Wiretaps
Latest
US wiretap operations encountering encryption fell in 2015
The US government has been very vocal recently about how the increase in encryption on user devices is hampering their investigations. The reality is that according to a report from the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts, law enforcement with court-ordered wiretaps encountered fewer encrypted devices in 2015 than in 2014.
USA Today: California wrongly wiretapped 52,000 people
USA Today is claiming to have uncovered evidence that prosecutors in the state of California violated federal law by improperly authorizing the use of wiretaps. The paper believes that drug investigators used 738 questionable taps to intercept calls and text messages made by "more than 52,000 people." If all of this is true, then the news will raise plenty of questions brought between mid-2013 and early 2015.
Senate passes USA Freedom Act (update: signed by Obama)
For the first time since the 9/11 attacks, both houses of Congress have agreed to limit the government's domestic surveillance powers. Earlier today, the Senate voted 67 to 32 and passed the USA Freedom Act, echoing the House's vote in May. The bill is designed to counter the Patriot Act's controversial section 215 -- the bit that enabled the NSA to collect phone records en masse, request "roving wiretaps" and seize business files -- just one day after the provision officially expired. Update: According to several press reports, tonight President Obama signed it into law.
Warning to reporters: "Get new cellphones -- now!"
In yet another twist to the unfolding telephone spying story, two reporters from ABC News were apparently told by a "senior law enforcement official" that their cellphones were being tapped so that the government could track down their confidential sources. The reporters were warned to get new cellphones as quickly as possible if they wanted to maintain their sources' anonymity. We, of course, follow that advice and get new cellphones all the time. Not because we think anyone is listening in, but because we just have this compulsion we can't shake. However, if the Feds want to listen in on our calls and find out who's been leaking all of that juicy Treo info, they can feel free. Trust us, they'll be very surprised by what they learn.
