Public agencies across the country are increasingly adopting open wifi technology to bring internet connectivity to new areas and groups of people. Unfortunately, government agencies don’t often prioritize digital security or privacy when they configure these systems. Too often, like in New York...
It might sound paranoid. It might sound anti-government. But as famous civil rights lawyer Harvey Silverglate says, it’s actually just practical advice: Don’t talk to the FBI without your lawyer present, ever. You may think you have nothing to hide. You may...
Preeminent NSA expert James Bamford has written multiple books on what he calls the Shadow Agency. In Foreign Policy magazine, he condenses his voluminous knowledge into a couple thousand word warning about what’s just around the corner: a Clinton or Trump presidency...
Police departments across the country have gone to great lengths to keep secret information about cell phone tracking and wiretapping devices known as “stingrays.” These devices, technically called cell site simulators or IMSI catchers, trick cell phones into communicating with the cops,...
The ACLU of Massachusetts hosted a pre-release screening of the new Oliver Stone biopic SNOWDEN last night in downtown Boston. It’s an entertaining film that will inform future generations of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden’s sacrifice from the perspective of someone who views...
Tonight the non-profit advocacy organization Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) hosts a national security themed town hall featuring presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, moderated by NBC’s Matt Lauer. Here are some basic facts you probably won’t hear from...
I’ve been doing a lot of Boston media this week about a story that seems to have touched a raw nerve. It’s reminded me of a frustrating problem I encounter whenever a technology and privacy issue is hot in the news: Some...
Can the FBI keep secret the number of chairs it has in its Boston office? How about the number of investigations its local Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) conducted in the year 2014, or how many parking spaces it reserves for its...
The FBI has published a request for information (RFI) for a “Tactical Mesh/mobile ad hoc network (MANET) solution… to improve bandwidth utilization, provide higher quality surveillance data transmissions, and mitigate potential security threats.” The mesh network will serve as an alternative to commercial...
AJ+ made this short, informative video explaining how cell-site simulators (also known as “IMSI catchers” and “stingrays”) work. Share it with your friends and family, and make sure you tell them to download Signal onto their smartphones. The free, easy to use,...