[liberationtech] Boundless Informant: the NSA's secret tool to track global surveillance data

[Jacob Appelbaum]

x z:
> 2013/6/8 Jacob Appelbaum <jacob at appelbaum.net>
> 
>> Oh man, Glenn Greenwald is my hero and a hero to us all.
> 
> 
> Do you still believe Glenn's reporting that NSA has "direct access to
> servers of firms including Google, Apple and Facebook"? 


Yeah, I think it is clearly a FISA interface or API of some kind. Either
that or it is pwnage of the server. Probably one or the other in some cases.

> In my view, he
> misled the world intentionally (the few prism training slides published did
> not seem to claim this). Glenn is at best a wacky journalist without common
> sense.

He just broke the story of the decade, good to know your views on him.

> 
> His reporting on the Verizon case was good, but I think his credibility
> bankrupted after the PRISM one.

We disagree, obviously. You'll see soon enough and when you're eating
crow, I'm sure we'll have another discussion.

> 
> Everyone on
>> this list who was looking for 'some evidence' about global surveillance
>> and previously ignored all other evidence, well, here you go!
>>
>> "Revealed: The NSA's powerful tool for cataloguing data – including
>> figures on US collection"
>>
>>
>> http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/08/nsa-boundless-informant-global-datamining
>>
>> This screenshot from the program is very web 2.0:
>>
>>
>>
>> http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2013/6/8/1370715185657/boundless-heatmap-large-001.jpg
>>
>> The NSA is spying on the US and on the rest of the planet. There is no
>> ability to deny this anymore. Anyone who denies it is a complete moron.
>>
>> I don't understand why this "evidence" is significant in any way. NSA
> certainly has lots of information, and a web2.0'ish tool is nothing
> surprising. It's rather moot to state "anyone who denies it is a complete
> moron". It's like the highway patrol keeping my driving record.
> 

Why does it matter if you are surprised?

Also, your analogy is tired and boring. This is nothing like a highway
patrol.

> Again, I'm not rooting for NSA. I think its power need to be limited and it
> needs more transparency. But I hate using misinformation or hyperbole to
> achieve that goal. This hurts the credibility of all the pro-privacy groups
> in general.

I don't see any misinformation or hyperbole from Glenn. I see
contradicting claims between governments and corporations. I also see
that he wanted to ensure everyone understood what each side claimed.
Note the very carefully worded denials all around.

All the best,
Jacob