Data and Goliath (49 page)

Netsweeper is a . . . filtering product:
Adam Senft et al. (20 Feb 2014), “Internet filtering in a failed state: The case
of Netsweeper in Somalia,” Citizen Lab, Munk School of Global Affairs, University
of Toronto, https://citizenlab.org/2014/02/internet-filtering-failed-state-case-netsweeper-somalia.
Helmi Noman et al. (20 Jun 2013), “O Pakistan, we stand on guard for thee: An analysis
of Canada-based Net-sweeper’s role in Pakistan’s censorship regime,” Citizen Lab,
Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto, https://citizenlab.org/2013/06/o-pakistan.

Fortinet is used to censor:
Open Net Initiative (12 Oct 2005), “Internet filtering in Burma 2005,” https://opennet.net/sites/opennet.net/files/ONI_Burma_Country_Study.pdf.
New Light of Myanmar (16 May 2004), “Prime minister attends ceremony to introduce
Fortinet Antivirus Firewall,”
New Light of Myanmar
, http://www.myanmar.gov.mm/NLM-2004/May04/enlm/May16_h1.html.

governments of Tunisia and Iran:
Ben Arnoldy (10 Oct 2007), “When US-made ‘censorware’ ends up in iron fists,”
Christian Science Monitor
, http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1010/p01s01-ussc.html.

also allows the bad guys:
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (Sep 2012), “The use of the Internet for
terrorist purposes,” http://www.unodc.org/documents/frontpage/Use_of_Internet_for_Terrorist_Purposes.pdf.

facial recognition technology that Disney uses:
Planet Biometrics (2 Mar 2011), “Biometrics cruise into the Disney Dream,” http://www.planetbiometrics.com/article-details/i/504.

Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act:
US Congress (2012), “Department of State Rewards Program Update and Technical Corrections
Act of 2012,” Public Law 283, http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-112publ283/html/PLAW-112publ283.htm.

The FBI is currently lobbying:
Charlie Savage (7 May 2013), “U.S.
weighs wide overhaul of wiretap laws,”
New York Times
, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/08/us/politics/obama-may-back-fbi-plan-to-wiretap-web-users.html.

The FBI’s ultimate goal:
Charlie Savage (27 Sep 2010), “U.S. tries to make it easier to wiretap the Internet,”
New York Times
, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/27/us/27wiretap.html.

Lavabit was an e-mail service:
Tim Rogers (Nov 2013), “The real story of Lavabit’s founder,”
D Magazine
, http://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-magazine/2013/november/real-story-of-lavabit-founder-ladar-levison.

Levison received a National Security Letter:
Spencer Ackerman (9 Aug 2013), “Lavabit e-mail service abruptly shut down citing
government interference,”
Guardian
, http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/aug/08/lavabit-e-mail-shut-down-edward-snowden.
Ladar Levison (20 May 2014), “Secrets, lies and Snowden’s email: Why I was forced
to shut down Lavabit,”
Guardian
, http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/may/20/why-did-lavabit-shut-down-snowden-email.

The agency can force you to modify:
Declan McCullagh (24 Jul 2013), “Feds put heat on Web firms for master encryption
keys,”
CNET
, http://www.cnet.com/news/feds-put-heat-on-web-firms-for-master-encryption-keys.

Your business has been commandeered:
Levison was threatened with arrest for shutting down Lavabit rather than letting
the FBI have unfettered access to all of its users. Michael Isikoff (13 Aug 2013),
“Lavabit.com owner: ‘I could be arrested’ for resisting surveillance order,”
NBC News
, http://www.nbcnews.com/news/other/lavabit-com-owner-i-could-be-arrested-resisting-surveillance-order-f6C10908072.

US government convinced Skype:
Serge Malenkovich (21 Mar 2013), “Does Big Brother watch your Skype?”
Kaspersky Lab Daily
, http://blog.kaspersky.com/skype-government-surveillance. James Risen and Nick Wingfield
(20 Jun 2013), “Silicon Valley and spy agency bound by strengthening web,”
New York Times
, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/20/technology/silicon-valley-and-spy-agency-bound-by-strengthening-web.html.

We don’t know what the changes were:
Microsoft Corporation (13 Oct 2011), “Microsoft officially welcomes Skype,”
Microsoft News Center
, http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/press/2011/oct11/10-13skypepr.aspx.

we know they happened:
Glenn Greenwald (11 Jul 2013), “Microsoft handed the NSA access to encrypted messages,”
Guardian
, http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jul/11/microsoft-nsa-collaboration-user-data.

