EPIC: “The NSA released a privacy report on its surveillance activities under 12333, an Executive Order that provides broad authority for data collection. But the report only addresses a narrow aspect of the EO 12333 collection – protections for U.S. persons in the context of targeted signal intelligence activities. The report fails to address bulk collection or… Continue Reading
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Retired NSA Technical Director Explains Snowden Docs
Alexa O’Brien – Based on a work at alexaobrien.com – “I had an opportunity to attend a presentation by a retired technical director at the NSA, William Binney, which provided context for some of the published documents released by former NSA contractor, Edward Snowden. Because of the public value of Binney’s expertise on the subject, I decided to publish his presentation… Continue Reading
Appeals Court Limits Military Surveillance of Civilian Internet Use
“The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled in United States v. Dreyer that an agent for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service violated Defense Department regulations and the Posse Comitatus Act when he conducted a surveillance operation in Washington state to identify civilians who might be sharing illegal files. The 1878 Act prevents the U.S.… Continue Reading
Newly Revealed NSA Program ICREACH Extends the NSA’s Reach Even Further
EFF: Turns out, the DEA and FBI may know what medical conditions you have, whether you are having an affair, where you were last night, and more—all without any knowing that you have ever broken a law. That’s because the DEA and FBI, as part of over 1000 analysts at 23 U.S. intelligence agencies, have the ability… Continue Reading
The executive order that led to mass spying, as told by NSA alumni
Cyrus Farivar – Ars Technica: [Executive Order] 12333 is used to target foreigners abroad, and collection happens outside the US,” whistleblower John Tye, a former State Department official, told Ars recently. “My complaint is not that they’re using it to target Americans, my complaint is that the volume of incidental collection on US persons is unconstitutional.” The document, known in… Continue Reading
Investigative Report – NSA created ‘google-like search’ engine – shared access with other agencies
“Data available through ICREACH appears to be primarily derived from surveillance of foreigners’ communications, and planning documents show that it draws on a variety of different sources of data maintained by the NSA. Though one 2010 internal paper clearly calls it “the ICREACH database,” a U.S. official familiar with the system disputed that, telling The Intercept that while “it… Continue Reading
Newly Declassified Documents Regarding Now-Discontinued NSA Bulk Electronic Communications Metadata
ODNI: “Following a declassification review by the Executive Branch, the Department of Justice released on August 6, 2014, in redacted form, 38 documents relating to the now-discontinued NSA program [scroll down the page to locate the links] to collect bulk electronic communications metadata pursuant to Section 402 of the FISA (“PRTT provision”). These documents are also responsive… Continue Reading
NSA’s Internet Metadata Program Was Sharply Criticized By FISA Judges – EPIC
“Documents Obtained by EPIC Lawsuit Show NSA’s Internet Metadata Program Was Sharply Criticized By FISA Judges While Congressional Oversight Lagged for Year: In a FOIA lawsuit against the Department of Justice, EPIC has obtained many documents about the NSA’s Internet Metadata program. These include the Government’s original FISA application seeking authorization to collect data from millions of e-mails, as well… Continue Reading
Failing Expectations: Fourth Amendment Doctrine in the Era of Total Surveillance
Sylvain, Olivier, Failing Expectations: Fourth Amendment Doctrine in the Era of Total Surveillance (July 28, 2014). 49 Wake Forest Law Review 485. Available for download at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2473101 “Today’s reasonable expectation test and the third-party doctrine have little to nothing to offer by way of privacy protection if users today are at least conflicted about whether… Continue Reading
How Large-Scale US Surveillance is Harming Journalism, Law and American Democracy
With Liberty to Monitor All – How Large-Scale US Surveillance is Harming Journalism, Law, and American Democracy. Human Rights Watch / ACLU, July 2014. “The United States government today is implementing a wide variety of surveillance programs that, thanks to developments in its technological capacity, allow it to scoop up personal information and the content of… Continue Reading
Deeper Dive into EFF’s Motion on Backbone Surveillance
News release: “Yesterday we filed a motion for partial summary judgment in our long running Jewel v. NSA case, focusing on the government’s admitted seizure and search of communications from the Internet backbone, also called “upstream.” We’ve asked the judge to rule that there are two ways in which this is unconstitutional under the Fourth Amendment: The admitted seizure of communications from the… Continue Reading
UK Independent – NSA reportedly tracking any internet users who research privacy software online
James Vincent – “Any internet users who use or even read about privacy services online will be targeted for surveillance by the NSA, according to a new report from German broadcaster ARD. According to leaked source-code of the US spy agency’s ‘XKeyscore’ software, individuals who search for information about anonymising services such as Tor have their IP… Continue Reading
