Optic Nerve: millions of Yahoo webcam images intercepted by GCHQ




Britain's surveillance agency GCHQ, with aid from the US National Security Agency, intercepted and stored the webcam images of millions of internet users not suspected of wrongdoing, secret documents reveal.

GCHQ files dating between 2008 and 2010 explicitly state that a surveillance program codenamed Optic Nerve collected still images of Yahoo webcam chats in bulk and saved them to agency databases, regardless of whether individual users were an intelligence target or not.

In one six-month period in 2008 alone, the agency collected webcam imagery – including substantial quantities of sexually explicit communications – from more than 1.8 million Yahoo user accounts globally.

Yahoo reacted furiously to the webcam interception when approached by the Guardian. The company denied any prior knowledge of the program, accusing the agencies of "a whole new level of violation of our users' privacy".

GCHQ does not have the technical means to make sure no images of UK or US citizens are collected and stored by the system, and there are no restrictions under UK law to prevent Americans' images being accessed by British analysts without an individual warrant.

The documents also chronicle GCHQ's sustained struggle to keep the large store of sexually explicit imagery collected by Optic Nerve away from the eyes of its staff, though there is little discussion about the privacy implications of storing this material in the first place.......

www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/27/gc...mages-internet-yahoo

We're going to have to wear ultra-dark glasses, if that helps....

How many under 16yr olds have they captured. I will never use a webcam or microphone attached to my computer. Neither will I use a smartphone. I'ts bad enough that they can track our internet usage. Bastards the lot of em. At least barnfish is free.

chandrakavi wrote:
www.worldstarhiphop.com/videos/video.php?v=wshhGcfT8wF8VBPX9p6c

sanctumzone.co.uk/forum/member-s-fun-and...chatroom-update.html

Quality Street wrote: Do you smoke roll ups QS?

If so, when you get to the end of your Rizla papers take out that strip of cardboard and tape it over your laptop webcam and get bluetack to plug your microphone holes. Because these can be remotely switch on without your knowledge regardless of your Adobe settings (for video)
Also, believe it or not - if you plug in headphones/earplug they can also be used as a microphones to remotely monitor your house. Obviously if you use speakers just turn off the power and they can't be used.
Photographs taken on most digital cameras - either standalone - still/video cameras or phone embedded cameras will record the GPS location, when a picture was taken, and be included in the exif data for the photo. Example: Post a photo of a family gathering at your home and post it to Facebook without editing the exif data will allow anyone with the knowhow to determine where you live - to the nearest metre.
If you want to prevent this intrusive locating information - good luck - on most devices it will probably take a few hours to hunt around the device operating system in an attempt to turn it off...properly. Some newer devices have it hard coded into the chips to be activated in the future without you even knowing it.

Does all that sound like paranoia? Go check it out.....you will be surprised what you find.
That is why I urge people to start moving to devices that are controlled by open source software that any body who cares to can check for those sneaky little sub programs or built in back doors to your computers and devices that will leak your personal life to anybody with the cash to spend or spy agency to demand access to.

To expand on what I said in my post above.

Obviously, if you are a good citizen, with nothing to hide you will not come on the radar which will warrant this intimate monitoring and targeting of your personal life. After all, you are not a terrorist, are you?
Think again -friends.
Over the last decade or so new legislation has given a whole raft of govt, agencies, local govt and pseudo govt agencies the ability to apply for surveillance warrants on "average Joe" members of the public for pretty much any reason they consider worth investigating. This includes checking up on you to determine if you are in a school catchment area to how much and what type of rubbish you put in your bin.
Currently GCHQ and its partner agency the NSA circumvent national legislation by spying on each others civilian populations and snitching on them to each other. This treaty has been in place since the second world war, with obvious modifications and refinements since and includes the 5 amigos.
Fuck it - This post is going on a bit...If anyone is interested I'll do an extended article/thread if folks want more. I have Horlicks to drinnk

I'm interested. (Just not much time to contribute today).

They must have so many shots of my 'cum face'.

Lucky bastards.

Wise Haven wrote:
@Wise Haven - Taking bolded points in order:
Nah - I moved onto e-cigs year ago
I had no idea that was possible. I don't see how headphones can be used as a mike, but I would like to check that out if you have a link.
I don't use a laptop & have no webcam or speakers. I do use headphones though (without a mic).

