THE BUZZ ACROSS CYBERSPACE IS THAT THE FCC, DHS, OR WHOMEVER, RECENTLY TESTED THE INTERNET KILL SWITCH, THAT MANY 'ALTERNATIVE' WEBSITES WERE INTERRUPTED OR COMPLETELY BLOCKED TO TRAFFIC FOR VARYING PERIODS OF TIME.
THIS OPENS AN OLD CAN OF WORMS BECAUSE SUCH A THING DOES INDEED EXIST, AND WAS HIGHLY 'CLASSIFIED', AND STILL IS.
IN JANUARY THIS YEAR, ABOUT 10 DAYS AGO, THE SUPREME COURT REFUSED TO HEAR A CASE THAT WOULD FORCE THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY TO FINALLY, AFTER 5 LONG YEARS OF COURT BATTLES, REVEAL ITS PROTOCOL FOR SHUTTING DOWN OUR INTERNET AND CELLPHONES.
THE DHS REFUSED ANOTHER COURT'S RULING TO DO SO BACK IN 2013.
IT ALL BEGAN IN 2000, BEFORE 9/11, BUT ESCALATED IN 2011...
THIS OPENS AN OLD CAN OF WORMS BECAUSE SUCH A THING DOES INDEED EXIST, AND WAS HIGHLY 'CLASSIFIED', AND STILL IS.
IN JANUARY THIS YEAR, ABOUT 10 DAYS AGO, THE SUPREME COURT REFUSED TO HEAR A CASE THAT WOULD FORCE THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY TO FINALLY, AFTER 5 LONG YEARS OF COURT BATTLES, REVEAL ITS PROTOCOL FOR SHUTTING DOWN OUR INTERNET AND CELLPHONES.
THE DHS REFUSED ANOTHER COURT'S RULING TO DO SO BACK IN 2013.
IT ALL BEGAN IN 2000, BEFORE 9/11, BUT ESCALATED IN 2011...
OUR GOVERNMENT DECIDED IT NEEDED A WAY TO SHUT DOWN THE INTERNET AND CELLPHONES TO "PREVENT TERRORISTS FROM USING THEM TO ATTACK AMERICA".
THE PROBLEM WITH THAT IS, ANY AND ALL AMERICANS CAN BE CLASSIFIED AS "HOMEGROWN TERRORISTS", THANKS TO FEMA AND THE GOOD OLD PATRIOT ACT.
THE OTHER PROBLEM IS... THE INTERNET AND CELLPHONES CAN BE CUT OFF TO EVERYONE WITHOUT A MINUTE'S NOTICE.
HOW CAN ANYONE PREPARE FOR THAT OR WORK AROUND IT?
"Can you communicate independently or are you completely dependent on a "service" provider?
If an emergency happened and internet / cellphones were turned off, would you still be able to communicate with your family members and coordinate their safety?
This will not be used to help you, it will be used against you. "
"With the Supreme Court’s refusal to address EPIC’s petition, the issue seems to have reached a dead-end. The American people are (once again) left in the dark regarding the inner-workings of another dangerous and intrusive government program. It is only through the hard work of activists and groups like EPIC that we are at least aware of the existence of this program — but knowing bits and pieces about the protocol is not enough. In order to combat such heavy-handed measures, we need to have access to the government’s own documents. Hopefully, there is already a whistleblower preparing to release these details.
What we do with the information we do have is up to each of us as individuals. We can sit back and watch the United States further devolve into a militarized police and surveillance state — or we can spread this information, get involved locally, and create new systems outside of the current paradigm of control and exploitation. "
[A FEW POSSIBLE WAYS AROUND THE KILL SWITCH PLAN APPEAR AT THE END OF THIS BLOG at the double asterisks **.]
HUFFINGTON POST
MAY 25, 2011
SENATE OKAYS INTERNET KILL SWITCH IN PROPOSED CYBERSECURITY BILL
HOW CAN ANYONE PREPARE FOR THAT OR WORK AROUND IT?
"Can you communicate independently or are you completely dependent on a "service" provider?
