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posted by martyb on Monday June 15 2015, @03:30PM   Printer-friendly
from the sylvester-vs.-tweety-bird dept.

According to TechDirt:

It's beginning to look like a US-based encrypted communications platform may be headed for a Lavabit-esque future. As we're well aware, agencies like the FBI and NSA are firmly opposed to encrypted communications, which is something Surespot -- a text-messaging service -- offers.

Surespot has been in the news lately, thanks to terrorist groups utilizing encrypted services to keep their communications secret. UK's Channel Four looked into Surespot and found that 115 "ISIS-linked" people "appear" to have used the service in the "past six months." Because UK 4 wasn't able to get this information from Surespot directly (because Surespot doesn't store personally identifiable information or users' communications), it has only been able to infer this from messages on social media services that refer to Surespot.

What this means in terms of terrorists "flocking" to encrypted apps is still very vague, but there's no doubt any additional layers of secrecy are welcomed by those wishing to hide their communications. What 115 ISIS-linked users means in terms of an installed user base of at least 100,000 is also open for discussion, but it's quite obvious there are plenty of non-terrorists using the service as well.

[..]

George Maschke of Antipolygraph.org has been periodically sending emails to Surespot, unofficially acting as the service's warrant canary. For several months, his questions have been answered. But as of May 25th, he has still received no response to his canned questions.

There's good reason to believe this is true. A recent plea agreement by a 17-year-old Virginia native charged with providing material support to ISIS (via instructions on how to use Bitcoin to provide anonymous donations) specifically mentions Surespot.


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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday June 16 2015, @01:55PM

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday June 16 2015, @01:55PM (#196848) Journal

    Yeah, you're kinda right - but you're more wrong. You can't get an IP address off of I2P unless your setup is badly mis-configured. Peers could be right next door to me, or halfway around the world, I have no way of knowing. I run I2P in a virtual machine, and I don't use that machine, let alone the browser, for anything else.

    You're right to be concerned about CP - gubbermint won't think twice about busting anyone if they even THINK there's CP involved. But, no one is getting busted on I2P. Not the worst of the worst, so, I really don't think you have anything to worry about if something crosses your router that you don't like.

    But, I'm not trying to convince you. All of us have to make up our own minds about that crap. If you uses I2P, you will have to coexist with the swine. If you can't tolerate the thought of it, then don't use I2P. ;^)

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  • (Score: 2) by Hairyfeet on Thursday June 18 2015, @01:04PM

    by Hairyfeet (75) <{bassbeast1968} {at} {gmail.com}> on Thursday June 18 2015, @01:04PM (#197781) Journal

    Then please explain how EXACTLY my machine can connect to I2P without my system learning of even a single IP address? Because I really want to hear how they can magically do routing without any actual addresses to route them to. And if I can see a single IP address, even one? So too can the LEO that will break down your door, steal all your assets, and lock you in a box for a year or two while you wait for your case to wind its way through the courts. I should know as I have a friend in the state crime lab and one of the subjects we talk most on is how truly fucked up the CP laws have gotten, especially distribution. Theoretically with the way the laws are written in most states a stick figure drawing labeled "nekkid spread 12yo" could get you as much time (in some places more) than if you actually molested a child!

      So I really want to hear how they have managed to figure out how to route packets from one point to another with NOBODY in the chain actually having an IP address to send those packets to, because I have yet to hear of any system where an address of some sort wasn't required, even if that address is only to the first node that would be enough to send the owner of that first node to jail for life.

    --
    ACs are never seen so don't bother. Always ready to show SJWs for the racists they are.
    • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday June 18 2015, @02:42PM

      by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Thursday June 18 2015, @02:42PM (#197821) Journal

      .i2p
              'I2p' is a pseudo-top-level domain which is only valid within the I2P overlay network scope. .i2p names are resolved by browsers by submitting requests to EepProxy which will resolve names to an I2P peer key and will handle data transfers over the I2P network while remaining transparent to the browser.

      ONLY the EEP resolver EVER sees your IP address.
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I2P#Terminology [wikipedia.org]

      If Gubbermint found and confiscated the resolver, then everyone who had anything to hide would be in serious trouble. But then, I really have nothing to hide. If they kick my door down, there are no images of CP in my cache, or anywhere else. Traffic may or may not have crossed through my connection, but I didn't view it, and it left no evidence of any kind on my machine. They have to actually FIND SOMETHING before they can convict you, and I have nothing at all. A good forensics guy would see that I have visited political sites which might be considered to be seditious. They can find that I have visited militant sites around the world, such as http://kurdishdailynews.org/2015/06/17/syria-refugees-return-to-border-town-after-is-defeat/ [kurdishdailynews.org] They can find boatloads of political crap on me, if they ever get my computer - but they WILL NOT find any CP - not even manga, or any of that oriental cartoon stuff. No metrosexual crap, no bronies, nothing. It aint't there, they can't convict. End of story.

      If they could convict based on the fact that I am part of a network where the stuff exists, then they would have to haul all the officials of the ISP's off to prison as well.

      • (Score: 2) by Hairyfeet on Friday June 19 2015, @12:04PM

        by Hairyfeet (75) <{bassbeast1968} {at} {gmail.com}> on Friday June 19 2015, @12:04PM (#198193) Journal

        Man...I REALLY hate to break the news to ya friend, but the current CP distribution laws? You DO NOT have to have actually seen anything, had access to anything, ALL THEY NEED is a log that says CP crossed your network and that is enough to get you as a CP distributor!

