Edward Snowden: the whistleblower behind the NSA surveillance revelations

[sir charles]

Y'all think those front facing cams on the iPhone are for fun

 

NSA Can Listen to Xbox Live, World of Warcraft Communications
The Guardian prepares to release new documents.
by Luke Karmali DECEMBER 9, 201



New documents released by whistleblower Edward Snowden reveal US and UK spies have the ability to eavesdrop on conversations in Xbox Live, and have even placed agents in games including World of Warcraft and Second Life.

Fresh information released by The Guardian reveals government agents on both sides of the Atlantic have been paying close attention to online gaming communities since at least 2008.


A September 2008 memo from the NSA's UK sister agency GCHQ reveals that the organisation had "successfully been able to get the discussions between different game players on Xbox Live," while agents were put in both World of Warcraft and Second Life in a bid to monitor users' "buddylists and interaction".

While there's no evidence that such methods were successful in foiling any terrorist plots, an analyst apparently referred to them in a report as offering a "target-rich communications network" where potential threats could "hide in plain sight". It was apparently run out the Menwith Hill base in North Yorkshire.

While Microsoft declined to comment on the report, World of Warcraft developer Blizzard told the paper it was "unaware of any surveillance taking place. If it was, it would have been done without our knowledge or permission." GCHQ, meanwhile, didn't confirm or deny the report, only adding the actions were carried out "in accordance with a strict legal and policy framework which ensures that its activities are authorised, necessary and proportionate, and there is rigorous oversight, including from the secretary of state, the interception and intelligence services commissioners and the Intelligence and Security Committee."


How many individuals' private communications and data were accessed isn't known.

but honestly.. what harm can be done. its not as if real terrorists are online playing xbox and playstation 3/4, while discussing terror plots. I mean i understand the invasion of privacy issue. But chances are most the conversations being had / recorded are 99.9% useless.

If this is all true.. there must be a different reason for recording and listening to our chats online. Maybe Something far in the future that we wouldn't even understand now.. its way to early. Either way i'm against it, just not sure why they'd want to target the casual video game geek.

Currently the NSA has 27 terabytes of information collected on people around the world. They collect data randomly in search for a portion of %1 of the world's population. They have admitted to searching for nothing most of the time, and it is just an "in case" tool. 

Apparently the NSA is also exempt from unreasonable search. 

Plus the girlfriend spying scandal blew it over the top for me. 

 

[sundoobie]

but honestly.. what harm can be done. its not as if real terrorists are online playing xbox and playstation 3/4, while discussing terror plots. I mean i understand the invasion of privacy issue. But chances are most the conversations being had / recorded are 99.9% useless.

Google cryptology and tell me again how terror suspects aren't using every known method of communication to transmit messages. Hell those Bin Ladin videos had all kinds of codes in em so imagine what they can do with the communication aspects of Xbox Live and PSN?

 

[rillo561]

It would be funny if it wasn't so sad.

 

[koudie from brooklyn]

Stranger stuff has happened on xbox chat man.... i think its brilliant, basically free long distance worldwide, it wouldn't surprise me if some were doing it through live chat.

i guess it makes sense when you put it that way.. free long distance worldwide. People are able to use the online chats as a means to share information, drug deals.. terror plots.. etc. i actually never thought of that, anytime this topic has been brought up i think of the innocent group chat full of gamers, lil kids.. teens and adults alike.. just going off on each other over call of duty lol.. but i see where your going with this.. point taken

Currently the NSA has 27 terabytes of information collected on people around the world. They collect data randomly in search for a portion of %1 of the world's population. They have admitted to searching for nothing most of the time, and it is just an "in case" tool. 


Apparently the NSA is also exempt from unreasonable search. 

Plus the girlfriend spying scandal blew it over the top for me. 

girlfriend spying scandal ?? not aware of that. time to use google search.

Google cryptology and tell me again how terror suspects aren't using every known method of communication to transmit messages. Hell those Bin Ladin videos had all kinds of codes in em so imagine what they can do with the communication aspects of Xbox Live and PSN?

I guess you guys are right. i never put much thought into it really like i explained in the first quoted paragraph.. its always been pretty innocent, never really viewed xbox live / psn gamer chats as a means of communication for criminals.

thanks for helping me better understand. appreciate it.

 

[sir charles]

http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/27/politics/nsa-snooping/

@Koudie From BroOklyn  

 

[superb]

but honestly.. what harm can be done. its not as if real terrorists are online playing xbox and playstation 3/4, while discussing terror plots. I mean i understand the invasion of privacy issue. But chances are most the conversations being had / recorded are 99.9% useless.

If this is all true.. there must be a different reason for recording and listening to our chats online. Maybe Something far in the future that we wouldn't even understand now.. its way to early. Either way i'm against it, just not sure why they'd want to target the casual video game geek.

I turn off random data sampling thru the xbox in privacy settings. Alot of people probably got it turned on and microsoft probably spy for keywords

 

[DrizzyNYC]

He did an interview recently check it out.

Embedded media from this media site is no longer available

Says he is marked for assassination.

Also if this was common knowledge and we all knew we were getting spied on why the need to tell blatant lies before congress?
I know the common argument is if you aren't a terrorist why worry. But what if you are political opposition and the govt spies on you or you are doing positive uplifting things which isn't in the interest of the govt (MLK, panther movement, occupy etc.) the govt is know to infiltrate and sabotage using this same info y'all think its okay for them to have....
Smh yes y'all are sheep....

 

[fraij da 5 11]

 
they will never let the people they illegally spied on know because they will be sued

Ain't no individuals suing the NSA bruh. 

 

[fraij da 5 11]

Yea, I got that from your first post, genius.

What I'm saying is if the NSA got caught spying on YOU, you're not going to do a single thing about it. Nor is any other individual.

And if you did try to "sue the NSA", you'd lose before you could say constitution. 

 

[fraij da 5 11]

Soooo... We all know its happening... But they're not shutting down because we don't know exactly which US Citizens they're doing it to?

Alright. 

 

[fraij da 5 11]

Hypothetical's are nice and all but if you were the 1 name that was released that got "spied" on and you find out that NSA saw some of your emails, you would not have the resources to even file a lawsuit past the first step to bringing a federal agency like the NSA to court.

 

[thegreenlight]

 
outta here

all it would take is the 1st ILLEGAL SPYING lawsuit and they will be shut down after other people join

you gotta be smoking if u think someone not gonna make money off this if they was illegally spied on

that's why they will never say who

no.

 

[fraij da 5 11]

The highest levels of government allow this **** to happen and dude thinks Joe Schmo and his lawyer gonna have it "shut down" immediately after their name is released as someone who was spied on...

 

[fraij da 5 11]

 
if they ILLEGALLY SPIED on millions of people they would be shut down

Don't we already know that they did this? You may want to revisit the topic at hand...

"NSA is focused on getting intel wherever it can by any means possible.... Specifically targets the communications of everyone... I have the authority to wiretap ANYONE including the president if I had a personal email." - Edward Snowden 

Hell, we've spied on the GERMAN CHANCELLOR and you don't see them doing anything about it. 

 

 

[johnnyredstorm]

average american cares about more bull than this though. long as they can eat their processed foods and watch other people living worse/better than them, they'll be happy.