美国抵制华为真正的意图是什么?
美国政府说禁止美国的电信公司使用华为的设备,甚至贩卖华为的手机是为了国家安全。英国,澳洲和纽西兰也纷纷跟进。台湾的蔡英文政府最近几日也意图跟进,工研院和国科会先后宣布区内禁用华为的手机,似乎响应美国的号召。
另外,台湾和中国的,还有亚洲的媒体评论,认为美国的这个动作其实是科技之争,抵制华为的5G, 因为美方已经在5G通信科技方面落后,采取的政策干预,和国家介入私人企业商业的行为!
以上的看法全部完全错!都不是真正的原因!
关于美国宣称是为了国家安全的理由,破绽在:
1。没有任何证据显示华为卖出的设备隐藏任何监听的木马程式,华为的总裁任正非1/17日召开记者会出来否认,说不曾为中国政府做间谍,窃听软件,或提供客户资料,通信记录等。华为以客户为中心,不损害客户的权益。
如果华为卖给美国企业,或任何国家的通信设备有间谍或窃听软件,美国,英国,澳洲和纽西兰等早就采取法律行动,查封华为,缉捕华为在各国的主管,并会下达国际刑警缉捕华为总裁等!
单单美国的刑罚,就可以立刻让华为必须宣告破产解散,美国的司法部可以没收华为的资产,之外,还可以开上千亿美元的罚金, 并且勒令华为必须解散!
华为的CFO孟晚舟的通缉与美国国家安全无关,是美国怀疑华为2015年之前,违反美国对伊朗的贸易制裁,采取的霸道无理行为。不要混为一谈!
2。有人或许说,华为的通讯设备现在没有隐藏间谍或监听软件,不代表未来不会有, 为了防范,提前禁止也是合理的!
这种说法其实是无赖的行为!相当于因为怀疑某人未来可能会犯法,所以先把人关到监狱里,非常的荒唐!
3。禁止华为的通讯设备(交换机,路由器,Gateway)等或许还沾上可能发生安全的理由。但禁止华为的手机是完全与安全无关,是蛮横的行为!
手机本身不会接触到整个通信网的流量和资讯, 是Peer to Peer的通信,是通信终端的设备。没有任何手机可以监控塔台,交换机,或看到其它手机的通信信息和资料。
有些木马程式,若装到手机里,可以让远端的手机控制,打开录音或录影功能,达到监听监视的功能。但这不是大范围的监听,达不到间谍的功能!这是要预先在对象的手机上一一装置监听木马程式,谈何其难!而且很容易被使用者发现!
如果华为可以在美国重要官员使用的手机上一一安装木马程式,这表示也可以在他们家里,办公室里装监视监听器!这难度是一样的!美国的政府官员也不一定全部使用华为的手机,大部分美国人使用的是苹果,三星的手机。
华为若要这么做,还不如写一个很受欢迎的手机应用程式(APP),免费下载,而这个APP其实有间谍的功能!这样监听就会普及,不仅仅限制在华为的手机上!又不会引火上身,被人抓到!这时制造病毒或木马软件,不用牵扯到手机!
所以为了国家安全的缘故而禁止华为的手机是脑残的行为,台湾的工研院难道都是科技盲吗?不过是为了政治的意识形态,而全部变成瞎子和白痴!
那么,有没有可能是想打击华为的第五代移动通讯(5G)?
华为的第五代移动通讯(5G)设备还在测试, 小区域试用改进阶段,卖出去的设备不到1% 华为的销售额!全球可以说没有任何一个国家已经推广使用。
美国政府所禁止的不是限于最新的第五代移动通讯(5G)设备,而是华为和中兴所有的设备!包括目前开始普遍的4G设备或还在使用的3G设备,全部禁止!在时间上,美国不是最近才禁止,而是2009年就禁止,或道德劝说,或威胁美国的电信企业,若是使用华为的设备,将失去联办政府的投标资格。当时还没有5G!
