Edward Snowden would be willing to go to jail... if the US government would speak to him
Currently in exile in Russia, Edward Snowden recently joined Twitter to give him a public platform to communication with the world. With global interest in surveillance and privacy, the NSA whistleblower still conducts TV and newspaper interviews, and in a BBC interview he reveals that he would be willing to serve prison time.
He has even offered his freedom to the US government... but no one has responded to him. Praised and vilified in just about equal measure, Snowden faces prosecution under the Espionage Act for leaking documents about the activities of the NSA.
Edward Snowden is now a verified Twitter user
Former NSA contractor cum whistle-blower Edward Snowden is now officially on Twitter. Since blowing the lid on the surveillance activities of the NSA and sparking on-going global debate about privacy, Snowden has been a vocal campaigner for freedom of speech, privacy, and surveillance awareness.
Within hours of joining, Snowden -- who managed to bag the @snowden handle -- had amassed over half a million followers, and the flow shows no signs of abating. After a few hours, Snowden has posted just 7 tweets; but more interestingly he is only following one account.
Leaked documents show UK Karma Police program was just as intrusive as the NSA -- and spied on the US
There have been countless stories about the activities of the NSA and the revelations by Edward Snowden continue. A new batch of documents leaked by the former NSA contractor show that GCHQ ran a program called Karma Police that was used to "build a web-browsing profile for every visible user on the internet".
If that sounds a little sinister, that's because it is. You would think that we might have become hardened to this sort of thing, but it is still comes as a slight surprise to learn of the extent of surveillance that has been taking place. The UK government has been building profiles of web users around the world based on their browsing histories (news, porn, social networking, and so on), monitoring email and Skype communication and more for the last seven years.
Facebook and other social networks no longer have to reveal terrorist discussions to US government
Government snooping into online activity is something that has long appalled privacy groups around the world. In something of a victory for those concerned about privacy and government meddling, the US Senate has killed plans that would have required social networks to tell the government about any users talking about terrorism-related topics.
The change of heart is a win not only for social network users, but also the social networks themselves who will no longer be required to police content more than they already do. The policy had been criticized for being vague, placing undue pressure on companies, and limiting freedom of speech.
Snowden: web restrictions are 'wrong in Russia, would be wrong anywhere'
Edward Snowden might be holed up in Russia, but that's not going to stop him from criticizing the country. While accepting the Norwegian Academy of Literature and Freedom of Expression’s Bjornson prize, the former NSA contractor used a speech to call Russia's attitude to internet freedom and homosexuality as "fundamentally wrong".
The US government has indicated that it has no intention of pardoning Snowden so he remains in exile -- for now, this is in Russia. Not shy to court controversy -- and possibly biting the hand that feeds -- he has hit out at the Russian government saying that its control and restrictions it places on the web are a "mistake in policy".
New Snowden documents show AT&T helped the NSA spy on internet traffic
The NSA has been helped by AT&T for decades in spying on huge quantities of internet traffic new-disclosed documents reveal. The astonishing relationship between the National Security Agency and the telecoms company goes far beyond any sort of arrangement or co-operation that came from other firms.
Evidence published by the New York Times shows that the NSA had arrangements in place with AT&T and Verizon, but the partnership with AT&T proved particularly lucrative. The communications giant added surveillance equipment to at least 17 of its web centers and was used as a testing ground for new spying technologies and techniques. All this is revealed in a new batch of documents provided by Edward Snowden.
Users are unhappy that Windows 10 automatically sends emails about child account activity
Windows 10, just like its predecessor Windows 8.1, allows for the creation of child accounts that can have limitations imposed upon them. It's a feature that many parents take advantage of, but as more and more people start to upgrade to Windows 10, increasing numbers are complaining about the way in which Microsoft monitors account activity and sends out regular emails about that activity.
The account activity email is optional in Windows 10 -- just as it was in Windows 8.1 -- but it is switched on by default. While many parents like the idea of being able to place restrictions and limitation on a child's Windows account, the "creepy" email that many are seeing for the first time is viewed as a step too far.
China moves to increase online censorship even further
China’s online censorship program has taken a decidedly aggressive turn, following the announcement that police officers will now be stationed inside large Internet companies.
