Jul 11
Do you like privacy? Do you shun surveillance and eschew spam? Do you like simplicity? If you answered yes to any of those questions, you’ll love DuckDuckGo.
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Jul 11
The Obama administration’s big push for improved cyber security just hit a roadblock after the organizers for the hacker conference DEF CON banned feds from attending. Maybe next year?
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Jul 05
NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden offered asylum in Venezuela (update: Bolivia too)
Posted in: Today's Chili
Now that PRISM leaker Edward Snowden has spent a few days in Russia with a US extradition request looming over him, WikiLeaks legal advisor Sarah Harrison has submitted asylum applications and requests for asylum assistance to a raft of countries on his behalf. The first to step up to the plate is apparently Venezuela, as it’s president Nicolas Maduro stated during a parade that it has rejected US requests for extradition and will offer him political and humanitarian asylum. Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega previously said his country would offer Snowden asylum “if circumstances permit.”
Update: Reports are out that Bolivia’s president, Evo Morales, has joined in offering Snowden asylum. As USA Today notes, this comes hot on the heels of when his plane was barred from flying over European airspace for hours, over concerns Snowden hitched a ride from Russia under the radar.
Filed under: Internet
Source: Wikileaks, Reuters, Eva Golinger (Twitter)
Jul 04
Not surprisingly, the European Parliament isn’t happy to hear that the NSA and other US agencies are allegedly snooping on communications in Europe and elsewhere. It isn’t just complaining loudly, however — the Parliament just voted 483-98 in favor of a resolution that will investigate US surveillance activities in Europe and report on their impact before the end of the year. The measure also asks EU officials to consider limiting the data they voluntarily provide to American authorities, such as shutting down programs that forward air passenger and bank records. There’s nothing in the resolution that would immediately affect the EU-to-US communication pipeline, but that could change in half a year — US intelligence outlets may not get their European information served on a silver platter for much longer.
[Image credit: JLogan, Wikipedia]
Filed under: Internet
Via: ZDNet
Source: European Parliament
Jul 01
The Washington Post has unearthed more slides describing the US government’s PRISM surveillance program
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Jun 30
The Weekly Roundup for 06.24.2013
Posted in: Today's Chili
You might say the week is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workweek, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Weekly Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past seven days — all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Jun 28
After getting upset about the fact that Guardian has been breaking news and leaking classified documents about the many and varied spying programs of the NSA, the US Army has decided to block access to the news site among its employees.
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Jun 27
The Daily Roundup for 06.27.2013
Posted in: Today's ChiliYou might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours — all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Filed under: Misc
Jun 27
The Guardian: NSA still collecting Americans’ online data under Obama administration
Posted in: Today's Chili
Today, The Guardian reported that the Obama administration has permitted the NSA to collect large amounts of Americans’ online data — including email records — for more than two years. The government’s metadata-collection program, first started during the Bush presidency, was discontinued in 2011, but it appears that information-monitoring processes have since been going strong.
This news comes courtesy of “secret documents” obtained by the publication, and the source indicates that the NSA specifically collected information involving “communications with at least one communicant outside the United States or for which no communicant was known to be a citizen of the United States,” though the agency eventually received the green light to tap US residents as well. Earlier this month, reports surfaced claiming the NSA has been snooping on AT&T, Sprint and Verizon customers, and this latest leak only confirms what many already suspected: that there’s still plenty we don’t know about the details — and the extent of — the government’s surveillance activities.
Filed under: Internet
Source: The Guardian (1), The Guardian (2)
Jun 26
Microsoft follows Google’s lead, files request to reveal more data about FISA orders
Posted in: Today's Chili
The Wall Street Journal reports that in a move similar to Google’s request last week, Microsoft has submitted a motion to the secret FISA court to authorize the release of “aggregate data” about the requests it has received. Microsoft published the information it has so far been authorized to reveal a couple of weeks ago, lumping in national security related requests with stats for other criminal warrants and subpoenas. Google and Twitter have been among the loudest requesting the ability to separate national security-related requests like those at the center of the PRISM controversy, however it’s been reported that several companies are negotiating for the ability to be more specific.
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