[kwlug-disc] Theme: You are not paranoid enough

[Mikalai Birukou]

=== Story (meanwhile in Belarus). ===

This spring-summer is a time, when cyber partisans in Belarus are 
carrying out operation "heat", exfiltrating all of data from KGB, police 
and agencies of similar ilk. An analogy in USA terms would be OPM hack, 
plus leak of content from Utah, plus things like DMV, passports, 
anything relating to populace control and enforcement.

Before going into politics, analysis of passport base gave true numbers 
about excess mortality. Regime in Belarus didn't introduce lockdown, 
only citizens pushed as much as possible awareness, going against 
misinformation and neglect by the regime. And death statistics is a 
state secret in Belarus (yup). In Canada excess deaths percent is 5% ( 
https://globalnews.ca/news/7687727/excess-deaths-coronavirus-canada-covid-19/ 
), in Belarus it is 25%. So, with all miss-haps here, lockdown(s) did 
save lives, in absolute terms, more than population of Stratford, ON. 
Back to politic-related things.

It is cute that everything is recorded. For example, there are 
recordings from inside agencies about illegal immigrants that have been 
bubbling in recent months on EU border. We can be sure that Merkel's 
briefings are filled with these scripts in addition to Latvia/Poland 
border videos. In more internal to Belarus examples, certain deaths of 
citizens can no longer be considered accidental. And in general, if 
anyone needs graphical and story-line illustrations in topic "fascism" 
there will be plenty of material to choose from.

On a technical note, Belarus has been mostly tapped by SORM. You've 
heard about SORM as Russia's KGB(FSB) system for tapping everyone, in a 
spirit of USA's Prism, and similar total-awareness programs.

So, cute/horrific recordings are from SORM, of course.

Partisans also see what is being recorded, cross-referenced. Among vpn, 
privacy settings, e-hygene, essential tip from partisans for protesters 
is "don't take smartphone, it leaves too many traces", as people are, 
quote "killed based on metadata". The system is overreaching, and is 
chilling.

Snowden's words are indeed true. All that stops an abuse, are the 
policies that may be different with the different party in power. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hLjuVyIIrs&t=697s

You don't have to image how abuse of system may unfold, it happens on 
the display in Belarus, its just that systems in use are called 
SORM-whatever, but they are based on same current shortcoming of tech. 
You don't have to imagine. And you are not paranoid enough.