(Guest Post by Vinny Moore)
I don’t know who the NSA thinks it’s fooling by claiming that because it has no interest in the personal info, phone calls, emails, browsing or any other activities of U.S. citizens, it poses no threat to the privacy or constitutional rights of those citizens. The fact that it is one of the most secretive agencies in the government, by definition makes it one of the least monitored and least controllable agencies. That is a disaster waiting for a head on collision at a blinking railroad crossing. Edward Snowden, anyone? Anyone?
As one of the top hackers in the world, I can tell you that “secure computer system” is a VERY relative term that is rapidly becoming an oxymoron. I have hacked more secure systems than I can count, and I’m good at math. True dat.
But the concerns about outside hackers or leakers is a big red herring. The much more dangerous problem is internal abuse. Only sane men make sane decisions. Working for the government doesn’t carry with it any guarantee of sanity. There are some who might say you have to be a little nuts to work there. There are far too many examples of prominent people in government committing insane acts. Think Watergate and Monica Lewinsky.
So, exsqueeze me if I laugh out loud when the head of the NSA says what amounts to, “Trust me, there is no problem.” I wouldn’t buy a used car from that guy. Bam Shizzaam.