Tech Dirt: “Eight years ago, prompted by the Snowden revelations (and Senator Ron Wyden’s persistent questions), then-National Intelligence Director James Clapper finally provided the public with some insight into the FBI’s warrantless searches of Americans’ data collected (supposedly inadvertently) by the NSA. The report delivered to Sen. Wyden was surprisingly redaction-free. But that didn’t mean… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: E-Records
Facebook Papers – Here’s What They Say About the Ranking Algorithms That Control Your News Feed
This piece is part of Gizmodo’s ongoing effort to make the Facebook Papers available to the public. See the full directory of documents here. “…Today, as part of a rolling effort to make the Facebook Papers available publicly, Gizmodo is releasing a second batch of documents—37 files in all. In our first drop, we shared… Continue Reading
Out of sight: the algorithms running our lives
The Guardian – ‘Bossware is coming for almost every worker’: the software you might not realize is watching you. Computer monitoring software is helping companies spy on their employees to measure their productivity – often without their consent…A survey last September by review site Digital.com of 1,250 US employers found 60% with remote employees are… Continue Reading
Tracking Federal Awards: USAspending.gov and Other Data Sources
CRS Report – Tracking Federal Awards: USAspending.gov and Other Data Sources, Updated April 26, 2022: “USAspending.gov, available at http://www.USAspending.gov, is a government source for data on federal awards by state, congressional district (CD), county, city, and zip code. The awards data in USAspending.gov are provided by federal agencies and represent contracts, grants, loans, and other… Continue Reading
Facebook Doesn’t Know What It Does With Your Data, Or Where It Goes: Leaked Document
Vice: “We do not have an adequate level of control and explainability over how our systems use data,” Facebook engineers say in leaked document. Facebook is facing what it describes internally as a “tsunami” of privacy regulations all over the world, which will force the company to dramatically change how it deals with users’ personal… Continue Reading
Trump’s Chief of Staff – texts track effort to overturn election 2022
“CNN has obtained 2,319 text messages that former President Donald Trump’s White House chief of staff Mark Meadows sent and received between Election Day 2020 and President Joe Biden’s January 20, 2021 inauguration. The vast trove of texts, which Meadows selectively provided to the House committee investigating the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, offers the most revealing… Continue Reading
The FBI is breaking into corporate computers to remove malicious code – smart cyber defense or government overreach?
Via LLRX – The FBI is breaking into corporate computers to remove malicious code – smart cyber defense or government overreach? – Cybersecurity scholar Scott J. Shackelford discusses how the FBI has the authority right now to access privately owned computers without their owners’ knowledge or consent, and to delete software. It’s part of a government… Continue Reading
Companies lose your data and then nothing happens
Vox: “…High-profile data breaches have been in the headlines for years. In 2013, Target lost the credit card, debit card, and other information of tens of millions of customers. In 2018, Marriott disclosed a data breach that impacted up to 500 million people; in 2020, it got hit again. In 2021, hackers got a bunch… Continue Reading
How Democracies Spy on Their Citizens
The New yorker: “The inside story of the world’s most notorious commercial spyware and the big tech companies waging war against it.” By Ronan Farrow – April 18, 2022. “…Commercial spyware has grown into an industry estimated to be worth twelve billion dollars. It is largely unregulated and increasingly controversial. In recent years, investigations by the… Continue Reading
We’re Publishing the Facebook Papers. Here’s What They Say About Donald Trump, the 2020 Election, and Jan. 6.
“Gizmodo has reviewed, redacted, and published more than two dozen leaked Facebook documents, the first of hundreds to come. In the hours following the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, employees at Facebook tasked with preventing “potential offline harm” found themselves under siege by a mob of a different sort. Reports of abusive content from… Continue Reading
Pete Recommends Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, April 16, 2022
Via LLRX –Pete Recommends Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, April 16, 2022 – Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex… Continue Reading
Social Security Card Replacement: How to Get a New One
CNET: “It’s not often you need to show your physical Social Security card. If you have the nine digits of your Social Security number memorized, you rarely need to pull out your card from its hiding spot. But in some cases, it may be necessary to show it — like when you’re getting a new… Continue Reading
