The world is already polarised after Snowden exposed the plethora of classified intelligence snooping in place, including the interception of US and European telephone metadata and the PRISM and Tempora Internet surveillance programs. There are many who stay away from Google mail because they use bots to read your communications about promote products and services mentioned in the emails to plug the appropriate advertisements. Now we know even Microsoft, Yahoo! and FVacebook are selling you out to the US government. 49 percent of Americans polled thinks Snowden's disclosures the public interest while 44 percent thought it harms it. The rest of planet earth probably thinks votes along the similar lines.
In Singapore, more are likely to share Snowden's perspective that leaks were an effort "to inform the public as to that which is done in their name and that which is done against them." Especially when the dodgy ministers in charge can't even be transparent about simple things like PSI information. If it weren't for leaks, how else would we know that our anointed Minister for Muslim Affairs "has a more open-minded interpretation of the Koran"?
Soon, all of us in will need to master Pretty Good Privacy (PGP), the data encryption and decryption program for signing, encrypting and decrypting texts and e-mails, to keep the invasive buggers out of our private lives. Like the man says, offence is the best form of defence. Time to hit those manuals.
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Why not set up your own privately secured email server? If they can't get it, they can't decrypt it.
ReplyDeleteWhy do they need to be so apprehensive if they are kind, benign and good.
ReplyDeleteIt appears that they are living in fear all the time, why? Too much Sinful deeds that make them worry so much for themselves and the safety oftheir families?
For info, no one will harm a good person lah and it is not difficult to be a good person.
Why make things difficult for others as well as causes oneself to worry and fear so much?
平生不做亏心事，半夜不怕鬼敲门
ReplyDeletethe timing of this piece of news in shitty time is strange. could it be a case of since the cover may be blown off soon, may as well make it public now ?
ReplyDeletethe govt's timing has been poor in the last few years.
DeleteIf PAP set up an IB to spy or manipulate the internet, just wonder whether they are employed under a S$2 company like AIM or under MINDEF itself ?
ReplyDeleteJust curious.
Obviously they want to pre-empt Snowden's future releases showing unca sam's favourite sidekick has been snooping on various asian countries, their leaders, or wire-tapping Mr sotongmee's handphone the last time he crossed the causeway. Snowden went to HK, even requested asylum in Russia and PRC, but red dot is not on that list of 21 countries to whom he has applied. Anyone wish to guess why this world class playground of the rich and famous was not an obvious choice?
ReplyDeleteBut folks shud be realistic - mobile phone and internet snooping has been going on here for eons. All your telcos and ISPs have been collaborators just like Google, Apple, MS, Yahoo, FB etc etc etc. The danger is not whether you have done any 亏心事, the danger is that you end up as victim of "false alarms", end up in Gauntanamo or some gulag prison, locked up withour trial for 20 years like the remaining inmates. Democratic principles of freedom of speech is not to protect the masses, its also to protect the innocent minorities. Obviously if you think you will always be lucky then good for you. All I know is everyday, road accidents happen and every year hundreds of thousands of innocent people are killed or maimed in road accidents.