Beware Websense

The tangled web of deceit woven by Bush and his advisors now has a huge hole in it but almost no one is aware of it. We have been reliably informed that there is an immense ongoing intrusion into, and spying on, internet usage. The company involved in this is called Websense.

10240 Sorrento Valley Road
San Diego, CA 92121
Phone 858.320.8000
Fax 858.458.2957

Websense is a San Diego, California-based company which produces Web security gateway software, including Web filtering, also known as Internet content-control software of the same name, email security, and data loss prevention technology.

Websense allows system administrators to block access to web sites (and other protocols) based on categories. These categories contain lists of sites that can be blocked. Separate categories can be blocked at all times or only during certain times of the day. Founded in 1994, by Phil Trubey and went public in 2000. Websense, Inc. (NASDAQ: WBSN) www.websense.com/global/en/ is a leader of web filtering and a premier provider of web and desktop security software

At present, Websense monitors more than 42 million individual employees at more than 50,000 organizations such as government agencies which includes the email systems for both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Imagine if this software is in use in government offices such as the House and Senate - the users probably do not realize all their internet usage is being monitored and recorded.

Imagine the potential for blackmailing someone like Senator Larry Craig if he has been using office computers to access boy porn sites, or any married politician accessing female escort services.

They also service many public libraries and schools (as mandated hy the Department of Homeland Security), and many American and foreign businesses .

On May 25th, 2005, the DHS chose Websense to manage employee web access, The US Department of Homeland Security contracted with Websense to block spywareon its computer networks., as well as to establish a comprehensive program for the obsrvation of the use of any computer its system covers.

The vendor is Websense, which will be provides protection spyware, viruses, and malicious mobile code. http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/WBSN/0x0x155645/5478d22e-f9fe-4915-bcf4-021084957241/WBSN_News_2005_5_23_General.pdf

Websense software is designed to prevent any government and private sector employees from wasting time at work, by limiting the time they can spend shopping online and booking their vacations, as well as keeping them off of game and pornography sites. Their systems also allow prevention of viewing of any material deemed to be offensive such as any anti-government internet postings and most especially any material deemed to be blatantly anti-Semitic or hostile to the state of Israel.

In December 2006 the company acquired the Israeli data security company PortAuthority for $90 million. Announcing the take-over, WebSENSE said that it was "committed to maintaining the company's research and development presence in Israel."

In addition, Websense’s PreciseID uses technology initially developed for the Israeli military to track the whereabouts and distribution of data

In November 2007 web-users began reporting that Webense was blocking within the US and the UK their access to the blog site of Noam Chomsky and to the website of Norman Finkelstein, prominent academics known for their criticism of the state of Israel.

Websense monitoring of American libraries and schools, had brought it to the attention of civil liberties groups on the grounds that it restricts the free flow of speech..

Some anti-censorship groups and human rights organizations claim that Websense is censoring free speech in countries with limited civil liberties. Websense is seen by some as discriminatory for blocking categories such as education, religion, health and non-pornographic homosexual content.

Websense is used by internet service providers in Yemen as part of the government enforced censorship program. It is also used in China forl similar programs.

In a 2005 report, the ACLU calls Websense a deeply flawed technology. It also mentions the 2001 Peacefire's report on the inaccuracy of the software, and notes that the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) was struck down on 2002 by a federal court in a decision that was partly based on similar reports.It further notes that, although the blocking technology has improved over the years since 2002 it still remains a "blunt instrument" and that, on public libraries using Websense, people of all ages "are still denied access to a wide range of legitimate material".

Here we have a large American technical company that works with the Israeli government and the American DHS, that has the unrestricted opportunity of blocking the internet downloading of information deemed by it and its employers as “improper” and to watch any individual who uses a computer connected with their systems and services.

It is very interesting to note that Websense has been blocking information on the Iranian MV Iran Deyanat from reaching the computers used by its subsribers. The reasons for this can be found in an excellent article by Brian Harring.” (See here, Ed. This article also reveals how Bush is about to sell Israel out to the Iranians.)

The Voice of the White House
www.tbrnews.org/Archives/a2885.htm