#nsa messages

[saltyfilmmajor]

Joey Batey sang “I will be the man my father never was” and it rewired my brain

[wuxianxkexing]

In the context of a dating profile what does NSA mean?

Pei Ming: "No strings attached."

Xie Lian: "National Security Agency."

[usafphantom2]

HOW MUCH DID SATELLITES COST

My Dad, Butch Sheffield, was with the SR 71 program from cradle ( Hired in 1964-Skunk Works winning Collier Award 1999) to grave and wrote down in his unpublish book some of his reasons why it was canceled prematurely.

During the Carter Administration, 1977-81, while Stansfield Turner was Director of the CIA, the two of them decided to rely upon National Technical Means (NTM) or Spy Satellites for intelligence. This included eliminating manned aircraft and spies on the ground. This has been proven to be one of the biggest intelligence mistakes ever. The reason for this strategy was it was risk-free for the political Administration. No airplanes or spies could be captured and displayed like Francis Powers and the U-2.

This made the politician feel comfortable.

NSA National Security Agency never liked the SR-71.

All the time I was Recce. Chief, they (the NSA) came to the Pentagon in groups to try to insult the SR 71 program in any way, they could. You would attend a meeting, and one or two people would attend from each service and DOD. NSA would show up with ten people. I would ask why. They would say that each one represents an area of NSA. It was a joke in the Pentagon.

I would only let one at a time in my area.

They would tell the White House in a flash-type message that an SR was almost intercepted by a Foxbat when the Foxbat was three hundred miles away from the SR. The cost of this, National Tactical Means (NTM) has never been made public; in fact, most people with security clearances inside the government don’t know the cost. I knew because I got a copy, one of twelve printed each year by the NRO, telling the real cost of the satellite, the launch cost, the communications cost, and the ground station cost.

The cost was enormous.

The NRO did not want to give me the book. I knew it existed and asked for it. Finally, they gave it to me after I pressured the Director when I worked for the U S Congress.

One might ask how did this affect the SR-71? The answer is that once this very large amount of money was being spent on satellites, they no longer wanted to fund the SR and then went from a National collection platform to a tactical intelligence asset. Now you know the true story.

Col Richard “ Butch” Sheffield

@Habubrats71 via X

[soon-palestine]

Several of Meta's senior leaders have been significant supporters of Israel, including Zuckerberg donating to Zaka, and Sheryl Sandberg doing a propaganda tour

It is also not widely known that Lavender was produced by Unit 8200 (the Israeli NSA), and that Meta's CISO -- the most senior person responsible for policy and suppression of Palestinian content -- was in Unit 8200

Meanwhile, Meta has been systematically pro-Israel, suppressing Palestinian content, and has soft launched an anti-"anti-Zionist" policy that shocked @jvplive

At the same time, they've neglected to release a transparency report for the time covered by Lavender's use

Overall, the lesson is that people should not trust WhatsApp at all, and should migrate to other messaging apps like @signalapp

A lot of difficult questions for Meta before that trust can be rebuilt, and I don't honestly believe that Meta can or will answer them

uestions for Meta

ensure that the world can trust WhatsApps claims of privacy and afety, Meta must answer the following questions:

Did Meta provide information (including inputs or training data) us by Lavender, Gospel, or Where's Daddy to the Israeli government?

How will Meta prevent private information being used by governments to kill WhatsApp users and their families?

Does Meta believe that Israel's actions towards civilians in Gaza and with Lavender comply Meta's Human Rights Policy?

If not, why has Meta not revoked all access to the Israeli government that may put civilians at risk?

Why has Meta not released their transparency report for the 2nd half of 2023?

What was the level of knowledge of WhatsApp metadata sharing with the Israeli government, including whether it was to be used for military purposes, among Meta leadership, including CEO Mark Zuckerberg and CISO Guy Rosen?

Will Meta immediately rescind access to any WhatsApp information from the Israeli government, army, and law enforcement?

[malebodyexhibit]

A Trinity Minus One (a free commission tale)

My best friend was the one who showed me the Grindr profile that day. He was single and stilled used that garbage app. Looking at him still doing hook up culture, made me glad I found my boyfriend of five years. I was so lucky to find a hunky Latino guy. I might be a gringo, but I loved that we were so diverse. Then my friend with trepidation showed me on his phone a profile that showed my boyfriend locking lips with his coworker.

They both worked as mechanics and I thought they were just good friends. I never had a suspicion that José was gay or that he and my boyfriend Germán were hooking up. Much less hooking up as a couple on Grindr. But reading their shared profile, I felt the past decade hollowing into a tangle of lies and deceit.

"Latino couple looking for a bull. NSA. Make me watch you satisfy my boyfriend. No gringos, gracias."

My friend tried to console me but I left and spent the day crying in my apartment. My boyfriend and I shared the place, but he always worked late. Through my tears I saw the red flags: he never came back by dinner, preferring to eat dinner at work; he left early to get extra hours; and always made sure he looked good when he left. I wondered why he would put up with me then.

I thought I was attractive. I was blond with muscle tone, but... no gringos. I guess I was just an apartment and a meal ticket.

I wanted to hate him. To hate them, but they looked so good together. After leaving my friend's place, I downloaded Grindr and stared at their profile. I had thought of messaging them, but... no gringos. I wondered who wrote that. My boyfriend or his? It didn't matter. I was nothing to them. And I actually wanted to be with them. I thought of José and he was hot and funny and charming. I could see why Germán would fall in love with him.

I just wished I could be someone they wanted.

I must have been dreaming because I felt the world around me shift and change. It seemed like the walls separated and fell away, the colors of nature lifted like watercolor and melted, and I felt myself lose the pain of the past hours. Then as swiftly as the world distorted, it returned to normal, except me.

I wished I could be someone they wanted. The loose definition of my body started to collect. It was a tightening of new and old memories. New smells and tastes of a childhood I never had. It was the new sounds of a language I only heard Germán speak. I wished... I stared at myself forming anew in the reflection of the mirror.

