whistleblower
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The UK considers tougher prison sentences for whistleblowers
The UK government is considering new proposals that would drastically increase prison sentences for individuals and journalists found guilty of obtaining or sharing state secrets. In a bid to modernize the Official Secrets Acts, a new espionage-focused law could lead to sentences of up to 14 years, which currently sits at two years and an unlimited fine, for coming into contact with "sensitive information," whether they've acquired it or have been passed it in secret.
Watch Twitter's CEO interview Edward Snowden at 12PM ET
The world's most famous whistleblower, Edward Snowden, will be interviewed by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey in less than an hour. Those of you who are interested in watching can do so live via the Pardon Snowden Twitter account, and you can also participate by submitting your own questions using the hashtag #AskSnowden. There are no details on what the conversation will be about, but chances are we'll hear something related to Russia "hacking" the US Presidential election and other things of that nature. Tune in at 12:05PM ET.
House committee: Snowden is a 'serial exaggerator and fabricator'
The US House of Representatives' intelligence committee just releasing a statement condemning Edward Snowden and recommending he be extradited to face justice. After two years spent reviewing the 1.5 million documents Snowden stole and interviewing experts, the committee report rejects his whistleblower claims and attempts to poke enough holes in his story to portray him as a dangerous liar. Obviously, the government has an incentive to downplay his leak's accomplishments and hammer home their threat to the country, but with the ACLU and Amnesty International calling on President Obama to pardon Snowden, it's critical to look past the static of competing narratives.
Edward Snowden explains why Obama should pardon him
Edward Snowden laid out the reasons he should receive a pardon from President Obama in an interview with the Guardian, saying that while his actions as a whistleblower were technically illegal, they benefited citizens of the United States. "I think when people look at the calculations of benefit, it is clear that in the wake of 2013 the laws of our nation changed," Snowden told the Guardian. "The Congress, the courts and the president all changed their policies as a result of these disclosures. At the same time there has never been any public evidence that any individual came to harm as a result."
Terror returns in 'Outlast 2,' confirmed for fall 2016
Outlast was one of the most horrifying games of 2013 -- and perhaps of all time. Our review called it a "perfect nightmare" of gore, mental strain and tense sound design, and the Whistleblower DLC, which followed in 2014, was similarly heart-pounding. Just two days before Halloween 2015, independent studio Red Barrels has unveiled Outlast 2, due next fall for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC and Mac. Details are scarce, but we know that this sequel will be a brand-new beast. "The game will be a survival-horror experience and it will take place in the same universe as Outlast, but it will have different characters and a different setting," Red Barrels co-founder Philippe Morin outlined in October 2014. A brief teaser trailer released today suggests Outlast 2 will continue the franchise's theme of haunting religious imagery.
Twitter noob Snowden gets hammered with 47GB of notification emails
What happens when one of the most wanted men in the world joins Twitter and forgets to disable email notifications? 47GB of emails. As you might expect, Edward Snowden was immediately inundated with followers, replies, favorites, DMs and retweets -- all of which came with individual alerts to the NSA whistleblower's email account. For reference, Snowden currently sits at 1.26 million followers (and counting) and his first tweet earlier this week has been favorited 110,000 times with 120,000 retweets. Hopefully his phone was in silent mode. [Image credit: AP Photo/Charles Platiau, Pool]
WikiLeaks opens its doors to whistleblowers (again)
After almost five years of internal turmoil and allegations, WikiLeaks is back in secret-sharing business. The site has re-launched a beta version that is accepting anonymous files starting today. Even though Julian Assange, the editor-in-chief of the site, continues to live in asylum at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, the online submission system intends to regain its reputation as a secure site for people looking to share information of political and historical significance.
Most of the government's anonymous tiplines aren't secure
When it comes to whistleblowing, privacy is paramount -- just ask Edward Snowden. It's also why news from an American Civil Liberties Association report (PDF) about anonymous government tiplines not using HTTPS encryption is all the more alarming. In a letter to Tony Scott -- not the late filmmaker, the United States chief information officer -- the ACLU's Michael W. Macleod-Ball and Christopher Soghoian implore the government to fast-track efforts to swap the some 29 websites that are required by law to protect the anonymity of tipsters over to HTTPS. If that can't happen immediately (Scott has a two-year plan to encrypt all government websites) then the ACLU suggests allowing people to use the Tor browser for alerting the authorities about fraud or waste in the interim. Currently, the anonymity-minded browser is blocked by certain federal agency websites.
