Archive for the 'Covert Operations' Category
Shocker: The NSA Admits It Analyzes More People’s Data Than Previously Revealed
July 18th, 2013Via: The Atlantic Wire: As an aside during testimony on Capitol Hill today, a National Security Agency representative rather casually indicated that the government looks at data from a universe of far, far more people than previously indicated. Chris Inglis, the agency’s deputy director, was one of several government representatives—including from the FBI and the […]
Water Requirements for NSA’s New Facility in Utah
July 15th, 2013“A significant benefit to the city” haha Via: KSL: More secrets, more water? The NSA data center in Bluffdale could require as many as 1.7 million gallons of water per day to operate and keep computers cool. Initial reported estimates suggested the center would use 1,200 gallons per minute, but more recent estimates suggest the […]
Technical Feasibility of Decrypting HTTPS by Replacing the Computer’s Pseudorandom Number Generator
July 15th, 2013Via: Stack Exchange: Intel has an on-chip RdRand function which supposedly bypasses the normally used entropy pool for /dev/urandom and directly injects output. Now rumors are going on that Intel works together with the NSA… and knowing that PRNGs are important for cryptography is enough to get this news spreading. I personally don’t believe this […]
Kremlin Security Agency to Buy Typewriters to Avoid Leaks
July 13th, 2013Is this real? As a fan of Meanwhile in Russia, nothing would surprise me. Via: BBC: Russia’s agency responsible for the Kremlin security is buying typewriters – a move reportedly prompted by recent leaks by WikiLeaks and Edward Snowden. A 486,540-rouble (£9,860) order for electric typewriters has been placed by the FSO agency on the […]
NSA Code Used in Google Phone to “Enhance Security” *wink*
July 12th, 2013Via: Democracy Now: The tech giant Google has confirmed the National Security Agency furnished some of the code installed in its new Android phone. The NSA says the code is intended to enhance security against hackers and marketers, but will not confirm whether it also aids the agency’s PRISM program monitoring the global Internet.
Australia: Telstra Has Been Storing Customer Data on Behalf of U.S. Government for Over a Decade
July 12th, 2013Via: Sydney Morning Herald: Telstra agreed more than a decade ago to store huge volumes of electronic communications it carried between Asia and America for potential surveillance by United States intelligence agencies. Under the previously secret agreement, the telco was required to route all communications involving a US point of contact through a secure storage […]
Encryption According to Microsoft: Cops and Spooks Can Access Your Data
July 12th, 2013Via: Guardian: Microsoft has collaborated closely with US intelligence services to allow users’ communications to be intercepted, including helping the National Security Agency to circumvent the company’s own encryption, according to top-secret documents obtained by the Guardian. The files provided by Edward Snowden illustrate the scale of co-operation between Silicon Valley and the intelligence agencies […]
Celebrated University of Toronto Education Professor and Highly Regarded Civil Servant Arrested on Child Porn Charges
July 10th, 2013Via: Toronto Star: It was a child exploitation investigation that spanned from New Zealand to Canada that included an undercover agent conducting an online chat with a suspect believed to be from Toronto. On Monday, Toronto police say, that multi-jurisdictional investigation culminated in the arrest of Benjamin Levin, a celebrated U of T education professor […]
Jon Corzine Will Not Face Criminal Charges Over MF Global
July 9th, 2013Shocker. Via: Marketwatch: There will be no criminal charges for former New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine over the use of customer funds leading up to collapse of MF Global. The criminal probe into whether there was wrongdoing on the part of Corzine by the Department of Justice will now be dropped due to lack of […]
Bin Laden Raid Files Moved from Pentagon to CIA to More Easily Shield Them from Public Scrutiny
July 8th, 2013Via: Washington Post: The nation’s top special operations commander ordered military files about the Navy SEAL raid on Osama bin Laden’s hideout to be purged from Defense Department computers and sent to the CIA, where they could be more easily shielded from ever being made public. The secret move, described briefly in a draft report […]
