Government to log every phone call, email and text

Discussion in 'The Lounge - Off Topic' started by mrobinson52, May 21, 2008.

  1. mrobinson52

    mrobinson52 Security Maven Gold Member

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    Sounds like the US, right? Fight terrorism by creating a database of all communications for all citizens. But this time, it is happening in the UK! http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2217073/government-plans-database-phone

    Heads up! :ohmy See what you can do to try to get this incredibly stupid idea rejected. Of course, we here in the US have exactly the same problem of the government creating a huge database, only ours will be one of biometrics. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/21/AR2007122102544.html

    Too bad both of our governments have such a bad habit of losing data, or having it stolen. :rolleyes:

    Those of you who manage or work with databases already know how colossally difficult it will be to try to get any usable data from something so huge. It is both a ridiculous endeavor, and frightening at the same time. :blink
     
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  2. drum_dude

    drum_dude Gigabyte Poster

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    it creates jobs i suppose...:twisted:
     
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  3. Mof

    Mof Megabyte Poster

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    I wonder if they will forward on the e-mails my customers say they have sent but never seem to arrive,That could be usefull:rolleyes:
    what about forums thats a cert MI5 might rearange that last sentance sorry lads and girls
    the games up:(
     
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  4. UCHEEKYMONKEY
    Honorary Member

    UCHEEKYMONKEY R.I.P - gone but never forgotten. Gold Member

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    Yes! at the Tax payers expense:dry

    I think they should look into how and why this data is being lost! Is it through stupidty or lack of understand of what is meant by securing data?:blink
     
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  5. UCHEEKYMONKEY
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    UCHEEKYMONKEY R.I.P - gone but never forgotten. Gold Member

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    Yes I saw that on the news and wondered if the idea came from the same group of people who invented the ID card?:dry

    Where I work they sent out an email to all users stating they must not use USB flash pens or CD's to save their data. In case it got lost. All USB flash pens must be supplied by IT Dept and they come with software used to encrypt the data/files stored on the pen drive. Also for the CD's they must have the data encrypted before being burn't onto a CD!:dry

    What they did not do was to buy the USB encrypted Flash pens and test them first or purchase encrypted software to burn files onto CD!

    Now if you were a user what would do if you read the above and wanted to store some files on a flash pen??

    Would you not contact IT Dept?? Well they do and IT help desk have been told to tell everyone. We don't have these pens or encrypted software. Until they arrive (no date has been given) they can use an ordinary USB Flash pen!:ohmy:rolleyes:

    I mean what is the point of telling people they must secure their data first if they can't supply the Hardware or software for it!!!:rolleyes: World gone mad!:x
     
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  6. Arroryn

    Arroryn we're all dooooooomed Moderator

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    If they're going to log everything, can they do my spam traps for me? :biggrin
     
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  7. drum_dude

    drum_dude Gigabyte Poster

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    yes the govt spend money with private companies. those companies employee people and pay them and those people then go on to spend the money in private sector...it's called economics and goes along way in creating jobs!
     
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  8. sunn

    sunn Gigabyte Poster

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    Interesting, but:
    A) This doesn't sound new. It almost feels like they're announcing what's already done
    B) There's got to be a privacy advocate out there just chomping at the bit. I mean all communications (i.e. Internet browsing, email, phone, etc...) is available to anyone with a warrant. Sounds a bit scary to me.

    :hhhmmm almost makes you want to "piggyback on a Wireless network". :twisted:
     
  9. UCHEEKYMONKEY
    Honorary Member

    UCHEEKYMONKEY R.I.P - gone but never forgotten. Gold Member

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    yes but where does the govt get the money to spend with the private companies in the first place?:dry
     
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  10. drum_dude

    drum_dude Gigabyte Poster

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    ...sorry to go off-topic guys...

    A lot of the time they have to borrow it! Tax probably funds some but the govt do have to revert to borrowing.

    Of course it all really depends if the govt follow Keynesian economic theory. In simple terms a Govt taxes high during the good times and then spends it during the bad times. Seeing as were heading towards bad times it may explain why these projects are appearing. The idea behind it all is to stimulate the economy and get people spending again during times of economic downturn...that is to spend money in the private sector. This allows R&D to continue and new goods or services to be produced or supplied and sold on the market.

    Some disagree with the idea that govt intervene to stimulate an economy. Some call it redistribution of the wealth...I don't call it anything but if it creates jobs during the sh1t times then it cannot be bad!

    Lets just hope that Gordon Brown has saved up all those pounds that he took during his time as chancellor!

    ...now going even more off-topic,

    Franklin Roosevelt was a fan of Keynesian economics and applied it with some success after the Great Depression: the New Deal. Adolf Hitler did exactly the same thing in Germany by starting huge govt funded capital projects - building of the Autobahns etc! In fact in 1937/38 Hitler was seen as an economic genius - even though Halmar Schacht was most likely the brains behind it - but he failed to control his foreign currency reserves and spent too much too fast on the military whilst sacrificing things like foodstuffs. The result being that by 1939 Germany was heading for economic meltdown and what's the best way to hide things like that from the people???? START A WAR! Can you see a modern day pattern emerging?