My natural blond hair became a shocking platinum dyed crew cut. My white skin became a glowing bronze. Tattoos snaked down my arm, displaying a history on my skin that my old body lacked. My eyes turned sharper, more mature, more determined. The soft upbringing of my white childhood morphed into a struggle in an English-dominated culture. I looked at the naked landscape of my muscular body and felt a rush of hormones, but I wouldn't jack off yet.

Like stars in the sky, I still remembered my old life and could pick out outlines of what happened, though the glow of my Hispanic life was like the sun. I remembered Germán and José. I grabbed my phone and reopened the Grinder app.

While I was still nude with the sweat from the transformation, I took photos and made a profile. My name was Gabriel, like the angel. A second after my profile was made, I got a message from Germán.

"Holy smokes, bro, you're so fucking hot! You dtf?" He texted along with photos of his shirtless body and another of his cock that I had sucked the past five years in my old body.

I didn't feel like talking. I took a picture of my massive, dark cock and sent it to him. "Beg for it, puta."

"Please, please, papí."

I laughed and wanted to torture him some more. Show him more of this body, and tease him, but I remembered the love I felt for him, and simple wrote, "okay, mi amor, don't let me down."

[todaysdocument]

Memorandum from Henry Kissinger Regarding Communications with Hanoi, North Vietnam Prior to January 20, 1969

Collection GRF-0332: Henry Kissinger and Brent Scowcroft West Wing Office Files (Ford Administration)Series: Henry Kissinger's and Brent Scowcroft's General Subject FilesFile Unit: Vietnamese War - Secret Peace Talks (Mr. S. File), (1)

Digitized from Box 38 of the NSA. Kissinger-Scowcroft West Wing Office Files at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library [written]File 5a [underlined][strikethrough]SECRET[/strikethrough] /NODIS January 31, 1969 [/underlined]EYES ONLY MEMORANDUM FOR: THE SECRETARY OF STATE FROM: Henry A. Kissinger SUBJECT: Communication with Hanoi Prior to January 20 Prior to the inauguration, President Nixon was in communication with the North Vietnamese through a contact who is personally known to the top leaders in Hanoi. The messages were sent by me to the contact who delivered them to Mai Van Bo (DRV representative to the Government of France) and vice versa. The President initiated the exchange with his message of December 20 (Tab A), which told the North Vietnamese that his Administration was prepared to undertake serious talks. On December 31, Hanoi sent its reply (Tab B), which emphasizes that its point of primary concern is U.S. willingness to withdraw troops. The ball was kept in play by the President's response of January 2 (Tab C), which states [underlined]inter alia[/underlined] that his Administration is ready to withdraw U.S. forces from South Vietnam as part of an honorable settlement which includes mutual troop withdrawal. The North Vietnamese replied on January 13 to the President's message (Tab D). The President has not replied to this latest message. The President asked that this be very closely held. [underlined][strikethrough]SECRET[/strikethrough]/NODIS[/underlined] [stamp]GERALD R. FORD LIBRARY DECLASSIFIED E.O. 12958, Sec. 3.5 NSC Memo 11/24/98, State Dept. Guidelines [initialed] , NARA, Date 12/15/99 Box 38 of the NSA. Kissinger-Scowcroft West Wing Office Files at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library [written]5b [underlined]SECRET[crossed out]/ NODIS December 20, 1968 [underlined]Message to the North Vietnamese "1. The Nixon Administration is prepared to undertake serious talks. "2. These talks are to be based on the self respect and sense of honor of all parties. "3. The Nixon Administration is prepared for an honorable settlement but for nothing less. "4. If Hanoi wants, the Nixon Administration would be willing to discuss ultimate objectives first. "5. If Hanoi wishes to communicate some of their general ideas prior to January 20, they will be examined with a constructive attitude and in the strictest confidence." [underlined]SECRET[crossed out] /NODIS [stamp]GERALD R. FORD LIBRARY [stamp]DECLASSIFIED E.O. 12958, Sec. 3.5 NSC Memo, 11/24/98, State Dept. Guidelines By [initialed] , NARA, Date 12/15/99 [full document at link]

[sapphicscholar]

Hey so remember how I posted yesterday about how it’s not a great idea to be condescending to people assuming the worst about the surveillance state and the role of the internet and tech companies in upholding and enforcing it? Well anyway, here’s an important thread on the House’s Section 702 “reform” bill, scheduled for a floor vote ASAP (as early as Dec. 12), which would be one of the largest expansions of surveillance within the US (accessible text below the images along with links to the linked articles)

Tweet thread from Elizabeth Goitein:

RED ALERT: Buried in the House intelligence committee’s Section 702 “reform” bill, which is schedule for a floor vote as soon as tomorrow, is the biggest expansion of surveillance inside the United States since the Patriot Act. 1/11

Through a seemingly innocuous change to the definition of “electronic service communications provider,” the bill vastly expands the universe of U.S. businesses that can be conscripted to aid the government in conducting surveillance. 2/11

Under current law, the government can compel companies that have direct access to communications, such as phone, email, and text messaging service providers, to assist in Section 702 surveillance by turning over the communications of Section 702 targets. 3/11

Under Section 504 of the House intelligence committee’s bill, any entity that has access to *equipment* on which communications may be transmitted or stored, such as an ordinary router, is fair game. What does that mean in practice? It’s simple… 4/11

Hotels, libraries, coffee shops, and other places that offer wifi to their customers could be forced to serve as surrogate spies. They could be required to configure their systems to ensure that they can provide the government access to entire streams of communications. 5/11

Even a repair person who comes to fix the wifi in your home would meet the revised definition: that person is an “employee” of a “service provider” who has “access” to “equipment” (your router) on which communications are transmitted. 6/11

The bill’s sponsors deny that Section 504 is intended to sweep so broadly. What *is* the provision intended to do, and how is the government planning to use it? Sorry, that’s classified. 7/11

At the end of the day, though, the government’s claimed intent matters little. What matters is what the provision, on its face, actually allows—because as we all know by now, the government will interpret and apply the law as broadly as it can get away with. 8/11

This isn’t a minor or theoretical concern. One of the FISA Court amici posted a blog to warn Americans about this provision. I can’t overstate how unusual it is for FISA Court amici to take to the airwaves in this manner. We’d be foolish to ignore it. https://www.zwillgen.com/law-enforcement/fisa-reform-bill-702-surveillance/ 9/11

