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The NSA can keep spying on phone call metadata through November
The National Security Agency can keep on keeping on with the bulk collection of phone call metadata for a bit longer, sadly. The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia killed an injunction that would've ended the previously-ruled-unconstitutional homegrown spying, according to The New York Times. The law won't fully end until November 29th, when the so-called transition period for the agency to swap over to a new style of data collection is over. The latest method? Telcos will hang onto the data and the government snoops will need court orders if they want to get their hands on it. We still have a ways to go before PRISM's effects are fully overturned, it'd seem.[Image credit: Shutterstock]
Edward Snowden looks back, two years after NSA leaks started
It's been about two years since we first discussed the NSA plan for "bulk metadata" monitoring of phone calls. At the heart of that information and so many revelations since, is Edward Snowden, the man who leaked documents to Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras about exactly what was being done in the name of national security. Still living in Russia to avoid prosecution for that act, he's published an op-ed in The New York Times, titled "The World Says No to Surveillance." Others like Leslie Cauley had raised alarms about overzealous spying before, but these leaks spurred action, resulting in a Senate vote this week to finally place some limits on the NSA's Patriot Act-enabled authority. Those changes, and similar movement around the world, Snowden credits to you, the public, for making happen, but notes there is work yet to be done as the right to privacy remains under threat.
Senate blocks NSA reform bill and Patriot Act extensions
The USA Freedom Act aimed at addressing the NSA's bulk collecting of phone call metadata was approved by the House of Representatives ten days ago, but blocked by the Senate tonight (live video stream here). The Section 215 provisions of the Patriot Act used to enact the program are set to expire June 1st, and it could go away if a compromise isn't reached to extend it. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky filibustered to push the vote to this late hour, while Sen. Mitch McConnell pushed for a series of extensions to the program, claiming the security of the country could be at risk. The Senate is taking a weeklong Memorial Day break, but will come back on May 31st for more discussion and probably more voting. The voting is done for tonight, but we expect much more discussion over the next week.
The US opens up on its use of phone surveillance hardware
It seems as if we're not alone in thinking that America's spies may have trodden on a few too many civil liberties of late. That's why senior officials at the Justice Department are calling for a wide-ranging review of electronic surveillance practices and will open up a little bit about why, and when, this technology is used. A report by the Wall Street Journal reveals that there's a big push for greater transparency, but no-one's quite sure on how many beans they should spill in order to restore public trust but not give helpful hints to criminals.
Google and Facebook come out against government spying
The Department of Homeland Security is setting up shop in Silicon Valley, with the agency's head Jeh Johnson pushing for easier access to our private data. Naturally, both Google and Facebook have started to openly resist this call to create backdoors for state surveillance. At the RSA security conference, Google's Keith Enright told MIT Technology Review that any attempt to breach his company's encryption would harm civil liberties.
Spying case against UK government heads to Europe's highest court
While it's public knowledge that the UK government has secretly monitored the communications of the British public, questions over the legality of these practices still remain. After an independent UK court first ruled that security agencies, including GCHQ, had partly infringed on human rights laws, only to be overruled by a Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) report a month later, privacy groups campaigning for clarity are taking their fight to Europe.
UK report says GCHQ spying wasn't illegal, but lacked transparency
UK data surveillance programs, including the bulk collection of data from ISPs, have been declared legal by a parliamentary committee. However, it also found them "overly complicated" and lacking in transparency. The report from the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) probed GCHQ initiatives that tapped massive amounts of emails and other private "upstream" data, often in conjunction with the NSA's PRISM program. The extent of the UK's involvement in that program was revealed by whistleblower Edward Snowden in 2013.
How the CIA planned to hijack Apple's developer tools
That your government will spy on you should, sadly (by now) come as no surprise. But, some of the ways they go about it still trigger disbelief. The Intercept claims to have received documents outlining methods the CIA has considered to access data on Apple products. The usual talk of decrypting and vulnerabilities is present, but there's one technique in particular that seems especially nefarious. Reportedly, the CIA went as far as creating a modified version of Xcode (an Apple tool that developers use to make apps). The hijacked Xcode would unwittingly include code in the final app without the developer knowing. The Intercept's sources also claim OS X's updater (that automatically installs the latest version of OS X) was targeted with a modification that would install a keylogger onto your Mac. Fun.
Obama wants China to stop copying the NSA's surveillance plans
President Obama has criticized a Chinese plan to force US tech companies to install backdoors into their products for sale in the country. Without stopping for a moment to consider the phrase about glass houses and stones, he told Reuters that China would have to change its stance if it wanted to do business with the US.