If an emergency happened and internet / cellphones were turned off, would you still be able to communicate with your family members and coordinate their safety?
This will not be used to help you, it will be used against you. "
"With the Supreme Court’s refusal to address EPIC’s petition, the issue seems to have reached a dead-end. The American people are (once again) left in the dark regarding the inner-workings of another dangerous and intrusive government program. It is only through the hard work of activists and groups like EPIC that we are at least aware of the existence of this program — but knowing bits and pieces about the protocol is not enough. In order to combat such heavy-handed measures, we need to have access to the government’s own documents. Hopefully, there is already a whistleblower preparing to release these details.
What we do with the information we do have is up to each of us as individuals. We can sit back and watch the United States further devolve into a militarized police and surveillance state — or we can spread this information, get involved locally, and create new systems outside of the current paradigm of control and exploitation. "
[A FEW POSSIBLE WAYS AROUND THE KILL SWITCH PLAN APPEAR AT THE END OF THIS BLOG at the double asterisks **.]
HUFFINGTON POST
MAY 25, 2011
SENATE OKAYS INTERNET KILL SWITCH IN PROPOSED CYBERSECURITY BILL
.
As The Hill explains, the bill, sponsored by Sens. Joe Lieberman, Susan Collins, and Tom Carper, would give the president "emergency authority to shut down private sector or government networks in the event of a cyber attack capable of causing massive damage or loss of life."
The original bill granted the president the authority to "indefinitely" shut down networks, but an amendment to the PCNAA, approved yesterday, mandates that the president "get Congressional approval after controlling a network for 120 days."
The authority granted to the government in the bill has been likened to an Internet "kill switch."
Numerous groups, such as TechAmerica, have criticized the bill, warning of the "potential for absolute power" and expressing reservations about the "unintended consequences that would result from the legislation's regulatory approach."
Liberman recently defended the PCNAA, arguing that it was imperative the president had the ability to "say to an electric company or to say to Verizon, in the national interest, 'There's an attack about to come, and I hereby order you to put a patch on this, or put your network down on this part, or stop accepting any incoming from country A.'"
As we wrote here, the bill would also see the creation of a new agency within the Department of Homeland Security, the National Center for Cybersecurity and Communications (NCCC).
Any private company reliant on "the Internet, the telephone system, or any other component of the U.S. 'information infrastructure'" would be "subject to command" by the NCCC, and some would be required to engage in "information sharing" with the agency, says CBS4.
CNET notes an Internet "kill switch" has been proposed before:
CNET notes an Internet "kill switch" has been proposed before:
A draft Senate proposal that CNET obtained in August allowed the White House to "declare a cybersecurity emergency," and another from Sens. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.V.) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) would have explicitly given the government the power to "order the disconnection" of CERTAIN networks or Web sites. "
THAT IS TOO MUCH POWER IN THE HANDS OF THE ABSOLUTELY CORRUPT.
THE FEDS WERE STILL FIGHTING REVEALING INFORMATION ABOUT THE KILL SWITCH IN 2014.
THEY WON AGAIN.
WASHINGTON TIMES, NOV. 2013:
The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) is seeking “Standard Operating Procedure 303,” also known as the “Internet kill switch” from Homeland Security. The protocols govern shutting down wireless networks to prevent the remote detonation of bombs.
The broad government power to shut down communications networks worries civil libertarians. THE FEDS WERE STILL FIGHTING REVEALING INFORMATION ABOUT THE KILL SWITCH IN 2014.
THEY WON AGAIN.
WASHINGTON TIMES, NOV. 2013:
The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) is seeking “Standard Operating Procedure 303,” also known as the “Internet kill switch” from Homeland Security. The protocols govern shutting down wireless networks to prevent the remote detonation of bombs.
However, the agency argues the protocols must be kept secret to protect national interests and the safety of individuals.
EPIC filed a FOIA request for the protocols in July 2012.
The Department of Homeland Security originally said it could not find any records on the kill switch.
[LIES, BUT THEN THEY DID MANAGE TO "FIND" IT, BUT THEN SAID IT WAS CLASSIFIED, A MATTER OF "NATIONAL SECURITY".]
