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19 New articles
Previous
January 22, 2016
* 1:00 PM District attorney offices are bringing the encryption war
directly to the states
* 12:03 PM Learn how technology shaped T-Pain’s career in our
extended interview
* 11:54 AM The Parrot Bebop 2 drone is fun, fine, and fatally flawed
— our review
* 11:11 AM 11 new trailers you should watch this week
* 10:35 AM Japan Display developing OLED screens, sparking new iPhone
rumors
* 9:31 AM Microsoft is now selling more powerful Surface Book and
Surface Pro 4 models
* 9:25 AM Eleanor Friedberger's New View is a small album for small
pleasures
* 9:00 AM Nomineering, Week 3: How the Academy fixed being out of
touch 45 years ago
* 8:57 AM Studying gamers teaches us a lot about games too
* 8:42 AM Google just published a free, three-month course on deep
learning
* 7:51 AM I blame that ugly battery case for Apple's stock price
tumble
* 7:30 AM This Safari bug is the best ad for Chrome yet
* 6:50 AM Tinder now helps users find STD testing sites
* 6:41 AM Ending the holy war? Pope meets with Tim Cook after visit
with Eric Schmidt
* 5:30 AM Netflix fires first shot in battle with VPNs
* 4:43 AM Skype helps users avoid harassment by hiding IP addresses
* 4:16 AM Watch Iggy Pop and Josh Homme perform the first track from
their surprise new album
* 3:08 AM Apple hires 3D interface expert to bolster its VR research
* 2:57 AM Google paid Apple $1 billion in 2014 to remain the default
iOS search option
January 21, 2016
* 9:46 PM Some Xbox 360 games run better on Xbox One, but some are
'nearly unplayable'
* 7:43 PM EPA orders Michigan to take 'immediate action' on Flint
water crisis
* 5:54 PM Astronaut celebrates his 300th straight day in space with
some water ping pong
* 5:48 PM Oracle just revealed how much money Google makes from
Android
* 5:45 PM The Donald Trump programming language is not for dummies or
losers
* 5:42 PM Robert Redford: Sundance doesn't 'take a position of
advocacy' on diversity
* 5:38 PM Fox News partners with Google and YouTube for final GOP
debate before Iowa caucus
* 5:31 PM Wonder Woman and Justice League Part One get 2017 release
dates
* 5:25 PM Startup’s self-driving test car crashes after driver takes
control
* 5:15 PM Uber will only cap surge pricing during the blizzard if New
York makes it
* 5:14 PM Review: The X-Files is back, but the fight for the future
is over
* 5:13 PM Six senators accidentally just admitted they are clueless
about internet speeds
* 4:56 PM The 5th Wave: horror without fear, science fiction without
ideas
* 4:28 PM Savages yield to temptation on new album Adore Life
* 4:22 PM More than hot air: the lasting impact of inflatable
architecture
* 4:09 PM Facebook is adding more 3D Touch tricks to its app, but
it'll take 'months'
* 3:18 PM Google just upgraded its weather reports on Android
* 3:16 PM Prairie voles console their stressed out friends,
scientists find
* 3:15 PM You can buy James Bond’s Aston Martin DB10 — if you have
Bond villain money
* 1:42 PM Microsoft just made Office apps far more powerful for the
iPad Pro
* 1:41 PM Here's the first trailer for Key & Peele's kidnapped kitty
caper Keanu
* 1:29 PM Jeb! super PAC sent out video players to get people to
watch The Jeb Story
* 1:23 PM AT&T's CEO says Tim Cook shouldn't have any say in
encryption debate
* 1:20 PM Honda’s new fuel cell car will arrive this year for $500 a
month
* 1:06 PM Amazon will refund customers who bought hoverboards,
government officials say
* 1:06 PM Massive Attack's new music is hidden inside a spooky iPhone
app
* 12:44 PM Vergecast 189: Pain is Available at 6
* 12:35 PM Escape into this magical Instagram full of cats, balloons,
flowers, and 'woes'
* 12:24 PM Ctrl-Walt-Delete: Walt and Nilay lose track of time
* 12:24 PM Dropbox’s new Windows 10 app lets you secure your files
with your face
* 12:22 PM NASA satellites show the immense scope of the blizzard
about to hit the East Coast
* 12:00 PM Kickstarter is launching an app for Android
* 11:28 AM Vimeo launches new initiative to support female filmmakers
* 11:19 AM Sundance 2016: a film festival pushes into the future
* 10:51 AM Airbus just delivered the first A320neo, its next-gen 737
competitor
* 10:46 AM Microsoft announces Surface Pro power cord recall
* 10:27 AM Making a Murderer creators answer critics in Twitter Q&A
* 10:07 AM Microsoft’s insane Android alarm app wants you to make
faces at 6AM
* 10:05 AM Fender’s earphones are so pretty they inspired me to make
art
* 9:51 AM The Witcher 2 is free on Xbox One right now
* 9:40 AM Verizon's wireless and broadband growth drives strong
earnings
* 9:36 AM The Oatmeal’s Exploding Kittens card game is now available
on iPhone
* 9:30 AM ZCast lets you start a live podcast from your phone for
everyone to hear
* 8:41 AM Ty Segall's new album Emotional Mugger is a tangled mass of
Ty Segall
* 8:36 AM France wants a new keyboard to protect its language
* 8:16 AM Tree-dwelling frog that eats its mother's eggs rediscovered
after 140 years
* 8:08 AM Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg believes likes and positivity
can beat terrorists online
* 8:00 AM A maker of actual hoverboards is now selling Hyperloop
engines
* 7:30 AM Nespresso is the iPhone of coffee makers, and that's okay
* 5:54 AM Android apps win the downloads, iOS apps win the money
* 5:24 AM Norwegian Megacopter sets new record for drone lifting
power
* 4:39 AM Fender now makes in-ear headphones as well as guitars
* 4:03 AM The one where a computer writes new Friends episodes
* 2:55 AM Apple to create first European iOS Development Center
* 12:56 AM Facebook launches Sports Stadium hub for you to chat about
the big game
* 12:01 AM GM launches Maven, a car-sharing service to compete with
Zipcar
January 20, 2016
* 7:52 PM If you ride hoverboards and don't follow these government
recommendations, you could die
* 6:11 PM There might be an Ebola vaccine within two years
* 6:05 PM This new ad-blocker has a plan to pay publishers
* 6:03 PM The Juxt is another smart analog watch with a dumb name
* 5:53 PM Hey kids, tweeting won’t get you a snow day
* 5:52 PM Terminator Genisys probably isn't getting any sequels
* 5:43 PM Uber is about to go to war with Seamless in 10 major US
cities
* 5:07 PM 2015 was officially the warmest year in recorded history
* 4:57 PM The ACLU and lawmakers just made a huge push for digital
privacy
* 4:55 PM Crave is a terrible new app that brings your romance novel
boyfriend to life
* 4:51 PM After scolding from FAA, Dallas Cowboys get permission to
fly drones at practice
* 4:44 PM Watch another new trailer for Girls' fifth season
* 4:42 PM Our solar system may have a ninth planet after all — but
not all evidence is in
* 4:03 PM Read the searing story of the Kickstarter drone that went
down in flames
* 3:00 PM Skeletons from a 10,000-year-old massacre have
archaeologists in a fight of their own
* 2:58 PM Watch your favorite Star Wars characters die adorable 8-bit
deaths
* 2:51 PM Star Wars: Episode VIII delayed until December 2017
* 2:51 PM Chairlift's new album Moth is cool, confident, and curious
* 2:50 PM Uber will be the exclusive rideshare app of Super Bowl 50
* 2:09 PM Hyperloop Transportation is about to break ground on its
first test track
* 1:57 PM Tesla suing supplier that failed to meet Falcon Wing door
expectations
* 1:28 PM Netflix is fleshing out its film program with five new
indie movies
* 1:03 PM Netflix is making a cyberpunk detective series
* 12:55 PM Zach Galifianakis' Baskets finds comedy in dashed dreams
* 11:48 AM The Air Force's Reaper drone keeps crashing
* 11:36 AM Exclusive: T-Pain talks about how technology and apps have
changed music
* 11:29 AM The Hermès Apple Watch collection will be available online
this Friday
* 11:00 AM Exclusive: T-Pain shows us how to use the new GarageBand
* 11:00 AM Music Memos is Apple's new, simple recording app
* 10:50 AM Leica’s newest camera can go underwater
* 10:24 AM Adele, Kendrick Lamar, and The Weeknd will perform at the
Grammys this year
* 9:49 AM Google's new algorithm will make Chrome run much faster
* 9:44 AM Largest known prime number in the world discovered by GIMPS
in Missouri
* 9:26 AM These videos of rubber humans are good?
* 9:20 AM Fake hoverboards are stealing LG and Samsung’s logos and
the feds are seizing them
* 9:00 AM Mossberg: Smartwatches need to get smarter
* 8:42 AM How secure are New York City's new Wi-Fi hubs?
* 8:34 AM CloudMagic is the Mac email app I've been waiting for
* 7:58 AM HBO gives a series to New York porn drama The Deuce,
starring James Franco
* 7:30 AM Hello drones, goodbye Chinese copycats
* 7:14 AM Watch the beautiful nightmare of ads invading your dreams
* 6:57 AM Sina Weibo drops its 140-character limit as Twitter ponders
similar move
* 6:14 AM Toyota made weird anime girls to personify components in
the new Prius
* 6:04 AM Microsoft to recall Surface Pro power cables due to
overheating concerns
* 6:00 AM Spotify snaps up a pair of apps for voice messaging and
music discovery
* 5:41 AM Facebook's Android app now lets you flip a switch to browse
over Tor
* 2:51 AM Sony’s Portable Ultra Short Throw Projector will turn any
surface into a TV
* 2:40 AM Nancy Drew is back, grown up, and not white
* 12:49 AM Jar Jar Binks meets a violent end in excellent Star Wars
Episode 7.5 fan comic
* 12:29 AM Nielsen wants to watch you talk to your Facebook friends
about what you watch on TV
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* Policy & Law
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* First Click
First Click: Europe wants to raise the age of internet consent to 16
December 15th, 2015
* By Thomas Ricker
* on December 15, 2015 07:30 am
* @Trixxy
*
10
[first-click-16.0.0.png]
Tweet Share
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Duncan Robinson, Murah Ahmed, Hannah Kuchler reporting for the
Financial Times on a last-minute amendment to EU data protection rules:
"The amendment states that processing data of ‘a child below the age
of 16 years shall only be lawful if and to the extent that such
consent is given or authorized by the holder of parental
responsibility over the child’. In previous drafts, this limit
applied only to those 13 and under."
Negotiations around the law began today, and could be approved as early
as tonight before ratification by the European Parliament in the new
year. Countries would then have two years in which to implement the new
rules.
Teens, of course, aren’t happy with the news. My 13 and 14-year-old
sons are active Snapchat, Instagram, Vine, and WhatsApp users, ignoring
Twitter and Facebook because those are for "the olds." Both reacted
with the kind of righteous indignation you’d expect from their
hormonally-charged brains.
"That’s stupid," my boys said in unison, as if rehearsed. "We’re old
enough already," added my oldest unequivocally.
"Did you know that companies and governments build profiles of your
online behavior?" I implored, knowing that most teens are unaware.
"Tracking every place you visit on the web, who your friends are, where
you live, and what you like? Did you know that all those things that
you say and do, things you might later regret, are preserved forever,
accessible to any casual acquaintance or future employer?"
They stared at me blankly, as if to retrench. "Well, it wouldn’t really
work because people will just lie," said my youngest in retort, a boy
who’s had Instagram and Snapchat accounts since he was 12 despite US
and European laws restricting use to people aged 13 and older. "I just
always enter 1988 for my birthday anyway… because it’s a cool number."
"It’s unclear how the age limit could be enforced"
This, in a nutshell, is what Europe faces by raising the age of
internet consent to 16. A move that will likely have little impact on
the number of tech-savvy teens using restricted services. Moreover,
it’s unclear how the age limit could be enforced rendering its
implementation as pointless and annoying as having to accept a cookie
usage policy on every new website visited.
Still, I understand the sentiment behind the amendment as a means for
protecting teens from unscrupulous onlookers, and for keeping parents
informed of the apps and services their kids are using. The vast
majority of adults old enough to have parented a teen aren’t using
Snapchat or Instagram, according to Pew Research, and therefore have
little insight into how these social networks are used. My kids use
Instagram very differently than I do, for example.
"Just another internet checkbox"
It’s not enough anymore for parents to teach kids how to cope with the
physical world they inhabit without giving equal emphasis to virtual
worlds. Not with teens spending an average of 9 hours per day online
according to Common Sense, a non-profit organization focused on helping
families, lawmakers, and educators make sense of media and technology.
Most would agree that parents should be aware of how their children use
the internet. But casual observation and regular checkins with teens
would prove far more valuable to the task than just another internet
checkbox.
Five stories to start your day
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#The Verge - All Posts
IFRAME: //www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5XTZVB
Trending now
Six senators accidentally just admitted they are clueless about internet
speeds
*
Google just published a free, three-month course on deep learning
*
Oracle just revealed how much money Google makes from Android
*
The Donald Trump programming language is not for dummies or losers
*
*
*
*
24 New articles
Previous
January 22, 2016
* 3:42 PM An ‘iPhone 5SE’ might come as soon as March
* 3:38 PM The Academy announces goal to 'double number of diverse
members' after Oscar backlash
* 3:27 PM Tweet hashtags at the Game of Thrones account to see some
teasers for season six
* 3:02 PM Atari is bringing 100 classic games to PC
* 2:46 PM Sundance Film Festival 2016: The best new films, shows and
VR
* 2:38 PM Other People review: A cancer dramedy in which other people
are the punchlines
* 2:15 PM Gillian Anderson had to fight for equal pay for the new
X-Files miniseries
* 1:00 PM Who’s behind the weird bills that would make selling
encrypted smartphones illegal in New York and California?
* 12:03 PM Learn how technology shaped T-Pain’s career in our
extended interview
* 11:54 AM The Parrot Bebop 2 drone is fun, fine, and fatally flawed
— our review
* 11:11 AM 11 new trailers you should watch this week
* 10:35 AM Japan Display developing OLED screens, sparking new iPhone
rumors
* 9:31 AM Microsoft is now selling more powerful Surface Book and
Surface Pro 4 models
* 9:25 AM Eleanor Friedberger's New View is a small album for small
pleasures
* 9:00 AM Nomineering, Week 3: How the Academy fixed being out of
touch 45 years ago
* 8:57 AM Studying gamers teaches us a lot about games too
* 8:42 AM Google just published a free, three-month course on deep
learning
* 7:51 AM I blame that ugly battery case for Apple's stock price
tumble
* 7:30 AM This Safari bug is the best ad for Chrome yet
* 6:50 AM Tinder now helps users find STD testing sites
* 6:41 AM Ending the holy war? Pope meets with Tim Cook after visit
with Eric Schmidt
* 5:30 AM Netflix fires first shot in battle with VPNs
* 4:43 AM Skype helps users avoid harassment by hiding IP addresses
* 4:16 AM Watch Iggy Pop and Josh Homme perform the first track from
their surprise new album
* 3:08 AM Apple hires 3D interface expert to bolster its VR research
* 2:57 AM Google paid Apple $1 billion in 2014 to remain the default
iOS search option
January 21, 2016
* 9:46 PM Some Xbox 360 games run better on Xbox One, but some are
'nearly unplayable'
* 7:43 PM EPA orders Michigan to take 'immediate action' on Flint
water crisis
* 5:54 PM Astronaut celebrates his 300th straight day in space with
some water ping pong
* 5:48 PM Oracle just revealed how much money Google makes from
Android
* 5:45 PM The Donald Trump programming language is not for dummies or
losers
* 5:42 PM Robert Redford: Sundance doesn't 'take a position of
advocacy' on diversity
* 5:38 PM Fox News partners with Google and YouTube for final GOP
debate before Iowa caucus
* 5:31 PM Wonder Woman and Justice League Part One get 2017 release
dates
* 5:25 PM Startup’s self-driving test car crashes after driver takes
control
* 5:15 PM Uber will only cap surge pricing during the blizzard if New
York makes it
* 5:14 PM Review: The X-Files is back, but the fight for the future
is over
* 5:13 PM Six senators accidentally just admitted they are clueless
about internet speeds
* 4:56 PM The 5th Wave: horror without fear, science fiction without
ideas
* 4:28 PM Savages yield to temptation on new album Adore Life
* 4:22 PM More than hot air: the lasting impact of inflatable
architecture
* 4:09 PM Facebook is adding more 3D Touch tricks to its app, but
it'll take 'months'
* 3:18 PM Google just upgraded its weather reports on Android
* 3:16 PM Prairie voles console their stressed out friends,
scientists find
* 3:15 PM You can buy James Bond’s Aston Martin DB10 — if you have
Bond villain money
* 1:42 PM Microsoft just made Office apps far more powerful for the
iPad Pro
* 1:41 PM Here's the first trailer for Key & Peele's kidnapped kitty
caper Keanu
* 1:29 PM Jeb! super PAC sent out video players to get people to
watch The Jeb Story
* 1:23 PM AT&T's CEO says Tim Cook shouldn't have any say in
encryption debate
* 1:20 PM Honda’s new fuel cell car will arrive this year for $500 a
month
* 1:06 PM Amazon will refund customers who bought hoverboards,
government officials say
* 1:06 PM Massive Attack's new music is hidden inside a spooky iPhone
app
* 12:44 PM Vergecast 189: Pain is Available at 6
* 12:35 PM Escape into this magical Instagram full of cats, balloons,
flowers, and 'woes'
* 12:24 PM Ctrl-Walt-Delete: Walt and Nilay lose track of time
* 12:24 PM Dropbox’s new Windows 10 app lets you secure your files
with your face
* 12:22 PM NASA satellites show the immense scope of the blizzard
about to hit the East Coast
* 12:00 PM Kickstarter is launching an app for Android
* 11:28 AM Vimeo launches new initiative to support female filmmakers
* 11:19 AM Sundance 2016: a film festival pushes into the future
* 10:51 AM Airbus just delivered the first A320neo, its next-gen 737
competitor
* 10:46 AM Microsoft announces Surface Pro power cord recall
* 10:27 AM Making a Murderer creators answer critics in Twitter Q&A
* 10:07 AM Microsoft’s insane Android alarm app wants you to make
faces at 6AM
* 10:05 AM Fender’s earphones are so pretty they inspired me to make
art
* 9:51 AM The Witcher 2 is free on Xbox One right now
* 9:40 AM Verizon's wireless and broadband growth drives strong
earnings
* 9:36 AM The Oatmeal’s Exploding Kittens card game is now available
on iPhone
* 9:30 AM ZCast lets you start a live podcast from your phone for
everyone to hear
* 8:41 AM Ty Segall's new album Emotional Mugger is a tangled mass of
Ty Segall
* 8:36 AM France wants a new keyboard to protect its language
* 8:16 AM Tree-dwelling frog that eats its mother's eggs rediscovered
after 140 years
* 8:08 AM Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg believes likes and positivity
can beat terrorists online
* 8:00 AM A maker of actual hoverboards is now selling Hyperloop
engines
* 7:30 AM Nespresso is the iPhone of coffee makers, and that's okay
* 5:54 AM Android apps win the downloads, iOS apps win the money
* 5:24 AM Norwegian Megacopter sets new record for drone lifting
power
* 4:39 AM Fender now makes in-ear headphones as well as guitars
* 4:03 AM The one where a computer writes new Friends episodes
* 2:55 AM Apple to create first European iOS Development Center
* 12:56 AM Facebook launches Sports Stadium hub for you to chat about
the big game
* 12:01 AM GM launches Maven, a car-sharing service to compete with
Zipcar
January 20, 2016
* 7:52 PM If you ride hoverboards and don't follow these government
recommendations, you could die
* 6:11 PM There might be an Ebola vaccine within two years
* 6:05 PM This new ad-blocker has a plan to pay publishers
* 6:03 PM The Juxt is another smart analog watch with a dumb name
* 5:53 PM Hey kids, tweeting won’t get you a snow day
* 5:52 PM Terminator Genisys probably isn't getting any sequels
* 5:43 PM Uber is about to go to war with Seamless in 10 major US
cities
* 5:07 PM 2015 was officially the warmest year in recorded history
* 4:57 PM The ACLU and lawmakers just made a huge push for digital
privacy
* 4:55 PM Crave is a terrible new app that brings your romance novel
boyfriend to life
* 4:51 PM After scolding from FAA, Dallas Cowboys get permission to
fly drones at practice
* 4:44 PM Watch another new trailer for Girls' fifth season
* 4:42 PM Our solar system may have a ninth planet after all — but
not all evidence is in
* 4:03 PM Read the searing story of the Kickstarter drone that went
down in flames
* 3:00 PM Skeletons from a 10,000-year-old massacre have
archaeologists in a fight of their own
* 2:58 PM Watch your favorite Star Wars characters die adorable 8-bit
deaths
* 2:51 PM Star Wars: Episode VIII delayed until December 2017
* 2:51 PM Chairlift's new album Moth is cool, confident, and curious
* 2:50 PM Uber will be the exclusive rideshare app of Super Bowl 50
* 2:09 PM Hyperloop Transportation is about to break ground on its
first test track
* 1:57 PM Tesla suing supplier that failed to meet Falcon Wing door
expectations
* 1:28 PM Netflix is fleshing out its film program with five new
indie movies
* 1:03 PM Netflix is making a cyberpunk detective series
* 12:55 PM Zach Galifianakis' Baskets finds comedy in dashed dreams
* 11:48 AM The Air Force's Reaper drone keeps crashing
* 11:36 AM Exclusive: T-Pain talks about how technology and apps have
changed music
* 11:29 AM The Hermès Apple Watch collection will be available online
this Friday
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* Policy & Law
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UK surveillance laws will keep citizens' internet history on file for 12
months
* By James Vincent
* on November 4, 2015 08:49 am
* @jjvincent
*
5
[GettyImages-484937749.0.jpg]
(Oli Scarff/Getty Images)
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British politicians will dramatically expand the UK's powers of mass
surveillance under a draft bill demanding that ISPs store records of
every website visited by internet users for up to a year. This level of
online monitoring has been banned in the US, Canada, and every other
European nation, and has even previously been rejected in the UK.
Supporters of the legislation (known as the Investigatory Powers Bill)
are presenting it and other security measures as a compromise, but
privacy campaigners say it is in fact more intrusive.
Records of citizens' internet activity would only include the basic URL
of websites they visit (e.g. www.google.com or www.theverge.com) and
not any specific pages (e.g. http://www.theverge.com/tag/surveillance).
Searches made on sites would not be recorded, but the time of visits,
as well as the IP addresses of other computers which the individual
contacted, would.
"A record of websites citizens visit will be kept, but not of specific
pages"
Police would need authorization from a panel of judges before accessing
an individual's web history, which would also include browsing data
from smartphones and other mobile devices. This is the first time such
"bulk collection" has been made explicit in UK law since the
whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed the scale of digital surveillance
by Britain's GCHQ and the NSA.
The home secretary, Theresa May, described the bill as a "significant
departure" from previous plans known as the Snooper's Charter, and said
that it provided "world-leading oversight to govern an investigatory
powers regime which is more open and transparent than anywhere else in
the world." Privacy groups, however, said this was simply spin, with
Jim Killock of the Open Rights Group commenting: "This bill is an
attempt to grab even more intrusive surveillance powers and does not do
enough to restrain the bulk collection of our personal data by the
secret services."
"Surveillance powers of this sort are illegal in the US and the rest of
Europe"
Similar legislation has already been rejected in Europe and in Britain
itself. An EU bill asking ISPs to keep internet users' browsing data
was blocked by the European Court of Justice (CJEU), which ruled that
this sort of blanket retention of data interfered with fundamental
human rights. When the UK government rushed through similar powers in
the Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Act (DRIPA) that same year,
a High Court said the legislation was again unlawful, although this
time became because of insufficient safeguards
As well as bulk data collection, the draft bill also formalizes when
and how British spies can hack and bug computers and phones. The
interception of an individual's communications (i.e. the audio from a
phone call or content of an email or text message) will have to be
approved by the home secretary and by a judge, although in situations
where someone's life is in danger or there is a perceived critical need
to gather intelligence, the warrant can be approved without judicial
oversight.
* ViaBBC The Guardian
* SourceGov.uk
* Related Items uk surveillance mass surveillance snoopers charter
investigatory powers bill internet records uk mass surveillance
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* Tech
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More than 190 million US voters might have had their personal data exposed
* By Ashley Carman
* on December 28, 2015 01:24 pm
*
* @ashleyrcarman
*
[458407944.0.jpg]
(Photo by Steve Pope/Getty Images)
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Yet again this year, US voter data is at risk of being compromised.
Cybersecurity researcher Chris Vickery uncovered a publicly available
database of 191 million voter records online earlier this month, CSO
reports. The database is not protected by any security measures and
reportedly remains live. Listed in the database is each voter’s full
name, home address, mailing address, unique voter ID, state voter ID,
gender, date of birth, phone number, date of registration, political
affiliation, and voter history since 2000. Vickery didn’t specify where
he found the vulnerable database and isn’t sure what company compiled
it.
CSO, Vickery, and an admin at DataBreaches.net reached out to multiple
political data firms to see if any could claim ownership of the
database. None did. The FBI and Internet Crime Complaint Center were
also contacted, although the agencies didn’t follow up to confirm an
investigation. It isn’t clear how many states are impacted.
"State laws don’t treat the information as sensitive"
If Vickery's numbers are accurate, the database would contain the
majority of voter IDs in the United States — even more than the total
number of currently active registered voters. The US Census recorded
142.2 million registered voters in 2014, significantly less than the
191 million voter IDs Vickery claims to have uncovered, although
deaths, state-to-state moves and duplicates may account for much of the
discrepancy.
This isn’t the first time voter data has been exposed. Earlier this
year, millions of Georgia voters had their information accidentally
sent to political parties, news organizations, and a gun owner
magazine. In that case, a third-party contractor was also to blame for
the exposure. More recently, Senator Bernie Sanders and the Democratic
National Committee publicly fought over voter data after one of
Sanders’ staffers accessed former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s
collected voter information. A software glitch allowed the staffer to
gain access. The DNC initially said it would no longer allow Sanders to
view its essential voter data, but later reversed its decision after
Sanders filed a lawsuit.
Voter data, while immensely valuable to political candidates, often
lacks proper security measures to keep it protected. State laws don’t
treat the information as sensitive, allowing almost anyone to request
access to it. Addresses and phone numbers might seem benign, but when
cross-referenced with other compromised databases, the information can
assist in phishing attacks or identity fraud.
* ViaForbes
* SourceCSO
* Related Items usa cybersecurity voter
More from The Verge
* Apple's stock is down 18 percent since it launched that ugly iPhone
battery case
* Review: The X-Files is back, but the fight for the future is over
* Six senators accidentally just admitted they are clueless about
internet speeds
* Netflix fires first shot in battle with VPNs
* Oracle just revealed how much money Google makes from Android
* The Donald Trump programming language is not for dummies or losers
* Exclusive: T-Pain shows us how to use the new GarageBand
The
Latest
* Headlines
* An ‘iPhone 5SE’ might come as soon as March
* The Academy announces goal to 'double number of diverse members'
after Oscar backlash
* Tweet hashtags at the Game of Thrones account to see some teasers
for season six
* Atari is bringing 100 classic games to PC
* Other People review: A cancer dramedy in which other people are the
punchlines
* Gillian Anderson had to fight for equal pay for the new X-Files
miniseries
The best of Verge Video
A new planet in our solar system?
Hunter-gatherers weren’t as peaceful as we thought
T-Pain mixes a beat with the new GarageBand
Apple Music Memos makes mobile recording easy
T-Pain says he 'would have been just another singer' without technology
*
A new planet in our solar system?
*
Hunter-gatherers weren’t as peaceful as we thought
*
T-Pain mixes a beat with the new GarageBand
*
Apple Music Memos makes mobile recording easy
*
T-Pain says he 'would have been just another singer' without technology
Discuss at Verge Video See more videos
Back to top ^
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24 New articles
Previous
January 22, 2016
* 3:42 PM An ‘iPhone 5SE’ might come as soon as March
* 3:38 PM The Academy announces goal to 'double number of diverse
members' after Oscar backlash
* 3:27 PM Tweet hashtags at the Game of Thrones account to see some
teasers for season six
* 3:02 PM Atari is bringing 100 classic games to PC
* 2:46 PM Sundance Film Festival 2016: The best new films, shows and
VR
* 2:38 PM Other People review: A cancer dramedy in which other people
are the punchlines
* 2:15 PM Gillian Anderson had to fight for equal pay for the new
X-Files miniseries
* 1:00 PM Who’s behind the weird bills that would make selling
encrypted smartphones illegal in New York and California?
* 12:03 PM Learn how technology shaped T-Pain’s career in our
extended interview
* 11:54 AM The Parrot Bebop 2 drone is fun, fine, and fatally flawed
— our review
* 11:11 AM 11 new trailers you should watch this week
* 10:35 AM Japan Display developing OLED screens, sparking new iPhone
rumors
* 9:31 AM Microsoft is now selling more powerful Surface Book and
Surface Pro 4 models
* 9:25 AM Eleanor Friedberger's New View is a small album for small
pleasures
* 9:00 AM Nomineering, Week 3: How the Academy fixed being out of
touch 45 years ago
* 8:57 AM Studying gamers teaches us a lot about games too
* 8:42 AM Google just published a free, three-month course on deep
learning
* 7:51 AM I blame that ugly battery case for Apple's stock price
tumble
* 7:30 AM This Safari bug is the best ad for Chrome yet
* 6:50 AM Tinder now helps users find STD testing sites
* 6:41 AM Ending the holy war? Pope meets with Tim Cook after visit
with Eric Schmidt
* 5:30 AM Netflix fires first shot in battle with VPNs
* 4:43 AM Skype helps users avoid harassment by hiding IP addresses
* 4:16 AM Watch Iggy Pop and Josh Homme perform the first track from
their surprise new album
* 3:08 AM Apple hires 3D interface expert to bolster its VR research
* 2:57 AM Google paid Apple $1 billion in 2014 to remain the default
iOS search option
January 21, 2016
* 9:46 PM Some Xbox 360 games run better on Xbox One, but some are
'nearly unplayable'
* 7:43 PM EPA orders Michigan to take 'immediate action' on Flint
water crisis
* 5:54 PM Astronaut celebrates his 300th straight day in space with
some water ping pong
* 5:48 PM Oracle just revealed how much money Google makes from
Android
* 5:45 PM The Donald Trump programming language is not for dummies or
losers
* 5:42 PM Robert Redford: Sundance doesn't 'take a position of
advocacy' on diversity
* 5:38 PM Fox News partners with Google and YouTube for final GOP
debate before Iowa caucus
* 5:31 PM Wonder Woman and Justice League Part One get 2017 release
dates
* 5:25 PM Startup’s self-driving test car crashes after driver takes
control
* 5:15 PM Uber will only cap surge pricing during the blizzard if New
York makes it
* 5:14 PM Review: The X-Files is back, but the fight for the future
is over
* 5:13 PM Six senators accidentally just admitted they are clueless
about internet speeds
* 4:56 PM The 5th Wave: horror without fear, science fiction without
ideas
* 4:28 PM Savages yield to temptation on new album Adore Life
* 4:22 PM More than hot air: the lasting impact of inflatable
architecture
* 4:09 PM Facebook is adding more 3D Touch tricks to its app, but
it'll take 'months'
* 3:18 PM Google just upgraded its weather reports on Android
* 3:16 PM Prairie voles console their stressed out friends,
scientists find
* 3:15 PM You can buy James Bond’s Aston Martin DB10 — if you have
Bond villain money
* 1:42 PM Microsoft just made Office apps far more powerful for the
iPad Pro
* 1:41 PM Here's the first trailer for Key & Peele's kidnapped kitty
caper Keanu
* 1:29 PM Jeb! super PAC sent out video players to get people to
watch The Jeb Story
* 1:23 PM AT&T's CEO says Tim Cook shouldn't have any say in
encryption debate
* 1:20 PM Honda’s new fuel cell car will arrive this year for $500 a
month
* 1:06 PM Amazon will refund customers who bought hoverboards,
government officials say
* 1:06 PM Massive Attack's new music is hidden inside a spooky iPhone
app
* 12:44 PM Vergecast 189: Pain is Available at 6
* 12:35 PM Escape into this magical Instagram full of cats, balloons,
flowers, and 'woes'
* 12:24 PM Ctrl-Walt-Delete: Walt and Nilay lose track of time
* 12:24 PM Dropbox’s new Windows 10 app lets you secure your files
with your face
* 12:22 PM NASA satellites show the immense scope of the blizzard
about to hit the East Coast
* 12:00 PM Kickstarter is launching an app for Android
* 11:28 AM Vimeo launches new initiative to support female filmmakers
* 11:19 AM Sundance 2016: a film festival pushes into the future
* 10:51 AM Airbus just delivered the first A320neo, its next-gen 737
competitor
* 10:46 AM Microsoft announces Surface Pro power cord recall
* 10:27 AM Making a Murderer creators answer critics in Twitter Q&A
* 10:07 AM Microsoft’s insane Android alarm app wants you to make
faces at 6AM
* 10:05 AM Fender’s earphones are so pretty they inspired me to make
art
* 9:51 AM The Witcher 2 is free on Xbox One right now
* 9:40 AM Verizon's wireless and broadband growth drives strong
earnings
* 9:36 AM The Oatmeal’s Exploding Kittens card game is now available
on iPhone
* 9:30 AM ZCast lets you start a live podcast from your phone for
everyone to hear
* 8:41 AM Ty Segall's new album Emotional Mugger is a tangled mass of
Ty Segall
* 8:36 AM France wants a new keyboard to protect its language
* 8:16 AM Tree-dwelling frog that eats its mother's eggs rediscovered
after 140 years
* 8:08 AM Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg believes likes and positivity
can beat terrorists online
* 8:00 AM A maker of actual hoverboards is now selling Hyperloop
engines
* 7:30 AM Nespresso is the iPhone of coffee makers, and that's okay
* 5:54 AM Android apps win the downloads, iOS apps win the money
* 5:24 AM Norwegian Megacopter sets new record for drone lifting
power
* 4:39 AM Fender now makes in-ear headphones as well as guitars
* 4:03 AM The one where a computer writes new Friends episodes
* 2:55 AM Apple to create first European iOS Development Center
* 12:56 AM Facebook launches Sports Stadium hub for you to chat about
the big game
* 12:01 AM GM launches Maven, a car-sharing service to compete with
Zipcar
January 20, 2016
* 7:52 PM If you ride hoverboards and don't follow these government
recommendations, you could die
* 6:11 PM There might be an Ebola vaccine within two years
* 6:05 PM This new ad-blocker has a plan to pay publishers
* 6:03 PM The Juxt is another smart analog watch with a dumb name
* 5:53 PM Hey kids, tweeting won’t get you a snow day
* 5:52 PM Terminator Genisys probably isn't getting any sequels
* 5:43 PM Uber is about to go to war with Seamless in 10 major US
cities
* 5:07 PM 2015 was officially the warmest year in recorded history
* 4:57 PM The ACLU and lawmakers just made a huge push for digital
privacy
* 4:55 PM Crave is a terrible new app that brings your romance novel
boyfriend to life
* 4:51 PM After scolding from FAA, Dallas Cowboys get permission to
fly drones at practice
* 4:44 PM Watch another new trailer for Girls' fifth season
* 4:42 PM Our solar system may have a ninth planet after all — but
not all evidence is in
* 4:03 PM Read the searing story of the Kickstarter drone that went
down in flames
* 3:00 PM Skeletons from a 10,000-year-old massacre have
archaeologists in a fight of their own
* 2:58 PM Watch your favorite Star Wars characters die adorable 8-bit
deaths
* 2:51 PM Star Wars: Episode VIII delayed until December 2017
* 2:51 PM Chairlift's new album Moth is cool, confident, and curious
* 2:50 PM Uber will be the exclusive rideshare app of Super Bowl 50
* 2:09 PM Hyperloop Transportation is about to break ground on its
first test track
* 1:57 PM Tesla suing supplier that failed to meet Falcon Wing door
expectations
* 1:28 PM Netflix is fleshing out its film program with five new
indie movies
* 1:03 PM Netflix is making a cyberpunk detective series
* 12:55 PM Zach Galifianakis' Baskets finds comedy in dashed dreams
* 11:48 AM The Air Force's Reaper drone keeps crashing
* 11:36 AM Exclusive: T-Pain talks about how technology and apps have
changed music
* 11:29 AM The Hermès Apple Watch collection will be available online
this Friday
* 11:00 AM Exclusive: T-Pain shows us how to use the new GarageBand
* 11:00 AM Music Memos is Apple's new, simple recording app
* 10:50 AM Leica’s newest camera can go underwater
* 10:24 AM Adele, Kendrick Lamar, and The Weeknd will perform at the
Grammys this year
* 9:49 AM Google's new algorithm will make Chrome run much faster
* 9:44 AM Largest known prime number in the world discovered by GIMPS
in Missouri
* 9:26 AM These videos of rubber humans are good?
* 9:20 AM Fake hoverboards are stealing LG and Samsung’s logos and
the feds are seizing them
* 9:00 AM Mossberg: Smartwatches need to get smarter
* 8:42 AM How secure are New York City's new Wi-Fi hubs?
* 8:34 AM CloudMagic is the Mac email app I've been waiting for
* 7:58 AM HBO gives a series to New York porn drama The Deuce,
starring James Franco
* 7:30 AM Hello drones, goodbye Chinese copycats
* 7:14 AM Watch the beautiful nightmare of ads invading your dreams
* 6:57 AM Sina Weibo drops its 140-character limit as Twitter ponders
similar move
* 6:14 AM Toyota made weird anime girls to personify components in
the new Prius
* 6:04 AM Microsoft to recall Surface Pro power cables due to
overheating concerns
* 6:00 AM Spotify snaps up a pair of apps for voice messaging and
music discovery
* 5:41 AM Facebook's Android app now lets you flip a switch to browse
over Tor
* 2:51 AM Sony’s Portable Ultra Short Throw Projector will turn any
surface into a TV
* 2:40 AM Nancy Drew is back, grown up, and not white
* 12:49 AM Jar Jar Binks meets a violent end in excellent Star Wars
Episode 7.5 fan comic
* 12:29 AM Nielsen wants to watch you talk to your Facebook friends
about what you watch on TV
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added...
* Policy & Law
* Web
ACTA 'highly intrusive' to individuals, says European Data Protection
Supervisor
* By Aaron Souppouris
* on April 24, 2012 09:11 am
*
* @AaronIsSocial
*
6
[shutterstock_58340590.jpg]
Tweet Share
Share on Facebook Tweet Share Pin Share
The European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) has given an opinion in
his official capacity on ACTA, an anti-counterfeiting trade agreement
which has been criticized for its potential to invade an individual's
privacy. ACTA is an international treaty that has been signed by, among
others, the US, Canada, Australia, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and
22 of the 27 EU member states. It's concerned with stemming the flow of
illegal goods, both tangible and digital, between nations. The EDPS, an
independent supervisory authority tasked with protecting the data and
privacy of EU citizens, first raised his doubts over the legality of
the agreement back in February 2010, long before the full proposal was
made public. Assistant EDPS Giovanni Buttarelli has now written a
20-page recommendation which will be taken into consideration by the
European Court of Justice when it rules on whether or not ACTA can be
adopted by EU countries.
"ACTA's "measures are highly intrusive to the private sphere of
individuals.""
While the EDPS acknowledges the need for a bill like ACTA, he concludes
that there's a balance that must be struck between the protection of
intellectual property and the right to privacy, which the treaty fails
to attain in its current state. He says that ACTA would involve "the
monitoring of user's behavior and of their electronic communications on
the internet." In his opinion, the measures would be "highly intrusive
to the private sphere of individuals and, if not implemented properly,
may therefore interfere with their rights and freedoms." While the
words are encouraging to those that appose the treaty, the EDPS isn't
recommending that it be scrapped entirely, but rather reworded,
clarified, and refocused on preventing piracy on a commercial scale.
In a press release accompanying the opinion the Assistant EDPS states:
"While more international cooperation is needed for the enforcement
of IP rights, the means envisaged must not come at the expense of
the fundamental rights of individuals. A right balance between the
fight against IP infringements and the rights to privacy and data
protection must be respected. It appears that ACTA has not been
fully successful in this respect."
* SourceEDPS Opinion (PDF)
* Image CreditEuropean Union Brussel Headquarters on Shutterstock
* Related Items europe piracy privacy european union eu anti-piracy
acta data protection edps european data protection supervisor
More from The Verge
* Apple's stock is down 18 percent since it launched that ugly iPhone
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* Six senators accidentally just admitted they are clueless about
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* Netflix fires first shot in battle with VPNs
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* The Donald Trump programming language is not for dummies or losers
* Exclusive: T-Pain shows us how to use the new GarageBand
Part
of This
* Storystream
8 updates to
The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement: ACTA struggles to pass in Europe
* Jul 4 EU Parliament rejects ACTA
* Jun 21 ACTA fails to gain ITC approval, MEPs vote to reject
controversial piracy treaty
* Jun 1 Three out of four EU committees vote against ACTA
* May 29 Dutch legislature takes stand against Anti-Counterfeiting
Trade Agreement
* May 7 ACTA unlikely to happen, says European Commissioner
* Apr 24 ACTA 'highly intrusive' to individuals, says European Data
Protection Supervisor
2 more updates
The
Latest
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* An ‘iPhone 5SE’ might come as soon as March
* The Academy announces goal to 'double number of diverse members'
after Oscar backlash
* Tweet hashtags at the Game of Thrones account to see some teasers
for season six
* Atari is bringing 100 classic games to PC
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Discuss at Verge Video See more videos
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#The Verge - All Posts
IFRAME: //www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5XTZVB
Trending now
Six senators accidentally just admitted they are clueless about internet
speeds
*
Google just published a free, three-month course on deep learning
*
Oracle just revealed how much money Google makes from Android
*
The Donald Trump programming language is not for dummies or losers
*
*
*
*
24 New articles
Previous
January 22, 2016
* 3:42 PM An ‘iPhone 5SE’ might come as soon as March
* 3:38 PM The Academy announces goal to 'double number of diverse
members' after Oscar backlash
* 3:27 PM Tweet hashtags at the Game of Thrones account to see some
teasers for season six
* 3:02 PM Atari is bringing 100 classic games to PC
* 2:46 PM Sundance Film Festival 2016: The best new films, shows and
VR
* 2:38 PM Other People review: A cancer dramedy in which other people
are the punchlines
* 2:15 PM Gillian Anderson had to fight for equal pay for the new
X-Files miniseries
* 1:00 PM Who’s behind the weird bills that would make selling
encrypted smartphones illegal in New York and California?
* 12:03 PM Learn how technology shaped T-Pain’s career in our
extended interview
* 11:54 AM The Parrot Bebop 2 drone is fun, fine, and fatally flawed
— our review
* 11:11 AM 11 new trailers you should watch this week
* 10:35 AM Japan Display developing OLED screens, sparking new iPhone
rumors
* 9:31 AM Microsoft is now selling more powerful Surface Book and
Surface Pro 4 models
* 9:25 AM Eleanor Friedberger's New View is a small album for small
pleasures
* 9:00 AM Nomineering, Week 3: How the Academy fixed being out of
touch 45 years ago
* 8:57 AM Studying gamers teaches us a lot about games too
* 8:42 AM Google just published a free, three-month course on deep
learning
* 7:51 AM I blame that ugly battery case for Apple's stock price
tumble
* 7:30 AM This Safari bug is the best ad for Chrome yet
* 6:50 AM Tinder now helps users find STD testing sites
* 6:41 AM Ending the holy war? Pope meets with Tim Cook after visit
with Eric Schmidt
* 5:30 AM Netflix fires first shot in battle with VPNs
* 4:43 AM Skype helps users avoid harassment by hiding IP addresses
* 4:16 AM Watch Iggy Pop and Josh Homme perform the first track from
their surprise new album
* 3:08 AM Apple hires 3D interface expert to bolster its VR research
* 2:57 AM Google paid Apple $1 billion in 2014 to remain the default
iOS search option
January 21, 2016
* 9:46 PM Some Xbox 360 games run better on Xbox One, but some are
'nearly unplayable'
* 7:43 PM EPA orders Michigan to take 'immediate action' on Flint
water crisis
* 5:54 PM Astronaut celebrates his 300th straight day in space with
some water ping pong
* 5:48 PM Oracle just revealed how much money Google makes from
Android
* 5:45 PM The Donald Trump programming language is not for dummies or
losers
* 5:42 PM Robert Redford: Sundance doesn't 'take a position of
advocacy' on diversity
* 5:38 PM Fox News partners with Google and YouTube for final GOP
debate before Iowa caucus
* 5:31 PM Wonder Woman and Justice League Part One get 2017 release
dates
* 5:25 PM Startup’s self-driving test car crashes after driver takes
control
* 5:15 PM Uber will only cap surge pricing during the blizzard if New
York makes it
* 5:14 PM Review: The X-Files is back, but the fight for the future
is over
* 5:13 PM Six senators accidentally just admitted they are clueless
about internet speeds
* 4:56 PM The 5th Wave: horror without fear, science fiction without
ideas
* 4:28 PM Savages yield to temptation on new album Adore Life
* 4:22 PM More than hot air: the lasting impact of inflatable
architecture
* 4:09 PM Facebook is adding more 3D Touch tricks to its app, but
it'll take 'months'
* 3:18 PM Google just upgraded its weather reports on Android
* 3:16 PM Prairie voles console their stressed out friends,
scientists find
* 3:15 PM You can buy James Bond’s Aston Martin DB10 — if you have
Bond villain money
* 1:42 PM Microsoft just made Office apps far more powerful for the
iPad Pro
* 1:41 PM Here's the first trailer for Key & Peele's kidnapped kitty
caper Keanu
* 1:29 PM Jeb! super PAC sent out video players to get people to
watch The Jeb Story
* 1:23 PM AT&T's CEO says Tim Cook shouldn't have any say in
encryption debate
* 1:20 PM Honda’s new fuel cell car will arrive this year for $500 a
month
* 1:06 PM Amazon will refund customers who bought hoverboards,
government officials say
* 1:06 PM Massive Attack's new music is hidden inside a spooky iPhone
app
* 12:44 PM Vergecast 189: Pain is Available at 6
* 12:35 PM Escape into this magical Instagram full of cats, balloons,
flowers, and 'woes'
* 12:24 PM Ctrl-Walt-Delete: Walt and Nilay lose track of time
* 12:24 PM Dropbox’s new Windows 10 app lets you secure your files
with your face
* 12:22 PM NASA satellites show the immense scope of the blizzard
about to hit the East Coast
* 12:00 PM Kickstarter is launching an app for Android
* 11:28 AM Vimeo launches new initiative to support female filmmakers
* 11:19 AM Sundance 2016: a film festival pushes into the future
* 10:51 AM Airbus just delivered the first A320neo, its next-gen 737
competitor
* 10:46 AM Microsoft announces Surface Pro power cord recall
* 10:27 AM Making a Murderer creators answer critics in Twitter Q&A
* 10:07 AM Microsoft’s insane Android alarm app wants you to make
faces at 6AM
* 10:05 AM Fender’s earphones are so pretty they inspired me to make
art
* 9:51 AM The Witcher 2 is free on Xbox One right now
* 9:40 AM Verizon's wireless and broadband growth drives strong
earnings
* 9:36 AM The Oatmeal’s Exploding Kittens card game is now available
on iPhone
* 9:30 AM ZCast lets you start a live podcast from your phone for
everyone to hear
* 8:41 AM Ty Segall's new album Emotional Mugger is a tangled mass of
Ty Segall
* 8:36 AM France wants a new keyboard to protect its language
* 8:16 AM Tree-dwelling frog that eats its mother's eggs rediscovered
after 140 years
* 8:08 AM Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg believes likes and positivity
can beat terrorists online
* 8:00 AM A maker of actual hoverboards is now selling Hyperloop
engines
* 7:30 AM Nespresso is the iPhone of coffee makers, and that's okay
* 5:54 AM Android apps win the downloads, iOS apps win the money
* 5:24 AM Norwegian Megacopter sets new record for drone lifting
power
* 4:39 AM Fender now makes in-ear headphones as well as guitars
* 4:03 AM The one where a computer writes new Friends episodes
* 2:55 AM Apple to create first European iOS Development Center
* 12:56 AM Facebook launches Sports Stadium hub for you to chat about
the big game
* 12:01 AM GM launches Maven, a car-sharing service to compete with
Zipcar
January 20, 2016
* 7:52 PM If you ride hoverboards and don't follow these government
recommendations, you could die
* 6:11 PM There might be an Ebola vaccine within two years
* 6:05 PM This new ad-blocker has a plan to pay publishers
* 6:03 PM The Juxt is another smart analog watch with a dumb name
* 5:53 PM Hey kids, tweeting won’t get you a snow day
* 5:52 PM Terminator Genisys probably isn't getting any sequels
* 5:43 PM Uber is about to go to war with Seamless in 10 major US
cities
* 5:07 PM 2015 was officially the warmest year in recorded history
* 4:57 PM The ACLU and lawmakers just made a huge push for digital
privacy
* 4:55 PM Crave is a terrible new app that brings your romance novel
boyfriend to life
* 4:51 PM After scolding from FAA, Dallas Cowboys get permission to
fly drones at practice
* 4:44 PM Watch another new trailer for Girls' fifth season
* 4:42 PM Our solar system may have a ninth planet after all — but
not all evidence is in
* 4:03 PM Read the searing story of the Kickstarter drone that went
down in flames
* 3:00 PM Skeletons from a 10,000-year-old massacre have
archaeologists in a fight of their own
* 2:58 PM Watch your favorite Star Wars characters die adorable 8-bit
deaths
* 2:51 PM Star Wars: Episode VIII delayed until December 2017
* 2:51 PM Chairlift's new album Moth is cool, confident, and curious
* 2:50 PM Uber will be the exclusive rideshare app of Super Bowl 50
* 2:09 PM Hyperloop Transportation is about to break ground on its
first test track
* 1:57 PM Tesla suing supplier that failed to meet Falcon Wing door
expectations
* 1:28 PM Netflix is fleshing out its film program with five new
indie movies
* 1:03 PM Netflix is making a cyberpunk detective series
* 12:55 PM Zach Galifianakis' Baskets finds comedy in dashed dreams
* 11:48 AM The Air Force's Reaper drone keeps crashing
* 11:36 AM Exclusive: T-Pain talks about how technology and apps have
changed music
* 11:29 AM The Hermès Apple Watch collection will be available online
this Friday
* 11:00 AM Exclusive: T-Pain shows us how to use the new GarageBand
* 11:00 AM Music Memos is Apple's new, simple recording app
* 10:50 AM Leica’s newest camera can go underwater
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* Policy & Law
Dutch data protection agency says Google is violating privacy laws
* By Adi Robertson
* on November 28, 2013 09:18 pm
*
* @thedextriarchy
*
200
[google-glass-hands-on-stock4_2040.jpg]
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The privacy policy that Google implemented in March of 2012 violates
Dutch privacy laws, the country's data protection agency has found. In
a report issued today, the DPA said that Google has "no legal ground"
to use things like tracking cookies to collect and unify information
about website visitors. "The combining of data by Google from and about
multiple services and third-party websites for the purpose of
displaying personalized ads, personalization of services, product
development and analytics constitutes a major intrusion into the
privacy of the users involved," reads an informal English translation.
"Some of these data are of a sensitive nature, such as payment
information, location data and information on surfing behavior across
multiple websites."
__________________________________________________________________
""Google spins an invisible web of our personal data, without our
consent.""
Because of Google's sheer size, the agency says it's virtually
impossible for a Dutch user to avoid being tracked in some way, whether
through search or cookies from a site using Google's ad platform.
"Google spins an invisible web of our personal data, without our
consent. And that is forbidden by law," says agency head Jacob
Kohnstamm. While Google has argued that it has legitimate reasons to
collect this data, the DPA says that it has insufficient safeguards for
using the minimum amount of information necessary and that it doesn't
get meaningful consent from users. A variety of individual opt-outs and
FAQs exist, but the report says these are too onerous and don't add up
to a complete opt-out option, despite changes since the policy went
into effect. The report also refers to statements by notoriously
cavalier Google executive Eric Schmidt, including a quote from a 2010
interview: "We don't need you to type at all. We know where you are. We
know where you've been. We can more or less know what you're thinking
about."
It's not clear yet what will happen as a result of the report. The
Dutch DPA has asked Google to attend a hearing, at which it will decide
whether to enforce the rules. The country is one of several in Europe
to have taken issue with Google's unified privacy policy, which is
built for the relatively lax American privacy framework. In September,
French data protection agency CNIL announced that it would be moving
forward with sanctions after Google failed to address its privacy
concerns; it hopes to impose an individual fine (with a maximum of
€150,000) for each French Google user. The UK and Germany are also
attempting to force a change in policy or levy fines, but while the
company's size has made it easier for the Netherlands to claim it poses
a meaningful privacy threat, it also insulates it from many legal
threats.
* ViaReuters
* SourceDutch DPA
* Related Items netherlands privacy hearing privacy policy data
protection dutch privacy laws Google
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* Policy & Law
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France orders Google to change its privacy policy as UK and others consider
similar action
Data protection watchdog threatens search giant with fines as year-long
saga continues
* By Amar Toor
* on June 20, 2013 05:44 am
*
* @amartoo
*
179
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France's data protection agency has ordered Google to change its
privacy policy, following a year-long investigation into the company's
practices. In a press release published Thursday, the Paris-based
Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés (CNIL) said
Google's data collection policies are in violation of the French Data
Protection Act, and gave the company three months to make adjustments.
Should Google fail to make changes within three months, it would face
an initial fine of up to €150,000 (about $198,300), and a second fine
of up to €300,000 ($396,500) if the search company continues to neglect
the CNIL's orders.
The CNIL also said that data watchdogs in Germany, Italy, the
Netherlands, Spain, and the UK are considering similar actions against
Google, which could result in more sanctions and fines.
__________________________________________________________________
"Five other countries are considering similar sanctions"
"By the end of July, all the authorities within the [EU data
protection] task force will have taken coercive action against Google,"
CNIL President Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin told Reuters. Shortly after
the CNIL's announcement, Italy's privacy watchdog announced that it has
requested more information from Google as it considers implementing
similar sanctions.
The CNIL, an independent watchdog, led an investigation into Google's
data collection practices last year at the request of the European
Union. Upon publishing its results in October 2012, the organization
ordered the company to change its policy within four months, arguing
that it violates French laws by collecting personal data without
telling users how it will be used. In April, after Google failed to
comply, the CNIL advised other EU governments to pursue action against
the company.
Specifically, the CNIL is calling upon Google to clearly define the
ways in which personal data is used, and to clarify how long it is
retained. Google, as it has in the past, remains insistent that its
policies are within the boundaries of EU law, and said it will continue
to cooperate with European governments.
"Our privacy policy respects European law and allows us to create
simpler, more effective services," a Google spokesperson said in an
e-mail statement to The Verge. "We have engaged fully with the
authorities involved throughout this process, and we’ll continue to do
so going forward."
* ViaReuters
* SourceCNIL
* Related Items uk europe google politics data law spain france
privacy policy eu data protection cnil
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Part
of This
* Storystream
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Google's 2012 privacy policy changes: the backlash and response
* Feb 8 Google France forced to notify visitors of €150,000 privacy
policy fine
* Nov 28 Dutch data protection agency says Google is violating
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* Sep 27 French regulator moves forward with sanctions after Google
refuses to alter privacy policy
* Jul 30 How Google+ killed Google's company-wide privacy effort
* Jul 6 UK and Germany join France in demanding Google rewrite its
privacy policy
* Jun 20 France orders Google to change its privacy policy as UK and
others consider similar action
18 more updates
The
Latest
* Headlines
* An ‘iPhone 5SE’ might come as soon as March
* The Academy announces goal to 'double number of diverse members'
after Oscar backlash
* Tweet hashtags at the Game of Thrones account to see some teasers
for season six
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punchlines
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A new planet in our solar system?
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T-Pain says he 'would have been just another singer' without technology
*
A new planet in our solar system?
*
Hunter-gatherers weren’t as peaceful as we thought
*
T-Pain mixes a beat with the new GarageBand
*
Apple Music Memos makes mobile recording easy
*
T-Pain says he 'would have been just another singer' without technology
Discuss at Verge Video See more videos
Back to top ^
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#The Verge - All Posts
IFRAME: //www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5XTZVB
Trending now
Six senators accidentally just admitted they are clueless about internet
speeds
*
Google just published a free, three-month course on deep learning
*
Oracle just revealed how much money Google makes from Android
*
The Donald Trump programming language is not for dummies or losers
*
*
*
*
24 New articles
Previous
January 22, 2016
* 3:42 PM An ‘iPhone 5SE’ might come as soon as March
* 3:38 PM The Academy announces goal to 'double number of diverse
members' after Oscar backlash
* 3:27 PM Tweet hashtags at the Game of Thrones account to see some
teasers for season six
* 3:02 PM Atari is bringing 100 classic games to PC
* 2:46 PM Sundance Film Festival 2016: The best new films, shows and
VR
* 2:38 PM Other People review: A cancer dramedy in which other people
are the punchlines
* 2:15 PM Gillian Anderson had to fight for equal pay for the new
X-Files miniseries
* 1:00 PM Who’s behind the weird bills that would make selling
encrypted smartphones illegal in New York and California?
* 12:03 PM Learn how technology shaped T-Pain’s career in our
extended interview
* 11:54 AM The Parrot Bebop 2 drone is fun, fine, and fatally flawed
— our review
* 11:11 AM 11 new trailers you should watch this week
* 10:35 AM Japan Display developing OLED screens, sparking new iPhone
rumors
* 9:31 AM Microsoft is now selling more powerful Surface Book and
Surface Pro 4 models
* 9:25 AM Eleanor Friedberger's New View is a small album for small
pleasures
* 9:00 AM Nomineering, Week 3: How the Academy fixed being out of
touch 45 years ago
* 8:57 AM Studying gamers teaches us a lot about games too
* 8:42 AM Google just published a free, three-month course on deep
learning
* 7:51 AM I blame that ugly battery case for Apple's stock price
tumble
* 7:30 AM This Safari bug is the best ad for Chrome yet
* 6:50 AM Tinder now helps users find STD testing sites
* 6:41 AM Ending the holy war? Pope meets with Tim Cook after visit
with Eric Schmidt
* 5:30 AM Netflix fires first shot in battle with VPNs
* 4:43 AM Skype helps users avoid harassment by hiding IP addresses
* 4:16 AM Watch Iggy Pop and Josh Homme perform the first track from
their surprise new album
* 3:08 AM Apple hires 3D interface expert to bolster its VR research
* 2:57 AM Google paid Apple $1 billion in 2014 to remain the default
iOS search option
January 21, 2016
* 9:46 PM Some Xbox 360 games run better on Xbox One, but some are
'nearly unplayable'
* 7:43 PM EPA orders Michigan to take 'immediate action' on Flint
water crisis
* 5:54 PM Astronaut celebrates his 300th straight day in space with
some water ping pong
* 5:48 PM Oracle just revealed how much money Google makes from
Android
* 5:45 PM The Donald Trump programming language is not for dummies or
losers
* 5:42 PM Robert Redford: Sundance doesn't 'take a position of
advocacy' on diversity
* 5:38 PM Fox News partners with Google and YouTube for final GOP
debate before Iowa caucus
* 5:31 PM Wonder Woman and Justice League Part One get 2017 release
dates
* 5:25 PM Startup’s self-driving test car crashes after driver takes
control
* 5:15 PM Uber will only cap surge pricing during the blizzard if New
York makes it
* 5:14 PM Review: The X-Files is back, but the fight for the future
is over
* 5:13 PM Six senators accidentally just admitted they are clueless
about internet speeds
* 4:56 PM The 5th Wave: horror without fear, science fiction without
ideas
* 4:28 PM Savages yield to temptation on new album Adore Life
* 4:22 PM More than hot air: the lasting impact of inflatable
architecture
* 4:09 PM Facebook is adding more 3D Touch tricks to its app, but
it'll take 'months'
* 3:18 PM Google just upgraded its weather reports on Android
* 3:16 PM Prairie voles console their stressed out friends,
scientists find
* 3:15 PM You can buy James Bond’s Aston Martin DB10 — if you have
Bond villain money
* 1:42 PM Microsoft just made Office apps far more powerful for the
iPad Pro
* 1:41 PM Here's the first trailer for Key & Peele's kidnapped kitty
caper Keanu
* 1:29 PM Jeb! super PAC sent out video players to get people to
watch The Jeb Story
* 1:23 PM AT&T's CEO says Tim Cook shouldn't have any say in
encryption debate
* 1:20 PM Honda’s new fuel cell car will arrive this year for $500 a
month
* 1:06 PM Amazon will refund customers who bought hoverboards,
government officials say
* 1:06 PM Massive Attack's new music is hidden inside a spooky iPhone
app
* 12:44 PM Vergecast 189: Pain is Available at 6
* 12:35 PM Escape into this magical Instagram full of cats, balloons,
flowers, and 'woes'
* 12:24 PM Ctrl-Walt-Delete: Walt and Nilay lose track of time
* 12:24 PM Dropbox’s new Windows 10 app lets you secure your files
with your face
* 12:22 PM NASA satellites show the immense scope of the blizzard
about to hit the East Coast
* 12:00 PM Kickstarter is launching an app for Android
* 11:28 AM Vimeo launches new initiative to support female filmmakers
* 11:19 AM Sundance 2016: a film festival pushes into the future
* 10:51 AM Airbus just delivered the first A320neo, its next-gen 737
competitor
* 10:46 AM Microsoft announces Surface Pro power cord recall
* 10:27 AM Making a Murderer creators answer critics in Twitter Q&A
* 10:07 AM Microsoft’s insane Android alarm app wants you to make
faces at 6AM
* 10:05 AM Fender’s earphones are so pretty they inspired me to make
art
* 9:51 AM The Witcher 2 is free on Xbox One right now
* 9:40 AM Verizon's wireless and broadband growth drives strong
earnings
* 9:36 AM The Oatmeal’s Exploding Kittens card game is now available
on iPhone
* 9:30 AM ZCast lets you start a live podcast from your phone for
everyone to hear
* 8:41 AM Ty Segall's new album Emotional Mugger is a tangled mass of
Ty Segall
* 8:36 AM France wants a new keyboard to protect its language
* 8:16 AM Tree-dwelling frog that eats its mother's eggs rediscovered
after 140 years
* 8:08 AM Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg believes likes and positivity
can beat terrorists online
* 8:00 AM A maker of actual hoverboards is now selling Hyperloop
engines
* 7:30 AM Nespresso is the iPhone of coffee makers, and that's okay
* 5:54 AM Android apps win the downloads, iOS apps win the money
* 5:24 AM Norwegian Megacopter sets new record for drone lifting
power
* 4:39 AM Fender now makes in-ear headphones as well as guitars
* 4:03 AM The one where a computer writes new Friends episodes
* 2:55 AM Apple to create first European iOS Development Center
* 12:56 AM Facebook launches Sports Stadium hub for you to chat about
the big game
* 12:01 AM GM launches Maven, a car-sharing service to compete with
Zipcar
January 20, 2016
* 7:52 PM If you ride hoverboards and don't follow these government
recommendations, you could die
* 6:11 PM There might be an Ebola vaccine within two years
* 6:05 PM This new ad-blocker has a plan to pay publishers
* 6:03 PM The Juxt is another smart analog watch with a dumb name
* 5:53 PM Hey kids, tweeting won’t get you a snow day
* 5:52 PM Terminator Genisys probably isn't getting any sequels
* 5:43 PM Uber is about to go to war with Seamless in 10 major US
cities
* 5:07 PM 2015 was officially the warmest year in recorded history
* 4:57 PM The ACLU and lawmakers just made a huge push for digital
privacy
* 4:55 PM Crave is a terrible new app that brings your romance novel
boyfriend to life
* 4:51 PM After scolding from FAA, Dallas Cowboys get permission to
fly drones at practice
* 4:44 PM Watch another new trailer for Girls' fifth season
* 4:42 PM Our solar system may have a ninth planet after all — but
not all evidence is in
* 4:03 PM Read the searing story of the Kickstarter drone that went
down in flames
* 3:00 PM Skeletons from a 10,000-year-old massacre have
archaeologists in a fight of their own
* 2:58 PM Watch your favorite Star Wars characters die adorable 8-bit
deaths
* 2:51 PM Star Wars: Episode VIII delayed until December 2017
* 2:51 PM Chairlift's new album Moth is cool, confident, and curious
* 2:50 PM Uber will be the exclusive rideshare app of Super Bowl 50
* 2:09 PM Hyperloop Transportation is about to break ground on its
first test track
* 1:57 PM Tesla suing supplier that failed to meet Falcon Wing door
expectations
* 1:28 PM Netflix is fleshing out its film program with five new
indie movies
* 1:03 PM Netflix is making a cyberpunk detective series
* 12:55 PM Zach Galifianakis' Baskets finds comedy in dashed dreams
* 11:48 AM The Air Force's Reaper drone keeps crashing
* 11:36 AM Exclusive: T-Pain talks about how technology and apps have
changed music
* 11:29 AM The Hermès Apple Watch collection will be available online
this Friday
* 11:00 AM Exclusive: T-Pain shows us how to use the new GarageBand
* 11:00 AM Music Memos is Apple's new, simple recording app
* 10:50 AM Leica’s newest camera can go underwater
* 10:24 AM Adele, Kendrick Lamar, and The Weeknd will perform at the
Grammys this year
* 9:49 AM Google's new algorithm will make Chrome run much faster
* 9:44 AM Largest known prime number in the world discovered by GIMPS
in Missouri
* 9:26 AM These videos of rubber humans are good?
* 9:20 AM Fake hoverboards are stealing LG and Samsung’s logos and
the feds are seizing them
* 9:00 AM Mossberg: Smartwatches need to get smarter
* 8:42 AM How secure are New York City's new Wi-Fi hubs?
* 8:34 AM CloudMagic is the Mac email app I've been waiting for
* 7:58 AM HBO gives a series to New York porn drama The Deuce,
starring James Franco
* 7:30 AM Hello drones, goodbye Chinese copycats
* 7:14 AM Watch the beautiful nightmare of ads invading your dreams
* 6:57 AM Sina Weibo drops its 140-character limit as Twitter ponders
similar move
* 6:14 AM Toyota made weird anime girls to personify components in
the new Prius
* 6:04 AM Microsoft to recall Surface Pro power cables due to
overheating concerns
* 6:00 AM Spotify snaps up a pair of apps for voice messaging and
music discovery
* 5:41 AM Facebook's Android app now lets you flip a switch to browse
over Tor
* 2:51 AM Sony’s Portable Ultra Short Throw Projector will turn any
surface into a TV
* 2:40 AM Nancy Drew is back, grown up, and not white
* 12:49 AM Jar Jar Binks meets a violent end in excellent Star Wars
Episode 7.5 fan comic
* 12:29 AM Nielsen wants to watch you talk to your Facebook friends
about what you watch on TV
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network
* Policy & Law
* Tech
* US & World
* Cybersecurity
Senate passes controversial CISA cybersecurity bill
* By Colin Lecher
* on October 27, 2015 06:01 pm
* @colinlecher
*
[capitoldome-closeup-2013.0.jpg]
Tweet Share
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In a 74 to 21 vote, the Senate has voted to pass the Cybersecurity
Information Sharing Act, or CISA, a bill that privacy advocates have
long argued will quietly give the government invasive spying powers.
The House has already passed similar legislation, and the two versions
will now enter a conference committee, to be reconciled before being
sent to President Obama.
A series of amendments for the bill were introduced Tuesday that would
have altered some of the most controversial parts, but those were
ultimately voted down.
"This vote will go down in history as the moment that lawmakers decided
not only what sort of Internet our children and our children's children
will have, but what sort of world they will live in," Fight for the
Future, a digital rights advocacy group, said in a statement.
Under the bill, companies would be encouraged to silently share
"security" information with the Department of Homeland Security and,
ultimately, other government agencies. But civil rights groups and tech
companies have argued that the terms of such agreements are vague, and
give broad leeway for companies to share information with the feds
without accountability.
We'll name the names of people who voted in favor afterwards. A vote
for #CISA is a vote against the internet. https://t.co/IctF0UYSO6
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) October 27, 2015
In a statement, the Telecommunications Industry Association, which
represents telecom interests, said it was pleased with the bill. "We
applaud the Senate for moving this important bill and urge
Congressional leaders to act quickly to send this bill to the
President’s desk," the group said in the statement.
When a final version of the bill is worked out, it will be sent to the
White House for a signature or veto from the president. The former
appears more likely: Obama has already tentatively given his support
for the legislation.
* SourceSenate.gov
* Related Items cisa senate politics security
More from The Verge
* Apple's stock is down 18 percent since it launched that ugly iPhone
battery case
* Review: The X-Files is back, but the fight for the future is over
* Six senators accidentally just admitted they are clueless about
internet speeds
* Netflix fires first shot in battle with VPNs
* Oracle just revealed how much money Google makes from Android
* The Donald Trump programming language is not for dummies or losers
* Exclusive: T-Pain shows us how to use the new GarageBand
The
Latest
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* An ‘iPhone 5SE’ might come as soon as March
* The Academy announces goal to 'double number of diverse members'
after Oscar backlash
* Tweet hashtags at the Game of Thrones account to see some teasers
for season six
* Atari is bringing 100 classic games to PC
* Other People review: A cancer dramedy in which other people are the
punchlines
* Gillian Anderson had to fight for equal pay for the new X-Files
miniseries
The best of Verge Video
A new planet in our solar system?
Hunter-gatherers weren’t as peaceful as we thought
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Apple Music Memos makes mobile recording easy
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*
A new planet in our solar system?
*
Hunter-gatherers weren’t as peaceful as we thought
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Discuss at Verge Video See more videos
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#The Verge - All Posts
IFRAME: //www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5XTZVB
Trending now
Six senators accidentally just admitted they are clueless about internet
speeds
*
Google just published a free, three-month course on deep learning
*
Oracle just revealed how much money Google makes from Android
*
The Donald Trump programming language is not for dummies or losers
*
*
*
*
24 New articles
Previous
January 22, 2016
* 3:42 PM An ‘iPhone 5SE’ might come as soon as March
* 3:38 PM The Academy announces goal to 'double number of diverse
members' after Oscar backlash
* 3:27 PM Tweet hashtags at the Game of Thrones account to see some
teasers for season six
* 3:02 PM Atari is bringing 100 classic games to PC
* 2:46 PM Sundance Film Festival 2016: The best new films, shows and
VR
* 2:38 PM Other People review: A cancer dramedy in which other people
are the punchlines
* 2:15 PM Gillian Anderson had to fight for equal pay for the new
X-Files miniseries
* 1:00 PM Who’s behind the weird bills that would make selling
encrypted smartphones illegal in New York and California?
* 12:03 PM Learn how technology shaped T-Pain’s career in our
extended interview
* 11:54 AM The Parrot Bebop 2 drone is fun, fine, and fatally flawed
— our review
* 11:11 AM 11 new trailers you should watch this week
* 10:35 AM Japan Display developing OLED screens, sparking new iPhone
rumors
* 9:31 AM Microsoft is now selling more powerful Surface Book and
Surface Pro 4 models
* 9:25 AM Eleanor Friedberger's New View is a small album for small
pleasures
* 9:00 AM Nomineering, Week 3: How the Academy fixed being out of
touch 45 years ago
* 8:57 AM Studying gamers teaches us a lot about games too
* 8:42 AM Google just published a free, three-month course on deep
learning
* 7:51 AM I blame that ugly battery case for Apple's stock price
tumble
* 7:30 AM This Safari bug is the best ad for Chrome yet
* 6:50 AM Tinder now helps users find STD testing sites
* 6:41 AM Ending the holy war? Pope meets with Tim Cook after visit
with Eric Schmidt
* 5:30 AM Netflix fires first shot in battle with VPNs
* 4:43 AM Skype helps users avoid harassment by hiding IP addresses
* 4:16 AM Watch Iggy Pop and Josh Homme perform the first track from
their surprise new album
* 3:08 AM Apple hires 3D interface expert to bolster its VR research
* 2:57 AM Google paid Apple $1 billion in 2014 to remain the default
iOS search option
January 21, 2016
* 9:46 PM Some Xbox 360 games run better on Xbox One, but some are
'nearly unplayable'
* 7:43 PM EPA orders Michigan to take 'immediate action' on Flint
water crisis
* 5:54 PM Astronaut celebrates his 300th straight day in space with
some water ping pong
* 5:48 PM Oracle just revealed how much money Google makes from
Android
* 5:45 PM The Donald Trump programming language is not for dummies or
losers
* 5:42 PM Robert Redford: Sundance doesn't 'take a position of
advocacy' on diversity
* 5:38 PM Fox News partners with Google and YouTube for final GOP
debate before Iowa caucus
* 5:31 PM Wonder Woman and Justice League Part One get 2017 release
dates
* 5:25 PM Startup’s self-driving test car crashes after driver takes
control
* 5:15 PM Uber will only cap surge pricing during the blizzard if New
York makes it
* 5:14 PM Review: The X-Files is back, but the fight for the future
is over
* 5:13 PM Six senators accidentally just admitted they are clueless
about internet speeds
* 4:56 PM The 5th Wave: horror without fear, science fiction without
ideas
* 4:28 PM Savages yield to temptation on new album Adore Life
* 4:22 PM More than hot air: the lasting impact of inflatable
architecture
* 4:09 PM Facebook is adding more 3D Touch tricks to its app, but
it'll take 'months'
* 3:18 PM Google just upgraded its weather reports on Android
* 3:16 PM Prairie voles console their stressed out friends,
scientists find
* 3:15 PM You can buy James Bond’s Aston Martin DB10 — if you have
Bond villain money
* 1:42 PM Microsoft just made Office apps far more powerful for the
iPad Pro
* 1:41 PM Here's the first trailer for Key & Peele's kidnapped kitty
caper Keanu
* 1:29 PM Jeb! super PAC sent out video players to get people to
watch The Jeb Story
* 1:23 PM AT&T's CEO says Tim Cook shouldn't have any say in
encryption debate
* 1:20 PM Honda’s new fuel cell car will arrive this year for $500 a
month
* 1:06 PM Amazon will refund customers who bought hoverboards,
government officials say
* 1:06 PM Massive Attack's new music is hidden inside a spooky iPhone
app
* 12:44 PM Vergecast 189: Pain is Available at 6
* 12:35 PM Escape into this magical Instagram full of cats, balloons,
flowers, and 'woes'
* 12:24 PM Ctrl-Walt-Delete: Walt and Nilay lose track of time
* 12:24 PM Dropbox’s new Windows 10 app lets you secure your files
with your face
* 12:22 PM NASA satellites show the immense scope of the blizzard
about to hit the East Coast
* 12:00 PM Kickstarter is launching an app for Android
* 11:28 AM Vimeo launches new initiative to support female filmmakers
* 11:19 AM Sundance 2016: a film festival pushes into the future
* 10:51 AM Airbus just delivered the first A320neo, its next-gen 737
competitor
* 10:46 AM Microsoft announces Surface Pro power cord recall
* 10:27 AM Making a Murderer creators answer critics in Twitter Q&A
* 10:07 AM Microsoft’s insane Android alarm app wants you to make
faces at 6AM
* 10:05 AM Fender’s earphones are so pretty they inspired me to make
art
* 9:51 AM The Witcher 2 is free on Xbox One right now
* 9:40 AM Verizon's wireless and broadband growth drives strong
earnings
* 9:36 AM The Oatmeal’s Exploding Kittens card game is now available
on iPhone
* 9:30 AM ZCast lets you start a live podcast from your phone for
everyone to hear
* 8:41 AM Ty Segall's new album Emotional Mugger is a tangled mass of
Ty Segall
* 8:36 AM France wants a new keyboard to protect its language
* 8:16 AM Tree-dwelling frog that eats its mother's eggs rediscovered
after 140 years
* 8:08 AM Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg believes likes and positivity
can beat terrorists online
* 8:00 AM A maker of actual hoverboards is now selling Hyperloop
engines
* 7:30 AM Nespresso is the iPhone of coffee makers, and that's okay
* 5:54 AM Android apps win the downloads, iOS apps win the money
* 5:24 AM Norwegian Megacopter sets new record for drone lifting
power
* 4:39 AM Fender now makes in-ear headphones as well as guitars
* 4:03 AM The one where a computer writes new Friends episodes
* 2:55 AM Apple to create first European iOS Development Center
* 12:56 AM Facebook launches Sports Stadium hub for you to chat about
the big game
* 12:01 AM GM launches Maven, a car-sharing service to compete with
Zipcar
January 20, 2016
* 7:52 PM If you ride hoverboards and don't follow these government
recommendations, you could die
* 6:11 PM There might be an Ebola vaccine within two years
* 6:05 PM This new ad-blocker has a plan to pay publishers
* 6:03 PM The Juxt is another smart analog watch with a dumb name
* 5:53 PM Hey kids, tweeting won’t get you a snow day
* 5:52 PM Terminator Genisys probably isn't getting any sequels
* 5:43 PM Uber is about to go to war with Seamless in 10 major US
cities
* 5:07 PM 2015 was officially the warmest year in recorded history
* 4:57 PM The ACLU and lawmakers just made a huge push for digital
privacy
* 4:55 PM Crave is a terrible new app that brings your romance novel
boyfriend to life
* 4:51 PM After scolding from FAA, Dallas Cowboys get permission to
fly drones at practice
* 4:44 PM Watch another new trailer for Girls' fifth season
* 4:42 PM Our solar system may have a ninth planet after all — but
not all evidence is in
* 4:03 PM Read the searing story of the Kickstarter drone that went
down in flames
* 3:00 PM Skeletons from a 10,000-year-old massacre have
archaeologists in a fight of their own
* 2:58 PM Watch your favorite Star Wars characters die adorable 8-bit
deaths
* 2:51 PM Star Wars: Episode VIII delayed until December 2017
* 2:51 PM Chairlift's new album Moth is cool, confident, and curious
* 2:50 PM Uber will be the exclusive rideshare app of Super Bowl 50
* 2:09 PM Hyperloop Transportation is about to break ground on its
first test track
* 1:57 PM Tesla suing supplier that failed to meet Falcon Wing door
expectations
* 1:28 PM Netflix is fleshing out its film program with five new
indie movies
* 1:03 PM Netflix is making a cyberpunk detective series
* 12:55 PM Zach Galifianakis' Baskets finds comedy in dashed dreams
* 11:48 AM The Air Force's Reaper drone keeps crashing
* 11:36 AM Exclusive: T-Pain talks about how technology and apps have
changed music
* 11:29 AM The Hermès Apple Watch collection will be available online
this Friday
* 11:00 AM Exclusive: T-Pain shows us how to use the new GarageBand
* 11:00 AM Music Memos is Apple's new, simple recording app
* 10:50 AM Leica’s newest camera can go underwater
* 10:24 AM Adele, Kendrick Lamar, and The Weeknd will perform at the
Grammys this year
* 9:49 AM Google's new algorithm will make Chrome run much faster
* 9:44 AM Largest known prime number in the world discovered by GIMPS
in Missouri
* 9:26 AM These videos of rubber humans are good?
* 9:20 AM Fake hoverboards are stealing LG and Samsung’s logos and
the feds are seizing them
* 9:00 AM Mossberg: Smartwatches need to get smarter
* 8:42 AM How secure are New York City's new Wi-Fi hubs?
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US reaches economic cybersecurity agreement with China
* By Colin Lecher
* on September 25, 2015 05:27 pm
* @colinlecher
*
[GettyImages-490004764.0.jpg]
(Win McNamee/Getty Images)
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Today, President Obama, appearing with Chinese President Xi Jinping,
announced that the United States and China had reached an agreement to
curb "cyber-enabled theft of intellectual property" between the two
countries. Obama, at the announcement, said he had "indicated it has to
stop," and that the two had come to a "common understanding."
__________________________________________________________________
"Agree to stop theft of "intellectual property.""
According to a statement from the White House, the two countries now
"agree that neither country's government will conduct or knowingly
support cyber-enabled theft of intellectual property, including trade
secrets or other confidential business information, with the intent of
providing competitive advantages to companies or commercial sectors."
But the announcement, following talks between Obama and Xi at the White
House, comes at a contentious moment for the future of cybersecurity
between the two countries. The Obama administration, according to The
New York Times, recently weighed possible responses against China for
the Office of Personnel Management hack, which it reportedly believes
the country is responsible for.
That hack seems to get worse with each passing week. On Wednesday,
it was announced that the fingerprints of 5.6 million federal workers
had been stolen during the breach.
The two countries also announced other, broader agreements about
cybersecurity. According to the White House statement, "the US and
China agreed to cooperate, in a manner consistent with their respective
national laws and relevant international obligations, with requests to
investigate cybercrimes, collect electronic evidence, and mitigate
malicious cyber activity emanating from their territory."
* SourceThe White House The New York Times
* Related Items obama china national security xi jinping
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January 22, 2016
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January 21, 2016
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'nearly unplayable'
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Android
* 5:45 PM The Donald Trump programming language is not for dummies or
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* Policy & Law
* Breaking
President Obama signs cybersecurity order
* By Carl Franzen
* on February 12, 2013 09:24 pm
*
* @carlfranzen
*
81
[4050328699_95f78b4e49_b.jpg]
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President Obama on Tuesday signed a new cybersecurity executive order,
allowing the government to share more information it has on so-called
national "cyber threats" with private companies, namely infrastructure
providers.
Obama introduced the order during the State of the Union address,
saying "America must also face the rapidly growing threat from
cyber-attacks," also calling upon Congress to pass legislation to "give
our government a greater capacity to secure our networks and deter
attacks." As the President said:
We know hackers steal people’s identities and infiltrate private
e-mail. We know foreign countries and companies swipe our corporate
secrets. Now our enemies are also seeking the ability to sabotage
our power grid, our financial institutions, and our air traffic
control systems. We cannot look back years from now and wonder why
we did nothing in the face of real threats to our security and our
economy.
The executive order signed Tuesday expands upon a voluntary cyber
threat information-sharing program already in place — the "Enhanced
Cybersecurity Services program" (PDF) launched in May 2012 under the
Departments of Defense and Homeland Security as part of a larger
initiative for information sharing between the government and defense
contractors, known as the "Defense Industrial Base Cybersecurity
Activities (PDF)." Participation in that program has gone up and down,
though, with 17 companies joining initially only for five to pull out
as of October 2012, according to Foreign Policy.
In press materials, the White House also noted that it had included
"strong privacy and civil liberties protections."
Now the President's executive order should allow the government's
realtime cyber threat information to be shared with other firms outside
the defense sector. It also puts the National Institute of Standards
and Technology (NIST), a Commerce Department agency designed to foster
the country's development and research of new technologies, in charge
of setting up best practices and a "framework" for private industry's
cybersecurity preparedness. This is how the order describes it:
The Cybersecurity Framework shall include a set of standards,
methodologies, procedures, and processes that align policy,
business, and technological approaches to address cyber risks.
The President's cybersecurity order, long expected, is designed to
accomplish through executive muscle what wasn't achieved through
Congress. In April 2012, the Republican-led House passed the Cyber
Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA), which drew controversy
from online Web freedom and privacy advocates who argued it didn't
contain enough restrictions on how companies and the government could
access and share Web user information.
CISPA didn't become law. It didn't get further than the House, in fact.
The Senate never picked it up and an alternative cybersecurity bill
proposed by Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) was voted down late last year.
After that, reports steadily emerged that the President was considering
the executive order option, the latest coming last week, just as
CISPA's cosponsors vowed to reintroduce their bill.
You can read the full text of the order right here.
* SourceScribd
* Related Items obama president security white house congress house
of representatives cybersecurity cyber cispa
More from The Verge
* Apple's stock is down 18 percent since it launched that ugly iPhone
battery case
* Review: The X-Files is back, but the fight for the future is over
* Six senators accidentally just admitted they are clueless about
internet speeds
* Netflix fires first shot in battle with VPNs
* Oracle just revealed how much money Google makes from Android
* The Donald Trump programming language is not for dummies or losers
* Exclusive: T-Pain shows us how to use the new GarageBand
The
Latest
* Headlines
* An ‘iPhone 5SE’ might come as soon as March
* The Academy announces goal to 'double number of diverse members'
after Oscar backlash
* Tweet hashtags at the Game of Thrones account to see some teasers
for season six
* Atari is bringing 100 classic games to PC
* Other People review: A cancer dramedy in which other people are the
punchlines
* Gillian Anderson had to fight for equal pay for the new X-Files
miniseries
The best of Verge Video
A new planet in our solar system?
Hunter-gatherers weren’t as peaceful as we thought
T-Pain mixes a beat with the new GarageBand
Apple Music Memos makes mobile recording easy
T-Pain says he 'would have been just another singer' without technology
*
A new planet in our solar system?
*
Hunter-gatherers weren’t as peaceful as we thought
*
T-Pain mixes a beat with the new GarageBand
*
Apple Music Memos makes mobile recording easy
*
T-Pain says he 'would have been just another singer' without technology
Discuss at Verge Video See more videos
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19 New articles
Previous
January 22, 2016
* 1:00 PM District attorney offices are bringing the encryption war
directly to the states
* 12:03 PM Learn how technology shaped T-Pain’s career in our
extended interview
* 11:54 AM The Parrot Bebop 2 drone is fun, fine, and fatally flawed
— our review
* 11:11 AM 11 new trailers you should watch this week
* 10:35 AM Japan Display developing OLED screens, sparking new iPhone
rumors
* 9:31 AM Microsoft is now selling more powerful Surface Book and
Surface Pro 4 models
* 9:25 AM Eleanor Friedberger's New View is a small album for small
pleasures
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What will Obama’s State of the Union mean for the internet?
Broadband, cybersecurity, and consumer protection are all on the table
* By Adi Robertson and Russell Brandom
* on January 20, 2015 09:30 am
*
* @thedextriarchy
*
60
[461636604.0.jpg]
(Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
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At 9PM ET tonight, President Obama is going to give his State of the
Union address before Congress and the country at large, laying out his
agenda for the next year. That agenda so far is an ambitious one: we’ve
already heard plans for comprehensive tax reform and free community
college tuition. But alongside the flagship proposals, the president
will be putting forward a number of programs that could change the web
in profound ways. There are initiatives to expand access and protect
net neutrality, alongside dangerous new tools against digital
attackers. It’s a bold take on the executive’s role in safeguarding the
web, and one that’s already raised controversy on both sides of the
aisle. Here’s what you can expect to hear about tonight.
AT&T Flickr AT&T Flickr
(Mike Mozart / Flickr)
A community broadband war is coming
Broadband companies have seen a lot of scrutiny over the past two
years. Among other things, Google’s super-fast Fiber pilot program
drove home just how bad major ISPs really were, spurring competitors
like AT&T into building more high-speed networks. Even before Fiber,
though, cities were funding their own broadband services —Chattanooga,
Tennessee; Cedar Falls, Iowa; and a handful of others have successfully
launched municipal networks at gigabit speeds. But they’ve run into
rules that either set hurdles for cities or block their efforts
altogether, and Obama is stepping in.
"The FCC is poised to vote on community broadband petitions"
Obama’s new broadband plan, which he announced last week, includes
federal programs that would provide training, technical support, loans,
and more to underserved areas. What’s gotten the most attention,
though, is his call to end or modify 19 state laws that make building
municipal networks harder. The most recent list of restrictions, a
January report by consultant Craig Settles, actually cites 21 state
rules, and some other lists count one more in Texas. These include a
half-dozen direct bans, as well as stipulations that put community
networks at a disadvantage to commercial cable companies.
In mid-2014, FCC chairman Tom Wheeler said that given the opportunity,
the agency would act to "preempt" these laws. This hasn’t happened yet
— though it may be on the horizon. Next month, it will respond to
petitions from municipal broadband groups in Chattanooga and Wilson,
North Carolina.
ISPs, meanwhile, have lobbied for these rules by saying that local
government-funded networks are risky and inefficient. US Telecom, a
broadband trade group whose board of directors includes executives from
AT&T, Verizon, and several regional telecoms, has said that states are
"well within their rights" to restrict local broadband in the name of
protecting taxpayers. In a response to Obama’s announcement, US Telecom
president Walter McCormick warned that his plans "call for the federal
government to regulate the internet, and for municipal governments to
own the internet." If the FCC takes Obama’s advice, expect lawsuits to
follow quickly.
Net Neutrality Flickr Net Neutrality Flickr
(Stephen Melkisethian / Flickr)
Will Obama mention net neutrality?
Obama hasn’t talked about net neutrality since last year, when he
unexpectedly announced his support for a dramatic policy change. In
December, Obama urged the FCC to reclassify broadband from an
"information service" to a more heavily regulated "telecommunications
service" under Title II of the Telecommunications Act. Since then, FCC
chair Tom Wheeler has said he’ll be circulating a new Open Internet
Order next month, and Congressional Republicans have introduced a bill
that would implement some net neutrality rules but avoid Title II.
There’s not much more Obama can do at this point, but it’s possible
he’ll make a last-ditch appeal for reclassification in his speech.
Obama Cyber Flickr Obama Cyber Flickr
(Department of Homeland Security / Flickr)
The cybersecurity arms race heats up
There’s a lot of momentum behind new cybersecurity measures in 2015,
after the very public catastrophe at Sony Pictures and equally damaging
retail breaches at Target, Staples, and others. The big question is
what the government can do to stop similar hacks from happening again.
So far, the administration’s answer is "information sharing," building
new systems and requirements that will encourage companies to share
threats on their network as they become apparent. If agencies like the
FBI and NSA can spot threats early, the thinking goes, they can stop
them before the damage fully sets in.
"Cybersecurity rules make sense politically, but they're not all that
useful"
It makes a lot of sense politically — it sounds innocuous, and will
make for a good line in tonight’s speech — but it’s less useful from a
security perspective. The tools used in the Sony and Target hacks
weren’t particularly novel, and it’s unclear whether better threat
sharing would have made a difference in either case. The hacks were the
result of internal corporate security failures, and it’s hard to
imagine a federal program that would be able to meaningfully address
them.
At the same time, many web freedom advocates are already worried that
information sharing will become an excuse for further surveillance
measures. Sharing information on a threat could mean informing on a
user, often without any semblance of due process or court approval.
President Obama’s threat-sharing proposal improves on CISPA (the
much-reviled cybersecurity bill from 2012, which has also been
reintroduced) by proposing new privacy guidelines, but that measure
hasn’t been enough to satisfy critics. "We're skeptical the guidelines
will provide any semblance of privacy," the EFF writes. "Even if
they’re well crafted, there’s no way to know whether the guidelines are
being followed or enforced."
Target Flickr Target Flickr
(Susan Larson / Flickr)
More data privacy rules
After a year of card breaches, the president is also interested in more
protections for sensitive consumer data. Obama is asking Congress to
give companies firmer rules about when they have to notify customers
about these hacks (Obama wants a 30-day deadline) and to criminalize
"illicit overseas trade in identities," the goal of groups like the
Target hackers. He’s also reviewing a revised draft of a "Consumer
Privacy Bill of Rights" for Congressional consideration, and asking for
a bill that will limit how education companies can use data from
students — specifically, banning them from selling it for
non-educational purposes or using school data for targeted ads. The
Federal Trade Commission has spent the past few years cracking down on
sites or apps that collect information from children online, and the
fight probably isn’t ending any time soon.
Router Flickr Router Flickr
(SparkFun Electronics / Flickr)
Anti-hacking laws might get even worse
Obama has already announced new revisions to the Computer Fraud and
Abuse Act, one of the most hated laws in the tech world. The law was
meant to provide an easy way for prosecutors to press charges against
digital attackers, but in the years since its adoption, many legal
experts have critiqued it as vague and overly broad. Unfortunately, the
early consensus is that the revisions make the law even worse, raising
penalties and broadening language until even the mildest security
research can be construed as a felony. After the draft leaked last
week, researchers pointed to certain passages as effectively outlawing
academic security research entirely. As researcher Robert Graham put
it, "Internet innovation happens by trying things first then asking for
permission later. Obama’s law will change that." If the net effect is
less independent research, then we’ll all be left with more easily
hacked software, making everyone less safe.
"Criminalizing research makes us all less safe"
The most troubling aspects of the law have to do with the way
"unauthorized access" can be interpreted. Seen in the right light, it
could mean as little as sharing a Netflix password or clicking on a
link to leaked data. The courts are still parsing the meaning of
"unauthorized" in the initial law, and many of the updates are direct
responses to subsequent court rulings, but there’s still a troubling
vagueness to much of the language. The law will likely be revised in
Congress (if it makes it through at all), and the courts will fight for
years over the exact meaning, but the new language, combined with
raised sentences in many areas, is already sending up red flags.
The biggest problem may be the idea of "unauthorized access" itself. In
both its original and revised form, the CFAA is built on the assumption
that any activity that’s not explicitly authorized is potentially
illegal. It’s a strange assumption, cutting directly against the hacker
ethos in computer science, and it’s resulted in prosecutions that often
rely on intimidation rather than solid legal practice. For Aaron
Swartz, that meant a tragic suicide before the case went to trial. For
weev, it meant a case that fell apart as soon as it faced scrutiny on
appeal. While President Obama will frame the new draft as an effort to
reform the law, there’s no indication that either case would have
played out differently under the new rules.
Obama Flickr Obama Flickr
(White House / Flickr)
The wild card
That’s everything that’s been released so far, but there’s always the
chance the president will throw in something unexpected tonight,
whether it’s NSA reform or more net neutrality rabble-rousing. If he
does, we’ll add more thoughts here as soon as we know more. And it's
worthwhile to see what hasn't been mentioned in the lead-up to his
State of the Union, like any sign of the surveillance and privacy
changes he was promising last year.
More importantly, this is only the start for this year's internet
agenda. We'll be watching closely as Congress debates the
new Republican net neutrality bill and the resurrected CISPA
cybersecurity proposal, as well as the FCC's votes on community
internet, net neutrality, the merger between Comcast and Time Warner
Cable, and more. And the fight against NSA surveillance, while
noticeably absent from White House rhetoric, will continue in court,
where we're still waiting on judgments in multiple cases.
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Russell Brand bails on SXSW: documentary about his life too
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* Policy & Law
* US & World
Controversial cybersecurity bill clears Senate committee vote
* By Russell Brandom
* on March 13, 2015 03:26 pm
*
* @russellbrandom
*
4
[IMG_7231.0.jpg]
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A new cybersecurity bill cleared a crucial Senate committee yesterday,
paving the way for a full Senate vote. Dubbed the Cybersecurity
Information Sharing Act of 2015, the bill has already drawn criticism
from privacy advocates as enabling corporate surveillance, although
proponents call it a necessary measure for managing the growing number
of digital threats facing businesses online. Similar cybersecurity
legislation has failed in Congress before under similar circumstances,
most notably CISPA in 2011. It's unclear whether the White House will
endorse the legislation, although it has proposed similar cybersecurity
measures in the past.
__________________________________________________________________
Crucially, all of the information shared under the new bill will be
volunteered by companies: the bill establishes ground rules for sharing
threat information, but doesn't require companies to use it. There are
also provisions against retaliatory hacking, introduced out of concern
that well-meaning targets might inflict further damage in reaction to
an attack. Still, many are still worried about the implications of the
bill, particularly Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), the sole member of the
intelligence committee to vote against the bill. "If
information-sharing legislation does not include adequate privacy
protections then that’s not a cybersecurity bill – it’s a surveillance
bill by another name," Wyden wrote in a response to the bill. "I am
concerned that the bill the US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
reported today lacks adequate protections for the privacy rights of
American consumers."
* SourceWired
* Related Items congress legislation cybersecurity
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January 22, 2016
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* Apple
* Tech
Apple announces formal opposition to UK surveillance bill
* By Russell Brandom
* on December 21, 2015 06:13 pm
*
* @russellbrandom
*
36
[2012-09-12timcook-iphone5-26.0.jpg]
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Apple is speaking out against the UK's Investigatory Powers Bill, the
new web surveillance proposal that privacy groups have dubbed the
"Snooper's Charter." Today was the deadline for written statements to
be submitted to the committee considering the bill, and Apple CEO Tim
Cook took the opportunity to submit a detailed objection to various
aspects of the new law. Cook had first signalled his opposition to the
bill in November, saying, "If you halt or weaken encryption, the people
that you hurt are not the folks that want to do bad things. It’s the
good people. The other people know where to go."
This new statement provides a more formal and detailed objection to the
bill, specifically addressing the bill's stance on encryption. "Apple
is deeply committed to protecting public safety and shares the
government’s determination to combat terrorism and other violent
crimes," the document reads. "Strong encryption is vital to protecting
innocent people from malicious actors."
__________________________________________________________________
""Strong encryption is vital to protecting innocent people from
malicious actors.""
Apple also raises issues with international jurisdiction and law
enforcement hacking, referred to in the document as "equipment
interference." "We believe the UK is the first national government to
attempt to provide a legislative basis for equipment interference," the
document reads. "The bill as it stands seems to threaten to extend
responsibility for hacking from government to the private sector."
The committee on the Investigatory Powers Bill is expected to report
back on the bill in February having considered the full range of
responses, including Apple's.
* SourceBBC The Guardian
* Related Items united kingdom apple privacy encryption surveillance
More from The Verge
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* Netflix fires first shot in battle with VPNs
* Oracle just revealed how much money Google makes from Android
* The Donald Trump programming language is not for dummies or losers
* Exclusive: T-Pain shows us how to use the new GarageBand
The
Latest
* Headlines
* An ‘iPhone 5SE’ might come as soon as March
* The Academy announces goal to 'double number of diverse members'
after Oscar backlash
* Tweet hashtags at the Game of Thrones account to see some teasers
for season six
* Atari is bringing 100 classic games to PC
* Other People review: A cancer dramedy in which other people are the
punchlines
* Gillian Anderson had to fight for equal pay for the new X-Files
miniseries
The best of Verge Video
A new planet in our solar system?
Hunter-gatherers weren’t as peaceful as we thought
T-Pain mixes a beat with the new GarageBand
Apple Music Memos makes mobile recording easy
T-Pain says he 'would have been just another singer' without technology
*
A new planet in our solar system?
*
Hunter-gatherers weren’t as peaceful as we thought
*
T-Pain mixes a beat with the new GarageBand
*
Apple Music Memos makes mobile recording easy
*
T-Pain says he 'would have been just another singer' without technology
Discuss at Verge Video See more videos
Back to top ^
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#The Verge - All Posts
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Trending now
Six senators accidentally just admitted they are clueless about internet
speeds
*
Google just published a free, three-month course on deep learning
*
Oracle just revealed how much money Google makes from Android
*
The Donald Trump programming language is not for dummies or losers
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24 New articles
Previous
January 22, 2016
* 3:42 PM An ‘iPhone 5SE’ might come as soon as March
* 3:38 PM The Academy announces goal to 'double number of diverse
members' after Oscar backlash
* 3:27 PM Tweet hashtags at the Game of Thrones account to see some
teasers for season six
* 3:02 PM Atari is bringing 100 classic games to PC
* 2:46 PM Sundance Film Festival 2016: The best new films, shows and
VR
* 2:38 PM Other People review: A cancer dramedy in which other people
are the punchlines
* 2:15 PM Gillian Anderson had to fight for equal pay for the new
X-Files miniseries
* 1:00 PM Who’s behind the weird bills that would make selling
encrypted smartphones illegal in New York and California?
* 12:03 PM Learn how technology shaped T-Pain’s career in our
extended interview
* 11:54 AM The Parrot Bebop 2 drone is fun, fine, and fatally flawed
— our review
* 11:11 AM 11 new trailers you should watch this week
* 10:35 AM Japan Display developing OLED screens, sparking new iPhone
rumors
* 9:31 AM Microsoft is now selling more powerful Surface Book and
Surface Pro 4 models
* 9:25 AM Eleanor Friedberger's New View is a small album for small
pleasures
* 9:00 AM Nomineering, Week 3: How the Academy fixed being out of
touch 45 years ago
* 8:57 AM Studying gamers teaches us a lot about games too
* 8:42 AM Google just published a free, three-month course on deep
learning
* 7:51 AM I blame that ugly battery case for Apple's stock price
tumble
* 7:30 AM This Safari bug is the best ad for Chrome yet
* 6:50 AM Tinder now helps users find STD testing sites
* 6:41 AM Ending the holy war? Pope meets with Tim Cook after visit
with Eric Schmidt
* 5:30 AM Netflix fires first shot in battle with VPNs
* 4:43 AM Skype helps users avoid harassment by hiding IP addresses
* 4:16 AM Watch Iggy Pop and Josh Homme perform the first track from
their surprise new album
* 3:08 AM Apple hires 3D interface expert to bolster its VR research
* 2:57 AM Google paid Apple $1 billion in 2014 to remain the default
iOS search option
January 21, 2016
* 9:46 PM Some Xbox 360 games run better on Xbox One, but some are
'nearly unplayable'
* 7:43 PM EPA orders Michigan to take 'immediate action' on Flint
water crisis
* 5:54 PM Astronaut celebrates his 300th straight day in space with
some water ping pong
* 5:48 PM Oracle just revealed how much money Google makes from
Android
* 5:45 PM The Donald Trump programming language is not for dummies or
losers
* 5:42 PM Robert Redford: Sundance doesn't 'take a position of
advocacy' on diversity
* 5:38 PM Fox News partners with Google and YouTube for final GOP
debate before Iowa caucus
* 5:31 PM Wonder Woman and Justice League Part One get 2017 release
dates
* 5:25 PM Startup’s self-driving test car crashes after driver takes
control
* 5:15 PM Uber will only cap surge pricing during the blizzard if New
York makes it
* 5:14 PM Review: The X-Files is back, but the fight for the future
is over
* 5:13 PM Six senators accidentally just admitted they are clueless
about internet speeds
* 4:56 PM The 5th Wave: horror without fear, science fiction without
ideas
* 4:28 PM Savages yield to temptation on new album Adore Life
* 4:22 PM More than hot air: the lasting impact of inflatable
architecture
* 4:09 PM Facebook is adding more 3D Touch tricks to its app, but
it'll take 'months'
* 3:18 PM Google just upgraded its weather reports on Android
* 3:16 PM Prairie voles console their stressed out friends,
scientists find
* 3:15 PM You can buy James Bond’s Aston Martin DB10 — if you have
Bond villain money
* 1:42 PM Microsoft just made Office apps far more powerful for the
iPad Pro
* 1:41 PM Here's the first trailer for Key & Peele's kidnapped kitty
caper Keanu
* 1:29 PM Jeb! super PAC sent out video players to get people to
watch The Jeb Story
* 1:23 PM AT&T's CEO says Tim Cook shouldn't have any say in
encryption debate
* 1:20 PM Honda’s new fuel cell car will arrive this year for $500 a
month
* 1:06 PM Amazon will refund customers who bought hoverboards,
government officials say
* 1:06 PM Massive Attack's new music is hidden inside a spooky iPhone
app
* 12:44 PM Vergecast 189: Pain is Available at 6
* 12:35 PM Escape into this magical Instagram full of cats, balloons,
flowers, and 'woes'
* 12:24 PM Ctrl-Walt-Delete: Walt and Nilay lose track of time
* 12:24 PM Dropbox’s new Windows 10 app lets you secure your files
with your face
* 12:22 PM NASA satellites show the immense scope of the blizzard
about to hit the East Coast
* 12:00 PM Kickstarter is launching an app for Android
* 11:28 AM Vimeo launches new initiative to support female filmmakers
* 11:19 AM Sundance 2016: a film festival pushes into the future
* 10:51 AM Airbus just delivered the first A320neo, its next-gen 737
competitor
* 10:46 AM Microsoft announces Surface Pro power cord recall
* 10:27 AM Making a Murderer creators answer critics in Twitter Q&A
* 10:07 AM Microsoft’s insane Android alarm app wants you to make
faces at 6AM
* 10:05 AM Fender’s earphones are so pretty they inspired me to make
art
* 9:51 AM The Witcher 2 is free on Xbox One right now
* 9:40 AM Verizon's wireless and broadband growth drives strong
earnings
* 9:36 AM The Oatmeal’s Exploding Kittens card game is now available
on iPhone
* 9:30 AM ZCast lets you start a live podcast from your phone for
everyone to hear
* 8:41 AM Ty Segall's new album Emotional Mugger is a tangled mass of
Ty Segall
* 8:36 AM France wants a new keyboard to protect its language
* 8:16 AM Tree-dwelling frog that eats its mother's eggs rediscovered
after 140 years
* 8:08 AM Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg believes likes and positivity
can beat terrorists online
* 8:00 AM A maker of actual hoverboards is now selling Hyperloop
engines
* 7:30 AM Nespresso is the iPhone of coffee makers, and that's okay
* 5:54 AM Android apps win the downloads, iOS apps win the money
* 5:24 AM Norwegian Megacopter sets new record for drone lifting
power
* 4:39 AM Fender now makes in-ear headphones as well as guitars
* 4:03 AM The one where a computer writes new Friends episodes
* 2:55 AM Apple to create first European iOS Development Center
* 12:56 AM Facebook launches Sports Stadium hub for you to chat about
the big game
* 12:01 AM GM launches Maven, a car-sharing service to compete with
Zipcar
January 20, 2016
* 7:52 PM If you ride hoverboards and don't follow these government
recommendations, you could die
* 6:11 PM There might be an Ebola vaccine within two years
* 6:05 PM This new ad-blocker has a plan to pay publishers
* 6:03 PM The Juxt is another smart analog watch with a dumb name
* 5:53 PM Hey kids, tweeting won’t get you a snow day
* 5:52 PM Terminator Genisys probably isn't getting any sequels
* 5:43 PM Uber is about to go to war with Seamless in 10 major US
cities
* 5:07 PM 2015 was officially the warmest year in recorded history
* 4:57 PM The ACLU and lawmakers just made a huge push for digital
privacy
* 4:55 PM Crave is a terrible new app that brings your romance novel
boyfriend to life
* 4:51 PM After scolding from FAA, Dallas Cowboys get permission to
fly drones at practice
* 4:44 PM Watch another new trailer for Girls' fifth season
* 4:42 PM Our solar system may have a ninth planet after all — but
not all evidence is in
* 4:03 PM Read the searing story of the Kickstarter drone that went
down in flames
* 3:00 PM Skeletons from a 10,000-year-old massacre have
archaeologists in a fight of their own
* 2:58 PM Watch your favorite Star Wars characters die adorable 8-bit
deaths
* 2:51 PM Star Wars: Episode VIII delayed until December 2017
* 2:51 PM Chairlift's new album Moth is cool, confident, and curious
* 2:50 PM Uber will be the exclusive rideshare app of Super Bowl 50
* 2:09 PM Hyperloop Transportation is about to break ground on its
first test track
* 1:57 PM Tesla suing supplier that failed to meet Falcon Wing door
expectations
* 1:28 PM Netflix is fleshing out its film program with five new
indie movies
* 1:03 PM Netflix is making a cyberpunk detective series
* 12:55 PM Zach Galifianakis' Baskets finds comedy in dashed dreams
* 11:48 AM The Air Force's Reaper drone keeps crashing
* 11:36 AM Exclusive: T-Pain talks about how technology and apps have
changed music
* 11:29 AM The Hermès Apple Watch collection will be available online
this Friday
* 11:00 AM Exclusive: T-Pain shows us how to use the new GarageBand
* 11:00 AM Music Memos is Apple's new, simple recording app
* 10:50 AM Leica’s newest camera can go underwater
* 10:24 AM Adele, Kendrick Lamar, and The Weeknd will perform at the
Grammys this year
* 9:49 AM Google's new algorithm will make Chrome run much faster
* 9:44 AM Largest known prime number in the world discovered by GIMPS
in Missouri
* 9:26 AM These videos of rubber humans are good?
* 9:20 AM Fake hoverboards are stealing LG and Samsung’s logos and
the feds are seizing them
* 9:00 AM Mossberg: Smartwatches need to get smarter
* 8:42 AM How secure are New York City's new Wi-Fi hubs?
* 8:34 AM CloudMagic is the Mac email app I've been waiting for
* 7:58 AM HBO gives a series to New York porn drama The Deuce,
starring James Franco
* 7:30 AM Hello drones, goodbye Chinese copycats
* 7:14 AM Watch the beautiful nightmare of ads invading your dreams
* 6:57 AM Sina Weibo drops its 140-character limit as Twitter ponders
similar move
* 6:14 AM Toyota made weird anime girls to personify components in
the new Prius
* 6:04 AM Microsoft to recall Surface Pro power cables due to
overheating concerns
* 6:00 AM Spotify snaps up a pair of apps for voice messaging and
music discovery
* 5:41 AM Facebook's Android app now lets you flip a switch to browse
over Tor
* 2:51 AM Sony’s Portable Ultra Short Throw Projector will turn any
surface into a TV
* 2:40 AM Nancy Drew is back, grown up, and not white
* 12:49 AM Jar Jar Binks meets a violent end in excellent Star Wars
Episode 7.5 fan comic
* 12:29 AM Nielsen wants to watch you talk to your Facebook friends
about what you watch on TV
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Next Story
Star Wars: The Force Awakens was originally called Shadow of the
Empire
* Tech
* Cybersecurity
UK Home Secretary defends controversial surveillance bill, says it will stop
cyberbullies
* By Ashley Carman
* on December 26, 2015 02:00 pm
*
* @ashleyrcarman
*
18
[GettyImages-491521780.0.jpg]
(Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
Tweet Share
Share on Facebook Tweet Share Pin Share
Privacy advocates and tech companies are speaking out vociferously
against the UK’s new surveillance bill, but the country’s Home
Secretary, Theresa May, says there’s no reason to worry. In a letter
obtained by The Times, May says the Investigatory Powers Bill, as it’s
called, won’t be put to use for just spying on citizens. Rather, it’ll
help track down online bullies and trolls.
She described cyberbullying as a "pernicious" issue and reportedly
wrote: "Internet connection records would update the capability of law
enforcement in a criminal investigation to determine the sender and
recipient of a communication, for example, a malicious message such as
those exchanged in cyberbullying."
"cyberbullying is a 'pernicious' issue"
According to The Times, May was responding to a question posed by a
Parliament Member named James Cartlidge, who said the bill is about
more than "terrorism or hacking into bank accounts." He added that
trolling and online bullying are "nasty, psychological attacks that
particularly affect young people."
Although the bill, often referred to as the "Snooper’s Charter," would
likely help track down cyberbullies, it would also sweep up more than
enough information for complete UK citizen surveillance. If passed, the
bill would require all ISPs to store records of every website visited
by internet users for up to a year. This record would include the basic
URL of websites they visit, as well as the time of visits and the IP
addresses of other computers they contact.
Opponents of the bill will likely see May’s comments merely as an
attempt to masquerade the bill as a noble cause to protect the
country’s youth. Whether or not the surveillance powers are used to
combat cyberbulling, May’s letter does not adequately address the
serious privacy issues the bill invokes. Earlier this week, Apple CEO
Tim Cook penned a letter speaking out against the legislation. He
specifically called out the bill’s weakening of encryption as a
problem, as well as its allowing for law enforcement to hack into
users’ devices under a warrant. The committee on the Investigatory
Powers Bill is reviewing Cook’s and others’ comments on the legislation
and is expected to follow up with thoughts in February.
* ViaDaily Mail
* SourceThe Times
* Related Items uk theresa may snoopers charter investigatory powers
bill
More from The Verge
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battery case
* Review: The X-Files is back, but the fight for the future is over
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The
Latest
* Headlines
* An ‘iPhone 5SE’ might come as soon as March
* The Academy announces goal to 'double number of diverse members'
after Oscar backlash
* Tweet hashtags at the Game of Thrones account to see some teasers
for season six
* Atari is bringing 100 classic games to PC
* Other People review: A cancer dramedy in which other people are the
punchlines
* Gillian Anderson had to fight for equal pay for the new X-Files
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The best of Verge Video
A new planet in our solar system?
Hunter-gatherers weren’t as peaceful as we thought
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*
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Discuss at Verge Video See more videos
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#The Verge - All Posts
IFRAME: //www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5XTZVB
Trending now
Six senators accidentally just admitted they are clueless about internet
speeds
*
Google just published a free, three-month course on deep learning
*
Oracle just revealed how much money Google makes from Android
*
The Donald Trump programming language is not for dummies or losers
*
*
*
*
19 New articles
Previous
January 22, 2016
* 1:00 PM District attorney offices are bringing the encryption war
directly to the states
* 12:03 PM Learn how technology shaped T-Pain’s career in our
extended interview
* 11:54 AM The Parrot Bebop 2 drone is fun, fine, and fatally flawed
— our review
* 11:11 AM 11 new trailers you should watch this week
* 10:35 AM Japan Display developing OLED screens, sparking new iPhone
rumors
* 9:31 AM Microsoft is now selling more powerful Surface Book and
Surface Pro 4 models
* 9:25 AM Eleanor Friedberger's New View is a small album for small
pleasures
* 9:00 AM Nomineering, Week 3: How the Academy fixed being out of
touch 45 years ago
* 8:57 AM Studying gamers teaches us a lot about games too
* 8:42 AM Google just published a free, three-month course on deep
learning
* 7:51 AM I blame that ugly battery case for Apple's stock price
tumble
* 7:30 AM This Safari bug is the best ad for Chrome yet
* 6:50 AM Tinder now helps users find STD testing sites
* 6:41 AM Ending the holy war? Pope meets with Tim Cook after visit
with Eric Schmidt
* 5:30 AM Netflix fires first shot in battle with VPNs
* 4:43 AM Skype helps users avoid harassment by hiding IP addresses
* 4:16 AM Watch Iggy Pop and Josh Homme perform the first track from
their surprise new album
* 3:08 AM Apple hires 3D interface expert to bolster its VR research
* 2:57 AM Google paid Apple $1 billion in 2014 to remain the default
iOS search option
January 21, 2016
* 9:46 PM Some Xbox 360 games run better on Xbox One, but some are
'nearly unplayable'
* 7:43 PM EPA orders Michigan to take 'immediate action' on Flint
water crisis
* 5:54 PM Astronaut celebrates his 300th straight day in space with
some water ping pong
* 5:48 PM Oracle just revealed how much money Google makes from
Android
* 5:45 PM The Donald Trump programming language is not for dummies or
losers
* 5:42 PM Robert Redford: Sundance doesn't 'take a position of
advocacy' on diversity
* 5:38 PM Fox News partners with Google and YouTube for final GOP
debate before Iowa caucus
* 5:31 PM Wonder Woman and Justice League Part One get 2017 release
dates
* 5:25 PM Startup’s self-driving test car crashes after driver takes
control
* 5:15 PM Uber will only cap surge pricing during the blizzard if New
York makes it
* 5:14 PM Review: The X-Files is back, but the fight for the future
is over
* 5:13 PM Six senators accidentally just admitted they are clueless
about internet speeds
* 4:56 PM The 5th Wave: horror without fear, science fiction without
ideas
* 4:28 PM Savages yield to temptation on new album Adore Life
* 4:22 PM More than hot air: the lasting impact of inflatable
architecture
* 4:09 PM Facebook is adding more 3D Touch tricks to its app, but
it'll take 'months'
* 3:18 PM Google just upgraded its weather reports on Android
* 3:16 PM Prairie voles console their stressed out friends,
scientists find
* 3:15 PM You can buy James Bond’s Aston Martin DB10 — if you have
Bond villain money
* 1:42 PM Microsoft just made Office apps far more powerful for the
iPad Pro
* 1:41 PM Here's the first trailer for Key & Peele's kidnapped kitty
caper Keanu
* 1:29 PM Jeb! super PAC sent out video players to get people to
watch The Jeb Story
* 1:23 PM AT&T's CEO says Tim Cook shouldn't have any say in
encryption debate
* 1:20 PM Honda’s new fuel cell car will arrive this year for $500 a
month
* 1:06 PM Amazon will refund customers who bought hoverboards,
government officials say
* 1:06 PM Massive Attack's new music is hidden inside a spooky iPhone
app
* 12:44 PM Vergecast 189: Pain is Available at 6
* 12:35 PM Escape into this magical Instagram full of cats, balloons,
flowers, and 'woes'
* 12:24 PM Ctrl-Walt-Delete: Walt and Nilay lose track of time
* 12:24 PM Dropbox’s new Windows 10 app lets you secure your files
with your face
* 12:22 PM NASA satellites show the immense scope of the blizzard
about to hit the East Coast
* 12:00 PM Kickstarter is launching an app for Android
* 11:28 AM Vimeo launches new initiative to support female filmmakers
* 11:19 AM Sundance 2016: a film festival pushes into the future
* 10:51 AM Airbus just delivered the first A320neo, its next-gen 737
competitor
* 10:46 AM Microsoft announces Surface Pro power cord recall
* 10:27 AM Making a Murderer creators answer critics in Twitter Q&A
* 10:07 AM Microsoft’s insane Android alarm app wants you to make
faces at 6AM
* 10:05 AM Fender’s earphones are so pretty they inspired me to make
art
* 9:51 AM The Witcher 2 is free on Xbox One right now
* 9:40 AM Verizon's wireless and broadband growth drives strong
earnings
* 9:36 AM The Oatmeal’s Exploding Kittens card game is now available
on iPhone
* 9:30 AM ZCast lets you start a live podcast from your phone for
everyone to hear
* 8:41 AM Ty Segall's new album Emotional Mugger is a tangled mass of
Ty Segall
* 8:36 AM France wants a new keyboard to protect its language
* 8:16 AM Tree-dwelling frog that eats its mother's eggs rediscovered
after 140 years
* 8:08 AM Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg believes likes and positivity
can beat terrorists online
* 8:00 AM A maker of actual hoverboards is now selling Hyperloop
engines
* 7:30 AM Nespresso is the iPhone of coffee makers, and that's okay
* 5:54 AM Android apps win the downloads, iOS apps win the money
* 5:24 AM Norwegian Megacopter sets new record for drone lifting
power
* 4:39 AM Fender now makes in-ear headphones as well as guitars
* 4:03 AM The one where a computer writes new Friends episodes
* 2:55 AM Apple to create first European iOS Development Center
* 12:56 AM Facebook launches Sports Stadium hub for you to chat about
the big game
* 12:01 AM GM launches Maven, a car-sharing service to compete with
Zipcar
January 20, 2016
* 7:52 PM If you ride hoverboards and don't follow these government
recommendations, you could die
* 6:11 PM There might be an Ebola vaccine within two years
* 6:05 PM This new ad-blocker has a plan to pay publishers
* 6:03 PM The Juxt is another smart analog watch with a dumb name
* 5:53 PM Hey kids, tweeting won’t get you a snow day
* 5:52 PM Terminator Genisys probably isn't getting any sequels
* 5:43 PM Uber is about to go to war with Seamless in 10 major US
cities
* 5:07 PM 2015 was officially the warmest year in recorded history
* 4:57 PM The ACLU and lawmakers just made a huge push for digital
privacy
* 4:55 PM Crave is a terrible new app that brings your romance novel
boyfriend to life
* 4:51 PM After scolding from FAA, Dallas Cowboys get permission to
fly drones at practice
* 4:44 PM Watch another new trailer for Girls' fifth season
* 4:42 PM Our solar system may have a ninth planet after all — but
not all evidence is in
* 4:03 PM Read the searing story of the Kickstarter drone that went
down in flames
* 3:00 PM Skeletons from a 10,000-year-old massacre have
archaeologists in a fight of their own
* 2:58 PM Watch your favorite Star Wars characters die adorable 8-bit
deaths
* 2:51 PM Star Wars: Episode VIII delayed until December 2017
* 2:51 PM Chairlift's new album Moth is cool, confident, and curious
* 2:50 PM Uber will be the exclusive rideshare app of Super Bowl 50
* 2:09 PM Hyperloop Transportation is about to break ground on its
first test track
* 1:57 PM Tesla suing supplier that failed to meet Falcon Wing door
expectations
* 1:28 PM Netflix is fleshing out its film program with five new
indie movies
* 1:03 PM Netflix is making a cyberpunk detective series
* 12:55 PM Zach Galifianakis' Baskets finds comedy in dashed dreams
* 11:48 AM The Air Force's Reaper drone keeps crashing
* 11:36 AM Exclusive: T-Pain talks about how technology and apps have
changed music
* 11:29 AM The Hermès Apple Watch collection will be available online
this Friday
* 11:00 AM Exclusive: T-Pain shows us how to use the new GarageBand
* 11:00 AM Music Memos is Apple's new, simple recording app
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* Google
* Tech
EFF complaint says Google broke privacy pledge by tracking students
* By Adi Robertson
* on December 1, 2015 06:41 pm
*
* @thedextriarchy
*
21
[chromelogo1_2040.0.0.jpg]
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The EFF is asking for a federal investigation into whether Google broke
a pledge to honor student privacy with its educational tools. Today,
the group filed a complaint with the FTC, alleging that Google for
Education collects a broad range of data on students' browsing habits
and gives administrators too much power to enable that collection. "We
are calling on the FTC to investigate Google's conduct, stop the
company from using student personal information for its own purposes,
and order the company to destroy all information it has collected
that's not for educational purposes," said EFF staff attorney Sophia
Cope in a statement.
Google's educational initiative encompasses versions of its various web
services, as well as Chromebook laptops and approved teaching material.
In early 2015, the company signed the Student Privacy Pledge, a
voluntary agreement that bars companies from selling student
information, using data for anything but "authorized education
purposes," and changing privacy policies without notice. President
Barack Obama has promoted the pledge alongside more formal student
privacy reforms, and around 200 companies currently abide by it.
__________________________________________________________________
"Complaint says Google's data collection goes beyond legitimate
educational purposes"
But the EFF claims that Google goes beyond these limits. The complaint
says that Google collects data to improve its own services, instead of
for purely educational purposes. While Google stopped scanning student
accounts for advertising purposes even before signing the pledge, the
EFF argues that it still serves ads on non-educational services, which
can be used while students are logged into school accounts.
The complaint also claims that Google automatically enables the Chrome
Sync service on its Chromebook laptops, storing detailed browsing
information by default. While users can turn Chrome Sync off, school
administrators can override their settings using Google's system
management tools. And the EFF alleges that administrators also have the
option to let third-party websites track location data, which it says
is "unquestionably sharing personal information beyond what is needed
for educational purposes."
""Our services enable students everywhere to learn and keep their
information private and secure.""
The EFF, which revealed its complaint alongside a larger campaign for
student privacy, says that Google will soon restrict sync settings on
educational Chromebooks. But it calls this a "small step in the right
direction." Google, meanwhile, disputed the accusations. "Our services
enable students everywhere to learn and keep their information private
and secure," said a spokesperson. "While we appreciate EFF's focus on
student privacy, we are confident that these tools comply with both the
law and our promises, including the Student Privacy Pledge."
The Future of Privacy Forum, which co-created the pledge, issued a
statement disagreeing with the EFF. "Many schools rely on Sync so that
multiple students have ready access to their accounts and settings on
the same device. We understand that any data collected is not used for
behavioral advertising and all other data uses are aggregated and
anonymous," executive director Jules Polonetsky wrote. "We don't
believe the complaint raises any issues about data use that are
restricted by the Student Privacy Pledge."
Update December 2nd, 8:30AM ET: Added statement from the Future of
Privacy Forum.
* ViaThe Hill
* SourceEFF
* Related Items google ftc eff student privacy pledge
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January 22, 2016
* 3:42 PM An ‘iPhone 5SE’ might come as soon as March
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members' after Oscar backlash
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— our review
* 11:11 AM 11 new trailers you should watch this week
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rumors
* 9:31 AM Microsoft is now selling more powerful Surface Book and
Surface Pro 4 models
* 9:25 AM Eleanor Friedberger's New View is a small album for small
pleasures
* 9:00 AM Nomineering, Week 3: How the Academy fixed being out of
touch 45 years ago
* 8:57 AM Studying gamers teaches us a lot about games too
* 8:42 AM Google just published a free, three-month course on deep
learning
* 7:51 AM I blame that ugly battery case for Apple's stock price
tumble
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* 6:50 AM Tinder now helps users find STD testing sites
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with Eric Schmidt
* 5:30 AM Netflix fires first shot in battle with VPNs
* 4:43 AM Skype helps users avoid harassment by hiding IP addresses
* 4:16 AM Watch Iggy Pop and Josh Homme perform the first track from
their surprise new album
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iOS search option
January 21, 2016
* 9:46 PM Some Xbox 360 games run better on Xbox One, but some are
'nearly unplayable'
* 7:43 PM EPA orders Michigan to take 'immediate action' on Flint
water crisis
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some water ping pong
* 5:48 PM Oracle just revealed how much money Google makes from
Android
* 5:45 PM The Donald Trump programming language is not for dummies or
losers
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advocacy' on diversity
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debate before Iowa caucus
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dates
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York makes it
* 5:14 PM Review: The X-Files is back, but the fight for the future
is over
* 5:13 PM Six senators accidentally just admitted they are clueless
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Grammys this year
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starring James Franco
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similar move
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overheating concerns
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music discovery
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over Tor
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surface into a TV
* 2:40 AM Nancy Drew is back, grown up, and not white
* 12:49 AM Jar Jar Binks meets a violent end in excellent Star Wars
Episode 7.5 fan comic
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Tumblr now lets you hide your blog from the internet
A privacy measure, or the start of a walled garden?
* By Casey Newton
* on September 30, 2015 09:17 pm
*
* @CaseyNewton
*
[theverge_black1_2040.0.jpg]
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Tumblr today introduced a feature that lets you hide your blog from the
web so its content can only be viewed on Tumblr.com and in its native
apps for mobile devices. The move, which Tumblr positioned as a privacy
measure, will "let you better control who gets to see your stuff and
who doesn't," the company said in a blog post. Once you set your blog
to not be shown on the web, anyone who visits its URL will see a 404
error. But anyone who follows your blog will be able to see it on their
dashboard when they log into Tumblr, either on the web or in its apps.
__________________________________________________________________
toggle toggle
Tumblr says the toggle "pairs nicely with the block feature." The idea
behind both features, the company says, is to make it easier to hide
posts from the public, particularly trolls and abusers. But Tumblr's
privacy features remain generally confusing. You still can't make your
primary blog private, but you can set up a secondary blog protected by
a password. Password-protected blogs feel like something out of another
era — Instagram and Twitter are among the social networks that have
long let you make your account private and then whitelist your
followers, making it easier to keep trolls out.
The secondary effect of Tumblr's move today is to make it less of a web
company and more of a walled garden. I don't imagine Tumblr users will
hide their blogs from the web en masse — though creators of Tumblr's
many famous porn blogs might! But driving users to Tumblr.com and apps
makes it easier to deliver targeted advertising to them, and I wonder
if that isn't part of Tumblr's calculation in making such a move. I
also question the decision to present visitors to private blogs with a
404 page, which implies the blog has been deleted. In a year that has
been very bad to the web, Tumblr just made it a little more broken.
* SourceTumblr Staff Blog
* Related Items tumblr web app apps privacy stalking security walled
gardens abuse
More from The Verge
* Apple's stock is down 18 percent since it launched that ugly iPhone
battery case
* Review: The X-Files is back, but the fight for the future is over
* Six senators accidentally just admitted they are clueless about
internet speeds
* Netflix fires first shot in battle with VPNs
* Oracle just revealed how much money Google makes from Android
* The Donald Trump programming language is not for dummies or losers
* Exclusive: T-Pain shows us how to use the new GarageBand
The
Latest
* Headlines
* An ‘iPhone 5SE’ might come as soon as March
* The Academy announces goal to 'double number of diverse members'
after Oscar backlash
* Tweet hashtags at the Game of Thrones account to see some teasers
for season six
* Atari is bringing 100 classic games to PC
* Other People review: A cancer dramedy in which other people are the
punchlines
* Gillian Anderson had to fight for equal pay for the new X-Files
miniseries
The best of Verge Video
A new planet in our solar system?
Hunter-gatherers weren’t as peaceful as we thought
T-Pain mixes a beat with the new GarageBand
Apple Music Memos makes mobile recording easy
T-Pain says he 'would have been just another singer' without technology
*
A new planet in our solar system?
*
Hunter-gatherers weren’t as peaceful as we thought
*
T-Pain mixes a beat with the new GarageBand
*
Apple Music Memos makes mobile recording easy
*
T-Pain says he 'would have been just another singer' without technology
Discuss at Verge Video See more videos
Back to top ^
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speeds
*
Google just published a free, three-month course on deep learning
*
Oracle just revealed how much money Google makes from Android
*
The Donald Trump programming language is not for dummies or losers
*
*
*
*
24 New articles
Previous
January 22, 2016
* 3:42 PM An ‘iPhone 5SE’ might come as soon as March
* 3:38 PM The Academy announces goal to 'double number of diverse
members' after Oscar backlash
* 3:27 PM Tweet hashtags at the Game of Thrones account to see some
teasers for season six
* 3:02 PM Atari is bringing 100 classic games to PC
* 2:46 PM Sundance Film Festival 2016: The best new films, shows and
VR
* 2:38 PM Other People review: A cancer dramedy in which other people
are the punchlines
* 2:15 PM Gillian Anderson had to fight for equal pay for the new
X-Files miniseries
* 1:00 PM Who’s behind the weird bills that would make selling
encrypted smartphones illegal in New York and California?
