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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsGoogle to NSA - F*ck You
That is not an official quote, but it is what they wish they could say:
At first we were in an arms race with sophisticated criminals, says Eric Grosse, Googles head of security. Then we found ourselves in an arms race with certain nation-state actors [with a reputation for cyberattacks]. And now were in an arms race with the best nation-state actors. Primarily, the US government.
But perhaps the most authentic expression of betrayal came from a relatively unknown Google security engineer named Brandon Downey in a post on his personal Google+ account. He prefaced his message by stating that he was speaking only for himselfbut he might as well have been channeling his colleagues across the industry:
Fuck these guys. Ive spent the last ten years of my life trying to keep Googles users safe and secure from the many diverse threats Google faces. Ive seen armies of machines DOS-ing Google. Ive seen worms DOSing Google to find vulnerabilities in other peoples software. Ive seen criminal gangs figure out malware. Ive seen spyware masquerading as toolbars so thick it breaks computers because it interferes with the other spyware. Ive even seen oppressive governments use state-sponsored hacking to target dissidents But after spending all that time helping in my tiny way to protect Googleone of the greatest things to arise from the internetseeing this, well, its just a little like coming home from War with Sauron, destroying the One Ring, only to discover the NSA is on the front porch of the Shire chopping down the Party Tree and outsourcing all the hobbit farmers with half-orcs and whips.
For all you NSA apologists out there, all you defenders of the state, your government's actions have consequences. And one of those consequences is it harms Americans and American companies:
Certainly the tech companies felt worse off. In November, the German newsweekly Der Spiegelanother recipient of Snowden leaksdescribed an NSA/GCHQ exploit that seemed tailor-made to erode trust. In an attempt to gain access to the Brussels-based telecommunications firm Belgacom, the agencies set up bogus versions of sites like Slashdot and LinkedIn. When employees tried to access the sites from corporate computers, their requests were diverted to the phony replicas, which the spies used to inject malware into their machines.
Using considerable understatement, LinkedIns general counsel, Erika Rottenberg, says, We are not happy that our intellectual property is being used in that way. It is not hard to see why. If foreign customers cant know whether they are using a legitimate social network or a spy-created fake, they are liable to log off altogether.
For years, companies from espionage-happy countries like China have been spurned by overseas buyers who didnt trust their products. Now its Americas turn.
Folks, this is not for our "own good". It is not for "flag and country". It is not likely even terribly effective. But it is damn destructive.
The NSA is willing to compromise the security of everything to get what they want, security expert Bruce Schneier says.
Think about the damage this does to America, says US Representative Rush Holt (D-New Jersey), who is the rare member of Congress with a PhD in physicsand one of a number of legislators pursuing measures that would curtail the NSAs activities. The NSA is saying, Weve got to make sure the encryption has flaws so we can decrypt. Isnt that the pinnacle of arrogance? No one else knows how to do it or is as smart as we are. They wont realize weve degraded our product. But the truth always comes out. And America is worse off because of it.
Fuck You NSA. And Fuck You to every politician that supports it.
Oh yeah, and thank you Mr. Snowden. We need more heroes like you willing to take a principled stand.
Wired - How the US Almost Killed the Internet
polihood
(92 posts)I suppose they've been told.
DJ13
(23,671 posts)JimDandy
(7,318 posts)closeupready
(29,503 posts)Your people made statements that Americans should not expect any privacy online years BEFORE this unfolded.
I have zero doubt Google was covertly working 100% with the NSA. To be fair, likely all of these tech organizations were - Microsoft, Apple, Google, Yahoo, the list is endless.
JimDandy
(7,318 posts)If it sounds like a fairy tale it is.
LiberalLovinLug
(14,174 posts)No doubt Google is conspiring how to make even more from advertising and that this is also about the bottom line for them internationally speaking.