华为最大的营收除了来自手机,就是电信公司购买的第移动通讯3G和4G设备。先进已开发的国家,未来会购买的最可能是4G的设备!东南亚,非洲,南美洲的国家还在3G的设备。
所以中国,台湾地区或亚洲的评论员说是为了打击华为移动5G通讯是可笑的!华为虽然已初步测试成功,但还谈不上能够垄断全球,连在中国还只是试用阶段!虽然起步速度快,不见得能够跑赢,变得全球的标准!这第五代移动通讯(5G)是长跑,是马拉松比赛!是未来20年移动通信的主要规格!
究竟是设么原因呢?
这是为了美国现有的全球监视网, Global Surveillance Networks, 由5颗眼睛(Five Eyes),美国,英国,澳洲,加拿大,纽西兰5国联盟组成, 分别在全球各地区从事监视,收集情报和间谍事务。从事的监控包括网际网路所有的活动,访问者的IP纪录,网路搜索纪录,商业和私人电子信箱邮件,传真等。方法有:
1。利用美国的核能潜艇,在洲际光纤缆安装资讯拷贝储存器,把通过光纤的所有资料复制储存,定期上载收集。
然而这种收集到的资讯是原始,混乱,参杂在一起,又是巨量的。要剥离变成有用可以阅读,可以搜索的资料非常困难,要浪费很多时间和人力, 与大海捞针差不多。
2。利用美国的跨国公司如Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, Facebook, 苹果等所收集的大数据,要求这些企业分享给美国国家安全局(NSA),也就是情收集报分析组织。这计划叫做Prism,是美国的NSA瓶哟聘用 计算机维护工程师,Edward Snowden下载CIA内部的大量资料后,逃往国外后公布的!
欧巴马政府曾经下达格杀勿论的指令,欲要把他在公布资料前阻止! Prism这计划大概在2000年, 911事件之后开始的。小布什政府的Patriot Act, 10/26/2001在国会通过后,允许美国的情报单位,FBI, 警察局收集和搜索个人的资料,商业记录,监视个人,包括图书馆所借的书,网路上访问的网页等,无所不涵盖。虽然后来Patriot Act原定在2005年落幕,但被小布什和欧巴马政府延续,2015年更换名字为Freedom Act后继续保留。
这样的收集情报,收集商业机密和个人隐私是最简单的!2010年Google宣布撤离中国,说是为了保护使用户的隐私,不愿意让中国政府监控,现在看来是一个大笑话!因为当时Google就在配合美国的政府,提供巨量的使用户的搜索历史和GMail内容,违反使用户的隐私权,而不告知!
Google的Search, Microsoft 的Bing,都会永久保留使用户使用过的搜索关键字。 Google Map, 永久保留客户搜索过的地图, 即使使用者已经从该电脑/手机上删除,还保留在Google的资料库,与使用者GMAIL帐号连接,永远保存!
俺现在怀疑当初Google 1998年成立,大约2004年新上市时,可以迅速壮大,背后有美国政府的帮助,打算将来成为美国收集情报的民间机构!
当时许多分析师,都不看好Google,不知道Google免费提供储存量1GB, 分析师们怀疑Google营收来源是否足够购买那么多伺服器和容量!当时个人计算机最大的硬盘容量大约就是100GB。而当时领先Google很多,最大的科技公司微软所提供使用者免费的电子邮箱Hotmail,与MSN EMAIL的容量大约是100MB, Yahoo也大约是如此!这两家都比当时的Google规模大100-1000倍,而且盈利非常的高,而无法或不愿意提供 1G的免费存量。而Google刚起步,能够花上几十亿美元,甚至上百亿美元建立当时超过 10万台伺服器的PC Farm, 实在令人惊讶! 目前Google的伺服器是机密,有人估计超过数百万台!
PRISM利用美国企业垄断的优势,从事帮美国收集情报的作用,不管是自愿或被迫的,无疑就是从事间谍行为。因为这是跨国的,不仅仅限制在美国境内。
Prism的好处,是所得到的资料是直接和深入的。比如从FB可以把所有关系人连接起来。从Google Map的历史质料,可以知道此人过去去过什么地方。免费的GMAIL提供此人过去的通信记录,没有比这更好的情报收集!