* 12:03 PM Learn how technology shaped T-Pain’s career in our
extended interview
* 11:54 AM The Parrot Bebop 2 drone is fun, fine, and fatally flawed
— our review
* 11:11 AM 11 new trailers you should watch this week
* 10:35 AM Japan Display developing OLED screens, sparking new iPhone
rumors
* 9:31 AM Microsoft is now selling more powerful Surface Book and
Surface Pro 4 models
* 9:25 AM Eleanor Friedberger's New View is a small album for small
pleasures
* 9:00 AM Nomineering, Week 3: How the Academy fixed being out of
touch 45 years ago
* 8:57 AM Studying gamers teaches us a lot about games too
* 8:42 AM Google just published a free, three-month course on deep
learning
* 7:51 AM I blame that ugly battery case for Apple's stock price
tumble
* 7:30 AM This Safari bug is the best ad for Chrome yet
* 6:50 AM Tinder now helps users find STD testing sites
* 6:41 AM Ending the holy war? Pope meets with Tim Cook after visit
with Eric Schmidt
* 5:30 AM Netflix fires first shot in battle with VPNs
* 4:43 AM Skype helps users avoid harassment by hiding IP addresses
* 4:16 AM Watch Iggy Pop and Josh Homme perform the first track from
their surprise new album
* 3:08 AM Apple hires 3D interface expert to bolster its VR research
* 2:57 AM Google paid Apple $1 billion in 2014 to remain the default
iOS search option
January 21, 2016
* 9:46 PM Some Xbox 360 games run better on Xbox One, but some are
'nearly unplayable'
* 7:43 PM EPA orders Michigan to take 'immediate action' on Flint
water crisis
* 5:54 PM Astronaut celebrates his 300th straight day in space with
some water ping pong
* 5:48 PM Oracle just revealed how much money Google makes from
Android
* 5:45 PM The Donald Trump programming language is not for dummies or
losers
* 5:42 PM Robert Redford: Sundance doesn't 'take a position of
advocacy' on diversity
* 5:38 PM Fox News partners with Google and YouTube for final GOP
debate before Iowa caucus
* 5:31 PM Wonder Woman and Justice League Part One get 2017 release
dates
* 5:25 PM Startup’s self-driving test car crashes after driver takes
control
* 5:15 PM Uber will only cap surge pricing during the blizzard if New
York makes it
* 5:14 PM Review: The X-Files is back, but the fight for the future
is over
* 5:13 PM Six senators accidentally just admitted they are clueless
about internet speeds
* 4:56 PM The 5th Wave: horror without fear, science fiction without
ideas
* 4:28 PM Savages yield to temptation on new album Adore Life
* 4:22 PM More than hot air: the lasting impact of inflatable
architecture
* 4:09 PM Facebook is adding more 3D Touch tricks to its app, but
it'll take 'months'
* 3:18 PM Google just upgraded its weather reports on Android
* 3:16 PM Prairie voles console their stressed out friends,
scientists find
* 3:15 PM You can buy James Bond’s Aston Martin DB10 — if you have
Bond villain money
* 1:42 PM Microsoft just made Office apps far more powerful for the
iPad Pro
* 1:41 PM Here's the first trailer for Key & Peele's kidnapped kitty
caper Keanu
* 1:29 PM Jeb! super PAC sent out video players to get people to
watch The Jeb Story
* 1:23 PM AT&T's CEO says Tim Cook shouldn't have any say in
encryption debate
* 1:20 PM Honda’s new fuel cell car will arrive this year for $500 a
month
* 1:06 PM Amazon will refund customers who bought hoverboards,
government officials say
* 1:06 PM Massive Attack's new music is hidden inside a spooky iPhone
app
* 12:44 PM Vergecast 189: Pain is Available at 6
* 12:35 PM Escape into this magical Instagram full of cats, balloons,
flowers, and 'woes'
* 12:24 PM Ctrl-Walt-Delete: Walt and Nilay lose track of time
* 12:24 PM Dropbox’s new Windows 10 app lets you secure your files
with your face
* 12:22 PM NASA satellites show the immense scope of the blizzard
about to hit the East Coast
* 12:00 PM Kickstarter is launching an app for Android
* 11:28 AM Vimeo launches new initiative to support female filmmakers
* 11:19 AM Sundance 2016: a film festival pushes into the future
* 10:51 AM Airbus just delivered the first A320neo, its next-gen 737
competitor
* 10:46 AM Microsoft announces Surface Pro power cord recall
* 10:27 AM Making a Murderer creators answer critics in Twitter Q&A
* 10:07 AM Microsoft’s insane Android alarm app wants you to make
faces at 6AM
* 10:05 AM Fender’s earphones are so pretty they inspired me to make
art
* 9:51 AM The Witcher 2 is free on Xbox One right now
* 9:40 AM Verizon's wireless and broadband growth drives strong
earnings
* 9:36 AM The Oatmeal’s Exploding Kittens card game is now available
on iPhone
* 9:30 AM ZCast lets you start a live podcast from your phone for
everyone to hear
* 8:41 AM Ty Segall's new album Emotional Mugger is a tangled mass of
Ty Segall
* 8:36 AM France wants a new keyboard to protect its language
* 8:16 AM Tree-dwelling frog that eats its mother's eggs rediscovered
after 140 years
* 8:08 AM Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg believes likes and positivity
can beat terrorists online
* 8:00 AM A maker of actual hoverboards is now selling Hyperloop
engines
* 7:30 AM Nespresso is the iPhone of coffee makers, and that's okay
* 5:54 AM Android apps win the downloads, iOS apps win the money
* 5:24 AM Norwegian Megacopter sets new record for drone lifting
power
* 4:39 AM Fender now makes in-ear headphones as well as guitars
* 4:03 AM The one where a computer writes new Friends episodes
* 2:55 AM Apple to create first European iOS Development Center
* 12:56 AM Facebook launches Sports Stadium hub for you to chat about
the big game
* 12:01 AM GM launches Maven, a car-sharing service to compete with
Zipcar
January 20, 2016
* 7:52 PM If you ride hoverboards and don't follow these government
recommendations, you could die
* 6:11 PM There might be an Ebola vaccine within two years
* 6:05 PM This new ad-blocker has a plan to pay publishers
* 6:03 PM The Juxt is another smart analog watch with a dumb name
* 5:53 PM Hey kids, tweeting won’t get you a snow day
* 5:52 PM Terminator Genisys probably isn't getting any sequels
* 5:43 PM Uber is about to go to war with Seamless in 10 major US
cities
* 5:07 PM 2015 was officially the warmest year in recorded history
* 4:57 PM The ACLU and lawmakers just made a huge push for digital
privacy
* 4:55 PM Crave is a terrible new app that brings your romance novel
boyfriend to life
* 4:51 PM After scolding from FAA, Dallas Cowboys get permission to
fly drones at practice
* 4:44 PM Watch another new trailer for Girls' fifth season
* 4:42 PM Our solar system may have a ninth planet after all — but
not all evidence is in
* 4:03 PM Read the searing story of the Kickstarter drone that went
down in flames
* 3:00 PM Skeletons from a 10,000-year-old massacre have
archaeologists in a fight of their own
* 2:58 PM Watch your favorite Star Wars characters die adorable 8-bit
deaths
* 2:51 PM Star Wars: Episode VIII delayed until December 2017
* 2:51 PM Chairlift's new album Moth is cool, confident, and curious
* 2:50 PM Uber will be the exclusive rideshare app of Super Bowl 50
* 2:09 PM Hyperloop Transportation is about to break ground on its
first test track
* 1:57 PM Tesla suing supplier that failed to meet Falcon Wing door
expectations
* 1:28 PM Netflix is fleshing out its film program with five new
indie movies
* 1:03 PM Netflix is making a cyberpunk detective series
* 12:55 PM Zach Galifianakis' Baskets finds comedy in dashed dreams
* 11:48 AM The Air Force's Reaper drone keeps crashing
* 11:36 AM Exclusive: T-Pain talks about how technology and apps have
changed music
* 11:29 AM The Hermès Apple Watch collection will be available online
this Friday
* 11:00 AM Exclusive: T-Pain shows us how to use the new GarageBand
* 11:00 AM Music Memos is Apple's new, simple recording app
* 10:50 AM Leica’s newest camera can go underwater
* 10:24 AM Adele, Kendrick Lamar, and The Weeknd will perform at the
Grammys this year
* 9:49 AM Google's new algorithm will make Chrome run much faster
* 9:44 AM Largest known prime number in the world discovered by GIMPS
in Missouri
* 9:26 AM These videos of rubber humans are good?
* 9:20 AM Fake hoverboards are stealing LG and Samsung’s logos and
the feds are seizing them
* 9:00 AM Mossberg: Smartwatches need to get smarter
* 8:42 AM How secure are New York City's new Wi-Fi hubs?
* 8:34 AM CloudMagic is the Mac email app I've been waiting for
* 7:58 AM HBO gives a series to New York porn drama The Deuce,
starring James Franco
* 7:30 AM Hello drones, goodbye Chinese copycats
* 7:14 AM Watch the beautiful nightmare of ads invading your dreams
* 6:57 AM Sina Weibo drops its 140-character limit as Twitter ponders
similar move
* 6:14 AM Toyota made weird anime girls to personify components in
the new Prius
* 6:04 AM Microsoft to recall Surface Pro power cables due to
overheating concerns
* 6:00 AM Spotify snaps up a pair of apps for voice messaging and
music discovery
* 5:41 AM Facebook's Android app now lets you flip a switch to browse
over Tor
* 2:51 AM Sony’s Portable Ultra Short Throw Projector will turn any
surface into a TV
* 2:40 AM Nancy Drew is back, grown up, and not white
* 12:49 AM Jar Jar Binks meets a violent end in excellent Star Wars
Episode 7.5 fan comic
* 12:29 AM Nielsen wants to watch you talk to your Facebook friends
about what you watch on TV
Next
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Son of Saul is a brilliantly original vision of the Holocaust
* Policy & Law
* Tech
* US & World
* Cybersecurity
Congress passes controversial cybersecurity bill attached to omnibus budget
* By Russell Brandom
* on December 18, 2015 12:08 pm
*
* @russellbrandom
*
8
[US_Capitol_8.0.jpg]
Tweet Share
Share on Facebook Tweet Share Pin Share
This morning, Congress passed the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act
of 2015, attached as the 14th rider to an omnibus budget bill. The bill
is expected to be signed into law by the president later today.
Intended to ease sharing of information between corporations and the
government, the bill had drawn controversy since its introduction last
year. The Center for Democracy and Technology said it risked creating
"a backdoor wiretap," while Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) called it "a
surveillance bill by another name." Earlier this week, Sen. Diane
Feinstein (D-CA) called the bill "an important first step to address a
significant drain on our economy and threat to our national security."
__________________________________________________________________
The bill passed by Congress also strips away many of the previous
anonymization provisions included in previous versions of CISA, which
has drawn significant criticism from the security community. In effect,
the new language clears the way for an open channel between tech
companies and the government, unaffected by existing privacy laws.
"Organizations can now directly share raw data with several agencies
with no protection or anonymity," says Joseph Pizzo, an engineer at
Norse Security. "There may have been a small cost associated with
anonymizing the data, but now that this requirement has been removed
and organizations may feel that they’re helping, I don’t foresee any
work moving forward to protect consumer data."
* Related Items congress surveillance cybersecurity cisa
More from The Verge
* Apple's stock is down 18 percent since it launched that ugly iPhone
battery case
* Review: The X-Files is back, but the fight for the future is over
* Six senators accidentally just admitted they are clueless about
internet speeds
* Netflix fires first shot in battle with VPNs
* Oracle just revealed how much money Google makes from Android
* The Donald Trump programming language is not for dummies or losers
* Exclusive: T-Pain shows us how to use the new GarageBand
The
Latest
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* An ‘iPhone 5SE’ might come as soon as March
* The Academy announces goal to 'double number of diverse members'
after Oscar backlash
* Tweet hashtags at the Game of Thrones account to see some teasers
for season six
* Atari is bringing 100 classic games to PC
* Other People review: A cancer dramedy in which other people are the
punchlines
* Gillian Anderson had to fight for equal pay for the new X-Files
miniseries
The best of Verge Video
A new planet in our solar system?
Hunter-gatherers weren’t as peaceful as we thought
T-Pain mixes a beat with the new GarageBand
Apple Music Memos makes mobile recording easy
T-Pain says he 'would have been just another singer' without technology
*
A new planet in our solar system?
*
Hunter-gatherers weren’t as peaceful as we thought
*
T-Pain mixes a beat with the new GarageBand
*
Apple Music Memos makes mobile recording easy
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Discuss at Verge Video See more videos
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Trending now
Six senators accidentally just admitted they are clueless about internet
speeds
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Oracle just revealed how much money Google makes from Android
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The Donald Trump programming language is not for dummies or losers
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24 New articles
Previous
January 22, 2016
* 3:42 PM An ‘iPhone 5SE’ might come as soon as March
* 3:38 PM The Academy announces goal to 'double number of diverse
members' after Oscar backlash
* 3:27 PM Tweet hashtags at the Game of Thrones account to see some
teasers for season six
* 3:02 PM Atari is bringing 100 classic games to PC
* 2:46 PM Sundance Film Festival 2016: The best new films, shows and
VR
* 2:38 PM Other People review: A cancer dramedy in which other people
are the punchlines
* 2:15 PM Gillian Anderson had to fight for equal pay for the new
X-Files miniseries
* 1:00 PM Who’s behind the weird bills that would make selling
encrypted smartphones illegal in New York and California?
* 12:03 PM Learn how technology shaped T-Pain’s career in our
extended interview
* 11:54 AM The Parrot Bebop 2 drone is fun, fine, and fatally flawed
— our review
* 11:11 AM 11 new trailers you should watch this week
* 10:35 AM Japan Display developing OLED screens, sparking new iPhone
rumors
* 9:31 AM Microsoft is now selling more powerful Surface Book and
Surface Pro 4 models
* 9:25 AM Eleanor Friedberger's New View is a small album for small
pleasures
* 9:00 AM Nomineering, Week 3: How the Academy fixed being out of
touch 45 years ago
* 8:57 AM Studying gamers teaches us a lot about games too
* 8:42 AM Google just published a free, three-month course on deep
learning
* 7:51 AM I blame that ugly battery case for Apple's stock price
tumble
* 7:30 AM This Safari bug is the best ad for Chrome yet
* 6:50 AM Tinder now helps users find STD testing sites
* 6:41 AM Ending the holy war? Pope meets with Tim Cook after visit
with Eric Schmidt
* 5:30 AM Netflix fires first shot in battle with VPNs
* 4:43 AM Skype helps users avoid harassment by hiding IP addresses
* 4:16 AM Watch Iggy Pop and Josh Homme perform the first track from
their surprise new album
* 3:08 AM Apple hires 3D interface expert to bolster its VR research
* 2:57 AM Google paid Apple $1 billion in 2014 to remain the default
iOS search option
January 21, 2016
* 9:46 PM Some Xbox 360 games run better on Xbox One, but some are
'nearly unplayable'
* 7:43 PM EPA orders Michigan to take 'immediate action' on Flint
water crisis
* 5:54 PM Astronaut celebrates his 300th straight day in space with
some water ping pong
* 5:48 PM Oracle just revealed how much money Google makes from
Android
* 5:45 PM The Donald Trump programming language is not for dummies or
losers
* 5:42 PM Robert Redford: Sundance doesn't 'take a position of
advocacy' on diversity
* 5:38 PM Fox News partners with Google and YouTube for final GOP
debate before Iowa caucus
* 5:31 PM Wonder Woman and Justice League Part One get 2017 release
dates
* 5:25 PM Startup’s self-driving test car crashes after driver takes
control
* 5:15 PM Uber will only cap surge pricing during the blizzard if New
York makes it
* 5:14 PM Review: The X-Files is back, but the fight for the future
is over
* 5:13 PM Six senators accidentally just admitted they are clueless
about internet speeds
* 4:56 PM The 5th Wave: horror without fear, science fiction without
ideas
* 4:28 PM Savages yield to temptation on new album Adore Life
* 4:22 PM More than hot air: the lasting impact of inflatable
architecture
* 4:09 PM Facebook is adding more 3D Touch tricks to its app, but
it'll take 'months'
* 3:18 PM Google just upgraded its weather reports on Android
* 3:16 PM Prairie voles console their stressed out friends,
scientists find
* 3:15 PM You can buy James Bond’s Aston Martin DB10 — if you have
Bond villain money
* 1:42 PM Microsoft just made Office apps far more powerful for the
iPad Pro
* 1:41 PM Here's the first trailer for Key & Peele's kidnapped kitty
caper Keanu
* 1:29 PM Jeb! super PAC sent out video players to get people to
watch The Jeb Story
* 1:23 PM AT&T's CEO says Tim Cook shouldn't have any say in
encryption debate
* 1:20 PM Honda’s new fuel cell car will arrive this year for $500 a
month
* 1:06 PM Amazon will refund customers who bought hoverboards,
government officials say
* 1:06 PM Massive Attack's new music is hidden inside a spooky iPhone
app
* 12:44 PM Vergecast 189: Pain is Available at 6
* 12:35 PM Escape into this magical Instagram full of cats, balloons,
flowers, and 'woes'
* 12:24 PM Ctrl-Walt-Delete: Walt and Nilay lose track of time
* 12:24 PM Dropbox’s new Windows 10 app lets you secure your files
with your face
* 12:22 PM NASA satellites show the immense scope of the blizzard
about to hit the East Coast
* 12:00 PM Kickstarter is launching an app for Android
* 11:28 AM Vimeo launches new initiative to support female filmmakers
* 11:19 AM Sundance 2016: a film festival pushes into the future
* 10:51 AM Airbus just delivered the first A320neo, its next-gen 737
competitor
* 10:46 AM Microsoft announces Surface Pro power cord recall
* 10:27 AM Making a Murderer creators answer critics in Twitter Q&A
* 10:07 AM Microsoft’s insane Android alarm app wants you to make
faces at 6AM
* 10:05 AM Fender’s earphones are so pretty they inspired me to make
art
* 9:51 AM The Witcher 2 is free on Xbox One right now
* 9:40 AM Verizon's wireless and broadband growth drives strong
earnings
* 9:36 AM The Oatmeal’s Exploding Kittens card game is now available
on iPhone
* 9:30 AM ZCast lets you start a live podcast from your phone for
everyone to hear
* 8:41 AM Ty Segall's new album Emotional Mugger is a tangled mass of
Ty Segall
* 8:36 AM France wants a new keyboard to protect its language
* 8:16 AM Tree-dwelling frog that eats its mother's eggs rediscovered
after 140 years
* 8:08 AM Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg believes likes and positivity
can beat terrorists online
* 8:00 AM A maker of actual hoverboards is now selling Hyperloop
engines
* 7:30 AM Nespresso is the iPhone of coffee makers, and that's okay
* 5:54 AM Android apps win the downloads, iOS apps win the money
* 5:24 AM Norwegian Megacopter sets new record for drone lifting
power
* 4:39 AM Fender now makes in-ear headphones as well as guitars
* 4:03 AM The one where a computer writes new Friends episodes
* 2:55 AM Apple to create first European iOS Development Center
* 12:56 AM Facebook launches Sports Stadium hub for you to chat about
the big game
* 12:01 AM GM launches Maven, a car-sharing service to compete with
Zipcar
January 20, 2016
* 7:52 PM If you ride hoverboards and don't follow these government
recommendations, you could die
* 6:11 PM There might be an Ebola vaccine within two years
* 6:05 PM This new ad-blocker has a plan to pay publishers
* 6:03 PM The Juxt is another smart analog watch with a dumb name
* 5:53 PM Hey kids, tweeting won’t get you a snow day
* 5:52 PM Terminator Genisys probably isn't getting any sequels
* 5:43 PM Uber is about to go to war with Seamless in 10 major US
cities
* 5:07 PM 2015 was officially the warmest year in recorded history
* 4:57 PM The ACLU and lawmakers just made a huge push for digital
privacy
* 4:55 PM Crave is a terrible new app that brings your romance novel
boyfriend to life
* 4:51 PM After scolding from FAA, Dallas Cowboys get permission to
fly drones at practice
* 4:44 PM Watch another new trailer for Girls' fifth season
* 4:42 PM Our solar system may have a ninth planet after all — but
not all evidence is in
* 4:03 PM Read the searing story of the Kickstarter drone that went
down in flames
* 3:00 PM Skeletons from a 10,000-year-old massacre have
archaeologists in a fight of their own
* 2:58 PM Watch your favorite Star Wars characters die adorable 8-bit
deaths
* 2:51 PM Star Wars: Episode VIII delayed until December 2017
* 2:51 PM Chairlift's new album Moth is cool, confident, and curious
* 2:50 PM Uber will be the exclusive rideshare app of Super Bowl 50
* 2:09 PM Hyperloop Transportation is about to break ground on its
first test track
* 1:57 PM Tesla suing supplier that failed to meet Falcon Wing door
expectations
* 1:28 PM Netflix is fleshing out its film program with five new
indie movies
* 1:03 PM Netflix is making a cyberpunk detective series
* 12:55 PM Zach Galifianakis' Baskets finds comedy in dashed dreams
* 11:48 AM The Air Force's Reaper drone keeps crashing
* 11:36 AM Exclusive: T-Pain talks about how technology and apps have
changed music
* 11:29 AM The Hermès Apple Watch collection will be available online
this Friday
* 11:00 AM Exclusive: T-Pain shows us how to use the new GarageBand
* 11:00 AM Music Memos is Apple's new, simple recording app
* 10:50 AM Leica’s newest camera can go underwater
* 10:24 AM Adele, Kendrick Lamar, and The Weeknd will perform at the
Grammys this year
* 9:49 AM Google's new algorithm will make Chrome run much faster
* 9:44 AM Largest known prime number in the world discovered by GIMPS
in Missouri
* 9:26 AM These videos of rubber humans are good?
* 9:20 AM Fake hoverboards are stealing LG and Samsung’s logos and
the feds are seizing them
* 9:00 AM Mossberg: Smartwatches need to get smarter
* 8:42 AM How secure are New York City's new Wi-Fi hubs?
* 8:34 AM CloudMagic is the Mac email app I've been waiting for
* 7:58 AM HBO gives a series to New York porn drama The Deuce,
starring James Franco
* 7:30 AM Hello drones, goodbye Chinese copycats
* 7:14 AM Watch the beautiful nightmare of ads invading your dreams
* 6:57 AM Sina Weibo drops its 140-character limit as Twitter ponders
similar move
* 6:14 AM Toyota made weird anime girls to personify components in
the new Prius
* 6:04 AM Microsoft to recall Surface Pro power cables due to
overheating concerns
* 6:00 AM Spotify snaps up a pair of apps for voice messaging and
music discovery
* 5:41 AM Facebook's Android app now lets you flip a switch to browse
over Tor
* 2:51 AM Sony’s Portable Ultra Short Throw Projector will turn any
surface into a TV
* 2:40 AM Nancy Drew is back, grown up, and not white
* 12:49 AM Jar Jar Binks meets a violent end in excellent Star Wars
Episode 7.5 fan comic
* 12:29 AM Nielsen wants to watch you talk to your Facebook friends
about what you watch on TV
Next
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* Facebook
After privacy ruling, Facebook now requires Belgium users to log in to view
pages
Blame the cookies
* By Nick Statt
* on December 2, 2015 08:01 pm
*
* @nickstatt
*
[facebook-stock-1104.0.0.jpg]
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In response to a privacy ruling, Belgian Facebook users must now sign
in to see any content. The change means that if you don’t have a
Facebook account, you can’t view Belgian Facebook pages — including
public profiles like those of local businesses.
The decision comes after a November court order saying Facebook has run
afoul of European privacy law, which is much more stringent than in the
US. Facebook limited access to its website rather than remove a
tracking cookie, which can live in the user’s browser for up to two
years. In the US, Facebook can place cookies like these without asking
for permission, but in Europe, companies must get user permission to
plant tracking software. Facebook members have consented to being
tracked, and the company says the cookie is for security purposes —
preventing the creation of fake accounts, account hijacking, and online
theft.
"Facebook says its cookie was designed to protect user security"
"We had hoped to address the BPC's concerns in a way that allowed us to
continue using a security cookie that protected Belgian people from
more than 33,000 takeover attempts in the past month," Facebook said in
a statement given to the BBC. "We're disappointed we were unable to
reach an agreement and now people will be required to log in or
register for an account to see publicly available content on Facebook."
The company plans on contesting the order, which it should receive
later this week, but for now Facebook will no longer install the cookie
file for users who are not signed in or do not have accounts.
Facebook and the EU don’t see eye-to-eye on privacy, and this isn’t the
only case. In October, an EU ruling invalidated a 15-year-old agreement
between European countries and American companies about the transfer of
personal information to US data centers. But the big European ruling
started as a complaint from an Austrian privacy activist lodged with
Ireland's data-protection authority in 2013. Since the Belgian ruling
relies on European law — not just Belgian law — other European
countries could similarly contest Facebook’s use of cookies on
non-users.
* SourceBBC
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* Microsoft Tribe forum post
Windows, Privacy, and You
* By DustiiWolf
* on August 23, 2015 08:37 pm
*
29
Share on Facebook Tweet Share Pin Share
So you got Windows 10, but now you're worried that Microsoft is stealing your
data, even when you turn most the new features off. Let me explain.
Now that Microsoft's latest operating system is on the market many are
concerned of their privacy, and what Microsoft may be doing with the
data that is collected. You'll hear FUD about Microsoft collecting your
browser history, logging activity, going through files, and much more,
but what are they actually doing?
Surprisingly, answers lie in one of the most unread documents on the
internet: The Privacy Policy
That's right; One of two documents (the other being the Terms of
Service, or EULA in software's case) consumers blindly click, tap. or
otherwise choose "Yes I agree" to has the answers to most all
everyone's privacy concerns around Windows 10. One need only need to
comprehend this policy to have a better understanding of what's going
on.
But this is hard; Not everyone is good at grasping some of the
terminologies used within these legal documents. That's why I've taken
the liberty of grabbing some of the most important concerns and
"translating" them below.
1. Microsoft is tracking my location and collecting all my personal
information!
Cortana is your personal assistant. Cortana works best when it can
learn about you and your activities by using data from your device,
your Microsoft account, third-party services and other Microsoft
services. To enable Cortana to provide personalized experiences and
relevant suggestions, Microsoft collects and uses various types of
data, such as your device location, data from your calendar, the
apps you use, data from your emails and text messages, who you call,
your contacts and how often you interact with them on your device
Microsoft's Cortana assistant, in a manner very much like Google Now,
allows you to get personalized results and find relevant information
with the click of a button, or the utterance of the phrase "Hey,
Cortana?". However many of the software's features cannot function
without access to relevant data. For example, when you tell Cortana
"Next time I call Aunt Kathy, remind me to pick up flowers", she can't
know who "Aunt Kathy" is without access to your contact data. In
another example, when you say "Remind me to get orchids when I'm at a
florist", Cortana doesn't know when you're at a florist without knowing
your location. The more one actually explores what Cortana can do, the
more they'll realize how relevant having access to that data can be.
And in the event you don't have any need for Microsoft's personalized
assistant, there is actually a master switch that turns it off, with no
need to peruse through various options: in Cortana's settings, you can
turn off "Cortana can give you suggestions, reminders, alerts, and
more.", which will disable Cortana and clear everything about your
device collected via Cortana. This doesn't affect interests or other
devices; Interests are device-agnostic and manually chosen, and
naturally you disable Cortana on a device by device basis. But these
have 0 impact on your privacy on the current device.
2. Microsoft is collecting my browser history and everything I do online!
Some Microsoft browser information saved on your device will be
synced across other devices when you sign in with your Microsoft
account. This information can include your browsing history,
favorites, saved website passwords, and reading list. For example,
in Microsoft Edge, if you sync your reading list across devices,
copies of the content you choose to save to your reading list will
be sent to each synced device for later viewing. You can control
which information is synced (see Sync Settings). You can also
disable syncing of Microsoft Edge browser information by turning off
the sync option in Microsoft Edge Settings.
Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer use your search queries and
browsing history to provide you with faster browsing and more
relevant search results. These features include:
* AutoSearch and Search Suggestions in Internet Explorer
automatically sends the information you type into the browser
address bar to your default search provider (such as Bing) and
offer search recommendations as you type each character. In
Microsoft Edge, this feature automatically sends this information
to Bing even if you have selected another default search provider.
* Page Prediction sends your browsing history to Microsoft and uses
aggregated browsing history data to predict which pages you are
likely to browse to next and proactively loads those pages in the
background for a faster browsing experience.
* Suggested Sites recommends web contents that you might be
interested in based on your search and browsing history.
Browsing data collected in connection with these features is used in
the aggregate and you can turn off any of these features at any
time. These features will not collect browsing history while you
have InPrivate Browsing enabled.
In order to provide search results, Microsoft Edge and Internet
Explorer send your search queries, standard device information, and
location (if you have location enabled) to your default search
provider.
Both Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge have the ability to provide
enhanced features such as search suggestions in the address bar
(standard on most web browsers), as well as enhance load times by
predicting and loading pages in the background to save time loading in
the foreground later on. These features require access to your search
history and browsing history, however.
Your search history allows the web browser to pull up previous web
searches along with improving the search suggestion's predictive
features. How do you think a search engine, whether it be Google or
Bing, is able to predict and list various suggestions for search terms
when you begin typing in the address bar? Additionally, Edge sends
search history to Bing alongside your search engine of choice, likely
both for the improvement of their own search suggestions as well as to
ease the syncing process of that information across different machines.
It also means that if you switch to Bing your search history is already
present, allowing for more relevant results.
As far as your web history, this allows the web browser to better
predict the next page you visit, improving the page prediction accuracy
and enhancing load times. It also means it can show you past websites
and autofill them in the address bar when you start typing.
If you don't wish for either of these functions, you can turn them off
respectively in your browser's advanced settings.
3. OMG Microsoft is giving everyone the password to my Wi-Fi!
Wi-Fi Sense allows you to automatically connect to Wi-Fi networks
around you to help you save cellular data and give you more
connection options. If you turn it on, you will automatically
connect to open Wi-Fi networks. You will also be able to exchange
access to password-protected Wi-Fi networks with your contacts
Okay, so this one isn't clearly explained in the Privacy Policy. I did
say "most all", did I not? Wi-Fi sense is a nifty feature that allows
you to connect to hotspots automatically, but it also allows you to
share access to your password protected networks. But before you worry
that Microsoft is giving people the password to your in-home Wi-Fi, one
must know two things:
1. The sharing capabilities of Wi-Fi sense are opt-in on a case by
case basis; You actually have to tell Windows you want to share
access for each Wi-Fi network.
2. Your password is never visibly shared. Windows will send an
encrypted form of the password to your friends with Wi-Fi sense
compatible devices which will then automatically set up the
connection; The password is never viewable by anyone.
In fact, here is an excerpt from the Wi-Fi sense FAQ:
No networks are shared automatically. When you first connect to a
network that you decide to share, you'll need to enter the password,
and then select the Share network with my contacts check box to
share that network
...
When you share access to a password-protected Wi‑Fi network by using
Wi‑Fi Sense, your contacts don't see the network password. For
networks you choose to share access to, the password is sent over an
encrypted connection and is stored in an encrypted file on a
Microsoft server, and is then sent over an HTTPS connection to your
contacts' PC or phone if they use Wi‑Fi Sense.
4. Why does Microsoft still send data even when I disable access?
Microsoft regularly collects basic information about your Windows
device including usage data, app compatibility data, and network and
connectivity information. This data is transmitted to Microsoft and
stored with one or more unique identifiers that can help us
recognize an individual user on an individual device and understand
the device's service issues and use patterns. The data we collect
includes:
* Configuration data, including the manufacturer of your device,
model, number of processors, display size and resolution, date,
region and language settings, and other data about the capabilities
of the device.
* The software (including drivers and firmware supplied by device
manufacturers), installed on the device.
* Performance and reliability data, such as how quickly programs
respond to input, how many problems you experience with an app or
device, or how quickly information is sent or received over a
network connection.
* App use data for apps that run on Windows (including Microsoft and
third party apps), such as how frequently and for how long you use
apps, which app features you use most often, how often you use
Windows Help and Support, which services you use to sign into apps,
and how many folders you typically create on your desktop.
* Network and connection data, such as the device's IP address,
number of network connections in use, and data about the networks
you connect to, such as mobile networks, Bluetooth, and identifiers
(BSSID and SSID), connection requirements and speed of Wi-Fi
networks you connect to.
* Other hardware devices connected to the device.
Some diagnostic data is vital to the operation of Windows and cannot
be turned off if you use Windows. Other data collection is optional,
and you will be able to turn this data collection on or off in
Settings.
It's something called the "Customer Experience Improvement Program", or
rather, it's successor, as CEIP appears to be permanently opted out in
control panel. Windows will automatically collect data on your machine
and how you use it for the purpose of improving the operating system as
well as solving issues that arise:
Microsoft employees, contractors, vendors, and partners might be
provided access to relevant portions of the information collected,
but they’re only permitted to use the information to repair or
improve Microsoft products and services, or third party software and
hardware designed for use with Microsoft products and services.
You can't fully opt out of sending diagnostic information, but you do
have 3 different options on how much data you send. Taken from the
Windows 10 Feedback & Diagnostics FAQ:
* Basic information is data that is vital to the operation of
Windows. This data helps keep Windows and apps running properly by
letting Microsoft know the capabilities of your device, what is
installed, and whether Windows is operating correctly. This option
also turns on basic error reporting back to Microsoft. If you
select this option, we’ll be able to provide updates to Windows
(through Windows Update, including malicious software protection by
the Malicious Software Removal Tool), but some apps and features
may not work correctly or at all.
* Enhanced data includes all Basic data plus data about how you use
Windows, such as how frequently or how long you use certain
features or apps and which apps you use most often. This option
also lets us collect enhanced diagnostic information, such as the
memory state of your device when a system or app crash occurs, as
well as measure reliability of devices, the operating system, and
apps. If you select this option, we’ll be able to provide you with
an enhanced and personalized Windows experience.
* Full data includes all Basic and Enhanced data, and also turns on
advanced diagnostic features that collect additional data from your
device, such as system files or memory snapshots, which may
unintentionally include parts of a document you were working on
when a problem occurred. This information helps us further
troubleshoot and fix problems. If an error report contains personal
data, we won’t use that information to identify, contact, or target
advertising to you. This is the recommended option for the best
Windows experience and the most effective troubleshooting
For those who wish to refrain from sending anything but the most basic
information they can do so under the Feedback & Diagnostics page of
Privacy in Settings.
5. Microsoft is sharing my information to target ads!
Microsoft uses cookies (small text files placed on your device) and
similar technologies to provide our services and help collect data.
Cookies allow us, among other things, to store your preferences and
settings; enable you to sign-in; provide interest-based advertising;
combat fraud; and analyze how our services are performing. Microsoft
apps use other identifiers, such as the advertising ID in Windows,
for similar purposes.
...
Windows generates a unique advertising ID for each user on a device.
Your advertising ID can be used by app developers and advertising
networks to provide more relevant advertising. You can turn off
access to this identifier at any time in the device Settings. If you
choose to turn it on again, a new identifier will be generated.
The advertising ID is essentially cookies for apps; It is
personalizing, or "targeting" ads, in a similar manner to cookies. But
it's easy to turn off in settings, and it's not really harming anything
by having it on. Ads are a fact of software; Wouldn't you at least want
to see ads that are tolerable, or in a rather rare occurrence, even
likeable?
6. Who is Microsoft sharing this data with, and when?
We share your personal data with your consent or as necessary to
complete any transaction or provide any service you have requested
or authorized. We also share data with Microsoft-controlled
affiliates and subsidiaries; with vendors working on our behalf;
when required by law or to respond to legal process; to protect our
customers; to protect lives; to maintain the security of our
services; and to protect the rights or property of Microsoft.
Microsoft only shares data with affiliates, subsidiaries, and vendors
working on their behalf, when required by law, as well as to... It's
pretty clearly laid out this time. Reiterating it would only serve to
be redundant.
7. Why did Microsoft change all this with Windows 10?
They didn't! Search suggestions and page prediction are features that
have existed long before Windows 10, and actually showed up first in
browsers like Google Chrome (in the case of search suggestions) before
making their way to most browsers you see today. Windows 8.1 also
brought the integration of Bing to the system along with
location-relevant results, and provided the easy ability to opt out in
settings. Other things such as the Customer Experience Improvement
Program have existed since at least Windows 7, and the advertising ID
has been seen in similar forms on other OSes. In all, only a handful of
these new features, and the privacy concerns they bring, are actually
in fact new. Most people have just been either unaware or just did not
care of their existence in past operating systems and software.
Microsoft is doing nothing out of the ordinary, and despite the
daunting appearance of the Privacy settings, it's rather easy to
control your privacy. Much of the privacy settings are either intended
for third-party apps in the store, and the intent is to give you, the
consumer, finer control of what your apps can do then you've ever been
given in the past. If anything, Windows 10 puts you more in control
then ever before.
In The Article
Previous
Microsoft Windows 10
Verge Score: 8.8
Next
* Recently in Microsoft Tribe
* Continuum - laptop shell
about 13 hours ago by Zizy 17 comments
* What Surface is this?
about 19 hours ago by chosafine 4 comments
* Teacher/educator/storyteller on Windows ... snip it!
about 23 hours ago by SuperflyDK 4 comments
* Office 365 for Lumia 950/XL owners
about 24 hours ago by Robert L.
* WordPress for a dummy?
1 day ago by Sheshirdzhija 6 comments
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* Fears of killer robots increase as machine revolution now firmly
underway
Fears of killer robots increase as machine revolution now firmly underway
MORE than a third of all British jobs are on track to be carried out by
robots in twenty years time as the artificial intelligence revolution is now
firmly underway, according to an unnerving report.
By Lana Clements
PUBLISHED: 20:51, Thu, Nov 5, 2015 | UPDATED: 10:03, Fri, Nov 6, 2015
A robot
GETTYRobots are set to do a third of British jobs in 20 years
In some sectors, such as manufacturing, smart machines will already
perform almost half of jobs globally within a decade, forecasts
financial firm Bank of America Merril Lynch (BAML).
However, the firm warns the march of the machines will lead to larger
inequality in society and greater issues around cybersecurity and
privacy.
The biggest short-term challenge will be the displacement of human
workers, as robots take jobs.
And in the longer-term, there could also be safety issues and threats
posed by artificial intelligence or killer robots, said the bank.
There is a 50 per cent chance of high-level learning machines to be in
place by 2050 and 90 per cent chance by 2075 - super-intelligence is
expected to follow in the 30 years after.
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robot worker GETTY
Robot workers were recently exhibited at the China International
Industry Fair
robot hands GETTY
Robots can do more and more of human jobs
car being made by robots GETTY
A Ford factory in the US shows how firms already use robots for many
jobs
Artificial intelligence is already infiltrating more areas of our
everyday lives and is set to slice almost £6trillion off of employment
costs across the world as machines become more sophisticated.
Adopting robots to carry out work could boost productivity by a third
in many industries, while cutting staff costs by around the same
amount, estimates the bank.
It's not just manufacturing at risk, but jobs that require little or no
creativity, according to the report.
And it will be the lowest paid most likely to suffer. In Britain it's
estimated that jobs that pay less than £30,000 a year are five times
more likely to be replaced than jobs pay £100,000 a year or more.
In the coming years, there is predicted to be fast growth of
'care-bots', which will replace care workers, as well more medical
robots and computer-assisted surgery to carry out healthcare jobs.
Self-driving cars and drones will gradually take over driving and
military jobs, while 'agribots' will carry out farming roles.
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google's self-driving car GETTY
Google has already developed a self-driving car
humanoid robot GETTY
A humanoid robot at a shopping mall in Japan can help the public in
English, Chinese and Japanese
table tennis playing robot GETTY
Now you can even play table tennis with a robot
dyson robot cleaner GETTY
Dyson started selling its first robotic cleaner this year
There will also be more 'cobots' which, in comparison to solitary
machines, will be able to interact with human workers in offices, for
example.
Use of industrial robots for manufacturing needs will continue to soar.
At home and in our daily lives, artificial intelligence will be at the
core of the Internet of Things (IoT) - appliances and objects linked to
the internet - to transform our habits.
For example, fridges that automatically order food online when it sees
that an item is running low or cars that automaticity avoid traffic
jams.
More than 50billion devices are expected to be connected to internet in
five years time, with Apple, Facebook and Google among the companies
leading developments in the area.
Robot sales have smashed records for the past three years, up by a
third in 2014, and the market is now on track to be worth an enormous
£99billion by 2020.
The BAML report said: "We are facing a paradigm shift which will change
the way we live and work.
"Penetration of robots and artificial intelligence (AI) has hit every
industry sector, and has become an integral part of our daily lives.
"Technology has also expanded beyond routine work, and moved into
complex problem-solving, and replicating human perception, tasks that
only people were capable of."
graph of high risk jobs from robots Frey and Osborne, Deloitte 2014 /
Bank of America Merril Lynch
Low-paying, manual jobs which are generally considered “high risk” for
replacement
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* Web of evil: One in five of us fell victim to cybercrime in past
year
Web of evil: One in five of us fell victim to cybercrime in past year
MORE than 12 million Britons fell victim to cybercrime in the past year, a
wide-ranging new study has revealed.
By Anil Dawar
PUBLISHED: PUBLISHED: 05:01, Mon, Nov 23, 2015
double
GETTYMore than 12 million Britons fell victim to cybercrime in the past
year
One in five people were hit by ID theft, computer hacking or other
online crimes in 2014 suffering a total loss of £1.6bn, according to
the survey.
Dealing with the aftermath of the crime took victims about one working
day - nine hours, the internet security giants Norton found.
The research comes amid growing public awareness of the issue but the
study’s authors say their findings show that people are still not doing
enough to protect themselves.
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* Anti-capitalist cyber hacker jailed to deter attacks on websites
The first official figures for the crime category, published by the
Office for National Statistics earlier this year, showed that there
were 7.6million cases of fraud and computer misuse last year.
People using dating websites were cheated out of more than £33million
last year by lonely-hearts con artists.
And in one of the most high-profile computer hacking cases this year,
160,000 customers of phone company Talk Talk had their details stolen
by cyber criminals in an online attack last month.
Findings from the Norton Cybersecurity Insights Report, published
today, revealed that concern about online crime is so widespread,
nearly 90 percent worry about falling victim to cyber criminals and
only one in ten feel they have control of their internet security.
Nearly half of Britons, 44 percent have been hit by cybercrime in their
lifetime and one in five or 22 percent in the last year.
binary GETTY
One in five people were hit by ID theft, computer hacking or other
online crimes in 2014
message GETTY
People using dating websites were cheated out of more than £33million
last year
We no longer need convincing of the risks, breaches and cybercrime
have unfortunately become a fact of life
Nick Shaw of Norton
The average loss for each person was £134, giving an estimated total
loss across the nation of £1.6bn.
One in six people have been hit by the rising crime of online
extortion, where hackers use so-called ‘ransomware’ to take over
computers and deletes files unless a ransom is paid.
And even after paying the extortionists, half of those still lost their
documents and photos.
The report found that one in ten had their identity stolen and one in
seven saw their financial details compromised after internet shopping.
The survey of more than 1,000 people in the UK found that 45 percent
pointed the finger of blame for the cyber attacks at foreign
governments such as Russia and China.
While one in ten think the primary culprits are teenage hackers doing
it for fun.
Despite falling victim to cyber criminals, two in five do not bother
changing their passwords.
Nick Shaw of Norton, part of Symantec, said: “We no longer need
convincing of the risks, breaches and cybercrime have unfortunately
become a fact of life.”
“Our findings demonstrate that recent headlines have rattled people’s
trust in online activity, but the threat of cybercrime still hasn’t led
to widespread adoption of simple protection measures that people should
take to safeguard their information online,” he added.
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Data protection abuse
Honest John would like to see abuses of the Data Protection Act challenged in
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By Honest John
7:00AM BST 07 Jul 2009
I use a railway-station car park managed by an enforcement agency. One
of its attendants recently put a penalty fare notice on my screen, even
though I had purchased a valid ticket.
I sent the PFN back, along with a covering letter and a copy of my
ticket receipt, to point out the error.
This was ignored and the matter was placed in the hands of the
enforcement agency's solicitors, who obtained my details from the DVLA
(they told me so in writing).
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I have since been told that a clerical error was made and the matter is
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PO, via email
The DVLA is opening its records to numerous agencies, which can hit
people with outrageous penalties for overstaying parking by a matter of
a few minutes.
What they are doing is a wholesale abuse of the Data Protection Act and
I'd like to see it challenged in court.
Email your queries to letters@honestjohn.co.uk (please include your
full name, postal address and phone number). More Honest John articles.
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Google Glass 'could breach Data Protection Act'
The UK's data privacy watchdog says there is an 'important debate' to be had
around the privacy implications of wearable technology
Google glass
Glass isn't really up to much Photo: Getty Images
By Sophie Curtis
4:36PM BST 26 Jun 2014
Follow
The UK's data privacy watchdog has warned that Google Glass and other
wearable technology could breach the Data Protection Act in some
circumstances.
Google Glass went on sale in the UK for the first time this week,
priced at £1,000. Anyone over the age of 18 can now purchase the
headset, although Google said that it remains a prototype product.
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) published a blog today,
stating that wearable technology must operate in compliance with the
law and consumers’ personal information must be looked after.
"If you are using a wearable technology for your own use then you are
unlikely to be breaching the Act. This is because the Act includes an
exemption for the collection of personal information for domestic
purposes," said Andrew Paterson, senior technology officer for the ICO.
"But if you were to one day decide that you’d like to start using this
information for other purposes outside of your personal use, for
example to support a local campaign or to start a business, then this
exemption would no longer apply."
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Paterson added that organisations' use of wearable technology to
process personal information will almost always be bound by the Act,
meaning they must process the information collected by these devices in
compliance with the legislation.
"This includes making sure that people are being informed about how
their details are being collected and used, only collecting information
that is relevant, adequate and not excessive and ensuring that any
information that needs to be collected is kept securely and deleted
once it is no longer required," he said.
If the wearable technology is able to capture video or pictures (like
Google Glass) then organisations must also address the issues raised in
the ICO's CCTV Code of Practice.
Responding to the ICO's warning, a Google spokesperson said: "We
designed Glass with privacy in mind. The fact that Glass is worn above
the eyes and the screen lights up whenever it’s activated clearly
signals it’s in use and makes it a fairly lousy surveillance device.”
The news comes after some bar owners in San Francisco banned Google
Glass from their premises due to customers’ concerns over being filmed
without their knowledge. The headset is also banned in many cinemas,
strip clubs, casinos, restaurants, hospitals, sports grounds and banks.
In response to the backlash, Google has issued an etiquette guide,
urging users to be respectful and polite while wearing the headset and
not to be 'Glassholes'.
However, a survey by the Centre for Creative and Social Technology
(CAST) at Goldsmiths, University of London and website hosting company
Rackspace last year found that one in five people in the UK wanted to
ban Google Glass.
Half of respondents to the survey cited privacy concerns as the main
barrier to purchasing wearable devices such as Google Glass, with 61
per cent agreeing that such devices should be subject to regulation.
Meanwhile, the popularity of smart fitness bands that can track heart
rate, running speed and location continues to grow. Google announced
the launch of its new Android operating system for wearables yesterday,
and Apple is rumoured to be working on its own iWatch.
Consulting firm Deloitte predicts that around 10 million wearable
devices, including smart glasses, fitness bands and watches, will be
sold in 2014.
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Karen Danczuk's selfies
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Pinterest 2015: the UK's top 10 pins of the year
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How data protection has emerged from shadows
Data protection industry is booming following Edward Snowden leaks
NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden
Edward Snowden: leaks were a "Pearl Harbor" moment that "rammed home to
the public and companies that personal data was an issue", according to
data protection entrepreneur Alan Mitchell Photo: Reuters
Rebecca Burn Callander
By Rebecca Burn-Callander, Enterprise Editor
6:00AM BST 30 May 2014
Follow
Comments Comments
Edward Snowden’s revelations that the US government had been secretly
conducting phone and internet surveillance on millions of American
citizens rocked the world.
The issue of data privacy was thrown into sharp relief as consumers and
policymakers alike tried to work out the implications of a society
where personal data was no longer safe from prying eyes.
It’s been just over a year since the start of the Snowden affair and,
in that time, firms have sprung up that offer to protect privacy or
sell services that allow users to take control of their digital
profiles.
There is one new service starting every week, according to personal
data consultancy Ctrl-Shift. And, according to strategy director Alan
Mitchell, the UK has become the epicentre for this kind of activity.
“There’s something unique about the UK,” he explains. “The Europeans
are reluctant to innovate because they are largely rule-driven. The
Americans have a culture of, 'Go, get ’em!’, which tends to undermine
trust. But the UK is in the Goldilocks position: not too hot, not too
cold. We have a strong history of data protection but also the
willingness to innovate.”
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Ctrl-Shift works with blue-chip companies to ensure they aren’t doing
dodgy things with customer data. The consultancy also suggests new ways
these data can be used to create a better service for the consumer. It
also worked closely with the Government on the mydata campaign, which
gives consumers the right to request full disclosure of the data held
about them by brands.
The business was founded in 2009, but the first three years were
“difficult”, says Mitchell. “We’d have meetings with people about
personal data and they would say, 'What the hell are you talking
about?’”
The Snowden effect has been significant for the business. “It was the
'Pearl Harbor’ moment that brought the Americans into the war,” he
says. “It really rammed home to the public and companies that personal
data was an issue that has to be dealt with.”
The company has doubled revenues year on year as a result of the
increased demand for its services.
Initatives such as mydata have made the UK one of the most
forward-thinking data jurisdictions in the world.
Companies - fearful of the implications of America’s Patriot Act, which
allows the government to search business records, and disillusioned
with European laws on data protection - are increasingly looking to
London-based firms and cloud solutions to house their information.
Bookitbee provides ticketing platforms for events such as the Wychwood
music festival in Cheltenham. It stores customer data securely in the
UK, rather than using servers in other countries. This has become
increasingly key to winning new business.
“When we started, no one asked any questions about where the data were
held,” says co-founder Kenton Ward. “After the Snowden affair,
one-in-four people we speak to now asks whether their data is being
held in the UK.”
Last year, turnover hit £500,000 and revenues are set to double this
year. “It’s given our business an edge that it didn’t have before,”
adds fellow founder Frank di Mauro.
Research company Forrester estimates the data broking market is worth
£2bn in the US alone. And there is now a burgeoning movement to allow
consumers to profit from their data, too.
On June 9, serial entrepreneur StJohn Deakins will launch a new
platform, CitizenMe, which will not only allow consumers to see all the
data held about them by online companies, in a way that is easy to
digest, but also let them control and shape that data profile – and
even start making cash from it.
This information can range from credit ratings to buying habits.
Consumers will be able to check out exactly what advertisers see when
they buy their data from digital agencies.
CitizenMe goes beyond simply crunching vast data sets. Working in
tandem with Cambridge University, the start-up also draws psychometric
conclusions from that data. Users can find out how “angry” their tweets
appear, what religious or political beliefs are suggested by their
LinkedIn profile, or what IQ is suggested by their Facebook
interactions.
The Snowden revelations have created the perfect conditions for a
company such as CitizenMe to launch, he says. “Snowden made people
think about what happens to their data. We’re in the middle of a
transition from an industrial society to an information society, and
people now understand the implications.”
CitizenMe will charge subscribers “a few pounds” a month for visibility
and control of their personal data. However, if they choose to earn
cash from data transactions, the service is free but takes a 10pc fee
on all transactions.
The service aims to generate “millions of pounds” for digital citizens
within two years.
According to Deakins, once consumers understand what data are available
about them, commercialising it is the next logical step. “The
advertising industry needs that data to serve relevant ads,” he
explains. “And it is those ads that keep the internet free. If we want
to maintain the current ubiquity of access to internet content and
services, we have to accept that advertising needs to exist.”
Deakins warns that if companies don’t work together to rebuild consumer
trust, the online sharing ecosystem will suffer. “People will become
more cynical, and share less. There are already 100m ad-blocking
servers in use worldwide. That’s damaging the online economy.”
To maintain a free and fair web, the market has to drive change, he
adds. “80pc of the world’s population will be 'digitised’ over the next
five to 10 years. Let’s make sure that this digital citizenry is
empowered.”
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Europe backs stronger data protection rules
Strong data protection rules must be Europe's trade mark, says EU Justice
Commissioner Viviane Reding
Data security - SME Business Essentials
Fiendishly-complex online encryption is providing the safe space for
terrorists to plan bloodshed on an industrial scale
By Sophie Curtis
1:21PM GMT 12 Mar 2014
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The European Parliament has voted through the EU’s first major overhaul
of data protection legislation since 1995, with the aim of giving
people more effective control of their personal data online, and making
it easier for businesses to operate and innovate in the EU's Single
Market.
The reforms include a 'right to be forgotten', allowing citizens to
delete their data from companies' computer systems, and a 'right to
data portability', making it easier for citizens to transfer their
personal data between service providers.
They also require businesses and organisations to gain explicit consent
from citizens before processing their data, and build data protection
safeguards into their products and services from the earliest stage of
development.
Citizens must be informed about any data breaches that could adversely
affect them without undue delay, and companies that abuse customers'
data will be fined of up to 5 per cent of their global turnover.
The European Commission said that better data protection rules will
strengthen citizens' rights and help to restore their confidence in how
their personal data is treated – particularly online.
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"Data Protection is made in Europe. Strong data protection rules must
be Europe's trade mark," said EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding.
"Following the US data spying scandals, data protection is more than
ever a competitive advantage. Today's vote is the strongest signal that
it is time to deliver this reform for our citizens and our businesses."
The new EU data protection law is intended to replace the current
patchwork of national laws. Companies will only have to deal with one
single supervisory authority, rather than 28, making it simpler and
cheaper for companies to do business in the EU. The benefits are
estimated at €2.3 billion per year.
Although the EU claims that progress on data protection reform is now
'irreversible', the proposal still has to pass through the European
Council before it is becomes law. If approved, it will be applicable in
all 28 EU Member States.
“This EU regulation on Personal Data can be the beginning of a tilt in
balance of control back towards users. That is urgent and overdue,"
said Monique Goyens, Director General of the European Consumer
Organisation (BEUC).
“Most people are entirely unaware that their rights are being violated
when online due to what are now everyday business practices. Those who
are aware have negligible ability to control how this data on their
daily lives, buying behaviour, social media use, political views,
hobbies, financial data and health records is collected and processed.
That awareness and control need to be handed back."
Goyens added that personal data protection is a longstanding
fundamental right in Europe, and this should not be affected by the
commercial acquisition, processing, retention and selling of personal
data, regardless where it occurs.
“MEPs have dealt with the matter seriously and have voted for legal
protections which are robust and appropriate. The challenge now is to
ensure the substantial amount of work is not unravelled by national
government representatives in the Council or in the face of
transatlantic pressure,” she said.
Internet Security
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From the Apple iPod to Google driverless cars, we run down the
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21st century
Obsolete technologies that will baffle modern children: in pictures
Many children have never seen or used a video tape, camcorder or floppy
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From Colgate ready meals to Bic's disposable undies: the world's weirdest
off-brand products
Would you buy wine from jeans maker Diesel, disposable underwear from
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In pics: Some fledgling firms have reached valuations in the tens of
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Pinterest 2015: the UK's top 10 pins of the year
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John Ralfe
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500,000 women deserve a better state pension deal
Ros Altmann
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Richard Dyson
Could we become like the topsy-turvy Swiss, where tax authorities ask NOT to
be paid?
Britain's banks 'breaching' data protection rules
Britain’s banks could be breaching data protection rules with ‘alarming
regularity’, according to new research.
Myra Butterworth
By Myra Butterworth, Personal Finance Correspondent
7:00AM BST 25 May 2011
Follow
Comments Comments
Consumer champions Which? warned that 515 complaints lodged with the
Information Commissioner’s Office about possible data breaches by eight
of Britain’s biggest banks and building societies during the year to
August 2010 could be ‘just the tip of the iceberg’.
It said numbers were likely to be higher because just one in 10 people
had heard of the ICO.
Barclays was the bank with the most suspected breaches with 116
complaints, followed by Lloyds TSB with 114 and Santander with 103.
More than half of all complaints arose from firms failing to provide
customers with copies of the data held about them properly.
Richard Lloyd, executive director at Which?, said: “Banks and building
societies hold incredibly sensitive information and the impact on
customers can be serious if they mishandle it, from affecting credit
ratings to leaving people open to fraud.
“Consumers who suffer financial loss or stress as a result of data
mismanagement by firms should be entitled to compensation.
“Regulators need to impose much tougher sanctions on firms who are lax
with people’s data as the message clearly isn’t getting through.”
A spokesman for the ICO said: “While the number of upheld complaints is
small compared to the millions of bank accounts in the UK, mishandling
of financial information can have a serious effect on individuals’
lives. It needs to be looked after properly and customer’s data
protection rights respected.
The British Bankers’ Association suggested that many of the cases
referred to by Which were not security breaches at all, but cases where
customers have disputed the information contained on their records.
A spokesman for the BBA said: “All of the UK's banks take data privacy
extremely seriously. All complaints are fully and immediately
investigated and remedial action taken where necessary to ensure no
harm comes to any customer.”
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Lessons in cybersecurity launched for schoolchildren
Secondary pupils across the UK will take part in cybersecurity lessons as
Cabinet funded resources are launched in response to the rising industry
skills gap
Volunteers could help fight cyber crime
In cyber security, there will be many more jobs than candidates in the
next 20 years Photo: Alamy
By Josie Gurney-Read, Online Education Editor
9:34AM BST 23 Oct 2014
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Lessons in cybersecurity will be delivered to schoolchildren across the
UK in response to growing concerns about a rising skills gap in the
industry.
Resources funded by the Cabinet Office and backed by the National Crime
Agency will include case studies of international cybercrime attacks
and lessons on cryptography and malware.
The plans, which have been designed to give secondary school students
an insight into the industry, have been developed to allow teachers to
embed cybersecurity lessons into traditional curricular subjects as
well as computing.
Teenagers involved in the lessons will be taught about the importance
of firewalls, will learn about key malware threats currently facing the
UK, and will also gain an understanding of the career opportunities
within the industry.
While it is hoped that these resources could play a part in filling the
skills gap which is set to increase over the next twenty years, leading
industry experts have called for cybersecurity to be made a part of the
curriculum.
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Stephanie Daman, CEO of the Cyber Security Challenge UK, said that
knowing how to operate in the digital environment and understanding the
pitfalls of the Internet were "fundamental to the way we live".
"I do feel pretty passionately that we need to have the right things in
the curriculum," she said. "One of the reasons we don't get people into
cybersecurity is because they stop doing STEM subjects.
"The kids that are coming through the programme now are not going to
fill our immediate need, but it's like everything else, it's where we
have fallen down in the past; we hadn't planned at a sufficiently early
stage, we hadn't primed the pipeline. That's why we have a skills gap
now."
Further to the lesson plans for secondary school pupils, the
organisation also recently launched a massive open online course
(MOOC), open to people of all ages and developed by the Open University
in partnership with BIS, GCHQ and the Cabinet Office.
However, the lessons, launched yesterday at Sedgehill School in London,
have been developed specifically for pupils aged 11 to 16.
Ken Mackenzie, head of at Sedgehill School, said that presenting
students with the opportunities to expand their digital skills was one
of the key reasons why the school signed up.
"Students at our school may live in London but they don't necessarily
experience London in the same way that students from more affluent
backgrounds would. We feel computing is a particular strength at the
school and we work hard to make sure we are presenting students with a
full range of opportunities."
However, Mr Mackenzie also stressed that, aside from enhancing digital
skills, the focus on careers was one that appealed to the school.
"Because of the community we serve, we start careers guidance very
early on. These are conversations that take place both formally and
informally," he said.
"In order to put people in charge of their futures, we need to give
them all the information we can, so that they can make informed
decisions. This guidance is, sadly, not something a lot of our students
get at home."
Rob Partridge, head of BT's Security Academy, contributed to the lesson
plans. Speaking to the Telegraph, he emphasised the need to find a work
force to fill the jobs anticipated over the next two decades.
"Looking at recent statistics, in cybersecurity there will be more jobs
than candidates in the next twenty years," he said. "To make sure we
have those people, we need to develop our own workforce, we need to go
back to grassroots level, to key stage one and key stage two teaching,
to make sure the computing curriculum is taught properly in schools."
While he voiced support for the inclusion of cybersecurity within the
computing curriculum, Partridge said that embedding lessons within the
traditional curriculum was a step forward.
"The new computing curriculum is a brilliant step forward, but what
we've tried to do is augment the traditional curriculum subjects.
"What we have tried to do, through these lesson plans, is provide
teachers with learning resources that not only help them teach what's
on the maths curriculum, for example, but which also helps them teach
cybersecurity."
[IAB_Student_Life_4_3186316a.gif]
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3. CES
Six predictions for CES 2016: drones, cybersecurity, wearables and more
As the world’s largest consumer electronics show, CES 2016, draws closer,
rumours, announcements and predictions run rife.
CES 2015
By Telegraph reporter
9:26AM GMT 21 Dec 2015
CES in Las Vegas, which runs from Wednesday January 6 to Saturday
January 9 2016, is traditionally the platform for electronics giants to
unveil the latest consumer technology innovations for the coming year.
It's the place where you can get a glimpse into our digital future - at
least for the next 12 months.
Traditionally, consumer tech companies including Samsung, Sony, LG,
Huawei and Panasonic announce new generations of TVs, home appliances
and smartphones here every year.
But increasingly, CES is also becoming a platform for smaller startups
and companies to show entirely new types of products - smart home
security systems, fuel-efficient delivery drones and self-driving cars.
Major car manufacturers as well as internet companies like Netflix and
Amazon are increasingly attending the show as well.
Here’s what we know so far about the 6 major themes running through the
event in 2016.
1. Connected Cars
At least nine major automakers and over 100 auto tech firms will appear
at CES 2016, according to the Consumer Technology Association, the
trade body that runs CES.
Major car companies including Audi, Volkswagen, BMW and Aston Martin
will all unveil new car concepts. VW's passenger cars chairman Herbert
Diess will give the keynote speech at CES, where he'll be introducing a
new electric concept car. The electric Microbus concept will reportedly
offer a driving range of up to 310 miles and is likely to have
autonomous driving technology, according to motoring blog Autocar.
Rumours claim that Hyundai and Mercedes may both be actually driving
their autonomous cars on the road, and have applied to the Nevada
government for self-driving certification.
Meanwhile Audi will preview its next-generation car, the A8, which is
due in 2017, according to Autocar. Audi itself has said its CES
offering will be “an outlook on the automotive future, which will be
influenced more than ever by the electronics field.”
Finally, secretive Californian startup Faraday Futures (which some have
speculated is a front for Apple’s car development efforts) will display
its fully electric, futuristic car at CES 2016.
The 400-person company, which intends to compete head-on with Tesla,
has announced that it will open a $1bn factory in Nevada, and has hired
leadership from Tesla, BMW, Audi, and Ferrari. Not much is known about
the cars that Faraday will make, except that they will be electric, and
likely autonomous.
According to Accenture’s John Curran, who runs the technology practice,
security of connected cars will be a major theme. There have been
safety issues with self-driving cars because they go too slow for
normal traffic and commit violations as a result. “These challenges
will be key storylines at CES,” he said.
2. Cybersecurity
Volunteers could help fight cyber crime Volunteers could help fight
cyber crime Photo: Alamy
CES 2016 will hold the first ever cybersecurity forum at the event,
focusing on security challenges and threats pervading several newly
adopted technologies, and how security should be designed into new
devices.
"From data thefts and hacked medical devices to hijacked cars, cyber
threats are headline news and breaches are causing billions of dollars
in losses for businesses here in the U.S. and around the world," said
Amjed Saffarini, CEO of CyberVista, Inc., host of the CES 2016
CyberSecurity Forum.
Jeep Cherokee In July, hackers remotely crashed a Jeep from 10 miles
away
"As the tech industry continues to revolutionize business and daily
life, it's critical that we consider the looming cybersecurity
challenges that new technologies, including the Internet of Things, may
introduce."
Accenture’s John Curran agreed, warning that the Internet of Things
industry would start to stagnate if security issues were not addressed.
“If a device doesn’t have security, it doesn’t have a market,” he said.
“There will be stories about how consumers are becoming increasingly
interested in using alternatives to passwords. Watch for CES news about
alternative biometric technologies such as encryption, two-step
authentication, and how these alternative methods will ultimately
replace them passwords.”
3. Drones
Drones come with a wide range of capabilities
New CES drone products will be much more autonomous and versatile, able
to do much more in the areas of photography, video recording,
measurement and navigation, according to Accenture’s John Curran.
Consulting firm Radiant Insights predicts that drone sales will top
nearly $5 billion by 2020.
At CES 2016, there will an Unmanned Systems marketplace, which 26
different exhibitors. Last year, there were 15 exhibitors and the year
before, just 4.
For instance, Lily Robotics' 2.8 pound camera drone ($799, shipping
begins in February 2016), which follows the user via a tracking device,
will be one of them.
This year, there will also be a drone policy and conference, discussing
the realities of drone flight - including rules for airspace safety and
how to account for privacy.
Amazon drone Amazon is trialling drones that deliver packages Photo:
AFP/Getty Images
In 2017, major technology companies like Amazon and Google are planning
to use drones in their distribution and delivery networks. “Many other
companies see a future for the unmanned aerial vehicle in security
surveillance and artificial intelligence markets,” Accenture’s Curran
said.
Powering drones is another growing area. UK-based Intelligent Energy
announced that it has developed a hydrogen fuel cell range extender for
drones, which allows longer flight times. They will showcase the
prototype of their system at CES 2016.
"Drones and unmanned systems continue to reach new heights," said CTA
President and CEO Gary Shapiro. "They are changing the way we view our
world."
4. Wearables 2.0
Fitbit Force, Jawbone Up, Fitbug Orb, Nike FuelBand SE...Four fitness
trackers are shown in this photograph, in New York, Monday, Dec. 16,
2013 Wearable technology: Fitbit Force, Jawbone Up, Fitbug Orb and Nike
FuelBand SE Photo: AP
According to CCI Insights, the wearable tech industry is projected to
grow 64 per cent over the next three years, reaching $25 billion in
2019 when more than 245 million devices are expected to ship.
The wearables marketplace on the CES 2016 showfloor has apparently more
than trebled since last year. Products include a new Mimo baby sleep
monitor and the Qardio ECG monitor for your heart.
And it’s not just about fitness anymore - wristbands, smartwatches,
jewellery and embedded clothing are transforming babycare, parenting,
health and fashion. “The innovation that stems from the wearables
market is one of the main themes of CES 2016," said Robin Raskin,
founder and president, Living in Digital Times, which is a partner of
CES 2016.
The CTA's CEO Gary Shapiro told Fox News, “There’s a tremendous focus
that we’re seeing from healthcare providers on how health can be
affected and improved by people using devices.”
The Mimo baby monitor tracks infants' sleep
Accenture predicts that security will be an important sticking point
when it comes to wearables - there will have to be better
accountability about where the data goes. “There will be many more
wearable providers promoting biometric features, such as fingerprints
and iris scanning, as a more consumer-friendly and secure solution than
using passwords for wearables,” said John Curran.
5. Virtual & augmented reality
Facebook pays $2bn for virtual reality headgear maker Oculus. A gamer
wears an Oculus high-definition virtual reality headset as he plays
Gaijin Entertainment's "War Thunder" video game during the Eurogamer
Expo 2013 in London in September 2013. Could Samsung create a virtual
reality headset to rival Oculus Rift (pictured)? Photo: Bloomberg
2016 has already been branded the year of VR. Technology giants from
Samsung to Facebook and Sony will launch their headsets; Samsung’s Gear
VR launched for mobile last month, while the simple £10 Google
Cardboard can also give you basic VR experiences on your phone.
Facebook’s Oculus Rift will launch early next year, followed by the HTC
Vive and Sony’s PlayStation VR in April. According to the CTA, virtual
reality headsets are expected to take off in in 2016 with projected
sales up by 500 percent to 1.2 million units.
HTC's CEO Cher Wang said this week that the VIve would unveil a "very
big breakthrough" in the new year.
Jaunt's cinematic VR experiences can immerse you in places you wouldn't
or couldn't normally go - such as the center of a bike park, onstage
with your favorite musician, or halfway across the world. Jaunt's VR
experiences can immerse you in places you couldn't normally go - such
as the centre of a bike park
The CTA announced that virtual reality exhibits on the showfloor will
grow by 77 percent and the first marketplace for Augmented Reality has
been created for 2016. More than 40 exhibitors, including Oculus Rift,
will showcase the next wave of immersive multimedia for virtual reality
systems and environments, along with gaming hardware.
“Developments in virtual and augmented reality have made significant
strides to allow us to engage in a 360-degree gaming experience,
explore the inside of foreign landmarks, treat phobias, better train
medical professionals, virtually attend an event and much more,” said
Karen Chupka, senior vice president of corporate business strategy and
CES, at the CTA.
“The Gaming & Virtual Reality Marketplace at CES 2016 will showcase all
of these immersive innovations that are advancing this futuristic
industry.”
6. Internet of Things
The Nest Learning Thermostat, Smarter Coffee machine and Netatmo Wecome
system feature in our list of best smart home gadgets of 2015 The Nest
Learning Thermostat, Smarter Coffee machine and Netatmo Wecome system
feature in our list of best smart home gadgets of 2015 Photo: Nest /
Smarter / Netatmo
2016 will be the year of ubiquitous sensors - the internet of
everything. Gartner predicts over 50 billion connected devices globally
by 2020.
This isn’t a new trend for this year - the IoT is currently at the
inflated peak of expectations on Gartner’s Hype chart and was a huge
trend at CES 2015. But the range of objects being connected to the
internet is expanding - everything from the locks on our doors to our
office lighting, fleets of delivery trucks and our city streets.
Companies showing new products include Netatmo, known for the world’s
first facial recognition-enabled camera, to Noke, which won the CES
2016 Innovation Award for the world’s first bluetooth smart lock.
According to Accenture’s predictions, it will be less about hardware
and more about consumer security, safety and health.
“For example, this year CES will cover home security services that can
check your home is locked while you’re away, and medical health devices
and services that will tell you what your heart rate is and the fastest
route to a hospital in an emergency,” says John Curran.
Anticarjacking technologies will also feature, as part of this shift to
security and software, he predicted.
“I think we’re living the Internet of Things in many ways,” said the
CTA’s executive director Karen Lightman. “As we move to an
interconnected world and address issues from climate change to
healthcare, you can’t get there without...sensors.”
telegraphsciencetech
Follow @telegraphtech
Read more from Telegraph Technology
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President Obama hires US's first cybersecurity tsar
President Obama has finally hired America’s first cybersecurity coordinator,
seven months after pledging to personally appoint someone to the post.
Barack Obama appoints US's first cybersecurity tsar
In May 2009, President Obama promised to personally appoint someone to
the role and it is understood Mr Schmidt took on the job after several
others turned it down.
Emma Barnett
By Emma Barnett, Technology and Digital Media Correspondent
12:58PM GMT 23 Dec 2009
Follow
Comments Comments
Howard Schmidt, a former Microsoft and eBay executive, has taken the
position and aptly made a video broadcast via the White House’s website
to announce his intentions while in the job.
Mr Schmidt, who previously served under President George W Bush for
three years - assessing network security options, is focussing on:
“developing a new comprehensive strategy to secure American networks,
ensuring an organised, unified response to future cyber incidents,
strengthening public/private partnerships, promoting research and
development for the next generation of technologies and leading a
national campaign for cybersecurity, awareness and education",
according to his webcast, as per President Obama’s directions.
In May 2009, President Obama promised to personally appoint someone to
the role and it is understood Mr Schmidt took on the job after several
others turned it down.
His appointment has been praised by the security community – despite
the frustration caused by the lengthy recruitment process. Ken Silva,
the chief technology officer of VeriSign and someone who has known Mr
Schmidt for around eight years, told BBC News: "While I am disappointed
that it has taken this long, I am happy the government spent the time
to get the right person for the job. What he brings to this job is the
right level of senior government experience and industry experience.
That is something that is hard to find.
"Before getting down to the technology challenges, he has to establish
himself within government and industry in this new role.”
Mr Schmidt will be a key member of the National Security Staff and have
regular access to the President, according to John Brennan, assistant
to the President for homeland security and counterterrorism.
Technology
* News »
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* Technology News »
Read more from Telegraph Technology
The Big Short hits UK cinemas: these are the best films about business
The Big Short, the film adaptation of Michael Lewis' book of the same
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1. Home>>
2. News>>
3. UK News>>
4. Terrorism in the UK
Surveillance laws: Q&A
Revamped surveillance laws will be unveiled on Wednesday but what does it all
mean and why?
MPs have called for an overhaul of the Regulation of Investigatory
Powers Act
The Investigatory Powers Bill is published on Wednesday Photo: Getty
Images
Tom Whitehead
By Tom Whitehead, Security Editor
12:01AM GMT 04 Nov 2015
What is the Investigatory Powers Bill?
The bill is the biggest overhaul of laws surrounding surveillance
powers for 15 years. It is designed to pull together all the various
regulations governing how the spy agencies, police and other
authorities can monitor suspects. Currently the system is made up of a
patchwork of laws that are confusing and complex.
Why is it needed?
MI5, GCHQ and the police say their capability to track terrorists and
criminals is deteriorating because so much communication is now done
online and across new platforms that existing powers do not cover.
Privacy and civil liberty campaigners argue the bill is equally needed
to open a debate on what snooping powers and levels of intrusion in to
private lives are appropriate.
What measures will it include?
Internet companies will be required to retain customer web histories
for up to a year. It will reinforce the power of spy agencies to bulk
collect communications data.
o Surveillance laws revamp has faced a rocky road
Tech firms will be stopped from offering encryption services that even
they cannot break. Ministers are expected to retain the power to sign
off surveillance warrants but with extra oversight from judges.
GCHQ in Cheltenham The 'Doughnut' in Cheltenham, home to GCHQ Photo:
ALAMY
Who will it affect?
Ministers intend for the measures to affect the communications of any
UK customer regardless of where the provider is based. However, it
remains to be seen how effective the laws can be in forcing the hands
of overseas, and in particular US-based, tech giants.
Why is it controversial?
The balance between surveillance and privacy has also been a
contentious one and the first attempts to introduce the so-called
"snooper's charter" in the previous Coalition government failed when
the Liberal Democrats rejected it.
The revelations from the Edward Snowden leaks in 2013 in to the
techniques of GCHQ and the US National Security Agency and bulk
collection of data reignited that debate and accusations of mass
surveillance.
How does the UK compare to the US?
In the wake of the furore surrounding the Snowden leaks, the US
curtailed some of its surveillance powers. The Freedom Act, passed in
June this year, placed new restrictions and oversight on its spy
agencies. It banned the indiscriminate storage of phone records,
although it retained other bulk collection powers.
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Advertisement
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4. Terrorism in the UK
Surveillance laws revamp has faced a rocky road
The Investigatory Powers Bill, to be published on Wednesday, has been seven
years in the making
Online threat: hacking has become more commonplace.
Surveillance laws overhaul has been years in the making and may still
face tough opposition Photo: PHOTOLIBRARY.COM
Tom Whitehead
By Tom Whitehead, Security Editor
12:01AM GMT 04 Nov 2015
The revamp of Britain's spy laws and capabilities has endured a long
and rocky road spanning three Governments.
Concerns from the spy agencies and police that their coverage of
suspects online was deteriorating first came to the fore under the last
Labour Government in 2008.
It was argued that modern communications were across many platforms
which outdated regulations did not cover and data was not being
retained.
Initial moves to address the gaps first emerged in Whitehall as the
Interception Modernisation Programme.
It sparked immediate outrage as it was to involve the storage of every
phone call, email and website visit on a huge national database.
It was quickly nicknamed the "snooper's charter" and by 2009, the then
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith indicated there would be no database but
instead a compulsion on service providers to store their customer data.
The proposals face fierce opposition and did not make it in to draft
legislation under the Gordon Brown Government.
The issue was revived under the Conservative and Liberal Democrat
coalition government which took power in 2010 again with the intention
that the internet companies themselves would retain the data.
Theresa May, the Home Secretary, had hoped to introduce the measures in
a Draft Communications Bill during the 2012/13 parliamentary session,
with the powers being enacted by 2014.
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However, Lib Dem leader and then deputy prime minister Nick Clegg
withdrew his support of the measures and his party blocked all attempts
to bring the proposals forward during the 2010/15 parliament.
The revelations of spying techniques by former CIA contractor Edward
Snowden in 2013 and claims of mass surveillance intensified that
opposition.
Following the Conservative victory in the 2015 General Election, Mrs
May vowed to bring the measures forward again but only after a major
review of surveillance capabilities and safeguards by the independent
reviewer of terrorism legislation, David Anderson QC.
His comprehensive 370-page report heavily influenced Government
thinking and the Investigatory Powers Bill to be unveiled on Wednesday
is not much broader than just the snooper's charter but an overhaul of
all laws and regulations surrounding surveillance.
Whether the measures fare any better in the face of already growing
opposition remains to be seen.
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Advertisement
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4. Crime
The politics of surveillance are about politics, not keeping us safe
Is Britain really going to become the first major democracy to log every
website its citizens visit?
Photo: ALAMY
By Mike Harris
5:20PM GMT 04 Nov 2015
Comments Comments
Every piece of surveillance legislation proposed by government in the
last generation has inevitably been "crucial" to stop terrorists,
peadophiles and criminal masterminds who haunt the public
consciousness. The new fear is that the internet is giving those with
malicious intent a new tool to disrupt - or end - the lives of the
law-abiding. So nearly every year we see another piece of draconian
legislation aimed at taking control of the internet. In 2012, we had
the draft Communications Data Bill (or Snooper's Charter), the most
draconian piece of surveillance legislation ever proposed in a
democracy. In the summer of 2014, the DRIPA Act was shoved through
parliament in 48 hours. It was so illiberal our courts have ruled it
breaches the law.
"We cannot rely on technology to solve complex human problems, we need
human intelligence to fight crime"
Now, Theresa May strikes a different tone. May now believes in new
safeguards to protect our privacy, including judicial authorisation of
surveillance requests, a key demand of the "civil liberties lobby" who
have gone from being maligned to praised in the House of Commons.
Oversight of our intelligence agencies - woefully lacking in the past -
will be improved with a strengthened commissioner. Yet, as ever, the
devil will be in the detail of this legislation. The government still
hasn't weaned itself off collecting our most private data, it's this
battle that will determine how we remember this Bill.
The Government wants to enhance the bulk collection and interception of
data to keep us safe. The truth is that terrorists have known for some
time that the internet is a bad way to communicate. Bin Laden's
compound had no internet connection, he wrote his emails in advance and
his associates used internet cafes to send them. The killer of Lee
Rigby, Michael Adebowale, was highly security-conscious - as a
parliamentary report put it "MI5 noted that Adebolajo was a "difficult
[suspect] to investigate due to his security-consciousness". He would
use pay phones rather than smart phones and barely use electronic
communications. The fact is, criminals are already on the Dark Net
using highly encrypted communications tools far beyond the reach of our
government and police, as brilliantly described by Jamie Bartlett.
These tools are also used by dissidents in authoritarian states to hide
from the state and protect their free speech and their lives. The
Investigatory Powers Bill can't stop this. The technology is too
complex, evolving too quickly, and is distributed among a network of
internet activists who will do anything to protect human rights
activists working in dangerous places.
Politicians don't understand this. They just don't get that legions of
coders are building technologies to make private communications easier
and cheaper. So the parliamentary debate felt like shadow boxing. MPs
all agreed new powers were needed, but none understood that the powers
they will be signing into law will not be particularly effective in
tracking terrorists, but will be good at capturing the data of
law-abiding citizens. So every Briton's internet history will be logged
to prevent crime, but crime bosses and terrorists using the Dark Net
can't be traced. The real concern is that this data, alongside the bulk
retention of data, will not be used to prosecute serious crimes, but
petty misdemeanors. Protesters in breach of the peace, whistleblowers
breaking the Official Secrets Act or school catchment area cheats. The
police will have the data to drag up minor crimes 12 months ago to
prosecute people they wish to lock away. Go ahead, you may say, but as
we saw with the outrageous use of the previous RIPA Act by local
councils to prosecute people for low level nuisance, the potential for
abuse is huge.
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Campaign groups like Don't Spy On Us called for comprehensive
legislation to reform the law, wanted judicial authorisation for
surveillance requests, improved oversight, and no return for the
"Snooper's Charter". Having won all these concessions, it would be
churlish to say the least, to not thank the Home Secretary for
listening. There's some good in this Bill - in particular the
double-lock to ensure democratically elected politicians and our
independent judiciary sign off on all surveillance warrants.
Yet, big questions remain. Is the bulk collection of data lawful, will
it be effective and does it offer value for money at a time of police
cuts? Is Britain really going to become the first major democracy to
log every website its citizens visit? Is this legislation going to
enable the mass intercept of all our communications and allow the
hacking of our personal devices? Parliament said little on this today,
and the response from the Labour frontbench was woeful. We cannot rely
on technology to solve complex human problems, we need human
intelligence to fight crime. In the choice between police and
intelligence officers and the bloated surveillance technology pushed by
US corporates, the choice should be clear. The best safeguard of our
liberty is eternal vigilance, the same is true for our security.
Mike Harris is CEO of 89up and advises the Don't Spy On Us campaign
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Actor Fisher Stevens with former Police singer Sting at the Sky Ladder:
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Winter around the world
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The week in pictures
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Alice Vincent looks back at some of Michael Caine's greatest film
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Celebrity Sightings: 22 January
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Advertisement
1. Home»
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3. Politics
Blanket surveillance is a stain on our democracy
The Government is stopping Parliamentarians from being able to do their job
Photo: GETTY
By Jenny Jones, London AM, Green Party
11:38AM BST 23 Jul 2015
Comments Comments
In a rare public hearing of the shadowy Investigatory Powers Tribunal,
Green MP Caroline Lucas and I will challenge what we see as the
breaching of the privacy of those who turn to us for help.
The case centres on the "Wilson Doctrine" – a little known but highly
important government policy that should guarantee that communications
between parliamentarians and the public are free from blanket
surveillance and interception.
The heroics of Edward Snowden in 2013 unveiled the likelihood that the
security services have breached the Wilson Doctrine and put the privacy
and protection of people contacting parliamentarians at risk. Snowden’s
revelations, which uncovered a monstrous blanket surveillance regime
taking place in both Britain and the USA, seem to directly contradict
our assumed privacy. How can people’s communications with me or my
parliamentary colleagues be private if the security services are
storing every email communication we send and receive?
[snowden_2768588b.jpg]
The truth is that despite what the Police presume - the same police who
kept me on their Domestic Extremist database for over a decade when I
was not only elected, but on the Metropolitan Police Authority to
scrutinise them - it's not the emails I send that I worry about. I’m
far more concerned that some of the many people who contact me or
Caroline – from campaigners whose lives have been ruined by undercover
police spies, to asylum seekers in fear of deportation – will now think
twice about getting in touch because of the fact that our emails are
being watched.
The Government will defend their case in court today. I have no doubt
that Ministers will rejoice in the curtailing of parliamentarians’
ability to hold the executive to account. If the public are less able
to contact us without fear of being spied upon then ministers get an
easier ride - it’s as simple as that.
[hacking_2915651b.jpg]
It is worth noting that parliamentarians shouldn’t be above the law.
Instead of blanket surveillance there needs to be a system of judicial
oversight which allows the investigation of parliamentarians who are
suspected of a crime.
From my point of view – as a relative newcomer and persistent (if
unintentional) rule breaker in the House of Lords – this blanket
surveillance further undermines my own ability to do my job in
Parliament, that of holding to account the Government, all their
ministers and the state agencies.
The second chamber – which I hope will soon be elected rather than
appointed – must be persistent thorn in the side of the Government –
leaving no stone left unturned in working in the public interest. This
blanket surveillance and the undermining of people’s right to contact
parliamentarians in private is a stain on our democracy and one which I
hope our case in court will help put right.
telepolitics
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In pics: National Geographic magazine’s February issue that features an
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Theresa May must balance privacy and security
Telegraph View: The Home Secretary has listened, but her "concessions" must
not be taken at face value
Revealed: Britain's spy agencies do eavesdrop on innocent people
Most Britons are happy with spies getting more powers Photo: Alamy
By Telegraph View
6:35AM GMT 05 Nov 2015
Comments Comments
There is much in the draft Investigatory Powers Bill that seeks to
achieve an equilibrium between the needs of security and the
requirements of privacy. Theresa May, the Home Secretary, has taken on
board many of the concerns voiced about the expansion of the
surveillance state. If she has not quite reined it in, and it is far
too late for that, she has at least proposed a system of checks and
balances that will make it less intrusive than it might otherwise be.
As Mrs May told MPs, the communications technology that most of us use
has evolved significantly since the state’s powers to retain and
examine personal data were first brought together 15 years ago in the
Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (Ripa). In that time, the
threats and security challenges the government has to deal with have
grown. The law must be brought up to date and those we entrust to keep
us safe must have the powers that enable them to do so.
iv class='videoPlayer'>
Mrs May has prepared the ground well for this particular measure, with
an unprecedented PR campaign in advance of the publication, involving
MI5, MI6, GCHQ and the police. The Home Secretary has gone out of her
way to concede that she has retreated from tougher powers proposed
three years ago and vetoed by the Lib Dems in the Coalition, the
so-called Snooper’s Charter.
But while her ambitions to protect the country cannot be faulted, we
must also be careful not to take everything at face value. Civil
liberties groups still regard the powers in this Bill as excessively
intrusive. It is a complex measure that ranges far wider than the
pursuit of terrorists or child abusers. Dozens of public authorities,
including local councils, are empowered to access communications data
in pursuit of lawbreakers. So, this is not just about national
security.
However, the Home Secretary maintains that the Bill will underpin one
of the most comprehensive systems of transparency, accountability and
oversight in the world governing a state’s right to intrude. Moreover,
by introducing it in draft form and inviting further consultation she
has given Parliament time to scrutinise and improve the measure before
it goes through its formal legislative process. It is the Government’s
duty to keep us safe. But we want to retain as much of our privacy as
is commensurate with that aim. This is a once-in-a-generation
opportunity to ensure that the former can be achieved without
sacrificing the latter.
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Sundance Film Festival 2016: the best of the festival in pictures
Actor Fisher Stevens with former Police singer Sting at the Sky Ladder:
The Art Of Cai Guo-Qiang
Sundance Film Festival 2016 in pictures
Highlights and red carpet arrivals from America's largest independent
film festival, in Park City, Utah
Comments
Winter around the world
A man cleans snow from his car after a heavy snowfall which started the
previous night in Odessa, Ukraine.
The Telegraph's pick of the best winter photographs from around the
northern hemisphere
The week in pictures
A round-up of our favourite photographs of the week
Animal photos of the week
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All creatures great and small in our ever popular animal gallery
iOS 9: The best hidden features
iOS 9 is now available to download for iPhone and iPad
The latest update to iPhone and iPad software, iOS 9.3, has been
announced. Here are some of the features you may have missed from the
original iOS 9
Michael Caine: His career in pictures
Michael Caine in Get Carter
Film
Alice Vincent looks back at some of Michael Caine's greatest film
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Comments
Inside the eye
Gargoyle gecko (Rhacodactylus auriculatus)
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Comments
Celebrity Sightings: 22 January
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Does privacy still exist in an internet age?
Having my name misspelt by the electoral register and then receiving spam
email addressed to 'Juditu' was unnerving, says Judith Woods
Nearly 2 million dead people listed on US electoral rolls
It's not just companies that screw up data, the electoral roll spelt
'Judith' as 'Juditu'. Photo: Getty Images
Judith Woods
By Judith Woods
6:30PM GMT 29 Oct 2015
Comments Comments
There is something rather worrying about corporations releasing
customers' personal details online, either due to cock-up or
conspiracy.
But it is only rather worrying until what's being bandied about in
cyberspace are your bank details or your Ashley Madison account
activity - at which point it becomes appalling and dangerous and
unacceptable.
Marks and Spencer is the latest high street giant to be hit by a
technical hitch, which let strangers nosey round each other's virtual
shopping baskets.
M&S M&S had to temporarily suspend their website when customers could
see other shoppers' baskets online. Photo: ALAMY
No harm done, eh? Well, maybe not in this instance but, as expert
industry commentators keep telling us, loss of privacy is the risk you
take when you shop, browse or subscribe to anything online - ie, live
in the Western World in the 21st century.
I'm slightly inured to it, because when I moved to London 18 years ago
and registered to vote, my first name was erroneously entered on the
electoral register as Juditu.
Yes, I know - it looks mighty strange to me, too. But given the
multicultural nature of my borough, it could well be an actual name, so
nobody thought to double check.
The details of millions of people have been dumped on the dark web
Then emails started arriving addressing me as Juditu - instant loan
companies, obscure credit card offers, PPI misselling notifications.
I eventually got round to changing the spelling, but years on, I'm
still getting email shots from an organic vegetable box scheme,
shopping voucher sites and equity release promotions.
Were my details sold on, or is it routine for data companies to scan
the electoral register?
I have no idea - but what I can say is that this little spelling error
is an unnerving daily reminder that privacy is an elastic concept in
this day and age.
thetelegraphnews
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Strictly: hottest romances
Strictly Come Dancing
As Georgia May Foote and Giovanni Pernice announce that they are moving
in together, we look at the couples who found time to tango off-screen
Comments
Sundance Film Festival 2016: the best of the festival in pictures
Actor Fisher Stevens with former Police singer Sting at the Sky Ladder:
The Art Of Cai Guo-Qiang
Sundance Film Festival 2016 in pictures
Highlights and red carpet arrivals from America's largest independent
film festival, in Park City, Utah
Comments
Winter around the world
A man cleans snow from his car after a heavy snowfall which started the
previous night in Odessa, Ukraine.
The Telegraph's pick of the best winter photographs from around the
northern hemisphere
The week in pictures
A round-up of our favourite photographs of the week
Animal photos of the week
A ray joins Sea life London Aquarium Aquarist Rebecca Carter for a
quick 'selfie' during the annual January deep clean
All creatures great and small in our ever popular animal gallery
iOS 9: The best hidden features
iOS 9 is now available to download for iPhone and iPad
The latest update to iPhone and iPad software, iOS 9.3, has been
announced. Here are some of the features you may have missed from the
original iOS 9
Michael Caine: His career in pictures
Michael Caine in Get Carter
Film
Alice Vincent looks back at some of Michael Caine's greatest film
appearances.
Comments
Inside the eye
Gargoyle gecko (Rhacodactylus auriculatus)
In pics: National Geographic magazine's February issue that features an
up-close look at the eyes of various species
Comments
Celebrity Sightings: 22 January
Matt Damon, Lewis Hamilton and Zac Efron
In pics: Matt Damon, Lewis Hamilton and Zac Efron
Frozen lighthouses
Lighthouses consumed by ice at Grand Haven Pier in St Joseph, Michigan
In pics: Structures lashed by winter storms turn into giant icicles
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Advertisement
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3. Technology News
People are upset that Facebook and Google sponsored a privacy event
Google and Facebook have come under fire before for their targeted
advertising, which is based on information some people think should be
private
People thought it was hypocritical of the tech giant to sponsor a
privacy event
People thought it was hypocritical of the tech giant to sponsor a
privacy event Photo: Reuters
Helena Horton
By Helena Horton
1:09PM GMT 27 Oct 2015
Follow
If you use Facebook or Google, you are essentially consenting to them
knowing your likes, dislikes and even, sometimes, sexuality.
We've all been mildly creeped out when we get an advert on the side of
our screen that seems to know a piece of private information about us.
Because the companies haven't always been that clear and transparent
about exactly what they know about us and which parts of our data
they're using for targeted advertising, people were surprised to see
that they were "diamond sponsors" for an event on privacy hosted by the
University of Amsterdam.
A better pic of the sponsors of the Amsterdam #privacyweek. This is
so Orwellian I don't even. #APC2015 pic.twitter.com/bWfvq0oJ74
— Ancilla Tilia (@ncilla) October 25, 2015
Some people have gone even further and said that the way in which the
sites build up profiles of us using our information is a form of
corporate surveillance.
Technology writer Sidney Vollmer said: "It is an oft cited example of
the asymmetrical nature of the problem of civil rights in the digital
age: Mark Zuckerberg asks us for as much data as he can, yet, for
thirty million dollars, buys all the houses around his own in Palo Alto
to get more privacy.
"By having Facebook as your diamond sponsor you offer Facebook a
diamond chance at rehabilitation and respectability.
"It is either a sign of my lack of creativity or a sign of your
organization’s faulty practice in this matter that I can not think of a
worse sponsor for your much, much needed event on privacy."
Sorry, but this is a joke, right? Right!? #payforitownit. #APC2015
pic.twitter.com/ZBRU7NiUmB
— Sidney Vollmer (@SidneyVollmer) October 24, 2015
Privacy advocate Aral Balkan told Motherboard: "We would not be having
this discussion if Marlboro was sponsoring a conference on lung cancer,
"They just wouldn't be allowed to. Because it is clearly a ridiculous
conflict of interest.
"The only reason we are even having this conversation is because we
still don’t understand that Facebook and Google are to privacy what
smoking is to lung cancer,"
"Corporations like Facebook and Google are in the business of people
farming,
"The value they create is directly linked to the amount of information
they have about you... So the one thing they cannot do is to compete on
privacy. They can only compete on the illusion of privacy. And that’s
the narrative that they are spending heavily to create."
Facebook came under fire earlier this year, when 25,000 people argued
that the company illegally collected users' data.
The €500 (£354) being sought by each claimant means Facebook would be
saddled with a €12.5m bill and a major reputational blow should the
case, led by the Austrian law student Max Schrems, be successful.
Mr Schrems alleges that Facebook illegally tracked users’ browsing
habits via software installed on other web pages, and participated in
“Prism”, the American spy programme, among other violations.
The entire country of Belgium also tried to take Facebook to court for
breaking EU rules on data collection and privacy.
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The Big Short hits UK cinemas: these are the best films about business
The Big Short, the film adaptation of Michael Lewis' book of the same
name about the causes of the financial crisis, opens in UK cinemas this
weekend. How will the story stack up against the greatest films about
business?
Top 10 films based on video games
Hitman is one of our top 10 movies adapted from a video game
While films based on video games are notoriously rubbish, read on for
the 10 best actually worth watching, even if just for pure cringe
factor
Most important inventions of the 21st Century
iPhone became available on the O2 network in November 2007
From the Apple iPod to Google driverless cars, we run down the
technologies that have transformed our world since the start of the
21st century
Obsolete technologies that will baffle modern children: in pictures
Many children have never seen or used a video tape, camcorder or floppy
disc. Take a look at the gadgets which will puzzle younger people
From Colgate ready meals to Bic's disposable undies: the world's weirdest
off-brand products
Would you buy wine from jeans maker Diesel, disposable underwear from
Bic or perfumes made by Zippo? Companies don't always get it right when
launching entirely new product ranges. These are some of the odder
attempts.
Street View: Funny images
Google Street View funny moments: man walks into a sex shop
Google Street View users have picked up some amusing images.
These are the most valuable start-ups in the world
In pics: Some fledgling firms have reached valuations in the tens of
billions. These are the 20 priciest of them all
Comments
Karen Danczuk's selfies
Selfie queen and Labour MP's wife Karen Danczuk has been spotted
shopping for some raunchy Valentine's attire. The buxom councillor -
whose husband is Labour politician Simon Danczuk - was pictured in her
native Rochdale shopping for some saucy lingerie with a friend.
In pics: Ex-councillor posts revealing photos for her 68.4k Twitter
followers
The best tech for your Christmas party
'When you want your guests to leave, stop serving booze – or ring a
bell’
Christmas party season is upon us! Rhiannon Williams rounds up the best
gadgets and apps to make yours go with a bang
Pinterest 2015: the UK's top 10 pins
Pinterest 2015: the UK's top 10 pins of the year
Pinterest has released the 10 most popular pins in the UK throughout
2015: has your favourite made the cut?
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videos
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iPhone 6s and 6s Plus rumours: all you need to know
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Online threat: hacking has become more commonplace.
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3. Obituaries
Caspar Bowden, privacy campaigner - obituary
Campaigner who warned about state snooping on online data
Caspar Bowden
Caspar Bowden Photo: RAMA/Wikipedia Commons
6:08PM BST 13 Jul 2015
Comments Comments
Caspar Bowden, who has died from melanoma aged 53, was a British data
privacy campaigner who turned from poacher to gamekeeper when he took a
job as head of privacy for Microsoft's non-US operations in 2002.
But he was dismissed from the organisation in 2011, two years before
Edward Snowden was to leak documents showing that Microsoft and other
internet giants had turned over user data to a US surveillance program
called Prism. Bowden warned that personal information stored by non-US
internet users on "cloud" computing services such as Google Drive could
be spied on routinely without their knowledge by the US National
Security Agency, under Section 702 of the US Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Act. The act authorises mass-surveillance of the data of
non-Americans and gives the NSA the power to issue orders to companies
under US jurisdiction, such as Microsoft, requiring them to disclose
"foreign intelligence information" from sources such as emails and
other stored data. The act, Bowden alleged, discriminated against
non-US internet users, making them "guilty of being foreigners".
Following the Snowden revelations, several companies identified in the
leaked documents claimed they had no knowledge of the Prism program and
denied making information available to the US security authorities on
the scale alleged. Microsoft explained that it had only provided data
in response to legally binding orders relating to specific accounts,
and that it was not involved in any broader voluntary national security
programme to gather customer data.
Bowden, however, remained unconvinced and in 2013 revealed that he had
stopped using Microsoft products in favour of open source software and
had not owned a mobile phone for two years. The NSA's surveillance
efforts, he suggested, were a threat to democracy: "We're living
through a transformation in surveillance power that's never been seen
before on earth. And we don't know what type of government or leader
will come to power next and exploit it. It could be the next president.
It could be this one."
Caspar Pemberton Scott Bowden was born on August 19 1961 and was
fascinated by technology from childhood, building his own computer at
14. After studying Mathematics at Magdalene College, Cambridge, and a
few years as a self-employed "inventor", he worked as an analyst with
Goldman Sachs.
In the run-up to the 1997 general election, as chairman of Scientists
for Labour, he urged the party to make personal data protection a high
priority. But he later became a vehement critic of the New Labour
government's Regulation of Investigatory Powers Bill, arguing that it
was an internet snoopers' charter.
The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) became law in 2000,
but not before Bowden had campaigned successfully to remove "Big
Browser" surveillance powers under which security agencies would have
been granted authority to access individuals' "clickstream" browsing
habits, and to ensure the burden of proof was not put on to individuals
who might have forgotten passwords later demanded by police.
After leaving Microsoft in 2011, Bowden turned his energies to the EU,
warning that US security authorities were exploiting European reliance
on cloud computing services to monitor its data. He proposed that the
EU should develop an industrial policy for its own Cloud industry,
based on open-source software, and that internet users should be warned
when they log on to services based in the US that they may be under
surveillance.
After the Snowden revelations, Bowden became an adviser to the European
Parliament on data privacy issues.
Caspar Bowden is survived by his wife Sandi.
Caspar Bowden, born August 19 1961, died July 9 2015
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The Facebook privacy hoaxes you need to look out for
Surprisingly, copying and pasting a Facebook status won't do anything for
your account privacy
Don't be taken in by this hoax
Don't be taken in by this hoax Photo: Alamy
Helena Horton
By Helena Horton
9:19AM BST 29 Sep 2015
Follow
If you use Facebook, you've probably seen a few of your friends
imploring you to copy and paste their status so you don't have to pay a
subscription service to keep your posts and messages private.
There have been two statuses making the rounds again on our feeds - and
they've actually been around for a couple of years.
One purports to be a legally binding statement protecting your photos
from copyright infringement, that has resurfaced from when it first
appeared around 2012.
IFRAME: http://renderer.qmerce.com/interaction/560a4837c70ac51c03a95625
It says: "As of September 28th , 2015 at 10:50p.m, I do not give
Facebook or any entities associated with Facebook permission to use my
pictures, information, or posts, both past and future. By this
statement, I give notice to Facebook it is strictly forbidden to
disclose, copy, distribute, or take any other action against me based
on this profile and/or its contents.
"The content of this profile is private and confidential information.
The violation of privacy can be punished by law (UCC 1-308- 1 1 308-103
and the Rome Statute). NOTE: Facebook is now a public entity. All
members must post a note like this.
"If you prefer, you can copy and paste this version. If you do not
publish a statement at least once it will be tactically allowing the
use of your photos, as well as the information contained in the profile
status updates."
Another says that by posting a status, you are allowed to keep using
Facebook for free, and don't have to pay to use the service.
"Anyone who uses Facebook owns and controls the content and information
they post, as stated in our terms. They control how that content and
information is shared. That is our policy, and it always has been."
Facebook
It says: "Now it's official! It has been published in the media.
Facebook has just released the entry price: £5.99 ($9.10) to keep the
subscription of your status to be set to "private."
"If you paste this message on your page, it will be offered free (I
said paste not share) if not tomorrow, all your posts can become
public. Even the messages that have been deleted or the photos not
allowed. After all, it does not cost anything for a simple copy and
paste."
If this is making you panic about the safety of your photos and
messages, fear not. Facebook fact checked these claims a while ago and
has reassured users that photos and statuses set to private will stay
that way, for free.
The fact check says: "There is a rumor circulating that Facebook is
making a change related to ownership of users' information or the
content they post to the site. This is false. Anyone who uses Facebook
owns and controls the content and information they post, as stated in
our terms. They control how that content and information is shared.
That is our policy, and it always has been."
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However, Facebook does own everything you post on the social media
network, until you delete your account.
It says in its terms and conditions: "For content that is covered by
intellectual property rights, like photos and videos (IP content), you
specifically give us the following permission, subject to your privacy
and application settings: you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable,
sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use any IP content
that you post on or in connection with Facebook (IP License)."
No status you post can stop that from being the case.
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The Big Short hits UK cinemas: these are the best films about business
The Big Short, the film adaptation of Michael Lewis' book of the same
name about the causes of the financial crisis, opens in UK cinemas this
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business?
Top 10 films based on video games
Hitman is one of our top 10 movies adapted from a video game
While films based on video games are notoriously rubbish, read on for
the 10 best actually worth watching, even if just for pure cringe
factor
Most important inventions of the 21st Century
iPhone became available on the O2 network in November 2007
From the Apple iPod to Google driverless cars, we run down the
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21st century
Obsolete technologies that will baffle modern children: in pictures
Many children have never seen or used a video tape, camcorder or floppy
disc. Take a look at the gadgets which will puzzle younger people
From Colgate ready meals to Bic's disposable undies: the world's weirdest
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Would you buy wine from jeans maker Diesel, disposable underwear from
Bic or perfumes made by Zippo? Companies don't always get it right when
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Street View: Funny images
Google Street View funny moments: man walks into a sex shop
Google Street View users have picked up some amusing images.
These are the most valuable start-ups in the world
In pics: Some fledgling firms have reached valuations in the tens of
billions. These are the 20 priciest of them all
Comments
Karen Danczuk's selfies
Selfie queen and Labour MP's wife Karen Danczuk has been spotted
shopping for some raunchy Valentine's attire. The buxom councillor -
whose husband is Labour politician Simon Danczuk - was pictured in her
native Rochdale shopping for some saucy lingerie with a friend.
In pics: Ex-councillor posts revealing photos for her 68.4k Twitter
followers
The best tech for your Christmas party
'When you want your guests to leave, stop serving booze – or ring a
bell’
Christmas party season is upon us! Rhiannon Williams rounds up the best
gadgets and apps to make yours go with a bang
Pinterest 2015: the UK's top 10 pins
Pinterest 2015: the UK's top 10 pins of the year
Pinterest has released the 10 most popular pins in the UK throughout
2015: has your favourite made the cut?
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Advertisement
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Privacy on parade
Government plans to snoop on our internet and phone traffic raise practical
as well as ethical considerations.
The authorities will be able to find out to whom we are sending texts
and emails; whom we phone, and when; which websites we visit and even
which video games we play
The authorities will be able to find out to whom we are sending texts
and emails; whom we phone, and when; which websites we visit and even
which video games we play Photo: PA
By Telegraph View
8:35PM BST 14 Jun 2012
Comments Comments
At a cost of £1.8 billion over the next decade, the Government plans to
have the details of all internet traffic and mobile-phone use stored
for access by the police and intelligence services. Under the
provisions of the Communications Data Bill, published in draft form
yesterday, the authorities will be able to find out to whom we are
sending texts and emails; whom we phone, and when; which websites we
visit and even which video games we play.
It is unarguable that legislation in this area has not kept pace with
the revolution in communications technology. The police and security
services are warning that, as a consequence, their ability to tackle
serious crime and terrorism is being undermined. That is a troubling
development. However, it is in the nature of law enforcement agencies
to seek to maximise their powers of surveillance whenever they can. It
is the duty of Parliament to subject such attempts to the most rigorous
scrutiny. In this case, such scrutiny is particularly important, for
many will regard these powers as alarmingly intrusive. They risk
tilting the balance between the security of the state and the liberty
of the individual too far in the wrong direction.
There are practical as well as ethical considerations. The state’s
record on data security leaves much to be desired, while many will fear
that the data could be put to uses not intended, particularly by the
police. On this score, the Government has sensibly decided to limit
local councils’ access to the data. The way some local authorities have
been abusing the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act by using
surveillance powers to tackle problems such as dog-fouling suggests a
cavalier approach to personal privacy. Parliament must ensure that the
new legislation has sufficient safeguards to prevent such abuse by all
agencies.
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06 Jun 2012
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3. Google
Google reveals spike in Brits' privacy concerns
Google reveals users in Britain are increasingly concerned about their online
safety, in the wake of major hacks of Mumsnet and Ashley Madison
A Google Inc member of staff walks through the company headquarters in
London, UK
Google is stepping up its privacy measures amid widespread public
concern Photo: Bloomberg
By Sophie Curtis
4:18PM BST 20 Aug 2015
Follow
People in the UK are deeply concerned about their privacy and being
hacked, with searches for some security questions increasing
dramatically over the past few years, according to Google search data
shared exclusively with The Telegraph.
The search engine revealed that the security-related phrases with the
largest increases in search traffic over the past five years are:
* “Email been hacked” – up by over 5,000 per cent
* “Phished account” – up by over 5,000 per cent
* "Website scam check” – up by over 700 per cent
* “Change my password” – up by over 300 per cent
* “Identity theft protection” – up by over 250 per cent
People in the UK are also using Google to research a wide range of
security issues. The top searches around online security in the UK are:
* How secure is my password?
* How do I change my gmail password?
* How to find my phone
* What is e safety?
* How do I stay safe online
* What is 2-step verification?
* How does find my phone work?
* What is the best internet security?
* How do I enable 2-step verification?
* How do I stay safe from online fraud?
"We know that privacy is a concern for many people who use the
Internet. Cyber crime is on the rise and people are concerned about
their privacy and being hacked," said Laurian Clemence from Google UK.
"We do want people to know that we take their concerns very seriously.
We also want them to feel safe in the knowledge that they have the
power to update, change and share as much information as they want to.
And we want to make this easy for everyone to understand."
Google came to the rescue Google came to the rescue
Google claims to have undergone a "quiet revolution" over the past six
months, implementing a range of security and privacy measures designed
to protect users of its services against hackers and give them more
control over their personal data.
At its I/O developer conference in May, Google announced that the next
version of Android, called "Marshmallow", will make it easier for users
to decide what information the apps on their phone can use, by giving
them the opportunity to confirm or deny access in context.
For example, if you download WhatsApp on an Android device today, you
will be asked to grant permission for WhatsApp to access your contacts,
calendar, location, photos, camera, microphone and more. This can seem
very invasive.
With Android Marshmallow, users will not be requested to give any
permissions at the point of download. It is only when they try to send
a voice memo, for example, that they will be asked to grant access to
their microphone.
Then in June, Google launched a new privacy and security hub called "My
Account", enabling users to control all of their Google privacy and
security settings from one place.
Users can adjust their security settings for everyday Google
activities, such as blocking specific advertisers from their search
results, controlling the kind of personal information that is linked to
their Google account and their stored location data.
They can also check the answers to frequently-asked questions,
including whether Google sells your personal information and what it
does with the collected data, as well as copy content from your account
to be used in other services.
The hub also offers new Privacy Checkup and Security Checkup tools,
which are designed to guide users through their most important privacy
and security settings, and allow them to update and change their
settings in Search, Maps, YouTube and other products.
For example, they can turn on and off settings such as "Web and App
Activity", which provides more relevant search results, or "Location
History", which enables Google Maps and Now to offer tips for a faster
commute back home.
My Account brings all privacy and security settings to one hub My
Account brings all privacy and security settings to one hub
They can also keep track of and remove the apps and sites they have
approved to connect to their account, or download all of their Google
data to use it for another service, or to keep as an archive.
The new privacy and security measures have been introduced in the wake
of several major hacks over the past year, targeting eBay, Sony and,
most recently, Mumsnet and adultery website Ashley Madison. Google has
also had its fair share of privacy controversies over the years.
According to a OnePoll survey commissioned by Google, over a quarter of
UK respondents have either been been hacked or targeted for hacking in
the last two years, and around a fifth have had their personal
information used elsewhere without their express permission.
In an attempt to raise awareness of security issues and help people
protect themselves online, Google's privacy and security engineers will
be visiting five cities across the UK over the next three to months –
including Leeds, Birmingham, Boston, London and Manchester.
The engineers will tour the country to explain how Google's privacy
tools work, and share best practices in how to keep safer online,
including two-step verification, easy ways to create stronger
passwords, and password recovery options.
Attendees will also have the opportunity to ask Google any of the
pressing questions they have always wanted to ask.
“This is the first time we’ve ever done anything like this, knowing so
many people from cities across the UK are searching for 'Am I being
hacked?', for example, shows there is a clear demand for more
information on how to stay safe online," said Ms Clemence.
"Our workshop will cover best practices directly from Google’s privacy
and security experts on how they can safeguard their passwords, update
their account settings, find a stolen device, and check where they are
sharing their data in just two minutes, from one place.”
Anyone can sign up to attend a workshop here. Google will also start
visiting schools from September onwards, and said it hopes to take the
workshops to Europe if they prove to be successful in the UK.
What information does Google hold on me?
telegraphsciencetech
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Read more from Telegraph Technology
The Big Short hits UK cinemas: these are the best films about business
The Big Short, the film adaptation of Michael Lewis' book of the same
name about the causes of the financial crisis, opens in UK cinemas this
weekend. How will the story stack up against the greatest films about
business?
Top 10 films based on video games
Hitman is one of our top 10 movies adapted from a video game
While films based on video games are notoriously rubbish, read on for
the 10 best actually worth watching, even if just for pure cringe
factor
Most important inventions of the 21st Century
iPhone became available on the O2 network in November 2007
From the Apple iPod to Google driverless cars, we run down the
technologies that have transformed our world since the start of the
21st century
Obsolete technologies that will baffle modern children: in pictures
Many children have never seen or used a video tape, camcorder or floppy
disc. Take a look at the gadgets which will puzzle younger people
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Would you buy wine from jeans maker Diesel, disposable underwear from
Bic or perfumes made by Zippo? Companies don't always get it right when
launching entirely new product ranges. These are some of the odder
attempts.
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Google Street View funny moments: man walks into a sex shop
Google Street View users have picked up some amusing images.
These are the most valuable start-ups in the world
In pics: Some fledgling firms have reached valuations in the tens of
billions. These are the 20 priciest of them all
Comments
Karen Danczuk's selfies
Selfie queen and Labour MP's wife Karen Danczuk has been spotted
shopping for some raunchy Valentine's attire. The buxom councillor -
whose husband is Labour politician Simon Danczuk - was pictured in her
native Rochdale shopping for some saucy lingerie with a friend.
In pics: Ex-councillor posts revealing photos for her 68.4k Twitter
followers
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Facebook has changed its privacy settings TODAY – here’s what you need
to know
Rob Waugh
Rob Waugh for Metro.co.ukFriday 30 Jan 2015 3:23 pm
Facebook has changed its privacy settings TODAY - here's what you need
to know
Facebook has changed its privacy settings today (Picture Facebook)
Facebook’s new, updated privacy policy goes into effect today in
Britain – and guess what, it’s not good news for anyone who values
their privacy.
There’s only one cast-iron way to ‘opt out’ of the new Terms – don’t
use Facebook.
As soon as you sign in to Facebook, you’ve accepted the new terms,
which mean Facebook will scan how you surf the internet (outside
Facebook) and which mobile apps you use, in order to ‘target’
advertising in your feed.
Scarier still, if you tell Facebook where you are (by using the Nearby
Friends feature in the app, for instance), the site will target
recommendations of local bars and restaurants to you.
Facebook announced the measures months ago, but they have only come
into force in Europe today.
If you are logged in to Facebook on your phone, or in your internet
browser, the network will automatically track sites you visit, what you
do there, and what you do within apps on your phone.
Facebook offers a link to opt out of all targeted ad-tracking schemes,
via an official site – but this relies on individual sites honouring
the agreement not to track you and thus isn’t bulletproof.
Facebook now also offers a ‘Privacy Basics‘ page to help you keep track
of the site’s privacy policies, and what adverts you see.
You can block some of this tracking using add-ons such as Adblock Plus
– but the safest thing is to stay logged out of Facebook if you want to
avoid being tracked.
MORE: ‘I have 16 arrest warrants lol': Man jailed after stupid Facebook
post
MORE: Facebook is now cited as a factor in a third of divorce cases
If you don’t, you will see adverts based on what you have done – which
could cause embarassment later if you’re logged in and people happen to
see a jarring advert.
Facebook does offer an Ad Preferences tool, which users can use to
complain about targeted adverts – but only after they’ve seen them.
You can limit this sort of ad-tracking by cleaning out your browser’s
cookies regularly, and by ensuring your privacy settings on Facebook
are set to maximum, but if you’re worried, the safest thing is to not
use Facebook.
Measures such as using a browser’s ‘Do Not Track’ button have no effect
– Facebook ignores this.
The new terms were supposed to launch on January 1, but were delayed
after user complaints, according to a report from Adblock Plus.
The new terms have been highly controversial in Germany – so the social
network has included some exemptions for German users.
Sadly for the rest of us, these only apply in Germany.
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This law student took on Facebook in privacy battle – and won
Rob Waugh
Rob Waugh for Metro.co.ukTuesday 6 Oct 2015 4:28 pm
This law student took on Facebook in privacy battle - and won
Austria’s Max Schrems listens to a ruling at the European Court of
Justice in Luxembourg (Picture Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
A law student and privacy activist has won a major legal battle against
Facebook – in what he describes as a ‘milestone in online privacy’.
The European court ruled that the ‘Safe Harbor’ agreement – which gives
US firms access including Facebook access to the online information of
millions of EU citizens – was invalid.
Facebook responded by saying it had done ‘nothing wrong’ – and the
court did not suggest that the firm had broken the law in any way.
Max Schrems, who took the case to the European court, has become a
thorn in Facebook’s side, with repeated campaigns over the social
site’s use of people’s private data.
Schrems said, ‘I very much welcome the judgement of the Court, which
will hopefully be a milestone when it comes to online privacy. This
judgement draws a clear line. It clarifies that mass surveillance
violates our fundamental rights.
‘The decision also highlights that governments and businesses cannot
simply ignore our fundamental right to privacy, but must abide by the
law and enforce it.
MORE: Facebook to launch satellite to give free internet to Africa
MORE: Facebook glitch logs man into stranger’s account – six years
later, he married her
A spokesman said: ‘This case is not about Facebook. The advocate
general (who advised the European Court of Justice) himself said that
Facebook has done nothing wrong.
‘Facebook, like many thousands of European companies, relies on a
number of the methods prescribed by EU law to legally transfer data to
the US from Europe, aside from Safe Harbour.
‘It is imperative that EU and US governments ensure that they continue
to provide reliable methods for lawful data transfers and resolve any
issues relating to national security.’
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Does Google Glass spell the end of privacy?
[mary-stringer-copy.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=40&h=40
038;crop=1]
Mary Stringer for Metro.co.ukMonday 30 Jun 2014 5:30 pm
Does Google Glass spell the end of privacy?
Google Glass is coming to the UK. Will you join the welcoming
party? (Picture: AP Photo)
Google Glass is coming to the UK, and we’re having a mixed reaction to
it. On the one hand, we’re keen to have a play with this new toy
(although we’ll probably wait until the price tag has gone down a bit).
On the other hand, mainly due to its ability to film other people,
Google Glass is pushing the big red privacy warrior button for many of
us – on both sides of the Atlantic.
In San Franscisco and other areas of the US where Google Glass has been
trialled, several places have already banned the product to assuage
customers’ fears of being filmed without their consent.
Some Glass wearers have reported being thrown out of establishments and
sometimes even attacked. Deep suspicion seems to be a strong if
not prevailing attitude towards Google Glass-wearers, an attitude which
Google has attempted to calm by releasing its guide to not being a
‘glass hole’, which essentially advises: ‘don’t film people without
their consent, and don’t be creepy’. Sound advice for all of us.
Does Google Glass spell the end of privacy?
Some places in the US have banned Google Glass (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu,
File)
An unnecessary Orwellian nightmare, or just the inevitable
latest degree of privacy infringement?
So is Google Glass the Orwellian nightmare we’re all convinced it is?
Or is it simply the new smartphone, the new pinhole camera, the latest
in any number of covert surveillance devices you can find cheaply on
the market?
We already said goodbye to privacy forever with the invention of the
handheld camera, perhaps Google Glass is just the latest version of it.
Does Google Glass spell the end of privacy?
We’re already under surveillance in so many ways; is Google Glass
really a game changer? (Picture: Jiradelta)
It’s important to acknowledge that the Glass camera itself is not
intended to be ‘covert’ – it has a recording light that switches on
when it’s recording.
However, unlike a handheld camera which is quite obvious when it’s
being pointed at you, the Google Glass could easily be overlooked as a
recording device. And it hasn’t taken long for someone to develop an
app which prevents the light turning on once recording starts – not
that you’d need fancy software to hide the light, a marker pen would
do.
A further concern is that Google has already created special
Google Glass contact lenses – surely much harder to detect, and much
easier to film people without their knowledge.
Charlie Brooker’s horrifying Black Mirror episode The Entire History of
You suddenly seems frighteningly close to reality. Although on the plus
side, the lenses could form the basis of ‘bionic eyes’ for blind
people.
What are the social implications for Glass wearers?
If you’re having a private conversation with someone, it’s part of
the unspoken social contract that the other person isn’t recording you
and is giving you their full attention.
For Glass wearers this could become problematic; while there’s
currently a lack of knowledge about the product and how it operates,
people might feel concerned about speaking with you whilst wearing it.
Additionally some Glass wearers have been accused of ‘zoning out’ –
getting lost in the screen rather than experiencing real life. So far,
so smartphone.
Privacy in 2014: a nostalgic myth
Does Google Glass spell the end of privacy?
Our privacy is already compromised in many ways, often
willingly (Picture: ferlistockphoto)
There’s no guarantee of privacy in 2014. We rely on the law and
unspoken social contracts to protect our privacy, yet any one of us
could be being monitored right this second.
Our digital footprints are as revealing as our physical activities, and
yet we’re all constantly feeding Google and Facebook our data in
exchange for information and socialising.
With the advent of social media and myriad new technologies entering
the market, we’re already being urged to abandon our private spaces and
occupy a new 24/7 ‘always-on’ visual, social realm.
We’ve been forced to accept surveillance as an unavoidable possibility
for some time now, and raging against the Glass seems almost King
Canute-ian; if Google don’t invent it, someone else will.
So has the concept of privacy itself irrevocably altered?
No – while products like Google Glass will hasten our slide into
personal publification, we’re not obliged to embrace such devices as a
way of life, and we’re still entitled to a reasonable expectation of
privacy.
The real question is, with so much more opportunity to capture and
share all information, will this entitlement be upheld?
Metro Blogs is a place for opinions. These opinions belong to the
author and are not necessarily shared by Metro.
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Facebook facing privacy lawsuit over what it does with your data
Rob Waugh
Rob Waugh for Metro.co.ukTuesday 24 Mar 2015 1:55 pm
Facebook facing privacy lawsuit over what it does with your data
A privacy case at the European Court of Justice starting today could
have a huge impact on how Facebook uses people’s private information.
As it stands, your photos and messages travel to America after they
leave your phone – and what happens there alarms privacy campaigners.
The case, brought by activist law student Max Schrems, centres around
how private data from European users is sent to the U.S. – where it
could potentially be accessed by U.S. spy agencies.
The case centres on what happens to people’s private information – such
as photos and messages – once in U.S. servers.
Revelations from former U.S. government contractor Edward Snowden
suggested that America’s National Security Agency had access to
Schrems has brought a series of actions against Facebook relating to
privacy, and has formed an advocacy group, Europe versus Facebook.
Earlier this year, a report for a European privacy watchdog found that
‘too much burden’ was placed on Facebook users who wanted to make their
posts private – and concluded that the network was breaking European
laws.
The University of Leuven researchers said, ‘ Most of Facebook’s “new”
policies and terms are simply old practices made more explicit. Our
analysis indicates, however, that Facebook is acting in violation of
European law.
‘Facebook places too much burden on its users. Users are expected to
navigate Facebook’s complex web of settings (which include “Privacy”,
“Apps”, “Adds”, “Followers”, etc.) in search of possible opt-outs.’
The social network also did not give users enough information on how
their personal data would be gathered and then used by advertisers.
The report was drawn up for Belgium’s privacy watchdog after Facebook
quietly updated its privacy policy in late January.
MORE: Facebook’s new privacy policy is ‘against the law’, watchdog
claims
MORE: New Facebook privacy settings ‘still complicated’
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3. Home Office announces new language test for migrants, spells
'language' wrong
Home Office announces new language test for migrants, spells 'language' wrong
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This is the ideal number of people to sleep with
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David Cameron
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Microsoft can’t be trusted on privacy, says ex adviser
[nicole-le-marie.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=40&h=40&
;crop=1]
Nicole Le Marie for MetroMonday 30 Sep 2013 9:46 pm
Microsoft can’t be trusted on privacy, says ex adviser
Former Microsoft privacy adviser Caspar Bowden says he no longer trusts
his former employer (Picture: Reuters)
A former Microsoft privacy adviser says he doesn’t trust the company
after revelations about online government surveillance.
Caspar Bowden, who left the software giant in 2011, said: ‘I don’t
trust Microsoft. I approached many of the European authorities with my
concerns and they shrugged.
‘Then we had Edward Snowden and ever since then I’ve been busy,’ he
said, while speaking at an event in Switzerland examining mass
surveillance.
Microsoft and other internet giants have been fighting a public
backlash after former National Security Agency contractor Mr Snowden
said they turned over user data to a US surveillance program called
Prism.
Facebook, Microsoft, Apple, Google and Yahoo! have all denied
allegations that the NSA can directly access their servers.
Mr Bowden told delegates at the Lausanne event he has stopped using
Microsoft products in favour of free, open source software and has not
owned a mobile phone for two years.
‘I didn’t know about Prism when I was at Microsoft and I don’t trust
Microsoft now. I’m completely free software now,’ he said.
He has proposed an ‘EU cloud’ and said users should be warned when they
log on to services based in the US that they may be under surveillance.
The technology giant declined to comment last night.
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Messaging service WhatsApp ‘broke privacy laws’ by storing numbers
daniella graham
Daniella Graham for Metro.co.uk and Hayden SmithTuesday 29 Jan 2013
10:24 pm
WhatsApp ‘broke privacy laws’ by storing numbers
Messaging service WhatsApp breached privacy laws by asking subscribers
for access to their contacts – and storing every phone number, an
inquiry has revealed.
Rather than deleting data belonging to non-users, everything was
uploaded and kept on the company’s servers in California.
The practice emerged following a year-long joint investigation by
Canadian and Dutch watchdogs, which said it violated ‘internationally
accepted privacy principles’.
WhatsApp said it ‘hashed’ numbers to make them anonymous but
investigators said they could still be recovered ‘with a modest amount
of computing effort’ if the database was breached.
Jacob Kohnstamm, of the Dutch Data Protection Authority, said he was
‘not completely satisfied yet’ with the inquiry. ‘Both users and
non-users should have control over their personal data and users must
be able to freely decide what contact details they wish to share with
WhatsApp,’ he added.
Only iPhone owners running iOS6 software can add contacts manually but
WhatsApp has now agreed to extend the option to other operating
systems. It has also beefed up security by encrypting messages and
improving its authentication process after investigators said bogus
messages could be sent by a third party.
The UK Information Commissioners’s Office had last night yet to
establish if there were implications under British data protection law.
WhatsApp, one of the world’s top five best-selling apps with 300million
users, had not commented.
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Home Office announces new language test for migrants, spells 'language' wrong
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Here’s why people are changing their Facebook profile to childhood pics
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'language' wrong
Home Office announces new language test for migrants, spells 'language' wrong
4. This is the ideal number of people to sleep with
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Boris Johnson: Internet privacy doesn’t exist, posting letters the way to go
in this age of cyber-snooping
[9g2a8002.jpg?crop=24px%2C31px%2C379px%2C379px&resize=150%2C150
38;quality=80&strip=all&w=40&h=40]
Kate Russell for MetroMonday 10 Jun 2013 11:26 am
Boris Johnson: Internet privacy doesn’t exist
Boris Johnson: Internet privacy doesn’t exist (Picture: PA)
Boris Johnson says it’s come as no surprise to him to discover the
internet is a ‘gigantic snooperama’.
‘What on earth did you expect?’ the mayor of London wrote in the
Telegraph as a US security services mole revealed Britain’s potential
links to a massive cyber-snooping system.
Mr Johnson decried the ‘global conspiracy’ to invade our privacy but he
said people must be naive to think that the contents of an email remain
between the sender and the recipient.
It is ‘out there, in the ether, just waiting to be hacked or lost or
stolen or accidentally blurted to your enemies’, he said.
‘That is why I have always rather assumed that any email I send should
be drafted as if for public consumption,’ added Mr Johnson who
recommends we return to the good old fashioned postal system if we
value our privacy.
‘All those who want to beat the internet snoops – just get out the old
Basildon Bond, suck the end of your biro, assemble your thoughts
carefully and do as our grandparents did.’
He said everyone is ‘understandably getting worked up’ about the
existence of Prism – a scheme allegedly set up to tap directly into the
servers of Google, Apple, Microsoft, Facebook and AOL to read the
messages of foreigners suspected of terrorism or espionage.
But he said he also had sympathy with our security services ‘and their
very powerful need to use the internet to catch the bad guys’.
He said what we ideally need is a British Google ‘that cracks the
freedom vs security conundrum’ and called on computer wizards to create
an internet provider ‘that somehow roots out the terrorists and the
child molesters, and yet allows the blameless punter to send an email
in complete security’.
No regrets: 29-year-old Edward Snowden (Picture: Guardian)
No regrets: 29-year-old Edward Snowden (Picture: Guardian)
The source of the intelligence leaks has come forward to identify
himself as a 29-year-old ex-CIA employee.
Edward Snowden, 29, told the Guardian, which published the so-called
National Security Agency files, from a hotel room in Hong Kong that he
had ‘no regrets’ over his decision, although he admits he ‘does not
expect to see home again’.
Google has denied that is has allowed either the US or Britain to
access to its servers through Prism.
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A student is suing Facebook over privacy and hopes its one billion users will
join him
[jimmy-nsubuga.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=40&h=40&c
rop=1]
Jimmy Nsubuga for Metro.co.ukSaturday 2 Aug 2014 6:53 pm
A student is suing Facebook over privacy and hopes you will join him
Max Schrems is hoping you will join him in suing Facebook (Picture: PA)
A law student has decided to sue Facebook over privacy rights and has
invited its one billion users to join him.
Austrian Max Schrems was claiming 500 euro (£397) damages for everyone
who signed up to his campaign through fbclaim.com.
The lawsuit could be the biggest ever taken in Europe depending on how
many people register.
Max Schrems You can join the lawsuit through fbclaim.com (Picture: PA)
The 26-year-old was unhappy the internet giant allegedly violated data
protection by tracking internet use on external sites, including the
use of ‘like’ buttons.
Mr Schrems also claimed Facebook supported the US Prism surveillance
programme, which was exposed by whistleblower Edward Snowden.
‘We are only claiming a small amount, as our primary objective is to
ensure correct data protection,’ he said.
‘However, if many thousands of people participate we would reach an
amount that will have a serious impact on Facebook.’
The lawsuit was being taken in the Commercial Court in Vienna against
the Irish subsidiary of the New York-listed web giant.
Facebook has so far declined to comment.
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Take Google to task over internet privacy breaches, Britons urge
[aidan-radnedge.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=40&h=40&
crop=1]
Aidan Radnedge for Metro.co.ukMonday 24 Jun 2013 1:41 am
Take Google to task over internet privacy breaches
Google in the firing line over privacy breaches (Picture: EPA)
Google should face tougher penalties if it keeps infringing internet
privacy and on rules on personal data use, a poll of users has
revealed.
While 79 per cent of all those logging on are worried about their
online privacy, more than two fifths believe they are being ‘harmed’ by
multinationals such as Google collecting masses of personal data for
their own ‘internal’ use.
Nick Pickles, director of Big Brother Watch, which commissioned the
survey, said: ‘The widespread support for EU regulators to do more to
ensure Google complies with existing privacy regulations highlights how
people want to see real, concrete action taken to protect their
privacy.
