The NSA continually plays this shell game with Congressional overseers. Whenever an intelligence-community official testifies that something is not being done under this particular program, or this particular authority, you can be sure that it’s being done under some other program or some other authority. In particular, the NSA regularly uses rules that allow them to conduct bulk surveillance outside the US — rules that largely evade both Congressional and Judicial oversight — to conduct bulk surveillance on Americans. Effective oversight of the NSA is impossible in the face of this level of misdirection and deception.
Category: Human stupidity
Did You Hear About How ISIS Has A Sophisticated Training Manual For Encryption? Yeah, It Was Actually A Pamphlet For Journalists And Activists | Techdirt
The “manual” was “discovered” by analysts at the Combating Terrorism Center, based out of the US Military Academy at West Point. Thankfully, Buzzfeed has the details, noting that the guide, created by a cybersecurity firm in Kuwait, named Cyberkov, is actually a guide for journalists and activists to protect their communications from oppressive governments. And there’s nothing particularly secret about it, as apparently it’s basically just repurposed stuff from the EFF’s website
This Fake Bomb Detector Is Blamed for Hundreds of Deaths. It’s Still in Use.
Despite being widely discredited, a British-designed bomb detector based on pseudoscience continues to be used at sensitive security sites across the world.
Source: This Fake Bomb Detector Is Blamed for Hundreds of Deaths. It’s Still in Use.
Feds bugged steps of Silicon Valley courthouse | Ars Technica
Defense claims covert recordings violated Constitution, moves to have them thrown out.
Source: Feds bugged steps of Silicon Valley courthouse | Ars Technica
Legal regulators move in on Prenda’s Paul Hansmeier, who may get disbarred | Ars Technica
State bar regulators say Hansmeier hid money, lied in court.
Source: Legal regulators move in on Prenda’s Paul Hansmeier, who may get disbarred | Ars Technica
BitTorrent Usage Doesn’t Equal Piracy, Cox Tells Court – TorrentFreak
U.S. Internet provider Cox Communications is scheduled to go to trial soon, defending itself against copyright infringement claims from two music companies. In a new motion Cox asks the court to prohibit the use of any material claiming that BitTorrent equals piracy. BitTorrent has plenty legitimate uses and equating it to infringement would mislead the jury during trial, the ISP argues.
Source: BitTorrent Usage Doesn’t Equal Piracy, Cox Tells Court – TorrentFreak
DOJ Has Blocked Everyone In The Executive Branch From Reading The Senate’s Torture Report | Techdirt
the new head of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Richard Burr, demanded that all the federal government agencies that received the report should return it to him so he can destroy it and make sure that no one ever sees what’s in the report.
Source: DOJ Has Blocked Everyone In The Executive Branch From Reading The Senate’s Torture Report | Techdirt
FBI’s flawed forensics expert testimony: Hair analysis, bite marks, fingerprints, arson.
The Washington Post published a story so horrifying this weekend that it would stop your breath: “The Justice Department and FBI have formally acknowledged that nearly every examiner in an elite FBI forensic unit gave flawed testimony in almost all trials in which they offered evidence against criminal defendants over more than a two-decade period before 2000.”
Source: FBI’s flawed forensics expert testimony: Hair analysis, bite marks, fingerprints, arson.
Judge tried to bribe FBI agent with beer to get family’s text messages | Ars Technica
Indictment alleges judge offered “a couple of cases of beer” as payment.
Source: Judge tried to bribe FBI agent with beer to get family’s text messages | Ars Technica
$750/pill pharma company under investigation by Senate for price gouging | Ars Technica
Bipartisan committee to probe Turing and its ilk about pricing practices
Source: $750/pill pharma company under investigation by Senate for price gouging | Ars Technica