29 December 2005
They Just Don't Get It, Do They?
Having been stung by its part in the Shrub's blatantly illegal warrantless wiretapping scandal, the NSA now finds itself red-faced over another violation of the regulations under which the Federal Government, including NSA, are supposed to operate. (A rather more minor violation, admittedly, but still.)
Basically, it is against Government policy for Government websites to place "cookies" that will persist past the end of the session on computers that connect to them. The NSA has been setting cookies that expire in like 2035.
As reported on AP (29/12/05):
Meanwhile, Sony, which has, of late, gotten badly beaten up in the still-on-going "Digital Rights Management Rootkit" controversy, of which i spoke here back in November, has tried a "guerilla marketing" campaign that may be blowing up in their faces as embarrassingly, albeit not so damagingly. (So far.)
Again, AP (29/12/05) :
... or, "As Above, So Below".
Having been stung by its part in the Shrub's blatantly illegal warrantless wiretapping scandal, the NSA now finds itself red-faced over another violation of the regulations under which the Federal Government, including NSA, are supposed to operate. (A rather more minor violation, admittedly, but still.)
Basically, it is against Government policy for Government websites to place "cookies" that will persist past the end of the session on computers that connect to them. The NSA has been setting cookies that expire in like 2035.
As reported on AP (29/12/05):
NSA Web Site Plants 'Cookies' on ComputersSigh.
[T]he issue raises questions about privacy at a spy agency already on the defensive amid reports of a secretive eavesdropping program in the United States.
"Considering the surveillance power the NSA has, cookies are not exactly a major concern," said Ari Schwartz, associate director at the Center for Democracy and Technology, a privacy advocacy group in Washington, D.C. "But it does show a general lack of understanding about privacy rules when they are not even following the government's very basic rules for Web privacy."
[more]
Meanwhile, Sony, which has, of late, gotten badly beaten up in the still-on-going "Digital Rights Management Rootkit" controversy, of which i spoke here back in November, has tried a "guerilla marketing" campaign that may be blowing up in their faces as embarrassingly, albeit not so damagingly. (So far.)
Again, AP (29/12/05) :
PlayStation Graffiti Ads Spark ControversySome people just don't learn. ¶ 7:01 AM
The black-on-white graffiti shows wide-eyed cartoon characters riding the [Sony] PlayStation like a skateboard, licking it like a lollipop or cranking it like a Jack-in-the-Box.
But there's no mention of the Sony or PlayStation brands — nor any hint the wordless display is an ad.
[snip]
"They're breaking the law," said Mary Tracy, who runs the Society Created to Reduce Urban Blight, a watchdog group that fights illegal or ill-advised billboards in Philadelphia.
Tracy said Sony ignored the zoning process that regulates outdoor commercial advertising in the city.
[more]
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Three points I think fall from this:
(1) This brings up the topic of accountability on behalf of government agencies, like that of the NSA.
(2) Where are the checks-and-balances here? How can one agency be so divorced from other agencies (or other powers) that this kind of eye watching goes on unchecked?
(3) If this slides because the NSA proclaims, “We didn’t know, it’s not our fault,” it would be ridiculous. This is ridiculous by comparison to all the citizen people who’ve been prosecuted and sent to jail for accidents they’ve made.
Societal complacency is not acceptable in this case and I hope we do what's right in preventing this type of bugging in the future.
Pseudosig - The Farce Report
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(1) This brings up the topic of accountability on behalf of government agencies, like that of the NSA.
(2) Where are the checks-and-balances here? How can one agency be so divorced from other agencies (or other powers) that this kind of eye watching goes on unchecked?
(3) If this slides because the NSA proclaims, “We didn’t know, it’s not our fault,” it would be ridiculous. This is ridiculous by comparison to all the citizen people who’ve been prosecuted and sent to jail for accidents they’ve made.
Societal complacency is not acceptable in this case and I hope we do what's right in preventing this type of bugging in the future.
Pseudosig - The Farce Report
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