‘Online privacy is a global issue of real importance to people and the
overwhelming message is that citizens do not feel their authorities are
doing enough to stop the desire of large companies to collect vast
amounts of data on them.’
Mr Pickles highlighted Germany as a fine example to follow after the
government there took ‘strong legal action’ against companies who do
not respect people’s privacy.
He added: ‘The fact many of the highest-profile privacy lawsuits have
been tackled first there and data protection law is vigorously enforced
clearly contributes to citizens feeling their rights are being
defended.
‘Sadly, around the rest of the world, it is clear people do not have
this confidence and want more done to rein in companies like Google.’
Although about 68 per cent of Britons said they feared for their
privacy, 94 per cent of Indian web users saw it as a great concern, the
research by ComRes revealed.
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Anonymous hackers attack data protection watchdog’s site
[tariq-tahir.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=40&h=40&cro
p=1]
Tariq Tahir for MetroTuesday 15 May 2012 6:56 pm
Hackers have blocked access to the website of the data protection
watchdog, it has been revealed.
Anonymous hackers attack data protection watchdog’s site
Anonymous hackers are being blamed for the attack
Members of the Anonymous group are being blamed for the attack on the
Information Commissioner’s Office site, which has restricted its online
service for several days.
An ICO spokesman said: ‘Access to the ICO website has been disrupted
over the past few days.
‘We believe this is due to a distributed denial of service attack.
‘The website itself has not been damaged, but people have been unable
to access it. We provide a public-facing website which contains no
sensitive information.’
The website of the Leveson Inquiry into media ethics also suffered
access problems but a spokesman said they did not appear to have been
caused by hacking but by a problem with the internal server.
Anonymous first emerged as supporters of the whistle-blowing website
WikiLeaks after it released embarrassing US diplomatic cables.
It has carried on its activities against organisations it sees as
censoring the internet.
Earlier this month, Virgin Media was put offline by hackers claiming to
be from Anonymous in response to its blocking of file-sharing website
The Pirate Bay.
More
* [sl-car-texts.jpg?crop=0px%2C0px%2C899px%2C675px&resize=480%2C
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Threatening car tells its driver, ' I will s**t fury all over you and you
will drown in it'
* [comp_snapchat.jpg?crop=68px%2C0px%2C1066px%2C799px&resize=480
%2C360&quality=80&strip=all&w=100&h=75]
Student sets up freshers' Snapchat, is quickly flooded with nudes
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* [czvetq2wqaekozz.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=100&h=75
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We can all respect this woman's devotion to proper grammar
* [ad_193883569.jpg?crop=0px%2C5px%2C2500px%2C1875px&resize=480%
2C360&quality=80&strip=all&w=100&h=75]
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'language' wrong
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4. This is the ideal number of people to sleep with
This is the ideal number of people to sleep with
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David Cameron
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Two charged over BNP data protection leak
Default author image
metrowebukmetroFriday 21 Aug 2009 1:49 pm
Two people have been charged under the Data Protection Act after a
British National Party membership list was leaked onto the internet,
police said today.
Dyfed-Powys Police said the two people were arrested as part of a joint
investigation with the Information Commissioner’s Office.
They are due to appear in Nottingham Magistrates Court on September 1.
The far-right BNP called for a police investigation last November after
the names, addresses and contact details of some 10,000 of its members
were published online.
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* [459643778.jpg?crop=193px%2C0px%2C3023px%2C2266px&resize=480%2
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* [comp-death1.jpg?crop=68px%2C0px%2C1066px%2C799px&resize=480%2
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Cameron
* [image-119.jpg?crop=156px%2C0px%2C480px%2C360px&resize=480%2C3
60&quality=80&strip=all&w=100&h=75]
Here’s why people are changing their Facebook profile to childhood pics
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So someone wrote an erotic novel all about Donald Trump
* [ad_193988687.jpg?crop=0px%2C0px%2C510px%2C383px&resize=480%2C
360&quality=80&strip=all&w=100&h=75]
Yes, that is a man clinging to a bus so he doesn't have to buy a ticket
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3. Home Office announces new language test for migrants, spells
'language' wrong
Home Office announces new language test for migrants, spells 'language' wrong
4. This is the ideal number of people to sleep with
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David Cameron
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Google celebrates as ‘right to be forgotten’ dismissed by European Court
of Justice
[fred-attewill.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=40&h=40&c
rop=1]
Fred AttewillTuesday 25 Jun 2013 10:05 pm
Google celebrates as ‘right to be forgotten’ dismissed
Google has hailed the landmark court as a victory for free speech
(Picture: PA)
Google cannot be forced to remove sensitive personal data from its
search results, a senior adviser to the European Court of Justice has
said.
Internet users have no general ‘right to be forgotten’ and search
engines are not responsible for personal data appearing on the web, the
advocate general stated.
Instead, it is websites themselves which bear responsibility for the
information they publish, according to a ‘legal opinion’ in a case that
tests whether people should be able to erase potentially harmful
content from its search results.
In a statement on Niilo Jääskinen’s verdict, the court said that while
internet companies must always abide by national data protection laws,
they were not obliged to remove personal content which has been
produced by third parties.
‘Search engine service providers are not responsible, on the basis of
the data protection directive, for personal data appearing on web pages
they process,’ it said.
The case comes after a Spanish man complained to Google in 2010 that a
search for his name produced a 12-year-old national newspaper
announcement about the auction of his home after it was repossessed.
After the Spanish data protection agency ordered Google to ensure the
information did not come up in results, the internet giant launched a
legal challenge.
Google has hailed Mr Jääskinen’s opinion. The company’s head of free
expression in Europe, Bill Echikson, said: ‘We’re glad to see it
supports our long-held view that requiring search engines to suppress
legitimate and legal information would amount to censorship.’
A final judgment on the case is expected by the end of the year,
although the ECJ is not bound by Mr Jääskinen’s decision.
More
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360&quality=80&strip=all&w=100&h=75]
Threatening car tells its driver, ' I will s**t fury all over you and you
will drown in it'
* [comp_snapchat.jpg?crop=68px%2C0px%2C1066px%2C799px&resize=480
%2C360&quality=80&strip=all&w=100&h=75]
Student sets up freshers' Snapchat, is quickly flooded with nudes
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* [czvetq2wqaekozz.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=100&h=75
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We can all respect this woman's devotion to proper grammar
* [ad_193883569.jpg?crop=0px%2C5px%2C2500px%2C1875px&resize=480%
2C360&quality=80&strip=all&w=100&h=75]
This is the red trigger that launches Britain's nuclear weapons
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3. Home Office announces new language test for migrants, spells
'language' wrong
Home Office announces new language test for migrants, spells 'language' wrong
4. This is the ideal number of people to sleep with
This is the ideal number of people to sleep with
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David Cameron
Bedroom Tax claims another victim as mum found hanged with note to David
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Facebook and Google could face court action over private data
Default author image
metrowebukmetroThursday 17 Mar 2011 10:09 am
Social networking sites and search engines such as
Facebook and
Google have been told they face court action if they do not allow users
to remove all data about themselves.
Facebook and Google could face court action over private data
Sites like Facebook and Google could face court action if they don’t
allow users to permanently remove all their personal data (Picture:
Getty)
Internet users should have the ‘right to be forgotten’, to stop
prospective employers finding a naked picture of them, for example,
Europe’s top legal officer said.
Justice commissioner Viviane Reding said there must be an overhaul of
the EU’s 16-year-old laws on data protection to enforce safeguards on
how personal information is used.
With many of the companies based in the US or holding data on servers
there, she said agencies watching over privacy issues in EU countries
should be given more powers to enforce compliance outside Europe.
‘I want to explicitly clarify that people shall have the right – and
not only the possibility – to withdraw their consent to data
processing,’ Ms Reding said.
‘Any company operating in the EU market or any online product targeted
at EU consumers must comply with EU rules.
‘To enforce EU law, national privacy watchdogs shall be endowed with
powers to investigate and engage in legal action against non-EU data
controllers.’
Sam Hamilton of privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch said: ‘While
we believe in self-regulation as the best option, it must be an
absolute right of individuals to be forgotten.’
Privacy concerns led to tensions with Washington last year after the
MEPs vetoed a deal struck with the European Commission on sharing bank
transfer data with counter-terrorism investigators from the US. The
deal was renegotiated.
More
* [sl-car-texts.jpg?crop=0px%2C0px%2C899px%2C675px&resize=480%2C
360&quality=80&strip=all&w=100&h=75]
Threatening car tells its driver, ' I will s**t fury all over you and you
will drown in it'
* [comp_snapchat.jpg?crop=68px%2C0px%2C1066px%2C799px&resize=480
%2C360&quality=80&strip=all&w=100&h=75]
Student sets up freshers' Snapchat, is quickly flooded with nudes
* [iphone1.jpg?crop=30px%2C0px%2C1067px%2C799px&resize=480%2C360
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* [1233.png?w=100&h=75&crop=1]
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* [czvetq2wqaekozz.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=100&h=75
&crop=1]
We can all respect this woman's devotion to proper grammar
* [ad_193883569.jpg?crop=0px%2C5px%2C2500px%2C1875px&resize=480%
2C360&quality=80&strip=all&w=100&h=75]
This is the red trigger that launches Britain's nuclear weapons
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3. Home Office announces new language test for migrants, spells
'language' wrong
Home Office announces new language test for migrants, spells 'language' wrong
4. This is the ideal number of people to sleep with
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5. Bedroom Tax claims another victim as mum found hanged with note to
David Cameron
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Facebook battles 600,000 hacker attacks a day
[icon-news-2.png?w=40&h=40&crop=1]
Metro Web Reporter for Metro.co.ukSaturday 29 Oct 2011 8:11 pm
Facebook accounts are subject to 600,000 attempted hacks every single
day.
That is the staggering figure released by the social media giant, which
says there are regular and sustained efforts by cyber criminals to gain
access to user accounts.
Facebook battles 600,000 hacker attacks a day
Facebook fights off 600,000 attacks a day (PA) Facebook fights off
600,000 attacks a day (PA)
While the figure is a drop in the ocean when it comes to Facebook usage
â estimated to account for 700 billion minutes per month worldwide
â the news is a rare acknowledgement of the potential vulnerability
of the system when it comes to hackers.
Facebook revealed the details in an official blog post, adding that it
was continuing to plough resources into ensuring the hackers remained
at bay.
‘Security and safety are at the core of Facebook,’ the blog post read.
‘We have entire teams dedicated to building tools that give people even
more control over their account and specifically the way they access
their information.’
Facebook said it was making a concerted effort to do more to educate
people about ways they can ensure their online security is not
comprised, to coincide with National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and
would continue to be vigilant in its efforts.
Less than four per cent of content shared on Facebook is spam, although
the scale and inter-connected nature of the social media site has made
it an attractive target for hackers and other pushing malware.
More
* [sl-car-texts.jpg?crop=0px%2C0px%2C899px%2C675px&resize=480%2C
360&quality=80&strip=all&w=100&h=75]
Threatening car tells its driver, ' I will s**t fury all over you and you
will drown in it'
* [comp_snapchat.jpg?crop=68px%2C0px%2C1066px%2C799px&resize=480
%2C360&quality=80&strip=all&w=100&h=75]
Student sets up freshers' Snapchat, is quickly flooded with nudes
* [iphone1.jpg?crop=30px%2C0px%2C1067px%2C799px&resize=480%2C360
&quality=80&strip=all&w=100&h=75]
iPhone 7 leaks: Is this what the new handset will look like?
* [1233.png?w=100&h=75&crop=1]
World's 'most wanted man' found working at Subway metres from police station
* [czvetq2wqaekozz.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=100&h=75
&crop=1]
We can all respect this woman's devotion to proper grammar
* [ad_193883569.jpg?crop=0px%2C5px%2C2500px%2C1875px&resize=480%
2C360&quality=80&strip=all&w=100&h=75]
This is the red trigger that launches Britain's nuclear weapons
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3. Home Office announces new language test for migrants, spells
'language' wrong
Home Office announces new language test for migrants, spells 'language' wrong
4. This is the ideal number of people to sleep with
This is the ideal number of people to sleep with
5. Bedroom Tax claims another victim as mum found hanged with note to
David Cameron
Bedroom Tax claims another victim as mum found hanged with note to David
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Cambridge student Jonathan Millican crowned UK Cyber Security Champion
[icon-news-2.png?w=40&h=40&crop=1]
Metro Web Reporter for Metro.co.ukMonday 12 Mar 2012 5:35 pm
Cambridge student Jonathan Millican has been named the UK’s Cyber
Security Champion after completing a number of gruelling challenges.
The 19-year-old beat off tough competition from other budding computer
security experts in the Cyber Security UK Challenge in a series of
role-playing scenarios to be crowned winner.
Cambridge student Jonathan Millican crowned UK Cyber Security Champion
Jonathan Millican beat other cyber security experts to be crowned
champion Jonathan Millican beat other cyber security experts to be
crowned champion
As cyber security becomes a bigger concern for both businesses and
households, a number of leading computing organisations sponsored the
event together in an effort to ensure they are at the cutting edge of
defence technology.
In the final on Saturday, competitors went head-to-head in a number of
role-playing challenges where they had to advise businesses of the best
ways to protect themselves from cyber threats.
Jonathan Hoyle, director general for cyber security at UK Government
Communications Headquarters, commented: ‘It is through initiatives such
as this that organisations ⦠can continue to develop and maintain our
leading edge in cyberspace by being able to recruit the right people
with the right skills.’
The need to invest in such cyber security initiatives is becoming
ever-clearer, with five hackers last week being arrested by the FBI.
Sabu, who turned informant following his own arrest, and his group,
orchestrated several major hacking incidents, including the Stratfor
incident which led to the details of 221 British military officials and
242 Nato staff being exposed.
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Employees ‘clueless on cyber security’
Default author image
Sam Smith for Metro.co.ukFriday 10 May 2013 12:01 am
Employees ‘clueless on cyber security’
On the rise? Cyber crime is in the spotlight (Picture: Reuters)
Not sure if you should download that image that has been emailed to you
from the bloke in accounts?
You’re not alone, most staff have no idea if they are taking a risk
with office security.
Half of employees never consider security when they upload or download
data to their office PC or company smartphone, according to a survey.
And 40 per cent of employees said they did not know about their
company’s security policy when using their phone.
Many never consider the threat of cyber crime and are unfamiliar with
company policies to protect their data, the poll of 1,200 officer
workers found.
Roy Dungworth, of IT staffing provider Modis, which carried out the
survey, said: ‘The rise of flexible working and cloud computing has
created a multitude of points at which cyber criminals can access a
company’s data.
‘With cyber security such a high profile issue, employers are now aware
of the risks, but few realise that their own employees are their
greatest vulnerability.’
Graeme Batsman, security director cyber security company EncSec, said
better training was the answer.
More
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Warning over surveillance society
Default author image
metrowebukmetroThursday 2 Nov 2006 3:15 am
Warning over surveillance society Two CCTV cameras.
The UK is becoming a “surveillance society” where technology is used to
track people’s lives, a report has warned.
CCTV, analysis of buying habits and recording travel movements are
among the techniques already used, and the Report on the Surveillance
Society predicts surveillance will further increase over the next
decade.
Information Commissioner Richard Thomas – who commissioned the report –
warned that excessive surveillance could create a “climate of
suspicion”.
Current techniques include surveillance of international travel,
consumer spending, internet use and mobile phones.
Some of this benefits the typical UK family, but in other cases it is
“personally threatening” and has wider consequences, the report warns.
It says surveillance can lead to the loss of individuals’ anonymity and
privacy in different spheres of their lives.
In the future, shoppers may be scanned as they enter stores, schools
could bring in cards allowing parents to monitor what their children
eat and jobs may be refused to applicants who are seen as a health
risk.
Mr Thomas has called for a public debate on the future of surveillance,
warning: “Today I fear that we are in fact waking up to a surveillance
society that is already all around us.”
Mr Thomas said surveillance could help fight terrorism and crime and
improve access to public services.
But he added: “As ever more information is collected, shared and used
it intrudes into our private space and leads to decisions which
directly influence people’s lives.”
More
Richard Thomas
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How much can the government now spy on your internet activity?
[harry-readhead.jpg?crop=0px%2C11px%2C150px%2C150px&resize=150%2C1
50&quality=80&strip=all&w=40&h=40]
Harry Readhead for Metro.co.uk and Alex Hudson for Metro.co.ukWednesday
4 Nov 2015 10:10 am
How much can the government now spy on your internet activity?
(Picture: Getty)
Home Secretary Theresa May has has revealed the details of the Draft
Investigatory Powers Bill.
She has said some websites have become ‘safe havens’ for criminals and
has long called for new laws which give police and security services
the power to access online communication information.
‘The threat is clear,’ she told Parliament.
‘In the last year alone, six terrorist plots have been stopped in the
UK.’
The proposed changes are found in the Investigatory Powers Bill, and
this is what you need to know.
What is the Investigatory Powers Bill?
For use in UK, Ireland or Benelux countries only Undated BBC handout
photo of Home Secretary Theresa May appearing on BBC One's Andrew Marr
Show. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday November 1, 2015. See
PA story POLITICS Spying. Photo credit should read: Jeff Overs/BBC/PA
Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: Not for use more than 21 days after issue. You
may use this picture without charge only for the purpose of publicising
or reporting on current BBC programming, personnel or other BBC output
or activity within 21 days of issue. Any use after that time MUST be
cleared through BBC Picture Publicity. Please credit the image to the
BBC and any named photographer or independent programme maker, as
described in the caption.
(Picture: PA Wire)
The Bill seeks to collate all the new rules concerning government
surveillance powers under a single law.
At present, we have a selection of different laws filled with holes.
Edward Snowden revealed, for instance, that GCHQ, the British
intelligence and security body, was collecting and storing far more
data than the public knew.
It’s long. It’s 299 pages in total (you can scroll through it if you’d
like).
It is firmly focuses on mobile and digital communications as the law on
the specific boundaries for phone surveillance has been much more
clearly defined:
‘It cannot be right that today the police could find an abducted child
if the suspects were using mobile phones to co-ordinate their crime,
but if they were using social media or communications apps then they
would be out of reach,’ Mrs May told Parliament.
‘Such an approach defies all logic and ignores the realities of today’s
digital age.’
It includes specifics about how much of your data can be requested by
security services, how long it can be stored for and what rights
security services have to know what you’re up to.
It also includes more public proposals about how the state can hack
digital devices and sweep up large amounts of data (‘bulk data’, they
call it) as it travels across the internet after whisteblower Edward
Snowden made a lot of these activities, not previously in public law, a
lot more public.
How will it affect me?
Silhouette of male hand typing on laptop keyboard at night
Internet firms will hold customer data for 12 months under the new law
(Picture: Getty Images)
There have been lots of rumours doing the rounds: Encryption would be
banned, entire web histories would be recorded and everyone from
councils to police would get access.
‘Some have characterised this power as law enforcement having access to
people’s full browsing history,’ Mrs May told the House of Commons.
‘Let me be clear, this is simply wrong. An internet connection record
is a record of the communication service that a person has used, not a
record of every web page they have accessed.
‘So if someone has visited a social media website, an internet
connection record will only show that they accessed that site, not the
particular page they looked at, who they communicated with or what they
said. It is the modern equivalent of an itemised phone bill.
What can they ask for?
Is my internet history public? Security services can see some sites you
visit but not what pages you view within them. It can only be accessed
by police or security services. It is unclear just how much of your
internet history will be recorded, only that it would be tricky for
security services to access it
Can I encrypt my data? Yes but it is unclear whether companies will
have to hand that data to authorities on request
My text messages/Whatsapp/Messenger/emails: There will be records of
who you talked to but not any further details of your communication
(Theresa May compares it to an itemised phone bill)
How long will all this be kept for? A year
How much will all this extra surveillance cost? An extra £25m a year,
the draft Bill estimates
What about this ‘bulk data’ thing? That’s tricky to explain as the
government has recorded this for a while but is only making what those
powers are more public today. It is a very long document. Broadly, it
means that with suspicion, they can request further powers to delve
deeper into communications
‘Authorities will not be able to make a request for determining whether
someone has visited a mental health site, a medical website or even a
news site. [It is only] a communication website, an illegal website or
to resolve an IP address where it is necessary and proportionate to do
so.’
The Government has said that it will take no steps to prevent companies
encrypting messages, though the extent to that is carried throughout
the bill has yet to be confirmed.
The Bill will also make public existing powers that were previously
secret, mainly surrounding the powers available for the security
agencies to access and store secure data in bulk.
How much is it like the 2014 draft Communications Bill?
(Picture: Getty Images)
(Picture: Getty Images)
Called the Snoopers’ Charter (the first time around), one of the
sections of the 2014 act deemed illegal was the requirement that
communications companies must collect all customer data and store it
for 12 months.
Judges said the act failed to give ‘clear and precise rules to ensure
data is only accessed for the purpose of preventing and detecting
serious offence’ and the access was not authorised by ‘a court or
independent body’.
Nevertheless, the Government’s draft Investigatory Powers Bill includes
the requirement that internet firms store details of people’s online
activity for 12 months.
Home Secretary Theresa May has said the more ‘contentious’ elements of
the draft bill have been dropped, however. Security service won’t be
able to look through your browsing history, for instance, but they will
be able to access the domains you visited and when you visited them.
MORE: People are petitioning to stop Phil Collins returning to music
They’ll also likely have the power to see who you have texted and
emailed though not the contents of your correspondence.
The bill will also say companies must turn over encrypted data if asked
by security agencies.
When was the last time we introduced new surveillance laws?
The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act was passed in 2000 and given
the rate of digital growth since that point, the legislation is now
very much behind the times. In 2013, the Liberal Democrats defeated the
Conservative-drafted Digital Communications Bill, or ‘Snoopers’
Charter’.
A year later, the emergency Data Regulation and Investigatory Powers
Act was passed, but its first two sections were ruled to be
inconsistent with EU law by the High Court less than a year later. The
High Court gave the Government until March 2016 to devise replacement
legislation.
MORE: Starbucks barista ‘comes on to customer with creepy message on
cup’
When will it be law?
The Home Office has published the Investigatory Powers Bill in the
House of Commons and it will be examined in detail by both Houses of
Parliament before a final vote next year.
What does the opposition think?
Shadow Home Secretary Andy Burnham broadly welcomed the bill. Lib Dem
MP and former leader Nick Clegg said he welcomed some of the draft Bill
but worries that ‘under the hood’, more things could be found that
cause concern.
Why are judges relevant?
Authorisation of these privacy violations has become a key point of
discussion. Will the power remain with government ministers or will
judges assess each case? Civil liberties groups say giving judges the
power reduces the chance of corruption and adds a third safeguard to
the process.
MORE: Police arrest fourth suspect, 16, following TalkTalk hack
More
British GovernmentTheresa May
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Big Brother is watching: Department for Transport and 27 councils spend
£3.9million to snoop on you
Default author image
John CorneySunday 17 Mar 2013 11:52 am
Public bodies pay £3.9m to snoop on you
On the warpath: Communities sectary Eric Pickles says council flouting
surveillance laws should face justice (Picture: PA)
The Department for Transport (DfT) and 27 councils in England and Wales
have paid private investigators to spy on their behalf, new research
claims.
More than £3.9million was spent by public bodies in two years,
according to civil liberties and privacy campaigners Big Brother Watch
(BBW).
In total 29 organisations – 27 councils, a government department, the
DfT, and one public authority – paid private security firms to
undertake work using powers under the Regulatory of Investigative
Powers Act (Ripa)
In recent years, there has been a crakdown on surveillance work by
public bodies, who need to obtain a magistrate’s warrant to carry out
such investigations.
But BBW fears some organisations may be side-stepping those
restrictions by sub-contracting surveillance work to private security
firms.
Using a Freedom of Information request to track public organisation’s
use of private security firms between 2010 and 2012, BBW revealed 14
organisations paid for surveillance not covered by Ripa – meaning they
potentially commissioned illegal activities.
CCTV camera
Public bodies are spending millions on ‘spying’ (Picture: PA)
The report also revealed four councils – Caerphilly, Dudley,
Leicestershire and York – used a private detective to snoop on staff,
while most of the £3.9million was used on one contract for Fishery
Patrol flights.
BBW director Nick Pickles said: ‘This research has uncovered cases
where it looks like the law has not been followed. It’s essential these
cases are urgently investigated.
‘Unlike the US, British law isn’t strong enough to stop evidence
obtained by illegal surveillance being used in court and the
punishments for people deliberately flouting the law are trivial.
‘The law is at breaking point and public bodies shouldn’t be able to
dodge the legal checks on them by using private investigators,’ he
added.
The BBW wants Ripa to be reformed to protect against unauthorised
surveillance by third parties and make it ‘fit for purpose’.
It also wants the licensing system for private investigators to be
strengthened and has recommended that the Police and Criminal Evidence
Act should be revised to stop unauthorised surveillance being used as
evidence in court cases.
The government’s communities secretary, Eric Pickles, said councils who
have flouted the law should face justice.
He added: ‘Such powers can only be used for serious crimes, and require
a magistrates’ warrant. It is totally unacceptable if councils are
trying to sidestep these important new checks.’
The DfT said it was sometimes necessary to use private investigators to
investigate fraud.
A DfT spokeswoman added: ‘The department and its executive agencies
take potential fraud very seriously… for example,the Highways Agency
and the Driving Standards Agency have commissioned private
investigators in cases of driving test fraud and potentially fraudulent
personal injury claims.’
More
Eric Pickles
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There’s a cyber arms security race and we should all be afraid
Richard Hartley-Parkinson
Richard Hartley-Parkinson for Metro.co.ukMonday 26 Oct 2015 7:00 am
There's a cyber arms security race and we should all be afraid
map.norsecorp.com
The chief executive of TalkTalk has warned of a ‘cyber security arms
race’ threatening all UK companies as she revealed she called in
defence experts over the hack of its website.
Dido Harding said she contacted BAE Systems, which supplies cyber
security to government agencies, following the attack which saw swathes
of customers’ data stolen.
She also warned any company in the UK could be vulnerable and said she
still was unsure how many customers had been affected.
Police are investigating Wednesday’s attack, which TalkTalk said had
affected its website rather than its ‘core systems’.
MORE: TalkTalk set to face ‘£75 million losses’ after devastating cyber
attack
MORE: TalkTalk boss receives email from ‘cyberattackers’ demanding
ransom
Dido Harding CEO of Talk Talk.nnCITY - PETER CAMPBELL INTERVIEW -
Dido Harding says TalkTalk has contacted BAE systems after a major
cyber attack on the company
Baroness Harding told the Times: ‘This is a sort of cyber security arms
race. Criminals are learning how to do things. One of the first calls I
made on Wednesday was to BAE.’
The company has claimed data stolen in the attack would not allow
criminals to plunder customers’ bank accounts, as complete credit card
details were not stored in its system and account passwords were not
accessed.
The peer also told the Daily Telegraph: ‘Do I wish I had done more? Of
course I do. But would that have made a difference? If I’m honest I
don’t know.
‘This is happening to a huge number of organisations all the time. The
awful truth is that every company, every organisation in the UK needs
to spend more money and put more focus on cyber security – it’s the
crime of our era.’
People walk past a company logo outside a TalkTalk building in London,
Britain October 23, 2015. Britain's TalkTalk said a "significant and
sustained" cyber attack on its website could involve the theft of
private data from all of the broadband supplier's more than 4 million
customers. "Investigation is ongoing but unfortunately there is a
chance that some of the following data has been compromised: names,
addresses, date of birth, phone numbers, email addresses, TalkTalk
account information, credit card details and/or bank details," the
company said in a statement late on Thursday. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth
(Picture: Reuters)
Scotland Yard is investigating alongside the National Crime Agency
(NCA) but no arrests have been made.
Officers are investigating a ransom demand sent to the telecoms giant
following the attack by someone claiming to be responsible and seeking
payment. The firm said it was not sure if the message was genuine.
The latest breach is the third in a spate of cyber attacks affecting
TalkTalk in the last eight months, with breaches in August and February
also resulting in customers’ data being stolen.
More
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In the new age of surveillance, George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four is more
relevant than ever
Default author image
Samuel ConnMonday 14 Jul 2014 6:00 am
In the new age of surveillance, George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four is
more relevant than ever
Big Brother is watching… A telescreen in the film version of Nineteen
Eighty-Four (Picture: File)
Big Brother, the Thought Police, Room 101, newspeak.
Even if you haven’t read the book, chances are you’ve heard at least
one of these phrases, because elements of the nightmarish vision evoked
in George Orwell’s novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four, are entrenched in the
fabric of our language and culture.
It is unusual for a week to go past without some situation being
described as ‘Orwellian’, while Big Brother and Room 101 are titles of
long-running TV shows.
And only last week the issue of surveillance famously explored in
Nineteen Eighty-Four surfaced again as emergency powers to allow police
and security services to continue monitoring phone and internet records
were rushed through parliament.
When the novel was published in the late 1940s, the year Orwell chose
for the dystopian society inhabited by protagonist Winston Smith was
still 35 years off.
But three decades on from the fictional future the writer constructed,
how much of the world imagined in the book do we see reflected today?
Privacy campaigners argue there are strong echoes of aspects of the
novel in modern society. Emma Carr, acting director of Big Brother
Watch, said: ‘Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four was supposed to be a
warning, not a guidebook on how to create a surveillance state. Yet, it
is remarkable how many tools that were used to suppress in Nineteen
Eighty–Four are now part of the everyday surveillance regime in 2014.’
The novel is commonly cited in debates about modern surveillance
techniques. In the book, telescreens allow Big Brother to keep subjects
under constant watch and the concept of citizens being spied on by
officialdom is a hugely controversial issue today.
Britain’s CCTV network is one of the largest in the world, while leaked
National Security Agency (NSA) files shone a light on the extent of
surveillance of online activity. Sales of the novel spiked in the light
of the Edward Snowden revelations last year.
Professor Richard Keeble, chairman of the Orwell Society, said the
writer’s vision of surveillance was ‘hugely prescient’.
He added: ‘The disclosures by Edward Snowden suggest that surveillance
is going on to an extraordinary degree today.’
American journalist and lecturer Lewis Beale, who last year wrote an
article titled ‘We’re Living Nineteen Eighty-Four Today’, described the
NSA’s ability to monitor the public’s phone calls and internet use as
‘positively terrifying in its scope’.
Jim Edwards, of the Business Insider website, said today’s technology
is even more efficient for surveillance purposes than telescreens.
‘Mobile phones and computers do a much better job of tracking our real
interests and unspoken desires than a fixed telescreen in a living
room, which can only listen to you when you’re in the same room,’ he
said.
Other features of the novel likened to life today include:
– Endless wars – The action of Nineteen Eighty-Four against a backdrop
of of perpetual war between the three super-states Oceania, Eurasia and
Eastasia. Prof Keeble said there were parallels between the West’s
long-running ‘war on terror’. He said: ‘A constant war is what we are
living in today.’
– Newspeak – In the novel the official language of Oceania is a pared
down version of English used as a mechanism of control. The aim may not
be as damaging but the use by organisations of inscrutable jargon is a
feature of life today. The Centre for Policy Studies has produced a
lexicon of ‘contemporary newspeak’ such as ‘blue-sky thinking’ and ‘key
performance indicators’.
The Centre’s Lewis Brown said: ‘Newspeak is not just limited to
Orwell’s Oceania but frequently serves to obfuscate details of more
complex ideas in the real world. ‘Political parties are often guilty;
with slogans like “too far, too fast”, “cost of living crisis”, and
“the global race”, they aim to convey broad party beliefs to voters
while avoiding a nuanced debate. ‘That might be what works in this era
of soundbites and hashtags, but we risk losing an understanding of
important topics in favour of generic “Ministry of Truth” rhetoric.’
– Censorship – In Orwell’s novel the Ministry of Truth controls the
dissemination of information to the public by doctoring photographs and
rewriting public archives. Revisionism has made headlines recently in
the furore over ‘right to be forgotten’ legislation that allows people
to apply to have information removed from Google.
It has been likened to the ‘memory holes’ used in the book to destroy
documents. Mr Edwards said: ‘The right to be forgotten, in a way, turns
everyone into Big Brother. Under this EU ruling, anyone with a desire
can suddenly make ancient history all but invisible. It’s not quite the
same of course – it only applies to Google and the underlying published
sites don’t disappear. ‘
– Torture – Winston Smith is subjected to torture in Room 101. Prof
Keeble said: ‘Torture has become very much part of western politics. I
think to that extent it [the novel] is prescient.’
– Thought Police – Some drew comparisons between the idea of thought
crime explored in the novel and the prosecution in 2007 of Samina
Malik, known as the ‘lyrical terrorist’ after she wrote extremist
poetry. She was later cleared on appeal.
****
1407-george-orwell
There is one major element of life in 2014 that Orwell, who died in
1950, could never have foreseen, Prof Keeble said.
‘He couldn’t possibly have anticipated the extent to which the internet
has embraced all of our lives. It was predicted by no one.’
Dr Adam Stock, an Orwell scholar at Newcastle University, said the
trend of looking for evidence today of the novel’s ‘predictions’ was
not the most significant part of its enduring appeal. He said: ‘We do
look to find similarities between, say, CCTV and telescreens, or
Snowden’s revelations and the mass data collection of Oceania, but
these can never be exact matches.
‘The important question to ask ourselves is therefore why do we still
look for these comparisons in a 65 year-old book, set in a future
that’s now 30 years in our past?
‘The answer is partly that Nineteen Eighty-Four is a vividly written,
memorable novel telling a now familiar story. But I think it’s also
partly because of a widely felt sense that there are important things
which are wrong with our world, and many of the things that feel wrong
are important themes in the novel.’
More
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The government could soon be able to access everyone’s browsing history
[ashitha-nagesh-e1442239358900.jpg?crop=20px%2C0px%2C509px%2C509px&
;resize=150%2C150&quality=80&strip=all&w=40&h=40]
Ashitha Nagesh for Metro.co.ukFriday 30 Oct 2015 11:42 am
The government could soon be able to see everyone's browsing history
(Picture: Getty Images/Metro)
Continuing its Big Brother impersonation, the government is proposing a
bill to allow them to access the internet history of everyone in the
country.
Communications companies would be legally required to retain all of
their customers’ browsing histories for 12 months, in case the police
or security agencies want to access them.
Senior police officers have been lobbying the government to force
companies to retain the data, so they can seize all the details of a
website visited, or any searches made, by anyone in the UK.
The new bill will be announced by Theresa May next Wednesday in the
House of Commons.
The government and security forces want to revive measures that were
set out in the shelved Communications Data Bill – aka the snooper’s
charter.
It was blocked by the Lib Dems during the coalition government because
it was seen as an intrusion into privacy.
CHESHUNT, ENGLAND - JULY 17: PC Kris Seward shows the Prime Minister
David Cameron the mobile device as he visits community police in
Hertfordshire on July 17, 2013 in Cheshunt, England. The Prime Minister
observed the new community police crime prevention initiatives
including targeted CCTV and a new PC based mobile device. (Photo by
Paul Rogers - WPA Pool/Getty Images)
(Picture: Getty Images)
Tory MP David Davis told The Times: ‘It’s extraordinary they’re asking
for this again, they are overreaching and there is no proven need to
retain such data for a year.’
And Edward Snowden took to Twitter to criticise the UK government’s
introduction of ‘backdoors’ – a ‘mechanism to provide secret access to
otherwise confidential communications’.
‘Traditional, effective surveillance means targeting suspects,’ he
added. ‘Not a population. Not a technology. Not a service. The
suspect.’
A company cannot provide special access to a one government without
losing access to the markets of all others. Work for one, work for
all.
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) October 28, 2015
But the police claim they are not looking for anything more than what
they can already access through phone records.
‘We want to police by consent, and we want to ensure that privacy
safeguards are in place,’ Richard Berry, the National Police Chiefs’
Council spokesman said.
‘But we need to balance this with the needs of the vulnerable and the
victims.
MORE: Facebook now gives you a warning if the government is spying on
you
MORE: A spy agency is offering $1m to anyone who can hack the new iOS
‘We essentially need the ‘who, where, when and what’ of any
communication – who initiated it, where were they and when did it
happen.
‘And a little bit of the ‘what’ – were they on Facebook, or a banking
site, or an illegal child-abuse image-sharing website?’
Officers would need to apply for judicial approval to access the
content of the websites.
More
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New spying apps let you put your other half under surveillance (as long as
they’re okay with it)
[alison1.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=40&h=40&crop=1]
Alison Lynch for Metro.co.ukMonday 1 Dec 2014 11:26 am
Want to know if your other half's cheating? Of course there's an app
for that
Why trust your loved ones when you can stalk them using a smartphone
app? (Picture: stryjekk)
Got serious trust issues?
Well, don’t worry, there’s a new breed of app that lets you track your
other half and find out exactly what they’re up to.
Take smartphone app Flexispy. It comes with the reassuring strapline:
‘Many spouses cheat. They all use cell (mobile) phones. Their cell
phone will tell you what they won’t.’ Just. Wow.
The app lets you read their text messages, keep tabs on their location
at all times (no more ‘shady’ solo trips to Burger King), and lets you
listen to phone conversations as they happen. In fact, you can even
record their surroundings to make absolutely sure they’re up to no
good.
The sales pitch does allow for a little ‘innocent before proven guilty’
though. Apparently, ‘your spouse may be not be cheating, but it’s the
“not knowing” that is the problem — it’s the “not knowing” that creates
nagging suspicions and uncertainty that ruin your mind and your
relationship.’
Flexispy
For insecure partners everywhere (Picture: Flexispy)
While Flexispy’s creators stress that it’s completely illegal to use
the app without the subject’s consent, critics call this type of
technology a ‘stalker’s app’, arguing it could be used as another form
of control in domestic abuse situations.
However, human rights solicitor Simon McKay told The Times the app was
only as malevolent as its user: ‘It’s perfectly permissible to use this
kind of software for ensuring your children are safe, or for any other
benign purpose, where the motivation is lawful and in good faith,’ he
points out.
The app can indeed be used to see where your children are at all times
and, if you’re worried, keep track of what they’re up to on social
media sites like Snapchat.
However, in the wrong hands, many still believe this type of spy
software raises serious ethical and legal questions.
And, y’know, if you feel the need to spend between $149 (£95) and $349
(£223) a year to snoop on your partner, *perhaps* your relationship’s
already doomed?
MORE: Why do men cheat? How to tell if you should end it or not
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Google, Facebook and Yahoo deny co-operating with surveillance programme
[jimmy-nsubuga.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=40&h=40&c
rop=1]
Jimmy Nsubuga for Metro.co.ukSunday 9 Jun 2013 11:22 am
Internet giants hit back at snooping claims
Google has denied it knowingly cooperated on a surveillance programme
on its users (Picture: EPA)
Internet giants Google, Facebook and Yahoo have hit back at claims they
knowingly co-operated with US authorities over a secret surveillance
programme on citizens.
Nine internet service providers were identified in a leaked document
published by the Guardian and The Washington Post as working with
America’s National Security Agency (NSA) on Prism.
The programme reportedly followed information from ISP servers in order
to help identify any cases of terrorism.
But foreign secretary William Hague dismissed as ‘fanciful’ and
‘nonsense’ allegations UK intelligence agency GCHQ colluded on Prism in
order to spy on UK citizens.
He said: ‘If you are a law-abiding citizen of this country going about
your business and personal life you have nothing to fear about the
British state or intelligence agencies listening to the content of your
phone calls or anything like that.’
America's National Security Agency (NSA) Prism was reported as being
carried out by America’s National Security Agency (NSA) (Picture: EPA)
Google chief Larry Page denied the reports and insisted his company
only complied with the current rules and nothing else.
‘We provide user data to governments only in accordance with the law,’
he wrote in a blog.
Foreign Secretary William Hague
Foreign Secretary William Hague insisted there was ‘nothing to fear’
from UK intelligence (Picture: Reuters)
Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg added on a post on his website: ‘Facebook
is not and has never been part of any programme to give the US or any
other government direct access to our servers.’
Yahoo also dismissed the claims, with its general counsel Ron Bell
saying the idea the company would be involved with Prism was
‘categorically false’.
Prism came to light following a story in the Guardian that revealed a
similar programme that looked at the phone records of Americans.
Hague is due to give a statement to the Commons tomorrow about the
allegations.
More
FacebookGoogleNational Security AgencyPrism
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Smartphone and email users ‘under mass surveillance’, claims Julian Assange
[icon-news-2.png?w=40&h=40&crop=1]
Metro Tech Reporter for Metro.co.ukFriday 2 Dec 2011 1:09 pm
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has said smartphone and email users
are ‘screwed’ because of a ‘mass surveillance industry’.
Smartphone and email users ‘under mass surveillance’, claims
Julian Assange
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange told a news conference in central
London that his website is releasing new documents as an ‘attack on
this mass surveillance industry’ (Picture: AP)
WikiLeaks has listed 150 organisations it claims can use phones as
tracking devices, as well as intercept messages and listen to calls.
The telecommunications information gathered is then sold, Assange said.
The procedures are lawful but is leading to a ‘totalitarian
surveillance state’, he added.
‘Who here has an iPhone? Who here has a BlackBerry? Who here uses
Gmail? You’re all screwed’, he told a press conference at City
University.
‘The reality is, intelligence contractors are selling right now to
countries across the world mass surveillance systems for all those
products.’
He claimed the UK, US, Australia, South Africa and Canada are involved
in developing ‘spying systems’, and equipment is being sold to
‘dictators and democracies alike in order to intercept entire
populations’.
Assange said WikiLeaks was releasing 287 documents about these
companies in conjunction with website spyfiles.org as an ‘attack on
this mass surveillance industry’.
He added that his website is ‘shining a light on this secret industry
that has boomed since September 11, 2001 and is worth billions of
dollars per year’.
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The Opinion Pages | Letter
No Right to Anonymity
SEPT. 22, 2011
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To the Editor:
Re “Protect Our Right to Anonymity,” by Jeffrey Rosen (Op-Ed, Sept.
13):
Mr. Rosen is right to worry about the fact that enhanced technology is
a danger to anonymity. But it is unclear why he thinks that anonymity
is something to which we have a constitutional right.
The Fourth Amendment protects the right to privacy, but privacy is not
the same as anonymity.
I have the right that the state not use intrusive means (breaking the
lock on my diary, placing a listening device on my phone, cracking
e-mail encryption, training a thermal imager on my home) without
judicial permission to acquire information about me.
But I have no judicially protected right that the state not acquire
such information by nonintrusive means. If it were otherwise, then a
police officer’s recognizing me while walking down the street would,
all by itself, infringe my Fourth Amendment rights.
SAMUEL C. RICKLESS
San Diego, Sept. 14, 2011
The writer is a professor of philosophy at the University of
California, San Diego.
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Obama Won’t Seek Access to Encrypted User Data
By NICOLE PERLROTH and DAVID E. SANGEROCT. 10, 2015
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Inside
Photo
President Obama hosted a state dinner at the White House for President
Xi Jinping of China in September. Timothy D. Cook, the chief executive
of Apple, sat at the head table with Mr. Obama and Mr. Xi. Credit Zach
Gibson/The New York Times
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CUPERTINO, Calif. — The Obama administration has backed down in its
bitter dispute with Silicon Valley over the encryption of data on
iPhones and other digital devices, concluding that it is not possible
to give American law enforcement and intelligence agencies access to
that information without also creating an opening that China, Russia,
cybercriminals and terrorists could exploit.
*
*
*
*
With its decision, which angered the F.B.I. and other law enforcement
agencies, the administration essentially agreed with Apple, Google,
Microsoft and a group of the nation’s top cryptographers and computer
scientists that millions of Americans would be vulnerable to hacking if
technology firms and smartphone manufacturers were required to provide
the government with “back doors,” or access to their source code and
encryption keys.
Continue reading the main story
Related Coverage
* Apple and Other Tech Companies Tangle With U.S. Over Data
AccessSEPT. 7, 2015
* Security Experts Oppose Government Access to Encrypted
CommunicationJULY 7, 2015
* Tech Giants Urge Obama to Reject Policies That Weaken EncryptionMAY
19, 2015
That would enable the government to see messages, photographs and other
data now routinely encrypted on smartphones. Current technology puts
the keys for access to the information in the hands of the individual
user, not the companies.
Photo
Timothy D. Cook of Apple opposes a “back door” to data. Credit Richard
Drew/Associated Press
The first indication of the retreat came on Thursday, when the F.B.I.
director, James B. Comey, told the Senate Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs Committee that the administration would not seek
legislation to compel the companies to create such a portal.
But the decision, made at the White House a week ago, goes considerably
beyond that.
While the administration said it would continue to try to persuade
companies like Apple and Google to assist in criminal and national
security investigations, it determined that the government should not
force them to breach the security of their products. In essence,
investigators will have to hope they find other ways to get what they
need, from data stored in the cloud in unencrypted form or transmitted
over phone lines, which are covered by a law that affects
telecommunications providers but not the technology giants.
Mr. Comey had expressed alarm a year ago after Apple introduced an
operating system that encrypted virtually everything contained in an
iPhone. What frustrated him was that Apple had designed the system to
ensure that the company never held on to the keys, putting them
entirely in the hands of users through the codes or fingerprints they
use to get into their phones. As a result, if Apple is handed a court
order for data — until recently, it received hundreds every year — it
could not open the coded information.
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Mr. Comey compared that system to the creation of a door no law
officers could enter, or a car trunk they could not unlock. His concern
about what the F.B.I. calls the “going dark” problem received support
from the director of the National Security Agency and other
intelligence officials.
But after a year of study and extensive White House debate, President
Obama and his advisers have reached a broad conclusion that an effort
to compel the companies to give the government access would fail, both
politically and technologically.
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“This looks promising, but there’s still going to be tremendous
pressure from law enforcement,” said Peter G. Neumann, one of the
nation’s leading computer scientists and a co-author of a paper that
examined the government’s proposal for special access. “The N.S.A. is
capable of dealing with the cryptography for now, but law enforcement
is going to have real difficulty with this. This is never a done deal.”
In the paper, released in July, Mr. Neumann and other top
cryptographers and computer scientists argued that there was no way for
the government to have a back door into encrypted communications
without creating an opening that would be exploited by Chinese and
Russian intelligence agents, cybercriminals and terrorist groups.
Inside the White House, the Office of Science and Technology Policy
came largely to the same conclusion. Those determinations surprised the
F.B.I. and local law enforcement officials, who had believed just
months ago that the White House would ultimately embrace their efforts.
The intelligence agencies were less vocal, which may reflect their
greater capability to search for and gather information. The National
Security Agency spends vast sums to get around digital encryption, and
it has tools and resources that local law enforcement officials still
do not have and most likely never will.
Disclosures by the former N.S.A. contractor Edward J. Snowden showed
the extent of the agency’s focus on cracking and circumventing the
encryption of digital communications, including those of Apple,
Facebook, Google and Yahoo users.
There were other motivations for the administration’s decision. Mr.
Obama and his aides had come to fear that the United States could set a
precedent that China and other nations would emulate, requiring Apple,
Google and the rest of America’s technology giants to provide them with
the same access, officials said.
Timothy D. Cook, the chief executive of Apple, sat at the head table
with Mr. Obama and Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, at a state dinner
at the White House last month. According to government officials and
industry executives, Mr. Cook told Mr. Obama that the Chinese were
waiting for an opportunity to seize on administration action to insist
that Apple devices, which are also encrypted in China, be open to
Beijing’s agents.
In January, three months after Mr. Comey began pressing companies for
special government access, Chinese officials had threatened to do just
that: They considered submitting foreign companies to invasive audits
and requiring them to build back doors into their hardware and
software. Those rules have not been put into effect.
The Obama administration’s position was also undercut by officials’
inability to keep their own data safe from Chinese hackers, as shown by
the extensive cyberattack at the Office of Personnel Management
discovered this year. That breach, and its aftermath, called into
question whether the government could keep the keys to the world’s
communications safe from its adversaries in cyberspace.
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White House officials said they would continue trying to persuade
technology companies to help them in investigations, but they did not
specify how.
“As the president has said, the United States will work to ensure that
malicious actors can be held to account, without weakening our
commitment to strong encryption,” said Mark Stroh, a spokesman for the
National Security Council. “As part of those efforts, we are actively
engaged with private companies to ensure they understand the public
safety and national security risks that result from malicious actors’
use of their encrypted products and services. However, the
administration is not seeking legislation at this time.”
But here in Silicon Valley, executives did not think the government’s
announcement went far enough.
According to administration officials and technology executives, Mr.
Cook of Apple has pressed the White House for a clear statement that it
will never seek a back door in any form, legislative or technical — a
statement he hoped to take to Beijing, Moscow and even London. Prime
Minister David Cameron of Britain has threatened to ban encrypted
devices and services, like the iPhone and Facebook’s popular WhatsApp
messaging service, but has done nothing so far to make good on that
threat.
Technology executives are determined to reassure customers abroad that
American intelligence agencies are not reading their digital
communications. It is an effort driven by economics: 64 percent of
Apple’s revenue originates overseas.
Apple, Google, Facebook and Microsoft argue that people put not only
their conversations but their entire digital lives — medical records,
tax returns, bank accounts — into a device that slips into their
pocket. While Mr. Obama has repeatedly said he is sympathetic to the
concerns of law enforcement officials, he made clear during a visit to
Silicon Valley in February that he was also aware of privacy concerns
and that he sought to balance both interests.
Technologists responded that, with regard to encryption, no such
balance existed. “The real problem is, I don’t see any middle ground
for dumbing down everything to make special access possible and having
the secure systems we need for commerce, government and everything
else,” Mr. Neumann said.
A version of this article appears in print on October 11, 2015, on page
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Microsoft Challenges Warrant for Emails Stored in Ireland
By REUTERSSEPT. 9, 2015
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Microsoft asked a federal appeals court on Wednesday to block the
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customer’s emails stored on a server in Ireland, warning that the
precedent would create a “global free-for-all” that eviscerates
personal privacy. The case is the first in which an American company
has challenged a warrant seeking data held abroad. The appeal centers
on a search warrant seeking the emails of an unidentified person in
Dublin as part of a drug investigation. Nearly 100 organizations and
individuals filed briefs in support of Microsoft’s position, including
tech giants like Apple and media companies like McClatchy.
A version of this brief appears in print on September 10, 2015, on page
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Personal Tech
Hacking Victims Deserve Empathy, Not Ridicule
Farhad Manjoo
Farhad Manjoo
STATE OF THE ART SEPT. 2, 2015
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Every day for nearly two weeks, Troy Hunt, an Australian Internet
security expert, has opened up his computer to find a plea for help
from someone on the edge.
*
*
*
*
“I have contemplated suicide daily for the past week,” one person
recently told Mr. Hunt. “My two beautiful children and my wife are
keeping me alive. I am very worried that her family and others will
find out, making it extremely difficult for her to stay with me.”
Another wrote, “I imagine my grown kids finding out, my neighbors,
friends, co-workers, and sometimes I just want to end it all before
facing something like that.”
Mr. Hunt runs Have I Been Pwned?, a site that lets people determine if
their data has been compromised in one of the online security breaches
that have made headlines over the last few years. For the victims, most
of those breaches resulted in little more than minor frustrations —
changing a password, say, or getting a new credit card.
Continue reading the main story
Related Coverage
* Ashley Madison Users Face Threats of Blackmail and Identity Theft
* Ashley Madison Chief Steps Down After Data Breach
* Bits Blog: Security Blogger May Have New Lead in Ashley Madison
Hacking
But the theft and disclosure of more than 30 million accounts from
Ashley Madison, a site that advertises itself as a place for married
people to discreetly set up extramarital affairs, is different. After
the hacking, many victims have been plunged into the depths of despair.
In addition to those contemplating suicide, dozens have told Mr. Hunt
that they feared losing their jobs and families, and they expected to
be humiliated among friends and co-workers.
Photo
Credit Stuart Goldenberg
There has been a tendency in the tech commentariat to minimize the
Ashley Madison breach. The site has always seemed like a joke and
possibly a scheme, and those who fell for it a testament to the
Internet’s endless capacity to separate fools from their money.
But the victims of the Ashley Madison hacking deserve our sympathy and
aid because, with slightly different luck, you or I could just as
easily find ourselves in a similarly sorry situation. This breach
stands as a monument to the blind trust many of us have placed in our
computers — and how powerless we all are to evade the disasters that
may befall us when the trust turns out to be misplaced.
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State of the Art
A column from Farhad Manjoo that examines how technology is changing business
and society.
*
Tech’s ‘Frightful 5’ Will Dominate Digital Life for Foreseeable Future
*
Why Media Titans Would Be Wise Not to Overlook Netflix
*
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“I feel reticent to blame people for ignorance or the consequences of
their actions when they’re simply sitting there at home doing something
perfectly reasonable in an environment where there was an expectation
set for privacy,” Mr. Hunt told me. “I think what this does is
demonstrate that everything you put online may become public.”
There are several steps to take to minimize future damage from hackings
like this one. But first, we could all become a bit more tolerant of
online lapses; maybe the way to solve the problem of rampant disclosure
of private stuff is to strive to look away from the stuff when it leaks
— and to give those who’ve been harmed the benefit of the doubt.
Second, we should all learn a little “opsec” — hackers’ jargon for
“operational security,” or a guide for conducting yourself online to
minimize the possibility of your secrets getting spilled. It wouldn’t
hurt the tech industry to help us in that endeavor, building warnings
and guidelines into the same machines that are leaking our secrets.
Perhaps we should even start teaching opsec in schools.
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So, Step 1: Even though it may be difficult, try to give people caught
up in this breach the benefit of the doubt. Sure, some Ashley Madison
users may have been unsavory, but some were not — and who among us
doesn’t have something to hide?
“It’s easy to be snarky about Ashley Madison, but just because it’s
unpopular or even immoral, it doesn’t mean this sort of activity
shouldn’t be protected,” said Scott L. Vernick, a lawyer who
specializes in digital privacy issues at the firm Fox Rothschild. “This
gets at fundamental issues like freedom of speech and freedom of
association — today it’s Ashley Madison, tomorrow it could be some
other group that deserves protection.”
Photo
Credit Minh Uong/The New York Times
Everyone has some data — probably a lot of it — buried in their vast
digital record that they would rather not disclose publicly. That
problem will grow; in the last couple of decades, computers have come
to function less as office tools than as friends and therapists. The
digital world has become a place to offload your deepest fears and
desires, to seek discreet counsel and surreptitious amusement under the
veil of privacy offered by an LCD screen.
But much of that privacy is an illusion. If hackers can get at our
fetishes on Ashley Madison, they can get at anything else — your nude
selfies (don’t deny them), your embarrassing taste in music
(Nickelback’s early stuff was great), your health records or whatever
else you would prefer remained secret.
Given that inevitability, it might be best to approach disclosures like
this one by consulting the Golden Rule. When you hear of some new
breach, don’t sniff around the pilfered documents for other people’s
secrets if you wouldn’t want others to dig into yours. Mr. Hunt’s
website, Have I Been Pwned?, abides by this policy; he requires that
people verify they own a particular email address before searching his
Ashley Madison database.
Many other search sites are not as scrupulous, which Mr. Hunt said has
inspired an army of busybodies to search for everyone they know. But he
pointed out that the snoops might not have considered mitigating
factors in this hacking. Ashley Madison did not ask users to verify
email addresses, which means anyone could have signed up with someone
else’s email address. Others may have logged on just once, because they
were curious, joking, intoxicated or being ironic. In other words, a
positive hit in the Ashley Madison database doesn’t tell the full
story. And, anyway, the full story may be none of your business.
“Some people need to get a life,” Mr. Hunt said.
Of course, some people won’t get a life; they’ll want to search for
you. That brings us to Step 2 in the plan for better privacy: When
you’re online, act as if everything you do is public. If you’re
engaging in anything that may one day come back to haunt you, take
precautions: Create a fake name, fake email address, perhaps use a
different device, and try to separate your underground identity from
your true identity.
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This is easier than it sounds. A person who goes by the handle
thegrugq, the author of a blog called Hacker OPSEC (and whose real
identity is, of course, a secret), has published several practical
guides that explain how to protect your information online. If we,
collectively, were to begin to take online security more seriously,
such guides could be taught in schools — imagine a kind of home ec for
computer security. It would be even better if our computers somehow
warned us when we were violating these practices — say, a pop-up
warning if your machine detected you were typing a work address on an
adult site.
Still, thegrugq counseled in an email, these precautions are not
foolproof. “Security is a trade-off against efficiency, and that can be
very painful,” thegrugq said. “Few people will reduce the ease with
which they can do something just because it might have a future benefit
(just ask economists)!”
But maybe the dangers will prompt us all to remain vigilant. “True
online security is not just defending against compromise, it’s
operating under the assumption that compromise will happen,”
SwiftOnSecurity, a security expert who assumes the online persona of a
security-minded version of the pop star Taylor Swift as a kind of
Twitter-based performance art, told me in a private chat. She added:
“Your online life will extend across 60+ years. Imagine the changes.
Imagine the disasters. Imagine what the world shouldn’t know about you
that someday it will.”
Email: farhad.manjoo@nytimes.com; Twitter: @fmanjoo
A version of this article appears in print on September 3, 2015, on
page B1 of the New York edition with the headline: Empathy, Not
Ridicule, After Breach . Order Reprints| Today's Paper|Subscribe
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Technology
Tools for Tailored Learning May Expose Students’ Personal Details
By NATASHA SINGERAUG. 30, 2015
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Ken Mitchell, who retired last year as superintendent of the South
Orangetown school district in New York, had raised concerns about use
of data. Credit Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times
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If the efforts by state legislators to restrict the use of student data
are any guide, the email addresses and search queries of the nation’s
schoolchildren are a hot commodity.
*
*
*
*
In May, Georgia adopted a law barring online services designed for
elementary through high school from selling or sharing students’ names,
email addresses, test results, grades or socioeconomic or disability
information. It also bars them from using the data to target students
with ads.
In August, Delaware enacted a law that forbids online school services
from selling students’ personal details — including their political or
religious affiliations, food purchases, text messages, photos, videos
and web searches — or using the information to market to them.
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Related Coverage
* Economic View: When Guarding Student Data Endangers Valuable
ResearchJUNE 13, 2015
* Silicon Valley Turns Its Eye to EducationJAN. 11, 2015
* Some Schools Embrace Demands for Education DataMAY 11, 2015
* App Smart: Video Feature: Back-to-School Apps for the Organized
StudentAUG. 26, 2015
Those are just two of the 182 bills introduced in 46 states this year
intended to bolster protections for student information, according to a
report this month from Data Quality Campaign, a nonprofit group that
advocates the effective use of student data in education. Fifteen of
those states have passed 28 laws, said the group, which is financed in
part by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Photo
Khaliah Barnes of the Electronic Privacy Information Center: “More
forward-thinking legislation will have to confront the issue of the
overcollection of student data.” Credit Zach Gibson/The New York Times
The activity stands in stark contrast to legislative interest just two
years ago, when Oklahoma was the only state to pass such legislation.
It also provides a clear indication of the rapid adoption of learning
apps in classrooms — and of concerns that these novel technologies
generate a trove of new data about students that could be used in
unforeseen ways.
Many of the new tools are designed to tailor learning to each child. To
achieve that sort of customization, the software may collect and
analyze a vast array of details about the habits and activities of
individual students.
These apps and sites represent a small but growing segment of the
overall market for prekindergarten through 12th-grade education
software, estimated at about $8.4 billion last year. But already, the
data collection has raised concerns among lawmakers and parents about
whether school districts are equipped to monitor and manage how schools
and online education services safeguard students’ personal details.
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Some legislators have pointed out the potential for identity theft and
predatory marketing.
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Related in Opinion
* Opinion: D.I.Y. Education Before YouTubeJULY 11, 2015
“We want to make sure that companies are not selling the data, using it
for targeted marketing to students or using it in any other way that is
not their business to use,” said John Albers, a Republican member of
the Georgia State Senate. Mr. Albers sponsored the legislation that was
adopted in his state this year restricting the use of student
information by school vendors.
As schools themselves increasingly analyze socioeconomic, behavioral
and emotional data about students, some parents are more troubled by
the possibility that the data could be used in making decisions that
are damaging to their children, potentially affecting their college or
job prospects.
“If we are going to look at new ways of holding schools accountable —
Are they helping kids learn? Are they preparing them for what’s next? —
we need more than just reading and math scores,” said Paige Kowalski,
the vice president for policy and advocacy at Data Quality Campaign.
“Folks are looking at social-emotional indicators, and that has raised
concerns.”
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School districts have long kept records of students’ academic
performance and extracurricular activities, their health conditions,
gender, race and eligibility for reduced-price school lunches.
Educational apps, homework portals, digital cafeteria payment systems
and other programs may log even more granular information in real time
— about how students study, where they go, what they eat and whom they
interact with and when.
Many schools give students Gmail or Microsoft email addresses and use
those companies’ programs for student calendars, documents, web
searches and file-sharing. Some also employ data-driven math and
language apps; these are tools that may record and analyze thousands of
pieces of data about each student with the aim of customizing lessons
on the spot to that student’s abilities and tastes.
In an effort to quell some parents’ concerns about the use of that
information — and simultaneously ease the way for technology adoption
in schools — states last year introduced more than 100 student data
bills. California, a national trendsetter in privacy legislation,
enacted a landmark law that specifically prohibits online school
services from using students’ personal data to show them personalized
ads; more generally, the law bars the services from employing student
data for nonschool purposes.
This year, about two dozen states introduced similar bills. And five
bills have been introduced in Congress aimed at protecting student
information.
About 170 companies — including Apple, Google and Microsoft — have
agreed to a voluntary industry pledge that obligates companies not to
use the student data collected by their classroom products for
personalized advertising.
Industry advocates, however, say the hodgepodge of state efforts could
backfire — by limiting the learning apps available to schools.
Many fledgling digital education companies may not have the capacity to
tailor their products to the widely varying student data-handling rules
of different states, said Mark Schneiderman, the senior director of
education policy at the Software and Information Industry Association,
a trade group. “Will certain markets be left behind?” he asked.
But as schools collect and analyze a wealth of details about students,
some parents are raising questions about the fair and appropriate use
of their children’s data that go much deeper than marketing issues.
One day last year, for instance, Kerisha Harris’s daughter came home
from first grade with a letter from school saying she was overweight.
Ms. Harris, a web producer for a local television station in Weston,
Fla., said the school had neither asked her permission to calculate her
daughter’s body mass index nor notified the family about its
obesity-intervention program. She said her daughter was too young at
the time to fully comprehend what had occurred. Still, Ms. Harris said
she personally found the data collection invasive and the report
inaccurate.
“If I want to disclose information about my child, my family, my
socioeconomic status, I should be the one to decide, not the school,”
Ms. Harris said. “My kids are there to learn, not to be part of a data
set.”
Some evidence-based education researchers would like to see school
administrators require rigorous pilot studies to establish whether
data-driven programs result in better outcomes for students before
introducing the efforts districtwide or statewide. That includes
information about students collected and maintained by the schools.
A recent study on school tracking of body mass index, for example,
reported that students whose families received school notices that
their children were overweight showed no significant differences in
B.M.I. scores after two years compared with students who were not
screened. Despite the reported lack of benefit — and the potential for
harm to student self-esteem — obesity tracking and notification
programs continue in many schools.
“The elephant in the room is the efficacy of wholesale student data
collection,” said Khaliah Barnes of the Electronic Privacy Information
Center, a research group in Washington. “More forward-thinking
legislation will have to confront the issue of the overcollection of
student data.”
A version of this article appears in print on August 31, 2015, on page
B1 of the New York edition with the headline: Tools for Tailored
Learning May Expose Students’ Data . Order Reprints| Today's
Paper|Subscribe
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Privacy
France Rejects Google’s Efforts to Limit Application of Privacy Ruling
By Mark Scott
September 21, 2015 5:29 am September 21, 2015 5:29 am (BUTTON)
France’s privacy watchdog just will not take no for an answer.
On Monday, the country’s data protection authority rejected Google’s
efforts to limit how a landmark European privacy ruling may be applied
worldwide.
That privacy decision was handed down last year by Europe’s top court,
and allowed anyone with connections to Europe to request that global
search engines remove links to items about themselves from queries.
Several European privacy regulators, particularly in France, have urged
that this so-called right to be forgotten be applied to all of Google’s
search domains.
In contrast, Google has argued that the privacy ruling should apply
only to European websites like Google.de in Germany or Google.fr in
France.
The standoff took another turn on Monday after the Commission Nationale
de l’Informatique et des Libertés, or C.N.I.L., the French privacy
watchdog, said that it had rejected Google’s appeal for the ruling to
be limited to Europe.
The country’s data protection agency said that limiting the privacy
decision to just domains in Europe could be easily bypassed by
individuals based in the 28-member European Union, which would nullify
the court’s privacy ruling. The watchdog also said that once Google had
agreed to remove the links, the company was required to apply the
decision across all of its domains, not just those in Europe.
The regulator rejected an assertion by Google that it was trying to
extend French control over how people around the world retrieve online
information. Google has said that France’s efforts may lead other
countries, particularly those governed by authoritarian governments, to
try to gain similar control over global Internet access.
“Contrary to what Google has stated, this decision does not show any
willingness on the part of the C.N.I.L. to apply French law
extraterritorially,” the agency said in a statement on Monday. “It
simply requests full observance of European legislation by non-European
players offering their services in Europe.”
The watchdog said that Google must now apply the privacy decision to
its global domains or face fines that could total as much as $340,000.
Google was fined $170,000 last year for failing to adhere to France’s
rules in a separate privacy case. The company may appeal any potential
fine in the French courts.
Google said on Monday that it disagreed with the French regulator’s aim
to expand the right-to-be-forgotten ruling beyond Europe’s borders.
“We’ve worked hard to implement the right to be forgotten ruling
thoughtfully and comprehensively in Europe, and we’ll continue to do
so,” the company said in a statement.
The French regulator has emphasized that it does not want to control
how people around the world surf the web, yet Google and free-speech
campaigners have balked at Europe’s attempts to spread the
right-to-be-forgotten ruling to other jurisdictions.
In a blog post published in July, Peter Fleischer, Google’s global
privacy counsel, said that no country should control the type of online
content available in other nations. He added that such practices could
lead to multiple countries’ trying to outdo one another with strict
rules, which could eventually reduce all types of materials that are
available online.
France’s efforts to regulate online privacy come as people in the
country remain the most active in Europe when it comes to seeking the
removal of online links about themselves.
So far, more than 66,000 such requests based on almost 220,000 online
links have been submitted by people living in France, the largest
figure of any European country, according to Google’s latest
transparency report.
A version of this article appears in print on 09/22/2015, on page B2 of
the NewYork edition with the headline: France Rejects Google Again Over
Privacy .
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Privacy
With ‘Brandeis’ Project, Darpa Seeks to Advance Privacy Technology
By Steve Lohr
September 14, 2015 9:00 am September 14, 2015 9:00 am (BUTTON)
The Pentagon’s advanced research arm is pursing privacy technology. And
this time, it is technology intended to protect individual privacy
rather than compromise it.
The new emphasis is a very different path from the one taken after the
Sept. 11 attacks, when the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency,
or Darpa, embarked on the Total Information Awareness program. It was
to be an all-seeing digital surveillance system to hunt for terrorists.
The outcry from privacy advocates prompted Congress to shut it down.
But the technologies developed by Darpa made their way into the
intelligence agencies and the electronic-spying program that so
disturbed Edward J. Snowden, who leaked tens of thousands of documents.
The new Darpa program is called Brandeis, a nod to the guiding
principle of the research initiative. Louis Brandeis, a progressive
lawyer who became a Supreme Court justice, was the co-author with
Samuel D. Warren of an influential essay, “The Right to Privacy.”
Published in Harvard Law Review in 1890, it forcefully made the case
that safeguarding privacy was essential to individual freedom.
The Brandeis manifesto was published two years after the introduction
of the Kodak film camera, a privacy-threatening technology of its day.
It could quickly capture images, recording people in normal poses and
spontaneous moments. The previous wet-plate, lithographic cameras
required their subjects to present themselves in frozen stillness. But
with a hand-held Kodak camera, photo snappers were suddenly taking
pictures of people in public places — downtowns, ballrooms and beaches.
The “camera fiends” were seen as a menace, and banned from beaches and
from the Washington Monument for a while.
But while the times and the technology have changed, the fundamentals
have not, according to John Launchbury, the Darpa program director for
Brandeis. Privacy, he said, is a value at the heart of a free society,
and an engine of progress.
Photo
John Launchbury, the director of Darpa’s Brandeis program.
John Launchbury, the director of Darpa’s Brandeis program.Credit Sun
Vega
“Privacy is a key enabler to things we care desperately about, like
democracy and innovation,” Dr. Launchbury, a computer scientist and
cryptographer, said in an interview on Friday.
Brandeis was one of several emerging-technology programs highlighted at
a three-day conference last week in St. Louis, where Darpa invited
1,200 scientists and technologists from academia, large companies and
start-ups. The event was part of the agency’s drive in recent years to
woo leading researchers and entrepreneurs to collaborate with Darpa.
That effort has been a hallmark of the tenure of Arati Prabhakar, a
trained physicist and former Silicon Valley venture capitalist, who
became the head of Darpa in 2012.
Brandeis is just getting underway. The companies and universities
joining the program have been selected. But most are still negotiating
contract terms, with only a few announced, including SRI International
and Stealth Software. The kickoff meeting for the participants will be
in October. The program will run for four and a half years, and its
budget will be “tens of millions of dollars,” Dr. Launchbury said.
Many companies and university researchers are working on
privacy-protecting technologies. Yet Darpa will support early stage
research in areas like advanced cryptography, a field known as
multiparty differential privacy, and machine-learning software that can
learn and predict a person’s privacy preferences — a clever digital
assistant for privacy protection. The latter would be a big change from
the complex privacy settings on search engines and websites now, which
is a major reason much of the online population just accepts the
default settings.
The free flow of data, Dr. Launchbury noted, should be enormously
valuable across every industry and scientific discipline. But that will
only happen in an environment of trust, where, he said, the prevailing
attitude is that “you feel so in control of your data that you enable
greater sharing at your discretion.”
Today, the data world is pretty much wide open, and entire industries
rely on mining and marketing people’s data. If people have the ability
to limit which of their digital footprints can be seen or tracked,
doesn’t that undermine the business model of many ad-based Internet
companies, including Google and Facebook?
Not necessarily, Dr. Launchbury replied. “It would be a matter of, You
can use this data for these purposes in exchange for a set of free
services,” he said. “At least then it’s a negotiation.”
Naming the program Brandeis suggests a recognition that technology will
be only a part of the answer to privacy challenges. So will an evolving
legal framework and public attitudes.
“Privacy is such a huge space,” Dr. Launchbury said. “What we’re
working on here is not a solution. But we’re hoping to develop a new
technical capability and society can decide whether it wants to use
it.”
A version of this article appears in print on 09/21/2015, on page B4 of
the NewYork edition with the headline: Darpa Project Seeks to Advance
Privacy Tech.
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The Rules of In-Store Surveillance
By Quentin Hardy
July 18, 2013 8:58 pm July 18, 2013 8:58 pm (BUTTON)
You can tell when a powerful new technology, like tracking people as
they shop, is coming of age. It starts trying to persuade people it is
a force for good, and it broadens its reach and capabilities. Take the
the observation and data collection techniques used by online retailers
that are now moving into the physical world.
Cellphone signals, special apps and our movements tracked by
software-enhanced cameras in stores are the equivalent of the tracking
cookies in Internet browsers. Most people don’t seem to mind being
tracked online, if the low percentage of people who disable cookies is
any indication. (Studies suggest the number is below 10 percent.)
Offline tracking, though, still seems to be a concern. Nordstrom
discontinued using one mobile phone tracking system, produced by Euclid
Analytics, after shoppers complained. That may be because the systems
are new, and some people see more harm than benefit from the
surveillance.
Photo
Euclid Analytics' tools show how rich the data from tracking people's
behaviors can be.
Euclid Analytics' tools show how rich the data from tracking people's
behaviors can be.Credit
On Tuesday, several companies involved in offline tracking announced
that they would be working with a Washington-based research group, the
Future of Privacy Forum, to develop a series of “best practices” for
privacy controls for what it called “retail location analytics,” or
tracking.
Euclid was among the sponsors, along with WirelessWerx, Mexia
Interactive and ShopperTrak.
The Future of Privacy Forum is primarily supported by corporations,
with extensive financing from the technology sector. According to Jules
Polonetsky, its director and co-chairman, the organization also has an
advisory board that includes “chief privacy officers, privacy academics
and privacy advocates.”
On Thursday, Euclid also announced it was producing a series of
analytics tools for specialty retailers, which it said would help
stores make better decisions about things like operating hours and
inventory. The product, which is primarily a comparison tool, also
shows how rich the data from tracking people online can be.
“We’re offering benchmarking, so we can say ‘Your customer capture rate
is 8 percent, and this week the average for your sector is 10
percent,’” said Will Smith, the chief executive of Euclid. “The
question is not whether something is good or bad, but what something
means.”
Mr. Smith would not provide specifics, but said his company’s product
was now in hundreds of malls across the United States, and had captured
information on thousands of shoppers at dozens of retailers. “We can
tell if someone has visited multiple outlets of a store on the same
day, which indicates they couldn’t find the product they wanted at the
first one,” he said. “You can assume a lot of others went to a
competitor.”
Mr. Smith emphasized that the data Euclid supplied to retailers was
made anonymous and delivered in aggregated forms, which he said made it
unsuited to personally identifying customers. But the data gathered by
the company, which Mr. Smith founded with the former head of Google
Analytics, can be used to determine things like whether a Starbucks’
customer with a loyalty card stays longer at the coffee shop, or how
often a store is acquiring repeat shoppers.
Over time, it is likely that at least some customers will accept
tracking, particularly if offered incentives like free mall parking in
exchange for visiting a specific store. “People became used to Web
analytics,” Mr. Smith said, “Amazon’s customer experience is 10 times
better because of the data it gathers on people. Shorter lines and good
in-store service can also come from data.”
(BUTTON)
Big Data, Policy, Computers and the Internet, Customer Loyalty
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Facebook to Update Privacy Policy, but Adjusting Settings Is No Easier
By Vindu Goel
August 29, 2013 7:53 pm August 29, 2013 7:53 pm (BUTTON)
Photo
Facebook is making it more clear that it uses a variety of personal
data about its 1.2 billion users to deliver advertising.
Facebook is making it more clear that it uses a variety of personal
data about its 1.2 billion users to deliver advertising.Credit Dado
Ruvic/Reuters
Facebook announced Thursday that it planned to enact changes to its
privacy policies on Sept. 5.
But the social network’s famously difficult privacy controls will not
become any easier to navigate.
Mostly, the new data use policy and statement of rights and
responsibilities lay out more clearly the things that Facebook already
does with your personal information, Ed Palmieri, the company’s
associate general counsel for privacy, said in an interview. “The
updates that we are showing in the red lines are our way to better
explain the products that exist today,” he said.
In some ways, the company is making it more clear that it uses a wide
variety of personal data about its 1.2 billion users to deliver
advertising, including things they share and do, what they like, how
they interact with ads and applications, and even demographic data
inferred from everything else.
Facebook also said that it might use its customers’ profile photos to
help their friends tag them in photos. Those photos are already public,
but Facebook does not currently use them to help recognize faces when
photos are uploaded to the service. “This will make the product better
for people,” Mr. Palmieri said. “You can still opt out of it.”
But the company is also deliberately deleting information about
specific privacy controls. Instead, Mr. Palmieri said, Facebook decided
it was better to send users to various other pages, such as one on
advertising, to learn more about privacy issues and how to adjust the
controls.
For example, the data use policy will no longer offer a direct path to
the control for opting out of your name and activities on the site
being used as endorsements on ads sent to your friends.
Facebook is also doing nothing to simplify its maze of privacy
settings.The company doesn’t offer clear links or explanations of the
settings from its own “Facebook and Privacy” page, and its Graph Search
feature isn’t especially helpful for the task, either.
Privacy controls are still buried in at least six different menus. To
plunge down the rabbit hole, click on the little lock icon next to your
name in the top-left column of your news feed page. You will find
privacy settings in the tabs for Privacy, Timeline and Tagging,
Blocking, Followers, Apps and Ads.
Mr. Palmieri said the company added one section to its policies in
response to its $20 million settlement on Monday of a 2011 lawsuit
asserting that the company used its customers’ personal information in
advertising without compensation or allowing them to opt out.
The old policy explicitly stated, “You can use your privacy settings to
limit how your name and profile picture may be associated with
commercial, sponsored, or related content (such as a brand you like)
served or enhanced by us.”
Facebook’s new language starts with the opposite position. “You give us
permission to use your name, and profile picture, content, and
information in connection with commercial, sponsored, or related
content (such as a brand you like) served or enhanced by us,” the
company said. “If you have selected a specific audience for your
content or information, we will respect your choice when we use it.”
Mr. Palmieri said the two versions amount to the same thing.
It brings to mind Humpty Dumpty in Lewis Carroll’s “Through the Looking
Glass.” As he told young Alice, “When I use a word, it means just what
I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.”
A version of this article appears in print on 09/02/2013, on page B5 of
the NewYork edition with the headline: New Privacy On Facebook Still
Cryptic.
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White House Plans to Add Technology Adviser
By Nicole Perlroth
May 7, 2013 6:16 pm May 7, 2013 6:16 pm (BUTTON)
The White House is looking to Silicon Valley to expand its team of
technology advisers.
CNET and AllThingsD reported on Tuesday that President Obama has
picked Nicole Wong, a legal director at Twitter, to be the White
House’s first chief privacy officer.
People familiar with the situation said that the White House does not
intend to create a chief privacy officer post, but is looking to add a
senior adviser to its chief technology officer, Todd Park.
These people described the hiring discussions as developing and said
that Ms. Wong was among the leading contenders, who also include other
Silicon Valley executives.
Social media companies and e-mail providers increasingly find
themselves on the front lines of high-level policy discussions
concerning privacy. Twitter, Facebook and Google must regularly contend
with government demands that they hand over users’ personal
information.
According to a recent Electronic Frontier Foundation survey, the
companies are cooperating to varying degrees. The survey — titled “Who
Has Your Back?” — examined the privacy policies of 18 major Internet
companies. Twitter got top marks with six out of six stars, compared
with a single star each for Apple, Yahoo and AT&T. (Verizon was awarded
none.)
Before joining Twitter last year, Ms. Wong spent eight years at Google
where she oversaw policy, privacy and copyright-related issues. She was
the subject of a lengthy 2008 New York Times Magazine article, which
said she and her team “have arguably more influence over the contours
of online expression than anyone else on the planet.”
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http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Companies-put-cybersecurity-expe
rts-on-boards-6472274.php
Companies put cybersecurity experts on boards
Los Angeles Times
Published 4:39 pm, Friday, August 28, 2015
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* Parsons Corp. CEO Charles Harrington says adding cybersecurity
expert Suzanne Vautrinot to the company’s board was a no-brainer.
Photo: Al Seib, McClatchy-Tribune News Service
* Parsons Corp. CEO Charles Harrington says adding cybersecurity
expert Suzanne Vautrinot to the company’s board was a no-brainer.
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Parsons Corp. CEO Charles Harrington says adding cybersecurity expert
Suzanne Vautrinot to the company’s board was a no-brainer.
Parsons Corp. CEO Charles Harrington says adding cybersecurity expert
Suzanne Vautrinot to the company’s board was a no-brainer.
Photo: Al Seib, McClatchy-Tribune News Service
Companies put cybersecurity experts on boards
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Back to Gallery
The board of directors at construction and engineering company Parsons
Corp. needed to fill a seat two years ago.
Naturally, they wanted someone with communication and leadership
skills. They also needed someone new: an expert to help them battle
computer hackers, cyberthieves, electronic spies, digital vandals and
anybody else out to wreak havoc in a connected world.
The privately held firm’s latest board member is Suzanne Vautrinot, a
retired Air Force major general who helped create the Department of
Defense’s U.S. Cyber Command and led the Air Force’s IT and online
battle group.
Parsons, in Pasadena, is at the forefront of a fast-expanding trend in
corporate governance: the elevation of cybersecurity experts to the
boardroom, traditionally occupied by former CEOs and specialists in
marketing and finance.
In the past few months, AIG, BlackBerry, CMS Energy, General Motors and
Wells Fargo have added a board member with computer-security knowledge.
Delta Air Lines and Ecolab did the same in recent years.
The reasons are clear. Cyberattacks on large companies skyrocketed 44
percent last year from 2013. Cybercrime costs businesses more than $400
billion a year, according to Lloyd’s of London.
Boards are responsible for advising CEOs on setting goals and making
plans to achieve them, and to question the challenges standing in the
way. Not adequately addressing a cybersecurity risk could prove costly
— in money, reputation, legal bills, lost time and lost customers.
Target’s woes
Just ask Target. Since hackers breached its payment systems two years
ago, Target has spent $256 million cleaning up the mess, with insurance
expected to cover about a third. Though costing a small slice of
revenue, the damage was enough force the company to sack the CEO, and
many customers were scared away for several months. Government
investigations and several lawsuits have been filed by customers and
business partners.
Cyberthieves also steal sensitive corporate data, which could cause a
company’s competitive advantage to slip and its reputation to wane.
Data show that corporate boards have a long way to go. Just 11 percent
of those queried this year at public companies reported a high-level
understanding of cybersecurity, the National Association of Corporate
Directors said. A review by the New York Stock Exchange and security
firm Veracode found that two-thirds of board members questioned think
their companies are ill-prepared for a cyberattack. Yet consulting firm
PricewaterhouseCoopers reports that 30 percent of boards surveyed never
talk about cybersecurity at all.
That fact raises eyebrows. “There’s some liability in not taking every
measure you can to protect your clients, to protect your revenue
stream,” said Gary Matus, managing director at executive recruiting
agency RSR Partners. “To give people confidence, you have to be getting
the best advice you can.”
To Parsons CEO Charles Harrington, having a cyber pro on the board was
a no-brainer. The nature of Parsons’ business demands it. Along with
classified government work, Parsons builds bridges, utility plants and
military bases. Harrington realized that those projects’ IT networks
needed protection. Computer viruses were spreading that could destroy
the infrastructure Parsons assembled. So he has been preparing his
company for what he calls the age of “electronic battlefields.”
He bought two cybersecurity companies. Pairing them with Parsons’
engineers and scientists, they worked to “bake” in security rather than
“bolting” it on after.
Harrington knew the direction was right, but needed someone with a new
perspective to help him with strategy, and communicating that to the
board. He tapped Vautrinot, whom he calls a “rare individual with the
deep technical set and the communication skills needed to gravitate to
a board.” And she’s “not afraid to dig in and get her hands dirty.”
She’s no rubber stamp. Vautrinot visits the company’s cybersecurity
teams. She helps think through what will persuade a customer to pay for
cybersecurity services, likening it to the challenge years ago of
getting people to wear bicycle helmets. In the boardroom, she cuts
through jargon, explaining opportunities to protect the technological
backbone of railroads, toll roads and the like.
Key advice
She advises the 15,000-employee company on how to best protect its
worldwide network, under constant threat because of the sensitive
projects Parsons undertakes.
“You can bring the passion, you can champion, you can ask good
questions,” she said. “You can help other board members see ‘Is it
viable? Can we do this and grow as a company?’”
In February, Vautrinot joined Wells Fargo, which is investing other
cost-savings into information security. She’s also on the boards of
Ecolab and Symantec.
Demand for board members like Vautrinot is increasing, board recruiters
said.
David Burg, U.S. cybersecurity leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers, said
he’s still receiving an “amazing” number of requests from boards for
basic education. For example, he said, his company helps boards compare
their company’s security approach with those of competitors.
There’s a big problem with the whole trend, though: a shortage of
cyberqualified board candidates.
John Pironti, a risk and security adviser for an IT professionals
group, is urging his members to ask for more responsibilities during
this “big hump of sensitivity,” so they’ll be primed for larger
advisory roles in the future — including on boards of directors.
Harrington is open to that idea. Three years ago, the Parsons board
decided to allow employees to join boards of other companies, though it
hasn’t yet fielded any requests.
“Depending on how critical their IT network is to them, absolutely,
having someone on the board can shift the dialogue,” Harrington said of
other companies. “Cyber finds a way onto our agendas one way or
another.”
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#The Technology Chronicles » Feed The Technology Chronicles » Comments
Feed Are you a candidate for cord cutting? Take this test. A man’s fake
Facebook suicide post gets him detained
The Technology Chronicles
Privacy advocates’ new enemy: Barbie
By Marcus Gilmer on March 13, 2015 at 11:00 AM
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* Print
*
* Hello Barbie is displayed at the Mattel showroom at the North
American International Toy Fair, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2015 in New
York. Mattel, in partnership with San Francisco startup ToyTalk,
will release the Internet-connected version of the doll that has
real conversations with kids in late 2015. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
* Mattel introduced many Barbies with dark complexions in the 60s and
70s but they weren't genuinely African-American because their heads
were made with the molds of the Caucasian dolls.
* The 1990 launch of Oreo Fun Barbie was met with outrage since Oreo
is a derogatory term in the African-American community.
* Many parents thought Midge, Barbie's pregnant best friend, sent the
wrong message because she didn't come with a spouse.
* Spin the dial on Growing Up Skipper's back and her figure matures.
The point was to teach kids about puberty but parents didn't like
this doll who grew breasts.
* Sleepytime Gal Barbie came with a dieting book. One of the pages
supposedly read, "Don't eat."
* Teen Talk Barbie said 270 phrases, including "Math class is tough."
* Share a Smile Becky, who came in a pink wheelchair, was a
thoughtful idea, but her chair didn't fit into the elevator of the
Barbie Dream House.
* In 2003 Saudi Arabia banned the sale of Barbie and introduced
Fulla, designed to be more acceptable to the Middle Eastern market.
* In 2009 Mattel released Totally Tattoo Barbie, which came with
tattoos to stick on the plastic body, including a tramp stamp to
put on the doll's lower back.
* Black Canary Barbie was panned for looking downright trashy.
* The FBI issued a warning in 2010 that the video camera in Barbie
Video Girl's chest could be used to produce child pornography,
although there was "no reported evidence that the doll had been
used in any way other than intended."
* Tokidoki's edgy look caused a stir—especially among straight-laced
parents trying to raise kids who never step inside a tattoo parlor.
* Barbie donned a bikini and struck an unapologetic pose for the 2014
50th anniversary edition of the 'Sports Illustrated Swimsuit
Issue.'
* Girl Scouts Barbie hit store shelves in 2014 and many were outraged
by the partnership. The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood
wrote in a statement: "Partnering with Mattel undermines[the Girl
Scouts] vital mission to “build girls of courage, confidence, and
character... While Mattel and the Barbie brand benefit enormously
from GSUSA’s endorsement, the partnership harms girls. In addition
to encouraging sexualization, the Barbie brand idealizes a
dangerously impossible body type.”
* As part of its Dolls of the World line, Mattel toy company
introduced a new Mexico Barbie in 2013. The doll with long, dark,
wavy hair dons a frilly fiesta dress trimmed with lace and colorful
ribbons. She comes with a pet chihuahua tucked under her arm and
her own passport. some argued the passport was offensive in light
of the political immigration debate. 'Including a passport isolates
the Mexican, Indian and other cultural Barbies instead of promoting
an inclusive America,' Evette Dionne wrote on ClutchMagOnline.com.
'A native-country flag would’ve been a reasonable alternative, but
Mattel seems to be selling controversy this month.'
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* sleepytime-gal-barbie-diet-controversy-17_8cshr_22975
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* share-a-smile-becky
* fulla-1
* barbie-tats2
* black-canary-barbie-doll-thumb
* barbie_video_girl_2
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* Barbie-Sports Illustrated
* pmat1-18892548enh-z6
* mexico-barbie
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Controversial Barbie dolls
Image 1 of 16
Image 1 of 16 | Controversial Barbie dolls
Mark Lennihan / Associated Press
Hello Barbie is displayed at the Mattel showroom at the North American
International Toy Fair, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2015 in New York. Mattel, in
partnership with San Francisco startup ToyTalk, will release the
Internet-connected version of the doll that has real conversations with
kids in late 2015. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
Image 1 of 16 - Controversial Barbie dolls
Hello Barbie is displayed at the Mattel showroom at the North American
International Toy Fair, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2015 in New York. Mattel, in
partnership with San Francisco startup ToyTalk, will release the
Internet-connected version of the doll that has real conversations with
kids in late 2015. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
Hello Barbie is displayed at the Mattel showroom at the North
American...International Toy Fair, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2015 in New York.
Mattel,...in partnership with San Francisco startup ToyTalk, will
release the ...Internet-connected version of the doll that has real
conversations...with kids in late 2015. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
Image 2 of 16 | Controversial Barbie dolls
Mattel introduced many Barbies with dark complexions in the 60s and 70s
but they weren't genuinely African-American because their heads were
made with the molds of the Caucasian dolls.
Image 2 of 16 - Controversial Barbie dolls
Mattel introduced many Barbies with dark complexions in the 60s and 70s
but they weren't genuinely African-American because their heads were
made with the molds of the Caucasian dolls.
Mattel introduced many Barbies with dark complexions in the 60s
and...70s but they weren't genuinely African-American because their
heads...were made with the molds of the Caucasian dolls.
Image 3 of 16 | Controversial Barbie dolls
The 1990 launch of Oreo Fun Barbie was met with outrage since Oreo is a
derogatory term in the African-American community.
Image 3 of 16 - Controversial Barbie dolls
The 1990 launch of Oreo Fun Barbie was met with outrage since Oreo is a
derogatory term in the African-American community.
The 1990 launch of Oreo Fun Barbie was met with outrage since Oreo
is...a derogatory term in the African-American community.
Image 4 of 16 | Controversial Barbie dolls
Many parents thought Midge, Barbie's pregnant best friend, sent the
wrong message because she didn't come with a spouse.
Image 4 of 16 - Controversial Barbie dolls
Many parents thought Midge, Barbie's pregnant best friend, sent the
wrong message because she didn't come with a spouse.
Many parents thought Midge, Barbie's pregnant best friend, sent
the...wrong message because she didn't come with a spouse.
Image 5 of 16 | Controversial Barbie dolls
Spin the dial on Growing Up Skipper's back and her figure matures. The
point was to teach kids about puberty but parents didn't like this doll
who grew breasts.
Image 5 of 16 - Controversial Barbie dolls
Spin the dial on Growing Up Skipper's back and her figure matures. The
point was to teach kids about puberty but parents didn't like this doll
who grew breasts.
Spin the dial on Growing Up Skipper's back and her figure matures.
The...point was to teach kids about puberty but parents didn't like
this...doll who grew breasts.
Image 6 of 16 | Controversial Barbie dolls
Sleepytime Gal Barbie came with a dieting book. One of the pages
supposedly read, "Don't eat."
Image 6 of 16 - Controversial Barbie dolls
Sleepytime Gal Barbie came with a dieting book. One of the pages
supposedly read, "Don't eat."
Sleepytime Gal Barbie came with a dieting book. One of the
pages...supposedly read, "Don't eat."
Image 7 of 16 | Controversial Barbie dolls
Teen Talk Barbie said 270 phrases, including "Math class is tough."
Image 7 of 16 - Controversial Barbie dolls
Teen Talk Barbie said 270 phrases, including "Math class is tough."
Teen Talk Barbie said 270 phrases, including "Math class is tough."
Image 8 of 16 | Controversial Barbie dolls
Share a Smile Becky, who came in a pink wheelchair, was a thoughtful
idea, but her chair didn't fit into the elevator of the Barbie Dream
House.
Image 8 of 16 - Controversial Barbie dolls
Share a Smile Becky, who came in a pink wheelchair, was a thoughtful
idea, but her chair didn't fit into the elevator of the Barbie Dream
House.
Share a Smile Becky, who came in a pink wheelchair, was a
thoughtful...idea, but her chair didn't fit into the elevator of the
Barbie Dream...House.
Image 9 of 16 | Controversial Barbie dolls
In 2003 Saudi Arabia banned the sale of Barbie and introduced Fulla,
designed to be more acceptable to the Middle Eastern market.
Image 9 of 16 - Controversial Barbie dolls
In 2003 Saudi Arabia banned the sale of Barbie and introduced Fulla,
designed to be more acceptable to the Middle Eastern market.
In 2003 Saudi Arabia banned the sale of Barbie and introduced
Fulla,...designed to be more acceptable to the Middle Eastern market.
Image 10 of 16 | Controversial Barbie dolls
In 2009 Mattel released Totally Tattoo Barbie, which came with tattoos
to stick on the plastic body, including a tramp stamp to put on the
doll's lower back.
Image 10 of 16 - Controversial Barbie dolls
In 2009 Mattel released Totally Tattoo Barbie, which came with tattoos
to stick on the plastic body, including a tramp stamp to put on the
doll's lower back.
In 2009 Mattel released Totally Tattoo Barbie, which came with
tattoos...to stick on the plastic body, including a tramp stamp to put
on the...doll's lower back.
Image 11 of 16 | Controversial Barbie dolls
Black Canary Barbie was panned for looking downright trashy.
Image 11 of 16 - Controversial Barbie dolls
Black Canary Barbie was panned for looking downright trashy.
Black Canary Barbie was panned for looking downright trashy.
Image 12 of 16 | Controversial Barbie dolls
The FBI issued a warning in 2010 that the video camera in Barbie Video
Girl's chest could be used to produce child pornography, although there
was "no reported evidence that the doll had been used in any way other
than intended."
Image 12 of 16 - Controversial Barbie dolls
The FBI issued a warning in 2010 that the video camera in Barbie Video
Girl's chest could be used to produce child pornography, although there
was "no reported evidence that the doll had been used in any way other
than intended."
The FBI issued a warning in 2010 that the video camera in Barbie
Video...Girl's chest could be used to produce child pornography,
although...there was "no reported evidence that the doll had been used
in any way...other than intended."
Image 13 of 16 | Controversial Barbie dolls
Tokidoki's edgy look caused a stir—especially among straight-laced
parents trying to raise kids who never step inside a tattoo parlor.
Image 13 of 16 - Controversial Barbie dolls
Tokidoki's edgy look caused a stir—especially among straight-laced
parents trying to raise kids who never step inside a tattoo parlor.
Tokidoki's edgy look caused a stir—especially among
straight-laced...parents trying to raise kids who never step inside a
tattoo parlor.
Image 14 of 16 | Controversial Barbie dolls
Uncredited / AP / Sports Illustrated
Barbie donned a bikini and struck an unapologetic pose for the 2014
50th anniversary edition of the 'Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.'
Image 14 of 16 - Controversial Barbie dolls
Barbie donned a bikini and struck an unapologetic pose for the 2014
50th anniversary edition of the 'Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.'
Barbie donned a bikini and struck an unapologetic pose for the
2014...50th anniversary edition of the 'Sports Illustrated Swimsuit
Issue.'
Image 15 of 16 | Controversial Barbie dolls
Mattel
Girl Scouts Barbie hit store shelves in 2014 and many were outraged by
the partnership. The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood wrote in
a statement: "Partnering with Mattel undermines[the Girl Scouts] vital
mission to “build girls of courage, confidence, and character... While
Mattel and the Barbie brand benefit enormously from GSUSA’s
endorsement, the partnership harms girls. In addition to encouraging
sexualization, the Barbie brand idealizes a dangerously impossible body
type.”
Image 15 of 16 - Controversial Barbie dolls
Girl Scouts Barbie hit store shelves in 2014 and many were outraged by
the partnership. The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood wrote in
a statement: "Partnering with Mattel undermines[the Girl Scouts] vital
mission to “build girls of courage, confidence, and character... While
Mattel and the Barbie brand benefit enormously from GSUSA’s
endorsement, the partnership harms girls. In addition to encouraging
sexualization, the Barbie brand idealizes a dangerously impossible body
type.”
Girl Scouts Barbie hit store shelves in 2014 and many were outraged
by...the partnership. The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood
wrote in...a statement: "Partnering with Mattel undermines[the Girl
Scouts] vital...mission to “build girls of courage, confidence, and
character... While Mattel and the Barbie brand benefit enormously from
GSUSA’s...endorsement, the partnership harms girls. In addition to
encouraging...sexualization, the Barbie brand idealizes a dangerously
impossible...body type.”
Image 16 of 16 | Controversial Barbie dolls
As part of its Dolls of the World line, Mattel toy company introduced a
new Mexico Barbie in 2013. The doll with long, dark, wavy hair dons a
frilly fiesta dress trimmed with lace and colorful ribbons. She comes
with a pet chihuahua tucked under her arm and her own passport. some
argued the passport was offensive in light of the political immigration
debate. 'Including a passport isolates the Mexican, Indian and other
cultural Barbies instead of promoting an inclusive America,' Evette
Dionne wrote on ClutchMagOnline.com. 'A native-country flag would’ve
been a reasonable alternative, but Mattel seems to be selling
controversy this month.'
Image 16 of 16 - Controversial Barbie dolls
As part of its Dolls of the World line, Mattel toy company introduced a
new Mexico Barbie in 2013. The doll with long, dark, wavy hair dons a
frilly fiesta dress trimmed with lace and colorful ribbons. She comes
with a pet chihuahua tucked under her arm and her own passport. some
argued the passport was offensive in light of the political immigration
debate. 'Including a passport isolates the Mexican, Indian and other
cultural Barbies instead of promoting an inclusive America,' Evette
Dionne wrote on ClutchMagOnline.com. 'A native-country flag would’ve
been a reasonable alternative, but Mattel seems to be selling
controversy this month.'
As part of its Dolls of the World line, Mattel toy company
introduced...a new Mexico Barbie in 2013. The doll with long, dark,
wavy hair dons...a frilly fiesta dress trimmed with lace and colorful
ribbons. She...comes with a pet chihuahua tucked under her arm and her
own passport....some argued the passport was offensive in light of the
political...immigration debate. 'Including a passport isolates the
Mexican, Indian...and other cultural Barbies instead of promoting an
inclusive America,'...Evette Dionne wrote on ClutchMagOnline.com. 'A
native-country flag...would’ve been a reasonable alternative, but
Mattel seems to be...selling controversy this month.'
In a post-Edward Snowden world, it’s understandable that some parents
are more alert to technological objects and advances that could
infringe upon the privacy of their lives and the lives of their
children. Which is why one group is upset with toymaker Mattel and
SF-based company ToyTalk over their new “Hello, Barbie” doll. Using
technology developed by ToyTalk, this Barbie is being hailed as the
first fully interactive, WiFi-enabled Barbie that can carry on a full
conversation with children. If that doesn’t creep you out, here’s how
it will work, according to the Washington Post:
Hello Barbie works by recording a child’s voice with an embedded
microphone that is triggered by pressing a button on the doll. As
the doll “listens,” audio recordings travel over the Web to a server
where the snippets of speech are recognized and processed. That
information is used to help form Hello Barbie’s responses.
While that may not seem too ominous, this part from the Post’s story
does: “Mattel says Hello Barbie will offer children a highly engaging
play experience, in part because the doll will learn about its users
over time.” And to give you an idea of what kind of engaging
conversation the doll will be capable of, a demonstration of the toy
led Barbie to offer this suggestion: “Well, you told me you like being
onstage. So maybe a dancer? Or a politician? Or how about a dancing
politician?” Cutting insight for all children of the world.
ToyTalk is responsible for the technology that enables Barbie to
essentially talk back to your children and chief exec Oren Jacob is on
the defensive, saying, “The data is never used for anything to do with
marketing or publicity or any of that stuff. Not at all.” “Stuff”
presumably being code for “recording all the innermost thoughts that
your child dares to speak out loud in the presence of the doll.” Mattel
is also promising parents that there’s nothing nefarious going on; a
spokeswoman told Huffington Post:
“Mattel is committed to safety and security, and Hello Barbie
conforms to applicable government standards, including the
Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. Additionally, Hello
Barbie’s technology features a number of safeguards to ensure that
stored data is secure and can’t be accessed by unauthorized users.”
The Campaign For a Commercial-Free Childhood has posted a petition to
prevent the toy (with a suggested retail price of $74.99) from hitting
shelves as planned this fall. They note ToyTalk’s current privacy
policy, which notes that the company “may use, store, process and
transcribe Recordings in order to provide and maintain the Service, to
perform, test or improve speech recognition technology and artificial
intelligence algorithms, or for other research and development and data
analysis purposes.”
ToyTalk’s privacy policy states the company won’t use any recordings to
reach out to those children and outlines that only people over the age
of 13 will be able to set up accounts on the doll. Jacob insists that
parents will be able to receive emailed updates about all of the sound
files their child shares with the doll. Still, the CCFC remains
skeptical, saying, “that won’t necessarily protect children from
exploitation.”
IFRAME: //www.youtube.com/embed/RJMvmVCwoNM
Categories: Privacy, toys, Uncategorized
Tags: section business
Marcus Gilmer
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Panel of privacy watchdogs to oversee Google's data removal
Aoife White
Updated 5:38 pm, Wednesday, June 4, 2014
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* Google's European offices, including this one in Paris, will work
on data- removal requests. Photo: Jacques Brignon, New York Times
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* Google's European offices, including this one in Paris, will work
on data- removal requests.
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Google's European offices, including this one in Paris, will work on
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Google's European offices, including this one in Paris, will work on
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Photo: Jacques Brignon, New York Times
Panel of privacy watchdogs to oversee Google's data removal
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Google Inc.'s attempts to handle requests from people that want to use
their new-found "right to be forgotten" will be examined by a task
force of European privacy watchdogs.
The panel will look at how regulators should react to complaints about
Google's management of requests to delete online details, according to
a member of the group of privacy watchdogs, which approved the step
Wednesday at a meeting in Brussels.
The European Union's top court ruled last month that search engines
must delete some personal information on request where Europeans'
fundamental rights are harmed and there's no public interest in
publishing it. Google said it got 41,000 requests to remove data in the
first four days after it created an online form for people to ask for
data to be removed.
The right-to-be-forgotten ruling was a surprise for Google and other
companies already facing greater scrutiny over privacy practices in the
28-nation EU.
The bloc is seeking to increase the powers of data-protection watchdogs
to impose fines for violations. Revelations of widespread U.S. spying
on EU citizens, including top politicians such as German Chancellor
Angela Merkel, have added to the clamor for privacy safeguards.
The backlash against U.S. surveillance "has raised the temperature
around discussions of protecting the privacy of individuals," said Alex
Mason, a lawyer at Baker Botts LLP in London. Among EU regulators
"there will be hawks and doves in different countries trying to have
their view prevail. Some will be pushing for greater privacy, others
will be looking for more freedom of information to facilitate global
business."
Watchdogs from the EU's 28 nations and national courts have the
responsibility for ruling on any disputes people have over Google's
decisions to remove data.
Al Verney, a spokesman for Google in Brussels, didn't immediately
respond to an e-mail seeking comment. The world's biggest search
provider is required by the court to make "difficult judgments about an
individual's right to be forgotten and the public's right to know,"
Google said last month.
Google previously resisted orders by data-protection regulators to
remove content, including about 200 cases where Spain's data-protection
authority told it to pull content. Its challenge to a Spanish order for
it to remove information on a man whose house was auctioned off led to
the EU court ruling last month.
Google is separately seeking to settle a European Union antitrust probe
over allegations that it discriminates against rivals in search
results. Companies that have filed complaints against the search
provider met with regulators to discuss the proposed settlement over
the past two weeks.
Aoife White is a Bloomberg writer. E-mail: awhite62@bloomberg.net
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For some odd reason, data privacy maven Bruce Schneier is an optimist.
It’s odd because, according to Schneier, there’s practically no such
thing as data privacy. Just about everything we do these days is under
some form of electronic surveillance, with governments and corporations
eager to record and analyze our every action.
But when Schneier holds forth on Friday at Harvard University, as part
of the ongoing HUBweek festivities, he’ll reassure his listeners that
the cause is not lost, that our online privacy will someday be ensured.
Just give it a decade or two.
“It is possible to write laws to prohibit behavior we find immoral,”
Schneier said. “We do it all the time.” So it’s just a matter of
persuading businesses, governments, and voters that the current level
of comprehensive digital surveillance crosses an ethical line.
Technology isn’t the issue. “It will take an act of moral will,” he
said.
Schneier, a fellow at Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet and
Society, has been trying to prick the public conscience for years. He’s
a cryptographer by trade, and author of one of the field’s most
respected textbooks. But since 2000, he’s written a series of books for
the rest of us, intended to wise us up about the importance of securing
our data, and the perils of hyper-surveillance. This year’s entry is
the New York Times bestseller “Data and Goliath,” an entertaining and
worrisome survey of the many ways we’re being watched.
The temptation to spy on us is irresistible, in part because we’ve made
it so easy. The electronics in our phones, computers, and cars generate
a torrent of information every time we switch them on –“data exhaust”
is the cool nickname for it. The problem arose by accident. There was
no evil conspiracy, no master plan. The people who built the Internet
or the phone system or even those automatic toll booths just wanted
them to work efficiently. Nobody thought much about privacy.
Your computer needs an Internet address so it can receive messages. But
that same address gives away your location. GPS was added to your phone
so emergency workers could find you when you dial 911. But it also lets
the phone company, Google, Apple, and perhaps the US government track
every move you make.
Schneier says networks and devices could filter out data exhaust with a
sort of catalytic converter. The tollway EZ-Pass would collect its fee,
but forget the identity of the driver who paid it. All Internet traffic
could be routed through proxy servers that would obscure its point of
origin. The cellular network could be designed to forget our location
data every 24 hours.
It’s all technically feasible, but costly, and there’s no sign that
anybody’s willing to foot the bill. Schneier compares it with the
perennial popularity of human bondage. “Why wasn’t slavery abolished
from the beginning of time?” he said. “Because it was so easy, and we
liked having slaves.” In the same way, today’s privacy-shredding
gadgets are so pleasant and so cheap that even their victims – pretty
much all of us – can’t imagine life without them.
There’s only one hope for building privacy-friendly networks, said
Schneier. “It would require a law saying you have to do this.”
That’s bound to happen, he believes. He’s just not sure how much
pressure it will take. “Do you need social upheaval to solve this
problem, like we did with slavery,” Schneier wondered, “or can you do
it incrementally, like we did with child labor?”
Schneier is no privacy purist. Like many of us, he lives a life of
compromise. He uses a smartphone, but won’t get a Facebook account. He
tries to use the pro-privacy search service Duck Duck Go, but admits
falling back on Google, because it generates more accurate search
results. Schneier has a personal e-mail account and wants no part of
Google’s Gmail. But he notes that many of his friends and colleagues
are on Gmail. So when Schneier writes to them, Gmail analyses his
inbound messages, whether he likes it or not.
“Everybody makes their own tradeoffs,” Schneier said. “I think I’m the
reasonable guy. I’m not the paranoid guy.”
But there’s no compromise about his ultimate goal – a world in which
you don’t have to be paranoid to ensure your personal data stays
personal. “I think it’s going to take 10, 20 years,” said Schneier.
Depending on how much we want it.
HUBweek is founded by The Boston Globe, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Harvard University, and Massachusetts General Hospital.
Hiawatha Bray can be reached at hiawatha.bray@globe.com. Follow him on
Twitter @GlobeTechLab.
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Privacy tool protects felons — and freedom
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TechLab Privacy Lebanon Libraries Tor Arlington N.H.
The Kilton Public Library in Lebanon, N.H., just became an outpost in
the global struggle for Internet freedom — and perhaps part of an
international criminal conspiracy. All because one of the library’s
computers is linked to a controversial service called Tor.
Invented by the US Naval Research Laboratory, Tor uses a network of
digital back roads and blind alleys to throw off pursuers tracking your
movements on the World Wide Web. It’s a powerful tool to protect the
online privacy of political dissidents in repressive countries, but
it’s just as useful for terrorists, drug dealers and child
pornographers.
“Tor obviously was created with good intentions, but it’s a huge
problem for law enforcement,” said assistant US Attorney General Leslie
Caldwell at a conference in January.
So when the library fired up a Tor server as part of an intellectual
freedom campaign, agitated local police and politicians met with
library director Sean Fleming and persuaded him to pull the plug. “The
potential was that we could be providing cover for criminals,” Fleming
said.
But on Tuesday night, about 50 citizens showed up at a library board
meeting to call for restoration of the Tor service. “There was no
opposition at all,” said Fleming. The board unanimously agreed to
switch the server back on.
Americans fear terrorism and kiddie porn. But people also fear an
Internet devoid of privacy, where all of our actions can be tracked by
swindlers, corporations, or cops. Tor is far from a perfect defense.
But it’s one of the best yet devised.
The computers that the library provides to the public are not using
Tor; at least not yet. The library installed the server so that others
can use this privacy-enhancing technology.
Tor relies on a network of server computers like the one at the Lebanon
library, each of them run by volunteers worldwide. These servers
encrypt and re-route Tor Internet messages to ensure they can’t be
traced back to the sender.
Say you’re in China and you want to visit a website that’s blocked by
that country’s “Great Firewall” censorship system. You just install a
free Tor-compatible Web browser, which encrypts your request and sends
it to a Tor server not blocked by the Chinese firewall. This server
relays the request through still more Tor servers, which conceal your
location and bypass the censors. Now you can read about forbidden
subjects like the Tiananmen Square incident without getting a visit
from the Internet police.
Since Tor routes all data through a worldwide network of about 6,000
servers, Web pages often take much longer to download. But adding more
servers would make it faster, and more secure. That’s why former
Watertown librarian Alison Macrina launched the Library Freedom
Project, a campaign funded by the Knight Foundation that aims to put
Tor relays in libraries throughout the US. The Lebanon library was the
first to sign up, but thanks to the resulting controversy, “many other
libraries have gotten in touch with us,” Macrina said. “This is a
public referendum about privacy and our right to practice free speech
online.”
But what about the bad guys? Tor protects them too. But all the Tor
servers in the world didn’t prevent the federal government from
shutting down Silk Road, a notorious online purveyor of vice. Silk
Road’s website could be accessed only through Tor. But its customers,
who bought everything from heroin to kiddie porn, were flesh-and-blood
humans living in the material world. By tracking the people, the
products, and the payoffs, federal cops brought Silk Road down, Tor or
no Tor. Silk Road is now dead, and its founder is doing a life sentence
for drug dealing, computer hacking, and money laundering.
“Tor doesn’t make it difficult to catch bad guys. That’s just rhetoric
you hear from the FBI,” said computer security expert Bruce Schneier,
author of a recent book on privacy called “Data and Goliath.”
Still, federal officials say that as tech-savvy crooks log onto Tor,
their job is becoming a lot harder. “We have made some advances in our
ability to penetrate the Tor network,” said assistant attorney general
Caldwell, “but it’s still a real challenge.”
That’s just fine with supporters of the Lebanon Tor server. “Some
people were expressing pride that Lebanon was the first public library
to participate in the project,” said Fleming. “In the last 10 or 15
years, there’s been a perceived government overreach, especially
federal government overreach. I think the vast majority of people are
really very concerned about that.”
Will criminals use the library’s Tor server? Very likely. So will
political dissidents, undercover cops, and ordinary citizens with a
fondness for privacy. Between us, I’m pretty sure we’ve got the bad
guys outnumbered.
Hiawatha Bray can be reached at hiawatha.bray@globe.com. Follow him on
Twitter @GlobeTechLab.
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E.U.
E.U. Pushes for Stricter Data Protection After Snowden’s NSA Revelations
By Simon Shuster / Berlin @shustryOct. 21, 20130
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Jan Philipp Albrecht
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Jan Philipp Albrecht
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In the fight for online privacy, Jan Philipp Albrecht, a German member
of the European Parliament, sees himself as Edward Snowden’s comrade in
arms. They are the same age, 30, and take the same crusading tone when
the subject turns to U.S. government surveillance. They even look
alike, with the tousled and bespectacled features of men who spend too
much time in front of a computer. And although their tactics are very
different, Albrecht is “completely convinced,” he says, that they are
fighting the same war.
On Monday evening, Albrecht put forward a new set of rules to protect
the data of E.U. citizens from the kinds of wholesale snooping that
Snowden revealed this summer, when the former National Security Agency
contractor turned asylum seeker in Russia leaked details of U.S.
surveillance programs around the world. With those revelations still
fresh in the lawmakers’ minds, Albrecht’s proposals passed after less
than two hours of debate with a majority rarely seen in a chamber as
fussy and divided as the European Parliament. “This was a surprise for
everybody,” he tells TIME by phone from the French city of Strasbourg,
the seat of the European Parliament, just after the vote. “But it’s
also a clear sign of the overall consensus in all political parties
here.”
That consensus has been fueled by the anger in Europe over what Snowden
revealed. Starting in June, the former worker of U.S. intelligence
agencies leaked documents showing how the U.S. spies on millions of
communications across the Web. The disclosures have strained U.S.
relations with allies around the world, most recently on Monday, when
the French daily Le Monde, citing Snowden’s cache of secret files,
reported that the U.S. had spied on some 70 million French telephone
records and additional millions of text messages. U.S. President Barack
Obama admitted in a telephone call with his French counterpart that the
reports raised “legitimate questions for our friends and allies” about
the scope of U.S. surveillance.
(MORE: U.S. Ambassador to France Summoned Over New Snowden Leaks)
Previous reports based on Snowden’s disclosures have revealed that
major Internet companies like Google and Yahoo pass user data to the
U.S. National Security Agency, also known as the NSA. A key provision
in Albrecht’s proposal — which passed the chamber’s Committee on Civil
Rights, Justice and Home Affairs on Monday with a vote of 49 to 3 —
would make these firms pay a very high price for that in the future.
Internet companies would face fines of up to 5% of their yearly revenue
— a price that could reach into the billions of dollars for giants like
Google — if they continue handing over their users’ data without
consent. Another provision, known as the “right to be forgotten,” would
allow European citizens to have all of their private data wiped from
the Internet. At the risk of major fines, Internet companies would have
to comply with such requests, deleting all copies of the private
information from their servers.
Before Snowden’s leaks began, Albrecht’s proposals came up against
ferocious lobbying from the tech industry and faced resistance from
politicians who claimed that regulating online privacy should be left
to individual states. Chief among them, Albrecht says, were lawmakers
from the U.K., Denmark and Hungary, who all raised objections related
to sovereignty. But this summer’s disclosure of the extent of U.S.
spying made it politically risky for any lawmaker to oppose sweeping
new safeguards for online data in Europe. More than a year of divisions
over this issue quickly turned into a broad consensus, and Albrecht was
even able to tighten the proposed rules against data transfer. “After
Snowden we agreed that data protection in Europe is part of our
self-determination and dignity,” Albrecht says.
(MORE: Greenwald on Snowden Leaks: The Worst Is Yet to Come)
Following Monday’s vote, the new rules will still face major hurdles
before they can become E.U. law. The European Parliament still needs to
hold a plenary vote, after which all 28 members states would have to
agree on the new regulations. Those steps could take at least until
next spring, Albrecht says, and may result in some amendments to the
rules. But if they are adopted, they would mark a milestone in the
global campaign for online privacy, replacing the outdated mosaic of
regulations that now offer paltry protections for the E.U.’s 500
million citizens. “This is the moment to safeguard what we have,”
Albrecht says, switching into the righteous tone that Snowden has used
in defending his leaks: “Hundreds of years ago, citizens gave their
lives for fundamental values and principles, which we would like to
safeguard in a digital and globalized environment.”
Although Albrecht, who was elected to the European Parliament in 2009
from Germany’s Green Party, has never met Snowden or spoken to him, he
applauds his leaks as “extremely courageous,” providing a wake-up call
to the world on the vulnerability of online interactions. Next week,
Albrecht and other European lawmakers will take part in an official
visit to Washington, where he will argue for the U.S. to adopt similar
regulations. “The reluctance is a bit broader in the U.S.,” he admits.
“They still need to warm up to the concept of data protection.” But if
Snowden can no longer do much to help from his temporary asylum in
Russia, he can at least feel assured that his admirers in Europe are
trying to carry the fight.
MORE: David Cameron to Guardian: Snowden Leaks Put Britain in Danger
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daridekas 5pts
we have to read the 1984 written by George Orwell almost 100 yers ago
again and again.he was the first to see so deep in what kind of future
we are going to live.
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Case Study
Will We Ever Get Strong Internet Privacy Rules?
Obama's new plan lacks teeth by leaving out a "do not track"
requirement
By Adam Cohen @adamscohenMarch 05, 20120
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President Barack Obama speaks during the AIPAC Policy Conference on
March 4, 2012 in Washington, DC.
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This has been a tough few weeks for privacy rights on the Internet.
Google changed its privacy policy so it can combine the information it
collects from different sources – including gmail, searches, and web
browsing – to make a more complete dossier on who we are and what we do
online. And the Wall Street Journal reported that Google and other
online advertising companies have been bypassing the privacy settings
of people who use Safari, the popular Apple web browser.
(MORE: New Google Privacy Policy May Violate European Law)
In the middle of these privacy blow-ups, the Obama administration
announced a new set of online privacy policies – a 62-page document
called “Consumer Data Privacy in a Networked World: A Framework for
Protecting Privacy and Promoting Innovation in the Global Digital
Economy.” The White House has the right intentions, but it is not clear
that these policies will have the teeth necessary to effectively
protect people’s online privacy.
It’s no great secret what the fighting over online privacy is about.
Many Internet users want to be able to browse the Internet, use search
engines, and view websites without anyone keeping a record of it.
People do a lot of things online that they may want to keep secret –
for example, looking up symptoms of diseases (which health insurance
companies may consider in writing coverage) and visiting non-mainstream
political sites (which the government might want to know about).
When technology companies keep track of online activity, privacy
problems radiate out in all directions. These companies could sell the
data to people who will do harmful things with it – including
employers, who could use it to vet potential hires. This kind of data
can easily end up in the hands of the government, which can subpoena it
from the tech companies – and suddenly, we are living in a Big Brother
state.
(MORE: Can You Be Fired For Your Genes?)
If many Internet users strongly oppose data collection of this sort,
Internet companies feel just the opposite. Personalized consumer data
is marketing gold – it can be used to direct “behavioral advertising”
at Internet users, targeted very specifically to their tastes.
Behavioral advertising is fast crowding out old-fashioned advertising
models – and the financial pressure to collect and store more of this
sort of data is overwhelming.
The Obama administration’s privacy guidelines are a step in the right
direction. They create a “Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights,” which
contains good privacy principles, starting with “individual control,”
meaning that consumers have the right to exercise control over what
personal data is collected about them and how it is used. And the
administration is calling on Google, Facebook, and other Internet
companies to sit down with privacy advocates to develop codes of
conduct for protecting Internet users’ data.
That’s the good news. But there are also some real problems. The
guidelines are broadly phrased and allow a great deal of wiggle room.
For example, they say that consumers have a right to “reasonable”
limits on the personal data that companies collect and retain – and
“reasonable” is just the sort of word that can be stretched beyond all
recognition. To take effect, the guidelines will need to be turned into
an actual law by Congress – and before the lobbyists are done, worthy
principles may be turned into toothless rules.
(MORE: The Human Cost of Apple’s Success)
Another problem with the guidelines is that they rely a great deal on
voluntary agreements from Internet companies. The Obama administration
did not include a “do not track” requirement – as many privacy
advocates wanted. This would operate like the very popular federal “do
not call” registry, which allows people to sign up not to get marketing
telephone calls – only in this case, people would be able to opt out of
having their online movements tracked. Big Internet companies,
including Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo! have reportedly agreed
voluntarily to include “do not track” buttons on their browsers. But
there is a problem with this: tech companies change their privacy
policies constantly (think: Facebook), and they may change how they
track users when the pro-privacy heat dies down and few people are
looking.
It was great to hear the President speaking out about Internet privacy
– and to see some worthy policy guidelines coming out of the federal
government. Rather than celebrate the announcement, however, people who
care about privacy should monitor how these guidelines get translated
into law – and how tech companies actually behave.
(MORE: Ten Ideas That Are Changing Your Life)
adam_cohen
Adam Cohen @adamscohen
Cohen, the author of Nothing to Fear, teaches at Yale Law School. The
views expressed are solely his own.
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Cohen is the author of Nothing to Fear: FDR's Inner Circle and the
Hundred Days That Created Modern America
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The FTC is currently accepting public comments on the tracking programs.
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Several years ago, you may have reached the Internet through only a
desktop or laptop computer, where advertisers could gather information
on your activities and interests through cookies that tracked the
places you visited online.
Today, you may be using a laptop, a tablet, a mobile phone and a
desktop to roam the Web. Add a wireless fitness gadget or other
connected device and it gets very challenging for companies to
seamlessly track where you've been and to judge the effectiveness of
their online advertisements.
To better keep tabs on your online movements in the multiple-device
age, advertisers are turning to cross-device tracking programs, which
help them determine if, say, you opened your laptop to buy the product
that was advertised on your smartphone. While the technology may hold
benefits for marketers and consumers, it's also raising privacy
concerns.
Cybersecurity and privacy attorney Michael Morgan, of counsel at Jones
Day, says mobile advertising agencies are looking to cross-device
tracking to better show clients the value of mobile advertising "and to
be able to point to desktop purchases or purchases on iPads that may
have been the result of advertisements that were first presented to
consumers on a smartphone or other device."
"As more of our lives migrate to the online world, companies are able
to have a more clear picture and better understanding of their
customers and potential customers," says Morgan.
That could benefit consumers in certain ways. Say you start shopping at
your favorite e-tailer on your home computer, then abandon your cart
and later try to finish your purchase on your phone. The website may be
able to tailor your experience so you don't have to re-add items to
your shopping cart or re-enter credit card information.
But to get that level of convenience, you will have to give up some
privacy. "The privacy advocates have raised some concerns about the
level of information, or the amount of information [that] currently can
be known about a consumer from all of their various online activities,"
says Morgan.
Sign of a post-cookie world
The Federal Trade Commission will hold a workshop Nov. 16 to explore
privacy issues, security risks and potential benefits arising from
cross-device tracking of consumers for advertising and marketing
purposes. "With the advent of new tracking methods ... it's important
to ensure that consumers' privacy remains protected as businesses seek
to target them across multiple devices," said Jessica Rich, director of
the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, in a news release in March.
The agency noted the decreasing effectiveness of cookies in tracking
consumers' online activities. "A cookie may paint an incomplete picture
of the consumer who switches between different Web browsers at home and
at work. Further, a cookie stored on a consumer's browser cannot
provide insight into the consumer's activities or preferences within
the `sandboxed' apps on the consumer's phone," the FTC said.
Attorney and data privacy expert Michael Whitener, a partner in the VLP
Law Group in Washington, D.C., sees significance in the FTC's decision
to hold the workshop. "It reflects the fact that we're entering a
post-cookie world, and so the FTC is trying to get a handle on the
privacy implications of the new cross-device tracking technologies," he
says.
The self-regulatory industry group Network Advertising Initiative,
meanwhile, has said it will issue guidance on cross-device,
interest-based advertising and has asked its members to provide
comments on the relevant standards, according to Whitener. The NAI
recently issued member guidance on use of non-cookie technologies but
explicitly said it doesn't cover cross-device identification or data
collection yet, says Whitener.
Logins and `digital fingerprints'
The industry uses different approaches to try to follow consumers. It
can be as simple as requiring you to log in to a site or service from
whatever device you're using. But there are also complex analytics
programs that assemble user characteristics to try to identify you from
one device to another.
This "probabilistic" tracking method involves the collection of such
information as device type, operating system, fonts and Internet
Protocol address "to create a digital fingerprint to link a user to
different devices," the FTC says. This kind of tracking "is generally
invisible to consumers and, unlike tracking through cookies, the
consumer has no ability to control it. Accordingly, this practice
raises a number of privacy concerns and questions."
Digital Advertising Association Executive Director Lou Mastria
considers cross-device privacy an emerging area for the industry, which
has been focused most recently on mobile-environment privacy issues.
The group will conduct a review of what cross-device means and what
privacy protections can be provided, he told CreditCards.com.
The Better Business Bureau, the DAA's partner in applying industry
self-regulatory policies, issued a compliance warning in 2014 noting
that the DAA's privacy principles are enforceable "irrespective of the
technology employed to collect and use consumer web surfing activity to
serve interest-based ads."
Attorney Whitener says he agrees with the position that privacy
principles should apply regardless of the tracking technologies being
used. He thinks the industry's self-policing may ward off any new
regulations. "The FTC may well take the position it took after its
workshop on the Internet of Things, which is that specific legislation
would be premature and could stifle innovation in this area."
Opting out
While there are a number of up-and-coming tracking companies, BlueCava,
Tapad, and Drawbridge are the big names, Whitener says. The firms
gather various pieces of information about Internet users to try to
connect them to specific devices. They also offer opt-out mechanisms.
Tapad, for instance, says on its website that its proprietary
technology "assimilates billions of data points to find the human
relationship between smartphones, desktops, laptops, tablets, connected
TVs and game consoles." The firm says its algorithms provide "the
highest possible probability that devices are related."
Among the data it may collect is an "obfuscated user identifier, such
as email address, but only to evaluate the probability and nature of
connections between devices, never to identify the individual." The
firm says it's involved in developing industrywide standards for
consumer privacy, including clear notice and opt-out choices complying
with the Digital Advertising Alliance program for advertising linked to
consumer online behavior.
"Notice plus opt-out opportunity is the gold standard in the current
environment," says Whitener.
Consumers should keep in mind, however, that the clients of these
technology firms -- the websites you interact with -- will have their
own privacy policies, which could allow for data collection beyond what
the vendor's policy provides, according to Whitener. Ideally, the
website will spell out both how it and its service providers collect
data, he says.
Writing on the International Association of Privacy Professionals blog
early this year, Whitener suggested that digital marketers be fully
transparent regarding their data collection and consumer tracking
practices; that they provide clear opt-out abilities; and that they be
cautious about making no-personal-information-collected claims.
"Privacy policies commonly assert that cookies used by a website
operator collect no personal information or that data collected is
`anonymous,'" Whitener wrote. "That assertion may not be true of some
cross-device ID methods, which enable identification of specific
individuals."
Consumers speak out
The FTC is accepting public comments on cross-device tracking, and
several citizens have written to oppose tracking and call for the
ability to easily opt out.
"I am opposed to any tracking by any entity," wrote Blanche Wallace of
Florida. "If I desire a product or service, I am quite capable of
locating a provider. There should be a quick, easy, and obvious way to
opt out of tracking."
Jonathan Bernstein of Illinois wrote: "The most obvious thing to do
would be to require any company that tracks any consumer to notify the
consumer exactly who is tracking, what is being tracked, and where that
data can be shared, each time the consumer logs onto a site that is
party to tracking, either with a pop-up window or an email, in
real-time at the point of tracking."
The question, Whitener says, is how companies achieve meaningful notice
and choice. "If the consumer has to dig through a long and
jargon-filled privacy policy to learn how personal information is
collected, how it's used, and how to opt out of that collection and
use, it's not very meaningful," Whitener says. "I like the `surprise
minimization' principle that California has endorsed: If consumer data
is being collected and used in unexpected ways, the ad industry has an
obligation to take extra steps to alert the consumer."
More From CreditCards.com:
* Mobile shopping apps raise privacy and security issues
* Retailer beacons track your phone as you shop, raising privacy
issues
* Privacy disclosure statements let you opt out of info sharing
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Here's How Obama Wants to Protect the U.S. Against Hackers
* Sam Frizell @Sam_Frizell
Jan. 13, 2015
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President Obama Delivers Remarks On Cyber Security
Getty Images U.S. President Barack Obama delivers remarks at the
National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC) on
January 13, 2015 in Arlington, Virginia.
Information sharing and better prosecution of hackers
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President Obama unveiled a new proposal Tuesday aimed at protecting
businesses and the government from hackers. The President's plan would
encourage public and private sector information sharing as well as
expand law enforcement's authority to prosecute digital criminals.
The proposal, announced at the National Cybersecurity and
Communications Integration Center in Arlington, Virginia, comes in the
wake of high-profile hacks against Sony, Home Depot, J.P. Morgan and
other companies over the past year. A wide array of businesses and
police groups have been calling on Congress to pass new cybersecurity
legislation as a response to those incidents.
On the corporate side, Obama's plan would require businesses to notify
consumers if their personal information has been exposed to hackers, as
in the case of the Target and J.P. Morgan hacks, for instance.
Additionally, companies would be protected from liability for sharing
digital threats with the Department of Homeland Security, which would
then share those threats in databases accessed by the private sector.
For prosecutors, the White House's package would let them better target
the sale of identity theft software and computer networks used by
hackers. It would also criminalize the overseas sale of U.S. financial
information.
Both government representatives and private companies have long
demanded many of the steps highlighted in Obama's proposal. Just last
week, Admiral Michael S. Rogers, director of the NSA and commander of
U.S. Cyber Command, said Congress should pass legislation that improves
coordination between U.S. intelligence and the private sector.
"We have got to create partnerships that bridge the divide between the
private sector and the government," Rogers said at a conference in New
York City. "I don't think it's realistic for the private sector to deal
with [cyber threats] all by themselves."
A coalition of businesses, meanwhile, has already voiced support for
the new plan.
"Collaboration between industry and government to share threat
information is crucial in the fight against sophisticated and
persistent cyber criminals," said Nicholas Ahrens, vice president for
cybersecurity and data privacy at the Retail Industry Leaders
Association. A number of RILA members, including Walgreen, Target, Nike
and JCPenney, began sharing data on cyber threats last May.
It's unclear, however, if an Obama-backed cybersecurity bill will make
it through the Republican-controlled Congress, which has in recent
years failed to pass similar measures.
