The DEA Disinformation Campaign To Hide Surveillance Techniques 46
An anonymous reader writes: Ken White at Popehat explains how the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency has been purposefully sowing disinformation to hide the extent of their surveillance powers. The agency appears to have used a vast database of telecommunications metadata, which they acquired via general (read: untargeted, dragnet-style) subpoenas. As they begin building cases against suspected criminals, they trawl the database for relevant information. Of course, this means the metadata of many innocent people is also being held and occasionally scanned. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has filed a lawsuit to challenge this bulk data collection. The DEA database itself seems to have been shut down in 2013, but not before the government argued that it should be fine not only to engage in this collection, but to attempt to hide it during court cases. The courts agreed, which means this sort of surveillance could very well happen again — and the EFF is trying to prevent that.
everyone does this (Score:5, Funny)
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Of course, you're not running a lucrative multi-billion dollar snake-oil business like the head of the DEA is.
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Say's the cash grabbing failure of the war on drugs.
The government drug problem started with the 1971 bankruptcy of the U.S, but that was only a side effect of promoting corruption and demoting honesty, that started in the 50's.
Supreme Court Decisions Have Consequences (Score:1)
This is a direct result of the pen register ruling. Unfortunately it's hard to argue this is unconstitutional since records kept by a company aren't really your effects. This overreach is going to have to be solved with legislation.
Re:Supreme Court Decisions Have Consequences (Score:5, Insightful)
The courts have completely abdicated their responsibility to protect the people from the depredations of the Leviathan. The judicial branch of government is as complicit as the executive and legislative, and needs to shaken up pronto.
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what's that? you say you plan to use a remote control on them?
let us know how that goes.
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The courts merely interpret the laws to that end.
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There's nothing wrong with the pen register ruling; you don't have any expectation of privacy when you voluntarily hand information to a third party. The ruling abides by both the letter and the spirit of the 4th Amendment.
The bigger issue here, in my not so humble opinion is the very existence of the DEA and so-called War on Drugs. The sooner we get the Government out of the business of protecting people from themselves the better. There are a lot of things that may justify Governmental intrusion; prot
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I agree and this means that the only safe "cloud" application is bulk storage of encrypted data with encryption and decryption done locally. All cloud applications and servers leak their contents without a warrant or notification which the government goes to great lengths to avoid adver
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It's still there (Score:2, Funny)
If sowing disinformation is legal and the courts agree, then the information that the DEA shutdown its database in 2013 is probably disinformation. Only the legislative branch can do something to investigate because the other two branches of government already have agreed that lies are A-OK. But if it's security-related, investigating members of Congress will be sworn to secrecy anyway -- which won't be a problem for most of them because they tend to prostrate themselves fawningly before the state instrum
bad but creating false evidence trails is worse (Score:5, Insightful)
I agree that the surveillance issue is bad but it's much worse when the DEA creates false evidence trails [reuters.com] to hide the surveillance links to their own programs and that of the NSA. This puts the basic principles of justice out the window when you have DEA agents lying on the witness stand about how they obtained their information. A judge could ostensibly throw out convictions or exclude evidence based on those facts, sanctioning prosecutors for knowingly allowing this to happen at trial. It's fucking stupid to expose the nation to this kind of risk.
Re:bad but creating false evidence trails is worse (Score:4)
I would go further than "could ... throw out" and suggest that they actually have an obligation to throw them out, and have the agents arrested for Perjury, along with anyone else who knowingly and willingly allowed false statements under oath.
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Well, they have to find out that it actually happened to do that. There appears to be a good deal of "information laundering" going on so that individual agents may not even know that they're facilitating perjury. It's a deliberately constructed end run around our system of justice, which makes it even more nefarious than a few rogue agents.
Re:bad but creating false evidence trails is worse (Score:4, Insightful)
"Parallel Construction" [wikipedia.org] is a fundamental part of police work now. When Federal law enforcement orders local law enforcement to lie to judges and prosecutors (Stingrays, etc.), whats really left? The last few generations of law enforcement, and the continuing example from the top of the executive branch on down, makes it clear that it is now perfectly acceptable and even expected if not required behavior to lie to everyone, including other branches of government. The historical checks and balances are almost all gone now...
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Govt believes it needs to do whatever it takes to get the bad guys.
Trouble is, who is considered bad? Someone that posts libertarian comments challenging "big govt" on ar15.com?
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For varying interpretations of "bad guys".
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A lot of _regular_people_ believe that the govt should do whatever it takes to get the bad guys. Every little crime is the end of the civilized world and every stranger is out to take what's theirs. They want protection from any possible threat. This works to the govt's advantage as it sucks up more power every day.
Re:bad but creating false evidence trails is worse (Score:5, Informative)
>"Parallel Construction" [wikipedia.org] is a fundamental part of police work now.
