Government

Thu
30
Jul
Dennis Faas's picture

US Gov't Outraged over Leaked Fed Secrets via P2P

According to a recent report, extremely sensitive government data has appeared on peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing networks. The information is reported to include the precise locations of American nuclear silos and FBI surveillance photos. News of ... the leak came at the recent House Government Oversight ... (view more)

Wed
29
Jul
Dennis Faas's picture

US Spy Program Operated in Secret, Beyond Wiretaps

A massive data mining system aimed at identifying terrorists may have continued to operate under an executive order signed by President Bush in October 2001, despite an order to shut it down by Congress. In 2001 the Defense Department was briefed on ... the Total Information Awareness (TIA) program developed by Admiral John Poindexter. TIA was concocted to created a massive database program that would be accessible to the CIA, the FBI, and numerous other police agencies around the U.S. President Continued Program In the summer of 2002, JetBlue, Inc. turned over the names and addresses of 1.5 ... (view more)

Thu
16
Jul
Dennis Faas's picture

U.S. Gov't Still Trying to Push Flawed ID Schemes

When you can't get any states to participate in your flawed National ID scheme, what do you do? If you're the U.S. government, you change its name and try again. With the death of the REAL ID Act comes a replacement bill that poses many of the same ... threats, including what the Campaign for Liberty refers to as a federal grab for personal information. Now the act has been renamed and referred to as an enhanced or higher security driver's license. In reality, however, the only way to resolve the problem is to repeal it, not rename it. (Source: campaignforliberty.com ) After 9/11, the government ... (view more)

Fri
10
Jul
Dennis Faas's picture

NSA to Monitor Private-Sector Networks

Under the questionable guise of cyber security, the National Security Agency (NSA), in partnership with The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and AT&T, will be monitoring private-sector networks. The surveillance will continue despite the ... government's allegations that the NSA will only be scrutinizing data going to or from government systems. Whenever a person visits a 'dot-gov' (.gov) web site or sends an email to a government employee, their actions will be screened for potential harm to the network. NSA's History of Illegal Surveillance It's unclear exactly who is in charge of the ... (view more)

Thu
09
Jul
Dennis Faas's picture

North Korea Suspected of Cyber Attacks on U.S.

Just in time for the announcement that the National Security Agency (NSA) will be pervasively monitoring private networks comes news that cyber attacks attributed to North Korea paralyzed major South Korean and U.S. government web sites. Eleven ... South Korean organizations, including the presidential Blue House, the Defense Ministry, the National Assembly, Shinhan Bank, Korea Exchange Bank and top Internet portal Naver, and coincidentally, eleven U.S. sites including the U.S. Treasury Department, Secret Service, Federal Trade Commission and Transportation Department, went down or experienced ... (view more)

Thu
18
Jun
Dennis Faas's picture

French Internet Piracy Law Ruled Unconstitutional

France's plan to cut off the Internet connections of digital pirates has been defanged by the country's highest constitutional body, who called the law unconstitutional. France's Constitutional Council reviews legislation that has been approved by ... Parliament before it goes into effect. The core portion of the controversial "three-strike" law could have created a new agency that, under the orders of copyright owners, would have the authority to order Internet service providers to shut down the accounts of copyright cheats who ignored two warnings to stop pirating. (Source: nytimes. ... (view more)

Wed
10
Jun
Dennis Faas's picture

Chinese Home PCs Required to Have Spyware July 1

In a move designed to give the government unprecedented control over what users will and will not be able to see on the Internet, the Chinese government reportedly wants all computers sold in China after July 2009 to come pre-installed software that ... automatically censors the Internet. That's not surprising when you consider the fact that China recently ranked number one as the most complete Electronic Police State in the world. (Source (PDF): cryptohippie.com ) During the twentieth anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre this past week, China reportedly blocked access to websites like ... (view more)

Tue
05
May
Dennis Faas's picture

US Cyber Security At Breaking Point, Report Suggests

Just as a report on cyber security ordered by U.S. president Obama nears release, security experts are reportedly describing America's defenses as "broken," "childlike," and "embarrassing." Tim Mather, chief strategist for security firm RSA, told ... the BBC News that the approach relied upon for years isn't working and he thinks we're seeing a real breaking point in security. According to the BBC, the security industry is at a crossroads and has a responsibility to alter the way it operates. The time has come to develop new technologies to keep pace with and move ahead of the ... (view more)

Wed
29
Apr
Dennis Faas's picture

UK Muses Internet Surveillance, no Super Database

The British Home Secretary has reportedly scrapped plans for a super database , but still wants communications firms to record and organize all emails, phone calls, Internet use and visits to social networking sites for security purposes as part of ... a modernization in UK police surveillance tactics. Instead of a super database, communications companies from Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to mobile phone networks are being asked to extend the range of information they currently hold on their customers and organize it so it can be used to investigate crime and terrorism. CSPs Asked to Record ... (view more)

Mon
20
Apr
Dennis Faas's picture

EU Rivals UK over Consent of Behavorial Marketing

According to reports, the European Commission will soon begin an investigation into the British government's use of Internet surveillance. It could result in the government being forced to defend its policy on Internet privacy in front of European ... judges. Ironically, the investigation isn't a result of U.K. data retention laws . The legal action resulted over Internet Service Providers (ISPs) using controversial behavorial advertising without consent from their customers. EU Wants "Clear Consent" from Users According to the report , the European Union (EU) wants "clear consent" from ... (view more)

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