Report: Rare leaked NSA source code reveals Tor servers targeted

[bananas]

Source: Ars Technica

NSA says it only gathers such data for "valid foreign intelligence purposes."

Two Germany-based Tor Directory Authority servers, among others, have been specifically targeted by the National Security Agency’s XKeyscore program, according to a new report from German public broadcaster ARD. Tor is a well-known open source project designed to keep users anonymous and untraceable—users' traffic is encrypted and bounced across various computers worldwide to keep it hidden.

This marks the first time that actual source code from XKeyscore has been published. ARD did not say how or where it obtained the code. Unlike many other NSA-related stories, the broadcaster did not specifically mention the information being part of the trove leaked by whistleblower Edward Snowden.

XKeyscore is one of the high-level NSA surveillance programs that have been revealed via Snowden over the last year. The interface allows NSA and allied intelligence agencies to search all kinds of short-term data captured directly off of various Internet Exchanges worldwide.

This new code, which was published on Thursday, appears to flag people who are believed to live outside the United States and who request Tor bridge information via e-mail or who search for or download Tor or the security-minded TAILS operating system. Those users' IP addresses can then be tracked for further monitoring.

<snip>

Read more: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/07/report-rare-leaked-nsa-source-code-reveals-tor-servers-targeted/

[elias49]

1. Good old NSA.

They never do anything wrong. Posters on DU said so!

[bananas]

2. EFF: "Dear NSA, Privacy is a Fundamental Right, Not Reasonable Suspicion"

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2014/07/dear-nsa-privacy-fundamental-right-not-reasonable-suspicion

Dear NSA, Privacy is a Fundamental Right, Not Reasonable Suspicion
July 3, 2014 | By Eva Galperin and Nadia Kayyali and Kurt Opsahl

Learning about Linux is not a crime—but don’t tell the NSA that. A story published in German on Tagesschau, and followed up by an article in English on DasErste.de today, has revealed that the NSA is scrutinizing people who visit websites such as the Tor Project’s home page and even Linux Journal. This is disturbing in a number of ways, but the bottom line is this: the procedures outlined in the articles show the NSA is adding "fingerprints"—like a scarlet letter for the information age—to activities that go hand in hand with First Amendment protected activities and freedom of expression across the globe.

What we know

The articles, based on an in-depth investigation, reveal XKeyscore source code that demonstrates how the system works. Xkeyscore is a tool which the NSA uses to sift through the vast amounts of data it obtains. This source code would be used somewhere in the NSA’s process of collecting and analyzing vast amounts of data to target certain activities. According to the Guardian, XKeyscore’s deep packet inspection software is run on collection sites all around the world, ingesting one or two billion records a day.

<snip>

[bananas]

3. EFF represented DU when it was sued by Righthaven in 2010

https://www.eff.org/cases/righthaven-v-democratic-underground

Righthaven v. Democratic Underground

Democratic Underground -- represented by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Fenwick & West LLP, and attorney Chad Bowers -- was sued by Righthaven LLC on August 10 for a five-sentence excerpt of a Las Vegas Review-Journal news story that a user posted on the forum, with a link back to the Review-Journal website.

<snip>

[Uncle Joe]

6. Those are some good posts, bananas.

[littlemissmartypants]

8. Very interesting. nt

[villager]

4. For many vociferous posters here, the right to privacy is just more unicorn-yearning

Good, modern, sensible Democrats "keep their powder dry" over such issues.

Or something.

[Android3.14]

11. But...but you can't say that when a half dozen people with a kabillion posts

Remind us that we should only be upset with violations of the fourth amendment when a Republican is in power. It's okay for Democrats, right?

[pothos]

5. it's to protect us!

yeah! or...something like that!

[elias49]

12. Yeah. From the bogey-men they created.

What a deal they have for us!!

[littlemissmartypants]

7. Years ago when I used to lurk in the hackers

Chat rooms in the early innertubes yrs. I participated in a CIA site hack. Now I begin my phone calls with, "NSA, are you still on the line?" Those were the good old days. I'm hoping they are wasting time on me so someone in a covert op can fly under the radar. I would gladly wave my nickers to create a diversion any day of the week. Arrggggh!

[blkmusclmachine]

9. ,

,

[MannyGoldstein]

10. What's so hard for these moonbat Liberals to understand?

There's no reason to hide what you're doing unless you're committing crimes. Taking action against anyone who attempts to have some privacy is prudent, moral and legal, as our secret opinions make clear.

[greiner3]

13. I run 'Vidalia Bridge Bundle';

Will this make me a suspect in NSA's eyes?