Archive for the 'Surveillance' Category
Popular Security Software Came Under Relentless NSA and GCHQ Attacks
June 22nd, 2015Via: First Look: The National Security Agency and its British counterpart, Government Communications Headquarters, have worked to subvert anti-virus and other security software in order to track users and infiltrate networks, according to documents from NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. The spy agencies have reverse engineered software products, sometimes under questionable legal authority, and monitored web […]
Homeland Security to Open Silicon Valley Office
June 17th, 2015Via: USA Today: The Department of Homeland Security plans to open a satellite office in Silicon Valley, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson told a crowded hall at RSA, the world’s largest computer security conference, on Tuesday. It’s also pushing back against moves by tech companies to digitally encode computer traffic to protect it […]
Obama Lawyers Asked Secret Court to Ignore Public Court’s Decision on Spying
June 11th, 2015Via: Guardian: The Obama administration has asked a secret surveillance court to ignore a federal court that found bulk surveillance illegal and to once again grant the National Security Agency the power to collect the phone records of millions of Americans for six months. The legal request, filed nearly four hours after Barack Obama vowed […]
Prime Minister of New Zealand on Mobile Phones: “You can use it as a listening device, whether it is on or not”
June 10th, 2015Via: New Zealand Herald: Prime Minister John Key gets rid of his mobile phone every few months for security reasons. Mr Key has also revealed that he would never take his phone into sensitive meetings – whether it was turned on or not – for fear that it could be turned into a listening device […]
Mass Snooping Fake Mobile Towers Uncovered in UK
June 10th, 2015Via: BBC: Fake mobile towers that scoop up data from passing phones are routinely being used in London, an investigation by Sky News suggests. Working with German security company GMSK Cryptophone, it claims to have uncovered direct evidence, the first in the UK, of at least 20 instances of the use of these cell site […]
NSA Secretly Expands Internet Spying at U.S. Border
June 4th, 2015Via: New York Times: Without public notice or debate, the Obama administration has expanded the National Security Agency’s warrantless surveillance of Americans’ international Internet traffic to search for evidence of malicious computer hacking, according to classified N.S.A. documents.
FBI Behind Mysterious Surveillance Aircraft Over U.S. Cities
June 2nd, 2015Via: AP: The FBI is operating a small air force with scores of low-flying planes across the country carrying video and, at times, cellphone surveillance technology — all hidden behind fictitious companies that are fronts for the government, The Associated Press has learned. The planes’ surveillance equipment is generally used without a judge’s approval, and […]
Mysterious Low-Flying Plane Over Twin Cities
May 30th, 2015Via: Star Tribune: Aviation buff John Zimmerman was at a weekly gathering of neighbors Friday night when he noticed something peculiar: a small plane circling a route overhead that didn’t make sense to him. It was dark, so a sightseeing flight didn’t make sense, and when Zimmerman pulled up more information on an aviation phone […]
Apple and Google Just Attended a Confidential Spy Summit in a Remote English Mansion
May 23rd, 2015Via: First Look: At an 18th-century mansion in England’s countryside last week, current and former spy chiefs from seven countries faced off with representatives from tech giants Apple and Google to discuss government surveillance in the aftermath of Edward Snowden’s leaks. The three-day conference, which took place behind closed doors and under strict rules about […]
UK Government Quietly Rewrites Hacking Laws to Give GCHQ Immunity
May 17th, 2015Via: ArsTechnica: The UK government has quietly passed new legislation that exempts GCHQ, police, and other intelligence officers from prosecution for hacking into computers and mobile phones. While major or controversial legislative changes usually go through normal parliamentary process (i.e. democratic debate) before being passed into law, in this case an amendment to the Computer […]
