[AusNOG] Commsday: New NSA training deck reveals servers in ANZ

[Tim March]

It's pretty cool^H^H^H^Hhorrifying how casually they drop "Show me all 
the VPN startups in country X, and give me the data so I can decrypt and 
discover the users" on slide 17.

I've always wondered just how much computational grunt agencies like the 
NSA throw, in practice, at crypto-busting related activities. Eg, is it 
a wholesale facility where strong ciphers such as AES-256 are quickly 
and routinely defeated, or does it only get used when they really want 
to know what's in a specific stream.

There's a bunch of private companies now producing ASIC based Bitcoin 
miners that will compute aes256(aes256($x)) up to 500GH/s so it's 
reasonable to assume punters like the NSA have been well ahead of this 
for years.

As you say, ISOC-AU and EFA will more than likely have something to say 
about it. If we really get lucky Scott Ludlam will hijack a senate 
estimates hearing and we'll get to watch it on YouTube... 
$SomethingAboutNiceThings =)



T.

On 2/08/13 12:16 PM, Skeeve Stevens wrote:
> Hey all,
>
> I haven't seen any discussion on AUSNOG/NZNOG about the details revealed
> in the XKeyscore presentation
> (http://www.theguardian.com/world/interactive/2013/jul/31/nsa-xkeyscore-program-full-presentation).
>
> If, as expected, more revelations and details emerge, then there might
> be ISPs and carriers in the ANZ region who are complicit in assisting in
> this programme...
>
> In Australia I am expecting the Internet Society in Australia, the
> Australian Privacy Foundation, the EFA, and others to be having
> something to say about this.
>
> This is from 2008... I'd hate to think to what extent their capabilities
> are now.
>
> Discussion? ;-)
>
> -----
>
> New NSA training deck reveals servers in ANZ
>
> A NSA presentation newly leaked by former government employee Edward
> Snowden detailing a global online surveillance system clearly shows
> infrastructure inside the borders of Australia and New Zealand.
> According to a map shown in the 2008 training presentation on a program
> called XKeyscore, there are at least four surveillance nodes in
> Australia and at least one in New Zealand.
>
>   The actual map does not specify the exact location of the nodes, but
> they roughly correspond to coordinates near Darwin, Perth, Sydney, and
> Alice Springs.
>
> The document also explicitly names Australia and New Zealand, along with
> Canada and Great Britain in its footnotes although their exact roles
> remained unclear. At the time the presentation was created, XKeyscore
> covered “approximately 150 sites” and operated “over 700 servers.”
>
> According to the presentation, XKeyscore used the servers to gather data
> on internet activity by users. The data is then catalogued by different
> variables, including phone numbers, email addresses, log ins and user
> activity through the use of metadata tables. Once indexed, the
> information is searchable by NSA operatives via different parameters,
> such as geography, encryption, language, and even web searches, the
> material asserted.
>
> The author of the presentation said XKeyscore has led to the arrest of
> 300 terrorists. But Australia’s Pirate Party, which has put forth two
> candidates for Senate in Queensland and New South Wales, warns the
> revelation could have far wider implications for Australians.
>
> “The implications of all these revelations are troubling and it should
> concern all Australians that Australian spy agencies may be using US
> surveillance programs and information-sharing agreements to bypass local
> restrictions and safeguards,” the Pirate Party said in a release. “As
> Australians, the US agencies see us as ‘foreign’ and thus not even the
> minimal safeguards that apply to US citizens would apply to Australians
> under these programs.” Tony Chan
>
> -----
>
>
> Remember... Read it first in Commsday - www.commsday.com.au
> <http://www.commsday.com.au> - Subscribe today.
>
>
> ...Skeeve
>
> *Skeeve Stevens - *eintellego Networks Pty Ltd
> skeeve at eintellegonetworks.com <mailto:skeeve at eintellegonetworks.com> ;
> www.eintellegonetworks.com <http://www.eintellegonetworks.com/>
>
> Phone: 1300 239 038; Cell +61 (0)414 753 383 ; skype://skeeve
>
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>
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