Can the FBI turn on the web cams of linux users?

[zester]

A couple of questions to your paranoid people:

1) Out of multiple millions of users, what makes you think YOU would interest anybody?
2) Why are you scared? Are you doing something illegal?

Me, I'm going to leave my webcams as they are. But I'll make sure that no laptop screen is pointing at the room when having intimate relationships with my wife

Even with open source code it will be really simple to sneak in malicious code as nobody except the developer himself has time to comb through all the code. Thats how the BSD backdoor was undiscovered for a decade despite the open code

1. I don't know "Reality Tv" is extremely popular in the US, and many of those shows are about people doing boring things.
2. Ignorance of the law is no excuse and statistically you break the law multiple times a day.

And your right even with Open Source code introducing "bad code" isn't a particular difficult task, and finding that "bad code" can be extremely difficult. That's why lightweight, easy to maintain and audit alternatives are better than there overly complex and extremely large version's. If your having difficultly finding a needle in a haystack the only logical solution is to make the haystack pile smaller.

If your referring to "OpenBSD" that backdoor still hasn't been found, if there is or was one in the first place.

[Luke]

Real world: lots of illegal and corporate surveillance of political activsts

You linked to the blaze for a click-baiting scare article.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/fbis-search-for-mo-suspect-in-bomb-threats-highlights-use-of-malware-for-surveillance/2013/12/06/352ba174-5397-11e3-9e2c-e1d01116fd98_story.html

Realistically if you aren't buying Ukrainian sex slaves or trying to have someone assassinated on Silk Road 2, you have nothing to fear from this. You still have to worry about the RATers, though.

If you are organizing nonviolent protests against gas fracking or tar sands, you are considered a "terrorist" by elements in the Department of Homeland Security. Also, suppose the author of the FBI software to turn on webcams gives or sells a copy of the software to his buddy that works for something like STRATFOR. STRATFOR, a private intelligence company, wrote a long paper for Suncor about trying to counter tar sands protests.

The linked case concerned someone sending bomb threats to airports and universities, threatening mostly the general public. Nonviolent protest, and even more so the Native American uprisings against oil and gas extraction in places like New Brunswick, Canada threaten the investments of the rich and powerful. Therefore, activsts opposing tar sands and gas fracking are bigger fish then someone theatening airports, not smaller fish, due to who's ox is being gored.

Just imagine the economic value to an oil-company funded private surveillance firm of a pirate copy of the FBI's webcam software. Imagine also the FBI's motivation to use it with or without a warrant. The US is allied to Canada, and Canada has declared the tar sands mine and tar sands pipelines to be their number one security priority.

In other words, Canada regards even nonviolent tar sands protesters and gas fracking protesters as the worst terrorists they can come up against, given that Canada is choosing whether to become an economic powerhouse with a poisoned landscape or to remain a pristine "backwater." It's ally the US is known to take the same position. Example: last week a banner drop in a corporate office in Oklahoma included black glitter symbolizing an oil spill. At the advice of Transcanada officials, a fake Hazmat response was mounted and the activists charged with a "terrorist hoax" for glitter. There was no effort by workers in the building to avoid the glitter, indicated it was known to be harmless.

When you are treated as a terrorist, your computer security needs become the same as those of fighters who actually engage in armed warfare against the same government, at least so far as "civilian" surveillance agencies are concerned. I've been telling people for YEARS to boycott Windows and Facebook, and I keep webcams covered and batteries out of cellphones, etc when not in use.

An uncovered webcam in a meeting of activsts opposing tar sands mining, the Keystone pipeline, gas fracking, or moutaintop removal coal mining could be as big a hazard as it is in a Mafia boardroom. The only possible exception is firmware/hardware bugs, where the take could be used to deploy cops to what was thought to be a surprise action but could not be used in court. Admitting in open court to say, a backdoor in Intel processors could kill Intel, and that's nearly as big a loss as the loss of the Keystone XL pipeline, maybe bigger if it forces the US military to get their CPU's from China.

[Decebal]

1984

If you are organizing nonviolent protests against gas fracking or tar sands, you are considered a "terrorist" by elements in the Department of Homeland Security. Also, suppose the author of the FBI software to turn on webcams gives or sells a copy of the software to his buddy that works for something like STRATFOR. STRATFOR, a private intelligence company, wrote a long paper for Suncor about trying to counter tar sands protests.

The linked case concerned someone sending bomb threats to airports and universities, threatening mostly the general public. Nonviolent protest, and even more so the Native American uprisings against oil and gas extraction in places like New Brunswick, Canada threaten the investments of the rich and powerful. Therefore, activsts opposing tar sands and gas fracking are bigger fish then someone theatening airports, not smaller fish, due to who's ox is being gored.

Just imagine the economic value to an oil-company funded private surveillance firm of a pirate copy of the FBI's webcam software. Imagine also the FBI's motivation to use it with or without a warrant. The US is allied to Canada, and Canada has declared the tar sands mine and tar sands pipelines to be their number one security priority.

In other words, Canada regards even nonviolent tar sands protesters and gas fracking protesters as the worst terrorists they can come up against, given that Canada is choosing whether to become an economic powerhouse with a poisoned landscape or to remain a pristine "backwater." It's ally the US is known to take the same position. Example: last week a banner drop in a corporate office in Oklahoma included black glitter symbolizing an oil spill. At the advice of Transcanada officials, a fake Hazmat response was mounted and the activists charged with a "terrorist hoax" for glitter. There was no effort by workers in the building to avoid the glitter, indicated it was known to be harmless.