If you don't want to have to worry that the NSA is tapping into communications at the hotel where you're staying, tell your House representative to vote NO on the House intelligence bill this week. More on the many flaws with that bill here: https://t.co/i9PEXmg5r6 10/11

Instead, they should vote for the Protect Liberty & End Warrantless Surveillance Act, a bill passed by the House Judiciary Committee on a 35-2 vote that would reauthorize Sec. 702 with strong reforms to protect Americans’ privacy and civil liberties. https://t.co/CN7ZepGSUu 11/11

[sycamorality]

misc broadcast headcanons

broadcasts function like online forums or chatrooms. there are three global lines that any iterator can connect to no matter their location. generally these were set up for theories regarding the great problem, but have since become chatrooms for about any topic. it's common courtesy to have a connection and disconnection message display whenever either action is taken.

there are specific chats that can be connected to for certain topics; history archival, bioengineering, structural issues and repair, art, etc. some lines even share game files or links to broadcasts that were formatted in a way that they'd work like online webgames through some smart engineering! it's common to see connection messages on broadcasts for certain topics, but they aren't necessary if you're just gonna lurk. the webgame broadcasts, also known as 'sitecasts', 'interactable broadcasts' or 'online game forums' depending on who you ask - or 'game forums' for the sake of simplicity, have join messages disabled by default but do display users online, unless a user specifically sets themself not to show as online. users are usually shown with usernames set by the iterators - each username has to be unique, however. it acts like an account. generally, broadcast lines with specific topics are moderated by the iterator that set them up, multiple iterators, or via a voting system that allows iterators to vote on banning or muting [whether permanently or temporarily] another iterator that may be causing issues. the global lines are moderated by a few specific iterators built for communications and moderation, but it is usually common courtesy to moderate your own local group on the global lines and force disconnect them if any issue arises. seniors have a senior signifier next to their name, usually either {S}, {SENIOR}, {LG_I1 LOCAL ADMIN} or {I1 LOCAL ADMIN}. these are optional a can be toggled off by the senior iterators themselves if they wish to not display it. seniors can punish their own juniors, but cannot moderate other local groups.

LG in one of the two latter signifiers stands for Local Group, and the I1 is the sector their local group is located in. usually the signifiers with local group sectors are disabled and never seen due to privacy reasons, but on occasion a senior will have their local group's sector in their signifier, for varying reasons. sectors are an upper case letter and then a number. there are different parts of sectors that are usually split apart like I1nw or I1w for directional locations, or just randomly chosen letters like I1y or I1k.

generally, one's acronym appears in broadcast chatlogs.

[I1_LOCAL] ESoF: so what's for this cycle? FoaI: Lizards, lizards, oh would you look at that, a slugcat, ESoF: give me the damn overseer. FoaI: I don't think I will~ CatM: can we stop arguing?

[GLOBAL_02] CONNECTED USERS - [183] - ACTIVE USERS - [27] FiV: Say, how's that going? FoS: Not all too well, I'd imagine, I haven't heard from him in a while. OttS: A shame, for sure! SE: …Says you. SfaS: We can only hope it isn't another case of rot! FoS: Do you really have to bring that up? ShE: i don't think thats appropriate to bring up after last cycle. SE_2: I think I have to agree with Shared Eyes.

ShE, SE, and SE_2 all share an acronym; they have all chosen to differenciate by either adding a letter in the middle or end, or by adding an underscore and a number. while their names are displayed on the chatline, broadcast logs won't show this when archived, so acronyms are made unique.

[WANDERINGTHERUINS] PUBLIC GROUP - all participants anonymous ToPS: oh! what did you find with your overseers this cycle, Peace? SP: A few old pearls that my overseers scanned for their information. I couldn't get much off them, however. NSA: You could purpose a.. slugcat, was it? To retrieve any pearls your overseers find. SP: i could, i could! good idea. i'll consider.

there are also anonymous broadcats where pseudonyms are mandatory and will show regardless. all participants will be shown as anonymous, but the acronyms of their pseudonyms will be shown in chatlogs.

(small note - all the acronyms here are acronyms of some of my iterator ocs!)

[bullet-prooflove]

Covert Affairs: Vostanik Sabatino x Reader (feat: G. Callen)

Tagging: @kmc1989 @novamariestark @words-and-seeds @thiashazzywriting @whateversomethingbruh

You’ve been with Sabatino almost two years when your relationship gets thrust into the spotlight. It’s a litany of stolen moments whenever he arrives back in LA. Whirlwind dinner dates and nights spent ruining you in the sheets of his hotel room. You hit your favourite brunch spots, ranking them with detailed notes you keep on your phone for the next time he’s in town. He gives you a tour of Hollywood, the places he used to haunt back in the day when he was playing with his band. You catch a couple of shows over pitchers of beer in a dive bar or two.

“Do you ever think about doing it again?” You ask him as you watch the band from a spot near the bar. Your back comes to rest against his chest, his arm looped around your waist, holding you close.

“Maybe one day, when I finally put down some roots.” He murmurs into your ear as he nuzzles the curve of your throat. “I miss making music.”

He fucks you in the bathroom of the bar, the pulse of the music vibrating through the walls as he goes down on you to a God-awful rendition of ‘Killer Queen’. Whenever you hear that song in the aftermath, you think of that night. His mouth on you, tongue thrust deep inside when you come for him just as Freddy hits the high note.

Sam’s away in Somalia when Nell and Eric identify a problem. Someone has been downloading classified data from the NCIS server and selling it on the black market. An investigation is opened into everyone who was working at a computer terminal during the download, and you happen to be one of them. You’d stayed late to catch up on the after-action reports after losing a bet to Callen at the shooting rage.

It’s ridiculous that a tickle in your nose just as you’re about to pull the trigger is the reason your whole life blows up.

Part of the investigation includes cloning the personal phones of the people under suspicion so they can deep dive into their lives. You make it relatively easy, leaving yours in the top drawer of your desk when you hit the gym with Kensi. Nobody really believes it’s you, you’ve been with them six years. You’ve shed blood, cried tears, saved their lives, fought their battles. For Nell and Eric, it’s simply a process of elimination, that is until they find a wealth of incriminating data.