2013年8月1日,媒体报道纽约长岛有一户人家,因为在网上利用Google搜索“压力锅”(Pressure Cooker)和背包(Back pack), 隔几日就被反恐单位8位人员上门搜索调查。 这是因为之前波士顿的马拉松赛跑活动出现压力锅的爆炸案,引起反恐人员对压力锅和背包的注意。但这也显示Google的角色, 并非只是简单的提供大批的Metadata(元数据),不包含个人的特殊资料。也许FBI在特殊的情况下,要求Google提供所有有这样搜索记录的使用者成为嫌疑犯。 换言之,Google是积极的参与者,是积极帮FBI反恐。
当然事后政府单位否认,说是得到有人密报!这户人家是完全清白的,看姓名应是白人,不是中东,中亚或回教徒的姓名。所谓有人密报是恐怖分子的概率是零。
以下是当时的新闻:
Michele Catalano, who lives in Long Island, New York, said her web searches for pressure cookers, her husband's hunt for backpacks and her "news junkie" son's craving for information on the Boston bombings had combined somewhere in the internet ether to create a "perfect storm of terrorism profiling".
3。XKeyScore,这间谍软件工具的功能据Edward Snowden的描述如下:
On January 26, 2014, the German broadcaster Norddeutscher Rundfunk asked Edward Snowden in its TV interview: "What could you do if you would use XKeyscore?" and he answered:
You could read anyone's email in the world, anybody you've got an email address for. Any website: You can watch traffic to and from it. Any computer that an individual sits at: You can watch it. Any laptop that you're tracking: you can follow it as it moves from place to place throughout the world. It's a one-stop-shop for access to the NSA's information.
... You can tag individuals ... Let's say you work at a major German corporation and I want access to that network, I can track your username on a website on a form somewhere, I can track your real name, I can track associations with your friends and I can build what's called a fingerprint, which is network activity unique to you, which means anywhere you go in the world, anywhere you try to sort of hide your online presence, your identity.
以上所描述的非常惊人,美国的科技难道已经超出人类的范围吗?无所不在,无所不知的只有神!
其实很简单,全球大约有90%的个人计算机是使用微软视窗。如果微软视窗里有后门,NSA可以很容易设计间谍软件阅读该计算机,植入标签和监视软件,只要一上网, 就自动把微软作业系统下的文件当,电子邮箱,IE的阅览网页历史全部自动汇报给XKeyscore。
所以这部计算机的主人即使换地方,到不同的国家,一连接网路,位置因所在的IP不同而被自己的计算机报告给XKeyscore,IP位址可以追查出国家,城市与住址!个人计算机简直变成追踪器!
如果俺的分析合理而真实,XKeyScore的间谍功能就远比Prism和海底光纤收集情报高明!个人电脑被植入的软件,可以透过微软的更新时植入。这间谍软件在计算机闲暇时间,稍描整个计算机硬盘,寻找可疑的关键字,比如说某个宾拉登,某个组织,某个武器,炸弹等,然后悄悄汇报给XKeyScore作判断和建档案。
也只有这样才能做到XKeyScore的无所不知,无所不在的神奇功能!说穿了就不值钱!
微软的视窗作业系统,许多国家都怀疑是有后门的,有MasterKey(万能钥匙), 可以让美国的NSA直接进入。曾经有60个国家禁止政府部门使用微软视窗,包括俄罗斯和中国政府。
大约2004-2008年之间,微软突然宣称愿意提供微软的Security API(安全介面)的原始码(Source Code),让各国政府检视,表示没有隐藏间谍功能或后门,各国政府可以放心使用!
然而这动作更加起人疑窦,是“此地无银三百两”的行为,欲盖弥彰的动作!微软视视窗的原始玛为聚宝盆,防范戒备森严,怎么突然转性,要把部分安全介面的原始码与其它国家分享呢?为什么要说服他们使用视窗作业系统呢?目的何在?
其它的作业系统如UNIX和LINUX已存在多年,从来没有人怀疑这作业系统有问题,特别是间谍问题!Linux是公开原始码的作业系统,自然不可能有隐藏的木马程式。而UNIX Berkerley (BSD UNIX, 1977年)和UNIX 5(1982年),历史都比Windows作业系统久,后来成为IBM的AIX ,Oracle(Sun Micro System)的Solaris,HP UNIX, 还有APPLe MAC OS的蓝本,从来没有人怀疑过。为何单独怀疑微软的视窗作业系统?
