EFF – “It has been one year since the first Snowden disclosure and in lieu of this first anniversary, world privacy expert and publisher of The Privacy Surgeon, Simon Davies, conceived and published a report titled “A Crisis of Accountability: A global analysis of the impact of the Snowden revelations.” The report includes contributions from individual countries, summarizing the extent to… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Patriot Act
Internet Giants Erect Barriers to Spy Agencies – NYT
DAVID E. SANGER and NICOLE PERLROTH – Google is encrypting more data as it moves between servers “Internet companies like Google and Facebook are working to keep governments and especially their spy agencies out of their servers after revelations from Edward J. Snowden that they had been invaded…As fast as it can, Google is sealing… Continue Reading
E-Mail Self Defense
“Bulk surveillance violates our fundamental rights and makes free speech risky. This guide will teach you a basic surveillance self-defense skill: email encryption. Once you’ve finished, you’ll be able to send and receive emails that are coded to make sure that a surveillance agent or thief can’t intercept your email and read it. Even if you… Continue Reading
Research using big data identifies gaps in timely release of classified documents
The Ghost Files published in Columbia Magazine, Winter 2013-14 by David J. Craig – writing about Columbia Professor Connolly’s Declassification Engine and his efforts to leverage big-data analysis to show what kinds of information the government is keeping classified. “…Then Connelly had an idea: could he use data mining to infer what types of information were being left out of the public… Continue Reading
NYT – N.S.A. Collecting Millions of Faces From Web Images
By JAMES RISEN and LAURA POITRAS “The National Security Agency is harvesting huge numbers of images of people from communications that it intercepts through its global surveillance operations for use in sophisticated facial recognition programs, according to top-secret documents. The spy agency’s reliance on facial recognition technology has grown significantly over the last four years as the agency has turned to new… Continue Reading
Graduate Education, Enrollment, and Degrees in the United States
National Science Foundation – Graduate Education, Enrollment, and Degrees in the United States Graduate Enrollment in S&E S&E Master’s Degrees S&E Doctoral Degrees “Graduate education in S&E contributes to global competitiveness, producing the highly skilled workers of the future and the research needed for a knowledge-based economy. In 2009, the Council of Graduate Schools and the… Continue Reading
Free Speech Groups Issue New Guide to International “Necessary & Proportionate Principles”
News release: “As the global debate over the intelligence programs revealed by Edward Snowden approaches its first anniversary, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and ARTICLE 19 today published a new legal analysis of the Necessary & Proportionate Principles, a guiding framework for countries to apply international human rights law to communications surveillance. Currently, there are few legal… Continue Reading
Report – NSA Is Recording Every Cell Phone Call in the Bahamas
By Ryan Devereaux, Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras: The National Security Agency is secretly intercepting, recording, and archiving the audio of virtually every cell phone conversation on the island nation of the Bahamas. According to documents provided by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, the surveillance is part of a top-secret system – code-named SOMALGET – that was implemented without the knowledge or consent of… Continue Reading
EFF – Which Tech Companies Help Protect You From Government Data Demands?
EFF Survey Shows Improved Privacy and Transparency Policies of the Internet’s Biggest Companies “Technology companies are privy to our most sensitive information: our conversations, photos, location data, and more. But which companies fight the hardest to protect your privacy from government data requests? Today, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) releases its fourth annual “Who Has… Continue Reading
New Documents Reveal Close Ties Between NSA and Tech Companies, PBS Special to Air
EPIC: “New e-mails obtained under the Freedom of Information Act reveal former NSA Director Keith Alexander’s close communication with technology companies regarding emerging cybersecurity threats. The CEOs of Google, Apple, Microsoft, and other technology companies were invited to classified briefings as part of the “Enduring Security Framework,” a government initiative focused on sharing “cyber threat information with the… Continue Reading
DNI Announces the Release of Additional Documents Related to Collection Activities Authorized by President George W. Bush Shortly After the Attacks of Sept. 11
[On May 5, 2014] “the Director of National Intelligence released additional documents related to the intelligence-gathering activities authorized by President George W. Bush shortly after the attacks of Sept. 11 and subsequently transitioned to authority of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. On Dec. 20, 2013, the DNI declassified and acknowledged the presidentially-authorized activities, and his public… Continue Reading
Congress Seeking Transparency and Oversight of NSA Collection of Metadata
New York Review of Books – We Kill People Based on Metadata by David Cole [snipped] “Supporters of the National Security Agency inevitably defend its sweeping collection of phone and Internet records on the ground that it is only collecting so-called “metadata”—who you call, when you call, how long you talk. Since this does not include the actual content… Continue Reading
