BULLRUN: The “Secret” Not-So-Secret Program to Decrypt Your So Called “Encrypted” Data and Online Communications

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Every now and then we all hear of a new “government program” that looks to circumvent the judicial and/or constitutional protections provided to ordinary citizens and “Bullrun” appears to be one such program. In concert with other governments around the world, including the United Kingdom, the United States has either fully developed or is in the process of developing a robust set of tools to decrypt your encrypted data without the need of a court order or “probable cause”. And while there are rumors that certain hardware and software companies provide “backdoors” into your encrypted world, there is also plenty of evidence to suggest that they don’t need to do this because governments have figured out workarounds.

There is an old saying that goes, if you have nothing to hide, then hide nothing at all. And I certainly believe there is something to this saying. However, with corruption as it exists today in some of the highest places of our world governments, we must be weary of simply handing over our data and/or allowing for governments to breach our privacy without the protections afforded to us by world constitutions. There should be checks and balances and not just a wholesale “information grab” when it comes to your private communications and data. After all, context is everything. Just think for a minute. What if someone were to seize YOUR personal data and/or communications? That innocent phone call or that innocent document you may have, may suddenly play a great role in your persecution. Something that you intended in innocence and is factually innocent is now suddenly a “dagger” being used by a powerful adversary with unlimited resources to “convict” you for something you have no knowledge of and/or for something unrelated to you. And all of this is due to someone having unlimited access to your encrypted data and/or communications.

There are very few news stories on Bullrun. This is why you need to know all about it and bring this clandestine program into the light…

https://www.propublica.org/article/the-nsas-secret-campaign-to-crack-undermine-internet-encryption

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