许多国家在检视了微软提供的原始程式后还是不解除禁令!为什么?
因为微软所提供的程式码即使看不出有问题,不代表微软视窗作业系体不会有问题!微软每一个版本的视窗都经常更新。一年下来的补丁,包括安全系统的补丁超过百个。比如作业系统视窗2000,当时微软的总裁比尔盖之(Bill Gate)在2000年时说要打造成最为可靠,稳定和安全的作业系统,为此延后发行半年,解决了2000个错误后才发行。但Win 2000发行后,最少还有2000个错误,必须利用补丁来更新的。 同样的Windows XP, 有XP1,XP2, 和XP3,补丁程式超过数百个。
微软公司,可以在任何一个补丁里,植入间谍软件,是太容易了!更何况,微软就做过这样的事!
这是1997年美国联邦政府调查微软利用垄断的视窗地位,搭售Internet Explorer(简称IE),打击Netscape 的互联网浏览器。这是当时使用最广的浏览器。在答辩当中,微软的律师代表团说IE是Win95 不可分割的软件,是无法剥离的!这是资讯(软件设计)最可笑的答辩!因为Windows 95 的第一个版本根本就没有IE,到了Windows 95 的B版才有包含IE。
结果反垄断的联邦政府检查官清Princeton 大学的计算机教授负责剥离IE与Win95 需噢业系统。很快就完成。可是微软在法庭上,拿一部计算机,请那位教授装上他剥离的IE,结果不能运行!教授立刻回答法官说,微软更动了演示的Win95,造成他剥离的IE不能跑, 原始微软提供的作业系统上是可以完美运行的!这是微软公堂上作假,当场被法官Thomas Penfield Jackson 严厉斥责!
同样的,微软提供给各国政府的Source Code, 自然可以在某一次更新的补丁里换掉,植入间谍软件!
俺曾在1998年看到CBS的一则新闻,说加拿大多伦多的计算机教授,在研究视窗的安全界面时,发现含有2个MasterKey(万能钥匙), 一只属于微软,另一只属于NSA!可是该新闻在大约几个小时后就消失,被删除了!
4。但这还不够全面,有些人不使用计算机传送信息,打固定电话(Land Line),使用手机要如何拦截监听?
美国政府原本就要求美国所有的电信公司如AT&T,Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile 等的设备必须提供执法单位监听的功能。这是The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc., (CALEA®) 的要求。
美国情报或执法单位只要输入要监听的号码,IP, 任何经过该通信交换机的通话,简讯,都会自动复制到监控中心录音,或记录下来。
但是对于外国的电信局,通讯公司,美国政府没有管辖权,无法下令监听,要如何做到呢?
这就是2013-2014年爆发的CISCO设备被NSA植入监听软件事件。
Cisco当时的CEO John Chambers上媒体哭诉抱怨美国国家安全局(NSA)偷偷把CISCO出口的设备拆开后,一一植入间谍软件,他表现的非常不满与生气, 还写信给欧巴马要求约束NSA!
其实这不过是演戏!
事实是Cisco应NSA的要求,把CALEA监听的功能要包含在出口的设备里,但不告诉对方,变成隐藏的监听后门,因是不同国家,是违反国际法的,所以这样的监听软件可以称为间谍软件。 NSA有万能钥匙,可以任意在别人领土上的电信局里非法监听,从事间谍活动!
若说NSA不得到Cisco的帮助,是私自拆箱植入间谍软件几乎是不肯能做到的!因为:
A。一一拆箱太麻烦。还要一一按不同的设备和型号植入不同篡改版本的软件实在是要花费很多时间也容易出错!一旦出错,装错不同的软件,设备就无法启动。
B。没有Cisco的原始码,要植入监听程式,必须先破解机器码,做逆向工程。然后改写后编译,必须多次测试才能保证没有错误。这困难度比NSA的软件工程师在自行开发Cisco的电信设备软件还要难!
