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posted by LaminatorX on Friday February 21 2014, @10:30AM   Printer-friendly
from the Nations-Spying-on-Authors dept.

fleg writes:

"The Guardian is reporting that while the author of The Snowden Files was writing it, paragraphs started self-deleting."

From the article:

By September the book was going well - 30,000 words done. A Christmas deadline loomed. I was writing a chapter on the NSA's close, and largely hidden, relationship with Silicon Valley. I wrote that Snowden's revelations had damaged US tech companies and their bottom line. Something odd happened. The paragraph I had just written began to self-delete. The cursor moved rapidly from the left, gobbling text. I watched my words vanish. When I tried to close my OpenOffice file the keyboard began flashing and bleeping.

[ED Note: Some of author's claims are of course unverifiable, but his insiders view of the early days of the story are interesting even so.]

 
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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by iNaya on Friday February 21 2014, @11:07AM

    by iNaya (176) on Friday February 21 2014, @11:07AM (#4221)

    Imagine what the book he's writing will be like!

    He's willing to believe the NSA et al would hack into his office program, and delete paragraphs while he writes, he's willing to believe anything.

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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by TWiTfan on Friday February 21 2014, @01:43PM

    by TWiTfan (2428) on Friday February 21 2014, @01:43PM (#4283)

    Considering the extensive nature of the Snowden leaks, can you blame anyone for being paranoid?

    Before the Snowden leaks, if someone had claimed that the NSA was archiving every phone call, email, and browser history in the entire U.S., they would have been called a paranoid tin-foil hatter too.

    --
    If real life were like D&D, my Charisma score would be a negative number
    • (Score: 1) by demonlapin on Friday February 21 2014, @10:45PM

      by demonlapin (925) on Friday February 21 2014, @10:45PM (#4584) Journal
      If you're that paranoid, unplug the Ethernet cable.
      • (Score: 0) by killal -9 bash on Saturday February 22 2014, @01:07AM

        by killal -9 bash (2751) on Saturday February 22 2014, @01:07AM (#4643)

        If unplugging makes you safe, why are NSA buildings encased in EM blocking or absorbing materials?

  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by mojo chan on Friday February 21 2014, @03:30PM

    by mojo chan (266) on Friday February 21 2014, @03:30PM (#4360)

    It makes a lot of sense actually. Obviously anyone with those files is going to be a target of spying and hacking attempts. If you read TFA he claims that was not the only incident of this kind, and that he has been very obviously followed in real life too.

    It's a standard intimidation tactic. We own your computer, we know where you are and are monitoring you at all times. You are a high value target to us, worth putting guys on to follow. It wouldn't work unless he noticed.

    --
    const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
    • (Score: 1) by dingo on Friday February 21 2014, @08:02PM

      by dingo (1579) on Friday February 21 2014, @08:02PM (#4509)

      It's in government agencies' best interest to have you believe they're all powerfull, is it not?
      How much hard, physical proof is there NSA actually did all the stuff people and/or other countries claim they've been doing?