So true and yet an utterly chilling sentence.
Where the state is engaging in perjury, openly and without shame, what justice can there be?
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Unwarranted searches are unconstitutional even if evidence is not used in court however the normal remedy is exclusion which does not apply and parallel construction avoids challenging this.
I don't really care about the tool (Score:4, Interesting)
But when they purposefully lie to conceal where the evidence came from, how are they any better than the criminals they put away? You can't send someone to jail for years based on a lie.
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This is where "the end justifies the means" eventually winds up. It starts with good intentions and winds up a corrupt mess.
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The difference between law enforcement and a gang of thugs is that a gang of thugs is more honest in not expecting the sanction of their victims.
Calling personal information Metadata (Score:1)
It is possible to see a clear spin and attempt to manage the conversation. New type of data has been invented - Metadata, and spy agencies are claiming that this is not covered by 4th amendment.
Imagine you are observer, and you see individual Joe, interacting (both visiting and calling) her married co-worker's Janice home every time Janice' husband is having an out-of-town business trip. You, the observer, do not have information on what is happening outside, but you have a metadata: telephone calls and ce
Also the THIRD amendment! (Score:2)
The next topic is "general warrant". One of the reason US revolution took place is because of unhappiness due to King George's general warrants, allowing to search everyone without reason. The outcome was 4th amendment which clearly defined that persons and their private life are untouchable, unless there is suspicion, affirmed by the government servant and approved by the judge.
Spying on the population was also a big driver behind the THIRD amendment:
Canadian Girlfriend (Score:3)
sounds made up even when you're 14 (Score:2)
once that earworm's run it course, can somebody please post a set of plausible lyrics to that song?
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In pennance, let me offer a start:
Canadian girlfriend you just made her up
Canadian girlfriend, she ain't real
Canadian girlfriend you just made her up
Canadian girlfriend she don't exist
Say C, say A, say N
Say A, say D, I
Say A, N
Canadian girlfriend you just made her up
Canadian girlfriend you just made her up
Canadian girlfriend she ain't real
Canadian girlfriend, don't spy on me
Canadian girlfriend, mama let me be
Don't come hangin' around my door
I don't wanna see your face no more
I got more important things to do
Than spend my time growin' in GITMO with you
Now woman, I said stay away
Canadian girlfriend, listen what I say
Canadian girlfriend, get away from me
Canadian girlfriend, mama let me be
Don't come knockin' around my door
Don't wanna see your shadow no more
Colored lights can hypnotize
Sparkle someone else's eyes
Now woman, I said get away
Canadian girlfriend, listen what I say
Canadian girlfriend, said get away
Canadian girlfriend, listen what I say
Don't come hangin' around my door
Don't wanna see your face no more
I don't need your war machines
I don't need your ghetto scenes
Colored lights can hypnotize
Sparkle someone else's eyes
Now woman, get away from me
Canadian girlfriend, mama let me be
Go, gotta get away, gotta get away
Now go, go, go, I'm gonna leave you, woman
Gonna leave you, woman
Bye-bye, bye-bye, bye-bye, bye-bye
You're no good for me
I'm no good for you
Gonna look you right in the eye
Tell you what I'm gonna do
You know I'm gonna encrypt my mail
You know I'm gonna go
You know I'm gonna leave
You know I'm gonna go, woman
I'm gonna leave you, woman
Goodbye, Canadian girlfriend
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The thing is, under the US/Canada Data Treaty, Canadians have a Constitutional Right of Privacy, which must be enforced in the US.
The DEA can spy on Americans illegally all they want, but Canada has a Constitution which prevents that, and violating that is a Felony, which the US/Canada Data Treaty requires be treated as MORE than a Federal Crime, as it's an International Treaty.
(I didn't write the rules, other than the Canadian Forces Administrative Orders, so don't blame me)
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Well, the Mounties haven't shown up at the border to haul away the G-men, so I wouldn't place any faith in that treaty to keep out of harm's way. If it looks like toilet paper and is used like toilet paper, it's worth the same as toilet paper.
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Well, the Mounties haven't shown up at the border to haul away the G-men, so if I were Canadian I wouldn't place any faith in that treaty to keep myself out of harm's way.
If it looks like toilet paper and is used like toilet paper, it's worth the same as toilet paper.
hiding what you do (Score:4, Insightful)
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1. Govt is benevolent, everything they do is for our benefit. There is no reason for us to know what they are doing, since everything is pure, just, and good.
2. If the details were shown, criminals would use this information.
Violation of the US/EU and US/Canada Data Treaties (Score:1)
Which are international treaties and have the force of law, greater than that of a law passed by Congress.
(it's in the Constitution, in case you didn't know, the part that talks about Quartering Troops In Your Computers To Spy For The Redcoats)