Saturday, February 04, 2012

Good news: Feds warn that using basic Internet privacy tools may be a sign that you're a terrorist

Strange that we hear so little about that "evil, imperialistic Bush presidency" these days.

A flyer designed by the FBI and the Department of Justice to promote suspicious activity reporting in internet cafes lists basic tools used for online privacy as potential signs of terrorist activity. The document, part of a program called “Communities Against Terrorism”, lists the use of “anonymizers, portals, or other means to shield IP address” as a sign that a person could be engaged in or supporting terrorist activity. The use of encryption is also listed as a suspicious activity along with steganography, the practice of using “software to hide encrypted data in digital photos” or other media. In fact, the flyer recommends that anyone “overly concerned about privacy” or attempting to “shield the screen from view of others” should be considered suspicious and potentially engaged in terrorist activities.

...Logging into an account associated with a residential internet service provider (such as Comcast or AOL), an activity that could simply indicate that you are on a trip, is also considered a suspicious activity. Viewing any content related to “military tactics” including manuals or “revolutionary literature” is also considered a potential indicator of terrorist activity. This would mean that viewing a number of websites, including the one you are on right now, could be construed by a hapless employee as an highly suspicious activity potentially linking you to terrorism.

Well, all of these warnings seem justified. After all, the DHS was eerily prescient when it warned of imminent attacks by right-wing extremists in 2009.


2 comments:

Christian Patriot III said...

Wow. By these standards I'm sure they must think I'm a terrorist by now. I've been researching material for a couple of different novels I've been working on and off with for the past decade. In the process, I think I almost checked every box on that list except using multiple SIMS (I sometimes take two phones if I haven't had time to charge one fully) or using spotters / blockers.

I'm not worried. Given time, we will all be categorized as terrorists by these bureaucratic dictates.

Anonymous said...

We're gonna be labled as ''in the way '' or terroist anywhich way you look at it!...Anybody got a shoe they don't need?