this surveillance purely to keep Americans safe then it's just overreaching and will get shot down in court when the ACLU takes them to trial. If, on the other hand, they're running this for the sake of spying on the American people, then I don't think this 'protest' will really help.
[QUOTE=catbarf;41231379]I agree, but if we're dealing with an evil with some benefit, I'd rather keep that benefit than reduce it to just evil. If the NSA are running this surveillance purely to keep Americans safe then it's just overreaching and will get shot down in court when the ACLU takes them to trial. If, on the other hand, they're running this for the sake of spying on the American people, then I don't think this 'protest' will really help.[/QUOTE]
They can fuck off, benefit or not.
uhm
[IMG]http://gyazo.com/d029445de13a95ecd920d4bb456468ff.png[/IMG]
im never going to juarez then
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