AT&T Seeks to Hide Spy Docs!

[AGENDA21]

AT&T is seeking the return of technical documents presented in a lawsuit that allegedly detail how the telecom giant helped the government set up a massive internet wiretap operation in its San Francisco facilities.

In papers filed late Monday, AT&T argued that confidential technical documents provided by an ex-AT&T technician to the Electronic Frontier Foundation shouldn't be used as evidence in the case and should be returned.

Snip..

AT&T's lawyers also told the court that intense press coverage surrounding the case, including Wired News' publication of Klein's statement, was revealing the company's trade secrets, "causing grave injury to AT&T." The lawyers argued that unsealing the documents "would cause AT&T great harm and potentially jeopardize AT&T's network, making it vulnerable to hackers, and worse."

http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,70650-0.html?tw=wn_index_2

[Kutjara]

1. Poor little AT&T

So complying with the law will 'cause grave injury to AT&T?' Poor babies! I guess they're so used to breaking it with impunity that having to obey is a real grind for them.

Someone needs to remind these shitbuckets that the liberty and personal security of Americans is worth a million AT&Ts. So they can just suck up the 'damage' and piss off.

[fasttense]

2. Imagine that, a corporation putting profits ahead of

American security. Who would of guessed it? I wonder if our corporate purchased legal system will buy it?

[DRoseDARs]

3. In a shear act of spite, the documents should be posted on the Internet...

Suck on that, AT&T. :thumbsup:

[Cobalt Violet]

5. That would be just and fitting.

:thumbsup:

Boo-Hoo AT$T

[acmejack]

4. Gee, ya think?

"would cause AT&T great harm and potentially jeopardize AT&T's network, making it vulnerable to hackers, and worse."

Hackers vindictive? Perish the thought...

[400Years]

6. .

.

[kentuck]

7. I can't prove it but what I think At&T did before their sale....

was to inflate their worth by claiming their more assets than they actually had. I don't know if anyone else had the same problem as I, but I got a bill from them saying I owed 867.00 right out of the blue! I asked for proof and tried for months to convince them that I owed them nothing. Finally, they shut me off without notice. I keep waiting to hear from them....

[OzarkDem]

21. Same thing

they "reactivated" an old phone number we had discontinued 4 years ago and started sending us bills for it. They're insisting that we still have the phone. I asked them to call the number themselves and see who answered. They said someone must have set up a new phone service with our name and address. I said it sounds more like they screwed up in their paperwork.


They're still insisting that the old phone number is ours and are now billing us for two accounts.

I guess this article means if I call the GOP controlled attorney general or public utilities commission in my state, nothing will happen.

[Ms. Clio]

8. Note that AT&T does not even deny that they are working with the NSA

to illegally wiretap Americans. According to Klein, AT&T has been shunting ALL telephone and internet traffic into NSA databases. It's an amazing story of secret rooms and lone whistleblowers, and they don't even try to deny it at all. Chilling.

"While AT&T's open filings did not confirm the details of Klein's statement, they did not dispute the legitimacy of his claims, and the company's filing included a sealed affidavit attesting to the sensitivity of the documents."

To me, anyway, this is HUGH 1!! I don't understand why it's not provoking more of a reaction.

[Marie26]

13. Me either

A few months ago, Bush & co. were saying that they "only" intercepted international calls to suspected Al-Queda operatives abroad. So, the rationale was, if you're not calling terrorists, you've got nothing to worry about. Many suspected that wasn't true. So, now we know that they are intercepting all international calls, & Internet traffic as well. The Bush Admin. was out-and-out lying to the American people. This is absolutely HUGH!!1! OMG! And it barely makes the papers. Why isn't this big news?

[AGENDA21]

14. I agree with ya...this should be getting more attention...

[TahitiNut]

9. Another example of entitlements trumping human rights.

This is the theme of corruption in our governing systems, where the government-created and enforced entitlements of wealth are afforded priority over 'inalienable' human rights. It's the moral equivalent of slavery - human rights for sale.

[KansDem]

10. So, AT&T wants privacy while it violates the privacy of its customers.

If THAT doesn't win the "hypocrisy of the year" award, nothing will...

[myrna minx]

11. You got that right.

Poor poor at&t and trade secrets. :cry:

[IndyJones]

18. Excellent point.

[Touchdown]

12. I work for them.

I passed the thread so far around. Not too many worker bees with me disagree with you guys. I'm ashamed my company would do this, and what's worse, I'm not suprised.:cry:

[Catrina]

15. I already told everyone I know about it so they could cancel their

AT&T accounts if they had one. Everyone was outraged so far ~ most did not have AT&T, those who have, are cancelling.

How dare they demand privacy for themselves when they violate the Constitutional right to privacy of customers who trusted them.

They deserve ZERO privacy now, and sorry you work for them, I don't want you to lose your job, but I hope the company is taken over by someone else. Whoever made this illegal decision needs to go and all their secret rooms ransacked and spy equipment destroyed, publicly preferrably to demonstrate that this is still a democracy.

[Touchdown]

16. LOL. It already was...SBC.

This happened under AT&T Corp., which is defunct. SBC/AT&T is now AT&T Inc. Who knows if it's still going on, but I wouldn't put it passed them.

As far as switching carriers are concerned, you're dodging at windmills, although the sentiment could give you comfort. Almost every phone call goes over AT&T's network, no matter who you make your checks out to. It's that vast and that large. Everybody else (yes, even MCI) pays us for access. MCI is our biggest customer.

I'm sure AT&T isn't the only Telecom pipe owner who has been doing this, it's just that one of our techs ended up being the whistleblower, and AT&T is the only one KNOWN do have done this right now. My only advice is to not call the west coast (San Francisco switch)

[IndyJones]

19. I will never, ever use AT&T again.

[Touchdown]

23. Hate to break it to you. You already do.

No matter who you pay, they pay AT&T for the use of the network, because none of them are large enough to handle the volume of traffic that AT&T's does. Make a long distance phone call, someplace along the line you'll most likely go through AT&T equipment.

Not being a billing customer is about as far as you can get.

[IndyJones]

17. Too bad now...they get what they get. Hopefully they'll get whate

they deserve for that.

[lpbk2713]

20. It's those same 'trade secrets' that are the problem

And they need to be brought to the light of day.









We don't have to tell you anything. We are the Telephone Company.

[htuttle]

22. Make them vulnerable to hackers? LOL!

Phreakers have been hacking ATT since they started running Cosmos on the mainframe -- decades ago...

[me b zola]

24. come on, At&T, we wanna know if Osama has been calling YOU

"Terrorist survailence program" my ass!

[iconoclastNYC]

25. If some information makes thier network vulnerable

Then they need to fire thier security people.

Security thru obscurity is not security.