From EPIC.org: The Department of Defense has released to EPIC documents on the “Joint Advertising and Market Research Studies” Recruiting Database. The database includes sensitive student information, including home address and grade point average. DOD obtains this information from high schools offering military aptitude tests, state DMVs, and commercial data brokers. The documents sought by EPIC shed light on how DOD collects, retains, uses, and safeguards student information within the database. The…
Category: Govt
DHS poised to destroy governmentwide network surveillance records
Aliya Sternstein reports: The Department of Homeland Security is poised to ditch all records from a controversial network monitoring system called Einstein that are at least three years old, but not for security reasons. DHS reasons the files — which include data about traffic to government websites, agency network intrusions and general vulnerabilities — have no research significance. But…
U.K. Terrorism Law to Force Internet Providers to Give User Data to Be Fast-Tracked
Heads up, UK privacy advocates! Svenja O’Donnell and Scott Hamilton report: The U.K. government will introduce anti-terrorism legislation this week requiring Internet companies to provide user data to authorities. The bill, to be published on Nov. 26 and fast-tracked through Parliament so it becomes law before the general election in May […] Under the proposed…
Some NSA officials tried to rein in surveillance in 2009, but Obama resisted
Ken Dilanian of AP grabs the exclusive: Years before Edward Snowden sparked a public outcry with the disclosure that the National Security Agency had been secretly collecting American telephone records, some NSA executives voiced strong objections to the program, current and former intelligence officials say. The program exceeded the agency’s mandate to focus on foreign…