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Europe’s Top Court Just Gave U.S. Tech Firms a Huge Headache
* Vivienne Walt / Fortune @vivwalt
Oct. 6, 2015
SHARE
It could get harder for companies like Facebook to send data around the world
+ READ ARTICLE
The Atlantic Ocean just got a lot wider. On Tuesday the E.U.’s highest
court threw out a key U.S.-European agreement called Safe Harbor, that
for years has allowed companies to transfer their customers’ data back
and forth across the Atlantic—the route taken by half the Internet
traffic on the planet—without having to ask their permission in
advance. The European Court of Justice in Luxembourg ruled that the
agreement violated privacy rights of regular citizens, since they have
no control over how their data is ultimately used.
That decision—declaring the agreement null and void—was recently
described to Fortune by a business group as the “Doomsday scenario,”
which would throw companies’ global operations into chaos. Safe Harbor,
which the U.S. and E.U. officials in 2000 when online commerce was
taking off, was a way of allowing companies to conduct business on the
borderless Internet. “It is fair to say this is a bombshell,” Wim
Nauwelaerts, a Brussels partner for the U.S. law firm Hunton &
Williams, who represents American companies in the EU, said by phone on
Tuesday. “There are thousands of companies who genuinely rely on the
Safe Harbor network to transfer data, in order for them to do
business.”
But despite those complications, the EU judgement is clear: The Safe
Harbor agreement is none too safe. Under EU laws, companies are allowed
to transfer their customers’ data only if “the third country in
question ensures an adequate level of protection,” the ruling says.
And for that level of protection, the E.U. judges concluded, don’t look
to the U.S.
Tuesday’s ruling is a measure of how deep the impact is in Europe of
Edward Snowden’s NSA leaks, more than two years after they exploded.
The court decision says the U.S. has failed to show that they collect
people’s data in a way that is “strictly necessary and proportionate to
the protection of national security.” It also said that both Americans
or Europeans have “no administrative or judicial means of redress” if
their data is used for reasons they did not intend.
In fact, it was the NSA’s PRISM program that doomed Safe Harbor, and
which will now frame future negotiations between the U.S. and Europe
about how companies transfer data. In 2013 Snowden revealed that the
agency was scooping up mammoth quantities of people’s details, by
tapping into the data bases of giant U.S. tech and telcoms companies.
Since all those megacompanies were signatories to the Safe Harbor
agreement, the Safe Harbor rules proved a legal framework for PRISM,
according to Tuesday’s EU court ruling. “Companies such as Google,
Facebook, Microsoft, Apple, Yahoo had hundreds of millions of clients
in Europe and transferred personal data to the United States for
processing,” it says.
The ruling jolted U.S. officials, yet they should hardly have been
taken by surprise. In late September the E.U.’s Advocate General Yves
Bot published an opinion slamming the lack of data-privacy protections
under Safe Harbor, and saying that the U.S. intelligence agencies
carried out “mass, indiscriminate surveillance.” In response the U.S.
Mission to the E.U. in Brussels said in a statement that “the United
States does not and has not engaged in indiscriminate surveillance of
anyone, including ordinary European citizens.” The E.U. court did not
buy it.
Now comes the messy process of reworking rules for business. U.S. and
E.U. officials have been negotiating new Safe Harbor rules since 2013,
and in recent weeks both sides have said they were close to agreement.
The new rules would likely include assurances—never before made— that
governments will not access data of regular citizens. “It’s vital for
companies to be able to function in a multijurisdictional environment
and a global trading world,” says Paul Meller, spokesman for Digital
Europe, a lobbying group in Brussels representing multinational tech
companies. “Most would agree Safe Harbor is not perfect but it’s a
pragmatic way of getting over this jurisdictional issue.”
In 2000, it was urgent to figure out how to transfer basic information
like credit cards, names, addresses, and other data that now underpins
billions of dollars worth of Internet business. Yet few could have
foreseen that such data could just as easily be used for governments to
conduct mass surveillance. “Hindsight in a beautiful thing,” Henriette
Tielemans, a data-privacy lawyer at the Covington law firm in Brussels,
said in a statement emailed to Fortune on Tuesday. “We must all
remember that in 2015 things are different than they were in 2000.”
Nonetheless, it was the hindsight of one young Austrian student, Max
Schrems, that set in motion the downfall of Safe Harbor.
At just 24, Schrems, then a law student in Vienna, spent six months
studying at Santa Clara University in California in 2011, when he sat
in on a class by a Facebook lawyer. Schrems told me he was shocked to
hear the lawyer brush off concerns about data privacy. “I was the only
European in the room,” he said. “The basic theme was ‘you can do
whatever you want.'” Schrems researched Facebook’s privacy rules for
his thesis, concluding that they violated E.U. laws. He lodged a
complaint against the Data Privacy Commission of Ireland, where
Facebook has its E.U. headquarters. He crowdsourced the funding for his
case online and petitioned Facebook to get his data—receiving 1,200
pages of documents, including 300 pages of data he had deleted from his
Facebook page.
All that became the basis for the case in the E.U. court, about
controlling data-transfer rules with the U.S.—an issue that has grown
massively in support among Europeans since the Snowden revelations.
Schrems, who turned 28 last week, says he could not have imagined back
in California that his youthful student outrage might lead to an entire
rewriting of trans-Atlantic rules. Seconds after the E.U. court
announced its ruling on Tuesday, he tweeted his satisfied response:
“*YAY*.”
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Counterspy
Twitter, Wikileaks and the Broken Market for Consumer Privacy
By Barton Gellman Jan. 14, 20110
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Follow @techland
Updated 2:30 pm near bottom of post, to clarify recipient of a letter
from Yahoo’s lawyers.
The tech world is abuzz with a remarkable display of backbone by
Twitter in the Wikileaks case. It deserves wider notice.
Federal prosecutors want to indict Julian Assange for making public a
great many classified documents. In December the feds obtained a secret
order instructing Twitter to hand over private account contents for
Assange and four Wikileaks associates, including network addresses,
connection logs, credit card information and identities of everyone
they talked to. The order forbade Twitter to notify those affected,
among them Birgitta Jónsdóttir, a member of Iceland’s parliament.
Twitter stalled, fighting and winning a motion to lift the gag order,
which is how we know about the case. (If the judge had believed
government claims that lifting the gag would blow the investigation,
she could equally have rejected Twitter’s motion.) Having obtained
permission, Twitter notified its users and promised to hand over
nothing if they filed a motion to quash within ten days. That is simply
the gold standard of customer protection, enabling courts to balance
the legitimate needs of prosecutors with the civil liberties of their
targets. It almost never happens.
The Obama administration, like those before it, promotes a disturbingly
narrow interpretation of the Fourth Amendment, misapplying the facts of
old analog cases to a radically different digital world. I do not deny
that there is a line of judicial precedents allowing government agents
to search our emails, copy our hard drives and plant GPS trackers on
our cars without anything close to probable cause. But there are also
contrary cases, and the steady march toward a surveillance state would
be unrecognizable to the Founders. Computer files and the contents of
smartphones are indisputably the present-day equivalents of
constitutionally protected “houses, papers, and effects.”
Surveillance-happy authorities define the problem away. The
search-and-seizure provisions of the Fourth Amendment, they say, are
irrelevant because you and I have no “reasonable expectation of
privacy” in digital records that tell vastly more about us than our
parents’ file drawers. This is not primarily a legal argument. It’s an
assertion of fact about what we think, and about the nature of our
society. It says that, because we have entrusted our private data to
Google or Sprint or Skype — without which transactions we cannot
function in today’s economy or society — we are affirming that we do
not actually regard our secrets as private. Another version, equally
circular, is that we know that high-tech surveillance tools exist, and
therefore don’t expect privacy for anything those tools can reach. (In
case you haven’t heard, thermal imagery can take pretty good pictures
through your bedroom wall from the street.) Raise your hands, all you
government lawyers, if you purport to believe your emails and personal
files are not private. I’ll be happy to link to them in my next column.
Companies that receive government information demands have to obey the
law, but they often have room for maneuver. They scarcely ever use it.
Digital security guru Christopher Soghoian, in a first-rate piece of
reporting and analysis awaiting publication in the Minnesota Journal of
Law, Science and Technology, describes the available legal and
technical tools in rich detail. In general, the companies could keep
fewer records that could be subpoenaed, insist that data requests be
narrowly tailored to the asserted purpose and ask courts to lift
restrictions on customer notice.
It is beyond reasonable doubt that authorities asked other companies to
supply the same kinds of information sought from Twitter, but none of
them admit it. Soghoian notes that standard procedure in this kind of
forensic work is to assemble data from many sources to “draw the graph”
of Wikileaks and its leadership — who communicates with whom, and when,
and who initiates the contact — even if the contents of the
conversations are encrypted. Twitter lived up handsomely to a policy of
providing no private information without a binding order, and of
notifying users unless legally barred from doing so. The other
companies, with a few partial exceptions, will not say what their
policies are. I sent carefully framed questions to Verizon Wireless,
Sprint, AT&T, T-Mobile, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Google, Yahoo,
Microsoft, Facebook, MySpace and Skype. None replied to most of them.
Partial answers, when I got them, were mostly homilies about how
seriously they take privacy and how carefully they review each request.
Details are below, but here’s the bottom line. As Paul Ohm, a former
computer crime prosecutor, put it to me, there is a “classic tacit
collusion problem” by companies that do not want to compete on privacy
and agree among themselves that “the less you know the better.” Yahoo
actually said as much when Soghoian filed a freedom of information
request for [DEL: helped disclose some of :DEL] its surveillance
practices. Yahoo’s lawyers asked the U.S. government to deny the
request, saying disclosure would “shock [our] customers” and damage
[DEL: wrote him a threatening letter, saying he had damaged :DEL] the
company’s “reputation for protection of user privacy and security,
which is a competitive disadvantage for technology companies.”
If only. We know what’s in our Cheerios and in our retirement accounts
because the law requires disclosure. The market for privacy is broken.
Suppliers don’t let us comparison-shop and Congress is not disposed to
oblige them. Attention state legislators: does anyone care?
—
Here’s the fine print:
I asked the companies how many times in 2010 they were served with
government demands for non-public information about their customers,
and whether they (1) try to narrow those demands; (2) insist on
compulsory legal orders before complying; (3) ask courts to allow them
to notify their customers; (4) tell customers who inquire, if legally
permitted, whether their private data has been obtained by authorities;
(5) follow stronger or weaker interpretations of their customers’
rights in areas of disputed law, such as the pro-privacy holdings in
the Sixth Circuit and Ninth Circuit that do not bind other
jurisdictions. I further asked them, if they declined to answer these
questions, why they believed their customers did not deserve to know.
—–
Here is what I got back (any italics are mine):
* Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Time Warner Cable, Google and MySpace
simply ignored the questions. No response at all.
* Microsoft said “we take our responsibility to protect our
customers’ privacy very seriously, so have specific processes that
we use when responding to law enforcement requests.” No hint on
what those processes might be. As for the rest: “We appreciate your
questions and, unfortunately, this statement is the extent of what
Microsoft can provide at this time.”
* Skype “does not comment on law enforcement matters” but “cooperates
with law enforcement agencies where legally required… Though we’d
like to help you with your story, I’m afraid we’re going to have to
decline offering any further details.” Skype’s privacy policy is
said to be “very transparent,” although it answers exactly none of
my questions. The closest it comes is to say Skype “may” disclose
your personal information “to respond to legal requirements, to
protect Skype’s interests, to enforce our policies or to protect
anyone’s rights, property, or safety.” That is the kind of language
that lawyers write to justify almost any conceivable disclosure.
* T-Mobile “complies with all relevant federal and state laws,
including privacy laws. We take our customers’ privacy very
seriously, and carefully control the circumstances under which we
disclose customer information to any governmental or
non-governmental entity.” How so? T-Mobile leaves itself even more
wiggle room than Skype does. It hands over your private information
“when compelled or permitted” by law,” and this includes, but is
not limited to, circumstances under which there is a declaration
from law enforcement of an exigent circumstance, as well as other
valid legal process, such as subpoenas, search warrants, and court
orders.”
* Yahoo “responds to valid law enforcement demands.” Its lawyers
“carefully review all incoming legal demands,” and “take very
seriously our dual responsibilities to abide by US law and to
protect our users’ privacy.” The company “is committed to
protecting user data.” The privacy policy says disclosures come in
response to “subpoenas, court orders,” or unspecified “legal
process,” or “to establish or exercise our legal rights or defend
against legal claims,” or when “we believe it is necessary to share
information in order to investigate, prevent, or take action
regarding illegal activities, suspected fraud, situations involving
potential threats to the physical safety of any person, violations
of Yahoo!’s terms of use, or as otherwise required by law.”
* Sprint manages to be the most responsive and the least reassuring.
It gets “thousands of record requests a year” from authorities —
other published hints have suggested tens of thousands — and
requires a “valid legal request,” which is not the same thing as a
compulsory request. “We act as good stewards of our customers’
personal information while also meeting our obligations to law
enforcement agencies.” Sprint “usually” requires a subpoena or
court order but in other cases “Sprint can provide information
without requiring this supporting documentation.” Sprint notifies
its customers only when “ordered buy a judge to do so,” which in
practice is almost never, rather than as legally permitted, which
would be often, because “we do not seek to interfere with the
progress of law enforcement investigations.” Then comes the
boilerplate that “we are ardent about addressing privacy in our
products and services and then clearly communicating those policies
and practices to our customers.” On the whole, this answer is not
terribly specific, but the company’s priorities are pretty clear.
It values cooperation with authorities more than the privacy of its
customers, and notifies them only when compelled to do so.
* Comcast makes “every reasonable effort to protect subscriber
privacy,” and the rest of the answers amount to “maybe.”
Disclosures of personal information “may be made with or without
the subscriber’s consent, and with or without notice, in compliance
with the terms of valid legal process such as a subpoena, court
order, or search warrant.” It gives the greatest protection to
customer’s television viewing habits because the Cable Act requires
notice and an opportunity for customers to contest release of their
personal information. For internet customers, “we are usually
prohibited from notifying the subscriber of any disclosure of
personally identifiable information to a government entity by the
terms of the subpoena, court order, or search warrant.” There is no
mention of contesting gag orders, or of notifying customers when
permitted to do so.
* Facebook: “We have no comment at this time” on Wikileaks. On the
policy questions, “Will get back to you.” I’m still waiting.
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Security & Privacy
How Much Do Americans Really Care About Online Privacy?
Given all the talk about protecting our personal privacy, is anyone
seriously doing something about it? Well, sort of.
By Techlicious / Fox Van Allen @techliciousJan. 24, 20140
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Matters of online privacy seem to be dominating headlines now more than
ever before. But given all the talk about protecting our personal
privacy, is anyone seriously doing something about it? Well, sort of:
According to a new poll by GlobalWebIndex published byThe Guardian, 56%
of Americans believe the Internet is eroding their personal privacy,
but only a quarter of us are actually using tools like Tor to disguise
our identity.
The survey, which is actually just compiled market research data, shows
that the United States is actually lagging behind the rest of the world
in using privacy features and tools. Only 17% of Americans use VPNs
– Virutal Private Networks – so we can browse the web anonymously. That
compares to 38% of those in Brazil, 36% in Thailand, and 34% in China,
India and Mexico.
The results of this new poll don’t quite line up with past results
we’ve seen. A Pew Internet & Digital Life poll last year reported that
a full 86% of us “have taken steps online to remove or mask our digital
footprints.” Of course, the Pew poll counted simple efforts like
clearing browser histories in its tally, which offers only very limited
privacy protection.
Still, regardless of what everyone else thinks about their online
privacy, you should take a more active role in protecting yours. Check
out these 11 simple ways to protect your privacy to get started – there
are good tips there for computer novices and experts alike. And
remember to take privacy especially seriously any time you’re on public
WiFi – it’s easy for bad guys to peek into your computer and send
viruses at coffee shops and other public locations.
This article was written by Fox Van Allen and originally appeared on
Techlicious.
More from Techlicious:
* How to Find Your Wallet, Keys and Smartphone
* T-Mobile Now Offering Its Own Smartphone Banking Services
* How to Make Your Smartphone Smarter
* 99% of All Mobile Malware Targets Android Devices
* AT&T Letting Users Break Contracts
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#Tech » Ridiculous Drama: Microsoft Internet Explorer vs. Google
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Microsoft
Ridiculous Drama: Microsoft Internet Explorer vs. Google
By Keith Wagstaff @kwagstaffFeb. 21, 20120
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New Microsoft Innovations
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Microsoft — long relegated to the uncool corner of the tech world by
popular kids Google and Facebook — is mad as hell and not going to take
it anymore. First, it released an ad campaign in the wake of Google’s
controversial new privacy policy that amounted to “Hey, guess who isn’t
Google? Us!”
Now it’s swinging at Google while the company’s down by attacking the
search giant for bypassing user privacy settings in Internet Explorer.
This, of course, comes after all of the drama with Apple’s Safari, when
Stanford researcher Jonathan Mayer discovered that Google bypassed that
browser’s privacy settings to track users across the web using cookies.
(MORE: Windows 8’s Logo Is a Snoozer? Good!)
Techland’s own Jared Newman thought it was much ado about nothing,
writing “considering that most desktop browsers allow third-party
tracking cookies by default, lots of people who don’t use Safari were
already subjected to tracking by Google and other companies.”
Still, it rubbed people the wrong way. Apparently, brouhaha surrounding
the Safari snafu made Microsoft feel all introspective:
When the IE team heard that Google had bypassed user privacy
settings on Safari, we asked ourselves a simple question: is Google
circumventing the privacy preferences of Internet Explorer users
too?
Oh the intrigue! (The answer, by the way, is “yes”). Microsoft pointed
out that Google bypasses Internet Explorer’s P3P Privacy Protection by
presenting its third-party cookies as first-party cookies. Microsoft
then presented users with some helpful hints on how to “protect their
privacy from Google.”
Google didn’t take this lying down. Rachel Whetstone, the company’s
senior vice president of communications and policy, released a
statement saying that Internet Explorer’s policy was “widely
non-operational” and impractical, noting that the protection broke
plenty of common features including Facebook’s “Likes.” Whetstone then
referenced a Facebook post that succinctly pointed out the flaws of
P3P:
The organization that established P3P, the World Wide Web
Consortium, suspended its work on this standard several years ago
because most modern web browsers do not fully support P3P. As a
result, the P3P standard is now out of date and does not reflect
technologies that are currently in use on the web, so most websites
currently do not have P3P policies.
While I’m not sure “We worked around Internet Explorer’s privacy
protections because they’re stupid” will hold up in the court of public
opinion, both Google and Facebook have valid points. In the end,
Microsoft comes out of this looking petty, as it did with its initial
“We’re the anti-Google” ad campaign.
There are major privacy concerns at play when it comes to Google; this,
by comparison, is small potatoes. In the end, blowing things out of
proportion only makes Microsoft look bad.
MORE: Mountain Lion vs. Windows 8: Oh, So Very Different
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Google
Google Opens Up About Glass Privacy, Zombification
During a "fireside chat" about Glass at Google's I/O conference, Google
employees opened up.
By Jared Newman @OneJaredNewmanMay 17, 20130
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Until now, Google has stayed eerily quiet on the privacy implications
of Google Glass, seemingly content to let the tech world debate the
issue among themselves.
But during a “fireside chat” about Glass at Google’s I/O conference,
Google employees opened up. Their responses represent the company’s
most thorough take yet on the privacy issues surrounding Google Glass.
Google Glass, if you’re unaware, is a pair of mock spectacles with a
mounted display, camera, microphone and touch panel. So far, Google has
only sent out Glass to a couple thousand developers, along with a few
members of the press. And over the last few weeks, there’s been a lot
of discussion about whether society would be better or worse off with
head-mounted displays and cameras.
Steve Lee, the product director for Google Glass, offered a few
responses to the criticisms so far:
1. Google purposely mounted the display for Glass just above the eye,
forcing users to look up at the screen. “Once you’re around someone
with Glass, you’ll know they’re paying attention to you because
they’re looking at you,” Lee said. Later in the session, Lee said
the screen’s high placement makes it hard to look at for long
periods of time, encouraging quick sessions instead. That was also
by design. “We don’t want to create zombies staring up at their
display for long periods of time,” Lee said.
2. Regarding the potential for surreptitious recording, Lee said Glass
purposely requires “social queues”–that is, tapping the side of the
device, or speaking–to snap a photo or start taking video.
Engineering director Charles Mendis added that “you kind of notice”
when someone’s staring at you. “If you walk into the restroom, even
without Glass, and someone’s just looking at you, I don’t know
about you but I’d get out of there,” Mendis said.
3. Lee pointed out that when you use Glass, the display lights up, so
other people will always know when Glass is active. Google won’t
allow Glass apps that don’t light up the screen while the device is
in use.
Granted, a lot of those points have already come up without Google’s
intervention. It’s good, at least, to hear that Google considered
privacy implications while designing the Glass hardware.
Meanwhile, Google dodged the privacy angle during another question
about facial recognition. Lee said Google experimented with the
feature, but hasn’t implemented it–at least not yet. “Me being a
product person, the way I view it, I’m not scared of it, but I want to
make sure there’s clear user benefit,” Lee said.
(UPDATE: Google asked us to post this statement from Lee: “We’ve
consistently said that we won’t add new face recognition features to
our services unless we have strong privacy protections in place.” The
statement doesn’t cite specifics, but Google’s comments date back to at
least 2011, when rumors suggested that Google may add face recognition
to its Goggles app for smarthphones. At the time, Google said it “won’t
add face recognition to Goggles unless we can figure out a strong
privacy model for it. We haven’t figured it out.” Google reiterated
those claims after acquiring a facial recognition firm later that year.
It’s certainly a topic worthy of more discussion with the arrival of
Glass.)
The idea that Glass could someday let users persistently identify
people around them shouldn’t be brushed under the rug. If facial
recognition is the inevitable future of Glass, we should be discussing
the privacy implications now. I’ve previously said it’s a stretch to
think Google would use facial recognition to build some secret database
of mugshots; I’d still like to hear what Google thinks about the
feature’s potential, and the privacy boundaries it would require.
Also, none of the responses from Google employees add up to a more
holistic take on Glass privacy. In my view, the mere threat of being
constantly recorded by friends, family, acquaintances or strangers has
the potential to change our behavior, and make us more guarded in
situations once thought to be transient. That’s not a topic Google has
touched.
The privacy concerns around Glass will be moot if the product isn’t a
hit, but Google does see mainstream potential for the device. Glass has
been panned by some as the next Bluetooth headset–a once-trendy but
eventually uncool item–but Lee said Google can solve that dilemma by
making Glass useful, even to those who aren’t using it. For instance,
someone with Glass will be able to record candid moments, or answer
trivia questions quickly.
“I’ve yet to meet a person who says they like being around someone who
has a Bluetooth headset on,” Lee said. “It’s not a positive image and
so we want to do the opposite with Glass.”
Whether Google can make Glass beloved by people who aren’t using it,
without simultaneously creeping them out, is arguably the biggest
challenge ahead.
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PomershJohn
PomershJohn 5pts
Glass are fine invention. Regards, http://goo.gl/bTlRIY
actiontvonline
actiontvonline 5pts
Google glass as some great and wonderful features but the cost is too
high 1500 dollars no no
http://jamtechnews.blogspot.com/2013/03/google-glass-features-specs-and
-reviews.html
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Security
Digital Privacy: If You’ve Done Nothing Wrong, Do You Have ‘Nothing to Hide’?
By Barton Gellman Aug. 03, 20100
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A few years back, I did a long newspaper story about the FBI snooping
on the private records of ordinary citizens. As my old editor Michael
Kinsley likes to say, the scandal is what’s legal. The Patriot Act
unleashed the FBI to search your email, travel and credit records
without even a suspicion of wrongdoing. The FBI was doing it, in
secret, tens of thousands of times a year.
As I dug into the story, government officials kept telling me that
law-abiding Americans have nothing to fear. Why object to surveillance
if you have nothing to hide? Joseph Billy Jr., a top FBI supervisor for
whom I had great respect, told me, “I’ve had people say, you know,
‘Hey, I don’t care, I’ve done nothing to be concerned about. You can
have me in your files and that’s that.’ Some people take that
approach.”
I’m not one of those people. CounterSpy is a new blog about privacy and
security in our digital lives. I come to it by temperament and
professional necessity. My principal work is investigative reporting,
and efforts have spiked in recent years to find and punish my
confidential sources. (Update Aug 3, 10:40pm: My son Michael points out
that this link is broken and asks if that’s a joke about confidential
sources. Um, no. Here’s the correct link.) I learned the technology and
tradecraft of electronic security in self defense, with a lot of expert
help.
If that sounds exotic, and you think you have nothing to hide, I invite
you to reconsider. As Trotsky didn’t exactly say, you may not be
interested in electronic snoops, but snoops are interested in you,
whether or not you keep Coke’s secret recipe on your iPhone. Pay
attention to security or you’ll let others make free with your medical
records, those emails about your friend’s crumbling marriage, your
gambling debts, the layoffs you’re planning, the job you’re thinking of
jumping to, the cool idea you want to pitch, your candid thoughts about
your boss, your forthcoming quarterly earnings or that embarrassing
online purchase you made last month. You know which one I’m talking
about.
Maybe you figure it’s hopeless. The other day I talked about
CounterSpy’s launch with Karen Greenberg, who runs the Center on Law
and Security. “What’s the point?” she asked. “There is no digital
privacy and security.” That’s easy to say with equanimity in the
abstract. Not so much when you start to think concretely. We kicked
around a few examples, and soon she was insisting that something has to
be done. This is an ambivalence that a lot of us feel on the subject.
Plenty of people will tell you that you don’t really care, or shouldn’t
care, or needn’t bother caring, because the protected space of our
personal lives disappeared in the olden days of the 1990s. These people
do not have your interests at heart. They depend on the hope that
you’ll forget about privacy the same way you forget about that camera
in the elevator. Oracle’s Larry Ellison ( “the privacy you’re concerned
about is largely an illusion“) is the guy who wants to supply software
for a national ID system. Facebook’s Marc Zuckerberg (there’s no more
“social norm” of privacy) owns a multibillion dollar business based on
extracting your intimate details. (Here’s an illuminating graphic that
shows how Facebook does it.) Google’s Eric Schmidt, whose company
depends on promiscuous data collection, endorsed the FBI equation of
secrecy with wrongdoing: “If you have something that you don’t want
anyone to know, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place.”
Everyone has something to hide. Privacy is relational. It depends on
the audience. You don’t want your employer to know you’re job hunting.
You don’t spill all about your love life to your mom, or your kids. You
don’t tell trade secrets to your rivals. We don’t expose ourselves
indiscriminately, and we care enough about exposure to lie as a matter
of course. Among upstanding citizens, researchers have consistently
found that lying is “an everyday social interaction” (twice a day
among college students, once a day in the Real World). Remember the
disasters that befell Jim Carrey in that movie plot that left him
magically unable to fib for even one day? Comprehensive transparency is
a nightmare.
My favorite security blogger, Bruce Schneier, put it this way:
Privacy is about control. When your health records are sold to a
pharmaceutical company without your permission; when a
social-networking site changes your privacy settings to make what
used to be visible only to your friends visible to everyone; when
the NSA eavesdrops on everyone’s e-mail conversations — your loss of
control over that information is the issue. We may not mind sharing
our personal lives and thoughts, but we want to control how, where
and with whom. A privacy failure is a control failure.
CounterSpy is about taking back a modicum of control. Self-protection
is a powerful instinct — we try to safeguard our families, reputations
and careers — but instinct alone won’t protect you in cyberspace.
Digital security is full of trade-offs, a shifting balance of risk and
cost and convenience. It takes effort to use encryption, or to choose a
different, complex pass phrase for every online account. If you don’t
want transponders to record every place and time you cross a toll, you
have to give up EZPass and take the slower drive into the cash lane. It
costs money to decide against joining shopper loyalty programs that
track and sell lists of everything you buy. Your choices will depend on
the stakes and threat as you see them. I expend a lot more resources
protecting my reporter’s notes than my family vacation photos. But
that’s just me. Your photos may be altogether different.
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Opinion
Google Says Those Who Email Gmail Users Have ‘No Legitimate Expectation of
Privacy’
Legitimate, as Google's using the word, simply means lawful.
By Matt Peckham @mattpeckhamAug. 14, 20130
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Follow @techland
Correction appended at 7:53pm EDT on 8/14/2013: An earlier version of
this article erroneously stated that Gmail users have “no legitimate
expectation of privacy” when it should have stated that non-Gmail users
who email Gmail users have “no legitimate expectation of privacy.” The
article’s title has been changed to reflect the update. A quote from
Google has also been added, as has a quote from the introduction of
Google’s motion concerning wiretap statuses and automatic email
scanning.
Lavabit is no more. Silent Circle has shuttered its secure email
service. All the major email providers appear to be complicit in one
form or another with PRISM, the NSA’s clandestine email surveillance
program revealed by The Guardian in early June. And now Google’s legal
team seems to be spraying gasoline on the controversy after filing a
motion in mid-June that, among other things, argues users who access
Google services like Gmail shouldn’t expect their transactions to
remain secret.
The salient quote was surfaced by Consumer Watchdog, a nonprofit
California-based consumer rights group founded in 1985. It’s from a
39-page motion filed by Google on June 13, 2013 in hopes of dismissing
several disparate complaints that allege the company violates wiretap
laws by poking around in email to engage in targeted advertising.
Just as a sender of a letter to a business colleague cannot be
surprised that the recipient’s assistant opens the letter, people
who use web-based email today cannot be surprised if their
communications are processed by the recipient’s ECS [electronic
communication service] provider in the course of delivery. Indeed,
“a person has no legitimate expectation of privacy in information he
voluntarily turns over to third parties.”
That last sentence, which refers explicitly to non-Gmail users who send
email to Gmail users, does sound damning. Is Google’s legal counsel
right? Do people who interact with Gmail have no rightful expectation
to privacy when voluntarily turning information over to third parties
like Google? Consider what comes next in the motion before dusting off
the pitchforks and torches.
Referring to the 1979 court case from which the above quote was
extracted, Google writes:
In particular, the Court noted that persons communicating through a
service provided by an intermediary (in the Smith case, a telephone
call routed through a telephone company) must necessarily expect
that the communication will be subject to the intermediary’s
systems. For example, the Court explained that in using the
telephone, a person “voluntarily convey[s] numerical information to
the telephone company and ‘expose[s]’ that information to its
equipment in the ordinary course of business.”
Google does seem to be semantically overreaching when it claims
non-Gmail users have no rightful expectation of privacy: who doesn’t
expect (naively or no) that their communications will remain private
when sending or receiving email? But the point the company’s making
involves pragmatics: email systems have to parse emails in order to
process and route them properly. That’s a by-design thing. Fretting
about it’s a little like expecting a snail mail carrier not to read the
outgoing and return addresses on an envelope.
But that’s only a fraction of what Google’s up to in this motion, most
of which talks about Gmail users themselves, including this section
(from the introduction):
Second, the wiretap statutes also preclude liability where either a
single party to the communication (for the federal statute) or both
parties (for the state statutes) have expressly or impliedly
consented to the practices at issue. Here, all Plaintiffs who are
Gmail users consented to the automated scanning of their emails
(including for purposes of delivering targeted advertising) in
exchange for using the Gmail service, thus precluding any claim
under federal law.
In short, the company claims both federal and state wiretap statutes
exempt it from liability related to conduct — both for Gmail and
non-Gmail users — that occurs in the ordinary course of business.
Google, of course, is appealing to as wide a definition of “conduct” as
you’d imagine a company like it would, dismissing complaints about
email scanning because it says you’ve consented to be scanned, whether
you’re a native Gmail user or exchanging emails with a native Gmail
user.
As Google puts it in its privacy policy explainer:
We use the information we collect from all of our services to
provide, maintain, protect and improve them, to develop new ones,
and to protect Google and our users. We also use this information to
offer you tailored content – like giving you more relevant search
results and ads.
Assuming Google’s right legally speaking — and don’t confuse what’s
legal with what’s ethical — the company has a point. Throughout the
motion, Google’s essentially saying that it does what it does, that it
has a legal right to do what it does, that it’s been very clear
about what it does, and that anyone accessing a service like Gmail,
whether natively or indirectly, is beholden to its terms of use,
including automated rifling through email content and using that
information to craft targeted ads.
That, I suspect, is why you have Consumer Watchdog director John
Simpson saying: “Google has finally admitted they don’t respect
privacy. People should take them at their word; if you care about your
email correspondents’ privacy don’t use Gmail.” The message isn’t sue
Google, it’s quit Google.
Indeed, unless we believe Google hasn’t been clear about what it does
or doesn’t do, the legal onus isn’t on Google to stop scanning every
Gmail message it’s parsing; it’s on users opposed to either lobby the
company to change its behavior, or abandon the service, whether that’s
shifting to another email provider (problematic, especially if your
concerns extend to government snooping), opting for self-hosted and/or
encrypted email (the do-it-yourself route, i.e. build your own email
server), or investigating peer-to-peer email services (server-less,
secure, anonymous…supposedly).
After 9/11, an old Ben Franklin quote started circulating: “They who
can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety,
deserve neither liberty nor safety.” Replace “a little safety” with
“lifestyle conveniences” and you have an applicable analogue for what’s
happening as we hand our digital correspondence off to massive memory
banks controlled by a handful of groups increasingly willing to
challenge traditional expectations about privacy in hopes that product
momentum — bolstered by the whole free-with-ads angle — will outpace
consumer paranoia.
Update: Google emailed this over earlier this evening:
We take our users’ privacy and security very seriously; recent
reports claiming otherwise are simply untrue. We have built
industry-leading security and privacy features into Gmail — and no
matter who sends an email to a Gmail user, those protections apply.
Matt Peckham @mattpeckham
Matt Peckham is TIME's video games, science tech and music tech
correspondent based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. His work has appeared in
Variety, The Washington Post, The New York Times and others.
28 comments
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AlejandroMosqueraOchoa
AlejandroMosqueraOchoa 5pts
Does anyone know how much does google earn by wiretapping their users'
emails for targeted advertising?
how much are worth the email marketing insights ?
Angel_Meadows
Angel_Meadows 5pts
So...if you are wanting to continue accepting submissions from
journalists or fiction writers, editors will now have to deny works
from all those writers unless it is via snail mail? Is this supposed to
mean that not only is insuring privacy regarding their emailed material
not only impossible, but is the fault of both the submitting writer and
the editor for chosing to use email to begin with? Are we all going to
have to earn computer science and law degrees along with our English or
journalism degrees just to send secure email...or do we all just have
to create our own personnal email servers? Does encryption really mean
only the sender and receiver can read that which is encrypted? Or does
it mean: the sender, the receiver, the email service & its advertisers,
and the NSA, and the FBI, and GCHQ, and the IRS, and the DEA, and
the...and the...and the...? Does anyone ever have the time to read the
page after page after page of statements to must agree to before you
can merely comment on a story or blog or post or...? Oh never mind...
Mr_Vansan
Mr_Vansan 5pts
Please update your sources.
Denesius
Denesius 5pts
I see a huge fundamental problem with google's comparisons: my mail
carrier knows me, he better not be keeping track of my addressees. At
the post office, they have to see the address, but they don't know the
sender. There's a natural division that guarantees my privacy. Google
is keeping track of the sender, the recipient, and I suspect, the
content of the message. Think about the data that would be collected
(the dirt on everyone from politicians to local business owners), and
the power & immunity it would give this multi-billion dollar company.
If any gmail user out there thinks that the power & potential has not
been identified and used, you're naive beyond words.
mrbomb13
mrbomb13 5pts
This revelation of The End of Email Privacy should come as a surprise
to no one.
In some form or another, this has been going on for the last decade.
Colleges/universities warn all of their undergraduates/graduates that
most companies employ email tracking devices, and can certainly read
through your 'electronic paper trail.'
As someone who works for a leading Fortune 500 company, I can attest to
the sophistication of such tracking systems, and to the fact that
comapnies will also periodically check all social media accounts as
well. That ensures that employees are not putting out a 'bad rep' on
behalf of the company.
Arunsoma444
Arunsoma444 5pts
@DeweySayenoff You sound more like a Robot than a Human Being..No point
in arguing with you...
emanvieux
emanvieux 5pts
If Google took privacy seriously, they would implement end-to-end
S/MIME encryption support for email. There's nothing in the
legislation enabling Prism et etc, which *prevents* them from doing
so. There are a few patents on key technology which need to be
negotiated, but under the circumstances, I doubt the patent holders
could withstand the public outcry if they (the patent holders) refused
to place the necessary in the public domain, "for the public good.".
Come on people, let's lean on Google to do the right thing. If we let
bad guys' use of a technology deny us of the right to use that
technology, they have achieved what is known as a successful "denial of
service" attack.
EukaryoteGrex
EukaryoteGrex 5pts
@emanvieux It's not physically possible for google to implement
end-to-end encryption in gmail, because gmail is NOT AN ENDPOINT - it
is an intervening router. Any attempt to implement strong encryption
where the encryption/decryption code resides on a remote webserver
(Hushmail, Lavabit, Gmail) is inherently incapable of actually assuring
end-to-end security.
If you want end-to-end encryption with gmail, your best bet is probably
to send OpenPGP messages as attachments and then decrypt them on the
endpoints.
sensi
sensi 5pts
Reading the "tech news" today half the articles running this gmail
non-story are bogus and blatantly misleading/lying, with so-called
"journalists" turned brain-dead parrots on a slandering agenda. That's
pathetic and shameful, yet almost trivial nowadays...
stagesirenandi
stagesirenandi 5pts
I worked for several years as a phone relay operator for the deaf and
hard of hearing. We have to adhere to strict FCC guidelines in regards
to privacy. The FCC regulations state that even deaf and hard of
hearing phone users have a right to the same privacy afforded the
hearing population. How does this not apply in regards to the privacy
that we DO expect - even as users of intermediary vehicles?
DeweySayenoff
DeweySayenoff 5pts
@stagesirenandi When you did your job, you were a "man in the middle".
A real, breathing human being. Therefore, you were required by law to
keep things private. Now, let's look at what Google does:
Machines scan individual e-mails and matches the text to a database of
ads, selecting the most relevant ads to display on the RECIPIENT'S
account page based on the e-mail. No record of what is scanned is
kept. A record of what ads are delivered MAY be kept. No human eyes
see the text. No one else is allowed to view it (at least with the
same force of law as you as a human were required to follow).
Unless you're afraid of sentient machines snickering over someone's
spelling errors or some such thing, no information is leaked to humans
in any way. The "privacy" implication is that the email is sent and
received without ever being scanned. But antivirus programs scan
emails, and even the act of sending one, contents are scanned by each
end to determine that it was sent accurately. That intrudes on the
notion of "privacy" since it is, in effect, making sure the letter in
the envelope was transmitted correctly by reading the contents as it's
being sent.
And that "reading" is done just by sending an e-mail from ANYWHERE.
It's part of the transmission protocol for all data going over the
Internet whether it's e-mail or not.
The bottom line here is that unlike your job, humans aren't in the loop
in any way other than maybe to adjust the ad algorithms to make ads
more relevant based on whatever is being scanned at the time. But they
never see the text that's being scanned. They merely adjust the
algorithms to assign ads based on keywords they program in. Since it's
done at the machine level, only machines can do it.
The alternative is to write letters and mail them. Then you have to
hope it gets there.
I hope that addresses your question.
lukepm
lukepm 5pts
yborcafe
yborcafe 5pts
i WANT TO READ ALL OF GOOGEL'S EMAILS TO WASHINGTON . HOW CAN I DO
THAT?I WANT TO READ THE EXECUTIVES E MAILS TO THEIR MISTRESSES DO YOU
NOTICE THE WORD EXECUTIVES COMES FROM EXECUTE.
DeweySayenoff
DeweySayenoff 5pts
@yborcafeAn IQ above 100, and reading the story, is required before
posting.
Please note that no human actually reads your gmail as it passes
through their servers. Computers scan the text then pull up ads
relevant to the text. People don't read your mail. Maybe you're
embarrassed about having too much cyber sex or ordering sex toys and
getting ads about that, but I promise you the computers don't care.
So your post is utterly unreasonable, and your thinly veiled terrorist
threat is neither thin enough or correct. From Online Etymology:
Executive: mid-15c., "performed, carried out;" 1640s, "of the branch of
government that carries out the laws," from Middle French executif,
from Latin executivus, from past participle stem of exequi (see
execution). The noun in this sense is from 1776, as a branch of
government. Meaning "businessman" is 1902 in American English.
Executive privilege is attested by 1805, American English."
Execution, as it happens, means "carrying out" - not killing someone.
If you're going to post, please adhere to the posting rules. It's
patently obvious that you didn't.
jason.c
jason.c 5pts
@DeweySayenoff @yborcafe And execute comes from "cute"!
marinskym
marinskym 5pts
@DeweySayenoff @yborcafe - ALL CAPS is used by the semi-literate and
the insane.
lukepm
lukepm 5pts
yborcafe
yborcafe 5pts
GOOGLE SHOULD CHANGE THEIR NAME TO THE GEHEIME STAATSPOLIZEI OR THE
JOSEPH GOBBELS NETWORK
jason.c
jason.c 5pts
The Google comment is "Just as a sender of a letter to a business
colleague cannot be surprised that the recipient’s assistant opens the
letter, people who use web-based email today cannot be surprised if
their communications are processed by the recipient’s ECS [electronic
communication service] provider in the course of delivery."
I believe this article places incorrect spin on this by connecting the
fact that Google said it to a perceived Google-specific privacy risk.
The fact is, no matter what email service you use, you cannot be
surprised if your communications are processed by the recipient's ECS -
which very well may not be Google.
Unless you know whose hands your email passes through at every single
step in the process, it doesn't matter. You could use your own mail
server running on your own machine locked safely away in a vault in
your basement and that still does not prevent the recipient's mail
handling system from doing whatever it wants with your email,
regardless of whether they use GMail or not.
If your emails are truly sensitive, consider encrypting emails with,
say, GPG. Otherwise there's not much you can do.
I do not think it is fair to pin this to Google, and I do not think
this article is in the right for doing so. I believe that the approach
this article should have taken is to point out that the same concerns
exist for all email in general, and use Google as a credible and
straightforwardly honest source.
J
jason.c
jason.c 5pts
See also
http://thenextweb.com/google/2013/08/14/no-google-did-not-say-that-we-c
ant-expect-privacy-in-gmail/?fromcat=all (thanks @ouija)
DeweySayenoff
DeweySayenoff 5pts
puppeteer
puppeteer 5pts
lukepm
lukepm 5pts
HeavyD
HeavyD 5pts
There is a very important distinction missed in the article. The author
compares what Google is admittedly doing to a letter carrier "not to
read the outgoing and return addresses on an envelope."
What Google does, however, is open the envelope, read its contents,
decide what else should be stuffed into the envelope, reseal it and
send it on.
There shouldn't be an expectation of privacy when the destination email
address reads "IwanttokilleveryoneJIHAD@blowupeverything.com", but if
the email address is a normal email address, they SHOULD NOT have the
right to see its contents and target marketing to either party based on
it. THAT is a definitive breach of privacy, and just because they offer
the service DOES NOT give them the right to do what they are admittedly
doing.
DeweySayenoff
DeweySayenoff 5pts
@HeavyD The analogy breaks down on the "read" part. No human reads
anything except the sender and the receiver (the NSA notwithstanding).
Computers scan the contents and choose ads to deliver with it. That's
how Google makes money providing you with a "free service".
Another thing people don't get: Your right to privacy is guaranteed
from your GOVERNMENT. NOT FROM A BUSINESS. Businesses have no LEGAL
obligation to respect your privacy if, in the course of doing business
with them, you agree to having your privacy abridged. And you did.
That agreement you click "I agree" to has all of this written out in
perfectly legal terms that you agree to this kind of business activity
in exchange for the services and convenience gmail offers. And the
fact that no human from Google actually reads, or even monitors,
individual e-mails in the course of transmission means your privacy is
only being abridged by machines that don't give a damn.
Finally, you seem to object to this. I can't understand why. You
don't pay for the service. Not one thin dime. Welfare recipients must
accept some rather steep terms in order to receive their benefits (Look
THAT up sometime). Your terms were specified as a quid pro quo in the
service agreement to which you agreed. If you object to it, then do
not use that service and don't communicate with anyone who does. You
have other options to which you can avail yourself. But if you want
the gmail service, it's on you to accept the terms of that service.
It's a "take it or leave it" proposition.
It isn't rocket science, and it isn't either illegal or
unconstitutional.
sensi
sensi 5pts
SwiftrightRight
SwiftrightRight 5pts
Why would anyone have expected that they have a right to privacy when
communicating through a 3rd party?
Google exists for one purpose; To make a small group of people rich.
jason.c
jason.c 5pts
yborcafe
yborcafe 5pts
@SwiftrightRight THESE GOOGEL PEOPLE ARE THE SAME PEOPLE THAT HAD j
kENNEDY KILLED AND MADE THEIR MONEY OFF THE MILITARY INDUSTRIAL
COMPLEX . THE SONS OF REPUBLICAN JACKALS.
DeweySayenoff
DeweySayenoff 5pts
@yborcafe @SwiftrightRight Seriously, you need help. I'd recommend a
mandatory 72 hour hold for a mental health evaluation at the LEAST.
You're getting way too worked up about something that is both legal and
constitutional. That you can't recognize that indicates a severe
delusional state.
I'm not trolling here. You need help. Get some.
42maxam24
42maxam24 5pts
42maxam24
42maxam24 5pts
@DeweySayenoff I found your replies (the 4 I found) more informative,
interesting and with much fewer words than the actual article.. Thanks
for that!
bk2056
bk2056 5pts
lukepm
lukepm 5pts
yborcafe
yborcafe 5pts
@DeweySayenoff @yborcafe @SwiftrightRight dewey where are huey and
louie on a train to Auschwitz .Thats what 7 million jews 2 million
polish peoples where saying at the time they got the free ride and
shower. its ok to stop and frisk its ok to spy on your private life
its ok to have drones watching you . hitler would have climaxed if he
had facebook wake up we are headed down memory lane.
skeeboe
skeeboe 5pts
Google's system (specifically Google Now) reminds me when my flight is
coming up. It gets that info from my email. It lets me know,
automatically, when traffic is going to be a problem. It gets my
destination from my calendar. It provides information to track
packages that are mentioned in an email by parsing the message.
They're not reading my email with human eyes. It's a computer grabbing
keywords. If that scares you, quit using the Internet, including
blogs, comments on news sites, shopping sites... really just get off
the Web. (or grow up).
MrBenGhazi
MrBenGhazi 5pts
nathansch
nathansch 5pts
DeweySayenoff
DeweySayenoff 5pts
ouija
ouija 5pts
http://thenextweb.com/google/2013/08/14/no-google-did-not-say-that-we-c
ant-expect-privacy-in-gmail/?fromcat=all
jason.c
jason.c 5pts
jason.c
jason.c 5pts
@ouija Exactly. Thank you for a rare display of sanity and analytical
thought on the internet.
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News
Privacy, Copyright Top Challenges of the Internet
By Michelle Castillo Jan. 12, 20110
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The protection of user’s rights is not only a concern for Internet
users but Internet professionals as well. Among all the growing issues
about the Web protecting user privacy online and updating copyright
laws seem to be the primary concerns of online industry leaders,
according to a new survey completed by the International Academy of
Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS). The association is made up of 750
members who have shaped and dictate trends on the Internet, including
Twitter co-founder Biz Stone, Wired Magazine co-founder John Battelle,
Internet co-founder Vinton Cerf and Huffington Post founder Arianna
Huffington. On top of completing surveys such as this one, the body is
also in charge of picking The Webby Award winners, the Oscars of
Internet-based media.
“A lot of [concerns over privacy] was certainly driven by all the
tracking that is going on, and consumer concerns over how users are
being profiled and the marketplace for buying and selling those
profiles,” IADAS executive director David-Michel Davies said to
Techland about online privacy. Big social media sites like Facebook
have also brought the issue into the headlines Davies adds, mentioning
that there are a lot of “threads” that lead back to the privacy
debate. “One of the biggest concerns was how unknowledgeable publishers
were about the tracking that was happening on their sites and how
unknowledgeable consumers were…. We need to have a robust discussion.”
Another topic that concerned IADAS members was how outdated media
copyright laws were and the increasing necessity to see them changed.
It used to be perfectly okay to give a mix tape to a couple friends,
but putting a playlist online – which is a similar action in a way –
could render negative consequences. Same goes for lending books, which
has a modern day equivalent of copying and distributing digital books
online. Davies believes that many users aren’t trying to circumvent
laws: They’re simply confused on what is right and wrong because
legalities are not adapted to current technology. “I think at the core,
one of the big issues is that the majority of the laws and
understandings about copyright were created in a world where it was
difficult to copy. Actually copying something has never been more easy
than it is today. You can literally right click on a file and depending
on the size it can be downloaded in seconds,” he explained.
“Technology has changed that in a significant way, but laws haven’t
been written to reflect the relationship between technology and
creativity,” Davies added. “A lot of stuff isn’t that clear…. We think
it would be really great for people to come together and make these
decisions on what’s right and wrong.”
According to the press release, the top five concerns were:
Protecting Privacy
The Internet’s great trade-off is that while you get access to the rest
of the world, the rest of the world gets access to you. The data
collected can add value to the online experience through customized
content and advertising – but such an extensive record of personal
information can pose risks to consumers. The industry must take steps
to demystify the privacy debate by establishing global standards,
providing transparent policies, and educating consumers on its
practices.
Modernizing Copyright Laws
Is it ok to copy an album and give it to a friend? How many paragraphs
should one quote from an online news article? Will we ever be able to
pass along an e-book to a colleague? As the Web enters its third
decade, the answers to these questions remain unclear. The Internet’s
power as a medium through which creators can distribute their work
continues to grow, yet the current copyright laws are hopelessly out of
date. For the Internet to fulfill its potential, new and modernized
copyright laws must reflect the current relationship between technology
and creativity.
Ensuring Net Neutrality
Ensuring that all Internet traffic is treated equally – meaning that
data from Amazon.com and data from a teenager’s blog move along the
pipeline at the same speed – is a worthy and complicated goal. Industry
leaders and policymakers need to come together and identify solutions
that will guarantee fair treatment of all Internet traffic. However,
these solutions must also provide ISPs with enough flexibility to
efficiently manage their networks and services.
Maintaining the Open Web
From commenting on articles and sharing videos to crowd-sourcing and
user-generated content, the Internet’s interactivity and communal power
is what makes it such a vibrant and useful medium. While social
networks and mobile apps offer rich, interactive and customized
experiences, many of their features are often sheltered from the rest
of the Web. If the Internet as a whole is greater than the sum of its
parts, we must do a better job of maintaining interconnectivity.
Strengthening Internet Security
Until recently, there has been little examination of the consequences
of storing large amounts of proprietary information online. The recent
spate of high-level incidents – from WikiLeaks to China’s hacking of
the Internet – has made the perils of weak online security a tangible
issue. Everyone, from governments and businesses to universities and
individuals, must re-evaluate how they share, store, and publish
sensitive information on the Internet – take steps to ensure it is
protected.
More on TIME.com:
Internet Connection Sharing Coming To iPhones Soon
One Laptop Per Child Project To Give Away More Cost-Effective Tablets
Study: Internet Grows As America’s News Source While TV Decreases
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Opinion
Will Google Drive Snoop Inside Your Data? Google Needs to Be Clearer
By Matt Peckham @mattpeckhamApril 26, 20120
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Upload your private diary, novel manuscript, amateur movie or digitally
crafted song to Google’s new Google Drive and it’s totally impervious
to company tinkering, right? Not necessarily. In fact the way things
are currently laid out within Google’s service terms, the company could
theoretically pore over your G-Drive data at leisure, mining it for
information about you, say, to use in its relentless pursuit of more
personalized ads.
When Google simplified its “terms of service” last month, it did so in
part by pulling all of its separate privacy policies under one
umbrella, consolidating text and admirably rewriting things in a way
that sounds at least a little less like mind-numbing, cover-every-base
legalese.
(MORE: 5 Reasons to Give Google Drive a Shot)
But that catchall approach means services you interact with in very
different ways wind up covered under a blanket policy, and the obvious
problem with that, is that many of Google’s services are unique, with
Google Drive’s singularity in terms of exposing your most sensitive
personal information taking the cake. Imagine storing everything you’ve
ever written as well as your work files containing sensitive business
or corporate information, your tax receipts, annual credit reports,
personal credentials (birth certificate, scans of your passport, etc.)
and so forth on your G-Drive. Think that data’s untouchable by Google?
Think again.
In its “terms of service,” Google states that “Some of our Services
allow you to submit content,” Google Drive (nee Google Docs) being the
most obvious one. Google rightly acknowledges that “You retain
ownership of any intellectual property rights that you hold in that
content. In short, what belongs to you stays yours.” Rest easy, in
other words, Google’s not looking to co-opt your intellectual property.
It’s the next part that’s unsettling, where Google basically gives
itself blanket permission to content-peep at leisure:
When you upload or otherwise submit content to our Services, you
give Google (and those we work with) a worldwide license to use,
host, store, reproduce, modify, create derivative works (such as
those resulting from translations, adaptations or other changes we
make so that your content works better with our Services),
communicate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and
distribute such content.
If it lives on Google’s property, in other words, Google grants itself
and anyone else it approves a global go-ahead to do pretty much
anything with your content except pass it off as its own. Eyebrows
raised? They should be. It means Google’s saying it can, even as Google
Drive goes live, silently collect information about what we’ve placed
on its servers, and I don’t mean innocuous demographics, like how many
people store stuff in Microsoft Word versus Google Document, iWork
Pages or plain old Rich Text format — the company’s basically granted
itself a license to look at whatever’s in your content, too.
“The rights you grant in this license are for the limited purpose of
operating, promoting, and improving our Services, and to develop new
ones,” states Google, but since “advertising” — Google’s bread and
butter — works as a catchall under any of those, it means the company
could, in theory, poke around in any of your content or pass
information about that content along to third parties under the
auspices of self-perpetuation.
(MORE: Google’s Privacy and Dashboard Options: Still a Tangled Web)
The company does note that “in some of our Services, there are terms or
settings that narrow the scope of our use of the content submitted in
those Services.” I’ve scanned around Google’s G-Drive pages looking for
something that exempts users from its blanket license, but all I get
when I click on privacy links is redirected to the “terms of service”
page.
If any Google service warrants privacy firewalling, it’s Google Drive.
This isn’t YouTube or Calendar or even Gmail — the potential for
someone’s most sensitive data to be snooped, whether to glean info for
marketing or otherwise, is too high. Mark Zuckerberg may not be
entirely wrong when he suggests the age of privacy is over or that
privacy is no longer a “social norm,” but we have to draw a line
somewhere.
Google ought to create a privacy exception that “narrows the scope” of
its service terms for Google Drive, one that minimally states the
company will never circulate the information generated from searching
within your G-Drive data in any way. Barring that, you may want to
forego using Google Drive to store sensitive data, maintaining and
backing it up offline.
Google’s not alone in needing clearer, more restrained terms of use for
cloud-drive content. Contrast its terms with Dropbox’s, where the
latter states:
You retain full ownership to your stuff. We don’t claim any
ownership to any of it. These Terms do not grant us any rights to
your stuff or intellectual property except for the limited rights
that are needed to run the Services, as explained below.
What do those “limited rights” amount to? In addition to day-to-day
operations-grade stuff, Dropbox states that
We may need your permission to do things you ask us to do with your
stuff, for example, hosting your files, or sharing them at your
direction. This includes product features visible to you, for
example, image thumbnails or document previews … You give us the
permissions we need to do those things solely to provide the
Services. This permission also extends to trusted third parties we
work with to provide the Services, for example Amazon, which
provides our storage space (again, only to provide the Services).
Dropbox’s language is more restrictive than Google’s — there’s no
blanket license granted to “use, host, store, reproduce, modify…” etc.
your data, for instance, but the door’s not entirely closed, either.
Would you pay companies like Google or Dropbox to keep the door shut,
say a monthly or annual fee for a “premium tier” version? I might, if
it meant knowing my data was as secure as possible — not just from the
machinations of hackers, but the prying eyes of corporate data miners,
too.
MORE: Google’s New Privacy Policy: 5 Ways to Minimize Your Online
Exposure
Matt Peckham @mattpeckham
Matt Peckham is TIME's video games, science tech and music tech
correspondent based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. His work has appeared in
Variety, The Washington Post, The New York Times and others.
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Policy & Law
First Privacy, Now Censorship: Will Twitter Continue to Stand Up for Its
Users’ Rights?
By Jerry Brito @jerrybritoJan. 02, 20120
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You may not like its latest redesign, but Twitter deserves praise for
how it stands up for its users’ rights. In the face of legal pressure
last year, Twitter fought for user privacy. This year, its new
challenge will be censorship—and a repeat performance would be welcome.
Last January, as part of a grand jury probe into the Cablegate affair,
the Department of Justice obtained a court order that directed Twitter
to turn over information about the accounts of activists with ties to
WikiLeaks, including private messages. The original order required
Twitter to keep secret the fact that it was handing over private
information, but the company fought back and won a motion to lift the
gag order. While it’s likely that other social networks received the
same request, Twitter was the only company to challenge the secret
order.
(MORE: Twitter, WikiLeaks and the Broken Market for Consumer Privacy)
Last week saw a replay of these events when a Boston prosecutor sent a
request for information about users allegedly involved in Anonymous
operations. The letter asked that Twitter “not disclose the existence
of this request to the subscriber as disclosure could impede the
ongoing criminal investigation.” The company, however, ignored that
plea and promptly informed the targeted user, who in turn posted the
request online.
Letting a user know that law enforcement is seeking information about
him will no doubt also tip him off that he is being investigated. But
doing so also lets the user go to court and challenge the order—a
fundamental right. In this case, once the request was made public, the
ACLU intervened.
Now Twitter faces a different challenge: censorship. During the London
riots last year, the Metropolitan Police considered ordering the social
network shut down. That didn’t come to pass, but some are now pushing
for more targeted gagging of unsavory tweets.
(MORE: Don’t Blame Social Media for Social Unrest)
Last week it was revealed that Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.),
chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, is leading an effort to
have Twitter block pro-Taliban accounts and messages. And also last
week, the Israeli law center Shurat HaDin told Twitter that unless
Twitter began blocking the accounts of Hezbollah and other groups
considered terrorist organizations by the United States, it would sue
the company.
It’s understandable why Lieberman and others would want to shut down
such poisonous and vile talk. The problem, however, is that once
there’s an easy system in place for governments to blacklist specific
speakers, it will inevitably be misused. If nothing else, it’s unlikely
we’ll all agree on who deserves to be muzzled. Should WikiLeaks be on a
Twitter blacklist? Senator Lieberman would certainly think so.
Other Internet intermediaries have been accommodating to such requests
from politicians and governments. PayPal, Visa, MasterCard, and Amazon
famously heeded Lieberman’s call to block service to WikiLeaks last
year. And YouTube has also taken down videos related to terrorism at
Lieberman’s request. Let’s hope that this year Twitter stands up for
user speech as well as they have for user privacy.
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Opinion
5 Reasons the CISPA Cybersecurity Bill Should Be Tossed
By Matt Peckham @mattpeckhamApril 19, 20120
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So long SOPA and PIPA, hello Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection
Act (CISPA), a bill proposed last November to give the government new
powers to secure networks and thwart copyright violators. It’s finally
up for a vote later this month, sparking protests all this week in
what’s looking like another informational ramp-up to leverage the court
of public opinion against the bill’s passage. Debate on SOPA, a bill
that sought to give the government broad powers in combatting online
piracy, was postponed indefinitely after users and companies including
Google, Wikipedia and Reddit gathered signatures for anti-SOPA
petitions or staged actual service blackouts in mid-January.
Next up: CISPA, a bill that would essentially nullify current privacy
laws and set companies up to share data about users with the government
without the need for court orders. CISPA would amend the National
Security Act of 1947 — responsible for merging the Department of Navy
and War, splitting the Air Force from the Army and creating both the
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and National Security Council (NSC)
— by adding provisions that would apply to cybercrime. It aims “[to]
provide for the sharing of certain cyber threat intelligence and cyber
threat information between the intelligence community and cybersecurity
entities,” as well as “other purposes.”
(MORE: Did It Work? ‘Day After’ Results of the SOPA, PIPA Blackout)
What qualifies as a “cyber threat” according to the latest draft of the
bill?
…information in the possession of an element of the intelligence
community directly pertaining to a vulnerability of, or threat to, a
system or network of a government or private entity, including
information pertaining to the protection of a system or network from
(A) efforts to degrade, disrupt, or destroy such system or network;
or (B) efforts to gain unauthorized access to a system or network,
including efforts to gain such unauthorized access to steal or
misappropriate private or government information.
What’s more, the bill would require the Director of National
Intelligence to both design procedures to facilitate information
sharing between private and government sectors, as well as “encourage
the sharing of such intelligence.”
Before I get into CISPA’s overt problems, it’s worth stating that I
think we’re all — proponents and opponents of CISPA — in favor of
intelligent, reasonable and appropriate measures when it comes to
grappling with cybersecurity. No one wants to live in a world where
companies or government agencies are routinely sabotaged and the
Internet critically disrupted. But getting this stuff right off the
block is crucial. As Ben Franklin once said, “They who can give up
essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither
liberty nor safety.”
CISPA does away with important information-sharing barriers between the
government, military and private sector. According to the Center for
Democracy & Technology, CISPA threatens privacy because it “has a very
broad, almost unlimited definition of the information that can be
shared with government agencies and it supersedes all other privacy
laws,” “is likely to lead to expansion of the government’s role in the
monitoring of private communications” and “is likely to shift control
of government cybersecurity efforts from civilian agencies to the
military.”
The restrictions on what can be snooped or how that information can be
used are vague. CISPA’s vaguely defined usage restrictions mean your
information could be used for purposes other than or only indirectly
related to cybersecurity. The Electronic Frontier Foundation says “a
company like Google, Facebook, Twitter, or AT&T could intercept your
emails and text messages, send copies to one another and to the
government, and modify those communications or prevent them from
reaching their destination if it fits into their plan to stop
‘cybersecurity’ threats.”
(MORE: SOPA Officially ‘Postponed’ Until Further Notice – PIPA, Too)
If a company violates your privacy, you have to go to the moon to hold
them liable. In the latest draft of the bill, to find a company guilty
of “willful misconduct,” you have to show that it engaged in an “act or
omission” that was made:
(I) Intentionally to achieve a wrongful purpose;
(II) knowingly without legal or factual justification;
(III) in disregard of a known or obvious risk that is so great as to
make it highly probable that the harm of the act or omission will
outweigh the benefit.
In addition to proving that a company “intentionally” and “knowingly”
did wrong, then, you have to somehow show that the company knew the
risks outweighed the benefits. How a company’s supposed to determine
this, to say nothing of how you’re supposed to prove it, is anyone’s
guess.
The bill’s definition of “cybersecurity purpose” is too broad and
vague. The EFF argues the bill’s current rationale for cybersecurity
information gathering “is so broad the it leaves the door open to
censor any speech that a company believes would ‘degrade the network’.”
An extreme example: Company X decides its network performance issues
are security-related, grabs beaucoup information about its users, then
uses that data to surveil and/or study users’ habits (think of the side
benefits), or alternatively to censor a website (an obvious example
here would be Wikileaks).
There may be a better, wiser, narrower bill in the offing. Of all the
bills on the table, the only one groups like the CDT support is the
PRECISE Act, which would “establish a non-profit, quasi-governmental
National Information Sharing Organization [NISO] to serve as a national
clearinghouse for the voluntary exchange of “cybersecurity threat
information,” taking in reports, and sharing them back out, among the
federal government, state and local governments, and industry.”
According to the CDT, NISO
…is likely to be more effective at quickly responding
to cybersecurity threats – and would pose fewer civil liberties
risks – than would a government-run information sharing hub. While
the NISO board of directors would have governmental representatives
and representatives of privacy interests, it would be dominated by
industry.
MORE: Why We Won’t See Many Protests like the SOPA Blackout
Matt Peckham @mattpeckham
Matt Peckham is TIME's video games, science tech and music tech
correspondent based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. His work has appeared in
Variety, The Washington Post, The New York Times and others.
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Edward Snowden
Trevor Timm column
The Snowden effect: new privacy wins await after data transfer ruling
Trevor Timm
Trevor Timm
The recent European Court of Justice ruling, and the coming court cases
over the next year or two, promise a second wave of post-Snowden
privacy wins
snowden
American whistleblower Edward Snowden delivers remarks via video link
from Moscow to a privacy talk Photograph: Andrew Kelly/Reuters
Contact author
@trevortimm
Thursday 8 October 2015 12.15 BST Last modified on Thursday 8 October
2015 14.12 BST
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Many politicians held their nose and voted for the USA Freedom Act in
June, hoping that the Snowden revelations would recede into the
distance with the modest NSA reform bill's passage. How wrong they
were: the Snowden effect continues to ripple throughout the world on
matters of privacy and law and it's possible this second wave is only
beginning.
On Tuesday, in a landmark decision, the European Court of Justice
invalidated the "safe harbor" provision between the United States and
Europe that allowed large tech companies like Google and Facebook to
move large amounts of private Europeans' data into servers in the
United States. The case was brought by privacy activist and lawyer Max
Schrems after the initial stories about the NSA's Prism program. As the
New York Times reported, the court "made it clear that American
intelligence agencies had almost unfettered access to the data,
infringing on Europeans' rights to privacy."
Snowden quickly congratulated Max to his 1.4 million followers on his
newly-minted Twitter account.
While the ruling will largely be symbolic (more on that later), the
symbolism could not be more striking: Tuesday's court ruling was only
the first in a string of court cases that could mark the second wave of
the post-Snowden era. It's clear privacy activists won't be satisfied
with mild changes to just one aspect of the United States government's
vast spying apparatus and the Snowden leaks have opened the floodgates
to changes not previously thought possible.
In the US, there are still a series of lawsuits alive and well that are
challenging different aspects of the NSA's surveillance. Wikipedia was
just in court, represented by the ACLU, arguing that the NSA's
"upstream" surveillance program - where the spy agency has access to
entire Internet streams coming into and out of the country - is illegal
and unconstitutional. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (my former
employer) has a case in the 9th Circuit challenging the
constitutionality of the same program, focused on the expansive and
secret partnership between AT&T and the NSA that has allowed the spy
agency to siphon off huge amounts of data right off AT&T's fiber optic
cables all over the country.
In the UK, Privacy International has a slew of active cases in the
British courts and the European Court of Human Rights which could
potentially upend GCHQ's mass surveillance capabilities.
Companies, stung by the revelations that they were collaborating
closely with the NSA, have taken a much more adversarial stance against
the government in court in recent years. In a case that has huge
implications, Microsoft is aggressively challenging the Justice
Department's contention that they can force tech companies to hand over
personal information even if that information is being stored in
servers in other countries.
Then there are the privacy cases that don't directly deal with the NSA
leaks, but will be coming to a head over the next year, as the public
is on a privacy heightened-alert. All over the country, civil liberties
organizations like the ACLU and EFF have challenged the government over
getting cell phone location data without a warrant. If and when one of
those cases reaches the Supreme Court, it will have an even more direct
impact on millions of people's privacy.
As for the European Court of Justice ruling, the victory may be largely
symbolic: the companies think they have other ways to continue to move
data, and there has been a long re-negotiated agreement that has been
on the verge of passing for months. And make no mistake: it won't put
an end to mass surveillance either. As Cory Doctorow wrote:
[T]he NSA, GCHQ and other spy agencies will target data-centers
wherever they are, and the spy agencies of European nations will
surveil their own populations and foreign populations, covertly and
overtly harvesting Europeans' data from the data-centers in their own
borders, and, often, handing it straight to the NSA, who'll move it to
its US data-centers like the titanic facility in Bluffdale, Utah.
If the European Court of Justice wants to end mass surveillance of
Europeans, it can only do so by banning mass surveillance - by ruling
that laws that treat foreigners' data as fair game are
unconstitutional.
We should also be aware that foreign countries can cynically use the
idea of cabining data in their own domestic soil to thwart privacy and
force companies like Google and Facebook to play by their own rules.
Whereas European countries might think they have more privacy, Russia
is attempting to force tech companies to do the same, which could have
drastic and negative effects on its citizens. This so-called
"Balkanization" of the Internet could allow nefarious governments to
take advantage of their citizens' fears over the NSA and actually end
up weakening their privacy protections in the process.
Related: 'Safe harbour' ruling illustrates growing chasm between US and
EU
Despite all of the disturbing tactics we've learned about from the NSA
and their partners at the GCHQ in the past two years, our digital
rights is unquestionably more protected than it was when the leaks
started. And with the coming court cases over the next year or two, the
seismic shift will undoubtedly continue to occur.
* Disclosure: Trevor Timm is executive director of Freedom of the
Press Foundation, where Edward Snowden sits on the board of
directors.
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Privacy
Opinion
At last, the data giants have been humbled
Carly Nyst
Everyone who uses the internet should rejoice at the passing of this
legal milestone, which will hurt the likes of Facebook and Google
The European court of justice has suspended the `safe harbour'
agreement made between the EU and US in 2000.
The European court of justice has suspended the `safe harbour'
agreement made between the EU and US in 2000. Photograph: Frank
May/dpa/Corbis
Wednesday 7 October 2015 07.00 BST Last modified on Wednesday 7 October
2015 07.03 BST
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A staid European Union court in quiet Luxembourg has made waves in
international waters by declaring that a data transfer agreement
between the EU and the US fails to comply with European human rights
law. The decision, issued by the European court of justice on Tuesday
in a case brought by pioneering privacy activist Max Schrems against
Facebook not only promises to uproot the business practices of some of
the technology sector's giants. It also contains the strongest
condemnation by any court to date of the US National Security Agency's
mass-surveillance practices.
The court's decision to suspend the so-called safe harbour agreement is
one of those rare beasts: a highly legalistic judgment of seemingly
little public relevance whose ripples will touch - if not be felt - by
everyone from the average British Facebook user to the American
congressman. Just as the US supreme court did earlier this year when it
ruled gay marriage to be constitutional, the European court of justice
has not just walked but run in the direction of progress.
Safe harbour, an agreement made between the EU and the US in 2000, was
supposed to protect private data collected by internet companies: your
age, your relationship status, even just the Facebook pages you have
"liked". When US companies with subsidiaries in the EU collected
personal data in Europe and sent it back to the US, or when EU
companies outsourced their data to US providers, that personal data was
supposedly still covered by the privacy protections enshrined in EU
law. So when Facebook Europe, headquartered in Ireland, collected data
on its European members and then sent that data to servers in the US,
the information remained protected by EU data protection and human
rights law.
The European court of justice has taken a step that no court has had
the courage to take
Safe harbour was supposed to remind those companies deliberately
transferring data to the US that they couldn't escape obligations to
protect that data from abuse, error, theft or illegitimate
appropriation, even if under the guise of national security. Edward
Snowden's revelation made shockingly clear that this wasn't the case.
Tuesday's ruling is rife at every turn with well-founded indignation at
the sheer scope and audacity of US spying on non-American citizens -
that the court had clearly been itching to pronounce. It could have
issued a far more restrained decision in response to Schrems' claim,
which essentially asked whether safe harbour prevented national data
protection authorities - such as Britain's Information Commissioner's
Office - from investigating the practices of US companies. Instead, the
court leapt enthusiastically at the chance to question the validity of
the safe harbour agreement itself, and with it the compliance of US law
on privacy and surveillance with European human rights standards.
It is entirely unlikely, as scaremongers suggest, that the ruling will
cripple the burgeoning start-up scene, yet the dark cloud that has long
hung over safe harbour has meant that companies have prepared for this
eventuality. At any rate, The internet companies most likely to be
affected are those that already have a lot of power and influence, such
as Facebook with its European subsidiaries, or EU companies and
governments outsourcing data to US cloud services. For the average
internet user, the impact will be immediate but hard to discern. US
companies with European subsidiaries - Facebook, Google and Amazon, for
example - will have to either keep individuals' data in European
servers or look for another legal basis for transferring that data to
the US. Such other bases are available, and may represent more of a
compliance hurdle than an actual obstacle to companies moving data
abroad.
Related: Facebook row: US data storage leaves users open to
surveillance, court rules
Similarly, government agencies that seek to outsource data to US-based
cloud services - as HMRC sought to do with Google earlier this year -
will have to think twice and review the legality of their proposals. On
the whole, the decision is likely to slow but not noticeably stem the
amount of data transferred to the US and thus the amount of data
readily available for US intelligence agencies to inspect under their
lax surveillance laws, which afford non-US persons next to no privacy
rights whatsoever.
What is significant is that the European court of justice has taken a
step that no court has previously had the courage to take: it declared
the mass, indiscriminate electronic interception and scrutiny of
private internet communications to be an act that inherently violates
human rights law. In the context of international law, this is a
decision that may come to be remembered as being as critical to
enshrining global norms on surveillance as the Nuremberg trials were
for solidifying human right prohibitions against crimes against
humanity and genocide. The edicts contained in the judgment create a
"point of no return" for the evolution of legal thinking on
surveillance.
For this reason, the decision will certainly be influential in the
European court of human rights, which next year will consider no less
than three claims against mass surveillance in the United Kingdom: one
brought by Liberty, Privacy International and Amnesty International,
after Britain's Investigatory Powers Tribunal ruled mass surveillance
to be compliant with the Human Rights Act, as well as two others lodged
by Big Brother Watch, English PEN and the Open Rights Group, and the
Bureau of Investigative Journalism respectively.
The cases will likely be heard just as the UK parliament debates the
investigatory powers bill, a new piece of legislation that will
probably aim to relegitimise - and entrench - GCHQ's bulk interception
powers; with the CJEU's finding thrown into the mix, the result is
likely to be a perfect storm of debates on the legitimacy of the
British surveillance state. Other court cases on the legality of mass
surveillance are being heard across Europe - in France, Germany and the
Netherlands - and this decision is likely to aid the lawyers and
campaigners running those cases too.
With any luck the ruling will also influence American politics, as
Congress could allow to lapse the very mass surveillance provisions
that elicited the court's vitriol, as the relevant clauses of the US
surveillance legislation face sunset in 2017.
The real value of this judgment could be as a wake-up call to US
legislators that, in a digital era in which the internet knows no
nationality, affording Americans some protections and foreigners none
is not only an unsustainable financial strategy, it is a violation of
international law.
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Business
Privacy groups hail 'freedom from surveillance' in European court's Facebook
ruling
European court finds in favor of Max Schrems, student who asked EU’s
data protection commissioner to bar Facebook from transmitting his data
to the US
Max Schrems
Austria’s Max Schrems listens to a ruling at the European Court of
Justice in Luxembourg on Tuesday. Photograph: Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP
Sam Thielman
@samthielman
Tuesday 6 October 2015 17.47 BST Last modified on Tuesday 6 October
2015 18.27 BST
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Private industry was in a rage while privacy groups were elated on
Tuesday over a new ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ)
affirming European citizens’ right to privacy from American tech
companies.
On Tuesday, the European court ruled in favor of Max Schrems, an
Austrian graduate student who asked that EU’s data protection
commissioner bar Facebook from transmitting his personal data to the US
on the grounds that many tech firms had cooperated with the National
Security Agency.
Transmission of personal data had previously been covered by a “safe
harbor” agreement between Europe and the US that allowed tech firms to
share the data with explicit consent from their customers. Businesses
that operate in Europe must now make sure they are compliant with the
EU’s own laws before they subject their customers’ personal information
to laxer restrictions in the US, the court said.
The advertising industry was not pleased. “Today’s decision by the
European Court of Justice jeopardizes thousands of businesses across
the Atlantic,” said Mike Zaneis, executive vice-president of public
policy and general counsel for the Interactive Advertising Bureau, who
called the overturned provision “an efficient means to comply with EU
privacy law”.
“The weakening of the Safe Harbor agreement limits European consumers’
access to valuable digital services and impedes trade and innovation,”
said Zaneis. “We urge the US and EU to agree on new rules for the
transatlantic transfer of data, taking into account the CJEU’s
judgment.”
Evan Greer, campaign director for internet activist group Fight for the
Future, said: “The ECJ has confirmed what the vast majority of internet
users already know: large US-based tech companies have been deeply
complicit in mass government surveillance, and have traded their users’
most basic rights for a cozy relationship with the US government. While
the discussion around NSA spying has far too often focused only on the
rights of US citizens, the ECJ ruling is a reminder that freedom from
indiscriminate surveillance is a basic human right that should be
protected for everyone, regardless of where they live.”
Tech giants such as Facebook, Apple and Google have long planned for a
loss and are likely to fall back on their own user agreements to allow
them to transmit data overseas or use their own legal status within
Europe to circumnavigate the ruling.
“Facebook, like many thousands of European companies, relies on a
number of the methods prescribed by EU law to legally transfer data to
the US from Europe, aside from Safe Harbor.
“It is imperative that EU and US governments ensure that they continue
to provide reliable methods for lawful data transfers and resolve any
issues relating to national security,” said a Facebook spokesperson.
The judgement is likely to be “good news for lawyers” for years to
come, said one tech executive, and likely to disproportionately hit
smaller tech companies.
James Kinsella, a former Microsoft exec who runs European privacy law
compliance company Zettabox, said flatly that the new regulation would
not stifle trade. “It will require that companies doing business in
Europe understand where they are putting their customers’ data. To say
it will stifle is like saying, ‘requiring seatbelts in cars stifled car
sales.’ No, it didn’t. It made cars safe; it made auto travel a more
reliable form of transportation. It made the car an even more desirable
and dependable form of transportation. So, too, with cloud services. At
the moment, companies are putting their ‘passengers/customers’ data in
the back seat without a seat belt.”
Kinsella also saw at least one area of industry that would benefit
immediately from the ruling: European cloud storage. “It will help
boost the cloud services business here, in Europe, which will be a good
thing for everyone, because it will generate more competition and
require that all providers consider new rules (like the GDPR) that will
make ALL data safer for everyone.”
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Surveillance
Facebook row: US data storage leaves users open to surveillance, court rules
EU court ruling that privacy is being compromised could force many
digital companies to relocate operations
The ECJ issued its opinion after campaigner Maximilian Schrems
challenged Facebook over the transfer of his data to US intelligence
agencies.
The ECJ issued its opinion after campaigner Maximilian Schrems
challenged Facebook over the transfer of his data to US intelligence
agencies. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA
Ian Traynor in Brussels and Owen Bowcott
Tuesday 6 October 2015 12.39 BST Last modified on Wednesday 7 October
2015 00.01 BST
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The personal data of Europeans held in America by online tech
corporations is not safe from US government snooping, the European
court of justice has ruled, in a landmark verdict that hits Facebook,
Google, Amazon and many others.
The Luxembourg-based court declared the EU-US "safe harbour" rules
regulating firms' retention of Europeans' data in the US to be invalid,
throwing a spoke into trade relations that will also impact on current
negotiations on a far-reaching transatlantic trade pact between
Washington and Brussels.
The ECJ, whose findings are binding on all EU member states, ruled on
Tuesday that: "The United States ... scheme enables interference, by
United States public authorities, with the fundamental rights of
persons..."
The verdict came as a direct result of Edward Snowden's revelations,
published in the Guardian, of how the US National Security Agency was
obtaining mass access to data held by the big internet servers and
telecoms companies in the US. As a result, an Austrian lawyer,
Maximilian Schrems, took Facebook to court in Ireland, arguing the
social media site was violating his privacy by retaining his data in
the US, including material he had himself deleted.
The ruling will force the companies involved to rethink their
operations and to relocate some of their operations, and also creates
great legal uncertainty among the 4,400 European companies that use the
safe harbour rules to transfer customers' data to the US.
Snowden himself welcomed the judgment, sending out a stream of
approving comments on his Twitter feed. "Europe's high court just
struck down a major law routinely abused for surveillance. We are all
safer as a result," he declared.
"Congratulations, @MaxSchrems. You've changed the world for the better
... Bottom line: the #SafeHarbor ruling indicates the indiscriminate
interception of communications is a violation of rights.
"This judgment is a bombshell," said Monika Kuschewsky, a data privacy
lawyer with the firm Covington. "The EU's highest court has pulled the
rug under the feet of thousands of companies that have been relying on
safe harbour. All these companies are now forced to find an alternative
mechanism for their data transfers to the US. And, this, basically
overnight."
AmCham EU, the US chamber of commerce in Europe, said the ruling could
cost the EU 1.3% of gross domestic product and 6.7% in services exports
losses.
"The judgment could have far-reaching repercussions for consumers,
employers and employees," said Susan Danger, its managing director.
The European commission, which is responsible for the safe harbour
regime, put a brave face on the damning verdict. "The commission is at
ease with the court ruling," said Frans Timmermans, its vice-president.
He made clear there would be no prompt halt to the transfer of data to
the US, noting there were several other "mechanisms" that could be
invoked to keep the electronic traffic flowing.
"Data flows can continue in the meantime under other arrangements."
Safe harbour is an agreement between the European Union and the US that
provides guidance for US firms on how to protect the personal data of
EU citizens as required by the EU's directive on data protection.
The commission has been attempting to renegotiate the rules with the
Americans since late 2013 following the Edward Snowden revelations on
the complicity between US hi-tech companies and government
surveillance.
Jan Philipp Albrecht, a German Green MEP specialising in data privacy,
said: "Safe harbour enabled masses of Europeans' personal data to be
transferred by companies like Facebook to the United States over the
past 15 years. With today's verdict it is clear that these transfers
were in breach of the fundamental right to data protection ... The
United States has to deliver adequate, legally binding protection in
the private sector as well as to introduce juridical redress for EU
citizens with regards to their privacy rights in all sectors including
national security."
The court found that Facebook and other digital operators do not
provide customers with protection from state surveillance. The ECJ
ruling said: "The safe harbour decision denies the national supervisory
authorities their powers where a person calls into question whether the
decision is compatible with the protection of the privacy and of the
fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals."
It suggested that the US "does not afford an adequate level of
protection of personal data".
"This is a historic victory against indiscriminate snooping by
intelligence agencies, both at home and abroad. In a globalised world,
only a strong and binding international framework will ensure our
citizens' personal data is secure," said Liberal Democrat MEP Catherine
Bearder.
Mike Weston, CEO of the data science consultancy Profusion, said:
"American companies are going to have to restructure how they manage,
store and use data in Europe and this takes a lot of time and money.
The biggest casualties will not be companies like Google and Facebook
because they already have significant data centre infrastructure in
countries like Ireland. It will be medium-sized, data-heavy tech
companies that don't have the resources to react to this decision."
Mark Thompson, privacy practice leader at KPMG, said: "Europe [is]
taking a strong stance in ensuring that European citizens are provided
the same level of protection no matter where the processing of their
personal information takes place.
"At the foundation of this is the need for global organisations to take
privacy seriously, creating an environment which respects the rights of
the individuals whose personal information they process regardless of
the mechanism used to legitimise the transfer."
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Australian politics
'Governments do not like freedom of information': the war on Australia's
privacy and information watchdog
The office of the Australian information commissioner suffers limited
funding, reduced staff and now, in an unprecedented event, an uncertain
future
Silhouette of male hand typing on laptop
Australian's freedom of information and privacy watchdog, set up in
2010, was created to make guidelines, take on reviews and hear
complaints about FOI matters. Photograph: Rafe Swan/Cultura RF/Getty
Images
Paul Farrell
Paul Farrell
@FarrellPF
Thursday 1 October 2015 04.09 BST Last modified on Thursday 1 October
2015 06.29 BST
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When Australian's freedom of information and privacy watchdog was
launched at federal parliament in November 2010 it was seen as the
beginning of a new era of open government.
The office of the Australian information commissioner (OAIC) was
supposed to herald Australia's new era of transparency and
accountability. The then home affairs minister, Brendan O'Connor, said
at the launch that the office would reign over a new dawn of
"pro-disclosure culture" in government.
Related: Freedom of information laws upheld by two men working from
home
Almost five years after it began, the story is very different. The
federal government has decided to kill off the OAIC, but the office has
continued on with limited funding. Uncertainty over its future lingers.
The first Australian information commissioner, John McMillan, left his
office in July 2015. It is possible he will be the last. He spent the
last several months in office working from home.
The freedom of information commissioner, James Popple, also left in
December 2014, leaving just the privacy commissioner, Timothy Pilgrim,
who has now been appointed acting information commissioner until the
end of this month. This uncertainty has come at a time when the privacy
functions of the OAIC have arguably never been more important, and it
has now been tasked with an even greater responsibility to oversee
parts of the mandatory data retention scheme.
A team somewhat diminished in size, but no less committed, is now doing
more than ever under Pilgrim's leadership to enforce Australians'
privacy and freedom of information rights in what he says is a "great
testament" to the commitment of his staff.
The uncertainty around the OAIC is the culmination of many factors. But
it comes back to one constant, which McMillan outlined in his first
interview with Guardian Australia: governments do not like freedom of
information.
The mission: an independent champion of information policy
The information commissioner's office was set up to draw distinct but
complementary areas of government information policy into a single
space. It's an exciting - and quite rare - opportunity to build an
entirely new office in government.
Freedom of information was a big part. The office would create
guidelines, take on reviews and hear complaints about FOI matters. This
would be at low cost, with no charge for review applications, in
contrast to the $800 application fee to the administrative appeals
tribunal. It was also less formal, with cases decided on written
submissions. An emphasis was placed on informal dispute resolution.
Related: Australia's right to know is under assault | Paul Farrell
But the OAIC's reach was far greater. It makes guidelines for credit
reporting with financial institutions. It forces companies and web
services to write privacy policies. It helps medical organisations work
out how best to store Australian's medical files. It receives a greater
number of privacy related complaints each year.
The office came into existence at a time when similar offices were
being established by state governments. Deirdre O'Donnell, who was New
South Wales's first information commissioner, says information
commissioners are "important in a very profound way" for the way
governments operate.
"It was an exciting time to be there and it was a privilege to be
there. There's no doubt that the legislation was courageous. It had a
vision and it was pretty inspiring," she says.
O'Donnell says one of the crucial factors is that the NSW government of
the day wholly supported it. The then premier, Barry O'Farrell, even
opened an open government event held by the office.
"It's really important that citizens are confident that government is
being exercised in an accountable way. One mechanism for doing that is
freedom of information," she says. "It shouldn't be hard, it shouldn't
be a last resort, it should be an easy way for people to know about
what's going on."
In the early days of the OAIC there was also strong support high up in
the federal Labor government for open government. Former Labor special
minister of state John Faulkner was an important voice in pushing for
change, as was senator Joe Ludwig.
It shouldn't be hard, it shouldn't be a last resort, it should be an
easy way for people to know about what's going on
Deirdre O'Donnell
But McMillan - who now serves as the acting NSW ombudsman - says that
it became clear sometimes that some parts of government were pushing
back.
"It's all led by the tone at the top. When we started we had wonderful
support at senior levels of government, so you got a real culture
change," he says. "But after about a year or so it became clear - and
this is during Labor - that government doesn't like FOI and it's
acceptable, it's culturally acceptable, to thwart FOI requests."
The office found itself facing growing pushback from some more
temperamental agencies. In the last few years, it has become
increasingly common for government heads to publicly criticise FOI. The
Australian government solicitors even have an email list called the
"FOI Chatspace", where decisions of the OAIC are occasionally
criticised by some of the government's most senior lawyers.
Perhaps as a consequence of some of this pushback, the OAIC did not
quite receive the funding that some believed it should have, despite
estimates it would need 100 staff when it opened. It operated at its
peak with about 80 staff. Efficiency dividends were levelled on it
under Labor, that reduced staffing further. All the while, applications
were building up. These delays faced growing criticism in 2012 and 2013
from frustrated applicants, including a number of journalists.
The efficiency claims used to attack the office
Ultimately, it was the perceived inefficiencies of the OAIC in these
early days that were used to justify the plans to abolish the office.
The federal government announced it would abolish it in May 2014.
In October 2014 it introduced a bill into federal parliament, which
explained it was necessary to reduce the complexity and unnecessary
delays of the office. Under the arrangements, the privacy
commissioner's office was to be moved back to the Australian Human
Rights Commission - in a way that Gillian Triggs, the commission's
president, described as "unworkable".
Related: Hypocritical politicians 'hate' freedom of information, says
former commissioner
But are the criticisms the office faced justified? McMillan defends the
office, but acknowledges there were problems in the early days. He says
it was always expected it would take about three years to bed down the
procedures, work out what needed to be fixed internally - and also to
address structural problems in the FOI act.
"I was very clear from the start that I would accept that government
wanted to restructure, but I wasn't going to let them do so on the
basis that we had failed in our task," he says. "And I'm still firm in
my view, and I told them that informally and formally. I said I would
not dispute their plan to restructure government, but don't use us as
the fall guy."
The figures from the OAIC have demonstrated a marked improvement in
performance. In fact, since the abolition was announced, the smaller
team of staff now there have made remarkable achievements in processing
FOI applications. Only $1.7m in funding has been allocated to FOI
functions.
Despite this, Pilgrim says the OAIC's performance has markedly
improved.
"We've made some really good inroads into improving the timeliness of
the way we're dealing with FOI," he says. "The turnaround times have
improved, they're about on average three months ... the legacy backlog
of FOI matters is only about 16 cases that are 12 months old."
The smaller FOI team initiated and completed an own-motion
investigation into the Department of Human Services in just two months.
Pilgrim says he understood the concerns from the community and
stakeholders early on. But he also says the changes to FOI and privacy
law meant that agencies, stakeholders and the agency itself needed to
develop processes. Those changes took time to resolve, which did in
some areas lead to backlogs.
Peter Timmins, an expert in Australian freedom of information policy,
says there are some legitimate criticisms of the office. He points
particularly at the relatively small number of own motion
investigations they undertook into FOI practices in government.
"There certainly was some validity in that. Whether it was the
inefficiency within the office is another matter. But right from the
start the office may have been underfunded," he says. "The initial
estimate I've seen is that they would need 100 staff to do the three
functions that were allocated to them. I don't think they got anywhere
near that."
Related: Gillian Triggs: some Coalition FOI and privacy reforms
'unworkable'
These problems identified in the early days may also have stymied a
stronger response to the abolition of the OAIC from news organisations.
The ABC's freedom of information editor, Michael McKinnon, appeared
before a Senate inquiry into the bill in his role representing the
Right to Know coalition of news organisations.
McKinnon is one of Australia's most seasoned FOI practitioners, and had
found the appeals process with the OAIC frustrating. In his oral
submission to the Senate he said the Right to Know coalition supported
the position of an information commissioner. But he adds the "major
discontent" with the organisation was the lengthy delays, and urged a
more fulsome review of the office.
Could the office have been more aggressive? This was a perennial aspect
of the criticism around it. McMillan says he asks himself that question
all the time.
"It was difficult. You don't get cultural change by telling everybody
their behaviour is appalling," he says. "Our strategy was to work with
government to change things, and that was one reason. But another was
that because we had this unusual mixture of functions in the IC review
functions, I had to do independent tribunal type review, but then I
also had to perform an advocacy role."
Timmins supports the role of the office, but agrees there may be some
tweaks needed. He says there needs to be a specialist independent
office like the OAIC to champion information culture, but urged the
need for a full review and modernisation of the FOI system more
broadly.
The questions over perceived inefficiencies will no doubt continue, but
Pilgrim stresses the work of the OAIC is continuing and it was now
tending to a vast range of privacy functions.
He adds: "We also have to look at the breadth of responsibility that
the office has. In the current financial year that's just finished we
had some 373 applications for information commissioner review in the
FOI side, but at the same time we had 2,841 privacy complaints coming
in that we needed to look at, plus a raft of other functions."
An unprecedented abolition
The government's plan to abolish the OAIC appears to be a world first.
Timmins says he was not aware of another country that had embarked on a
similar course of action. The decision to abolish the office sets a
worrying trend around the global for the principles of open government
and transparency.
Related: Freedom of information may cost $800 as Coalition seeks to
abolish regulator
Australia's standing on the global stage of governance is also facing
growing criticism in another area. Under the previous government,
Australia appeared to be willing to sign on to the Open Government
Partnership to encourage transparency in government. Signing on to the
agreement would see Australia join other nations like the US, Canada,
Sweden, Finland and scores of others.
But that hasn't happened. The Australian has reported the attorney
general has quite seriously considered not joining up at all. McMillan
says he thought the decision was "a no-brainer."
"Australia had a stellar reputation from introducing a lot of these
laws. We ticked all the boxes on the open government partnership," he
says. "But there was no enthusiasm anywhere in government. And this is
the same for Labor and Liberal, there was no enthusiasm at the
ministerial level, there was no enthusiasm within agencies."
"There was just this reluctance to ever have a discussion with the
heading open government. And that was because of the tone from the
top."
Taking a really close look at the FOI system has been something that
both Liberal and Labor governments have resisted. The previous
government commissioned Dr Allan Hawke to undertake a review of FOI
laws. Two years on the Labor and Liberal governments took no action to
implement the recommendations.
"The [Hawke] report was a real disappointment," Macmillan says. Its
major recommendation is that we need another big review of FOI. That
hasn't happened. There's this great disinclination to have a public
discussion about FOI. Partly it's because it's become politicised, but
that's why we're where we are 16 months later," he says.
Related: Senators call on Brandis to reconsider plans to abolish FOI
regulator
Australia now finds itself with an FOI system in need of reform,
without a fully staffed and funded information commissioner's office,
and without the strong international leadership on open government that
many believe the country should be putting forward.
Breaking the stalemate
The OAIC remains in limbo a year after the federal government put
forward its bill to abolish the office. In that time, the attorney
general George Brandis has failed to gain the support of the Senate to
pass the legislation.
Labor and the Greens both oppose the bill. On the crossbench,
independent senator Nick Xenophon, Liberal Democrat senator John
Leyonhjelm, independent senator John Madigan, Palmer United party
senator Dio Wang and Family First senator Bob Day have all indicated
they don't support the bill.
Rarely does a government bill have such a degree of opposition to
legislation. But what options are available?
The federal government could simply continue with the current
uncertainty. But the Labor party, the Greens and independent senators
could also band together and force a vote on the bill. The procedure to
achieve this is difficult, and would likely take an entire sitting day.
But the government would lose this vote. It would send a resounding and
very public message that the abolition of the office would not be
tolerated.
The longer the current crisis continues, the greater the loss of
experience at the OAIC, and the more government agencies will continue
to flout the principles of open government. There is almost unanimous
support for the existence of an OAIC.
It can't continue. It's very hard to maintain staff morale
John McMillan
For McMillan, the potential loss of the OAIC is a very personal issue.
He says the office in its current form "is doing a wonderful job". But
the impact on staff is hard.
"It can't continue. It's very hard to maintain staff morale. It's very
hard to recruit really talented people on an ongoing basis when they
don't know whether the office is going to disappear from one month to
the next." he says.
He adds: "That's why they've got to come up with a plan."
Pilgrim stresses he didn't want to talk on behalf of the staff, and he
says it has unquestionably been a "challenging time". But he is proud
of their effectiveness and resilience.
"I am extraordinarily amazed at how committed the staff have been to
getting the work done and getting it done in an effective way through
what has been really challenging times for them," he says.
There may yet be some hope for those who wish to salvage the office.
The prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, has made pointed comments about
the need for open government. He has brought "public data policy" into
his own departmental portfolio. The prime minister's office did not
respond to questions from Guardian Australia about whether they
considered the OAIC to fall within this new policy area, but the
interest has certainly drawn the attention of many of those who work in
the field.
Whatever happens, Australia's privacy and freedom of information
watchdog lives on for now. It is doing more than it ever has, with less
than it ever has. But it deserves far more than that.
__________________________________________________________________
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Topics
* Australian politics
* Malcolm Turnbull
* George Brandis
* John Madigan
* Nick Xenophon
* Privacy
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Encryption
Trevor Timm column
The 'Athens Affair' shows why we need encryption without backdoors
Trevor Timm
Trevor Timm
Revelations about the hack that allowed Greek politicians to be spied
on in 2004 come at a time when the White House is set to announce its
encryption policy
data
The only way to make sure our date is safe is to keep it encrypted.
Photograph: Alamy Stock Photo
Contact author
@trevortimm
Wednesday 30 September 2015 12.30 BST Last modified on Wednesday 30
September 2015 19.00 BST
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Just as it seems the White House is close to finally announcing its
policy on encryption - the FBI has been pushing for tech companies like
Apple and Google to insert backdoors into their phones so the US
government can always access users' data - new Snowden revelations and
an investigation by a legendary journalist show exactly why the FBI's
plans are so dangerous.
One of the biggest arguments against mandating backdoors in encryption
is the fact that, even if you trust the United States government never
to abuse that power (and who does?), other criminal hackers and foreign
governments will be able to exploit the backdoor to use it themselves.
A backdoor is an inherent vulnerability that other actors will attempt
to find and try to use it for their own nefarious purposes as soon as
they know it exists, putting all of our cybersecurity at risk.
In a meticulous investigation, longtime NSA reporter James Bamford
reported at the Intercept Tuesday that the NSA was behind the notorious
"Athens Affair". In surveillance circles, the Athens Affair is stuff of
legend: after the 2004 Olympics, the Greek government discovered that
an unknown attacker had hacked into Vodafone's "lawful intercept"
system, the phone company's mechanism of wiretapping phone calls. The
attacker spied on phone calls of the president, other Greek politicians
and journalists before it was discovered.
According to Bamford's story, all this happened after the US spy agency
cooperated with Greek law enforcement to keep an eye on potential
terrorist attacks for the Olympics. Instead of packing up their
surveillance gear, they covertly pointed it towards the Greek
government and its people. But that's not all: according to Snowden
documents that Bamford cited, this is a common tactic of the NSA. They
often attack the "lawful intercept" systems in other countries to spy
on government and citizens without their knowledge:
Exploiting the weaknesses associated with lawful intercept programs was
a common trick for NSA. According to a previously unreleased top-secret
PowerPoint presentation from 2012, titled "Exploiting Foreign Lawful
Intercept Roundtable", the agency's "countries of interest" for this
work included, at that time, Mexico, Indonesia, Egypt and others. The
presentation also notes that NSA had about 60 "Fingerprints" -- ways to
identify data -- from telecom companies and industry groups that
develop lawful intercept systems, including Ericsson, as well as
Motorola, Nokia and Siemens.
It's the exact nightmare scenario security experts have warned about
when it comes to backdoors: they are not only available to those that
operate them "legally", but also to those who can hack into them to spy
without anyone's knowledge. If the NSA can do it, so can China, Russia
and a host of other malicious actors.
The White House is reportedly close to coming to a decision on their
official policy on encryption. Despite the FBI and NSA's best efforts
to convince them that they should push for a law mandating backdoors -
a catastrophe for human rights, cybersecurity and the US economy - the
White House may be on the verge of openly condemning the FBI's
approach, according to the Washington Post.
This would be great news for everybody. However, they have yet to come
to a final decision. To help them, the Electronic Frontier Foundation
and a host of other groups (including Freedom of the Press Foundation,
where I work) have launched a White House petition calling on the Obama
administration to do the right thing on encryption: strongly support
everyone's right to use it.
Coming out strongly against such a mandate would be huge on multiple
fronts for the Obama administration: it would send a strong message for
human rights around the world, it would make it much harder for other
governments to demand backdoors from US tech companies and it would
also strengthen the US economy.
For the White House, it would cement President Obama's legacy as a
president who ultimately decided to strengthen the internet under his
watch, rather than weaken it.
* Disclosure: Trevor Timm works for Freedom of the Press Foundation,
which is one of the many civil liberties organizations to have
called on the White House to support strong encryption.
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* Apple
* Google
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Jeb Bush
Trevor Timm column
Jeb Bush is the ultimate anti-internet candidate
Trevor Timm
Trevor Timm
The Republican hopeful positioned himself as pro-data collection and
anti-encryption in a race where privacy and net neutrality have never
mattered more
Jeb Bush
She probably doesn't know what he wants to do to her internet access
and privacy. Photograph: Charlie Neibergall/AP
Contact author
@trevortimm
Saturday 26 September 2015 11.45 BST Last modified on Saturday 26
September 2015 14.48 BST
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Do you want to live in a country where Internet Service Providers can
slow down and censor your internet traffic at will, where the NSA has
vastly more power than it does today and where end-to-end encryption
may be illegal? Then Jeb Bush is the Republican presidential contender
for you: he has positioned himself as the anti-internet candidate in an
election where internet rights have never mattered more.
A lot of the White House candidates have made worrying comments about
the future of surveillance and the internet - from Chris Christie's
bizarre vow to track 10 million people like FedEx packages, to Hillary
Clinton's waffling on encryption backdoors - but Jeb Bush's deliberate
campaign to roll back internet rights is the perfect storm of awful.
Bush proudly stated on his campaign website this week that he would axe
the FCC's important net neutrality rules, a hard-fought, grassroots
victory from earlier this year by internet rights activists almost a
decade in the making. As the New York Times described it at the time,
the net neutrality rules "are intended to ensure that no content is
blocked and that the internet is not divided into pay-to-play fast
lanes for internet and media companies that can afford it and slow
lanes for everyone else."
The idea that ISPs shouldn't be able to censor internet or slow down
traffic at the behest of paying corporations seems like something
everyone can agree on, right?
As Gizmodo's Kate Knibbs put it, however, "Instead of viewing the FCC's
net neutrality rule as a safeguard for consumers, Bush is framing it a
way to sandbag ISPs out of their rightful profit margins, with no
upside for people using their services." Jeb Bush is apparently happy
to side with Comcast and Time Warner, two of the most hated
conglomerates in America, rather than the tens of millions of people
who just want watch Netflix every night without their internet slowing
down or having to pay more.
But that's just his latest vow to dismantle the hard-fought rights
internet users have won over the past few years. Bush is also a mass
warrantless surveillance fanatic. He not only continually defends the
NSA on the campaign trail, but has called for the mammoth spy agency to
be handed even more powers. He's defended the massive phone metadata
program that collected Americans' phone records that is both wildly
unpopular with voters and has already been modified by Congress - and
to a large extent shuttered - with the passage of the USA Freedom Act.
Bush even claimed the expansion of the NSA over the past six or seven
years has been the "best part" of the Obama administration.
Perhaps worst of all, Jeb Bush has ignorantly criticized the welcome
trend of tech companies like Apple implementing end-to-end encryption
in their devices to protect its millions of users from criminals and
government spying. Seemingly channeling his brother George W at an
event in August, Jeb said, "If you create encryption, it makes it
harder for the American government to do its job - while protecting
civil liberties - to make sure that evildoers aren't in our midst."
Bush apparently doesn't understand that encryption helps law
enforcement more than it hurts, and is vital to billions of internet
users all over the globe whether we're talking about the economy or
human rights.
Most importantly, though, strong encryption is a bulwark against cyber
attacks, which Bush claims is a "vital" issue. In his lukewarm
cybersecurity plan, which really just calls for more power for a
variety of government agencies to spy on us all, he does not mention
the word "encryption" once.
Too often internet and privacy rights get relegated to the end of the
table when election season rolls around. But the issues have never been
more mainstream - NSA reform and net neutrality rules, unthinkable
eight years ago, are all of a sudden inevitable. And the idea that Jeb
Bush wants to take those rights away and saddle the internet with yet
more corporate control and government surveillance is disturbing, to
say the least.
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Edward Snowden
Edward Snowden to attend meeting via video on ‘treaty’ to improve privacy
laws
Meeting in New York will focus on the ‘Snowden Treaty’, conceived as a
way for states to push back against mass surveillance by the NSA and
its cohorts
Edward Snowden
Edward Snowden has seen and approved the draft document, though he is
not its author. Photograph: Barton Gellman/Getty Images
Ed Pilkington in New York
@edpilkington
Thursday 24 September 2015 13.33 BST Last modified on Thursday 24
September 2015 14.13 BST
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The NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden will be beamed by video link into
a New York meeting on Thursday, at which a draft international “treaty”
bearing his name will be launched in an attempt to persuade governments
around the world to strengthen privacy laws.
The so-called “Snowden Treaty” is conceived as a way for states to
begin pushing back against the mass surveillance undertaken by the US
National Security Agency and its cohorts. Snowden, who leaked details
of the agency’s digital data dragnet, has seen and approved the draft
document, though he is not its author.
The “International Treaty on the Right to Privacy, Protection Against
Improper Surveillance and Protection of Whistleblowers”, as it is
otherwise known, aims to elevate digital privacy into a 21st-century
human right. Under its terms, mass surveillance of phone calls and
online activity would be outlawed, oversight of state bodies involved
in surveillance would be stepped up, and whistleblowers – like Snowden
himself – would be afforded international protection.
Snowden has lived in Russia since June 2013, having fled Hong Kong in
expectation of his arrest and prosecution by the US government.
The Snowden Treaty is the brainchild of David Miranda, the civil
liberties campaigner and partner of journalist Glenn Greenwald, who
broke stories based on the Snowden leaks with the Guardian (Greenwald
now writes for The Intercept). Miranda said he was inspired to pursue
the idea of a new international privacy campaign after he was
interrogated for almost nine hours under the UK Terrorism Act in August
2013.
“Instead of making me frightened and intimidated, the situation opened
my eyes,” Miranda told the Guardian. “I could see the kind of power
that was being wielded, and that we need proper institutions like the
United Nations to provide oversight and help countries come together to
push for change.”
Miranda said that diplomats from several countries had already been
approached about the draft treaty and were showing great interest in
the project, though he declined to name any state. “It’s important they
act at their own speed when they feel comfortable, rather than being
pressurized by us,” he said.
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Edward Snowden
Trevor Timm column
Four ways Edward Snowden changed the world – and why the fight's not over
Trevor Timm
Trevor Timm
Encrypted Gmail. Transparency from mobile providers. Maybe even a legal
'revolt' against 'Orwellian' surveillance. But until we get real
reform, NSA and Co may survive in the shadows
• Julian Sanchez: Snowden showed the panopticon for us all
• News analysis: How surveillance architects kept NSA power
• Plus: Guardian introduces SecureDrop for whistleblowers
edward snowden illustration
During the first weeks of the Snowden revelations, it wasn't clear
legislators cared. Then public opinion changed, and now there's a bill.
Will we ever get real reform? Illustration: Kyle Bean for the Guardian
Contact author
@trevortimm
Thursday 5 June 2014 12.15 BST Last modified on Saturday 4 October 2014
11.55 BST
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Thursday marks one year since the Guardian published the first in a
series of eye-opening stories about surveillance based on documents
provided by Edward Snowden. The events in the 52 weeks since have
proven him to be the most significant whistleblower in American history
– and have reverberated throughout the world.
But along with the changes Snowden sparked, vital questions remain
about how and if the National Security Agency and its global spy
apparatus will truly be reformed. Many wheels are finally in motion,
but will the US Congress and the courts actually respond in a
meaningful way? In truth, the second year of Snowden may be more
important than the first. It's when we'll see if global privacy rights
get protected for the better – or if mass surveillance becomes more
entrenched in our laws than ever before. For now, it's important to
take stock in looking ahead to the next chapter.
The internet companies: more transparency, but little lobbying for reform
Since the second day of the Snowden revelations, when both the Guardian
and Washington Post revealed the now-infamous Prism program, the tech
giants of Silicon Valley and beyond have been scrambling to rescue
their reputations with users around the world.
Many companies have made admirable changes to start honestly fighting
for user privacy rights, rather than just uttering platitudes meant to
satisfy PR obligations. Most of the major US-based internet stalwarts –
from Google and Facebook to Apple and Microsoft – have now changed
their legal policies to notify users whenever possible of surveillance
requests. Some of them have even publicly challenged the government in
the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance (Fisa) court to allow them to be
more transparent – even if they arguably got a bad deal. And more still
have finally been pushing back against pernicious national security
letters in court.
We still don't know how much these companies, which have so much
control over our online lives, will push back on proposed surveillance
legislation, but it's needed now more than ever. Google has been the
strongest on the lobbying front – just last week it sent an email to
millions of subscribers imploring them to tell Congress to pass "real
surveillance reform urgently". But there's been barely a peep from the
other companies, most notably Facebook – Mark Zuckerberg has complained
in public, but the social network has shown little will to fight behind
the scenes in DC, despite the hollow bill now moving forward to the US
Senate at a rapid pace.
The telecommunications companies, most notably AT&T and Verizon, have
always been the true problem. After all, it was AT&T that originally
got sued by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF, my former
employer) in 2006 for criminally allowing the NSA to copy huge portions
of its internet traffic in secret. But even the two phone giants could
not fully avoid the Snowden Effect. After shareholders threatened
lawsuits, they both decided to release transparency reports to
customers after years of resisting, and Verizon made a half-hearted
attempt to challenge the phone dragnet program. Will they ever viably
push back on NSA surveillance? For the NSA's number-one corporate
partners, that seems unlikely – but then again, a year ago it seemed
impossible.
Encryption and cybersecurity: private Gmail, chat and whistleblowing – but a
comeback for an ugly bill?
google encrypted email illustration
'The important thing is that both sides of an email exchange need to
support encryption for it to work,' Google said in its Tuesday
announcement of an end-to-end encryption plug-in. 'Gmail can't do it
alone.' Illustration via Google
Undoubtedly Snowden's biggest tangible impact has been on the security
of ordinary internet users. After shocking stories of the NSA vacuuming
up hundreds of thousands of buddy lists from Yahoo, breaking into the
data links in between Google's servers, and having a disturbingly close
relationship with Microsoft's product teams, service providers have
raced to prove which can protect their users' data better. Yahoo, after
years of being the joke of security researchers, hired a top security
expert and shored up its systems in multiple ways. Google, after two of
its employees "exploded in profanity" upon hearing about one of the NSA
stories, has not only led the way in providing encryption in all
aspects of its service, but just announced on Tuesday night that it
will begin to provide a truly end-to-end email encryption plug-in – and
that it will be naming and shaming other companies who don't encrypt
messages sent between different email providers. As Microsoft chief
lawyer wrote on Wednesday, "much more needs to be done".
After Glenn Greenwald almost missed out on the story of a lifetime for
not having set-up PGP email encryption, more journalists than ever now
have set up more secure methods for sources to contact them. News
organizations – including, as of Thursday, the Guardian – are adopting
SecureDrop, the open-source whistleblower submission system from the
Freedom of the Press Foundation (my current employer, where Snowden
sits on our board of directors). And privacy has become a business
model for many start-ups.
Meanwhile, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (Cispa),
an "information sharing" bill that purportedly would address
cybersecurity, was indefinitely shelved thanks to the Snowden leaks.
The intelligence community has decried the hold-up, but the
reconsideration of this ill-thought out, privacy-destroying legislation
was probably the most underrated, positive affect Snowden has had in
Congress. The bill, which was universally condemned by civil liberties
advocates when it passed the House in 2012 and 2013, would have given
the NSA even more access to Americans' personal data – along with more
immunity to the companies who would have free reign to hand over that
data to the spy agency.
Of course, this bill could rear its ugly head again in the next year.
The intelligence committees seem to threaten the return a new version
of Cispa every few weeks. And given that a fear-mongering climate
around cyberattacks is just now ratcheting up to mainstream rhetoric
and indictments, there's no way it will stay in the background forever.
The courts: 'almost Orwellian', 'likely unconstitutional' ... and now 'the
magistrate's revolt'?
Think about how far we've come since last June in the letter of the
law: a year ago, all but one NSA lawsuit filed during the Bush years
had been thrown out of court for various procedural reasons. The
government wouldn't even release the number of pages they had on their
secret interpretation of the Patriot Act, let alone any content.
Cut to a year later: multiple major lawsuits challenging key portions
of the NSA's powers are now alive and well. The first judge to rule on
the mass phone metadata surveillance program in an adversarial
proceeding called it "almost Orwellian" and "likely unconstitutional".
We learned the Justice Department undoubtedly lied to the US supreme
court last year. Court orders in multiple Freedom of Information Act
cases have pried loose hundreds of pages of previously secret Fisa
court rulings, including one declaring a part of NSA's surveillance
apparatus unconstitutional. What has been called "the magistrate’s
revolt" is now beginning among judges in lower courts, where there is a
renewed interest in pushing back on government claims and invoking the
Fourth Amendment. (Internationally, the UN started an investigation
into NSA and GCHQ practices, and on Wednesday, German prosecutors
announced the opening of a criminal inquiry into bulk spying on
Germany's citizens – and the tapping of Chancellor Angela Merkel's
phone.)
But still: will judges from the states on up be brave enough to really
reign in the NSA's surveillance programs? With Congress refusing to
produce anything beyond watered-down reform bills, the third branch
might still be the best hope to restore the very rights for which
Snowden has been fighting. We can't expect the NSA to go down easy. In
perhaps the most important privacy case on a federal court docket, EFF
just accused the NSA of destroying years of evidence of illegal
surveillance in direct violation of their obligations to the court.
Public opinion: from 'what's the NSA?' to 'down with Prism' ... and then?
Undoubtedly it's been the voice of the people that has pushed the
companies, the courts and Congress to move. It's pretty easy to forget
now, but during those first couple weeks of the Snowden revelations,
when many Americans were just finding out what the NSA even was, it
wasn't clear Congress cared about doing much of anything at all.
Representatives didn't start making noise until the polls started
coming out showing a sea change in the way Americans view privacy, how
much bipartisan opposition there was to the phone surveillance program,
and that a large portion of the country that saw Snowden as a
whistleblower. And for the first time since 9/11, more Americans are
concerned about civil liberties than terrorism.
While the pollsters themselves have slowed on these questions in recent
months, there's no sign that Americans are changing their minds. A
recent Yougov poll showed 55% of employed adults agreed the Prism
program should have been made public.
This windfall from Americans has led, more directly than you think, to
two-dozen reform bills getting introduced by their elected
representatives, to two presidential commissions that recommended broad
changes to the structure and power of the NSA, to pushback from judges
we haven't seen in years. All three branches, after at least partially
sanctioning the status quo in secret, have called for various levels of
reform to surveillance on you. This is the power of whistleblowing.
This is why you have Ed Snowden to thank.
But with no legislative reform yet, the fight is far from over. As
Snowden said around the six-month anniversary of his leaks, "I didn't
want to change society. I wanted to give society a chance to determine
if it should change itself." In the coming year, the public will have
to decide: are you willing to continue to fight for real and permanent
change, or will the NSA sink back into the shadows, allowed to continue
its mass surveillance, largely unabated, until the next Snowden comes
along?
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Edward Snowden applies to extend stay in Russia, lawyer says
Anatoly Kucherena reveals former NSA whistleblower's one-year
permit to stay in country will expire at the end of July
Published: 9 Jul 2014 (BUTTON)
Edward Snowden applies to extend stay in Russia, lawyer says
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Snowden unlikely to 'man up' in face of Espionage Act, legal adviser says
Responding to US secretary of state's comments, Snowden adviser Ben
Wizner says 'negotiated settlement' would be necessary
Published: 28 May 2014 (BUTTON)
Snowden unlikely to 'man up' in face of Espionage Act, legal
adviser says
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Edward Snowden should have right to legal defence in US, says Hillary Clinton
Former secretary of state tells Guardian that NSA whistleblower
should return to US if he is serious in engaging in debate
Published: 4 Jul 2014 (BUTTON)
Edward Snowden should have right to legal defence in US, says
Hillary Clinton
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Ask Hillary: cultural figures put their questions to Hillary Clinton - video
What is the one thing we should ask Hillary Clinton? Before a video
interview with the former US secretary of state, we ask some
well-known personalities to put forward their own burning questions
Published: 3 Jul 2014 (BUTTON)
Ask Hillary: cultural figures put their questions to Hillary
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Published: 10 Jun 2014 (BUTTON)
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Edward Snowden calls for greater online privacy in Reset the Net campaign
Published: 5 Jun 2014 (BUTTON)
Edward Snowden calls for greater online privacy in Reset the
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Edward Snowden
Edward Snowden calls for global push to expand digital privacy laws
NSA whistleblower speaks via video link at launch of ‘Snowden Treaty’,
which calls for global push for protections in wake of surveillance
revelations
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Edward Snowden: mass surveillance does not help combat terrorism. Link
to video
Ed Pilkington in New York
@edpilkington
Thursday 24 September 2015 21.50 BST Last modified on Friday 25
September 2015 01.01 BST
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This article is 4 months old
Edward Snowden has called for a global push to protect people’s rights
to digital privacy, arguing that now the bare facts of mass data
surveillance are known it is time to “assert our traditional and
digital rights so that we can protect them”.
Speaking by video link from Russia where he has been granted asylum,
the former National Security Agency contractor and whistleblower said
efforts to protect privacy “will continue for many years”, culminating,
he hoped, in a world in which governments could be relied upon to
defend their citizens’ rights rather than “working against them”.
Snowden’s call for new international laws to protect data privacy was
made at the launch in New York of the so-called “Snowden Treaty”, a
fledgling campaign designed to apply pressure on governments around the
world in the hope of generating new legal protections. The “treaty”
idea, which is being disseminated with the help of the online
campaigning network Avaaz, is intended to generate new safeguards both
for personal data and for whistleblowers and journalists vulnerable to
government prosecution.
A draft version of the putative treaty was circulated at the launch. It
says governments signing up to the agreement would have to commit to
ending mass surveillance and “the right to privacy in all future
programs and policies. This will make the preservation of privacy a
fundamental responsibility of governments, ensuring the protection of
these fundamental human rights for generations to come.”
Snowden said in his video-link address that the debate sparked by his
leaking of a vast hoard of NSA secret documents to journalist Glenn
Greenwald and the Guardian had succeeded in changing public culture.
“We can discuss things now that five years back would have gotten you
labelled as a conspiracy theorist,” he said.
It was now established, he went on, that in the arena of basic
individual liberties – what happens when we travel through a city, or
talk to our friends, or browse for books online – we are being tracked
and recorded. He said that whole populations were being “indexed into a
sort of surveillance time machine that allows institutions, whether
public or private, to empower themselves at the expense of the people.”
In the wake of his disclosures, Snowden said that there had been some
legislative attempts to tighten up on privacy and rein in mass
surveillance. But they were “just the first step – they don’t go
anywhere near far enough”.
Meanwhile, countries were aggressively pressing to increase their
surveillance powers. Not just traditional adversaries of the west such
as Iran, China, Russia and North Korea, but also allies of the US such
as Australia, Canada, the UK and France.
“What’s extraordinary is that in every case these policy proposals that
work against the public are being billed as public safety programs. Yet
mass surveillance has never made a concrete difference in any single
terrorism investigation in the United States.”
The “Snowden Treaty” is the brainchild of David Miranda, who was
detained and interrogated under the UK Terrorism Act at Heathrow
airport for nine hours in August 2013 at the height of the Snowden
leaks. Miranda, who is Greenwald’s partner, said that the new campaign
was partly inspired by the efforts taken by big tech companies such as
Apple, Facebook and Google to offer encryption services to their users.
“This is not a dream. If corporations are taking moves to protect
themselves, then why can’t we?” he said.
Miranda said that several governments had been approached around the
world, but he declined to name any that were showing interest.
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NSA
Facebook case may force European firms to change data storage practices
Changes may be required after European court advocate general accuses
US intelligence services of ‘mass, indiscriminate surveillance’
The Safe Harbor agreement allows the NSA to use the Prism surveillance
system exposed by Snowden to wade through billions of bits of personal
data held by nine internet companies.
The Safe Harbor agreement allows the NSA to use the Prism surveillance
system exposed by Edward Snowden to wade through billions of bits of
personal data held by nine internet companies. Photograph: Dado
Ruvic/REUTERS
Owen Bowcott Legal affairs correspondent
@owenbowcott
Wednesday 23 September 2015 14.48 BST Last modified on Thursday 24
September 2015 00.01 BST
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This article is 4 months old
European companies may have to review their widespread practice of
storing digital data with US internet companies after a court accused
America’s intelligence services of conducting “mass, indiscriminate
surveillance”.
The influential opinion by the European court of justice’s advocate
general, Yves Bot, yet to be confirmed by the Luxembourg court as
final, is a significant development in the battle over online privacy.
The court normally follows the advocate general’s opinion; ECJ
judgments are binding on EU countries.
The finding is a fresh victory for the Austrian campaigner Maximilian
Schrems, who initially brought a claim against Facebook in Ireland in
the wake of Edward Snowden’s revelations about the activities of the US
National Security Agency (NSA).
Related: Facebook data privacy case to be heard before European Union
court
The opinion by Bot contains far-reaching recommendations that threaten
to upend many current commercial practices and assumptions in the
digital industry.
If any EU country considers that transferring data to servers abroad
undermines the protection of citizens, the advocate general’s finding
said, it has the power to suspend that transfer “irrespective of the
general assessment made by the [EU] commission in its decision”.
“The access of the United States intelligence services to the data
transferred covers, in a comprehensive manner, all persons using
electronic communications services, without any requirement that the
persons concerned represent a threat to national security,” Bot’s
opinion noted in one of its most damning sections.
“Such mass, indiscriminate surveillance is inherently disproportionate
and constitutes an unwarranted interference with the rights guaranteed
by articles seven and eight of the charter [of fundamental rights of
the EU].”
The Luxembourg court found the Safe Harbor agreement between the US and
Europe, which gives spies access to huge banks of data, does not stop
watchdogs from investigating complaints or bar them from suspending the
transfers.
The arrangement allows the NSA to use the Prism surveillance system –
revealed by the Guardian from documents leaked by Snowden – to wade
through billions of elements of personal data, communication and
information held by nine internet companies.
The opinion states that the commission’s past decision on Safe Harbor
within the US is invalid. It said internet users in Europe have no
effective judicial protection while the large-scale data transfers are
happening.
Schrems said the ruling could have major implications for EU-US data
flows and American internet companies operating in Europe.
“After an initial review of the advocate general’s opinion of more than
40 pages it seems like years of work could pay off. Now we just have to
hope that the judges of the court of justice will follow the advocate
general’s opinion in principle,” he said.
Schrems said that while his case was specific to Facebook it may also
apply to other technology giants such as Apple, Google, Yahoo and
Microsoft. The final ruling by the ECJ’s 15 judges is expected later
this year.
Everyone on the social network in the EU signs a contract with Facebook
Ireland, audited by the data protection commissioner in that country.
Under the US-EU data transfer all their details can be accessed by the
NSA.
Related: NSA files decoded: Edward Snowden's surveillance revelations
explained
Schrems’s challenge to seek an investigation into which of his data was
sent to the US will come back to the high court in Dublin after the ECJ
issues its final ruling.
Snowden, a former NSA contractor, triggered a wave of controversy when
he leaked tens of thousands of documents about surveillance programmes
run by the US intelligence services and foreign counterparts, including
Britain’s GCHQ, in 2013.
Responding to the decision, a Facebook spokesperson said: “Facebook
operates in compliance with EU data protection law. Like the thousands
of other companies who operate data transfers across the Atlantic we
await the full judgment.”
In reference to Prism, Facebook added:“We have repeatedly said that we
do not provide ‘backdoor’ access to Facebook servers and data to
intelligence agencies or governments. ... We had never heard of Prism
before it was reported by the press and we have never participated in
any such scheme.”
More than 4,000 companies are estimated to rely on the Safe Harbor
agreement for transferring data to the US. Commenting on the ruling,
Jan Philipp Albrecht, home affairs spokesperson for the Green party in
the EU, said: “The advocate general has today made clear that the
transfer of EU citizens’ private data to the US by Facebook is at odds
with EU law. This welcome finding must provoke an immediate response by
the relevant authorities in Europe. The Irish data protection
commissioner must immediately move to prevent any further data
transfers to the US by Facebook, which operates under Irish
jurisdiction.
“The finding also confirms the position of the European parliament,
which has already called for Safe Harbor to be suspended. It is
unacceptable that the European commission has ignored this demand for a
year and a half. It is now time for the commission to finally suspend
Safe Harbor.
“We need robust, common data protection rules for the EU, which can
also be applied to internet operators and the online sector from the
US. To this end, we need to swiftly agree the reform of the EU’s data
protection laws to ensure strong and implementable individual rights.”
Laywers in the UK suggested that, if confirmed, the ECJ decision would
force every European company that stores data on American servers to
review their contracts.
Stewart Room, the head of PwC Legal’s data privacy and protection
practice, said: “[This] signifies a real game-changing view on the
power of the European commission to override the views of the data
privacy regulators of the member states. The advocate general takes the
view that the commission cannot bind the national regulators. In other
words, the views of the member states’ regulators trump the central
view of Brussels.
“This presents a real threat to the Safe Harbor data transfer regime to
the US. For businesses, a huge amount of uncertainty is now inserted
into the legal framework. It has the potential to cause chaos in
transatlantic data flows. If the court of justice sides with the
advocate general, then multinationals will have to fully rethink their
global strategies for data privacy compliance.”
Agustin Reyna, senior legal officer at the European Consumer
Organisation, said: “The advocate general’s opinion puts the nail in
the coffin of Safe Harbor. This agreement fails to protect European’s
personal data. We hope the European court of justice will follow this
line and stop the mass circumvention of EU data protection rules. The
European commission, which is currently renegotiating Safe Harbor,
received today a clear message that the transfer of European citizens’
data cannot be based on self-assessment by US companies.”
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Data protection
Opinion
Spies and internet giants are in the same business: surveillance. But we can
stop them
John Naughton
The European court of justice ruling on ‘safe harbour’ at last enables
us to start a conversation about proper control of personal data
gathered by the likes of Facebook and Google
Austrian Facebook user Maximilian Schrems
Austrian Facebook user Maximilian Schrems, whose complaint about the
internet giant’s data protection policy led to a watershed moment in
digital privacy. Photograph: Joe Klamar/AFP/Getty Images
Sunday 11 October 2015 09.15 BST Last modified on Sunday 11 October
2015 09.18 BST
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On Tuesday, the European court of justice, Europe’s supreme court,
lobbed a grenade into the cosy, quasi-monopolistic world of the giant
American internet companies.
It did so by declaring invalid a decision made by the European
commission in 2000 that US companies complying with its “safe harbour
privacy principles” would be allowed to transfer personal data from the
EU to the US.
This judgment may not strike you as a big deal. You may also think that
it has nothing to do with you.
Wrong on both counts, but to see why, some background might be useful.
The key thing to understand is that European and American views about
the protection of personal data are radically different. We Europeans
are very hot on it, whereas our American friends are – how shall I put
it? – more relaxed.
Illustration by Matt Murphy of an Eagle with the stars of the EU flag
in its eye.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest
Illustration by Matt Murphy.
Given that personal data constitutes the fuel on which internet
companies such as Google and Facebook run, this meant that their
exponential growth in the US market was greatly facilitated by that
country’s tolerant data-protection laws. Once these companies embarked
on global expansion, however, things got stickier. It was clear that
the exploitation of personal data that is the core business of these
outfits would be more difficult in Europe, especially given that their
cloud-computing architectures involved constantly shuttling their
users’ data between server farms in different parts of the world.
Since Europe is a big market and millions of its citizens wished to use
Facebook et al, the European commission obligingly came up with the
“safe harbour” idea, which allowed companies complying with its seven
principles to process the personal data of European citizens. The
circle having been thus neatly squared, Facebook and friends continued
merrily on their progress towards world domination. But then in the
summer of 2013, Edward Snowden broke cover and revealed what really
goes on in the mysterious world of cloud computing.
At which point, an Austrian Facebook user, one Maximilian Schrems,
realising that some or all of the data he had entrusted to Facebook was
being transferred from its Irish subsidiary to servers in the United
States, lodged a complaint with the Irish data protection commissioner.
Schrems argued that, in the light of the Snowden revelations, the law
and practice of the United States did not offer sufficient protection
against surveillance of the data transferred to that country by the
government.
The Irish data commissioner rejected the complaint on the grounds that
the European commission’s safe harbour decision meant that the US
ensured an adequate level of protection of Schrems’s personal data.
Schrems disagreed, the case went to the Irish high court and thence to
the European court of justice. On Tuesday, the court decided that the
safe harbour agreement was invalid. At which point the balloon went up.
“This is,” writes Professor Lorna Woods, an expert on these matters, “a
judgment with very far-reaching implications, not just for governments
but for companies the business model of which is based on data flows.
It reiterates the significance of data protection as a human right and
underlines that protection must be at a high level.”
Related: Google denies Android Auto car system sends it user's driving
data
This is classic lawyerly understatement. My hunch is that if you were
to visit the legal departments of many internet companies today you
would find people changing their underpants at regular intervals. For
the big names of the search and social media worlds this is a nightmare
scenario.
For those of us who take a more detached view of their activities,
however, it is an encouraging development. For one thing, it provides
yet another confirmation of the sterling service that Snowden has
rendered to civil society. His revelations have prompted a wide-ranging
reassessment of where our dependence on networking technology has taken
us and stimulated some long-overdue thinking about how we might
reassert some measure of democratic control over that technology.
Snowden has forced us into having conversations that we needed to have.
Although his revelations are primarily about government surveillance,
they also indirectly highlight the symbiotic relationship between the
US National Security Agency and Britain’s GCHQ on the one hand and the
giant internet companies on the other. For, in the end, both the
intelligence agencies and the tech companies are in the same business,
namely surveillance.
And both groups, oddly enough, provide the same kind of justification
for what they do: that their surveillance is both necessary (for
national security in the case of governments, for economic viability in
the case of the companies) and conducted within the law. We need to
test both justifications and the great thing about the European court
of justice judgment is that it starts us off on that conversation.
