Greenwald: How Microsoft handed the NSA access to encrypted messages

[99th_Monkey]

How Microsoft handed the NSA access to encrypted messages
Glenn Greenwald, Ewen MacAskill, Laura Poitras, Spencer Ackerman and Dominic Rushe
The Guardian * Thursday 11 July 2013

• Secret files show scale of Silicon Valley co-operation on Prism
• Outlook.com encryption unlocked even before official launch
• Skype worked to enable Prism collection of video calls
• Company says it is legally compelled to comply

Microsoft has collaborated closely with US intelligence services to allow users' communications to be intercepted, including helping the National Security Agency to circumvent the company's own encryption, according to top-secret documents obtained by the Guardian.

The files provided by Edward Snowden illustrate the scale of co-operation between Silicon Valley and the intelligence agencies over the last three years. They also shed new light on the workings of the top-secret Prism program, which was disclosed by the Guardian and the Washington Post last month.

The documents show that:

• Microsoft helped the NSA to circumvent its encryption to address concerns that the agency would be unable to intercept web chats on the new Outlook.com portal;

• The agency already had pre-encryption stage access to email on Outlook.com, including Hotmail;

• The company worked with the FBI this year to allow the NSA easier access via Prism to its cloud storage service SkyDrive, which now has more than 250 million users worldwide;

• Microsoft also worked with the FBI's Data Intercept Unit to "understand" potential issues with a feature in Outlook.com that allows users to create email aliases;

• In July last year, nine months after Microsoft bought Skype, the NSA boasted that a new capability had tripled the amount of Skype video calls being collected through Prism;

• Material collected through Prism is routinely shared with the FBI and CIA, with one NSA document describing the program as a "team sport"

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/11/microsoft-nsa-collaboration-user-data

[xchrom]

1. du rec.

[dkf]

2. Apple sounding better and better.

[Aerows]

3. And Linux n/t

[dkf]

4. I wish I had learned more programming so I would feel comfortable with Linux.

Maybe that's why I am so impressed with Snowden...no college degree, just curiosity and a whole lot of aptitude.

[Aerows]

6. You can learn to use it anytime you want to do so

You can download a version that runs completely off of a CD or DVD and doesn't do anything to alter your own computer.

Google Linux Live CD's. Knoppix is a great one. It usually contains all drivers necessary and will give you the broad range of applications available to you on the Linux platform. It's open source, contained on read only media that cannot be altered, and is peer-reviewed.

You will need a CD or DVD burner to burn it, and let your computer boot to cd, and that's it.

Here's a link: http://www.knopper.net/knoppix/index-en.html

[dkf]

7. Hmm I just may do that. Funny though...mostly I post to DU which is public. Haha.

[Aerows]

8. LOL

Seriously, if you are curious, you should try it. You can have no hard drive in your system since Knoppix won't touch it. It's self contained on a cd or dvd as you choose. The DVD just has more applications. Boot to it, explore around, take the disc out, and you are back to your old machine, nothing changed.

[dkf]

9. Next computer...my current one has a gimpy DVD drive and is on its last legs.

Ive been living off my i-devices. Maybe I need to get a computer to check Linux out.

[Aerows]

10. They have a bunch of versions that can boot off of USB drives

Like thumb drives and such, but you have to wipe them and format them to be bootable.

[dkf]

11. Oh wow. That is doable. Thanks!!!!

[Aerows]

14. You are welcome

Look up bootable linux thumb drive or usb drive. Best of luck, and if you have questions, feel free to PM.

[burnodo]

5. Greenwald is a terrorist!

Just like Snowden. and if you disagree I've got 23 link-lovers who will TELL you that you are wrong!

[Trillo]

12. They should pay users to use their OS and other products like Skype.

But in fairness, when the government comes knocking on your door, and says comply or else, what else can you do? If you're a company, will you prioritize your investors, or customers?

$$$$

Similarly, Skype's privacy policy states: "Skype is committed to respecting your privacy and the confidentiality of your personal data, traffic data and communications content."

$$$$

I guess it could be worse. They could be selling this information.

[hobbit709]

13. I never use Outhouse.

And I certainly wouldn't use anything on the cloud by Micro$haft.

[rhett o rick]

15. k&r thanks for posting.

[KoKo]

16. I'd figure Bill Gates...and the Corporate donor of Google...and I don't like either of

them...because they are now "ABOVE IT ALL of us PEASANTs and in collusion with Government Spying.

But...what do we do about this? We are dependent on them for how they allowed us to Organize to Fight Back what we thought was wrong about our Society...but, now we find they were ACTIVELY Monitoring what we were doing to Fight Back?

So the Instrument of Good becomes the Instrument of Evil Control.

What do we do about that? Is there a compromise? There might have been if "We the People" had been allowed to know about it and have a voice in the decisions!

[99th_Monkey]

17. Great Questions.

My only comment is, that I don't know of ANY situation in the history of humankind,
where those wielding absolute power willingly ceded any of their power, in order to
"compromise" with the "demands" of the powerless.