My mobile is extreemly old (low end Nokia) - no camera or fancy functions such as internet access - just phone, texts & alarm clock. I never make calls on it or texts as I hate the bloomin thing - mobile's are so fiddly. I keep it charged though and take it with me when I'm out because my kids get very cross with me if I don't - in case I wander off in an old aged haze and get lost or something But I suppose thats a good idea, as I'm not as steady on my feet as I used to be. I do have a very basic digi camera that I use to photograph my carvings or anything I might wanna sell on ebay. I just checked out the exif data on one of my photos and it doesnt give any gps data only date and time photo was taken, so my camera is ok. I have no need to upgrade it as it does the simple job I bought if for, so it should see me out.

I hear what you are saying though - virtually all modern electronic devices can be used to track and spy on us. If they ever switch on a remote mic on my very old i-pod, all they will hear is snoring as I use it to listen to audio books in bed and I usually drop of after a chapter or so. Thank god I threw my telly out years ago. Only got my PC to worry about.

The headphone as a microphone thing is genuine QS.

A dynamic microphone has a diaphragm which moves with the incoming vibrations and transmits an electromagnetic signal.

A speaker is the same deal but in reverse, where the electromagnetic signal moves the magnets which is amplified by the speaker diaphragm.

Makes sense?

Here's a cross-section of a microphone


If you reverse the direction of the signal, you'd be looking at a speaker.

@feather
Thanks for the explanation. I get that a speaker is simply a microphone in reverse, but what I don't get is how the ptb can possibly use my headphones as a mic? How can they cause the signal to go in reverse? Or are you saying that they would have to stand outside my house and somehow pick up the vibrations from my headphones? That I can understand might be possible, but unlikely unless you are being specifically targeted, and if you were then I'm sure that there are easier ways to listen through my walls.

On the other hand, if you are saying that the sound output socket on my sound card on my PC can be remotely switched to allow signals both ways when I'm using my headphones, and that the signal inputed to my computer via this method can be remotely listened to, then I'm gobsmacked.

The exact methods they employ I'll admit to being ignorant of at this stage.
However, as most ports on pc's allow for 2 way communication, either continuous or software switched, I see no impediment to them being able to remotely route signals within your machine.
That is exactly how Plug&Play works for example.

I believe this is easier to imagine if you consider a laptop or hand-held device usually has inbuilt mic and speaker features.
Headphones while in use, (especially earbuds), would be next to useless for picking up room noise and spoken word.
That would be like placing a mic under a sofa cushion. The signal would be muffled way beyond legibility.

Headphones or earbuds plugged into a device but not actually being used, (lying on a desktop for instance), would be able to function as microphones though.

Let's be real, although this is factual, the quality drop-off is immense.

Thanks for the info feather - spot on as to what I was talking about.

All military communications equipment is tested periodically to check they do not "leak" anything which could be eavesdropped. All new equipment has to be designed to a rigorous standard at the design stage. This used to be called "Tempest" which recognised and tried to mitigate against the dangers I highlighted above.
Strictly speaking only Tempest authorized electrical equipment could be used in a secure communications environment - common knowledge and been around for decades.
In fact one of the easiest ways to snoop you is by your mains electrical supply - any equipment plugged into it can be snooped in one way or another. A good example is those plug in home network gadgets that let you use your ring main cabling instead of installing cat 5 ethernet cables.
All these tecniquues have been exploited for decades by countries spying on each other - only now they can do most of it remotely on average folk who happen to pop up on the radar.

You mentioned plug n play feather. Check your router/home gateway has it disabled otherwise you risk opening up a big hole for the internet to march through.
Regarding computer security I would recommend people move their OS to a Linux flavour...Ubuntu is a good starting point for newbies. Andy H is probably the expert on this.
I don't know how it happened but I got a shock one day when I heard myself on my earplug. I had one in my ear and the one not in my ear and dangling down, was acting as a microphone. Probably just crossover - which can happen when the volume is up high. But it illustrates the principal

Not GCHQ but more on the theme of how privacy in your own home faces yet another attack - this time from smart meters.
Humanity vs Insanity episode 5

Wise Haven wrote:
To add to that, there is a great documentary called, "Take Back Your Power."
Website

And I'm sure if you look hard enough, you'll find the documentary online