Government spying on Citizens
GOVERNMENT SPYING ON CITIZENS
Even now – after all of the revelations by Edward Snowden and other whistle-blowers – spying apologists say that the reports are “exaggerated” or “overblown”, and that the government only spies on potential bad guys. In reality, the government is spying on everyone’s digital and old-fashioned communications. For example, the government is photographing the outside information on every piece of snail mail. The government is spying on you through your phone … and may even remotely turn on your camera and microphone when your phone is off.
As one example, the NSA has inserted its code into Android’s operating system … bugging three-quarters of the world’s smartphones. Google – or the NSA – can remotely turn on your phone’s camera and recorder at any time. Moreover, Google knows just about every WiFi password in the world … and so the NSA does as well, since it spies so widely on Google. But it’s not just the Android. In reality, the NSA can spy on just about everyone’s smart phone. Cell towers track where your phone is at any moment, and the major cell carriers, including Verizon and AT&T, responded to at least 1.3 million law enforcement requests for cell phone locations and other data in 2011. (And – given that your smartphone routinely sends your location information back to Apple or Google – it would be child’s play for the government to track your location that way.) Your iPhone, or other brand of smartphone is spying on virtually everything you do (ProPublica notes: “That’s No Phone. That’s My Tracker“). Remember, that might be happening even when your phone is turned off. The government might be spying on you through your computer’s webcam or microphone.
The government might also be spying on you through the “smart meter” on your own home. NSA also sometimes uses “man-in-the-middle” tactics, to pretend that it is Google or other popular websites to grab your information. The FBI wants a backdoor to all software. But leading
Even now – after all of the revelations by Edward Snowden and other whistle-blowers – spying apologists say that the reports are “exaggerated” or “overblown”, and that the government only spies on potential bad guys. In reality, the government is spying on everyone’s digital and old-fashioned communications. For example, the government is photographing the outside information on every piece of snail mail. The government is spying on you through your phone … and may even remotely turn on your camera and microphone when your phone is off.
As one example, the NSA has inserted its code into Android’s operating system … bugging three-quarters of the world’s smartphones. Google – or the NSA – can remotely turn on your phone’s camera and recorder at any time. Moreover, Google knows just about every WiFi password in the world … and so the NSA does as well, since it spies so widely on Google. But it’s not just the Android. In reality, the NSA can spy on just about everyone’s smart phone. Cell towers track where your phone is at any moment, and the major cell carriers, including Verizon and AT&T, responded to at least 1.3 million law enforcement requests for cell phone locations and other data in 2011. (And – given that your smartphone routinely sends your location information back to Apple or Google – it would be child’s play for the government to track your location that way.) Your iPhone, or other brand of smartphone is spying on virtually everything you do (ProPublica notes: “That’s No Phone. That’s My Tracker“). Remember, that might be happening even when your phone is turned off. The government might be spying on you through your computer’s webcam or microphone.
The government might also be spying on you through the “smart meter” on your own home. NSA also sometimes uses “man-in-the-middle” tactics, to pretend that it is Google or other popular websites to grab your information. The FBI wants a backdoor to all software. But leading