The controversial surveillance program that gave the NSA access to the phone call records of millions of Americans has cost US taxpayers $100m – and resulted in just one useful lead over four years.
Tag: NSA
The NSA’s Spy Hub in New York, Hidden in Plain Sight
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
Yahoo’s CISO resigned in 2015 over secret e-mail search tool ordered by feds | Ars Technica
Reuters: Yahoo “complied with a classified US government directive.”
Presuming that the report is correct, it would represent essentially the digital equivalent of a general warrant—which is forbidden by the Fourth Amendment
Source: Yahoo’s CISO resigned in 2015 over secret e-mail search tool ordered by feds | Ars Technica
In Bungled Spying Operation, NSA Targeted Pro-Democracy Campaigner
How a middle-aged pro-democracy activist was falsely accused of terrorism and placed on a top-secret NSA surveillance list.
Source: In Bungled Spying Operation, NSA Targeted Pro-Democracy Campaigner
How the U.S. Spies on Medical Nonprofits and Health Defenses Worldwide
The NSA spies on NGOs to help the U.S. dig up information on how targets respond to disease and weapons of mass destruction.
Source: How the U.S. Spies on Medical Nonprofits and Health Defenses Worldwide
Scottish Law Enforcement Also Apparently Hooked Up To NSA/GCHQ’s Data Firehose | Techdirt
The documents confirm that a little-known policing body called the Scottish Recording Centre (SRC) was given access to information logs that includes millions of communications data including phone activity, internet histories, and social media behaviour on Facebook.The confirmation that UK state spy agency GCHQ ran a specific programmed, called “MILKWHITE”, to share data with devolved policing and tax authorities is the first Snowden leak to directly implicate Scottish authorities in the controversial policy of ‘bulk data’ collection.
Source: Scottish Law Enforcement Also Apparently Hooked Up To NSA/GCHQ’s Data Firehose | Techdirt
Vindication for Edward Snowden From a New Player in NSA Whistleblowing Saga
A former assistant inspector general at the Pentagon who was responsible for protecting whistleblowers became one himself when the process failed.
Source: Vindication for Edward Snowden From a New Player in NSA Whistleblowing Saga
Secret US spy court approved every surveillance request in 2015
Perfect batting average continues with the FISA Court two years in a row now.
Source: Secret US spy court approved every surveillance request in 2015
Senator Wyden Warns That The Justice Department Is Lying To The Courts; Also Still Worried About Secret Law | Techdirt
We’ve been noting for years: when Senator Ron Wyden says that (1) there’s a secret interpretation of a law that is at odds with the public’s understanding of it, or (2) that government officials are lying, you should pay attention.
US Government Has Apparently Demanded, And Obtained, Tech Companies’ Source Code In The Past | Techdirt
The US government has made numerous attempts to obtain source code from tech companies in an effort to find security flaws that could be used for surveillance or investigations.
The government has demanded source code in civil cases filed under seal but also by seeking clandestine rulings authorized under the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), a person with direct knowledge of these demands told ZDNet. We’re not naming the person as they relayed information that is likely classified.
With these hearings held in secret and away from the public gaze, the person said that the tech companies hit by these demands are losing “most of the time.”