If you build it (in the ‘cloud’) they will come… and give the government access when they ask.

Microsoft has managed to do what a roomful of secretive, three-letter government agencies have wanted to do for years: get the whistleblowing, government-document sharing site Cryptome shut down.

Microsoft dropped a DMCA notice alleging copyright infringement on Cryptome’s proprietor John Young on Tuesday after he posted a Microsoft surveillance compliance document that the company gives to law enforcement agents seeking information on Microsoft users.
[…]
The Microsoft Online Services Global Criminal Compliance Handbook (.pdf) also goes so far as to provide sample language for subpoenas and diagrams on how to understand server logs.

Other things you might not know and which Microsoft (sometimes oddly) doesn’t want you to know? [… If] you like to use Microsoft’s social networking products — like its old-school Group mailing list or its Facebook-like Spaces product, be aware that it’s very social when it comes to law enforcement or court subpoenas.
[…]
The compliance handbook is just the latest in a series of leaks of similar documents from other companies.
[…]
But hypocrisy is the name of the game for giant internet companies like Yahoo, Microsoft and Google that want us to entrust large portions of our lives to Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Buzz, Xbox, Hotmail, Messenger, Google Groups. When it comes to the most basic information about how, why and how often our data is subpoenaed and collected without our knowledge, these online innovators resort to lawyers, abusive legal process and double-talk.




  1. Ah_Yea says:

    So much for cloud computing.

  2. Improbus says:

    Your freedom is an illusion … move along.

  3. Me-Mongo says:

    Hey Uncle Dave,
    I think you mean DMCA, not DCMA.

    [Fixed. Thanks! — UD]

  4. GetReal says:

    Technology, in itself, is value neutral. The people who use are not.

    There’s an old, true, saying:
    “If anything can be used for sex it will be, and for more people than the original intended use.”

    The new saying could go something like this:

    “If anything can be used for bad purposes by governments or outlaws it will be, and for more damaging applications than originally intended.”

    Eternal vigilance is he price of liberty.

  5. Winston says:

    In James Bamford’s book on the NSA, “The Shadow Factory,” it was revealed that the creation of the new 1,500 person, 470,000 sq ft NSA Texas Cryptological Center in San Antonio, TX was confirmed as being a certainty immediately after Microsoft announced it would be building it’s 470,000 sq ft cloud computing facility only a few miles away. Share the pipes it is.

  6. dusanmal says:

    One more reason for what I claim will dominate “cloud” as spoken about nowadays: “personal cloud”…Data you have stored at home on cheap, powerful network shared storage, not using service of others.

  7. Winston says:

    So, the tools of a total police state are already in place. Now, it’s just a matter of time.

  8. B.Dog says:

    What they’ll find is that there are 300 million redundant life stories.

  9. Chris Heath says:

    Looks like Cryptome is back up on a new host!

    http://cryptomeorg.siteprotect.net/

    found via digg: http://digg.com/d31Jutf?t

  10. HeeHee says:

    Thank goodness nobody posted one of those stupid “if you haven’t done anything wrong, you have nothing to hide” comments

    YET!

  11. Russ says:

    Microsoft has withdrawn their complaint and cyrptome is back up.

  12. NelsonOH says:

    Did anyone really think placing one’s data in the hands of another was a great idea? It’s hard to imagine anyone who’s tech savvy doing this.

  13. deowll says:

    I suspect most of us could be easily hacked with a subpoena if they didn’t just open the door using a lock smith and help themselves without our knowing what happened. If a decent hacker has physical access to the drive they can get the data.

    Nothing we do on line is private and if they want it nothing we do at home is private. The police state is here. The only glitch for them is they still chock on the data.

  14. DMCANOW is a must have protection for those who want secure their content from piracy.

  15. i really dont know about this before but now i want to save my copyright website content


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