What_the_fbi_s_surveillance_of_martin_luther_king_says_about_modern_spying.single. Photo by AFP/Getty Images.
A Secret Catalogue of Government Gear for Spying on Your Cellphone. THE INTERCEPT HAS OBTAINED a secret, internal U.S. government catalogue of dozens of cellphone surveillance devices used by the military and by intelligence agencies.
The document, thick with previously undisclosed information, also offers rare insight into the spying capabilities of federal law enforcement and local police inside the United States. The Moral Failure of Computer Scientists. Computer scientists and cryptographers occupy some of the ivory tower’s highest floors.
Among academics, their work is prestigious and celebrated. To the average observer, much of it is too technical to comprehend. The field’s problems can sometimes seem remote from reality. But computer science has quite a bit to do with reality. Its practitioners devise the surveillance systems that watch over nearly every space, public or otherwise—and they design the tools that allow for privacy in the digital realm. Log In. FOIA Documents Reveal Massive DEA Program to Record American’s Whereabouts With License Plate Readers. The Drug Enforcement Administration has initiated a massive national license plate reader program with major civil liberties concerns but disclosed very few details, according to new DEA documents obtained by the ACLU through the Freedom of Information Act.
The DEA is currently operating a National License Plate Recognition initiative that connects DEA license plate readers with those of other law enforcement agencies around the country. A Washington Post headline proclaimed in February 2014 that the Department of Homeland Security had cancelled its “national license-plate tracking plan,” but all that was ended was one Immigrations and Customs Enforcement solicitation for proposals. In fact, a government-run national license plate tracking program already exists, housed within the DEA. Feds want Apple’s help to defeat encrypted phones, new legal case shows. OAKLAND, CA—Newly discovered court documents from two federal criminal cases in New York and California that remain otherwise sealed suggest that the Department of Justice (DOJ) is pursuing an unusual legal strategy to compel cellphone makers to assist investigations.
In both cases, the seized phones—one of which is an iPhone 5S—are encrypted and cannot be cracked by federal authorities. Prosecutors have now invoked the All Writs Act, an 18th-century federal law that simply allows courts to issue a writ, or order, which compels a person or company to do something. FBI's "Suicide Letter" to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Dangers of Unchecked Surveillance. The New York Times has published an unredacted version of the famous “suicide letter” from the FBI to Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. How The FBI Invaded Martin Luther King Jr.'s Privacy. Every year, the memory of Rev.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. evokes a nationwide sense of self reflection. The legendary Civil Rights leader forced the country to take a cold, hard look in the mirror and face the bitter treatment and hypocritical denial of basic liberties to African-Americans. Meet the Muslim-American Leaders the FBI and NSA Have Been Spying On - The InterceptThe Intercept. The National Security Agency and FBI have covertly monitored the emails of prominent Muslim-Americans—including a political candidate and several civil rights activists, academics, and lawyers—under secretive procedures intended to target terrorists and foreign spies.
According to documents provided by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, the list of Americans monitored by their own government includes: • Faisal Gill, a longtime Republican Party operative and one-time candidate for public office who held a top-secret security clearance and served in the Department of Homeland Security under President George W. Bush; Sealed Court Files Obscure Rise in Electronic Surveillance - WSJ. 9 Calif. law enforcement agencies connected to cellphone spying technology. News10 submitted numerous public records requests to every major law enforcement agency in Northern California to find out which departments are using StingRay technology.
A StingRay is a device law enforcement uses to track people and collect real time data from every cellphone within a certain radius. MORE: Cellphone spying technology being used throughout Northern California Some agencies provided documentation, but none would discuss how StingRays work, or even admit they have them. However, records show at least seven Northern California agencies have the technology and two more just received grants to buy it in 2014. San Jose Police Department San Jose Police Department provided News10 with documentation that provided insight into what agencies have the technology and why they want it. Los Angeles Cops Argue All Cars in LA Are Under Investigation. Do you drive a car in the greater Los Angeles Metropolitan area?
According to the L.A. Police Department and L.A. NSA Surveillance Lawsuit Tracker. A federal appeals court recently ruled that the National Security Agency's bulk collection of Americans' phone records is illegal. The case was based on a lawsuit brought by the ACLU, and it's just one of many challenges to to government surveillance and secrecy. Here's a rundown of key suits. Are we missing any important cases? Email us or leave a comment below. HBGary, Palantir, Prism, Facebook & The Industrial Surveillance Complex. Two years ago, a batch of stolen e-mails revealed a plot by a set of three defense contractors (Palantir Technologies, Berico Technologies and HBGary Federal) to target activists, reporters, labor unions and political organizations. The plans— one concocted in concert with lawyers for the US Chamber of Commerce to sabotage left-leaning critics, like the Center for American Progress and the SEIU, and a separate proposal to “combat” WikiLeaks and its supporters, including Glenn Greenwald, on behalf of Bank of America— fell apart after reports of their existence were published online.
But the episode serves as a reminder that the expanding spy industry could use its government-backed cyber-tools to harm ordinary Americans and political dissident groups. Capability is Driving Policy, Not Just at the NSA But Also in Police Departments. If you’re concerned about the dragnet nature of the National Security Agency’s surveillance programs, then you should also pay attention to what your local police department is doing. You may find that the dragnet surveillance happening there has a lot in common with the NSA’s mass collection of phone log data.
