We’ve long known that the war on drugs is a major driver of not only mass incarceration but also excessive government surveillance and other Fourth Amendment violations. Here in Massachusetts, the latest example of government overreach in the war on drugs astounds:...
Big news dropped yesterday in Reuters: In 2015, the US government asked Yahoo to scan all incoming email looking for certain, unknown characters in emails or attachments; unfortunately, Yahoo agreed to do it—without putting up a fight. The demand came in the form of a...
“Use Tor. Use Signal,” has become a joke in the infosec community. It’s the canned response to questions from non-tech experts about how to protect their privacy in the digital age. But it’s the canned response for good reason. Signal, an encrypted messaging...
Can the police seize your cell phone simply because they suspect you’ve committed a crime? Can law enforcement get a warrant to rifle through your digital life on the basis of a hunch, or because their prior experience tells them that people...
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...