Check the new logo - I think it nicely fits our Mission Statement.
29 May 2011
27 May 2011
While we're focused overseas...
...it doesn't hurt to keep an eye on what's going on in our backyard. Take a look at ReasonTV's video on the subject of recording public officials with handheld video devices (phones, MP3 players, plain-old cameras, etc).
It worries me that as we're pushing for transparency outside our borders, we might be losing some of it inside them.
Check the whole HOTAIR article on the subject. Well worth the time.
Exit question: As a responsible citizen, if you saw wrong-doing (or simply wanted to document a government official's actions) would you risk arrest or be meekly cowed?
26 May 2011
Map of the World - Internet Freedom Edition
So, as mentioned in an earlier post, I was considering creating a map detailing which countries restricted their citizenry to internet access through state-controlled ISPs. While not as specific or up-to-date as I'd like, Wikipedia provides a rough idea. Guess which region of the world contains the most areas considered "Internet black holes" by Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans Frontieres, RSF)?
According to RSF, a black label on the map means "Heavy Surveillance" by the state - see the full Wiki article on Internet Censorship for a fuller explanation - on their aptly named "Enemies of the Internet" list, which includes:
According to RSF, a black label on the map means "Heavy Surveillance" by the state - see the full Wiki article on Internet Censorship for a fuller explanation - on their aptly named "Enemies of the Internet" list, which includes:
- Burma
- China
- Cuba
- Iran
- North Korea
- Saudi Arabia
- Syria
- Turkmenistan
- Uzbekistan
- Vietnam
From my understanding, a good number of nations that didn't make the list aren't all that cyber-friendly either. Supposedly, Libya labored to prevent ALL internet access and Egypt heavily censored content (literally "pulling the plug" on the Internet recently - more on that in a later post). Those situations may have changed somewhat in light of recent events, but it is still chilling to consider a government that is willing and able to deny internet communication to its citizens. Transparency, as they are aware, is an existential threat to their ability subjugate the people living within their borders.
Burma represents a nearly unique case (also the subject of an upcoming post). Ruled by a brutal military junta, Burma/Myanmar is one of the most anonymously repressive places on the planet. Between nuclear military ambitions, government-backed opium smuggling, human trafficking, and strangling censorship, Burma certainly may be one of the worst human rights offenders in the world. Strange that the media doesn't cover it more. If only more visibly interesting suffering were occurring, maybe the Western media would devote more time to the subject (to their credit, I'm not sure how whether it's even possible to get into Burma with a news team, but that's the point of this blog/organization, isn't it?)
24 May 2011
SecState Makes Comments Supporting O.S. Goals
In a recent Washington Post article, titled "Autocratic Regimes fight Web-savvy opponents with their own tools", Mary Beth Sheridan reported that Secretary Clinton has made comments in recent weeks that specifically legitimize the drive behind O.S:
In case you didn't read/don't plan to read the entire article (which I encourage you to do) here's another notable quote:
Exit question: To put it in terms that average, politically-engaged democratic citizens can relate to - if you knew that sending an email complaining about, oh, something like this, to your local school superintendent or hometown newspaper would result in increased police scrutiny focusing on your family, what would you do? Risk it to stand up for both common sense and basic freedom, or self-censor to protect your safety? Honest question, no right or wrong answers.
“In a number of countries, democracy and human rights activists and independent bloggers found their e-mails hacked or their computers infected with spyware that reported back on their every keystroke. Digital activists have been tortured so they would reveal their passwords”, she said last month. (Emphasis mine)Sounds like a clarion call for a method that wouldn't subject said democracy and human rights activists to repression, censorship, and torture, no? Would you be comfortable acting as a whistle-blower if your compatriots were being watched and abused? Perhaps an anonymous, self-perpetuating, peer-to-peer network would increase the confidence of dissidents and their willingness to report the gross excesses of their respective governments?
"For several years, Congress has given the State Department millions of dollars annually to provide technology to help activists evade Internet censorship by oppressive governments. But diplomats are increasingly realizing that the threat goes beyond blocked Web sites." (Emphasis mine)I can't judge the success or failure of that funding and the projects it supports (it may well have made disrupting dissident communication more difficult for those tasked with the duty), but I can say, given the nature of the information provided, that what our Department of State (and other involved agencies) is doing certainly isn't full spectrum and it isn't effective enough. One thing I took away from Red Team/Opposing Force training in the Army: never underestimate your opponents, and always learn from their successes and mistakes.