But do you seriously think the guys that started Google went into it with the purpose of setting up a spy network with the government, on their fellow citizens? And if not, then you must believe that they have evolved into these sinister silicon valley Doctor Evils as the company grew.
I think capitalist organizations neither want nor welcome government intrusion in any aspect of their customer relations. Such as secret orders to unconstitutionally hand over their customers private information (unless under extreme circumstances). And now especially when inevitably the cat is out of the bag. Its bad for business.
I do think the NSA has pressured them during Bush's term, maybe before, covertly with orders not to discuss it, with ultimatums and consequences if they didn't comply all cloaked in the ever obsequious "national security". And yes it is disappointing that not one persoen working for those telecom companies didn't have the balls to go public when Bush was ordering them to secretly break the law for him because it went downhill from there. But what do you expect a capitalist company to do? Its all about the money, and not rocking the boat when there's no waves.
But that's just a reminder that it won't be these companies that will always fight for us, we all have to stay alert.
closeupready
(29,503 posts)seem to be attempting to whitewash their likely cooperation with the NSA - Apple made similar statements recently.
dembotoz
(16,806 posts)SaltyBro
(198 posts)If you use a cellphone, Google knows everything about you.
JimDandy
(7,318 posts)Hope Blackberry pulls out of bankruptcy and chooses to becomes a true privacy protection phone company. To me, phone privacy means: having phones with removable batteries; cameras and speakers that can be mechanically switched off/on; and apps and settings that the phone owner can control exclusively. I want my voicemail to come directly to my phone if and when I choose, not be diverted to google. I want as much as possible to be in MY control, not in the control of Google, the phone manufactures, or the service providers.
As soon as there is an privacy-enabled phone alternative, Google and all their ilk will become dinosaurs. And it can't come soon enough.
jsr
(7,712 posts)closeupready
(29,503 posts)So this 'fuck you' article is sort of like OJ Simpson claiming he wants to find 'the real killers.'
tazkcmo
(7,300 posts)And fuck you, too.
Logical
(22,457 posts)tazkcmo
(7,300 posts)I would be very surprised if anybody is concerned with anything written on DU or any other message board including anything you've written.
It does make me feel better for having vented though. With or without your approval.
Logical
(22,457 posts)arcane1
(38,613 posts)Go complain to Ted Cruz or ALEC
It may be time to pronounce Google's famous "Don't Be Evil" motto dead, the victim of political cynicism.
Today, Google is promoting a prominent speech by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who denies the reality of climate change and held the government hostage for weeks in a failed attempt to kill universal health care. Cruz, who has received $12,500 in campaign funding from Google, is the main attraction at this year's American Legislative Exchange Council summit in Washington, D.C.
The council, known as ALEC, is a shadowy lobbying group that helps companies and conservative foundations write model bills for Republican state legislators. The summit agenda this year includes efforts to fight EPA limits on greenhouse pollution, to roll back the Seventeenth Amendment, to block food-origin labeling and to eliminate public unions.
Shockingly, Google joined ALEC this year, even as the lobbying group lost the support of dozens of major companies over its role in spreading so-called "stand your ground" laws across the country.
-snip
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2013/12/05/google-goes-evil-by-funding-ted-cruz-and-alecs-global-warming-denial
jsr
(7,712 posts)2banon
(7,321 posts)On the other hand. Last year I (quite accidently) met Petra Friedman (Milton Friedman's grandson who lives here in the Bay Area) and his partner. They're all busy into creating Sea-nations (I think they're called) anyway long story short, they formerly worked for Google, in the course of that meeting it was revealed to me that a lot of people who work for google share the same socio-economic and political philosophy as his granddaddy.
I have my list of issues with google but hadn't really thought of quitting google until recently. As difficult as it will be to break it off with google, I'm getting set to do that. I don't know what to do about the phone except to keep my autosync permanently off.
it'll be like getting a divorce, the sooner the better.