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Facebook
Max Schrems Facebook privacy complaint to be investigated in Ireland
Audit by Irish data protection watchdog over alleged transfer of
European data to US by Facebook follows three-year campaign and ECJ
ruling
Austrian privacy campaigner Max Schrems speaking to reporters
Austrian privacy campaigner Max Schrems has said he may make other
cases. Photograph: Christian Bruna/AFP/Getty Images
Samuel Gibbs and agencies
@SamuelGibbs
Tuesday 20 October 2015 16.07 BST Last modified on Tuesday 20 October
2015 16.49 BST
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This article is 3 months old
Facebook's European privacy practices are to be investigated by the
Irish data protection watchdog, after a three-year legal fight by
Austrian privacy campaigner Max Schrems.
The high court in Dublin quashed the Irish data protection
commissioner's original refusal to examine Schrems' complaint over the
alleged movement of his data outside of Europe by Facebook after
referring the case to the European court of justice.
Judge Gerard Hogan said the initial decision by the watchdog had been
premised on the validity of the safe harbour agreement, which was
recently declared invalid by the ECJ after another, separate two-year
case by Schrems against Facebook.
"The commissioner is obliged now to investigate the complaint ... and
I've absolutely no doubt that she will proceed to do so," Hogan said,
while awarding Schrems costs for his legal bill and travel expenses.
Ireland's data protection commissioner Helen Dixon welcomed the ruling
and said: "My office will now proceed to investigate the substance of
the complaint with all due diligence."
The law is clear so theoretically you could make a decision within
weeks
Max Schrems
Schrems, who has been critical of the Irish who govern Facebook's
operations within Europe, said: "The big question is going to be if the
Irish Data Protection Commissioner is going to do its job.
"The law is clear and the facts are rather clear so theoretically you
could make a decision within weeks.
"They pledged that they will really investigate things swiftly. My last
experience was that a complaint takes up to three years and nothing
comes out of it but they now pledge the opposite and I hope that's
going to be the case."
Facebook reiterated that it does not give the US government direct
access to its servers and it does not recognise the NSA's Prism
surveillance programme.
A Facebook spokesperson said: "We will respond to inquiries from the
Irish Data Protection Commission as they examine the protections for
the transfer of personal data under applicable law."
Safe harbour no more
The news comes after the invalidation of the 15-year-old safe harbour
agreement, which deemed European citizens' data transferred between the
EU and US as being adequately protected, allowing US companies to self
certify their data protection practices.
The Snowden revelations over the NSA's surveillance practices triggered
unrest in Europe and provoked the Schrems' landmark challenge, which
led to what Hogan described as the most important ruling of the ECJ in
years that "transcended international law".
Schrems said: "It's a procedure you start but you get into it step by
step, you didn't plan it to be this big thing but you think, there is
actually the problem, and you poke and see what's happening and it's
good if things get poked up all the way and solved in the end."
The campaigner said watchdogs in 28 European states will now be able to
accept complaints about the movement of personal information and that
he was considering other challenges to tech giants involved in cloud
services.
"There are certain companies where we know they are involved in mass
surveillance because of the Snowden leaks, and I think those are the
companies you should take a look at," Schrems said.
Schrems warned it would be very hard for European and US authorities to
create a version of safe harbour based on the ECJ ruling that would
withstand another challenge at the ECJ.
"The court has been very clear a new safe harbour would have to give
you the same rights as you have in Europe. That's going to be hard to
get a deal on," he said.
* Tech companies like Facebook not above the law, says Max Schrems
* Victim of state spying? Facebook will tell you
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Data protection
Digital surveillance 'worse than Orwell', says new UN privacy chief
Joseph Cannataci describes British oversight as ‘a joke’ and says a
Geneva convention for the internet is needed
Joseph Cannataci
Joseph Cannataci, UN special rapporteur on privacy, doesn’t use
Facebook or Twitter and says it is regrettable people have signed away
their digital rights without thinking about it. Photograph: Adam
Alexander
Adam Alexander in Valletta
Monday 24 August 2015 19.50 BST Last modified on Tuesday 25 August 2015
07.20 BST
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This article is 5 months old
The first UN privacy chief has said the world needs a Geneva convention
style law for the internet to safeguard data and combat the threat of
massive clandestine digital surveillance.
Speaking to the Guardian weeks after his appointment as the UN special
rapporteur on privacy, Joseph Cannataci described British surveillance
oversight as being “a joke”, and said the situation is worse than
anything George Orwell could have foreseen.
He added that he doesn’t use Facebook or Twitter, and said it was
regrettable that vast numbers of people sign away their digital rights
without thinking about it.
One thing that is certainly going to come up in my mandate is the
business model that large corporations are using
“Some people were complaining because they couldn’t find me on
Facebook. They couldn’t find me on Twitter. But since I believe in
privacy, I’ve never felt the need for it,” Cannataci, a professor of
technology law at University of Groningen in the Netherlands and head
of the department of Information Policy & Governance at the University
of Malta, said.
Appointed after concern about surveillance and privacy following the
Edward Snowden revelations, Cannataci agreed that his notion of a new
universal law on surveillance could embarrass those who may not sign up
to it. “Some people may not want to buy into it,” he acknowledged. “But
you know, if one takes the attitude that some countries will not play
ball, then, for example, the chemical weapons agreement would never
have come about.”
Cannataci came into his new post in July after a controversial spat
involving the first-choice candidate, Katrin Nyman-Metcalf, who the
Germans in particular thought might not be tough enough on the
Americans.
But for Cannataci – well-known for having a mind of his own – it is not
America but Britain that he singles out as having the weakest oversight
in the western world: “That is precisely one of the problems we have to
tackle. That if your oversight mechanism’s a joke, and a rather bad
joke at its citizens’ expense, for how long can you laugh it off as a
joke?”
He said proper oversight is the only way of progressing, and hopes more
people will think about and vote for privacy in the UK. “And that is
where the political process comes in,” he said, “because can you laugh
off the economy and the National Health Service? Not in the UK
election, if you want to survive.”
The appointment of a UN special rapporteur on privacy is seen as hugely
important because it elevates the right to privacy in the digital age
to that of other human rights. As the first person in the job, the
investigator will be able to set the standard for the digital right to
privacy, deciding how far to push governments that want to conduct
surveillance for security reasons, and corporations who mine us for our
personal data.
Cannataci’s mandate is extensive. He is empowered to:
* Systematically review government policies and laws on interception
of digital communications and collection of personal data.
* Identify actions that intrude on privacy without compelling
justification.
* Assist governments in developing best practices to bring global
surveillance under the rule of law.
* Further articulate private sector responsibilities to respect human
rights.
* Help ensure national procedures and laws are consistent with
international human rights obligations.
Although Cannataci admits his job is a complex one that is not going to
be solved with a magic bullet, he says he is far from starting from
scratch and believes there are at least four main areas – including a
universal law on surveillance, tackling the business models of the big
tech corporations, defining privacy and raising awareness among the
public.
“I would say it’s impossible to achieve in three years. And it’s
probably impossible to achieve even if the mandate is renewed to six
years, if you’re trying to do too much. But I do think that – at least
my view of things in a field like human rights – is the longer term
view, right? The impact must be felt in the long term.”
However, Cannataci says we are dealing with a world even worse that
anything Orwell could have foreseen. “It’s worse,” he said. “Because if
you look at CCTV alone, at least Winston [Winston Smith in Orwell’s
novel 1984] was able to go out in the countryside and go under a tree
and expect there wouldn’t be any screen, as it was called. Whereas
today there are many parts of the English countryside where there are
more cameras than George Orwell could ever have imagined. So the
situation in some cases is far worse already.
“The way we handle it is going to be the difference. But Orwell foresaw
a technology that was controlling. In our case we are looking at a
technology that is ever-developing, and ever-developing possibly more
sinister capabilities.” Because of this, the Snowden revelations were
very important, he said.
“They were very important. Snowden will continue to be looked upon as a
traitor by some and a hero by others. But in actual fact his
revelations confirmed to many of us who have been working in this field
for a long time what has been going on, and the extent to which it has
gone out of control.”
Cannataci, who works between his offices in Malta and the Netherlands,
has set his sights on challenging the business model of companies that
are “very often taking the data that you never even knew they were
taking”. “This is one thing that is certainly going to come up in my
mandate, which is the business model that large corporations are
using,” he said.
“We have a number of corporations that have set up a business model
that is bringing in hundreds of thousands of millions of euros and
dollars every year and they didn’t ask anybody’s permission. They
didn’t go out and say: ‘Oh, we’d like to have a licensing law.’ No,
they just went out and created a model where people’s data has become
the new currency. And unfortunately, the vast bulk of people sign their
rights away without knowing or thinking too much about it,” he said.
* This article has been amended to correct an error introduced in
editing.
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Surveillance
Cybersecurity bill could 'sweep away' internet users' privacy, agency warns
Homeland Security admits Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act raises
concerns while corporations and data brokers lobby for bill as it
returns to Senate
department of homeland security cybercrimes
Wallpaper is seen lining the walls at the Department of Homeland
Security new Cyber Crimes Center in Fairfax, Virginia. Photograph: Paul
J Richards/AFP/Getty Images
Sam Thielman
@samthielman
Monday 3 August 2015 22.23 BST Last modified on Monday 3 August 2015
23.20 BST
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This article is 6 months old
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Monday said a
controversial new surveillance bill could sweep away "important privacy
protections", a move that bodes ill for the measure's return to the
floor of the Senate this week.
The latest in a series of failed attempts to reform cybersecurity, the
Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (Cisa) grants broad latitude to
tech companies, data brokers and anyone with a web-based data
collection to mine user information and then share it with "appropriate
Federal entities", which themselves then have permission to share it
throughout the government.
Minnesota senator Al Franken queried the DHS in July; deputy secretary
of the department Alejandro Mayorkas responded today that some
provisions of the bill "could sweep away important privacy protections"
and that the proposed legislation "raises privacy and civil liberties
concerns".
Much of the attention on Cisa has been directed at companies such as
Google, Facebook and Comcast, which have large hoards of internet user
behavior. But arguably more important are data brokers. Among the
groups lobbying for the passage of Cisa are Experian, which tracks
consumer trends using information from loyalty cards and other sources
and licenses the information to help target advertising; Oracle, whose
Data Cloud product works similarly; and Hitrust, which aggregates
healthcare information.
The paragraph generating the most concern can be found in section 4 of
the bill: "[a] private entity may, for cybersecurity purposes, monitor
A) the information systems of such a private entity; B) the information
systems of another entity, upon written consent of such other entity
[...] and D) information that is stored on, processed by, or transiting
the information systems monitored by the private entity under this
paragraph."
Debate on the bill could start on Wednesday with a vote on Thursday.
Privacy concerns are already significant in the private sector, where
the use of personal data at scale is largely unregulated. "With respect
to data brokers that sell marketing products, the Commission recommends
that Congress consider legislation requiring data brokers to provide
consumers access to their data, including sensitive data held about
them, at a reasonable level of detail, and the ability to opt out of
having it shared for marketing purposes," wrote the FTC in a whitepaper
titled Data Brokers: A Call for Transparency and Accountability last
May. Such legislation has been introduced, but is repeatedly referred
to committee.
Data brokers are anxious to avoid losing the ability to aggregate vast
quantities of personal data - the sale and licensing of consumer
databases is a lucrative practice, as web advertising booms and TV
advertising becomes more sophisticated.
It's also a practice that prefers not to disclose exactly what
information it is holding. Mike Seay, an Illinois man whose child died
the year previous, received in 2014 a junk mail flier from OfficeMax
addressed to "Mike Seay, Daughter Killed in Car Crash" (this was indeed
how his 17-year-old daughter had died).
Cisa's mandate would seem to cover the publicly used interfaces of the
health insurers and banks - including SunTrust, Prudential, American
Express, Aflac and Bank of America - that lobbied on the bill.
Drew Mitnick of digital advocacy organization Access Now pointed to
language in the bill that would give participants in the proposed
information-sharing program immunity not just from prosecution, but
from regulatory action. "The transparency requirement is so narrow
that, if you met the requirements within the bill to get protection, it
would give [participating companies] broad range to collect data and
then send it to the government."
Lobby group the Financial Services Roundtable (FSR) on Monday launched
an advertising campaign, stopcyberthreats.com, aimed at tackling an
online campaign by privacy activists who have dubbed Cisa "the Darth
Vader bill" and are worried by the sweeping legal immunity corporations
will receive under Cisa.
If the bill were to pass and enough of those companies were to
cooperate with any given agency, the amount of information floating
free within the federal government could easily extend to credit card
histories (collected by data miners at Argus), lists of goods purchased
(aggregated from customer loyalty cards by companies including Acxiom
and Experian), and healthcare records (tracked by insurers).
Credit check giant Experian said that the company would like to see the
legislation pass. "Experian supports legislation that would facilitate
greater sharing of cyber threat information among appropriate private
and government entities," said a company spokeswoman in a statement to
the Guardian. "Such sharing arrangements, under parameters set by law,
could improve our mutual efforts to better detect and respond to
emerging cyber threats."
The company also laid the duty to walk the knife's edge between
citizens' information security and their personal safety at the feet of
their elected officials. "Congress has the responsibility to balance
the need for facilitating greater information sharing, and thereby
enhancing cyber security, with important consumer privacy concerns. We
encourage and support Congress' effort in striking this balance."
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Local government
Councils have lost or misused private data thousands of times, says watchdog
Call for greater penalties as examples include child protection files
left on train, worker using CCTV to watch a wedding and another digging
into benefit claims
A council worker used CCTV to watch a colleague's wedding - one of
thousands of data and privacy breaches, says Big Brother Watch.
A council worker used CCTV to watch a colleague's wedding - one of
thousands of data and privacy breaches, says Big Brother Watch.
Photograph: Rex
Press Association
Tuesday 11 August 2015 06.11 BST Last modified on Tuesday 11 August
2015 06.29 BST
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This article is 5 months old
Related: Public bodies are releasing confidential personal data by
accident, activists say
Sensitive personal information has been lost or stolen in thousands of
data breaches by councils, according to a study by privacy campaign
group Big Brother Watch.
In one case a social worker left papers containing confidential records
about children and information linked to sex offenders on a train; in
another, a CCTV operator use cameras to watch a colleague's wedding.
Local authorities recorded a total of 4,236 data breaches in three
years from April 2011 - a rate of almost four every day, the study
found.
Sensitive or confidential information was compromised in 260 of the
cases, while breaches involved personal data linked to children on 658
occasions.
In some cases council staff were found to have accessed material "for
personal interest".
Big Brother Watch called for custodial sentences to be introduced for
the most serious data breaches after finding only one in 10 resulted in
disciplinary action and only a single case out them all led to a
prosecution.
The group's director, Emma Carr, said: "Despite local councils being
trusted with increasing amounts of our personal data this report
highlights that they are simply not able to say it is safe with them.
Related: Right to be forgotten: Swiss cheese internet, or database of
ruin?
"A number of examples show shockingly lax attitudes to protecting
confidential information. For so many children and young people to have
had their personal information compromised is deeply disturbing.
"With only a tiny fraction of staff being disciplined or dismissed this
raises the question of how seriously local councils take protecting the
privacy of the public."
The report, based on responses to freedom of information requests, said
data was lost or stolen on 401 occasions, while there were 628
instances of incorrect or inappropriate information being shared on
emails, letters and faxes.
More than 5,000 letters were sent to the wrong address or included
content meant for another recipient, while there were 99 cases of
unauthorised access to or disclosing of data.
Researchers also found that a total of 197 mobile phones, computers,
tablets and USBs were lost or stolen.
More than two in three incidents led to no disciplinary action at all,
while staff resigned in 39 cases and 50 employees were dismissed.
Examples of breaches included:
o A social worker at Lewisham council in London accidentally leaving a
bundle of papers on the train. It included personal or sensitive data
relating to 10 children such as detailed confidential records about the
children and family with names, addresses and dates of birth. It also
included "third party information" in relation to sex offenders as well
as police reports and child protection reports. The individual resigned
during disciplinary procedures.
o A CCTV operator at Cheshire East council watched part of the wedding
of a colleague and was issued with "management instruction" on future
use of equipment.
o An unencrypted laptop containing the details of 200 schoolchildren
was stolen from Aberdeenshire council. It was later recovered. No
disciplinary action was taken but the matter was reported to the
information commissioner's office.
o An employee at Thanet in Kent was dismissed after accessing benefit
claim records "inappropriately".
o In Portsmouth a member of staff was sacked for passing "highly
sensitive confidential" information to a third party.
Freedom of information requests were sent to all local authorities in
the United Kingdom. Big Brother Watch said 167 town halls reported no
data breaches at all over the period.
A spokesman for the Local Government Association said: "Councils take
data protection extremely seriously and staff are given ongoing
training in handling confidential data.
"Given the huge volume of data councils handle, breaches are
proportionately rare.
"When they do occur, robust investigations and reviews are immediately
undertaken to ensure processes are tightened."
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The NSA files
Glenn Greenwald on security and liberty
Revealed: how US and UK spy agencies defeat internet privacy and security
• NSA and GCHQ unlock encryption used to protect emails, banking and
medical records
• $250m-a-year US program works covertly with tech companies to insert
weaknesses into products
• Security experts say programs 'undermine the fabric of the internet'
• Q&A: submit your questions for our privacy experts
Computer screen data
Through covert partnerships with tech companies, the spy agencies have
inserted secret vulnerabilities into encryption software. Photograph:
Kacper Pempel/Reuters Kacper Pempel/REUTERS
James Ball, Julian Borger and Glenn Greenwald
Friday 6 September 2013 11.24 BST Last modified on Friday 3 October
2014 14.45 BST
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This article is 2 years old
US and British intelligence agencies have successfully cracked much of
the online encryption relied upon by hundreds of millions of people to
protect the privacy of their personal data, online transactions and
emails, according to top-secret documents revealed by former contractor
Edward Snowden.
The files show that the National Security Agency and its UK counterpart
GCHQ have broadly compromised the guarantees that internet companies
have given consumers to reassure them that their communications, online
banking and medical records would be indecipherable to criminals or
governments.
The agencies, the documents reveal, have adopted a battery of methods
in their systematic and ongoing assault on what they see as one of the
biggest threats to their ability to access huge swathes of internet
traffic – "the use of ubiquitous encryption across the internet".
Those methods include covert measures to ensure NSA control over
setting of international encryption standards, the use of
supercomputers to break encryption with "brute force", and – the most
closely guarded secret of all – collaboration with technology companies
and internet service providers themselves.
Through these covert partnerships, the agencies have inserted secret
vulnerabilities – known as backdoors or trapdoors – into commercial
encryption software.
The files, from both the NSA and GCHQ, were obtained by the Guardian,
and the details are being published today in partnership with the New
York Times and ProPublica. They reveal:
• A 10-year NSA program against encryption technologies made a
breakthrough in 2010 which made "vast amounts" of data collected
through internet cable taps newly "exploitable".
• The NSA spends $250m a year on a program which, among other goals,
works with technology companies to "covertly influence" their product
designs.
• The secrecy of their capabilities against encryption is closely
guarded, with analysts warned: "Do not ask about or speculate on
sources or methods."
• The NSA describes strong decryption programs as the "price of
admission for the US to maintain unrestricted access to and use of
cyberspace".
• A GCHQ team has been working to develop ways into encrypted traffic
on the "big four" service providers, named as Hotmail, Google, Yahoo
and Facebook.
NSA diagram
This network diagram, from a GCHQ pilot program, shows how the agency
proposed a system to identify encrypted traffic from its internet
cable-tapping programs and decrypt what it could in near-real time.
Photograph: Guardian
The agencies insist that the ability to defeat encryption is vital to
their core missions of counter-terrorism and foreign intelligence
gathering.
But security experts accused them of attacking the internet itself and
the privacy of all users. "Cryptography forms the basis for trust
online," said Bruce Schneier, an encryption specialist and fellow at
Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet and Society. "By deliberately
undermining online security in a short-sighted effort to eavesdrop, the
NSA is undermining the very fabric of the internet." Classified
briefings between the agencies celebrate their success at "defeating
network security and privacy".
"For the past decade, NSA has lead [sic] an aggressive, multi-pronged
effort to break widely used internet encryption technologies," stated a
2010 GCHQ document. "Vast amounts of encrypted internet data which have
up till now been discarded are now exploitable."
An internal agency memo noted that among British analysts shown a
presentation on the NSA's progress: "Those not already briefed were
gobsmacked!"
The breakthrough, which was not described in detail in the documents,
meant the intelligence agencies were able to monitor "large amounts" of
data flowing through the world's fibre-optic cables and break its
encryption, despite assurances from internet company executives that
this data was beyond the reach of government.
The key component of the NSA's battle against encryption, its
collaboration with technology companies, is detailed in the US
intelligence community's top-secret 2013 budget request under the
heading "Sigint [signals intelligence] enabling".
NSA Bullrun 1
Classified briefings between the NSA and GCHQ celebrate their success
at 'defeating network security and privacy'. Photograph: Guardian
Funding for the program – $254.9m for this year – dwarfs that of the
Prism program, which operates at a cost of $20m a year, according to
previous NSA documents. Since 2011, the total spending on Sigint
enabling has topped $800m. The program "actively engages US and foreign
IT industries to covertly influence and/or overtly leverage their
commercial products' designs", the document states. None of the
companies involved in such partnerships are named; these details are
guarded by still higher levels of classification.
Among other things, the program is designed to "insert vulnerabilities
into commercial encryption systems". These would be known to the NSA,
but to no one else, including ordinary customers, who are tellingly
referred to in the document as "adversaries".
"These design changes make the systems in question exploitable through
Sigint collection … with foreknowledge of the modification. To the
consumer and other adversaries, however, the systems' security remains
intact."
The document sets out in clear terms the program's broad aims,
including making commercial encryption software "more tractable" to NSA
attacks by "shaping" the worldwide marketplace and continuing efforts
to break into the encryption used by the next generation of 4G phones.
Among the specific accomplishments for 2013, the NSA expects the
program to obtain access to "data flowing through a hub for a major
communications provider" and to a "major internet peer-to-peer voice
and text communications system".
Technology companies maintain that they work with the intelligence
agencies only when legally compelled to do so. The Guardian has
previously reported that Microsoft co-operated with the NSA to
circumvent encryption on the Outlook.com email and chat services. The
company insisted that it was obliged to comply with "existing or future
lawful demands" when designing its products.
The documents show that the agency has already achieved another of the
goals laid out in the budget request: to influence the international
standards upon which encryption systems rely.
Independent security experts have long suspected that the NSA has been
introducing weaknesses into security standards, a fact confirmed for
the first time by another secret document. It shows the agency worked
covertly to get its own version of a draft security standard issued by
the US National Institute of Standards and Technology approved for
worldwide use in 2006.
"Eventually, NSA became the sole editor," the document states.
The NSA's codeword for its decryption program, Bullrun, is taken from a
major battle of the American civil war. Its British counterpart,
Edgehill, is named after the first major engagement of the English
civil war, more than 200 years earlier.
A classification guide for NSA employees and contractors on Bullrun
outlines in broad terms its goals.
"Project Bullrun deals with NSA's abilities to defeat the encryption
used in specific network communication technologies. Bullrun involves
multiple sources, all of which are extremely sensitive." The document
reveals that the agency has capabilities against widely used online
protocols, such as HTTPS, voice-over-IP and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL),
used to protect online shopping and banking.
The document also shows that the NSA's Commercial Solutions Center,
ostensibly the body through which technology companies can have their
security products assessed and presented to prospective government
buyers, has another, more clandestine role.
It is used by the NSA to "to leverage sensitive, co-operative
relationships with specific industry partners" to insert
vulnerabilities into security products. Operatives were warned that
this information must be kept top secret "at a minimum".
A more general NSA classification guide reveals more detail on the
agency's deep partnerships with industry, and its ability to modify
products. It cautions analysts that two facts must remain top secret:
that NSA makes modifications to commercial encryption software and
devices "to make them exploitable", and that NSA "obtains cryptographic
details of commercial cryptographic information security systems
through industry relationships".
The agencies have not yet cracked all encryption technologies, however,
the documents suggest. Snowden appeared to confirm this during a live
Q&A with Guardian readers in June. "Encryption works. Properly
implemented strong crypto systems are one of the few things that you
can rely on," he said before warning that NSA can frequently find ways
around it as a result of weak security on the computers at either end
of the communication.
The documents are scattered with warnings over the importance of
maintaining absolute secrecy around decryption capabilities.
NSA Bullrun 2
A slide showing that the secrecy of the agencies' capabilities against
encryption is closely guarded. Photograph: Guardian
Strict guidelines were laid down at the GCHQ complex in Cheltenham,
Gloucestershire, on how to discuss projects relating to decryption.
Analysts were instructed: "Do not ask about or speculate on sources or
methods underpinning Bullrun." This informaton was so closely guarded,
according to one document, that even those with access to aspects of
the program were warned: "There will be no 'need to know'."
The agencies were supposed to be "selective in which contractors are
given exposure to this information", but it was ultimately seen by
Snowden, one of 850,000 people in the US with top-secret clearance.A
2009 GCHQ document spells out the significant potential consequences of
any leaks, including "damage to industry relationships".
"Loss of confidence in our ability to adhere to confidentiality
agreements would lead to loss of access to proprietary information that
can save time when developing new capability," intelligence workers
were told. Somewhat less important to GCHQ was the public's trust which
was marked as a moderate risk, the document stated.
"Some exploitable products are used by the general public; some
exploitable weaknesses are well known eg possibility of recovering
poorly chosen passwords," it said. "Knowledge that GCHQ exploits these
products and the scale of our capability would raise public awareness
generating unwelcome publicity for us and our political masters."
The decryption effort is particularly important to GCHQ. Its strategic
advantage from its Tempora program – direct taps on transatlantic
fibre-optic cables of major telecommunications corporations – was in
danger of eroding as more and more big internet companies encrypted
their traffic, responding to customer demands for guaranteed privacy.
Without attention, the 2010 GCHQ document warned, the UK's "Sigint
utility will degrade as information flows changes, new applications are
developed (and deployed) at pace and widespread encryption becomes more
commonplace." Documents show that Edgehill's initial aim was to decode
the encrypted traffic certified by three major (unnamed) internet
companies and 30 types of Virtual Private Network (VPN) – used by
businesses to provide secure remote access to their systems. By 2015,
GCHQ hoped to have cracked the codes used by 15 major internet
companies, and 300 VPNs.
Another program, codenamed Cheesy Name, was aimed at singling out
encryption keys, known as 'certificates', that might be vulnerable to
being cracked by GCHQ supercomputers.
Analysts on the Edgehill project were working on ways into the networks
of major webmail providers as part of the decryption project. A
quarterly update from 2012 notes the project's team "continue to work
on understanding" the big four communication providers, named in the
document as Hotmail, Google, Yahoo and Facebook, adding "work has
predominantly been focused this quarter on Google due to new access
opportunities being developed".
To help secure an insider advantage, GCHQ also established a Humint
Operations Team (HOT). Humint, short for "human intelligence" refers to
information gleaned directly from sources or undercover agents.
This GCHQ team was, according to an internal document, "responsible for
identifying, recruiting and running covert agents in the global
telecommunications industry."
"This enables GCHQ to tackle some of its most challenging targets," the
report said. The efforts made by the NSA and GCHQ against encryption
technologies may have negative consequences for all internet users,
experts warn.
"Backdoors are fundamentally in conflict with good security," said
Christopher Soghoian, principal technologist and senior policy analyst
at the American Civil Liberties Union. "Backdoors expose all users of a
backdoored system, not just intelligence agency targets, to heightened
risk of data compromise." This is because the insertion of backdoors in
a software product, particularly those that can be used to obtain
unencrypted user communications or data, significantly increases the
difficulty of designing a secure product."
This was a view echoed in a recent paper by Stephanie Pell, a former
prosecutor at the US Department of Justice and non-resident fellow at
the Center for Internet and Security at Stanford Law School.
"[An] encrypted communications system with a lawful interception back
door is far more likely to result in the catastrophic loss of
communications confidentiality than a system that never has access to
the unencrypted communications of its users," she states.
Intelligence officials asked the Guardian, New York Times and
ProPublica not to publish this article, saying that it might prompt
foreign targets to switch to new forms of encryption or communications
that would be harder to collect or read.
The three organisations removed some specific facts but decided to
publish the story because of the value of a public debate about
government actions that weaken the most powerful tools for protecting
the privacy of internet users in the US and worldwide.
__________________________________________________________________
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* Internet
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* Data and computer security
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Secret court laws to lose backing of Liberal Democrats
Nick Clegg will abandon support after membership revolt over
Justice and Security Act, says David Laws
Published: 10 Sep 2013 (BUTTON)
Secret court laws to lose backing of Liberal Democrats
*
Senior Labour MP welcomes public debate over security service powers
Hazel Blears says watchdog will be more transparent and rebuffs
Nick Clegg's call for review over accountability
Published: 17 Oct 2013 (BUTTON)
Senior Labour MP welcomes public debate over security service
powers
*
NSA spying on Europe reflects the transatlantic culture gap
Stephan Richter and Jan Philipp Albrecht
Stephan Richter and Jan Philipp Albrecht: The US simply does not
respect privacy and rule of law as much as Europe. But we can start
to change this by hitting US social media giants operating in
Europe where it hurts
Published: 30 Oct 2013 (BUTTON)
NSA spying on Europe reflects the transatlantic culture gap
*
After the NSA leaks, we've got to talk about rebalancing security and privacy
Julian Huppert
Julian Huppert: Parliament must fix British legislation urgently
and create a new body with independent members to oversee the
security services
Published: 30 Oct 2013 (BUTTON)
After the NSA leaks, we've got to talk about rebalancing security
and privacy
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Surveillance
State surveillance of personal data: what is the society we wish to protect?
Tom Stoppard
One of the writers who signed a letter demanding an international bill
of digital rights, says 'our masters are in the grip of a delusionary
nightmare'
British playwright Tom Stoppard
Tom Stoppard: 'The world of surveillance operated by the people we pay
to guard us exceeds the fevered dreams of the Stasi'. Photograph: Altaf
Hussain/Reuters
Tuesday 10 December 2013 01.00 GMT Last modified on Friday 15 January
2016 11.58 GMT
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This article is 2 years old
What in principle would justify the scope of the surveillance revealed
by the Snowden leak? Would it be enough, for example, if it could be
shown that a specific potential act of terrorism had been prevented by,
and could only have been prevented by, the full breadth and depth of
what we now have learned is the playing field of the security services?
We should hesitate before we stray off the touchline. The idea that
public safety, the safety of the innocent, is an absolute which trumps
every other consideration, is tacitly abandoned in the way we live.
Nobody would be killed on the roads if the speed limit were 10 miles an
hour. Flying would be safer if airport security demanded body searches
with no exceptions and the examination of every item in every piece of
luggage. On the matter of surveillance in general we have, without much
discussion, learned to live with almost blanket surveillance by CCTV in
our towns and cities. As a result thousand of crimes, including murder,
have been solved and perhaps many more prevented. But how many more
would there have been if we doubled the number of cameras, or increased
them tenfold, a hundredfold?
Between that and the surveillance we are now talking about there is a
qualitative as well as a quantitative difference which hardly needs
pointing out. The cameras are in public places, they are not in our
houses or our cars or even in our gardens. By contrast, the world of
surveillance operated by the people we pay to guard us exceeds the
fevered dreams of the Stasi.
Even so, let's go carefully here. The Stasi were not dealing with a
global threat of murderous malignity. The constituency of everything to
be feared has also been altered dreadfully by a technology which vastly
underwrites a capacity for evil as it does the capacity for the social
good. As for our spooks, I know what I want from them. I want them to
eavesdrop on the phones, the emails, on every tap of the keyboard of
anybody who comes under suspicion. Somebody somewhere has the
responsibility, indeed the necessary duty, of identifying those who
bear us ill. I would like there to be secret cameras in their houses. I
would applaud the technological means to survey and interpret every
breath they take. However, metaphors for the expansion from this
selflimiting scope beggar the imagination. If the world of secrets is
its own universe, here we have an expansion of the universe which
brings to mind something cosmological.
It had to happen. When all that possibility of expansion became
available the spooks were going to avail themselves of it as naturally
as night follows day.
Imagine that some law enforcement agency received reliable information
that a drug lord or a suicide bomber or a murderer on the run was at
this moment hiding out in ... let's say Beaconsfield. Should we have a
problem with the idea that for the next few days there was going to be
blanket electronic surveillance on every message or metadatum flowing
in and out of Beaconsfield? Would I get worked up about that? Not much.
How about Swindon? Manchester? You can see where this is going. At some
point in the expansion there is a phase transition our attitude will
undergo. Something that seemed OK no longer seems OK.
The impulse we are now experiencing goes back as long as we have been
living in groups. How much do we owe each other? How much of our very
self, our individuality, our privacy, our subjective and autonomous
freedom to live as utterly unique human beings, is up for grabs on the
say so of whoever is making the rules for the group, not withstanding
that the rulemakers have been validated by all of us?
It is no light matter to put in jeopardy a single life when it is the
very singularity of each life which underpins the idea of a just
society. But it appears to me that our masters are in the grip of the
delusionary nightmare of completeness: the complete annihilation of
every rogue bacillus. It's as if there is a belief that in the end the
virus has no riposte, that there cannot be and will not be a means to
evade blanket security if it is blanket enough.
What is the society we wish to protect? Is it the society of complete
surveillance for the commonwealth? Is this the wealth we seek to have
in common - optimal security at the cost of maximal surveillance? Not
that anybody asked us. It takes a brave newspaper to have forced the
question into the open.
__________________________________________________________________
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World's leading authors: state surveillance of personal data is theft
500 signatories including Guenter Grass, Margaret Atwood and Martin
Amis demand 'digital bill of rights' to curb state abuses
Published: 10 Dec 2013 (BUTTON)
World's leading authors: state surveillance of personal data is
theft
*
Writers dub UK leaders 'America's digital pit bull' over surveillance
Published: 10 Dec 2013 (BUTTON)
Writers dub UK leaders 'America's digital pit bull' over
surveillance
*
+
International bill of digital rights: call from 500 writers around the world
Published: 10 Dec 2013 (BUTTON)
International bill of digital rights: call from 500 writers
around the world
+
Australian authors join call for UN bill of digital rights to protect privacy
Published: 10 Dec 2013 (BUTTON)
Australian authors join call for UN bill of digital rights to
protect privacy
+
Response to the Snowden revelations: the seven-month itch
Published: 10 Dec 2013 (BUTTON)
Response to the Snowden revelations: the seven-month itch
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Recapping WikiLeaks: the bold and frivolous moves of a radical organization
Recapping WikiLeaks: the bold and frivolous moves of a radical
organization. Image 1.
Toney Palumbo
Author
"If journalism is good, it is controversial, by its nature." And if
Julian Assange's soundbite-worthy maxim rings true, then his brainchild
WikiLeaks is a masterpiece of form. Since its 2006 inception in Iceland
by a ragtag multinational team of hackers and dissidents, the rogue
media organization and its charismatic founder/spokesperson have
attracted a remarkable degree of controversy, as well as praise.
Founded as a means by which whistleblowers could anonymously submit
content exposing corruption and injustice, WikiLeaks has published and
contextualized millions of documents, including national intelligence
agency reports and internal communications of global corporations and
banks.
With the release of the notorious “Collateral Murder” video in 2010,
WikiLeaks erupted into the mainstream media, admired by free-press
advocates and condemned by the United States government and other
global powers. That year would prove to be a watershed for the
organization and its leader; while WikiLeaks scored a succession of
high-impact releases, Assange’s megalomaniacal tendencies and apparent
aversion to harm-reduction methods resulted in conflicts both
professional and personal.
Now, just in time for a blockbuster 2015 summer - and coinciding with
Assange’s three-year anniversary of confinement under asylum in
London’s Ecuadorian embassy - WikiLeaks has followed a period of
relative inactivity with multiple epic releases containing troves of
global import. In just the past two months, WikiLeaks has published
chapters of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a secretly-negotiated
regulatory and investment agreement; a complete draft of the
similarly-opaque Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) - an accomplishment
humbly referred to by WikiLeaks as a “modern journalistic holy grail”;
“Espionnage Élysée,” a collection of documents pertaining to the
surveillance of three consecutive French administrations by the United
States; and “The Saudi Cables,” hundreds of thousands of internal
communications from the Saudi Foreign Ministry. While the impact of
these latest releases has yet to be determined, a dramatic return to
the global spotlight provides an opportune time for reflecting on the
exposés of WikiLeaks - the shocking, the revelatory, and the mundane.
[gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAAAAACH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw=
=]
leak
Order to assassinate Somali officials
TARGET/SUBJECT:
Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys
PUBLISHED:
December 2006
BOLD: 4
FRIVoLOUS: 0
Contents of the leak: Tough-talking directives from a jihadi Sheikh who
was hell-bent on wresting control from the insufficiently
Shari’a-observing Somali government, featuring a suggestion that
supporters brainstorm ways to take out the local government officials.
Significance/Reception: The document’s authenticity had been questioned
internally at WikiLeaks prior to its publication, but Assange, et al,
believed that outside analysts could bring about verification.
Authorship has evidently never been confirmed, but the letter retains
significance by virtue of being accepted as the first official “leak”
published by the site.
[gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAAAAACH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw=
=]
LEAK
“Collateral murder”
video
Target/Subject: United States military
Published: April 5, 2010
BOLD: 10 FRIVoLOUS: 0
IFRAME: https://www.youtube.com/embed/zYTxuW2vmzk?rel=0&showinfo=0
CONTENTS OF THE LEAK: A 17-minute gunsight video from a U.S. military
helicopter depicting an aerial assault on multiple Iraqis, including
Reuters journalists, and the follow-up attack on a van that had stopped
to assist the wounded. The pilots reportedly believed that they were
firing on insurgents.
SIGNIFICANCE/RECEPTION: The impact of “Collateral Murder” is difficult
to overstate -- the reaction to the video was strong and predictably
partisan. The leaks shocking depiction of civilian casualties,
including two children who had been riding in the van, generated
widespread public outrage and scathing pushback from authorities and
apologists.
The title was criticized for being overtly editorial, and the heavily
annotated first cut (later followed by a release of the full, unedited
30-minute footage which included a hellfire missile attack on a
building) was dismissed by some as propaganda, rather than a neutral
contextualization of visual information. Chelsea Manning, then known as
Pfc Bradley Manning, was arrested for leaking the video and ultimately
convicted on charges of espionage and theft though she was acquitted on
the more serious charge of “aiding the enemy.”
This is the grand, cinematic WikiLeaks story, destined to be hamfisted
into Hollywood Oscar-bait, featuring a rising young comedic
star’s transition into dramatic roles with a clumsy interpretation of
Manning’s own transition into womanhood.
Recapping WikiLeaks: the bold and frivolous moves of a radical
organization. Image 2.
[gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAAAAACH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw=
=]
LEAK
Afgan war diary
TARGET/SUBJECT:
United States military
PUBLISHED:
July 25, 2010
BOLD: 10
FRIVoLOUS: 0
Contents of the leak: Tens of thousands of on-the-ground U.S. military
reports from the war in Afghanistan, from 2004-9. The logs provide
first-hand accounts of casualties, including civilians and
friendly-fire. The leak also details the roles of other nations and
organizations in the ongoing conflict. Just one of many cases described
in the diary involved a US-led NATO coalition task force which killed
seven children among other non-combatants in a firefight gone wrong.
Initial reports attempted to conceal the casualties.
Significance/Reception: Obama administration figures and U.S. military
leaders aggressively denounced the leak, which sparked widespread
discussion about pursuing criminal charges against Assange. Rifts
developed within the WikiLeaks team as well, primarily over the
handling of information which could put the lives of Afghan informants
at risk; this led to multiple defections from the organization.
See also: The Iraq War Logs, released beginning October 22, 2010, is a
similar collection of field reports, amounting to about four times the
volume of the Afghan War Diary.
[gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAAAAACH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw=
=]
LEAK
“Cablegate”
Target/Subject:
United States government
Published:
beginning November 28, 2010
BOLD: 8
FRIVoLOUS: 0
Contents of the leak: Hundreds of thousands of State Department
communications from United States embassies abroad, going back to the
Nixon administration (plus one lone entry from 1966). The cables
feature U.S. officials’, frank assessments of global threats, “War on
Terror” strategizing, discussion of counterintelligence actions, and
many other issues of diplomatic significance. Many of the cables
revealed embarrassing characterizations of foreign leaders or
surveillance orders directed at erstwhile United States allies. One
example from the documents included the revelation that Saudi Arabia's
"elite youth" are allowed to indulge in debaucherous behavior under the
protection of the royal family. At first, WikiLeaks and its mainstream
media partners released only a handful of the cables, in redacted form,
but in September 2011 the organization unilaterally published all
251,287 unredacted cables.
Significance/Reception: The publication of over a quarter-million
diplomatic cables - characterized as the largest-ever leak of its kind
- was the final of three mega-leaks in 2010, following twin releases of
Afghan and Iraq War motherlodes. Unsurprisingly, government officials
further decried WikiLeaks and Assange; after unloading the entire
unredacted cache, even the organization’s mainstream media partners
voiced criticism.
Outside U.S. diplomatic relations, the leaked cables have been widely
credited with contributing to the overthrow of President Zine El
Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia, whose inner circle had been likened to a
Mafia family by U.S. officials; the events in Tunisia subsequently
influenced a series of regional demonstrations, protests, and civil
wars later dubbed “the Arab Spring.”
See also: The Public Library of US Diplomacy (PlusD) - WikiLeaks has
been compiling a massive archive of diplomatic cables which include the
Cablegate documents, in addition to previously declassified materials
such as “the Kissinger Cables” and “the Carter Cables.”
[gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAAAAACH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw=
=]
LEAK
Cayman Islands
money laudering
TARGET/SUBJECT: Swiss Bank, Julius Baer
PUBLISHED: January 2008
BOLD: 7 FRIVoLOUS: 0
Recapping WikiLeaks: the bold and frivolous moves of a radical
organization. Image 3.
CONTENTS OF LEAK: Account data alleged to reveal money laundering and
tax evasion. According to Wikileaks the documents exposed more than
$4.5 billion worth of money laundering including by the former
president of Kenya.
SIGNIFICANCE/RECEPTION: After winning an injunction against WikiLeaks,
preventing the publication of its own embarrassing information, Julius
Baer over-reached by seeking to get the entire site shut down. The move
backfired spectacularly, generating more negative attention for the
bank and providing WikiLeaks with a triumphant victory over attempted
suppression.
See also: Kaupthing Bank, Iceland. The July 2009 publication of
an internal document exposing suspicious transactions prior to
Iceland’s financial crisis of 2008-2012 resulted in similar legal
threats against WikiLeaks, which were ultimately dropped after public
outrage toward Kaupthing swayed an Icelandic court to lift a gag order
suppressing the document.
[gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAAAAACH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw=
=]
LEAK
Guantanamo Bay documents, aka “The GITMO files”
TARGET/SUBJECT:
United States Department of Defense
PUBLISHED:
April 24, 2011
BOLD: 8
FRIVoLOUS: 0
Contents of leak: Nearly 800 internal reports from the controversial
Guantánamo Bay detention camp. The documents, referred to as Detainee
Assessment Briefs, provide background information about each prisoner,
including health status and biographical details. Recommendations to
release or retain custody of the detainees were revealed, which were
determined by appraisals of their threat potential and intelligence
value.
Significance/Reception: The military prison at “Gitmo” has remained a
hot-button issue for many Americans, particularly since President
Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign promise to close the facility during his
first year in office. (Today, more than 100 prisoners still remain at
Guantánamo.) Reaction to the documents was varied, with American
mainstream media outlets focusing on the revealed activities of the
suspected terrorists in custody while Non-US news sources highlighted
the questionable detention of numerous innocent or low-threat captives.
See also: “The Detainee Policies,” published beginning October 25th,
2012; more than 100 classified procedural documents pertaining to
individuals held in U.S. military custody. The collection’s first
entry, a manual for handling Gitmo prisoners known as the Camp Delta
Standard Operating Procedures, was originally published in 2007. Among
other information, the policies confirm the use of dogs as an
intimidation tactic against detainees as well as the official policy of
removing an inmates garments by cutting them of when they first arrive.
[gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAAAAACH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw=
=]
LEAK
British National Party membership list
TARGET/SUBJECT:
The British National Party, a far-right political faction in the United
Kingdom
PUBLISHED:
November 18, 2008
BOLD: 5
FRIVoLOUS: 0
Contents of leak: Information identifying many members of the Party,
described by political commentators as “neo-fascist,”
“anti-immigration,” and “white nationalist.”
Significance/Reception: The BNP is exceptionally controversial in the
United Kingdom, where members are banned from certain occupations,
including police and prison work; several outed individuals,
including police officers and a sports-radio DJ were subsequently
investigated and “sacked,” in the local parlance. One profession that
avoided the proverbial sacking were teachers.
[gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAAAAACH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw=
=]
LEAK
The global
intelligence files
TARGET/SUBJECT: Texas-based global
intelligence company Stratfor
PUBLISHED: February 27, 2012
BOLD: 7 FRIVoLOUS: 0
Recapping WikiLeaks: the bold and frivolous moves of a radical
organization. Image 4.
CONTENTS OF LEAK: Over five million emails containing client
information, intelligence-gathering terminology and strategy, and
accounts of financial activities. The leak exposed and explored
Stratfor’s deep ties to private-sector corporations, as well as the
U.S. military and government. Among the findings were the fact that
Stratfor had been tracking activist groups including the pranksters of
the Yes Men and selling the information to corporations. What may have
been the most important finding is that many analysts dubbed Stratfor's
services "bad intelligence," meaning that the company was billing
governments and corporations for useless information. Stratfor's
response was in line with one internal memo from it's vice president of
intelligence, "Admit nothing, deny everything and make
counter-accusations."
SIGNIFICANCE/RECEPTION: Murmurs regarding how to prosecute (or
extrajudicially handle) Julian Assange were bandied about by the usual
suspects while journalists like Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! gushed
that “thanks to WikiLeaks and its media partners, we have a
disturbingly vivid picture of the intelligence-industrial complex.”
see also: “The Spy Files,” published beginning December 1, 2011; a
collection of documents belonging to scores of global “intelligence
contractors,” demonstrating how mass surveillance companies collaborate
with intelligence agencies to compile data on huge populations
worldwide. While issuing his official press statements, Assange
said, “Who here has a BlackBerry? Who here uses Gmail? Well you are all
screwed! The reality is intelligence contractors are selling right to
countries around the world mass surveillance systems for all of those
products.”
[gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAAAAACH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw=
=]
LEAK
Operating Thetan documents
TARGET/SUBJECT:
The Church of Scientology
PUBLISHED:
March 24, 2008
BOLD: 6
FRIVoLOUS: 3
Contents of leak: According to WikiLeaks, “the collected secret
‘bibles’ of Scientology,” detailing core beliefs and practices of the
celebrity-wooing L. Ron Hubbard cult. These documents are intended to
be seen only by members at the highest levels of the church, after
paying substantial fees to make their way up the ranks. Aside from the
ridicule that some of the more esoteric ideas in the documents might
invite, the bibles also include a Manuel of Justice which explains
procedures for blackmailing journalists.
Significance/Reception: WikiLeaks responded to “abusive” legal threats
from the Church’s “Religious Technology Center,” which claimed
copyright ownership of the materials, by publishing several thousand
pages of other Scientology documents. At the time, Assange framed this
leak as important because he believes Scientology to be a threat to
free speech, saying, "If the west [sic] can not defend its cultural
values of free speech and press freedoms against a criminal cult like
Scientology, it can hardly lecture China and other state abusers of
these same values." Scientology remains a billion-dollar-plus venture,
despite the continued online availability of its “Advanced Technology.”
[gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAAAAACH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw=
=]
LEAK
Syria Files
TARGET/SUBJECT:
Administration of Syrian President,
Bashar al-Assad
PUBLISHED:
July 5, 2012
BOLD: 7
FRIVoLOUS: 0
Contents of leak: Nearly two and a half million emails from Syrian
political figures and ministries, from 2006-2012. Included are internal
correspondences between Syrian officials, records of financial
transactions involving other nations, and exchanges with Western
communications and public relations companies.
Significance/Reception: Appearing several months into the Syrian Civil
War, the leak was a revelatory peek inside a regime grappling with its
own diminishing power and credibility. One result of the leak was a PR
nightmare for several corporations, including the PR company Brown
Lloyd James who advised Syria's oppressive regime on how to look like
the good guy while striking down any public dissent. Assange’s
statement coinciding with the release suggested the information could
be used to reach a greater insight into the goals and actions of the
involved parties, saying, “it is only through understanding this
conflict that we can hope to resolve it." No resolution is forthcoming
in the ongoing struggle.
[gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAAAAACH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw=
=]
LEAK
Sarah Palin
email hack
TARGET/SUBJECT: Republican Vice Presidential candidate,
Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska
PUBLISHED: September 2008
BOLD: 3 FRIVoLOUS: 7
Recapping WikiLeaks: the bold and frivolous moves of a radical
organization. Image 5.
CONTENTS OF LEAK: Screenshots of Palin's inbox, address book, sample
emails, and family photos, uploaded to WikiLeaks by an
Anonymous-affiliated hacker.
SIGNIFICANCE/RECEPTION: While the images bolstered criticism of Palin’s
governing transparency, suggesting she was using personal email for
official purposes, the leak was condemned on privacy grounds by both
the Democratic and Republican presidential campaigns. The 20-year-old
son of a Democratic Tennessee state representative was later tried and
convicted in relation to the hack. Palin and her running mate, John
McCain, went on to lose the general election on their own merits.
[gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAAAAACH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw=
=]
LEAK
Bilderberg reports
TARGET/SUBJECT:
Bilderberg Group
PUBLISHED:
May 8, 2009
BOLD: 4
FRIVoLOUS: 3
Contents of leak: Meeting reports from one of the most shadowy and
powerful conferences of power players and government officials,
spanning several decades as well as a group history written in 1956 by
founding member Józef Retinger.
Significance/Reception: Despite being a favorite obsession of the
conspiracy-minded, disclosure of sensitive Bilderberg materials has not
revealed a smoking-gun blueprint for the New World Order.
[gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAAAAACH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw=
=]
LEAK
9/11 pager
intercepts
TARGET/SUBJECT:
United States officials, citizens
PUBLISHED:
November 25, 2009
BOLD: 1
FRIVoLOUS: 3
Contents of leak: Approximately 570,000 text pager messages from a
24-hour period of time beginning 3 am EST on September 11th, 2001.
Significance/Reception: WikiLeaks suggests that the intercepted texts
can help lead to a “nuanced understanding” of the attacks and their
aftermath, though the primary applications thus far appear to be
threefold: fodder for conspiracy theorists, source material for
digital art projects, and an excuse for national navel-gazing.
[gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAAAAACH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw=
=]
LEAK
The Sony hacks
TARGET/SUBJECT: Sony Pictures
PUBLISHED: April 16, 2015
BOLD: 1 FRIVoLOUS: 10
Recapping WikiLeaks: the bold and frivolous moves of a radical
organization. Image 6.
CONTENTS OF LEAK: Over 30,000 internal documents and 170,000 emails to
and from Sony Pictures Entertainment email addresses. In addition to
depicting insider conversations about projects in production, the
messages demonstrate Sony’s lobbying efforts and establish the
company’s ties to the United States government and military.
SIGNIFICANCE/RECEPTION: Although WikiLeaks’ press release announcing
the archive highlighted Sony’s lobbying efforts on issues like internet
policy and copyright law, and characterized the company as an
“influential” and “newsworthy” corporation “at the centre of a
geo-political conflict,” more ink was spilled over the tabloid-fodder
element of seeing private correspondence pertaining to America’s
Hollywood sweethearts.
[gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAAAAACH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw=
=]
LEAK
"The WikiLeaks
threat"
PUBLISHED:
February 2011
BOLD: N/A
FRIVoLOUS: N/A
CONTENTS OF LEAK: A joint report by security companies HBGary Federal,
Palantir Technologies, and Berico Technologies commissioned by the law
firm Hunton & Williams, on behalf of Bank of America. The meta-leak
contained “potential proactive tactics” to combat WikiLeaks which
resembled FBI “COINTELPRO” strategies against left-wing groups in the
1960s and ‘70s: pitting disgruntled personnel against each other,
submitting false information to undermine the organization’s
credibility, and creating a media campaign to smear its public image
and reputation. The report also detailed the organization structure of
WikiLeaks and identified individual collaborators, including journalist
Glenn Greenwald.
SIGNIFICANCE/RECEPTION: The report, seen as a spiteful attempt at
cutthroat corporate sabotage, was a public relations disaster for the
security firms that authored it; Palantir publicly cut ties with HBGary
and apologized to not only Mr. Greenwald but “progressive organizations
in general.”
IMAGEs via flickr.com (1, 4), wikipedia.org (3)
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How Iceland is trying to make "actual journalism" legal
Iceland is a cold, small, and isolated island in the northern Atlantic.
It is a place of sublime landscapes and awe-inspiring volcanic
activity. There are more sheep (500,000) than people (323,002) living
in Iceland. There is also a small group of activist working to position
Iceland as a key player in the international battle over the right to
privacy and free speech. As the Director of the Icelandic Modern Media
Initiative, Guðjón Idir, told Hopes&Fears, their goal is “to legalize
actual journalism.”
How Iceland is trying to make "actual journalism" legal. Image 1.
Ben Valentine
Author
The Icelandic Modern Media Initiative, an effort that grew out of
Iceland’s financial collapse in 2008, was passed by Parliament in 2010.
Iceland was one of the hardest-hit countries in the world when the
financial crisis happened and they're serious about ensuring that it
doesn't happen again. The failure of journalists to properly
investigate the sudden boom is considered a key factor in the collapse.
The initiative, shepherded by the Icelandic Modern Media Institute
(IMMI) aims to make Iceland the safest country in the world for
journalists. IMMI seeks to collect and enact the world’s best free
speech and privacy laws and thereby ensure that Iceland becomes a
bastion of free speech in an era where surveillance runs rampant
worldwide.
There is a growing sentiment that the cyberutopian dream has failed.
The idea of an internet that transcends physical boundaries and
limitations and thus creates a free world where code is law and not the
silly work of corrupt politicking; well, that ship has sailed.
Professional and citizen journalists in Ethiopia, Egypt, Vietnam, and
Azerbaijan and elsewhere in the world, have been arrested for violating
local laws that would cause most citizens in Europe and North America
to balk. Meanwhile, the West cannot point fingers. With Barrett Brown
serving prison time for sharing a link, Edward Snowden stuck in Russia
for exposing systemic violations of the US Constitution, and Chelsea
Manning being tortured and held in solitary confinement
for whistleblowing war crimes. As journalism continues to be one of the
world's most dangerous professions, Internet access and publication of
information remain begrudgingly tied to local culture and practice
regarding the lawful scope of free speech. And Iceland is entrenched in
an issue that matters for all who wish to speak truth to power.
The Switzerland of Bits
Just as Snowden had to flee his country for one that guaranteed his
safety, IMMI wants Iceland to become a safe haven for information and
those who report on it. As John Perry Barlow, a prominent activist and
one of the founders of the Electronic Frontier Foundation called it,
Iceland could become, the “Switzerland of Bits.”
Guðjón Idir
Director of the Icelandic Modern Media Initiative
Guðjón Idir has been IMMI’s Executive Director since January 2014. His
background is in philosophy, psychology and activism. As an activist he
has fought for information freedom and human rights. He has also worked
with refugees.
The motivation for Iceland to lead this charge comes out of a
first-hand knowledge of how devastating a lack of transparency can be.
Iceland’s financial crash of 2008 was catastrophic to the country, and
few had answers until Wikileaks began publishing documents the local
reporters were legally blocked from airing. The general public,
justifiably feeling robbed, saw Wikileaks as the purveyor of important
knowledge that they were being denied.
Regarding the crash, Róbert Marshall, a former editor, now an MP and
the leader of the Social Democrat party, recently pointed out: "Nobody
asked where the money was actually coming from. Journalists failed to
follow the basic rule: follow the money.” When a nine-volume
investigation was finally published, after the fact, an entire volume
was dedicated to the media's failures.
IFRAME:
//coub.com/embed/7h86l?muted=true&autostart=true&originalSize=false&hid
eTopBar=true&startWithHD=false
From its inception, IMMI has sought to ensure that the type of
assistance Iceland was forced to rely on from Wikileaks would never be
necessary again. I sat down with IMMI Director Guðjón Idir at a café in
Reykjavik to learn more about IMMI.
“The IMMI objective is to create in Iceland the best access to
information and a media environment where real journalism can flourish,
which is vital for an authentic participatory democracy,” said Idir.
That dream was more complex than the people of Iceland had hoped, and
so, understandably the battle is far from over.
Slow and steady
“We've already affected legislative changes, and we will continue that
work, but we will always be focused on the implementing of the whole
picture,” Idir explains. The legal system is a complex web that
interacts with local and international law, private businesses, and
governments. For instance, if Iceland were to pass a whistleblowing law
that protected people like Edward Snowden, which Guðjón does want to
do, the nation would also need a law to make the future Snowden’s
extradition illegal, or it would be a hollow promise of protection.
IMMI has been collecting the best laws, keeping a tab on the
ever-changing legal landscape around such issues as transparency, free
speech, and privacy. These laws, as well as the businesses and
technology that affect them, are in a constant state of flux,
especially after Snowden. Translating all of this into functional laws
for Iceland, is a monumental task.
IMMI is working hard to draft legislation that will pass through
parliament and it is collaborating with MPs to find the most effective
way to do that. Working against massive data retention by
telecommunication carriers, IMMI has sought more substantial encryption
with less storage, weakening the potential for mass surveillance, as
well as making a court order with specific demands and rationale for
the data required. Guðjón is very hopeful about this work, especially
after last year when the EU Court of Justice ruled that the Data
Retention Directive was invalid and a gross violation of privacy.
Although Guðjón expects that it will require more work, IMMI has also
introduced a progressive whistleblower protection act to Parliament
this year.
While there is much to do, IMMI has not been without successes. In
2013, IMMI helped pass the Information Act, which helped broaden the
public's access to information as well as source protection, thus
nudging some of IMMI’s core goals forward. A few days after our
meeting, IMMI joined with other organizations to repeal Iceland’s
75-year-old blasphemy law, making blasphemy no longer an illegal act in
the country.
Smári McCarthy, one of IMMI's organisers, had told the Guardian,
"Sweden has a really progressive law on the protection of sources ...
Journalists are actually not allowed to reveal sources there. IMMI's
proposal for source protection is based on that.” The IMMI believes
that if this hybrid approach (using the best legislation) is
successful, then journalistic outfits will want to base their servers
in Iceland to enjoy the same protections.
IFRAME:
//coub.com/embed/7h7qc?muted=true&autostart=false&originalSize=false&hi
deTopBar=false&startWithHD=false
A Pirate Party Parliament
Exciting again: however, since the initiative was passed, Birgitta is
now one of three of Iceland’s Pirate Party members in the Parliament –
the first group of Pirates to be voted into office in a national
election – and a recent poll just ranked the party as the most popular
in the country. There is a feeling that more progress is imminent.
Those involved in IMMI’s work “feel that legislative reform is a matter
of urgency,” Guðjón says, “and they don’t want to work for a year to
just see what happens.”
The Pirate Party: The moniker has been adopted in various countries and
while they are not all directly affiliated, they share the principles
of support for civil rights, direct democracy, open content,
information privacy, network neutrality and reform of copyright laws.
The party first emerged in Sweden as a political platform opposed to
intellectual property. Its members included the founders of The Pirate
Bay BitTorrent tracker. From there, it proceeded to spread to countries
like Austria, Germany and Australia. Iceland has seen some of the most
substantial success for the party with Birgitta Jónsdóttir, Jón Þór
Ólafsson and Helgi Hrafn Gunnarsson all being elected to parliament.
Although Guðjón is committed to working across party lines and is not a
Pirate Party member, he is cautiously optimistic. With a shift in
political support, “so many things are possible. In my opinion that
represents the biggest stumbling block, lack of political will.”
Þórgnýr Thoroddsen, First Deputy City Councilmember of the Pirate
Party, wrote me that despite the slow speed, he remains hopeful about
IMMI's work. "I expect we'll be able to push forward when and if the
Pirate Party gets into a majority coalition in the future."
However, despite the new support, IMMI’s work requires, "a time
consuming method even if you have all the momentum you want.” Even if
the Pirate Party has IMMI as a main objective and they gain a majority,
the changes cannot happen overnight. Guðjón adds that, of course, “we
would love to see another country beat us to it."
Ben Valentine is a writer and organizer who has worked with SFAQ, The
New Inquiry, Motherboard, SXSW, ACLU and Hyperallergic.
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Follow @hopesandfearshq
* Internet
* Loney Abrams
* June 12, 12:29 PM
French privacy agency demands that Google make 'right to be forgotten' global
CNIL, the French privacy watchdog, demands that Google de-list search
results as part of the 'right to be forgotten' ruling not only in
Europe, but globally. Currently, Europeans can request that Google
remove unwanted or irrelevant search results associated with their
names. If approved, the requests are only implemented on Google results
in Europe. CNIL threatens to establish a formal judgement - most likely
in the form of a fine - against Google if it doesn't take steps to
remove links "on all extensions of the search engine."
Cover image: Flickr
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Follow @hopesandfearshq
QuestionHow can you tell you are being watched online?
Hopes&Fears answers questions from our readers and friends, with the
help of people who know what they're talking about. Today, we're
wondering about internet privacy.
* Mike Sheffield
* February 23
How can you tell you are being watched online? — Question на
Hopes&Fears
We've all had the experience. You search online for something a little
bit out of your normal comfort zone - let's say, an interesting
new creme brulee recipe - and think nothing of it. But as the hours
pass by, you notice something's different. Real Simple keeps coming up
as your first search engine hit, your spam box is filled up with
chicken noodle soup recipes from Bon Appetit, and all of the sudden
Martha Stewart is a regular on your Facebook trends. The horror! But
while your culinary tastes might be your own damn business, these
violations are a much bigger deal if, let's say, the NSA thinks you're
a terrorist or even a dissenter.
It's obvious that someone is watching but how do we know for sure? And
is there anything you can do to stop it? We asked some web junkies what
they thought.
How can you tell you are being watched online? . Image 1.
James Hodges
PhD student, Rutgers University
[gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAAAAACH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw=
=]
When something online seems 'free,' chances are it's being paid for one
of two ways: with your attention, or with your personal data.
Audience attention has been a premium product for over a century.
Throughout the twentieth century, broadcast radio and TV made good
money without charging the audience for content, because advertisers
picked up the bill. The business model hasn't changed too much since
then, even if ad targeting has gotten more specific.
I recently shared a bunch of hip-hop videos on Facebook, and then got
served a bunch of ads for bail bonds. It became obvious that I was
being tracked and profiled by a really insensitive algorithm.
It's been legitimate public knowledge for over a decade that the
federal government monitors online communication.
On a more banal level, you can look in your browser history any time to
find all the "cookies" that sites leave behind, which often report your
browsing habits back to HQ.
If you want to maintain privacy more seriously, you could use TOR,
encrypt your email, and browse on "private" all the time. You could go
further if you want, and use BitCoin to buy your groceries. But
something tells me going that far off the grid probably attracts more
attention than it avoids.
Avoiding sneakiness without sacrificing privacy is one of the main
ideas behind TrackMeNot, a privacy plugin I used to work on at NYU.
Instead of blocking surveillance, TrackMeNot spams out your history
with a ton of whatever is trending in a given month. This way you still
seem like a normal internet user, but you're hidden behind a pile of
mass culture. It's like using a smoke screen instead of trying to
become invisible.
How can you tell you are being watched online? . Image 2.
Peter Yeh
Senior Systems Administrator
[gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAAAAACH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw=
=]
There's literally no way to know if you're being watched online. You
can be monitored in a multitude of ways, from a kid across the street
hacking your webcam with a RAT (Remote Access Trojan) to see you naked,
to a state actor putting in a splice at the phone company. Digital
information can be copied perfectly, without interruption to the
original data stream. Modern phone taps make no noise, because the data
is just being copied.
If you want to feel extremely unsafe, Van Eck Phreaking is using a
special antenna to detect the tiny electromagnetic leaks your monitor
makes, and then using that to reconstruct what you're seeing. Equipment
can be sensitive now to be able to read your keystrokes with an
antenna.
In the end there's only three types of threats -- your spurned lover
hacking your Facebook (use 2-factor authentication, and don't tell
anyone your password), RATers trying to steal your credit card data
(keep your computer and antivirus updated) and, finally, a state actor
(god help you because nothing will help you there).
Cover illustration: Sergii Rodionov
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2. Editorials
Internet without borders: The balkanisation of digital territory to protect
privacy is not ultimately in consumers’ interests
* Editorial
* @IndyVoices
* Tuesday 6 October 2015 20:28 BST
*
Facebook confirmed that it had seen an increase in the number of
requests for personal information since Mr Schrems began his campaign
GETTY IMAGES
The tectonic plates of the internet, if such an analogy can be made,
are not a perfect match with those of global geography. One has,
historically, covered all of North America and Europe. Of late, Russia
has moved away from this zone, where free exchange of information
rules, and headed into the realms of censorship and protectionism.
China, for its part, has been isolated from the very off, its 650
million internet users – more than the US and EU combined – operating
online in a strictly controlled and limited environment. Or at least
this was the picture up until two years ago, when Edward Snowden
revealed the extent of the American National Security Agency’s (NSA)
snooping on digital communications across the globe.
Since then, Europe has started to pull away from the US, citing
concerns not only with the privacy of its citizens, but the competitive
dominance and tax juggling of tech giants such as Google. In the early
months of 2015 Barack Obama highlighted this growing transatlantic
gulf. He suggested, in uncharacteristically spiky terms, that the EU’s
digital regulation drive stemmed from little more than commercial
jealousy: “We have owned the internet,” claimed the President, “and
perfected it in ways that they can’t compete [with].”
[pg-2-nsa-hacking-ap.jpg]
Read more
Everything you need to know about the Safe Harbour scheme
Mr Obama’s ire will be excited again today. The European Court of
Justice (ECJ) has just ruled that Safe Harbour – the 2000 agreement
that allowed companies to transfer customer data from the EU to the US
– breaches European citizens’ right to privacy. According to the EU’s
highest court, there are not sufficient safeguards in place to stop the
NSA prying into a German internet user’s data, for example, once it has
landed in Palo Alto. The entire Safe Harbour agreement has as a result
been struck down, leaving the 4,400 internet firms that rely on it –
whose number includes Facebook and Amazon – in disarray.
Yet the actions of the ECJ deserve a more open hearing than they are
likely to receive in the White House. Even before Mr Snowden’s
revelations, European politicians complained the protections provided
to their citizens were weak. Thanks to feeble enforcement on the part
of the US Federal Trade Commission, American firms have got away with
all kinds of negligence. The principle of Safe Harbour – that a
European consumer’s data could not be passed on to a third party –
looked paper-thin even before the extent of the NSA’s spying became
clear.
That is not to say that the ECJ’s ruling will translate well in the
real world. Simply enacting the court’s verdict will pile costs on to
US firms which would have to set up infrastructure in Europe to hold EU
customer data. Even payroll data could not be shared between an office
in London and one in New York. Of more concern is the shift this would
mark to a so-called “balkanisation” of the internet, whereby digital
firms have to tailor their services to each country they operate in.
Not only would such stratification compromise the “open borders” that
have allowed the internet to flourish; it would increase the cost of
running a digital business – costs which would inevitably be passed on
to the consumer.
Far better than summary implementation of the ECJ verdict, then, would
be for the European Commission to complete its negotiation with
Washington over an updated Safe Harbour treaty, which takes into
account the European concerns over privacy. Solving this dispute
through the creation of more digital borders will do more harm than
good.
* More about:
* Safe Harbour
* Edward Snowden
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Edward Snowden: Smartphone users can do 'very little' to stop security
services getting control of devices
The former intelligence contractor says GCHQ has the power to hack into
phones without their owners’ knowledge
* Paul Gallagher
* @PMGallagher1
* Monday 5 October 2015 20:02 BST
*
Edward Snowden claims that GCHQ has the power to hack into phones
without their owners' knowledge AFP
Smartphone users can do “very little” to stop security services getting
“total control” over their devices, US whistleblower Edward Snowden has
said.
The former intelligence contractor told the BBC’s Panorama in his first
British television interview that UK intelligence agency GCHQ had the
power to hack into phones without their owners’ knowledge.
Mr Snowden, responsible for the biggest leak of top secret intelligence
documents the world has ever seen, said GCHQ could gain access to a
handset by sending it an encrypted text message and use it for such
things as taking pictures and listening in.
Edward Snowden in 60 seconds
“The GCHQ is for almost intents and purposes a subsidiary of the NSA,”
he told Panorama from a hotel room in Moscow, where he fled in 2013.
“They provide technology, they provide tasking and direction as to what
they should go after. And in exchange the GCHQ provides access to
communications that are collected in the United Kingdom.”
Cornwall is where most of that data comes in and goes out – via optical
cables under beaches like Porthcurno.
Dr Joss Wright, from Oxford University’s Internet Institute, told the
programme that internet company Cisco carried out a relatively recent
estimate that there are equivalent to around 650,000 DVDs worth of data
transmitting the UK every hour, as of last year – a “huge amount” of
data, he said.
Read more
* Smartphones can be hacked into with just a text message, says
Snowden
* Edward Snowden receives 47GB worth of Twitter notifications
* US comedian defends Edward Scissorhands in talks about Edward
Snowden
* Edward Snowden joins Twitter and follows the NSA
Mr Snowden revealed how this bulk data was secretly collected by GCHQ
via its top security station high on the cliffs of Cornwall above Bude
in a programme called Tempora.
He also described a secret GCHQ training programme, codenamed “Smurf
Suite” - a collection of secret intercept capabilities individually
named after the little blue Belgian cartoon characters.
“Dreamy Smurf is the power management tool which means turning your
phone on and off with you knowing,” he said. “Nosey Smurf is the ‘hot
mic’ tool. For example if it’s in your pocket, [GCHQ] can turn the
microphone on and listen to everything that's going on around you -
even if your phone is switched off because they've got the other tools
for turning it on.
“Tracker Smurf is a geo-location tool which allows [GCHQ] to follow you
with a greater precision than you would get from the typical
triangulation of cellphone towers.”
The UK government declined to comment.
Meanwhile, Britain's most senior counter-terrorism police officer said
terrorism investigations are becoming harder and more risky because
some social media companies either refuse to help or make products
which deliberately hamper inquiries.
London Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said that since Mr Snowden
revealed the extent to which intelligence agencies could intercept
online traffic, new technologies had emerged that made plots harder to
foil.
“We have a growing Achilles heel that, if it is not tackled, will
slowly diminish our ability to keep the public safe,” Mr Rowley told
the Royal United Services Institute, a London think-tank. “If we are
glibly creating a safe operating environment for criminals and
terrorists, we are going to regret it.”
Edward Snowden signs up to Twitter
His comments on social media and the impact of Snowden’s revelations in
2013 echoed similar expressions of exasperation from David Cameron and
the head of Britain's domestic spy agency, MI5.
The government is planning new laws, due to be detailed later this
month, to bolster the surveillance capabilities of spies and police.
They will face stiff opposition from privacy and human rights
campaigners who say they represent an assault on freedoms.
* More about:
* Edward Snowden
* Surveillance
* GCHQ
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3. News
Facebook, Google and Amazon await EU court ruling over legality of
data-transfer agreement
The international agreement allows US corporations to transfer European
customers’ personal data to America where critics say it is shared with
US intelligence agencies
* David Connett
* Saturday 3 October 2015 21:25 BST
*
The case was instigated by the revelations of NSA worker Edward Snowden
Getty Images
Europe’s highest court will rule this week on whether it “likes” the
legality of an international agreement which allows US corporations
such as Facebook, eBay, Google and Amazon to transfer European
customers’ personal data to America where critics say it is shared with
US intelligence agencies. The landmark ruling is set to shape
international regulations over access to, and ownership of,
individuals’ online information.
In a recommendation to justices hearing the case at the Court of
Justice of the European Union (CJEU), the court’s advocate general,
Yves Bot, recommended ruling that the “Safe Harbour” agreement – the
US-EU data transfer agreement which is meant to protect individuals’
privacy – was “invalid”. In his report he said: “The revelations about
the practices of the United States intelligence services as regards the
generalised surveillance of data transferred under the safe harbour
scheme have shed light on certain insufficiencies [of the agreement].”
His judgment is not binding on the court but is often followed.
The case was brought by Max Schrems, an Austrian law student. He
brought the case after US whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed the US
National Security Agency was routinely intercepting data from emails,
social media and telephones, including EU citizens’ data information
transferred to the US.
He brought the case in Ireland where Facebook’s European headquarters
are based, arguing his privacy should have been safeguarded against
security surveillance. He took the case to the CJEU after the Irish
regulator declined to intervene. He argued the “safe harbour”
protections – which state that US data protection rules are adequate if
information is passed by companies that “self-certify” they abide by EU
privacy rules – because America no longer qualifies for such a status.
“The promise of a higher level of data protecting is being betrayed by
[Europe] to serve business interests,” Mr Schrems has said.
He has asked the CJEU to declare Facebook’s “safe harbour” designation
under EU law should be cancelled and that the Irish DPC should audit
the exchange of information rather than allowing it to be transferred
unscrutinised.
Read more
* Next-gen USB standard will boost data transfers to 10GB/second
* Law: Data transfer proposals lay a trap for business
If the CJEU finds against the agreement, there will huge cost
implications for the company and others like it. Experts warn an
adverse ruling could dramatically increase the costs of satisfying each
individual country’s privacy laws and make companies vulnerable to
legal action wherever their websites are targeted. Facebook has already
faced a number of privacy cases across Europe where data protection
watchdogs have argued national privacy laws have been breached. The
ruling could strengthen their powers to enforce local rules.
The US government denied it carried out mass surveillance on EU
citizens and said it was directed only at lawfully approved foreign
intelligence targets. Supporters of the safe harbour agreement claim
the court should not be able to overturn it once the European
Commission has approved it.
The US Federal Trade Commission, which is responsible for policing US
companies which transfer data across the Atlantic, has been criticised
for failing to police properly the companies involved in it. According
to a 2013 European Commission document, as many as one in 10 of US
companies that claim to be covered by the agreement were not registered
with it. The Commission is understood to be meeting on 6 October to
discuss the ruling. On 2 October, the Irish government urged the
Commission and the US to settle a new citizen data transfer deal
quickly. The case is highly sensitive for Dublin because Facebook and
many other US tech companies have their European headquarters in
Ireland and are regulated by Irish data protection authorities.
* More about:
* Facebook
* Google
* Amazon
* EU
* Edward Snowden
* US National Security Agency
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2. Tech
Hackers cause a power cut for the first time, say researchers
It is believed the attacks that caused the blackout were the work of a
group dubbed 'Sandworm'
* Andrea Peterson
* Wednesday 6 January 2016 08:57 BST
*
Experts warn that, while is easy to come to conclusions about
cyberattacks, it can be very difficult to pin down who was responsible
Getty
Hackers caused a power outage in Ukraine during holiday season,
researchers say, signalling a potentially troubling new escalation in
digital attacks.
"This is the first incident we know of where an attack caused a
blackout," said John Hultquist, head of iSIGHT Partner's cyberespionage
intelligence practice. "It's always been the scenario we've been
worried about for years because it has ramifications across broad
sectors."
Half of the homes in Ukraine's Ivano-Frankivsk region were left without
power for several hours on December 23rd, according to a local report
that attributed the blackout to a virus that disconnected electrical
substations from the grid. Researchers at iSight on Monday said their
analysis of malware found on the systems of at least three regional
electrical operators confirmed that a "destructive" cyberattack led to
the power outage.
[BBC-down.jpg]
Read more
Anti-Isis hackers claim responsibility for taking down BBC website
Electrical outages can lead to ripple effects that leave communities
struggling with things like transportation and communication, according
to security experts who have long warned about the potential for
cyberattacks on the power grid.
In this case, the attackers used a kind of malware that wiped files off
computer systems, shutting them down and resulting in the blackout,
Hultquist said. At least one of the power systems was also infected
with a type of malware known as BlackEnergy. A similar combination was
used against some Ukrainian media organizations during local elections
last year, he said.
A blog post from cybersecurity company ESET also reported that
BlackEnergy malware helped deliver the destructive component "in
attacks against Ukrainian news media companies and against the
electrical power industry."
While ESET's analysis showed the destructive element was "theoretically
capable of shutting down critical systems," it said BlackEnergy
malware's ability to take control of a system would give attackers
enough access to take down the computers. In that case, the destructive
element may have been a way to make it harder to get the systems up and
running again, according to ESET.
Hultquist believes the attacks that caused the blackout were the work
of a group iSight dubs "Sandworm" that the company previously observed
using BlackEnergy. In a 2014 report, iSight said the group was
targeting NATO, energy sector firms and U.S. academic institutions as
well as government organizations in Ukraine, Poland and Western
Europe.
"Operators who have previously targeted American and European sensitive
systems look to have actually carried out a successful attack that
turned the lights out," Hultquist said.
[Windows-10-fan-celebration-_1.jpg]
Read more
Microsoft to alert users when they are victims of government hacking
He described the group as "Russian," but declined to connect it to a
specific government or group. Other destructive cyberattacks in the
past have been attributed to government actors - such as attacks on
Iranian nuclear facilities thought to be the result of a collaboration
between the U.S. and Israel, or the Sony Pictures entertainment attack
blamed on North Korea.
But experts warn that, while is easy to come to circumstantial
conclusions about cyberattacks, it can be very difficult to pin down
who was responsible - or even what exactly happened. And there have
been false alarms about cyberattacks on infrastructure in the past.
In 2011, experts said that a pump failure at an Illinois water plant
appeared to be caused by foreign hackers. However, it was later
reported that there hadn't been any malicious activity: Instead, a
remote login to the plant's computers systems from a contractor
traveling in Russia was mistakenly connected to the issue.
"It's easy to assume this threat actor is controlled by the Russian
government and they intentionally shut down power in this region in
Ukraine, but evidence to prove that conclusion is very difficult to
obtain for various reasons," said Tom Cross, chief technology officer
at cybersecurity firm Drawbridge Networks.
The picture can often become clearer as more information trickles out,
but the public and even some of those investigating may not be
operating with all the facts, according to Cross.
"When a plane crashes, the FAA publishes all of the details about the
incident. That makes sense because we pilots want to know what to do to
avoid the next crash," he said. "In our industry, when something like
this happens, some information comes out and some doesn't."
Not everyone necessarily has an interest in fully disclosing the
attacks because it might embarrass them or give new information to
attackers, Cross said. But he argues that the more people know the
details about the attack, the better the security industry can prepare
for the next one.
"People should operate with an abundance of caution and assume the
threat is real while demanding technical detail and evidence," he
said.
Assuming that the hackers did take out the power in Ukraine, there was
a silver lining, according to Cross: The grid seems to have rebounded
quickly.
"The world didn't end here - they did get power back up," Cross said.
Washington Post
* More about:
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* Ukraine
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1. Lifestyle
2. Tech
3. News
Hackers claim $1m prize for discovering remote iOS9 jailbreak
The company that offered the prize, Zerodium, will now be able to sell
the hack to national security agencies
* Doug Bolton
* @DougieBolton
* Wednesday 4 November 2015 09:58 BST
*
Craig Federighi, Apple senior vice president of Software Engineering,
speaks about iOS 9 during an Apple event Justin Sullivan/Getty
A team of anonymous hackers has claimed a $1 million (£648,000) bounty
for remotely jailbreaking Apple's latest mobile operating system, iOS9.
Jailbreaking is the practice of removing Apple's restrictions on their
devices, allowing users to install a range of unauthorised apps and
tweaks on their phones and tablets.
Jailbreaking is often done willingly by people looking to customise
their device, but since it bypasses the security restrictions,
jailbreaking can also be a technique used by hackers to break into
phones and install spyware.
[jailbreakios9.jpg]
Read more
First iOS9 jailbreak released, just a month after launch
The hefty prize was offered by cybersecurity company Zerodium, who
offered $1 million to any person or team who could come up with a
browser-based untethered jailbreak for iOS9 in September this year.
The conditions of the competition required that the hacking process
"should be achieveable remotely, reliably, silently and without
requiring any user interaction except visiting a web page or reading a
SMS/MMS."
In other words, the winning team found a way to remotely install an app
on phones running iOS9 simply by getting the the user to open a certain
webpage or read a text message.
The terms required that the break-in would have to be truly remote -
any solutions that involved the iPhone being plugged in to a computer,
or being accessed through Bluetooth or NFC did not qualify.
Gadgets and tech news in pictures
*
*
*
*
* 21 show all
Gadgets and tech news in pictures
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* 1/21 FA announces it will host the Emirates FA Cup video game
tournament
The FA has announced that for the first time ever it will host the
inaugural Emirates FA Cup gaming tournament, with video game fans
from across the world invited to compete for glory at Wembley
Stadium connected by EE. Early rounds will take place in iconic
locations in the stadium such as The Royal Box, the changing rooms
and the players’ tunnel, with the two finalists set to play the
virtual final using Wembley Stadium’s 82 foot screens as they sit
in the centre circle. Gamers of varying ability will descend upon
Wembley Stadium as the home of football transforms into an epic
gaming colosseum set to turn heads and sweat palms in equal measure
* 2/21 Oculus Rift release date
Oculus has said that it is about to open pre-orders for its Rift
virtual reality headset. Some have claimed that the hardware will
be the device that will bring virtual reality into the mainstream.
And it will start being available from 6 January 2016, the company
has said. The company hasn’t said when the headsets will actually
start arriving, or how much they will cost. It isn’t clear whether
the company intends to announce more details before pre-orders
begin
* 3/21 iPhone stock apps can be removed by just putting them into
special folder
A new trick shows a quick way of getting rid of the stock apps that
might be cluttering up your iPhone screen — at least for a while.
The iPhone comes with a range of apps that are stuck on the phone,
and can't be deleted like others. While some are key to the phone —
like the Phone app itself — others like Stocks are less
well-regarded. But the new trick shows how you can hide those
unused stock apps with just a quick trick using some folders
* 4/21 CES 2016: Four big things set to be revealed
The CES 2016 gadget show is about to kick off, and nearly the
entire technology industry has descended on Las Vegas to try and
show off the future. Every year, companies and technologists
attempt to show that they have seen what’s coming and that they
will be there to offer it. Every year, a lot of people get it
wrong. This year’s expectations are as big as ever. Every year, CES
unofficially gets a big theme that everything’s supposed to be
about — this year that’s virtual reality. There is also future for
cars, smart home and wearables
* 5/21 Terrorists could use drones to attack planes and spread
propaganda
A government counter-terrorism adviser has warned that terrorists
could use commercially available drones to attack passenger planes.
Detective Chief Inspector Colin Smith, a security expert and
adviser to the Home Office Centre for Applied Science and
Technology, warned that small quadcopter drones could easily be
used by terrorists for attacks and propaganda purposes
* 6/21 Goggle-Eyed Lemurs watch TV as part of their reintroduction to
the wild
Port Lympne Reserve in Kent, UK, has installed Sony Bravia 4K TVs
into its lemur and langur enclosures to show life-like footage to
its primates as part of its ‘Back to the Wild’ programme. The
charity will trial TV watching on Sony’s 4K TVs as part of this
programme in a bid to make langurs more familiar with the new
environment
* 7/21 UberPool
Uber has added a lift-sharing feature to its app in London,
allowing people to share their taxi with a stranger in return for a
reduced fair. Users will be given 25 per cent off their journey if
they say they will let up to two other passengers share their car.
Drivers will then receive a message telling them that they’ll be
picking up more than one fare, and can plan their route
accordingly. London is the second European country to get the
feature, after Paris. It was first launched in San Francisco and
now most people who use the app do so with the feature
* 8/21 Attempt to build world’s biggest Rubik’s cube ends in disaster
An attempt to build the world’s biggest Rubik’s cube ended in
disaster when the puzzle exploded as it was turned for the first
time. One of the masterminds behind Coren Puzzle, a YouTube channel
dedicated to custom puzzles, live-streamed the final assembly of
the 22x22 cube. The video was the culmination of seven months of
construction, which included a month of deliberation on how to
build the mechanism at the centre of the device
* 9/21 New battery chip could let phones charge in minutes
The maker of a new chip claims that it could reduce the charging
times of phones to a few minutes, and could prevent dangerous
explosions. The tiny chip could be embedded into batteries of all
sizes and monitor how healthy and charged they are. That in turn
would mean that the batteries would become much safer and quicker
to charge, according to the scientist that developed it. Unhealthy
lithium-ion batteries can be at risk of exploding or catching fire,
as well as gradually losing their capacity so that they run out
more quickly. Those problems may become even more important as
people move towards electric cars or other vehicles
* 10/21 Facebook on iPhone gets new fast-loading Instant Articles
If you've noticed articles on Facebook loading a little quicker
recently, that's because the new Instant Articles have been
launched to all iPhone users. Instant Articles load up to 10 times
quicker than a regular article, and have some enriched features -
such as unobtrusive autoplay videos, zoomable high-definition
images and interactive maps
* 11/21 Halo 5 patch
Gamers looking forward to playing Halo 5: Guardians on its release
on 27 October 2015 will have to wait to download a 9GB day one
patch before the game's multiplayer mode can run properly. Those
without the patch won't even be able to play multiplayer at all
until it's downloaded, in yet another case of a blockbuster game
needing a patch on the day of launch
* 12/21 New HTC Desire 626 handset launch
HTC has launched its latest Desire 626 handset with the Sense 7
software which automatically detects whether you’re at work, at
home or on-the-go and alters its theme to suit your location. This
advanced technology intelligently analyses your favourite photos to
modify the look and feel of your apps, allowing you to modify the
colour scheme and backgrounds – the ultimate in personalisation
* 13/21 Nasa confirms Mars water discovery
Nasa has announced that it has found evidence of flowing water on
Mars. Scientists have long speculated that Recurring Slope Lineae —
or dark patches — on Mars were made up of briny water but the new
findings prove that those patches are caused by liquid water, which
it has established by finding hydrated salts.
* 14/21 Customers wait in line at the Apple Store in Paris to get
their hands on the iPhone 6s
Several hundred camped outside the London store in Covent Garden.
The 6s will have new features like a vastly improved camera and a
pressure-sensitive “3D Touch” display
* 15/21 Bloodhound SSC: The most powerful ever made is shown off to
the public
The car is displayed at Downing Street, when the team visited David
Cameron to demonstrate the project
* 16/21 Lunar eclipse threatens Nasa technology
Artist's rendering of Nasa's LRO spacecraft, which will have to
withstand a rapid drop in temperature during an upcoming lunar
eclipse that could lead to it shutting down
* 17/21 Mobile phone bills could rocket up after Ofcom announced that
the fees it charges to phone operators will be trebled
The regulator will now charge far more to phone companies for using
the mobile spectrum — and though it says that fee will not be
passed on to customers, experts have said that prices are likely to
go up
* 18/21 New iPhone 6s rose gold
Apple has released a bright pink new iPhone 6s — likely the only
way that you’ll be able to tell that someone has the new handset.
The company released the new phone with much fanfare, but almost
all of the changes — a new camera and pressure-sensitive display —
were on the inside. The only new noticeable addition to the phone’s
look is the very pink rose gold colour, and a tiny “S” on the back.
The new handsets will be released on September 25
* 19/21 iPad Pro
Apple has launched a huge new iPad, which it hopes can bring the
tablet to offices and designers. But it unveiled it with an
Apple-designed stylus — an idea that was famously mocked by late
Apple founder Steve Jobs
* 20/21 Apple TV
Apple has introduced the new Apple TV
* 21/21 Apple Pencil
Apple has introduced the new Apple Pencil
It's easy to see how this tech could be used by hackers with nefarious
intentions, as they could break in to phones without the owners ever
realising.
Fortunately, those who discovered the jailbreak technique were happy to
just claim their million dollars.
The type of exploit that won the prize is known as a 'zero-day'
vulnerability - a bug that is totally unknown to the manufacturers.
Read more
* Wikipedia founder urges Apple to stop selling iPhone in UK over law
* There's an easy trick to get YouTube Red on your iPhone for cheaper
* iPhone 6s screen can weigh things, but Apple won’t let people do it
* iPhone alarms being disabled by iOS 9 and 9.1 updates
Knowledge of how to break into phones using these vulnerabilities can
be very valuable, and in exchange for their $1 million giveaway,
Zerodium will be able to sell the hack to national security agencies or
other companies for a much higher price.
The technical details of the hack, however, will not be shared with
Apple - so you can bet that their engineers are currently scrambling to
find a solution to the jailbreak as soon as possible.
While Apple's iOS is considered one of the most secure mobile operating
systems, "secure does not mean unbreakable," as Zerodium said.
iOS can be expensive and difficult to hack into - which is why the $1
million prize was offered.
* More about:
* Iphone
* iOS9
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1. Lifestyle
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3. News
European Court rules that it is not a breach of privacy to read messages —
but bosses could snoop on pretty much everything you do already
As long as you have been informed that your communications will be
monitored, which is probably in your contract, then it’s almost always
possible for your boss to do so
* Andrew Griffin
* @_andrew_griffin
* Wednesday 13 January 2016 14:03 BST
*
This picture taken on April 16, 2014 shows a man using a laptop at an
office of Sina Weibo, widely known as China's version of Twitter, in
Beijing WANG ZHAO/AFP/Getty Images
A European court ruling has made clear that bosses can spy on their
employees. But the ruling really just points out the wide range of the
current law — which allows bosses to spy on their employers in almost
every circumstance.
The ruling revolved around a Romanian engineer who was fired after his
boss looked in on Yahoo Messenger conversations and saw that he had
been using it to communicate with his fiancée and brother. It found
that the engineer couldn’t appeal under the European Convention on
Human Rights and that his right to privacy wasn’t infringed.
The ruling confirms once again that bosses have huge powers to snoop on
the conversations of their employees — whether or not they have
anything to do with work.
[whatsapp.jpg]
Read more
Your boss can now officially monitor your WhatsApp
So long as the monitoring is related to the business, the equipment
being used is provided for work and the employer has told workers that
their communications could be monitored, employers are able legally to
look in on conversations.
The Citizens’ Advice Bureau makes clear that the limits aren’t really
very limiting at all. The allowed circumstances cover “almost every
situation where your employer might want to monitor your electronic
communications, except where the monitoring is for purely private or
spiteful reasons almost every situation where your employer might want
to monitor your electronic communications, except where the monitoring
is for purely private or spiteful reasons”, it writes.
The monitoring must happen for one of a long list of reasons for it to
be lawful. But that includes broad things like checking that work is
being done properly and that people aren’t using computers or the
internet for their own purposes.
Gadgets and tech news in pictures
*
*
*
*
* 21 show all
Gadgets and tech news in pictures
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* 1/21 FA announces it will host the Emirates FA Cup video game
tournament
The FA has announced that for the first time ever it will host the
inaugural Emirates FA Cup gaming tournament, with video game fans
from across the world invited to compete for glory at Wembley
Stadium connected by EE. Early rounds will take place in iconic
locations in the stadium such as The Royal Box, the changing rooms
and the players’ tunnel, with the two finalists set to play the
virtual final using Wembley Stadium’s 82 foot screens as they sit
in the centre circle. Gamers of varying ability will descend upon
Wembley Stadium as the home of football transforms into an epic
gaming colosseum set to turn heads and sweat palms in equal measure
* 2/21 Oculus Rift release date
Oculus has said that it is about to open pre-orders for its Rift
virtual reality headset. Some have claimed that the hardware will
be the device that will bring virtual reality into the mainstream.
And it will start being available from 6 January 2016, the company
has said. The company hasn’t said when the headsets will actually
start arriving, or how much they will cost. It isn’t clear whether
the company intends to announce more details before pre-orders
begin
* 3/21 iPhone stock apps can be removed by just putting them into
special folder
A new trick shows a quick way of getting rid of the stock apps that
might be cluttering up your iPhone screen — at least for a while.
The iPhone comes with a range of apps that are stuck on the phone,
and can't be deleted like others. While some are key to the phone —
like the Phone app itself — others like Stocks are less
well-regarded. But the new trick shows how you can hide those
unused stock apps with just a quick trick using some folders
* 4/21 CES 2016: Four big things set to be revealed
The CES 2016 gadget show is about to kick off, and nearly the
entire technology industry has descended on Las Vegas to try and
show off the future. Every year, companies and technologists
attempt to show that they have seen what’s coming and that they
will be there to offer it. Every year, a lot of people get it
wrong. This year’s expectations are as big as ever. Every year, CES
unofficially gets a big theme that everything’s supposed to be
about — this year that’s virtual reality. There is also future for
cars, smart home and wearables
* 5/21 Terrorists could use drones to attack planes and spread
propaganda
A government counter-terrorism adviser has warned that terrorists
could use commercially available drones to attack passenger planes.
Detective Chief Inspector Colin Smith, a security expert and
adviser to the Home Office Centre for Applied Science and
Technology, warned that small quadcopter drones could easily be
used by terrorists for attacks and propaganda purposes
* 6/21 Goggle-Eyed Lemurs watch TV as part of their reintroduction to
the wild
Port Lympne Reserve in Kent, UK, has installed Sony Bravia 4K TVs
into its lemur and langur enclosures to show life-like footage to
its primates as part of its ‘Back to the Wild’ programme. The
charity will trial TV watching on Sony’s 4K TVs as part of this
programme in a bid to make langurs more familiar with the new
environment
* 7/21 UberPool
Uber has added a lift-sharing feature to its app in London,
allowing people to share their taxi with a stranger in return for a
reduced fair. Users will be given 25 per cent off their journey if
they say they will let up to two other passengers share their car.
Drivers will then receive a message telling them that they’ll be
picking up more than one fare, and can plan their route
accordingly. London is the second European country to get the
feature, after Paris. It was first launched in San Francisco and
now most people who use the app do so with the feature
* 8/21 Attempt to build world’s biggest Rubik’s cube ends in disaster
An attempt to build the world’s biggest Rubik’s cube ended in
disaster when the puzzle exploded as it was turned for the first
time. One of the masterminds behind Coren Puzzle, a YouTube channel
dedicated to custom puzzles, live-streamed the final assembly of
the 22x22 cube. The video was the culmination of seven months of
construction, which included a month of deliberation on how to
build the mechanism at the centre of the device
* 9/21 New battery chip could let phones charge in minutes
The maker of a new chip claims that it could reduce the charging
times of phones to a few minutes, and could prevent dangerous
explosions. The tiny chip could be embedded into batteries of all
sizes and monitor how healthy and charged they are. That in turn
would mean that the batteries would become much safer and quicker
to charge, according to the scientist that developed it. Unhealthy
lithium-ion batteries can be at risk of exploding or catching fire,
as well as gradually losing their capacity so that they run out
more quickly. Those problems may become even more important as
people move towards electric cars or other vehicles
* 10/21 Facebook on iPhone gets new fast-loading Instant Articles
If you've noticed articles on Facebook loading a little quicker
recently, that's because the new Instant Articles have been
launched to all iPhone users. Instant Articles load up to 10 times
quicker than a regular article, and have some enriched features -
such as unobtrusive autoplay videos, zoomable high-definition
images and interactive maps
* 11/21 Halo 5 patch
Gamers looking forward to playing Halo 5: Guardians on its release
on 27 October 2015 will have to wait to download a 9GB day one
patch before the game's multiplayer mode can run properly. Those
without the patch won't even be able to play multiplayer at all
until it's downloaded, in yet another case of a blockbuster game
needing a patch on the day of launch
* 12/21 New HTC Desire 626 handset launch
HTC has launched its latest Desire 626 handset with the Sense 7
software which automatically detects whether you’re at work, at
home or on-the-go and alters its theme to suit your location. This
advanced technology intelligently analyses your favourite photos to
modify the look and feel of your apps, allowing you to modify the
colour scheme and backgrounds – the ultimate in personalisation
* 13/21 Nasa confirms Mars water discovery
Nasa has announced that it has found evidence of flowing water on
Mars. Scientists have long speculated that Recurring Slope Lineae —
or dark patches — on Mars were made up of briny water but the new
findings prove that those patches are caused by liquid water, which
it has established by finding hydrated salts.
* 14/21 Customers wait in line at the Apple Store in Paris to get
their hands on the iPhone 6s
Several hundred camped outside the London store in Covent Garden.
The 6s will have new features like a vastly improved camera and a
pressure-sensitive “3D Touch” display
* 15/21 Bloodhound SSC: The most powerful ever made is shown off to
the public
The car is displayed at Downing Street, when the team visited David
Cameron to demonstrate the project
* 16/21 Lunar eclipse threatens Nasa technology
Artist's rendering of Nasa's LRO spacecraft, which will have to
withstand a rapid drop in temperature during an upcoming lunar
eclipse that could lead to it shutting down
* 17/21 Mobile phone bills could rocket up after Ofcom announced that
the fees it charges to phone operators will be trebled
The regulator will now charge far more to phone companies for using
the mobile spectrum — and though it says that fee will not be
passed on to customers, experts have said that prices are likely to
go up
* 18/21 New iPhone 6s rose gold
Apple has released a bright pink new iPhone 6s — likely the only
way that you’ll be able to tell that someone has the new handset.
The company released the new phone with much fanfare, but almost
all of the changes — a new camera and pressure-sensitive display —
were on the inside. The only new noticeable addition to the phone’s
look is the very pink rose gold colour, and a tiny “S” on the back.
The new handsets will be released on September 25
* 19/21 iPad Pro
Apple has launched a huge new iPad, which it hopes can bring the
tablet to offices and designers. But it unveiled it with an
Apple-designed stylus — an idea that was famously mocked by late
Apple founder Steve Jobs
* 20/21 Apple TV
Apple has introduced the new Apple TV
* 21/21 Apple Pencil
Apple has introduced the new Apple Pencil
Bosses aren’t allowed to monitor people at work in secret, by using
things like hidden cameras, in all but a very limited number of cases.
Data protection law says that such monitoring should only ever happen
in the case of serious crime, like drug dealing in toilets.
The rules on monitoring are usually written in an employees’ contract.
That will usually make clear that communications could be intercepted
and that workers might be punished depending on what is found there.
* More about:
* Messaging
* Business
* Work
Comments
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Sponsored Features
* Follow us:
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*
* User Policies
* Privacy Policy
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* Complaint Form
* Contact Us
* Contributors
* All Topics
* Archive
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* Subscriptions
* Advertising Guide
* Syndication
* Evening Standard
* Novaya Gazeta
* Install our Apps
[p?c1=2&c2=10476312&cv=2.0&cj=1]
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1. News
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+ US
+ World
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+ Obituaries
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+ Mary Dejevsky
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+ Howard Jacobson
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We use cookies to enhance your visit to our site and to bring you
advertisements that might interest you. Read our Privacy and Cookies
policies to find out more.
1. News
2. Business
European Court rules bosses can monitor employees' private messages on
WhatsApp and other messaging services
* Siobhan Fenton
* @siobhanfenton
* Wednesday 13 January 2016 09:27 BST
*
Zuckerberg told Brazilians to use Facebook Messenger while WhatsApp is
blocked Zuckerberg told Brazilians to use Facebook Messenger while
WhatsApp is blocked GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP/Getty Images
Companies have the right to monitor their workers’ online private
messages, a court has ruled.
The European Court of Human Rights made the ruling on a case involving
a Romanian engineer who was fired after using Yahoo Messenger not only
to communicate with professional contacts, but also to send messages to
his fiancée and brother.
Bogdan Mihai Barbulescu was asked to create the Yahoo account in order
to answer clients’ queries. In 2007, he was approached by his employers
and told that they had been monitoring his chats over several days,
citing the company policy that the service should have been used for
work purposes only.
He was presented with a 45 page transcript of his messages, including
those sent to his fiancée.
[v5-hackers.jpg]
Read more
How to tell if your boss is spying on you
The Strasbourg court sided with his employer that it was “not
unreasonable that an employer would want to verify that employees were
completing their professional tasks during working hours.”
The judge dismissed the Barbulescu’s claim that his right to privacy
had been breached in the form of his confidential correspondence being
compromised.
Business news in pictures
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* 1/35 SocGen rogue trader seeks retrial
Jérôme Kerviel, the former Société Générale trader convicted of
running up €4.9bn (£3.7bn) losses from unauthorised trades in 2008
and sentenced to five years in prison, appeared in a Paris court on
Monday January 18, seeking retrial. Kerviel argues that the French
bank was always aware of his trading, something SocGen denies
ERIC FEFERBERG/AFP/Getty Images
* 2/35 British Airways Concorde 40th anniversary
David Leckie and his haggis with the G-BOAA Concorde at the
National Museum of Flight in East Lothian, Scotland, to mark
Concorde's 40th anniversary. The world's first commercial
supersonic passenger service was launched on Wednesday 21st January
1976
Andrew Milligian/PA Wire/ PA Press Association Images
* 3/35 Tata Steel to cut 1,050 jobs amid union calls for Government
action
A Unite union banner on the fence outside the Tata steel plant on
Harbour Way, Port Talbot, as Tata is expected to announce around
1,000 job cuts at plants including Port Talbot and Llanwern in
South Wales, dealing a huge blow to the industry and the Welsh
economy.
Ben Birchall / PA Wire/Press Association Images
* 4/35 A selfie with the Prime Minister
Thailand Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha takes pictures with stock
exchange workers after attending a seminar on capital market
development in Bangkok, Thailand, January 15, 2016.
REUTERS/Jorge Silva
* 5/35 Lego lets go of its bulk sales
Ai Wei Wei on Wednesday January 13 hailed Lego's U-turn on bulk
sales, after the toymaker said it would stop asking what the bricks
were for. When the Chinese artist tried last year to buy Lego for a
work on political dissidents Lego said it did not supply public
displays with a "political agenda". Ai ended up using brick donated
by the public.
PA
* 6/35 Dalian Wanda scales up
China's richest man has splashed out $3.5bn (£2.4bn) on the US film
studio behind blockbusters such as Jurassic World. The move by Wang
Jianlin's Dalian Wanda for Legendary Entertainment is the group's
biggest bid yet to expand overseas. It plans to eventually float
its film business
ILM/Universal Pictures/Amblin Entert
* 7/35 Brighton - rental increases
The average cost of a first-time buyer deposit in Brighton has
jumped 14-fold in the past twenty years to £71,000
Getty Images
* 8/35 Japan prays for good business
People line up at the Kanda Myojin Shrine to pray at the start of
the new business year in Tokyo, Japan, January 4, 2016. Several
thousand company representatives traditionally visit the shrine on
the first day of business in the new year to ask for luck and
commercial fortune.
REUTERS/Thomas Peter
* 9/35 Ferrari shares open at 43 euros in Milan bourse debut
Ferrari's model cars are seen in front of the Milan's stock
exchange, downtown Milan, Italy January 4, 2016. Ferrari shares
opened at 43 euros in their Milan bourse debut on Monday as the
luxury sports car maker completed its spin-off from parent Fiat
Chrysler Automobiles, establishing the Agnelli family as its
biggest investor.
REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini
* 10/35 China stocks down 7% forcing trading to be suspended
An investor takes a nap in front of an electronic board showing
stock information at a brokerage house in Beijing, China, January
4, 2016. China's benchmark CSI300 share index tumbled 7 percent on
the first session of 2016 on Monday, prompting the stock exchange
to halt trading for the rest of the day. The "circuit breaker"
suspension mechanism first came into effect on Monday.
REUTERS/Li Sanxian
* 11/35 Fairbairn warning to Government
Ministers have been told by the new head of the CBI, Carolyn
Fairbairn that they must not allow politics “to trump prosperity”
in 2016. She singled out the delay in the Heathrow expansion
decision and the expected European Union referendum
NIKLAS HALLE'N/AFP/Getty Images
* 12/35 Apple to pay £234m to Italian authorities to settle tax
dispute
Apple has agreed to pay €318 million to settle a tax dispute with
the Italian authorities. The payout comes after Italian prosecutors
launched an investigation into allegations that Apple failed to pay
around €879 million in corporation tax.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
* 13/35 Argos recalls Nevaboard hoverboards over electrocution fears
Argos have recalled a model of hoverboard over fears that it could
electrocute users. Argos said that Nevaboard hoverboards, supplied
by Debut Sports, do not comply with technical standards and could
pose a risk of electrocution. The UK's National Trading Standards
organisation has said that 88 per cent of the 17,000 hoverboards
that have been examined at UK entrypoints, including airports, are
deemed to be unsafe because of the risk of them overheating,
exploding or catching fire.
TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images
* 14/35 Janet Yellen
Federal Reserve Bank Chair Janet Yellen holds a news conference
where she announced that the Fed will raise its benchmark interest
rate for the first time since 2008 at the bank's Wilson Conference
Center December 16, 2015 in Washington, DC.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
* 15/35 Milan Fashion Week
Profits at the Italian luxury goods group Prada fell 38 per cent in
the quarter to 31 October, hit by slumping sales in China. Europe
and Japan were the only two areas that saw modest growth for the
fashion house, whose 2016 lines were modeled at the Milan Fashion
Week. But a strong dollar held back travelers headed to the United
States.
TIZIANA FABI/AFP/Getty Images
* 16/35 We have lift-off!
A man in a space suit watches a television with school children at
the Science Museum ahead of the launch of space mission Principia
in London. European Space Agency Astronaut Tim Peake is the first
publicly funded Briton in Space. The value of the space sector in
the UK has grown from £6.5 billion in 2007 to £11.8 billion in
2014. It currently employs nearly 35,000 skilled workers, with
current government ambitions for the sector to grow to £40 billion
by 2030 and a further 100,000 jobs.
Ben Pruchnie/Getty Images
* 17/35 Jean Claude Juncker
Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker jokes with a Member of the
European Parliament ahead of a debate on the future of the Economic
and Monetary Union at the European Parliament in Strasbourg,
France, December 15, 2015
REUTERS/Vincent Kessler
* 18/35 Fancy chancing your arm?
A robot arm, developed by Nachi Robotic Systems was on show at the
International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo on Wednesday December 3.
The Bank of England recently published research that 15 million UK
jobs could be at risk of automation in the coming decades.
REUTERS/Thomas Peter
* 19/35 Elizabeth Holmes
Elizabeth Holmes is the only woman that has made it on the Forbes
magazine “America’s richest entrepreneurs under 40” list. Elizabeth
Holmes who founded the blood-testing company Theranos came sixth
with $4.5 billion (£2.9 billion). Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg topped
the ranking with $47.1 billion.
Kimberly White/Getty Images for Breakthrough Prize
* 20/35 Peppa pig
Peppa set out to hog the market - The film and TV distribution
company Entertainment One said it was on course to double
merchandise sales for the pre-school favourite Peppa Pig to $2bn
(£1.3bn) by 2020. Sales of Peppa toys will begin in China next
year, following the launch of the TV show there. E1's underlying
annual profits climbed by 42 per cent to £52m, on sales up 2 per
cent at £337m.
Rob Stothard/Getty Images)
* 21/35 Paris attacks
The Eiffel Tower illuminated with the French national colors in
tribute to the victims of the November 13, 2015 Paris terror
attacks. Tourism and travel stocks fell on Monday in the wake of
Friday’s jihadist attacks in Paris – as a leading European
policymaker warned that the killings could compound the region’s
economic woes.
AFP PHOTO / BERTRAND GUAY
* 22/35 Blue diamond
A model holds a 12.03-carat blue diamond during a press preview by
auction house Sotheby's in Geneva on November 4, 2015. A
12.03-carat blue diamond could fetch a record $55 million (47
million Euros) when it goes under the hammer by Sotheby's on
November 11 in Geneva. Categorised as a fancy vivid blue diamond,
the Blue Moon, discovered in South Africa in January last year, is
the largest cushion-shaped stone in that category to ever appear at
auction
FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images
* 23/35 Burberry profit warning
Burberry shares were down 12 per cent after it missed forecasts for
sales in the first half of 2015 as Chinese customers cut back on
luxury goods.
* 24/35 Is Go Pro caught on camera?
Polaroid's owner C&A is suing Go Pro over its Hero4 Session camera,
claiming the ice-cube shaped device is a rip-off of the Polariod
Cube camera and infringes its patent. Shares in Go Pro, which
denied the announcement, fell to an all-time low.
Alamy
* 25/35 UK to conduct its own inquiry into vehicle testing as BMW hit
by fallout
In the aftermath of the Volkswagen emissions scandal BMW shares
have fallen by more than 5 per cent after claims one of its models
exceeded European emissions limits by more than 11 times.
DPA/Getty Images
* 26/35 Starbucks to help staff with rent deposits
The coffee chain will provide an interest-free loan to pay a rental
deposit that should be repaid within 12 months
* 27/35
Reed Hastings, founder and CEO of Netflix has said that companies
greatly underestimate the importance of reference checks when
hiring
YouTube/Screen shot/KPCB
* 28/35 Cold winter for Volkswagen
VW CEO Martin Winterkorn ousted over diesel emissions that could
cause thousands of premature deaths
* 29/35 Groupon cuts down its workforce
Groupon has cut 10% of its workforce and closed its operations in 7
countries. When it went public in 2011 it was valued at $12.8bn
2011 Getty Images
* 30/35 Eastern Promise
Britain's Chancellor George Osborne has urged closer business ties
with China when he visited Shanghai, the country's commercial hub,
on Tuesday. He declared that the UK and China will "stick
together", despite stock market turmoil and faltering economic
growth in the world's second-largest economy.
Getty
* 31/35 United going down
Manchester United's absence from the Champions League hurt more
than the fans' pride last year - it also dented the bottom line.
Revenues at the New Uork listed club dipped 8.8 per cent to £395.2m
in the year to June, triggering a £1.2 million loss after
broadcasting and sponsorship deals dried up. The club said it was
now looking to raise $400m from a share issue.
2015 Manchester United FC
* 32/35 Star Wars boosts economy
Production of the next Star Wars movie has brought an economic
impact of some £150 million to Britain, according to company
accounts. The seventh movie in the series, The Force Awakens, will
be released in December.
* 33/35 Natalie Massenet Leaves Net-a-Porter
The Net-a-Porter founder Natalie Massenet decided to quit the
online fashion retailer during "a summer of reflection" that
included a spectacular 50th birthday party on the Almalfi coast.
Copyright (c) 2015 Rex Features. No use without permission.
* 34/35 I'll keep working, says Mayer
The chief executive of Yahoo, Marissa Mayer, said that she was
expecting twin girls in December. She said she would "approach the
pregnancy and delivery the same way as I did with my son three
years ago, taking limited time away and working throughout". In
2012, she took two weeks off when her first child was born.
2014 Getty Images
* 35/35 World's richest lose $182b
Warren Buffett, the world’s third richest person, lost $3.6bn in
last week’s market slump
Getty
Rulings of the European Court of Human Rights are binding to countries
which have ratified the European Convention on Human Rights, including
the UK.
Home Secretary, Theresa May details surveillance plan
Lawyer Michael Burd, Head of Employment at London firm Lewis Silkin,
told Bloomberg: “This decision is significant for a number of European
countries. There’s been a very strict division between employers’
ability to look at private stuff and employers’ ability to look at
company stuff and this decision will break that down.
“What’s significant about this case is that they were allowed to use
the content, not simply the fact of using Yahoo.”
* More about:
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Google, Facebook and Twitter among internet giants criticising 'snooper's
charter'
Firms join forces to criticise plans to force them to help security
services hack into devices as 'very dangerous'
* Hayden Smith
* Thursday 7 January 2016 22:48 BST
*
Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Twitter and Yahoo criticised plans to
force firms to help security services hack into devices as “very
dangerous” and called for several changes to the draft legislation
Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Twitter and Yahoo criticised plans to
force firms to help security services hack into devices as “very
dangerous” and called for several changes to the draft legislation Rex
Internet giants have joined forces to attack parts of the Government’s
proposed new snooping Bill.
Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Twitter and Yahoo criticised plans to
force firms to help security services hack into devices as “very
dangerous” and called for several changes to the draft legislation.
The draft Investigatory Powers Bill unveiled last year includes a
requirement for internet firms to store records of data relating to
people’s web and social media use for up to a year, and domestic
communications providers will be required in law to help officers hack
into suspects’ smartphones and computers.
[web-laptop-snoopers-charter-pa.jpg]
Read more
Five things you need to know about the 'Snooper's Charter'
In a 2,000-word joint statement to the committee of MPs and peers, the
five US technology firms said the actions of the Government “could have
far-reaching implications”.
They stated that “as a general rule” users should be informed when the
Government seeks access to data. They also criticised “opaque” aspects
of the Bill and claimed that allowing warrants on overseas companies to
be served on British-based offices “presents a risk to UK employees”.
Security minister John Hayes said: “We are clear about the need for
legislation that will provide law enforcement and the security and
intelligence agencies with the powers they need in the digital age,
subject to strict safeguards and world-leading oversight.”
Press Association
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3. News
Anonymous 'declares war' on Turkey, claims responsibility for recent massive
cyberattacks
Anonymous threatened to attack the digital infrastructure of Turkey's
banks, airports and government
* Doug Bolton
* @DougieBolton
* Wednesday 23 December 2015 10:16 BST
*
A man wearing an Anonymous-style Guy Fawkes mask sites in Taksim Square
in Istanbul during 2013's anti-government protests A man wearing
an Anonymous-style Guy Fawkes mask sites in Taksim Square in Istanbul
during 2013's anti-government protests MARCO LONGARI/AFP/Getty Images
Leaderless 'hacktivist' group Anonymous has taken responsibility for a
recent major cyberattack on Turkey, and have claimed they will continue
waging war on the country's internet services due to their belief that
the Turkish government is helping Isis.
A Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack on Turkey's internet
between 14 and 21 December took around 400,000 websites offline,
according to Turkish media, after they were overloaded with huge
amounts of traffic.
The attack, which was reportedly the biggest in Turkey's history, was
only stopped when the Turkish cybersecurity agency stopped all foreign
internet traffic from accessing Turkish websites, essentially closing
the country's digital borders to the outside world.
[Anonymous.jpg]
Read more
Anonymous declares war on Donald Trump over Muslim comments
In a video apparently produced by Anonymous-linked hackers, a
computer-generated voice said: "As many of you have heard, Turkey is
supporting Daesh [Isis] by buying oil from them and hospitalising their
fighters."
"We won't accept that [President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan, the leader of
Turkey, will help Isis any longer. The news media has already stated
that Turkey's internet has been the victim of massive DDoS attacks."
"Dear Government of Turkey, if you don't stop supporting Isis, we will
continue attacking your internet, your root DNS [the foundation of
Turkey's internet], your banks and take your government sites down."
Russian plane shot down by Turkish jets
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* 5 show all
Russian plane shot down by Turkish jets
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* 1/5
Russian aircraft goes down in Kizildag region of Turkey's Hatay
province, close to the Syrian border
* 2/5
Russian aircraft goes down in Kizildag region of Turkey's Hatay
province, close to the Syrian border
* 3/5
Russian aircraft goes down in Kizildag region of Turkey's Hatay
province, close to the Syrian border
* 4/5
Russian aircraft goes down in Kizildag region of Turkey's Hatay
province, close to the Syrian border
* 5/5
Russian aircraft goes down in Kizildag region of Turkey's Hatay
province, close to the Syrian border
"After the root DNS we will start to hit your airports, military assets
and private state connections. We will destroy your critical banking
infrastructure."
"Stop this insanity now, Turkey. Your fate is in your hands."
Read more
* Anonymous declares war on Donald Trump over Muslim comments
* Anonymous activists take down website of Japanese PM
* Anonymous asks public for help in mocking Isis on 'trolling day'
Anonymous is completely leaderless and has no real 'official' web
presence - anyone with a computer can make a video or start a Twitter
account and begin declaring attacks in Anonymous's name, making it hard
to tell how real this threat is and how genuine their claims to the
Turkish cyberattacks really are.
At the time of the attacks, there was speculation that the hackers
responsible could have been acting on behalf of the Russian government,
after Turkish missiles downed a Russian fighter jet over the Syrian
border in November.
However, Anonymous has performed a number of high-profile operations in
recent months, taking down Isis-linked websites and Twitter
accounts and releasing the names and personal information of around
1,000 alleged Ku Klux Klan members.
Past Anonymous DDoS attacks have also disabled websites belonging to a
number of governments and major companies around the world.
The latest declaration of war from Anonymous appears to be part of the
ongoing #OpIsis, an operation which has been attacking the terrorist
group's presence on the internet since the start of the year.
Turkey has long been accused of supporting Isis, with Russian President
Vladimir Putin labelling the government "accomplices of terrorists"
after the jet was shot down.
* More about:
* Islamic State
* Russia
* Anonymous
* Hacking
* cyberattack
* Turkey
* President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
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1. Voices
How my run-in with Chinese censorship shows the country as more than a global
Big Brother
World View: The life of Aung San Suu Kyi, who successfully confronted
dictatorship, is too sensitive for publication in China
* Peter Popham
* @peterpopham
* Sunday 3 January 2016 18:08 BST
*
The life of Aung San Suu Kyi, who successfully confronted dictatorship,
is too sensitive for publication in China The life of Aung San Suu Kyi,
who successfully confronted dictatorship, is too sensitive for
publication in China EPA
Whatever else the New Year may bring, one thing is certain: more than
ever before, the planet will find itself at the mercy of China. If its
economy continues to flourish, we in Europe may enjoy stability, and
perhaps modest growth. If its economy crashes, all bets are off.
The People’s Republic’s burgeoning power is not all bad. Its potential
for good was demonstrated at the recent climate conference in Paris,
where its about-turn made the difference between success and failure.
Faced with ecological Armageddon, China has grasped the dangers of
galloping economic growth. And because it is an authoritarian state, we
can be fairly confident that it will now go on to do something about it
– on a scale that can make a difference.
But China’s actions and policies are often not as clear and decisive as
its government would like the world to believe. Because it is a
one-party state with a neutered mainstream media, emerging from the
historic culture of East Asia where discretion, tact and “face” have
always been valued highly, China succeeds in giving the impression of a
vast nation acting like a single awesome machine. But in my own
experience the reality is rather different.
[china-games-afp.jpg]
Read more
Great firewall of China gets higher as censors tighten grip
Four years ago my biography of Aung San Suu Kyi, The Lady and the
Peacock, was published in the UK and the US. The Chinese language
rights were snapped up by Linking Publishing Co in Taiwan and the
edition of the book in the complex characters used in the island became
a bestseller. The struggle of an indomitable Asian woman to rescue her
country from tyranny was hugely appealing to a Chinese readership.
The book’s success did not go unnoticed in Beijing, and after a while a
mainland publisher approached my agent about producing a version in the
simplified characters used in the People’s Republic. I was told there
would have to be some cuts, and when I found myself in Beijing speaking
at a literary festival I visited the publisher’s offices to discuss
them. Any form of censorship is undesirable, but I take the view that
some cuts may be worth accepting if they are the price for getting
one’s ideas across to a large new readership. When the story concerns a
champion of democracy confronting a one-party state, the opportunity is
especially appealing.
At the publisher’s office I asked what cuts they had in mind. Various
delicate passages were mentioned: anything showing the PRC in a bad
light was going to be taboo. But one curious point of sensitivity
sticks in my memory. The nice young woman in charge of the translation
pointed out that the word “communist” appeared several times in the
book. I had recorded that an uncle of Suu Kyi was the leader of the
Burmese Communist Party. She wasn’t sure that this would get past the
censors.
Ai Weiwei at the Royal Academy
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Ai Weiwei at the Royal Academy
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* 1/7 Ai Weiwei at the Royal Academy
Ai Weiwei, Surveillance Camera, 2010
Ai Weiwei
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Ai Weiwei, Coloured Vases, 2006
Ai Weiwei
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Ai Weiwei, Table and Pillar, 2002
Ai Weiwei
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Ai Weiwei, Free Speech Puzzle, 2014
Ai Weiwei
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Ai Weiwei, Video Recorder, 2010
Ai Weiwei
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Ai Weiwei, Remains, 2015
Ai Weiwei
* 7/7 Ai Weiwei at the Royal Academy
Ai Weiwei, I.O.U. Wallpaper, 2011-13
Ai Weiwei
How could the use of the word “communist” be an issue in the world’s
biggest communist state? I was baffled.
But some months later, before any decision could be taken about cuts,
my agent forwarded me an apologetic mail from the publisher: the policy
on publishing politically sensitive works had been tightened (Xi
Jinping had recently come to power), and no licence to publish my book
would now be forthcoming. The publisher was very sorry, and paid a
decent kill fee in compensation.
Bizarrely, exactly the same thing has just happened all over again: my
Chinese literary Groundhog Day. Another Beijing publisher approached my
agent about the rights. We started discussing an advance, royalties,
print run and so on, and I felt it prudent this time to insert a kill
fee into the contract. But before it could be signed, word came that
publication had again been blocked. “So frustrated to let you know that
the publisher still cannot be allowed to publish this title in China,”
the Chinese agent wrote. “We both pour much of the time and energy into
this project so are also feel [sic] very depressed to hear this news.”
Read more
* Suu Kyi edges closer to power after meeting with Burma’s army chief
* Chinese court convicts prominent human rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang
* The 10 biggest business stories of 2015
* China ditches one-child policy – and launches two-child policy
I like to think that this saga has a positive message. Behind its
monolithic exterior, its awful government-approved newspapers, its
poker-faced leaders and rubber-stamp parliament, the People’s Republic
teems with people and organisations doing their best to make their
country a more human, less repressive, more open-minded place. They
don’t have an easy time of it and – as happened with my two publishers
– the big foot of authority is ever ready to stamp on their endeavours.
But they keep on trying! I start the year in hope of a third offer of
publication from another plucky Beijing publisher. This time, with Suu
Kyi installed in power, it might even come to pass.
These Chinese publishers are not alone in challenging state dogma. The
only foreign embassy in London with a permanent demonstration on its
doorstep is China’s, with round-the-clock protesters from the
blacklisted religious group Falun Gong parked across from their front
door. The career of the artist Ai Weiwei, successively imprisoned and
commissioned, intimidated and applauded, exposes a state with a scary
propensity to bully its citizens, but a citizenry increasingly
disinclined to take it.
We need to see China less as a global Big Brother than as one
billion-plus souls desperate to connect with the rest of the world. And
slowly succeeding in doing so.
* More about:
* China
* Aung San Suu Kyi
* Censorship
* Ai Weiwei
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1. Voices
Surveillance Bill: Theresa May should be aware how un-British spying on
ourselves is
The Home Secretary's attempts to strengthen surveillance powers at
home runs counter to her party’s traditions
* Bernard Porter
* Saturday 2 January 2016 21:33 BST
*
Theresa May Theresa May Getty
In seeking to extend the state’s powers of surveillance over its
citizens, Theresa May’s Draft Investigatory Powers Bill is flouting a
long tradition in British history. I’m not sure that the Government is
aware of this. Conservatives are supposed to respect tradition as the
soil in which “British values” are sown. Hence their enthusiasm for
history teaching in school. But they may not realise how important the
principle of not spying on their citizens was in the past.
Books and television programmes on Britain’s “secret service” trace it
back to Francis Walsingham in the 16th century, which is fair enough;
but not if it is also assumed that it must have gone on between then
and now. In fact, for a long period in the 19th century, Britain
abjured this kind of thing. She left herself effectively spyless,
however unlikely that must seem today. So, the secret service wasn’t a
“tradition”. Traditions must be joined up.
[5-GCHQ-get.jpg]
Read more
Concessions to surveillance bill unlikely to head off peer revolt
The reasons why spying was rejected may be instructive. It was
considered ungentlemanly. It could lead to abuse. “Men whose business
it is to detect hidden and secret things,” wrote Anthony Trollope in
1869, “are very apt to detect things that have never been done.” The
Victorians had learned that from their earlier history, in more
revolutionary days, when spies had often morphed into agents
provocateurs or worse.
Another important reason was the damage it could do to the trust
between rulers and the ruled, on which stable government depended.
“Should the practice of spydom become universal,” pronounced The Times
in 1859, “farewell to all domestic confidence and happiness.” The
novelist Mayne Reid thought that, once introduced, even on a small
scale, its effect would be “wedge-like… cleaving the columns of our
glory and sapping the foundations of our dear liberty”.
Read more
* Surveillance plans 'could put citizens, economy and internet at
risk'
* UK spying laws should be scrapped, Anderson report says
* Government rewrites surveillance law to get away with hacking
In the early 20th century, when the modern secret service was born,
some came to suspect that unscrupulous politicians or agents might
harness it against democratically elected governments that they didn’t
like. (Doubts still remain over the Zinoviev letter of 1924, and the
so-called Wilson plot of the late 1960s.)
Next, spying was fundamentally illiberal. Hence Erskine May, the great
British constitutional theorist, in 1863: “Men may be without
restraints upon their liberty: they may pass to and fro at pleasure,
but if their steps are tracked by spies and informers, their words
noted down for crimination, their associates watched as conspirators –
who shall say that they are free?”
Finally, and perhaps most importantly: spying was what the French did.
In the 19th century, France was the country Britain measured and
identified herself against. A ghastly series of murders in east London
in 1811 prompted some contemporaries to call for a more effective
detective force to prevent such things. This was Earl Dudley’s
response: “They have an admirable police at Paris. But they pay for it
dear enough. I had rather half-a-dozen people’s throats be cut in
Ratcliffe Highway every three or four years than be subject to
domiciliary visits, spies, and all the rest of Fouché’s contrivances.”
(Joseph Fouché was Napoleon’s much-reviled minister of police.)
So, whatever the advantages of a “detective” police might be, France
illustrated the downside. Spylessness was a crucial identifier of the
British against the French. (Also, incidentally, automatic asylum for
foreign refugees, even terrorists.)
This could be taken to surprising lengths. In 1851, a Metropolitan
Police sergeant was demoted for hiding behind a tree to observe “an
indecent offence”. The reason why early policemen were given their
silly tall hats was so that no one would suspect them of being “under
cover”. When an infant plain-clothes branch was formed in the 1860s, it
had to be disbanded almost immediately when three of its four senior
officers were found to have been implicated in a betting fraud. That
seemed to bear out the anti-spy prejudice.
The same arguments were repeated later, when London was subjected to
“terrorist” threats in the 1880s (Irish Fenians) and the 1900s (foreign
anarchists). In response to these, the government set up a “political”
(“Special”) branch that used spies and informers; and later – around
1910 – MI5 was founded to deal (mainly) with the German spy threat. But
both were largely manned by Irishmen and ex-colonial officials, whose
policing traditions were less liberal. And both were kept strictly
hidden from the public. It may be this that fuelled the suspicions
which have hovered over Britain’s secret policing and intelligence
agencies from that time onwards. Secrecy is almost bound to provoke
mistrust and even paranoia. Some of that may be undeserved. On the
other hand, it also provides a cover behind which these agencies can
abuse their positions if they want without being brought to book.
In the 20th century, this was exacerbated by the fact that members of
MI5, in particular, were often ex-colonial hands, or people trusted by
them – politically right-wing, in other words; which affected – to put
it mildly – the objectivity of the intelligence that they provided. It
is some of these people who will have been responsible for plots
against Labour governments in the past. No wonder the left distrusts
them.
The answer is probably not to do away with them. Circumstances are
obviously very different now from what they were then – including the
Islamist terrorist threat, in particular – and public opinion clearly
not as shocked by our transformation into something of a surveillance
state as almost any transplanted Victorian would have been. But the
Government should be aware of how un-British its Draft Investigatory
Powers Bill is in historical terms. And should learn from the abuses of
the past. The way to do that is to make the secret services more
transparent and fully accountable to democracy. Secret services are
always problematic; secret secret services, however, are even more so.
Bernard Porter is the author of 'Plots and Paranoia: A History of
Political Espionage in Britain 1790-1988' and 'British Imperial: What
the Empire Wasn’t'
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* Surveillance
* Theresa May
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1. News
2. Business
3. Business News
Cyber attackers have stolen bank details of one fifth of UK customers
Some 21 per cent of people living in the UK had their bank accounts
used to buy goods and services as results of cyber-security breach
* Zlata Rodionova
* Monday 23 November 2015 10:48 BST
*
Banks fear imminent Russian cyber-attack Banks fear imminent Russian
cyber-attack Reuters
Data protection will soon become UK consumers number one priority as
new study reveals that one in five Brits have had personal details
stolen used as a result of a cyber-security breach.
Some 21 per cent of people living in the UK had their bank accounts
used to buy goods and services as results of cyber-security breach,
according to new research by business advisory firm Deloitte.
The survey of nearly 1,500 UK customers found that over 70 per cent
would reconsider using a company if it failed to keep their data safe.
IFRAME: //datawrapper.dwcdn.net/uGAcL/3/
However, more than half don’t know the exact details of the information
that has been collected and just 23 per cent believe that companies are
being transparent about it.
IFRAME: //datawrapper.dwcdn.net/ylVaC/2/
“The volume and value of data available online means that consumers are
now more exposed than ever before,” said Simon Browick director in the
cyber risk services team at Deloitte
“Many organisations are struggling to prepare themselves to deal with
the wide range of different cyber-attacks. Cyber security has moved
beyond simply being an IT issue; it is now a business-wide risk which
requires immediate attention at the highest level,” he added.
IFRAME: //datawrapper.dwcdn.net/p9zJl/2/
Since 2013, there has been a significant increase in the number of
consumers taking action following a security breach. More than 75 per
of respondents would conduct a security review after a cyber-attack, up
from 52 per cent in 2013 or reduce their online activity altogether.
IFRAME: //datawrapper.dwcdn.net/opckr/1/
Ben Perkins, head of consumer business research at Deloitte, said:
“Consumers have been very clear in their message to businesses and
third party organisations: data security is paramount.
