While on the NSA surveillance / PRISM topics, if you take issue with the rampant invasion of citizen privacy by the U.S. government, then make your voice heard by adding your name to one or more of these petitions.
https://optin.stopwatching.us/ https://action.eff.org/o/9042/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=9260 https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/impeach-federal-judge-roger-vinson-authorizing-warrantless-nsa-surveillance-millions-americans-phone/sKFwyNP8 https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/declassify-and-discontinue-government-surveillance-phone-records-and-internet-activity/Cgc46HB2#thank-you=p And while you're at it I'll digress from the fun in funsec slightly further, in suggesting that you thoughtfully consider this unrelated petition that was inspired by current battles in Congress over immigration reform. http://wh.gov/l3i8W I know what you're saying - what the hell does that have to do with funsec? It's a stretch but the sec in funsec is short for security, as we all know. And certain idiots in Congress are insisting that no immigration reform will be passed that doesn't include the throwing of countless billions of dollars into more border security. As taxpayers we should be up in arms over such fiscal irresponsibility. Lets all look at this together, wearing our nifty InfoSec risk assessor hats. We look at IT security risks, countermeasures, and the value of available security controls routinely, and we can easily apply those same principles and practices to non-IT areas. Risk = Many immigrants enter the U.S. illegally every year, subsequently take jobs away from legal residents (under the table), don't pay income taxes, don't pay into social security, put a drain on social services, and whatnot Risk Countermeasures: #1 - giant walls that span almost 2,000 miles, mega surveillance above and below ground, a million border guards, etc. #2 - laws that threaten employers with hefty fines and/or prison sentences for hiring illegal aliens Now we identify the Effectiveness of the two Countermeasures. Countermeasure #1 = Medium effectiveness (which gets a value of 2, in a scale of 1-2-3) Countermeasure #2 = High effectiveness (which gets a value of 3, in that same scale) Next we identify the Cost of the proposed countermeasures. Countermeasure #1 = High cost (which gets a value of 1) Countermeasure #2 = Low cost (which gets a value of 3) Now we calculate the Value using this formula: Quantified/Qualified Control Value = "Effectiveness of Countermeasure" multiplied by its "Implementation Cost" ....where the calculated results of; 6-9 = High Value 3-4 = Medium Value 1-2 = Low Value Using that formula and the values derived above we can deduce the following; Countermeasure #1 = 2 (Medium effectiveness) multiplied by 1 (High cost) = 2 = Low Value Countermeasure #2 = 3 (High effectiveness) multiplied by 3 (Low cost) = 9 = High Value In summation, High Value > Low Value (no duh) Also in summation, our elected representatives are a bunch of corrupt idiots who obviously can't do simple math. Just for the record, I'm pro-immigration but anti-illegal-immigration, and calling for fiscal responsibility on this topic should not be misconstrued as any bias against migrant workers from below our southern border. Respectfully submitted, Vic _______________________________________________ Fun and Misc security discussion for OT posts. https://linuxbox.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/funsec Note: funsec is a public and open mailing list.
