Microsoft Let NSA Spooks 'Enhance' Windows 7
Frank Merlott
A National Security Agency director just bragged to a Senate subcommittee
about his agency's close "cooperation" with Microsoft to, err, "enhance"
how Windows 7 guards a user's privacy. Doesn't that just make you feel all
warm and fuzzy?
The spooks at the NSA are, of course, notorious for their role monitoring
internet activity, and for their use of warantless wiretaps to monitor
U.S. phones, often illegally. So computer users could easily be worried to
hear that the NSA has "partnerships" with Microsoft, which makes their
operating systems; Intel, which makes their wireless chipsets; and McAfee,
which makes their antivirus software (so-called!).
From NSA Information Assurance Director Richard Shaeffer's testimony to
the Senate Judiciary's Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security:
Working in partnership with Microsoft and elements of the Department of
Defense, NSA leveraged our unique expertise and operational knowledge of
system threats and vulnerabilities to engance Microsoft's operating system
security guide without constraining the user's ability to perform their
everyday tasks... All this was done in coordination with the product
release, not months or years later during the product's lifecycle.
Shaeffer also talked about his agency's "trusting relationship" with the
private sector, including a "partnership" with Intel and McAffee to
promote a security protocol — or should we say, "security" protocol? —
from the federal government.
These IT companies all want to do business with the government, so it's to
their advantage to be seen as cooperative in implementing federal
protocols in their products. But should consumers distrust these ties? The
general consensus among private-sector security experts canvassed by
ComputerWorld was, in the words of one, "I can't imagine NSA and Microsoft
would do anything deliberate because the repercussions would be enormous
if they got caught."
Right, because if there's anything that clearly motivates these two
massive organizations with virtually guaranteed near-term revenue streams,
it's fear of public shame. This is why we have not seen either entity
doing anything embarrassing, recently.
Source:
http://valleywag.gawker.com/5409368/microsoft-let-nsa-spooks-enhance-windows-7
----------
Privacylover: http://www.privacylover.com
seeker
>
> ----------
> Privacylover:http://www.privacylover.com
I suspect that all communications-based technologies introduced to the
consumer market have backdoors for spying and investigations built
into them before they are ever permitted to hit the market
Anonymous
I believe you are correct. Governments have no conscience when it
comes to breakiing laws themselves. They will go to great efforts to
frame someone (Dr. Hatfield being persued by the FBI for 4 years). I
should think, however, that doing all your encrypting on a computer
that is never connected to the web might secure your communications.
You could do a gpg or pgp encryption block check to make sure that
nothing was commandeered and sandwiched into the block. Of course,
they could take the encrypted message and reencrypt it with the
public/secret keys therein. Catch it at the ISP or your cable box,
redo it again, and send it on. For better security, use FreeBSD to
encrypt and then transfer to block.