“Obtain awareness” is quite far from “actionable intelligence”
in my experience. Perhaps they mean actions like pointing to
potential entry points or locating secondary infections? I guess I
don't see any new value here. This seems to duplicate CERT or Cyber
Command or any of the anti-virus vendors. (Unless the FBI plans to
introduce selected malware themselves?)
Got
Malware? The FBI Is Willing to Pay For It
According
to a 'Request for a Quote' posted on the Federal Business
Opportunities website, the FBI is looking for price quotes for
malware for the Investigative Analysis Unit of the agency's
Operational Technology Division.
"The
Operational Technology Division (OTD), Investigative Analysis Unit
(IAU) of the FBI has the following mission: Provide technical
analysis of digital methods, software and data, and provide technical
support to FBI investigations and intelligence operations that
involve computers, networks and malicious software," according
to the
document (.doc).
… The
agency does not say precisely how the malware will be used, but the
document calls the collection of malware from law enforcement and
research sources "critical to the success of the IAU's mission
to obtain global awareness of malware threat."
"The
collection of this malware allows the IAU to provide actionable
intelligence to the investigator in both criminal and
intelligence matters," according to the document.
I would have thought
that obvious, since it passes my “It's only a digital version”
test. If someone had mailed me a copy of an old fashion printed
photo, I would have the envelope to examine. It would tell me where
the photo was mailed, when it was mailed, and perhaps a lot more. If
someone “sends” me metadata, why would/should I ignore it?
Orin Kerr writes:
I’m
guessing we all know that you don’t have a reasonable expectation
of privacy in photographs that you post on the public Internet.
Government investigators don’t violate privacy rights by looking at
photos posted on the web for all to see. But what about the metadata
embedded in those photographs? And what if it’s a website only
accessible using the
TOR browser?
In
a case handed down last week, United
States v. Post, a district court held that the Fourth
Amendment still offers no protection.
Read more on WaPo
Volokh Conspiracy.
Interesting that the
Post thinks this is new tech. It has been used in Afghanistan (see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kestrel_%28surveillance_system%29
for example) for several years.
New
surveillance technology can track everyone in an area for several
hours at a time
… As Americans have
grown increasingly comfortable with traditional surveillance cameras,
a new, far more powerful generation is being quietly deployed that
can track every vehicle and person across an area the size of a small
city, for several hours at a time. Although these cameras can’t
read license plates or see faces, they provide such a wealth of data
that police, businesses and even private individuals can use them to
help identify people and track their movements.
Global Warming! Global
Warming! This article actually seems to make sense. Deforestation
and (in Colorado) the pine beetle contribute to global warming.
Perhaps Al Gore will help us plant trees? I do find it interesting
that we understand so few of these systems impacting climate.
Report
– Tree roots in the mountains ‘acted like a thermostat’ for
millions of years
by Sabrina
I. Pacifici on February 6, 2014
University
of Oxford: “For the first time, scientists have discovered how
tree roots in the mountains may play an important role in controlling
long-term global temperatures. Researchers from Oxford and Sheffield
Universities have found that temperatures affect the thickness of the
leaf litter and organic soil layers, as well as the rate at which the
tree roots grow. In a warmer world, this means that tree roots
are more likely to grow into the mineral layer of the soil, breaking
down rock into component parts which will eventually combine with
carbon dioxide. This process, called weathering, draws carbon
dioxide out of the atmosphere and cools the planet. The
researchers say this theory suggests that mountainous ecosystems have
acted like the Earth’s thermostat, addressing the risk of
‘catastrophic’ overheating or cooling over millions of years. In
their research paper published online in Geophysical
Research Letters, the researchers carried out studies in tropical
rain forests in Peru, measuring tree roots across different sites of
varying altitude – from the warm Amazonian Lowlands to the cooler
mountain ranges of the Andes.
… Lead researcher
Chris Doughty, from the School of Geography and the Environment at
the University of Oxford, said: ‘This is a simple process driven by
tree root growth and the decomposition of organic material. Yet it
may contribute to Earth’s long-term climate stability. It seems to
act like a thermostat, drawing more carbon dioxide out of the
atmosphere when it is warm and less when it is cooler.'
… In the past, this
natural process may have prevented the planet from reaching
temperatures that are catastrophic for life.’”
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