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Apple, FBI investigating possible iCloud celebrity photo theft
Both the FBI and Apple are investigating the theft of private celebrity photos in an intrusion that may have used iCloud to gain access to the images. As reported by The Telegraph, FBI spokesperson Laura Eimiller confirmed the government agency's activation investigation into the theft. "[The FBI is] aware of the allegations concerning computer intrusions and the unlawful release of material involving high profile individuals, and is addressing the matter. Any further comment would be inappropriate at this time." This statement follows an earlier statement from Apple that it "takes user privacy very seriously and is actively investigating the report." The hacker who leaked the photos on 4chan's image boards claimed he used iCloud to download the images. Subsequent analysis of photo exif data and other information have not definitely identified iCloud as the source of the photos.
US government says someone besides Snowden is leaking secret docs
Due to content of a report from The Intercept, the US government says that there's a new whistle blower leaking its secrets in addition to Edward Snowden. The article details national security documents prepared by the National Counterterrorism Center dated August 2013 -- after the former NSA contractor left the US for Russia. Focusing on databases used to organize suspected terrorists' identities, the report details one specific repository -- the Terrorist Identities Datamart Enivornment (TIDE) -- that now tallies a million names. According to The Intercept, 680,000 suspects make up the Terrorist Screening Database (TSDB) portion of TIDE, with over 40 percent (280,000 to be exact) labeled by the government as having no affiliation with a terrorist group. Documents also shed light on how the screening system has expanded under the Obama Administration to include the collection of biometric data (facial images, fingerprints, and iris scans) of watchlisted Americans. What's more, part of the process included pulling records for every person with a driver's license in Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin in the time leading up to the Chicago Marathon. [(Photo credit: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images]
The FBI uses malware to combat online anonymity
Online anonymity is a beautiful, terrible thing, so naturally governments and law enforcement types are eager to see what happens behind the web's closed doors. Naturally, that includes the folks at the FBI: According to Wired, the FBI has been using "network investigative techniques" -- like highly specific, purpose-built malware -- to help peel back popular anonymizing service Tor's layers of obscurity to catch criminals.
The government still won't let Twitter share details about national security requests
Twitter really wants to tell you more about the kind of national security requests it gets from organizations like the Department of Justice and the FBI -- but the government just won't let it. The company's latest transparency report is prefaced with the sad tale of the company's failure to get permission to share more details about requests concerning national security. Twitter wants to be able to disclose how many requests are made each year or, failing that, smaller sets of data that still provide meaningful context to users. Sadly, the company wasn't able to make any significant headway: the existing DOJ restrictions stand.
FBI sees self-driving cars as 'lethal weapons' for criminal 'multitasking'
Google stirred up quite the buzz a few weeks back with its latest self-driving car design, but the FBI isn't convinced the tech advancements are in the public's best interest. In a report procured by The Guardian, the bureau warns that the autonomous vehicles even more of a "lethal weapon" than they are today, thanks to the capacity for felonious "multitasking." The argument is that criminals can deter their pursuers without the need to watch the highway. It's worth noting that the massive fleet of automobiles already on the road are pretty dangerous themselves. It's not all doom and gloom though, as the FBI's report sees easier surveillance of suspects and a reduction in the amount accidents related to distracted drivers or poor judgement.
FBI and NSA targeted prominent Muslim-American leaders for surveillance
Pictured: NSA headquarters in Fort Meade, Maryland Both the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National Security Agency monitored the emails of five prominent Muslim-Americans, documents from former-NSA contractor Edward Snowden reveal. The Intercept detailed those documents early this morning, which show the email addresses of Faisal Gill, Asim Ghafoor, Hooshang Amirahmadi, Agha Saeed, Nihad Awad. The list ranges from a former Department of Homeland Security staffer to the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, the secretive United States court that oversees surveillance requests from the intelligence community, is ruled by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. That act states that Americans can only be targeted if they are working for a foreign power, or if they're involved in a terrorist organization. Further, said targets must be plotting or engaging in one of a variety of nefarious acts: "espionage, sabotage, or terrorism," The Intercept states.
