

Ask HN: Real-world consequences to the NSA of their leaks - zacinbusiness

So, the NSA has said that the Snowden leaks will compromise much of their information gathering. However, I fail to see how. Here are my points:<p>Now that there is an open discussion, some people may be able to prove that the information gathering is illegal. However, the government has the power to simply change the law at will. If we can prove that the government is willing to break the law, then I don&#x27;t think it&#x27;s too fanciful to think that they are willing to simply change laws to fit their needs.<p>The NSA clearly doesn&#x27;t really care about public opinion. They have one of the largest operating budgets in the world, and the American people are literally scared of anything foreign or that our government tells us is a threat. Each time a new threat is identified the NSA gets another $150,000,00 in operating budget (this is an example, but it&#x27;s probably close to true). So, with that kind of budget, and with the obvious fact that they take great delight in the sorts of technical achievements that they make (and I don&#x27;t think anyone can deny that they have indeed made great technical achievements, dubious as they are), why should they care if the American people are happy about it? There&#x27;s nothing we can really do.<p>Other governments are angry at the scope of the snooping but, again, why should the NSA really care? They are backed up both by the strongest economy in the world and by the strongest military in the world, and I&#x27;m guessing they are staffed by the smartest and best hackers in the world.<p>So, are there any actual, real-world threats to the NSA that will be empowered by the leaks? Or are they just annoyed that they got caught, because that was one of their bragging points?
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EricBurnett
A few examples:

* Companies like Google and Yahoo will encrypt their internal fibre links, and more of the information crossing internet backbones, making passive information gathering more difficult.

* Funding isn't guaranteed. The NSA hasn't really been impacted yet, but it's definitely possible for their budget to be cut in the wake of the ever-increasing revelations. It'll all come down to what the politicians think will get them the most power, and they'll happily go against the NSA if it will further that cause.

* On a slightly longer timescale, a sustained negative public opinion of the NSA will impact their ability to hire the best people.

The impacts on the NSA may not be as significant as you or I might wish, but
they're certainly non-zero.

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zacinbusiness
Those are good points. Do you think that the increased encryption of major
data processing company networks will increase security of the internet
overall? That would be a happy accidental effect.

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EricBurnett
Security, not really, in that I don't think anyone but state-supported actors
have the resources to tap into them at present. But privacy (from governments
local and foreign), yes.

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zacinbusiness
That would be interesting for sure. I'd almost like to do some research into
this over time. But I'd have no idea how to begin or how to proceed in a
meaningful way.

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DanBC
There may be improved oversight.

They'll probably change all the internal names for various projects.

They might work harder to help people who are moving towards whistleblowing,
to try to avoid it.

> They are backed up both by the strongest economy

Wait, what? The US is no longer AAA, merely AA+. There are a few other nations
rated better. Maybe you meant largest economy?

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zacinbusiness
You're right, I think I meant we have the most, or at least one of the most,
influential economies.

I read somewhere that there's software that watches people and can tell how
satisfied they are with their work. I wonder if this sort of tech is/will be
employed at the NSA to watch for possible future whistleblowers? Sort of like
a Pre-cog HR department?

