{"id":43120,"date":"2013-10-16T21:04:57","date_gmt":"2013-10-17T01:04:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/countingpips.com\/forex-news\/?p=43120"},"modified":"2013-10-17T08:21:00","modified_gmt":"2013-10-17T12:21:00","slug":"how-to-beat-the-nsa-using-the-deep-web","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex-news\/2013\/10\/16\/how-to-beat-the-nsa-using-the-deep-web\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Beat the NSA Using the Deep Web"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By <a href=\"http:\/\/www.MoneyMorning.com.au\" target=\"_blank\"><u>MoneyMorning.com.au<\/u><\/a> <\/p>\n<p>The internet is  becoming a control mechanism for nation states. You only need to reference  leaked information from Wikileaks, Edward Snowden and Bradley Chelsea Manning  to see it for yourself. <\/p>\n<p>Of recent note are the  leaks about the<strong> NSA&#8217;s <\/strong>international and domestic cyber surveillance from Edward  Snowden. Some of the leaked documents are titled, &#8216;Tor Stinks&#8217;, &#8216;XKEYSCORE&#8217; and  &#8216;PRISM&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>But nonetheless this  recent enlightenment of government spying leads to a simple question. <br \/>\n  What does all this  cyber espionage mean for the future of the internet?<\/p>\n<p>On one hand there&#8217;s  the internet you know and use on a daily basis. You can go about your business  on different websites and pretty much do what you like. <\/p>\n<p>But you still find  restrictions on what you can do at every corner. From pay-walls and firewalls  to blocked content and perceived fear, you can barely go a day without some  kind of block.<\/p>\n<p>What you might notice  on your day-to-day internet browse is how the internet is now predicting your  every move. Ads pop up showing things that are of interest to you. Emails  appear in your inbox tailored to you from your favourite sites. In fact your  browser predicts where you want to go before you even do.<\/p>\n<p>Funny how that works  isn&#8217;t it? Because on your typical web page there are hundreds of lines of code  that log and track a whole range of information about you. <\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s a list of  things that are recorded when you visit a typical website:<\/p>\n<ul type=\"disc\">\n<li>Your IP address and how long you spend on that site. <\/li>\n<li>Keystrokes from a form you <em>began<\/em> to fill in. <\/li>\n<li>Your email address, date of birth, name, location, gender, and       income if you sign in with Facebook<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>All this information  paints a picture of you, what you like and what might be of interest to you.<\/p>\n<p>Now as you&#8217;re well  aware, you don&#8217;t get a say in the matter, let alone any reward for it. I know I  can&#8217;t remember the last time I saw a credit to my bank for the personal  information unwillingly taken from me. Companies collect and on-sell your  information and governments collect and keep it. But do you get anything out of  it aside from some online ads? No, you don&#8217;t. How&#8217;s that fair?<\/p>\n<p>Some people say they  don&#8217;t care who has their information, and that&#8217;s OK, it&#8217;s their choice. And in  the right circumstance sharing of data can be beneficial. It can benefit public  health and safety, monitor spread of disease and enhance social interactions.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m happy to share  some of my information, but of course anonymously. If anyone wants my personal  data, I want to have a choice to give it. Should I chose to give my information  out I would expect to be rewarded for it also. <\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately that&#8217;s  not the trend right now. The trend is for companies, organisations, and  particularly the government to just take your personal information at will.<\/p>\n<p>However, there is an  alternative to the internet. And it&#8217;s something you should be familiar with, as  it&#8217;s going to form the backbone of the internet we mainly use in the future.<\/p>\n<h2>Lavabit vs the FBI<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p>First things first,  there&#8217;s one more example of government control that you might not have heard of  but that is important to know about.<\/p>\n<p>To keep your emails  private and secure you can encrypt them. For your intended recipient to read  the message they need a private Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Key to decrypt the  information. <\/p>\n<p>In short an SSL key is  a cryptographic protocol which allows users to securely share information over  the internet. This is one of the best ways to keep information locked down,  secure, and out of the way of prying eyes.<\/p>\n<p>However, not even encryption  can get in the way of an angry government. <\/p>\n<p>Let me tell you a  story about Lavabit. Lavabit is an encrypted emailing service. It allowed users  to securely and safely transmit emails between one another completely encrypted  from the powers that be. Should someone be able to record the data anyway it&#8217;d  be useless without the private SSL key. <\/p>\n<p>Ladar Levison is the  founder and operator of Lavabit. Since 2004 Lavabit has grown to over 400,000  members using their encrypted mail service. It just so happens one of Lavabit&#8217;s  members is none other than Edward Snowden.<\/p>\n<p>The FBI got wind of  Snowden&#8217;s Lavabit account and went to Lavabit for some friendly assistance. But  they didn&#8217;t get the reception they expected.<\/p>\n<p>The FBI  &#8216;came-a-knockin&#8217; at Lavabit HQ in Texas on the afternoon of 28 June. As part of  their arsenal were plans to install a pen\/trap device on Lavabit&#8217;s servers then  and there in order to record a bunch of information about Snowden&#8217;s email  account.