Cops gave a malware-laden drive to a lawyer for whistleblowers
Arkansas' Fort Smith Police Department may be responsible for some particularly sinister digital tricks, if you ask one lawyer. An attorney representing whistleblowers in a police corruption scandal says that the Department sent him a hard drive laden with trojans when he requested documents. Given that the rogue files were found in a folder specific to the court order (that is, they were added after the court order was issued), it looks as if someone in the FSPD wanted to hijack the lawyer's computer and sabotage his case. And that's not the only suspicious behavior, either -- the city reportedly deleted email accounts and messages that it knew it was supposed to keep.
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]
Dead Man Zero will let you blow the whistle beyond the grave
Head's up, whistleblowers: you're only as good as your backup plan, and one service has set up shop on the dark web to help you spill the beans in case you're "hurt, jailed, or even killed for trying to render a genuine and risky service to our free society." Meet Dead Man Zero. For the low, low price of 0.3 Bitcoins (at time of writing, that works out to just over $130), you can have digital dead man's switch to make sure that word gets out about what you were working on... and just maybe who may have been behind your disappearance or demise.
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]
Xbox One seeks asylum, Outlast available now with DLC
Xbox One players can book some time at the Mount Massive Asylum, now that Outlast has made the jump from PS4 and PC to the Microsoft system. Red Barrels' mentally ill horror is $20/£16 on the Xbox One store, while its Whistleblower DLC is also available for $9/£7.19. As our review explains, Outlast's DLC picks up where the main game left off, i.e. with your heartbeat pounding. "Everything in Whistleblower is turned up to 11," Joystiq's Jess Conditt screamed as she sprinted down the hallway, "the blood, the twisting layout of the building, the number of bodies hanging from the rafters, the nudity and the sexual exploits of the patients of Mount Massive Asylum." If you yet to complete the game, you really should. After all, nice guys finish Outlast*. [Image: Microsoft] *we regret nothing
Joystiq Weekly: Nintendo's future, Outlast DLC review, Mother's Day and more
Welcome to Joystiq Weekly, a "too long; didn't read" of each week's biggest stories, reviews and original content. Each category's top story is introduced with a reactionary gif, because moving pictures aren't just for The Daily Prophet. Most of us have joked that Nintendo revealing a Pokemon MMO would shut down the world due to how perfectly the series would fit in the genre. That's thankfully still a joke and the economy is safe for now, but Nintendo's talk of further exploring NFC toys presents an equally worrisome possibility: what if they make a Skylanders-style Pokemon game that's more successful than Pokemon Rumble? They'd have to start with a limited portion of the Pokedex at first, sure. But what if the series achieved enough financial success to support 719 different Pokemon-shaped hunks of plastic? It'd be like the trading card boom all over again, except accumulated masses of figurines wouldn't be something we could hide away in a binder. No, they'd claim boxes of space, slowly consuming our garages until we finally discarded the full box of Goldeens that we know we'll never be able to trick someone into trading for. And if those Goldeens aren't properly recycled, they'll just accumulate into an oceanic clump, a mass with lifeless eyes staring down at the sea floor, at a life it will never truly know. Pretty bleak future, huh? Don't worry, there's so much to help block out these worrisome thoughts after the break. We've got financial news from Nintendo, Activision and EA, reviews for Sportsfriends and Outlast's "Whistleblower" DLC, and a feature where the Joystiq Staff's mothers share their perspective on our childhood gaming habits and our current professions. Dive in after the break - just mind the floating graveyard of Goldeens.
Outlast 'Whistleblower' review: Dismemberment plan
This is a review for Outlast's "Whistleblower" DLC, it contains spoilers for the main campaign and DLC. As the developer of a horror game, where do you go after brutally chopping off your main character's appendages? After chasing your protagonist down hallways dripping with blood and locking him up with hordes of mutilated, homicidal maniacs, what's your next step? Obviously, the only logical move is forced gender reassignment surgery performed by a man in a tuxedo. Clearly, you need a man masturbating over a pile of mutilated corpses. Of course, someone must chase the protagonist down with a buzzing bonesaw. Obviously. The Groom – he's the one with a violent obsession for turning a male patient into his loving wife – isn't even the weirdest part of Outlast's "Whistleblower" DLC. Everything in Whistleblower is turned up to 11 – the blood, the twisting layout of the building, the number of bodies hanging from the rafters, the nudity and the sexual exploits of the patients of Mount Massive Asylum.
