Originally Posted by :
One point how about emails which are confidential within companies ?

If you are going to the US for business, US Customs now has the right to read your business and personal emails as wel as confiscate your laptop for as long as they wish.

I can see the same happening here now with local councils. Since 9/11 things have got totally out of control.

Ea of dune
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Originally Posted by Baron von Lotsov:
Why not just include the whole lot and get a higher credit rating than Bin Laden himself?

PlanetQuo.Net - ECHELON Keywords

Originally Posted by :
Zen

That's me buggered then - what with my being on Zen Internet and everything.
:-)

I find that list a little difficult to believe - since it's got "veggie", "Bugs Bunny" and "sport" on there. :-)
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Oh, and encryption would be useful. If whoever you're sending the email to could actually be bothered to set themselves up their end. In 15 years of emailing folks, I've found precisely one person who can be bothered to go get themselves hooked up.
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Increasingly, Britain resembles east Germany during the Soviet era
There is the same - or superior - degree of surveillance by the state on the citizen, the same - or superior - degree of paranoia and there is the same - or increased - mediocre standard of living, the same low level of disposable income.
And now, just as in east Germany during the Soviet era, it looks as if we will also have the same kind of Stasi local HQ, the local headquarters, based in the local Council offices, of the state security system.
A couple of points about this: most local Council offices are not particularly secure, not secure enough for storing confidential data. It could be that local Councils will have to build new Stasi HQ offices, which are secure.
Even if Council offices are secure, they might want to build a shiny new Stasi HQ, both for `prestige' and because they have no sense of financial prudence. Oh, and there are a few other things they might need.
They will almost certainly need new computers, powerful enough to store a lot of data, far more data than is currently stored on their computers.
Naturally, they will have to employ more staff. A chief Stasi, who will have to be a computer expert. He will either be called a `Surveillance officer', or more likely, `Public safety officer'.
The low level Stasi, who are present are trapped in mundane jobs such as booking motorists for illegal parking or smoking in their vans, will love it. What a wonderful career opportunity! The Guardian will have to have a special section in the jobs section, for Stasi opportunities.
Even if the low level Stasi don't get the job of chief Stasi, there will be plenty of other career opportunities. The chief Stasi will need ancillary staff, support staff - there might even be an opening for an ethnic diversity officer or equality officer.
This is Britain - New Labour style.
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http://www.fas.org/irp/program/proce...echelon_en.pdf

The above is an interesting EU report. being an EU report, one might assume the reality is even worse.
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I've always wanted to both confuse my friends and talk to a council worker at the same time! Awesome!
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Also, echelon has been going on for decades.
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Surely councils can only snoop on e-mails if people give them their addresses? Unless councils have super sonic powers to obtain every e-mail address from every personal computer they cannot snoop. The answer is simple, do not give any unnecessary personal details to any public body, ever. That's what smart people do, dumb people put their life on Facebook.
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Originally Posted by Tara:
Surely councils can only snoop on e-mails if people give them their addresses? Unless councils have super sonic powers to obtain every e-mail address from every personal computer they cannot snoop. The answer is simple, do not give any unnecessary personal details to any public body, ever. That's what smart people do, dumb people put their life on Facebook.

The problem is that ISP's will have email details and our wonderful government will ensure that this info will be required to be given to any lawful authority (and any of their mates who pay the fee) and then we are I would say shafted but the glimmer of light called government and IT comes to mind self - shot - foot comes to mind

I wonder how much they'll pay IT workers to work for them they can't off shore it can they - yes they bloody well will oh well start using slang
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Originally Posted by Tara:
Surely councils can only snoop on e-mails if people give them their addresses? Unless councils have super sonic powers to obtain every e-mail address from every personal computer they cannot snoop. The answer is simple, do not give any unnecessary personal details to any public body, ever. That's what smart people do, dumb people put their life on Facebook.

Don't you find now that public bodies always seem to have your telephone number & other bits of personal information - whether you ever actually gave it to them or not?

Or perhaps there was just one time when they wouldn't come and repair your gas unless you handed over your phone number - in case of 'emergency'.

Now some totally unrelated body asks for your mother's maiden name before they will consent to deal with you at all in the name of 'security'.

They wear you down, these b*stards.
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