On Jan. 3, just weeks before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration, outgoing Attorney General Loretta Lynch signed off on an expansion of inter-agency intelligence sharing, allowing the National Security Agency to share raw "signals intelligence" data with other intelligence community members without "scrubbing" it first. A fact sheet released by the Office of the Director … Continue reading Outgoing Obama administration gives Trump’s intelligence community expanded data sharing powers
Tag: nsa
A report from the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, released last week, provides new details on the federal government's use of "cell-site simulators" -- cell phone surveillance devices also commonly known as Stingrays or IMSI-catchers -- and suggests changes to policies governing their use. The report confirms that federal agencies -- primarily the … Continue reading House Oversight Committee calls for clearer rules on cell-site simulators
The New York Times is reporting this week that social media giant Facebook has developed a new "censorship tool" for use by the Chinese government, in the company's latest aggressive move to get into the potentially lucrative Chinese market. The news comes as Facebook begins new controversial blocking of "fake news" in the US, a … Continue reading China censorship extends known distance Facebook will go to please governments, maximize profits
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper announced his resignation this week, following Donald Trump's election win. Clapper, who endured a few controversies in his six years as DNI, will step down from his position January. Clapper's most memorable moment in the media spotlight was probably following his congressional testimony in 2013, when he answered a … Continue reading DNI Clapper resigns, leaving uncertainty about his replacement
Yet another highly classified surveillance facility -- this one managing to maintain secrecy for decades despite its rather prominent location in lower Manhattan -- was revealed this week. A report published Wednesday by the Intercept describes it in depth. As more continues to come to light about the US government's surveillance operations, it is becoming … Continue reading 10 surveillance facilities the government would prefer you didn’t know about
As US officials loudly argue over how to best go about hacking foreign governments, other countries are taking note, and an international hacking arms race seems to be picking up pace. Of the many unexpected topics that came into play in this year's cartoonish US presidential election, one that received considerable attention was Russian hacking … Continue reading Election hacking fears fuel cyber arms race
Following last week's US presidential election, Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who exposed numerous government surveillance programs in 2013 and is now living in Russia, has publicly discussed the results at least twice. "We are starting to substitute open government for sheer authoritarianism, a government based not upon the principle of informed … Continue reading Snowden weighs in on election results
The risk of foreign hackers shifting the outcome of the U.S. presidential election has likely been exaggerated. Nevertheless, officials and policy makers reportedly "do anticipate so-called cyber mischief, including the possible release of fake documents and the proliferation of bogus social media accounts designed to spread misinformation," according to NBC News. To fight back against … Continue reading US warning to Russia a real threat or PR posturing for US public?
Another day, another media freakout over the alleged Wikileaks-Russian axis of hacking. On Monday, it was Marc Thiessen of the American Enterprise Institute and the Washington Post's turn to attack Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who, according to Thiessen "is the devil." Thiessen asserts that the media is being hypocritical and irresponsible in not reporting on … Continue reading Assange ‘is the devil,’ but is he a ‘cyber combatant’?
Adm. Mike Rogers, the "dual-hatted" head of both the National Security Agency (NSA) and U.S. Cyber Command (Cybercom), repeated his position Tuesday that the two agencies should be split and run separately, saying it is only a matter of “the right time” and “the right process.” The proposed move is opposed by some including Senate Armed … Continue reading Proposed NSA-Cybercom split comes as govt. looks to justify cyberattacks
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