Facebook: Security & the NSA

For the second time this week I've been sent this link about Facebook's privacy policy so I thought I better take a look.

Essentially the "Big Brother is Watching" scenario targets Facebook for creating a policy that potentially releases personal information to third-party marketing agencies, government and law enforcement. Facebook has already been the subject of much controversy as athletes at University of Minnesota Duluth were disciplined for racy posts earlier in the year. I myself was burned within my first 24 hours of joining the popular network after I awoke in my mound of sofa popcorn to find that I had not only reconnected with two dozen friends, but that I had inadvertently thrust one of my best (and gay) friend's out of the closet.

THE MOTTO: If you're gay on Facebook, you're gay in real life.

HATING BOTH THE PLAYERS & THE GAME:
In 2006, AT&T faced an illegal domestic spying class-action lawsuit brought forward by the Electronic Frontiers Foundation. The telecom giant was charged with illegal wire tapping and data mining for the National Security Agency.

With the NSA at the bottom of so many new security / privacy issues, I thought it would be interesting to look at their core messages. According to a page obviously laid out for Netscape Navigator, the agency believes that:

-The enemy of the new century... has access to a global industry moving at the speed of light.
-Adversaries like Bin Laden can take full advantage of this technology - cell phones, fax machines, the Internet, emails, and encryption.

They even emphasize it in 12pt. sans serif font. Wow. Bin Laden's fax machine faxes at the speed of light? 299,792,458 metres per second? Wow, that makes it even more dangerous to have a long beard like that. He obviously has no respect for safety.

BE SMART
Don't think of the internet as a locked diary. Your posts really are published. But at the same time, don't fear technology and being who you really are (even if you have to use a pseudonym). It's probably the only thing keeping us sane in a world full of fear-mongering.

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Facebook: Security & the NSA

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