Calls from multiple international sources they can’t verify.

An encrypted message app, hidden under the calculator icon.

A secret cache of files that are password protected.

It’s all high-level security, something you don’t need on your personal device, almost NSA level shit. Even with their tech savvy it would take hours to break into the phone and they don’t have that kind of time because you’ve just received a text from a burner cell telling you to meet at The Majestic Hotel, Room 216, later this evening.

You must be meeting the buyer.

They can’t take the risk of that information falling into the wrong hands, so it becomes an op with you as the target. It’s hastily put together, there’s no time to run prior surveillance because it’s going down just as they pull up to the hotel. They catch a glimpse of you stepping into the room before the door closes quietly behind you.

Callen, Deeks and Kensi take up residence just outside the door, allowing a few minutes for the exchange to take place before they use the keycard to gain entry.

When they burst into the room guns drawn, it’s not what anyone expected.

The first thing they see is Sabatino. He’s in a state of undress. His white button up shirt hangs open, revealing his bare chest including that messy scar etched into his flesh. There’s lipstick marks trailing down the hollow of his throat, staining his skin. It’s fire engine red, the shade you were wearing. He holds his hands up in a gesture of surrender, his body shielding you from what he perceives to be a threat.

For Callen it's an echo back to that day in Afghanistan, the one when Sabatino put himself between you and the bullet that would have ended your life.

When you step out from behind him, you’re in a similar state of disarray. Your lipstick is smeared across your mouth, your hands tugging the fabric of the black wrap dress around your body covering up the lingerie that you’re wearing.

You’re both arrested and taken to separate interrogation rooms in the Boatshed. You’re silent in the face of the accusation but Sabatino, he will not stop talking. He’s pissed on your behalf, that your team won’t give you the benefit of the doubt, that you’re being treated like a criminal. Him, he’s used to this shit, but you deserve better.

You don’t blame them for suspecting you, you know how it looks. You’d be doing the same thing in their shoes; in fact, you have.

They sweat you for a while, leave you spinning your wheels. It’s standard procedure in a case like this, let the suspect get in their own head, make them eager to talk. You know what’ll happen in that time, they’ll find evidence of your relationship with Sabatino. It’s not that that bothers you, it’s the intimate items you’d brought with you to the hotel room sitting in your overnight bag. The one that someone is now going to have to search through. It’s humiliating.

It's Callen that comes to interrogate you, you didn’t expect anything different, he is your superior after all. You know that your conversation is about to get a lot more personal because Callen has to consider the possibility that Sabatino’s been using you for intel, he wouldn’t be doing his due diligence if he didn’t.

“Your relationship with Sabatino, take me through it.”

So, you do, from that first kiss in the car to the last time he was in town. As you detail your relationship, things start to make sense to Callen, pieces he hasn’t put together until now. Sabatino’s reaction back in Afghanistan when you were taken, the fact he’d undertaken the prisoner walk instead of a member of your team. He had known that bullet was coming, that the Taliban couldn’t afford to let you go. He’d been prepared to die for you that day.

Callen thinks about earlier in the hotel room, Sabatino’s first instinct had been to get between you and whatever was coming through that door. He understands that urge, it’s reactive and primal, like a wolf protecting his mate.

There’s other things he’s noticed. Sabatino’s smile when you’re around, it brighter, more genuine. The look he gives you, there’s always a warmth in it despite the fact he’s being a smartass. The last time they’d arrested him, he’d been reserved but this time he’s irate and Callen knows that it comes from a place of love. That he’s infuriated on your behalf.

At the end of your story, you give him the passwords for your phone. Everything you need to prove the existence of your relationship resides on that device.

“See for yourself.” You tell him and he does.

Those files you’d encrypted?

Selfies.

The two of you eating ice cream on the boulevard, the sun setting in the background. Sabatino kissing your cheek as you smile into the camera at a bar in Hollywood. Him playing a guitar on the couch in your living room, a book of chords laid out in front of him. There’s more of them, documenting your relationship over the past two years. For anyone else these would be normal Instagram images but for someone who’s a covert agent they’re a death sentence.

The hidden chat app?

It’s full of voice notes filled with private, intimate things that no one else should ever be privy to.

When I look up at the sky tonight it reminds me of Afghanistan, the first night I spent with you.

You looked too beautiful to wake up this morning, I’m sorry I had to leave.

The sun’s just rising here, and all I can think about is how I wish I was waking up next to you.

The international calls?

Callen realises it’s Sabatino checking in, letting you know he’s still alive.

By all accounts he’s looking at a couple in love, one that’s been forced to keep their relationship a secret due the nature of Sabatino’s career. Callen’s worked for the CIA; he knows the risks. He also knows that this man would set the entire world on fire if anything happened to you.

“Come for a drink tonight.” Callen suggests when it’s all said and done. “I wanna get to know Sabatino a little better, you know, just in case he ends up joining the family.”

You roll your eyes as you stand in the main room of the Boatshed, gathering the few personal items that had been transported with you.

“Our very fucked up little family.” You retort.

“Neither less he’s important to you, so he’s important to us too.” Callen tells you.

You can hear the sincerity in voice. Callen doesn’t say things he doesn’t mean, not to you. You’ve been lied to too many times in the past before you’d transferred to LA. Your old partner back San Diego had been corrupt, it had been a severe blow to your psyche. You’d been transferred to LA because you were deemed a problem child. Callen got that, he’d understood it. He’d made you a deal.

“If you’re upfront with me, I’ll be upfront with you, it’s a two-way street.”  

That’s the way the two of you operated and it had worked consistently over the past six years.

“Even after all of this.” You say gesturing at the monitors that oversee the interrogation rooms.

You’re talking about the fact that you’ve spent two years hiding your life with a man, he has a kinda love/hate relationship with. Out of everyone you work with Callen has the most trust issues, this should be a problem for him, but the thing is, it’s not. He understands it on both levels. You’re protecting the man you love, and Sabatino, he’s protecting you too.

