
NSA Hooking Up Ominously Named 'Perfect Citizen' To Watch The Internet - ericalexander
http://techdirt.com/articles/20100708/18144210139.shtml
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powrtoch
Really though. If you wanted to claim that it was just for research, why give
it such an inflammatory name? Compare:

1) WebReader is monitoring internet data. 2) Perfect Citizen is monitoring
internet data.

Which one do you expect to be a robocop-like being that will kick down your
door at night and declare "verdict: guilty, sentence: execution"?

Not that this doesn't reflect an irrational trust on your part of innocuous
names, but really, why name it that?

~~~
imgabe
I think to the mindset of someone who chooses to work for the NSA being like
Robocop is a GOOD thing. After all, Robocop catches the bad guys. If he comes
and kicks down your door, it's because you were doing something wrong.

If you sign up to work for an agency like the NSA, you're probably doing it
because you want to serve your country and protect it from the bad guys.
You're not setting out to create some kind of totalitarian police state.

~~~
dmor
you might not be setting out to create a police state, but neither were the
majority of people signing up for the Nazi party. Don't confuse sincerity with
being right

~~~
imgabe
That's not a valid comparison. Hitler and the top people _were_ trying to
create a police state. It didn't just spring up by accident from people trying
to otherwise do the right thing.

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metamemetics
If you are an American HNer, please tell your congressmen\women to reform the
Electronic Communications Privacy Act if you have not already. Your private
information should not be excluded from 4th ammendment protection just because
it's on the Internet.

If you don't know how to contact your representative\senator, the ACLU makes
it extremely easy and can locate them for you and send a letter on your behalf
via this online form:

[https://secure.aclu.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=U...](https://secure.aclu.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=2442)

From the website:

"Today, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), which should
safeguard electronic communications records (like your email or chat logs) and
the information you share with companies, is in serious need of an update.

The government should have to go to a judge and get a warrant that says it has
probable cause to believe you've committed a crime before it can read your
email, browse through your social networking account, or track your location."

~~~
maukdaddy
If you're a US Citizen you don't have to worry about your information, since
the NSA is forbidden by law from collecting information about US Citizens.

~~~
CWuestefeld
The phone companies are also forbidden by law from collecting this data. That
didn't stop them from doing so a few years back, and the Congress helpfully
gave them immunity after the fact.

Legislative guarantees of privacy and other freedoms are no guarantees at all.

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jimfl
Should have called it Network Activity Recording and Collation (NARC).

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mmaunder
I love this photo! Classic geek with braided ponytail dressed in black sitting
next to a uniformed guy (we hire both!). Both guys have 17 inch (or is it 15
inch) monitors that are switched off. Neither are looking at their screens. A
quarter of the screen real-estate up front is taken up by NSA logos. The
intelligence sign on the roof adds a certain irony. We can only hope the whole
set is staged.

<http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE66807I20100709>

~~~
smallblacksun
When they film inside an intelligence agency, they either turn off monitors
displaying sensitive information or show non-sensitive information on them
(like the NSA logo).

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xenophanes
Why would they pick such a creepy name on purpose? Does no one high up at the
NSA understand that this name _is_ creepy?

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kevintwohy
Seems to have gone dead (coincidence?) -- related links:

[http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-07/nsa-
wants-p...](http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-07/nsa-wants-
perfect-citizen-watch-cyber-attacks-americas-aging-critical-infrastructure)

[http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/200768/nsa_per...](http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/200768/nsa_perfect_citizen_program_is_only_one_piece_of_cyber_security_puzzle.html?tk=hp_blg)

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rdtsc
I am not sure why this is a big deal. NSA has been watching the internet for a
long time. A lot of those operations are probably shadowy classified ones.
That kind of information is good for high level decision making and sensitive
projects, but is not very useful in bullying regular citizens who might post
something "anonymously" on some forum.

What the government needs is a plausable cover for "we see what you did
there... on that forum ... on that date that is why you are denied this and
that or put on some black list."

Another reason for using such an inflamatory name is to test public's response
to such _kind_ of a project. Basically test the media and public's outcry
level. Possibly in preparation for expanding one of their existing projects
even further. Otherwise they couldn't have given it a more ominous Orwellian
name.

~~~
WiseWeasel
They want to install snooping equipment on (a much greater portion of) private
networks, such as the internal networks of major corporations. That's quite a
large ambition.

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jondoh
Did anyone else read the words "NSA Hooking Up" and expect the article to be
about something entirely different?

~~~
Sindrome
I did. Maybe I have been hanging around Craigslist too much...

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keefe
these were both -1 when I got here, where's the sense of humor HN?

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oconnore
I don't understand this either. I think some HN users think of themselves as
'all business', but humor is a useful contribution. We are humans capable (and
in need) of a range of emotions and responses. Embrace it.

It only gets to be a problem when it elbows out serious discussion, which this
did not. As long as the actual conversation gets floated to the top, there is
nothing wrong with some jokes as you scroll down.

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Sindrome
Did anyone else get an entirely different interpretation of the title the
first time they read it?

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RaphaelWimmer
404 ? Spooky.

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jauer
This doesn't seem very sinister. Sounds like NSA providing managed IDS to
their clients just like private security firms that provide managed network
security.

