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EUS
Kill cancer
Premium Member
join:2002-09-10
canada

EUS to dslwanter

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to dslwanter

Re: AT&T willing to spy for NSA, MPAA, and RIAA

Will changing providers work? If your traffic for any reason travels to an AT&T network, wouldn't they still be able inspect anything they want to? (Encrypted packets aside).
SUMware2
Premium Member
join:2002-05-21

4 edits

SUMware2

Premium Member

said by EUS:

Will changing providers work?
No.

From original post: In addition to running a massive network of its own, AT&T runs a good chunk of the backbone infrastructure in the US. It's a rare bit of traffic that can make it to its destination without passing on to an AT&T-owned network.
said by EUS:

If your traffic for any reason travels to an AT&T network, wouldn't they still be able inspect anything they want to?
Yes.

From Spam Daily News
April 08, 2006:
quote:
Mark Klein, a retired AT&T communications technician, said the company shunted all Internet traffic--including traffic from peering links connecting to other Internet backbone providers-- to semantic traffic analyzers, installed in a secret room inside the AT&T central office on Folsom Street in San Francisco. Similar rooms were built in Seattle, San Jose, Los Angeles and San Diego.

"Based on my understanding of the connections and equipment at issue, it appears the NSA (National Security Agency) is capable of conducting what amounts to vacuum-cleaner surveillance of all the data crossing the Internet," Klein said.
Mele20
Premium Member
join:2001-06-05
Hilo, HI

1 recommendation

Mele20

Premium Member

Click for full size
said by SUMware2:
said by EUS:

Will changing providers work?
No.

From original post: In addition to running a massive network of its own, AT&T runs a good chunk of the backbone infrastructure in the US. It's a rare bit of traffic that can make it to its destination without passing on to an AT&T-owned network.
said by EUS:

If your traffic for any reason travels to an AT&T network, wouldn't they still be able inspect anything they want to?
Yes.
Anyone noticed my new signature? There is hope but we all have to start seeing and using the Internet as our Founding Fathers saw the press: the Marketplace of Ideas where rational discourse can and must take place among the citizenry.

"We must ensure that the Internet remains open and accessible to all citizens without any limitation on the ability of individuals to choose the content they wish regardless of the Internet service provider they use to connect to the Web. We cannot take this future for granted. We must be prepared to fight for it, because of the threat of corporate consolidation and control over the Internet marketplace of ideas." Al Gore, The Assault on Reason

spy1
Welcome to Amerika
Premium Member
join:2002-06-24
Charlotte, NC

spy1 to EUS

Premium Member

to EUS
While changing providers may not solve the problem of AT&T being able to capture some of your traffic, it would certainly go a long way towards making a statement that the American public doesn't approve of their "methods".

At this point, anything that impacts AT&T's bottom line would be a good thing (hopefully, if done on a large enough scale, it would give them pause - it's called "voting with your pocketbook" ).

We switched off from AT&T as soon as the first reports of what they were doing came out - and when they bought out BellSouth, we switched again. Pete

Caution
@netcarrier.net

Caution

Anon



What Spy1 posted works.....an it works exceptionally well with AT&T
Several years ago AT&T tryed charging its customers a $3 sur-charge each month just to have AT&T as their long distence carrier.....an the american public rebelled dropping AT&T altogether.....it brought AT&T down to its knees and near bankrupted the company....it was a short matter until AT&T reversed their decision on the sur-charge.......
Since that incident I have never used their services again.
Voting with your pocketbook woks wonders.......an its damn well past time people do it....in many areas. It seems the american public has forgot that as a comsumer they have enormous power.

dualsmp
join:2001-08-25
Charlotte, NC

dualsmp

Member

Here is another related AT&T story:


»www.redherring.com/Artic ··· AndMedia

AT&T to Block Pirated Content

Telco exec says illegal content costs the carrier; skeptics question privacy.

June 13, 2007

By Alexandra Berzon

AT&T on Wednesday became the first major U.S. telecommunications carrier to announce that it was taking steps to curb Internet piracy on its network.

The move marks a surprising reversal for AT&T, given that telecoms and cable companies have traditionally stood behind legal protections to avoid responsibility for copyrighted movies and music flowing through their pipes.

“What we’re trying to do in our piracy initiative is to try to come up with a network-based solution,” AT&T head of external and legislative affairs Jim Cicconi said during a panel about rights management at the Digital Hollywood conference in Santa Monica.

Mr. Cicconi did not specify how AT&T would detect and block individual copyrighted files, but he did say the carrier would not start blocking web sites used to distribute illegal content.

The carrier’s entry into piracy protection comes after AT&T was asked to partner with the Motion Picture Association and Viacom, according to reports. Record companies have long complained that music piracy was hurting CD sales, while Hollywood studios claim they lost an estimated $2.3 billion worldwide from Internet piracy in 2005 alone.

But Mr. Cicconi said AT&T, the largest U.S. broadband Internet provider with almost 13 million lines, came to the realization that pirated material was clogging the network and costing the company money.

“Somebody running a server in their basement on our network and uploading illegal copies movies raises the costs for everybody else and jams the network in ways we’re not compensated for,” said Mr. Cicconi, whose company is also one of the world’s largest providers of Internet-based corporate communications services.

He said AT&T is spending about $18 billion on network maintenance, a significant chunk of which is required just to keep up with tremendous growth of traffic on its backbone. “And a sizable chunk is traffic that is illegal,” he said.

But music industry veteran Jay Samit, who has led several major music companies, questioned AT&T’s sudden change of heart. He said that Internet service providers have benefited for years from the pirated content flowing through their networks, and are only now reversing course after noting that media companies are starting to stream content on the Internet themselves.

“The sizable reason why people bought broadband is to get to that [pirated] content, so you’re making money off that,” Mr. Samit told Mr. Cicconi.

Others said that the prospect of AT&T implementing filtering will inevitably bring up privacy concerns.

“Having this big faceless entity blocking content could make people nervous,” said attorney Kraig Marini Baker, in an interview. Mr. Marini Baker represents media companies, including Viacom, in digital rights issues.

Mr. Marini Baker said he expects media companies to welcome AT&T’s entry into the piracy protection space, as long as AT&T eventually comes up with a system for content owners to make some money off their circulating content.

“Content owners are always going to want as many tools and as many people filtering to the extent that they can leverage that and monetize it,” said Mr. Marini Baker.
Mele20
Premium Member
join:2001-06-05
Hilo, HI

1 edit

Mele20

Premium Member

said by dualsmp:

Here is another related AT&T story:


»www.redherring.com/Artic ··· AndMedia

AT&T to Block Pirated Content

Telco exec says illegal content costs the carrier; skeptics question privacy.

June 13, 2007

By Alexandra Berzon

AT&T on Wednesday became the first major U.S. telecommunications carrier to announce that it was taking steps to curb Internet piracy on its network.
How could AT&T be the first? Time Warner sent a notice out on June 6 a week before the AT&T announcement. Packet shaping hasn't come to Southern California yet but I was told yesterday that it will be here in a few weeks and it will affect all traffic on Bit Torrent INCLUDING legitimate downloads of applications that are now required or strongly suggested to be downloaded via Bit Torrent. There apparently will be no differentiation between legitimate downloads and pirated ones. Plus, something like the OOL speed test (FTP) that I use will also be affected. I got this confirmation from someone in management at Oceanic TW.