“Especially after all of this.” He says firmly before he places his palms on the surface of the wooden table and tilting his head up to meet your gaze. “Look I’m not going to pretend I understand what you see in the guy, but he cares about you, hell he almost died for you, and I can’t fault him for that. Trust me I want to, but I can’t.”

There’s an edge of humour to his voice because his interactions with Sabatino have always fluctuated between irritation and respect. The man is an excellent operative, and the problem is he knows it. You find yourself smiling despite yourself, your fingertips tapping lightly on the table.

“Alright.” You agree because this how you step into the light, how the two of you move forward into the future. “But the drinks are on you guys tonight.”

Love Nik? Don’t miss any of his stories by joining the taglist here.

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[mariacallous]

Last month, US president Joe Biden signed a surveillance bill enhancing the National Security Agency’s power to compel US businesses to wiretap communications going in and out of the country. The changes to the law have left legal experts largely in the dark as to the true limits of this new authority, chiefly when it comes to the types of companies that could be affected. The American Civil Liberties Union and organizations like it say the bill has rendered the statutory language governing the limits of a powerful wiretap tool overly vague, potentially subjecting large swaths of corporate America to warrantless and secretive surveillance practices.

In April, Congress rushed to extend the US intelligence system’s “crown jewel,” Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). The spy program allows the NSA to wiretap calls and messages between Americans and foreigners abroad—so long as the foreigner is the individual being “targeted” and the intercept serves a significant “foreign intelligence” purpose. Since 2008, the program has been limited to a subset of businesses that the law calls “electronic communications service providers,” or ECSPs—corporations such as Microsoft and Google, which provide email services, and phone companies like Sprint and AT&T.

In recent years, the government has worked quietly to redefine what it means to be an ECSP in an attempt to extend the NSA’s reach, first unilaterally and now with Congress’ backing. The issue remains that the bill Biden signed last month contains murky language that attempts to redefine the scope of a critical surveillance program. In response, a coalition of digital rights organizations, including the Brennan Center for Justice to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, is pressing the US attorney general, Merrick Garland, and the nation’s top spy, Avril Haines, to declassify details about a relevant court case that could, they say, shed much-needed light on the situation.

In a letter to the top officials, more than 20 such organizations say they believe the new definition of an ECSP adopted by Congress might “permit the NSA to compel almost any US business to assist” the agency, noting that all companies today provide some sort of “service” and have access to equipment on which “communications” are stored.

“Deliberately writing overbroad surveillance authorities and trusting that future administrations will decide not to exploit them is a recipe for abuse,” the letter says. “And it is entirely unnecessary, as the administration can—and should—declassify the fact that the provision is intended to reach data centers.”

The Justice Department confirmed receipt of the letter on Tuesday but referred WIRED to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which has primary purview over declassification decisions. The ODNI has not responded to a request for comment.

It is widely believed—and has been reported—that data centers are the intended target of this textual change. Matt Olsen, the assistant US attorney general for national security, appeared on an April 17 episode of the Lawfare podcast to say that, while unable to confirm or deny any specifics, data centers today store a significant amount of communications data and are an “example” of why the government viewed the change as necessary.

A DOJ spokesperson pointed WIRED to an April 18 letter by Garland that claims the new ECSP definition is “narrowly tailored.” The letter includes written reflections on the provision by the assistant attorney general, Carlos Uriarte, who writes that the “fix” is meant to address a “critical intelligence gap” resulting from changes in technology over the past 15 years. According to Uriarte, the DOJ has committed to applying the new definition internally “to cover the type of service provider at issue” before the court.

Ostensibly this means the government is promising to limit future surveillance directives to data centers (in addition to the companies traditionally defined as ECSPs).

The surveillance court that oversees FISA and the appeals court that reviews its decisions sided two years ago with an unidentified company that fought back after being served an NSA order. Both courts ruled that it did not, in fact, appear to meet the criteria for being considered an ECSP, as only part of its function was storing communications data. Finding the government’s interpretation of the statute overly broad, the court reminded the government that only Congress has the “competence and constitutional authority” to rewrite the law.

Digital rights groups argue that declassifying additional information about this FISA case may help the public understand which types of businesses are actually subject to NSA directives. Practically speaking, they say, that information is no longer a secret anyway. “Declassifying this information would cause little if any national security harm,” the letter says. “The New York Times has already revealed that the relevant FISC case addressed data centers for cloud computing.”

In the aftermath of the FISA court’s ruling, the NSA and other spy agencies began lobbying the House and Senate intelligence committees to aid the administration in redefining what it means to be an ECSP. Members of both committees have subsequently portrayed the court’s ruling as a “directive” that Congress needs to expand the NSA’s reach. In a floor speech last month, Mark Warner, the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said, “So what happened was, the FISA Court said to Congress: You guys need to close this loophole; you need to close this and change this definition.”

But in fact what the court asserted was that the government had exceeded its authority and that it was Congress’ job, not the Justice Department’s, to revise the law. “Any unintended gap in coverage revealed by our interpretation is, of course, open to reconsideration by the branches of government whose competence and constitutional authority extend to statutory revision,” the court said.

This would culminate in new language being proposed that quickly alarmed legal experts, including top civil liberties attorneys who’ve appeared before the secret court in the past. The surveillance fears quickly spread to Silicon Valley. The Information Technology Industry Council, one of the tech industry's top lobbying arms, warned that companies like Facebook and IBM were interpreting the bill as having “vastly expanded the US government’s warrantless surveillance capabilities.”

This expansion, the firm added, would also hinder the “competitiveness of US technology companies” and arguably imperil the “continued global free flow of data between the US and its allies.” Customers internationally, it argued, would likely begin taking their business elsewhere should the US government turn data centers into surveillance watering holes.

Concerns about the new ECSP definition have been circulating since December. While largely dismissing them, members of the House and Senate intelligence committees made a few adjustments in February, exempting a handful of business types. This came in response to popular concerns that Starbucks employees and hotel IT staff might be secretly conscripted by the NSA. FISA experts such as Marc Zwillinger—a private attorney who has appeared twice before the FISA Court of Review—noted in response to those adjustments that Congress’ rush to exempt a handful of businesses only served to demonstrate that the text was inherently too broad.