US government secretly threatened Yahoo:
Craig Timberg (11 Sep 2014), “U.S. threatened massive fine to force Yahoo to release
data,”
Washington Post
, http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/us-threatened-massive-fine-to-force-yahoo-to-release-data/2014/09/11/38a7f69e-39e8-11e4-9c9f-ebb47272e40e_story.html.

84 the NSA paid RSA Security:
Joseph Menn (20 Dec 2013), “Secret contract tied NSA and security industry pioneer,”
Reuters, http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/20/us-usa-security-rsa-idUSBRE9BJ1C220131220.

the NSA hacked into the trunk:
Level 3 Communications has the NSA code name of “LITTLE.” As a general rule, if your
service provider has an NSA code name, you’re probably screwed. Nicole Perlroth (25
Nov 2013), “N.S.A. may have hit Internet companies at a weak spot,”
New York Times
, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/26/technology/a-peephole-for-the-nsa.html.

85
The angry response:
Brandon Downey (30 Oct 2013), “This is the big story in tech today,”
Google Plus
, https://plus.google.com/+BrandonDowney/posts/SfYy8xbDWGG.

The agency creates fake Facebook pages:
Ryan Gallagher and Glenn Greenwald (12 Mar 2014), “How the NSA plans to infect ‘millions’
of computers with malware,”
Intercept
, https://firstlook.org/theintercept/article/2014/03/12/nsa-plans-infect-millions-computers-malware.

intercepts Cisco equipment:
Sean Gallagher (14 May 2014), “Photos of an NSA ‘upgrade’ factory show Cisco router
getting implant,”
Ars Technica
, http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/05/photos-of-an-nsa-upgrade-factory-show-cisco-router-getting-implant.
Sarah Silbert (16 May 2014), “Latest Snowden leak reveals the NSA intercepted and
bugged Cisco routers,”
Engadget
, http://www.engadget.com/2014/05/16/nsa-bugged-cisco-routers.

NSA’s BULLRUN program:
James Ball, Julian Borger, and Glenn Greenwald (5 Sep 2013), “Revealed: How US and
UK spy agencies defeat internet privacy and security,”
Guardian
, http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/05/nsa-gchq-encryption-codes-security.
Nicole Perlroth, Jeff Larson, and Scott Shane (5 Sep 2013), “N.S.A. able to foil basic
safeguards of privacy on Web,”
New York Times
, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/06/us/nsa-foils-much-internet-encryption.html.

British, Russian, Israeli:
Brian Krebs (28 May 2014), “Backdoor in call monitoring, surveillance gear,”
Krebs on Security
, http://krebsonsecurity.com/2014/05/backdoor-in-call-monitoring-surveillance-gear.

they have employees secretly:
Peter Maass and Laura Poitras (10 Oct 2014), “Core secrets: NSA saboteurs in China
and Germany,”
Intercept
, https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2014/10/10/core-secrets.

Eric Schmidt tried to reassure:
Martin Bryant (7 Mar 2014), “Google is ‘pretty sure’ its data is now protected against
government spying, Eric Schmidt says,”
Next Web
, http://thenextweb.com/google/2014/03/07/google-pretty-sure-protected-government-spying-eric-schmidt-says.

7: Political Liberty and Justice

the First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles sued:
David Greene (27 Jan 2014), “Deep dive into
First Unitarian Church v. NSA
: Why freedom of association matters,” Electronic Frontier Foundation, https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2014/01/deep-dive-first-unitarian-church-v-nsa-why-freedom-association-matters.

Today, the church is worried:
Joshua Eaton (15 Aug 2014), “Challenging the surveillance state,”
UU World
, http://www.uuworld.org/ideas/articles/297088.shtml.

Yochai Benkler likens NSA surveillance:
Yochai Benkler (13 Sep 2013), “Time to tame the NSA behemoth trampling our rights,”
Guardian
, http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/13/nsa-behemoth-trampling-rights.