<\/p>\n<p>Lavabit didn&#8217;t want a  bar of it and refused the FBI&#8217;s request. Lavabit said they couldn&#8217;t provide the  information as the user (Snowden) had enabled Lavabit&#8217;s encryption services.  Lavabit also said they could decrypt the information but they didn&#8217;t want to &#8216;<em>defeat their own system<\/em>&#8216;.<\/p>\n<p>Therefore the FBI got  the courts to issue an &#8216;<em>Order Compelling  Compliance Forthwith<\/em>&#8216;against  Lavabit. This would let the FBI install the pen\/trap device and record the  information they were after. They also expected Lavabit to cough up the SSL  keys and decrypt it for them. The following is an excerpt from that order. <\/p>\n<div align=\"center\"><a href=\"http:\/\/portphillippublishing.com.au\/images\/MPR20131017a.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/portphillippublishing.com.au\/images\/MPR20131017a.jpg\" width=\"462\" height=\"250\" border=\"0\"><\/a><br \/>\n<em><a href=\"http:\/\/portphillippublishing.com.au\/images\/MPR20131017a.jpg\" target=\"_blank\">Click to enlarge<\/a><\/em><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<p>You&#8217;ll also notice  scribbled on the end, &#8216;<em>including the  possibility of criminal contempt of Court.<\/em>&#8216; Meaning Levison and Lavabit  would be on criminal charges if they failed to comply. In the tech world,  that&#8217;s basically a dare. And Lavabit dug their heels in.<\/p>\n<p>In one corner you&#8217;ve  got the FBI trying to get access to an encrypted email account that uses  Lavabit&#8217;s email encryption service. And in the other corner there&#8217;s Ladar  Levison and Lavabit refusing to comply with the FBI&#8217;s orders.<\/p>\n<p>Not only did the FBI  issue orders against Levison and Lavabit but they also issued a subpoena to  Levison to testify in front of a grand jury. And they also issued a search and  seizure warrant for the premises of Lavabit to take the SSL key regardless.<br \/>\n  To summarise the  events:<\/p>\n<ul type=\"disc\">\n<li>The initial order compelled Lavabit to let the FBI install the       pen\/trap device. This would record all the information from Snowden&#8217;s       email account. The court sealed the orders, and put a gag order on       Levison.<\/li>\n<li>Lavabit refused to install the device. The court threatened       criminal contempt of court.<\/li>\n<li>Levison raised a motion to unseal the documents. The court denied       his motion.<\/li>\n<li>He did however agree to let the FBI install the device and get the       information they needed.<\/li>\n<li>What Levison wouldn&#8217;t do was give up the SSL keys that would       decrypt the information. This rendered the information the FBI gathered       completely useless. The FBI didn&#8217;t like this.<\/li>\n<li>The court gave Levison a chance to comply with all their orders and       hand over the SSL key.<\/li>\n<li>Levison responded that in doing so would breach the privacy of the       400,000-plus other users of Lavabit. If the FBI has the Masterkey to       everyone&#8217;s Lavabit accounts they could do what they liked with everyone&#8217;s       information. He argued this was in breach of the Fourth Amendment. Also,       keeping him under a gag order breached his First Amendment rights.<\/li>\n<li>The courts disagreed with him on both issues.<\/li>\n<li>As such Levison was compelled to hand over the encryption keys.       What happened next is hilarious&#8230;<\/li>\n<li>Levison sent the FBI the encryption key&#8230;on a black and white print       out. The SSL key was on 11 pages with nothing but alphanumeric characters,       2560 characters in total. The FBI claimed it was illegible. But they were       just lazy, as they said to use the print out would be a &#8216;<em>laborious process<\/em>&#8216;.<\/li>\n<li>This meant to decrypt the information the FBI would have to       manually input the 2560 characters without a mistake.<\/li>\n<li>Not impressed with Levison&#8217;s assistance, the FBI again demanded the       encryption key in an electronic format to make it easier for them. To date       Levison has refused to abide by this order.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Knowing good and well  he&#8217;s in the midst of a losing battle Levison has made the ultimate sacrifice  and shut down the Lavabit operations. <\/p>\n<p>He&#8217;s closed the  business to circumvent the FBI from accessing the encrypted information of all  Lavabit users. The only way to protect the privacy of the users was to not have  the business operation at all.<\/p>\n<p>Should Levison&#8217;s  appeal against the court orders fail, it&#8217;s more than likely Lavabit will  resurface outside US borders. <\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s a trend you&#8217;ll  start to see more of. Why? Because online and digital businesses are getting  tired of being poked and prodded by the US. so they&#8217;ll shift operations outside  of US borders to avoid the pervasive methods implemented by US government  branches. <\/p>\n<p>Whether you like it or  not the internet is basically a breeding ground for tracking and sequestering  of information against your free will. That doesn&#8217;t mean it doesn&#8217;t have a  purpose anymore. But it does mean that everything you do on the internet you  should do with caution.<\/p>\n<h2>The Deep Web<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p>There is an  alternative to the internet. It&#8217;s the <strong>Deep Web<\/strong>. The Deep Web is the anonymous  internet. You access it through The Onion Routing Network (Tor Network) and no  one, not even the <strong>National Security Agency<\/strong>, can see where you go or what you do. <\/p>\n<p>One of the <strong>NSA<\/strong> PowerPoint presentations Snowden leaked, &#8216;Tor Stinks&#8217;, says in the document, &#8216;<em>We will never be able to de-anonymize all  Tor users all the time.