如果逆向工程很容易,企业就不需要花大笔钱在研发。只要把对手的新产品买一套,做逆向工程,就可以开发出自己的新产品。实际上逆向工程会比自己开饭来得复杂, 花费更高。
整个NSA的工程师都没有整个Cisco的那么多,又没有Cisco产品的软件设计蓝图,任何修改都可能造成修改后的程式不工作!通讯设备的种类型号很多,程式都不一样,可以说有几百种以上。
所以这是不可能做到的!更不用舍近求远,只要与Cisco合作,甚至委托Cisco附加隐藏的监听软件,就变得很简单。因为监听软件是CALEA的要求,把这功能隐藏起来,装到出口的设备上,一手由CISCO包办,就变得太简单!
C。最重要是通信设备的软件是可以更新的,是常常更新的,因为软件常常会有意想不到的Bug(错误), 所以必须更新。也可能是新增加功能所以需要更新。这更新是可以在当地的电信局里或透过互联网, 又Cisco远端更新。
所以即使NSA官员私自拆箱,灌进自行篡改植入的软件,在未来软件更新的过程当中也会失去,换回Cisco原本无毒, 无间谍软件的。 NSA岂不是白做工了吗?
移动5G的重要性是不可以否认的。由于通讯的速度增加,未来的应用会更广,更深入消费者家庭。比如用来控制机器人,家用电器和灯光,无人驾驶的更改路线和目的地。这无疑要更依赖大数据库,也更好成为收集情报的来源。各国情报机构无疑想要掌握这样的数据库,可以知道个人的行程和作息时间。 各国政府在自己的管辖范围内这么做也许无可厚非,但若是要强加在别人的领土上,这就是违反国际法,是间谍的行为。而且是非常不道德的,因为这是利用民间企业当作间谍的工具!
总结:
为了监控全球,收集情报,收集商业机密,科技机密,美国政府 利用微软,谷歌,亚虎,脸书,Cisco的设备,数据库,个人档案资料库,进行无差别的收集,扫描和分析,收集情报,收集商业,军事和科技机密。利用个人能计算机,利用电信局的交换机,路由器等设备,在互联网上到处安置间谍软件。
如果华为的设备, 被全世界电信局广为接纳,美国就没有能力安装间谍软件。达不到可以监视监听世界上任何一部电脑上互联网,搜索,浏览和通讯的资料。任何一部手机,传真都必须经由交换机。 所以华为的设备阻挡了美国在全球电信设备的非法入侵,安置间谍软件的行为i。这是破坏美国的利益!Five Eyes国家一同抵制华为的设备,就是相同的原因!这五个国家,违反国际法,在全世界从事间谍和非法监听活动,所以必须抵制中国华为的设备。
若是这五个国家的电信公司都开始采用华为的设备,就阻挡了政府的监听行为。因为华为出口的设备,不会隐藏监听的软件。美国NSA也很难植入间谍软件到华为设备的系统程式里,最简单的方法就是禁止。禁止的表面理由是担心华为的设备被中国政府安置间谍软件。美国是做贼的喊抓贼!美国自己已经这么做,而且被抓包了!
真实的理由是华为的设备,美国NSA无法安装间谍软件,妨碍美国收集自己国民的情报,也妨碍美国收集世界各国采用华为设备的国家的情报!所以必须找理由清除!
