Shock: Murtha accused of behaving unethically with appropriations

just wanted to repeat this great comment:

There are technological solutions to this problem. And journalists should do this NOW.

1. Encrypt your email. Its not hard. You can use very secure email protocols that the DOJ won’t be able to touch.

2. Host the email in places the government can’t get at it. Literally put the server in the news building or put it in another country that might not cooperate with the DOJ.

3. Security through Obscurity. Use odd communications protocols. Ill used technology. Programs few are familiar with and few know how to compromise much less exist. Encourage everyone to push information through alternative channels.

4. Switch your phone system over to VOIP (Voice Over IP) and encrypt it. This won’t work for regular phone calls but this is the 21st century. Tell your sources to download the required software, give them the security keys so they can talk to you, and laugh when the DOJ whines about not being ABLE to wire tap you with or without a court order.

This is how you do it people. Forget getting the DOJ to come clean or operate within their constitutional limits. We have the technology to render their snooping obsolete. They only get away with this when you use outdated technology that is not properly secured. Use the old phone system and you’re basically begging to be wiretapped. Phones are stupid. I appreciate they’re widely used and convention but they have no security and the only entity that might provide security… the phone company… will not protect you. So by all means, keep the phones so you can have a phone number. But direct your contacts to superior means of communication that are more secure and actually less expensive. VOIP generally costs nothing beyond what you’re already paying for internet access.

I could go on about this stuff for ages. I’m in IT. I see what is going on here and it makes me sick. Its very easy to secure communication in the 21st century against government intrusion so long as you’ve made SOME effort to protect yourself. If they’re able to get anything from you then its because you’re not trying. Think the DoJ could cease phone records if the only place those phone records existed was INSIDE the AP corporate office? Have fun with that DoJ. And even then, the news organization would have total control over those records up to the point when they were ceased… which would mean they could not keep records at all. Which would render any such media circus without profit.

We don’t have to wait for the government to behave itself. We can render these tactics impotent simply by taking a little personal responsibility. It requires that people do things a little different. It will involve some short term inconvenience as people learn and adapt. But the end point will be a system so hard to wire tap that the very idea of the DoJ even trying will be laughable.

Karmashock on May 20, 2013 at 3:41 PM

Sachiko on May 20, 2013 at 4:31 PM