Pakistan To Start Monitoring All Emails, Phone Calls & 'Other Communications' With Foreigners
from the for-whose-safety? dept
You may remember that, a year ago, Pakistan announced they were banning encryption online. Not that any such ban would likely to be effective, but it seems to fit in with the claim that the government has told PTCL, the Pakistani telco, that within 90 days it must monitor basically all communications that go across the Pakistani border:
All emails, telephone calls and other communications with the rest of the world will begin to be monitored within 90 days at a cost of million of dollars, according to a deadline given by the government to operators including PTCL.
The government has assigned PTCL and other operators to install monitoring equipment by the end of this year for checking voice and email communications from abroad and the services of the country’s spy agency will be used basically to check and curb blasphemous and obscene websites on the Internet.
Yeah, sure, just to “curb blasphemous and obscene websites.” I’m sure all that monitoring won’t be abused otherwise at all… right? Somehow, despite that earlier ban, I’m guessing that encryption technologies just became a lot more popular in Pakistan.
Filed Under: encryption, monitoring, pakistan, surveillance
Companies: ptcl
Comments on “Pakistan To Start Monitoring All Emails, Phone Calls & 'Other Communications' With Foreigners”
Relevant
ah-hem: “For the children!“
How long before this is condemned by the US even though every man and his dog knows that they have erotic dreams about doing this?
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You think they only dream about doing this? It’s probably been standard practice since the 90’s.
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@ #2
the US is already doing it. what on earth makes you think they are not?
So someone can simply spam every Pakistani email address they can find with messages containing threats to Islam and the Pakistani government and sit back and watch as the system implodes (or they just institute martial law).
So, they’re catching up to the us in the US.
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it’s US in the us
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Where do you think they got the idea?
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Catching up? If Pakistan can do it for “a cost of million of dollars,” then they are well beyond us. The NSA spends billions on the same thing.
So...
Pakistan’s version of SOPA?
That's It! No More Pakistani Contacts!
Dear friends of mine in Pakistan. I am sorry, but due to your countries abusive policy, I will no longer be able to communicate with you via email. Please look to the west for my smoke signals.
(I suspect this is exactly the way folks outside of our country look at us):(
Re: That's It! No More Pakistani Contacts!
I see smoke rising to the west! Oh wait, that’s Afghanistan. Time to get a nice VPN set up
Well, here's a bit of similar news from my bookmarks.
http://www.activistpost.com/2011/11/senator-lieberman-urges-google-to.html
Yes, it’s old. No, it’s not the same scale (yet), but the basic intent is the same. One should for a moment ponder just exactly how this would work in practice, the massive effort for just that one host, who decides when it’s “too” radical, how casually Lieberman proposes unconstitutional censorship — and most importantly, how he seems to view Google as having that mission.
And that’s why ya can’t scare me with foreign stories, Mike. I don’t worry about furriners when there are already rabid fascists in DC.
Re: Well, here's a bit of similar news from my bookmarks.
I’m going to attempt to answer logically, even though I know that to be pointless with OOTB.
This article isn’t meant to scare anyone, it’s meant to point out an egregious violation of human rights. It’s also meant to point to something that we all know the US wants to do and basically shout “THIS IS WHY YOU DON’T DO IT.”
All we can do is watch as this fails miserably in Pakistan and hope that others are paying attention and decide not to do the same thing.
is that… a million dollars a day? i mean… if you can tap/read/analyze/use every bit of digital information passing through pakkistan, for a million flat…how much communication could you realistically be talking about?]
i suspect this will fail miserably at catching any but the lowest of low hanging fruits.
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“i suspect this will fail miserably at catching anything.(period!)
There, FTFY!
sanwal
hi
sanwal
hi
Snail Mail Time?
Given the capacity and size of flash memory devices, the stuff that would upset the authorities could be easily got in and out by snail mail and sneaker net. Depending on internal monitoring, it may be useful to arrange Email collection and distribution, so that Email crosses the border on physical media. The original computer networking like Fidonet and UUCP can be made to work with a link or two that relies on physical media transfer.
Bwahahahaha! I see what you did there.
Or maybe such a thing starting out as is does, as an abuse, might accidentally one day be used for something legitimate. Who can tell?
any country that isn’t already doing this, or at least says it isn’t already doing this, will be condemning Pakistan while at the same time enabling all that is needed to do the exact same thing. the only difference is their own people will be monitored as well as the ‘foreigners’!
I think they should create a “Mohammed seal of approval” so the poor Pakistani people will know before hand that determined content is actually blessed by Allah. You know, sort like the ESRB. It’d go like that:
A – Allah directly recommends it. You MUST watch/read/whatever (applies to the Koran for instance)
M – Mohammed approves, you may watch/read/whatever
P – Mohammed kind of approves but the Government doesn’t like it. Proceed with caution
I – Infidel generated content. You’ll be stoned to death if you keep reading/watching/whatever. Proceed at your own risk.
Sounds about right.
Nice work
What they are doing they are doing some unethical things which is not good and reading private emails will hearts lots of people.
