James, thanks for bringing up that NYTimes article. Having taken a quick look at it, it does raise some concerns but I would consider it a matter worthy of further inquiry rather than a red flag. In Wikimedia we have our own issues with trying to have an "open society" type atmosphere while keeping a lid on sockpuppetry and other problematic behaviors, and if the goal of that program was to keep bad-faith individuals out of what should be highly secure systems then I would be more accepting than I would be if the goal was to do large scale surveillance of Internet traffic. I would consider it to be a big deal if someone applying for a WMF role was involved in facilitating large-scale intrusive surveillance, whether in the public or private sectors. The program described in that NYTimes link would be problematic from my perspective, but a bit less so than some of the other kinds of mass surveillance that have been implemented over the years by both government and private-sector actors.
I have some other thoughts on this topic, including about Katherine's comments, but I've got some other time-sensitive issues that I need to address in the next few days. Hopefully I'll have a chance to comment on other aspects of this thread by the end of Monday. Other people may want to share their thoughts in the meantime. Thanks for your vigilance, Pine On Thu, Nov 3, 2016 at 10:19 PM, James Salsman <jsals...@gmail.com> wrote: > Katherine Maher wrote: > > > >... If you have further questions about Victoria’s work with the U.S. > > Department of Defense, it is/should soon be a matter of U.S. > > Congressional record. Her findings and recommendations will also > > be a matter of public record, as all government work should be. > > However, the U.S. Congress isn’t always the speediest of > > institutions, so we will also keep an eye on when they publish > > further information. > > Well, it's in the New York Times under her maiden name: > > http://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/22/world/threats-responses- > surveillance-terror-tracking-agency-weighed-but-discarded-plan.html > > "The Pentagon research agency that is exploring how to create a vast > database of electronic transactions and analyze them for potential > terrorist activity considered but rejected another surveillance idea: > tagging Internet data with unique personal markers to make anonymous > use of some parts of the Internet impossible.... > > "The plan, known as eDNA, called for developing a new version of the > Internet that would include enclaves where it would be impossible to > be anonymous while using the network.... > > "Darpa awarded a $60,000 contract to SRI International, a research > concern based in Menlo Park, Calif., to investigate the concept. SRI > then convened the workshop in August to evaluate its feasibility.... > > "The workshop was led by Mr. Blaze and Dr. Victoria Stavridou, an SRI > computer scientist, one of those who had originally discussed the eDNA > concept with Darpa officials.... > > "At one point, Mr. Blaze reported to the group that he had been > ''fired'' by Dr. Stavridou, of SRI, from his appointed role of writing > the report presenting that consensus. > > "In e-mail messages, several participants said they believed that Dr. > Stavridou was hijacking the report and that the group's consensus > would not be reported to Darpa.... > > "Dr. Stavridou told the other panelists, 'Darpa asked SRI to organize > the meeting because they have a deep interest in technology for > identifying network miscreants and revoking their network > privileges.'...." > > Also I would like to know what "Orwellian philosophy" is > http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF01211002 > > _______________________________________________ > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/ > wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines > New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe> > _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>
