Do we need the NSA?

[Sterben]

        Data from google, Microsoft, facebook, and other sources by tapping into their private servers. (https://search.wikileaks.org/?q=NSA) they have been caught many times getting data from private tech firms and citizens. We already know key words trigger an alarm within their system, which is a cause for alarm. If one wanted to search for information on Isis, you would to be masked behind a VPN, a proxy, a virtually machine, then another proxy inside the Linux based OS, connected to Tor, and once inside Tor, you have to connect to proxy based website, after all that there is little chance they would be able to find out who is looking for info on Isis.

        That's a mouth full of steps just to get info without getting put on a watch list. Not even that is a 100% though, if you want to be as close to 100%, you would need a burner computer that has never been connected to your own home wifi. By means of public Wifi, you repeat the steps, save the documents to a flash drive. Then your a bit safer from the prying eyes of the NSA and CIA. It seems like a lot of work if your not doing any illegal, but they have no right to put people on a watch list just for trying to get info on something.

Thanks for the link but I saw nothing about illegal activity and I'm not going to do your work. What specifically have they done that has been considered illegal by the courts (US or International)? I understand that you don't like their activities but that was not my question. They may have done many illegal things, I just don't know about them. This is your chance to educate me with some specifics.

      Have a look at this document (https://www.theguardian.com/world/intera...ourt-order) also read this one as well. (https://www.extremetech.com/internet/169...atacenters), also the full version of the Patriot Act (https://epic.org/privacy/terrorism/hr3162.html)
This is some proof I can give you safely provide without sending you the deep web, if you know how to find to use it. View those files at your own risk, a lot of those files were not suppose to have been seen by the American public. If you want I can provide you the real wikileaks site on the deep web if you use Tor.

See what I mean now? You needed FISA court approval to look into someones personal call details, with that court order Verizon has no choice but to give them what they want at the drop of hat. That goes against our right to privacy and causes privacy issues. If a consumer found out his or her records can be taken without a court order from FISA, how is that fair to the client. Even if they were guilty of something, you needed clear evidence before you could even ask for call and or text messaging logs.

[TheRealJoeFish]

I'm in the "we need it" camp. I denounce in the strongest terms the illegal monitoring of US citizens, but cryptography (code-making and breaking) is one of the most important functions of a military apparatus, and the NSA is the best in the world at it. Now, it can be argued that this could be consolidated into another branch (CIA, or Army maybe) but I think that's a different question.

Plus, the NSA is the world's largest employer of mathematicians. As a mathematics major, that's important to me .

[Sterben]

I'm in the "we need it" camp. I denounce in the strongest terms the illegal monitoring of US citizens, but cryptography (code-making and breaking) is one of the most important functions of a military apparatus, and the NSA is the best in the world at it.  Now, it can be argued that this could be consolidated into another branch (CIA, or Army maybe) but I think that's a different question.

Plus, the NSA is the world's largest employer of mathematicians. As a mathematics major, that's important to me .

        Are planning on trying to work for them? You seem educated on the matter as well, can you provide some additional documentation that NSA has been doing illegal actions to help educate the poster above you? I'll keep going through my online sources for the proven data theft from company's by them as well. I like where this thread is going. The more people adding source material the better, and let's get not into the whole 9/11 conspiracy theory type of stuff here, that stuff is old news.

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(https://www.eff.org/files/filenode/att/p...epager.pdf), also read the time line (https://www.eff.org/nsa-spying/timeline)

[Sterben]

Come on guys, add on your links and documents. I know there is others like me who has evidence.

[Rev. Rye]

I'm in the "we need it" camp. I denounce in the strongest terms the illegal monitoring of US citizens, but cryptography (code-making and breaking) is one of the most important functions of a military apparatus, and the NSA is the best in the world at it.  Now, it can be argued that this could be consolidated into another branch (CIA, or Army maybe) but I think that's a different question.

Plus, the NSA is the world's largest employer of mathematicians. As a mathematics major, that's important to me .

Really, if we keep the NSA for all the cryptography and the warranted spying, I think it might be best to change its name, because all the Big Brother shit has certainly tainted its name beyond repair. At this point, I doubt we'll ever see the day when "National Security Agency" doesn't become synonymous "Orwellian abomination that has no business whatsoever which the government of a country prides itself on being the leader of the free world."

[vorlon13]

NSA makes a convenient one stop location for WikiLeaks to gather their materials to disperse.

[Thumpalumpacus]

I'm in the "we need it" camp. I denounce in the strongest terms the illegal monitoring of US citizens, but cryptography (code-making and breaking) is one of the most important functions of a military apparatus, and the NSA is the best in the world at it.  Now, it can be argued that this could be consolidated into another branch (CIA, or Army maybe) but I think that's a different question.

Plus, the NSA is the world's largest employer of mathematicians. As a mathematics major, that's important to me .

Really, if we keep the NSA for all the cryptography and the warranted spying, I think it might be best to change its name, because all the Big Brother shit has certainly tainted its name beyond repair. At this point, I doubt we'll ever see the day when "National Security Agency" doesn't become synonymous "Orwellian abomination that has no business whatsoever which the government of a country prides itself on being the leader of the free world."

Simply changing the optics doesn't change the vision of those running the joint ... it only gives them more cover.

[Mister Agenda]

I worked there in 82, when things were different. It took a directive from the Attorney General to turn the agency's capabilities onto a domestic target. The Patriot Act (I and II) did a lot to change the character of the organization's activities.

We will need the NSA's capabilities when we have a president capable of paying attention through an entire intelligence briefing. That information is critical and lack of it has played a role in the current president making more international and military blunders in his first month than the previous president did in his first year.

When I was there the rank and file saw their function as no less than preventing needless war by making sure the 'deciders' had the best information possible. The agency needs reform, but getting rid of it would be like wearing an eye patch you don't need, unnecessarily opening yourself up to being blind-sided. Having a president who doesn't pay attention to intelligence briefings has a similar effect.

[The Grand Nudger]

@Op Q.  Sure.  The NSA is tasked with something that the DIA and CIA are not.  That something needs to be done...and regardless of who does it or by what name we call it... it will be, effectively, the NSA.

[Rev. Rye]

Really, if we keep the NSA for all the cryptography and the warranted spying, I think it might be best to change its name, because all the Big Brother shit has certainly tainted its name beyond repair. At this point, I doubt we'll ever see the day when "National Security Agency" doesn't become synonymous "Orwellian abomination that has no business whatsoever which the government of a country prides itself on being the leader of the free world."

Simply changing the optics doesn't change the vision of those running the joint ... it only gives them more cover.

To be fair, I did intend that, in this scenario, they would have to give up the absurdly-large scale (over a billion spied on at one time, if the Snowden cables mean anything) spying, and the name change would have to be part of a larger cleanup. I'm sorry I didn't make that clear.