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Chubbzie
join:2014-02-11
Greenville, NC

1 edit

Chubbzie

Member

Suddenlink associating/cooperating with NASA?

Would be nice to get an official response from any of the SL reps regarding their direct or indirect associations with the NASA satellite data collection program(s) and/or financial investments from government sponsored entities.

gatorkram
Need for Speed
Premium Member
join:2002-07-22
Winterville, NC

gatorkram

Premium Member

Re: Suddenlink associating/cooperating with NSA?

I seriously doubt they could admit or deny this.

I just go with the idea when I use the internet, that someone is or could be watching, or if no one is watching, someone or something is collecting everything I do for later use.

One reason I'm not a total torrent whore anymore.

Chubbzie
join:2014-02-11
Greenville, NC
Hitron CDA3
(Software) OpenBSD + pf

Chubbzie

Member

Sometimes you have to ask questions you already know the answers to... Also note I said, "Would be nice".

I'm not proposing this question due to privacy concerns on my end. Just interested in seeing if SL can provide any clarifications concerning this matter.

gatorkram
Need for Speed
Premium Member
join:2002-07-22
Winterville, NC

gatorkram

Premium Member

Yes we are watching, smile for the camera, and please provide a stool sample at your earliest convenience.

moldypickle
Premium Member
join:2009-01-04
Haughton, LA
ARRIS SB8200
Ubiquiti UDM-Pro
Ubiquiti UniFi UAP-nanoHD

moldypickle

Premium Member

Even if SL did not give in to any NSA actions (incredibly unlikely), as soon as your data leaves the SL network, it's free game again. I know a LOT of destinations for me jump across an ATT network, so my data is basically being funneled to the NSA, lol

Cabal
Premium Member
join:2007-01-21

Cabal to Chubbzie

Premium Member

to Chubbzie
I don't think SL is big enough to warrant an AT&T-style "unmarked room."

And as mentioned, you can just grab any unencrypted data you need from one of their peers.

Chubbzie
join:2014-02-11
Greenville, NC
Hitron CDA3
(Software) OpenBSD + pf

Chubbzie

Member

The point of my post is to see if we can get any official stance from SL in these regards. This is SL specific, I'm well aware of the NSA's capabilities to siphon data via peers, exterior networks, taps, etc.

As you may well already be aware they also capture encrypted data. The majority of widely used enc algorithms by most protocols/services were sanctioned by some form of government entity. We're all well aware of the RSA fiasco... slipped off track there for a second. Regardless of all that hubbub, in the end all I'd like is a response from SL if possible.
LoganLane
join:2014-02-28
College Station, TX

LoganLane to Chubbzie

Member

to Chubbzie
Sorry in advance if this hijacks the thread. I sincerely doubt SL will confirm or deny working with NSA. Regardless of if they work with the NSA or not, you can be datamined when your traffic crosses other companies' networks.

If you are concerned / feel violated about all of the datamining going on, you really shouldn't look towards your ISP to protect you from it. Look instead to what you can do to minimize what is collected on you. Here are a small number of things you can do to protect some, if not all, of your privacy:

1) If your using Firefox or Chrome (+ a few other browsers), look to install the addon "HTTPS Everywhere". Many websites have SSL encryption, but they don't actually start using it until you log in. This addon attempts to use HTTPS on every website you go to. For example, if I type in "www.google.com," I get redirected to "encrypted.google.com" .

Yes, the NSA claims they can break SSL encryption (I certainly believe they can). But, they can't do that to everyone. It isn't realistic to decrypt all SSL connections - they would just do it to people that are already flagged. Keep in mind that it takes significantly more resources to crack encryption than it is to use encryption.

2) Use a VPN or Proxy service that specifically say they keep NO LOGS. This makes all of your traffic go through a 3rd party that uses encryption. Conceptually, think of it as using your ISP (SL) to connect to another ISP (VPN / Proxy service) through an encrypted tunnel. The VPN / Proxy service technically isn't an ISP, so even if they are based in the US they are not required to keep log files. If you are interested in something like this, check out PrivateInternetAccess.com (about $40 / year).

3) You could use a Tor browser. This is more radical than other options, but using the Tor network makes it astronomically difficult to see what you are doing online. I won't get in to what Tor is, but know that browsing with Tor is much slower than browsing normally.

Ultimately, if the NSA seriously wants to investigate you, there is not much you can do. To be completely anonymous using the internet, you would have to be nearly nomadic and obsessed with privacy (it isn't easy). You can choose to not be an easy target for this kind of stuff, however. The more difficult you make it for people to invade your privacy, the less likely they are to do it.

B4KN1GHT
@charter.com

B4KN1GHT to Chubbzie

Anon

to Chubbzie
To my knowledge I believe that all ISP's must have wiretapping capabilities built in when they install infrastructure. If Snowden is correct about the NSA and other 3 letter organizations having wiretaps on backbone networks then it doesn't matter if your local ISP can wiretap since somewhere along the line your traffic is being captured. The companies that own all the submarine fiber optic cables have big contracts with various governments so either way we are at their mercy.

Even if your traffic is "encrypted" the NSA is building very powerful super computers to decrypt that traffic. The sole purpose of the NSA is to decrypt that which is encrypted.. They will go to any lengths to monitor, collect, decode, translate, and analyze info/data by whatever means necessary. So it really shouldn't be a surprise that this is and has been happening for quite some time. Granted 9/11 really kicked it into high gear with the Patriot Act and I still question the reasoning behind the attacks. I am very skeptical of the official story as things just don't seem to make sense and I'm sure the rabbit hole gets very very deep. . .