X-Files, Twin Peaks inspire 'Virginia' from ex-EA, GTA devs
Game industry veterans Jonathan Burroughs and Terry Kenny have formed independent studio Variable State, and are currently working on an interactive drama called Virginia. Inspired by 90s TV shows such as The X-Files, Twin Peaks and The Outer Limits, Virginia follows an FBI agent as she hunts down a missing boy. "Virginia is a first person interactive drama," Variable State writes. "It is the story of a recently graduated FBI agent and her partner as they seek to uncover the mystery surrounding the disappearance of a young boy. In the birthplace of America, nothing is quite what it seems." Burroughs, a writer and designer, has worked at DeepMind Technologies, Relentless Software, Rare and EA, contributing on House of the Dead: Overkill and Battlefield 2: Modern Combat. Kenny is an animator and artist who hails from DeepMind Technologies, Headstrong Games, Frontier Developments and Rockstar Games, with credits on House of the Dead: Overkill and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Virginia is due out for PC in 2015. The game's art pieces are simple and intriguing, while the first screenshot shows a crude 3D design that looks like a mix of Jazzpunk and Nintendo's Miis. [Images: Variable State]
4SRS: the FBI built a list of Twitter slang to keep up with the kids
Forget passwords: the FBI wants to crack your internet slang. Thanks to a FOI (freedom of information) request published over at Muckrock, we now know that the Bureau is TCOB (taking care of business) when monitoring the nation's social media use. Bypassing UrbanDictionary or the odd Wikipedia definition, the FBI compiled its own 83-page list of over 2,800 acronyms that range from the well-known, like LMAO, TMI, YOLO and SMH, to the outright ridiculous, including EOTWAWKI (end of the world as we know it) and IITYWTMWYBMAD (if I tell you what this means will you buy me a drink?) The agency says the list will help agents "keep up with your children and/or grandchildren," and also invites them to add their own. Perhaps that's why AMOG (alpha male of group) and DTP (disturbing the peace) have made it in, but we secretly hope it was an Engadget reader who added KIRF (keeping it real fake).
US to begin selling off its Silk Road Bitcoin hoard
When the FBI seized Silk Road and the assets of its founder, it inadvertently became the owner of one of the world's largest Bitcoin hoards. Just six months later, the US has decided that it wants to sell the smaller, Silk Road-owned portion of the stash, made up of 30,000 BTC worth around $18 million. The public auction will take place between 6am and 6pm on June 27th, with the funds being broken down into blocks of 3,000 BTC to make it a little more manageable. If, however, you fancied getting in on the action, be advised that you'll have to front a deposit of $200,000 just to be allowed in. Still, if it'll take you a bit longer to scrounge up that level of cash, the US will also look to sell off Ross "Dread Pirate Roberts" Ulbricht's personal Bitcoin fortune -- currently valued at around $87 million -- before his trial begins in November.
FBI testing face recognition for finding suspects
The NSA may claim it's not collecting photos of American citizens for a facial recognition database, but the FBI most certainly is. The feds has been building what it calls the "Next Generation Identification database," primarily by gathering mug shots from local law enforcement agencies. The software is being built of MorphoTrust, a company that helped the State Department create its own face recognition database. At the moment the two can't share data, say by simply importing an existing State Department record, but FBI Director James Comey wouldn't rule out the possibility. What's more concerning however, are the accusations from the Electronic Frontier Foundation that many innocent people will be swept into the database, which is expected to reach 52 million images by next year. To make matters worse, Director Comey was unable to allay those fears when addressing law makers recently. The agency's head said he wasn't sure if the EFF's claims were accurate, nor could he rule out that people's drivers' license photos might end up in the pool. When asked specifically about license photos he said, "I think there is some circumstances in which when states send us records... pictures of people who are getting special driving licenses to transport children or explosive materials."
