Comments on: U.S. Warns Of Chinese Cyber-Spies

Overseas Travelers Warned That Personal Information Can Be Stolen; No Device Safe

[observer2020]

Like there is such a thing as privacy nowadays. Big Brother is watching you from every angle.

[greeneyes222]

The threat from China is very real.

Unfortunately, there are some kiddies on here who want to make everything political and show how clever they are. The Chinese don''t care which party is in power over here, and they don''t care who you like or don''t like. But thanks for the demonstration of how the American education system is failing us all by not teaching critical thinking skills.

[pugster]

If the US are the good guys, I guess that the NSA spends billions of dollars on its water cooled computers to predict the weather instead of spying on us.

[smurfcrusher]

baby2700625 has been reported for SPAMming in violation of Terms of Service.

[smurfcrusher]

Yes, it''s OK for Bush and Cheney to spy on US citizens (according to them, anyway). They never asked me...


Maybe they''re worried the Chinese will uncover documents about Cheney''s secret energy policy, or Bush''s torture program.

[pirmin3]

"China is an advanced police state with no equal in the world...."

Uncle Sam is closing the gap very rapidly.

[allurfears]

China is an advanced police state with no equal in the world. What is clear is that the tipping point has been reached in China. There is no going back- Tyranny has won in China. Within 5 years, the Chinese dictatorship will have complete control over every avenue of communication and association. The concepts of liberty and civil rights will be completely removed from the public consciousness by police and technical means. What chance is there for an end to the police state/dictatorship once that happens? You cannot "organize" dissent. You cannot even talk about liberty. Try Googling "Freedom" in China. The word does not exist. To paraphrase Orwell, "Obedience is freedom" in China. Newspeak is the language of China today

[allurfears]

Anyone who is confused about what the Authoritarian Capitalist government in China is doing to its people only need read Naomi Klein''s article in this issue of Huffington Post. Chinese tyranny is a danger to every freedom-loving person in the world. It exercises a complete control of a society that makes Orwell''s world of "1984" look positively free.

There is no excuse for subjugation of a population. There is no excuse for eliminating every avenue of dissent and free thought. There is no excuse for providing support to a regime that sees its people as nothing more than a means to an end- power, riches, and total control. The Beijing Olympics will go down in history along with the Berlin Games of 1932 as a sad event supporting a despicable dictatorship.

[alphaa10-2009]

shameonbush asks, "I don''''t get what they look for."
---
The cyberspy seeks data, but not always something you normally would call "private" information. Whereas a hacker (aka computer criminal) may want your credit card number, a cyberspymay want as much data as possible about the overall structure, including security safeguards, of the network operated by your internet provider and/or phone provider.

To obtain that information, it helps a great deal to steal your login and password for undetected intrusion. But a cyberspy may not use the personal access codes for personal / financial gain, but simply to expose points of vulnerability which can be exploited to penetrate and control your network.

(see Computer Security-- 2)

[alphaa10-2009]

Computer Security-- 2

For example, knowing how a website is protected can indicate means to attack the website. About one year ago, there was an undeclared cyberwar between Estonians and Russians over Estonian removal of Russian WW2 statues. By probing and then flooding Estonian government websites with messages, Russian attackers basically immobilized Estonian government web functions.

The PRC''s "Titan Rain" surveillance of the US cyber-infrastructure is designed to permit what one Chinese military writer called the ability to blind one''s opponent. This is done by (1) depriving the network of basic functions (as with the Estonian websites) and/or (2) injecting false information into a target network which converts the target network into a "host" for further attacks on the infrastructure of a nation.

Once we realize how dependent all our banking and other commerce, communications, and even governmental functions depend on computer networks, we understand why personal computer security is a national security issue.

[shameonbush]

What kind of information are they looking for? What good does it do China to read my emails? I''m afraid they''d be bored out of their heads if they read mine. What good does my contact list do them? I don''t get what they look for.

[alphaa10-2009]

Does anyone at the CBS copy desk know how to spell "spies"?

"Spys"?

---

The Anti-Pulitzer Award

With deadline pressure we embrace
Any spelling which fills up the space
Hoping those paid to know better
With grammar and letter
Will ignore the "flys" on our face.

[alphaa10-2009]

CISCO and other patriotic US electronics firms sold the PRC their best equipment to monitor digital traffic to identify and arrest dissidents-- including pro-democracy activists.

The same equipment or more capable devices have been made available to the US government. The only difference is our government, according to the rule of law, is prohibited from spying on US citizens.

At least, that is the way our law is supposed to work.

That is, unless Bush breaks the law, anyway, and dares anyone to prosecute his high crimes and misdeanors.

And unless certain unpatriotic congressmen endorse the breaking of law by extending retroactive immunity to companies which aid and abet politicians who break the law.

[tmn]

Cause they need more credit card numbers!!

[shameonbush]

And why is China hosting the Olympics?

[pirmin3]

You don''t have to go to China to get spied on. Your friendly guvment in the US has been doing it for a long time. The GOP uniform is brown shirts and jack boots.

[txlakeside]

FREEDOM for IRAQ .... SUPRESSION IN CHINA IS OK!

You guys really are dumb as dirt!

TERRORISM IS BAD .... REPRESSION IS OK!

the Chinese sound like a bunch of neocon, right wing moralistic, controling evangelicals trying to control their peoples every move action and speech. .... opps ... that is exactly what they are!

[txlakeside]

Dumb as dirt and the SHRUB who leads you .... why would you even go to China and support such a facist, repressive regime. Boycott the olymoics, dont watch it on TV and send a message to BIG Business .... repression is not right, supporting regimes that do it is not right and advertising with them is not right.

The Chinese would have shut this Forum down by now. Unless you are a right wing neocon who is in debt to China you should do the right thing and ignore the Olympics! Otherwise, shut up and do what the SHRUB did .... BAD CHINA, BAD CHINA, ON WITH THE GAMES!

Dumb as dirt, freedom "chickens" and twice as crooked!

[zykracosmos]

Bottom line... don''t store anything sensitive on your computer hard drive. Keep documents on a flash drive and don''t allow your computer to store backups. Access your documents when you are offline. Use tracks eraser daily to empty log that may be used to profile you by an intruder. Assume anyone may be listening to any telephone call anytime and refrain from spilling sensitive information over the phone. Avoid sending sensitive information by email, and if you must, take the time to encrypt it. Don''t sweat the small stuff. What does it matter if a Chinese spy overhears that you broke up with your girlfriend. Remember the Verizon commercial with the crowd? Try to imagine that crowd listening to your conversations, and be conservative about what you speak about on open airwaves.

[erasmus81]

"The FBI can turn your microphone on too." Posted by cbscrash07 at 08:48 PM : Aug 07, 2008


I may not like the FBI doing it, but you can bet I sure as hell wouldn''t want CHINA doing it.