Soup's on: Outlast's Whistleblower DLC cooks up a bloody trailer
It may look like a damning indictment of socialized health care - not to mention food preparation standards - but the above footage is actually the launch trailer for Whistleblower, a DLC expansion slated to reach survival horror hit Outlast on May 6. Though Whistleblower offers players a first-hand look at the events leading up to the horror experienced in Outlast, it's not quite a prequel. According to developer Red Barrels, Whistleblower sets the stage for Outlast, then adds a wholly new chapter to the end of the story. The key thing to know though, is that Whistleblower still takes place within the Mount Massive Asylum, so expect the same kind of eerie, gory scares that made Outlast a hit. On debut, Whistleblower will be available at a price of $9 from both the PlayStation Network Store and Steam. More information is available on the developer's website.
Outlast's Whistleblower DLC creeps into next month
The new Whistleblower DLC for Outlast slipped from April to May, but don't think you'll be safe for too long. The PC and PS4 asylum horror admits its first piece of additional content on May 6, although PS4 users in Europe get an extra day of sanctuary until May 7. The unfortunate soul you play in Whisteblower is Waylon Park, a software engineer who's contracted to work at the Mount Massive Asylum prior to the events of the game. After seeing what unscrupulous things the staff's getting up to, Park feels compelled to expose the establishment to the press. If you've played Outlast, you of course know that his plan went perfectly and everybody lived happily ever after. Especially this (probably NSFW) guy. [Image: Red Barrels]
Outlast reopens its gates with Whistleblower DLC in April
Outlast receives its first DLC in April both on Windows PC and PS4, obliterating any hope that you'd escaped the Mount Massive Asylum for good. The first-person survival horror features reporter Miles Upshur investigating the creepy hospital, and the "Whistleblower" DLC details the events that led him to the asylum's foreboding gates. Whistleblower stars Waylon Park, a software engineer working for the Murkoff Corporation, which owns and runs Mount Massive. After spending two weeks at the asylum, Park felt he had to email Upshur and other journalists to spill the beans on the secret horrors of the asylum - probably not the best idea from a self-preservation point-of-view, but there we are. Whistleblower doesn't just chronicle these events, though, with developer Red Barrels noting "it will actually stretch past the events of the first game to show the final chapter in Mount Massive Asylum's story." The above image is from the main game rather than the DLC, but we'll let you decide for yourself if you want to see the gruesome screenshot Red Barrels published alongside this week's news. Really, who drinks soda just before dinner? Revolting. [Image: Red Barrels]
Outlast on sale for Halloween, new Whistleblower DLC is already scary
So there's good news and bad news: Outlast, the terrifying asylum game from Red Barrels, is 33 percent off right now, making it just $13. That's the good news. The bad news is that there's also a new expansion for Outlast coming up, and this means we're going to play more Outlast. The first round was almost too much terror for one lifetime. The expansion is titled Whistleblower and it tells the tale of Miles Upshur, the man who sent that tip about the horrors of Mount Massive Asylum to the journalist starring in the full game. Miles discovers first-hand (and finger, if the teaser image is anything to go by) the torture and experiments conducted on the patients of Mount Massive, and he gets involved in the slaughter preceding Outlast's main story. Anyone interested in more Outlast, hands up! ... Ew, hands down.
Snowden leaves neutral confines of Moscow airport, enters Russia
Edward Snowden has finally escaped his month-long Moscow airport purgatory and arrived in Russian territory, according to the Associated Press. The NSA whistleblower had already been granted temporary asylum by the Putin-led government after Bolivia and Venezuela also offered to take the fugitive, and was awaiting paperwork in order to leave Sheremetyevo Airport. The NSA's arch-enemy will be granted a year's stay, according to his Russian lawyer, and will be able to re-apply to remain after that. Now that his Russian residency has been established, most press outlets expect a strong reaction from the US government after it assured Moscow that Snowden wouldn't face the death penalty if deported. For its part, Russia said it has no intention of handing over the man who blew the lid off the pervasive PRISM monitoring program.