BelgianMadCow
(5,379 posts)they get the best marks for privacy from the EU privacy watchdog. Used it for years, and I'm happy with the search results.
http://www.ixquick.com
Many alternative soft- and hardware and services listed at prism-break.org, by the way.
2banon
(7,321 posts)jsr
(7,712 posts)davidthegnome
(2,983 posts)Yeah, google isn't exactly big on protecting users privacy - but all of this stuff is from a head of security, who I suspect isn't one of the bad guys - I mean, the guy references the Lord of the Rings, the one ring, and Sauron. From what I little I know of tech (and it IS little) his job isn't something anyone with a measure of sanity would envy.
The people who make real decisions, the corporate executives, probably have no idea who the hell Sauron is. These are the people that make the decisions that sell our privacy to the highest bidder. Those are the people I would gladly tell to go perform the anatomically impossible. This guy though? Seems okay to me.
All that said, I'm going to agree - fuck the NSA. Fuck the drones. Fuck every politician that supports abandoning our right to privacy, our civil rights, and the increased likelihood that we will ultimately become a true police state. Oh yeah, and fuck google's CEO too - just for good measure.
ktayloraz
(5 posts)Google, and its security team, need to sit down and STFU. They are hypocrites in this matter. How quickly we forget, Google (motto: Do No Evil), has no problem FUNDING evil. Recently it has been reported by several major outlets, that Google is funding groups like, ALEC, The Cato Institute, Americans For Tax Reform, and other far, FAR, right wing groups. And surprise, surprise, many of these groups LOBBY FOR THE NSA.
Yes, that is what a hypocrite is. Says one thing, does another. Is it any wonder that I DUMPED my Google account(s), and use nothing produced by Google?
TBF
(32,062 posts)thinks that any of the computer giants are anything but supporters of libertarian ideology.
We've seen Jeff Bezos support gay marriage and we'd probably see other expressions of social liberalism. But as a whole the industry and many of the workers trend towards libertarian.
2banon
(7,321 posts)yesterday someone told me about duckduckgo as a search engine. I'm thinking about using it as default, I suppose I go to Mozilla for my browzer, don't know what to do about my gmail account I've had it for a very long time. And what do we know about these other companies?
My browser is Firefox with the add-ons, AdBlocker+ DoNotTrack+ Disconnect, NoScript, Ghostery, and HTTPS Everywhere
My e-mail is on gmx.com
My social networks are now Diaspora(2 pods), Twitter, Tumblr, and LinkedIn. Yes, I know, the last three are probably just as evil as Google and Facebook, but until I get my DeviantART fully operational, they will have to do.
My search engine of choice is duckduckgo.com
I use SoftEther for my VPN, and TOR as the second layer, and HTTPS Everywhere makes for 3 layers of encryption while surfing the Internet.
I use Thunderbird as my e-mail client, with the add-on Enigmail, and GNUpg for encrypted e-mail.
My Instant Messenger is Pidgin with the encryption plug-in turned on, and the plug-in OTR(Off The Record) added and turned on. Pidgin is also forced to go through TOR, and of course, my VPN is running, so I have more than 3 layers of encryption on instant messages.
As you can see, I have a large collection of paranoia ware. I've been working in the IT industry almost 30 years now, and I know what is out there, watching us. This game is played from at least 2 sides, those that want to know everything about you, and those that are building better ways to keep the first from happening. There are many, easy, solutions out there, and duckduckgo is your friend.
2banon
(7,321 posts)Lot of good info to save for reference!
BelgianMadCow
(5,379 posts)thanks for posting!
gopiscrap
(23,761 posts)woo me with science
(32,139 posts)and every tech company that is complicit in any way.
They are all criminals.
Tierra_y_Libertad
(50,414 posts)It's the American Way!
BobUp
(347 posts)shopping for clogs, didn't buy any,
then my next website visit,
hey! we got CLOGS!
no spying or tracking done by Google, no sir, move along now.