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Keyword: calea

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  • Computer scientists to FBI: don't require all our devices to have backdoors for spies

    06/05/2013 3:16:14 PM PDT · by Zeta Beam · 11 replies
    Boing Boing ^ | 5/17/13 | Cory Doctorow
    In an urgent, important blog post, computer scientist and security expert Ed Felten lays out the case against rules requiring manufacturers to put wiretapping backdoors in their communications tools. Since the early 1990s, manufacturers of telephone switching equipment have had to follow a US law called CALEA that says that phone switches have to have a deliberate back-door that cops can use to secretly listen in on phone calls without having to physically attach anything to them. This has already been a huge security problem -- through much of the 1990s, AT&T's CALEA controls went through a Solaris machine that...
  • Is there a drone in your neighbourhood?

    04/24/2012 6:23:05 AM PDT · by Mad Dawgg · 107 replies
    The Daily Mail Online ^ | 05:15 EST, 24 April 2012 | Julian Gavaghan
    Is there a drone in your neighbourhood? Rise of spy planes exposed after FAA is forced to reveal 63 launch sites across U.S. Unmanned spy planes are being launched from locations in 20 states and owners include the military and universities. There are at least 63 active drone sites around the U.S, federal authorities have been forced to reveal following a landmark Freedom of Information lawsuit. The unmanned planes – some of which may have been designed to kill terror suspects – are being launched from locations in 20 states. Most of the active drones are deployed from military installations,...
  • Why Does President Obama Want My Cookies?

    07/30/2009 6:58:49 AM PDT · by luckybogey · 9 replies · 547+ views
    White House Blog ^ | July 30, 2009 | LuckyBogey
    Federal Websites: Cookie Policy During the Open Government Initiative outreach, Federal employees and the public have asked us questions about the federal government’s policy on cookies. As part of our effort to create a more open and innovative government, we’re working on a new cookie policy that we’ll want your input on. But before we get into that, let’s provide some context. In June 2000, the OMB Director issued a memorandum (M-00-13, later updated by M-03-22)) that prohibited Federal agencies from using certain web-tracking technologies, primarily persistent cookies, due to privacy concerns, unless the agency head approved of these technologies...
  • US government Internet traffic to be screened: report

    07/03/2009 12:09:52 PM PDT · by Nachum · 13 replies · 573+ views
    breitbart ^ | 7/3/09 | ap
    The Obama administration is planning to use the National Security Agency to screen Internet traffic between government agencies and the private sector, the Washington Post reported Friday. The project was first initiated by the previous administration of president George W. Bush and was due to be set in motion in February. The aim is to protect the government computer network from attacks from outside, the Post said quoting Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.
  • Breaking Our Terrible Addiction to TV

    06/18/2009 10:49:38 AM PDT · by Dick Bachert · 45 replies · 1,205+ views
    Straight Talk Newsletter ^ | June 18, 2009 | Chip Wood
    One of the more thought-provoking columns I make sure I read every week is called Spiritual Wealth. It's written by my good friend Alex Green, who is Investment Director of the Oxford Club. Alex gave me permission to share one of his columns with you, with the request that I also tell you about his new book. I'm delighted to do both. See the end of today's column for details on how you can receive his column every week and learn about The Secret of Shelter Island, his inspiring and informative new book. According to A.C. Nielson Co., the average...
  • Fed contractor, cell phone maker sold spy system to Iran

    06/21/2009 5:50:53 PM PDT · by PapaBear3625 · 24 replies · 1,374+ views
    Washington Times ^ | April 13, 2009 | Eli Lake
    Two European companies — a major contractor to the U.S. government and a top cell-phone equipment maker — last year installed an electronic surveillance system for Iran that human rights advocates and intelligence experts say can help Iran target dissidents. Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN), a joint venture between the Finnish cell-phone giant Nokia and German powerhouse Siemens, delivered what is known as a monitoring center to Irantelecom, Iran's state-owned telephone company.
  • Government collection of domestic emails?