The country’s deputy minister of public security Chen Zhimin revealed the plans earlier this week and explained that "network security offices" would be set up inside digital firms "to find out about illegal Internet activity more quickly".
Obama administration rules out pardoning Edward Snowden
The US government will continue to pursue Edward Snowden with a view to prosecuting him on espionage charges. The White House has rejected calls to pardon for Snowden who has been hailed as both a hero and a traitor for spilling the beans about NSA surveillance programs. The US government has sought to bring him to trial for compromising national security.
A We Are The People petition was signed by nearly 168,000 people who felt rather differently about the former NSA worker. "Edward Snowden is a national hero and should be immediately issued a full, free, and absolute pardon for any crimes he has committed or may have committed related to blowing the whistle on secret NSA surveillance programs".
HORNET is an encrypted, anonymous web browsing system that destroys Tor's performance
With the current concerns about surveillance and privacy, more and more people are turning to anonymizing tools. The existence of unknown numbers of spying tools means that increasing numbers of people are turning to the likes of Tor to keep their online activities private.
But encryption systems such as those used by The Onion Relay have a horrible tendency to slow things down. A new encryption system called HORNET could be a solution. Its creators say that data transfer speeds of up to 93GBps are possible, with much of the acceleration coming from a reduction in the number of hops data has to make around the network.
Hacking Team leak shows how to sneak malicious apps into Google Play
Italian security and surveillance company Hacking Team was most famed for supplying monitoring tools to governments around the world, but a recent security breach revealed the inner workings of the outfit. Sifting through the leaked data revealed not only spying tools and Flash vulnerabilities, but also Android apps with backdoors.
Security experts from Trend Micro found that spyware from Hacking Team was released to Google Play, bypassing checks that are usually performed. BeNews was a fake news apps -- now removed from the store -- that could be used to download remote access software to Android devices running anything from Froyo to KitKat.
Hacking Team to conjure up new surveillance software after security breach
Following a massive security breach, Italian security firm Hacking Team warned that its government-strength surveillance tools could have fallen into the hands of terrorists. The company advised its customers -- including governments and law agencies around the world -- to stop using its software, and is now launching something of a damage-limitation exercise.
Hacking Team has released a statement indicating that far from giving up and admitting defeat, a new, more powerful version of its software will be released soon. The replacement for Galileo, called Remote Control System 10, is described as a "complete revision" of the old system and "not simply an update". The security firm also stresses that not all of its source code was compromised, only code which is considered obsolete.
Amnesty International seeks explanation for 'absolutely shocking' government surveillance
A court recently revealed via email that the UK government had been spying on Amnesty International. GCHQ had put Amnesty under surveillance -- despite this having previously been denied -- and now the human rights organization wants answers.
In a letter to the UK Prime Minister David Cameron, Amnesty International asks for an explanation for the surveillance. The Investigatory Powers Tribunal's (IPT) email made it clear that GCHQ had been intercepting, accessing and storing communications, something that Amnesty International's Secretary General, Salil Shetty believes "makes it vividly clear that mass surveillance has gone too far".
The man who cared about your online privacy has died
Caspar Bowden, the privacy advocate who was warning about the activities of the NSA before Edward Snowden, has died. The co-founder of the Foundation for Information Policy Research lost his battle with cancer, and tributes have been paid by the world of technology.
Bowden, the former head of privacy at Microsoft, had long-warned about potential backdoors in software and services. He campaigned passionately for the privacy of the individual and voiced grave concerns about the NSA and the FISA Amendment Act. He sat on the board of Tor and was one of the most knowledgeable and well-loved figures on the privacy scene.
Major threat: Hacking Team warns its spying tools are now in the hands of terrorists
Following a massive security breach over the weekend, Hacking Team has issued a warning that its surveillance and remote access software could now be used by anyone -- including terrorists. The Italian security and surveillance firm fell victim to an attack that relieved it of 400GB of company data, including source code for its software.
Whoever was responsible for the security breach made this data available via torrent, meaning that anyone was able to get hold of it. Hacking Team's software is favoured by governments around the world for mounting NSA-style surveillance and monitoring programs and the company has now issued a stark warning: "Terrorists, extortionists and others can deploy this technology at will if they have the technical ability to do so".
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