The hacker who helped the FBI stop cyberattacks is now a free man
Lead LulzSec hacker Sabu (aka Hector Xavier Monsegur) was no doubt hoping for leniency when he turned informant, and it looks like his gamble has paid off. A federal court has sentenced him to the time he served in 2012, letting him walk away a free man. As prosecutors explain, Monsegur was a very "productive cooperator" -- he provided complete, detailed information that helped the FBI take down LulzSec and stop a string of cyberattacks against both corporate and government targets, including Sony.
Barely Related: Doctor Who airs in August, Wright exits Ant-Man
Deep breaths, everyone. The week is almost done. Welcome to Barely Related, a conversational Friday column that presents the non-gaming news stories that we, the Joystiq staff, have been talking about over the past week. And no, we're not stopping our focus on industry and gaming news. Think of this as your casual weekly recap of interesting (and mostly geeky) news, presented just in time to fill your brain with things to discuss at all of those weekend shindigs. Grab a fresh drink, lean back in your armchair, and get ready to talk nerdy with us.
Microsoft wins case to block FBI request for customer data
When Microsoft said last year that it's committed to protecting its customers from government data requests, it wasn't messing around. Microsoft general counsel and executive VP Brad Smith recently revealed that the software giant successfully challenged an FBI National Security Letter that tried to seek basic information from one of its enterprise customers. The letter apparently had a nondisclosure provision that would've prevented Microsoft from telling the customer in question about the request. Microsoft challenged that provision in Seattle's Federal Court, stating that it was "unlawful and violated our Constitutional right to free expression," and wouldn't you know it, the FBI withdrew the letter. Smith said in a blog post that such requests are rare, but it's still good to know the Redmond company is continuing to do what it can to be transparent about such things -- even if it knew about them all along.
Police raid 'Blackshades' webcam hackers who spied on naked victims
More than 90 people across 16 different countries have been arrested in a coordinated raid targeting users and sellers of a piece of malware, called the Blackshades Remote Access Tool. Known to its friends simply as "RAT," the $40 utility makes it relatively easy to spy on someone via their PC's webcam and their keyboard strokes, and it's thought to have infected around half a million computers since 2010. In the US, the FBI picked up a user in New Jersey who's accused of using RAT to steal sexually explicit photos of 45 victims through their webcams. This follows two earlier Blackshades-related arrests of men accused of capturing and stealing images of thousands of women and girls. The "global takedown" also involved the arrest of a 24-year-old Swedish citizen who's charged with selling RAT and offering technical support to buyers, making as much as $350,000 in the process.
Hacker-turned-FBI informant may have orchestrated foreign cyberattacks
The hacker subplot in House of Cards' second season might have felt out of place, but from the sounds of a recent New York Times report, Frank Underwood's methods for putting captured hackers to work might not be too far-fetched. After being busted by the FBI, top LulzSec hacker Sabu may have conscripted at least one former accomplice to carry out a string of cyber-attacks against foreign banks and government websites, according to interviews and documents obtained by the Times. Sabu's seemingly indirect involvement suggests that he may have acted as a federal informant, helping to exploit the likes of the Heartbleed security flaw for state-sponsored cyber-terrorism. For the full report, be sure to head over to the source link. [Image credit: Idhren/Flickr]
There'll be no escape from the FBI's new facial recognition system
If you thought that the NSA wanted too much personal information, just wait a few months. The EFF is reporting that the FBI's new facial recognition database, containing data for almost a third of the US population, will be ready to launch this summer. Codenamed NGI, the system combines the bureau's 100 million-strong fingerprint database with palm prints, iris scans and mugshots. Naturally, this has alarmed privacy advocates, since it's not just felons whose images are added, but anyone who has supplied a photo ID for a government job or background check. According to the EFF's documents, the system will be capable of adding 55,000 images per day, and could have the facial data for anything up to 52 million people by next year. Let's just hope that no-one tells the Feds about Facebook, or we're all in serious trouble.