    06/17/2009 9:31:30 AM PDT · by bintenn · 5 replies · 518+ views
    New York Times / CNET ^ | 6/17/09 | James Risen
    The National Security Agency is facing renewed scrutiny over the extent of its domestic surveillance program, with critics in Congress saying its recent intercepts of the private telephone calls and e-mail messages of Americans are broader than previously acknowledged, current and former officials said. The agency's monitoring of domestic e-mail messages, in particular, has posed longstanding legal and logistical difficulties, the officials said. Since April, when it was disclosed that the intercepts of some private communications of Americans went beyond legal limits in late 2008 and early 2009, several Congressional committees have been investigating. Those inquiries have led to concerns...
  • Big Brother watching? Coming soon

    03/31/2009 1:33:50 PM PDT · by Corky Boyd · 6 replies · 472+ views
    Island Turtle ^ | March 31, 2009 | Corky Boyd
    There is a slow but steady encroachment on our privacy by government. It often comes with rational and admirable cover terms for a hidden agenda. A recent comment by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, during his conformation hearings, broached the subject of taxing car mileage based on GPS tracking. An immediate hue and cry went up from privacy organizations which saw it as an Orwellian intrusion. It was dropped like a hot potato by the White House. The EU is currently looking at another
  • Copyright treaty is classified for 'national security'

    03/13/2009 12:26:08 PM PDT · by BGHater · 16 replies · 753+ views
    CNET ^ | 12 Mar 2009 | Declan McCullagh
    Last September, the Bush administration defended the unusual secrecy over an anti-counterfeiting treaty being negotiated by the U.S. government, which some liberal groups worry could criminalize some peer-to-peer file sharing that infringes copyrights. Now President Obama's White House has tightened the cloak of government secrecy still further, saying in a letter this week that a discussion draft of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement and related materials are "classified in the interest of national security pursuant to Executive Order 12958." The 1995 Executive Order 12958 allows material to be classified only if disclosure would do "damage to the national security and the...
  • Right Wingnut Incitements to Violence Are Being Acted Upon THE FBI AND SECRET SERVICE NEED OUR HELP

    03/09/2009 10:16:59 AM PDT · by Jim Robinson · 217 replies · 8,010+ views
    A libtard blog ^ | March 9, 2009 | catherinemacivor.com
    Excerpts: As you all know, Skyewriter recently wrote about the dangerous incitement to violence and direct threats at Free Republic. I also posted and directed you to Skywriter’s blog. Skyewriter and I were deluged with gun bloggers and other right wingnuts (and just nuts) who denied that this was a direct threat. ~~snip~~ One week after Skywriter posted and I directed those on my blog to the post, the Daily Kos posted on the same topic. They detailed a thread in which the wingnuts were ranting, no doubt with white froth at the mouth, about our duly elected President who...
  • White House abandons YouTube

    03/03/2009 7:39:36 AM PST · by SLB · 11 replies · 589+ views
    Federal Computer Week ^ | March 2, 2009
    Also in the News: White House abandons YouTube Mar 02, 2009 Privacy complaints force a change in plans With complaints by privacy activists stacking up, the White House has quietly dropped YouTube as the supplier of embedded videos on the White House home page, according to CNET news. Instead, the Obama administration will use its own Flash-based solution. The decision came following growing criticism of Google-owned YouTube's use of tracking cookies. The White House counsel recently issued a waiver to the long-held no-cookie presumption of privacy for visitors to the White House Web site, a decision challenged by privacy groups...
  • Bill proposes ISPs, Wi-Fi keep logs for police [even home users] [it's for the children]

    02/20/2009 6:01:36 AM PST · by rabscuttle385 · 91 replies · 1,796+ views
    CNET ^ | 2009-02-19 | Declan McCullagh
    Republican politicians on Thursday called for a sweeping new federal law that would require all Internet providers and operators of millions of Wi-Fi access points, even hotels, local coffee shops, and home users, to keep records about users for two years to aid police investigations. The legislation, which echoes a measure proposed by one of their Democratic colleagues three years ago, would impose unprecedented data retention requirements on a broad swath of Internet access providers and is certain to draw fire from businesses and privacy advocates. "While the Internet has generated many positive changes in the way we communicate and...
  • Intelligence Court Rules Wiretapping Power Legal

    01/15/2009 9:51:26 AM PST · by fremont_steve · 52 replies · 3,022+ views
    The New York Times ^ | January 15, 2009 | Eric Lichtblau
    WASHINGTON — A federal intelligence court, in a rare public opinion, is expected to issue a major ruling validating the power of the president and Congress to wiretap international phone calls and intercept e-mail messages without a court order, even when Americans’ private communications may be involved, according to a person with knowledge of the opinion.
  • Obama to introduce new government mandated computer operating system by 2010 – “Barix 1.0” (Satire)