In case you didn't read/don't plan to read the entire article (which I encourage you to do) here's another notable quote:
“In the same way that, a few years ago, it became commonplace to talk about Web 2.0, we’re now seeing Repression 2.0,” said Daniel B. Baer, a deputy assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor. (Again, emphasis mine)Unfortunately, some Western companies have been all too happy to sell monitoring software and devices to bad actors (more on that in a later post). I'm working to develop a map of Middle Eastern countries that exclusively provide web access though nationalized or state-controlled ISPs (Internet Service Providers) - those providers most easily able to watch internet traffic surreptitiously, and doubly cursed as the most vulnerable to pressure by internal security services when "asked" for IP addresses and other digital identifying information. The data may already be available; I just need to sort and verify it. Expect the map posted by the end of the week, events permitting.
Exit question: To put it in terms that average, politically-engaged democratic citizens can relate to - if you knew that sending an email complaining about, oh, something like this, to your local school superintendent or hometown newspaper would result in increased police scrutiny focusing on your family, what would you do? Risk it to stand up for both common sense and basic freedom, or self-censor to protect your safety? Honest question, no right or wrong answers.
23 May 2011
About the Founder/Executive Director
Shortly after I reported to 3/17 Field Artillery Battalion (Fifth Brigade, Second Infantry Division, U.S. Army) I was offered a unique opportunity; one that drastically changed my beliefs and the course of my life.
Our brigade was searching for volunteers willing to participate in an intensive, eleven month experimental school - called the "Language-Enabled Soldier" program. Candidates had to meet certain criteria: A high score on the ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery - the test that determines which military careers are available to you), prior foreign language experience and/or completion of some college credit, and no significant disciplinary record. After a screening interview with my Lieutenant Colonel, I was accepted into the program.
The goal of the program was to produce soldiers proficient in intermediate Arabic language skills and cross-cultural interaction. This would ostensibly allow them to conduct combat translation and tactical questioning, as well as assist specialists in the intelligence collection/analysis and civil negotiation fields. Upon graduation, soldier-students were expected to act as trainers for key members in their respective military units.
The school building was a large, converted house; un-air conditioned and quite old. Inside, however, young infantryman, artillery specialists, intelligence analysts, and even cooks gathered in groups of seven or eight to study for nearly nine hours a day, four days a week. Friday classes were reserved for remedial training in the event that a soldier fell below the 70% passing threshold on the weekly examinations.
Each class had two primary teachers. Out of the dozen instructors, numerous nationalities were represented: Palestinians, Jordanians, Lebanese, Iraqis and Syrians. Amongst them, they were religiously divided; some Sunni, some Shia and some Sufi Muslims, and at least one Arab Christian - all of whom observed their faiths at different levels, in different ways.
My principal teacher (whom I'll refer to as "Hussam" to protect his privacy and family) had a degree in linguistics from Baghdad University. Alas, as Shia adherents under Saddam's Sunni regime, he and his family were targets for persecution by the government's various security services. Our teachers were to refrain from divulging much about their personal or political backgrounds, but over the countless hours we spent in that cramped, sweltering classroom our interactions began to grow. My relationship with Hussam started as strictly pedagogical, then moved to more of a mentor-ship, and finally, into a friendship from which we developed ideas for potential professional collaboration.
He described the horrors that the Ba'athist regime had inflicted upon him, though without the bitterness that I felt he was duly entitled. He explained the government's reaction to his older brother's outspoken criticisms: summary execution. He detailed his own conscription into the Iraqi army; being incarcerated in military prison for insubordination, and the truly appalling treatment he received from his jailers. He told stories of his assignment (immediately preceding the coalition-led invasion in 2003) to an anti-aircraft cannon - "supervised" by an Iraqi Republican Guard sniper unit ensuring that he and his compatriots did not stray from their designated ten by ten meter square area of operations surrounding the artillery piece - a veritable death sentence with a targeted air campaign imminent. Needless to say, he escaped, and found refuge working for the American military before re-settling his family in the United States.
Beyond his experiences, he relayed tales of Uday and Qusay Hussein - of wanton rape and murder, torture conducted for sport and amusement - unabashed, naked sadism and evil. Despite these atrocities, Hussam remained convinced that Iraqis (and by extension, peoples around the world) could be ensured some amount of safety and stability, so long as their government(s) could be rendered transparent and hence, accountable to their constituents. This experience, stretched over roughly a year, generated the interest and motivation for what would eventually become Operation: SearchLight and the WikiRights Initiative.
In the intervening time, I spent sixteen months at the U.S. Department of State working on a project centered around digital cryptography. During my time there, the now infamous WikiLeaks/classified diplomatic cables story broke. I'd long searched for a way to integrate my interest in Middle Eastern human rights advocacy with my experience as an encryption systems analyst, but it wasn't until the summer of 2011 that it dawned on me: technology and systems similar to WikiLeaks could empower foreign dissidents to pursue and document their struggles against oppression without fear of regime reprisal. Further, such a project could potentially open new avenues for promotion of the freedoms so clearly extinct in many dark places across the world.
