[tor-talk] Do You Like Online Privacy? You May Be a Terrorist

[Joe Btfsplk]

On 2/2/2012 11:15 AM, Eugen Leitl wrote:
> http://publicintelligence.net/do-you-like-online-privacy-you-may-be-a-terrorist/
>
> Do You Like Online Privacy? You May Be a Terrorist
>
> February 1, 2012 in Featured
>
> Public Intelligence
>
> 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.
>
> The “Potential Indicators of Terrorist Activities” contained in the flyer are
> not to be construed alone as a sign of terrorist activity and the document
> notes that “just because someone’s speech, actions, beliefs, appearance, or
> way of life is different; it does not mean that he or she is suspicious.”
> However, many of the activities described in the document are basic practices
> of any individual concerned with security or privacy online.  The use of PGP,
> VPNs, Tor or any of the many other technologies for anonymity and privacy
> online are directly targeted by the flyer, which is distributed to businesses
> in an effort to promote the reporting of these activities.
> _______________________________________________
O - M - G!  I better cancel my tor-talk list acct now & sign up again 
using Tor.  We should all create & use anonymous email accts, created 
using Tor & only access them anonymously.  This could turn into a 
McCarthy Era fiasco. :-O . I'm being sarcastic, but only partly.  Anyone 
that doesn't think users accessing 1000's of sites & lists that deal w/ 
some of mentioned subjects in OP's "quote" are being watched (at least, 
electronically) probably has their head in the sand.  Gov'ts have been 
doing this since WWII - very probably before that.  You don't have 
research very far to verify that.

Whether you get interrogated or dragged off in the middle of the night 
probably depends on your country, sites you visit & what you actually say.