        The way my crime lab friend explained it is as thus...."Imagine I hand you a safe. You have NO way to get into this safe. You have no key, no way to pry the door, for all you know the safe is full of cookies as you have no way of finding out. Now you agree to transport this safe to the next city and you get pulled over, the cops take a blowtorch to the safe and find CP. Now even though you had zero access or knowledge you facilitated the commission of a crime by agreeing to move that safe and with the CP laws in most states this is all that is required because the distribution laws are THAT vague and open ended." Can you beat it? Probably....if you have at least $30K for a good lawyer to fight it, and of course I hope you don't need a job or anything because the local paper will be running a "suspected child pornographer" story with your name and mug on it. If you are found not guilty? You MIGHT get 2 lines on page 6, but the damage by then will be done.

        Don't think its just that easy to lose everything? Guess again [digitaljournal.com]. Note that in this case 5 minutes with wireshark would have proved this guy was innocent, it was just THAT simple...what did it cost him? A cool quarter million, his career, his home, his life STILL has not recovered. Now is this completely fucked up and wrong? You betcha, but so was the red scare or the satanic child abuse scare of the 80s and in both of those people lost everything from their freedom to in some cases their very lives.....are you REALLY willing to bet the rest of your life in a prison hellhole simply to run this program? Remember the state has to prove nothing because it will take a year to a year and a half before you even get your day in court and by then? The damage is done.

        --
        ACs are never seen so don't bother. Always ready to show SJWs for the racists they are.
        • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday June 19 2015, @01:46PM

          by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Friday June 19 2015, @01:46PM (#198217) Journal

          Hairyfeet - from a young man, this would sound like blowhard braggadacio. But - yes. I would be willing to battle this all the way to the Supreme Court. I'm nearing retirement age - I don't WANT to work much longer. And, the laws are simply WRONG. Someone needs to fight the fight, so that the law stops fucking innocent people. Better for me to fight the fight, than for one of my sons to get fucked over. THEY all NEED their jobs for the next couple decades, at least. I'm not raising children, I have a place to live, and my requirements for the rest of my life aren't all that extravagant. Yes, I would be willing to spend the rest of my life fighting a boatload of unjust laws. In fact, my posts above may or may not be enough to trip some dilrod's trigger, and cause him to come after me. If that be so, well, he's going to have a fight on his hands. This stubborn old bastard WILL NOT plea bargain, will not "waive your rights", nothing like that. It will be a jury trial, and appeals all the way to those nine high muckity mucks in Washington D.C. I'm a citizen of the United States of America, and I still have the right to a trial by a jury of my peers.

          Screw unjust laws, and screw all the rat bastards who apply them unjustly.

          • (Score: 2) by Hairyfeet on Friday June 19 2015, @07:02PM

            by Hairyfeet (75) <{bassbeast1968} {at} {gmail.com}> on Friday June 19 2015, @07:02PM (#198367) Journal

            Allow me to give you some advice given to me by a former prosecutor with a flawless track record.....NEVER TAKE A JURY TRIAL because that old joke about "12 people too stupid to get out of jury duty"? Very VERY true! He said "when it comes to juries? Evidence doesn't matter, throw in some appeals to emotion, make it feel like 'LA Law' and smear the defendant? Its a slam dunk, they couldn't care less about actual evidence". My mother didn't believe me....until she ended up getting picked for jury duty. When she came back she was white as a sheet and said "You were right, NEVER pick a jury!" as she had to deadlock a jury. They had an arson case where there was ZERO motive as he didn't even have enough insurance to pay off the building, the investigator said he didn't know what started the fire, yet they went 11-1 to convict...why? "Because he is Italian and Italians are in the mob and burn buildings for insurance...haven't you seen Goodfellas?" Yep they were gonna give a guy 20 years for a stereotype based on a movie!

            As for "fighting to the supreme court"....good luck with that, I hope you are 1.- in incredible physical condition and can bench at least 250, as the cops like to throw CP suspects in general pop as they tend to get "disposed of" by other prisoners, 2.- Have a metric assload of money because if you have less than 200K? You ain't getting jack shit to the supreme court as that is for the rich or groups like the ACLU and if you look groups like ACLU treat CP charges like the plague as they are poison when it comes to fundraising. And remember that this is a classic "red scare" situation, just like the satanic child abuse insanity of the 90s so no evidence is required, especially when it comes to juries. Sorry I can't find the stats again but when it comes to conviction rates? The only thing higher than CP charges is terrorism, we're talking a better than 95% conviction rate!

            So I hope you are in great shape and your family can live without you for several years, you don't require any kind of income, and you don't mind spending 1 to who knows how many years in prison...oh and that you don't live in a state where they have asset forfeiture because one of the first things they do is grab everything they can and they will NOT give it back, just ask that guy in I believe its NM who was arrested for running a Tor exit node. Cops there snatched more than 35K in electronics and even though he was found not guilty has he seen a single piece of his gear since? Nope. So good luck friend, just realize that if they grab you you'll be treated about as same as the McMartins...remember them? One died in jail, the other has never recovered.

            --
            ACs are never seen so don't bother. Always ready to show SJWs for the racists they are.