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first correct yourself(Pakistan)
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The Pakistan violating the ceasefire in the border of kishtwar, LoC and infiltrating the terrorists in to the India is very shameful. There is a vast proof in regarding to the act done by the Pakistan army with support of terrorists and pak government. Even the top terrorists LeT leader Abdul karim Tunda is spilling a beans of all leading informations to the investigating agency in India. Even former Pakistan ISI chief Abdul Gul, Underworld Don Dawood Ibrahim with ISI cover is also working under the terrorists. Some of the Madrassas in Pakistan is owned by the terrorists leaders is used for recruiting, training poor & Illeterate childrens for terrorists and in dealing with arms and ammunitions. This shows that the Madrassas is not used for preaching Islamic purposes in Pakistan but only for terrorists organizations training. The killing of the Indian soldiers in an ambush in Indian territory, attack at yemen, attack at jalabad embassy and threatening entire nations by the terror outfit like Al-qaeda, JuD, Lashkar-e-Toiba, Hizbul Mujahideen, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Taliban, Mujahidin, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, etc., has become dangerous to the nations for attacks against innocent peoples of the country. We are calling for strong reactions against these terrorists from the nations. These has become serious incidents after killing and threatening the countries & attack against the innocent peoples. There are so many ceasefire violation from the Pakistan counterpart. Still it is on. We must message to Pakistan, afganisthan that these kinds of attacks will not be tolerated anymore. It is useless to debate the birth of Pakistan which is getting more radical and Talibanized. The attackers and terrorists are well trained in Pakistan with sufficient flow of fund, shelter and food from the Pakistan country itself. Pakistan terrorists are also using fake currency notes to smuggle to india and other parts also. Some of the terrorists is under the cover of ISI in Pakistan which has been proved by the agency. Everytime these incident happens, our country lodge protest. Now also pakistan have violated the ceasefire in LoC. But the pak has been in denial at every events. The Pakistan has become liar. Those countries who support the Pakistan will have to suffer in future by their own hand. Even the pak will spoil the neighbouring countries by making terrorism country. Pakistan is shed up in more light on the radicalization and methods of indoctrination and recruitment of more terrorists. Pakistan country is the godfather for spreading Islamic terrorism. The pak terrorists will sneak in your country also and make the environment of neighbor country very dirty. If pakistan is not creating terrorists/terrorism then from where terrorists are coming. Are they coming from heaven. Sufficient warn and advice had given from the neighbouring country but pak have not attempted to control the terrorists. Instead of they are encouraging them. Some of the terrorists leader like Mohd. Hafeez Saeed, has given VVIP security and sheltered in Pakistan. The Pakistan has supporting the terrorists groups. Those who give specific information nor behead the terrorists leaders like Mhd. Hafeez Saeed, Ayman ?al-Zawahri, Nasser al-wuhaysi, Taliban leaders must be given bounty to the informer. These crookes will poise entire nation. Instead it is better to eliminate these terrorists. I also came to know that some of the terrorists like Mohd. Hafiz
Saeed, osama bin Laden, Ayman-al-Zawahri were beggers and begging in the streets of North Waaristan. Later they became small time thieves. Now they are terrorists and treated as a VVIPs in Pakistan. These beggers are using as Jihadi. But in Pakistan they are not preaching islam. Instead of preaching Islam they are preaching terrorism. Actually Pakistan attack & crossing the LOC has now become a daily affair. Lodging a protest with Islamabad over the killings is the routine response,and it has been done. Countries must read the message of the killings carefully before it moves forward. Pakistan is already in deep crisis due to the coalition with the terrorists. The terrorists are ruling the Pakistan. The environment and conditions for peace are only going to get worse soon, with Afghan situation also becoming a factor in countries relations. It is time to teach fitting lesson to Pakistan, Afganistan. It is pakistan?s very old crooked practice to talk of peace and cooperation to be continuously carried on and then stab in India?s back frequently. The ISI, Army with terrorists of Pakistan is waging a war against the nations. Entire nation should be united in unison manner and to retaliate strongly and warn the Pakistan, Afganistan government. If we go by the past ISI?s track record it is certainly planned for the next five to ten years. The Taliban warning to pakistan government in regarding not to kill militants is nothing but a warning to a global terror. Entire militants should be killed without any mercy and their dead bodies should be thrown to the seashore without handing to their families. Just like the what the Terrorists Osama Bin Laden Fate occurred. Militants should not be given any mercy. What is jihad? Whether it terms to kill innocent people according to the terrorists? The Militants are fools. The Militants will not learn anything unless they are killed, as all the militants/ terrorists head are filled with cow dung. The countries like US, China must seriously engage with India and other global powers so that they could rein in Pakistan diplomatically. The US forces/Nato-led combat troops should not be withdrawn until all the terrorists groups have been dismantled nor eliminated. The terrorists/ militants should be eradicated from the earth. Till that drone attack or launch attack must be proceeded wherever the terrorists has been sheltered in Pakistan, Afghanistan land. Pakistan is ruling with the support of terrorists. The terror groups are funded with the currency which is from Hawaala. The Reserve Bank should keep a vigil on money/monetary flow from one account to another. We have to improve our own surveillance.
We all the countries should gather and must re-group, unite to fight against terrorists/terrorism and should give them a telling blow.
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Alishan Mughal