Published via T: 2014-01-16 00:03:39

Andreessen, who (disclosure) is an investor in Pando, took to Twitter following a New York Times story that stated the NSA could now access computers that weren’t even connected to the Internet. It’s a scary thought, but as I read the article I realized that unlike some of the other revelations about widespread metadata dragnets or the deliberate weakening of encryption standards, the article notes “there is no evidence that the NSA has implanted its software or used its radio frequency technology inside the United States.”

Oh My Word

“Oh my WORD I can’t believe that spy agencies SPY.” Indeed, much of the NSA’s surveillance strategy, along with its close ties to telecommunications companies, has been public since before anyone’d heard the name “Edward Snowden.”

My Two Cents

Nice to have Andreessen take public positions. However, his making light of the numerous disclosures by Snowden re Quantum (just released today) as NO BIG DEAL is hubris. What has preceded this are the previously announced disclosures of Prism, XKeyscore, Tempora, Dropout Jeep and TAO. I supposed these are also no big deal. Hubris once again as it relates to the rest of us. While the rest of us may "think" this snooping goes on, Andreessen must be seeing live demo's.

Early this month, Microsoft declared that ”government snooping potentially now constitutes an ‘advanced persistent threat,’” a statement that became ironic this weekend, given that, early this month, Microsoft likened government surveillance to “sophisticated malware and cyber attacks.”

My Two Cents

Nice to see Microsoft defining the NSA as an Advanced Persistent Threat!! This article even compares them to Chinese Hackers. As both the NSA and Chinese Hackers impact US Citizens, they are quite different. At least the NSA ostensibly wears the White Hat and tries to protect us from harm. Chinese Hackers which seek to gather sensitive intelligence and exploit US corporate interests, these two groups are at different ends of the spectrum.

Interesting side note, the US Government has been Microsoft's biggest customer for many years. So many angles to the NSA snooping stories. Almost every one of them as bad as any of our most paranoid fears. Now almost 6 months after the first Snowden releases, collection of metadata is child's play compared to Prism, XKeyscore, Tempora, Dropout Jeep, TAO and more is to come. The current releases allegedly comprise only 1% of the treasure trove of data / documents pilfered by Snowden and in the hands of The Guardian.