Tag Archives: data mining
American Civil Liberties Union lives up to their creed
In a detailed legal attack on the National Security Agency’s collection of Americans’ phone call data, the American Civil Liberties Union argued in court papers filed Monday that the sweeping data gathering violates the Constitution and should be halted. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/27/us/nsa-phone-data-collection-is-illegal-aclu-says.html?ref=us The A.C.L.U. cited the writings of George Orwell and the comprehensive East German surveillance portrayed […]
German people to jealously guard internet privacy
Continuing revelations, based on documents leaked by Edward J. Snowden, of sweeping American digital surveillance around the world are rattling the close ties between the United States and Germany. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/26/world/europe/surveillance-revelations-shake-us-german-ties.html?ref=world In a country scarred by Nazi and Communist pasts, the issue is prompting not just a debate about privacy and data protection, but also […]
US intelligence and banksters feed private spy companies
In 2012, more than $1 billion in venture financing poured into security start-ups, more than double the amount in 2010, according to the National Venture Capital Association. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/23/technology/the-pentagon-as-start-up-incubator.html?src=recg For years, the Pentagon has knocked on Silicon Valley’s door in search of programmers to work on its spying technologies. But these days, it’s the Pentagon that […]
NSA lied about scope of 4th amendment violations for years
A federal judge sharply rebuked the National Security Agency in 2011 for repeatedly misleading the court that oversees its surveillance on domestic soil, including a program that is collecting tens of thousands of domestic e-mails and other Internet communications of Americans each year, according to a secret ruling made public on Wednesday. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/22/us/2011-ruling-found-an-nsa-program-unconstitutional.html?hp&_r=0 The 85-page […]
UK bullies journalists: “there’s no need to write any more”
Alan Rusbridger, editor of The Guardian newspaper, said that two months ago he was contacted by “a very senior government official claiming to present the views of the prime minister,” David Cameron. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/21/world/europe/british-news-organization-has-advantages-in-secrets-battle-with-government.html?pagewanted=1&ref=world There were two meetings in which officials “demanded the return or the destruction of the material we were working on,” and in […]
UK detains Greenwald associate on terrorism to seize NSA info
The partner of Glenn Greenwald, the journalist for The Guardian who has been publishing information leaked by the former National Security Agency contractor Edward J. Snowden, was detained for nine hours by the British authorities under a counterterrorism law while on a stop in London’s Heathrow Airport during a trip from Germany to Brazil. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/19/world/europe/britain-detains-partner-of-reporter-tied-to-leaks.html?hp&_r=0 […]
US: We can’t spy on you if your not on the internet
The Obama administration has poured billions of dollars into expanding the reach of the Internet, and nearly 98 percent of American homes now have access to some form of high-speed broadband. But tens of millions of people are still on the sidelines of the digital revolution. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/19/technology/a-push-to-connect-millions-who-live-offline-to-the-internet.html?pagewanted=1&ref=us Barack Obama took office as president in […]
Assange says libertarians only hope for US
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange praised United States Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) and his father, Dr. Ron Paul, during an interview Friday in which he said the family has been among the biggest supporters his whistleblowing group has in Congress. The Paul family, added Assange, have been “the strongest supporters of the fight against the US […]
NSA admits to violating 4th amendment in leaked audit
The National Security Agency violated privacy rules protecting the communications of Americans and others on domestic soil 2,776 times over a one-year period, according to an internal audit leaked by the former N.S.A. contractor Edward J. Snowden and made public on Thursday night. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/16/us/nsa-often-broke-rules-on-privacy-audit-shows.html?hp&_r=0 The largest number of episodes — 1,904 — appeared to be […]
Facebook reduces satisfaction and fosters loneliness
Using Facebook can reduce young adults’ sense of well-being and satisfaction with life. Checking Facebook made people feel worse about both issues, and the more they browsed, the worse they felt, the University of Michigan research said. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23709009 The study adds to a growing body of research saying Facebook can have negative psychological consequences. “On […]
Hastings, Snowden warn journalists of the info war
In a recent interview NSA whistle blower Edward Snowden states, “After 9/11, many of the most important news outlets in America abdicated their role as a check to power — the journalistic responsibility to challenge the excesses of government — for fear of being seen as unpatriotic and punished in the market during a period […]
Brazil stands their ground on US data spying
Resentment has festered in Brazil since revelations of the surveillance practices emerged in July, detailing how the agency established a data collection center in Brasília and prioritized Brazil, with its vast telecommunications hubs and large population of 200 million, as among the agency’s most spied-upon countries. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/14/world/americas/in-brazil-kerry-is-told-spying-sows-distrust.html?ref=world Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota issued the unusual expression […]
Encryption companies destroy servers after US data request
A company called Lavabit, which was reportedly used by Edward J. Snowden, announced its suspension Thursday afternoon, citing concerns about secret government court orders. By evening, Silent Circle, a Maryland-based firm that counts heads of state among its customers, said it was following Lavabit’s lead and shutting its e-mail service as a protective measure. http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/08/two-providers-of-encrypted-e-mail-shut-down/?ref=world […]
Google to unleash eavesdropping phone in August
Google-owned Motorola has announced a phone that is “always listening”. Saying “OK Google now…” will prompt the Moto X’s Touchless Control system to listen for instructions. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23536936 The device is the first to have been designed from scratch since Google’s $12.5bn (£7.9bn) takeover of Motorola last year. While the company has released handsets since then, […]
US Postal Service colludes in state spying effort
The Postal Service on Friday confirmed that it takes a photograph of every letter and package mailed in the United States — about 160 billion pieces last year — and occasionally provides the photos to law enforcement agencies that request them as part of criminal cases. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/03/us/postal-service-confirms-photographing-all-us-mail.html?ref=us The images are taken at more than 200 […]
New leaks published from Snowden expose NSA’s XKeyscore
The Guardian newspaper published slides leaked by Edward Snowden that detail a secret US surveillance system known as XKeyscore. It reportedly enables American intelligence to monitor “nearly everything a typical user does on the internet”. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-23522565 A series of slides describing XKeyscore, dated 2008, make it clear that the security agency system is collecting […]
Snowden’s father spurns FBI, supports son
The father of US fugitive Edward Snowden has said the FBI asked him to travel to Moscow and see his son. Lon Snowden said he had been asked several weeks ago about Edward, who is sought by the US for leaking details of electronic surveillance programmes. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23514431 He wants to know the FBI’s intentions, he […]
Dirty Babylon 