10 | Sept 18, 2013
tech news
Local & World
Columbus State University | The Saber
Malika L. Harris
Managing Editor
Illustrations:Trevor Mehrkens, Elaine Hoffmeister
To trust Google or to not trust Google, that is the question. Or is it?
Since the big Internet boom, United States citizens have trusted big name technology companies with data because, for the most part, they were promised the perception of security. However, that trust was called into question when National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden revealed that the NSA has been using surveillance tactics on Americans. One of the tactics have been through PRISM, a surveillance data mining program the NSA has been using this program since 2007. The PRISM program collects stored Internet communications based on demands made to Internet companies such as Google Inc. under Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act of 2008. However, Google announced that they have increased their efforts towards encrypting the information that has been collected and is circulating in its data centers across the world in an effort to prevent the NSA as well as other intelligence agencies from “snooping” through their information. Google’s encryption initiative, initially approved last year, was accelerated in June as the tech giant struggled to guard its reputa-
tion as a reliable steward of user information amid controversy about the NSA’s PRISM program. Eric Grosse, Google’s vice president for security engineering, said to the Washington Post “It’s an arms race. We see these government agencies as among the most skilled players in this game,” an all too comforting statement. Experts say that, aside from the U.S. government, sophisticated government hacking efforts emanate from China, Russia, Britain and Israel. Security experts say the time and energy required to defeat encryption forces surveillance efforts to be targeted more narrowly on the highest-priority targets, such as terrorism suspects, and limits the ability of governments to simply cast a net into the huge rivers of data flowing across the Internet. Christopher Soghoain, a computer security expert at the American Liberties Union said, “If the NSA wants to get into your system, they are going to get in.” So that being said, the biggest question for America is which do you trust for security? Google, which earlier this month asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit that seeks to block the search giant from electronically scanning the content of emails to target advertising, to protect your information or the NSA’s ability to get whatever they want, eventually? has asked Monsegur to encourage his fellow hactivists to infiltrate foreign governments. Hammond, who is also being sentenced later this month, told Hacker News, “Sabu was used to build cases against a number of hackers, including myself. What many do not know is that Sabu was also used by his handlers to facilitate the hacking of targets of the government’s choosing -including numerous websites belonging to foreign governments.” Hacker news reported that Hammond could not provide evidence for his claims, but suggested “What the United States could not accomplish legally, it used Monsegur, and by extension, me and my co-defendants, to accomplish illegally.” The FBI didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Hammond’s allegations, but the bureau has previously been criticized for its failure to stop the Stratfor hacks in December of 2011, where members of Anonymous stole email messages and credit card data from Stratfor’s website. The end result of that case included a data dump, which ironically occurred after Monsegur turned informer.
FBI allegedly using members of hack groups to attack foreign governments
Sentencing for former LulzSec leader Hector Xavier “Sabu” Monsegur has again been delayed. Monsegur pleaded guilty to a dozen criminal counts including multiple counts of device fraud and conspiracy to commit bank fraud and was scheduled to be sentenced in August in New York federal court. But in a letter to the court, the U.S. attorney general’s office requested that Monsegur’s sentencing be delayed “in light of the defendant’s ongoing cooperation with the government.” His sentencing has now been rescheduled for Oct. 25. It has been alleged by many of members of the hacker community that Monsegur has become an informant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. But it was not until fellow Lulzsec Hacker, Jeremy Hammond claimed that FBI used Monsegur as well as other members from groups such as the infamous Anonymous Hacker group as a private hacker army to coordinate att ???????????????????????????????5??????e??????????? $?????????????????%??????????????????????????5??????e???????????????????????????????????? $???????????????!????????????????????????????????????????????????UL?????????()I?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????()?????????????????????????Q??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????A?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Q?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????q?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????t?%?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Q??????????????????????????????????????????????????????A????????]???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Q???]Q????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????q?????????????????????t??????????????M?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????UM??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????((