After EPIC appealed, the agency located the protocol, but redacted nearly all of the information.
The agency cited exemptions that allow the withholding of information that could “disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions” or “could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual.”
[THAT DOES NOT HOLD WATER, IT'S ACTUALLY A LUDICROUS CLAIM WITH NO CONSTITUTIONAL BASIS, BUT THE DHS IS STILL GETTING AWAY WITH HIDING THIS PROTOCOL.
MAYBE THEY DON'T WANT ANYONE FINDING A "WORKAROUND" TO BEAT IT?]
MAYBE THEY DON'T WANT ANYONE FINDING A "WORKAROUND" TO BEAT IT?]
FROM 'MOTHER JONES':
26 NOV. 2013
"The Government's [NOT SO] Secret Plan to Shut Off Cellphones and the Internet, Explained"
26 NOV. 2013
"The Government's [NOT SO] Secret Plan to Shut Off Cellphones and the Internet, Explained"
This month, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the Department of Homeland Security must make its plan to shut off the internet and cellphone communications available to the American public.
(Update: The Electronic Privacy Information Center reports that the court just granted the government more time to decide whether to release the kill switch plan. It now has until January 13, 2014. The court HAD left the door open for the agency to appeal the ruling.)
You, of course, may now be thinking: What plan?!
You, of course, may now be thinking: What plan?!
Though President Barack Obama swiftly disapproved of ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak turning off the internet in his country (to quell widespread civil disobedience) in 2011, the US government has the authority to do the same sort of thing, under a plan that was devised during the George W. Bush administration. Many details of the government's controversial "kill switch" authority have been classified, such as the conditions under which it can be implemented and how the switch can be used. But thanks to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), DHS has to reveal those details by December 12—or mount an appeal. (The smart betting is on an appeal, since DHS has fought to release this information so far.)
Yet here's what we do know about the government's "kill switch" plan:
Yet here's what we do know about the government's "kill switch" plan:
Communications experts say that killing phone service is probably easier, because there are only a few companies the government has to deal with to smother cellphone communications (the kill switch doesn't generally govern land lines).
Most mobile-phone service passes through physical connection points that are controlled by the big-name phone companies, including AT&T and Verizon.
The US government would essentially have to compel these companies to turn off their cellphone towers.
The feds could also use cellphone jammers to interrupt service in a localized area.
Harold Feld, vice president at Public Knowledge, an advocacy group focused on communications and technology policy, says that big internet companies still control a large portion of subscribers in the United States, and if the top 10 service providers cooperated with the government, "you could shut things down fairly easily."
Is it legal for the Obama administration to activate a kill switch?
Yep, and kill switches aren't new.
In 1918, a congressional joint resolution authorized the president to assume control of US telegraph systems, in order to operate them during World War I.
Then, in 1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Communications Act, which decreed, "Upon proclamation by the President that there exists war or a threat of war, or a state of public peril or disaster or other national emergency, or in order to preserve the neutrality of the United States, the President, if he deems it necessary in the interest of national security or defense, may suspend or amend" both wireless radio and phone services, which means it's not clear whether this could apply to internet service (although the Federal Communications Commission has used that argument before, when deregulating internet service over telephone lines in 2005).
What is clear is that in 2006, the Bush administration entered into a secret agreement with telecom giants and came up with a specific plan as to when and how the government can actually shut down these networks—called Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) 303. This is the plan that the US government is required to release under the federal district court ruling. In 2011, the White House asserted again that the administration has the legal authority to control private communications systems in the United States during national emergencies.
And in 2012, President Obama reaffirmed that DHS could seize private facilities and shut down communications in a July executive order.
Why would the US government need to exercise a kill switch?
The US government has always considered it a good idea to have FULL control over communications networks 'during a war'.
During peacetime, government officials could conclude that suspending cellphone service on a particular channel might stop would-be terrorists from setting off one or more bombs.
There's certainly the chance that some government official might consider shutting down communications to stop or hamper protests.