Even the politically conservative:
Economist (16 Nov 2013), “The recorded world: Every step you take,”
Economist
, http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21589862-cameras-become-ubiquitous-and-able-identify-people-more-safeguards-privacy-will-be.

which give prosecutors discretion:
Harvey Silverglate and Tim Lynch (Jan/Feb 2010), “The criminalization of almost everything,”
Cato Policy Report
,
http://www.cato.org/policy-report/januaryfebruary-2010/criminalization-almost-everything.
Harvey Silverglate (2011),
Three Felonies a Day: How the Feds Target the Innocent
, Encounter Books, http://www.threefeloniesaday.com. G. H. Reynolds (8 Jul 2013),
“Ham sandwich nation: Due process when everything is a crime,”
Columbia Law Review
113, http://columbialawreview.org/ham-sandwich-nation_reynolds.

overly broad material witness laws:
Rose Ciotta (4 May 2003), “Critics see abuse of material-witness law,”
Philadelphia Inquirer
, http://articles.philly.com/2003-05-04/news/25460033_1_material-witness-law-material-witnesses-material-witness-statute.
Anjana Malhotra (27 Jun 2005), “Witness to abuse: Human rights abuses under the Material
Witness Law since September 11,” Human Rights Watch, http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/us0605_0.pdf.
Naureen Shah et al. (21 Jul 2014), “Illusion of justice: Human rights abuses in US
terrorism prosecutions,” Human Rights Watch, http://www.hrw.org/node/126101.

expansion of the legally loaded terms:
In North Carolina, a sawed-off shotgun is defined as a weapon of mass destruction.
Jonathan Lemire (30 Aug 2011), “North Carolina student charged with having weapon
of mass destruction for toting sawed-off shotgun,”
New York Daily News
, http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/north-carolina-student-charged-weapon-mass-destruction-toting-sawed-off-shotgun-article-1.950971.
Chris Berendt (29 Oct 2013), “Meth lab seized in Newton Grove, three arrested,”
Sampson Independent
, http://www.clintonnc.com/news/home_top-news/2746038/Meth-lab-seized-in-Newton-Grove%3B-three-arrested.

someone who donates $10:
Louis Jacobson (9 Jul 2013), “What’s the definition of ‘terrorism’?”
Politifact
, http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2013/jul/09/whats-definition-terrorism.

Daniel Solove calls the situation Kafkaesque:
Daniel J. Solove (2004),
The Digital Person: Technology and Privacy in the Information Age
, New York University Press, http://docs.law.gwu.edu/facweb/dsolove/Digital-Person/text/Digital-Person-CH3.pdf.

Surveillance data has been used:
The DHS was—and might still be—monitoring social networking sites, watching for how
people react to news that “reflects adversely” on the US government. Ellen Nakashima
(13 Jan 2012), “DHS monitoring of social media worries civil liberties advocates,”
Washington Post
, http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/dhs-monitoring-of-social-media-worries-civil-liberties-advocates/2012/01/13/gIQANPO7wP_story.html.

Irishman Leigh Van Bryan tweeted:
British Broadcasting Corporation (31 Jan 2012), “Caution on Twitter urged as tourists
barred from US,”
BBC News
, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16810312.

The government had been surveilling:
Gerry Smith (25 Jun 2014), “How police are scanning all of Twitter to detect terrorist
threats,”
Huffington Post
, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/25/dataminr-mines-twitter-to_n_5507616.html.

he was questioned for five hours:
Philip Messing (13 Apr 2013), “JFK passenger detained after talking about ‘bomb’
sandwich,”
New York Post
, http://nypost.com/2013/04/13/jfk-passenger-detained-after-talking-about-bomb-sandwich.

vague promises of international:
This excellent essay makes that point. Praxis (17 Jan 2014), “The world is now an
airport: Surveillance and social control,”
Medium
, https://medium.com/i-m-h-o/9a1e5268ff39.

Police arrested him for the crime:
Lauren Russell (24 Apr 2013), “When
oversharing online can get you arrested,” CNN, http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/18/tech/social-media/online-oversharing-arrests.

jailed because of a racist tweet:
British Broadcasting Corporation (27 Mar 2012), “Fabrice Muamba: Racist Twitter user
jailed for 56 days,”
BBC News
, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-17515992.

tasteless Facebook post:
British Broadcasting Corporation (4 Jun 2014), “Man jailed for offensive Ann Maguire
Facebook post,”
BBC News
, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-27696446.

US military targets drone strikes:
Jeremy Scahill and Glenn Greenwald (10 Feb 2014), “The NSA’s secret role in the U.S.
assassination program,”
Intercept
, https://firstlook.org/theintercept/article/2014/02/10/the-nsas-secret-role. Cori
Crider (4 Mar 2014), “Killing in the name of algorithms,” Al Jazeera, http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2014/3/drones-big-data-waronterrorobama.html.