Posted on

Berto Jongman: Snowden Has Over-Turned the Secret Regime — A Turning Point for Intelligence Reformers?

Ethics, Government, Military
0Shares
Berto Jongman
Berto Jongman

A spy world reshaped by Edward Snowden

Leaks from the former NSA contractor have been so illuminating that experts say they mark a turning point in U.S. intelligence operations.

By Ken Dilanian

Los Angeles Times, December 22, 2013

WASHINGTON — After news reports that the National Security Agency had secretly monitored German Chancellor Angela Merkel's cellphone calls, America's top intelligence official was asked why congressional oversight committees were kept in the dark.

Shouldn't Congress have been briefed, Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank) asked James R. Clapper, the director of national intelligence, about a spying operation that would embarrass the U.S. government if exposed?

“Well, sir, there are many things we do in intelligence that, if revealed, would have the potential for all kinds of blowback,” Clapper replied at a House Intelligence Committee hearing in October. “The conduct of intelligence is premised on the notion that we can do it secretly, and we don't count on it being revealed in the newspaper.”

Not these days.

Continue reading “Berto Jongman: Snowden Has Over-Turned the Secret Regime — A Turning Point for Intelligence Reformers?”

Posted on

Michael Kearns: Pope Francis Condemns Racism And Declares That “All Religions Are True” At Historic Third Vatican Council

Civil Society, Cultural Intelligence, Ethics, Peace Intelligence
0Shares
Michael S. Kearns
Michael S. Kearns

Pope Francis Condemns Racism And Declares That “All Religions Are True” At Historic Third Vatican Council

Diversity Chronicle, 5 December 2013

For the last six months, Catholic cardinals, bishops and theologians have been deliberating in Vatican City, discussing the future of the church and redefining long-held Catholic doctrines and dogmas. The Third Vatican Council, is undoubtedly the largest and most important since the Second Vatican Council was concluded in 1962. Pope Francis convened the new council to “finally finish the work of the Second Vatican Council.” While some traditionalists and conservative reactionaries on the far right have decried these efforts, they have delighted progressives around the world.

Continue reading “Michael Kearns: Pope Francis Condemns Racism And Declares That “All Religions Are True” At Historic Third Vatican Council”

Posted on

Berto Jongman: Pakistan Outs Three CIA Chiefs in Three Years… + CIA Cover Incompetence RECAP

Government, Ineptitude
0Shares
Berto Jongman
Berto Jongman

Pakistan Outs Three US CIA Station Chiefs in Three Years

Corporate Media Keeps US Citizens in the Dark

by DAVE LINDORFF

Counterpunch, Weekend Edition December 20-22, 2013

For the third time in three years, a CIA station chief has been outed in Pakistan, a country where the CIA is running one of its largest covert operations. It’s a remarkable record of failure by the CIA, since each outing, which has required a replacement of the station chief position, causes a breakdown in the agency’s network of contacts in the country.

The full names of all three station chiefs have been published widely in Pakistan and India and all over the world via the Internet—though Americans getting their news exclusively from domestic mainstream media wouldn’t know, as those organizations have consistently blacked out the names.

Continue reading “Berto Jongman: Pakistan Outs Three CIA Chiefs in Three Years… + CIA Cover Incompetence RECAP”

Posted on

Mini-Me: USG Yard Sale in Afghanistan — Billions of Taxpayer Dollars Down the Drain

03 Economy, 04 Inter-State Conflict, 05 Civil War, 07 Other Atrocities, 10 Security, 11 Society, Corruption, Director of National Intelligence et al (IC), DoD, Government, Idiocy, Ineptitude, Military
0Shares
Who? Mini-Me?
Who? Mini-Me?

Huh?

The US Is Hosting A Giant Military Yard Sale In Afghanistan

It is a January sale with a difference. The American military is auctioning off millions of pounds of tankers, accommodation blocks, tents, generators and other “white goods” in Afghanistan ahead of next year’s deadline for the end of combat operations.

In a tender document published on Friday, buyers are invited to offer a percentage of the equipment’s original value by January 10 when sealed bids will be opened.

Continue reading “Mini-Me: USG Yard Sale in Afghanistan — Billions of Taxpayer Dollars Down the Drain”

Posted on

Mini-Me: NSA-RSA Debacle Gets Worse

07 Other Atrocities, 09 Justice, 10 Security, 11 Society, Corruption, Government, Idiocy, Ineptitude, IO Deeds of War, IO Impotency, Military, Officers Call
0Shares
Who? Mini-Me?
Who? Mini-Me?

Huh?

Researchers Break RSA 4096 Encryption With Just A Microphone And A Couple Of Emails

As if it wasn’t enough that the NSA paid RSA $10 million to adopt an algorithm that wasn’t entirely secure, researchers have now demonstrated that they can break even RSA 4096 bit encryption with little more than a few emails and a microphone. And that microphone can indeed just be one in a smartphone sitting on the desk.

Researchers from Tel Aviv University and the Weizmann Institute of Science discovered that they could steal even the largest, most secure RSA 4,096-bit encryption keys simply by listening to a laptop as it decrypts data.

To accomplish the trick, the researchers used a microphone to record the noises made by the computer, then ran that audio through filters to isolate the vibrations made by the electronic internals during the decryption process. With that accomplished, some cryptanalysis revealed the encryption key in around an hour.

Well, no, pace Engadget it is a little more complex than that. You can’t just listen to a computer and break the algos just like that.

Read full article with how they did it.

Full paper.

Continue reading “Mini-Me: NSA-RSA Debacle Gets Worse”