35K views · Dec 28, 2012 · 1:22:40 · 3 HN recommenders · 6 mentions · discussed 2013–2017
A 29C3 panel with whistleblowers Jesselyn Radack, Thomas Drake and William Binney. They talk about what happens when exposing secret government power becomes a crime, and about surveillance abuses.
Why Hacker News points people here: Recommended as a first-hand account from NSA whistleblowers, often linked in surveillance and Snowden threads.
“You may be interested in watching this talk from 29c3 where Drake and Binney told their stories in their own words”HN comment, 2014
“the other talks by Jesselyn Radack and William Binney in the same video are also worth watching”
Thomas Drake's talk; other panelists also worth watching
> Especially impressed by Thomas. If you haven't seen it, I suggest watching Thomas Drake's talk[1] at 29c3. [1] this video (although I've linked to Thomas Drake's talk, the other talks by Jesselyn Radack and William Binney in the same video are also worth watching)
“after watching the 29C3 keynote ( ) and whistleblower panel ( ) a couple of days ago I blocked all the main google domains”
Whistleblower panel that motivated the commenter to block Google domains
Google's growing G+ surveillance is a worry. This is why after watching the 29C3 keynote ( link ) and whistleblower panel ( this video ) a couple of days ago I blocked all the main google domains (mail, maps, G+, accounts, picasa, etc.) via /etc/hosts and committed to only accessing Gmail via Tor ( link ). Facebook I already deleted and block via AdBlockPlus (though I now recommend link ), but G+ is harder and more insidious to stay free of. After a few days of use, I am quite happy with my new strategy: keep email (or anything personally identifying, like banking) in a different and anonymized browser. Keep everything else in a general browser that never sees you identified. Edit: add URLs, TrueBlockPlus reference.
“Also from last year's 29c3: Jesselyn Radack, Thomas Drake & William Binney”
Panel on what happens when telling truth about secret power becomes a crime
Also from last year's 29c3: Jesselyn Radack, Thomas Drake & William Binney, "Enemies of the State: What Happens When Telling the Truth about Secret US Government Power Becomes a Crime": this video
“You may be interested in watching this talk from 29c3 where Drake and Binney told their stories in their own words”
Drake and Binney tell their stories in their own words
link The EFF has been supporting these former NSA agents' whistleblowing efforts for a while now. Also, Ellsberg - author of the Pentagon Papers - has signed it in support. While it's not a character reference, it is worth observing that the rather dramatic efforts the NSA has gone though to threaten and prosecute these whistleblowers. You may be interested in watching this talk from 29c3 where Drake and Binney told their stories in their own words: this video And yes, it's a hell of an accusation. It's also the one that finally made this NSA mess make sense, with their description of THINTHREAD being dropped because it was too inexpensive . It's all about moving money to their contractor friends.
“(note that Facebook was specifically mentioned @ 56:07)”
Panel mentions Facebook at 56:07 as evidence surveillance is not secret
God you guys need to start wearing tinfoil hats It's not really a secret: this video (note that Facebook was specifically mentioned @ 56:07)
“See his 29C3 technical talk where he goes over it.”
Binney's technical talk on ThinThread discarding private data
> his own "ThinThread" system was designed to do exactly that, but with better technical controls over who could view the data. That's plainly false. His system was specifically designed to throw-out private data, that is, never to store it. There is no data to view if it's not stored. See his 29C3 technical talk where he goes over it. [1] >The notion that Binney is a staunch opponent of PRISM-style surveillance is revisionist. This ignores nearly everything Binney has actually said when asked about why he came forward to blow the whistle on NSA's spying activities. Also, see above. [1] this video
