Report: Snowden's leaks didn't help terrorists

[kpete]

The analysis by Flashpoint Global Partners, a private security firm, examined the frequency of releases and updates of encryption software by jihadi groups and mentions of encryption in jihadi social media forums to assess the impact of Snowden’s information. It found no correlation in either measure to Snowden’s leaks about the NSA’s surveillance techniques, which became public beginning June 5, 2013...

“Nothing has changed about the encryption methodologies that they use,” he said. “It’s difficult to reconcile with the claim that they have dramatically improved their encryption technology since Snowden.”




more:
http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/nsa-snooping/snowden-leaks-didnt-make-al-qaeda-change-tactics-says-report-n203731
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/09/19/1330814/-Report-Snowden-s-leaks-didn-t-help-terrorists

[randome]

1. No, they didn't. They helped Putin.

[hr][font color="blue"][center]“If you're not committed to anything, you're just taking up space.”
Gregory Peck, Mirage (1965)[/center][/font][hr]

[LondonReign2]

2. That's not possible

The BOG told me that everything Snowden released was "old news" and "already known", therefore it couldn't have helped Putin.

[randome]

5. It helped him politically, not in terms of hard data.

[hr][font color="blue"][center]“If you're not committed to anything, you're just taking up space.”
Gregory Peck, Mirage (1965)[/center][/font][hr]

[Hissyspit]

18. How did it help him politically?

Because of the shitty stuff we were doing and the shitty way we responded?

[sabrina 1]

20. You mean the NSA benefited Putin. Violating the Constitution is definitely not benefiting

this country or its people. And anyone who does it KNOWS they are doing wrong which is why they tried to hide it. It is the duty, and they know this, of any citizen to expose traitors who violate the Constitution because of all the harm it does to this country, SUCH AS HELPING Putin!

Why on earth would you blame the WRONG person for the wrong doing of that Right Wing agency led by one of Bush's close buddies?

That is backwards thinking. Now maybe you get why violations of our Constitution are so harmful to this country. Maybe the NSA WANTED to benefit Putin.

[Man from Pickens]

26. yes this terrorism stuff is all a red herring

Bottom line is the NSA is systematically violating the Constitution in a completely uncontrolled and unaccountable manner, and rather than people going to jail for it they're allowed to ramp it up to 11.

[Major Hogwash]

27. In the short term, but not in the long term.

In fact, most of the political advantage he gained back then, he has already squandered by invading Ukraine.

[Marr]

3. They embarrassed Obama. That's all the critics really gave a shit about. /nt

[LondonReign2]

6. They embarrassed Obama. That's all his fans really gave a shit about. /nt

[Marr]

7. No, critics were and are interested in government intrusion and privacy rights. /nt

[LondonReign2]

9. Are the critics you refer to in post 3 different from the critics in post 7?

[Marr]

14. Yes, I meant to refer to the group that you described as "fans".

[LittleBlue]

4. Myth busted

Looks like the government is caught lying again. Doesn't matter how many times that happens though, there will always be enough useful citizens who will believe anything.

[lark]

11. More myths that need busting

- Moderate Assad opposition - ther are none, there are just various brands of jihadists
- ISIS is a looming threat to the world - no one else in the world thinks this
- Raising min. wage hurts economy - it helps the economy grow
- Raising taxes on the rich hurts workers - again it's the opposite
et, etc, etc.

[LittleBlue]

13. +1

Doesn't even matter how embarrassing bad are the lies. As long as the media faithfully transmits those lies, and enough useful folks believe them. Mission accomplished.

[Uncle Joe]

8. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, kpete.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

10. No. But, the CIA did help the terrorists.

In a variety of places all over the world.

[librechik]

12. kick for the MIC whiners

[Douglas Carpenter]

15. Still, no excuse! He criticized the government and that is just plain wrong!

[kelliekat44]

16. One report says it did, one report says it didn't nt

[GummyBearz]

24. and anyone with a brain can figure out....

...that when Snowden said "hey, the NSA is breaking current encryption technology and spying on you", that a band of religious fundamentalists still living in the dark ages instantly developed an encryption method that is more sophisticated than the NSA can break, within a matter of days, and cost innocent lives to be lost... right... was this new encryption technology prophesied in the quran or something?

The best way to avoid the NSA/CIA/etc is not to use technology. Just like Bin Laden had been doing for years before he was finally found. You send notes via couriers, every terrorist has known that long before Snowden leaked the huge secret that our spy agencies are spying on terrorists electronic communications.

[MisterP]

17. every time Clapper opens his mouth, a

truth comes out

why can't you Gloria LaRiva fans understand this? and also the President is 2 FDRs stacked on top of each other

[Demeter]

19. It ESPECIALLY didn't help the Official US Authorized Terrorists

with the alphabetic names....