Intelligence committee members kept the pressure on lawmakers to reauthorize the Section 702 program with the sought-after language, going as far as to suggest that another 9/11-style attack might occur if they failed. The power of the committees was on full display, as while neither actually have primary jurisdiction over FISA, a majority of the Section 702 bill that passed was authored by intelligence committee staff.

Even while supporting the new framework and dismissing the intensity of civil society’s concerns, Warner did eventually step forward to acknowledge the new ECSF definition needed additional tweaking. First, on the Senate floor in April, he said that Garland shared his “view” that the language “could have been drafted better.” Later, in response to questions from reporters, he added: “I’m absolutely committed to getting that fixed.”

That appears unlikely to happen soon. According to The Record, Warner indicated that the best time to update the language again would be in the “next intelligence bill,” presumably referring to legislation this fall broadly reauthorizing the intelligence community’s work.

In the meantime, however, more than half of Congress is running for election, and the next US president will have greater surveillance powers than any other before. No one can say for sure who that president will be or how they’ll make use of that authority.

[saltyfilmmajor]

Underrated ship dynamic: Catholic priest and the agnostic

[myveryownfanfiction]

18+ MINORS AND THOSE WITHOUT AGE IN BIO DNI

tags: @illiana-mystery

requested by: @coffee-n-bagels-comic-universe

request: My other idea is for 'Mother' from Sneakers meeting a federal agent who he falls head over heels for but they try to deny that they like him back

warnings: swearing, mention of wanting to have sex

I watched as Abbott rolled his eyes at carls request. Chewing on my bottom lip, I glanced over at mother. His eyes flickered between Carl and the other nsa agent that stood behind me. I could practically see the wheels turning in his head as his eyes landed on me.

“hang on.” He said. I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. “If Carl can get her phone number, I want one too.”

“Darren.” I sighed and looked at Abbott. Mother looked at me and shrugged.

“please?” He asked. I shook my head. He frowned as Abbott confirmed it was my choice.

“sorry Darren.” I said as we cleared out. I patted his shoulder and could feel his gaze on my back as I left the building.

“you know,” Abbott said as he fell into step next to me. “You could have given him the number. He’ll find it one way or another. And I don’t think it would be that bad…” I shot him a look, somewhere between heartbreak and fear.

“he’s not worth losing my job.” I whispered harshly. “He’s a hacker.” Abbott sighed and nodded.

“whatever.” He said. “Mother has a way of finding things anyway so don’t blame me if he finds the number.”

“I will blame you.” I said as I passed him by to get into the car. “You’ll leave him a trail to find it. I know you better than you think.” Abbott laughed as we drove off. A few days later my phone rang with an unknown number. I smirked and shook my head, letting it go to voice mail.

“dammit. Alright. Uh (Y/N), if this is the right number, please call me back. It’s uh…it’s Darren.” His voice dropped when he said his name. I smiled to myself as I continued making my lunch. He never referred to himself with his first name, mainly sticking to his hacker moniker. “Roskow. Uh please.” There was a pause before his voice came back across the line. “If this isn’t (Y/N), I’m sorry for taking up space on your machine. Have a nice day.” The machine clicked and beeped as he hung up. I laughed as I walked over to delete the message. Every week was the same, phone call from a new unknown number with the same message. He always left his name, never his moniker. Something about the refusal to use it made me rethink the length I was holding him at.

“still haven’t called him back?” Abbott asked one day as we drove out to a warehouse where there had been a tip. I glanced over at him and rolled my eyes.

“look just because you let him get my number and he hasn’t yet had his moniker when calling me, doesn’t mean that I’m going to call him back.” I shot back. Abbott laughed.

“I did nothing of the sort.” He said, having a hard time making eye contact.

“sure.” I laughed. “Oh shit.” I quickly covered my face as we pulled up to the scene. “Darren called in the tip didn’t he?” Abbott looked at me before looking out my window. Darren was standing there, looking at each car that drove by him.

“no.” Abbott said. “But I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s monitoring our frequencies.”

“fuck me.” I muttered, turning in my seat to see him. Darren watched my car as we drove into the warehouse.

“I’m sure he wants to.” Abbott laughed as we got out of the car. My door had barely closed when there was a commotion at the door. I held up a hand to let Abbott know i had it.

“Darren.” I said as I walked over. He smiled at the agent holding him back and I met him in the corner of the warehouse. “You know anything about this?” His smile fell. The rapid shake of his head made his hair fall across his eyes.

“no. Definitely not.” He said. I nodded, looking over at Abbott.

“if it werent for the way you’re shaking your head I’d almost say you were lying.” I said, reaching out without thinking and brushing his bangs back. Darren bit his lip as his eyes trailed after my hand.

“no uh bishop has a scanner and whistler may have…” Darren stopped as the corner of my lip quirked up. “Yeah I’m gonna stop talking.” He chuckled looking down at the floor.

“alright Darren?” He hummed as he looked up at me again, eyebrows raised. “I need you to stop listening to that scanner and tell whistler to lay off tracking me. Which is creepy by the way. Drop that one real fast.” Darren nodded as I pointed at him. “And just…stop calling me. Ok?” Darren’s face fell and I gave him a soft smile.

“but (Y/N)…” he started. I put my hand on his arm.

“I have to go do this but Darren…” I squeezed his forearm. “I cant. As much as you seem to think I can, I cant.” I turned and walked away, not being able to stand the expression that came over his face. Abbott frowned as he watched Darren over my shoulder as I walked back over. “Don’t.” I warned as I passed him to go look at the crime scene we had established.

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Abbott muttered as he followed me. The next few times we got called out, Darren was there. The phone calls had continued, evolving into Darren trying to convince me that it was worth the risk to be with him.

Until one day, I slammed the door and leaned my head against it. I screamed and hit it with the palm of my hand. The sting brought me back slightly. There had been a shooting, we lost our evidence and on top of it all there had been a threat against the agency. I screamed again before turning to my living room. I collapsed on the couch and dropped my arm over my eyes. The steady beep of my answering machine made me drop my arm. Staring at it, I wondered who could have called. Darren called when he knew I was home, still hoping I’d answer it. Getting up, I pressed the button and leaned against the table.

