[liberationtech] Mexico's most vulnerable reporters lack digital security skills
Pavol Luptak
wilder at trip.sk
Wed Feb 27 08:35:50 PST 2013
Drug Lords Celebrate the Drug War at the UN!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7oF3N30rUc
Mexican Drug Lord Thanks the UN for 50 Years of Prohibition
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0p6d6lGTOk
On Wed, Feb 27, 2013 at 05:47:51AM +0100, Nadim Kobeissi wrote:
> That's incredible. I honestly did not know any of this. Drug lords in the
> Middle East aren't half as terrifying.
> With this kind of terrifying landscape, what accessible technology could
> possibly secure the communications of Mexican journalists against not only
> interception, but against their own future torture and other such
> ancillary, surrounding threats that may be borne from using encryption?
> This situation is so awful that we security people should add it to our
> repertoire of absolutes ("will this survive NSA intervention?" "will this
> survive Mexican drug cartel intervention?")
> They really add to the threat landscape by being not only more unbridled
> and omnipotent than a bad regime, but not even subject to the smallest
> shred of responsibility in terms of governance and stability. Even the
> worst governments still are.
> A I don't know what on earth Mexican journalists are supposed to do when
> confronted with such an absurd threat landscape.
> NK
>
> On Wed, Feb 27, 2013 at 1:42 AM, Ryan Gallagher <ryan at rjgallagher.co.uk>
> wrote:
>
> On 27 February 2013 00:01, Eva Galperin <eva at eff.org> wrote:
>
> I'm not sure that I would support ranking drug cartels as a less
> technologically sophisticated threat than the government in Mexico.
>
> Very much agree, Eva. If I were working out of Mexico it would be under
> the assumption that the cartels could, if they really wanted to, obtain
> the same info that is available to law enforcement agencies and/or
> government officials via the use of surveillance tech.
>
> Mexico has a fairly sophisticated surveillance infrastructure. Since at
> least 2006 it has has apparently operated a Verint mass monitoring
> system that can intercept "virtually any wired, wireless or broadband
> communication network and service," and this system has since been
> upgraded with the help of the US government:
> http://www.nextgov.com/technology-news/2012/04/state-department-provide-mexican-security-agency-surveillance-apparatus/55490/
>
> Mexican authorities also have access to other tools, such as spy
> trojans:
> http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2012/08/03/surveillance_technology_in_mexico_s_drug_war_.html
>
> And as Bloomberg Businessweek reported in 2011: "Recent killings
> indicate the cartels are taking the new online tactics seriouslya**and
> that the activists may have miscalculated in counting on nicknames and
> IP addresses for protection....the U.S. firm Stratfor and security
> experts in Mexico warned that, with so many government officials on the
> take, the cartels likely have access to the military-grade tracking
> technology used by the Mexican government. In at least one case,
> according to journalist Valdez, the Sinaloan cartel hired a hacker to
> hunt down a government informant."
> http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/mexicos-drug-war-takes-to-the-blogosphere-11092011.html#p2
>
> Best,
>
> Ryan
> A
>
> While there isn't a lot of evidence that drug cartels have used
> technologically sophisticated means to track down
> anonymous/pseudonymous
> bloggers and journalists, corruption is sufficiently widespread that
> if
> my life depended on it, I would assume that the drug cartels could
> have
> access to the same information that the government has through bribery
> and threats.
>
> There are circumstances in which I would support the use of Cryptocat
> by
> Mexican journalists (and it's certainly an improvement over sending
> messages in the clear, which many Mexican journalists are doing) but
> transmitting information which you would like to keep secret from drug
> cartels is probably not one of them.
>
> ************************************************
> Eva Galperin
> Global Policy Analyst
> Electronic Frontier Foundation
> eva at eff.org
> (415) 436-9333A ex. 111
> ************************************************
> On 2/25/13 1:36 PM, Nadim Kobeissi wrote:
> > Hi,
> > At Cryptocat we are developing an easy to use instant messaging tool
> that
> > is available in 34 languages. It encrypts all of your conversations,
> > preserves your privacy and works in your browser.
> >
> > If you are a Mexican journalist and your opponent is not highly
> skilled in
> > information technology intelligence (not a government, but a drug
> cartel)
> > then you should try Cryptocat. It does not leave a record of
> conversations
> > anywhere and does not transmit anything in the clear.
> >
> > Get Cryptocat here: https://crypto.cat
> > Make sure to read the warnings on the site to get familiar with the
> app's
> > limitations.
> >
> >
> > NK
> >
> >
> > On Mon, Feb 25, 2013 at 10:13 PM, Brian Conley
> <brianc at smallworldnews.tv>wrote:
> >
> >> Hi Kyle,
> >>
> >> I've been developing a tool called StoryMaker for journalists and
> citizen
> >> journalists.
> >>
> >> It's private/secure by design, so ideal for this use case.
> >>
> >> A There is a 10 lesson curriculum in mobile digital safety, and the
> app
> >> itself that could all be translated into Spanish. Then perhaps the
> app
> >> and/or curriculum might be used to educate and assist them in their
> work?
> >>
> >> https://www.transifex.com/projects/p/storymaker/language/es/
> >>
> >> Resources 20-29 + 210 are the digital safety lessons.
> >>
> >> cheers
> >>
> >> brian
> >>
> >> On Mon, Feb 25, 2013 at 1:04 PM, Kyle Maxwell <krmaxwell at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >>
> >>> I'm curious how the infosec community, particularly those of us
> who
> >>> speak and write Spanish, can assist in helping Mexican activists
> and
> >>> journalists. I understand that a large portion of that community
> >>> actively exchanges data on Twitter; any pointers would be
> appreciated.
> >>>
> >>> Feel free to contact me off-list if desired.
> >>>
> >>> On Mon, Feb 25, 2013 at 1:02 PM, G.W. Schulz
> <gwschulz30 at gmail.com>
> >>> wrote:
> >>>>> "Most Mexican journalists and bloggers reporting on highly
> sensitive
> >>>>> topics (such as crime, corruption, violence and human rights
> issues)
> >>> do not
> >>>>> fully understand the risks and threats they face when they use
> digital
> >>> and
> >>>>> mobile technology, even though the topics they cover make them
> even
> >>> more
> >>>>> vulnerable, a new survey by Freedom House and the International
> Center
> >>> for
> >>>>> Journalists finds."
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>
> http://ijnet.org/stories/mexicos-most-vulnerable-reporters-lack-digital-security-skills
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> --
> >>> Kyle Maxwell [krmaxwell at gmail.com]
> >>> http://www.xwell.org
> >>> Twitter: @kylemaxwell
> >>> --
> >>> Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password at:
> >>> https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
> >>>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> --
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Brian Conley
> >>
> >> Director, Small World News
> >>
> >> http://smallworldnews.tv
> >>
> >> m: 646.285.2046
> >>
> >> Skype: brianjoelconley
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> --
> >> Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password at:
> >> https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
> >>
> >
> >
> >
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--
______________________________________________________________________________
[Pavol Luptak, Nethemba s.r.o.] [http://www.nethemba.com] [tel: +421905400542]
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