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Comey used personal Gmail while FBI director, says federal watchdog
Cast your memory back to the months leading up to the 2016 presidential election and remember the hubbub around then-candidate Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server while serving as secretary of state. FBI director at the time James Comey didn't advise charges against Clinton, then reopened scrutiny in late October days before the election. Whether or not that converted fence-sitters into casting ballots for Trump, his campaign capitalized on the FBI's attention. But according to a report (PDF) by the Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General, Comey himself used a personal Gmail account while operating as director of the agency after the election. The report criticized Comey for using his personal email account for unclassified FBI business, which is understandably inconsistent with DOJ policy, according to CNBC. "I wasn't doing classified work there, so I wasn't concerned about that," Comey is quoted saying.
FBI admits to 'over-counting' inaccessible mobile devices
For the last two years, the FBI has repeatedly claimed that thousands of phones linked to criminal investigations were inaccessible due to locks and encryption. Last year FBI Director Christopher Wray said it had failed to access 7,800 mobile devices, but tonight a Washington Post report reveals that number is incorrect. According to the Post, the accurate number is between 1,000 and 2,000, with a recent internal estimate putting at about 1,200 devices, and in a statement, the FBI responded: "The FBI's initial assessment is that programming errors resulted in significant over-counting of mobile devices reported." The official excuse is that errors caused by multiple databases resulted in devices being counted more than once, but the issue has been an FBI and DOJ pursuit of backdoor access to locked phones. Then-director James Comey cited the inflated figure during a debate over the San Bernardino shooters' locked iPhone, and it has come up again in relation to similar incidents. Without being provided any backdoor by Apple, law enforcement gained access to that device anyway, and as we've recently learned, there are tools it can use for newer phones. The government has repeatedly referred to "Going Dark" as a major problem it faces in investigations, suggesting tech companies are enabling criminals by strengthening privacy protections that they can't get around. But privacy advocates have long thought the agency was pumping up its numbers, and now it's case has taken a significant hit.
Great, now there's 'responsible encryption'
Trump's Department of Justice is trying to get a do-over with its campaign to get backdoors onto iPhones and into secure messaging services. The policy rebrand even has its own made-up buzzword. They're calling it "responsible encryption." After Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein introduced the term in his speech to the U.S. Naval Academy, most everyone who read the transcript was doing spit-takes at their computer monitors. From hackers and infosec professionals to attorneys and tech journalists, "responsible encryption" sounded like a marketing plan to sell unsweetened sugar to diabetics.
James Comey reveals his (not so) secret Twitter account
Back in March then-FBI director James Comey told the American people they should not expect "absolute privacy". Now, undoubtedly heeding his own advice, he's outed himself on Twitter, telling the world he'll "try to tweet in useful ways".
FBI tried and failed to unlock 7,000 encrypted devices
In an 11-month period, the FBI failed to gain access to around 7,000 encrypted mobile devices, BBC News reports, which is about half of those targeted by the agency according to FBI Director Christopher Wray. In a speech given at the Association of Chiefs of Police conference yesterday, he said that device encryption was "a huge, huge problem," for the agency.
In 2017, tweets are official presidential statements
Does a tweet count as an official response to a federal inquiry? Unsurprisingly, the White House thinks so. As reported by Reuters, the White House sent a letter to the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee claiming that a pair of Trump tweets on Thursday were the president's official response to an inquiry from the committee. At question is the existence of any recordings or memos of Trump's conversations with fired FBI director James Comey, and Trump's latest tweets claim that he "did not make, and do not have, any such recordings."
James Comey will testify before a Senate committee on June 8th
James Comey continues to be a lightning rod for controversy at the national level. After a long year of Clinton email server investigations and the FBI's conclusion that the Russians allegedly hacked the 2016 election, James Comey is finally getting to tell his own story. According to Bloomberg, the recently fired FBI Director will testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee on June 8th in both an open and a subsequent closed session. The investigation will cover both the possible election tampering as well as Comey's own dismissal by President Trump.
President Trump fires FBI Director James Comey
President Donald Trump has fired FBI Director James Comey, who recently led multiple investigations into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server when she was Secretary of State and Russia's involvement in the 2016 US presidential election. Trump acted on the recommendation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who argued Comey caused "substantial damage" to the FBI's reputation and credibility over the past year. Which brings us back to Clinton's emails. "I cannot defend the Director's handling of the conclusion of the investigation of Secretary Clinton's emails, and I do not understand his refusal to accept the nearly universal judgment that he was mistaken," Rosenstein writes.
FBI director Comey backs renewed push for decryption law
If you were hoping that FBI Director James Comey had given up on legislation requiring that companies obey court-ordered decryption requests... you're about to be disappointed. In statements at a Senate committee, Comey supported Senator Dianne Feinstein's renewed effort to introduce a bill that would force companies to comply with decryption orders. Feinstein didn't say how close she was to submitting the legislation, but Comey claimed progress from his side. The tech industry had "come to see the darkness a little bit more," he says -- they supposedly understand the potential threat to public safety when law enforcement can't crack a device.