    01/07/2009 6:41:53 AM PST · by GeorgiaDawg32 · 38 replies · 1,543+ views
    Liberal Lunacy ^ | 1/7/09 | Liberal Lunacy Staff/REM
    (Washington, D.C., 1/8/09) In a statement to be released tomorrow, the incoming administration of President-Elect Barack Obama has promised government intervention in the worldwide web by the creation of a U.S. mandated operating system to be named “Barix 1.0" which will, by government decree, replace Windows, MAC and Linux among a few, plus a plethora of browsers such as Firefox and Internet Explorer." “The esteemed, highly decorated and patriotic Senator Kerry once said, “You can’t professionalize unless you federalize” when talking about the creation of the TSA. The creation of this professionally prepared, foolproof government created operating system will be...
  • Evslin: No more landlines under Obama

    11/18/2008 8:34:01 PM PST · by Kukai · 87 replies · 2,268+ views
    Seeking Alpha ^ | November 17, 2008 | Tom Evslin
    By the end of President Obama's first term, there won't be any more copper landlines left in the country. One of the challenges facing the Federal Communications Commission and the new administration is how to deal with the fallout from the end of this venerable technology. It's gonna get ugly for some people – people who can't afford to do without communication – unless we're proactive about this problem. Here's what's happening, as you probably know. Young people don't bother with landlines (unless they live beyond cell coverage); they just use their mobile phones or Skype for voice communication. The...
  • FOIA docs show feds can lojack mobiles without telco help

    11/17/2008 6:09:50 PM PST · by mad_as_he$$ · 32 replies · 1,183+ views
    ars technica ^ | November 16, 2008 | Julian Sanchez
    Courts in recent years have been raising the evidentiary bar law enforcement agents must meet in order to obtain historical cell phone records that reveal information about a target's location. But documents obtained by civil liberties groups under a Freedom of Information Act request suggest that "triggerfish" technology can be used to pinpoint cell phones without involving cell phone providers at all.
  • Anticipating the First US CTO

    11/11/2008 9:21:29 AM PST · by Clint Williams · 3 replies · 230+ views
    Ecommerce Times ^ | 11/10/8 | Rob Enderle
    ...Picking the New US CTO Now, typically a spot like this would go to a big contributor or backer who would screw around for a couple of years before being replaced by someone else who wanted the title and responsibility. But I'm hoping Obama will break this trend and instead pick someone that could make a huge difference in how technology is used in this country. ... I ended up with four potential candidates: Al Gore, ...
  • Obama Voters Protest His Switch on Telecom Immunity

    07/02/2008 9:19:55 PM PDT · by neverdem · 38 replies · 117+ views
    NY Times ^ | July 2, 2008 | JAMES RISEN
    WASHINGTON — Senator Barack Obama’s decision to support legislation granting legal immunity to telecommunications companies that cooperated with the Bush administration’s program of wiretapping without warrants has led to an intense backlash among some of his most ardent supporters. Thousands of them are now using the same grass-roots organizing tools previously mastered by the Obama campaign to organize a protest against his decision. In recent days, more than 7,000 Obama supporters have organized on a social networking site on Mr. Obama’s own campaign Web site. They are calling on Mr. Obama to reverse his decision to endorse legislation supported by...
  • Bloggers: Big Media Is Watching [copyright-related battles online like the recent AP-blogger flap]

    07/01/2008 8:15:17 AM PDT · by Sub-Driver · 41 replies · 162+ views
    Bloggers: Big Media Is Watching As content recognition software gets more sophisticated, expect more copyright-related battles online like the recent AP-blogger flap by Peter Burrows The Associated Press unleashed a firestorm in the blogosphere earlier this month when it demanded that a political site take down AP content it said violated copyrights. Bloggers, including Michael Arrington of TechCrunch.com and Markos Moulitas of Daily Kos, cried foul, saying the AP's move threatened the free flow of information over the Web. The furor abated a few days later when the AP tempered its demands. But the dustup between the AP and bloggers...
  • FCC Weighs Free-Internet Plan

    05/29/2008 6:54:13 AM PDT · by mnehring · 29 replies · 152+ views
    WASHINGTON -- In the quest to increase Americans' access to broadband Internet, federal regulators are considering a new plan: get someone to give it away free. The Federal Communications Commission is considering a plan that would require the winner of a planned airwaves auction to offer free wireless-Internet service to most Americans within the next few years.