Archive for the 'Surveillance' Category
Electronic Frontier Foundation: Privacy Badger
August 6th, 2015Looks good. Via: EFF: How is Privacy Badger different to Disconnect, Adblock Plus, Ghostery, and other blocking extensions? Privacy Badger was born out of our desire to be able to recommend a single extension that would automatically analyze and block any tracker or ad that violated the principle of user consent; which could function well […]
China to Plant Internet Police in Top Online Firms
August 5th, 2015Via: PC World: China’s control over the Internet is set to expand. In a bid to better police local websites, the country’s security forces are establishing offices at the biggest online firms in the country. The country’s Ministry of Public Security announced the new measures on Tuesday, at a time when authorities have been increasingly […]
Facebook’s Solar-Powered Internet Plane Looks Like a Stealth Bomber
July 30th, 2015Pics at the link. Woh. Via: The Verge: Facebook’s plans to become a flying internet service provider for the developing world are coming to fruition. The company today introduced Aquila, a high-flying, long-endurance plane that will bring basic internet access to the developing world. A working model of the plane is now ready for testing, […]
Windows 10 Delivers Updates to Other Users on the Internet Via Peer-to-Peer by Default
July 30th, 2015Update: Windows 10 Default Privacy Settings: “Vague and Bordering on Scary” — By dumb luck, I just found a setting that indicates that Windows 10 delivers updates to other computers over the Internet via peer-to-peer networking. Not good if you’re like most people in New Zealand on metered Internet connections! Once I got over my […]
Deep Neural Nets Can Now Recognize Your Face in Thermal Images
July 28th, 2015Via: MIT Technology Review: One problem with infrared surveillance videos or infrared CCTV images is that it is hard to recognize the people in them. Faces look different in the infrared and matching these images to their normal appearance is a significant unsolved challenge. The problem is that the link between the way people look […]
Google Eavesdropping Tool Installed on Computers Without Permission
June 23rd, 2015Via: Guardian: Privacy campaigners and open source developers are up in arms over the secret installing of Google software which is capable of listening in on conversations held in front of a computer. First spotted by open source developers, the Chromium browser – the open source basis for Google’s Chrome – began remotely installing audio-snooping […]
Controversial GCHQ Unit Engaged in Domestic Law Enforcement, Online Propaganda, Psychology Research
June 23rd, 2015via: First Look: The spy unit responsible for some of the United Kingdom’s most controversial tactics of surveillance, online propaganda and deceit focuses extensively on traditional law enforcement and domestic activities — even though officials typically justify its activities by emphasizing foreign intelligence and counterterrorism operations. Documents published today by The Intercept demonstrate how the […]
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 […]