Anti-violent game politician Leland Yee arrested in connection to gun trafficking
In a turn of events that sound an awful lot like something out of Grand Theft Auto, a prominent politician has been arrested on corruption, gun-running and money laundering charges. The irony here is that it's California Democratic Senator Leland Yee, who was a vocal supporter of gun regulation and also authored AB-1179, the (defeated) bill that would have outlawed the sale of violent video games to the Golden State's minors. As the San Francisco Chronicle reports, the arrest was part of a lengthy sting that brought in some 26 other perps and even involved Yee taking campaign donations from an FBI agent posing as a mafioso. Yee's out on a $500,000 bond according to SF Weekly, but he's due back in court next week and is facing 16 years in prison.
Report: Anti-games Sen. Leland Yee arrested on bribery, corruption charges
California State Senator Leland Yee, noted anti-video games official, was arrested this morning on charges of bribery and corruption, SF Weekly reported. The FBI conducted a raid of San Francisco's Chinatown district, and KCRA reported that agents took "computers and other documents" from Yee's office in the state capitol. Yee previously urged the Supreme Court to review the violent games bill AB-1179 his office authored in 2005, which failed at the Circuit Court level before being pushed through by then-California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The Supreme Court upheld the lower courts' ruling, deeming the law a violation of First Amendment rights. Yee responded to the decision, declaring that it "put the interests of corporate America before the interests of our children" and that the games industry continued to profit "at the expense of our kids' mental health and the safety of our community." The news of Yee's arrest brings to mind anti-violent games attorney Jack Thompson's disbarment by the state of Florida in September 2008. Thompson's body of work included multiple failed Utah games bills. [Image: Leland Yee]
WSJ: Four ways to distance the NSA from phone records that'll be considered by government
President Obama has his work cut out for him as he tries to restore faith in the US government following the whole NSA spying scandal. He first talked of surveillance reform last year, then in a January 2014 speech promised to revamp the NSA's program for collecting phone records. While the agency must now seek court approval to access phone data, The Wall Street Journal is reporting that "administration lawyers" have finished drafting several proposals that would bring about more radical changes to the program by taking the database out of the NSA's hands. These are said to be part of a wider report due in March, in which other scenarios that strip some power from the government spy agency will be explored. One of the proposals would see phone companies responsible for managing the records, which the NSA would then request on a case-by-case basis. Apparently the idea hasn't gone down too well, with companies wary of being inundated with data requests from elsewhere; not to mention they haven't been involved in crafting the proposals. (Besides, do you trust AT&T and Verizon anymore than the government?) Another idea would see a different government entity such as the FBI (which is allegedly a contender, despite its own indiscretions) or Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court be put in charge. It's also been suggested a new independent organization be created that would technically be neither a part of the government nor a phone company. Though, the concern there is any newly created body would ultimately end up serving as an extension of the NSA. Of course, there's always the last option of doing away with the phone surveillance altogether, which we're sure many would celebrate, but seems highly unlikely. There's always the possibility that another solution is agreed upon, but for now these seem to be the primary options available to the Commander in Chief.
FBI tells retailers to expect more credit card data theft
Don't think that the end of holiday shopping means an end to attempts to swipe your credit card data. The FBI is warning retailers that it expects these intrusion attempts to become more of a problem in the near future, particularly through malware that grabs account info from cash registers and credit card readers. It's not clear if these attackers have any specific stores in their crosshairs, but retail account security is undoubtedly a growing problem -- Neiman Marcus recently confirmed a breach that compromised 1.1 million customer cards, and Reuters hears that other companies have been victims. Paying with cash suddenly doesn't sound like such a bad idea. [Image credit: Roadsidepictures, Flickr]
