Snowden Files - Privacy in a Digital World

Technomad's Avatar
I thought I would post some info that some here are apparently not aware of... that being LE routinely monitoring cell phone numbers in a particular area.

There are various ways/methods but in essence they all work like the STINGRAY technology.

http://reason.com/blog/2012/10/23/wi...urn-your-mobil

Without getting too technical this bit of Tech plays the part of a telecom and sniffs up cell phone connect info. That is... it captures cell phone numbers located within it's reception area. Since this is "meta data" that is data about a personal communication not the content of the call or communication itself... courts have decided that it is legal for broad collections by LE to capture cell numbers.

Obviously this is to further enforcement of higher level crimes like drug/gun trafficking. BUT this data is no doubt captured over a significant time and numbers that show up again and again and again... might get unwanted attention. Especially if this number can be correlated with other data of less than legal activities... such as say backpage.

In general you are playing a) the frequency of your number showing up at say 635 and 75 and you don't work for TI... b) or how easily your number can be "correlated" with a number frequently at 635 and 75

Tactics a person who wants privacy might try:
- A person might try to mask their number with a zero in it by using an oh "O" char
- A person using "Alt codes" found at http://symbolcodes.tlt.psu.edu/accen...ealt.html#math to mask numbers Ex: ‰ try before ten digit and after
- A person might put: nine seven two 555-5555 in a personal
- A private type might keep the cell phone on at a bare minimum during meetings, yes turning off is fine (except iphones)
- A person might NOT use an iphone... (another story)
- A person might use a hobby phone specifically for meet ups
- A person of course would turn off ALL gps location services and not use an iphone
- A person might NEVER EVER use gps navigation to locations... try magellan gps you can get from electronics store (separate from PHONE!)


Thats all I have now... If there is interest I can post more ideas for your privacy.



Gonzo DFW's Avatar
“We sleep soundly in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm.” -- Winston Churchill misquoting George Orwell.
TexTushHog's Avatar
"They that can give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."

Benjamin Franklin, misquoting no one and stating the gospel truth.
Gonzo DFW's Avatar
True, but deserving liberty and preserving it are, in theory, the same; in practice, especially with a non-voting public, is in reality a very different matter. But to paraphrase Mencken, most men (meaning in his time, citizens) want security, not liberty. But I get your point and, in theory, agree with it. But theory is forging plowshares from swords.
Juan Pablo de Marco's Avatar
“We sleep soundly in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm.” Originally Posted by Gonzo DFW
and this country has rough men ready to visit violence on tens of thousands of innocent civilians every year whose only crime was living in a country that has a shitload of oil. or living in a country with a government that would dare to raise taxes on oil corporations to benefit the ordinary citizen. and oh shit i could go on and on. point is...

if i were king i would put a statue of Snowden in every town square.

but you are right about one thing gonzo...hard for most in this country to expect a true free democracy when they participate so little in it and are so ill informed. but hey...more people in this country are gearing up for NFL season and will spend way more time in watching that and playing their fantasy league stuff than will make make a serious effort to learn what is really going on and try to do something about it...at the national, state, and local levels.

think i'll go watch the breaking bad premier.

JPdM
billw1032's Avatar
if i were king i would put a statue of Snowden in every town square.
JPdM Originally Posted by Juan Pablo de Marco
I have a great deal of inner conflict over the Snowden affair. I understand the importance of intelligence and classified information, having served 5-1/2 years in the USAF, but that was a long time ago. Things seem different now. So I'm inclined to say, +1.

“We sleep soundly in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm.” -- Winston Churchill misquoting George Orwell. Originally Posted by Gonzo DFW
I was fortunate to serve in the USAF during relatively peaceful times. But, I still recall waking up in the middle of the night in Korea wondering if I had just heard the alert siren. If that had happened, probably 1/3 of my squadron mates would have been dead or prisoners in the next 30 days. It's hard to express the respect I have for those who serve in more difficult circumstances.

"They that can give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."

Benjamin Franklin, misquoting no one and stating the gospel truth. Originally Posted by TexTushHog
Probably TTH and I don't agree on very much, but I have to give this a hearty +1. This is perhaps the most important thing I've seen posted on this board. Ever. It's only +1 because I don't know how to write googleplex on this machine.
Gonzo DFW's Avatar
JPdM and TTH -- both right. But as long as people sit home on election day, we'll be sending 18-year-olds to the Middle East and elsewhere to die. We -- the US -- create most of these problems too. Franklin, Jefferson and Adams all warned against "foreign entanglements." Now, we're meddling just about everywhere on the globe. But I do wish for a better world. In the meantime, let's hobby!
vixstudios's Avatar
"purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety" easy to say that 200 years ago when there was no threat of platter charges, weaponized botulinum, caesium'37, or Hillary =) .. it sucks that politics does not appeal to people with actual integrity. nice to see your post bill =), I am here today b/c 2 AF pjs got me out of a tight spot. =)