When you are treated as a terrorist, your computer security needs become the same as those of fighters who actually engage in armed warfare against the same government, at least so far as "civilian" surveillance agencies are concerned. I've been telling people for YEARS to boycott Windows and Facebook, and I keep webcams covered and batteries out of cellphones, etc when not in use.

An uncovered webcam in a meeting of activsts opposing tar sands mining, the Keystone pipeline, gas fracking, or moutaintop removal coal mining could be as big a hazard as it is in a Mafia boardroom. The only possible exception is firmware/hardware bugs, where the take could be used to deploy cops to what was thought to be a surprise action but could not be used in court. Admitting in open court to say, a backdoor in Intel processors could kill Intel, and that's nearly as big a loss as the loss of the Keystone XL pipeline, maybe bigger if it forces the US military to get their CPU's from China.

Luke, did you used "the force" of telling things strait ? As a supplement, please note this 'muscle flexing' is extending further out over the globe. See:

http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/2195294/pungesti_romania_people_versus_chevron_and_riot_police.html

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/pungesti-romania-39-battlefield-against-chevron-103313454.html#dQdqLXd

And this is just one small village in this country. Many more will suffer the same fate. There's no doubt why this sort of 'capitalism' is regarded with increasing aversion in more and more countries... The downfall ?! Well, it's simple. It's called communism. Since the right was condemned, that leaves only the left as an 'option'... It doesn't really matter that nazism is quite the same thing as communism, only one is painted green and the other red. The reds won because the greens were officially condemned... It's a sad future awaiting us all. We all are living in the days of the chinese curse: we are living the interesting times. Including the chinese. Because what can governments do when they realise there are so many 'terrorist' that are against fracking ?! They pass new laws giving them more power to opress anything or anybody standing in their way. 1984.

[ACiD]

You contradict yourself there. If you had nothing to hide, you would also broadcast your intimate relations, afterall, out of millions of users, what makes you think YOUR intimate relations would interest anybody?

I'm fairly sure anyone at NSA would not care about my intimate relations but as previously noted, some others would. You have to understand that paranoia against government and intimacy are two different things lol.

[zester]

I'm fairly sure anyone at NSA would not care about my intimate relations but as previously noted, some others would. You have to understand that paranoia against government and intimacy are two different things lol.

You do realize that "Sodomy" is still illegal, in some parts of the country.

No seriously if I worked for the NSA and your "Wife/Girlfriend?" was "Short, Pale Skinned and Curvy" I would be totally interested in your "intimate relations"!!!!!! lol

[curaga]

I'm fairly sure anyone at NSA would not care about my intimate relations but as previously noted, some others would. You have to understand that paranoia against government and intimacy are two different things lol.

You have strange priorities there, when one of those can kill you or really inconvenience your life, and the other is some loner masturbating :P

Anyway, I hope you see what was hypocritical about your post. You criticised others for blocking their webcams, and then proceeded to say you also block yours in case X.

[MartinN]

You contradict yourself there. If you had nothing to hide, you would also broadcast your intimate relations, afterall, out of millions of users, what makes you think YOUR intimate relations would interest anybody?

The criteria here is hiding things that are wrong and immoral. Having loving, intimate relations with your spouse of the opposite sex is not wrong (and frankly, it's encouraged ).

Showing your private parts, while legal in certain contexts (i.e. adult porn websites), is always wrong and immoral, just like hiding the fact that you've committed a crime (i.e. bootlegged movies, games, music, etc).

[Luke]

Sorry, religious morality does not cut it here

The criteria here is hiding things that are wrong and immoral. Having loving, intimate relations with your spouse of the opposite sex is not wrong (and frankly, it's encouraged ).

Showing your private parts, while legal in certain contexts (i.e. adult porn websites), is always wrong and immoral, just like hiding the fact that you've committed a crime (i.e. bootlegged movies, games, music, etc).

I am not a Christian and I do not subscribe to Fundamentalist Christian views about morality. One problem with pervasive surveillance is that the Christian Taliban, which so loves porn filters, would LOVE to be able to use electronic records to jail people engaged in disfavored online dating/cruising. I will fight by any means necessary to protect my right to control my own body, the Christian Taliban is one of my oldest enemies.

[zester]

The criteria here is hiding things that are wrong and immoral. Having loving, intimate relations with your spouse of the opposite sex is not wrong (and frankly, it's encouraged ).

Showing your private parts, while legal in certain contexts (i.e. adult porn websites), is always wrong and immoral, just like hiding the fact that you've committed a crime (i.e. bootlegged movies, games, music, etc).

If you were in any Muslim dominated country, things like "Homosexuality", "Sodomy" creating "Porn" or just taking "Nude Pictures" of your self are all-things that are highly illegal and in many cases are punishable by death.

In none Muslim dominated country's there are many situations where the above things could be used against you in one way or another.

So is the NSA interested in your "Private Intimate Life", yes ... yes they are. There isn't any part of your life that there not interested in.

[MartinN]

I am not a Christian and I do not subscribe to Fundamentalist Christian views about morality. One problem with pervasive surveillance is that the Christian Taliban, which so loves porn filters, would LOVE to be able to use electronic records to jail people engaged in disfavored online dating/cruising. I will fight by any means necessary to protect my right to control my own body, the Christian Taliban is one of my oldest enemies.

Keep fighting then. You may one day realize you've been fighting against what your heart truly wants and needs by fighting to maintain control over your body.

In the meantime, if you ever get curious about lust and its impact on one's soul, check out SA.org

G'day.