This did happen in 2011 in San Francisco's subway stations (see below), although not on the federal level. It's possible that a wide-scale cyberattack that targets major financial and government institutions could require an immediate shutdown of internet service.
In 2010, Sens. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) attempted to pass legislation that would have allowed the president to take over private computer systems during a "national cyberemergency" for such a purpose.
The controversial bill didn't pass.
Critics contend that activating any kind of kill switch will do more harm than good.
"I find it hard to imagine why an internet kill switch would ever be a good idea, short of some science fiction scenario wherein the network comes alive a la Terminator/Skynet," Feld says.
"At this point, so much of our critical infrastructure runs on the internet that a 'kill switch' would do more harm than anything short of a nuclear strike. it would be like cutting off our own head to escape someone pulling our hair."
The same argument applies to smothering cellphone service. "The benefit of people being able to communicate on their cellphones in times of crisis is enormous, and cutting that off is in and of itself potentially very dangerous," argues Eva Galperin of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
Has the government ever turned off cell phones or the internet?
Yes—but the only KNOWN reports concern cell service.
[MAKE THAT VERIFIED AS MANY KNOWN INSTANCES HAVE BEEN REPORTED AND DISMISSED.]
In 2005, shortly after suicide bombers attacked the London tube, federal authorities disabled cell networks in four major New York tunnels.
The action was reportedly taken to prevent bomb detonation via cellphone, and according to a National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee review, it "was undertaken without prior notice to wireless carriers or the public."
(In an April statement to Mother Jones, Verizon denied have any role in shutting down cell service in New York.)
In 2009, during Obama's inauguration, the feds used devices that blocked cellphones from receiving signals to prevent bomb detonation.
In 2011, officials for the San Francisco transit system cut off cellphone service in four Bay Area Rapid Transit stations for several hours to preempt a planned protest over BART police fatally shooting a homeless man.
What are the constitutional problems?
Civil liberties advocates argue that kill switches violate the First Amendment and pose a problem because they aren't subject to rigorous judicial and congressional oversight.
"There is no court in the loop at all, at any stage in the SOP 303 process," according to the Center for Democracy and Technology.
"The Executive Branch, untethered by the checks and balances of court oversight, clear instruction from Congress, or transparency to the public, is free to act as it will and in secret."
David Jacobs of EPIC says, "Cutting off communications imposes a prior restraint on speech, so the First Amendment imposes the strictest of limitations…We don't know how DHS thinks [the kill switch] is consistent with the First Amendment."
He adds, "Such a policy, unbounded by clear rules and oversight, just invites abuse."
What don't we know about the kill switch plan?
A lot.
A lot.
We don't know the "series of questions" that help DHS determine whether it should activate a kill switch, how DHS will go about implementing the kill switch, how long a shutdown will last, and what the oversight protocols are.
For example, Jacobs from EPIC says that, it appears that "DHS wouldn't have to call up the president to implement this, he would be involved in the same indirect way that he is with all kinds of executive branch actions."
This information was requested in the FOIA lawsuit filed by (EPIC) and could be revealed as early as December. "Hopefully exposure of such a lunatic idea will allow the public to beat some common sense into these agencies," says Feld. "
AS WE NOW KNOW, THAT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN.
AS WE NOW KNOW, THAT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN.
** POSSIBLE WAYS AROUND THE KILL SWITCH PLAN
FireChat : Free messaging. No Internet required
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GogPPT3ePGQ
It's estimated that only 5% of a city needs to have FireChat installed to have coverage enabled over the entire city.. this is a very robust communication protocol and it will hold messages until it can reach a recipient.
Climate Change Denying Scientist Secretly Got $1.2 Million from Fossil Fuel Industry....
US Air Force Accidentally Hit Mexico with a Radioactive Rocket.... Stealing the Soviet’s Lunik Satellite...
~ SEE ALSO: Homeland Security loses track of 1 million foreigners; report could hurt immigration deal
~NSA SPYING BROKE ALL THE RULEShttp://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/aug/15/nsa-spying-broke-privacy-rules-many-times-report/
~"Packet Radio Physical Layer" Useful notes taken by N1VG during the development of the OpenTracker TNC/APRS node
~ WANT TO READ A COUPLE OF ALTERNATIVE NEWS SITES?