    Things to Google search:

    "Why do wars start"

    "John Maynard Keynes"

    "Keynesian economics"

    All three will contain the word "economics"! LOL:twisted:
     
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  11. UCHEEKYMONKEY
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    UCHEEKYMONKEY R.I.P - gone but never forgotten. Gold Member

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    :hhhmmm hmmm.. what about those phone calls where the number was witheld?? How can the gov record those?:blink

    The amount of times I've heard the phone ring whilst in the shower, run down stairs dripping half wet and just as get to the phone it stops:ohmy and use the 1471 number and I get a recorded message saying number with held:x:cry:

    Has anyone else had that?
     
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  12. Phoenix
    Honorary Member

    Phoenix 53656e696f7220 4d6f64

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    I think your still missing the point UCM
    and the fact is the utility companies themselves will be required to divulge the information, and I'm pretty sure they have to know both ends of the call to connect it
    who cares what ways you can get around it? its democratically wrong! the FUD about terrorism this decade will be the downfall of democracy in its current form, as governments seek to gain more and more power from their citizens,

    Orwell was right, we are just a little late!
     
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  13. drum_dude

    drum_dude Gigabyte Poster

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    You'll find that democracy ended a long time ago...we have what is called "Elected Dictatorships"... :)
     
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  14. NightWalker

    NightWalker Gigabyte Poster

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    Do you get the feeling this big database project will go the same way as the NHS one, still don’t have that online yet do they...
     
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  15. UCHEEKYMONKEY
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    UCHEEKYMONKEY R.I.P - gone but never forgotten. Gold Member

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    Which NHS database project are you talking about Nightwalker???:blink
     
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  16. UCHEEKYMONKEY
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    UCHEEKYMONKEY R.I.P - gone but never forgotten. Gold Member

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    Yes I know where your coming from and it is wrong but what can we do about it!! nothing! where just pawns in the big game of life!8)

    What about petrol £1.20 per litre round my way some areas are £1.15 per litre unleaded. From what I have heard it will go up in the summer to £1.60 per litre?? Also in the US gas is expensive but what do we do about it?? nothing we moan about it, except and pay it and that's what will happen in this case.

    Yes it's an invasion of privacy but so is CCTV and local councils spying on family's who want to send their children to a school near their home or catchment area.

    There's nothing we can do about! Just moan about it and except it!:(:blink
     
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  17. drum_dude

    drum_dude Gigabyte Poster

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    History is full of peeps getting their heads cut off for incriminating themselves through messages that were easily intecepted and read - what is being debated is nothing new!

    So what should we do about that then? Tell India and China to stop using so much oil? Tell the terrorists to stop blowing up pipelines in Nigeria and Iraq? Tell the Turkish to stop making incursions into Iraq? I doubt anyone will listen!

    At £1,60 you'll find that fuel will still be over 1 pound a litre even if the govt removed their tax on it!

    Unfortunatley, we have no choice but to pay it! The price increases are a result of demand out-striping supply; either that or the OPEC are playing silly buggers with the west!

    How can CCTV be an invasion of privacy? Just where in a public place does one have privacy?

    Yes there is lots you can do such as:

    * Earn more money
    * Send your kids to a private school
    * Leave this damn country
    * Convert your car to LPG
    * Excersise your right via the ballot box
    * Steer clear of CCTV areas
    * Don't devulge personal or secret information via public networks using SMS, email or phone calls.

    Personally, leaving this place is my favourite!
     
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  18. NightWalker

    NightWalker Gigabyte Poster

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    I remember stories in the news about massive cost overruns and a computer system that didn't work.

    It was going to cost £6.2bn
    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3613220.stm

    It ended up at £20bn+ and didn't work so well...
    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-405783/NHS-caused-110-major-incidents.html

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukn...0bn-NHS-computer-system-'doomed-to-fail'.html

    Is it all up and running successfully now?
     
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  19. onoski

    onoski Terabyte Poster

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    I would take most of what I read on British tybloids with a pinch of salt, cautionary in other words. This is because am in the NHS and have not heard connecting for health mentioned costing on that type of money on a computer database project pertaining to patient info.

    Again, you and my money through taxes:), joke aside as the NHS is a huge organisation and this type of project is a prime candidate to exceed project completion time as well as budget.
     
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  20. UCHEEKYMONKEY
    Honorary Member

    UCHEEKYMONKEY R.I.P - gone but never forgotten. Gold Member

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    I agree with onoski and looking the dates when the article was written (2007) some are not true. The out of hours gp programme that connects all the hospitals and surgery is up and running and has been for the last 8 months!

    Just like everyone else in the industry it does suffer down time when a switch or network point fail or when a doctor has not entered something correctly. I don't blame them because after all they say they are doctors, here to look after people not to understand how a computer works.

    As for the national programme?? Well that has teething problems like any new software or hardware. It's here and in place and before 2010 (shown on that report). Like onski said got take the tybloids with a pinch of salt! :8)
     
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