Debates about internet security and the limits of state power just got a lot more interesting. Unless you don’t use the internet, you likely know that on Friday a number of major websites were inaccessible for hours. These sites were victims of a...
In early October 2016, Reuters reported that in 2015, the US government asked Yahoo to scan all incoming email looking for particular signatures or characters, and that Yahoo complied without a fight. Since the matter became public, Yahoo has changed its tune....
A breathtaking new report from the Center for Privacy and Technology at Georgetown Law School finds that one in two American adults is in a face recognition database. The numbers are so huge in large part because states are increasingly allowing the...
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...
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...
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...