NSA-Snowden documentary 'Citizenfour' wins an Oscar
A documentary that outlined how Edward Snowden revealed the NSA's data surveillance program to the world has just won an Oscar. Citizenfour director Laura Poitras has a track record of serious documentaries, including My Country, My Country and The Oath, but the PRISM documentary marks her first Oscar win. Following the award, host Neil Patrick-Harris made a quick lil' treason joke at Snowden's expense, possibly missing the gravitas of a story that dominated the news agenda for over a year. In response to the award, Snowden said: "My hope is that this award will encourage more people to see the film and be inspired by its message that ordinary citizens, working together, can change the world." We've added the full statement after the fold. (Can you guess who 'Citizenfour' actually was in the end? Hint: It's not Patrick-Harris)
Find out if the UK used NSA data to spy on you
While it's sadly likely that your communications have passed through an intelligence agency at some point, it's usually difficult to know just who got your data. However, you now have a rare opportunity to find out. Thanks to a ruling that the UK's GCHQ illegally spied on people using NSA databases, advocacy group Privacy International has posted a simple web form that lets you ask if you were caught in Britain's law-breaking dragnet -- and, as you might expect, petition against mass surveillance. This won't provide the most comprehensive results (you should use the official form if you're really worried), but it should still lead to GCHQ purging the relevant records if there's a match. The only big problem? The request is limited to the past data covered by the ruling, so there's no guarantee that you're truly off the radar. [Image credit: Christopher Furlong - WPA Pool/Getty Images]
UK court rules that GCHQ unlawfully spied on British citizens
Ever since its surveillance tactics were thrust into the public spotlight, GCHQ has had a lot of questions to answer over its reported spying on British citizens. It hasn't exactly been forthcoming with information, but the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT), an independent court set up to keep the UK's secret services in check, has enough evidence of GCHQ's wrongdoings to declare that the agency has been unlawfully snooping on those it's meant to be protecting.
Color-changing E Ink lets walls come alive
Do you think that the walls at your school or office just aren't sprightly enough? E Ink may have a way to liven things up. Its new Prism material lets buildings subtly change colors and patterns on the spot, without having to rely on banks of expensive digital displays that stick out like a sore thumb. It's more than just animated wallpaper, though. It can respond to input, such as a person walking by, and even works for furniture -- imagine a bench that changes its look every day. Prism sips only a tiny amount of power, too, so you don't need to keep things plugged in.
Amnesty International wants to help you avoid government surveillance
It is a truth, universally acknowledged, that we're all being spied upon, either by the NSA, GCHQ or some scammer trying to get our credit card details. For journalists and political activists in countries without some respect for due process or democracy, being spied upon can have some terrifying consequences. That's why Amnesty International is throwing its weight behind a new tool that scans your computer and smartphone specifically on the hunt for the sort of spyware that's commonly used by governments.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt will play Edward Snowden in forthcoming NSA movie
When you're making a movie based on one of the biggest stories in recent years, and centered around one pretty normal-looking data administrator, really got to get the casting right. Maybe Oliver Stone's pulled it off. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who you might remember from well, all these movies, will be playing Edward Snowden in the director's forthcoming movie. In case you forgot why, Snowden leaked a whole lot of classified documents in 2013, which lead to widespread criticism over the NSA's data-gathering methods - from world leaders and Joe Internet alike. The screenplay is based on two books: The Snowden Files by Luke Harding and Time of the Octopus by Anatoly Kucherena, which points to a substantial amount of screen time for whoever plays the whistleblower. The movie goes into production in January next year. [Image credit: John Sciulli/Getty Images, AFP/Getty Images]
Would the world be any better without any privacy? One guy wants to find out
We live in an imperfect world, full of imperfect beings, but if everyone declared that they had nothing to hide, would that make us better people? It's a question that one man is hoping to answer by opening up every aspect of his life to the world's scrutiny for a whole year. Anti-privacy activist Noah Dyer believes that unless people choose to abandon privacy, society will never improve. In his mind, the information imbalance between bodies like the NSA and individuals encourage abuse and poor decision making that those affected, cannot see or question. It's a subject that Dyer is sufficiently passionate about, he handed over his email account to The Atlantic for detailed inspection.
Edward Snowden left behind clues so the NSA would understand his motives
So much for trying to dodge unwanted attention. In a wide-ranging interview with Wired, the enigmatic Edward Snowden claimed that he wanted the US government to know what he was up to when he started collecting all that sensitive information to release unto the world. His plan? To leave behind a trail of clues for NSA investigators so they'd be able to suss out the rationale behind his actions.
Snowden: The NSA's building Skynet to fight wars online
More than a year after Edward Snowden first spilled the beans on the NSA's digital surveillance practices, you wouldn't think that he had much left to reveal. In an interview with Wired, however, the former spy has revealed that the agency is building an autonomous online defense system that will, not only crush digital attacks on the US, but could also launch digital retaliations in the blink of an eye. The in-no-way-ominously-named MonsterMind is designed to scour metadata databases, analyzing the traffic patterns in a way that'd make malicious traffic stand out. Foreign attackers launching DDoS or malware attacks against financial institutions, infrastructure or government systems could then be identified, and blocked.
Edward Snowden gets a three-year extension on his stay in Russia
After leaking details of questionable surveillance programs being conducted by the NSA and others, self-titled government spy Edward Snowden fled the US last year and was granted temporary asylum in Russia. The leaks have continued and he allegedly found gainful employment in tech support, but as his year of asylum was up a few days ago, he's now been upgraded to a three-year residence permit. This apparently gives Snowden a bit more freedom to move around and even travel internationally, though his lawyer said at a press conference that "in the future Edward will have to decide whether to live in Russia and become a citizen or to return to the United States." Fat chance of the latter happening, seeming as Snowden's a bona fide fugitive as far as the US is concerned. Looks like the government will have to keep itself busy tracking down his sidekick for now. [Image credit: AFP/Getty Images]
How to Disappear (almost) Completely: the illusion of privacy
Can anyone ever really leave the internet? And if you had the choice, is that something that you'd want to do? After all, abandoning the connected world might help you reclaim some privacy, but even if you smashed your PC, burned your tablet and tossed your smartphone, you might still not be able to escape constant surveillance. In our three-part series How To Disappear, we're going to look at why you'd think about going offline, what you can do to tidy up your digital footprint and what happens to those who have made the leap into the darkness.