[uponit7771]

21. This report is laughable, as if the released information context can only be the internet.

... whatever... Snowden = bold faced liar. I'm not going to believe on the face of it reports saying that there was no increase in threat from the internet is wholistic at all

[LiberalLovinLug]

36. What the hell did he lie about?

He simply released information that was hidden from the public. Are you saying its a huge "professional left" fallacy that the NSA is mass spying on American citizens?

[marym625]

22. Another link for you

Snowden’s leaks didn’t harm national security:

K&r

[George II]

23. Who are "Flashpoint Global Partners", and who paid them to prepare that "report"?

[Cha]

32. Well, there's this from a "senior analyst" at Flashpoint Global Partners..

(NY Times) Islamic State Issues Video Challenge to Obama September 17, 2014

Laith Alkhouri, a senior analyst at Flashpoint Global Partners, a New York security consulting firm that tracks militant websites, said the Islamic State “appears to be more relentless than ever, not only expanding in territory but also raising the bar in its confrontation with the world’s top superpower.”

“In some ways, it’s attempting to prove to jihadists that while Al Qaeda is missing in action, we are rising to the occasion,” Mr. Alkhouri said. “It demonstrates the true intention of the group, to operate on an international level.”

http://flashpoint-intel.com/

And, this says differently than Flashpoint on whether Snowden's "leaks" did harm with the terrorist orgs..

More Snowden leaks - and this time Al Qaeda is the surveillance target (+video)

".. But what caught my eye in one of the unredacted slides was the mention of Al Qaeda in Iraq being a particular target of the NSA's efforts. The slide reads: "Visual Communicator – Free application that combines Instant Messaging, Photo-Messaging, and Push2Talk capabilities on a mobile platform. VC used on GPRS or 3G networks." The next five words were what the Times tried and failed to redact: "heavily used in AQI Mosul Network."

The aim as described in the documents is to target mobile phone apps that can give away a target's physical location. The utility of this in tracking terrorists hardly needs to be stated. The document describes a program focusing on clear security interests – Al Qaeda in Iraq, now calling itself Al Qaeda in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) – killed thousands in Iraq during the US-led war there and continues to carry out suicide bombings and attacks on civilians there on a weekly basis. ISIS is also deeply involved in the civil war in Syria, and the groups ties to Al Qaeda make it an obvious security concern for the US.."

snip//

"..But his claim that "none of this has anything to do with terrorism" is not reasonable. That's pure nonsense -- as is his attempt to suggest that any revelations of eavesdropping techniques can't do any harm because terrorists already know all about it. Terrorists may know that the US is trying to spy on them as best it can (just as Germany and France know that). But knowing the precise method is another thing altogether."

MOre..
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Security-Watch/Backchannels/2014/0130/More-Snowden-leaks-and-this-time-Al-Qaeda-is-the-surveillance-target-video

[George II]

25. I guess my question hit a little too close to home???

[Electric Monk]

28. Let me google that for you

http://www.lmgtfy.com/?q=%22Flashpoint+Global+Partners%22

[George II]

33. Cute - I already did google them and found their website....

...but found very little, essentially nothing that says who they are except a lot of bluster about themselves.

[Recursion]

29. Snowden's leaks? No.

Former CIA agent Snowden leaked about the NSA, not the CIA, and the NSAs counter-terror mission is relatively small, as opposed to the CIA who handles the actual overseas counter-terror gathering stuff.

Manning, on the other hand...

[msanthrope]

34. And there is the thread win. nt

[bullwinkle428]

30. But what about that big war between Australia and Indonesia??!?!?!?

Shouldn't that be starting any time now?

[MrMickeysMom]

31. Kicked for an early morning review of Law of the Land ...

(16th American Jurisprudence, 2nd Ed, Sec 256)…

No one is bound to obey an unconstitutional law and no courts are bound to enforce it.

[msanthrope]

35. Then Comrade Eddie should have no problem at the bar of the court. When is his flight back? nt

[LiberalLovinLug]

37. "Comrade" Eddie? sure, and Putin is Karl Marx

And for the umpteenth time, his occupation is not covered in whistleblower protection for a fair trial.

“Returning to the US, I think, is the best resolution for the government, the public and myself, but it’s unfortunately not possible in the face of current whistleblower protection laws, which through a failure in law did not cover national security contractors like myself,” Snowden said in an online Q&A session Thursday afternoon with the website Free Snowden.

Snowden, who is responsible for one of the largest leaks of classified government information in U.S. history, has always maintained he acted in the interest of the American public. But, he said, the law under which he was charged, the 1917 Espionage Act, doesn’t allow him to use a public interest defence in the courts.

“This is especially frustrating, because it means there’s no chance to have a fair trial, and no way I can come home and make my case to a jury,” he said.

He added he could eventually return if reforms were made to the Whistleblower Protection Act, so that it also covers contractors."

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/edward-snowden-says-no-chance-of-fair-trial-in-u-s-1.2509842


I'd love a public, no holds barred, court battle in the USA with him present, but its not going to happen because there is nothing that the NSA and the government fear more than that.