It's Only Paranoia...

....if there's nobody there.
And there's _always__someone_ there.

Traveling Light in a Time of Digital Thievery
<http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/11/te...curity-a-worry
-in-an-age-of-digital-espionage.html>

'McAfee, the security company, said that if any employee¹s device was
inspected at the Chinese border, it could never be plugged into McAfee¹s
network again. Ever. ³We just wouldn¹t take the risk,² said Simon Hunt,
a vice president.'

Best practices: Leave your iThingies at home.

On 02/11/2012 12:33 PM, Fred Moore wrote:
> ...if there's nobody there.
> And there's _always__someone_ there.
>
> Traveling Light in a Time of Digital Thievery
> <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/11/te...curity-a-worry
> -in-an-age-of-digital-espionage.html>
>
> 'McAfee, the security company, said that if any employee¹s device was
> inspected at the Chinese border, it could never be plugged into McAfee¹s
> network again. Ever. ³We just wouldn¹t take the risk,² said Simon Hunt,
> a vice president.'
>
> Best practices: Leave your iThingies at home.

Seems your link broke. Let me try:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/11/te...espionage.html

I like this: "Later still, the chamber discovered that its office
printer and even a thermostat in one of its corporate apartments were
still communicating with an Internet address in China."

I wonder if they messed with the temperature just for fun. If your
office seems a little too warm than usual suspect a hacker. And if you
network your refrigerator, they might spoil your milk on you while
you're at work.

But then there's this:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16919664

If they hack your cams, they can watch you change your thermostat and
then change it back.

Fred Moore:

> ...if there's nobody there.
> And there's _always__someone_ there.
>
> Traveling Light in a Time of Digital Thievery
> <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/11/te...curity-a-worry
> -in-an-age-of-digital-espionage.html>
>
> 'McAfee, the security company, said that if any employee¹s device was
> inspected at the Chinese border, it could never be plugged into McAfee¹s
> network again. Ever. ³We just wouldn¹t take the risk,² said Simon Hunt,
> a vice president.'
>
> Best practices: Leave your iThingies at home.

Exactly. It's not paranoia because they /are/ after you. As a veteran
of 32 years in the global security business, with more than 12 years in
Asia, I have to agree with the article. The Chinese are wonderful
people, IMO, but as a political entity the PRC is an aggressive
adversary, not a friend. I would not even consider taking a personal
computer or iThingie to China. If I thought I would need a cell phone I
would buy a throw-away in China. If I took photos I would carry plenty
of storage cards and upload them after I got home--I did the same thing
recently on a trip to Montréal, not out of concern for Canadian spying,
to be sure, but because I did not want to lug my MBPro along.

--
I agree with almost everything that you have said and almost everything that
you will say in your entire life.

usenet *at* davidillig dawt cawm

On Sat, 11 Feb 2012 13:10:23 -0500, Davoud wrote:

> Fred Moore:
>
>> ...if there's nobody there.
>> And there's _always__someone_ there.
>>
>> Traveling Light in a Time of Digital Thievery
>> <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/11/te...ic-security-a-
worry
>> -in-an-age-of-digital-espionage.html>
>>
>> 'McAfee, the security company, said that if any employee¹s device was
>> inspected at the Chinese border, it could never be plugged into
>> McAfee¹s network again. Ever. ³We just wouldn¹t take the risk,² said
>> Simon Hunt, a vice president.'
>>
>> Best practices: Leave your iThingies at home.
>
> Exactly. It's not paranoia because they /are/ after you. As a veteran of
> 32 years in the global security business, with more than 12 years in
> Asia, I have to agree with the article. The Chinese are wonderful
> people, IMO, but as a political entity the PRC is an aggressive
> adversary, not a friend. I would not even consider taking a personal
> computer or iThingie to China. If I thought I would need a cell phone I
> would buy a throw-away in China. If I took photos I would carry plenty
> of storage cards and upload them after I got home--I did the same thing
> recently on a trip to Montréal, not out of concern for Canadian spying,
> to be sure, but because I did not want to lug my MBPro along.

That makes excellent sense Davoud. And in other countries there's good
old fashioned theft to persuade you to leave your shiny iThingies at home.



--
Paul Sture