“hi. It’s me.” Darren’s voice came through the speaker and I frowned. “I know you told me to stop listening to the scanner but…well…” Darren laughed and I found the knot in my chest loosening some. “I…well…I just wanted to make sure you were alright. Physically. I know mentally it’s got to be hell.” I ran a hand down my face. “So just listen. I know you normally do anyway. I can’t tell you much without you wanting to come get me. But let me tell you how I got the moniker. I know you’re curious.” I laughed and moved to lay down on the couch next to the end table. The knot was almost completely gone by the time Darren had to end the message and call back. He left three messages, continuing the story. By the end of the last one, I was smiling and felt like a weight had been lifted. The phone rang and I picked it up, already knowing who it would be.

“hi Darren.” I said softly. The way his breath hitched over the phone and me smiling to myself.

“you picked up.” He said. I could practically see the wheels in his head turning, trying to put two and two together. “You never pick up.”

“and you kept monitoring our frequencies.” I said, my tone teasing. Darren laughed and closed a door on his end.

“yeah.” He admitted. “I’m sorry about today. And before you say anything I know I didn’t have anything to do with it but I’m still sorry.”

“your call helped.” I said quietly. “I was about to put my hand through a wall when I saw your message. Ended up laying on my couch instead. Thanks for that.” I closed my eyes as I waited for his response.

“anytime.” It came a moment later, Darren still clearly trying to come to terms with the fact that I had picked up. “Hey want to grab something to eat? Tonight? I have more stories.” I chewed my bottom lip before nodding.

“sure.” I confirmed when I realized he couldn’t see me. “Meet me at mine? I know you know the address.”

“yeah about that…” Darren said. “Look out your window.” I walked over and moved the curtain, laughing when I saw him in the phone booth in front of my building. “Want me to come up?”

“see you soon Darren.” I hung up as I watched him scramble to get out of the booth and up the stairs. It was a couple minutes later when I heard the knock on my door.

“Hey.” Darren said as I opened the door. In response, I grabbed his shirt and pulled him into a kiss. Darren made a noise in surprise before his hands made their way to my hips. I cupped his cheek, running my hand down to his chest before pulling away. Darren stared at me in surprise before smiling. “Ok.” I laughed at his clear shock before blindly grabbing my stuff off the entry table.

“tell me the story of this.” I said, tapping the crystal around his neck. Darren nodded. “I’ve never seen you without it. I want to know about it.”

“yeah ok.” He said, taking my hand as I closed my door and started walking down the hallway to the exit.

[fipindustries]

got obsessed last night thinking about that "would you go back to being 5 if you had the chance"

the more i thought of it the more issues started piling up.

first of all i wouldnt be able to keep it a secret for long. the sheer shock of meeting my family young again, including dead relatives, would be too strong. also i dont think i could convincingly pretend to act as a five year old. so i would have to tell the truth to my parents.

would they believe me? well i would be able to prove that i have completly unreasonable knowledge for a 5 year old, advanced math, literature, computation, physics, plus knowing english fluently. worst case scenario i can predict 9/11 and eventually they would just kind of have no option but to believe me.

would i be able to get them to buy early stock on shit like google, amazon, youtube, facebook, etc? i dunno, we were a struggling family in argentina back then, i dont think they would have the channels available to do that. also our country was about to be hit by one of its worst economic crises ever so that would also suck a whole lot.

the problem that comes with this is if they tell other people, if the secret comes out id be genuenly terrified id be kidnapped by some agency of some sort and they would try to squeeze me for all my knowledge of the future. same reason i dont think i could contact anyone online about this, there are many people online i would like to have their feed back on my situation but i would worry that a mail or a call or a private message would get intercepted by some NSA like agency (did they even exist in the 90's??? who knows) and is back to the kidnapping. im not internet savvy enough to know of any way to securely send messages online, less of all how to do that in 98.

the other problem is that i would be aware of so many tragedies in my family that i would feel the need to do something about. like how do i break it to my parents that they will get divorced eventually? i know of a distant aunt that will die eventually but i dont remember the exact year so how can i prevent that? do i tell those other relatives that their first attempt at having a child is going to end on a spontanous abortion??? i know of a relative who ended up molesting another relative but it would feel weird to accuse them when they havent done anything yet and it would be a terrible blow to the family and there is a chance they wouldnt believe me. but also i wouldnt be able to hang out with that relative knowing what they will do and it would be massively awkward. and also, how can i look at the relative that got molested on the face if im not going to stop what theyre going to go through? i would be forced to interact with some many people in my family i dont talk to anymore.

do i tell my dad that he will get fired from his job? do i tell my mom what career she is eventually going to pursue? how would she feel about that? would she even go to that career? would i be controlling her life telling her what she is supposed to do?

if i try to re establish friendships with my friends early on the power imbalance would be ridiculous. i already know everything about them. it would be a different friendship if i am the one who pursues it deliberatly and tries to cultivate it on purpose rather than letting it bloom organically. also if i meet them too early on they might be entirely different people, and maybe due to my interference they never grow up to be the people i am familiar with. do i tell that evangelical christian friend that they will eventually become an atheist? do i tell that other "boy" that they will eventually become a girl? do i let that guy know they are gay? holy shit i know of so many of my relatives and friends of my mom that were still on the closet back then.

and on that topic. fuck me, would i have to essentially boy mode for huge portions of my life until i finally start to get some independence. this is the late 90's early 2000's in argentina we are speaking about. i dont think i would get my parents to respect the gender of their 5 year old kid. that would fucking suck balls. shit i probably wouldnt be able to watch porn any more! or masturbate! or be in a serious relationship for at least ten years and even then, again power differentials, i would be so much more mature and adult than any prospective partner with my body's age.

also going to school would be hell, i could probably know how to avoid being bullied this second time around but still i dont think i could avoid being ostracized because i am not going to change who i am just so a bunch of snot nosed little kids dont make fun of me. so that would also suck.

i wouldnt be able to see nothing new on tv, jesus christ. it would all just be shows and episodes i saw before. same in movies. i could probably catch up on some movies from the past i didnt get around to seeing yet. and would probably get to see a bunch of my favourite movies on theatres that i hadnt had the chance to see. but over all it would mean no new media for 25 years. no new games, movies, books, comics, tv shows etc.