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参考:
The Five Eyes, often abbreviated as FVEY, is an anglophone intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. These countries are parties to the multilateral UKUSA Agreement, a treaty for joint cooperation in signals intelligence.[1][2][3]
In the late 1990s, the existence of ECHELON was disclosed to the public, triggering a major debate in the European Parliament and, to a lesser extent, the United States Congress. As part of efforts in the ongoing War on Terror since 2001, the FVEY further expanded their surveillance capabilities, with much emphasis placed on monitoring the World Wide Web. The former NSA contractor Edward Snowden described the Five Eyes as a "supra-national intelligence organisation that does not answer to the known laws of its own countries".[6] Documents leaked by Snowden in 2013 revealed that the FVEY have been spying on one another's citizens and sharing the collected information with each other in order to circumvent restrictive domestic regulations on surveillance of citizens
ECHELON network disclosures (1988–2000)[edit]
By the end of the 20th century, the[color=#f00][b] ECHELON surveillance network[/b][/color] had evolved into a global system capable of sweeping up massive amounts of private and commercial communications, including telephone calls, fax, e-mail and other data traffic. This was done through the interception of communication bearers such as satellite transmission and public switched telephone networks.[34]
The Five Eyes has two types of information collection methods: the [color=#f00][b]PRISM[/b][/color] program and the Upstream collection system. The PRISM program gathers user information from technology firms such as Google, Apple and Microsoft, while the Upstream system gathers information directly from the communications of civilians via fiber cables and infrastructure as data flows past.[citation needed] In 1988, Duncan Campbell revealed in the New Statesman the existence of ECHELON, an extension of the UKUSA Agreement on global signals intelligence [Sigint]. The story, 'Somebody's listening,' detailed how the eavesdropping operations were not only being employed in the interests of 'national security,' but were regularly abused for corporate espionage in the service of US business interests. The piece passed largely unnoticed outside of journalism circles.[35] In 1996, a detailed description of ECHELON was provided by New Zealand journalist Nicky Hager in a book titled "Secret Power – New Zealand's Role in the International Spy Network", which was cited by the European Parliament in a 1998 report titled "An Appraisal of the Technology of Political Control" (PE 168.184).[36] On 16 March 2000, the Parliament called for a resolution on the Five Eyes and their ECHELON surveillance network, which, if passed, would have called for the "complete dismantling of ECHELON".[37]
XKeyscore (XKEYSCORE or XKS) is a formerly secret computer system first used by the United States National Security Agency for searching and analyzing global Internet data, which it collects on a daily basis. The program has been shared with other spy agencies including the Australian Signals Directorate, Canada's Communications Security Establishment, New Zealand's Government Communications Security Bureau, Britain's Government Communications Headquarters, Japan's Defense Intelligence Headquarters and the German Bundesnachrichtendienst.[1]
PRISM – Operated by the NSA together with the GCHQ and the ASD[53][54]
XKeyscore – Operated by the NSA with contributions from the ASD and the GCSB[55]
Tempora – Operated by the GCHQ with contributions from the NSA[56][57]
MUSCULAR – Operated by the GCHQ and the NSA[58]
STATEROOM – Operated by the ASD, CIA, CSE, GCHQ, and NSA[59]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Eyes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XKeyscore
In Letter to Obama, Cisco CEO Complains About NSA Allegations
https://www.recode.net/2014/5/18/11627004/in-letter-to-obama-cisco-ceo-complains-about-nsa-allegations
Snowden: The NSA planted backdoors in Cisco products
'No Place to Hide,' the new book by Glenn Greenwald, says the NSA eavesdrops on 20 billion communications a day -- and planted bugs in Cisco equipment headed overseas
https://www.infoworld.com/article/2608141/internet-privacy/snowden--the-nsa-planted-backdoors-in-cisco-products.html
Backdoors Keep Appearing In Cisco's Routers
by Lucian Armasu July 19, 2018 at 10:00 AM - Source: Cisco Tools
Over the past few months, not one, not two, but five different backdoors joined the list of security flaws in Cisco routers.
https://www.tomshardware.com/news/cisco-backdoor-hardcoded-accounts-software,37480.html
Obama administration spied on German media as well as its government
https://www.cnn.com/2015/07/03/politics/germany-media-spying-obama-administration/index.html
The NSA's Secret Spy Hub in Berlin
According to SPIEGEL research, United States intelligence agencies have not only targeted Chancellor Angela Merkel's cellphone, but they have also used the American Embassy in Berlin as a listening station. The revelations now pose a serious threat to German-American relations.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/cover-story-how-nsa-spied-on-merkel-cell-phone-from-berlin-embassy-a-930205.html
Huawei launches a charm offensive — but PR execs say it may face a 'literally impossible' task
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/21/huawei-goes-on-the-pr-push-to-fix-its-damaged-reputation.html
U.S. vs, Microsoft: Timeline
https://www.wired.com/2002/11/u-s-v-microsoft-timeline/
United States v. Microsoft Corporation, 253 F.3d 34 (D.C. Cir. 2001),[1] is a U.S. antitrust law case, settled by the Department of Justice (DOJ), in which the technology company Microsoft was accused of holding a monopoly and engaging in anti-competitive practices contrary to sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act.
