abadideaFeb 13

When I said that your discord clone doesn’t need e2ee, I got a lot of comments along the lines of “ then how would I use it to organize the revolution!” The answer is: you don’t. If you have more users than can comfortably share a Signal chat and hence want to use discord or something like it, you cannot POSSIBLY be vetting all of them to a high standard of trust. Your logs ARE leaking. End-to-end encryption between more people than can fit around a dinner table is pointless.

This article confirms what I already assumed, that “open source [information sense, not code sense] intelligence gathering on social media” includes, for the US government, asking for links to join groups that may *feel* private. My own discord has literally like a thousand idlers. It would be very *lucky* if none of them were logging for potentially nefarious purposes! And I remind the active users of this occasionally.

https://www.kenklippenstein.com/p/exclusive-ice-masks-up-in-more-ways

Exclusive: ICE Masks Up in More Ways Than One

Feds could be in your group chat

Ken Klippenstein
Show threadRatsnake Games 🔞Feb 13
@0xabad1dea i also don't think that organizing revolutions is the majority usecase for Discord
Show threadabadideaFeb 13
@ratsnakegames no but this is mastodon so no-one’s sure what other social activities exist
Show threadderptronFeb 13

@0xabad1dea @ratsnakegames I don't understand. Are you saying mastodon users are particularly unaware of the existence of Tor, rheticulum, meshtastic, briar, secure scuttlebutt, signal, jitsi, ...

Reading, fishing, mountain biking, horseshoing, needlework, 3d printing, manafesto writing, martial arts, yoga, karayoki....

Than the people who frequent other places like X or whatnot?

Interesting take if so :p

Show threadAlexa FontanillaFeb 13

@crazyeddie
#PostOfTheWeek (season 3):
Homeland security is increasing the use of undercover techniques to infiltrate and interact with social media users in order to collect intelligence and target individuals, documents leaked to me reveal.

The new program, called “masked engagement,” allows homeland security officers to assume false identities and interact with users—friending them, joining closed groups, and gaining access to otherwise private postings, photographs, friend lists and more.

Show threadAlexa FontanillaFeb 13

@crazyeddie
A senior Department of Homeland Security official tells me that over 6,500 field agents and intelligence operatives can use the new tool, a significant increase explicitly linked to more intense monitoring of American citizens.

For years, homeland security has been conducting what it calls “Open Source Intelligence” (OSINT) collection, using social media to enhance general "operational awareness” and for investigating targets in a criminal, civil, or administrative context.

Show threadBredroll

@AlexaFontanilla2024 @crazyeddie OSINT isn't a new idea, but to get anything really juicy, someone has to "think" they are talking privately. sneaking into private chat groups is not new thing, The SignalGate idiocy just reminded everyone how bad it can be.

Much more worrying to me is the prolific harvesting of devices fingerprints via things dressed up as helpful stuff like 'find my iphone' the fact you can track your lost headphones 500 miles away if someone with an apple device walks nearby!

Feb 13 at 6:11pmWeb
Show threadderptronFeb 13
@Bredroll @AlexaFontanilla2024 That's a very interesting and scary rabbit hole to hop into if you have not already. There are services you can sign up for that let you track pretty much anything any other user with a scanner has picked up and shared. Actually can be tracked by the little thingies in your tires because pretty much everything emits a MAC on some wireless protocol or other.