PS: I bet this triggered a red flag somewhere
Lindsey
join:2008-12-16
Gypsy, WV

Lindsey to Chubbzie

Member

to Chubbzie
why are ppl worrying about stuff like this..its been going on for 30 years
jdmm72
join:2002-02-12
Cary, NC

jdmm72 to Chubbzie

Member

to Chubbzie
The issue with cracking encryption is that it takes a measurable amount of time, even on supercomputers. Doing so on all connections on the internet would be impossible. For example, there are WWII German Enigma messages that to this day have not been successfully cracked. You can attempt to help crack them on BOINC, by using distributed computing. But it shows that encryption (even less-sophisticated) cannot always be cracked.

I try to use encryption primarily to be a butt to certain entities. So, they spend gobs of super computer time and money to crack my messages, and they get...."Hi there."

So, my state now allows police to search the content of your electronic devices. My response, encrypt the storage. "What is your encryption key." "Oh, man, I can't remember, I must have amnesia"

So, really want it? Send to a lab, spend thousands of dollars breaking the encryption (my key is a written paragraph) and you get....example java code from text books.
LoganLane
join:2014-02-28
College Station, TX

LoganLane to Lindsey

Member

to Lindsey
said by Lindsey:

why are ppl worrying about stuff like this..its been going on for 30 years

While I have no doubt there have been attempts by governments to data mine the internet, it has never been done before with such an astronomical scale.

The government can track and store almost everything we do online. They did this without telling the public, and justified it afterwards on a very thin premise. This kind of database is more powerful then most people believe, and the people that hold the keys to this thing are, in my opinion, untrustworthy.

If you combine this with some of the emerging "deep learning" and analysis technologies, the results can be truly scary. To illustrate my point, think of the Sherlock Holmes TV show (if you haven't seen it, you really should ). In the show, Sherlock has an almost mystical power to take scraps of information, then deduce a ridiculous amount of more information.

For a moment consider that, while it isn't there yet, technology will be able to do these "sherlock deductions" sooner than most people think. If you could combine that type of technology with the astronomical data mines the NSA currently have, our resulting future looks more and more like a dystopian "big brother" novel.

All of the "conspiracy theories" / nay-saying aside, our privacy is still being invaded. When the US government wanted the ability to wiretap, did they want to tap ALL phone calls ALL of the time, and only then listen to the recorded phone calls of suspected criminals? No. They just tapped the phones of those they were monitoring.

So why does a large portion of the US public think it is okay to "tap" our internet activity all the time, but becomes a metaphorical rabid bull when it comes to our phone lines? Since when was it okay for police to search all cars driving on the highway because someone *might* be a terrorist / become one?

And that is, at least, a few reasons why I worry about stuff like this.

NormanS
I gave her time to steal my mind away
MVM
join:2001-02-14
San Jose, CA
TP-Link TD-8616
Asus RT-AC66U B1
Netgear FR114P

1 edit

NormanS to Chubbzie

MVM

to Chubbzie
said by Chubbzie:

The point of my post is to see if we can get any official stance from SL in these regards. This is SL specific, I'm well aware of the NSA's capabilities to siphon data via peers, exterior networks, taps, etc.

Even after Mark Klein revealed the existence of Room 641A, AT&T stonewalled any confirmation. Why would Suddenlink be more forthcoming?
areacode304
join:2006-08-26
WV

areacode304 to jdmm72

Member

to jdmm72
said by jdmm72:

So, my state now allows police to search the content of your electronic devices

This I did not know. Huh. It's good to know that a main concern of our Gestapo, er, police force is not to track down legit criminals, but to snoop through our phones and whatnot. Awesome. My phone has a number of photographs of the back of my head to keep track of my male pattern baldness. I'm interesting, y'all.
NoOneButMe
join:2001-08-24
TX

NoOneButMe to Chubbzie

Member

to Chubbzie
look at what happen to the Qwest CEO when he said no.
Jowmu
join:2009-05-04
Lubbock, TX

1 edit

Jowmu to Chubbzie

Member

to Chubbzie

Re: Suddenlink associating/cooperating with NASA?

Actually... the OP said NASA... not NSA.


.. and Elvis and Kennedy are alive and well in Florida.. the moon landings were staged, and Bush knocked the towers down. Oh yeah.. don't forget that if you like your insurance plan, you can keep your insurance plan.

moldypickle
Premium Member
join:2009-01-04
Haughton, LA

moldypickle

Premium Member

I just realized that last night too, lol

gatorkram
Need for Speed
Premium Member
join:2002-07-22
Winterville, NC

gatorkram

Premium Member

You can see in my first reply, the true original topic name.

moldypickle
Premium Member
join:2009-01-04
Haughton, LA

moldypickle

Premium Member

Hmmm, that would infer a tryhard moment

gatorkram
Need for Speed
Premium Member
join:2002-07-22
Winterville, NC

gatorkram

Premium Member

I change my topic headers all the time. Its sorta funny this one.

streetmedik
Just an Ole Streetmedik
join:2004-12-17
Henryetta, OK

streetmedik to Lindsey

Member

to Lindsey

Re: Suddenlink associating/cooperating with NSA?

people "worry" about privacy, then they post every detail of their life on FaceBook, Twitter, 4Square......

NormanS
I gave her time to steal my mind away
MVM
join:2001-02-14
San Jose, CA
TP-Link TD-8616
Asus RT-AC66U B1
Netgear FR114P

NormanS

MVM

said by streetmedik:

people "worry" about privacy, then they post every detail of their life on FaceBook, Twitter, 4Square......

Two different classes of people. Those most worried about their privacy generally aren't the ones detailing their lives on Facebook.