“At the same time, consumers now have greater awareness of cyber-crime
and internet fraud and are, perhaps understandably, more distrustful of
companies looking after their data.
* More about:
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* Cyber Security
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previousNew Orleans Is Still Not Prepared for the Next Storm What Do
Americans Really Think About Education Policy?next story
How to Make Privacy Policies Better, in Two Easy Steps
Okay, they’re not so easy. But they would save us from the eternal
amend-then-freak-out cycle.
[lead_960.jpg?1440513320]
Daniel Ek, Spotify's CEO, speaks during a May press event in New York.
Shannon Stapleton / Reuters
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* Robinson Meyer
* Aug 25, 2015
* Technology
The end of last week saw one of those tech stories that runs the
cycle—from Twitter outrage to corporate chagrin—in less than 48 hours.
Here’s what happened:
On Thursday, a major tech company (in this case, Spotify) debuted a new
privacy policy. The policy permitted the software to access more
information than seemed reasonable (in this case, a user’s photos,
contacts, and GPS location), and people were upset. They had no easy
way to opt out of the new contract: They either had to agree to it or
leave the service.
Late that night, a nerd hero (in this case, Markus Persson, the
developer of Minecraft) told the service on Twitter that he had
cancelled his subscription and that the company should be ashamed of
itself. (His words: “Please consider not being evil.”) More corporate
shaming from less high-profile nerds ensued Friday morning, as pundits
more sympathetic to the needs of venture capital in turn condescended
users. By noon in California, it was all over: The company had
clarified its policy and apologized for not communicating better. Fin.
Another privacy-policy scandal managed, another variant on corporate
Big Brother avoided. (Though a Spotify-driven surveillance regime would
look less like 1984’s Oceania and more like The Apple’s disco-dystopian
West Berlin.) So privacy policies could nicely disappear from the tech
news slate—at least, until the next scandal.
And there will be a next scandal. The agita over Spotify’s privacy
policy resembled disputes just this year over other companies’s privacy
policies—like Samsung’s and Uber’s—as well as the the cyclical fretting
over Facebook’s reach. These scandals have attained a degree of
predictability: They are almost as formulaic as the legalese of the
policies themselves. But beyond the cycle of discovery, outrage, and
apologetic adjustment, there are deeper problems. The way lawyers,
executives, and developers address user privacy just doesn’t work that
well. Neither consumers nor corporations benefit from our current
amend-then-freak-out regime.
That’s partly because, if we’re being honest, privacy policies are
kinda boring. They’re how new and shiny consumer software gets
scaffolded in mundanity. Just like how, when your new Cuisinart or
Frigidaire arrives, no one looks at the manual that comes with it.
The sum is that no one wants to think about privacy policies except
during a crisis—and corporations want to avoid a crisis. So when they
do have to amend their policies, companies are reluctant to provide too
much information lest they initiate a negative PR cycle. But that
reluctance leads them to state their privacy policy expansively or in
forbidding legalese—and then they invite that same crisis, as users
interpret the policy in the worst way.
This traps both consumers and companies in a cycle of bad faith. As the
privacy consultant Jonathan Salem Baskin put it:
The fait accompli behind privacy practices is that businesses have
the right to intrude massively into customer’s lives and, since the
policies are legal agreements (often executed by nothing more than
their tolerance), people have made consciously willing trades: their
privacy for better playlists, or shoe ads.
This just isn’t true, since few people understand those
transactions. It also violates every conceivable psychological or
sociological model of how humans define and manage their privacy,
which depend on two parties learning to trust and reveal information
to one another over time.
“It doesn’t have to be like this,” Baskin wrote. “There’s nothing
inherently wrong with customers sharing their personal information or
behavior, nor with companies using it to improve their operations and,
gasp, profiting from it.”
The situation could also be improved with two different specific
adjustments, one legal and one technical. Legally, the tech-policy
writer Logan Koepke (who, full disclosure, is a friend of mine)
advocates that companies should announce a new privacy policy whenever
they change.
Right now, most consumer-tech companies only announce changes whenever
they make “material” changes to their policy. (The last time the
Federal Trade Commission issued guidance on privacy policies, in 2009,
it recommended that process.) But that means that it’s up to tech
companies to decide which changes are material and which are not—which
sets up a potentially adversarial relationship between company and
consumer.
If companies instead notified users of every change to their privacy
policy, they will be more skittish about making any change, Koepke
believes, and more likely to frame the changes they do make in more
public-facing language. The benefits of this would then accumulate over
time: Once a more user-respecting privacy regime is mandatory,
companies will compete on privacy.
Medium has since changed its privacy policy accordingly, and it now
notifies users whenever it makes a change to its policies. The FTC
should encourage similar companies to do the same.
* * *
If a regulatory change looks unlikely, though, there is a technical
intervention that Apple and Google could make. To explain how, it’s
worth getting into the nitty-gritty of the Spotify flap. One of the
clauses that most worried users was the following:
Depending on the type of device that you use to interact with the
Service and your settings, we may also collect information about
your location based on, for example, your phone’s GPS location or
other forms of locating mobile devices (e.g., Bluetooth).
The company says this access was needed for its new Running feature,
announced in July, that monitored someone’s jogging pace and served
them tunes appropriately. And when the company’s CEO, Daniel Ek,
explained the new policy on Friday, he said that that type of data
collection would always require a user’s permission:
We will never gather or use the location of your mobile device
without your explicit permission. We would use it to help
personalize recommendations or to keep you up to date about music
trending in your area.
(Wired’s coverage, by the way, is revealing about how dissonant the
tech industry’s thinking about privacy is right now: A feature
described innocuously in Spotify’s “lovely” and “powerful” “hunt for
the perfect playlist” on July 20 becomes, exactly a month later,
something “eerie” that the user “can’t do squat about.”)
On Twitter, Nick Seaver, an incoming anthropology professor at Tufts
University, pointed that the social costs of Spotify’s privacy policy
emerged from social and technical limitations.
“The creepiness isn’t in using GPS for the running feature or whatever,
it’s in asking for GPS access independent of a specific use,” he wrote.
“In normal social interaction, you can tell someone where you are for a
while without giving them ‘forever access’ to your location.”
To Seaver, this makes the case for “seamfulness” in design: Software
should be asking for permission to use personal data more, not less.
Currently, many designers aim for a “seamless” experience and take a
set-it-and-forget-it approach to app privacy. The Facebook app on the
iPhone, for instance, has to ask for permission the first time it tries
to access the phone’s photos, camera, or GPS location—but once a user
has given access, it never has to ask again. (“Seamlessness” as a goal
resembles Facebook’s infamous “frictionless sharing.”)
This seamlessness is a software problem. On iOS, users can be specific
about what kind of data an app can access: It can see their photos, for
instance, but not their location. But once they’ve given it that access
the first time, the app never asks again. A user has to go manually
turn off permissions in the phone’s settings to restrict access.
Android users, meanwhile, can’t even give apps permission with that
level of granularity yet. It will be a feature in the next major
update.
Imagine if, right before a run, Spotify asked for 60 minutes of access
to your GPS location. If you still seemed on the move 55 minutes later,
it would ask for another hour of access. That seems to me like a better
trade: Not all the access, all the time, wherever; but access right
now, for a little while, here. Apple or Google could encourage this
practice simply by making that feature possible at the operating-system
level. It would be more seamful, and it would be more trustworthy.
Such a technical advance would still require companies to communicate
their privacy policies better to users—would require them to turn
privacy policies from standalone, hedging, anxious land grabs into
“living, breathing documents that represent a company’s culture,” as
Koepke put it. But doing so would save both companies and users
significant distress, taking us out of the cycle of wonder and shock.
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* [javascript] Reuters
Standing Athwart History Yelling, 'Stop Donald Trump!'
+ Conor Friedersdorf
The National Review publishes the movement-conservative case
against the Republican frontrunner.
Last summer, George F. Will, the elder statesman of conservative
pundits, declared Donald Trump “an affront to anyone devoted to the
project William F. Buckley began six decades ago with the founding
in 1955 of National Review––making conservatism intellectually
respectable and politically palatable.” He urged conservatives to
treat Trump as Buckley once treated the John Birch Society.
On Thursday, the National Review published its bull of
excommunication. Its new issue leaves no doubt about where the
magazine stands on the race for the GOP nomination.
Say the editors, “Trump is a philosophically unmoored political
opportunist who would trash the broad conservative ideological
consensus within the GOP in favor of a free-floating populism with
strong-man overtones.”
Continue Reading
* [javascript] Barry Blitt
Twilight of the Headbangers
+ James Parker
How long can the legends of heavy metal keep on rocking?
Where’d lemmy go? The stage is empty: vacated mics, cooling drum
stool, the blocky, buzzing statuary of amps and speakers.
Motörhead, the legendary Motörhead, is not there anymore. I’m in a
heavy-metal hangar in Salt Lake City in late August, and
singer/bassist Ian Fraser “Lemmy” Kilmister has just walked off,
shakily and in evident distress, after only four songs, anxiously
pursued by his drummer, Mikkey Dee, and guitarist, Phil Campbell. A
man in a bandanna approaches me, pop-eyed with dire foreknowledge:
“He’s not comin’ back, man! He’s not comin’ back! He’s too old!”
Then he reels away, into the hormonal half-smoke and press of
bodies in front of the stage. Should we riot? Are we sad? Is it
possible that Lemmy—69 years old, pacemakered, diabetic—Lemmy, the
great survivor, opposer, grizzled odds-beater, humanity’s middle
finger, was crying? “Listen,” he’d said to us before exiting, in
his familiar English roar-gasp, that voice of fiery exhaustion.
“I’m really sorry—I can’t tell you how sorry I am—but my back’s
gone. I’ve got this bad back and … I can’t breathe up here either.”
Then he covered his face with his hands, and he left us.
Continue Reading
* [javascript] Carolyn Kaster / AP
Milk, Bread, and Eggs: The Trinity of Winter-Storm Panic-Shopping
+ Joe Pinsker
Why do people reliably stock up on the same things before they get
snowed in?
Lines of frantic shoppers have mobbed grocery stores in Washington,
D.C., after the National Weather Service gently advised residents
on Wednesday that an intense weekend storm will pose “a threat to
life and property” and impact “you, your family, and your
community.”
Which led me to wonder: After people hear a message so ominous, and
after reminders of their employers’ inclement-weather policies hit
inboxes, what do they buy to prepare for spending a good deal of
time indoors? I called up the managers of some grocery stores in
D.C. to find out, and they all had more or less the same answer:
bread, milk, and eggs. This holy trinity of winter-storm
preparedness is not some quirk of the nation’s capital—bread, milk,
and eggs are popular panic-buys everywhere from Knoxville to New
England.
Continue Reading
* [javascript] Aaron P. Bernstein / Reuters
Why Precisely Is Bernie Sanders Against Reparations?
+ Ta-Nehisi Coates
The Vermont senator’s political imagination is active against
plutocracy, but why is it so limited against white supremacy?
Last week Bernie Sanders was asked whether he was in favor of
“reparations for slavery.” It is worth considering Sanders’s
response in full:
No, I don’t think so. First of all, its likelihood of getting
through Congress is nil. Second of all, I think it would be very
divisive. The real issue is when we look at the poverty rate among
the African American community, when we look at the high
unemployment rate within the African American community, we have a
lot of work to do.
So I think what we should be talking about is making massive
investments in rebuilding our cities, in creating millions of decent
paying jobs, in making public colleges and universities
tuition-free, basically targeting our federal resources to the areas
where it is needed the most and where it is needed the most is in
impoverished communities, often African American and Latino.
Continue Reading
* [javascript] Glory Foods / Flickr
What's Leafy, Green, and Eaten by Blacks and Whites?
+ Conor Friedersdorf
A tiny but illuminating controversy over collards.
This is a story about how tiny things come to divide us. Fittingly,
it begins with a Tweet. Last week, Whole Foods Market sent this to
its 4.81 million Twitter followers:
If you're not cooking with these greens, you need to be! How to cook
collards: https://t.co/2lk2bMnKdS #HealthYeah
pic.twitter.com/YqBPXg3uus
— Whole Foods Market (@WholeFoods) January 14, 2016
One imagines a marketing staffer drafting the Tweet without
apprehension or anxiety. Obesity is epidemic. Americans suffer from
their unhealthy diets in myriad ways. Who could object to a
supermarket cheerily touting a leafy green vegetable? Alerted to
the Tweet by a foodie who asked me to explain why it was
controversial, I looked at it, vaguely recalled that Michelle Obama
had included a collard-greens recipe in her cookbook, American
Grown, and asked if maybe the Red Tribe was giving the Blue Tribe a
bit of ribbing about its affinity for plant-based diets?
Continue Reading
* [javascript] Stefano Rellandini / Reuters
Sympathy for the Macklemore
+ Spencer Kornhaber
“White Privilege II” bravely tackles difficult truths about race,
but that doesn’t make it a good song.
The third verse of Macklemore’s new song, “White Privilege II,” is
from the perspective of a fan complimenting the 32-year-old Seattle
rapper for hits like “Thrift Shop” and “Same Love.” Everything is
copacetic and nice until the speaker—it’s Macklemore using a filter
and multi-tracking to make it clear that this isn’t his
voice—disses the rest of hip-hop:
That’s so cool, look what you’re accomplishing
Even an old mom like me likes it cause it’s positive
You’re the only hip-hop that I let my kids listen to
Cause you get it, all that negative stuff isn’t cool
Yeah, like all the guns and the drugs
The bitches and the hoes and the gangs and the thugs
Even the protest outside—so sad and so dumb
If a cop pulls you over, it’s your fault if you run
Continue Reading
* [javascript] Brian Snyder / Reuters
Ted Cruz's Tithing Problem
+ Jonathan Merritt
Many Christians believe God requires the faithful to donate a tenth
of their income to charity. Will they vote for a candidate who
doesn’t?
Conservative critics of Ted Cruz are going after his tithing
practices. According to recently released tax records, the Texas
senator contributed less than 1 percent of his income to charity
between 2006 and 2010. But many Christians believe that the Bible
commands a charitable offering, or tithe, equal to 10 percent of
one’s annual earnings.
This discrepancy could end up making a difference less than two
weeks before the caucuses in Iowa, a state where a Republican
politician’s faith matters. And this is exactly what a newly formed
political group, Americans United for Values, is hoping for. Today,
the group is launching a 60-second radio advertisement on news,
talk, and Christian stations across Iowa that raises the tithing
question and labels Cruz a “phony”: “He doesn’t tithe?” a female
voice asks in the ad. “Isn’t he a millionaire? His wife worked for
a big Wall Street bank, right?”
Continue Reading
* [javascript] Carlos Javier Ortiz
The Case for Reparations
+ Ta-Nehisi Coates
Two hundred fifty years of slavery. Ninety years of Jim Crow. Sixty
years of separate but equal. Thirty-five years of racist housing
policy. Until we reckon with our compounding moral debts, America
will never be whole.
And if thy brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, be sold unto
thee, and serve thee six years; then in the seventh year thou shalt
let him go free from thee. And when thou sendest him out free from
thee, thou shalt not let him go away empty: thou shalt furnish him
liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy floor, and out of thy
winepress: of that wherewith the LORD thy God hath blessed thee
thou shalt give unto him. And thou shalt remember that thou wast a
bondman in the land of Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee:
therefore I command thee this thing today.
— Deuteronomy 15: 12–15
Besides the crime which consists in violating the law, and varying
from the right rule of reason, whereby a man so far becomes
degenerate, and declares himself to quit the principles of human
nature, and to be a noxious creature, there is commonly injury done
to some person or other, and some other man receives damage by his
transgression: in which case he who hath received any damage, has,
besides the right of punishment common to him with other men, a
particular right to seek reparation.
Continue Reading
* [javascript] Toby Talbot / AP
The Decline of the Driver's License
+ Julie Beck
Fewer people of all ages are getting them, and it’s not quite clear
why.
Remember how, in Clueless, Alicia Silverstone’s character Cher
fails her driver’s test after nearly killing a biker and scraping
her car alongside several parked cars? And then how she asks, “Do
you think I should write them a note?” as she drives away? And then
how, at the climax of the movie, her friend Tai (Brittany Murphy)
calls her “a virgin who can’t drive” and it is just the harshest
burn?
Well, that was a fictionalized version of the ‘90s, and this is
now. Things are different.
Young people are not getting driver’s licenses so much anymore. In
fact, no one is. According to a new study by Michael Sivak and
Brandon Schoettle at the University of Michigan Transportation
Research Institute, the percentage of people with a driver’s
license decreased between 2011 and 2014, across all age groups. For
people aged 16 to 44, that percentage has been decreasing steadily
since 1983.
Continue Reading
* [javascript] NASA/NOAA
What the U.S. East Coast's Massive Snow Storm Looks Like
+ Marina Koren and Adam Chandler
From outer space down to the streets
Updated January 22 at 2:10 p.m. EST
That swirling cover of white up there is the first blizzard of
2016, captured by satellite on Friday as it barrels across the
central United States, toward the East Coast.
The “potentially crippling” storm is expected to bring powerful
winds and up to two feet of snow to parts of the Mid-Atlantic this
weekend, which could result in flooding in coastal regions, the
U.S. National Weather Service warned. The storm has the makings of
the “Big One” and so far appears “textbook,” according to the
winter-weather expert who literally wrote the textbook on northeast
snowstorms.
As of Friday morning, more than 85 million people—or more than one
in every four Americans—were covered by some kind of blizzard or
winter-storm advisory, according to weather.com. Local, state, and
federal officials have been scrambling to organize their responses
to the blizzard as residents swarm grocery stores to stock up on
food and water. As of Friday afternoon, there were already five
storm-related deaths reported.
Continue Reading
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+ Greyson Korhonen and Alan Taylor
A selection of the year's best photos
Watch Video
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+ Sam Price-Waldman
A video shows the dreamlike voyages of starlings, water striders,
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previousDonate Your Voice to CharityDon't Count These Actors Out of the
Oscar Race Quite Yetnext story
By 2025, the Definition of 'Privacy' Will Have Changed
In a new paper from Pew, experts warn that surveillance-free spaces are
disappearing.
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* Adrienne LaFrance
* Dec 18, 2014
* Technology
When living a public life becomes the new default, what does privacy
even mean?
That's one of the central questions in a new report about the future of
privacy from Pew Research Center, which collected the opinions of more
than 2,500 experts in computer programming, engineering, publishing,
data science, and related fields.
Some respondents told Pew they are confident that policymakers will, in
the next decade, establish privacy rights that protect individuals from
government and corporate surveillance. (In the United States, there are
practically no protections for individuals against the companies and
governments that track them.) But many others are pessimistic about the
possibility that such a framework might come about in the next 10 years
ago—or ever.
Experts agreed, though, that our expectations about personal privacy
are changing dramatically. While privacy once generally meant, "I
assume no one is looking," as one respondent put it, the public is
beginning to accept the opposite: that someone usually is. And whether
or not people accept it, that new normal—public life and mass
surveillance as a default—will become a component of the ever-widening
socioeconomic divide. Privacy as we know it today will become a luxury
commodity. Opting out will be for the rich. To some extent that's
already true. Consider the supermarkets that require you to fill out an
application—including your name, address, phone number, and so on—in
order to get a rewards card that unlocks coupons. Here's what Kate
Crawford, a researcher who focuses on ethics in the age of big data,
told Pew:
In the next 10 years, I would expect to see the development of more
encryption technologies and boutique services for people prepared to
pay a premium for greater control over their data. This is the
creation of privacy as a luxury good. It also has the unfortunate
effect of establishing a new divide: the privacy rich and the
privacy poor. Whether genuine control over your information will be
extended to the majority of people—and for free—seems very unlikely,
without a much stronger policy commitment.
And there's little incentive for the entities that benefit from a
breakdown in privacy to change the way they operate. In order to get
more robust privacy protections—like terms of service agreements that
are actually readable to non-lawyers, or rules that let people review
the personal information that data brokers collect about them—many
experts agree that individuals will have to demand them. But even that
may not work.
Where there's tension between convenience and privacy, individuals are
already primed to give up their right to be left alone. For instance,
consider the Facebook user who feels uneasy about the site's interest
in her personal data but determines quitting isn't an option because
she'd be giving up the easiest way to stay in touch with friends and
family.
That mentality is changing the way people think about their rights in
the first place.
“By 2025, many of the issues, behaviors, and information we consider to
be private today will not be so," said Homero Gil de Zuniga, director
of the Digital Media Research Program at the University of
Texas-Austin, in the Pew report. "Information will be even more
pervasive, even more liquid, and portable. The digital private sphere,
as well as the digital public sphere, will most likely completely
overlap.”
In other words, the conveniences of the modern world will likely
dictate privacy norms. This is already happening all around us. As the
media critic Mark Andrejevic points out to Pew, many people today treat
email as though it's equivalent to a private face-to-face conversation.
It is not.
"We will continue to act as if we have what we once called ‘privacy,’"
Andrejevic told Pew, "but we will know, on some level, that much of
what we do is recorded, captured, and retrievable, and even further,
that this information will provide comprehensive clues about aspects of
our lives that we imagined to be somehow exempt from data collection."
"We are embarked, irreversibly, I suspect, upon a trajectory toward a
world in which those spaces, times, and spheres of activity free from
data collection and monitoring will, for all practical purposes,
disappear."
* Continue Reading
* Jump to Comments
* About the Author
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How America Trains Its Officers to Respond to School Shootings
Inside the program that's preparing law enforcement for the rise in
active shooting incidents
* The Editors
* 10:56 AM ET
*
Latest Slideshow
[thumb_wide_300.jpg?1447874076] Peter Garritano
In Photos: Inside the Internet
Photographs of what “the cloud” actually looks like
* Emily Anne Epstein
* Jan 5, 2016
*
About the Author
* [headshot.jpg]
Adrienne LaFrance is a staff writer at The Atlantic, where she
covers technology. She was previously an investigative reporter for
Honolulu Civil Beat, Nieman Journalism Lab, and WBUR.
+ Twitter
Most Popular
Presented by
* [javascript] Reuters
Standing Athwart History Yelling, 'Stop Donald Trump!'
+ Conor Friedersdorf
The National Review publishes the movement-conservative case
against the Republican frontrunner.
Last summer, George F. Will, the elder statesman of conservative
pundits, declared Donald Trump “an affront to anyone devoted to the
project William F. Buckley began six decades ago with the founding
in 1955 of National Review––making conservatism intellectually
respectable and politically palatable.” He urged conservatives to
treat Trump as Buckley once treated the John Birch Society.
On Thursday, the National Review published its bull of
excommunication. Its new issue leaves no doubt about where the
magazine stands on the race for the GOP nomination.
Say the editors, “Trump is a philosophically unmoored political
opportunist who would trash the broad conservative ideological
consensus within the GOP in favor of a free-floating populism with
strong-man overtones.”
Continue Reading
* [javascript] Barry Blitt
Twilight of the Headbangers
+ James Parker
How long can the legends of heavy metal keep on rocking?
Where’d lemmy go? The stage is empty: vacated mics, cooling drum
stool, the blocky, buzzing statuary of amps and speakers.
Motörhead, the legendary Motörhead, is not there anymore. I’m in a
heavy-metal hangar in Salt Lake City in late August, and
singer/bassist Ian Fraser “Lemmy” Kilmister has just walked off,
shakily and in evident distress, after only four songs, anxiously
pursued by his drummer, Mikkey Dee, and guitarist, Phil Campbell. A
man in a bandanna approaches me, pop-eyed with dire foreknowledge:
“He’s not comin’ back, man! He’s not comin’ back! He’s too old!”
Then he reels away, into the hormonal half-smoke and press of
bodies in front of the stage. Should we riot? Are we sad? Is it
possible that Lemmy—69 years old, pacemakered, diabetic—Lemmy, the
great survivor, opposer, grizzled odds-beater, humanity’s middle
finger, was crying? “Listen,” he’d said to us before exiting, in
his familiar English roar-gasp, that voice of fiery exhaustion.
“I’m really sorry—I can’t tell you how sorry I am—but my back’s
gone. I’ve got this bad back and … I can’t breathe up here either.”
Then he covered his face with his hands, and he left us.
Continue Reading
* [javascript] Carolyn Kaster / AP
Milk, Bread, and Eggs: The Trinity of Winter-Storm Panic-Shopping
+ Joe Pinsker
Why do people reliably stock up on the same things before they get
snowed in?
Lines of frantic shoppers have mobbed grocery stores in Washington,
D.C., after the National Weather Service gently advised residents
on Wednesday that an intense weekend storm will pose “a threat to
life and property” and impact “you, your family, and your
community.”
Which led me to wonder: After people hear a message so ominous, and
after reminders of their employers’ inclement-weather policies hit
inboxes, what do they buy to prepare for spending a good deal of
time indoors? I called up the managers of some grocery stores in
D.C. to find out, and they all had more or less the same answer:
bread, milk, and eggs. This holy trinity of winter-storm
preparedness is not some quirk of the nation’s capital—bread, milk,
and eggs are popular panic-buys everywhere from Knoxville to New
England.
Continue Reading
* [javascript] Aaron P. Bernstein / Reuters
Why Precisely Is Bernie Sanders Against Reparations?
+ Ta-Nehisi Coates
The Vermont senator’s political imagination is active against
plutocracy, but why is it so limited against white supremacy?
Last week Bernie Sanders was asked whether he was in favor of
“reparations for slavery.” It is worth considering Sanders’s
response in full:
No, I don’t think so. First of all, its likelihood of getting
through Congress is nil. Second of all, I think it would be very
divisive. The real issue is when we look at the poverty rate among
the African American community, when we look at the high
unemployment rate within the African American community, we have a
lot of work to do.
So I think what we should be talking about is making massive
investments in rebuilding our cities, in creating millions of decent
paying jobs, in making public colleges and universities
tuition-free, basically targeting our federal resources to the areas
where it is needed the most and where it is needed the most is in
impoverished communities, often African American and Latino.
Continue Reading
* [javascript] Glory Foods / Flickr
What's Leafy, Green, and Eaten by Blacks and Whites?
+ Conor Friedersdorf
A tiny but illuminating controversy over collards.
This is a story about how tiny things come to divide us. Fittingly,
it begins with a Tweet. Last week, Whole Foods Market sent this to
its 4.81 million Twitter followers:
If you're not cooking with these greens, you need to be! How to cook
collards: https://t.co/2lk2bMnKdS #HealthYeah
pic.twitter.com/YqBPXg3uus
— Whole Foods Market (@WholeFoods) January 14, 2016
One imagines a marketing staffer drafting the Tweet without
apprehension or anxiety. Obesity is epidemic. Americans suffer from
their unhealthy diets in myriad ways. Who could object to a
supermarket cheerily touting a leafy green vegetable? Alerted to
the Tweet by a foodie who asked me to explain why it was
controversial, I looked at it, vaguely recalled that Michelle Obama
had included a collard-greens recipe in her cookbook, American
Grown, and asked if maybe the Red Tribe was giving the Blue Tribe a
bit of ribbing about its affinity for plant-based diets?
Continue Reading
* [javascript] Stefano Rellandini / Reuters
Sympathy for the Macklemore
+ Spencer Kornhaber
“White Privilege II” bravely tackles difficult truths about race,
but that doesn’t make it a good song.
The third verse of Macklemore’s new song, “White Privilege II,” is
from the perspective of a fan complimenting the 32-year-old Seattle
rapper for hits like “Thrift Shop” and “Same Love.” Everything is
copacetic and nice until the speaker—it’s Macklemore using a filter
and multi-tracking to make it clear that this isn’t his
voice—disses the rest of hip-hop:
That’s so cool, look what you’re accomplishing
Even an old mom like me likes it cause it’s positive
You’re the only hip-hop that I let my kids listen to
Cause you get it, all that negative stuff isn’t cool
Yeah, like all the guns and the drugs
The bitches and the hoes and the gangs and the thugs
Even the protest outside—so sad and so dumb
If a cop pulls you over, it’s your fault if you run
Continue Reading
* [javascript] Brian Snyder / Reuters
Ted Cruz's Tithing Problem
+ Jonathan Merritt
Many Christians believe God requires the faithful to donate a tenth
of their income to charity. Will they vote for a candidate who
doesn’t?
Conservative critics of Ted Cruz are going after his tithing
practices. According to recently released tax records, the Texas
senator contributed less than 1 percent of his income to charity
between 2006 and 2010. But many Christians believe that the Bible
commands a charitable offering, or tithe, equal to 10 percent of
one’s annual earnings.
This discrepancy could end up making a difference less than two
weeks before the caucuses in Iowa, a state where a Republican
politician’s faith matters. And this is exactly what a newly formed
political group, Americans United for Values, is hoping for. Today,
the group is launching a 60-second radio advertisement on news,
talk, and Christian stations across Iowa that raises the tithing
question and labels Cruz a “phony”: “He doesn’t tithe?” a female
voice asks in the ad. “Isn’t he a millionaire? His wife worked for
a big Wall Street bank, right?”
Continue Reading
* [javascript] Carlos Javier Ortiz
The Case for Reparations
+ Ta-Nehisi Coates
Two hundred fifty years of slavery. Ninety years of Jim Crow. Sixty
years of separate but equal. Thirty-five years of racist housing
policy. Until we reckon with our compounding moral debts, America
will never be whole.
And if thy brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, be sold unto
thee, and serve thee six years; then in the seventh year thou shalt
let him go free from thee. And when thou sendest him out free from
thee, thou shalt not let him go away empty: thou shalt furnish him
liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy floor, and out of thy
winepress: of that wherewith the LORD thy God hath blessed thee
thou shalt give unto him. And thou shalt remember that thou wast a
bondman in the land of Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee:
therefore I command thee this thing today.
— Deuteronomy 15: 12–15
Besides the crime which consists in violating the law, and varying
from the right rule of reason, whereby a man so far becomes
degenerate, and declares himself to quit the principles of human
nature, and to be a noxious creature, there is commonly injury done
to some person or other, and some other man receives damage by his
transgression: in which case he who hath received any damage, has,
besides the right of punishment common to him with other men, a
particular right to seek reparation.
Continue Reading
* [javascript] Toby Talbot / AP
The Decline of the Driver's License
+ Julie Beck
Fewer people of all ages are getting them, and it’s not quite clear
why.
Remember how, in Clueless, Alicia Silverstone’s character Cher
fails her driver’s test after nearly killing a biker and scraping
her car alongside several parked cars? And then how she asks, “Do
you think I should write them a note?” as she drives away? And then
how, at the climax of the movie, her friend Tai (Brittany Murphy)
calls her “a virgin who can’t drive” and it is just the harshest
burn?
Well, that was a fictionalized version of the ‘90s, and this is
now. Things are different.
Young people are not getting driver’s licenses so much anymore. In
fact, no one is. According to a new study by Michael Sivak and
Brandon Schoettle at the University of Michigan Transportation
Research Institute, the percentage of people with a driver’s
license decreased between 2011 and 2014, across all age groups. For
people aged 16 to 44, that percentage has been decreasing steadily
since 1983.
Continue Reading
* [javascript] NASA/NOAA
What the U.S. East Coast's Massive Snow Storm Looks Like
+ Marina Koren and Adam Chandler
From outer space down to the streets
Updated January 22 at 2:10 p.m. EST
That swirling cover of white up there is the first blizzard of
2016, captured by satellite on Friday as it barrels across the
central United States, toward the East Coast.
The “potentially crippling” storm is expected to bring powerful
winds and up to two feet of snow to parts of the Mid-Atlantic this
weekend, which could result in flooding in coastal regions, the
U.S. National Weather Service warned. The storm has the makings of
the “Big One” and so far appears “textbook,” according to the
winter-weather expert who literally wrote the textbook on northeast
snowstorms.
As of Friday morning, more than 85 million people—or more than one
in every four Americans—were covered by some kind of blizzard or
winter-storm advisory, according to weather.com. Local, state, and
federal officials have been scrambling to organize their responses
to the blizzard as residents swarm grocery stores to stock up on
food and water. As of Friday afternoon, there were already five
storm-related deaths reported.
Continue Reading
* [javascript]
The Most Powerful Images of 2015
+ Greyson Korhonen and Alan Taylor
A selection of the year's best photos
Watch Video
* [javascript]
A Photojournalist Walks Away From His Profession
+ Nadine Ajaka
How do you decide when you've seen enough of war?
Watch Video
* [javascript] Dennis Hlynsky / The Atlantic / Pearson Scott Foreman
/ Wikimedia Commons
Revealing the Hidden Patterns of Birds and Insects in Motion
+ Sam Price-Waldman
A video shows the dreamlike voyages of starlings, water striders,
and more.
Watch Video
More Popular Stories
Show Comments
Subscribe
Get 10 issues a year and save 65% off the cover price.
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previousCan Someone Please Explain How This Michelle Malkin Video Is
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Why Does Privacy Matter? One Scholar's Answer
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* Jathan Sadowski
* Feb 26, 2013
* Technology
If we want to protect privacy, we should be more clear about why it is
important.
7483010074_cd45e2bfcd_o-6152.jpg
Neo_II/Flickr/Rebecca J. Rosen
Our privacy is now at risk in unprecedented ways, but, sadly, the legal
system is lagging behind the pace of innovation. Indeed, the last major
privacy law, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, was passed in
1986! While an update to the law -- spurred on by the General Petraeus
scandal -- is in the works, it only aims to add some more protection to
electronic communication like emails. This still does not shield our
privacy from other, possibly nefarious, ways that our data can be
collected and put to use. Some legislators would much rather not have
legal restrictions that could, as Rep. Marsha Blackburn stated in an
op-ed, "threaten the lifeblood of the Internet: data." Consider Rep.
Blackburn's remarks during an April 2010 Congressional hearing: "[A]nd
what happens when you follow the European privacy model and take
information out of the information economy? ... Revenues fall,
innovation stalls and you lose out to innovators who choose to work
elsewhere."
Even though the practices of many companies such as Facebook are legal,
there is something disconcerting about them. Privacy should have a
deeper purpose than the one ascribed to it by those who treat it as a
currency to be traded for innovation, which in many circumstances seems
to actually mean corporate interests. To protect our privacy, we need a
better understanding of its purpose and why it is valuable.
That's where Georgetown University law professor Julie E. Cohen comes
in. In a forthcoming article for the Harvard Law Review, she lays out a
strong argument that addresses the titular concern "What Privacy Is
For." Her approach is fresh, and as technology critic Evgeny Morozov
rightly tweeted, she wrote "the best paper on privacy theory you'll get
to read this year." (He was referring to 2012.)
At bottom, Cohen's argument criticizes the dominant position held by
theorists and legislators who treat privacy as just an instrument used
to advance some other principle or value, such as liberty,
inaccessibility, or control. Framed this way, privacy is relegated to
one of many defenses we have from things like another person's prying
eyes, or Facebook's recent attempts to ramp up its use of
facial-recognition software and collect further data about us without
our explicit consent. As long as the principle in question can be
protected through some other method, or if privacy gets in the way of a
different desirable goal like innovation, it is no longer useful and
can be disregarded.
Cohen doesn't think we should treat privacy as a dispensable
instrument. To the contrary, she argues privacy is irreducible to a
"fixed condition or attribute (such as seclusion or control) whose
boundaries can be crisply delineated by the application of deductive
logic. Privacy is shorthand for breathing room to engage in the process
of ... self-development."
What Cohen means is that since life and contexts are always changing,
privacy cannot be reductively conceived as one specific type of thing.
It is better understood as an important buffer that gives us space to
develop an identity that is somewhat separate from the surveillance,
judgment, and values of our society and culture. Privacy is crucial for
helping us manage all of these pressures -- pressures that shape the
type of person we are -- and for "creating spaces for play and the work
of self-[development]." Cohen argues that this self-development allows
us to discover what type of society we want and what we should do to
get there, both factors that are key to living a fulfilled life.
Woodrow Hartzog and Evan Selinger make similar arguments in a recent
article on the value of "obscurity." When structural constraints
prevent unwanted parties from getting to your data, obscurity
protections are in play. These protections go beyond preventing
companies from exploiting our information for their financial gain.
They safeguard democratic societies by furthering "autonomy,
self-fulfillment, socialization, and relative freedom from the abuse of
power."
In light of these considerations, what's really at stake in a feature
like Facebook's rumored location-tracking app? You might think it is a
good idea to willfully hand over your data in exchange for personalized
coupons or promotions, or to broadcast your location to friends. But
consumption -- perusing a store and buying stuff -- and quiet, alone
time are both important parts of how we define ourselves. If how we do
that becomes subject to ever-present monitoring it can, if even
unconsciously, change our behaviors and self-perception.
In this sense, we will be developing an identity that is absent of
privacy and subject to surveillance; we must decide if we really want
to live in a society that treats every action as a data point to be
analyzed and traded like currency. The more we allow for constant
tracking, the more difficult it becomes to change the way that
technologies are used to encroach on our lives.
Privacy is not just something we enjoy. It is something that is
necessary for us to: develop who we are; form an identity that is not
dictated by the social conditions that directly or indirectly influence
our thinking, decisions, and behaviors; and decide what type of society
we want to live in. Whether we like it or not constant data collection
about everything we do -- like the kind conducted by Facebook and an
increasing number of other companies -- shapes and produces our
actions. We are different people when under surveillance than we are
when enjoying some privacy. And Cohen's argument illuminates how the
breathing room provided by privacy is essential to being a complete,
fulfilled person.
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Jathan Sadowski studies applied ethics and the human and social
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* [javascript] Reuters
Standing Athwart History Yelling, 'Stop Donald Trump!'
+ Conor Friedersdorf
The National Review publishes the movement-conservative case
against the Republican frontrunner.
Last summer, George F. Will, the elder statesman of conservative
pundits, declared Donald Trump “an affront to anyone devoted to the
project William F. Buckley began six decades ago with the founding
in 1955 of National Review––making conservatism intellectually
respectable and politically palatable.” He urged conservatives to
treat Trump as Buckley once treated the John Birch Society.
On Thursday, the National Review published its bull of
excommunication. Its new issue leaves no doubt about where the
magazine stands on the race for the GOP nomination.
Say the editors, “Trump is a philosophically unmoored political
opportunist who would trash the broad conservative ideological
consensus within the GOP in favor of a free-floating populism with
strong-man overtones.”
Continue Reading
* [javascript] Barry Blitt
Twilight of the Headbangers
+ James Parker
How long can the legends of heavy metal keep on rocking?
Where’d lemmy go? The stage is empty: vacated mics, cooling drum
stool, the blocky, buzzing statuary of amps and speakers.
Motörhead, the legendary Motörhead, is not there anymore. I’m in a
heavy-metal hangar in Salt Lake City in late August, and
singer/bassist Ian Fraser “Lemmy” Kilmister has just walked off,
shakily and in evident distress, after only four songs, anxiously
pursued by his drummer, Mikkey Dee, and guitarist, Phil Campbell. A
man in a bandanna approaches me, pop-eyed with dire foreknowledge:
“He’s not comin’ back, man! He’s not comin’ back! He’s too old!”
Then he reels away, into the hormonal half-smoke and press of
bodies in front of the stage. Should we riot? Are we sad? Is it
possible that Lemmy—69 years old, pacemakered, diabetic—Lemmy, the
great survivor, opposer, grizzled odds-beater, humanity’s middle
finger, was crying? “Listen,” he’d said to us before exiting, in
his familiar English roar-gasp, that voice of fiery exhaustion.
“I’m really sorry—I can’t tell you how sorry I am—but my back’s
gone. I’ve got this bad back and … I can’t breathe up here either.”
Then he covered his face with his hands, and he left us.
Continue Reading
* [javascript] Carolyn Kaster / AP
Milk, Bread, and Eggs: The Trinity of Winter-Storm Panic-Shopping
+ Joe Pinsker
Why do people reliably stock up on the same things before they get
snowed in?
Lines of frantic shoppers have mobbed grocery stores in Washington,
D.C., after the National Weather Service gently advised residents
on Wednesday that an intense weekend storm will pose “a threat to
life and property” and impact “you, your family, and your
community.”
Which led me to wonder: After people hear a message so ominous, and
after reminders of their employers’ inclement-weather policies hit
inboxes, what do they buy to prepare for spending a good deal of
time indoors? I called up the managers of some grocery stores in
D.C. to find out, and they all had more or less the same answer:
bread, milk, and eggs. This holy trinity of winter-storm
preparedness is not some quirk of the nation’s capital—bread, milk,
and eggs are popular panic-buys everywhere from Knoxville to New
England.
Continue Reading
* [javascript] Aaron P. Bernstein / Reuters
Why Precisely Is Bernie Sanders Against Reparations?
+ Ta-Nehisi Coates
The Vermont senator’s political imagination is active against
plutocracy, but why is it so limited against white supremacy?
Last week Bernie Sanders was asked whether he was in favor of
“reparations for slavery.” It is worth considering Sanders’s
response in full:
No, I don’t think so. First of all, its likelihood of getting
through Congress is nil. Second of all, I think it would be very
divisive. The real issue is when we look at the poverty rate among
the African American community, when we look at the high
unemployment rate within the African American community, we have a
lot of work to do.
So I think what we should be talking about is making massive
investments in rebuilding our cities, in creating millions of decent
paying jobs, in making public colleges and universities
tuition-free, basically targeting our federal resources to the areas
where it is needed the most and where it is needed the most is in
impoverished communities, often African American and Latino.
Continue Reading
* [javascript] Glory Foods / Flickr
What's Leafy, Green, and Eaten by Blacks and Whites?
+ Conor Friedersdorf
A tiny but illuminating controversy over collards.
This is a story about how tiny things come to divide us. Fittingly,
it begins with a Tweet. Last week, Whole Foods Market sent this to
its 4.81 million Twitter followers:
If you're not cooking with these greens, you need to be! How to cook
collards: https://t.co/2lk2bMnKdS #HealthYeah
pic.twitter.com/YqBPXg3uus
— Whole Foods Market (@WholeFoods) January 14, 2016
One imagines a marketing staffer drafting the Tweet without
apprehension or anxiety. Obesity is epidemic. Americans suffer from
their unhealthy diets in myriad ways. Who could object to a
supermarket cheerily touting a leafy green vegetable? Alerted to
the Tweet by a foodie who asked me to explain why it was
controversial, I looked at it, vaguely recalled that Michelle Obama
had included a collard-greens recipe in her cookbook, American
Grown, and asked if maybe the Red Tribe was giving the Blue Tribe a
bit of ribbing about its affinity for plant-based diets?
Continue Reading
* [javascript] Stefano Rellandini / Reuters
Sympathy for the Macklemore
+ Spencer Kornhaber
“White Privilege II” bravely tackles difficult truths about race,
but that doesn’t make it a good song.
The third verse of Macklemore’s new song, “White Privilege II,” is
from the perspective of a fan complimenting the 32-year-old Seattle
rapper for hits like “Thrift Shop” and “Same Love.” Everything is
copacetic and nice until the speaker—it’s Macklemore using a filter
and multi-tracking to make it clear that this isn’t his
voice—disses the rest of hip-hop:
That’s so cool, look what you’re accomplishing
Even an old mom like me likes it cause it’s positive
You’re the only hip-hop that I let my kids listen to
Cause you get it, all that negative stuff isn’t cool
Yeah, like all the guns and the drugs
The bitches and the hoes and the gangs and the thugs
Even the protest outside—so sad and so dumb
If a cop pulls you over, it’s your fault if you run
Continue Reading
* [javascript] Brian Snyder / Reuters
Ted Cruz's Tithing Problem
+ Jonathan Merritt
Many Christians believe God requires the faithful to donate a tenth
of their income to charity. Will they vote for a candidate who
doesn’t?
Conservative critics of Ted Cruz are going after his tithing
practices. According to recently released tax records, the Texas
senator contributed less than 1 percent of his income to charity
between 2006 and 2010. But many Christians believe that the Bible
commands a charitable offering, or tithe, equal to 10 percent of
one’s annual earnings.
This discrepancy could end up making a difference less than two
weeks before the caucuses in Iowa, a state where a Republican
politician’s faith matters. And this is exactly what a newly formed
political group, Americans United for Values, is hoping for. Today,
the group is launching a 60-second radio advertisement on news,
talk, and Christian stations across Iowa that raises the tithing
question and labels Cruz a “phony”: “He doesn’t tithe?” a female
voice asks in the ad. “Isn’t he a millionaire? His wife worked for
a big Wall Street bank, right?”
Continue Reading
* [javascript] Carlos Javier Ortiz
The Case for Reparations
+ Ta-Nehisi Coates
Two hundred fifty years of slavery. Ninety years of Jim Crow. Sixty
years of separate but equal. Thirty-five years of racist housing
policy. Until we reckon with our compounding moral debts, America
will never be whole.
And if thy brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, be sold unto
thee, and serve thee six years; then in the seventh year thou shalt
let him go free from thee. And when thou sendest him out free from
thee, thou shalt not let him go away empty: thou shalt furnish him
liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy floor, and out of thy
winepress: of that wherewith the LORD thy God hath blessed thee
thou shalt give unto him. And thou shalt remember that thou wast a
bondman in the land of Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee:
therefore I command thee this thing today.
— Deuteronomy 15: 12–15
Besides the crime which consists in violating the law, and varying
from the right rule of reason, whereby a man so far becomes
degenerate, and declares himself to quit the principles of human
nature, and to be a noxious creature, there is commonly injury done
to some person or other, and some other man receives damage by his
transgression: in which case he who hath received any damage, has,
besides the right of punishment common to him with other men, a
particular right to seek reparation.
Continue Reading
* [javascript] Toby Talbot / AP
The Decline of the Driver's License
+ Julie Beck
Fewer people of all ages are getting them, and it’s not quite clear
why.
Remember how, in Clueless, Alicia Silverstone’s character Cher
fails her driver’s test after nearly killing a biker and scraping
her car alongside several parked cars? And then how she asks, “Do
you think I should write them a note?” as she drives away? And then
how, at the climax of the movie, her friend Tai (Brittany Murphy)
calls her “a virgin who can’t drive” and it is just the harshest
burn?
Well, that was a fictionalized version of the ‘90s, and this is
now. Things are different.
Young people are not getting driver’s licenses so much anymore. In
fact, no one is. According to a new study by Michael Sivak and
Brandon Schoettle at the University of Michigan Transportation
Research Institute, the percentage of people with a driver’s
license decreased between 2011 and 2014, across all age groups. For
people aged 16 to 44, that percentage has been decreasing steadily
since 1983.
Continue Reading
* [javascript] NASA/NOAA
What the U.S. East Coast's Massive Snow Storm Looks Like
+ Marina Koren and Adam Chandler
From outer space down to the streets
Updated January 22 at 2:10 p.m. EST
That swirling cover of white up there is the first blizzard of
2016, captured by satellite on Friday as it barrels across the
central United States, toward the East Coast.
The “potentially crippling” storm is expected to bring powerful
winds and up to two feet of snow to parts of the Mid-Atlantic this
weekend, which could result in flooding in coastal regions, the
U.S. National Weather Service warned. The storm has the makings of
the “Big One” and so far appears “textbook,” according to the
winter-weather expert who literally wrote the textbook on northeast
snowstorms.
As of Friday morning, more than 85 million people—or more than one
in every four Americans—were covered by some kind of blizzard or
winter-storm advisory, according to weather.com. Local, state, and
federal officials have been scrambling to organize their responses
to the blizzard as residents swarm grocery stores to stock up on
food and water. As of Friday afternoon, there were already five
storm-related deaths reported.
Continue Reading
* [javascript]
The Most Powerful Images of 2015
+ Greyson Korhonen and Alan Taylor
A selection of the year's best photos
Watch Video
* [javascript]
A Photojournalist Walks Away From His Profession
+ Nadine Ajaka
How do you decide when you've seen enough of war?
Watch Video
* [javascript] Dennis Hlynsky / The Atlantic / Pearson Scott Foreman
/ Wikimedia Commons
Revealing the Hidden Patterns of Birds and Insects in Motion
+ Sam Price-Waldman
A video shows the dreamlike voyages of starlings, water striders,
and more.
Watch Video
More Popular Stories
Show Comments
Subscribe
Get 10 issues a year and save 65% off the cover price.
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Obscurity: A Better Way to Think About Your Data Than 'Privacy'
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previousMy Dream College Won't Accept Me Because I'm a WomanThe Future
of Medical Recordsnext story
Obscurity: A Better Way to Think About Your Data Than 'Privacy'
Obscurity is a protective state that can further a number of goals,
such as autonomy, self-fulfillment, socialization, and relative freedom
from the abuse of power.
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* Technology
Obscurity is a protective state that can further a number of goals,
such as autonomy, self-fulfillment, socialization, and relative freedom
from the abuse of power.
102029925_d14d2e8b69_b-615.jpg
(tajai/Flickr)
Facebook's announcement of its new Graph search tool on Tuesday set off
yet another round of rapid-fire analysis about whether Facebook is
properly handling its users' privacy. Unfortunately, most of the
rapid-fire analysts haven't framed the story properly. Yes, Zuckerberg
appears to be respecting our current privacy settings. And, yes, there
just might be more stalking ahead. Neither framing device, however, is
adequate. If we rely too much on them, we'll miss the core problem: the
more accessible our Facebook information becomes, the less obscurity
protects our interests.
While many debates over technology and privacy concern obscurity, the
term rarely gets used. This is unfortunate, as "privacy" is an
over-extended concept. It grabs our attention easily, but is hard to
pin down. Sometimes, people talk about privacy when they are worried
about confidentiality. Other times they evoke privacy to discuss issues
associated with corporate access to personal information. Fortunately,
obscurity has a narrower purview.
Obscurity is the idea that when information is hard to obtain or
understand, it is, to some degree, safe. Safety, here, doesn't mean
inaccessible. Competent and determined data hunters armed with the
right tools can always find a way to get it. Less committed folks,
however, experience great effort as a deterrent.
Online, obscurity is created through a combination of factors. Being
invisible to search engines increases obscurity. So does using privacy
settings and pseudonyms. Disclosing information in coded ways that only
a limited audience will grasp enhances obscurity, too. Since few online
disclosures are truly confidential or highly publicized, the lion's
share of communication on the social web falls along the expansive
continuum of obscurity: a range that runs from completely hidden to
totally obvious.
Discussion of obscurity in the case law remains sparse.
Consequently, the concept remains under-theorized as courts continue
their seemingly Sisyphean struggle with finding meaning in the
concept of privacy.
Legal debates surrounding obscurity can be traced back at least to U.S.
Department of Justice v. Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
(1989). In this decision, the United States Supreme Court recognized a
privacy interest in the "practical obscurity" of information that was
technically available to the public, but could only be found by
spending a burdensome and unrealistic amount of time and effort in
obtaining it. Since this decision, discussion of obscurity in the case
law remains sparse. Consequently, the concept remains under-theorized
as courts continue their seemingly Sisyphean struggle with finding
meaning in the concept of privacy.
Many contemporary privacy disputes are probably better classified as
concern over losing obscurity. Consider the recent debate over whether
a newspaper violated the privacy rights of gun owners by publishing a
map comprised of information gleaned from public records. The situation
left many scratching their heads. After all, how can public records be
considered private? What obscurity draws our attention to, is that
while the records were accessible to any member of the public prior to
the rise of big data, more effort was required to obtain, aggregate,
and publish them. In that prior context, technological constraints
implicitly protected privacy interests. Now, in an attempt to keep pace
with diminishing structural barriers, New York is considering excepting
gun owners from "public records laws that normally allow newspapers or
private citizens access to certain information the government
collects."
The obscurity of public records and other legally available information
is at issue in recent disputes over publishing mug shots and homeowner
defaults. Likewise, claims for "privacy in public," as occur in
discussion over license-plate readers, GPS trackers, and facial
recognition technologies, are often pleas for obscurity that get either
miscommunicated or misinterpreted as insistence that one's public
interactions should remain secret.
Obscurity received some attention when Facebook previously rolled out
Timeline. The Electronic Privacy Information Center, for example, was
dismayed by how easy the design made it to retrieve past posts --
including ones that previously required extensive manual searching to
locate.
Alas, the two dominant ways of discussing Graph have not had that same
focus on obscurity. One narrative suggests that since Graph will only
reveal information to users that was previously visible to them or
publicly shared, it presents no new privacy issues. As Facebook
hammered home, a user's original privacy settings are neither altered
nor violated. According to Kashmir Hill, "Zuckerberg and crew
emphasized the 'privacy awareness' of the new search engine."
"You want a search tool that gives you access to just things that
people have shared with you," said Zuckerberg.
"I can only search for what I can already see on Facebook," added
director of product management, Tom Stocky.
"You can only search for the content people have shared with you,"
re-emphasized software developer Lars Rasmussen.
Respecting Facebook users' privacy settings is no small feature, due to
the harm that can result when privacy settings are given too little
weight in socio-technical design. Thanks to the soothing message and
intuitive appeal of the "self-selected insiders" narrative, many
reporters are spreading its gospel. Wired and CNN, among others, note
Graph doesn't expose any information that wasn't already available on
Facebook.
Ultimately, the "you choose who to let in" narrative is powerful
because it trades on traditional notions of space and boundary
regulation, and further appeals to our heightened sense of individual
responsibility, and, possibly even vanity. The basic message is that so
long as we exercise good judgment when selecting our friends, no
privacy problems will arise. What this appeal to status quo relations
and existing privacy settings conceals is the transformative potential
of Graph : new types of searching can emerge that, due to enhanced
frequency and newly created associations between data points, weaken,
and possibly obliterate obscurity. Of course, that result won't bother
everyone. Some users won't miss their obscurity havens, while others
will find the change dismaying. As we'll clarify shortly, those who
become dismayed will have good reason for being upset.
The other dominant narrative emerging is that the Graph will simplify
"stalking." Kashmir Hill states, "Good news for snoops: the new tool
will make Facebook stalking much easier." Megan Rose Dickey wrote an
article titled "Facebook's Graph Search Is Awesome For Stalkers And
Hookups." While utilization of the "stalker" frame brings us a little
closer to articulating what the harm from the Graph might be, it, too,
is inadequate.
First, the stalking frame risks creating undue psychological
associations with the more severe harms of stalking, as legally defined
and prohibited. Yes, we recognize these accounts use "stalking"
colloquially. But words have power, and such deliberatively evocative
rhetoric unduly muddies the already murky conceptual waters.
Second, because of this, the stalker frame muddies the concept,
implying that the problem is people with bad intentions getting our
information. Determined stalkers certainly pose a threat to the
obscurity of information because they represent an increased likelihood
that obscure information will be found and understood. Stalkers seek
and collect information with varying degrees of rigor. But as social
search moves from an atomistic to composite form, many harms resulting
from loss of obscurity will likely be accidental. Well-intentioned
searches can be problematic, too.
Obscurity is a protective state that can further a number of goals,
such as autonomy, self-fulfillment, socialization, and relative
freedom from the abuse of power.
Consider the following hypothetical to demonstrate this point. Mark
Zuckerberg mentioned that Graph is still in beta and many new features
could be added down the road. It is not a stretch to assume Graph could
enable searching through the content of posts a user has liked or
commented on and generating categories of interests from it. For
example, users could search which of their friends are interested in
politics, or, perhaps, specifically, in left-wing politics. While many
Facebook users are outspoken on politics, others hold these beliefs
close. For various reasons, these less-outspoken users might still
support the political causes of their friends through likes and
comments, but refrain from posting political material themselves. In
this scenario, a user who wasn't a fan of political groups or causes,
didn't list political groups or causes as interests, and didn't post
political stories, could still be identified as political. The Graph
would wrench these scattered showings of support from the various
corners of Facebook into a composite profile that presents both
obscurity and accuracy concerns.
The final reason the stalker frame is not a good fit for Graph is that
it implies the harm at stake is the experience of feeling "creeped
out." While the term 'creepy' isn't appearing as much as with other
Facebook-related stories, it is still a non-trivial aspect of the Graph
narrative. As one of us has previously posited, due to its vagueness
and heightened emotional resonance, 'creepy' is not a helpful term to
use when identifying the harm that might result from new technologies.
Some of the chatter about Graph and privacy belies the optimistic
belief that Facebook will not diminish too much obscurity in order to
keep consumers happy and willing to post their lives away. Facebook
regularly emphasizes the importance of users believing that posting on
Facebook is safe. But is it really wise to presume Facebook's financial
interests align with the user interest in maintaining obscurity? In a
system that purportedly relies upon user control, it is still unclear
how and if users will be able to detect when their personal information
is no longer obscure. How will they be able to anticipate the numerous
different queries that might expose previously obscure information?
Will users even be aware of all the composite results including their
information?
Accurately targeting the potential harms and interests at stake is only
the first step in the debate about Graph and other similar
technologies. Obscurity is a protective state that can further a number
of goals, such as autonomy, self-fulfillment, socialization, and
relative freedom from the abuse of power. A major task ahead is for
society to determine how much obscurity citizens need to thrive.
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+ Conor Friedersdorf
The National Review publishes the movement-conservative case
against the Republican frontrunner.
Last summer, George F. Will, the elder statesman of conservative
pundits, declared Donald Trump “an affront to anyone devoted to the
project William F. Buckley began six decades ago with the founding
in 1955 of National Review––making conservatism intellectually
respectable and politically palatable.” He urged conservatives to
treat Trump as Buckley once treated the John Birch Society.
On Thursday, the National Review published its bull of
excommunication. Its new issue leaves no doubt about where the
magazine stands on the race for the GOP nomination.
Say the editors, “Trump is a philosophically unmoored political
opportunist who would trash the broad conservative ideological
consensus within the GOP in favor of a free-floating populism with
strong-man overtones.”
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+ James Parker
How long can the legends of heavy metal keep on rocking?
Where’d lemmy go? The stage is empty: vacated mics, cooling drum
stool, the blocky, buzzing statuary of amps and speakers.
Motörhead, the legendary Motörhead, is not there anymore. I’m in a
heavy-metal hangar in Salt Lake City in late August, and
singer/bassist Ian Fraser “Lemmy” Kilmister has just walked off,
shakily and in evident distress, after only four songs, anxiously
pursued by his drummer, Mikkey Dee, and guitarist, Phil Campbell. A
man in a bandanna approaches me, pop-eyed with dire foreknowledge:
“He’s not comin’ back, man! He’s not comin’ back! He’s too old!”
Then he reels away, into the hormonal half-smoke and press of
bodies in front of the stage. Should we riot? Are we sad? Is it
possible that Lemmy—69 years old, pacemakered, diabetic—Lemmy, the
great survivor, opposer, grizzled odds-beater, humanity’s middle
finger, was crying? “Listen,” he’d said to us before exiting, in
his familiar English roar-gasp, that voice of fiery exhaustion.
“I’m really sorry—I can’t tell you how sorry I am—but my back’s
gone. I’ve got this bad back and … I can’t breathe up here either.”
Then he covered his face with his hands, and he left us.
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* [javascript] Carolyn Kaster / AP
Milk, Bread, and Eggs: The Trinity of Winter-Storm Panic-Shopping
+ Joe Pinsker
Why do people reliably stock up on the same things before they get
snowed in?
Lines of frantic shoppers have mobbed grocery stores in Washington,
D.C., after the National Weather Service gently advised residents
on Wednesday that an intense weekend storm will pose “a threat to
life and property” and impact “you, your family, and your
community.”
Which led me to wonder: After people hear a message so ominous, and
after reminders of their employers’ inclement-weather policies hit
inboxes, what do they buy to prepare for spending a good deal of
time indoors? I called up the managers of some grocery stores in
D.C. to find out, and they all had more or less the same answer:
bread, milk, and eggs. This holy trinity of winter-storm
preparedness is not some quirk of the nation’s capital—bread, milk,
and eggs are popular panic-buys everywhere from Knoxville to New
England.
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* [javascript] Aaron P. Bernstein / Reuters
Why Precisely Is Bernie Sanders Against Reparations?
+ Ta-Nehisi Coates
The Vermont senator’s political imagination is active against
plutocracy, but why is it so limited against white supremacy?
Last week Bernie Sanders was asked whether he was in favor of
“reparations for slavery.” It is worth considering Sanders’s
response in full:
No, I don’t think so. First of all, its likelihood of getting
through Congress is nil. Second of all, I think it would be very
divisive. The real issue is when we look at the poverty rate among
the African American community, when we look at the high
unemployment rate within the African American community, we have a
lot of work to do.
So I think what we should be talking about is making massive
investments in rebuilding our cities, in creating millions of decent
paying jobs, in making public colleges and universities
tuition-free, basically targeting our federal resources to the areas
where it is needed the most and where it is needed the most is in
impoverished communities, often African American and Latino.
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What's Leafy, Green, and Eaten by Blacks and Whites?
+ Conor Friedersdorf
A tiny but illuminating controversy over collards.
This is a story about how tiny things come to divide us. Fittingly,
it begins with a Tweet. Last week, Whole Foods Market sent this to
its 4.81 million Twitter followers:
If you're not cooking with these greens, you need to be! How to cook
collards: https://t.co/2lk2bMnKdS #HealthYeah
pic.twitter.com/YqBPXg3uus
— Whole Foods Market (@WholeFoods) January 14, 2016
One imagines a marketing staffer drafting the Tweet without
apprehension or anxiety. Obesity is epidemic. Americans suffer from
their unhealthy diets in myriad ways. Who could object to a
supermarket cheerily touting a leafy green vegetable? Alerted to
the Tweet by a foodie who asked me to explain why it was
controversial, I looked at it, vaguely recalled that Michelle Obama
had included a collard-greens recipe in her cookbook, American
Grown, and asked if maybe the Red Tribe was giving the Blue Tribe a
bit of ribbing about its affinity for plant-based diets?
Continue Reading
* [javascript] Stefano Rellandini / Reuters
Sympathy for the Macklemore
+ Spencer Kornhaber
“White Privilege II” bravely tackles difficult truths about race,
but that doesn’t make it a good song.
The third verse of Macklemore’s new song, “White Privilege II,” is
from the perspective of a fan complimenting the 32-year-old Seattle
rapper for hits like “Thrift Shop” and “Same Love.” Everything is
copacetic and nice until the speaker—it’s Macklemore using a filter
and multi-tracking to make it clear that this isn’t his
voice—disses the rest of hip-hop:
That’s so cool, look what you’re accomplishing
Even an old mom like me likes it cause it’s positive
You’re the only hip-hop that I let my kids listen to
Cause you get it, all that negative stuff isn’t cool
Yeah, like all the guns and the drugs
The bitches and the hoes and the gangs and the thugs
Even the protest outside—so sad and so dumb
If a cop pulls you over, it’s your fault if you run
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* [javascript] Brian Snyder / Reuters
Ted Cruz's Tithing Problem
+ Jonathan Merritt
Many Christians believe God requires the faithful to donate a tenth
of their income to charity. Will they vote for a candidate who
doesn’t?
Conservative critics of Ted Cruz are going after his tithing
practices. According to recently released tax records, the Texas
senator contributed less than 1 percent of his income to charity
between 2006 and 2010. But many Christians believe that the Bible
commands a charitable offering, or tithe, equal to 10 percent of
one’s annual earnings.
This discrepancy could end up making a difference less than two
weeks before the caucuses in Iowa, a state where a Republican
politician’s faith matters. And this is exactly what a newly formed
political group, Americans United for Values, is hoping for. Today,
the group is launching a 60-second radio advertisement on news,
talk, and Christian stations across Iowa that raises the tithing
question and labels Cruz a “phony”: “He doesn’t tithe?” a female
voice asks in the ad. “Isn’t he a millionaire? His wife worked for
a big Wall Street bank, right?”
Continue Reading
* [javascript] Carlos Javier Ortiz
The Case for Reparations
+ Ta-Nehisi Coates
Two hundred fifty years of slavery. Ninety years of Jim Crow. Sixty
years of separate but equal. Thirty-five years of racist housing
policy. Until we reckon with our compounding moral debts, America
will never be whole.
And if thy brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, be sold unto
thee, and serve thee six years; then in the seventh year thou shalt
let him go free from thee. And when thou sendest him out free from
thee, thou shalt not let him go away empty: thou shalt furnish him
liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy floor, and out of thy
winepress: of that wherewith the LORD thy God hath blessed thee
thou shalt give unto him. And thou shalt remember that thou wast a
bondman in the land of Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee:
therefore I command thee this thing today.
— Deuteronomy 15: 12–15
Besides the crime which consists in violating the law, and varying
from the right rule of reason, whereby a man so far becomes
degenerate, and declares himself to quit the principles of human
nature, and to be a noxious creature, there is commonly injury done
to some person or other, and some other man receives damage by his
transgression: in which case he who hath received any damage, has,
besides the right of punishment common to him with other men, a
particular right to seek reparation.
Continue Reading
* [javascript] Toby Talbot / AP
The Decline of the Driver's License
+ Julie Beck
Fewer people of all ages are getting them, and it’s not quite clear
why.
Remember how, in Clueless, Alicia Silverstone’s character Cher
fails her driver’s test after nearly killing a biker and scraping
her car alongside several parked cars? And then how she asks, “Do
you think I should write them a note?” as she drives away? And then
how, at the climax of the movie, her friend Tai (Brittany Murphy)
calls her “a virgin who can’t drive” and it is just the harshest
burn?
Well, that was a fictionalized version of the ‘90s, and this is
now. Things are different.
Young people are not getting driver’s licenses so much anymore. In
fact, no one is. According to a new study by Michael Sivak and
Brandon Schoettle at the University of Michigan Transportation
Research Institute, the percentage of people with a driver’s
license decreased between 2011 and 2014, across all age groups. For
people aged 16 to 44, that percentage has been decreasing steadily
since 1983.
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What the U.S. East Coast's Massive Snow Storm Looks Like
+ Marina Koren and Adam Chandler
From outer space down to the streets
Updated January 22 at 2:10 p.m. EST
That swirling cover of white up there is the first blizzard of
2016, captured by satellite on Friday as it barrels across the
central United States, toward the East Coast.
The “potentially crippling” storm is expected to bring powerful
winds and up to two feet of snow to parts of the Mid-Atlantic this
weekend, which could result in flooding in coastal regions, the
U.S. National Weather Service warned. The storm has the makings of
the “Big One” and so far appears “textbook,” according to the
winter-weather expert who literally wrote the textbook on northeast
snowstorms.
As of Friday morning, more than 85 million people—or more than one
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winter-storm advisory, according to weather.com. Local, state, and
federal officials have been scrambling to organize their responses
to the blizzard as residents swarm grocery stores to stock up on
food and water. As of Friday afternoon, there were already five
storm-related deaths reported.
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When Big Data Meets the Blackboard
Do the benefits of student analytics outweigh concerns over
individuals’ privacy?
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* Education
The recent debate over the NSA’s surveillance policies shows just how
much Americans care about privacy—perhaps on an unprecedented scale.
“This is the power of an informed public,” Edward Snowden wrote of
Congress’s decision this month to limit the agency’s data-collecting
power. “With each court victory, with every change in the law, we
demonstrate facts are more convincing than fear.”
But when it comes to the future of education in the United States, what
if Americans’ privacy concerns are hindering the constructive use of
data, from customized student learning to better teaching performance?
That’s the tension behind a growing body of education research by
private companies, academics, and nonprofits alike.
McKinsey’s Education Practice, for one, published an article in April
that considered the pros and cons of data in schools. Citing an earlier
McKinsey report, the authors argued that using student data could feed
between $900 billion and $1.2 trillion into the global economy each
year. More than $300 billion of that value could result from improved
teaching, while other benefits could arise from more efficiently
matching students to jobs and programs, estimating education costs, and
allocating resources to schools, according to the report.
Still, many are skeptical, fearing that student data could be used
inappropriately, or for corporate purposes. As Sophie Quinton reported
for National Journal, analytics have raised ethical questions on
college campuses, including whether institutions are essentially
surveilling their students. One study from 2012 focusing on the
higher-ed sector found that nearly a quarter of education professionals
surveyed were concerned about the misuse of data, regulations governing
data use, and individuals’ privacy rights. But when asked about data’s
potential to maximize strategic outcomes, from student progress to
efficient spending, more than 80 percent of the respondents said
analytics would become more important in the future.
“Even if you’re doing a lot of data-tracking, you still need a thinking
human to interpret it.”
Similar concerns exist in K-12 schools. “Even if they don’t follow
education policy, people’s ears perk up when they hear something about
their own children’s data, and they can get swayed pretty quickly by
groups that are fighting to maintain privacy at all costs,” says Rod
Berger, the vice president of education at RANDA Solutions, a software
firm based in Tennessee.
K–12 schools have almost always kept track of standardized test scores
and graduation rates, but only over the past decade or so have they had
access to more-detailed information captured by sophisticated analytic
software. This level of tracking has caused some consternation among
families. Last year, a nonprofit company called inBloom, funded by $100
million in seed money from the Gates and Carnegie Foundations, shut
down because parents worried that their children’s personal
information—stored by inBloom to help improve academic performance in
public schools across the country—could be misused, sold, or breached.
InBloom recorded student grades and attendance in addition to details
like family composition, free-lunch eligibility, and reasons for
enrollment changes, including medical conditions. It was one of an
increasing number of third-party vendors that create, license, and
implement education software—an $8 billion market, by recent estimates.
Reluctance to adopt data analytics across school districts may be
preventing improvements to student outcomes and teacher effectiveness,
according to Jimmy Sarakatsannis, one of the McKinsey article’s
authors. He says parents are understandably concerned that decisions
based on data could “rob the human experience from teaching and
learning.” But, as a former public-school teacher in Washington, D.C.,
Sarakatsannis adds that most teachers strive for “personalization,” or
instruction tailored to a student at a given point in time; data could
help them achieve this goal.
Major textbook publishers like McGraw-Hill as well as smaller ventures
like ThinkCERCA, a digital package of tools and lesson plans focused
on boosting literacy, have already begun to capitalize on student
data—proving that making kids smarter is smart business. The public’s
concerns about privacy put a significant burden on these companies—and
other stakeholders, such as policymakers to school administrators—to
illustrate the benefits, says Ryan Baker, an associate professor at
Columbia University’s Teachers College. One way to do this, Baker says,
is by measuring engagement: to what extent a student expresses interest
in and motivation to learn about a particular subject. (Although
experts disagree over what the term exactly means, “engagement” can
typically be measured by surveying students and teachers and by
observing classroom behavior.) Baker adds that tracking such data can
help teachers identify which kids are struggling with which material.
Of course, not all students enjoy the same subjects: a bookworm may
find calculus impenetrable, while a math whiz may think history is
boring. That largely leaves it up to teachers to encourage their
students to go beyond their comfort zones, says Eileen Murphy Buckley,
the founder and CEO of ThinkCERCA. Her company, which emphasizes the
role of debate and collaboration skills in education, provides teachers
and school officials with data dashboards that display an individual
student’s progress. But having sophisticated information about students
isn’t a cure-all for education’s challenges, Buckley notes.
“There’s this dream that we will have data that will make everything
adaptive, and that thinking humans won’t have to do anything anymore,”
she says. “I’m not there—it’s like thinking you could successfully
automate a sales force. Even if you’re doing a lot of data-tracking,
you still need a thinking human to interpret it.”
Reasoning Mind, a Houston-based nonprofit, does with math what
ThinkCERCA does with literacy: It offers an online platform to help
students advance their computational skills. George Khachatryan, the
cofounder and a senior executive of the organization, says Reasoning
Mind collaborates with teachers and even math Ph.D.s (called “knowledge
engineers”) to develop curricula. It currently serves over 100,000
students in grades two through six, 85 percent of whom reside in Texas.
Khachatryan argues that the platform has reduced student boredom,
increased standardized test scores, and allowed teachers to give
students targeted feedback, citing research studies the company has
conducted with parental consent. “It permits a better allocation of
human time,” he says.
“Why should I let you collect my data? The benefits are fantastic? Now
you have to reassure me you’re going to use it in a way I’m comfortable
with.”
Administrators can leverage student data to more fairly distribute
financial resources, too. This could go a long way towards making
American education more equitable across demographic groups: Under the
status quo, public-school funding is regressive in many states, with
schools serving disproportionate numbers of low-income students
receiving fewer resources. As Susan Dynarski recently wrote in The New
York Times, researchers and others rely on data to “pinpoint where
poor, nonwhite, and non-English-speaking children have been educated
inadequately.” Student data, in other words, could help make education
the “great equalizer” it’s supposed to be.
Various obstacles, including political ones, stand in the way of that
vision. The public’s aversion to data-gathering—exacerbated in part by
the current discourse surrounding national security and privacy—may
threaten to stymie new education research. According to the Pew
Research Center, more than half of Americans (54 percent) disapprove of
the government collecting individuals’ phone and internet data to
combat terrorism. Education may be quite different from national
security, but American attitudes on privacy and personal data suffuse
both.
Jose Ferreira, the founder and CEO of Knewton, a New York-based company
that develops adaptive-learning tools, says a lot of student data is
going to waste right now; rather than being forgotten at the end of
each school year or semester, it could be harnessed responsibly to
drive learning outcomes. His company tracks students’ proficiencies
across a variety of subjects, but will not share that information—even
with teachers—unless explicitly authorized to do so by a student’s
legal guardians.
“If you’re going to touch people’s data, it’s very important that the
benefits be clear,” he explains. “‘Why should I let you collect my
data? The benefits are fantastic? Now you have to reassure me you’re
going to use it in a way I’m comfortable with.’”
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* [javascript] Reuters
Standing Athwart History Yelling, 'Stop Donald Trump!'
+ Conor Friedersdorf
The National Review publishes the movement-conservative case
against the Republican frontrunner.
Last summer, George F. Will, the elder statesman of conservative
pundits, declared Donald Trump “an affront to anyone devoted to the
project William F. Buckley began six decades ago with the founding
in 1955 of National Review––making conservatism intellectually
respectable and politically palatable.” He urged conservatives to
treat Trump as Buckley once treated the John Birch Society.
On Thursday, the National Review published its bull of
excommunication. Its new issue leaves no doubt about where the
magazine stands on the race for the GOP nomination.
Say the editors, “Trump is a philosophically unmoored political
opportunist who would trash the broad conservative ideological
consensus within the GOP in favor of a free-floating populism with
strong-man overtones.”
Continue Reading
* [javascript] Barry Blitt
Twilight of the Headbangers
+ James Parker
How long can the legends of heavy metal keep on rocking?
Where’d lemmy go? The stage is empty: vacated mics, cooling drum
stool, the blocky, buzzing statuary of amps and speakers.
Motörhead, the legendary Motörhead, is not there anymore. I’m in a
heavy-metal hangar in Salt Lake City in late August, and
singer/bassist Ian Fraser “Lemmy” Kilmister has just walked off,
shakily and in evident distress, after only four songs, anxiously
pursued by his drummer, Mikkey Dee, and guitarist, Phil Campbell. A
man in a bandanna approaches me, pop-eyed with dire foreknowledge:
“He’s not comin’ back, man! He’s not comin’ back! He’s too old!”
Then he reels away, into the hormonal half-smoke and press of
bodies in front of the stage. Should we riot? Are we sad? Is it
possible that Lemmy—69 years old, pacemakered, diabetic—Lemmy, the
great survivor, opposer, grizzled odds-beater, humanity’s middle
finger, was crying? “Listen,” he’d said to us before exiting, in
his familiar English roar-gasp, that voice of fiery exhaustion.
“I’m really sorry—I can’t tell you how sorry I am—but my back’s
gone. I’ve got this bad back and … I can’t breathe up here either.”
Then he covered his face with his hands, and he left us.
Continue Reading
* [javascript] Carolyn Kaster / AP
Milk, Bread, and Eggs: The Trinity of Winter-Storm Panic-Shopping
+ Joe Pinsker
Why do people reliably stock up on the same things before they get
snowed in?
Lines of frantic shoppers have mobbed grocery stores in Washington,
D.C., after the National Weather Service gently advised residents
on Wednesday that an intense weekend storm will pose “a threat to
life and property” and impact “you, your family, and your
community.”
Which led me to wonder: After people hear a message so ominous, and
after reminders of their employers’ inclement-weather policies hit
inboxes, what do they buy to prepare for spending a good deal of
time indoors? I called up the managers of some grocery stores in
D.C. to find out, and they all had more or less the same answer:
bread, milk, and eggs. This holy trinity of winter-storm
preparedness is not some quirk of the nation’s capital—bread, milk,
and eggs are popular panic-buys everywhere from Knoxville to New
England.
Continue Reading
* [javascript] Aaron P. Bernstein / Reuters
Why Precisely Is Bernie Sanders Against Reparations?
+ Ta-Nehisi Coates
The Vermont senator’s political imagination is active against
plutocracy, but why is it so limited against white supremacy?
Last week Bernie Sanders was asked whether he was in favor of
“reparations for slavery.” It is worth considering Sanders’s
response in full:
No, I don’t think so. First of all, its likelihood of getting
through Congress is nil. Second of all, I think it would be very
divisive. The real issue is when we look at the poverty rate among
the African American community, when we look at the high
unemployment rate within the African American community, we have a
lot of work to do.
So I think what we should be talking about is making massive
investments in rebuilding our cities, in creating millions of decent
paying jobs, in making public colleges and universities
tuition-free, basically targeting our federal resources to the areas
where it is needed the most and where it is needed the most is in
impoverished communities, often African American and Latino.
Continue Reading
* [javascript] Glory Foods / Flickr
What's Leafy, Green, and Eaten by Blacks and Whites?
+ Conor Friedersdorf
A tiny but illuminating controversy over collards.
This is a story about how tiny things come to divide us. Fittingly,
it begins with a Tweet. Last week, Whole Foods Market sent this to
its 4.81 million Twitter followers:
If you're not cooking with these greens, you need to be! How to cook
collards: https://t.co/2lk2bMnKdS #HealthYeah
pic.twitter.com/YqBPXg3uus
— Whole Foods Market (@WholeFoods) January 14, 2016
One imagines a marketing staffer drafting the Tweet without
apprehension or anxiety. Obesity is epidemic. Americans suffer from
their unhealthy diets in myriad ways. Who could object to a
supermarket cheerily touting a leafy green vegetable? Alerted to
the Tweet by a foodie who asked me to explain why it was
controversial, I looked at it, vaguely recalled that Michelle Obama
had included a collard-greens recipe in her cookbook, American
Grown, and asked if maybe the Red Tribe was giving the Blue Tribe a
bit of ribbing about its affinity for plant-based diets?
Continue Reading
* [javascript] Stefano Rellandini / Reuters
Sympathy for the Macklemore
+ Spencer Kornhaber
“White Privilege II” bravely tackles difficult truths about race,
but that doesn’t make it a good song.
The third verse of Macklemore’s new song, “White Privilege II,” is
from the perspective of a fan complimenting the 32-year-old Seattle
rapper for hits like “Thrift Shop” and “Same Love.” Everything is
copacetic and nice until the speaker—it’s Macklemore using a filter
and multi-tracking to make it clear that this isn’t his
voice—disses the rest of hip-hop:
That’s so cool, look what you’re accomplishing
Even an old mom like me likes it cause it’s positive
You’re the only hip-hop that I let my kids listen to
Cause you get it, all that negative stuff isn’t cool
Yeah, like all the guns and the drugs
The bitches and the hoes and the gangs and the thugs
Even the protest outside—so sad and so dumb
If a cop pulls you over, it’s your fault if you run
Continue Reading
* [javascript] Brian Snyder / Reuters
Ted Cruz's Tithing Problem
+ Jonathan Merritt
Many Christians believe God requires the faithful to donate a tenth
of their income to charity. Will they vote for a candidate who
doesn’t?
Conservative critics of Ted Cruz are going after his tithing
practices. According to recently released tax records, the Texas
senator contributed less than 1 percent of his income to charity
between 2006 and 2010. But many Christians believe that the Bible
commands a charitable offering, or tithe, equal to 10 percent of
one’s annual earnings.
This discrepancy could end up making a difference less than two
weeks before the caucuses in Iowa, a state where a Republican
politician’s faith matters. And this is exactly what a newly formed
political group, Americans United for Values, is hoping for. Today,
the group is launching a 60-second radio advertisement on news,
talk, and Christian stations across Iowa that raises the tithing
question and labels Cruz a “phony”: “He doesn’t tithe?” a female
voice asks in the ad. “Isn’t he a millionaire? His wife worked for
a big Wall Street bank, right?”
Continue Reading
* [javascript] Carlos Javier Ortiz
The Case for Reparations
+ Ta-Nehisi Coates
Two hundred fifty years of slavery. Ninety years of Jim Crow. Sixty
years of separate but equal. Thirty-five years of racist housing
policy. Until we reckon with our compounding moral debts, America
will never be whole.
And if thy brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, be sold unto
thee, and serve thee six years; then in the seventh year thou shalt
let him go free from thee. And when thou sendest him out free from
thee, thou shalt not let him go away empty: thou shalt furnish him
liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy floor, and out of thy
winepress: of that wherewith the LORD thy God hath blessed thee
thou shalt give unto him. And thou shalt remember that thou wast a
bondman in the land of Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee:
therefore I command thee this thing today.
— Deuteronomy 15: 12–15
Besides the crime which consists in violating the law, and varying
from the right rule of reason, whereby a man so far becomes
degenerate, and declares himself to quit the principles of human
nature, and to be a noxious creature, there is commonly injury done
to some person or other, and some other man receives damage by his
transgression: in which case he who hath received any damage, has,
besides the right of punishment common to him with other men, a
particular right to seek reparation.
Continue Reading
* [javascript] Toby Talbot / AP
The Decline of the Driver's License
+ Julie Beck
Fewer people of all ages are getting them, and it’s not quite clear
why.
Remember how, in Clueless, Alicia Silverstone’s character Cher
fails her driver’s test after nearly killing a biker and scraping
her car alongside several parked cars? And then how she asks, “Do
you think I should write them a note?” as she drives away? And then
how, at the climax of the movie, her friend Tai (Brittany Murphy)
calls her “a virgin who can’t drive” and it is just the harshest
burn?
Well, that was a fictionalized version of the ‘90s, and this is
now. Things are different.
Young people are not getting driver’s licenses so much anymore. In
fact, no one is. According to a new study by Michael Sivak and
Brandon Schoettle at the University of Michigan Transportation
Research Institute, the percentage of people with a driver’s
license decreased between 2011 and 2014, across all age groups. For
people aged 16 to 44, that percentage has been decreasing steadily
since 1983.
Continue Reading
* [javascript] NASA/NOAA
What the U.S. East Coast's Massive Snow Storm Looks Like
+ Marina Koren and Adam Chandler
From outer space down to the streets
Updated January 22 at 2:10 p.m. EST
That swirling cover of white up there is the first blizzard of
2016, captured by satellite on Friday as it barrels across the
central United States, toward the East Coast.
The “potentially crippling” storm is expected to bring powerful
winds and up to two feet of snow to parts of the Mid-Atlantic this
weekend, which could result in flooding in coastal regions, the
U.S. National Weather Service warned. The storm has the makings of
the “Big One” and so far appears “textbook,” according to the
winter-weather expert who literally wrote the textbook on northeast
snowstorms.
As of Friday morning, more than 85 million people—or more than one
in every four Americans—were covered by some kind of blizzard or
winter-storm advisory, according to weather.com. Local, state, and
federal officials have been scrambling to organize their responses
to the blizzard as residents swarm grocery stores to stock up on
food and water. As of Friday afternoon, there were already five
storm-related deaths reported.
Continue Reading
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The Most Powerful Images of 2015
+ Greyson Korhonen and Alan Taylor
A selection of the year's best photos
Watch Video
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A Photojournalist Walks Away From His Profession
+ Nadine Ajaka
How do you decide when you've seen enough of war?
Watch Video
* [javascript] Dennis Hlynsky / The Atlantic / Pearson Scott Foreman
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Revealing the Hidden Patterns of Birds and Insects in Motion
+ Sam Price-Waldman
A video shows the dreamlike voyages of starlings, water striders,
and more.
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* Alexander Furnas
* Mar 15, 2012
* Technology
People condemn targeted advertising for its "creepiness" but the real
issue is that we are giving private companies more power.
collusion_615.jpg
Jonathan Zittrain noted last summer, "If what you are getting online is
for free, you are not the customer, you are the product." This is just
a fact: The Internet of free platforms, free services and free content
is wholly subsidized by targeted advertising, the efficacy (and thus
profitability) of which relies on collecting and mining user data. We
experience this commodification of our attention everyday in virtually
everything we do online, whether it's searching, checking email, using
Facebook or reading The Atlantic Technology section on this site. That
is to say, right now you are a product.
Most of us, myself included, have not come to terms with what it means
to "be the product." In searching for a framework to make sense of this
new dynamic, often we rely on well established pre-digital notions of
privacy. The privacy discourse frames the issue in an ego-centric
manner, as a bargain between consumers and companies: the company will
know x, y and z about me and in exchange I get free email, good
recommendations, and a plethora of convenient services. But the bargain
that we are making is a collective one, and the costs will be felt at a
societal scale. When we think in terms of power, it is clear we are
getting a raw deal: we grant private entities -- with no interest in
the public good and no public accountability -- greater powers of
persuasion than anyone has ever had before and in exchange we get free
email.
The privacy discourse is propelled by the "creepy" feeling of being
under the gaze of an omniscient observer that one gets when they see
targeted ads based on their data about their behavior. Charles Duhigg
recently highlighted a prime example of this data-driven creepiness
when he revealed that Target is able to mine purchasing behavior data
to determine if a woman is pregnant, sometimes before she has even told
her family. Fundamentally, people are uncomfortable with the feeling
that entities know things about them that they didn't tell them, or at
least that they didn't know they told them.
For many people the data-for-free-stuff deal is a bargain worth making.
Proponents of this hyper-targeted world tell us to "learn to love" the
targeting, after all we are merely being provided with ads for "stuff
you would probably like to buy." Oh, I was just thinking I needed a new
widget, and here is a link to a store that sells widgets! It's great,
right? The problem is that, in aggregate, this knowledge is powerful
and we are granting those who gather our data far more than we realize.
These data-vores are doing more than trying to ensure that everyone
looking for a widget buys it from them. No, they want to increase
demand. Of course, increasing demand has always been one of the goals
of advertising, but now they have even more power to do it.
Privacy critics worry about what Facebook, Google or Amazon knows about
them, whether they will share that information or leak it, and maybe
whether the government can get that information without a court order.
While these concerns are legitimate, I think they are missing the
broader point. Rather than caring about what they know about me, we
should care about what they know about us. Detailed knowledge of
individuals and their behavior coupled with the aggregate data on human
behavior now available at unprecedented scale grants incredible power.
Knowing about all of us - how we behave, how our behavior has changed
over time, under what conditions our behavior is subject to change, and
what factors are likely to impact our decision-making under various
conditions - provides a roadmap for designing persuasive technologies.
For the most part, the ethical implications of widespread deployment of
persuasive technologies remains unexamined.
Using all of the trace data we leave in our digital wakes to target ads
is known as "behavioral advertising." This is what target was doing to
identify pregnant women, and what Amazon does with every user and every
purchase. But behavioral advertisers do more than just use your past
behavior to guess what you want. Their goal is actually to alter user
behavior. Companies use extensive knowledge gleaned from innumerable
micro-experiments and massive user behavior data over time to design
their systems to elicit the monetizable behavior that their business
models demand. At levels as granular as Google testing click-through
rates on 41 different shades of blue, data-driven companies have
learned how to channel your attention, initiate behavior, and keep you
coming back.
BUY.jpg
Keen awareness of human behavior has taught them to harness fundamental
desires and needs, short-circuiting feedback mechanisms with instant
rewards. Think of the "gamification" which now proliferates online -
nearly every platform has some sort of reward or reputation point
system encouraging you to tell them more about yourself. Facebook, of
course, leverages our innate desires -- autobiographical identity
construction and the need for interpersonal social connection -- as a
means of encouraging the self-disclosure from which they profit.
The persuasive power of these technologies is not overt. Indeed, the
subtlety of the persuasion is part of their strength. People often
react negatively if they get a sense of being "handled" or manipulated.
(This sense is where the "creepiness" backlash comes from.) But the
power is very real. Target, for instance, now sends coupon books with a
subtle but very intentional emphasis on baby products to women who
think they are pregnant, instead of more explicitly tailored offers
that reveal how much the company knows.
Tech theorist Bruno Latour tells us that human action is mediated and
"coshaped" by artifacts and material conditions. Artifacts present
"scripts" that suggest behavior. The power to design these artifacts
is, then, necessarily the power to influence action. The mundane
example of Amazon.com illustrates this well:
The goal of this Web site is to persuade people to buy products
again and again from Amazon.com. Everything on the Web site
contributes to this result: user registration, tailored information,
limited-time offers, third-party product reviews, one-click
shopping, confirmation messages, and more. Dozens of persuasion
strategies are integrated into the overall experience. Although the
Amazon online experience may appear to be focused on providing mere
information and seamless service, it is really about persuasion--buy
things now and come back for more.
In some ways, this is just an update to the longstanding discussion in
business ethics circles over the implications of persuasive
advertising. Behavioral economics has shown that humans' cognitive
biases can be exploited, so Roger Crisp has noted that subliminal and
persuasive advertising undermines the autonomy of the consumer. And the
advent of big-data and user-centered design has provided those who
would persuade with a new and more powerful arsenal. This has led
design ethicists to call for the explicit "moralization of technology,"
wherein designers would have to confront the ethical implications of
the actions they shape.
mustusemilk_615.jpg
There is another significant layer, which complicates the ethics of
data and power. The data all of these firms collect is proprietary and
closed. Analysis of human behavior from the greatest trove of data ever
collected is limited to questions of how best to harvest clicks and
turn a profit. Not that there is no merit to this, but only these
private companies and the select few researchers they bless can study
these phenomena at scale. Thus, industry outpaces academia, and the
people building and implementing persuasive technologies know much more
than the critics . The result is a fundamental information asymmetry.
The data collectors have more information than those they are they are
collecting the data from; the persuaders more power than the persuaded.
Judging whether this is good or bad depends on your framework for
evaluating corporate behavior and the extent to which you trust the
market as a force to prevent abuse. To be sure, there is a desire for
the services that these companies offer and they are meeting a
legitimate market demand. However, in a sector filled with large
oligopolistic firms bolstered by network effects and opaque terms of
service agreements laden with fine-print, there are legitimate reasons
to question the efficacy of the market as a regulator of these issues.
A few things are certain, however. One is that the goals of the
companies collecting the data are not necessarily the same as the goals
of the people they are tracking. Another is that, as we establish norms
for dealing with personal and behavioral data we should approach the
issue with a full understanding of the scope of what's at stake. To
understand the stakes, our critiques of ad tracking (and the
fundamental asymmetries it creates) need to focus more on power and
less on privacy.
The privacy framework tells us that we should feel violated by what
they know about us. Understanding these issues in the context of power
tells us that we should feel manipulated and controlled.
theboss2.jpg
This piece was informed by discussions with James Williams, a doctoral
candidate at the Oxford Internet Institute researching the ethical
implications of persuasive technologies.
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Inside the program that's preparing law enforcement for the rise in
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*
Latest Slideshow
[thumb_wide_300.jpg?1447874076] Peter Garritano
In Photos: Inside the Internet
Photographs of what “the cloud” actually looks like
* Emily Anne Epstein
* Jan 5, 2016
*
About the Author
* [headshot.jpg]
Alexander Furnas is a research fellow at the Sunlight Foundation in
Washington, D.C.
+ Twitter
Most Popular
Presented by
* [javascript] Reuters
Standing Athwart History Yelling, 'Stop Donald Trump!'
+ Conor Friedersdorf
The National Review publishes the movement-conservative case
against the Republican frontrunner.
Last summer, George F. Will, the elder statesman of conservative
pundits, declared Donald Trump “an affront to anyone devoted to the
project William F. Buckley began six decades ago with the founding
in 1955 of National Review––making conservatism intellectually
respectable and politically palatable.” He urged conservatives to
treat Trump as Buckley once treated the John Birch Society.
On Thursday, the National Review published its bull of
excommunication. Its new issue leaves no doubt about where the
magazine stands on the race for the GOP nomination.
Say the editors, “Trump is a philosophically unmoored political
opportunist who would trash the broad conservative ideological
consensus within the GOP in favor of a free-floating populism with
strong-man overtones.”
Continue Reading
* [javascript] Barry Blitt
Twilight of the Headbangers
+ James Parker
How long can the legends of heavy metal keep on rocking?
Where’d lemmy go? The stage is empty: vacated mics, cooling drum
stool, the blocky, buzzing statuary of amps and speakers.
Motörhead, the legendary Motörhead, is not there anymore. I’m in a
heavy-metal hangar in Salt Lake City in late August, and
singer/bassist Ian Fraser “Lemmy” Kilmister has just walked off,
shakily and in evident distress, after only four songs, anxiously
pursued by his drummer, Mikkey Dee, and guitarist, Phil Campbell. A
man in a bandanna approaches me, pop-eyed with dire foreknowledge:
“He’s not comin’ back, man! He’s not comin’ back! He’s too old!”
Then he reels away, into the hormonal half-smoke and press of
bodies in front of the stage. Should we riot? Are we sad? Is it
possible that Lemmy—69 years old, pacemakered, diabetic—Lemmy, the
great survivor, opposer, grizzled odds-beater, humanity’s middle
finger, was crying? “Listen,” he’d said to us before exiting, in
his familiar English roar-gasp, that voice of fiery exhaustion.
“I’m really sorry—I can’t tell you how sorry I am—but my back’s
gone. I’ve got this bad back and … I can’t breathe up here either.”
Then he covered his face with his hands, and he left us.
Continue Reading
* [javascript] Carolyn Kaster / AP
Milk, Bread, and Eggs: The Trinity of Winter-Storm Panic-Shopping
+ Joe Pinsker
Why do people reliably stock up on the same things before they get
snowed in?
Lines of frantic shoppers have mobbed grocery stores in Washington,
D.C., after the National Weather Service gently advised residents
on Wednesday that an intense weekend storm will pose “a threat to
life and property” and impact “you, your family, and your
community.”
Which led me to wonder: After people hear a message so ominous, and
after reminders of their employers’ inclement-weather policies hit
inboxes, what do they buy to prepare for spending a good deal of
time indoors? I called up the managers of some grocery stores in
D.C. to find out, and they all had more or less the same answer:
bread, milk, and eggs. This holy trinity of winter-storm
preparedness is not some quirk of the nation’s capital—bread, milk,
and eggs are popular panic-buys everywhere from Knoxville to New
England.
Continue Reading
* [javascript] Aaron P. Bernstein / Reuters
Why Precisely Is Bernie Sanders Against Reparations?
+ Ta-Nehisi Coates
The Vermont senator’s political imagination is active against
plutocracy, but why is it so limited against white supremacy?
Last week Bernie Sanders was asked whether he was in favor of
“reparations for slavery.” It is worth considering Sanders’s
response in full:
No, I don’t think so. First of all, its likelihood of getting
through Congress is nil. Second of all, I think it would be very
divisive. The real issue is when we look at the poverty rate among
the African American community, when we look at the high
unemployment rate within the African American community, we have a
lot of work to do.
So I think what we should be talking about is making massive
investments in rebuilding our cities, in creating millions of decent
paying jobs, in making public colleges and universities
tuition-free, basically targeting our federal resources to the areas
where it is needed the most and where it is needed the most is in
impoverished communities, often African American and Latino.
Continue Reading
* [javascript] Glory Foods / Flickr
What's Leafy, Green, and Eaten by Blacks and Whites?
+ Conor Friedersdorf
A tiny but illuminating controversy over collards.
This is a story about how tiny things come to divide us. Fittingly,
it begins with a Tweet. Last week, Whole Foods Market sent this to
its 4.81 million Twitter followers:
If you're not cooking with these greens, you need to be! How to cook
collards: https://t.co/2lk2bMnKdS #HealthYeah
pic.twitter.com/YqBPXg3uus
— Whole Foods Market (@WholeFoods) January 14, 2016
One imagines a marketing staffer drafting the Tweet without
apprehension or anxiety. Obesity is epidemic. Americans suffer from
their unhealthy diets in myriad ways. Who could object to a
supermarket cheerily touting a leafy green vegetable? Alerted to
the Tweet by a foodie who asked me to explain why it was
controversial, I looked at it, vaguely recalled that Michelle Obama
had included a collard-greens recipe in her cookbook, American
Grown, and asked if maybe the Red Tribe was giving the Blue Tribe a
bit of ribbing about its affinity for plant-based diets?
Continue Reading
* [javascript] Stefano Rellandini / Reuters
Sympathy for the Macklemore
+ Spencer Kornhaber
“White Privilege II” bravely tackles difficult truths about race,
but that doesn’t make it a good song.
The third verse of Macklemore’s new song, “White Privilege II,” is
from the perspective of a fan complimenting the 32-year-old Seattle
rapper for hits like “Thrift Shop” and “Same Love.” Everything is
copacetic and nice until the speaker—it’s Macklemore using a filter
and multi-tracking to make it clear that this isn’t his
voice—disses the rest of hip-hop:
That’s so cool, look what you’re accomplishing
Even an old mom like me likes it cause it’s positive
You’re the only hip-hop that I let my kids listen to
Cause you get it, all that negative stuff isn’t cool
Yeah, like all the guns and the drugs
The bitches and the hoes and the gangs and the thugs
Even the protest outside—so sad and so dumb
If a cop pulls you over, it’s your fault if you run
Continue Reading
* [javascript] Brian Snyder / Reuters
Ted Cruz's Tithing Problem
+ Jonathan Merritt
Many Christians believe God requires the faithful to donate a tenth
of their income to charity. Will they vote for a candidate who
doesn’t?
Conservative critics of Ted Cruz are going after his tithing
practices. According to recently released tax records, the Texas
senator contributed less than 1 percent of his income to charity
between 2006 and 2010. But many Christians believe that the Bible
commands a charitable offering, or tithe, equal to 10 percent of
one’s annual earnings.
This discrepancy could end up making a difference less than two
weeks before the caucuses in Iowa, a state where a Republican
politician’s faith matters. And this is exactly what a newly formed
political group, Americans United for Values, is hoping for. Today,
the group is launching a 60-second radio advertisement on news,
talk, and Christian stations across Iowa that raises the tithing
question and labels Cruz a “phony”: “He doesn’t tithe?” a female
voice asks in the ad. “Isn’t he a millionaire? His wife worked for
a big Wall Street bank, right?”
Continue Reading
* [javascript] Carlos Javier Ortiz
The Case for Reparations
+ Ta-Nehisi Coates
Two hundred fifty years of slavery. Ninety years of Jim Crow. Sixty
years of separate but equal. Thirty-five years of racist housing
policy. Until we reckon with our compounding moral debts, America
will never be whole.
And if thy brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, be sold unto
thee, and serve thee six years; then in the seventh year thou shalt
let him go free from thee. And when thou sendest him out free from
thee, thou shalt not let him go away empty: thou shalt furnish him
liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy floor, and out of thy
winepress: of that wherewith the LORD thy God hath blessed thee
thou shalt give unto him. And thou shalt remember that thou wast a
bondman in the land of Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee:
therefore I command thee this thing today.
— Deuteronomy 15: 12–15
Besides the crime which consists in violating the law, and varying
from the right rule of reason, whereby a man so far becomes
degenerate, and declares himself to quit the principles of human
nature, and to be a noxious creature, there is commonly injury done
to some person or other, and some other man receives damage by his
transgression: in which case he who hath received any damage, has,
besides the right of punishment common to him with other men, a
particular right to seek reparation.
Continue Reading
* [javascript] Toby Talbot / AP
The Decline of the Driver's License
+ Julie Beck
Fewer people of all ages are getting them, and it’s not quite clear
why.
Remember how, in Clueless, Alicia Silverstone’s character Cher
fails her driver’s test after nearly killing a biker and scraping
her car alongside several parked cars? And then how she asks, “Do
you think I should write them a note?” as she drives away? And then
how, at the climax of the movie, her friend Tai (Brittany Murphy)
calls her “a virgin who can’t drive” and it is just the harshest
burn?
Well, that was a fictionalized version of the ‘90s, and this is
now. Things are different.
Young people are not getting driver’s licenses so much anymore. In
fact, no one is. According to a new study by Michael Sivak and
Brandon Schoettle at the University of Michigan Transportation
Research Institute, the percentage of people with a driver’s
license decreased between 2011 and 2014, across all age groups. For
people aged 16 to 44, that percentage has been decreasing steadily
since 1983.
Continue Reading
* [javascript] NASA/NOAA
What the U.S. East Coast's Massive Snow Storm Looks Like
+ Marina Koren and Adam Chandler
From outer space down to the streets
Updated January 22 at 2:10 p.m. EST
That swirling cover of white up there is the first blizzard of
2016, captured by satellite on Friday as it barrels across the
central United States, toward the East Coast.
The “potentially crippling” storm is expected to bring powerful
winds and up to two feet of snow to parts of the Mid-Atlantic this
weekend, which could result in flooding in coastal regions, the
U.S. National Weather Service warned. The storm has the makings of
the “Big One” and so far appears “textbook,” according to the
winter-weather expert who literally wrote the textbook on northeast
snowstorms.
As of Friday morning, more than 85 million people—or more than one
in every four Americans—were covered by some kind of blizzard or
winter-storm advisory, according to weather.com. Local, state, and
federal officials have been scrambling to organize their responses
to the blizzard as residents swarm grocery stores to stock up on
food and water. As of Friday afternoon, there were already five
storm-related deaths reported.
Continue Reading
* [javascript]
The Most Powerful Images of 2015
+ Greyson Korhonen and Alan Taylor
A selection of the year's best photos
Watch Video
* [javascript]
A Photojournalist Walks Away From His Profession
+ Nadine Ajaka
How do you decide when you've seen enough of war?
Watch Video
* [javascript] Dennis Hlynsky / The Atlantic / Pearson Scott Foreman
/ Wikimedia Commons
Revealing the Hidden Patterns of Birds and Insects in Motion
+ Sam Price-Waldman
A video shows the dreamlike voyages of starlings, water striders,
and more.
Watch Video
More Popular Stories
Show Comments
Subscribe
Get 10 issues a year and save 65% off the cover price.
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Now the GOP Must Choose: Mass Surveillance or Privacy?
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previousThe Dream of Country-Music Gender Equality, Made Visible for
One NightWhat American Voters Have in Common With the Vietnamesenext
story
Now the GOP Must Choose: Mass Surveillance or Privacy?
Before May, Congress has no alternative but to endorse or end NSA
spying on the phone calls of virtually every American. What does the
new party in charge want?
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* Conor Friedersdorf
* Nov 7, 2014
* Politics
The Patriot Act substantially expires in May 2015.
When the new Congress takes up its reauthorization, mere months after
convening, members will be forced to decide what to do about Section
215 of the law, the provision cited by the NSA to justify logging most
every telephone call made by Americans.
With Republicans controlling both the Senate and the House, the GOP
faces a stark choice. Is a party that purports to favor constitutional
conservatism and limited government going to ratify mass surveillance
that makes a mockery of the Fourth Amendment? Will Mitch McConnell
endorse a policy wherein the Obama administration logs and stores every
telephone number dialed or received by Roger Ailes of Fox News, Wayne
LaPierre of the NRA, the Koch brothers, the head of every pro-life
organization in America, and every member of the Tea Party? Is the GOP
House going to sacrifice the privacy of all its constituents to NSA
spying that embodies the generalized warrants so abhorrent to the
founders?
The issue divides elected Republicans. Senator Rand Paul and
Representative Justin Amash are among those wary of tracking the phone
calls of millions of innocent people. Senator Richard Burr favors doing
it. Republicans pondering a run for president in 2016 will be trying to
figure out how mass surveillance will play in that campaign.
Many would rather not take any stand before May, as if governing—the
very job citizens are paying them to do—is some sort of trap. But their
preferences don't matter. This fight is unavoidable.
Nor is it the only one that touches on surveillance. The dubiously
named USA Freedom Act began as an effort to reform the NSA and has
since been weakened. The NSA and FBI engages in lots of questionable
surveillance besides the phone dragnet. Republicans will now run the
Senate and House intelligence committees.
'I believe phoning your obstretician should be private.' Don't
Republicans see the appeal of that commercial?
Rather than urging the GOP to avoid "the governing trap," National
Review and other outlets purportedly dedicated to constitutional
conservatism ought to be demanding that Republicans use their newfound
power to rein in our surveillance bureaucracy, since anyone with a
healthy mistrust of government should see how easily its staggering
power, exercised in secret, could be ruinous to liberty. A
limited-government movement that does not demand oversight and reform
now that its party has regained power is a farce. To endorse the
national surveillance bureaucracy as it now stands is tantamount to
declaring oneself a trusting statist.
And opposing it would be a populist victory that puts Republicans in a
position to truthfully brag about fighting to save core liberties from
Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, and every other prominent
Democratic apologist for the NSA.
"When you phone your obstetrician, the Democratic nominee believes that
call should be recorded and stored in a government database. I believe
it should be private." Don't Republicans see the appeal of a nominee
who could run that commercial?
The GOP is at a crossroads. It could easily go on as a party that
dismisses affronts to individual liberty so long as they're carried out
in the name of counterterrorism. But enough Republicans are
uncomfortable with that approach (among both elites and the grassroots)
that a major change of course is possible. What's most important for
the public to know, as events unfold in Congress, is that anyone who
claims to be seriously concerned about NSA surveillance but favors no
reform save the USA Freedom Act, is ignorant, lying, or both. It is
imperative to deny them credit as surveillance reformers—and even more
important to reward any legislator of either party if they help,
against long odds, to wrest back our core right to privacy from an
abusive state.
It's your move, Republicans.
* Continue Reading
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About the Author
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Conor Friedersdorf is a staff writer at The Atlantic, where he
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Most Popular
Presented by
* [javascript] Reuters
Standing Athwart History Yelling, 'Stop Donald Trump!'
+ Conor Friedersdorf
The National Review publishes the movement-conservative case
against the Republican frontrunner.
Last summer, George F. Will, the elder statesman of conservative
pundits, declared Donald Trump “an affront to anyone devoted to the
project William F. Buckley began six decades ago with the founding
in 1955 of National Review––making conservatism intellectually
respectable and politically palatable.” He urged conservatives to
treat Trump as Buckley once treated the John Birch Society.
On Thursday, the National Review published its bull of
excommunication. Its new issue leaves no doubt about where the
magazine stands on the race for the GOP nomination.
Say the editors, “Trump is a philosophically unmoored political
opportunist who would trash the broad conservative ideological
consensus within the GOP in favor of a free-floating populism with
strong-man overtones.”
Continue Reading
* [javascript] Barry Blitt
Twilight of the Headbangers
+ James Parker
How long can the legends of heavy metal keep on rocking?
Where’d lemmy go? The stage is empty: vacated mics, cooling drum
stool, the blocky, buzzing statuary of amps and speakers.
Motörhead, the legendary Motörhead, is not there anymore. I’m in a
heavy-metal hangar in Salt Lake City in late August, and
singer/bassist Ian Fraser “Lemmy” Kilmister has just walked off,
shakily and in evident distress, after only four songs, anxiously
pursued by his drummer, Mikkey Dee, and guitarist, Phil Campbell. A
man in a bandanna approaches me, pop-eyed with dire foreknowledge:
“He’s not comin’ back, man! He’s not comin’ back! He’s too old!”
Then he reels away, into the hormonal half-smoke and press of
bodies in front of the stage. Should we riot? Are we sad? Is it
possible that Lemmy—69 years old, pacemakered, diabetic—Lemmy, the
great survivor, opposer, grizzled odds-beater, humanity’s middle
finger, was crying? “Listen,” he’d said to us before exiting, in
his familiar English roar-gasp, that voice of fiery exhaustion.
“I’m really sorry—I can’t tell you how sorry I am—but my back’s
gone. I’ve got this bad back and … I can’t breathe up here either.”
Then he covered his face with his hands, and he left us.
Continue Reading
* [javascript] Carolyn Kaster / AP
Milk, Bread, and Eggs: The Trinity of Winter-Storm Panic-Shopping
+ Joe Pinsker
Why do people reliably stock up on the same things before they get
snowed in?
Lines of frantic shoppers have mobbed grocery stores in Washington,
D.C., after the National Weather Service gently advised residents
on Wednesday that an intense weekend storm will pose “a threat to
life and property” and impact “you, your family, and your
community.”
Which led me to wonder: After people hear a message so ominous, and
after reminders of their employers’ inclement-weather policies hit
inboxes, what do they buy to prepare for spending a good deal of
time indoors? I called up the managers of some grocery stores in
D.C. to find out, and they all had more or less the same answer:
bread, milk, and eggs. This holy trinity of winter-storm
preparedness is not some quirk of the nation’s capital—bread, milk,
and eggs are popular panic-buys everywhere from Knoxville to New
England.
Continue Reading
* [javascript] Aaron P. Bernstein / Reuters
Why Precisely Is Bernie Sanders Against Reparations?
+ Ta-Nehisi Coates
The Vermont senator’s political imagination is active against
plutocracy, but why is it so limited against white supremacy?
Last week Bernie Sanders was asked whether he was in favor of
“reparations for slavery.” It is worth considering Sanders’s
response in full:
No, I don’t think so. First of all, its likelihood of getting
through Congress is nil. Second of all, I think it would be very
divisive. The real issue is when we look at the poverty rate among
the African American community, when we look at the high
unemployment rate within the African American community, we have a
lot of work to do.
So I think what we should be talking about is making massive
investments in rebuilding our cities, in creating millions of decent
paying jobs, in making public colleges and universities
tuition-free, basically targeting our federal resources to the areas
where it is needed the most and where it is needed the most is in
impoverished communities, often African American and Latino.
Continue Reading
* [javascript] Glory Foods / Flickr
What's Leafy, Green, and Eaten by Blacks and Whites?
+ Conor Friedersdorf
A tiny but illuminating controversy over collards.
This is a story about how tiny things come to divide us. Fittingly,
it begins with a Tweet. Last week, Whole Foods Market sent this to
its 4.81 million Twitter followers:
If you're not cooking with these greens, you need to be! How to cook
collards: https://t.co/2lk2bMnKdS #HealthYeah
pic.twitter.com/YqBPXg3uus
— Whole Foods Market (@WholeFoods) January 14, 2016
One imagines a marketing staffer drafting the Tweet without
apprehension or anxiety. Obesity is epidemic. Americans suffer from
their unhealthy diets in myriad ways. Who could object to a
supermarket cheerily touting a leafy green vegetable? Alerted to
the Tweet by a foodie who asked me to explain why it was
controversial, I looked at it, vaguely recalled that Michelle Obama
had included a collard-greens recipe in her cookbook, American
Grown, and asked if maybe the Red Tribe was giving the Blue Tribe a
bit of ribbing about its affinity for plant-based diets?
Continue Reading
* [javascript] Stefano Rellandini / Reuters
Sympathy for the Macklemore
+ Spencer Kornhaber
“White Privilege II” bravely tackles difficult truths about race,
but that doesn’t make it a good song.
The third verse of Macklemore’s new song, “White Privilege II,” is
from the perspective of a fan complimenting the 32-year-old Seattle
rapper for hits like “Thrift Shop” and “Same Love.” Everything is
copacetic and nice until the speaker—it’s Macklemore using a filter
and multi-tracking to make it clear that this isn’t his
voice—disses the rest of hip-hop:
That’s so cool, look what you’re accomplishing
Even an old mom like me likes it cause it’s positive
You’re the only hip-hop that I let my kids listen to
Cause you get it, all that negative stuff isn’t cool
Yeah, like all the guns and the drugs
The bitches and the hoes and the gangs and the thugs
Even the protest outside—so sad and so dumb
If a cop pulls you over, it’s your fault if you run
Continue Reading
* [javascript] Brian Snyder / Reuters
Ted Cruz's Tithing Problem
+ Jonathan Merritt
Many Christians believe God requires the faithful to donate a tenth
of their income to charity. Will they vote for a candidate who
doesn’t?
Conservative critics of Ted Cruz are going after his tithing
practices. According to recently released tax records, the Texas
senator contributed less than 1 percent of his income to charity
between 2006 and 2010. But many Christians believe that the Bible
commands a charitable offering, or tithe, equal to 10 percent of
one’s annual earnings.
This discrepancy could end up making a difference less than two
weeks before the caucuses in Iowa, a state where a Republican
politician’s faith matters. And this is exactly what a newly formed
political group, Americans United for Values, is hoping for. Today,
the group is launching a 60-second radio advertisement on news,
talk, and Christian stations across Iowa that raises the tithing
question and labels Cruz a “phony”: “He doesn’t tithe?” a female
voice asks in the ad. “Isn’t he a millionaire? His wife worked for
a big Wall Street bank, right?”
Continue Reading
* [javascript] Carlos Javier Ortiz
The Case for Reparations
+ Ta-Nehisi Coates
Two hundred fifty years of slavery. Ninety years of Jim Crow. Sixty
years of separate but equal. Thirty-five years of racist housing
policy. Until we reckon with our compounding moral debts, America
will never be whole.
And if thy brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, be sold unto
thee, and serve thee six years; then in the seventh year thou shalt
let him go free from thee. And when thou sendest him out free from
thee, thou shalt not let him go away empty: thou shalt furnish him
liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy floor, and out of thy
winepress: of that wherewith the LORD thy God hath blessed thee
thou shalt give unto him. And thou shalt remember that thou wast a
bondman in the land of Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee:
therefore I command thee this thing today.
— Deuteronomy 15: 12–15
Besides the crime which consists in violating the law, and varying
from the right rule of reason, whereby a man so far becomes
degenerate, and declares himself to quit the principles of human
nature, and to be a noxious creature, there is commonly injury done
to some person or other, and some other man receives damage by his
transgression: in which case he who hath received any damage, has,
besides the right of punishment common to him with other men, a
particular right to seek reparation.
Continue Reading
* [javascript] Toby Talbot / AP
The Decline of the Driver's License
+ Julie Beck
Fewer people of all ages are getting them, and it’s not quite clear
why.
Remember how, in Clueless, Alicia Silverstone’s character Cher
fails her driver’s test after nearly killing a biker and scraping
her car alongside several parked cars? And then how she asks, “Do
you think I should write them a note?” as she drives away? And then
how, at the climax of the movie, her friend Tai (Brittany Murphy)
calls her “a virgin who can’t drive” and it is just the harshest
burn?
Well, that was a fictionalized version of the ‘90s, and this is
now. Things are different.
Young people are not getting driver’s licenses so much anymore. In
fact, no one is. According to a new study by Michael Sivak and
Brandon Schoettle at the University of Michigan Transportation
Research Institute, the percentage of people with a driver’s
license decreased between 2011 and 2014, across all age groups. For
people aged 16 to 44, that percentage has been decreasing steadily
since 1983.
Continue Reading
* [javascript] NASA/NOAA
What the U.S. East Coast's Massive Snow Storm Looks Like
+ Marina Koren and Adam Chandler
From outer space down to the streets
Updated January 22 at 2:10 p.m. EST
That swirling cover of white up there is the first blizzard of
2016, captured by satellite on Friday as it barrels across the
central United States, toward the East Coast.
The “potentially crippling” storm is expected to bring powerful
winds and up to two feet of snow to parts of the Mid-Atlantic this
weekend, which could result in flooding in coastal regions, the
U.S. National Weather Service warned. The storm has the makings of
the “Big One” and so far appears “textbook,” according to the
winter-weather expert who literally wrote the textbook on northeast
snowstorms.
As of Friday morning, more than 85 million people—or more than one
in every four Americans—were covered by some kind of blizzard or
winter-storm advisory, according to weather.com. Local, state, and
federal officials have been scrambling to organize their responses
to the blizzard as residents swarm grocery stores to stock up on
food and water. As of Friday afternoon, there were already five
storm-related deaths reported.
Continue Reading
* [javascript]
The Most Powerful Images of 2015
+ Greyson Korhonen and Alan Taylor
A selection of the year's best photos
Watch Video
* [javascript]
A Photojournalist Walks Away From His Profession
+ Nadine Ajaka
How do you decide when you've seen enough of war?
Watch Video
* [javascript] Dennis Hlynsky / The Atlantic / Pearson Scott Foreman
/ Wikimedia Commons
Revealing the Hidden Patterns of Birds and Insects in Motion
+ Sam Price-Waldman
A video shows the dreamlike voyages of starlings, water striders,
and more.
Watch Video
More Popular Stories
Show Comments
Subscribe
Get 10 issues a year and save 65% off the cover price.
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Law & Disorder / Civilization & Discontents
The Ars Technica guide to digital policy in the UK’s 2015 general election
What the main parties say they will do in the digital realm if they're
elected.
by Glyn Moody (US) - May 5, 2015 6:06 am UTC
Login to bookmark 65
[Cory_Doctorow_protesting_Digital_Economy_Act-640x480.jpg]
rob_knight at Wikipedia
As the passage of the UK's technologically illiterate Digital Economy
Act in 2010 demonstrated, many UK politicians are completely at sea
when it comes to modern technology. But even they recognize that the
digital world forms a crucial part of modern life, and that any
political party hoping to enter government needs to have policies for
issues the Internet raises. That said, the different political parties
have very different views and priorities when it comes to legislating
for the digital world.
Ahead of the UK's General Election on May 7, Ars has put together a
guide to what the manifestos say on a number of key topics:
surveillance; privacy and data protection; copyright and patents; web
blocking; freedom of speech; digital rights; and various forms of
openness—open data, open standards and open government. The policies
come from the following manifestos (in alphabetical order):
Conservatives, Green Party of England and Wales, Labour, Liberal
Democrats, Pirate Party, Scottish National Party, and UKIP. The Open
Rights Group has usefully collected statements on these and a few other
areas in the form of a single web page, organized by party.
Surveillance
Reflecting the continuing debate initiated by Edward Snowden's
revelations of massive online surveillance conducted by the UK's GCHQ
and the US' NSA, the main parties' manifestos all make statements about
their views and future plans in this area. Keeping pace with
technological changes is a common theme. Labour says: "We will need to
update our investigative laws to keep up with changing technology,
strengthening both the powers available, and the safeguards that
protect people’s privacy."
[Berlin_2013_PRISM_Demo-640x480.jpg]
Enlarge / Snowden's leaks have made people aware of the scale of global
surveillance.
Mike Herbst
The Conservatives try to draw a distinction between content and
metadata: "We will keep up to date the ability of the police and
security services to access communications data—the ‘who, where, when
and how’ of a communication, but not its content. ... We will maintain
the ability of the authorities to intercept the content of suspects’
communications, while continuing to strengthen oversight of the use of
these powers."
Unfortunately, this ignores the fact that metadata can be more
revealing than content: that's because metadata is already in a
machine-readable form whereas content needs to be parsed—a hard problem
that makes it far less useful for automated analysis.
The reference by the Conservative's manifesto to intercepting
communications shows a clear intent to bring back the Snooper's
Charter, aka the Communications Data Bill, which was vetoed by the
Liberal Democrats the last time it was proposed—something they promise
to do again: "We blocked the draft Communications Data Bill and would
do so again. Requiring companies to store a record of everyone’s
internet activities for a year or to collect third-party communications
data for non-business purposes is disproportionate and unacceptable."
The Scottish National Party takes the same view: "We do not support
Tory plans for the reintroduction of the so-called ‘snoopers’ charter’,
which would see all online activity of every person in the UK stored
for a year. Instead, we need a proportionate response to extremism."
The Green Party of England and Wales is also in favor of a
proportionate approach: "specific surveillance should be proportionate,
necessary, effective and within the rule of law, with independent
judicial approval and genuine parliamentary oversight."
The Pirate Party, which places digital issues at the heart of its
manifesto, wants "specific warrants to be issued by a court before
communications traffic is monitored," and, like the Greens, calls for
the main UK legislation governing surveillance, the outdated Regulation
of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA), to be replaced. Specifically:
"sections 49 & 54, which can force people to hand over encryption keys,
and prevent them from telling anyone about the request"—two of its more
problematic powers.
The Pirate Party recognizes the central role that encryption plays in
the post-Snowden society and wants to "ensure that the freedom to
encrypt data and communications is not abridged or limited, and that
access to encryption tools is not restricted." So do the Liberal
Democrats, who say they will "Uphold the right of individuals,
businesses and public bodies to use strong encryption to protect their
privacy and security online."
UKIP, by contrast, is keen to re-jig the machinery of surveillance. It
wants to create a new role of "Director of National Intelligence," who
will be responsible for "bringing all intelligence services together;
developing cyber security measures; cutting down on waste and
encouraging information and resource sharing."
Privacy and data protection
Two areas closely related to surveillance are privacy and data
protection. Indeed, the only mention of these topics in the Labour
manifesto is in that context, as quoted above. For the Conservatives,
the key issue here is health records: "We will give you full access to
your own electronic health records, while retaining your right to
opt-out of your records being shared electronically." That's doubtless
in response to the hugely embarrassing Care.data fiasco last year. On
this issue, the Green Party says it would: "Oppose the sale of personal
data, such as health or tax records, for commercial or other ends."
The Liberal Democrats are very strong in this area, with a long list of
concrete proposals, including those regulating health records,
fingerprints, DNA, facial biometrics, and bringing in "increased powers
and resources for the Information Commissioner," including "custodial
sentences for egregious breaches of the Data Protection Act." The
LibDems also want to ensure "privacy is protected to the same extent in
telecoms and online as in the offline world," something clearly not the
case in the light of GCHQ's mass surveillance of the UK public.
[IrisScanIraq-640x427.jpg]
Enlarge / Iris scans are just one of many biometric systems in use
today.
Cpl. Spencer M. Murphy
The Pirate Party is also keen to strengthen data protection laws: "We
will make it easier to apply to a court for compensation where data
protection laws have been breached, and increase the penalties for any
breaches of data protection laws." The main concern of the Green Party
in this area is resisting attempts by US companies to weaken data
protection laws at the European level. It promises to "Support the EU’s
proposals to strengthen data protection laws against opposition from
large US data-driven companies"—an evident reference to Facebook,
Google, and the like.
UKIP once more takes a rather different tack here. On the one hand it
wants to ensure "Britain’s police forces comply with the law and do not
retain booking photographs, fingerprints, DNA, or biometric data of
individuals who have not been convicted of a crime." On the other: "DNA
testing and retention of DNA data results will be reinstated for all
convicted foreign criminals."
Copyright and patents
Copyright has a disproportionately large effect in the online world
because of the inherent clash between a 300-year-old intellectual
monopoly that seeks to prevent copying and a modern digital
communications technology that is built on it. So it's disappointing to
see little awareness in the party manifestos of the problems this
tension causes. The Liberal Democrats say they are: "supporting modern
and flexible patent, copyright and licensing rules," without specifying
what that might mean. The Greens want to "Make copyright shorter in
length, fair and flexible, and prevent patents applying to software,"
which is slightly better defined.
[Statute_of_anne-e1430318543958-300x478.jpg]
Enlarge / The 1710 Statute of Anne set copyright's term at 14 years.
British Government
It falls to the Pirate Party to come out with the most concrete
suggestions here. That's hardly a surprise: the Pirate Party came into
existence largely as a reaction against copyright laws that were
ill-suited to the Internet age. Here's what the UK Pirates say: "We
will work for copyright reform and reduce copyright terms to 10 years
to balance everyone's needs." That's a dramatic reduction from the
current copyright term of life plus 70 years, but could be tricky to
implement: the UK was one of the original signatories of the Berne
Convention, which requires a minimum 50-year copyright term.
The other major proposal of the UK Pirate Party concerns
anti-circumvention measures—DRM, in other words. Currently, it is
unlawful to circumvent "effective technological measures" that restrict
access to copyrighted material, even if doing so is required for some
lawful use. "The Pirate Party seeks to abolish these laws, making it
legal both to circumvent “effective technological measures” and
produce, distribute, and possess tools to aid in doing so. This would
not change existing copyright law, merely remove the extra layer of
illegality." However reasonable that might be, it too is problematic
because the European Union's Copyright Directive contains a section
explicitly forbidding such circumvention of DRM and distribution of
tools to do so, even when the use is legal. That's an indication of
just how hard it will be to create what the Pirate Party calls "A fair
and balanced copyright regime that is suitable for the 21st century."
Web blocking
Although the Conservative party has nothing to say about fixing some of
copyright's problems in the digital age, it is more vocal about
enforcing copyright through online censorship of sites that are alleged
to be infringing in some way, even indirectly: "We will protect
intellectual property by continuing to require internet service
providers to block sites that carry large amounts of illegal content,
including their proxies." That seems to be a reference to The Pirate
Bay, which has spawned hundreds of "proxies" that have proved
impossible to stamp out. It seems that the Conservatives want to try
anyway.
[2000px-The_Pirate_Bay_logo.svg_-300x340.png]
Enlarge / Many attempts to block The Pirate Bay have been made around
the world.
The Pirate Bay
Their manifesto continues: "we will build on progress made under our
voluntary anti-piracy projects to warn internet users when they are
breaching copyright. We will work to ensure that search engines do not
link to the worst-offending sites." These "voluntary" schemes are
extremely problematic, because they are ill-defined—what exactly does
"worst-offending site" mean?—and have no legal safeguards or checks as
formal schemes would. Since those who are required to implement such
voluntary schemes—ISPs or search engines—have no official texts to help
them and their lawyers decide where to draw the line, they typically
err on the side of caution, which means blocking legal content or
threatening users for actions that are perfectly permissible.
The Liberal Democrats address this issue along with that of net
neutrality—otherwise not mentioned in the other manifestos—saying that
they will "Safeguard the essential freedom of the internet and back net
neutrality, the principle that internet service providers should enable
access to lawful content and applications regardless of the source, and
without favouring or blocking particular products or websites." The
Greens want to "Limit the censoring or takedown of content or activity
to exceptional circumstances, clearly set out within a comprehensive
legal framework," while the UK Pirate Party "will stop the imposing by
government of censorship tools such as so-called "web filtering" or
site blocking as blanket tools."
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He has been writing about the Internet, free software, copyright,
patents and digital rights for over 20 years.
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Law & Disorder / Civilization & Discontents
EU takes important step towards agreeing updated data protection rules
Final negotiations to reconcile differences on external data flows likely to
be tough.
by Glyn Moody - Jun 15, 2015 2:58 pm UTC
Login to bookmark 4
[Banderas_europeas_en_la_Comisión_Europea-640x438.jpg]
The head office of the European Commission, one of the three political
bodies involved in revising the EU's data retention rules.
Amio Cajander
Justice ministers of the European Union's 28 member states have agreed
their general approach on the European Commission's 2012 proposal for a
radical overhaul of the EU's data protection regulations, which
currently date from 1995. Since the European Parliament has already
given its overall endorsement of the Commission's plans, the final
haggling over a common, compromise text can now begin in the trilogue
meeting between the Commission, the European Parliament and the Council
of the EU (representing the member states), which will take place next
week.
The Council's general approach on the data protection regulation
includes a number of key elements, some of which may, however, be
modified during the coming negotiations with the European Parliament
and European Commission. First of all, a single set of rules on data
protection will be valid across the EU. This contrasts with the current
situation, where each of the member states has its own implementation
of the broad principles. The unified approach will make life easier for
EU companies, since they won't need to grapple with multiple data
protection regulations. The European Commission claims this move will
save businesses around €2.3 billion a year.
The new rules will establish a "one-stop shop" approach for both
businesses and citizens. This means, for example, that individuals will
only have to deal with their home national data protection authority,
in their own language, even if their personal data is processed outside
their home country. The national authorities will be given new powers,
including the ability to impose some serious fines on companies that
breach the rules: penalties of up to 2 percent of their global annual
turnover.
The new data protection rules will also strengthen the EU's "right to
be forgotten," but not simply in the sense that it has been used
hitherto. As previous articles on Ars have reported, this "right" has
typically been claimed by those who wish to stop incorrect or
irrelevant information appearing in search engine results. What is
proposed under the new data protection rules is rather different: "When
you no longer want your data to be processed, and provided that there
are no legitimate grounds for retaining it, the data will be deleted.
This is about empowering individuals, not about erasing past events or
restricting freedom of the press."
Other benefits for ordinary citizens include a right to data
portability, so that personal data can be moved between services, and a
right to be informed when personal data has been compromised:
"companies and organisations must notify the national supervisory
authority of serious data breaches as soon as possible (if feasible
within 24 hours) so that users can take appropriate measures."
One of the most contentious areas concerns the application of EU data
protection laws to foreign companies—particularly US ones like Facebook
and Google. Here's what the European Commission says will happen under
the revised directive: "companies based outside of Europe will have to
apply the same rules. We are creating a level-playing field." It then
goes to say: "rules for international transfers of data are
streamlined, through simplified approval of binding corporate rules.
This will foster international trade while ensuring continuity of
protection for personal data."
The big question is: what exactly does that last statement mean in
practice? If the rules for transferring data outside the EU are
"streamlined," that suggests that the protections accorded them
elsewhere—for example, in the US—will remain weak, as at present.
That's something that the European Parliament has said it wants to
change, particularly in the light of Edward Snowden's leaks about the
NSA's Prism programme. It is precisely issues like external dataflows
that are likely to provoke the greatest disagreement in the coming
trilogue negotiations, which will seek to draw up a common text. It is
by no means clear whose vision on such matters will prevail: those
wanting to "streamline" data flows, or those who want to enhance
privacy protection for citizens' personal data when it is collected and
used by companies outside the EU.
Expand full story
Reader comments 4
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He has been writing about the Internet, free software, copyright,
patents and digital rights for over 20 years.