FBI Director Comey: 'no such thing as absolute privacy'
If you're wondering how the director of the FBI can justify advising that you tape over your webcam while also asking for backdoor access to iPhones, check out his keynote speech at the 2017 Boston Conference on Cyber Security. As James Comey sees it, Americans should not expect "absolute privacy" because a court can (under some circumstances) compel people to give testimony from their memory of private conversations and it should be able to order up digital evidence the same way.
Unverified report says Russia has dirt on Trump (updated)
In a new political development, the US intelligence community reportedly briefed the White House that Russian spies hacked not just the DNC, but the Republican party, too. Not only that, US intelligence told both President Obama and President-elect Trump that an unverified report has been circulating with claims that Russia may have compromising personal or financial information about Donald Trump, according to CNN.
2016's biggest privacy threat: Your phone
When it comes to handing malicious hackers' intimate details about our lives, right now Yahoo is leading the pack as one of the worst threats to privacy in recent history. Yet there's one thing that has Yahoo beat in both the amount and sensitivity of the data being leaked, as well as the frequency. And like IoT appliances, it's a well-known and massive problem among security professionals, but it doesn't garner a lot of attention from the public. I'm talking about your smartphone.
Unearthed Clinton emails garner renewed FBI scrutiny (updated)
Although the FBI previously concluded that Hillary Clinton should not face charges over the usage of her personal email server, the Bureau apparently isn't done looking into Clinton's emails after all. "In previous congressional testimony, I referred to the fact that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had completed its investigation of former Secretary Clinton's personal email server," FBI Director James Comey said in a letter sent out Friday. "Due to recent developments, I am writing to supplement my previous testimony."
FBI chief James Comey recommends taping over your webcam
FBI director James Comey revealed during the Center for Strategic and International Studies conference that he knew he was mocked for admitting that he tapes over his webcam. But that didn't stop him from recommending that other people do the same. "There's some sensible things you should be doing, and that's one of them," he said at the event. He likened it to locking cars and doors at night, as well as setting up alarm systems for your own safety and security. He added: "You go into any government office and we all have the little camera things that sit on top of the screen. They all have a little lid that closes down on them. You do that so that people who don't have authority don't look at you. I think that's a good thing."
Clinton's email claims challenged by FBI director during hearing (update)
FBI director James Comey testified in front of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform today, during which he offered more details on the bureau's investigation into Hillary Clinton's email. Comey told Congress that the Romanian hacker who goes by the name Guccifer admitted to the FBI that he lied about hacking Clinton's email server.
US Attorney General will not bring charges in Clinton email case
There have been many indications that the investigation surrounding US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's use of private email servers during her time as Secretary of State is wrapping up. Now, US Attorney General Loretta Lynch has released a statement saying she has accepted the FBI's recommendation and will not bring charges against Clinton or anyone else involved in the investigation.
FBI director to testify on Clinton email investigation
Were you confused when the FBI said that Hillary Clinton likely broke the law by sending classified email through her private email server, but recommended against charges? You're not the only one. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has announced that FBI Director James Comey will testify regarding that decision at a hearing on July 7th. Republican Chairman Jason Chaffetz argues that the recommendation was "surprising and confusing," and disagrees with Comey's statement that Clinton didn't mean to break rules. "Individuals who intentionally skirt the law must be held accountable," Chaffetz says in a statement.
FBI paid over $1.3 million to unlock San Bernardino iPhone
Today, FBI director James Comey noted that the cost to the bureau to unlock the iPhone used by San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook was more than what he would make in the seven years and four months before his retirement. Reuters busted out its calculators and determined that he would make $1.3 million in his time left as head of the government agency. So, you know, more than that.
FBI chief 'not trying to set precedent' with shooter's iPhone
FBI Director James Comey has penned an editorial about its dispute with Apple over unlocking the iPhone of San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farook. In it, he tried to quell criticism by Apple's Tim Cook that a court's decision forcing Apple to help the FBI access the device could have "chilling" implications. "The San Bernardino litigation isn't about trying to set a precedent or send any kind of message," says Comey. "We don't want to break anyone's encryption or set a master key loose on the land. It is about the victims and justice. We owe them a thorough and professional investigation."
Congress won't pass a law letting the FBI access your encrypted data
Just because FBI director James Comey believes his agency has a right to see your phone's encrypted data doesn't mean he'll get his way. Members of Congress from both major parties, including House Representatives Darrell Issa and Zoe Lofgren as well as Senator Ron Wyden, are saying that there's "zero chance" they'll pass a bill requiring that device encryption includes backdoor access for federal investigators. They argue that law enforcement has blown whatever chance it had at public support -- accountability problems at multiple agencies (especially the NSA) have led many to distrust the government's data requests. As it stands, the FBI is battling some fierce legal headwinds. The House recently passed a bill banning the NSA from using backdoor searches, and it's doubtful that these politicians will heed Comey's calls for more access.
