NSA Director Urges Congress To Renew Controversial Intelligence Authority (cyberscoop.com) 29
NSA Director and head of U.S. Cyber Command Gen. Paul Nakasone said in remarks on Thursday that intelligence authorities up for renewal later this year have played a key role in protecting the United States against cyberattacks. From a report: Nakasone's remarks at a virtual meeting of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board offered a preview of what is expected to be an intense political fight later this year to renew Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act -- a law that provides U.S. intelligence agencies wide-ranging authorities to conduct surveillance of foreign persons located abroad and which civil liberties advocates argue is in desperate need of greater transparency.
Section 702 will expire at the end of the year unless Congress acts, and on Thursday Nakasone made the case that "the authority plays an outsized role in protecting our nation." He said, "we have saved lives because of 702," adding that the law has been used to counter ransomware threats, including those against critical infrastructure and a foreign operation trying to steal sensitive U.S. military information. The political fight over reauthorization has yet to heat up, but as the newly elected Republican majority seeks to investigate federal government probes of former President Donald Trump and his associates, the renewal of Section 702 could emerge as a central flashpoint between the GOP and national-security agencies.
Section 702 will expire at the end of the year unless Congress acts, and on Thursday Nakasone made the case that "the authority plays an outsized role in protecting our nation." He said, "we have saved lives because of 702," adding that the law has been used to counter ransomware threats, including those against critical infrastructure and a foreign operation trying to steal sensitive U.S. military information. The political fight over reauthorization has yet to heat up, but as the newly elected Republican majority seeks to investigate federal government probes of former President Donald Trump and his associates, the renewal of Section 702 could emerge as a central flashpoint between the GOP and national-security agencies.
Head of U.S. Cyber Command says... (Score:2)
NSA Director and head of U.S. Cyber Command Gen. Paul Nakasone said in remarks on Thursday that intelligence authorities up for renewal later this year have played a key role in protecting the United States against cyberattacks
Is anybody else saying it apart from him?
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Is anybody else saying it apart from him?
Yes. Edward Snowden [commondreams.org] had plenty to say about gov't spy agencies.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
You do realize it was the United States that trapped Snowden in Russia when the US revoked Snowden's passport, right?
Some people even claim Snowden might actually still be secretly spying for the US... What better cover story for keeping Snowden inside Russia?
"protecting" (Score:3)
... have played a key role in protecting the United States against cyberattacks
except for those attacks by the agencies themselves, which are undoubtedly the worst attacks on the US and others.
No to Secret Courts (Score:5, Insightful)
Just say No to secret courts. This is one case where even if it does save lives it fundamentally perverts 'who' we want to be.
Re: (Score:1)
Just say No to secret courts. This is one case where even if it does save lives it fundamentally perverts 'who' we want to be.
Mod this one up to > 5.
Re: (Score:1)
Not to mention that the NSA has been so clearly useless at this alleged protection that it's becoming conspicuously likely they're actually involved in committing many of these crimes. Power - accountability = corruption.
Re: (Score:1)
Yea, but I specifically meant about the intrusions into US entities.
Re: No to Secret Courts (Score:1)
EVERY court is a SECRET COURT. Once you are not there to personally give your opinion. The point is to be informed and seek informed discussion BEFORE the the judge has to seek the same among his/her contemporys for our sake, so the courts are needed less.
Re: (Score:2)
Wow, I read your post three times and I still didn't understand what you are saying.
Re: No to Secret Courts (Score:1)
If you are going to let others solve your problems for you then you trust their methods. It kind of the constitutional way to not be hanging over the decision makers at that point. It's that branch of governments power...."my opinion if final as you came here to hear it...."
Re: (Score:2)
I see
Does he even need to ask? (Score:1, Informative)
We know the solutions to our problems, we just don't wanna do 'em. Like a petulant child that doesn't want to clean their room and wants to eat candy all the time.
Re: (Score:1)
Like a petulant child that doesn't want to clean their room and wants to eat candy all the time.
I resemble that remark.
Re: (Score:2)
Well, I represent that remark!
This Just In... (Score:2)
Is it surprising to learn the head of an agency spending $85.5 billion of our dollars on stuff we aren't allowed to know about is reporting his agency is doing a bang-up job? This is the problem with the National Security State we have created. Billions of dollars spent in the NSA, the CIA a
Three ways to get what he wants (Score:2)
1) Ask us to trust him. That boat has probably sailed.
2) Provide clear evidence to congress critters of some examples of what your taxes are achieving. This requires the rest of the population to trust what congress critters tell them. This boat looks a little rickety...
3) Use the data the NSA has to convince congress critters that their misdeeds will become available for all to see.
Given that we don't really believe in (2), when Congress does vote for the expenditure, we will all believe (3). This is a fun
No protection for allies (Score:2)
As long as there is no protection in the law for EU residents, privacy shield will always be lipstick on a pig.
Executive orders don't make law, no administrative court Biden can make will give EU any redress because administrative courts will have no federal law to even in the vaguest sense try to find justification for redress in, they aren't allowed to just dream up administrative rules from nothing. Congress will have to give them and the EU courts something to work with.
Unless the EU and Biden are just
The decay of trust (Score:2)
The NSA has three ways to get its money
1) Ask us to trust them. That boat has probably sailed.
2) Provide clear evidence to congress critters of some examples of what your taxes are achieving. This requires the rest of the population to trust what congress critters tell them. This boat looks a little rickety...
3) Use the data the NSA has to convince congress critters that their misdeeds will become available for all to see.
Given that we don't really believe in (2), when Congress does vote for the expenditure
Not just no, but HELL no! (Score:1)
Re: (Score:3)
702 needs to DIE (sunset) like it was originally meant to. Its continued existence only serves as a clandestine means for the government to violate people's the 4th amendment right to privacy. Freedom should always trump security, not vice-versa.
Section 702 isn't what needs to die. The mentality that everyone should be a suspect every day of their lives is what needs to die. But good luck with that.
I cynically suspect that its original purpose was to make legal what they were doing already. My biggest fear is that 702 will sunset, and they'll just keep doing it, and nobody will check, and nobody will know, and because 702 goes away, everyone will assume that the privacy threat is gone, until decades later when it causes some huge scandal, and de
I think it's quite clear... (Score:2)
...that our vaunted intel agencies have decided since 2016 at least to 'meddle' in the machinery of government, to wit: a letter signed by 50 long-serving intel 'professionals' insisting that the Hunter Biden laptop was Russian disinfo. You might remember, it was *just* before the election?
NO PROFESSIONAL INTEL OFFICER IS GOING TO
- make a public statement with their name attached
- insist something is something based on hearsay, and *either*
-- it was hearsy, or
-- they DID get to evaluate actual intel which
Defund the spooks (Score:1)