Comments on: Can we trust the authorities to use deep packet inspection appropriately?

By: The FTC updates its privacy guidlines, for privacy | FocuSoft Tech Blog

The FTC updates its privacy guidlines, for privacy | FocuSoft Tech Blog — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 14:52:57 +0000

[...] extreme methods to protect their own backside, legally. It wasn’t too long ago that so-called deep packet inspection dominated an Internet news cycle: is it appropriate to use the technology, if yes when is it [...]

By: TheHoldSteady

TheHoldSteady — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 11:42:39 +0000

You where people are absolutely safe from Child Pornographers and Terrorists?

North Korea.

Cuomo’s lust for higher office requires the destruction of our liberties and privacies. Sadly, he is not the exception, rather just leading the wave of politicos who see democracy as nothing more than a bumper sticker.

By: d

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 05:00:08 +0000

dumb.
this is a violation of our privacy and likely federal electronic communication laws. this is wiretapping at its worst.
it is a small step to use this technology for other purposes (the sky is the limit)

By: Gina

Gina — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 01:43:57 +0000

Cuomo is the one who needs to be watched carefully as it’s been blogged on numerous news sites. He’s been threatening, harassing and interfering with a woman’s personal business, trying to ruin her, because she refused to chase him and compete for his personal attention. I now her. She’s an attractive blond who teaches NYC yoga & dance and her name is Denise. She kept the paper work, voice mails and emails (which he didn’t count on) to prove these allegations that he’s been making her life hell for over 2 & 1/2 years. First he buried her credit card identity theft case being investigated by Officer Paul Arroyo at Precinct 24. Then he blocked Attorney Alfonso DeCicco from advising her about her apt rental and consequently she lost her home and had to spend a fortune to move. He also pressured her HMO doctor, Elizabeth Uchitelle, so much over a small reimbursement, she eventually closed her West 66th St office and ditched Denise. Andrew Cuomo is a bully behind closed doors who is attacking an innocent woman for personal satisfaction. He thinks he is above the law and has way too much power, breaking the public’s trust. Recently a reporter from a well-known newspaper joined Cuomo and tried to frame me for speaking out, but it didn’t work, and now I have the reporter’s emails to back this up. Enough is enough! Denise has been afraid to come forward for the longest time and has taken his abuse. Wouldn’t you be scared? But her friends almost have her convinced to tell the story and show the paperwork to the public and the press after national elections. It’s time for full tranparency for the NYS Attorney General. He is corrupt and been hurting an innocent woman to stroke his own inflated ego for way to long. Shine the sunlight on Andrew Cuomo! Let justice be served!!

By: Frank

Frank — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 01:24:34 +0000

The more this happens the more reasons they give us to use free encryption like GnuPG and Truecrypt. Because we all have something to hide.

By: Anne

Anne — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 14:32:03 +0000

“Spigot,” maybe?

By: mason

mason — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 13:19:55 +0000

let the authorities do what they need to do to nail these bastards. Let’s not protect the bad guys because we are afraid of a theoretical threat to our privacy. The cops have too many real threats to worry about to spend time listening in on your phone conversations with you grandmother.

By: markm

markm — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 04:52:28 +0000

Yes, simple SSL encryption renders it useless. Tor might help, but it was broken and I’m not sure if it was ever worked out how to re-secure it. I don’t like these attempts at pre-crime and assuming everyone is guilty. Old fashioned police work is what catches these types of criminals. It would be nice to see the millions wasted on software and bloated pre-crime organizations spent on the police departments instead.

By: Ed

Ed — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 02:32:30 +0000

Please don’t call it child pornography. Pornography is legitimate, there is nothing legitimate about abused children. Please call it what it is — child sexual abuse images.

Cuomo is an idiot, and McCain wants to bring him into his cabinet. They used to scare us into submission with terrorism. I guess that doesn’t work anymore, so now, relinquish your freedoms for the sake of the children.

By: mark

mark — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 23:18:49 +0000

Yes. Their “deep packet inspection” is not very deep at all – easily avoided using encryption and anonymous networks like Tor. This is an extremely bad way of solving the problem, by monitoring those who are not conducting illegal activity, and not being able to do anything about those who are.

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 22:42:57 +0000

Can we trust them? Probably not. Will it matter if they deep penetrate us? Also probably not because it’s just another step in the arms race.

The ISP-controlled net as we currently know it just becomes a commercialised, regulated wasteland like TV is today. The geeky interesting copyfighting stuff is then all in micro-storage, devices powered over wireless, mesh routing, ad hoc graphs. Oooh ya. It’s gonna get fragmented kids! We have the protocols and they can’t touch us.

By: tim

tim — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 22:23:03 +0000

what’s a spicket?

By: Painted_Cave

Painted_Cave — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 22:15:04 +0000

It’s definitely a slippery slope.

Politicians know that the quickest way to convince large groups of people to agree to sign away their privacy and civil rights without any attempt to consider the issue logically is to invoke fear.

Usually it’s fear of terrorists, or losing our way of life (see Patriot Act & $700 Billion Bailout pork in the fine print), but Protecting The Children is the oldest, most reliable method of creating an emotional fear-based response.

The beauty of such tactics — if you are a politician — is that you can portray your opposition as a supporter of whatever it is they are allegedly preventing, in your own best interest, of course.

“Don’t worry,” they chortle. “It only affects people who have something to hide,” neglecting to inform you who decides what crosses the line, or even who defines the lines.

Today it is child pornography.

What is it tomorrow?

Always beware any politician or government group who wants you to give up your personal freedoms for your own good.

“Who watches the watchmen?”
– Alan Moore, UK author

By: Terry Robinson

Terry Robinson — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 22:09:53 +0000

Isn’t deep packet inspection effectively neutralized by encryption?

By: Michael Lockyear

Michael Lockyear — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 21:23:58 +0000

mmm…financial chart…ominous indeed! (looks like an old pic…its trending upwards :))

Seriously though, I think you are right about the “slippery slope” – the road to hell is paved with good intentions (cynics will question the good intentions). The situation can only go downhill – governments never reduce their powers, and sadly as they add to their powers your rights slowly erode. I think George Orwell nailed it in his book 1984 (out by a few decades though).

By: Robert Barr

Robert Barr — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 20:55:19 +0000

Nothing they have done has provided proof of it yet so why start now?