also, of course there would be divergences, massive divergences. in fact the more time passes the more things will inevitable change due to my interference and at some point i would be living an entirely new life with no memories to be guided by and that would be terrifying on a whole new level because there would be a chance i end up in a worse place i was at the first time around. i was thinking that i could at least live happy and secure knowing that i was not going to die because i know nothing killed me the first time around but what if actually the first time around i had a bunch of brushes with death i wasnt aware of like a potential car crash or whatever that this time around i do end up in?

there are just far too many downsides honestly to be worth it

[joyce7878]

#NSAspiesforeignpoliticians

Us spying scandal Hangs over German media reports that the US spied on 122 leaders "NSA accessed more than 300 Merkel messages!" After spying on German Chancellor Angela Merkel's mobile phone for years, the NSA has been revealed to have stored information about 122 heads of state, including Merkel, Der Spiegel reported. U.S. intelligence agencies created a database specifically for heads of state, according to an NSA document marked "top secret" and provided to the magazine by former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden. Ms. Merkel's name appears prominently on the list of people monitored by the database. In May 2009, the NSA sought information about 122 heads of state on the list. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, former Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi and Somali President Yusuf are listed in alphabetical order. Merkel was ninth on the list, followed by former Malian President Amadou Toure and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. At 122nd was Yulia Tymoshenko, then Ukraine's prime minister. The database is said to exist to "find out information about targets that would otherwise be difficult to access". Snowden provided articles proving that Merkel had indeed been the target of official U.S. spying and that the National Security Agency had gathered intelligence on her. The German newspaper Bild says Snowden's Revelations have gradually pieced together a full picture of the US intelligence agency's surveillance programs. Der Spiegel also said the documents would become important material evidence for federal prosecutors, who will decide in the coming days whether to launch an investigation into the alleged spying. The Berliner Zeitung commented that Obama's visit to Europe a week ago came as the US and Europe emerged from the spying scandal as "best friends" again. A new scandal over spying on world leaders has cast another cloud over transatlantic relations. German press TV commented that the United States is still refusing to sign a non-spying agreement with Germany. Without a legal compromise by the United States, German officials and citizens could no longer avoid being spied on.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

This day in history

TONIGHT (July 20), I'm appearing in CHICAGO at Exile in Bookville.

#20yrsago Militant wing of the accessibility movement https://web.archive.org/web/20040722063824/http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,64253,00.html

#15yrsago UK National Portrait Gallery threatens Wikipedia over scans of its public domain art https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8156268.stm

#15yrsago Publishers’ shibboleths vs the future of publishing https://publishingperspectives.com/2009/07/why-publishing-cannot-be-saved-as-it-is/

#15yrsago Amazon’s Orwellian deletion of Kindle books https://memex.craphound.com/2009/07/20/amazons-orwellian-deletion-of-kindle-books/

#10yrsago Anti-NSA messages projected on US embassy in Berlin https://www.theverge.com/2014/7/19/5918473/german-artist-protests-nsa-with-light-graffiti-on-us-embassy-in-berlin

#10yrsago US “suspected terrorist” database had 1.5M names added to it in past 5 years https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2014/07/18/terrorist-database-continues-to-grow-at-rapid-rate/

#10yrsago Audio from Snowden/Ellsberg panel at HOPEX https://www.mediafire.com/download/mu7yqb1b1y7jty5/Ellsberg-Snowden-at-HopeX.mp3

#5yrsago Three California Nazis sentenced to prison for their participation in the Charlottesville “Unite the Right” rally https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdva/pr/three-members-california-based-white-supremacist-group-sentenced-riots-charges-related

#5yrsago A free, accessible, hyperlinked version of the Mueller Report https://blog.archive.org/2019/07/19/the-mueller-report-now-with-linked-footnotes-and-accessible/

#5yrsago Eminent psychologists condemn “emotion detection” systems as being grounded in junk science https://www.psychologicalscience.org/publications/emotional-expressions-reconsidered-challenges-to-inferring-emotion-from-human-facial-movements.html

#5yrsago Equifax settles with FTC, CFPB, states, and consumer class actions for $700m https://nypost.com/2019/07/19/equifax-agrees-to-pay-700m-after-massive-data-breach/

#5yrsago Chrome is patching a bug that lets sites detect and block private browsing mode, declares war on incognito-blocking https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/07/chrome-76-prevents-nyt-and-other-news-sites-from-detecting-incognito-mode/

#1yrago Private equity ghouls have a new way to steal from their investors https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/20/continuation-fraud/#buyout-groups

Support me this summer on the Clarion Write-A-Thon and help raise money for the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers' Workshop!

[vomitdodger]

The company, Crypto AG, got its first break with a contract to build code-making machines for U.S. troops during World War II. Flush with cash, it became a dominant maker of encryption devices for decades, navigating waves of technology from mechanical gears to electronic circuits and, finally, silicon chips and software.

The Swiss firm made millions of dollars selling equipment to more than 120 countries well into the 21st century. Its clients included Iran, military juntas in Latin America, nuclear rivals India and Pakistan, and even the Vatican.

But what none of its customers ever knew was that Crypto AG was secretly owned by the CIA in a highly classified partnership with West German intelligence. These spy agencies rigged the company's devices so they could easily break the codes that countries used to send encrypted messages.

The decades-long arrangement, among the most closely guarded secrets of the Cold War, is laid bare in a classified, comprehensive CIA history of the operation obtained by The Washington Post and ZDF, a German public broadcaster, in a joint reporting project

👆In a sane world you’d think there would be severe repercussions and outrage across the globe. But since the media itself is owned by the CIA (Operation Mockingbird never ended) this likely won’t even be mentioned anywhere except the blogosphere. And since that article is from 2020…and you likely didn’t know this…you have your answer. And surely it’s way worse now in the police state.

Let’s not forget the NSA is doing it as well. The unconstitutional Patriot Act is still in effect. Article from last year:

And of course there’s this:

While this is likely fake:

This isn’t (from 2015):

Remember a year or so ago when it was revealed the intelligence links to Twitter and Fakebook? Updated tally from August: