Glenn Greenwald: NSA Can Store A Billion Cell Phone Calls Every Day

Glenn Greenwald: NSA Can Store A Billion Cell Phone Calls Every Day

www.huffingtonpost.com

Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald says he has another big scoop about the National Security Agency's surveillance practices up his sleeve...

...his story on it hasn't been published yet...

..."It talks about a brand new technology that enables the national security agency to redirect into its own repositories one billion cell phone calls every single day...

(visit the link for the full news article)

Greenwald hinted repeatedly that he has enough material to keep going for several months.He also explained that there is a logic to the sequence in which he and the Guardian publish the stories about the leaked NSA documents.

I think this is all still part of giving the public a background and building momentum before disclosing the really interesting parts.

www.huffingtonpost.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

reply to post by MindBodySpiritComplex


They're already insulting our intelligence suggesting this isn't possible. Compression is so good now days. What is a minute on the cell phone, a megabyte? So 1000 minutes = a gigabyte, and a million minutes = a terrabyte, which costs about $90 at present. So at $90,000 a day, or 32 million a year, they can buy enough storage for a billion minutes of storage a day. 32 million a year is small potatoes for a govt. Agency. Wikipedia says NSA gets 10,000 million a year (10 billion), so spending 1/3 of one percent of their budget on storage, they get a billion minutes of conversations a day. Assuming the average joe spends 30 minutes a day online, they can get enough storage to capture all of it for about 10% of their budget.

Huffington Post is talking about the "scoop" Greenwald gave a few hours ago to the Socialism 2013 Conference in Chicago in advance of the article he's about to publish. He also discusses his impressions of Snowden in the 11 days they spent together in Hong Kong, why the majority of journalists today are "actors" who don't do their job properly and the impact Snowden's courage has had him and the people around him.

Looks like this story is not going to disappear anytime soon...

Originally posted by tridentblue
reply to post by MindBodySpiritComplex

 

They're already insulting our intelligence suggesting this isn't possible. Compression is so good now days. What is a minute on the cell phone, a megabyte? So 1000 minutes = a gigabyte, and a million minutes = a terrabyte, which costs about $90 at present. So at $90,000 a day, or 32 million a year, they can buy enough storage for a billion minutes of storage a day. 32 million a year is small potatoes for a govt. Agency. Wikipedia says NSA gets 10,000 million a year (10 billion), so spending 1/3 of one percent of their budget on storage, they get a billion minutes of conversations a day. Assuming the average joe spends 30 minutes a day online, they can get enough storage to capture all of it for about 10% of their budget.

edit on 29-6-2013 by tridentblue because: (no reason given)

Annual budget for the NSA $10+ billion (estimate) not million. If you intended a correction then why leave the mis-leading term "million" in there?

Besides all that - the annual budget for the NSA far exceeds 10 billion! Just look at the specs on the new buildings in Utah, which alone came in at a cost of over 10 billion. Another thing - Wiki is not a good source!

reply to post by Archie


To save yourselves some aggravation - Please skip the backslapping first half of the video and go to 20:40-45.

Originally posted by tridentblue

They're already insulting our intelligence suggesting this isn't possible. Compression is so good now days. What is a minute on the cell phone, a megabyte? So 1000 minutes = a gigabyte, and a million minutes = a terrabyte, which costs about $90 at present. So at $90,000 a day, or 32 million a year, they can buy enough storage for a billion minutes of storage a day.

Not only that. The level of compression that is needed just to clearly record a normal conversation is much less than is needed for music. I'd say an 80KBs MP3 would easily do it. I don't know how large that file would be at, say, 10 minutes but not very. And compression is always getting better.

RE:

Originally posted by Guadeloupe
reply to post by Archie

 

To save yourselves some aggravation - Please skip the backslapping first half of the video and go to 20:40-45.

Thank you for the original

post by Archie

This (better) version omits all the introductory remarks which took up a good half of the original video.


My youtube comments........Uploaded on Jun 29, 2013

This is taken from the video titled "Glenn Greenwald Speaks Out" - (starting at 20:40 or so to end) This is a video conference call "Skype" at the Socialism 2013 Conference - I am assuming that Glen Greeenwald could not appear in person for fear of being arrested and prosecuted under the Obama/Holder edict of persecution of whistle-blowers and of journalists who report their findings.

Think for a moment if you will, while seated in your comfort zones around the world - of what great sacrifices these men were willing to make, i.e., before you go and don your judgment caps.

If I were to say that Ed Snowden was a hero for having the courage to speak out against an oppressive regime then what must Glen Greenwald be? A "super-hero" I suppose. God Bless good men like Ed Snowden, Glen Greenwald, Bradley Manning, Edward Drake, et al. And an especial thanks and blessings to Julian Assange who paved the way as a trailblazer for freedom and democracy in the modern world.

Only a billion cell phone calls a day? what are they running a 386 that is 20 years old or something?

A billion recording accounts with super computers with todays tech should be much more than one billion.

I think the numbers are drastically conservative.

reply to post by ManOfHart


NSA can't help it if they're not up with the latest data gather techniques/technology. Sheesh, what do you want from them!? Given that they're outstripping any other data gathering regime on planet Earth by miles with the exception, possibly, of Tempora in the UK, how about a little respect, huh? They'restill deeply evil people.

Originally posted by ManOfHart
Only a billion cell phone calls a day? what are they running a 386 that is 20 years old or something?

A billion recording accounts with super computers with todays tech should be much more than one billion.

I think the numbers are drastically conservative.

Indeed. My guess is it's really just intended to be a wakeup call. Anyone who knows anything at all about technology can guess what TPTB might be capable of (considering they have virtually unlimited funds and plenty of privacy). I had some guy attempt to feign incredulity that they might be capable of storing everything. If not now, then soon.

These types of people need to be exposed. It's not always easy to do that without some kind of official looking announcement. Even if it isn't 100% accurate. We know they can pretty much do whatever they want.

reply to post by BrianFlanders


Try . . . for more than 40 years . . . monitoring everything

storing everything of remotely interesting content

with literally acres of computers at several points around the globe.

"reliable rumors" among the Navy ETech's more than 40 years ago.

imho, this is old information . . . horrific, treasonous of the PTB but old info.

and unassailable, . . . it will go on and worsen . . . until Armageddon.