How do we get in touch with the Co-operation to spread ideas? And also, does anyone have any thoughts on whether these and similar sights are monitered by the government or suchlike organisations? Of coarse I would expect the web to be a free place but a friend of mine at Womble action (the right to protect yourself by non_violent means in a protest situation) was quite concerned about web-spyers. It would be like China putting it's 50 year plans up on the net!
If you want to get in touch with the wombles you can e-mail them at
 wombles@hushmail.com

the other web address- El slut is my band.(sorry to plug!)

You wonder if sites like this and communications over the internet in general are monitored by state security apparatus? I assumed they are (and don't think I'm far from reality) so I just act accordingly.

Always a hot topic and often mention of tech security and computers will send people asleep in a few seconds - BUT this is an area of great importance that everyone should take a bit of time to educate themselves about - not the horrible complicated technical details but at least the basics.

There's a list of webpages at the bottom of this posting that are a good start point...

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Whenever considering these questions you have to consider the levels and types of information gathering available to the state, what resources they may justify employing and how critical the information in question is - whether that be time critical or other factors.

Below is an outline of the ways the state can monitor electronic information, it is not exhaustive but a brief snapshot of some of the issues - do not believe it until you have done your own research and cross checked the info with several 'reliable' sources since this is an area full of paranoia on incorrect information.


Webpages by their very nature (and including open email discussion or mailing lists) are open to everyone. That means cops and security services etc can read what is said, just like any other internet user.

So the question then is how many people can they justify sitting infront of computers reading all the webpages and email lists? - A limited number really if you're talking about the police. This situation is often seen in the run up to large demonstrations - for instance Mayday this year, where many press articles have made reference to police 'monitoring' electronic traffic - which will mostly mean looking at a few websites and reading mailing lists to try and get some idea of what's going on.

Beyond this level of information the state may then wish to find out who is behind a website or a specific email - the state can apply to the Internet Service Provider that was used to transmit the information asking them to reveal all the information they have on that user (eg sign up details, telephone number used to connect to the internet etc) - see  http://uk.indymedia.org/display.php3?article_id=1413 for some recent reports on the police doing this under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIP).

Under RIP, the state can also request that all future communications of that user be monitored.
NB also under RIP it appears that simply attending an illegal demonstration could give them the right to request this.

NB there are ways to protect yourself from such monitoring - see links below.

Beyond this simple approach there exist automatic monitoring systems run by the security forces that allow for huge amounts of communications to be monitored - these search out keywords according to an ever updated dictionary of target words. Communications are recorded with those that score high on target words being flagged for human attention.

If you really want to get paranoid then you may wish to worry about the level of security service involvement - recent press coverage has noted the involvement of MI5 in Mayday 2001 operations - the state in its more sinister guises has much greater electronic resources available than the domestic police units - see  http://uk.indymedia.org/display.php3?article_id=2675 for a recent call made in the House of Commons for more security service involvement in intelligence operations regarding protests (most domestic security services have an astounding history of violating individual rights to privacy and breaking domestic laws in their intelligence gathering, infiltration and subversion operations directed at radical political groups, from CND to Friends of The Earth).


ALWAYS ASSUME YOUR COMMUNICATIONS ARE MONITORED

USE ONLINE PRIVACY TOOLS - see the links below

USE CYBERCAFES


As to the specific point about 'publishing the 5 year plan' - well if you want to build large public support or large movements you have to be open and don't forget that actual human infiltration and intelligence gathering is still a prime source of information.

However we are currently seeing much wider co-operation between police forces and security services throughout the world to build intelligence networks and co-ordinate information gathering. You could see it as a game of leapfrog. The last few years have seen an explosion of electronic organising for large or global protests, things like the RIP act are part of the state response to this, as are the increasing budgets of what were small police cybercrime units, as well as the creation of new units. Use of encryption will increase leading to another session of technical leapfrog.

DONT BE PARANOID!

That's what they want. Remember most effective organising and solidarity building is done face to face, with human interaction. The net is good for information exchange and some sorts of top level co-ordination - be public in your aims - protect your own privacy if you want to - simple.

So switch off your computer go do something less boring instead! :)

LINKS

Activists guide to electronic security
(don't forget what you have on your hard drive!)
 http://security.tao.ca/

(EPIC) Electronic Privacy Information Centre
 http://www.epic.org/

EPIC Online Guide to Privacy Resources
 http://www.epic.org/privacy/privacy_resources_faq.html

EPIC Online Guide to Practical Privacy Tools
 http://www.epic.org/privacy/tools.html

Info on RIP Bill (UK)
 http://www.fipr.org

Privacy Campaigners (big brother awards)
 http://www.privacyinternational.org/

Electronic Frontier Foundation
 http://www.eff.org/

For a quick trip through the large intelligence gathering networks that exist globally check out this great thesis by Francisco Javier Bernal at  http://www.bernal.co.uk/

Here's the conclusion:

Big Brother Capabilities in an Online World
-STATE SURVEILLANCE IN THE INTERNET-
Conclusion. Solutions for citizen privacy

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world: indeed it's the only thing that ever does"
Margaret Mead


Every new technology in history has always first been introduced and (ab)used by the established powers, in support of their activities, particularly war and policing, and as an instrument of controlling public opinion and suppressing alternative thought and action. At the same time, every new medium has always and can always also be used as an instrument of liberation, better communication, alternative thought and action. Print was the first important example, the computer is the latest.

Even though, or rather because the computer networks are and will be used by the existing controlling powers, they must and will also be used by an increasing number of people against the powers, and no amount of electronic surveillance will stop that -apart form the fact that while surveillance is a reality no computer net is completely immune against it.

The PGP programme author, Philip Zimmermann, said "If privacy is outlawed, only outlaws will have privacy. Intelligence agencies have access to good cryptographic technology. So do the big arms and drug traffickers. So do defence contractors, oil companies, and other corporate giants. But ordinary people and local and alternative political organisations mostly have not had access to affordable ways of protect their privacy.[...] Privacy is a right like any other. You have to exercise it or risk losing it." Maybe, the only exit will be the use of cryptography, "the electronic envelope" that turns our electronic postcards into real private letters.