More and more when it comes to monitoring the public, capability is driving policy. The limits of law enforcement surveillance are being determined by what is technologically possible, not what is wise or even lawful. And it’s not uncommon for the police to use a new technology in secret for as long as they can, and then allow the courts to sort out legality once the issue finally comes before them.
It has never been so cheap and so easy for our law enforcement agencies to access and record the details of our daily lives. Hackers claim 12 million Apple IDs from FBI. Designing the Right Wiretap Solution (CALEA) A Timeline: Wiretapping’s Checkered Past, NSAgate, PRISM and Whistleblower Edward Snowden. The National Security Agency and the US government in general is being bombarded with criticism regarding NSAgate.
When news of the NSA’s data mining operations surfaced, not many news outlets or people were altogether surprised–having suspected something had been going on all along–however, the extent thereof and the type have been veiled in so much secrecy and had become so much more agressive since 9/11 it’s difficult to know what’s been done or how it’s been done and especially how that affects the very security and privacy of common citizens. Wiretapping itself (especially the secret type) goes far back, way back, to a time when you or I hadn’t even been born, heck even before our parents or grandparents haven’t been conceived.
Wiretapping Timeline 1861-1865 – During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln reportedly read wiretapped messages sent from enemy camps’ telegraph lines. Stealthy Government Contractor Monitors U.S. Internet Providers, Worked With Wikileaks Informant « The Firewall - Forbes.com. Project Vigilant and the government/corporate destruction of privacy - Glenn Greenwald. 8 Million Reasons for Real Surveillance Oversight. Warrantless "emergency" surveillance of Internet communications by DOJ up 400% Who is Neustar? Sprint fed customer GPS data to cops over 8 million times. F.D.A. Surveillance of Scientists Spread to Outside Critics. Race and class matters: All's not equal when it comes to the government's big data habit. Timeline: How Obama Compares to Bush on Torture, Surveillance and Detention.
Under Obama, Patriot Act Sneak-and-Peek Outpaces Bush Use (and is mostly about Drugs) Revealed: NSA collecting phone records of millions of Americans daily. The National Security Agency is currently collecting the telephone records of millions of US customers of Verizon, one of America's largest telecoms providers, under a top secret court order issued in April. NSA taps in to systems of Google, Facebook, Apple and others, secret files reveal. The National Security Agency has obtained direct access to the systems of Google, Facebook, Apple and other US internet giants, according to a top secret document obtained by the Guardian. The NSA access is part of a previously undisclosed program called Prism, which allows officials to collect material including search history, the content of emails, file transfers and live chats, the document says.
Appeals Court OKs Warrantless Wiretapping. Judge M. Secretive Surveillance Program Goes to the Supreme Court. GOP and Feinstein join to fulfill Obama's demand for renewed warrantless eavesdropping. Anonymized Phone Location Data Not So Anonymous, Researchers Find. Surveillance.
The NSA Files: PRISM & Boundless Information. Mass surveillance. US domestic drone use. Top Secret America. ProPublica: Surveillance. Does Surveillance Affect Us Even When We Can’t Confirm We’re Being Watched? Lessons From Behind the Iron Curtain. Mass Surveillance in America: A Timeline of Loosening Laws and Practices. NSA collected Americans' email records in bulk for two years under Obama. Secret to Prism program: Even bigger data seizure.
NSA admits listening to U.S. phone calls without warrants. Why the NSA has access to 80% of online communication even if Google doesn’t have a “back door” - Quartz. Majority Views NSA Phone Tracking as Acceptable Anti-terror Tactic. Revelations Give Look at Spy Agency’s Wider Reach. When the Surveillance State Is Used to Investigate and Prosecute Whistleblowers, the Occupy Movement and Environmental Activists. Unnecessary and Disproportionate: How the NSA Violates International Human Rights Standards. NSA+Law.docx - unnecessary_and_disproportionate.pdf. Jacob Appelbaum 29C3 Keynote: Not My Department. FBI Surveillance Of Occupy Wall Street Detailed. State Secrets Front and Center in Dragnet Surveillance Case. Street artist behind satirical NYPD "Drone" posters arrested. Are all telephone calls recorded and accessible to the US government? Feds snoop on social-network accounts without warrants - CNET Mobile.
The Known Unknowns of Skype Interception. Big Brother on a budget: How Internet surveillance got so cheap. Homeland Security 'fusion' centers spy on citizens, produce 'shoddy' work, report says. The Fusion Centers' Spying Operation against the Occupy Movement and Peaceful Protest. Public Buses Across Country Quietly Adding Microphones to Record Passenger Conversations. Your car, tracked: the rapid rise of license plate readers.
Surveillance Camp: Privatized State Surveillance. Spy Agencies Urge Caution on Phone Deal. Who is Neustar? As Secretive "Stingray" Surveillance Tool Becomes More Pervasive, Questions Over Its Illegality Increase. Attorney General Secretly Granted Gov. Ability to Develop and Store Dossiers on Innocent Americans. What the FBI Doesn't Want You To Know About Its "Secret" Surveillance Techniques. Secrets of FBI Smartphone Surveillance Tool Revealed in Court Fight. Surveillance and Security Lessons From the Petraeus Scandal. FBI's abuse of the surveillance state is the real scandal needing investigation. Why Won’t the FBI Tell the Public About its Drone Program?