TED2014: NSA deputy director Richard Ledgett responds to Edward Snowden
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Do you believe that the National Security Agency didn't know that Edward Snowden was going to speak at TED2014 in Vancouver?
That's what NSA deputy director Richard Ledgett said to start off his response to Snowden's TED talk earlier this week.
Addressing the TED2014 audience via video feed, Ledgett asserted that Snowden isn't a legitimate whistleblower and has put (American) lives at risk. He also used the term "bad guys".
As one YouTube commenter wrote, "He just glides on the superficial argument that great acts of evil demand subverting basic freedom rights with a lot of intimidating examples."
Comments
5 Comments
Stephen Rees
Mar 21, 2014 at 10:28am
He would not be at TED "having this conversation" had not Snowden made his revelations. Of course he does not like being thrust into the spotlight. No spook would. They only work clandestinely. And no I do not believe much of what he says, because to be good at his job he has to be very good at lying. Snowden's revelation is that the NSA has lied, is lying and will continue to lie. I also do not accept that NSA operatives are just like my friends and family. In order to be recruited that have to demonstrate the sort of talents and personality that makes them good at what the NSA does.
Unfortunately we are now all subject, increasingly, to face to face confrontations with the sort of people the security services think can be trusted. It is not the case that there are a few bad apples. Security work attracts a personality type - and Ledgett allowed the odd flash of that to escape every so often. Or maybe that was the technical glitches in the feed.
Inserting back doors into computers means the NSA has increased everyone's vulnerability. Because you can be sure that now it has been confirmed that they exist even more effort is going to be devoted to finding them and exploiting them. And the people who will be doing that are well beyond NSA reach.
Open source systems and software are still our best protection
My2Cents
Mar 21, 2014 at 10:38am
Richard Ledgett made a great comment by telling people to get informed and to not just rely on headlines and one-sided stories or opinions on this subject. I've watched Snowden's speech and I was leaning towards him being a hero. But after listening to Ledgett and understanding the other side of the story, I think the NSA has a right to use any means they have to find clues about terrorist plots or other threats. As he put it, they're not interested in what we do on the Internet if we're not linked to terrorist groups. People who fear losing their right to privacy should realize that even your boss or your Internet provider have access to read all your emails and messages if they want to, not just the NSA. Whatever you do or put on the Internet is "out there" already, it's not "private" anymore.
NYB
Mar 21, 2014 at 12:04pm
My2Cents: You are the ultimate, perfect non-citizen. Being this ignorant is absolutely necessary for you and the similarly successfully blinded/brainwashed slaves to be useful for the elite in power, because if you would be capable to understand and discern for yourself then you wouldn't be willing to build the totalitarian dictatorship they want. You are a sad example, how manipulation works so well.
NYB
Mar 21, 2014 at 12:08pm
Really, people? A couple of comments in this popular paper is the whole extent of your reaction about something this crucially important?
Incomplete
Mar 22, 2014 at 1:54am
Surely the moderator should have asked Ed to expand upon the risk to public and private business interests relative to being spied upon by either big gov't or worse, big business through access to big gov't means in the name of "national interests" - or worst of the worst, they being one and the same.
Case in point:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/brazil-canada-espionage-which-countries-ar...