The OPTIC NERVE Program, The Spying scandels just dont stop!!

Britain's surveillance agency GCHQ, with aid from the National Security Agency, intercepted and stored the webcam images of millions of internet users not suspected of wrongdoing, secret documents reveal.

GCHQ files dating between 2008 and 2010 explicitly state that a surveillance program codenamed Optic Nerve collected still images of Yahoo webcam chats in bulk and saved them to agency databases, regardless of whether individual users were an intelligence target or not.

In one six-month period in 2008 alone, the agency collected webcam imagery – including substantial quantities of sexually explicit communications – from more than 1.8 million Yahoo user accounts globally.

Yet another spying scandal has been exposed by the Guardian , a joint GCHQ/NSA Program aptly called OPTIC NERVE, its purpose to quite literally watch you in your own home!

Apparently in one 6 month period they intercepted 1.8 million Yahoo webcams, that is a astonishing and horrifying breach our privacy. It is reminiscent of the tellescreens depicted in the Orwellian nightmare.

I totally understand that there is a need for states to intelligence agencies that can monitor cyberspace for threats to national security. However I think that these existing establishments should be dismantled and replaced by much more transparent agencies who hold much more public accountability.

I dread to think what the next leak will reveal

This Orwellian takeover has to be stopped.

My laptop has a "camera shutter" I can keep closed.
But if you are really paranoid, just put some tape over it.

Also remind yourself about how impossibly hard it would be to actually "watch everyone".
They have the "potential" to tap into countless "nodes", of which only maybe 10-15% would garner any information at all, and then attempting to analyze it properly would just be a disaster I'd presume.

It's probably more like that film "Enemy of the State", where they just occasionally jump in when they "need to", and 99% of the time it's totally not being watched or analyzed at all by any human personally.

I think we probably need to start addressing the "Anyone with the right skills can achieve a break in" issue more heavily.
If you knew what you were doing, you could "snoop" on at least 10-20% of your neighbors and it's affordable.

At least hypothetically it seems possible.
Thankfully almost no one is taking advantage of the situation yet.
Or at least I assume they aren't.

reply to post by muzzleflash


I agree with pretty much everything you have just said,


I dont really have anything i would add to that.

I do think that ultimately these SIGINT agencies should be dismantled and replaced by organizations that are much more transparent and both publicly and legally accountable for all their actions.

As it stands i think that they are getting the balance between liberty and security all wrong, spying on 1.8 million people as they use Yahoo WebCam because you might just might, thwart a terrorist attack is wrong.

reply to post by OtherSideOfTheCoin


SIGINT needs to be wiped away entirely. And governments worldwide need to be beaten down, cowering in the corner while The People stand angrily over them with a belt.

But it's ok for them to watch us, of course...

If you watch 'them' however you may be Swartzed, or Mckinonned, and charged with hacking, spying, or some other top secret crime that supposedly impinges on national security.

Is what's good for the goose good for the gander?

reply to post by muzzleflash


Until you decide to run for public office. Can you say blackmail?

the uk goverment has just bought 54 drones and each one can scan 15 miles squared of space and see a object of 6 inches from 17.500 ft .

Everything moving in that camera view will be tagged individually in theory they can cover the whole of the country hell the maker of it was even bragging how easy it was .

I do think that ultimately these SIGINT agencies should be dismantled and replaced by organizations that are much more transparent and both publicly and legally accountable for all their actions.

Just how effective do you think they would be under those restrictions.

the uk goverment has just bought 54 drones and each one can scan 15 miles squared of space and see a object of 6 inches from 17.500 ft .

Those are the old slow ones. The ones they used at the Civil defense exercise had the capability of storing and processing 1,000 of license plates looking for stolen cars or those with outstanding warrants.

You guys get all tore up over these big government spying programs (which is exactly what they want) while the local cell tower that makes your wonderful phone possible has so much more to worry about when it comes to personal information being gathered.

I was cutting up with one of the gov-mint guys at the exercise about the drones and he told me how easy it is to fool people. You leak out something that sounds intrusive-that is really a bunch of bull-and while they get major hard ons over that the new stealth drones take you fingerprints from 20,000 feet.

That is one reason I had much preferred to be on their side. I learned some things about cell towers that day that would really curl your hair.

reply to post by spooky24


tell me more about what you found out about the cell towers you have me interested now

reply to post by 999zxcv


I can't really elaborate on all this guy said but one thing he said was interesting. He ask me if I was aware that they are pilot programs in medium sized towns in America and Europe in which drones are used to locate and confiscate repossessed auto's? I told him I had heard that-and that it doesn't surprise me in the slightest. He said that the vehicles can be disabled with electromagnetic pulse that is coordinated by the closest cell tower to the drone that identifies the particular chip in all cars built after 1997. The obvious question I ask was "where does the cell tower get this information-it must have a database somewhere?" He said "Oh the Satellites I guess"

That was all he would say.

Kinda makes all these government spy programs somewhat obsolete. Every time some new technology is being tested something quite nefarious is leaked on the internet-it's a big pile of crap but it gets people looking the other way-which is exactly it's purpose.

reply to post by spooky24

Thanks for sharing that info on the cell towers.So the technology service the customers pay for is used to help spy on them.Why aren't I surprised.

reply to post by spooky24


I wonder if "Cash for Clunkers" was an early part of that. When I know there is and has been plenty of tech making engines
more efficient than ever and 40 mpg is supposed to be awesome (and it's a JOKE), yet all of these old "clunkers" were disabled instead of sold for charity or used for people with no means for transport to work. What a waste all of those fully functional vehicles were. Dunno if there was a similar thing in the UK, but I do wonder.

reply to post by 999zxcv


Off topic but you really should see the British version of Sha****ss. It's a riot!!