Posted on 02/03/2017 9:19:59 AM PST by shove_it
Federal employees worried that President Donald Trump will gut their agencies are creating new email addresses, signing up for encrypted messaging apps and looking for other, protected ways to push back against the new administration’s agenda.
Whether inside the Environmental Protection Agency, within the Foreign Service, on the edges of the Labor Department or beyond, employees are using new technology as well as more old-fashioned approaches — such as private face-to-face meetings — to organize letters, talk strategy, or contact media outlets and other groups to express their dissent.
The goal is to get their message across while not violating any rules covering workplace communications, which can be monitored by the government and could potentially get them fired.
At the EPA, a small group of career employees — numbering less than a dozen so far — are using an encrypted messaging app to discuss what to do if Trump’s political appointees undermine their agency’s mission to protect public health and the environment, flout the law, or delete valuable scientific data that the agency has been collecting for years, sources told POLITICO.
Fearing for their jobs, the employees began communicating incognito using the app Signal shortly after Trump’s inauguration. Signal, like WhatsApp and other mobile phone software, encrypts all communications, making it more difficult for hackers to gain access to them...
(Excerpt) Read more at politico.com ...
NSA? Yep, bad actors in this agency are probably the ones leaking transcripts of Trump’s calls with foreign leaders to the media!
Correct. When I worked at NASA we were told no phone calls, no email, no text on devices. Even our personal written daily journals for work tasks, findings, directions, to do lists were all subject to FOIA.
Any matter that needed to be handles ‘sensitively’ was handled in person with no written record unless deemed needing to be elevated.
They are violating govt refs by doing this. Fire them all
Misappropriation of funds in any case: you can’t use government equipment for unauthorized activity.
Lay-off by seniority until the last Obama hire is gone.
First, fire everyone who has downloaded porn on their government computer. Apparently, this is a large number. If they still resist, move the agency out of D.C. to a red state, non-capital city.
As for the EPA, require all regulations to be based upon peer reviewed science with all data produced available to the public.
no ... most are civil service workers and protected by government unions ... that's the real problem
no ... most are civil service workers and protected by government unions ... that’s the real problem
And, government unions are allowed by Executive Order not law.
It already is illegal. The trick is proving what they are doing ID government business. They will use code talk like the Mafia.
And I recall Reagan breaking the air traffic controllers union....
Totally illegal. Against the public records act.
Feds sign forms stating that they understand that they cannot expect anything they do on government systems to be private. They also sign forms stating that they will not perform government work on unauthorized systems.
Thanks for adding that link and your comments. These traitors are following Hitlery’s precedent and consider themselves immune to prosecution.
Which essentially they are.
Prosecution can only happen as long as their employed. Once ‘fired’ apparently there is a loop hole that keeps them from being held accountable. Nice, uh?
The Federal Records Act, if violated in this way, does allow action to be taken against a government employee– but only administrative action. Both Clinton and Powell are not in office, so they can’t be punished. As for the Freedom of Information Act, there are sanctions provided under (a)(4)(F)(1), but again, those penalties only apply to someone who is still working for the federal government. http://lawnewz.com/high-profile/everyone-is-missing-the-most-troubling-part-of-hillary-clinton-email-audit/
They’re not doing government business and they’re not using government resources.
Everybody is missing that (the article is unclear).
“following Hitlery’s precedent “... they’re going twice as far as her to thwart the law. Using private devices AND using their private time.
Remember the Air Traffic Controllers!
Thanks for clearing that up - so POTUS Trump can’t prosecute Hillary now that she’s off the Federal payroll?
Chances are, they’re using some sort of commercial application. Which likely has a backdoor, and the NSA has the keys.
And ALL traffic over Federal Networks and devices is subject to monitoring at any time and for any reason. . .
Nobody in the private sector will hire them and they all know that. That’s why the work for the feds.
It is already a major bozo no-no to install any unauthorized software onto a gov computer or devise. Its a complete breach of security and policy and can and should get you removed.
As I remember if you attempted to download and install any kind of software you would get a warning that you lack administrative privileges and the IT department would soon be talking to you.
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