Our brigade was searching for volunteers willing to participate in an intensive, eleven month experimental school - called the "Language-Enabled Soldier" program. Candidates had to meet certain criteria: A high score on the ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery - the test that determines which military careers are available to you), prior foreign language experience and/or completion of some college credit, and no significant disciplinary record. After a screening interview with my Lieutenant Colonel, I was accepted into the program.
The goal of the program was to produce soldiers proficient in intermediate Arabic language skills and cross-cultural interaction. This would ostensibly allow them to conduct combat translation and tactical questioning, as well as assist specialists in the intelligence collection/analysis and civil negotiation fields. Upon graduation, soldier-students were expected to act as trainers for key members in their respective military units.
The school building was a large, converted house; un-air conditioned and quite old. Inside, however, young infantryman, artillery specialists, intelligence analysts, and even cooks gathered in groups of seven or eight to study for nearly nine hours a day, four days a week. Friday classes were reserved for remedial training in the event that a soldier fell below the 70% passing threshold on the weekly examinations.
Each class had two primary teachers. Out of the dozen instructors, numerous nationalities were represented: Palestinians, Jordanians, Lebanese, Iraqis and Syrians. Amongst them, they were religiously divided; some Sunni, some Shia and some Sufi Muslims, and at least one Arab Christian - all of whom observed their faiths at different levels, in different ways.
My principal teacher (whom I'll refer to as "Hussam" to protect his privacy and family) had a degree in linguistics from Baghdad University. Alas, as Shia adherents under Saddam's Sunni regime, he and his family were targets for persecution by the government's various security services. Our teachers were to refrain from divulging much about their personal or political backgrounds, but over the countless hours we spent in that cramped, sweltering classroom our interactions began to grow. My relationship with Hussam started as strictly pedagogical, then moved to more of a mentor-ship, and finally, into a friendship from which we developed ideas for potential professional collaboration.
He described the horrors that the Ba'athist regime had inflicted upon him, though without the bitterness that I felt he was duly entitled. He explained the government's reaction to his older brother's outspoken criticisms: summary execution. He detailed his own conscription into the Iraqi army; being incarcerated in military prison for insubordination, and the truly appalling treatment he received from his jailers. He told stories of his assignment (immediately preceding the coalition-led invasion in 2003) to an anti-aircraft cannon - "supervised" by an Iraqi Republican Guard sniper unit ensuring that he and his compatriots did not stray from their designated ten by ten meter square area of operations surrounding the artillery piece - a veritable death sentence with a targeted air campaign imminent. Needless to say, he escaped, and found refuge working for the American military before re-settling his family in the United States.
Beyond his experiences, he relayed tales of Uday and Qusay Hussein - of wanton rape and murder, torture conducted for sport and amusement - unabashed, naked sadism and evil. Despite these atrocities, Hussam remained convinced that Iraqis (and by extension, peoples around the world) could be ensured some amount of safety and stability, so long as their government(s) could be rendered transparent and hence, accountable to their constituents. This experience, stretched over roughly a year, generated the interest and motivation for what would eventually become Operation: SearchLight and the WikiRights Initiative.
In the intervening time, I spent sixteen months at the U.S. Department of State working on a project centered around digital cryptography. During my time there, the now infamous WikiLeaks/classified diplomatic cables story broke. I'd long searched for a way to integrate my interest in Middle Eastern human rights advocacy with my experience as an encryption systems analyst, but it wasn't until the summer of 2011 that it dawned on me: technology and systems similar to WikiLeaks could empower foreign dissidents to pursue and document their struggles against oppression without fear of regime reprisal. Further, such a project could potentially open new avenues for promotion of the freedoms so clearly extinct in many dark places across the world.
Introduction to Operation: SearchLight
I'm pleased to introduce Operation: SearchLight's official blog. From here, we're going to be developing content, initiating technical research to support our mission, and filing for non-profit 501(c)(3) status.
The Mission Statement for Operation: SearchLight:
O.S. strives to provide secure, anonymous, digital reporting mechanisms allowing foreign nationals fighting government repression, censorship, and human rights abuses to do so without fear of reprisal. O.S. will collect, evaluate, and disseminate evidence of foreign government wrongdoing; ensuring that such information is directed to the appropriate American and international policy-makers and news reporting organizations.
The Mission Statement for Operation: SearchLight:
O.S. strives to provide secure, anonymous, digital reporting mechanisms allowing foreign nationals fighting government repression, censorship, and human rights abuses to do so without fear of reprisal. O.S. will collect, evaluate, and disseminate evidence of foreign government wrongdoing; ensuring that such information is directed to the appropriate American and international policy-makers and news reporting organizations.
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