THE TEA ROOM ASSURES YOU THAT THEY ARE "COOTIE-FREE".
http://www.sott.net/
http://www.truth-out.org/
US Air Force Accidentally Hit Mexico with a Radioactive Rocket.... Stealing the Soviet’s Lunik Satellite...
~ SEE ALSO: Homeland Security loses track of 1 million foreigners; report could hurt immigration deal
~NSA SPYING BROKE ALL THE RULEShttp://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/aug/15/nsa-spying-broke-privacy-rules-many-times-report/
~"Packet Radio Physical Layer" Useful notes taken by N1VG during the development of the OpenTracker TNC/APRS node
~ WANT TO READ A COUPLE OF ALTERNATIVE NEWS SITES?
THE TEA ROOM ASSURES YOU THAT THEY ARE "COOTIE-FREE".
http://www.sott.net/
http://www.truth-out.org/
"In this video, (Open-Mesh) walks you through a basic Open-Mesh network installation. Topics covered include gateway and repeater installation, wall plug enclosure installation, node placement, CloudTrax, splash pages, and more."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmxS9scm9c8
"Serval Project has been working for three years with New Zealand Red Cross on free and open technology, called Serval Mesh, which can keep mobile phones operating when mobile networks fail, such as during disasters.
A POSTED COMMENT ABOUT THIS PROJECT THAT MAKES A LOT OF SENSE:
"I've not done any research into the Serval Mesh. I've not kept up with digital technology for nine years. However, I do know that reliance on "company owned" cell service is a crock. I've been through an earthquake in Washington state USA that took out cell service in the largest county in the state and if were not for the foresight of the local amateur radio club/HAMS/ who had installed a HAM radio resource within a town's courthouse, near the 911 dispatcher, that county would not have had 911 ability or means to coordinate emergency help. ANALOG saved the day.
I was in New York a month after Sept 11th, walked twin towers devastation and visited with emergency responders while attending a Radio Club of America function. The cell service was the first to go in that emergency. It is very easy for the digital system to be impacted. Any person who thinks they can rely on cell service being restored promptly after a disaster has not lived through the experience.
We each need to evaluate what our communication needs will be during and after a disaster."
AND SO, ENTER "PACKET RADIO"...
[SIMPLEST EXPLANATION TURNED OUT TO BE FROM "WIKI", MY APOLOGIES.]
Like those earlier modes, packet was intended as a way to reliably transmit written information. The primary advantage was initially expected to be increased speed, but as the protocol developed, other capabilities surfaced.
MEANS OF CREATING "PEDAL POWER" AND HAND-CRANKED GENERATORS ARE ALL OVER THE INTERNET.
THERE ARE ALSO VERY AFFORDABLE SOLAR CHARGERS FOR CELLPHONES, TABLETS, ETC.
WE END WITH ANOTHER COMMENT I RAN ACROSS, MAYBE SOME FOOD FOR THOUGHT, UNLESS YOU ARE A DEDICATED, COMPLACENT, TRUSTING, OBEDIENT MEMBER OF THE EXPENDABLE FLOCK WHO DOESN'T WANT TO QUESTION WHAT THE GOVERNMENT DOES.
IN THAT CASE, STOP READING HERE.
"What kind of an emergency would there have to be to
warrant suspension of mass communication?
the government.
most?
WELL, WAR IS A FAVORITE ON CAPITOL HILL AND IN THAT OVAL OFFICE AND IN THE PENTAGRAM, I MEAN, PENTAGON.
-_______________________-
FURTHER READS:
~ The Problem With Standard Operating Procedure 303
A LETTER RECEIVED BY EPIC, WHICH FILED THE LAWSUIT TO MAKE SOP 303 PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE.
"The content of SOP 303 is not available to the general public.
~ DOCUMENTS DECLASSIFIED IN 2015
Things less than 5% of Americans are aware of...