Since people under NSA surveillance are mostly the "undesirables" (in the NSA's mind) it should be no surprise that it doesn't mind giving them high doses of cancer-inducing radiation, broadcasting to distant locations, as much as 8 miles away (potentially across the border). Jacob Appelbaum spoke about those devices at the end of last year and the New York Times now reveals [1] that around 100,000 machines (or nodes) are affected by this scheme to spy on people, irrespective of whether they're reachable through the Internet or not. There is a lot of press coverage about it [2-9] and more details are being given. It's just another rogue surveillance method among many more [10]. Telephone surveillance is another and the former CIA director now admits that NSA metadata gathering "hasn't played a significant role in disrupting any attacks" [11]; despite that, Morell, a torture advocate from CIA leadership, wants it to carry on with this programme [12], preferring to pass the 'metadata' surveillance to private (for-profit) companies [13] that the CIA historically bribed to do this (as confirmed by much of the corporate media months ago).
The National Security Agency has implanted software in nearly 100,000 computers around the world that allows the United States to conduct surveillance on those machines and can also create a digital highway for launching cyberattacks.
The US National Security Agency (NSA) used secret technology to spy on computers that were not even connected to the internet, it has been reported.
Citing documents from whistleblower Edward Snowden, the New York Times said 100,000 machines were fitted with small devices that emitted radio waves.
But the NSA denies using the technology within the US. "NSA's activities are focused and specifically deployed against — and only against — valid foreign intelligence targets in response to intelligence requirements," said Vanee Vines, an agency spokeswoman, in a statement.
Telephone "metadata" controversially scooped up by a US intelligence agency should not be destroyed but stored by private telecom giants, a former CIA chief said Tuesday days before President Barack Obama announces new reforms.
Telephone companies are quietly balking at the idea of changing how they collect and store Americans’ phone records to help the National Security Agency’s surveillance programs.
They’re worried about their exposure to lawsuits and the price if the U.S. government asks them to hold information about customers for longer than they already do.
President Barack Obama is expected to endorse changes to the way the government collects millions of Americans' phone records for possible future surveillance, but he'll leave many of the specific adjustments for Congress to sort out, according to three U.S. officials familiar with the White House intelligence review.
The members of president Barack Obama’s surveillance review panel on Tuesday rejected some of the central contentions offered by the National Security Agency for its bulk collection of phone records, including the program’s potential usefulness in preventing the 9/11 attacks.
Last week, both the New York Times and the Guardian released editorials supporting clemency for NSA leaker Edward Snowden. Considering the important nature of Snowden's revelations, clemency is definitely in order – and it's about time that major outlets recognize that.
Oh, those poor, poor FISA Court (FISC) judges. The court, which has a habit of approving every single request to spy on Americans (though, sometimes asking for minor modifications) has already complained about how unfair it is that everyone thinks they're just a rubber stamp. And, to be fair, some of the documents that have been revealed have shown that there are a few times that the FISA Court has become quite angry about how the NSA and DOJ have basically lied. And, it's even ordered certain programs be (temporarily) stopped or changed. But, in the long run, it's still pretty much allowed the NSA to keep on keeping on. And, the FISC judges have admitted that they're not particularly able to do real oversight, since they're entirely reliant on what the NSA tells them. There's also the fact that all of the FISC judges are appointed by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, leading to a very specific political leaning in all of them.
Mohamed Osman Mohamud was convicted last year of trying to use a weapon of mass destruction at a Christmas tree lighting in Oregon in 2010. The former student was ensnared, his attorneys say, in an FBI sting. It later emerged police used information collected by the NSA in its massive cybersnooping operation.
Mohamud was not informed of the snooping, they added.
"The record reflects that government actors failed to adequately communicate discoverable material to local prosecutors," argued his lawyers Stephen Sady, Steven Wax and Lisa Hay in an appeal filed in Portland, Oregon.
Geeksphone has teamed up with Silent Circle to launch the first "privacy focused" smartphone...