gnu@hoptoad.UUCP (02/13/87)
In article <2476@jade.BERKELEY.EDU>, jmm@thoth16.BERKELEY.EDU writes: > Why shouldn't people at NSA be reading postings? > And what's wrong with them using keywords to find articles that might > be of interest to them? In fact, having this ability would be nice in > standard rn. (1) It's not that the NSA reads public postings; they also read all the personal email that crosses the US border (e.g. by phone or telegram). If you send some mail via utzoo or seismo!mcvax, they probably see it. It would be nice for civil rights if this was against the law, but the NSA is too wired into Congress to see that happen. It takes at least a bureaucrat's signature (not a judge or the Attorney General, since the ECPA) to tap communications between citizens, but they can tap anything between a citizen and a non-citizen. Of course, they find it hard to tell who outside (or inside) the US is a citizen, so they err on the side of listening to citizens too. (2) I've heard that the NSA has more than a few IMPs and hosts on the Arpanet. For example, "dockmaster.arpa" is an incognito NSA site. My pet theory is that they get copies of all the packets that go in or out of the Arpanet. This could explain why the net is so clogged -- and why the government is being so nice about letting the Arpanet be the long distance backbone of everybody's noncommercial TCP/IP networks. If it goes through their facilities, they can read it legally!!! If I was funding the Arpanet and I was the NSA, I for damn sure would be getting copies of all those packets by all those subversive researchers and students :-). Remember too, Arpanet access is Nirvana for "WarGames" style system crackers -- and the NSA can watch *them* learn and explore. (3) I agree that keyword scanning software and hardware would be nice. Maybe we can get the NSA to post some of their programs. Since they were written by the government, they are public domain (because the copyright law doesn't allow the government to own original copyright in a work -- if our taxes payed to have it done, it's ours.) We could request them under the Freedom of Information Act. I doubt a keyword scanner would be held by a judge to be privileged under "national insecurity" guidelines. Maybe a simple request would pry things loose: Dear NSA: We know you're out there. Please post some good programs for scanning text based on keyword searches. Thank you. Sincerely, John Gilmore citizen and loyal subject -- John Gilmore {sun,ptsfa,lll-crg,ihnp4}!hoptoad!gnu gnu@ingres.berkeley.edu Overheard at a funeral: "I know this may be an awkward time, but do you recall him ever mentioning source code?" -- Charles Addams
ken@rochester.UUCP (02/14/87)
|(1) It's not that the NSA reads public postings; they also read all |the personal email that crosses the US border (e.g. by phone or |telegram). If the personal email I know of is anything to go by, I feel sorry for the eavesdroppers. Imagine having to watch soap operas all day and not being able to discuss it with anybody else :-). Hello NSA gnomes: gee I'm sorry you don't have more creative things to do, but somebody has to do the job, I know :-). Ken "Don't worry about anybody stealing your ideas. If they're any good you will have to stuff it down people's throats."
levy@ttrdc.UUCP (02/15/87)
In article <1797@hoptoad.uucp>, gnu@hoptoad.UUCP writes: > Dear NSA: > We know you're out there. > Please post some good programs for scanning text based > on keyword searches. > Thank you. Who needs the NSA to do this; use grep. -- ------------------------------- Disclaimer: The views contained herein are | dan levy | my own and are not at all those of my em- | an engihacker @ | ployer or the administrator of any computer | at&t computer systems division | upon which I may hack. | skokie, illinois | -------------------------------- Path: ..!{akgua,homxb,ihnp4,ltuxa,mvuxa, allegra,ulysses,vax135}!ttrdc!levy