@glynmoody on Twitter ← Older Story Newer Story →
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Law & Disorder / Civilization & Discontents
Head of EU data protection says trading privacy for security is a “false fad”
Greater security does not require the loss of privacy, according to
Buttarelli.
by Glyn Moody - Jul 6, 2015 11:15 am UTC
Login to bookmark 11
[buttarelli-640x962.jpg]
Giovanni Buttarelli, the European Data Protection Supervisor
Security & Defence Agenda
The European Data Protection Supervisor, Giovanni Buttarelli, who is
responsible for ensuring that the machinery of EU government respects
the privacy of a citizen's data when processing their data, says that
it is time to "move beyond the false fad of discussing security vs.
privacy." In an article published on The Mark News site, Buttarelli
writes that governments should "focus on implementing laws that take
into account privacy rights as well as the indisputable need to fight
terrorism."
Buttarelli insists that as European Data Protection Supervisor he is
not necessarily "for or against any specific measure that interferes
with the right to privacy and involves handling large volumes of
personal information," for example through large-scale surveillance.
However, he points to a post by the security expert Bruce Schneier that
shows, in the US at least, there is little evidence that mass
surveillance prevents terrorist attacks.
Schneier explained how, initially, NSA Director General Keith Alexander
claimed in 2013 that he had disrupted 54 terrorists plots. A few months
later, this was revised down to 13, and then to "one or two."
Eventually, the only success that the NSA could point to was the
prevention of a San Diego man sending $8,500 to support a Somali
militant group.
Although the head of MI5 said in 2013 that 34 terror plots against the
UK have been disrupted by the security services and police in the last
eight years, we don't know what role mass surveillance played in that.
Given the NSA's considerably greater resources, it seems unlikely that
GCHQ's programmes are doing much better.
Buttarelli is particularly concerned that the public is being asked by
governments to acquiesce in the gathering of highly personal
information in the belief that this will minimise real or perceived
risks. As he writes: "The result is an increased intrusion into our
privacy, which in turn changes the relationship between the individual
and the state and the relationship between citizens."
Instead, he says, surveillance should enhance, not undermine, trust in
democratic institutions, but in order for that to happen, "Governments
need to justify why any massive, non-targeted, and indiscriminate
collection of individuals’ data is really needed"—something that the UK
authorities have signally failed to do.
Expand full story
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[glyn-moody-bw-100px.jpg]
Glyn Moody / Glyn Moody is Contributing Policy Editor at Ars Technica.
He has been writing about the Internet, free software, copyright,
patents and digital rights for over 20 years.
@glynmoody on Twitter ← Older Story Newer Story →
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Law & Disorder / Civilization & Discontents
EU takes important step towards agreeing updated data protection rules
Final negotiations to reconcile differences on external data flows likely to
be tough.
by Glyn Moody - Jun 15, 2015 2:58 pm UTC
Login to bookmark 4
[Banderas_europeas_en_la_Comisión_Europea-640x438.jpg]
The head office of the European Commission, one of the three political
bodies involved in revising the EU's data retention rules.
Amio Cajander
Justice ministers of the European Union's 28 member states have agreed
their general approach on the European Commission's 2012 proposal for a
radical overhaul of the EU's data protection regulations, which
currently date from 1995. Since the European Parliament has already
given its overall endorsement of the Commission's plans, the final
haggling over a common, compromise text can now begin in the trilogue
meeting between the Commission, the European Parliament and the Council
of the EU (representing the member states), which will take place next
week.
The Council's general approach on the data protection regulation
includes a number of key elements, some of which may, however, be
modified during the coming negotiations with the European Parliament
and European Commission. First of all, a single set of rules on data
protection will be valid across the EU. This contrasts with the current
situation, where each of the member states has its own implementation
of the broad principles. The unified approach will make life easier for
EU companies, since they won't need to grapple with multiple data
protection regulations. The European Commission claims this move will
save businesses around €2.3 billion a year.
The new rules will establish a "one-stop shop" approach for both
businesses and citizens. This means, for example, that individuals will
only have to deal with their home national data protection authority,
in their own language, even if their personal data is processed outside
their home country. The national authorities will be given new powers,
including the ability to impose some serious fines on companies that
breach the rules: penalties of up to 2 percent of their global annual
turnover.
The new data protection rules will also strengthen the EU's "right to
be forgotten," but not simply in the sense that it has been used
hitherto. As previous articles on Ars have reported, this "right" has
typically been claimed by those who wish to stop incorrect or
irrelevant information appearing in search engine results. What is
proposed under the new data protection rules is rather different: "When
you no longer want your data to be processed, and provided that there
are no legitimate grounds for retaining it, the data will be deleted.
This is about empowering individuals, not about erasing past events or
restricting freedom of the press."
Other benefits for ordinary citizens include a right to data
portability, so that personal data can be moved between services, and a
right to be informed when personal data has been compromised:
"companies and organisations must notify the national supervisory
authority of serious data breaches as soon as possible (if feasible
within 24 hours) so that users can take appropriate measures."
One of the most contentious areas concerns the application of EU data
protection laws to foreign companies—particularly US ones like Facebook
and Google. Here's what the European Commission says will happen under
the revised directive: "companies based outside of Europe will have to
apply the same rules. We are creating a level-playing field." It then
goes to say: "rules for international transfers of data are
streamlined, through simplified approval of binding corporate rules.
This will foster international trade while ensuring continuity of
protection for personal data."
The big question is: what exactly does that last statement mean in
practice? If the rules for transferring data outside the EU are
"streamlined," that suggests that the protections accorded them
elsewhere—for example, in the US—will remain weak, as at present.
That's something that the European Parliament has said it wants to
change, particularly in the light of Edward Snowden's leaks about the
NSA's Prism programme. It is precisely issues like external dataflows
that are likely to provoke the greatest disagreement in the coming
trilogue negotiations, which will seek to draw up a common text. It is
by no means clear whose vision on such matters will prevail: those
wanting to "streamline" data flows, or those who want to enhance
privacy protection for citizens' personal data when it is collected and
used by companies outside the EU.
Expand full story
Reader comments 4
You must login or create an account to comment.
* Share
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-
[glyn-moody-bw-100px.jpg]
Glyn Moody / Glyn Moody is Contributing Policy Editor at Ars Technica.
He has been writing about the Internet, free software, copyright,
patents and digital rights for over 20 years.
@glynmoody on Twitter ← Older Story Newer Story →
You May Also Like
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[surveillance.jpg?w=400]
Your phone might be spying on you. The many cameras you pass every day
can recognize your face. Facebook, despite its grudging concessions,
still wants you to broadcast your personal life. “Eye in the sky”
drones are already watching over borders; next, they’ll patrol the
Olympics. It won’t be long before police drones are omnipresent in the
skies over every major city, and then every town. Welcome to the 21st
century. Smile! You’re probably on TV.
Especially if you live in the kind of repressive state that imprisons
its citizens without trial. (You know, like America, if the US Senate
has its way.) According to both Wikileaks and that well-known bastion
of the left wing The Wall Street Journal, such regimes have been buying
up Western-made high-tech surveillance systems like business travellers
on unlimited expense accounts. To quote the former, “companies are
making billions selling sophisticated tracking tools to government
buyers, flouting export rules, and turning a blind eye to dictatorial
regimes that abuse human rights.”
Which kind of puts Facebook privacy violations in perspective, so I’m
not going to bash Mark Zuckerberg, for once. The guy probably genuinely
believes in the merits of a transparency society where everybody’s life
is essentially on display all the time. Or even if he doesn’t, he
figures that our ever-doubling tech level means we’re inevitably
heading there anyways, so he may as well make a few dozen billion
dollars from that sea change while he’s at it. Fair enough.
But a transparent society can’t work if it’s built out of one-way
glass. The powers that be are thrilled by the prospect of using all
this new surveillance tech to keep an eye on the unruly masses, but
they seem much less excited about its effect on their own privacy. The
Occupy movement (which, you may recall, I have mixed emotions about)
can cite a whole bunch of examples of protestors arrested or shot with
rubber bullets for the sin of photographing police, and of the police
expelling and restricting media from the evictions in NYC and LA.
Dear Media: When the police tell you to leave IS WHEN YOU STAY.
You're supposed to be a check on this kind of power!
— Wil Wheaton (@wilw) November 30, 2011
Earlier this year the chief minister of India’s Kerala state had a
webcam installed in his office. A cheap gimmick, yes, but a powerful
symbol. If we’re headed into a world where everything becomes public,
so be it–but shouldn’t the first people to surrender their privacy be
those in authority?
This is partly an economic issue: if Greece hadn’t lied about its
finances for many years, the euro wouldn’t be in quite as parlous a
state right now. But mostly it’s a moral one. Why aren’t police, border
guards, and the TSA required to carry always-on shoulder cameras while
on duty, so that the data recorded can be used in court and subjected
to Freedom Of Information requests? Why are vague, unsubstantiated
“security reasons” always enough to close doors, shut events, squelch
protests, fence off areas from the public, and harass photographers and
the media, when more surveillance is supposed to make us more secure?
The answer, of course, is that security is only rarely the real issue.
Two-way surveillance, the much-touted transparent society, is about the
complex dynamic between the relative merits of privacy and public
information–and they do both have their merits. But one-way
surveillance is all about raw naked power. It worries me that the
powers that be all seem to be touting the former while actually trying
to implement the latter.
Image credit: zigazou76, Flickr.
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A Wake-Up Call To Fight Government Surveillance
Posted Dec 29, 2015 by Rafael Laguna (@rafbuff)
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Rafael LagunaCrunch Network Contributor
Rafael Laguna is the CEO of Open-Xchange.
How to join the network
Look around any crowded place nowadays and it’s quite clear that many
of us have literally become prisoners of our own devices: smartphones,
tablets, laptops — anything and everything with an Internet connection.
Our lifestyles practically require us to always be on, and connected to
everyone else.
That means at any point in the day, and at any point in the world,
individuals freely exchange massive amounts of personal information
among each other: names, email addresses, phone numbers, photos, bank
account and credit card numbers, Social Security numbers, insurance
details and so on.
Looking at that list, it’s clear why some are calling data the oil of
the digital world — data has effectively become its own currency,
something we trade to either share updates about our lives or make a
purchase.
Yet, valuable as this information is, and much like physical currency,
when it’s exchanged, governments now want to play a central role in
monitoring, storing and processing it. That may not have been part of
the deal at the outset of the Internet, but 15 years into the 21st
century, it’s clear that more and more citizens are not only exchanging
privacy for vague promises of security, but are doing so willingly.
That kind of oversight comes at a cost, though, as the feeling of
always being watched forces a gradual change in behavior. We act
differently if we’re always being watched, always typing or sharing
under the assumption that someone within our government is peering in
from over our shoulder — and this forced change in behavior amounts to
a gradual disintegration of our online freedoms.
But it doesn’t have to be that way.
Data Protection In A Post-Safe Harbor World
The European Court of Justice’s (ECJ) ruling to invalidate the Safe
Harbor agreement was a huge step forward for privacy advocates, both in
the U.S. and the E.U. For too long, American intelligence agencies like
the NSA had been able to co-opt the data transfer deal to spy on the
personal information of European citizens.
But with the ECJ’s overturning of that agreement — and with it, the
NSA’s means of breathing down the necks of E.U. end users — American
companies will now have to find alternatives for facilitating
intercontinental data transfers, alternatives that put data privacy and
security front and center.
Data has effectively become its own currency.
We’re already starting to see those alternatives bear fruit. Microsoft,
whom the U.S. government has hounded to relinquish the emails of a
Hotmail user stored on a Microsoft server in Ireland, recently
announced that it was building a pair of new data centers in Germany,
which will be managed and operated by an independent German “data
trustee.”
That third-party group will be the one responsible for storing and
processing E.U. customer data, ensuring that it never leaves Germany —
and that, even if prompted by the U.S. government, Microsoft would be
unable to access that user data unless permitted by the trustee.
While it’s a meager step forward, and a much bigger paradigm shift is
likely waiting for us come January, Microsoft’s move is a significant
signal to both the U.S. government and the E.U. public that European
data privacy is not something to be infringed on so easily just to make
spies’ lives easier.
CalECPA And States Taking The Lead On Privacy Public Policy
The adoption of the California Electronic Communications Privacy Act
(CalECPA) in the U.S. also strikes a blow for privacy advocates and
against government overreach. The ACLU of Northern California, along
with state Sen. Mark Leno and top tech companies, worked to pass the
law, which requires law enforcement agencies to acquire a warrant
before they can search through a person’s email, texts or other online
documents, regardless of it being stored on a device or in the cloud.
This kind of legislation is not only sorely needed, but long overdue.
The federal government passed the Electronic Communications Privacy Act
way back in 1986 — and given how far the Internet and online
communication have come in the last 30 years, that law may as well have
been passed a century ago.
That kind of outdated legislation opens a lot of potential
vulnerabilities and pain points for tech companies in charge of
safeguarding customer data and simultaneously fielding data acquisition
requests from law enforcement agencies.
More and more citizens are not only exchanging privacy for vague
promises of security, but are doing so willingly.
Authorities have long capitalized on these digital gaps in Fourth
Amendment protections to ramp up data requests: Google has seen
consumer data demands from law enforcement skyrocket by 180 percent
over the past five years, and AT&T received more than 260,000 similar
requests in 2014 alone.
But CalECPA brings a much-needed game changer to the table, now
requiring law enforcement within the state to secure a judicial warrant
before they can begin rifling through a California resident’s online
life.
It’s the same expectation we have of police before they can begin
looking through homes and physical papers — and the same expectation
that 75 percent of Americans have who believe that email, texts and
location data qualify as sensitive information — so why shouldn’t that
be the standard for online, as well?
The California state law, similar legislation of which exists in other
states, such as Colorado, Maine, Texas and Utah, brings to life Supreme
Court Justice Louis Brandeis’ words of how a “state may, if its
citizens choose, serve as a laboratory” for wider public policy. It’s
especially significant that we’re seeing this lab experiment take place
in California, America’s premier tech hub and home to companies
supporting the law, like Apple, Google, Facebook, Dropbox and Twitter.
The overturning of Safe Harbor in the E.U. and the adoption of CalECPA
in California both show that it is possible to “check out anytime,” and
reassert our rights to online privacy and a democratized Internet, free
of the watchful eye of Big Brother.
Featured Image: Dan Bruins
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Posted Dec 10, 2015 by Natasha Lomas (@riptari)
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A U.K. parliamentary committee tasked with scrutinizing the new
surveillance powers contained in the draft Investigatory Powers Bill
has heard several contradictory views on the proposed legislation.
The latest evidence session heard by the committee included questions
on the costs of implementing the web browsing
data retention requirement of the bill, and questions about the legal
requirements it might place on companies when end-to-end encryption is
being used to secure data. Concerns over provisions to sanction state
hacking en masse were also aired.
The amount of time the government has afforded for scrutiny of what is
very complex and technical legislation has already been criticized —
with committee members themselves complaining there is not enough time
for them to do a proper job.
The committee is expected to file its report by February 11, with the
government aiming to get a final bill through parliament and onto the
statute books before the end of next year.
Questions over costs
On the cost point, ISP BT’s Mark Hughes, president of BT security,
suggested the requirement for ISPs’ to capture and retain a log of
websites visited by their users would run to tens of millions of pounds
just for BT to do this.
A government impact assessment document accompanying the draft bill has
suggested this aspect of the proposed legislation would cost £174
million to implement. However Hughes cast doubt on that,
suggesting that a “large part” of that money would be required just for
BT to implement it — just one of hundreds of U.K. ISPs who may also be
subject to the requirement by the legislation. (Although the committee
also heard conflicting views on which U.K. ISPs would be required to
log users’ website visits.)
“It would cost us a large part of that figure to be able to implement,
looking over a period,” said Hughes. “When one looks at the internet
connection records part of the Bill, the bandwidth appetite in our
country is increasing very rapidly, so, clearly, assumptions have to be
put in that take account of the fact that bandwidth will increase.
Indeed, in the consultation some of that has been taken into account,
but the core key technical aspect of the internet connection records
part of this is the extent to which the sampling or 100% collection
goes on within the networks for them then to be able to comply.
Technically, there are many different options, depending upon what you
come up with, so there is a definite range of possible costs.”
Antony Walker, deputy CEO of digital tech trade association techUK, who
was also giving evidence, also expressed scepticism about the cost
estimate. “Given the uncertainty about the extent of the powers and the
implications of potentially a much broader range of communication
service providers, at this stage it is quite difficult to determine
whether or not that is an accurate figure. I have met very few people
across business who currently would regard it as a properly robust
figure,” he said.
BT’s Hughes was asked whether the industry is “relaxed” about the
current wording of the bill, which has been criticized as opaque and
open to interpretation — which resulted in something of a slap down to
the questioner.
“On a subject like this we are not relaxed about any area of it,
frankly, because it is an incredibly serious matter,” he rebuked the
committee.
Conflicting views on encryption
Asked by the committee whether there was anything in the draft bill
that could threaten the integrity of encryption, Walker said the
language of the bill remains a cause for concern here — saying it is
more “open to interpretation” than the organisation would like.
“The language around encryption remains a little opaque,” he told the
committee. “And responses from the Home Office when questioned on the
implications of some of those powers remain unclear.”
Walker flagged up a specific concern around end-to-end encryption,
noting that it’s not clear what a third party provider would be legally
required to do if they have implemented a form of encryption they
cannot themselves decrypt.
“The powers are such that the security services could request that
telecom service providers remove any encryption used by them to provide
information in the clear. What is not completely transparent is what
happens where a third party has implemented end-to-end encryption
themselves and it would not be technically feasible for the service
provider to remove that encryption. There is still some uncertainty and
concern across the industry about the implications for encryption,” he
said.
As it stands, Walker said industry is relying on comments made by the
Home Secretary and other senior government ministers in order
to interpret the bill. “They have been very clear about how they
interpret the Bill, and to some extent we are relying on that
interpretation,” he added.
But he reiterated that tech companies are still grappling with possible
implications of the bill, given how vague definitions are, and the fact
the draft bill was only published last month.
“I must stress that many companies are themselves still trying to work
through the implications of the Bill and to understand it, so there are
different views at this stage,” he said, answering a question about
technical feasibility. “If we look at what is technically and
reasonably practical in the various definitions of the Bill, we believe
it means that when companies are providing services where there is
end-to-end encryption instigated by a third party and not by
themselves, it safeguards them from having to modify or change what
they are doing, but it is open to interpretation.”
Walker said further reassurances are required that the bill would not
require companies providing end-to-end encryption to modify their
business practices.
We should not do anything to undermine the fact that security and
privacy are a continuum of the same thing.
Later in his evidence session, Hughes also touched on this, noting: “We
should not do anything to undermine the fact that security and privacy
are a continuum of the same thing. It is important, and encryption has
a significant role to play in that.”
Also giving evidence to the committee, Richard Alcock, director of the
Home Office’s oversight program for state use of communications data,
suggested senior civil servants have a different interpretation on the
encryption requirements vs those reassuring statements from senior
government ministers about ‘not banning encryption’.
Asked specifically whether companies which have deployed end-to-end
encryption will not be required to be able to provided decrypted data
when served with a government request, he said it is in fact his
understanding that the opposite is true (emphasis mine).
“In the context of interception, section 12 of RIPA [existing
legislation, the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act] mandates that
there is an expectation that information is provided in the clear,
effectively, by those on whom a notice is served. It may be the case
that a service provider has certain encryption arrangements, but when
you are putting someone on interception cover you want to be able to
understand the content. There is an expectation — a clear mandation, in
fact — that data will be provided to law enforcement in the clear, as
has been the case. This Bill does exactly the same as section 12 of
RIPA.”
Another civil servant giving evidence to the committee, Professor
Bernard Silverman, chief scientific adviser to the Home Office, was
asked directly whether a reference in the bill requiring the “removal
of electronic protection” is a route to compromising encryption.
“My understanding of the Bill is that what has to be removed is the
electronic protection that the service provider itself has put on the
message. It is not removing encryption; it is removing electronic
protection. I do not know whether Richard [Alcock] wants to go into
more detail on that, but the short answer is that there is no threat to
encryption as such.”
However in response Alcock merely reiterated his view about the bill
mandating clear data be served up in response to a government warrant.
“It goes back to my previous point about provision of data in the
clear. Companies may have all manner of different encryption equipment,
which Government support. At the same time, when a notice is served to
provide intercept data, the expectation is that those data will be
provided in intelligible form — in the clear,” he reiterated.
At this point another witness, Dr Bob Nowill, chairman of Cyber
Security Challenge, pointed out that providing data in the clear may
not always be possible — i.e. if it has been end-to-end encrypted and a
service provider does not hold the encryption keys.
“The ISP or CSP could unwrap whatever they have put on, but if the
underlying data stream is encrypted by something proprietary and
unknown and is originating and terminating overseas, you would probably
have the devil of a job digging into it,” he pointed out.
To this Alcock suggested the route to obtaining ‘clear data’ is about
“forging constructive working relationships with the comms service
providers” — whatever that means. It might, for example, mean the state
leaning on Internet companies to backdoor their services to workaround
end-to-end encryption.
“All comms service providers are different. All systems are different.
We need to work out pragmatic ways in which we can satisfy requests
from the UK Government,” he said. “The expectation is that, when served
with a notice, providers would provide us with data in the clear. That
would involve working with the particular provider of the day to work
out how best that could be achieved.”
Fears over mass hacking
The committee also asked for views on provisions in the proposed
legislation to sanction equipment interference — aka state hacking
powers.
Walker expressed particular concern about the bill’s provision for mass
hacking, dubbing this sweeping power “one of the areas of the Bill that
is most problematic for many technology companies”.
“That is regarded by a lot of people across the industry as opening up
the potential for the maintenance, or addition, of vulnerabilities in
networks or services that should in reality be patched, because they
present vulnerabilities for the individual and the service, and for the
company in terms of liabilities and so on,” he said.
“You really have to think forward to the world in five or 10 years’
time, to the sheer range and diversity of equipment that potentially
could be interfered with and the consequences of that. For example, if
a vulnerability is found in a system that means you can automatically
stop an autonomous or a semi-autonomous vehicle, and that vulnerability
is exploited by somebody else for malicious purposes, there is a
serious risk to life for the people involved. In a much more connected
world, with many more connected devices on which we all rely for our
security and safety, we have to think carefully about taking that
additional step.”
Walker also noted that some companies believe mass hacking powers could
have “significant reputational impacts on their business” — by
undermining the security and credibility of their services.
“We are aware of some companies that said that makes them question
where the right jurisdiction might be for them,” he added, implying the
proposed law could lead to an exodus of such companies from the U.K.
Another specific concern regarding this provision that was flagged by
Walker is to open source business models. He suggested there are
“significant problems” for such companies when it comes to meeting
state hacking requirements given that they do not conceal their source
code and therefore could not conceal state hacking activities from the
open source community.
“Potentially there are significant problems for companies based
fundamentally on an open source business model. I think you have had
evidence from Mozilla in that regard, which I think is quite
instructive. The very nature of its business, which is based on inputs
from the open source community, means that a lot of its code has to be
out in the open. Therefore, meeting any of the equipment interference
requirements would be something it could not conceal from the people
who provide the open source software. A company like that would face
very real specific problems.”
Featured Image: Phil Dolby/Flickr UNDER A CC BY 2.0 LICENSE
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Another U.K. Surveillance Review Calls For Judicial Sign-Off For Intercepts
Posted Jul 14, 2015 by Natasha Lomas (@riptari)
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Another independent report into U.K. government surveillance has
concluded interception warrants should require judicial sign-off,
rather than being sanctioned by ministers as is the case now.
This follows the publication of the Anderson surveillance review last
month which also urged the government to adopt judicial sign-off. The
U.K. is alone among the so-called Five Eyes intelligence alliance
powers in not having a judicial process for signing off interception
warrants.
Late last month Home Secretary Theresa May said the government was
considering the Anderson recommendations, and had not yet made
a decision on the judicial sign-off point, although in earlier comments
(reported in The Guardian) the government appeared to pour cold water
on the idea of handing off warrant authorization to judges.
The government has said it is committed to introducing new surveillance
legislation, the forthcoming Investigatory Powers Bill, in the current
parliament, with a timetable to introduce a draft bill this autumn —
with a view to gaining Royal Assent next year before emergency
surveillance legislation (DRIPA) expires at the end of 2016.
The latest U.K. surveillance powers review, conducted by defense and
security think tank, the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) — at
the request of the government’s former deputy Prime Minister, in the
wake of the Edward Snowden revelations — concludes it found “no
evidence” the government “knowingly acts illegally in intercepting
private communications”.
This despite the judicial oversight body for the U.K.’s intelligence
agencies, the IPT, itself ruling earlier this year that GCHQ had acted
unlawfully in the past in its data-sharing arrangements with the NSA. A
second IPT ruling also judged GCHQ has broken the law in its handling
of intercepted comms data pertaining to two humans rights organizations
— breaching its own internal rules and violating the human rights of
the target groups.
The RUSI’s report aligns with the government position on mass
surveillance being a ‘necessary tool’ for intelligence gathering too —
arguing that “some degree of untargeted data collection, involving the
collection of data in bulk, may sometimes be required, especially given
the nature of modern communications” — and claiming it found no
evidence that mass surveillance is being used to provide the state
with “a perpetual window into the private lives of British citizens”.
Anderson’s report generally supported the use of mass surveillance —
going against the prevailing view from European rights bodies and
recent political moves to row back domestic dragnets in the U.S. —
although he said such powers must be “subject to strict additional
safeguards”, such as the aforementioned judicial sign-off for
intercept warrants, if they are to be acceptable.
The RSUI follows what is now a clear consensus that reform of U.K.
surveillance legislation is needed, identifiing an urgent need for “a
new, comprehensive and clearer legal framework” for authorizing
interception, noting: “We have seen evidence that the present legal
framework authorising the interception of communications is unclear,
has not kept pace with developments in communications technology, and
does not serve either the government or members of the public
satisfactorily. A new, comprehensive and clearer legal framework is
required.”
That said, it does not support the earlier Intelligence and Security
Committee’s call for a single act of Parliament to govern how spy
agencies operate, arguing that “substantial” reform does not require
consolidating all existing legislation in this area. It is also not
supporting separate legislation for the police and the security
agencies.
The RSUI calls for new surveillance legislation “in this session of
Parliament to provide a new democratic mandate for digital
intelligence”, asserting that: “The present arrangements are too
complex to be understood by the citizen and have contributed to a
public credibility gap that must be addressed.”
It also sets out “ten tests” it believes any new legislation must pass
before it can be regarded as giving the police and the intelligence
agencies a “democratic licence to operate” — such as intrusion being in
accordance with the rule of law; being justified as necessary to
“explicit tasks and missions”; being “judged as proportionate to the
advantages gained”; being subject to an effective oversight regime, and
the applicable legal regime being transparent and clear, and
comprehensive to the public.
“The ‘secret parts of the state’ must draw and observe clear boundaries
between that which must remain secret (such as intelligence sources or
the identity of its employees) and all other aspects of its work which
should be openly acknowledged. Necessary secrecy, however, must not be
a justification for a wider culture of secrecy on security and
intelligence matters,” the report adds.
The 154-page report, entitled A Democratic Licence To Operate,
is based on a year of “investigation and consultation”, and draws on
views from investigative journalism, the Internet, law, policing,
political life, moral philosophy. Former heads of the three
U.K. intelligence and security agencies were also consulted.
Update: Responding to the report, civil liberties campaign group
Privacy International flags up the RSUI’s finding that the existing
technical oversight regime “does not check the code [that underlies
GCHQ’s interception capabilities], nor does it have the capacity to do
so” — arguing this is a clear deficiency and asymmetry in U.K.
surveillance oversight capabilities.
“GCHQ’s mass surveillance systems rely heavily on computer automation
and processing to crunch the large numbers of private communications
that it collects. When GCHQ’s processing goes wrong, it results in
‘large volumes of material erroneously collected’. Adequate technical
oversight is necessary to prevent this from happening,” it says.
Commenting in a statement, Privacy International’s deputy
director, Eric King, added: “It should be obvious that the most
technologically advanced government agency, with the most intrusive
powers, would require oversight bodies to have the independent
technical chops to match. Yet today, our oversight relies on technical
errors to be self-reported by GCHQ itself.
“Fundamentally, our safeguards against abuse will not be effective when
the core technical activities of GCHQ cannot be kept in check by
equally technically-equipped overseers. While recent efforts by the
Interception Commissioner have been made, they are essentially trying
to make the best of what is an impossible situation.
“While we applaud such efforts to navigate this problem, this is a
gaping structural deficiency, plain as day, that needs to be fixed. A
better resourced, more technically-equipped oversight body who can take
GCHQ to task should be a priority in the coming discussion of reform.”
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UK Open Rights Group Crowdfunds Mass Surveillance Explainer
Posted Jan 4, 2016 by Natasha Lomas (@riptari)
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[6092000030_b8808e63f4_b.jpg?w=738]
Proof, if proof were needed, that democracy is a cat and mouse game of
PR these days… Civil rights campaign organisation, the Open Rights
Group, is running a crowdfunding campaign to try to raise £20,000 to
fund a challenge to the U.K. government’s own massive PR machine which
is in the midst of driving the draft Investigatory Powers bill through
Parliament and onto the statute books this year.
The draft IP bill, presented to parliamentary in November — and now
being interrogated by a joint select committee of MPs and Peers, due to
report next month — is the U.K. government’s attempt to update and
crystalize the law on surveillance powers in the post-Snowden era.
The bill not only seeks to legitimize mass surveillance activity that
has been ongoing in the U.K. for decades, with little or no public
acknowledgement of this fact until after the Snowden disclosures — and
with activity authorized via obscure legal loopholes such as section 94
of the 1984 Telecommunications Act — it also expands the surveillance
capabilities available to the intelligence and security agencies. For
example by requiring ISPs to store a list of all the websites
U.K. Internet users have visited for the past 12 months. So called
‘Internet connection records’.
This despite European judges overturning blanket data retention powers,
back in 2014, on the grounds that such capabilities
are disproportionate. While, last summer the U.K. High Court also ruled
that the current emergency U.K. surveillance law, DRIPA — pushed
through parliament without proper scrutiny, also in 2014 — is illegal
under European Human Rights Law.
The Open Rights Group is hoping to be able to run its
own, inevitably more modest, public information campaign about the IP
Bill, by turning to Indiegogo to raise £20,000 to make a short film
to explain mass surveillance to the masses and illuminate the
implications for Internet users if the bill passes into law.
Its flexible funding campaign is nearing the end, with five days left
to run and more than £12,500 pledged so far.
“The public have… been repeatedly told that if you have nothing to
hide, you have nothing to fear. We need to challenge this sweeping
statement and show people just what is at stake. We may not have things
to hide but we all have things we want to keep private, safe and
secure. If this Bill is passed, there can be no guarantee that we can
do this,” the group writes on its campaign page.
A key criticism of the IP Bill has been the truncated timetable
afforded to the joint select committee that is hearing views on the
proposed legislation. A member of the committee, the Liberal Democrat
Peer Lord Strasburger, characterized the two weeks afforded to hear
witnesses as “ridiculous“, adding that the government is turning the
process “into a rubber stamp”.
In one witness session held in December before the holiday break, the
committee heard conflicting views on the costs of capturing Internet
connection records, concerns over the implications for encrypted
services — including criticism of the bill’s vague wording — and fears
over sweeping powers to sanction mass hacking of services. So plenty to
be concerned about then.
The Open Rights Group says it wants to launch its public-facing
campaign next month, to coincide with the committee’s report and put
pressure on the MPs and Peers who will be debating, amending and voting
on the legislation in the coming months. The government’s timetable for
passing the legislation is before the end of the year when DRIPA is due
to expire.
“The Government is using fear of terrorism to persuade the public that
they should give up their rights. We need to show more members of the
public that what the Government is proposing is mass surveillance and
it does have serious implications for their privacy and security. We
have just a few months to persuade them, the media and our MPs that
this draft law needs to be changed before it it passed by parliament,”
the Open Rights Group adds.
A £1,500 pledge to be the official sponsor of the planned film has been
bought by U.K. ISP Andrews and Arnold, which has submitted written
evidence to the IP Bill committee — and is a long time campaigner
against Internet censorship and against earlier attempts to legislate
so called ‘Snoopers’ charters’ in the U.K.
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* Open Rights Group
+ Founded 2005
+ Overview Open Rights Group is a non-profit organization that
exists to protect civil liberties wherever they are threatened
by the poor implementation and regulation of digital
technology. Since its founding, Open Rights Group has spoken
out on copyright term extension, DRM and the introduction of
electronic voting in the U.K. It has informed the debate on
data protection, freedom of information, data …
+ Location London, H9
+ Categories Non Profit
+ Website http://www.openrightsgroup.org
+ Full profile for Open Rights Group
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U.K. ‘Emergency’ Surveillance Law Ruled Unlawful By High Court Comments
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U.K. ‘Emergency’ Surveillance Law Ruled Unlawful By High Court
Posted Jul 17, 2015 by Natasha Lomas (@riptari)
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In a high profile win for civil liberties in the U.K., surveillance
legislation rushed through the national parliament in a matter of days
last year has today been declared unlawful under European Human Rights
law.
Two MPs, Tom Watson (Labour) and David Davis (Conservative), along
with civil rights campaign group Liberty, took the government to the
High Court last month, challenging the Data Retention and
Investigatory Powers Act (DRIPA) on privacy and data protection
grounds. Today the High Court agreed with their challenge.
Court overturns #DRIPA. We won the case!
— tom_watson (@tom_watson) July 17, 2015
The government can appeal the judgement — and does not have to
instantly halt data retention practices taking place under DRIPA, with
the court allowing those portions of the law it deems unlawful to
remain in force until March 2016 “to allow time for the government to
legislate properly”.
But the ruling fires a clear warning shot across the bows of a
government that is among the most hawkish in Europe on surveillance and
interception — with the U.K. Prime Minister at times appearing to
suggest encryption should be outlawed, and a Home Secretary who has
consistently banged the drum to ramp up investigatory powers.
DRIPA as a whole has a sunset clause of the end-of-2016. So the
government is already working to replace it with permanent and
potentially more expansive surveillance legislation (it has talked
of plugging “capability gaps”) via the forthcoming Investigatory Powers
Bill (IPB) — the latter due in draft form this fall.
Today’s High Court ruling will feed into the debate as MPs
seek consensus on where the line should be drawn to balance state
surveillance capabilities with individual privacy rights. And indicates
that the government’s current thinking is out of step with EU law. (NB:
the government’s election manifesto included a pledge to replace the
European Convention on Human Rights with a British Bill of Rights —
although it has not announced any legislative timetable for doing so
yet).
One area where there is cross-party — and wider — consensus is the need
for clarity in the oversight legislation which governs state
surveillance, interception and data retention powers in the U.K. The
existing Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act is roundly condemned as
unfit for purpose. And legislating to provide for “appropriate
oversight” is one of the government’s stated intentions with the
forthcoming IPB.
DRIPA, meanwhile, is anything but clear or appropriate. The
legislation was criticized last year for being overly vague and
draconian, as well as for going against the wider regional trajectory
by effectively reversing the European Court of Justice ruling that had,
months earlier, struck down EU data retention powers as
disproportionate.
Discussing DRIPA with TechCrunch last year former Pinsent Mason
lawyer Danvers Baillieu noted how few limits it afforded on the scope
of retention notices that the Home Secretary could issue.
“Basically clause 1 says the Secretary of State may issue a retention
notice and it may require just about anything — including ‘the
retention notice may make different provision for different purposes’,
that’s what it says in the bill. So a retention notice can pretty much
tell you to do anything — other than hold anything longer than 12
months,” he said.
The High Court evidently agrees with Baillieu’s assessment, ruling
that section 1 is unlawful on the grounds that it fails to provide
“clear and precise rules” to ensure data is only accessed for the
purpose of preventing, detecting or conducting criminal prosecutions of
serious offences. The court also ruled section 2 unlawful because
it does not build in limits to accessing this data by requiring access
be authorized by a court or independent body.
The latter point is interesting because two government commissioned
independent reviews of surveillance legislation, which have both
published their findings this summer, have called for intercept
warrants to be signed off by the judiciary, rather than being
sanctioned by ministers — as is the case now.
The government has so far said it has not yet made a decision on that
point, although some of the noises coming out of Downing Street appear
to suggest Cameron is not keen on the idea. Today’s High Court ruling
piles more pressure on the government to bend to a growing number of
calls that warrants be authorized by judges, not senior politicians.
On the independent approval point, the High Court notes in its
ruling: “The need for that approval to be by a judge or official wholly
independent of the force or body making the application should not,
provided the person responsible is properly trained or experienced, be
particularly cumbersome.”
Another criticism of DRIPA is the government’s unseemly haste in
railroading the bill through parliament, bypassing the normal lengthy
legislative scrutiny process by gaining the support of the opposition
Labour party to ensure a majority, and by using a tactic of putting the
law through as parliament was about to go on summer recess. All of
which was widely condemned at the time as un-democractic.
With the High Court slamming DRIPA as unlawful now the government will
also be under pressure to avoid any such unseemly haste in future
surveillance debates as it works to reshape legislation in this area.
That said, DRIPA’s sunset clause already puts in place a fairly short
window for detailed parliamentary scrutiny of such a technologically
complex area (not to mention the moral and ethic complexities arising
at the intersection of individual rights and state
responsibilities). The High Court ruling now squeezes the government’s
timetable further by sunsetting some of DRIPA’s powers several months
earlier.
Albeit, to spin all that another way…
Government have nine months to bring back new legislation. MPs were
given one day to discuss the legislation last year.
— tom_watson (@tom_watson) July 17, 2015
The Home Secretary has previously said the government is committing to
having a IBP by “early next year” to allow time for it to pass into law
before the DRIPA sunset clause comes into effect at the end of
2016. “In order to meet that timetable and allow thorough parliamentary
scrutiny we intend to bring forward a draft bill for consideration in
the autumn, which will be subject to pre-legislative scrutiny,
including by a joint committee of both Houses,” she said last month.
Responding to today’s High Court judgement, David Anderson, the QC who
penned one of the two independent reviews of government surveillance
legislation, notes it may affect the timing of the government’s plans
for “wide-ranging reform in this area” should the government decide it
needs “remedial legislation” before March 2016. Which suggests the
IPB’s timetable could be set back if the government focuses on another
stop-gap legislative patch.
The prospect of the government rushing through more hasty surveillance
legislation is not good. Nor is the prospect of truncated parliamentary
scrutiny of new surveillance oversight law when the
overwhelming requirement here is for “clear and precise” guidance.
Problematically vague existing legislation has undoubtedly contributed
to serious privacy and civil liberties breaches by state operators for
years. We don’t need any more RIPAs.
Anderson dubs today’s court ruling a “decision of great potential
importance”, noting that it echoes decisions already made by national
courts in the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Slovenia and Romania —
falling in line with EU law.
He writes:
If not successfully appealed, the judgment will require change to
existing practices for accessing communications data (which I had
already recommended should be subject in some categories of case to
a higher degree of independent authorisation: see A Question of
Trust, Recommendations 65, 67-71). Indeed it may point
to broader-reaching change than I had recommended, speaking of the
need for approval in all cases by “a judge or official wholly
independent of the force or body making the application” (Judgment,
para 98). This throws into doubt the adequacy of the existing
system for approval and authorisation by a designated person within
the police force or public authority which seeks communications
data. Some of the practical constraints in this area are
illustrated at 9.24(a)(b) of A Question of Trust.
The judgment may also be of relevance to the current debate over
whether there should be judicial or ministerial authorisation of
interception warrants (which were not the subject of the
Davis/Watson case, but which relate to the content of communications
and may thus be considered more intrusive than the communications
data at stake in that case). Change in this respect was recommended
both in A Question of Trust (Recommendation 22), and in this week’s
RUSI report, A Democratic Licence to Operate. My reflections on
this point in A Question of Trust, 5.79, were reproduced by the
Divisional Court at para 72 of its judgment.
He also adds that the ruling is “of no direct relevance” to the
so-called Snooper’s Charter — another piece of surveillance legislation
which the government tried and failed to pass last year, and which
would have expanded the categories of data retained by ISPs — but he
reiterates, in line with recommendations from his recent surveillance
review report, that it “underline[s] the need for a legally sound
and evidence-based case, if this idea is to be pursued in the future”.
With the Snowden revelations of 2013 unmasking the huge scale and scope
of state digital surveillance apparatus, creating an imperative
for reform and clearer oversight, it’s to be hoped that a U.K. law as
opaque and problematic as RIPA could no longer be passed — and
that domestic politicians heed growing calls for “legally sound and
evidence-based” investigatory powers that do not infringe human rights.
Or, as Eduardo Ustaran, Partner at law firm Hogan Lovells writes,
today’s High Court ruling is “a sign of the need for democratic
diligence in the political decision-making process” — and signals the
need for “an open and public debate that leads to a thorough
legislative process without hyperbole and paranoia in order to deliver
a legal framework that stands up to the courts’ scrutiny”.
Featured Image: Evlakhov Valeriy/Shutterstock
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U.K. PM Backpedals On ‘Encryption Ban’, Sort Of
Posted Jan 13, 2015 by Natasha Lomas (@riptari)
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U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron has been weathering a Twitter storm
of mockery for comments he made yesterday in which he appeared to
suggest it would be the intention of a future Conservative government
to ban strong encryption.
“Are we going to allow a means of communication between people which
even in extremis, with a signed warrant from the Home Secretary
personally, that we cannot read?” he said in a public speech. “No we
must not. The first duty of any government is to keep our country and
our people safe.”
Internet security experts chipped in en masse on social media to point
out the pyrrhic folly of Cameron thinking he can ban encryption, while
others noted the heightened hypocrisy of a politician using last week’s
terror attacks in Paris as a foil to attempt to undermine citizens’
digital privacy rights at home.
TechCrunch understands alarm at the potential implications of
Cameron’s comments even extended to the U.K.’s VC investment community
— which makes sense, given that Internet businesses wouldn’t be able to
function without encryption. So in a move that will shock precisely no
one, the back channel back-peddling has begun.
Downing Street sources said the PM’s words had been misinterpreted, and
that he was not, in fact, singling out encryption, or any particular
Internet companies, for a ban. Although another
government source declined to confirm to TechCrunch that a future
Conservative government would not be seeking to ban encryption when we
asked directly. So the Tories are evidently not committing to
ending all encryption-banning rhetorical outbursts in future.
The game being played here is not just with popular opinion on the
election campaign trail — ahead of the U.K.’s General Election
this May, as the Tories cack-handedly try to capitalize on fear of
terrorism by tilting at digital windmills. It’s also an attempt to
apply political pressure on foreign owned Internet companies to
provide U.K. security services with backdoors into their services.
Last November the incoming head of the U.K.’s GCHQ spy agency made a
direct public appeal to U.S. Internet companies to co-operate with
government counter terrorism efforts and hand over data on users when
asked.
Yesterday Cameron was evidently trying to speed that same plough.
However if, as government sources are (sort of) suggesting, he does not
in fact have an intention to ban encryption, but is hoping that
Internet companies will agree to put backdoors into services
themselves, there are undoubtedly some digital services that U.K.
spooks will not be able to peek into — i.e. those that use end-to-end
encryption or companies that refuse to co-operate with requests to
install backdoors — and, really, there is not a whole lot U.K.
politicians will be able to do about that.
That said, the Prime Minister has previously committed a future Tory
government to re-introduce more comprehensive powers of digital comms
data capture, and to extend the emergency surveillance legislation
(DRIPA) that was rushed through the U.K. parliament last year. Under
DRIPA, companies providing a service to the U.K. are technically
required to provide access to data.
The difficulty (for government) comes in trying to enforce such a legal
requirement if a company does not have a physical presence in the
U.K. And even where a company does have a presence, no U.K. government
is going to want to be seen banning mainstream apps. That’s never a
good look — unless you’re heading up a totalitarian regime.
Indeed, government sources were very keen to stress that it is not
Cameron’s intention to ban Internet companies in the U.K. They added
that the government is working closely with Internet companies to
ensure compliance with DRIPA — describing the approach it is taking,
led by a special envoy, Sir Nigel Sheinwald, appointed last September,
as “co-operative”.
At the time of Sheinwald’s appointment the government noted:
A number of overseas companies have asserted that their ability to
work with the UK government is being severely constrained by
international conflicts of jurisdiction. For example, where they
think they have a British law saying that they should share data,
and an American law saying that they shouldn’t. So we intend to
appoint a senior diplomat to work with America and other countries
to address these concerns and ensure that lawful and justified
transfer of information across borders takes place to protect our
people’s safety and security.
What’s the long and the short of all this? Cameron’s non-specific
anti-encryption drum banging is not worth the paper it wasn’t written
on. And Internet companies should definitely expect a lot more rhetoric
about how they risk aiding and abetting terrorists if they don’t give
in to U.K. government requests to perforate the security of their
users.
So, really, expect a whole lot more tilting at windmills before this
digital debate is done.
Stronger encryption is growing not diminishing, so the “challenge”, as
U.K. government sources put it, that strong encryption poses to
security services’ digital surveillance programs is not going away.
Politics meet technology.
Featured Image: Sebastien Wiertz/Flickr UNDER A CC BY 2.0 LICENSE
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What The U.K. Surveillance Powers Review Says On Encryption And Hacking
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What The U.K. Surveillance Powers Review Says On Encryption And Hacking
Posted Jun 13, 2015 by Natasha Lomas (@riptari)
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An independent review of U.K. surveillance powers conducted by QC David
Anderson published its findings this week. Among its recommendations
the report calls for judges to sign off interception warrants, and for
a new law to govern surveillance powers — replacing the problematic
patchwork of outdated and amended legislation that currently exists
with stricter and more coherent oversight.
The report also supports continued use of “bulk data collection” (aka
mass surveillance) by U.K. intelligence agencies — so long as “strict
additional safeguards” oversee its usage and minimize privacy impacts.
Anderson writes:
…if the acceptable use of vast state powers is to be guaranteed, it
cannot simply be by reference to the probity of its servants,
the ingenuity of its enemies or current technical limitations on
what it can do. Firm limits must also be written into law: not
merely safeguards, but red lines that may not be crossed.
He also weighs in on encryption, although his recommendations here are
rather more murky. In essence, he is taking the view that more
widespread use of strong encryption ultimately sanctions mass
surveillance — and even hacking activities by state agencies — as
necessary workarounds to get at information that’s otherwise locked out
of reach.
The 300-page+ report was commissioned by U.K. Prime Minister David
Cameron last year in the wake of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden’s
revelations. Since then Cameron has stepped up his rhetoric in support
of state surveillance powers, making hawkish pronouncements arguing for
expanded capabilities — to the point where, earlier this year, he
appeared to be calling for an effective ban on strong encryption.
“Are we going to allow a means of communication between people which
even in extremis, with a signed warrant from the Home Secretary
personally, that we cannot read? No we must not. The first duty of any
government is to keep our country and our people safe,” said Cameron
back in January.
Anderson’s review backs Cameron’s notion that encryption should not be
an ultimate barrier to security agencies — arguing that the power to
“intercept a particular communication” or “track a particular
individual” “needs to exist”, although he also qualifies this by saying
such a power might only be usable “where skill or trickery can provide
a way around the obstacle”.
What that means in practice appears to be a suggestion that
surveillance capabilities should allow enough intrusiveness that
strongly encrypted data can be got at — or its intelligence inferred —
by other “ingenious or intrusive” means. Not by enforced backdoors, but
by what amounts to a patchwork of investigatory workarounds.
Government-sanctioned hacking/malware is one mooted option, along with
the triangulation offered by data retention powers plus data-mining of
bulk datasets — which, presumably, expands the likelihood that
encrypted comms can be caught in a less secure form somewhere in the
digital haystack. All these ‘tricksy circumventions’ are offered up as
an alternative to legislating to deliberately and systematically
perforate encryption — i.e. by mandating backdoors be built into
encrypted services.
Anderson writes (emphasis mine):
…There may be all sorts of reasons – not least, secure encryption –
why it is not physically possible to intercept a
particular communication, or track a particular individual. But the
power to do so needs to exist, even if it is only usable in cases
where skill or trickery can provide a way around the obstacle. Were
it to be otherwise, entire channels of communication could be
reduced to lawless spaces in which freedom is enjoyed only by the
strong, and evil of all kinds can flourish.
This does not mean that state access to communications should be
made easy. Few now contend for a master key to all communications
held by the state, for a requirement to hold data locally in
unencrypted form, or for a guaranteed facility to insert back doors
into any telecommunications system. Such tools threaten
the integrity of our communications and of the internet itself. Far
preferable, on any view, is a law-based system in which encryption
keys are handed over (by service providers or by the users
themselves) only after properly authorised requests.
But in an imperfect world, in which many communications threatening
to the UK are conducted over services whose providers do not or
cannot comply with such requests, there is a compelling public
interest in being able to penetrate any channel of communication,
however partially or sporadically. Paedophiles should not be able
to operate on the dark net with guaranteed impunity, and terrorists
should not be able to render themselves undetectable simply by
selecting an app on which their communications history will never be
known even to the provider. Hence the argument for permitting
ingenious or intrusive techniques (such as bulk data analysis or CNE
[computer network exploitation]) which may go some way towards
enabling otherwise insuperable obstacles to be circumvented. Hence,
also, the argument for requiring certain data to be retained so that
they can be used in piecing together a crime after the event.
He notes elsewhere in the report that U.K. Agencies “do not look to
legislation to give themselves a permanent trump card” to unlock
encryption, adding: “Neither they nor anyone else has made a case to me
for encryption to be placed under effective Government control, as in
practice it was before the advent of public key encryption in the
1990s.”
Instead, the push from U.K. security agencies appears to be for a
multitude of workarounds to get at encrypted intel — including gaining
access to domestic and foreign companies’ own
user datasets via “cooperation, enforced by law if needed, from
companies abroad as well as in the U.K., which are able to provide
readable interception product”.
“The Agencies seek to address impeded access to communications through
their own cryptographic work,” the report adds. “They will also need to
develop new methods of accessing data, for example through increased
use of CNE [aka hacking]. They therefore want the capabilities and an
appropriate legal framework within which this work can be carried out.”
Elsewhere in the report Anderson notes that the use of hacking by U.K.
security agencies has not been clearly defined in national law —
pointing out that this activity was only “recently acknowledged” by
government, when it published the Draft Equipment Interference Code in
February. Indeed, civil liberties organizations have accused the U.K.
government of making ‘under the radar’ legislative changes to try to
retroactively legalize state agency hacking activities.
Unsurprisingly Anderson recommends that hacking powers be clearly
defined within a new oversight framework for state surveillance
capabilities. He also touches on concerns there may be a need for
“exceptional safeguards” in order for some types of hacking to be used
legally — without specifying exactly which methods could warrant theses
extra checks and balances.
[Hacking] presents a dizzying array of possibilities to the security
and intelligence agencies.
“There are significant concerns regarding the use of these methods at
all,” he writes. “In particular in relation to encryption, some are of
the view that these methods are dangerous for the safety and security
of the users of the internet. Moreover, CNE presents a dizzying array
of possibilities to the security and intelligence agencies, and while
some methods of CNE may be appropriate, many are of the view that there
are others which are so intrusive that they would require exceptional
safeguards for their use to be legal.”
While the intelligence and security agencies are the only U.K. public
bodies currently afforded hacking (and mass surveillance) powers for
investigatory purposes, the review notes that the U.K.’s National Crime
Agency wants additional powers to be considered for domestic police
forces — including “the possible future use by law enforcement of CNE”.
So, to be clear, U.K. police forces are pushing to be allowed to use
hacking to investigate criminal activity.
Anderson is specifically not supporting such an expansion of police
powers, but he does suggest that invasive digital investigation
techniques are likely to spread to other government agencies in future.
“There are still investigatory powers that only the security and
intelligence agencies deploy: notably, bulk data collection and CNE. I
have not suggested that this should change. But as technology develops,
bulk data analysis (notably by private companies) becomes a standard
feature of everyday life and digital investigation techniques become
more widespread, the trend may prove to be towards convergence rather
than the reverse,” he writes.
The report also touches on enforced decryption as a workaround method
for thwarting secure encryption. Anderson says it was required 76 times
in 2013-14, with two convictions over this period for failure to
comply. But he notes the security agencies’ primary concern with this
resort for circumventing encryption is the target may choose to opt for
a smaller prison sentence for refusing to hand over their encryption
keys than a more serious conviction for criminality based on whatever
data they have encrypted. Hence the push for security agencies to have
something else up their sleeve to workaround encryption.
Anderson’s report is not binding, so it remains to be seen how many of
his recommendations will be adopted by the government as it drafts
the new Investigatory Powers Bill, announced in the Queen’s Speech last
month. The draft bill is due to be published this fall.
After the report’s publication this week, the government said it will
“carefully consider” Anderson’s recommendations. However Home Secretary
Theresa May has already signaled she may reject his proposal to strip
ministers’ power to sign off interception warrants and hand that over
to judges. That suggests the government is preparing to expand state
surveillance capabilities without bracketing additional powers within
the strict red lines Anderson believes are necessary in order to
achieve an acceptable balance between state security and individual
liberty — pushing the U.K. further out of step with countries such as
the U.S. where politicians are now legislating to place limits on
domestic spying powers.
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Push For Greater State Surveillance Powers Could Have Chilling Effect On U.K.
Tech Sector
Posted May 30, 2015 by Natasha Lomas (@riptari)
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[16164233084_7f9e0cd5fb_k.jpg?w=738]
The U.K. government is lining up a new piece of legislation to expand
the state’s digital data capture powers. The incoming bill, the
Investigatory Powers Bill, was announced in the Queen’s speech this
week. It has not yet been published in draft form so specific details
of what is being planned remains unclear, but in recent times the
Conservative party has been banging the drum to expand the type and
volume of captured comms data. The U.K. Prime Minister has even
appeared to suggest that strong encryption should be outlawed.
The Telegraph newspaper this week suggested new powers to be outlined
in the Bill will require companies like Google and Facebook to give
U.K. intelligence agencies access to the encrypted conversations of
suspected terrorists and criminals. That scenario presupposes Internet
companies have the ability to access their users’ encrypted messages.
While that is certainly true for some digital services with a sloppy
attitude to security (or with business models that rely on data mining
their users), others, such as Apple, claim they intentionally do not
hold encryption keys — which presumably sets up a legal clash with
security- and privacy-conscious tech companies and the U.K. government.
Does the Tory government intend to make iMessage illegal? That really
will be a *gets popcorn* moment…
The Tory’s prior attempt to expand the state’s data capture powers, the
Communications Data Bill — widely criticized as a ‘Snoopers’ Charter’,
on the grounds that it would have required ISPs to retain detailed data
on web usage — failed to pass through Parliament owing to the lack of
support from the Conservative’s Lib Dem coalition partners. The new
Tory majority government has no such limitation. Former Lib Dem MP
Julian Huppert, who lost his seat in the election this month but was a
prominent critic of the Communications Data Bill, tells TechCrunch he
has concerns about the surveillance powers that the government will be
pushing for.
The concept of keeping track of every website everybody ever goes
to, or of requiring ISPs to keep track of what you do on Facebook
all the time are deeply intrusive.
“We’ll have to see how much they’ll try and throw in to it. When they
were trying to push the Communications Data Bill, initially, the first
version was incredibly broadbrush and afforded powers to do any data
collection. They then admitted, during the process of our
[parliamentary committee] enquiry, that actually there were only three
things they particularly wanted. One of which was IP addressing
matching, which there was good evidence for and we agreed to do… One
was about requiring ISPs to keep track of web logs, effectively. So a
list of every website you go to, and things like that. And the third
thing was to have a power to require ISPs to keep track of third party
information — so what you do on Facebook, what you do on any other
site,” says Huppert.
“Those were the three things they said they wanted. The IP address
matching basically was the only thing they had any evidence for. And it
doesn’t involve any significant privacy intrusions but has huge
advantages. Whereas I think the concept of keeping track of every
website everybody ever goes to, or of requiring ISPs to keep track of
what you do on Facebook all the time are deeply intrusive. And actually
they couldn’t come up with any significant evidence of why it was
useful.”
“There should be a clear piece of legislation that sets out what is ok,
what is not ok, what the processes are for changing it. And it needs to
be written with an acceptance of the need for accountability. And the
need to have as much transparency as is consistent with the genuine
requirements for operational work. But that’s not the approach that’s
been taken before. It’s not the approach that the Home Secretary has
previously urged. Maybe she will change her mind this time but I’m
sceptical,” he adds.
“I worry that the Home Secretary will largely try to simply procure
more powers for the state without justifying it or consider the count
of balancing issues that there are. And certainly, like we’ve seen with
the Prime Minister’s comments about encryption, those are huge threats
to the UK technology sectors. And is definitely not the right way to
proceed.”
Beyond the overreach and privacy intrusion of having the state require
systematic logging of citizens’ web browsing habits and social media
activity, another reason to oppose more expansive state data retention
is that it makes the intelligence agencies’ job harder — given it
increases the noise to signal ration, as Huppert notes.
“There’s no doubt that if you demand more things you have more data,
and if you believe that the problem the intelligence services face at
the moment is a shortage of data then it would address the problem. I
think the problem is they don’t know what to do with all the data that
they have. If you look at the killing of [U.K. soldier] Lee Rigby for
example the problem isn’t that they have no idea. The problem is they
have so much data they couldn’t prioritize it properly,” he argues.
“So unlike IP address matching where there really was a strong case,
there isn’t a clear case here. Beyond ‘we can think of some situations
where it might be useful’. And I think one of the things that people
should look very very carefully at this is what is the evidence for any
of the claims that are made. We certainly found the ones given
initially were, I think the word we used was ‘misleading’.”
He also notes that the Joint Committee report on the draft
Communications Data bill was hugely critical about the lack of
data ministers were able to provide to support assertions that
expanding data capture powers for counter-terrorism purposes would save
lives. So that’s another thorny problem with legislation in this area —
the government can and does shroud its arguments in claims of national
security secrecy. Saying, in essence, ‘we need more data — but we can’t
tell you why’.
And where the U.K. Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee
should be playing a robust role in holding the government to account in
such a sensitive area, Huppert says there has been further failure. So
he’s also not putting much store in claims that the Investigatory
Powers Bill will “provide for appropriate oversight and safeguard
arrangements”.
“We do need better oversight. The intelligence services play an
incredibly important role and we want them to be able to do their jobs
in a clear and accountable way. But the ISC has not played that role,”
he adds. “The Investigatory Powers Tribunal ruled against the
government but the executive response was to do nothing and soon after
deny that the ruling had happened. So I don’t have much confidence in
that.”
One portion of U.K. legislation he does support overhauling is RIPA.
Aka the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, which regulates
the powers public bodies have to carry out surveillance and
communications interception. Briefing notes for the Investigatory
Powers Bill state it will aim to “modernise our law in these areas and
ensure it is fit for purpose”.
RIPA has been criticized for years for eroding press freedoms and
sanctioning disproportionate surveillance — by, for instance,
enabling police and local councils to spy on journalists. Or, in
another instance, a local authorities to check if a family was
living in a school catchment area. So there’s a clear need for ripping
up RIPA and starting again.
But again Huppert has concerns about the government’s approach here.
“RIPA does need to be re-written. There’s no doubt about that,” he
says. “It is an atrociously written piece of legislation… I think that
everybody agrees RIPA is not fit for purpose. And that would include
strong critics like myself but also if you look at some of the things
that [Commissioner for the Global Commission on Internet Governance]
David Omand has said… He’s argued for full public and parliamentary
understanding of new powers… So I do think we need to have a re-write
of RIPA but the correct way to do that is through the joint committee
process, thinking about it slowly and carefully — not something rammed
through by a new government eager to get on with it.
“And the intention, which the Tories had agreed to or stated publicly,
was that [to get this balance] there would be a joint committee set up
between both houses to consider how to re-do RIPA. And it does seem to
me that they are jumping the gun somewhat on it.”
Huppert is not alone in his concerns either. This week a UN
report dubbed encryption an essential tool for protecting the right of
freedom of opinion and expression in the digital age. While Sir Tim
Berners-Lee, inventor of the world wide web, called for checks and
balances on government surveillance. Speaking at an Internet festival
taking place in London this week he asked of politicians: “Can you show
us that you can build a system which is accountable to us, where when
the security services take the ability to look at private data, they do
it in a way where it goes through a court, they do in way so my
personal data is not going to be snooped on and when people do have
their data snooped on it’s only used in a very serious process of
tracking down organised crime and terrorism?”
The Investigatory Powers Bill is one of a series of initial bills
announced in the Queen’s speech, which sets out the government
legislative agenda for the new Parliament — so shoring up and expanding
state surveillance and data capture powers is evidently front of mind
and a clear priority for the new U.K. government. How that
preoccupation with supporting and enabling greater state powers of
intrusion on the one hand vs an apparent desire to modernize
problematic older laws pertaining to interception powers plays out
remains to be seen. But the government’s anti-encryption rhetoric
suggests another serious clash of politics vs technology is incoming —
the outcome of which will ripple out to affect both U.K. web users and
their online behavior, and global companies doing business in the U.K.
The U.K. is often referred to as the most surveilled country in the
world — typically a reference to the pervasive use of CCTV. At the last
count there were estimated to be between 4 million and 5.9 million of
these surveillance cameras in the U.K. (which has a population of
around 64 million), although the vast majority are privately owned and
operated — rather than being directly controlled by the state. (The
number of publicly operated cameras in England and Wales is around
100,000.)
This month the U.K.’s surveillance camera commissioner warned that
budget cuts are forcing councils to switch off CCTV cameras. But the
idea that state surveillance capabilities will diminish because
of shrinking government resources seems fantastical. Rather the role of
providing state surveillance apparatus continues to be outsourced to
private operators. So U.K. police and intelligence agencies obtain
whatever CCTV footage they’re after from the private operator funding a
camera in their shop or carpark or driveway — or, hey, even
that in-home Dropcam or the lens on that life-logging wearable that
never stops recording what’s going on around you. Imagine the power of
state surveillance tapping into an expansive Internet of Things
infrastructure that ceaselessly gathers real-time data on every point
of human intersection — public and ‘private’.
When it comes to surveillance of digital comms data, this same
outsourcing modus operandi used with CCTV is being applied by
governments to Internet companies — with the U.K. government now
preparing to push one of the most hawkish data retention agendas in the
Western world, and that despite the censure that has been directed at
systematic digital dragnets in the wake of the Snowden revelations. How
hugely powerful commercial digital platforms respond to being co-opted
as the coal face of state surveillance, where their user data is
then subject to systematic mining by the state as a byproduct of
citizens’ digital participation, continues to be one of the most
pressing issues of our technology-fueled times.
Featured Image: Phil Dolby/Flickr UNDER A CC BY 2.0 LICENSE
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[screen-shot-2014-09-16-at-00-41-54.png?w=738]
As Apple continues to come under some attack for how it handles iCloud
security, the company’s CEO Tim Cook is holding firm on the company’s
priorities when it comes to data protection.
In part 2 of an interview with Charlie Rose, airing on PBS tonight,
Cook is adamant that Apple is not in the business of collecting data,
but rather selling hardware, and, as such, it puts data privacy as a
priority. “We’re not reading your email. We’re not reading your
iMessage,” Cook said. “If the government laid a subpoena to get
iMessages, we can’t provide it. It’s encrypted and we don’t have a key.
And so it’s sort of — the door is closed.”
The comments sit not just as a defense of Apple in the wake of the
celebrity iCloud selfie scandal, where racy photographs were obtained
by malicious, phishing hackers and then distributed online (Apple
plainly denied a security breach); but they are also a reiteration of
an argument Apple first brought up a year ago, when the company came
out with its original defense of the security of its iMessage messaging
platform in the wake of NSA revelations — a position that was
questioned and debunked by some security researchers.
Cook’s comments are also something of an indirect snub to Google, the
search and Android giant that Cook flat-out called Apple’s biggest
competition in the first part of his Rose interview.
Here are Cook’s remarks in full in response to Rose’s comment about how
some people feel like “companies like Google” are in possession of too
much information, some of it personal.
We take a very different view of this than a lot of other companies
have. Our view is, when we design a new service, we try not to
collect data. So we’re not reading your email. We’re not reading
your iMessage. If the government laid a subpoena to get iMessages,
we can’t provide it. It’s encrypted and we don’t have a key. And so
it’s sort of, the door is closed. But our business Charlie, is based
on selling these [pointing to devices]. Our business is not based on
having information about you. You’re not our product. Our product
are these, and this watch, and Macs and so forth. And so we run a
very different company. I think everyone has to ask, how do
companies make their money? Follow the money. And if they’re making
money mainly by collecting gobs of personal data, I think you have a
right to be worried. And you should really understand what’s
happening to that data. And companies I think should be very
transparent about it.
He also touched on how this relates to new products that Apple is
launching — specifically its e-commerce effort, Apple Pay:
From our point of view, you can see what we’re doing on the credit
card thing. We don’t want it. We’re not in that business. I’m
offended by lots of it. And so, I think people have a right to
privacy.
He also went back to how Apple has handled and would respond to data
requests from organizations like the NSA, maintaining that Apple would
“never allow” backdoor access to its servers. Cook’s position is that
questions of data privacy will be a “key topic over the next year or
so.”
And we’ll reach higher and higher levels of urgency as more and more
incidents happen. I think that the, for us, in the Snowden thing,
just to go along on that for just a moment. What we wanted, was, we
wanted instantly to be totally transparent because there were rumors
and things being written in the press that people had backdoors to
our servers. None of that is true, zero. We would never allow that
to happen. They would have to cart us out in a box before we would
do that. It’s, if we ever get information, and we finally got an
agreement from the administration to release how many times we had
national security orders on Apple. And in a six month period, and we
had to release a range, because they won’t let us say the exact
number, it’s between zero and 250. That’s the lowest number you can
quote. Zero to 250.
An excerpt from the interview is below:
IFRAME:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/Bmm5faI_mLo?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&autohide=
2&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent
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CrunchBase
* Apple
+ Founded 1976
+ Overview Apple is a multinational corporation that designs,
manufactures, and markets mobile communication and media
devices, personal computers, portable digital music players,
and sells a variety of related software, services,
peripherals, networking solutions, and third-party digital
content and applications. Apple provides many products and
services, including iPhone; iPad; iPod; Mac; iPod; Apple TV; …
+ Location Cupertino, CA
+ Categories Hardware + Software, Consumer Electronics,
Computers, Electronics, Retail
+ Website http://www.apple.com
+ Full profile for Apple
* Timothy Cook
+ Bio Timothy Cook is Apple's CEO. He took over from Steve Jobs
on 25 August 2011. In his previous position as COO, Cook was
responsible for all of the company's worldwide sales and
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[edward-snowden-nova-1024x575.jpg?w=738]
A 32-page report into mass surveillance by a top European rights body
has warned that digital dragnets set up by U.S. government intelligence
agencies, and some of the U.S.’ allies in Europe and elsewhere, are
endangering fundamental human rights — such as the right to privacy, to
freedom of information and expression, to freedom of religion, and to
the right to a fair trial.
NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden gave evidence to the committee last
year, including revealing that U.S. government intelligence agencies
spied on NGOs and human rights organizations.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) report also
expresses deep concern about threats to Internet security by what it
describes as “the practice of certain intelligence agencies”, as
disclosed in the Snowden files, of “seeking out systematically, using
and even creating ‘back doors’ and other weaknesses in security
standards and implementation, which could easily be exploited also by
terrorists and cyber-terrorists or other criminals”.
The PACE report comes just days after the U.K. Prime Minister appeared
to call for a ban on strong encryption, arguing that national security
agencies should be able to gain access to all digital communications.
And — just today — the U.K.’s House of Lords was debating amendments to
a new counter-terrorism bill that sought to (again) revive a so-called
Snooper’s Charter by forcing blanket retention of communications
metadata on digital companies, despite such comms dragnets being ruled
disproportionate and struck down by the European Court of Justice last
year.
Following the ECJ strike down, the U.K. government passed “emergency”
interception legislation, aka DRIPA, to fill the legislative gap (DRIPA
has a sunset clause, hence attempts to inject similar measures in the
separate counter-terrorism bill). And was roundly criticized for
rushing DRIPA through parliament, without allowing for proper
parliamentary scrutiny.
In its report PACE expresses specific concerns about the
anti-democratic practices and structures that have developed to enable
mass surveillance, noting it is “deeply worried by the extensive use of
secret laws, secret courts and secret interpretations of such laws,
which are very poorly scrutinized”.
The report adds:
In several countries, a massive “Surveillance-Industrial Complex”
has evolved, fostered by the culture of secrecy surrounding
surveillance operations, their highly technical character and the
fact that both the seriousness of alleged threats and the need for
specific counter-measures and their costs and benefits are difficult
to assess for political and budgetary decision-makers without
relying on input from interested groups themselves. These powerful
structures risk escaping democratic control and accountability and
threaten the free and open character of our societies.
PACE highlights for censure one such workaround for circumventing
national privacy laws whereby certain countries — notably among the
so-called Five Eyes (aka: U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, New Zealand) —
share data on each others’ citizens, since foreigners’ privacy rights
are not nationally enshrined.
PACE’s report is not anti-surveillance, rather it is arguing for
“effective, targeted surveillance” of specific suspects — contrasting
that with resource-intensive mass surveillance, which it notes has not
been found to have contributed to the prevention of terrorist attacks,
according to various independent U.S. reviews, and “contrary to earlier
assertions made by senior intelligence officials”.
“Instead, resources that might prevent attacks are diverted to mass
surveillance, leaving potentially dangerous persons free to act,” it
adds.
A new privacy-protecting legal framework is required, in PACE’s view,
to rebuild trust between European States, and between Europe and the
U.S., post-Snowden. Building in robust protections for whistleblowers,
such as Snowden, who are exposing unlawful surveillance practices is
also key here.
In order to rebuild trust among the transatlantic partners, among
the member states of the Council of Europe and also between citizens
and their own governments, a legal framework must be put in place at
the national and international level which ensures the protection of
human rights, especially that which secures the right to privacy. An
effective tool for the enforcement of such a legal and technical
framework, besides enhanced judicial and parliamentary scrutiny, is
credible protection extended to whistle-blowers who
expose violations.
In its series of non-binding recommendations to European Union Member
States PACE also calls for judicial oversight to be baked into national
laws that sanction the collection and analysis of personal data
(unless individuals have given their consent for their data to be
taken). And it suggests court orders should be granted “on the basis of
reasonable suspicion of the target being involved in criminal
activity”.
So, in other words, that surveillance should always be targeted —
never a fishing expedition.
It adds:
…unlawful data collection and treatment should be penalised in the
same way as the violation of the traditional mail secret ;
the creation of “backdoors” or any other techniques to weaken or
circumvent security measures or exploit their existing weaknesses
should be strictly prohibited; all institutions and businesses
holding personal data should be held to apply the most effective
security measures available;
It also calls for a multilateral “Intelligence Codex” for nation
states’ intelligence services to lay down rules governing
counter-terror and organized crime “cooperation” — to ensure that
countries apply the same rules to surveillance of each other’s citizens
as their own to avoid the ‘back-channel’ snooping within the Five Eyes.
PACE also follows Snowden’s lead in calling for privacy-protections to
be baked into more consumer products.
The report can be read in full here.
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To Fix Cybersecurity Law, Ask More Questions
Posted Sep 15, 2015 by Jeff Kosseff (@jkosseff)
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Jeff KosseffCrunch Network Contributor
Jeff Kosseff is an assistant professor of cybersecurity law at the
United States Naval Academy.
More posts by this contributor:
* Should Tech Companies Be Subject To The Fourth Amendment?
* The Biggest Cybersecurity Risk Is Not Identity Theft
* Can Decency Be Legislated?
How to join the network
When a company realizes that it may have been hacked, its first call
often is not to outside forensics consultants, security firms or even
to law enforcement.
Too often, the company first must consult with its lawyers. Lots and
lots of lawyers.
And for good reason. Our system of cybersecurity and privacy laws is
difficult to navigate, and exposes companies to large penalties for
failure to follow outdated rules. Unfortunately, the time that
companies spend parsing legal liability often leaves the door open for
more damage to occur to its systems and networks.
The seemingly endless cycle of high-profile computer hacks has caused
policymakers and front pages to focus more than ever on cybersecurity
law. Once a niche issue, cybersecurity now is in the national
spotlight, as we evaluate how to prevent and respond to high-stakes
data security compromises.
As a cybersecurity lawyer and professor, I am thrilled that the public
is fixated on security. But I worry that the debate is too narrow, and
we have not yet fully examined the incongruous and often inefficient
patchwork of federal and state cybersecurity laws.
We need to rethink all of our cybersecurity laws. The current system
simply is not working.
When Congress returns from recess, it is expected to debate a bill that
would allow cyberthreat information sharing among the public and
private sectors. Opponents criticize the bill for providing legal
immunity to companies that share threat information, while the bill’s
proponents say that sharing would be impossible without some legal
protection.
The information-sharing debate is an important one. But it is only one
piece of the much broader framework that governs how companies prevent
and manage data breaches.
To understand the gaps in our cybersecurity laws, consider how
companies respond to data breaches. When companies learn that their
users’ data has been hacked, they cannot focus solely on shoring up
their networks and preventing further harm. That’s because 47 states
and the District of Columbia have passed laws that require companies to
notify consumers, regulators and credit bureaus of breaches.
We need to evaluate all the laws based on the current threats to
determine how to make them most effective in preventing and
remediating breaches.
The notification requirements might not sound like a significant
burden, but the laws each require different formats for notice, often
under different circumstances. For instance, some states only require
notification if highly sensitive information such as Social Security
numbers and credit card numbers are disclosed, while other laws apply
to disclosure of account passwords and birth dates. As any
cybersecurity lawyer will tell you, North Dakota has particularly
quirky notification rules.
The end result is that in the days following a hack, companies focus on
formalistic notification rules, lest they face heavy fines and
lawsuits. While notification of breaches can be useful, I question
whether it should play such a central role in breach response. It’s
like a fire code that focuses exclusively on when a blaze first was
reported to the fire department, rather than requiring building owners
to take precautions that prevent the fire in the first place.
About a dozen states also have enacted separate laws that require
companies to adopt “reasonable” data security plans for certain types
of personal information. But most of those laws do not define
“reasonable.” At the federal level, the Federal Trade Commission
penalizes companies for particularly egregious data security failures,
but it, too, does not provide binding compliance guidelines.
This murky system leaves well-intentioned companies unsure of what they
need to do to comply with data security laws.
I also question the need for state-level data security regulations.
Very few companies process information only belonging to the residents
of a single state. Unlike physical security issues, such as building
safety and vehicle regulations, data security is not limited to a
single location. A clear, nationwide standard would provide companies
with the guidance and flexibility necessary to prevent data breaches.
Missing from the current debate has been discussion of incentives for
companies to invest in cybersecurity. Federal law provides tax breaks
for companies to purchase manufacturing equipment, invest in research
and development and produce certain types of fuel. Why not
cybersecurity? The public would benefit if the tax code encouraged
companies to make costly investments in cybersecurity software and
personnel.
We also should examine whether the increase in data breach-related
class action litigation actually results in better cybersecurity.
Unlike communications with attorneys, accountants, therapists and
clergy, communications with cybersecurity forensics professionals is
not directly covered by a privilege. So if a company hires a forensics
team to help remediate a data breach, the communications with that team
could be discovered in a lawsuit related to that breach. This could
actually discourage companies from hiring cybersecurity consultants
when they are needed most.
Many of our data security, hacking and privacy laws were enacted in the
’80s and ’90s, long before we ever could have imagined the
cybersecurity challenges that companies and other organizations face
every day. Quite simply, we need to evaluate all the laws based on
the current threats to determine how to make them most effective in
preventing and remediating breaches.
Cybersecurity is among the most complex and important legal issues that
we currently confront. I don’t think that any of us have the answers
right now, but I know that we should be asking as many questions as
possible.
Note: The views expressed in this op-ed are those only of the author,
and not of the Naval Academy or Department of Navy.
Featured Image: Shutterstock
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Code Tenderloin Connects Tech Companies With The Community
[jinping.jpg?w=738]
The Chinese government arrested hackers at the request of the U.S.
government just two weeks before Chinese President Xi Jinping visited
the United States.
The arrests, reported by the Washington Post on Friday, signal slight
progress with China on cybersecurity. They came amid high tensions as
the Obama administration threatened to impose harsh economic sanctions
on China in the wake of several high profile hacks reportedly linked to
the country, including the Office of Personnel Management breach.
Recently China has said it would rein in attacks against the United
States, but today’s report reveals China is taking action. The arrests
are perhaps more significant than the recent cyber deal the United
States struck with China two weeks ago because many worried it was just
an empty promise.
The deal was a landmark agreement because it showed the two countries
could talk about cybersecurity — an issue that has caused tension
between them for years. Here’s what the White House said in a fact
sheet:
The United States and China agree that neither country’s government
will conduct or knowingly support cyber-enabled theft of
intellectual property, including trade secrets or other confidential
business information, with the intent of providing competitive
advantages to companies or commercial sectors.
But it quickly gained criticism from experts in the cybersecurity
field. Paul Rosenzweig of Lawfare, sarcastically headlined his response
to the agreement “I Feel Much Safer Already.” It was vague and offered
little explanation for how both sides would be held accountable.
But Herb Lin, a Stanford cybersecurity scholar, said it was promising
that the summit did not break down. He said both sides needed to take
action.
“Now each side needs to walk through the doors,” Lin said when the deal
was released. “This could just be yet another the thing that sits
around that doesn’t go anywhere.”
Friday’s report substantiated that cautious optimism. Though the United
States and China clearly have to continue to take actions that back up
their deal, the arrests show at least China is opening the door to
change.
The real test will be how long China can stick to the agreement. Just
days after Jinping left the United States, The Daily Beast
reported Chinese spies are still hacking American companies working for
the U.S. military. Technically these hacks for national
security reasons are not necessarily in China’s commercial interests,
but they highlight how fragile the recent agreement is.
Though the arrests and the deal indicate promising steps toward a
better relationship with China, they’re just the beginnings of what
will likely be a very long road that could be derailed by a single
breach.
Featured Image: U.S. Embassy The Hague/Flickr UNDER A CC BY 2.0 LICENSE
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This Cybersecurity Medicine Might Be Tough To Swallow
Posted Dec 31, 2014 by Ron Miller (@ron_miller)
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How We Celebrate New Year’s Eve On Social Media Around The World
[15868178370_f1cd19af42_o.jpg?w=738]
Imagine you’re the CEO of a thriving company and you’ve been horrified
by the news of the Sony hack, the Target breach and the litany of
security issues that have plagued big companies in recent years. You
swear you’re going to do whatever’s necessary to make sure it won’t
happen to your company. But do you realize what that really means?
At a holiday party, a guy starts chatting you up while you’re working
on your fourth martini. And he speaks directly to your fears. He knows
someone who could help you out with your security problems — make it so
that you would never suffer the fate of those poor suckers at those
other companies. You have to admit, you’re intrigued because you never
want to be in the position of explaining to your board of directors why
you were the latest victim.
You get the name and run a background check and find out she’s good.
Very good. Her experience includes stints with military intelligence,
the NSA and a number of successful security startups. You’re ready to
write the check just to hear her pearls of wisdom.
The day finally arrives and your assistant shows the consultant into
your office where she quickly takes a seat, takes a speck of dust off
her pants and looks you in the eye.
“You’re really willing to do whatever I say?” she asks.
You tell her that if she has a plan, you’ll follow it. You wait
anxiously to hear what she’s going to say.
The first thing you need to do, she tells you, is disconnect from the
Internet. Before you can object, she holds up a hand and asks that you
let her finish. You start to sweat, and she keeps going.
You’ll need to take away all of the laptops. There will be no
smartphones or tablets allowed in the building. You’ll use desktop
computers without USB ports or DVD drives. There should be no way that
you can save to an external device. Everything will be connected on a
highly secure, completely private internal network accessible with
two-factor authentication.
You won’t use any cloud services and there will be absolutely no mobile
apps. If you run a website, you will keep it simple and with very
little information. Contact information will be through a form and you
won’t have an address for the company beyond a post office box.
You will hire highly skilled security personnel. Everyone will leave
their phones at the door on the way into the building — including you.
Everyone will be searched entering and leaving the building — including
you. No exceptions. You will put cameras everywhere and you will have
your security staff monitor them in a control room to make sure nobody
is doing anything suspicious.
Anyone caught with a prohibited device will be fired immediately.
You will keep partnerships to a minimum, and all guests, including
customers, will be subjected to the same strict security regimen, and
no one will be allowed to carry any devices of any kind inside.
“I couldn’t possibly do that,” you say to her wide-eyed. “I would be
sacrificing my entire business, handicapping and harassing my employees
and my customers, all in the name of protecting my company.”
“So it seems you wouldn’t do whatever it takes, would you?”
—
Playing Security Chess
So if you can’t lock down your company, what can you do?
You have to give up the notion of complete security and place your bets
on things you can control because there is an organized effort to
attack your networks. And depending on your type of business, the more
determined these parties might be.
Yet it seems that the further we advance technologically, the less
secure we become. David Cowan a partner with venture capital firm
Bessemer Ventures says one of the reasons for that is because
technology has become so intertwined in our lives.
“Broadly speaking we are adopting technology that’s becoming more and
more pervasive in our lives and jobs. The opportunities for cybercrime,
mischief and [mayhem] has grown over the years and there is more
motivation to do so,” he told me.
As Cowan explained, back in the 90s, hacking was about ego, but over
time it has evolved to include fraud, identity theft and other criminal
activity — and more recently nation-states partaking in surveillance
and organized cyber-mayhem.
But as one security startup CEO told me recently, we are doing better
than we think. You may find that hard to believe if you’re a CEO trying
desperately to avoid being tomorrow’s headline. But he described a
giant chess match between the people trying to get into our computer
systems and those trying to keep them out.
As bad as it seems today, this security executive says if it weren’t
for the checks and balances that security companies have put in place,
it would be far worse and we couldn’t be using the internet to conduct
business the way we do.
Walking the Security Tightrope
So we are left with a balancing act: We can’t be stupid, but neither
can we sacrifice the business in the name of protecting it. As Cowan
explains, security isn’t your highest priority as an organization.
Being a good company is your first priority, and security should be
part of that.
“Job one should be providing functionality your users need to get jobs
done and have good experience. For most of the interesting applications
in the world, trust is an integral part of good user experience,” he
said. And if you want to be trusted, security needs to be at least an
important component.
From a broader perspective, you cannot have a completely secure company
that has been stripped of internal freedom, precisely for the same
reason you cannot have a democratic society that is safe from any
attack and maintain anything approaching privacy. If you decide, as our
example above highlights, that you will do anything to be secure, you
end up with a company so locked down that it will not be able to
maintain a staff, let alone a staff that you would want to work with.
Surely there is always a tradeoff between security and privacy, and
everyone has their own tolerance level regarding which side of this
they should fall on. In the end, you have to ask yourself how much you
squeeze the individual factor out of the equation. Can you honestly
turn your workers into drones incapable of malicious activity, let
alone honest mistakes?
When it comes down to it, you would no doubt agree with the CEO in our
example that you cannot prioritize security over the company itself. No
CEO would. You just have to be able to reconcile the fact that you
could experience a breach — and that’s the tricky part.
Alex Wilhelm contributed to this post.
Featured Image: Matthias Ripp/Flickr UNDER A CC BY 2.0 LICENSE
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Next-Gen Cybersecurity Is All About Behavior Recognition
Posted Aug 23, 2015 by Larry Alton (@LarryAlton3)
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Larry AltonCrunch Network Contributor
Larry Alton is an independent business consultant specializing in
social media trends, business and entrepreneurship.
More posts by this contributor:
* App-Improvement AI And The Future Of Web Development
* How Wearable Tech Could Spark A New Privacy Revolution
* How Consumer-Focused AI Startups Are Breaking Down Language
How to join the network
In the wake of devastating personal information leaks, like Target’s
back in 2014 affecting more than 70 million customers and the more
recent Ashley Madison data breach, concerns over cybersecurity are at
an all-time high.
Financial advisers overwhelmingly cite cybersecurity as their
number-one concern, with business owners and everyday consumers sharing
in those worries.
There are a few ways to approach this problem, but the one on
everyone’s mind is the most straightforward; we need to protect
companies’ records from ever being breached in the first place.
There are many ways a criminal could potentially acquire this
information; for example, they could use weak passwords to fraudulently
log in to a given system, or find an application vulnerability in the
backend to find stored data. Breaches like this are startlingly common,
and many go unreported in the news.
Recognizing this, many have suggested the proper way to fight back and
improve cybersecurity is to improve backend systems to have fewer
vulnerabilities, or train consumers and employees to do a better job of
keeping their login information secure. Either way, the goal here is to
slow criminals down by making it more difficult for them to obtain or
use the necessary information.
Why Preventing Data Breaches Can Never Lead To Victory
This is a logical system of improvement, but it’s fundamentally flawed
in two major ways. First, it’s impossible to get everyone on board with
new security standards.
We need to protect companies’ records from ever being breached in
the first place.
For example, if you inform a room full of 100 people about all the
dangers of cyberattacks and security breaches, and you explain, in
detail, the importance of creating, maintaining and regularly changing
strong passwords, at least one person in that group of 100 will
continue using the password “password123.” And because all it takes is
one rogue available login to gain access to a system, that weak link
will perpetually remain open.
The other side of the problem is continuing advances in encrypted
systems. In a series of one-upmanship, advanced technicians are
constantly coming up with new ways to stop cybercriminals in their
tracks, and cybercriminals are constantly coming up with new ways to
tear down those structures.
Any new advance in cybersecurity serves only as a temporary wall.
Regularly improving and upgrading these walls can serve as an evolving
series of defenses, but there can never be a sound “victory” when all
data breaches are prevented.
An Alternative Method
Rather than focusing on stopping cybercriminals with walls, new
technologies are emerging that work to identify cybercriminals instead.
Take the relatively new startup BioCatch, which received $11.6 million
in funding over three rounds. BioCatch’s technology works to identify
patterns of user behavior in certain applications, creating user
profiles that can then be matched to subsequent visits.
For example, if you visit an e-commerce platform and move your cursor
in a certain pattern, or type at a certain speed, BioCatch will be able
to determine, on future visits, whether or not the user with your login
credentials is actually “you.” Account takeovers, remote access (RAT),
and MitB malware attacks could all be potentially thwarted by this
approach.
Mimicking a user’s online behavior is far more difficult than
breaking down a wall.
Think of it this way — when you use your credit card in an unusual
location, like out of state, your bank typically calls you to confirm
that it’s actually you making those purchases.
This new technology works the same way, except it uses atypical
variations in parameters, like typing speed, mouse movement, keyboard
strokes, tapping force and swipe patterns instead of geographical
location. Take this practical example: After a few logins, this system
will learn that you tend to browse slowly, tap icons hard and type at
an average speed.
If someone gets ahold of your login information and browses quickly,
with fast typing speed and weak “taps,” the system will trigger a
fraudulent use, and your hacker will be forced to provide further
authenticating details (or, more likely, give up the effort).
Similar technology, focused on positively identifying people based on
behaviors and biometric signatures, is beginning to emerge from other
companies, as well. For example, take Bionym, a Toronto-based startup
that recently raised $14 million in Series A funding.
Using a wearable wristband called Nymi, the technology detects ECG
activity to positively identify a user, then wirelessly confirms that
identity to apps and online platforms. Sonavation, a company that
designs and produces fingerprint sensors, is also exploring the
possibilities of using device-based fingerprint readers to verify user
identities.
None of these technologies require any additional effort from the user
— they just need to “act natural” in the course of their typical
behavior — yet the possibilities for an imposter to mimic these actions
is very low.
Some of the strengths of this approach include a “touchless” system,
which learns and adapts on its own without direct intervention, and the
fact that these patterns can’t be easily learned or faked by an
external system.
There are some weaknesses, however, as human behavior isn’t always
consistent; these systems could trigger false positives and potentially
lock people out of their own accounts. They also do nothing to ensure
first-line security, such as protecting passwords from leaking in the
first place.
Other Major Players
In addition to biometric and behavior-based security startups like
BioCatch and Bionym, several other tech companies are working on this
identification-based last line of defense in cybersecurity.
For example, take RSA security, which uses adaptive authentication to
positively identify human- and machine-based behaviors and determine a
qualitative risk level for each use of the system.
New technologies are emerging that work to identify cybercriminals.
For example, if this system notices improbably fast pacing of clicks,
it could register the user as an automated machine and prevent it from
operating further. This is great for preventing automated attacks, but
does little to identify an unauthorized human being using another
human’s personal information.
Or take Trusteer, a startup acquired by IBM in 2013 which now functions
as a subsidiary of the company. Trusteer uses software that identifies
potential criminal activities on mobile devices, as well as
desktop-based activities.
For example, it uses malware detection to determine when a hostile
attempt to take over a mobile device has been initiated. It also uses
front-end protection to block phishing attempts and similar breaches to
personal information, and helps companies implement web-based services
that block account takeover attacks.
In this way, Trusteer functions as both a front-end (information
protection) and back-end (preventing unauthorized use of information)
protection company.
Rather than trying to build new walls to slow down criminals, these
companies are taking a more efficient path of positive identification.
This isn’t to say that conventional security practices aren’t important
— encrypted data, multi-level authentication requirements and general
best practices for logins and passwords are as important as ever — but
they can always be outsmarted.
Mimicking a user’s online behavior is far more difficult than breaking
down a wall, and if BioCatch and its competitors’ behavioral analysis
tools prove to be a success, expect to see more products and services
like it emerging in the years to come.
Featured Image: Lightspring/Shutterstock
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* BioCatch
+ Founded 2011
+ Overview BioCatch takes behavioral biometrics technology to
the next level by leveraging a truly unique approach. Their
goal is to equip the industry with a real game-changer in the
fight against advanced cyber threats. They’re a privately
owned, rapidly growing company that was founded late 2011.
Their first products focus on online and mobile fraud
mitigation; the technology is at the beta stage and …
+ Location Boston, MA
+ Categories Cyber, Cyber Security, Fraud Detection
+ Website http://biocatch.com
+ Full profile for BioCatch
* Nymi Band
+ Description Nymi is the wearable authentication technology
that allows users to take control of their identity through
cardiac rhythm identification.
+ Website http://www.getnymi.com
+ Full profile for Nymi Band
* Nymi
+ Founded 2011
+ Overview Nymi is a team of thinkers and innovators aimed at
shaping the world of technology through biometrics,
authentication technology, and their concept of identity.
While they specialize in biometrics and authentication
technology for consumer electronics, they also develop
technology that uniquely utilizes gesture control, proximity
detection, and application development.
+ Location Toronto, Ontario
+ Categories Hardware + Software
+ Website http://nymi.com
+ Full profile for Nymi
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How Wearable Tech Could Spark A New Privacy Revolution
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Building Smart City Security
[368912557_2fc44d3709_b.jpg?w=738]
Larry AltonCrunch Network Contributor
Larry Alton is an independent business consultant specializing in
social media trends, business and entrepreneurship.
More posts by this contributor:
* App-Improvement AI And The Future Of Web Development
* Next-Gen Cybersecurity Is All About Behavior Recognition
* How Consumer-Focused AI Startups Are Breaking Down Language
How to join the network
Fears over privacy are nothing new. As users began to see the sheer
availability of information online, and the amount of personal data
being seen and used by tech companies, they became rightly concerned
over how much information would be available to companies and
individuals, and how that information would be used. The increasing
stream of news about the scope and intensity of government-backed
surveillance programs has only added to the paranoia.
As we enter a new era of technology marked by wearable devices like the
Apple Watch and Google Glass, those fears — which have been simmering
in the minds of consumers for years — may finally begin to boil over.
The Problem With Apps
When it comes to user privacy, there are two kinds of apps to worry
about. The first kind is designed to gather information about a user.
For example, social media apps go out of their way to draw as much
information about their users as possible. This is advantageous for
both users and companies — users get more involved with their networks,
and companies get more information to sell to advertisers.
However, this can be concerning to users who do not wish their
information to be sold or to be publicly available. The same is true
for tracking-style apps like Xora, an app whose deletion prompted the
recent firing of an employee who resented the idea of being tracked
24/7.
The second kind may seem counterintuitive: apps dedicated to preserving
user privacy. Snapchat, an app supposedly dedicated to anonymity and
user-data protection, was recently the victim of multiple information
leaks. These types of apps are dangerous because they lull users into a
sometimes-false sense of security, prompting them to allow more of
their information to be used without realizing the finer details of
each company’s unique privacy policy.
But the real problem with apps is in their nature. Because they’re
installed on a device, and often running in the background, they can
constantly draw in new information about a user. Compare this to a few
generations back, when the Internet could only be accessed through a
hard-wired machine for specific, designated periods of time.
Wearable devices are about to provoke a new revolution in user
privacy.
Wearable devices exaggerate these problems in two ways. First, they’re
increasing the popularity of apps over traditional web browsing
experiences. Because wearable devices have smaller screens and more
intuitive interfaces, users will begin relying on apps over any other
type of function or service.
Second, they’re being used in real-time. Rather than relying on a
stationary desktop device or occasionally checking in on a
previous-generation mobile device, wearable devices are worn and used
on the go. This means greater volumes of streaming information and
fewer stopgaps for the end user.
Fears Already Manifesting
Wearable devices are already starting to worry some experts about the
security of private user data. Every generation of technology opens the
door to new possibilities, but also opens the door to new
vulnerabilities. Security professionals argue that the Apple Watch is a
relatively secure device, at least compared to comparable wearable
devices currently on the market — but the potential vulnerabilities are
still a major unknown.
The Chinese Army has already taken measures to ban the use of the Apple
Watch entirely. While China’s acts of censorship and routine
banishments of Western technologies aren’t exactly new, their
take-no-chances stance reflects a very real, logical concern.
What This Means For The Future Of Users
As more people become aware of the privacy threats marked by wearable
devices, there could be a very significant leap forward in security and
user privacy in tech companies. Responding to public concerns, app
developers can make greater efforts to secure their apps and clearly
explain their privacy policies. Device makers like Apple and Google can
go on record about the potential vulnerabilities of their devices and
inform the public about the best ways to protect themselves.
Increased regulations mean decreased liberties.
Perhaps most importantly, government organizations can step in to
create some much-needed regulations about user privacy and corporate
privacy policies. Already, the European Union is stepping in to protect
user privacy concerns as they relate to Google’s search engine and core
products — the next step would be formalizing those regulations across
the board for any devices and technologies, and institute those
regulations in countries throughout the world.
The trade-off is, of course, that increased regulations mean decreased
liberties — both for individuals and corporations. While some will push
for strict regulations and tighter privacy and security, others will
maintain that personal freedoms are more important than a fleeting idea
of safety.
What’s important here is not where the issue will settle, but the fact
that the issue will soon be up for debate. Regardless of where these
regulations and new approaches to privacy land, wearable devices are
about to provoke a new revolution in user privacy.
Featured Image: Josh hallett/Flickr UNDER A CC BY 2.0 LICENSE
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[canstockphoto6886684.jpg?w=738]
As 2014 came to a close, we got a front row seat to the horror show
that was the Sony hack.
As if we needed a case study to show us, we saw, with vivid clarity,
what can happen when hackers run amok inside servers and start sharing
confidential business content with the world — and we learned it gets
ugly in a hurry.
We’re less than a week into the new year and already we’ve seen a
major Bitcoin attack. You know that it’s only a matter of time before
we hear about the next catastrophic system assault. It’s a bit like
cybersecurity roulette. We keep spinning the wheel to find out who the
next victim is.
The question is, why are we still so vulnerable, and why is the
industry not banding together to solve this once and for all?
Security matters to everyone from governments to finance to private
sector companies of all sorts. Nobody wants to be the next JP Morgan,
Home Depot or Sony. Yet everybody seems equally vulnerable. That’s why
we must work together and put the best minds to bear on the problem to
figure this out. The trouble is these are dreadfully difficult problems
or we would have solved them by now.
If Security Were Easy, We Wouldn’t Be Having This Discussion
David Cowan, a partner with the venture capital firm Bessemer Ventures
has been working with security companies since the 1990s and says the
problem for most organizations is that they’re just not in the security
business. “Sony has a technology business, but they are not Google or
Amazon. They make movies and they hire people who are great at making
movies. That’s what they think about. They don’t think about data,
trust and security,” Cowan told me.
Andre Durand, CEO at Ping Identity says another aspect of the problem
is that the security industry as a whole tends to be reactive, rather
than proactive.
“An attack happens, and they plug it. They don’t invest proactively to
stop a class of threats in a fundamental manner. It’s not like they
don’t try to aggregate threats and think ahead, they do, but by and
large, they respond like an immune system. Nothing happens until a
virus comes in and they address it,” he explained.
Sony has a technology business, but they are not Google or Amazon.
They make movies and they hire people who are great at making
movies. That’s what they think about. They don’t think about data,
trust and security
— David Cowan
Cowan points out that there is a basic security disconnect in most
enterprises, and given the number of highly publicized incidents, he
says, we might finally be reaching the point where organizations have
to take this more seriously.
“Up until this year, most businesses and people had the attitude that
cyber-crime and warfare were things that happened to other people.
Everyone had the idea, ‘I’m not that interesting. Nobody wants to read
my email.'” Cowan says people realize now that just about anyone can be
interesting, and if a nation-state or organized hacking collective is
hell bent on getting into your servers, there’s not a lot you can do
about it.
“I can assure you if Russia or China, or the US or Israel, or North
Korea or Iran — if one of those players wants information, [they] will
get it,” Cowan told me.
Sharing Is Caring
Against that cheery backdrop, governments, companies and individuals
alike must face the grim reality they are always vulnerable and there
is always some element of risk, unless they plan on shutting down the
internet. And even if they did, let’s not forget that Edward Snowden
didn’t perform some elaborate hack. He simply walked out the building
with some incriminating files on a thumb drive.
That’s why this isn’t FUD as some might suggest, it’s just the stark
reality of computing in the modern age. Cowan says that’s why after
each breach, we desperately look for a simple answer so we can feel
better about our own situation, but he says there just aren’t any easy
answers.
“If it’s because so and so didn’t patch their system, now we know how
they got in. Now we aren’t vulnerable. People are desperate to feel in
control,” he explained. But he says, security is a complex set of
problems and there is no one answer to solve it.
He likens it to a border fence, that’s just riddled with holes. “Some
criminal gets in, and we found the hole and we closed it, and we have
cameras and armed guards pointed at it. Now we feel safe,” he said.
Unfortunately, when we pull back, we see it’s a much bigger predicament
than it would first appear. “The trouble is the fence is thousands of
miles long, and focusing on one hole is missing the point. Whatever
vulnerability we found is just one of many.” And the same goes for our
systems.
One way to begin to gain control is working together, to see security
as a collective problem and not an individual one, while putting the
power of modern technology to work on it.
Steve Herrod, who is managing director at General Catalyst Partners
and the former CTO and SVP of R&D at VMware, wrote a post on TechCrunch
this past weekend in which he suggested that sharing security data both
internally and externally could be the key to gaining some semblance of
control over the problem. Companies have been reluctant to share data
to this point because they see their security information as
proprietary, but as Herrod pointed out, this is a wrong-headed view.
“By sharing data and applying the latest in big data analysis —
which has a very real application in the security industry —
companies are realizing the power in numbers. Holding off organized
crime and malicious nation-states is a daunting task for any
individual company, but the odds look much better as like-minded
companies band together for their collective defense,” Herrod wrote.
Hugh Njemanze, CEO at ThreatStream, a cybersecurity company (which gets
funding from General Catalyst) agrees, saying there is safety in the
herd. “When the first organization gets attacked, the rest can be
informed and defend themselves,” he explained.
Another approach, one that Google and other companies have taken, is to
offer rewards for people who find vulnerabilities in their products.
Once they know the hole is there, they can take steps to close the
holes before a hacker can exploit them. HD Moore, chief security
officer at Rapid7, a security vendor, says this could be a good
investment for these companies.
A couple of startups have launched in recent years to help companies
create their own bug bounty programs including HackerOne and Synack.
These platforms use reward systems to encourage users to find bugs in
their programs, putting this type of system within reach of every
company, not just the big ones like Google, Yahoo! and Facebook.
“Service providers like Yahoo, Google and Dropbox are offering bounties
for vulnerabilities because it’s a better deal for them. Paying a
thousand dollars to find [an exploit] is money well spent,”
Moore explained. As he says, it won’t draw security professionals for
that kind of cash, but it will get people involved from economic areas
where folks have these skills and the money means more to them.
Making Security Part Of The Plumbing
Helping one another find security vulnerabilities and sharing
information is all well and good, but the best approach might be to
make our devices and software more secure from the git-go. Cowan says
we need to think about this at the programming level, but in most
cases, programmers aren’t security experts.
“One of the important changes is to build security into application
development itself. Programmers don’t understand encrypted files,
access rights or multi-factor identification. Most people don’t know
how to do these things,” he told me.
“We’ve been riding the tech wave and it’s time we paid for a life
vest… We have to increase budgets in our business for security and
have people who think about it so that trust is part of what we do
for employees, customers and investors.”
— David Cowan
He added, “Fortunately there is a new class of security company
focusing on app developers providing APIs to embed these kinds of
[functionalities] into applications.” He offers Stripe as an example,
which gives developers access to an API that allows them to add a
security layer for credit card payments without a lot of heavy
lifting.
Despite the doom and gloom, not everyone is so pessimistic about
security. ThreatStream’s Njemanze says it’s an ongoing battle, and in
spite of the high profile hacks, he says we are doing better than you
think.
“It’s all about whether you look at the glass as half full or half
empty. It’s an arms race between us and the bad guys. If it weren’t for
[security tools like ours], the Internet would have ceased to function
long ago. It looks like we are not winning and yet we still exist,” he
says.
That’s true, but the situation remains tenuous for many companies. As
Cowan says, if someone is determined to get at your data, chances are
they’ll find a way to do it. That means we have to be all the more
vigilant as an industry and find ways to defend ourselves because the
technology and the security are not necessarily in sync.
“We’ve been riding the tech wave and it’s time we paid for a life
vest,” Cowan said. “We have to increase budgets in our business
for security and have people who think about it so that trust is part
of what we do for employees, customers and investors.” Hard to argue
with that.
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Europe Finally Agrees Tough New Data Protection Rules
Advertisement
Late yesterday European institutions finally agreed on the text of new
data protection rules (GDPR), more than three years after new
regulation was proposed.
The 28 Member States of the European Union will have two years to
transpose the provisions of the GDPR into their national laws, with the
regulation set to come into force from 2018.
There are still a few more stages in the process — although the
Parliament, Council and Commission agreed the text yesterday there’s a
further confirmation vote tomorrow by the Civil Liberties Committee,
and another vote by the European Parliament as a whole in the
new year — but the Commission’s aim of finalizing data protection
reform in 2015 has been met.
I put #GDPR on the table in 2012. @Europarl_EN pushed for it while
@EUCouncil stood on the brakes. It took too long, but now there is a
deal
— Viviane Reding (@VivianeRedingEU) December 16, 2015
Věra Jourová, Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality,
dubbed the rules “clear” and “fit for the digital age”. The current
European data protection directive was adopted back in 1995 so updating
the bloc’s rules to keep pace with seismic shifts in technology is the
overarching aim here, along with a parallel push to harmonize
regulations across the region with the goal of creating a
so-called “Digital Single Market” to simplify operations for businesses
selling services in Europe.
Commenting on the agreement in a statement, Andrus Ansip, VP for the
Digital Single Market, argued the GDPR will “remove barriers and unlock
opportunities”. He also tacitly rebutted critics of the new
rules. Brussels has been host to a small army of lobbyists during the
data protection directive negotiation process, with the U.S. government
and tech giants such Facebook and Google actively seeking to water down
proposals.
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“The digital future of Europe can only be built on trust. With solid
common standards for data protection, people can be sure they are in
control of their personal information. And they can enjoy all the
services and opportunities of a Digital Single Market. We should not
see privacy and data protection as holding back economic activities.
They are, in fact, an essential competitive advantage,” said Ansip.
“Today’s agreement builds a strong basis to help Europe develop
innovative digital services. Our next step is now to remove unjustified
barriers which limit cross-border data flow: local practice and
sometimes national law, limiting storage and processing of certain data
outside national territory. So let us move ahead and build an open and
thriving data economy in the EU — based on the highest data protection
standards and without unjustified barriers,” he added.
Dropping like a nuclear bomb into the midst of the data
protection reform discussions were the 2013 Snowden disclosures, which
revealed the extent of U.S. government mass surveillance programs and
detailed how intelligence agencies were tapping directly into
consumer data held by commercial firms like Facebook. The fallout from
those revelations acted as a counterweight to high level U.S. lobbying
against strengthening privacy protections.
The Snowden disclosures also played a key role in convincing the
European Court of Justice to strike down the fifteen year old Safe
Harbor transatlantic data transfer agreement, this fall. EC officials
are currently engaged in negotiations with their U.S. counterparts to
try to hammer out a new deal — with a deadline set for that of January
2016. If you’re interested in geopolitical data protection politics
these have been very interesting days indeed.
That’s the backstory, but what’s incoming in the new GDPR? It’s worth
noting that the full text has not yet been published (Update: it has
now been published here) but the general thrust is billed as
strengthening individuals’ data protection rights, giving Europeans a
greater say in how their data is used — as well as seeking to
streamline some elements of compliance for businesses.
The new rules will apply to any companies who have customers in the
region regardless of whether the company itself is based outside
Europe.
Some key provisions in the GDPR include:
* fines of up to 4 per cent of a company’s global turnover for
breaching data protection rules — which for big tech companies like
Google could result in fines that run to billions of dollars
* liability for data breaches extending to any data processors a data
controller also uses — so also applying to any third party entities
involved in processing data to provide a particular service, with
plenty of implications for cloud-based business models
* enshrining a so-called ‘right to be forgotten‘ in law, so when an
individual no longer wants their data to be processed by a company,
and “provided that there are no legitimate grounds for retaining
it”, the data must be deleted. Huge implications for digital
marketing
* a requirement for companies to appoint a data protection officer if
they process sensitive data on a large scale or collect info on
many consumers, with an exemption for SMEs if data processing is
not their core business activity
* a requirement for companies and organizations to notify the
relevant national supervisory authority of serious data breaches as
soon as possible
* parental consent required for children to use social media, with
the specific age within a 13 to 16 year old bracket to be set by
individual Member States
* a one-stop-shop single supervisory authority for data protection
complaints aimed at streamlining compliance for businesses
* a right to data portability for individuals to enable them to more
easily transfer their personal data between services
Commenting in a statement, Green MEP Jan Philipp Albrecht, who led the
European Parliament’s negotiations, said: “The regulation returns
control over citizens’ personal data to citizens. Companies will not be
allowed to divulge information that they have received for a particular
purpose without the permission of the person concerned. Consumers will
have to give their explicit consent to the use of their data.”
As with any new law, the devil will be in the interpretative detail
around specific clauses and exemptions. And with 28 Member States all
needing to interpret and transpose the regulation into their own
national law there is inevitably going to be variation in how the GDPR
is applied across the region. So one thing is certain: lawyers won’t be
short of work as businesses seek to understand how they are affected
and what they need to do to ensure compliance — and avoid the risk of a
big fine.
#EUdataP: First impression of final text: - Level of protection
equivalent or partly lower than nat. laws - Enforcement massively
beefed up
— Max Schrems (@maxschrems) December 16, 2015
Featured Image: Anton Balazh/Shutterstock (IMAGE HAS BEEN MODIFIED)
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[554281668_27f80808f2_b.jpg?w=738]
It’s been a pretty big week for tech + privacy, with Apple overhauling
the privacy-related info it pushes out to users — sharpening its
pro-privacy positioning as a marketing differentiator for its devices
and services. And NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden stepping into
the public arena by joining Twitter as, well, himself — with the
verified account status to prove it.
(Who knows if Snowden was lurking on the service under an assumed name
prior to uncloaking as @Snowden. Someone has probably DMed him to ask
but he clearly has a big backlog of messages to get through…)
On the surface the two events may not seem much related but pro-privacy
moves by mainstream tech giants can absolutely chart a link back to
Snowden’s 2013 revelations about the extent of government intelligence
agencies’ dragnet surveillance of the online sphere.
Snowden’s big reveal crystalized all those vague yet disconcerting
digital sensations prior to then — feelings of being tracked from web
service to service, stalked by online ads, and nagging questions about
why a simple service needed so much personal data — into the concrete
certainty of the systematic scope and scale of an industrial
surveillance complex with its fingers in all of the mainstream consumer
tech platforms. And a private sector user-stalking operation in the
digital business sphere to match.
The thing with such gigantic secrets is, once revealed, there’s no way
they can slink back into the shadows.
It’s no surprise then that Apple’s new privacy pages have an
entire section on government information requests — in which the
company states categorically:
Apple privacy
Such public declarations are absolutely progress. While we cannot know
for sure that Apple’s hardware and software lacks government backdoors,
given these are hermetically sealed proprietary products that don’t
allow an open source route for third party audits, the company is on
the public record with an anti-backdoors statement — so has chained
its corporate reputation to the digital privacy rights cause.
Apple is also making some very clear privacy commitments to its users.
This is also progress.
Its privacy page states:
At Apple, your trust means everything to us. That’s why we respect
your privacy and protect it with strong encryption, plus strict
policies that govern how all data is handled.
Security and privacy are fundamental to the design of all our
hardware, software, and services, including iCloud and new services
like Apple Pay. And we continue to make improvements. Two-step
verification, which we encourage all our customers to use, in
addition to protecting your Apple ID account information, now also
protects all of the data you store and keep up to date with iCloud.
We believe in telling you up front exactly what’s going to happen to
your personal information and asking for your permission before you
share it with us. And if you change your mind later, we make it easy
to stop sharing with us. Every Apple product is designed around
those principles. When we do ask to use your data, it’s to provide
you with a better user experience.
That’s not to say that Apple’s services don’t have insecurities —
pretty much any software of the modern era contains bugs and flaws that
can lead to exploits and data leaks. (Remember last September’s iCloud
hack?)
But the point is one of principle. Apple is making a pro-privacy
stance, which stands in stark contrast to much of the consumer tech
industry’s wonted ways in recent times — where overreaching T&Cs and
vaguely worded privacy policies have all too often required users to
sign over any expectations of privacy for the ‘privilege’ of using a
certain service (even, in some cases, when they’ve paid for the service
in question — so this is not just a case of privacy being the ‘price’
of using a free service).
Apple making a robust pro-privacy stance sets a new privacy benchmark
and puts pressure on those tech business models that have been built on
mining personal data in the digital shadows. Of which there are, of
course, many. But perhaps things are set to change on that front. Such
a high profile company shining a disinfecting spotlight on the value of
personal data makes those companies with less clearly worded privacy
commitments seem a whole lot more murky — even if they’re not actually
doing anything too outlandish with the data they gather. And when there
is enough pressure, well some pretty unexciting base materials can
transform into something valuable.
Apple choosing to champion privacy is a marketing strategy that’s
both timely and savvy. Of course it aligns with the company’s premium
hardware business model. And it allows them to put clear blue water
between how they operate and their main, ad-powered competitors’ big
data mining operations. It also puts them on Snowden’s side of the
fence; on a principled, public stage, championing the rights of online
users not to have their every action data-mined for profit — or fed
into Kafka-esque government surveillance apparatus on a ceaseless and
hopeless quest for crime-preventing omniscience (Minority Report was
fiction, yo).
And while Apple’s own privacy practices should still absolutely be
scrutinized — yes it’s great that they obfuscate your mapping data so
they don’t have an absolute view of your start and end points, but why
are they retaining user maps data for two years? — they are effectively
asking all of us to ask questions about how they operate and what they
do with our data. To continually hold them to their apparently high
standards. And yes, that is progress. Because it applies industry-wide
pressure and works to counter the pro-surveillance narrative that
claims users don’t care about privacy anyway. Bottom line: Plenty of
users do care — and certainly they do when you inform them exactly how
much invasive snooping is going on. As Snowden has said, we need to
have the debate about what’s acceptable and what’s not — and the simple
fact is you can’t do that without being fully appraised of the facts.
A more cynical view on Apple’s stance might be that it’s using privacy
as a strategy to shield itself against a relative competitive weakness
vs the kinds of big data powered services that companies with a greater
overview of their users are able to launch. Google, for instance, has
been using user data mined from usage of multiple Google services to
power its predictive Google Now feature for several years, touting the
convenience of notifications that really know your habits and patterns
(because, well, Google reads your emails, knows what’s in your
calendar, looks at who’s in your photos, and so on…). With the rise of
wearables and a growing Internet of Things, more and more personal
data-points can be added to such systems to power apparently more
powerful predictions. And yet there’s a gigantic trade-off in privacy.
The best personal assistant in the world would literally be
a mind-reader but who would actually want to employ such a person? What
cost incremental convenience?
Meanwhile Apple debuted an update to its Siri voice assistant at its
developer conference this summer — called Proactive — which also aims
to surface some Google Now-ish predictive smarts. So it’s also moving
towards joining more dots about its users’ lives. However Apple’s
version of this predictive assistant puts in a privacy check and
balance by doing only local on-device processing — meaning it’s not
sucking your personal data into the data-mining cloud to power this
feature. So the user gets incremental convenience without an
eye-wateringly costly privacy price-tag.
These sorts of pro-privacy, data obfuscating approaches perhaps take
more engineering effort to develop. So might be slower to bring to
market. They might also be less compelling from a user point of view if
they aren’t able to be quite so pin-point accurate — given they are
likely working with a more partial view of the user, rather than nosing
through your emails. But if the user understands the value of their
privacy they will also understand the value of a personalized service
that does not require they strip entirely naked in order to use it.
Apple is betting that tech users will — at the end of the day — prefer
to keep their clothes on.
Another thing to note here is that data protection laws vary in
different regions. Failure to gain proper consent for how user data is
processed is a recurring theme of many U.S. tech giants doing
business in Europe. Facebook and Google have both faced legal
challenges in the region over such privacy issues. And the Europe
Parliament is in the midst of reworking the bloc’s data protection
rules — with larger penalties for privacy infringements likely coming
down the pipe. That might well be another trigger to push tech
companies to clean up murky privacy practices. Lurking in the shadows
to eschew scrutiny no longer looks a viable strategy in the
post-Snowden tech world.
Another important development triggered by the Snowden revelations is
also coming to a head next week. On Tuesday Europe’s top court, the
ECJ, will rule on whether the ‘Safe Harbor’ agreement that governs data
sharing between Europe and the U.S. affords Europeans enough privacy
protections — with the possibility that the court might invalidate the
current agreement. U.S. tech companies offering consumers services in
Europe but processing user data back in the U.S. rely on this agreement
for continued operation of their businesses.
The agreement has, in any case, been in defacto crisis ever since
Snowden revealed the extent of dragnet government surveillance programs
— since the NSA was shown to be hoovering up data from consumer
services that were apparently signed up to the privacy covenant of Safe
Harbor. How could European’s personal data shipped across the pond
still be considered ‘safe’ in an era of systematic mass surveillance by
the U.S. government?
European privacy campaigner Max Schrems has led a legal challenge on
this front, challenging multiple U.S. tech giants for sharing data with
the NSA in the Irish court — which referred the case to the ECJ, with
a decision now imminent. At the same time, the European Commission is
continuing to review the Safe Harbor agreement with a view to updating
the framework given the ugly fact of mass surveillance. How exactly
they will do that remains to be seen. But the ECJ ruling may overtake
the politicians, in any case.
In an influential opinion written by the top advisor to the ECJ earlier
this month, ahead of the court’s final decision next week, advocate
general Yves Bot argued that U.S. mass surveillance has indeed
invalidated the Safe Harbor agreement. It’s not clear how the court
will rule but they typically lean towards following the AG’s opinion —
so at very least these are interesting times for data privacy. Some big
implications for how cloud-based tech businesses operate are in the
process of being determined.
One thing is amply clear: the privacy debate is here to stay. And for
that we must thank Mr Snowden. Looking ahead, a digital era where users
understand the value of personal data and where tech businesses
compete to protect — not exploit — privacy sounds pretty exciting to
me. That’s the dream.
Yes, Mr Snowden, we hear you.
Can you hear me now?
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) September 29, 2015
Featured Image: Philip Kromer/Flickr UNDER A CC BY-SA 2.0 LICENSE
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* Apple
+ Founded 1976
+ Overview Apple is a multinational corporation that designs,
manufactures, and markets mobile communication and media
devices, personal computers, portable digital music players,
and sells a variety of related software, services,
peripherals, networking solutions, and third-party digital
content and applications. Apple provides many products and
services, including iPhone; iPad; iPod; Mac; iPod; Apple TV; …
+ Location Cupertino, CA
+ Categories Hardware + Software, Consumer Electronics,
Computers, Electronics, Retail
+ Website http://www.apple.com
+ Full profile for Apple
* Edward Snowden
+ Bio Edward Joseph is an American computer professional who
leaked classified information from the National Security
Agency (NSA) to the mainstream media. He is a former system
administrator for the Central Intelligence Agency and a
counterintelligence trainer at the Defense Intelligence Agency
(DIA). He later worked for Dell assigned as a contractor to
U.S. National Security Agency facilities in the …
+ Full profile for Edward Snowden
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* Google’s WiFi for Indian Train Stations Launches At Mumbai Central
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* State Lawmakers Create Coalition To Overhaul Digital Privacy Laws
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* Google Rejects French Watchdog Demand For Global Privacy Delistings
Google Rejects French Watchdog Demand For Global Privacy Delistings
* Google To Be Punished In France For Failing To Pare Back Its
Overreaching Privacy Policy
Google To Be Punished In France For Failing To Pare Back Its Overreaching
Privacy Policy
* France Has A PRISM-Like Program With Millions Of Trillions Of
Metadata Elements
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* Search Delisting Appeals ‘Working Efficiently’, Say
European Regulators
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Privacy Invasions
Europe’s Search De-Listing Ruling Is Mostly About Social Media
Privacy Invasions
* ‘Right To Be Forgotten’ Guidelines Published By European Regulators
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French Data Protection Watchdog Rejects Google’s Search Delisting Appeal
Posted Sep 21, 2015 by Natasha Lomas (@riptari)
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France’s data protection watchdog has rejected Google’s appeal against
an earlier enforcement notice in which the CNIL told the company to
expand search delisting requests across all its domains, not just
European sub-domains as Google currently is.
Google now faces the risk of enforcement action by the watchdog if it
continues to avoid delisting across Google.com as well as Google.fr.
Quick backgrounder here: Search delisting in Europe — often
dubbed the ‘right to be forgotten’ (rtbf) — refers to a decision by
Europe’s top court back in May 2014 ruling that search engines are data
controllers and thus must comply with existing European data protection
legislation.
Specifically the judgement means private citizens in Europe have the
right to request from search engines that outdated, irrelevant or
inaccurate information associated with a search for their name be
delisted from that specific name search. So it requires search engines
make difficult value judgements about individuals making requests —
such as whether a person has any public role — as well as evaluating
the specifics of their request (e.g. what constitutes ‘outdated’
information?).
Critics dub the ruling ‘censorship of information’. Yet it has also led
to calls in the U.S. for greater pro-privacy protections for private
individuals in an age of big data and instant access to information.
One other thing that’s worth noting here is despite Google releasing
only partial data about how it’s been implementing search delisting in
Europe, it’s become clearer over time that the vast majority
of Europeans requesting delisting are indeed private individuals
looking to have personal information removed from the web — rather than
corrupt public figures seeking to whitewash their reputations (as
critics of the rtbf often claim).
Returning to today’s French ruling, Google had appealed the earlier
notice from the CNIL to expand delisting to Google.com but that’s now
been slapped down by the data protection authority. The CNIL has been
consistent in its position that Google should be applying delisting
across all its domains. The argument being that not applying delisting
universally leaves a trivial workaround which undermines the
application of the law.
The CNIL makes this point again in rejecting Google’s appeal today, as
well as reiterating the often misinterpreted fact that ruling does not
require any source information be deleted from the Internet — ergo,
that information is still discoverable. Point being this is about
the prominence of information, and individuals’ data protection rights
as regards their personal information.
The DP also refutes Google’s argument that delisting on dot.com
constitutes an extraterritorial application of French law — saying it
merely constitutes “full compliance of European law by non-European
players offering their services in Europe”.
A spokesperson for Google declined to comment on whether the
company would be complying with the CNIL’s order or not, instead
reiterating a previous statement on the matter — in which Google
states: “We’ve worked hard to implement the Right to be Forgotten
ruling thoughtfully and comprehensively in Europe, and we’ll continue
to do so. But as a matter of principle, we respectfully disagree with
the idea that a single national Data Protection Authority should
determine which webpages people in other countries can access via
search engines.”
If Google does not comply it faces the risk of sanction actions by the
CNIL. And it wouldn’t be the first time on that front. Last year, the
CNIL fined Google €150,000 on another privacy matter, for
merging multiple products’ privacy policies into one unified policy.
Such small-scale financial penalties are easily shrugged off by
company which reported revenues of $17.7 billion at last count. However
the European Union is in the process of updating the region’s data
protection regulations — with larger financial penalties for breaches
being negotiation — of potentially up to 5 per cent of a company’s
global turnover. A fine that runs to a hundred million dollars would be
a far more prominent price on privacy.
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* Google
+ Founded 1998
+ Overview Google is a multinational corporation that is
specialized in internet-related services and products. The
company’s product portfolio includes Google Search, which
provides users with access to information online; Knowledge
Graph that allows to search for things, people, or places as
well as builds systems recognizing speech and understanding
natural language; Google Now, which provides information …
+ Location Mountain View, CA
+ Categories Search, Email, Blogging Platforms, Information
Technology, Video Streaming, Software
+ Website http://www.google.com
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UK Surveillance Bill A Risk To Data Security And Privacy, Says ICO
Posted Jan 12, 2016 by Natasha Lomas (@riptari)
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Original Stitch Raises $1.1 Million To Put The Shirt On Your Back
[15612583444_2f2eda913f_k.jpg?w=738]
The U.K.’s Information Commissioner’s Office has criticized the draft
Investigatory Powers bill warning about the risks of requiring
communications service providers to weaken encryption, and also
asserting that no clear case has been made for why the state should
require data on all its citizens to be retained for a full year.
The IP bill is the government’s attempt to update and extend
the surveillance capabilities of the security and intelligence agencies
— replacing the long-in-the-tooth patchwork of legislation currently
used to authorize intercepts with a clearer legal framework. It’s
aiming to have a new law passed by the end of this year when emergency
surveillance legislation, DRIPA, expires.
Giving oral evidence last week to the joint select committee currently
examining the bill, information commissioner Christopher Graham was
asked whether the bill gets the balance right, between privacy and
security. “It’s very difficult to judge whether the bill gets the
balance right,” he said. “Because the one thing we don’t have in the
voluminous material that has been put before you is any real evidence,
as opposed to the occasional anecdote, for the utility of the
information that’s sought.
“The bill proposes that data can be required to be retained for 12
months but there’s no particular explanation of why 12 months — rather
than six months or 18 months — is desirable because there is no
indication of the use that such information has been put to over many
months and years in the normal way of dealing with serious crime and
terrorism.”
ICO Christopher Graham
Parliament needs to recognize that the various data protection rights
afforded to individuals, he continued, and be wary of “signing off a
blank cheque” in regards to the security services’ appetite for
information — arguing instead there should be a system of
ongoing proportionality reviews, once the legislation has passed, to
ensure data protection obligations continue to be met.
He went so far as to suggest that a rolling sunset clause or yearly
renewal requirement be embedded within the legislation to enforce
proportionality — and avoid the risks associated with data retention
overreach. “Parliament renewed the Prevention of Terrorism Act year by
year. I can’t see why we shouldn’t have a similar arrangement for
something so fundamental as this bill,” he argued.
“Data protection is a fundamental right, under the charter of
fundamental rights of the European Union, so I don’t think it’s a
question of just signing off a blank cheque,” he added. “It is asserted
that this information is very important for the detection of crime, and
the prevention of terrorism, I think it would be sensible and wise for
parliament to review, from time to time, how it’s working in practice.
What use is being used of this great mass of data that will be required
to be retained by communications service providers?”
Graham warned specifically of the “huge risk” of vast caches of
retained information being exploited by “bad actors”, or otherwise
leaking out because of the security challenges created by an
ongoing requirement to store so much personal data.
Asked by the committee what sort of sanctions could be put in place to
mitigate the risk of misuse of retained data by “rogue” individuals,
such as within police forces or other organizations storing the
data, Graham suggested parliament could enact a more deterrent-based
penalty — such as a prison sentence, rather than the fine-only regime
afforded by current legislation that pertains to this area.
But he again emphasized that too much retained data itself can generate
too much risk. Ergo the best form of mitigation is to retain less data
in the first place. “It merely underlines the point that when you
require communications service providers to retain a massive collection
of data for a year then it creates a risk. It’s there. People may do
stupid things with it,” said Graham.
When you require communications service providers to retain a
massive collection of data for a year then it creates a risk…People
may do stupid things with it.
“[It’s] a whole pile of stuff which can get lost, inappropriately
accessed from the criminal point of view and so on — and it’s because
that risk is created by the legislation then you’ve got to have some
very powerful safeguards to make sure the legislation is regularly
reviewed, that it is being used for what it’s meant to be used for.”
On encryption, in its written evidence to the committee, the ICO also
warns that “notices requiring the removal of electronic protection
should not be permitted to lead to the removal or weakening of
encryption”, given the risk to “the security of personal data
generally”.
It specifically flags up clause 189 in the draft bill, noting that this
permits the Secretary of State to impose obligations “relating to the
removal of electronic protection applied by a relevant operator to any
communications or data”.
“This could be a far reaching measure with detrimental consequences to
the security of data and safeguards which are essential to the public’s
continued confidence in the handling and use of their personal
information,” the ICO writes, adding: “The practical application of
such requirement in the draft is unclear in the draft bill and the
accompanying Guide to Powers and Safeguards does not provide specific
details to enable the full extent of the provision to be assessed.”
Last month Apple also raised concerns about the IP bill’s implications
for encryption, writing in its own submission to the committee that:
“The best minds in the world cannot rewrite the laws of mathematics.
Any process that weakens the mathematical models that protect user data
will by extension weaken the protection. And recent history is littered
with cases of attackers successfully implementing exploits that nearly
all experts either remained unaware of or viewed as merely
theoretical.”
Five other Internet companies — Google, Microsoft, Twitter, Facebook
and Yahoo — have also raised concerns about the implications of the
proposed legislation on encryption, calling for more clarity in the
language used in the bill in their own joint written submission.
“We reject any proposals that would require companies to deliberately
weaken the security of their products via backdoors, forced decryption,
or any other means. We therefore have concerns that the Bill includes
“obligations relating to the removal of electronic protection applied
by a relevant operator to any communication or data” and that these are
explicitly intended to apply extraterritorially with limited
protections for overseas providers,” they write.
“We appreciate the statements in the Bill and by the Home Secretary
that the Bill is not intended to weaken the use of encryption, and
suggest that the Bill expressly state that nothing in the Bill should
be construed to require a company to weaken or defeat its security
measures.”
The government has been accused of putting out mixed messages when it
comes to its legislative intentions around encryption, with the Prime
Minister last year appearing to suggest he wanted to ban encryption,
before apparently backpedaling. The Home Secretary also subsequently
appeared to make comments in support of encryption yet the wording of
the legislation remains vague enough that concerns about
its implications for encrypted services persist.
For example, many speakers at an event held to discuss various aspects
of the IP bill last week expressed similar worries about vague language
in the draft legislation leaving too much “open to interpretation”.
The joint select committee is continuing to take evidence from
witnesses, and will hear from Home Secretary Theresa May tomorrow. It’s
expected to file a report with recommendations by the middle of next
month — suggestions that will doubtless feed into the coming months of
debate as MPs and Peers in parliament and the House of Lords chew over
the bill’s detail and try to achieve that sought for balance between
security and privacy.
Featured Image: r. nial bradshaw/Flickr UNDER A CC BY 2.0 LICENSE
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MariaDB Raises $9M More, Michael Howard Named New CEO, Monty Widenius CTO
yesterday | Ingrid Lunden
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General Data Protection Regulation: A Milestone Of The Digital Age
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General Data Protection Regulation: A Milestone Of The Digital Age
Posted Jan 10, 2016 by J. Trevor Hughes (@jtrevorhughes)
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[gavel.jpg?w=738]
J. Trevor HughesCrunch Network Contributor
J. Trevor Hughes is the president and chief executive officer of the
International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP).
More posts by this contributor:
* The $25 Million Fine Isn’t The Real AT&T-FCC Story
How to join the network
The conventional wisdom is that the recently agreed-upon General Data
Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the most-lobbied piece of legislation
in the history of the European Union.
I’m not quite sure how you quantify that, but it’s not surprising. This
law will likely go down as a milestone of the Digital Age, similar to
industry-changing laws like the Clean Water Act or the Clean Air Act
here in the United States.
For, just as new laws and regulations were needed to address the
consequences of the Industrial Revolution, the European Union has
responded to the privacy concerns presented by the Digital Revolution
with a law that attempts to apply new order to the complexity of data
in society.
Like most laws born of intense compromise, everyone will likely find
fault with it. Privacy advocates will say it doesn’t go far enough in
its risk-based approach to protect human rights. Industry voices will
say it stands to cripple innovation and will consign Europe to a
digital island.
Despite these differing opinions, the message to the global information
economy is clear: It is time to get to work on the tough tasks of
understanding and, eventually, complying with the GDPR.
Virtually every company doing business in the European Union has some
challenging months ahead. Companies will need to figure out how to
create a data breach response plan that both evaluates the risk of harm
to consumers and still allows for regulators to be notified within 72
hours of discovery if that risk is deemed to be great.
