Canada's 'super secret spy agency' is releasing a malware-fighting tool to the public

What a nice gesture but, call me cynical because I'm old enough to know that you don't ever get something for nothing. So, I wonder what personal data this free gift is really mining for?

Yeah I was wondering the same thing

From the article: They put the source code on GitHub (a place to store freely available code), so you can browse the code for yourself and see what it does.

https://bitbucket.org/cse-assemblyline/

You can even compile it yourself from that source code.

Trust is earned! And they took a small step by doing this.

It is in the governments interest that people?s systems are malware free, bills and taxes are often paid online and so is many other forms of commerce. It would be real nice if something like that were done in my country .

Ok that's fine for you to say but let's face I can't. Last time I knew what a program was doing there were punch cards involved

Ok that's fine for you to say but let's face I can't. Last time I knew what a program was doing there were punch cards involved

Your apprehension is warranted. I thought the same thing when I read this news. But I use Git and GitHub often, and I use a lot of open source software, so it makes me a bit more at ease. If you have an Android phone, you use Open Source too.

And I started in the punch card era too. Then they got those fancy line printers!

Are you under the illusion you HAVE any personal data that isn't already in the files of everyone who wants it? Everything you do on-line is in the hard drive of your ISP. Google and Facebook record everywhere you go, everything you buy, and everything you say and everyone you know. And by the way, have you seen the new free app for your phone that turns the screen a pretty shade of blue? All you have to do is download it and oh, by the way, give it access to your location, your email, your texts, your pictures, your friends, and your dick size. So far, a billion people have downloaded it. But it's only the first week.....

All your personal information stopped being personal years ago.

Are you under the illusion you HAVE any personal data that isn't already in the files of everyone who wants it? Everything you do on-line is in the hard drive of your ISP. Google and Facebook record everywhere you go, everything you buy, and everything you say and everyone you know. And by the way, have you seen the new free app for your phone that turns the screen a pretty shade of blue? All you have to do is download it and oh, by the way, give it access to your location, your email, your texts, your pictures, your friends, and your dick size. So far, a billion people have downloaded it. But it's only the first week.....

All your personal information stopped being personal years ago.


Not me....I still use two cocoa tins and a piece of string.

Not me....I still use two cocoa tins and a piece of string.

^^

Only the information I post online is not mine. Which is very little. I don't put apps on my phone, and 'location services' is turned off.

The machines I use to keep my personal information on are not internet connected.

So? Ever applied for a loan? Then Equifax probably had your data and by now someone else does. Ever had a job? The poorly paid clerks in the payroll office have all your data everywhere you've ever worked. Do you have one of those loyalty points cards? Even if you don't, your bank/credit card company know everything you've bought on either. You think they keep it safe? Your insurance company has all your health records. I'm sure we can rely on them to keep them safe - just like Equifax.Your ISP or your cable company also know every porn site or video you've looked at or every sex toy you've ordered, just like your library knows every book you've read.

And they're going to keep them safe? The NSA got hacked. What chance does your library have?

So? Ever applied for a loan? Then Equifax probably had your data and by now someone else does.

I pay cash. Doesn't stop Equifax though. I'm a bit opponent of their business model, simply from a privacy standpoint.



No, they have very little of my data. They have my name, DOB and SIN. No one else has my SIN, and I generally use a different name outside of work.



Nope. And banks don't know what I buy, anymore than the grocery store knows my bank account details. Interac cards carry no personal information, unless they are embossed with your name. Mine isn't.



Yup. Another thing I think is anti-privacy. But it is critical to their business models to keep that data safe, so it generally isn't accessible via the internet.



Nope. VPN Baby! And I don't really care if the Library knows what I read.



Not exactly classified information there. If you want to know, there is a thread about what everyone reads here. Just ask.

Data analysis and threat mitigation are my job. Trying to bait me or whatever you are trying to do won't be successful. I've been in this profession too long to fall for conspiracy BS, false information and half truths. The truth is actually scarier that you might know.

On a daily basis, me and my colleagues keep the bad guys out of the Governments' tax files. And you know how we do that? Tight ass security. Analyzing every packet of data that comes in and out of our systems. Making sure that no personal data ever crosses the boundary between our internal and external networks.

But there is an entire industry out there that ties together the little tidbits people leave around the internet. "What Your Mothers Maiden Name Says About You" and other clickbait goes into huge databases, and everyone has a file in these DBs. Equifax, Home Depot, Target, Yahoo - all these hacks only enhance the data, but they are just a small part of if.

Why do you think I post here, using a proxy and a Virtual Machine that I create every day then destroy at night?

THen you're missing all the fun. If I so much as mention I own a Jeep on the forum I get bomabarded with Jeep ads like I buy cars as one buys milk and bread. I avoid the Hotties of the Day so there aren't 12,000 Russian Singles popups on the laptop.

I'm surprised that as I'm a fan of all those WWII history sites that AM General isn't calling my home phone every day to sell me a tank!

You paid cash for your house? Your car?



And address, and income, family information, in some cases drivers license, the names of your previous employers...



The computer knows everything you buy on your debit/credit cards. In the former case it might only be a cash amount, but it's attached to a code back at the store you bought it, and those accounts can be accessed



Why would I try to bait you? I don't know you from Adam. I'm simply pointing out that for the vast, vast majority of people, worrying about the 'guberment' getting hold of privacy information is ludicrous. These same people happily give all their information out in exchange for a free app on their phones, and the rest of their data is widely stored in any number of files which are probably not nearly as carefully protected as people would like to think.



What conspiracy BS, false information or half truths have I posted?



Uhm, you don't. I'm pretty sure CRA STILL can't say for a certainty they've cleared out the Chinese government hackers who shut them down a couple of years back. And then there's the simple expedient of having your girlfriend join CRA as a clerk - as the Hells Angels did, or simply bribing people in CRA.

I basically assume that the Chinese, Russians, Americans, and for all I know the North Koreans have full and complete access to everything on every government of Canada computer, and read Trudeau's emails before he gets them.



Because you're a paranoid?

I worked followups to the last Census, was amazed at people who were ready to refuse to fill it out. Explained to everyone with the short form they regularly gave out more personal information to return a shirt or toy to a retailer. And no doubt some of them would run around buying and reading off iTunes numbers to some stranger on the phone who said he was from the CRA.
I service a couple blockheads every goddam week who called the number that popped up saying their computer's infected and handed out name, address, phone number, credit card info....