<\/em>&#8216;<\/p>\n<p>Translated, that means  the NSA doesn&#8217;t know what to do about the Deep Web.<\/p>\n<p>The Deep Web is where  <a href=\"http:\/\/www.pursuitofhappiness.com.au\/index.php\/technology-2\/hacking-the-system\/5786\/\" title=\"Hacking The System\">hackers<\/a>, whistleblowers, coders, programmers and hacktivists hang out and work.  Those in the know realise by using the Deep Web they can make it harder for  government to track them. <\/p>\n<p>But for many people  they don&#8217;t know what they don&#8217;t know, and the DEEP Web is a big unknown to many  people. <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/pro1.portphillippublishing.com.au\/155879\/\">That&#8217;s why we&#8217;re here to introduce you to it<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The thing about the  Deep Web is it&#8217;s just like the normal internet. It&#8217;s a bit more &#8216;bare bones&#8217;,  but it allows you privacy and anonymity. You can visit the Tor Project Website  to learn more. I also recommend the Tor Browser to surf the internet\/Deep Web. <\/p>\n<p>To make something  clear, it&#8217;s 100% legal to use the Tor Network, so don&#8217;t be afraid of using it.<\/p>\n<p>When you&#8217;re in the  Deep Web be aware there are illegal websites and illegal operations. But there  are also those kinds of sites on the internet too. Remember, if it looks like  trouble it probably is.<\/p>\n<p>What the Deep Web  allows you to do, its real benefit, is you can do what you want where you want  with anonymity. Be warned it&#8217;s not a  100% failsafe to hiding your identity. But it&#8217;s a very good start to making  it harder for government to track your online movements and steal your  information.<\/p>\n<p>Use the Deep Web for  what it&#8217;s designed to be, a protection of your privacy and data. Users are  often advocates of freedom of speech, privacy and anti-censorship. All  necessary values in preserving the integrity of our connected, digital world.<\/p>\n<p>As more people come to  realise the benefits of protecting their privacy online, more people will use  the Deep Web. And the more people who use the Deep Web, the more effective it  becomes.<\/p>\n<p>What this all means is  the future will spread across two types of internet. They will branch further  apart and eventually separate.<\/p>\n<p>One will consist of  the internet you know today as it slowly evolves into a more controlled,  surveyed government arm.<\/p>\n<p>And the other will be  the Deep Web which will grow and expand. It will allow people to carry on their  digital lives, with the ability to choose when they want to part with private  information.<\/p>\n<p>The Deep Web is the  best way to beat the NSA and it&#8217;s the best way for the non-tech savvy to  protect their privacy and information. So go ahead, try it out and be a part of  the future of the internet.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Sam Volkering<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/u\/0\/111160335563076067119\/about\">+<\/a><br \/>\n    <strong>Technology Analyst<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Ed note: <\/strong>Sam has just recorded a video exclusively for <em>Revolutionary Tech Investor<\/em> subscribers  where he takes viewers on a tour of the Deep Web. To get a taste for some of  the things he covers you can tune in to a video Skype call between Sam and Kris  from last week. <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/pro1.portphillippublishing.com.au\/155879\/\">Check it out here&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/106516983215198267222\/about\" title=\"Join Money Morning on Google Plus -- and read about the things we can't always fit into our regular essays\"><u>Join Money Morning on Google+ <\/u><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"feedflare\">\n<a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/MoneyMorningAustralia?a=VB_A5OeS-9I:HOb9oPqeMdQ:yIl2AUoC8zA\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/MoneyMorningAustralia?d=yIl2AUoC8zA\" border=\"0\"><\/img><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/MoneyMorningAustralia?a=VB_A5OeS-9I:HOb9oPqeMdQ:V_sGLiPBpWU\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/MoneyMorningAustralia?i=VB_A5OeS-9I:HOb9oPqeMdQ:V_sGLiPBpWU\" border=\"0\"><\/img><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/MoneyMorningAustralia?a=VB_A5OeS-9I:HOb9oPqeMdQ:gIN9vFwOqvQ\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/MoneyMorningAustralia?i=VB_A5OeS-9I:HOb9oPqeMdQ:gIN9vFwOqvQ\" border=\"0\"><\/img><\/a>\n<\/div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~r\/MoneyMorningAustralia\/~4\/VB_A5OeS-9I\" height=\"1\" width=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By MoneyMorning.com.au The internet is becoming a control mechanism for nation states. You only need to reference leaked information from Wikileaks, Edward Snowden and Bradley Chelsea Manning to see it for yourself. Of recent note are the leaks about the NSA&#8217;s international and domestic cyber surveillance from Edward Snowden. Some of the leaked documents are &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex-news\/2013\/10\/16\/how-to-beat-the-nsa-using-the-deep-web\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;How to Beat the NSA Using the Deep Web&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43120"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43120\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}