Frances Burns reports: The National Security Administration released a report on a decade’s worth of privacy violations — on Christmas Eve. The agency posted the report to comply with a Freedom of Information Act request by the American Civil Liberties Union. It includes redacted reports to the president’s Intelligence Oversight Board from the fourth quarter of 2001,…
Category: Govt
DOJ Launches New Cyber Unit, Claims Privacy is Mission Critical
Brian Donahue reports: Leslie Caldwell, assistant attorney general in the criminal division of the Department of Justice announced on Thursday the creation of a new team within its Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) during a talk at a Georgetown Law conference titled, “Cybercrime 2020: The Future of Online Crime and Investigations.” Known as…
Wyden Introduces Bill To Ban Government-Mandated Backdoors Into Americans’ Cellphones and Computers
From Senator Ron Wyden: Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today introduced the Secure Data Act to protect Americans’ privacy and data security. The bill prohibits government mandates to build backdoors or security vulnerabilities into U.S. software and electronics. U.S. government officials have recently proposed to compel companies to build backdoors in the security…
EPIC Pursues Information About “Hemisphere,” Massive Phone Record Database
From EPIC.org: EPIC has filed a motion for summary judgment in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the Drug Enforcement Administration. More than a year ago, EPIC sought documents from the agency concerning “Hemisphere,” a massive AT&T call records database available to government agents. EPIC asked for the legal basis and privacy impact of the program. After the agency failed to respond…