Social media and other companies serving teen audiences will need to
decide on a good way to acquire parental permission to gather the data
of children. Every company will need to create systems for the
demonstration of compliance with the law upon demand by regulators.
Much of this work will fall to the privacy profession. The GDPR
mandates the appointment of a “data protection officer” (a DPO), a term
that might be foreign to U.S. ears. These DPOs are privacy
professionals, and they’ve been proliferating around the world lately.
Without question, we will continue to see a public policy debate
over many of the provisions of the GDPR.
The new regulation requires DPOs for many companies, particularly those
that handle sensitive data like biometrics or health information, but
also those that make building profiles of their customers integral to
their business plans. The good news is that you’ll have three years
from this spring to put one in place — but the work of compliance will
likely require a privacy professional in your organization far ahead of
that deadline.
The potentially more challenging news is that privacy professionals are
already in high demand, and will likely be even harder to find in the
coming years. Training from within may be the most viable solution as
companies struggle to find staff for these functions.
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Without question, we will continue to see a public policy debate over
many of the provisions of the GDPR. European regulators will create
reams of analysis and guidance on the new regulation. Businesses will
define best practices within industries and negotiate the new,
risk-filled terrain of compliance. Customers will continue to demand
innovative technologies that improve their lives, while at the same
time expecting even greater respect for their privacy.
In this manner, the GDPR represents not a destination, but an important
milestone — a marker that indicates how far we have come and how far we
still have to go. Or perhaps the GDPR is more like another type of road
sign: “Caution, Work Ahead.”
Featured Image: Evlakhov Valeriy/Shutterstock
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* European Union
+ Overview The European Union occasionally makes investments.
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page](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union).
+ Location London, H9
+ Website http://europa.eu
+ Full profile for European Union
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California Is Winning The Digital Privacy Fight
Posted Nov 7, 2015 by Nicole A. Ozer (@NicoleOzer)
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California Is Winning The Digital Privacy Fight
Advertisement
Starting in 2016, tech companies can tell law enforcement in California
to get a warrant if they want access to digital data.
That’s because California Gov. Jerry Brown signed into
law the California Electronic Communications Privacy Act (CalECPA), a
landmark digital privacy law that requires California police to obtain
a warrant from a judge before they can access electronic information
about people’s identities, where they go, who they know and what they
do.
Nicole A. OzerCrunch Network Contributor
Nicole A. Ozer is the Technology & Civil Liberties Policy Director for
the ACLU of Northern California and an author of Privacy & Free Speech:
It’s Good for Business.
How to join the network
CalECPA protects digital information held by companies, including the
content of emails and cloud documents, location information and
metadata. The state’s electronic privacy law also means that data on
consumers’ computers and mobile devices have the same protection from
government snooping as paper files.
The protections provided by CalECPA were badly needed. While technology
has advanced, digital privacy laws remain stuck in the digital Dark
Ages. This has meant that emails, text messages, location information
and all of our digital data have been open to warrantless police
surveillance.
Outdated Federal Laws
Antiquated laws on both the state and federal level have created a maze
of confusing rules. The federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act
was first enacted in 1986 – long before the Internet as we know it
today existed. But even modest efforts to update the federal law have
yet to get through Congress.
The result of outdated laws is that sensitive personal information is
at risk, consumer trust is eroded and tech companies large and small
have to waste valuable time and resources to meet the growing demand of
warrantless requests from law enforcement.
The result of outdated laws is that sensitive personal information
is at risk, consumer trust is eroded and tech companies large and
small have to waste valuable time and resources…
The numbers are startling. Google has reported a 180 percent jump in
law enforcement demands for consumer data in just the past five years.
Last year AT&T received more than 263,000 demands, Verizon reported
that only one-third of its requests had a warrant, and Twitter and
Tumblr received more demands from agencies in California than any other
state.
As a result, public concern about privacy has grown while confidence in
technology has eroded. A recent California poll conducted this summer
found that 82 percent of Californians wanted warrant protection for
their digital information. A 2014 study from the Pew Research Center
found that 75 percent of adults believe that their emails, text
messages, and location information are sensitive, and that 80 percent
of adults feel that Americans are rightly concerned about government
monitoring of Internet communications.
Government And Tech
While other states, such as Colorado, Maine, Texas and Utah, provide
updated protections for electronic information, California’s law has
the biggest impact not only because of its size but because of the
prevalence of tech companies based in the state. And those companies
had enough: The Internet Association along with Facebook, Google,
Twitter, Apple, Dropbox, Adobe and others supported CalECPA.
Apple CEO Tim Cook recently said in an NPR interview that “people want
us to help them keep their lives private. We see that privacy is a
fundamental human right… We are going to do everything that we can to
help maintain that trust.”
In its letter of support for the California electronic privacy law,
Facebook said “people deserve to connect with friends and loved ones
knowing that their personal photos and messages are well-protected.”
Google noted that “law enforcement needs a search warrant to enter your
house or seize letters from your filing cabinet — the same sorts of
protections should apply to electronic data stored with Internet
companies.”
According to the Internet Association, “California’s Internet users
expect their inbox to have the same kinds of safeguards that exist
for their mailbox, and we look forward to working with policymakers in
pursuit of this goal. It is time to update these laws for the digital
age.”
The diverse tech industry and civil rights coalition in support of
CalECPA should serve as a model for collaboration in other states.
After Gov. Brown signed the electronic privacy law, Adobe wrote in a
blog post that it “believes that customer data stored online deserves
the same protections as data stored at home or at work, and that full
Fourth Amendment protections are essential to consumers trusting that
their information is safe. Without trust, cloud computing can never
realize its full potential.”
California continues to be an incubator for ideas, and the California
Electronic Privacy Act is certainly an idea whose time has come.
Related Articles
Call For Robust Privacy Legislation In Wake Of EU Safe Harbor
Strike-Down Digital Privacy Is "The New Frontier Of Human Rights"
Microsoft Urges Reform Of U.S. Government's Surveillance Practices
The diverse tech industry and civil rights coalition in support of
CalECPA should serve as a model for collaboration in other states. The
new law will hopefully help jumpstart privacy reform on the federal
level that has been stalled for too long.
It should be a clarion call for leaders in Washington and across the
country who are long overdue in updating privacy laws to protect both
consumers and the tech industry by preventing warrantless searches of
digital information.
All tech companies and all Americans deserve updated laws that match
the modern digital world.
Featured Image: Omelchenko/Shutterstock
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The Online Privacy Lie Is Unraveling
Posted Jun 6, 2015 by Natasha Lomas (@riptari)
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[8100415782_1e4870e67d_h.jpg?w=738]
A new report into U.S. consumers’ attitude to the collection of
personal data has highlighted the disconnect between commercial
claims that web users are happy to trade privacy in exchange for
‘benefits’ like discounts. On the contrary, it asserts that a large
majority of web users are not at all happy, but rather feel powerless
to stop their data being harvested and used by marketers.
The report authors’ argue it’s this sense of resignation that is
resulting in data tradeoffs taking place — rather than consumers
performing careful cost-benefit analysis to weigh up the pros and cons
of giving up their data (as marketers try to claim). They also
found that where consumers were most informed about marketing practices
they were also more likely to be resigned to not being able to do
anything to prevent their data being harvested.
“Rather than feeling able to make choices, Americans believe it is
futile to manage what companies can learn about them. Our study reveals
that more than half do not want to lose control over their information
but also believe this loss of control has already happened,” the
authors write.
Americans believe it is futile to manage what companies can learn
about them.
“By misrepresenting the American people and championing the tradeoff
argument, marketers give policymakers false justifications for allowing
the collection and use of all kinds of consumer data often in ways that
the public find objectionable. Moreover, the futility we found,
combined with a broad public fear about what companies can do with the
data, portends serious difficulties not just for individuals but also —
over time — for the institution of consumer commerce.”
“It is not difficult to predict widespread social tensions, and
concerns about democratic access to the marketplace, if
Americans continue to be resigned to a lack of control over how, when,
and what marketers learn about them,” they add.
The report, entitled The Tradeoff Fallacy: How marketers are
misrepresenting American consumers and opening them up to
exploitation, is authored by three academics from the University of
Pennsylvania, and is based on a representative national cell phone and
wireline phone survey of more than 1,500 Americans age 18 and older who
use the internet or email “at least occasionally”.
Key findings on American consumers include that —
* 91% disagree (77% of them strongly) that “If companies give me a
discount, it is a fair exchange for them to collect information
about me without my knowing”
* 71% disagree (53% of them strongly) that “It’s fair for an online
or physical store to monitor what I’m doing online when I’m there,
in exchange for letting me use the store’s wireless internet, or
Wi-Fi, without charge.”
* 55% disagree (38% of them strongly) that “It’s okay if a store
where I shop uses information it has about me to create a picture
of me that improves the services they provide for me.”
The authors go on to note that “only about 4% agree or agree strongly”
with all three of the above propositions. And even with a broader
definition of “a belief in tradeoffs” they found just a fifth (21%)
were comfortably accepting of the idea. So the survey found very much
a minority of consumers are happy with current data tradeoffs.
The report also flags up that large numbers (often a majority) of U.S.
consumers are unaware of how their purchase and usage data can be sold
on or shared with third parties without their permission or knowledge —
in many instances falsely believing they have greater data protection
rights than they are in fact afforded by law.
Examples the report notes include —
* 49% of American adults who use the Internet believe (incorrectly)
that by law a supermarket must obtain a person’s permission before
selling information about that person’s food purchases to
other companies.
* 69% do not know that a pharmacy does not legally need a person’s
permission to sell information about the over-the-counter drugs
that person buys.
* 65% do not know that the statement “When a website has a privacy
policy, it means the site will not share my information with other
websites and companies without my permission” is false.
* 55% do not know it is legal for an online store to charge different
people different prices at the same time of day.
* 62% do not know that price-comparison sites like Expedia or Orbitz
are not legally required to include the lowest travel prices.
Data-mining in the spotlight
One thing is clear: the great lie about online privacy is unraveling.
The obfuscated commercial collection of vast amounts of personal data
in exchange for ‘free’ services is gradually being revealed for what it
is: a heist of unprecedented scale. Behind the bland, intellectually
dishonest facade that claims there’s ‘nothing to see here’ gigantic
data-mining apparatus have been manoeuvered into place, atop vast
mountains of stolen personal data.
Stolen because it has never been made clear to consumers what is being
taken, and how that information is being used. How can you consent to
something you don’t know or understand? Informed consent requires
transparency and an ability to control what happens. Both of which
are systematically undermined by companies whose business models
require that vast amounts of personal data be shoveled ceaselessly
into their engines.
This is why regulators are increasingly focusing attention on the likes
of Google and Facebook. And why companies with different business
models, such as hardware maker Apple, are joining the chorus of
condemnation. Cloud-based technology companies large and small have
exploited and encouraged consumer ignorance, concealing their
data-mining algorithms and processes inside proprietary black boxes
labeled ‘commercially confidential’. The larger entities spend big
on pumping out a steady stream of marketing misdirection — distracting
their users with shiny new things, or proffering up hollow reassurances
about how they don’t sell your personal data.
Make no mistake: this is equivocation. Google sells access to
its surveillance intelligence on who users are via its ad-targeting
apparatus — so it doesn’t need to sell actual data. Its intelligence on
web users’ habits and routines and likes and dislikes is far more
lucrative than handing over the digits of anyone’s phone number. (The
company is also moving in the direction of becoming an online
marketplace in its own right — by adding a buy button directly to
mobile search results. So it’s intending to capture, process and
convert more transactions itself — directly
choreographing users’ commercial activity.)
These platforms also work to instill a feeling of impotence in users in
various subtle ways, burying privacy settings within labyrinthine
submenus. And technical information in unreadable terms and conditions.
Doing everything they can to fog rather than fess up to the reality of
the gigantic tradeoff lurking in the background. Yet slowly, but
slowly this sophisticated surveillance apparatus is being dragged into
the light.
The privacy costs involved for consumers who pay for ‘free’ services by
consenting to invasive surveillance of what they say, where they go,
who they know, what they like, what they watch, what they buy, have
never been made clear by the companies involved in big data mining. But
costs are becoming more apparent, as glimpses of the extent of
commercial tracking activities leak out.
And as more questions are asked the discrepancy between the claim that
there’s ‘nothing to see here’ vs the reality of sleepless surveillance
apparatus peering over your shoulder, logging your pulse rate, reading
your messages, noting what you look at, for how long and what you do
next — and doing so to optimize the lifting of money out of your wallet
— then the true consumer cost of ‘free’ becomes more visible than it
has ever been.
The tradeoff lie is unraveling, as the scale and implications of the
data heist are starting to be processed. One clear tipping point here
is NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden who, two years ago, risked life
and liberty to reveal how the U.S. government (and many other
governments) were involved in a massive, illegal logging of citizens’
digital communications. The documents he released also showed how
commercial technology platforms had been appropriated and drawn into
this secretive state surveillance complex. Once governments were
implicated, it was only a matter of time before the big Internet
platforms, with their mirror data-capturing apparatus, would
face questions.
Snowden’s revelations have had various reforming political implications
for surveillance in the U.S. and Europe. Tech companies have also been
forced to take public stances — either to loudly defend user privacy,
or be implicated by silence and inaction.
Another catalyst for increasing privacy concerns is the Internet of
Things. A physical network of connected objects blinking and pinging
notifications is itself a partial reveal of the extent of the digital
surveillance apparatus that has been developed behind commercially
closed doors. Modern consumer electronics are hermetically sealed black
boxes engineered to conceal complexity. But the complexities of hooking
all these ‘smart’ sensornet objects together, and placing so many
data-sucking tentacles on display, in increasingly personal places (the
home, the body) — starts to make surveillance infrastructure and its
implications uncomfortably visible.
Plus this time it’s manifestly personal. It’s in your home and on your
person — which adds to a growing feeling of being creeped out and spied
upon. And as more and more studies highlight consumer concern about how
personal data is being harvested and processed, regulators are also
taking notice — and turning up the heat.
One response to growing consumer concerns about personal data came this
week with Google launching a centralized dashboard for users to access
(some) privacy settings. It’s far from perfect, and contains plentiful
misdirection about the company’s motives, but it’s telling that this
ad-fueled behemoth feels the need to be more pro-active in its
presentation of its attitude and approach to user privacy.
Radical transparency
The Tradeoff report authors include a section at the end
with suggestions for improving transparency around marketing processes,
calling for “initiatives that will give members of the public the right
and ability to learn what companies know about them, how they profile
them, and what data lead to what personalized offers” — and for getting
consumers “excited about using that right and ability”.
Among their suggestions to boost transparency and corporate openness
are —
* Public interest organizations and government agencies developing
clear definitions of transparency that reflect consumer concerns,
and then systematically calling out companies regarding how well or
badly they are doing based on these values, in order to help
consumers ‘vote with their wallets’
* Activities to “dissect and report on the implications of privacy
policies” — perhaps aided by crowdsourced initiatives — so that
complex legalize is interpreted and implications explained for a
consumer audience, again allowing for good practice to be praised
(and vice versa)
* Advocating for consumers to gain access to the personal profiles
companies create on them in order for them to understand how
their data is being used
“As long as the algorithms companies implement to analyze and predict
the future behaviors of individuals are hidden from public view, the
potential for unwanted marketer exploitation of individuals’ data
remains high. We therefore ought to consider it an individual’s right
to access the profiles and scores companies use to create
every personalized message and discount the individual receives,” the
report adds.
“Companies will push back that giving out this information will expose
trade secrets. We argue there are ways to carry this out while keeping
their trade secrets intact.”
They’re not the only ones calling for algorithms to be pulled into view
either — back in April the French Senate backed calls for Google to
reveal the workings of its search ranking algorithms. In that instance
the focus is commercial competition to ensure a level playing field,
rather than user privacy per se, but it’s clear that more questions are
being asked about the power of proprietary algorithms and the hidden
hierarchies they create.
Startups should absolutely see the debunking of the myth that consumers
are happy to trade privacy for free services as a fresh opportunity for
disruption — to build services that stand out because they aren’t
predicated on the assumption that consumers can and should be tricked
into handing over data and having their privacy undermined on the sly.
Services that stand upon a futureproofed foundation where operational
transparency inculcates user trust — setting these businesses up for
bona fide data exchanges, rather than shadowy tradeoffs.
Featured Image: Marjan Lazarevski/Flickr UNDER A CC BY-ND 2.0 LICENSE
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Posted Dec 3, 2015 by Natasha Lomas (@riptari)
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[p1040182.jpg?w=738]
Facebook’s least favorite Austrian, lawyer and privacy campaigner, Max
Schrems, has updated his data protection complaints against the social
network giant in the light of the recent EJC strikedown of the Safe
Harbor transatlantic data-sharing agreement.
Schrems has now filed an updated complaint against Facebook with the
Irish data protection authority — where his original complaint was
filed back in June 2013. The substance of the complaint relates to
European Facebook users’ data being pulled into NSA mass surveillance
programs once it has been exported to the U.S. — and thereby, Schrems
contends, undermining fundamental European data protection rights.
The Irish DPA dismissed the original complaint back in July 2013 on the
grounds that the fifteen-year-old Safe Harbor agreement, which Facebook
was signed up to, apparently took precedence as the overarching
governing mechanism for data transfers. However that position was blown
out of the water by the EJC Safe Harbor ruling this fall — hence
Schrems’ updating and redoubling his complaints now.
“We want to ensure that this very crucial judgement is also enforced in
practice when it comes to the U.S. companies that are involved in U.S.
mass surveillance,” said Schrems referencing the Safe Harbor ruling in
a statement on his latest data protection complaints. “The court’s
judgement was very clear in this respect.”
Safe Harbor is no long an option for companies to legalize data flows
going West across the pond — albeit the European Commission and the
U.S. are busy trying to hammer out a replacement deal (with a deadline
of January 2016 to secure a so-called ‘Safe Harbor 2.0’). U.S.
intelligence agency access to data is, unsurprisingly, the big sticking
point for any new agreement.
Schrems has also filed two further complaints about the same issue, one
with the Belgian data protection authority, and another with the City
of Hamburg’s DPA in Germany. These are the “first round” of what his
Europe vs Facebook privacy campaign organization dubs “co-ordinated
complaints”. So Facebook should expect to be dealing with a European
data privacy war that’s being waged on an increasing number of fronts.
The three complaints call for the respective DPAs to suspend all data
transfers from Facebook’s European HQ to its U.S. operations — with a
“reasonable implementation period” suggested to allow the company to
transition to an alternative arrangement that would be compliant with
the ECJ ruling. (Schrems suggests Facebook’s options here
could include: “moving data to Europe, encrypting data that is stored
in the United States or reviewing the corporate structure”.)
He is also calling for DPAs to conduct an audit of Facebook, as the
data importer, and any sub-processors — a suggestion targeting all
Facebook’s worldwide offices, data centers and relevant documents of
Facebook Inc, as well as all sub-processors of Facebook data.
Schrems’ strategy of filing complaints with multiple individual
European Union Member States’ DPAs follows several European Court of
Justice rulings which have clearly strengthened the position
of national DPAs when it comes to data protection complaints —
including in the so-called ‘right to be forgotten‘ case against Google
last year, and an ECJ judgement this year ruling in favor of the
Hungarian data protection authority vs a Slovakian property website
called Weltimmo.
The Belgian DPA has also been pursuing its own privacy-related action
against Facebook, filing a civil suit this summer over Facebook’s use
of cookies to track non-Facebook users, and going on to convince a
judge it does indeed have jurisdiction over the company (Facebook had
tried to claim there was no legal route for it to be sued in Belgium
because its European headquarters are in Ireland). Facebook has
apparently agreed to comply with the Belgian court’s order not to
continue tracking non-users, while it continues contesting the ruling.
While the Hamburg DPA was very quick off the mark, post ECJ Safe Harbor
ruling, to announce its own investigation of Facebook’s (and others’)
data transfer arrangements. The DPA has a history of actively
investigating privacy-related complaints. After the Safe Harbor ruling,
Hamburg’s data privacy commissioner, Johannes Caspar, also stated:
“Anyone who wants to remain untouched by the legal and political
implications of the judgement, should in the future consider storing
personal data only on servers within the European Union.”
Schrems notes his lawyers wrote to Facebook to ask what alternative
data transfer methods the company is using in the wake of the Safe
Harbor strikedown — obtaining a copy of the contractual agreements it
claims it is using. Such agreements have an exception for cases of
illegal “mass surveillance” in Schrems’ view — so he’s convinced these
transfer methods will not pass muster with the DPAs.
“All relevant EU decisions include an exception for cases of mass
surveillance,” notes Gerard Rudden of Ahern Rudden Quigley Solicitors,
who is representing Schrems in Ireland. “There is no ‘quick fix’
through alternative transfer methods for companies that are involved in
the violation of European fundamental rights.”
Schrems is also arguing that any new Safe Harbor deal will be
irrelevant, because the ECJ ruling is based on the European Charter of
Fundamental Rights — so again a data transfer agreement will not be
able to overrule the court’s findings in cases of mass surveillance.
Unless the U.S. government has a Damascene conversion to Europe’s way
of thinking about privacy as a fundamental right, and outlaws its own
mass surveillance programs, there are going to be multiple routes for
privacy complaints to be filed in Europe against U.S. companies like
Facebook, which operate services in the region — at least until the
companies themselves restructure their European operations to reflect
the new post-Snowden digital data reality.
Microsoft’s recent announcement of a German trustee cloud model — with
a third party European company apparently acting as a firewall between
Microsoft’s European customers’ data and the U.S. intelligence
agencies’ data harvesting programs — is one example of how EU-U.S. data
flows might be restructured in light of the Safe Harbor strikedown.
.@mantelero depends on how it is done (technically). Microsoft's
German solution seemed smart.. but just one of many possible
options.. ;)
— Max Schrems (@maxschrems) December 3, 2015
Responding to Schrems’ latest complaints in a statement, a Facebook
spokesperson provided the following emailed statement to TechCrunch:
We have repeatedly explained that we are not and have never been
part of any program to give the U.S. government direct access to our
servers. Facebook uses the same mechanisms that thousands of others
companies across the EU use to transfer data legally from the EU to
the US, and to other countries around the world. These issues are
being examined by the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) at the
request of Mr Schrems. We are cooperating fully with the DPC and are
confident that this investigation will lead to a comprehensive
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National U.S. Privacy Laws Are Needed
Posted Oct 30, 2015 by Carl Herberger (@CarlHerberger)
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Carl HerbergerCrunch Network Contributor
Carl Herberger is vice president of security solutions at Radware.
How to join the network
As the most recent security breaches have taught us around the world,
losing one’s privacy also means losing one of humanity’s unique
attributes — its secrets. The hack at Ashley Madison taught us that no
stored data is secure, no matter how much we think it is or if a
service, by it’s very nature, implies it’s providing the
highest caliber of security and discretion. The spill of this data has
led to, among other things, massive lawsuits, an departing CEO and
even suicide. As time will no doubt show us — we’ve lost our humanity.
Somehow we missed privacy from the initial design of the Constitution
and amendments thereafter. This “right” to privacy was not endowed to
us by our Founding Fathers nor does it make up the conscience of our
jurisprudence system of government today.
Legally, privacy is, at best, a regulation or a state-level law focused
around data protection. The United States is not alone in having few
overarching privacy laws. Many people in the world do not have a legal
right to privacy. Even in the best of scenarios, countries only have
laws focused around some notional data element — like a right to
healthcare or financial privacy.
Is Privacy A Fundamental Inalienable Right?
Many questions pervade the notion of privacy, on which the conversation
has been somewhat confiscated by information security professionals and
ascribed to the notion of “data privacy” as if this is the ultimate
arbiter of the question. Isn’t privacy more than data? Questions like
the following really provide a powerful sense of the problem:
* Is privacy an immutable attribute of being human, making this
alienable to the human condition? Are private moments, thoughts and
intimate communications part of being human, and does removing
these conditions equate to removing our humanity?
* Does one “own” their unspoken thoughts, unseen actions and private,
intimate moments? If so, does another body, such as a government or
organization, have the “‘right” to confiscate, use or monetize it?
* Does anyone really feel safer or more protected knowing there is a
record of their private moments and acts? When one’s life no longer
has the intimacy of sharing a sweet-nothing between lovers, or
singing alone in the shower, or being able to just be “you” without
anyone knowing, recording or watching, is this really a safer and
more humane world?
Big Questions Should Lead To Big Debate
As you can see, the topic is immensely powerful and in no way trite.
The real question is, why isn’t there a real national dialogue around
the topic? Yes, there is a lot of chatter, but most of the conversation
seems vapid. Many of the pundits I see and read seem to be discussing
the notion of “net neutrality” or cybersecurity legislation that
address data protections, both of which appear to have, at their core,
the goal of appointing bureaucrats and assigning budget authorities.
However, the issue is larger than that. The real question of the
current various forms of cybersecurity legislation should reach into
the heart of the matter and focus on whether privacy is a fundamental
human right.
The real debate rests on the central question of whether or not
privacy is a human right.
An answer to this question will forever settle the debate on how to
proceed with information security regulations and how to react to
breaches in our privacy.
Instead, we are left with a quilt of ad hoc, incoherent rules,
regulations and micro-laws that define what we should or should not do
with privacy.
The History Of Privacy Regulation
In the U.S., privacy legislation started in the state of California,
moved briskly across the country and has largely settled into its
current landscape. The problem with this approach, although admirable
in the specifics, is that one’s privacy is not a geographic
or data-driven matter. One’s privacy is not relative to one’s domicile,
and this truth leaves most of us wanting for the notion that
legislation covers our privacy, regardless of the type of data (e.g.,
only healthcare or financial information — but all private information,
etc.).
As a result, we are left with a threat environment that is exploiting
the blind spots between the laws and lack of coverage.
Consequences Of No National Privacy Laws
Generally, I’m not a big believer that laws or regulations are very
helpful for the tactics and operations of a security professional.
My general feeling is that laws only add to an overburdened staff and
generally only increase budgets, which are often misappropriated toward
administrative attestation instead of real security.
However, in the case of privacy, there are three real consequences of
not having a national privacy law, which will not change until one is
passed:
Data Breaches Grow Exponentially. The threat landscape is changing with
great velocity. Without a law governing the human aspect of privacy,
people will continue to steal, borrow and monetize this valuable asset
until it no longer holds meaning. Delay of national privacy legislation
is directly related to financial loss and national economic
competitiveness. Financial institutions will be the great bearers of
these costs as consumers demand to have their institutions provide
restitution for their losses.
Your Humanity Will evaporate. With the advent of the Internet of Things
(IoT), whereby nearly every consumer device is measuring and monitoring
nearly all human behavior (including implantable devices for
healthcare), there will increasingly be opportunities to invade deeper
and deeper into one’s personal life and, perhaps one day, even into
one’s own thoughts and ambitions.
Many people in the world do not have a legal right to privacy.
This technology, although immeasurable on the opportunities for human
developmental advancement, will, paradoxically further erode the notion
of what it is to be human itself. You will become like a machine,
predictable and forecastable in every way — from your health to your
passion, your purchasing and interest habits and hobbies. You will be
“addressable” in more ways than ever.
Power To The People Is Not Easily Granted. There is a lot of money and
interest to be gained by organizations and governments in having the
power to pervade one’s privacy. The laws of control suggest that most
people who are in charge of organizations and governments will not
easily be interested in ceding control of the aphrodisiac, which is
spying on those whom they can potentially manipulate.
Is privacy a right? There is a lot to be learned from the debate.
However, most of the debate is, in my opinion, an intellectually
dishonest conversation. The real debate rests on the central question
of whether or not privacy is a human right and, if so, what we must do
to protect it and cherish it.
In the meantime, security professionals and businesses who are
entrusted with data which have become obvious to protect will continue
to bear the cost and operational responsibility to try to husband these
protections as best they can in face of an insurmountable challenge.
If you care about this subject, I encourage you to take up the struggle
and start calling for energy around a national law in pursuit of a
constitutional amendment to settle once and for all the question of
whether or not privacy is a right.
Featured Image: Josh hallett/Flickr UNDER A CC BY 2.0 LICENSE
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[appleevent_2015_13.jpg?w=738]
Three years ago, a common human being interested in the privacy policy
of a gadget or service it was using was a rare bird. With the
revelation that a large amount of the communications and private data
of both foreign nationals and native residents of the U.S. were being
collected and scrutinized by the government, all of that prototypical
fine print came home to roost.
Since then, privacy has become a war cry among tech companies, and none
so vociferously as Apple. It has amplified a well-aligned stance on
user data being owned by the user to global proportions, taking a very
public stance whenever possible. And that continues today.
Here’s the gist of the news: Apple is updating its privacy site with
new information about iOS 9 and the latest version of OS X. It’s also
expanding the page with additional sections and information about a
wide array of Apple services and features provided to users.
The page deals with privacy in products and features like iOS 9’s News
app, the native deep linking utility to let iOS and developers direct
users to specific information and features inside apps and Apple’s new
Spotlight Suggestions. The News app is anonymized just like other
personally identifiable information, for instance. And Apple’s
Proactive Assistant processes data on the device, rather than in the
cloud — a challenging design decision we’ve discussed before. Screen
Shot 2015-09-29 at 12.09.13 AM
Health and fitness data is isolated on the device with an encryption
key generated based on your passcode. This type of personalized
encryption makes it even more difficult for anyone, including Apple, to
ever see data you don’t want them to. This passcode key encryption is
used throughout Apple’s products now. Content blockers (the thing my
industry loves to talk about), which prevent you from being tracked
across websites by ads, are also covered.
Here’s a tidbit with regards to Apple Maps. When you query Maps for a
trip, Apple generates a generic device identifier and pulls the info
using that, rather than an Apple ID. Halfway through your trip, it
generates another random ID and associates the second half with that.
Then, for good measure, it truncates the trip data so the information
about exact origin and destination are not kept. That data is retained
for 2 years to improve Maps and then deleted.
There is also a new iOS 9.0 Security white paper which details, over 60
pages, the various techniques Apple uses to secure its mobile OS. This
is not new, but the updated version also covers new iOS features and
functions. Apple’s encryption methodology is described in detail, as is
the way that it prevents unauthorized keychain access and how it
secures apps. Much of this information is even more poignant given the
recent debacle with apps compiled by a corrupted bootleg of its Xcode
development tool.
This is good reading for any security wonk. But what if you aren’t?
Blowing Up The Privacy Policy
Privacy is something everyone should care about. But studies continue
to indicate that people either aren’t aware of what they’re giving up,
or they don’t understand the implications.
Part of the reason for this is that the privacy policies of most major
corporations (Apple included) are written by lawyers, not by someone
whose purpose it is to make the companies’ policies actually clear to
end users. The reasons for that are many fold, but you can probably
suss out the most likely; first, companies like to cover their asses in
case of privacy breaches. Second, if you actually saw the privacy
policies of most companies laid out in plain verbiage you would want to
crawl into a cave.
Apple is blowing that up a bit today by expanding on its privacy page
and presenting its policies in clear language, with extensive
supporting data. Whether it’s government information requests (94
percent of that is trying to find stolen iPhones, and only 6 percent is
law enforcement seeking personal information) or how consumer-facing
features like iMessage, Apple Pay, Health and HomeKit are set up to
protect user information; the sense is one of confidence in its
stance. Screen Shot 2015-09-29 at 12.15.21 AM
Please do not confuse this with me saying that Apple shouldn’t have to
continue to answer questions on user privacy — nearly all major tech
corporations are money-making enterprises and should be viewed with
healthy skepticism. But in his letter when the site launched last year,
CEO Tim Cook said that Apple would regularly update and expand the
site, and it now has.
If you click your way through it, you’re going to see a product that
looks a lot like the pages that are attempting to sell you iPhones.
There is a section that explains Apple’s philosophy; one that tells
users in practical terms how to take advantage of Apple’s privacy-and
security-related features; an entire section on government information
requests; and, finally, its actual privacy policy.
Related Articles
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Features EFF's 2015 Data Privacy Report Lauds Apple, Dropbox, Slams
Verizon Apple's Tim Cook Delivers Blistering Speech On Encryption,
Privacy Edward Snowden Supports Apple’s Public Stance On Privacy
The ‘manage your privacy’ section in particular provides clear
explanations of what to do to improve your security and why you’d want
to do it.
This is the template for all other tech companies when it comes to
informing users about their privacy. Not a page of dense jargon, and
not a page of cutesy simplified language that doesn’t actually
communicate the nuance of the thing. Instead, it’s a true product. A
product whose aims are to inform and educate, just as Apple says its
other products do.
Apple has been at the forefront of using privacy as a sales tool, but
it won’t be the last. Encrypted phones, messaging apps that secure and
delete conversations — nearly every major Internet service we use has
been re-tooled in some way in response to what we know about how much
everyone else knows. It only makes sense that the moribund privacy
policy should get a makeover, as well.
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* Apple
+ Founded 1976
+ Overview Apple is a multinational corporation that designs,
manufactures, and markets mobile communication and media
devices, personal computers, portable digital music players,
and sells a variety of related software, services,
peripherals, networking solutions, and third-party digital
content and applications. Apple provides many products and
services, including iPhone; iPad; iPod; Mac; iPod; Apple TV; …
+ Location Cupertino, CA
+ Categories Hardware + Software, Consumer Electronics,
Computers, Electronics, Retail
+ Website http://www.apple.com
+ Full profile for Apple
* iOS 9
+ Description iOS 9 is Apple's iPhone and iPad update available
for public beta in July 2015.
+ Website http://www.apple.com/ios/ios9-preview/
+ Full profile for iOS 9
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Posted Dec 28, 2015 by Max Greenwald (@maxpgreenwald)
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__________________________________________________________________
Max GreenwaldCrunch Network Contributor
Max Greenwald is a computer science and public policy major at
Princeton University.
How to join the network
All across the web companies are collecting information about you
whether you like it or not. Knowing which companies are more
trustworthy with your information than others and how to keep yourself
as safe as possible on the internet is important. If you aren’t sure
whether websites that you use are making the grade then check them out
yourself!
Surprisingly to most, when you log in to most mobile or web
applications, at least 15 pieces of information are sent in every which
direction. Don’t let companies take advantage of your unawareness –
take action! If you catch them claiming one thing, but in reality doing
another, get justice by reporting the company to the Federal Trade
Commission. If you are a company reading this post, and a bit scared
that you’re lacking in decent privacy and security practices, check out
the FTC’s best practices guide – otherwise, watch out, Batman is coming
for ya.
Featured Image: Kevin Dooley | Flickr
__________________________________________________________________
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Free Tools For Privacy Verification
Here are some free tools you can use to keep a company in line with
their privacy practices. There are also some tools to prevent third
parties (companies who track you) from getting your information as you
browse the web.
1. Mitmproxy
Using Mitmproxy, a free “behind the scenes” tool, you can do some
investigation to find out whether a company collects more information
about you than you would expect or if it sends your information
insecurely.
2. PrivacyGrade
PrivacyGrade is a website that allows you to see how robust a company’s
mobile application is at protecting your privacy.
3. AdBlock
The AdBlock browser extension prevents ads from appearing on your
browser when you are visiting sites. It also prevents some third
parties from receiving some, but not all, information about you.
4. Do Not Track
The Do Not Track browser extension also attempts to minimize the
information about you that third parties collect by informing them
(many have opt-out policies) that you prefer not to be tracked.
5. Cookiepedia
Cookiepedia is an index of thousands of companies that try to collect
information about you by placing cookies in your browser. If a company
lists the third parties that it uses in their Privacy Policy, you can
look them up here to learn more about what they do with your data.
6. AppAnnie
AppAnnie gives you metrics about mobile applications and has some good
aggregate statistics about sharing policies of different application
industries which you could use to evaluate whether a mobile application
you’re using shares too much information relative to the average
company in that sector.
Free Tools for Security Verification
Here are some free tools you can use to keep a company in line with
their security practices, as well as a tool that you can use to enhance
your own security in lieu of a bad-practice company.
1. TRUSTe
Look for TRUSTe‘s seal of approval as it provides companies with data
privacy management solutions.
2. Verisign Trust Seal
Run by Symantec, look for the Verisign Trust Seal of approval on
websites which ensures SSL encryption.
3. Infoencrypt, SafeGmail, Hushmail or Lockbin
Infoencrypt, SafeGmail, Hushmail or Lockbin – use these free services
to send all of your emails encrypted.
4. Dashlane
Use a password manager like Dashlane Password Manager that gives you
one master password for all of the passwords you use across the
internet. A manager will set your password for other companies to be
really long and complicated (i.e. difficult to hack!). All you have to
know is your master password and the rest is taken care of for you.
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Google, Facebook, Privacy — And You
Posted Jan 28, 2012 by Keith Teare
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[google-privacy-policy.jpg?w=400]
Editor’s note: Guest author Keith Teare is General Partner at his
incubator Archimedes Labs and CEO of newly funded just.me. He was a
co-founder of TechCrunch.
Like millions of other people, I got an email from Google this morning.
It was entitled “Changes to Google Privacy Policy and Terms of
Service”. The first sentence describes the intent of the changes as
shortening 60 policies into one, and improving their readability.
Then there is a longer explanation captured in the graphic above.
The email goes on to assert that Google has not changed its privacy
policy and will not sell our personal information to third parties –
“Our privacy policies remain unchanged”. So what is going on here?
Facebook is the shiny object that Larry is focused on.
This is a week where Sheryl Sandberg – Chief Operating Officer at
Facebook – spoke at Hubert Burda’s DLD conference in Munich and stated
that we were in the middle of 3 trends. First, a trend “from anonymity
to real identity”. Secondly, a trend from “wisdom of crowds to wisdom
of friends” and third, a trend “from being receivers of information to
broadcasters of information”. See the video below for the actual points
she made. It was a thoughtful and at the same time a polemical speech,
a speech with a strong point of view. In thinking about Google’s
privacy policy changes it helps to listen to Sheryl’s remarks and
reflect on the context.
IFRAME:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/hTpBvnzu7eU?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&autohide=
2&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent
Facebook is saying that the Internet as a pure information retrieval
mechanism is dead. That the “readwrite” web that began as long ago as
cheap web site hosting in 1998, has entirely replaced the read-only
web. That the identifiable author has replaced the anonymous one. We
are broadcasting and we are identifiable. That reading what friends say
is now dominant in that world. Facebook envisages a future in which we
all broadcast almost everything to almost everybody.
Google’s problem.
In that world, Google’s PageRank algorithm is seriously out of date. It
promotes pages based on the number of links to it. Today, pages are no
longer the unit of publishing. Far smaller items than a page dominate
our senses. And those smaller messages are produced in huge quantity
and in real time. So the signals that make something relevant have now
changed. Facebook (and Twitter) have oodles of such signals. Google,
until recently, had none.
Google’s solution.
The changes in Google’s terms and conditions are primarily focused on
providing the company with an integrated set of data capable of feeding
it signals about what is and is not relevant to each of us as we search
the vast amount of data produced by the second. In that sense it is not
only the right strategic move, it is a question of life and death.
Google is doing a pivot, in order to remain relevant. It’s hard to
disagree that this is necessary. It also seems clear that neither
company is being intentionally “evil”. However, there is a dilemma for
both Google and Facebook as we go down the “we are all broadcasters
now” path. How can they gather the signals that feed insight without
making decisions for the user about what is private, selectively shared
or public?
We, the people!
There is a discernible and growing reaction against both Facebook’s new
sharing paradigm and Google’s policy changes. As implicit sharing, or
as Sheryl Sandberg calls it, broadcasting, replaces conscious sharing,
many are growing disillusioned with Facebook taking liberties with
their behavior. The same instinct is making many people focus on the
assumed bad intent behind Google’s modifications. Broadcasting our
“real identity” is not something anybody wants as a default, and many
don’t want under any circumstances.
Privacy is becoming a product issue, not only a policy issue.
In the past privacy advocates on the Internet were primarily focused on
privacy as a policy issue, and the privacy lobby was mainly made up of
policy professionals. In the period since Facebook’s 2011 F8
conference, we have seen consumers begin to have strong opinions about
the use of their data. The past week has accelerated this trend.
Product managers now need to think long and hard about the assumptions
built into their products and ensure they are serving consumers not
just in words but in fact. Consumers are at a tipping pointy in not
tolerating all-inclusive policy decisions by service providers that
impact who sees their stuff.
Google and Facebook are between a rock and a hard place.
There is a big structural problem for both Google and Facebook as they
contemplate the product consequences of consumer reactions to their
product roadmap. In a centralized platform it is incredibly hard to
create easy-to-understand controls that give each user the ability to
control, at a granular level, what they share and who with. Grand
policy shifts, like that which came out of F8 and which we are now
seeing from Google, tend to assume all users are the same and will want
the same thing.
In reality, users are more complex. I might want to save a private
video to a personal storage space one moment, share something with a
select group of friends another moment, and broadcast something to the
world five minutes later. The web services infrastructure that both
Facebook and Google are based on does not easily permit such fine
grained control for users without also imposing serious effort. As we
all know, that leads users to stick with the default settings most of
the time.
So, despite good intent by the teams at both companies,
one-size-fits-all decisions are the norm.
Mobile to the rescue?
Structural problems usually require structural solutions. What it seems
consumers are asking for is a world in which we all know what we are
sharing and who with — but where we don’t have to do a huge amount of
work to achieve that. Google Circles seems to be a nod in this
direction as are Facebook’s groups. But neither is really easy enough
or sufficiently integrated into the flow of the products to really
solve the problem. Both require a huge management overhead.
As I argued earlier this week in “Google, Look Out Behind You!“, the
spread of smartphones may be part of the solution here. Hundreds of
millions of consumers are now carrying around connected still and video
cameras with lists of contacts in the address book, often already
organized into meaningful groups. Decentralized decision-making is very
easy when there are decentralized software clients under the unique
control of each user. The ability to be private one moment, selectively
share the next and then publicly broadcast a few minutes later is easy
to achieve in this decentralized software architecture. And service
providers can never become bad actors — simply because they do not own
our information or the full social graph. The cloud becomes a means of
delivering messages to the phones and the place where we store our
media. But it’s not the place we need to trust to make decisions about
what gets shared and who with.
Software can truly reflect the wishes of each human being in each
moment in this world. It couldn’t be structurally more different from
the past 10 years of centralized web services.
What’s Next?
Products will need to become increasingly more human as they become
more mobile. Privacy can go away as an issue if that happens. All
decisions about where data can travel will be able to be made by the
individual, each time they produce data. We will all be able to be
private, share selectively or choose to broadcast with relative ease.
We are moving to a period where it will be considered intrusive and
unwelcome if our service providers have any point of view about our
sharing behavior. “Just trust us” will not be necessary and certainly
won’t cut it. Capturing moments in one’s life, with the choice of
whether to share, and as importantly, who to share it with, will be in
the hands of each individual. The service provider will merely execute
the user’s wishes. If you think about it, it’s kind of like what email
service providers do today. I can’t wait.
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* Google
+ Founded 1998
+ Overview Google is a multinational corporation that is
specialized in internet-related services and products. The
company’s product portfolio includes Google Search, which
provides users with access to information online; Knowledge
Graph that allows to search for things, people, or places as
well as builds systems recognizing speech and understanding
natural language; Google Now, which provides information …
+ Location Mountain View, CA
+ Categories Search, Email, Blogging Platforms, Information
Technology, Video Streaming, Software
+ Website http://www.google.com
+ Full profile for Google
* Facebook
+ Founded 2004
+ Overview Facebook is an online social networking service that
allows its users to connect with friends and family as well as
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From Kodak To Google, How Privacy Panics Distort Policy
Posted Oct 1, 2015 by Alan McQuinn (@AlanMcQuinn)
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Alan McQuinnCrunch Network Contributor
Alan McQuinn is a research assistant at the Information Technology and
Innovation Foundation, a think tank focused on the intersection of
technological innovation and public policy.
How to join the network
When a new technology comes out, people are generally good at seeing
through the hype that is associated with it. Many technological
inventions, after all, are not immediately revolutionary — despite what
clever marketers might want you to believe.
However, people are often bad about seeing through the outsized claims
from another type of clever marketer: professional privacy advocates
who routinely say new technologies spell doom to the privacy of those
who use them.
While these fears often never materialize, and the public comes to
accept the new technology as they become familiar with it, time and
time again people fall into the trap of believing exaggerated claims
about privacy risks for new technologies.
This cycle of panic-then-acceptance can slow innovation and adoption of
new technologies. To be sure, some technologies have challenged
traditional notions of privacy, or even presented new risks to
consumers, and to the extent that there are legitimate risks of
consumer harm, these concerns should be taken seriously. However, it is
important to recognize that the privacy panic cycle is a detrimental
one — with a long historical precedent.
In 1888, when George Eastman introduced the Kodak camera, the first
portable camera, amateur photographers everywhere were delighted with
the relatively inexpensive, newfound ability to capture everyday
motion, or “snapshots.” However, despite praise over the invention, the
Kodak camera also set off a privacy-charged panic. While many people
quickly adopted the technology, others became terrified that
thoughtless shutterbugs would take embarrassing pictures of them
without their permission.
People using the devices were soon labeled “Kodak fiends,” and the
technology was banned from businesses, beaches and even the Washington
Monument. In fact, one journalist described a situation in which young
men in Britain formed a “Vigilance Association” with the sole purpose
of “thrashing the cads with cameras who go about at seaside places
taking snapshots of ladies emerging from the deep.” This hysteria died
by 1910, as increasing numbers of people adopted the technology. The
bans were lifted, and social norms developed around candid photography
to act as a disincentive to rude behavior.
By creating public fears about new technology, privacy advocates
slow the adoption of beneficial new technologies.
When it comes to privacy concerns for nascent technologies, however,
history repeats itself. Indeed, other technologies would soon have
their “Kodak moment.” When first unveiled in 2012, many thought the
promise of Google Glass was extraordinary — a pair of futuristic
glasses that could augment reality or live stream your world. Both the
public and the press were fascinated by the technology. For example, it
scored a 12-page spread in VOGUE magazine, was named one of Time
magazine’s best inventions of 2012 and earned praise from a host of
other publications.
Despite the enthusiasm for its potential impact, Google Glass received
a huge privacy backlash. Many people saw its recording function as
creepy, or mistakenly believed the device was constantly recording.
Soon businesses started banning the devices from their premises. One
group, called Stop the Cyborgs, offered free anti-Google Glass signs
and art on its website for these businesses to notify customers the
technology was prohibited. People even invented a nickname for the
wearers of Google Glass, calling them “glassholes,” a phrase that
harkens back to the “Kodak fiends” of the late 1800s.
By creating public fears about new technology, privacy advocates slow
the adoption of beneficial new technologies. But that is not the only
problem with taking these fearful claims at face value. Overwrought
privacy fears can lead to ill-conceived policy responses that either
purposely hinder or fail to adequately promote useful technologies.
For example, U.S. policymakers have delayed the adoption of various
public-sector technologies, such as smart meters that monitor
electrical usage, in part because of the pushback these technologies
have received from overzealous advocates.
We will continue to see the privacy panic cycle distort the public
reception of new technologies unless we begin to recognize it.
Technologies will always have some tradeoffs, and there is no question
that we need smart policies that both mitigate concerns and optimize
societal benefits. But when privacy advocates merely scare consumers
away from innovation rather than working to create sensible solutions
for integrating useful new technologies into society, they slow the
pace of economic and social progress.
Featured Image: Dan Bruins
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* Kodak
+ Overview Kodak provides imaging solutions and services for
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printing, graphic communications and professional services
under its key segment, which is digital printing & enterprise
and graphics, entertainment & commercial films. Kodak is known
for photographic film products, It focused on digital
photography and digital printing after the rise …
+ Location Rochester, NY
+ Categories Service Providers, Consumers, Enterprises
+ Full profile for Kodak
* Google Glass
+ Description Google Glass is a type of wearable technology with
an optical head-mounted display.
+ Website http://www.google.com/glass/start
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A group of U.S. and EU digital rights organizations and consumer NGOs —
including the EFF, the U.S. Center for Digital Democracy, the European
Consumer Organization and Privacy International — have issued a
statement calling for a “meaningful legal framework” to protect
fundamental privacy rights in the digital era.
The statement comes as a critical response to the publication earlier
this month of the Bridges report: a joint project between U.S. and EU
academics — and including the involvement of the Dutch data protection
agency — advocating for continued reliance on existing laws coupled
with industry self-regulation as a middle-of-the-road approach
to safeguarding privacy rights.
The Bridges report advocates for, as they put it, “a framework of
practical options that advance strong, globally-accepted privacy values
in a manner that respects the substantive and procedural differences
between the two jurisdictions” — such as offering standardized user
controls and user complaint mechanisms, and best practices for the
de-identification of user data, among other proposed measures.
However the EFF et al are highly critical of this approach — dubbing it
“failed policy” and “remarkably out of touch with the current legal
reality”.
“Digital rights organization and consumer NGOs call on the Data
Protection Commissioners to refocus their attention on the need to
update and enforce privacy law,” the group said today.
The current legal reality on the U.S.-EU data privacy front includes
the ruling, earlier this month, by Europe’s top court, the
ECJ, invalidating the Safe Harbor data-sharing agreement — which had
governed data flows between the regions for some 15 years, allowing
companies sending EU data to the U.S. for processing to self-certify
they would provide “adequate protection”.
The court ruled that such self-certification failed in an era of mass
surveillance by government intelligence agency dragnets — opening the
door to individual reviews of data transfers by data protection
authorities in individual European Member States.
This is not a situation conducive to operational certainty for
businesses — with DPAs already issuing differing opinions on the
current post-Safe Harbor scenario. For example, guidance issued by the
U.K.’s ICO differs greatly in tone from a position paper published by
German data supervisory authorities in the wake of the ECJ ruling.
So while the ICO is telling businesses and organizations not to panic
or “rush to other transfer mechanisms that may turn out to be less than
ideal” — arguing the impact of the judgement is “still being analysed”
— the German DPAs suggest they will immediately be prohibiting data
transfers to the U.S. that are solely based on Safe Harbor, as well
as specifying other explicit controls, such as that consent clauses
cannot be used to sanction ‘repeated, mass or routine data transfers’.
Meanwhile, the European Commission is attempting to hammer out a
so-called Safe Harbor 2.0 agreement with the U.S. in the next few
weeks, to try to reestablish a data flows agreement. Although any such
deal is likely to face fresh legal challenges unless the U.S. agrees to
substantial concessions on surveillance and privacy rights. (Yet only
yesterday the Senate passed another bill that critics say will expand
government agencies’ surveillance capabilities…)
With existing legal frameworks governing data protection under
continued pressure from the surveillance state — and new
tech challenges to privacy pushing into the frame all the time, whether
it’s from AI-powered big data processing or drone surveillance — the
EFF et al are pressing the case for “a comprehensive privacy legal
framework” — to offer robust consumer protection, and ultimately also
create legal certainty for businesses.
“Particularly after the Safe Harbor decision, the ‘Bridges report’ is
remarkably out of touch with the current legal reality and what we need
to do to address it,” they write, criticizing the report for failing to
recommend any “substantive changes in law”.
“The practical consequence of focusing instead on failed policies, such
as self regulation, will be to make more difficult the work of the
privacy experts around the world who could have otherwise benefitted
from a meaningful discussion about how to move forward on legislation,
aggressive enforcement, and other steps that are long overdue. Yes,
they are difficult; all the more reason why we need to act now,” they
add.
Responding to criticism of the Bridges report and approach, Daniel
Weitzner, one of the project participants and director of
MIT’s Cybersecurity and Internet Policy Research Initiative, said the
aim is not to encourage industry self-regulation but rather to call on
the FTC and European data protection authorities to engage
in “collaborative policy development”.
He also stressed that the call for the development of better user
control technologies is something the report says “can only happen with
clear guidelines and legal interpretations from regulators”.
“We’re not saying industry should set rules through design (that would
be self-regulation) but rather that policy guidance from governments is
vital,” Weitzner told TechCrunch.
“We do hope that we can contribute to progress on legislative
development in both the US and EU,” he added. “I myself spent about
three years working in the Obama Administration toward issuing and
trying to get the US Congress to pass the Consumer Privacy Bill of
Rights. That remains very important to me, but I’m also pursuing other
avenues for progress.”
However that Bill was described by critics such as the NYT as “riddled
with loopholes” and appearing to be “tailored to benefit Internet firms
like Google and Facebook and little-known data brokers like Acxiom that
have amassed detailed profiles of individuals”.
The paper dubbed it a weak reflection of U.S. consumer privacy
concerns, concluding: “No bill at all would have been better than this
one, which would effectively codify bad behavior.”
Weitzner is also a paid advisor to Palantir, a big data analysis
company, founded back in 2004, with initial funding coming from the
CIA’s not-for-profit VC arm, In-Q-Tel. On its website In-Q-Tel lists
its “mission” as being to identify, adapt, and deliver “innovative
technology solutions to support the missions of the Central
Intelligence Agency and broader U.S. Intelligence Community”.
At the time of writing Weitzner had not responded to a request to
confirm how much he is remunerated by Palantir for his advisory
services.
Speaking to Politico about the Bridges report, Jeff Chester, the
executive director for the Center for Digital Democracy, dubbed it a
“trojan horse” — arguing that an attempt to push for transatlantic
meetings before new policies are formulated is the same modus operandi
as the U.S. proposals on digital trade in the proposed free trade
agreement TTIP, currently being negotiated behind closed doors.
“This [Bridges report] is a backdoor way of supporting a plan by the
U.S. government on digital trade that will ultimately weaken the EU
data protection regime,” Chester added.
This story was updated with additional comment from Weitzner and
Chester
Featured Image: Baloncici/Shutterstock
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* Electronic Frontier Foundation
+ Founded 1990
+ Overview From the Internet to the iPhone, technologies are
transforming our society and empowering us as speakers,
citizens, creators, and consumers. When our freedoms in the
networked world come under attack, the Electronic Frontier
Foundation (EFF) is the first line of defense. EFF broke new
ground when it was founded in 1990—well before the Internet
was on most people's radar—and continues to confront …
+ Location San Francisco, CA
+ Categories Nonprofits, IT and Cybersecurity
+ Founders John Perry Barlow
+ Website http://eff.org
+ Full profile for Electronic Frontier Foundation
* Privacy International
+ Founded 1990
+ Overview Privacy International is a UK-based organization that
defends and promotes the right to privacy across the world. It
is a non-governmental organization that has organized
campaigns and initiatives in more than fifty countries.
Privacy International works to fight against unlawful
surveillance through advocacy, litigation, and research. It
has built global partnerships with Asociacion por los Derechos
…
+ Location London, H9
+ Categories Legal
+ Founders Simon Davies
+ Website http://www.privacyinternational.org
+ Full profile for Privacy International
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Privacy Concerns Raised Over Kids’ Apps And Websites
Posted Sep 3, 2015 by Natasha Lomas (@riptari)
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[kidstablet.jpg?w=738]
Given the sophisticated tracking technologies embedded into so many
digital products and services as a matter of course, it should come as
no surprise that a global privacy audit of children’s websites and apps
has highlighted big concerns about the collection and use of kids’
data. That doesn’t make it acceptable, however.
The Global Privacy Enforcement Network, a network of global privacy
regulators, conducted a joint research project last May, involving 29
data protection regulators looking at just under 1,500 websites and
apps targeted at or popular with children. Reporting their findings
now, they’ve raised concerns about close to a majority (41 per cent) of
the services, especially around how much personal information is
being collected from minors and how that data is then shared with third
parties.
Among the overall findings reported by the U.K.’s ICO are that:
* 67% of sites/apps examined collected children’s personal
information
* Only 31% of sites/apps had effective controls in place to limit the
collection of personal information from children. Particularly
concerning was that many organisations whose sites/apps were
clearly popular with children simply claimed in their privacy
notices that they were not intended for children, and then
implemented no further controls to protect against the collection
of personal data from the children who would inevitably access the
app or site
* Half of sites/apps shared personal information with third parties
* 22% of sites/apps provided an opportunity for children to give
their phone number and 23% of sites/apps allowed them to provide
photos or video. The potential sensitivity of this data is clearly
a concern
* 58% of sites/apps offered children the opportunity to be redirected
to a different website
* Only 24% of sites/apps encouraged parental involvement
* 71% of sites/apps did not offer an accessible means for deleting
account information
Per country results vary, with France’s CNIL data protection agency
saying it found 87 per cent of the 54 websites it looked at were
collecting personal data, such as name, email, IP address, identifying
the mobile terminal and the user’s location. And for more than 63 per
cent of sites children could be redirected to another website
(including a commercial website) with a single click. While just 18 per
cent of the subset of sites it looked at prompt users to ask for
parental consent to access the content.
None of this is surprising, given the rampant tracking technologies
developed to monetize free services via ad targeting. But as more
regulatory attention is paid to the user data heist that’s going on in
the background of the digital economy then more pressure will build to
enforce stronger consumer protections and a stricter data protection
regime.
In the U.S., for instance, there is a fresh attempt to pass a Do Not
Track Kids Act this year. While big tech providers such as Google and
Apple have been responding to criticism about how kids and apps collide
by creating dedicated kids zones within their content marketplaces, or
offering programs where developers can opt in to an additional review
layer, such as Google Play’s ‘Designed for Families’ program, to gain a
kid-friendly certification.
Such moves are of course welcome but only cover digital products that
are available within certain subsections of the Web. If kids are
accessing websites and apps that aren’t explicitly designed for them —
such as Tumblr or Twitter or Facebook, for instance — then there’s no
such safeguards in place. The onus remains on parents to be aware which
apps and websites their kids are accessing.
Ultimately the core issue here is the digital economy’s reliance on
ad-powered business models which apparently encourage the obfuscation
of user data collection; disingenuous approaches to gaining user
‘consent’ for data collection and processing; and a rank lack of
transparency about what happens to and with users’ personal data
generally.
Yet, as barely a week goes by without another huge data leak, digital
consumers are bound to start asking more questions about how and for
what purposes their personal data is being appropriated. And those tech
companies that publicly stand up for privacy will stand out as
trustworthy, while those that keep quiet will seem as if they have
something unsavory to hide.
Commenting on the kids-focused research in a statement, the ICO’s Adam
Stevens said:
These are concerning results. The attitude shown by a number of
these websites and apps suggested little regard for how anyone’s
personal information should be handled, let alone that of
children. Internationally we saw some websites and apps gathering
more information than we felt they needed, and sharing that data
with third parties.
The most common concern domestically was a lack of information being
provided about how their information would be used. We saw generic
privacy policies that simply weren’t specific enough, and some
without any information at all, which isn’t good enough.
We’ll now be writing out to the sites and apps that caused us
concern, making clear the changes we expect them to make. We
wouldn’t rule out enforcement action in this area if required.
Featured Image: Ozgur Coskun/Shutterstock
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* The Global Privacy Enforcement Network (GPEN)
+ Founded 2007
+ Overview The Global Privacy Enforcement Network (GPEN) was
created to strengthen personal privacy protections in this
global context by assisting public authorities with
responsibilities for enforcing domestic privacy laws
strengthen their capacities for cross-border cooperation.
+ Categories Networking
+ Website https://www.privacyenforcement.net/
+ Full profile for The Global Privacy Enforcement Network (GPEN)
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Cockroaches Versus Unicorns: The Golden Age Of Cybersecurity Startups
Posted Jan 6, 2016 by Mahendra Ramsinghani (@mahendra_gr)
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[shutterstock_232681879.jpg?w=738]
Mahendra RamsinghaniCrunch Network Contributor
Mahendra Ramsinghani is the founder of Secure Octane, a Silicon Valley
based cybersecurity seed fund.
How to join the network
According to Gartner, worldwide information security spending reached
$76.9 billion in 2015. As the frequency and intensity of hacks worsen,
security spending is expected to reach $170 billion by 2020. That’s
more than 100 percent growth in five years.
Venture capital (VC) investments in cybersecurity startups continues to
grow steadily (~40 percent each year over the past 5 years); 2015 may
reach an all-time high, with projections of ~ $3.5 billion.
Screen Shot 2015-12-31 at 9.59.44 AM
Source: CB Insights
Yet, when we look at cybersecurity as a percentage of all VC
investments, the picture is somewhat sobering. Cybersecurity is less
than 7 percent of all VC investments. Despite all the hacks and media
attention, is the security sector under-funded?
Screen Shot 2015-12-31 at 10.00.11 AM
Source: NVCA, CB Insights
Screen Shot 2015-12-31 at 9.59.58 AM
Source: NVCA, CB Insights
The conservative VC’s view
It’s all about exits and returns. Unicorns are a rarity in the security
world. Security exits tend to fall in three distinct bands: ~$50
million, ~$200 million and $500+ million. Capital consumption is highly
efficient as compared to other verticals, but the time-to-exit is much
longer.
Screen Shot 2015-12-31 at 10.00.21 AM
Cybersecurity exits range. Source: Author’s analysis. Data from
CrunchBase
Authy, a two-factor authentication company (2FA) raised $3.8 million
and was acquired by Twilio. Another 2FA company, Toopher, was acquired
in April 2015 by Salesforce after raising less than $3 million. Aorato,
backed by Accel, was acquired by Microsoft for $200 million. The
company consumed less than $15 million. Smaller exits occur in ~3
years.
The third band of exits occurs in the $500+ million range. OpenDNS was
acquired in 2015 by Cisco for $635 million. According to sources, it
had reached $60+ million in ARR, but it took 10+ years from launch.
Lancope, also acquired by Cisco in 2015 for $435 million, took 14 years
to get to an exit. An occasional IPO like FireEye (IPO in 2014) or Palo
Alto Networks (IPO in 2012) can create an adrenalin rush…but these are
exceptions.
It’s baffling as to why enterprise cybersecurity budgets are stuck
in archaic logic.
Many security startups are not unicorns; rather, they are cockroaches —
they rarely die, and in tough times, they can switch into a
frugal/consulting mode. Like cockroaches, they can survive long nuclear
winters. Security companies can be capital-efficient, and typically
consume ~$40 million to reach break-even. This gives them a survival
edge — but VCs are looking for a “growth edge.”
The pace of growth in security companies is slower. FireEye (market
cap: $6.5 billion) took 10+ years from startup to IPO. Palo Alto
Networks (market cap: $11.6 billion) reached there a bit faster — in 7
years. When it comes to pace of growth and rapid value creation, there
is no Uber in the security world.
Screen Shot 2015-12-31 at 10.00.32 AM
Speed matters! Between 2009-2013, tech companies could achieve market
cap of $500 million in 1.6 years. (Source: Play Biggers Advisors)
Some tech darlings of the VC world have reached the $1 billion market
cap (enviable unicorn status) in less than three years. That’s a
challenge for cybersecurity entrepreneurs! If we cannot grow at such a
pace, VCs won’t pay much attention. Funding in cybersecurity will
remain stagnant, at less than 10 percent of total VC invested.
One of the leading VCs in Silicon Valley (the fund just raised more
than half a billion dollars) told me that security is cool — but
returns have been sporadic and below average. The double-whammy of low
returns coupled with long exit cycles have marred VC enthusiasm. But if
we read the tea leaves, things are getting better.
Expanding budgets
It’s baffling as to why enterprise cybersecurity budgets are stuck in
archaic logic. Security spend should be ~ 10 percent of the total IT
budget, as common thinking goes. At a macro scale, McKinsey experts
state in their book Beyond Cybersecurity: Protecting Your Digital
Business that total IT spend globally is approaching $2 trillion.
But security spend is still less than $100 billion. All it takes is one
hack. And some budgets have surged to 300+ percent. This was affirmed
by several cybersecurity experts I spoke with. I moderated a panel of
leading cybersecurity VCs at Venture Alpha West 2015. Asheem Chandna of
Greylock Partners, who sits on the board of Palo Alto Networks, Skyhigh
Networks and other leading security companies, pointed out that across
enterprises, security budgets are on the rise. This augurs well for
cybersecurity startups.
With hacks becoming more intense, security awareness and importance
is on the rise.
At least, buyers are aware. And board-level push for a better security
posture is higher. Dharmesh Thakker of Battery Ventures, who has led
investments in Cloudera and MongoDB, described that legacy companies
are unable to react to technological shifts rapidly. Symantec and HP
are undergoing structural changes and their ability to innovate and
launch new products becomes constrained. They are tempted to partner.
Bob Ackerman, founder of Allegis Capital, has been investing in
cybersecurity for more than 15 years. He pointed out that there has
never been a better time for cybersecurity entrepreneurs. And while the
fundamentals have not changed, the exit dynamics may be changing.
Top notch #cybersecurity panelists at #partnerconnect #venturealpha
pic.twitter.com/UakQlCynd5
— Alastair Goldfisher (@agoldfisher) October 14, 2015
Cybersecurity VC Panel at Venture Alpha West 2015 . From L to R: Mahendra R
(Secure Octane), Asheem Chandna (Greylock ), Bob Ackerman (Allegis Capital)
and Dharmesh Thakker (Battery Ventures)
Expanding universe of buyers
Most VCs scratch their heads when it comes to exits in cybersecurity.
The classical paths — IPO and acquisitions — are often narrow and
constrained. IPO windows are subject to a variety of market conditions.
As incumbents like Symantec and HP stumble, failing to adapt, newcomers
benefit. In the past three years, Symantec has lost two CEOs and its
revenues continue to shrink.
Its $900 million-a-year security business will soon be split away from
its storage division. HP sells about $1 billion in security software
and services each year, but its security revenues are shrinking
rapidly. And Cisco can only buy so many companies. But the savvy
investors see the landscape evolving with a number of new entrants in
the market.
The onus of security is shifting to two new sets of players — the OS
layer and the carriers. At the OS layer, companies like Microsoft,
Intel and Google continue to pour capital into security. Google is one
of the largest acquirers of security startups. With the proliferation
of data centers and cloud providers, a new universe of buyers is
emerging on the horizon.
From commodity to security
Carriers are tired of being a commodity business and see security as an
opportunity to gain trust, increase cloud adoption and upsell. Earlier
this year, SingTel announced a $810 million acquisition of
cybersecurity company, Trustwave. Managed Security Services (MSS) is a
$15 billion market, growing in double digits.
Gartner estimates that the size of the combined Enterprise Security
Services IT Outsourcing and consulting services markets will be $47
billion in 2019. Large security services companies like IBM, Dell and
AT&T are seeing a CAGR of 10+ percent each year, while small and
mid-size service providers are growing at 100 percent each year.
This is music for carriers’ ears, aching to move away from the
competitive world of commodity data centers. Verizon, AT&T (U.S.),
British Telecom (U.K.), Orange (France) and NTT (Japan) are investing
aggressively in cybersecurity services. As enterprises migrate to the
cloud, they plan to shift their security burden to security service
providers. When asked how enterprises expect to manage cloud security,
34 percent said they would look to a managed security service provider
(MSSP).
Screen Shot 2015-12-31 at 10.00.56 AM
Source: Cloud Security Spotlight Report, Sep. 2015 survey ( 1,010
respondents)
Startups should bake in a managed services strategy in their offerings
(as much as VCs hate it, customers want services). A tie-up with MSSPs
could prove to be a valuable path to an exit.
In a parallel universe, private equity shops have found security
roll-ups to be an efficient way to make money. Blackstone acquired
Accuvant and Fishnet to create Optiv — one of the largest resellers of
cybersecurity software in U.S. In March 2015, Thoma Bravo sold Blue
Coat to private equity firm Bain Capital for $2.4 billion (Thoma Bravo
had acquired Blue Coat in December 2011 for $1.3 billion).
The fundamental reason private equity shops have played in the
cybersecurity arena is because a lot of startups/solutions are niche
offerings. There is no “one-size-fits-all” security platform — it’s a
mind-numbingly fragmented market, which irritates the heck out of
investors and customers.
Challenges in 2016
The age of the overwhelmed CISO. With increasing hacks, the CISO’s life
has just become a lot messier. One CISO told me, “Between my HVAC
vendor and my board of directors, I am stretched. And everyday I get a
hundred LinkedIn requests from vendors. Their FUD approach to security
sales is exhausting.”
More than 50 large security vendors exist, and the list is growing
rapidly. More than 200 new security startups are funded each year,
competing for the CISO mindshare and budget. And the sales pitches use
FUD (fear, uncertainty, doubt) as a primary tactic:
Screen Shot 2015-12-31 at 10.01.06 AM
It’s like selling life insurance, but only by rubbing your face in it.
A question from your insurance salesperson like, “What will happen to
your kids if you die in a car accident?” will not generate any trust.
Rather, I’d want an intelligent approach. Show me the data and the
probability tree. And come to me with intellectual honesty. Earn my
trust for the long haul — not one short-term BS vaporware sale.
CISOs want peace of mind in trusted partnerships. If they have a
problem, do they trust you enough to call you in the middle of the
night? They prefer to have comprehensive (not niche) solutions, which
can be integrated within their existing systems and are built by
security experts. While all products claim to be robust and reliable,
CISOs need “IBM-like” solutions that can be defended in the boardroom.
After all, their jobs are on the line.
The pace of security innovation often lags behind the pace of
technology innovation.
This creates a challenge for startups that are seeking to grow fast;
who are your early adopters? Not an average CISO for sure. Adam Ely,
co-founder of BlueBox Security (backed by A16Z) did just that. “As we
build our company, we work closely with CISOs who are innovative and
entrepreneurial. Knowing such CISOs is critical to building your
security startup,” he says.
The bigger question for cybersecurity entrepreneurs is not that of
technological innovation, but that of being a trusted partner.
As SaaS security products become mainstream, the enterprise sales
process is changing. In a low-touch world, developers need to be
engaged. “Try before you buy” has become the primary mode of security
sales. Let the customers come, play with it, try it!
Chinese mobile security company Cheetah Mobile (market cap: = $2.5
billion) offers free downloads of mobile consumer security products. It
boasts of more than 500 million MAUs. Over a dim-sum lunch in San
Francisco, Cheetah Mobile CEO Sheng Fu told me that the security sales
model is outdated. “It has not evolved with the times. We need to think
differently,” he said.
Raising seed capital just got harder. For seed-stage security
companies, raising capital will not get any easier in 2016. According
to CB Insights, security seed investments average about 2 percent of
all dollars invested, and reached a five-year low in 2014.
Series A investment amounts have dropped steadily, from 31 percent of
all investments in 2013 to 18 percent in H1-2015. Later-stage rounds
have grown with Series B, up from 23 percent to 30 percent, and Series
C, growing from 9 percent to 28 percent. Security companies have to now
show that their product is past a proof of concept stage and scales
rapidly.
This is largely due to the sheer volume of security startups. As one VC
told me, half of these startups don’t know what the hell they are
doing, and they all sound like each other. To raise capital, startups
need to rise above the noise — differentiate with clarity and
conviction.
Of signal, noise and stealth
Don’t innovate — differentiate. “I have seen at least 40 FireEye
killers in the past 12 months,” one Palo Alto-based VC told me. Clearly
he was exhausted. Some sub-sectors are overheated and investors are
treading cautiously. Security founders often rely on their technical
skills to find a niche in the marketplace. But establishing
differentiators is the key. These differentiators can be around
verticals of focus, features, channels, pricing and sales methodology.
Screen Shot 2015-12-31 at 10.01.16 AM
Buyer behavior forces changes in security sales and product development
Crafting a business proposition is often harder as security sales are
not based on Return-on-Investment. It’s a risk management approach. And
the age-old tactic of “fear-based” selling does not work with
intellectually savvy CISOs.
Having a clear contextual awareness of the other funded startups makes
it easier to target the right VC and demonstrate your value
proposition. Today, when most companies stay in stealth, contextual
awareness becomes harder. Who has funded which company? And how does
that impact your trajectory? After completing one pitch, the VC told
the founder, “Thanks for sharing, but I have an exactly similar company
in my portfolio,” and walked out.
Innovation lag — the road ahead. The pace of security innovation often
lags behind the pace of technology innovation. Justin Somaini, CISO at
SAP, told me that the “technology curve needs to flatten so that the
security curve can catch up.” Security remains an afterthought, but
that is changing.
SecOps/DevOps and continuous monitoring opportunities are driving
innovation. Even privately held Kaspersky Labs is looking outwards to
find innovative security startups. In February 2015, they announced a
hackathon in quest of the next big thing.
A list of technology opportunities was released by Ponemon Institute
earlier this year. Encryption, automation and analytics are in the top
5 — needless to say, customers demand data protection and automation.
Screen Shot 2015-12-31 at 10.01.25 AM
Source: Global Megatrends in Cyber Security, Ponemon Institute, March
2015
Such trends create immense opportunity for security entrepreneurs.
Vertical-specific security tools for industrial/SCADA are in high
demand. Wurldtech was focused on security for infrastructure and
electric utilities. GE acquired the company, even as Wurldtech had
raised less than $10 million.
One of the investors told me that the returns were “pretty nice,
indeed.” The Jeep-Chrysler hack led to a recall of 1.4 million cars and
a class action lawsuit. Soon thereafter, automotive security startups
like TowerSec and Argus gained attention. And moral judgements aside,
the Ashley Madison hack may have led to suicides.
With hacks becoming more intense, security awareness and importance is
on the rise. While no one wants to live in a shark-infested digital
ocean, that’s exactly where we have landed.
With budgets on the rise (as well as hacks), we will see more founders
in 2016 jump in to start companies. Yet a rising tide of opportunity
brings touristy challenges.
The security bazaar is noisier and messier than ever. Every company
sounds exactly like the eight others, and lines get blurred. Those that
thrive will do so on differentiation. Being frugal is great, but VCs
don’t care about protecting the downside as much as a huge upside.
If cybersecurity companies scale faster, we will see more capital
flowing into the arena. The second wave of security innovation has just
begun. May the cockroaches thrive in the age of the unicorns.
Featured Image: Kaban-Sila/Shutterstock
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Presidential Candidates Must Articulate Decisive Cybersecurity Plans
Posted Dec 21, 2015 by Ben Johnson (@chicagoben)
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Ben JohnsonCrunch Network Contributor
Ben Johnson is the chief security strategist at Bit9 + Carbon Black.
How to join the network
Traditionally, physical security and cybersecurity have been considered
two separate entities. The cybersecurity threat, while significant, was
often relegated to the sphere of enterprises, individual privacy,
intellectual property loss and financial theft. Physical security, on
the other hand, meant potential risk to human safety and lives — and
was naturally taken more seriously.
Initial investigation indicates that no encryption was used in planning
the terrible Paris attacks. Regardless, these events have given new
life to the discussion of how cyber means can serve as conduits for
planning physical attacks. This discussion signifies a major sea
change, in that cybersecurity and physical security have now
effectively overlapped.
The cyber world levels the battlefield such that instead of military
might, all you need is an Internet connection and an agenda to take on
the mightiest nations on earth. In fact, if criminals have cyber access
to a system or facility, physical security precautions can quickly be
rendered useless.
In this new world, physical security is often at risk without an eye
toward cybersecurity and effective monitoring. Our ability to monitor
and gather intelligence in the cyber realm has to be agile enough to
keep up with the speed and trends of new technologies and media forms
that will inevitably be used for malicious means.
And yet, cybersecurity issues have been noticeably absent from most
presidential candidate talking points. Beyond the increased
physical/cyber connection — which is the most urgent — I predict the
growth of several additional cyber-related threats in the coming year,
which the candidates must understand and address as part of their
comprehensive cybersecurity agendas. These include:
Ransomware Will Hit Mobile Phones. Imagine your mobile device is
suddenly locked with no access to your data, and you’re forced to pay
hackers to get a key. That’s ransomware, and in 2016 it will move into
mobile phones.
Wearables And The IoT (Internet Of Things) Increase Mobile
Threats. 2015’s big excitement over watches and IoT-connected devices
has the potential to create a whole new set of security
vulnerabilities, ripe for hacker attacks.
Security Talent Brain Drain. Cybersecurity is growing fast, and more
dollars are pouring in, but the talent to make it all work is not
keeping up. This shortage will lead to gaps in security, making
organizations more vulnerable.
Anything Of Monetary Value Is Fair Game. The most visible threats of
2015 were against companies whose data could be turned into monetary
gain. This will increase, with healthcare the most vulnerable industry,
based on its lack of investment in security.
Citizens should be insisting that candidates clearly outline
decisive plans for harnessing growing cyber threats.
I’m not suggesting that government leaders are ignoring the serious
cybersecurity threats facing us. In fact, Hilary Clinton’s recent bid
to Silicon Valley was a good start. But so far, the measures they’ve
put in place have proven ineffective. Privacy issues aside, the recent
Senate-approved CISA bill may help in analyzing breaches post-mortem,
but it does very little to impede attacks before the fact.
Then there was the sham of the “Cyber Peace Treaty” White House meeting
with China’s President Xi Jinping. This gesture was purely symbolic, as
it only mandates that the two governments may not sponsor hacking,
leaving much room for potential abuse. Currently, there’s no evidence
that cyberattacks waned after this treaty.
It’s time for all U.S. citizens to require the candidates to
acknowledge the U.S. is on the verge of losing the cyber war. Citizens
should also be insisting that candidates clearly outline decisive plans
for harnessing growing cyber threats, which increasingly threaten the
safety of our nation and our people. And we all need to consider these
plans before casting our votes. As citizens, it is our responsibility
to not wait for a future event in order to start demanding answers.
Featured Image: Arthimedes/Shutterstock (IMAGE HAS BEEN MODIFIED)
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Six Lessons From Cybersecurity Superhero Training
Posted Nov 21, 2015 by Chris Richter
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Chris RichterCrunch Network Contributor
Chris Richter is the senior vice president of global security services
at Level 3 Communications.
How to join the network
One of my distinct grade-school memories is filing out of fourth grade
class, nervous, but excited to miss a portion of math class. We were
having our quarterly disaster-survival drill; instructing students on
what to do in case disaster strikes.
While the type of drill varies by location, just about every school kid
has participated in a hurricane, tornado, fire or flood drill so they
are prepared to handle the situation should it arise.
While working through yet another attempted malicious cybersecurity
attack it dawned on me, why can’t we apply this diligence and training
to cybersecurity? Why can’t we have cybersecurity drills?
Today, children are savvy consumers of technology. If you’ve passed by
a television in the last month you may have seen the ads for Microsoft
10. It starts with great music and a voiceover, “Imagine, these kids
won’t have to remember passwords or obsess about security…” This seemed
a little naïve to me. According to a 2014 report from IBM, 95 percent
of IT security breaches are caused by human error. And it gets worse.
You may also be shocked to learn “123456” is the most common password
on the Internet, closely followed by “password,” according to
SplashData’s annual list of 25 most common passwords.
Why? The answer seems simple: The majority of the population does not
receive cybersecurity training in any form.
We must do something about the lack of cybersecurity education
available. People should know the basic ways to protect their online
reputation. I think the solution is to go straight to the native
generations. Kids in school today are very familiar and comfortable
with tech gadgets. They have access to laptops, tablets,
Internet-connected watches and mobile phones all day long.
My company was contacted by a local school because a sixth grader
hacked the school district’s firewall to override the web content
controls. It wasn’t a malicious black hat attack, the student simply
wanted to access restricted content on a school computer.
Think about it. While the hack wasn’t malicious, it was performed by a
sixth grader! How old is a child in the sixth grade, 11 or 12? The fact
that a child at such a young age has these skills underscores the
point: We can’t underestimate the cyber skills of the upcoming
generation — or anyone, for that matter.
Technology won’t keep us safe if we don’t adhere to cybersecurity
basics.
What we can and should do is seize the opportunity for a teachable
moment, where we can demonstrate the right course of action and inspire
kids to work for the good guys. In this case, we participated in an
all-day cybersecurity superhero training program at the school to help
students and faculty understand basic cybersecurity rules of the road.
Everything Is Connected
We kicked off the training by asking the room full of students if they
had a smart phone, computer or tablet at home. Every hand in the room
shot up in the air. The first step for good cybersecurity hygiene is to
identify all the ways you and your family are connected to the
Internet. You might be surprised once you start counting and realize
all of the IP-enabled devices in your home.
Passwords
Next, we asked the kids if they knew a strong password. One student
took the bait and shouted out her secret code. We hammered home that
kids shouldn’t share passwords with anyone except their caregivers. We
also detailed what goes into a strong password. The kids were surprised
to learn they shouldn’t use names of pets or best friends, as those
words are easy to find on social media. Passwords should include
letters, numbers and symbols, and should be at least eight characters.
And everyone should change their passwords regularly.
Lock Those Screens
Next, the kids learned the importance of screen time outs and auto
locks. One security expert on the panel used an Apple Watch as an
example. The minute it was taken off his wrist, no student could access
it.
You Did Not Win $1 Million
Then students learned about safe clicking. When playing games or
perusing the Internet, they may experience a pop-up box claiming they
are a winner or that their computer needs an immediate update. Kids
(and parents) should never click on these links. Close the window and
move on.
The Biggest Fish You Ever Caught
When asked about fishing, many kids told stories of hanging out on the
water. No one knew about phishing and spear phishing. Once they learned
what this cyber risk was all about, most realized they had received an
email from a stranger asking for something. The team taught the kids to
never open suspicious emails or click on unknown links.
Software Updates
Software updates were a hot topic of discussion. The students needed to
understand that software updates are an important way companies provide
security updates. However, they need to make sure they access only
updates from the company or a program’s website. Otherwise, these
updates could be pop-up malware.
The day closed out with a panel of white hats chatting with the kids
about using their powers for good. Topics ranged from games to programs
to what a job in cybersecurity might look like. Hopefully we inspired
the gifted young student who hacked the school’s firewall to use his
powers for good.
What I discovered is something I think I have known innately: This type
of basic training and preparedness helps to create a society of people
who are aware of the dangers, how to prevent them and know what to do
in case something happens. Even better, it is something that can be
shared. We asked these kids to go home and make sure their parents and
relatives abide by these new standards, changing passwords and updating
software.
There are no silver bullets. Technology won’t keep us safe if we don’t
adhere to cybersecurity basics.
Featured Image: Yuravector/Shutterstock
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Cybersecurity Firm Digital Guardian Raises $66M
Posted Dec 16, 2015 by Lucas Matney (@lucas_matney)
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It seems like every time you check the headlines a new company is
getting its data stolen.
For the past 12 years Digital Guardian has been striving to
help companies classify and protect data on their systems so that they
can avoid being the next ones in the news.
Today the company is getting some more capital to help grow its
cybersecurity products. Digital Guardian just completed a $66 million
raise. The company has raised north of $135 million to date.
According to Digital Guardian CEO Ken Levine, the company’s
technologies revolve around a “desktop agent that monitors all of your
data and system events, inspects the contents, clarifies the data and
then forms policies around where the data can go.”
The Massachusetts-based cybersecurity firm currently has 265 employees,
with offices in the U.S., UK and Japan. With this new capital, the
company is looking to continue to expand the scope of their products
and tightly integrate existing tech as they look to effectively serve
the company’s 450 distinct clients.
This past September, Digital Guardian acquired Code Green Networks, a
Data Loss Prevention (DLP) network. Levine confirmed to TechCrunch that
the Sunnyvale, California company was acquired for roughly $18 million.
In the wake of the purchase, Levine and the rest of the team at Digital
Guardian have been working hard to begin integrating the network-level
DLP into their products, which have largely focused on endpoint data
protection, as the company looks to further extend their services into
addressing cyber threats.
In what appears to be a trend among several cybersecurity companies at
this point in time, Levine says that he is beginning to look more
closely at what would make Digital Guardian a successful IPO candidate
in 2016.
A laundry list of investment partners participated in the round,
including, GE Pension Trust, Fairhaven Capital Partners, Loring Wolcott
& Coolidge, Special Situation Funds, Brookline Venture Partners, LLR
Partners, Mass Mutual Ventures LLC, MassMutual and the Venture Capital
Unit of Siemens Financial Services.
“Like most companies, our lifeblood at Siemens is our intellectual
property and it must be safeguarded,” said CEO Ralf Schnell, Venture
Capital Unit of Siemens Financial Services, in a release. “We closely
evaluated Digital Guardian’s product capabilities, strategic roadmap,
and corporate vision and were very encouraged with our results.”
Also of note is that David Stienes, a partner at LLR Partners, will be
joining the company’s Board of Directors.
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CrunchBase
* Digital Guardian
+ Founded 2003
+ Overview Digital Guardian is the only data-centric security
platform designed to stop data theft. The Digital Guardian
platform performs across traditional endpoints, mobile devices
and cloud applications to make it easier to see and stop all
threats to sensitive data. For more than 10 years we’ve
enabled data-rich organizations to protect their most valuable
assets with an on premise deployment or an outsourced …
+ Location Waltham, MA
+ Categories Data Visualization, Data Security, Enterprise
Software
+ Founders Dwayne Carson
+ Website https://digitalguardian.com/
+ Full profile for Digital Guardian
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France Has a Powerful and Controversial New Surveillance Law
20151117-flag-paris-france
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Security
* Arik Hesseldahl
* By Arik Hesseldahl Nov 14, 2015
* @ahess247
* EMAIL
* Ethics
November 14, 2015, 9:22 AM PST
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As it plans its response to a series of six terrorist attacks Friday
night that killed 129 and injured 352, the government of France will
likely step up its efforts to keep tabs on the movements and
communications of people within its borders.
As it happens, the attacks have occurred only a few months after
legislators in that country passed a sweeping new surveillance law that
gives the government broad powers to closely monitor the mobile phone
and Internet communications of French citizens.
Passed by the French Parliament in May in response to the attacks on
the Paris-based magazine Charlie Hebdo, the law allows the government
to monitor phone calls and emails of people suspected of connections to
terrorism without the authorization of a judge.
Related
Media
Paris Attacks: Where to Follow the Breaking News
By Noah Kulwin, Nov 13, 2015, 4:46 PM PST
But it goes further than that. The law requires Internet service
providers to install “black boxes” that are designed to vacuum up and
analyze metadata on the Web-browsing and general Internet use habits of
millions of people using the Web and to make that data available to
intelligence agencies.
In exceptional cases, the law allows the government to deploy what are
called “ISMI catchers” to track all mobile phone communications in a
given area. These catchers are basically designed to impersonate cell
towers, but they intercept and record communications data from phones
within its range, and can also track the movements of people carrying
the phones.
Finally, the law allows government agents to break into the homes of
suspected terrorists for the purpose of planting microphone bugs and
surveillance cameras and installing keyloggers on their computers,
devices that capture data on every keystroke and mouse click.
Critics of the law complain that there’s not much oversight and that
the conditions under which the law’s powers can be triggered are vague.
As The Verge noted in July, the government can authorize the
surveillance for “major foreign policy interests” or to counter
“organized delinquency.”
Surveillance operations are overseen by a nine-person committee led by
Prime Minister Manuel Valls. But that committee has only an advisory
role, and cannot overrule decisions by the prime minister.
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surveillance, surveillance, terrorism. Bookmark the permalink.
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January 22, 2016 01:14:35 PM PST
TechNewsWorld > Security > Privacy | Next Article in Privacy
Survey: Surveillance Is Fine as Long as It's Not on Me
By John P. Mello Jr.
Mar 16, 2015 3:12 PM PT
Growing concern over surveillance in cyberspace has people changing
their online behavior, according to a report released Monday by the Pew
Research Center.
Survey: Surveillance Is Fine as Long as It's Not on Me
Nearly 90 percent of the 475 adults surveyed said they were aware of
government surveillance programs targeting Internet users.
"That's a very high number," said Omer Tene, vice president of research
and education at the International Association of Privacy
Professionals.
"It's a big development," he told TechNewsWorld. "Until a couple of
years ago, when I told people I worked on privacy, most of them would
stare at me with a blank look not knowing what I meant."
Moreover, of those aware of the programs, more than a third (34
percent) had taken at least one measure to hide or shield their
information from the government.
Changing Behavior
Among the measures taken in response to government surveillance were
changing social media settings (17 percent), avoiding certain apps (15
percent), reducing social media use (15 percent), increasing
face-to-face conversations (14 percent), uninstalling certain apps (13
percent), avoiding certain terms in online communication (13 percent),
and deleting social media accounts (8 percent).
While more people are trying to hide their activity from the kinds of
surveillance first revealed by Edward Snowden two years ago, there's an
irony associated with their efforts.
"Most of the steps mentioned are really not effective for avoiding
government surveillance," said Robert Neivert, COO of Private.me.
"They are good for other reasons -- protection from hacking and things
like that -- but they're not terribly effective against the NSA," he
told TechNewsWorld.
The adults in the survey appear to be aware that their efforts to
thwart government surveillance leave something to be desired.
"Our survey showed that half of Americans think it would be difficult
for them to find tools and strategies to help them be more private as
they use technology," observed Pew Senior Researcher Mary Madden.
"The vast majority have not yet adopted some of the more advanced tools
that would encrypt their communications or make them less visible when
they are using the Internet," she added.
The NIMBY Syndrome
For a long time, there's been a disconnect between online users'
concern about privacy and what they're doing to address those concerns,
noted privacy attorney Alexandra Ross.
"Those surveyed who felt strongly that there was no longer an
appropriate balance between national security interests and privacy
concerns are taking some small or incremental changes in their
behavior, but many are still not aware of the technologies that can
protect privacy and security," she told TechNewsWorld.
"That's an opportunity for privacy advocates to educate users on the
ways that they can protect their privacy," Ross added.
Large numbers of adults supported monitoring programs aimed at
suspected terrorists (82 percent), foreign leaders (60 percent),
foreign citizens (54 percent) and even American leaders (60 percent),
the Pew study found. However, 57 percent opposed monitoring of U.S.
citizens.
"There's a bit of "not in my backyard" syndrome showing up in the
survey results," said Rob Shavell, CEO and co-founder of Abine.
"People at the NSA will point out that nobody wants to be monitored,
but many people like the apparent security of having other people
monitored," he told TechNewsWorld.
"It's hypocritical," Shavell said, "but society is still searching for
some kind of balance between what's appropriate to monitor and what's
off limits."
The Pew survey shows both the concerns and frustrations of people about
privacy, noted Marc Rotenberg, president of the Electronic Privacy
Information Center.
"People are concerned about government surveillance but find many of
the privacy techniques difficult to use," he told TechNewsWorld.
"Also, as the public learns more about the [surveillance] programs,
they are less persuaded they are effective," Rotenberg pointed out.
"Taken as a whole, the message in the Pew survey is clear: The U.S.
government should curtail its surveillance activities." [end-enn.gif]
__________________________________________________________________
John Mello is a freelance technology writer and contributor to Chief
Security Officer magazine. You can connect with him on Google+.
__________________________________________________________________
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TechNewsWorld > Security > Privacy | Next Article in Privacy
Government Surveillance: What to Do, What to Do?
By Richard Adhikari
Apr 21, 2015 10:36 AM PT
The CIA has been trying to hack into iOS for years. British and
American agencies reportedly have collaborated to create a map of the
Internet and Web users. The United States National Security Agency has,
together with the UK's GCHQ, reportedly stolen SIM card encryption keys
from Gemalto. The FBI is frothing at the mouth over Google's and
Apple's encryption of their mobile OSes. Vulnerabilities in Signaling
System 7 telephony protocols let third parties eavesdrop on cellphone
calls and intercept text messages, despite encryption.
Government Surveillance: What to Do, What to Do?
Law enforcement agencies in several states in the U.S. are using
Stingray devices to scoop up data from everyone's cellphones within
range, and reportedly are using private funds to purchase the devices.
And, for the third time, the U.S. government is trying to revive CISPA,
the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act. The latest version
of the bill, filed in January, would give the NSA more access to
Americans' data and create a data-sharing program between the
Department of Homeland Security, the Director of National Intelligence
and the Secretary of Defense, without any external accountability and
with exemption from the Freedom of Information Act.
Meanwhile, Google is fighting a proposed amendment to Rule 41 of the
U.S. Criminal Code that might allow the U.S. to hack into computers
abroad, GCHQ has used fake LinkedIn pages to target telecom engineers,
and the NSA has forced U.S. high-tech companies to include back doors
in their hardware and software.
President Obama has insisted -- not quite truthfully, it turns out --
that the U.S. government is not conducting surveillance on Americans.
Despite trumpeting the president's strong support of privacy, the White
House has just come out in support of the renewed CISPA bill.
"Hacking is like a gun or any other dangerous tool," said Jonathan
Sander, strategy and research officer for Stealthbits Technologies.
"People who use it will argue that it's the intention and the results
that matter ethically. The difference is that murder is a well
understood evil, and stealing information is still morally vague," he
told TechNewsWorld.
The Dungeons of Despair
Billions of dollars are being spent on cybersecurity, but why even
bother? If there's a back door, some intrepid hacker will find it
sooner or later and leap in.
"The greatest security threat isn't wearing a hoodie and armed with a
laptop and Metasploit," said Ken Westin, senior security analyst at
Tripwire.
"They wear suits and are armed with secrecy and legal loopholes," he
told TechNewsWorld.
The real problem is that government surveillance "appears to be done
illegally with little oversight or transparency," Westin continued. "As
governments pass laws to crack down on criminal hackers, we are
learning that they in many respects are hypocrites. The law needs to
provide citizens protection both from criminal hackers as well as our
own governments."
Espionage and cyberware are impacting businesses around the world
because "they get caught in the middle, with foreign nations trying to
penetrate their front door and our own governments trying to install
and find weaknesses in the back door," Westin observed.
The CIA: Tiger or Kitty Cat?
Don't be too concerned about the CIA, suggested Brett Fernicola, CISO
at Stealthbits.
The agency "is one of the biggest leeches and script kiddies to date.
Most of what they know infosec-wise was stolen or taken from hackers or
legitimate research groups," he told TechNewsWorld.
Nevertheless, "the NSA, CIA, Chinese security agencies and many others
polluting the security of ecosystems [through hacking] is really bad
for trust and for security," warned Eric Cowperthwaite, VP of advanced
security and strategy at Core Security.
Creating systems that are inherently insecure "is going to destroy
trust in operating systems, software, applications and devices," he
told TechNewsWorld.
The e-commerce ecosystem, in particular, is fundamentally based on
trust, Cowperthwaite pointed out. "What happens when the average
consumer no longer trusts that the systems they use daily are
trustworthy? How will CISOs secure systems when they don't know what's
been polluted by government agencies?"
A Side Helping of Ethics, Please
It's not so much that intelligence agencies spy on people. After all,
that's their job, contended Derek Bambauer, professor of law at the
University of Arizona's James E. Rogers College of Law. The question is
whether their operations are sanctioned by law.
The Obama administration has "increasingly sought and used FISA orders"
to conduct surveillance of U.S. persons on the grounds of national
security, Bambauer told TechNewsWorld.
U.S. persons "might" have some Fourth Amendment claims against
surveillance, he said, "but the Supreme Court has been very careful
never to address this issue, and I don't expect it to do so."
Mass surveillance is not unnecessarily unlawful, but it's "best
described as being in conflict with individuals' perceptions of ethics
and privacy," commented Philip Lieberman, president of Lieberman
Software.
"The purpose of a government is the protection of its citizens and the
promotion of their welfare," he told TechNewsWorld.
Technical security measures "are not restraining surveillance, because
the NSA and GCHQ are compromising them," pointed out Gregory Nojeim,
senior counsel for the Center for Democracy & Technology.
That "cries out for a strengthening of the extremely weak standards
under which surveillance is conducted," he told TechNewsWorld.
What Can Be Done
"One of the best ways to secure user data is to not collect it in the
first place," Tripwire's Westin said. "The second is to encrypt it and
ensure the keys stay safe."
In the long run, though, hacking and surveillance will become a way of
life, and the old saw about not putting anything online you don't want
someone else to know might be the only safe course. [end-enn.gif]
__________________________________________________________________
[Richard Adhikari.jpg] Richard Adhikari has written about high-tech for
leading industry publications since the 1990s and wonders where it's
all leading to. Will implanted RFID chips in humans be the Mark of the
Beast? Will nanotech solve our coming food crisis? Does Sturgeon's Law
still hold true? You can connect with Richard on Google+.
__________________________________________________________________
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TechNewsWorld > Technology > Tech Law | Next Article in Tech Law
CISA Passes Senate Despite Privacy Advocates' Fear and Loathing
By Richard Adhikari
Oct 28, 2015 12:15 PM PT
The U.S. Senate on Tuesday voted 74-21 to pass the Cybersecurity
Information Sharing Act, or CISA, in the face of strong opposition from
legal and cybersecurity experts, the high-tech industry, privacy and
civil liberties organizations, and members of the public.
CISA Passes Senate Despite Privacy Advocates' Fear and Loathing
The Act calls for the United States Director of National Intelligence,
the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Department of Defense and
the U.S. Department of Justice to share cyberthreat indicators between
the public and private sectors.
It allows private entities to monitor and operate cybersecurity
measures applied to their own information systems and, with permission,
to those of other private or government entities. It also allows them
to monitor information stored in, processed by, or transiting through
monitored systems.
Personal identifying information of people not directly related to a
cybersecurity threat must be removed from data that's shared.
CISA calls for the institution of automated real-time sharing
procedures and for the imposition of penalties against federal
officers, employees or agents who conduct unauthorized activities.
La CISA Nostra
Private entities that exchange or provide cyberthreat indicators or
help to prevent, investigate or mitigate cybersecurity threats are
exempt from antitrust laws -- provided they do not engage in
price-fixing or anticompetitive behavior.
Cyberthreat indicators and defensive measures shared with the U.S.
federal government, along with threat indicators shared with state,
tribal or local governments, are deemed voluntarily shared information
under the Act. They are exempt from disclosure, and the public cannot
rely on laws requiring disclosure of information or records to access
them.
Companies that monitor information systems or share or receive
indicators or defensive measures have liability protection, so long as
they follow the DHS' sharing procedures.
The bill next goes to a congressional conference committee for
reconciliation of its final language with the House-approved version,
and then to the president to be signed into law.
"The passage of CISA today ... shows just how badly Congress
misunderstands technology, security and privacy," the Electronic
Frontier Foundation tweeted.
Ave CISA! Morituri te Salutant!
CISA "is fundamentally flawed, due to its broad immunity clauses, vague
definitions, and aggressive spying authorities," argued Mark Jaycox, a
legislative analyst at EFF.
"If CISA becomes law, more Internet users' communications information
will be funneled to the National Security Agency, not as intelligence
surveillance, but under the cybersecurity umbrella," said Greg Nojeim,
director of the freedom, security & technology project at the Center
for Democracy and Technology.
For users, "the result is the same: less privacy and more
surveillance," he told the E-Commerce Times.
"The fact that those that share data and accidentally expose customer
information are protected from lawsuits is a major concern," noted
Brian Laing, VP of products and business development at Lastline.
"Very few companies are adequately staffed with employees that have the
skills to respond to major security events," Laing told the E-Commerce
Times. "There's a high likelihood that in the event of a major
incident, users' data will be exposed." Under CISA, those victims
"would have no protection and no recourse for their exposed data."
The biggest hacks this year occurred at Anthem, where 80 million
people's records were stolen, at Ashley Madison, where 37 million
members were compromised, and at the U.S. Office of Personnel
Management, where at least 25 million government workers' personal data
was breached.
Good Lovin' Gone Bad
Hackers are exploiting the inability of law enforcement agencies to
share data with each other and with private sector firms. For example,
in the case of the Sony hack, the NSA might have expected it was going
to happen but informing Sony wasn't in its purview.
"Given the current climate of cyberthreats, we need something like CISA
so organizations can coordinate efforts to defend themselves and us,"
remarked Jonathan Sander, VP at Lieberman Software.
That said, CISA "started out with the noble and necessary mission to
encourage wider sharing of cyberthreat intelligence," he told the
E-Commerce Times, "but like so many bills before it, Washington games
stuffed it full of things that served other, less noble interests."
[end-enn.gif]
__________________________________________________________________
[Richard Adhikari.jpg] Richard Adhikari has written about high-tech for
leading industry publications since the 1990s and wonders where it's
all leading to. Will implanted RFID chips in humans be the Mark of the
Beast? Will nanotech solve our coming food crisis? Does Sturgeon's Law
still hold true? You can connect with Richard on Google+.
__________________________________________________________________
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TechNewsWorld > Security > Cybersecurity | Next Article in
Cybersecurity
Apple's Cook Goes to the Barricades on Encryption
By John P. Mello Jr.
Dec 22, 2015 8:31 AM PT
tim-cook-encryption-60-minutes-charlie-rose
Apple CEO Tim Cook brought the encryption battle between the high-tech
industry and the nation's law enforcement authorities to prime time TV
Sunday in an interview on the CBS news program 60 Minutes.
During the interview, Charlie Rose asked Cook about the need for law
enforcement agencies to access data that has been encrypted on Apple
phones.
There's all kinds of sensitive information on smartphones today, Cook
noted. "You should have the ability to protect it. The only way we know
how to do that is to encrypt it."
Apple will comply with any warrants served on it by law enforcement
authorities as it's required to do by law, Cook said, but "in the case
of encrypted communication, we don't have it to give."
Going Dark
That snag is what's frustrating law enforcement authorities.
"Unfortunately, the law hasn't kept pace with technology, and this
disconnect has created a significant public safety problem," FBI
Director James B. Comey said last year in an address at the Brookings
Institute.
"We call it 'Going Dark,' and what it means is this: Those charged with
protecting our people aren't always able to access the evidence we need
to prosecute crime and prevent terrorism, even with lawful authority,"
he explained.
"We have the legal authority to intercept and access communications and
information pursuant to court order, but we often lack the technical
ability to do so," Comey added.
Framing the encryption issue as one of either privacy or security is
oversimplifying the issue, Cook told Rose.
"We're America," he said. "We should have both."
Banning Locks
"A proposal to protect our security by weakening our security is going
in the wrong direction," said Cindy Cohn, exective director of the
Electronic Frontier Foundation.
"If the government were to suggest that no one put locks on their doors
because if we were a terrorist it would be harder to get into our
house, we would think that was a bad idea," she told TechNewsWorld.
"This is pretty much the digital equivalent of that," Cohn maintained.
Binary Issue
Although Director Comey has said in several public forums that a
compromise is possible on the encryption issue, others are less
sanguine about that prospect.
"I don't know what 'compromise' means in this context," Cohn said. "If
'compromise' means compromising the security of your encryption, then
that's not a compromise."
There is no compromise in sight, said Berin Szoka, president of
TechFreedom.
"This is really a binary issue. Are you going to allow end-to-end
encyption by the operating system makers or not?" he asked.
"Once you say no," Szoka told TechNewsWorld, "you start down this road
without stopping the really smart bad guys from continuing to use
encryption on their devices."
Resource Allocation
If government law enforcement agencies are looking for an encryption
compromise, maybe they should look outside the tech sector for it,
suggested Yorgen Edholm, CEO of Accellion.
"Encryption can always be broken by people who have supercomputers --
the government has more supercomputers than anyone else," he told
TechNewsWorld.
"So the government has the resources to decrypt anything. It's just
that those resources have to be made available to local law
enforcement," said Edholm.
"That compromise wouldn't make it easier to for the bad guys to get
into my privacy just because the government wants to have the computer
equivalent of a wiretap," he added.
The Greed Card
If the U.S. high-tech industry were forced to use weaker encryption, it
could affect business abroad. Edward Snowden's revelations about U.S.
government agencies vacuuming data on the Internet already has cost
domestic companies millions in overseas business.
Despite potential losses, high-tech companies should change their
business model when it comes to encryption, FBI Director Comey recently
told a U.S. Senate panel.
Also, "encryption isn't just a technical feature -- it's a marketing
pitch," he noted in his Brookings'speech.
"What he's trying to do is distract from the fact that he's trying to
ban a technology that secures Americans' communications every day,"
sais TechFreedom's Szoka. "He's trying to reframe the issue as one of
corporate greed, which is asinine." [end-enn.gif]
__________________________________________________________________
John Mello is a freelance technology writer and contributor to Chief
Security Officer magazine. You can connect with him on Google+.
__________________________________________________________________
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TechNewsWorld > Security > Cybersecurity | Next Article in
Cybersecurity
NSA Keeps Some Security Bugs Under Its Hat
By David Jones
Nov 10, 2015 5:00 AM PT
The U.S. National Security Agency is getting a collective side-eye
after posting what it characterized as proactive information: the fact
that it discloses 91 percent of security vulnerabilities that pass
through its internal review process.
NSA Keeps Some Security Bugs Under Its Hat
While the agency appears pleased with its newfound transparency, it's
being called out en masse for the things it's not reporting --
primarily, the other 9 percent of vulnerabilities. In fact, the NSA's
revelations have raised far more questions than they've answered.
The disclosures came late last month in an infographic touting the way
the agency's security bug reporting practices.
Disclosing vulnerabilities usually makes sense, it reads, "but there
are legitimate pros and cons to the decision to disclose
vulnerabilities, and the tradeoffs between prompt disclosure and
withholding knowledge of some vulnerabilities for a limited time can
have significant consequences."
The NSA historically has leaned in favor of disclosure, and withholds
information only if the information may be necessary to collect crucial
foreign intelligence used to stop a terrorist attack, prevent the theft
of intellectual property, or use the information to uncover even
greater vulnerabilities, it said.
What's Left Unsaid
However, what often is done with the information not disclosed is that
the government leaves the unknowing party in the dark and then exploits
the vulnerability for its own purposes, critics have charged.
By withholding information about the remaining 9 percent, the NSA has
chosen not to notify the party best situated to fix the security flaw,
said Jennifer Stisa Granick, director of civil liberties at the
Stanford Center for the Internet and Society.
"They do this to enable intelligence agents to exploit these flaws for
surveillance or to use them as weapons, as with Stuxnet," she told
TechNewsWorld. "As for the remaining 91 percent, it is not clear
whether the NSA uses a subset of those vulnerabilities before it
discloses them.
In the case of Stuxnet, the U.S. and Israel used the information to
create a backdoor attack on industrial control systems in Iran, as part
of an effort to disrupt suspected uranium enrichment programs being
developed in that country.
Timing of the Matter
The timing of the infographic's publication is another issue that has
raised questions.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation last year filed suit to force the
federal government to disclose the so-called Vulnerabilities Equities
Process, which is used by the FBI, NSA and other agencies to determine
whether to disclose vulnerabilities to various software developers or
other entities, or to use those very vulnerabilities to carry out its
own operation.
The massive Heartbleed bug discovered last year left millions of
computer users vulnerable. Disclosures by former NSA contractor Edward
Snowden, EFF and a number of other privacy advocates raised serious
questions about whether the agency allowed that open wound to fester
for two years while it exploited the security hole, only to deny
knowledge of it.
The infographic happened to post the exact same day that government
lawyers filed for summary judgment in the suit EFF brought regarding
the VEP process, noted Andrew Crocker, staff attorney at EFF, although
a direct connection cannot be established.
There have been reports that the National Security Council and
Department of Homeland Security are taking a more active role in making
sure there is a strong movement in favor of disclosure, he told
TechNewsWorld, "but we'd like to see more transparency, such as public
reporting about how the process works," which is requested in the
litigation, "as well as some way of understanding the volume, number of
vulnerabilities the government handles, and even the budget devoted to
it."
Spit and Polish
On the other hand, the timing may be no more than an effort to remove
some tarnish from the agency's public image.
"The NSA has in recent years struggled from a public relations
perspective; one can imagine that they would prefer that the discussion
be focused on the 91 percent of exploits that they do report, and the
-- perhaps unexpected -- indication that they adhere to the principle
of sunlight being the most effective disinfectant," observed GreatHorn
CEO Kevin O'Brien.
It's also significant that what the NSA is reporting -- or not
reporting, as the case may be -- are vulnerabilities.
"Software exploits of this kind -- unintentional issues that are
researched and reported on -- are a different kind from the more
sophisticated types of cyberattack that lead to large breaches,"
O'Brien told TechNewsWorld.
For example, exploits of trust go after comparatively soft targets --
people -- rather than systems and software, he pointed out.
"As a security professional, having the NSA allocating resources to
finding these kinds of issues is comforting," O'Brien said. "They're a
resource that, on many levels, has the best interests of United States
and its national security in mind. Bluntly put, someone will find these
exploits; I'd rather it be an agency which is aligned with our national
security."
The NSA may need to split its duties with a new security-related agency
that can take the function of fixing vulnerabilities out of the hands
of an entity that spends most of its time in the business of analyzing
intelligence, suggested Kevin Krewell, principal analyst at Tirias
Research.
"The NSA is conflicted on security issues," he told TechNewsWorld. "On
the one hand, it should be supporting more software security to protect
the interests of the U.S.A. Yet on the other hand, security
vulnerabilities are extremely important for their mission to gather
information.
NSA officials did not respond to our request to comment for this story.
[end-enn.gif]
__________________________________________________________________
David Jones is a freelance writer based in Essex County, New Jersey. He
has written for Reuters, Bloomberg, Crain's New York Business and The
New York Times.
__________________________________________________________________
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E-Commerce Times > Enterprise IT > Government | Next Article in
Government
FTC Debates Cybersecurity Injury Standard
By John K. Higgins
Jan 5, 2016 7:00 AM PT
ftc-cybersecurity
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is engaged in an internal struggle
over how it should assess the effect on consumers when businesses fail
to provide proper e-commerce security.
The outcome of the debate will have a significant impact on the FTC's
ability to initiate cybersecurity violation cases. Depending on the
outcome, in fact, the legal issue could spill over to federal courts or
even Congress for resolution.
The internal debate surfaced last month. FTC staff members issued a
notice that they were challenging the dismissal of a commission
complaint against a company for alleged cybersecurity failures. An FTC
administrative law judge who was selected to rule on the complaint
dismissed it.
The staff challenge will occur through an appeal of the ALJ's decision
to the full commission.
Exposure of Data Triggered Complaint
In the complaint, the FTC contended that cyberprotection deficiencies
at LabMD had exposed personal consumer information. However, the ALJ
dismissed the complaint in November, ruling that the FTC staff had
failed to prove that the exposure and dispersion of the electronically
processed records on company networks had caused any injury to
consumers.
The ALJ's decision "confirms what our client, LabMD, has said all
along, which is that the Federal Trade Commission's case is meritless,"
said Daniel Epstein, executive director of Cause of Action, which
provided legal counsel to LabMD in contesting the FTC's charges.
The FTC "produced no evidence that even a single patient was harmed by
LabMD's alleged inadequacies," he said. "Instead, it was the FTC that
victimized LabMD and its employees, and more importantly, the doctors
that it served."
LabMD's business involved performing diagnostic specimen tests for
medical providers and managing related records for medical and
insurance purposes.
The evidence in the case involved peer-to peer computer exchanges,
expert testimony and physical printouts of data. The proceedings also
involved issues regarding assertions of a relatively limited scope of
exposure.
Injury Standard Questioned
Broadly speaking, the FTC staff contended that company's clients were
injured because the mere exposure of the personal data put them at
risk. However, the law judge questioned the applicability of such a
broad standard for meeting the federal legal definition for injury or
harm.
The FTC is empowered to initiate enforcement actions in the event it
suspects a party has engaged in "unfair or deceptive" business
practices. By law, the FTC must show that a business practice "causes
or is likely to cause substantial injury to consumers," in order to be
judged as unfair. The FTC claimed LabMD engaged in unfair business
practices by putting clients at risk.
However, the ALJ rejected the staff's position, concluding that
evidence of actual harm was lacking. Financial injury, inconvenience
and even embarrassment are some of the types of harm considered in such
cases. The FTC staff's failure to demonstrate any material, actual harm
over a significant period also showed that the potential for future
likely injury was virtually nonexistent, the ALJ contended.
"The absence of any evidence that any consumer has suffered harm" as a
result of LabMD's "alleged unreasonable data security" after the
passage of many years "undermined the persuasiveness" of the FTC staff
that such harm likely would occur, FTC Chief Administrative Law Judge
D. Michael Chappell said in his dismissal of the case.
In line with his emphasis on the need to provide evidence of actual
harm, Chappell questioned the mere recitation of risk statistics
related to cyber data exposure or breaches for fulfilling the legal
definition of likely harm. He turned around the mathematical risk
probabilities the FTC staff cited in noting that, given such
statistics, it was curious that the FTC staff could not cite a single
actual consumer victim.
Case Could Become a Benchmark
The evidence produced to support the charges may have been unique in
that it was hotly contested and involved some convoluted and
controversial elements regarding the validity of sources and the role
of a third party. Still, the outcome of the case could have a broad
impact on similar cases in that the decision raised the issue that the
FTC will need to meet a stricter real-time standard for proving harm
and injury in cyberprotection cases than it has in the past.
"Importantly, the ALJ opined that historically, liability for unfair
conduct has only been found in instances where there is proof of actual
consumer harm," said Patricia Wagner, chief privacy officer at Epstein
Becker & Green, in a case analysis.
The ALJ held that the standard for what is likely to cause substantial
injury "does not mean that something is merely possible. Instead,
likely means that it is probable that something will occur," she noted,
citing the decision.
"One of the striking things about the ALJ's opinion is his willingness
and ability to parse through the evidence, understand what the studies
presented demonstrated -- and failed to demonstrate -- and evaluate the
circumstances in a well-reasoned manner. Rather than just assume that a
breach automatically means that consumers would be harmed, he evaluated
the facts and circumstances at issue in this case," Wagner told the
E-Commerce Times.
"The recent LabMD decision serves to highlight that the commission's
cybersecurity authority under the FTC Act is not without limits, and
that the commission must prove that specific cybersecurity incidents
actually meet the requirements for an unfair or deceptive practice
under the statute," Chris Burris, a partner at King & Spalding, told
the E-Commerce Times.
While the issues the LabMD case raised are significant in terms of
cyberlaw -- especially related to the FTC's role -- a resolution of the
injury issue could take awhile. First, the FTC staff's appeal of the
ALJ decision means that the full commission could possibly overturn the
ruling.
In its appeal, the FTC staff continued to contend that just the
exposure of data creates a risky situation for consumers and that in
itself satisfies the legal threshold for harm or injury. The ALJ
mistakenly neglected to assess the substantial risk of alleged
deficiencies at LabMD involving passwords, firewalls and other
protection measures, the staff noted in its appeal.
The law judge "failed to analyze LabMD's multiple, systemic, and
serious security failures before issuing [the] ruling," the staff said.
"This was a fatal flaw: whether LabMD's security practices caused or
were likely to cause substantial consumer injury can be determined only
through an analysis of the significant risks created by LabMD's
security failures. The decision is wrong as a matter of law and fact."
The commission has set a deadline of Feb. 5 for LabMD to file an
answering brief in the internal appeals process. The outcome of the
internal FTC appeal could then be brought before a U.S. appeals court.
"We will take this to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary," LabMD CEO
Michael Daugherty told the E-Commerce Times.
LabMD ceased normal operations in 2014 as a result of the FTC action.
[end-enn.gif]
__________________________________________________________________
John K. Higgins is a career business writer, with broad experience for
a major publisher in a wide range of topics including energy, finance,
environment and government policy. In his current freelance role, he
reports mainly on government information technology issues for ECT News
Network.
__________________________________________________________________
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E-Commerce Times > Technology > Tech Law | Next Article in Tech Law
Congress Passes Budget Bill With Controversial Cybersecurity Provision
By Richard Adhikari
Dec 18, 2015 11:59 AM PT
Congress on Friday passed an omnibus budget bill that included the
Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act, or CISA.
Congress Passes Budget Bill With Controversial Cybersecurity Provision
The Senate earlier this year passed CISA, which many conservative and
liberal politicians, high-tech firms, and privacy and civil liberty
advocates oppose.
The latest version includes amendments that will allow corporations to
freely share customers' information with the government.
"This is the worst version of CISA yet, and we are deeply disappointed
by its likely passage," Mark Jaycox, legislative analyst at the
Electronic Frontier Foundation said before the vote. "Such key
legislation should not be sandwiched into a 2,000-plus-page federal
spending bill."
Truth in Government
The legislation "should have followed the normal process -- a formal
conference committee bill that's sent back to the House and Senate
separately for an up-or-down vote," he told the E-Commerce Times.
Adding CISA to the omnibus budget bill "is why folks don't trust the
government," said Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group.
"It's fundamentally antidemocratic," he told the E-Commerce Times.
Objections to the Latest Version
This version of CISA essentially lets private firms monitor their
systems and access information flowing through them so long as they
declare that it is being done for cybersecurity purposes.
Private organizations will be able to hand data, including private
personal information, over to the federal government with legal
immunity as long as they categorize it as cyberthreat information.
Further, there will be few, if any, restrictions on how the government
can use the data it receives.
"Removing some of the legal restrictions on sharing cybercrime or
threat data with the government is a win," Erik Knight, president of
SimpleWan.
"However, it's a blow to individual privacy rights," he told the
E-Commerce Times.
Data shared with the U.S. National Security Agency is useless without
personally identifying information, and "almost negates the use for the
NSA," Knight said. It "will just show trends, not necessarily prevent
any kind of active threat."
On the other hand, "without restrictions on even protecting this data,
most private data could become public, especially if the government has
another data breach," he said.
Too Much Information
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is concerned about the flood
of information that will come down the pipeline with the passage of
CISA.
The bill's authorization to share data with any federal agency "will
increase the complexity and difficulty of a new information sharing
program," DHS Deputy Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas wrote in July in
response to a query from Sen. Al Franken.
Further, it "could sweep away important privacy protections,
particularly the provisions in the Stored Communications Act limiting
the disclosure of the content of electronic communications to the
government by certain providers," he said.
The administration "should work harder to make more efficient use of
the information they currently have legal access to before moving to
violate our privacy to get more information they can't effectively
use," Enderle said.
"The latest attack [in San Bernardino, California] was conducted by
people who acted like terrorists on social media, and [federal
agencies] couldn't even pick that up," he noted.
Opposition to CISA
Rep. Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, on Wednesday
reportedly offered an amendment to the government funding bill that
would have removed an undisclosed cybersecurity measure, among other
things. It was filed to the House Rules Committee.
Fight for the Future has set up the ObamaDecides campaign opposing
CISA. President Obama must sign the bill into law.
CISA "will not do anything to prevent cyberattacks," said campaign
director Evan Greer. It "gives companies an incentive to share data
because they can then pass the buck to government when there's a
problem."
Google and Facebook "haven't done enough," she told the E-Commerce
Times, and are "hiding behind their industry body." [end-enn.gif]
__________________________________________________________________
[Richard Adhikari.jpg] Richard Adhikari has written about high-tech for
leading industry publications since the 1990s and wonders where it's
all leading to. Will implanted RFID chips in humans be the Mark of the
Beast? Will nanotech solve our coming food crisis? Does Sturgeon's Law
still hold true? You can connect with Richard on Google+.
__________________________________________________________________
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E-Commerce Times > Security > Privacy | Next Article in Privacy
Surveillance Rights and Wrongs, Part 1: Begging the Questions
By Richard Adhikari
Jan 3, 2014 5:00 AM PT
The NSA's surveillance of Americans' emails, Web searches and phone
calls has angered the nation, but lawmakers remain divided on the
issue. Bipartisan groups have spoken out against the surveillance and a
few have introduced legislation to curb it, but some contend it is
essential to protect America from its enemies.
Surveillance Rights and Wrongs, Part 1: Begging the Questions
Americans are not hesitant about posting the most intimate details of
their lives on the Web. In fact, the NSA would probably do better to
drop its surveillance and just get the records of suspects from the
Internet companies themselves, though those high-tech companies are now
fighting it tooth and nail -- at least publicly. Certainly, that
approach would save billions of taxpayer dollars.
Recent developments seem to point to a shift away from the NSA. Are we
going to see it reined in? Will there be stricter curbs on what the
agency can do and how it does that?
'Common-Sense Reforms'
On Dec. 17, U.S. Federal District Court Judge Richard Leon shook up the
debate over the NSA's surveillance activities when he ruled that the
agency's collection of telephone metadata is likely a violation of the
Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Then, on Dec. 19, the White House released a scathing review of the
NSA's surveillance activities by a task force.
On Dec. 20 President Obama indicated he might stop the NSA's collection
and storage of Americans' phone records and have phone companies hold
the data instead, although he defended the agency, saying he had seen
no evidence that it acted inappropriately with the records.
Taken together, these events might presage a change in the NSA's
surveillance of Americans.
"The government should always seek to protect the privacy and civil
liberties of its citizens, as well as their safety," Jake Laperruque, a
fellow on privacy, surveillance and security at the Center for
Democracy and Technology, told the E-Commerce Times.
"Ending bulk collection, closing the backdoor search loophole and
enacting other common-sense reforms will better safeguard civil
liberties without harming the government's ability to protect national
security," Laperruque continued.
Defending the Snoops
President Obama last month reiterated claims that various restrictions,
safeguards and audits ensure that the NSA and other intelligence
agencies do not spy on Americans.
Opponents of the NSA's spying programs might not agree.
First, NSA officials have admitted to illegally collecting metadata
about Americans' phone calls, including tracking cellphones worldwide.
Second, the secretive FISA Court, which grants the NSA warrants for
surveillance and is claimed by the Obama administration to be one of
the checks on the agency's power, may have been talked up. It cannot
investigate issues of noncompliance, its chief judge, U.S. District
Judge Reggie B. Walton, told the Washington Post.
The NSA's Activities Today
The NSA spies on both Americans and our allies; has infected 50,000
networks worldwide with malware; placed secret servers code-named
"Quantum" at key places on the Internet backbone as part of its
so-called "Turmoil" system; runs programs such as Quantum and Foxacid
to hack into people's browsers; runs the PRISM program to collect
users' data; uses Google cookies to tap into people's PCs; and tracks 5
billion cellphone locations worldwide every day.
Facebook hop distance
As Facebook has grown, the number of "hops" separating any two people
has decreased dramatically.
Americans' communications with people abroad are prime targets, and the
NSA has claimed that only people with links to suspects are its
targets. However, the agency's "three hops" rule widens its net
considerably.
Here's how the three hops rule works: The first hop targets a suspect's
direct friends and acquaintances -- including those on their social
media page. The second targets friends of friends. The third goes for,
yes, friends of friends of friends.
That could lead to thousands of people being swept up into the NSA's
surveillance net. Any two Facebook friends together know practically
every one of the social network's approximately 1.3 billion other
users, one study found.
"With neither public debate nor court authorization, the NSA is
automating guilt by association, on a global scale," Rebecca Jeschke,
media relations director for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, told
the E-Commerce Times.
Privacy activists and others opposed to the NSA's surveillance of
Americans contend it has broken the law and has breached the Fourth
Amendment. Judge Leon's ruling appears to bear them out, although he
has stayed it pending appeal by the Obama administration. The Justice
Department's response was to state the agency's telephone metadata
collection program is constitutional.
Police Gone Wild
Local law enforcement agencies are also tracking citizens' cellphones.
The latest weapon in their arsenal is the "Stingray" -- a device
developed for spy agencies that captures cellphone traffic by
simulating a cell tower.
Sometimes, they ask for a "tower dump" -- all the cellphone traffic
recorded during a specific period by a particular cell tower.
Tower dumps are widespread, and at least 25 law enforcement agencies
own a Stingray, a joint investigation by USA Today, 10 News and Gannett
has found.
Proudly Protecting Americans?
Similarly, the NSA has claimed that its surveillance of Americans'
phone calls has helped prevent 50 or so potential terrorist attacks,
but it has not provided any proof. In fact, Judge Leon ruled that there
is no evidence that surveillance of phone calls -- aimed at providing
timely information on possible attacks -- does so.
Still, terrorists are turning to mobile phones. For instance, the men
who attacked the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai in 2008 used cellphones and
VoIP accounts to coordinate their activities. Then there's the Global
Islamic Media Front, which has released encryption software for mobile
phones running Android and Symbian.
Governments have to keep their citizens safe, Avni Rambhia, digital
media industry manager for Frost & Sullivan, told the E-Commerce Times.
In a time when technology is fast dissolving national boundaries and
enabling would-be criminals and terrorists to communicate rapidly and
set up attacks at frenetic speed, can anyone definitively state that
surveillance is entirely wrong?
Above the Law?
"I'm not sure if 'has the NSA broken the law?' is the right question to
ask," Brian Pascal, a research fellow at UC Hastings College of the
Law, told the E-Commerce Times. "To me, the question is, 'how effective
has the oversight been?'"
The FISA Court has found on multiple occasions that the NSA had
misrepresented its activities to the court, and NSA officials have
withheld the truth even in congressional hearings, Pascal pointed out.
"General Alexander even said that no one within the NSA understood the
entirety of the systems," he said.
Despite this, the FISA Court has routinely reauthorized the NSA's
surveillance, Pascal noted. "This means that, at least in the eyes of
the FISC judges, the NSA's activities were 'legal.'"
If no one understands the system, has it run amok? And in that case,
why is the FISA Court reauthorizing surveillance warrants? Is it time
the system was overhauled? The task force whose report was released
last month suggests that's the case for both the FISA Court and the
NSA. [end-enn.gif]
Surveillance Rights and Wrongs, Part 2: No Clear Answers.
__________________________________________________________________
[Richard Adhikari.jpg] Richard Adhikari has written about high-tech for
leading industry publications since the 1990s and wonders where it's
all leading to. Will implanted RFID chips in humans be the Mark of the
Beast? Will nanotech solve our coming food crisis? Does Sturgeon's Law
still hold true?
__________________________________________________________________
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E-Commerce Times > Enterprise IT > Government | Next Article in
Government
Writers Worldwide Chilled by Government Surveillance
By John P. Mello Jr.
Jan 6, 2015 6:46 AM PT
Concern over government surveillance has been so heightened by
confidential information leaked by former intelligence hand Edward
Snowden that writers in free countries are as worried as those in
autocratic nations, according to a report released Monday by the PEN
American Center.
Writers Worldwide Chilled by Government Surveillance
Three-quarters of writers in countries classified as "free" by Freedom
House told PEN researchers they were "worried" or "somewhat worried" by
the level of surveillance in their countries. That compares to 80
percent in "not free" countries and 84 percent in "partly free"
nations.
Writers in free countries also are engaging in self-censorship as a
result of surveillance fears, the report notes. For example, 34 percent
of those writers said they avoided or considered avoiding writing or
speaking on certain topics due to fear of government surveillance.
"Even a moment's hesitation in writing or communication is poison for a
liberal democracy," Sophia Cope, a staff attorney with the Electronic
Frontier Foundation, told the E-Commerce Times.
Deep Chill
Four out of 10 writers in free countries avoided or considered avoiding
interactions on social media because they feared government snoops, the
report also revealed.
In addition, nearly a third of the writers in free countries (31
percent) said they steered clear of certain topics in personal phone
conversations or email messages for fear of surveillance, while a
quarter (26 percent) acknowledged they refrained or seriously
considered refraining from running certain Internet searches or
visiting specific websites because those searches or websites could be
considered suspicious or controversial by their governments.
The research shows just how deep the chill from government surveillance
has penetrated democratic nations, observed Emma Llansó, director of
the Center for Democracy & Technology's Free Expression Project.
"Writers weren't asked just about their reluctance in writing and
speaking activities, but also social media, personal phone
conversations and online searches for information," she told the
E-Commerce Times.
"This is where we really see just what a fundamental threat this sort
of mass surveillance can pose," Llansó added. "If you have people who
are just not just unwilling to speak but are feeling chilled from
researching and thinking about controversial issues, then we can see
how these mass surveillance programs are undermining democratic
societies."
Fallen Champion
Revelations about mass surveillance by the U.S. government not only
have put fear in the hearts of many writers, but also have harmed the
reputation of the United States as a champion of free expression.
In Western Europe, for example, close to half the writers (43 percent)
said their native countries offered more protection of free expression
than the United States, PEN researchers found. Even in "partly free"
countries, a third of the writers (32 percent) felt their right to
express themselves was protected locally better than it would have been
by Uncle Sam.
Those attitudes aren't likely to change soon, if ever.
U.S. credibility as a champion of free expression "has been
significantly damaged for the long term," six out of 10 writers Western
European writers said.
"I believe there's been permanent damage," said Richard Stiennon, chief
research analyst with IT Harvest. "Sadly, there's no going back. We
can't backpedal at this stage."
However, the constraints writers are placing on themselves may not be
entirely negative.
"They're acting more realistically now than they did before," Stiennon
told the E-Commerce Times.
"If they acted more freely when they were ignorant of the surveillance,
at least now they're being more cautious and more secure," he pointed
out.
Dose of Reality
"This report demonstrates how much damage was done by the NSA's
programs and by Snowden's revelations about those programs," Scott
Borg, CEO and chief economist with the U.S. Cyber Consequences Unit,
told the E-Commerce Times.
However, the report is a bit misleading, he added.
"Writers in democratic countries have very different standards for
comparison with writers in not-free countries," Borg explained. "If
you're not in a democratic country, you worry about a lot worse
consequences from surveillance than you do if you live in one. The
worries are not comparable."
The report makes a number of recommendations: suspension of dragnet
monitoring of domestic and international communications; suspension of
wholesale collection of telecommunications and digital metadata; and
stronger oversight over government surveillance programs.
At question, though, is whether lawmakers will address what the NSA has
wrought.
"Whether or not there's a will, they're going to be forced to deal with
the issue, because on June 1st, some of the provisions of the Patriot
Act that authorize these surveillance programs are due to expire," Katy
Glenn Bass, deputy director of Free Expression Programs at the PEN
American Center, told the E-Commerce Times.
Still, the prospects for immediate surveillance reform are dim,
observed Co3 Systems CTO Bruce Schneier, a fellow at the Berkman Center
for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School.
"In 50 years, we will not spy on everybody," he told the E-Commerce
Times, but "in the next five years, there won't be any change."
[end-enn.gif]
__________________________________________________________________
John Mello is a freelance technology writer and contributor to Chief
Security Officer magazine. You can connect with him on Google+.
__________________________________________________________________
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