The plaintiffs alleged that Microsoft had abused monopoly power on Intel-based personal computers in its handling of operating system and web browser sales (at the time web browsers were not freeware). The issue central to the case was whether Microsoft was allowed to bundle its flagship Internet Explorer (IE) web browser software with its Windows operating system. Bundling them is alleged to have been responsible for Microsoft's victory in the browser wars as every Windows user had a copy of IE.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Microsoft_Corp.
New York woman visited by police after researching pressure cookers online
Long Island resident said her web search history and 'trying to learn how to cook lentils' prompted a visit from authorities but police say search was prompted by tipoff
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/01/new-york-police-terrorism-pressure-cooker
Patriot Act
The USA PATRIOT Act is an Act of Congress signed into law by United States President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001.[1] With its ten-letter abbreviation (USA PATRIOT) expanded, the Act's full title is "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriot_Act
The USA Freedom Act (H.R. 2048, Pub.L. 114–23) is a U.S. law enacted on June 2, 2015 that restored in modified form several provisions of the Patriot Act, which had expired the day before. The act imposes some new limits on the bulk collection of telecommunication metadata on U.S. citizens by American intelligence agencies, including the National Security Agency. It also restores authorization for roving wiretaps and tracking lone wolf terrorists.[3][4] The title of the act originally was a ten-letter backronym (USA FREEDOM) that stood for Uniting and Strengthening America by Fulfilling Rights and Ending Eavesdropping, Dragnet-collection and Online Monitoring Act.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA_Freedom_Act
Evo Morales grounding incident
On 1 July 2013, president Evo Morales of Bolivia, who had been attending a conference of gas-exporting countries in Russia, gave an interview to the RT television network in which he appeared predisposed to offer asylum to Edward Snowden.[1] Snowden had fled the United States a month earlier after his disclosure of secret, widespread surveillance by the NSA, for which he faced criminal charges in the U.S..
Spain, France, and Italy (red) denied permission to cross their airspace. The plane landed in Austria (yellow)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evo_Morales_grounding_incident
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/23/edward-snowden-nsa-files-timeline
20 May Edward Snowden, an employee of defence contractor Booz Allen Hamilton at the National Security Agency, arrives in Hong Kong from Hawaii. He carries four laptop computers that enable him to gain access to some of the US government's most highly-classified secrets.
1 June Guardian journalists Glenn Greenwald and Ewen MacAskill and documentary maker Laura Poitras fly from New York to Hong Kong. They meet Snowden in a Kowloon hotel after he identifies himself with a Rubik's cube and begin a week of interviews with their source.
5 June The Guardian publishes its first exclusive based on Snowden's leak, revealing a secret court order showing that the US government had forced the telecoms giant Verizon to hand over the phone records of millions of Americans.
6 June A second story reveals the existence of the previously undisclosed programme Prism, which internal NSA documents claim gives the agency "direct access" to data held by Google, Facebook, Apple and other US internet giants. The tech companies deny that they have set up "back door access" to their systems for the US government.
7 June Barack Obama defends the two programmes, saying they are overseen by the courts and Congress. Insisting that "the right balance" had been struck between security and privacy, he says: "You can't have 100% security, and also then have 100% privacy and zero inconvenience."
The Guardian reports that GCHQ has been able to see user communications data from the American internet companies, because it had access to Prism.
8 June Another of Snowden's leaks reveals the existence of an internal NSA tool – Boundless Informant – that allows it to record and analyse where its data comes from, and raises questions about its repeated assurances to Congress that it cannot keep track of all the surveillance it performs on American communications.
9 June Snowden decides to go public. In a video interview he says: "I have no intention of hiding who I am because I know I have done nothing wrong."
10 June Snowden checks out of his Hong Kong hotel.
12 June Hong Kong's South China Morning Post publishes the first interview with Snowden since he revealed his identity. He says he intends to stay in the city until asked to leave and discloses that the NSA has been hacking into Hong Kong and Chinese computers since 2009.
14 June The Home Office instructs airlines not to allow Snowden to board any flights to the UK.
16 June The Guardian reports that GCHQ intercepted foreign politicians' communications at the 2009 G20 summit.
20 June Top secret documents published by the Guardian show how US judges have signed off on broad orders allowing the NSA to make use of information "inadvertently" collected from domestic US communications without a warrant.