The NSA has operated a top-secret surveillance program out of an iconic AT&T building in Manhattan, documents indicate.
Source: The NSA’s Spy Hub in New York, Hidden in Plain Sight
“Anti-Piracy Outfit Impersonates Competitor, Steals its Clients” – TorrentFreak
Two employees of anti-piracy outfit MarkScan have been arrested by Indian police. The men are accused of masquerading as competing anti-piracy firm Aiplex, informing its clients via a fake website that the company was shutting down, and suggesting MarkScan as an alternative. The CEO of the company was allegedly in on the scam, which is still under investivation.
Source: “Anti-Piracy Outfit Impersonates Competitor, Steals its Clients” – TorrentFreak
GOP tells FCC to just stop what it’s doing until Trump is inaugurated | Ars Technica
Set-top box rules and other changes could be dead in Obama’s final months.
Source: GOP tells FCC to just stop what it’s doing until Trump is inaugurated | Ars Technica
Would-be Internet weatherman star sets a wildfire to increase his viewership | Ars Technica
To increase traffic to his Facebook page, Johnny Mullins took matters into his own hands.
Source: Would-be Internet weatherman star sets a wildfire to increase his viewership | Ars Technica
Prosecutor Shuts Down New Orleans Cop’s Attempt To Charge Arrestee With Hate Crime For Insulting Responding Officers | Techdirt
The Louisiana legislature decided to help out its most underprivileged constituents — law enforcement officers — by making it a felony to “attack” them using nothing more than words.
Unsealed Warrant Shows FBI Malware Affected Innocent Tor Users While Agency Ran More Than 20 Child Porn Sites | Techdirt
In 2013, the FBI received permission to hack over 300 specific users of dark web email service TorMail. But now, after the warrants and their applications have finally been unsealed, experts say the agency illegally went further, and hacked perfectly legitimate users of the privacy-focused service.“That is, while the warrant authorized hacking with a scalpel, the FBI delivered their malware to TorMail users with a grenade,” Christopher Soghoian, principal technologist at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), told Motherboard in an email.
Amid Clinton Controversy, FBI Documents Show Why Americans Should Worry About Intelligence Gathering
Critics are right to be concerned about the FBI’s expanded power, especially when it comes to recruiting and deploying informants. That’s true regardless of why FBI Director James Comey acted as he did toward Hillary Clinton.
Source: Amid Clinton Controversy, FBI Documents Show Why Americans Should Worry About Intelligence Gathering
Three New Scandals Show How Pervasive and Dangerous Mass Surveillance Is in the West, Vindicating Snowden
Each new investigation and judicial inquiry proves Snowden’s core warnings were correct.
Defense tries to exclude video from trial of cop shooting man in back | Ars Technica
Jury to be asked to consider self-defense in secretly recorded shooting.
Source: Defense tries to exclude video from trial of cop shooting man in back | Ars Technica
America has one month to stop the FBI getting its global license to hack • The Register
In one month, an obscure procedural rule tweak will come into effect allowing US cops and federal agents to hack any computer in the world using a single warrant issued anywhere in America.No one in Congress has voted on this legal update. It means a warrant granted somewhere within the US can be executed on the other side of the country – or the other side of the planet.
The change, approved by the Supreme Court, is in Rule 41 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. Right now, if law enforcement wants to hack a PC, they have to ask a judge for a warrant in the jurisdiction where it is located. With the rule change, they could do this to any computer anywhere in the US or the world.
As a bonus, the change would also allow law enforcement – without a warrant – free rein to hack into computers that have already been hacked. So, for example, if you have a virus infection then law enforcement can go through your files at will.
Source: America has one month to stop the FBI getting its global license to hack • The Register