(14.05.2020)
Many senators wanted to forbid the government from secretly collecting information about your internet habits, but an amendment failed by just one vote.
Archiv: electronic colonies
Trial of Programmer Accused in C.I.A. Leak Ends in Hung Jury
Prosecutors were careful to avoid details about specific operations. During cross-examination, Ms. Shroff asked one C.I.A. witness: “Do you recall a time when the C.I.A. covertly tried to read Angela Merkel’s emails?” referring to the German chancellor.
The government objected, and the judge stopped the witness from answering.
‘The intelligence coup of the century’: For decades, the CIA read the encrypted communications of allies and adversaries.
For more than half a century, governments all over the world trusted a single company to keep the communications of their spies, soldiers and diplomats secret.
The company, Crypto AG, got its first break with a contract to build code-making machines for U.S. troops during World War II. Flush with cash, it became a dominant maker of encryption devices for decades, navigating waves of technology from mechanical gears to electronic circuits and, finally, silicon chips and software.
You Are Now Remotely Controlled
Surveillance capitalists control the science and the scientists, the secrets and the truth.
Pentagon testing mass surveillance balloons across the US
The FCC documents show that Southcom’s balloons are carrying small, satellite-like vehicles housing sophisticated sensors and communication gear. One of those sensors is a synthetic aperture radar intended to detect every car or boat in motion on a 25-mile swath beneath the balloon.
The balloons also have advanced mesh networking technologies that allow them to communicate with one another, share data and pass it to receivers on the ground below.
An entire nation just got hacked
(21.07.2019)
Asen Genov is pretty furious. His personal data was made public this week after records of more than 5 million Bulgarians got stolen by hackers from the country’s tax revenue office.
In a country of just 7 million people, the scale of the hack means that just about every working adult has been affected.
EU surveillance state: This week the Justice and Home Affairs Ministers debated increasing the surveillance in their Member States. US authorities could soon also wiretap legally in Europe. #5G #DataRetention #eEvidence #cloudACT
AG William Barr Doesn’t Want The Government Spying On The President But Thinks It’s OK If It Spies On Everyone Else
Let me restate that: William Barr is opposed to certain, very narrow subsets of domestic surveillance. Specifically, Barr doesn’t think the government should have spied on Trump and his campaign staff, if that’s what actually happened, which Barr doesn’t actually seem to know.
But if you’re literally anyone else, domestic surveillance is just another name for national security, whether you’re a random Verizon customer or one of the world’s most useful websites.
The Wikimedia Foundation sued the federal government over domestic surveillance back in 2015. The suit lives on four years later …
Security Union: Commission receives mandate to start negotiating international rules for obtaining electronic evidence
Today, EU Member States agreed to give two mandates to the Commission to engage in international negotiations to improve cross-border access to electronic evidence in criminal investigations.The Council agreed to provide the Commission with negotiating mandates for negotiations with the United States and for the Second Additional Protocol to the Council of Europe “Budapest” Convention on Cybercrime.
Google ‚blocks Huawei access to Android updates‘ after blacklisting
Google has suspended Huawei’s access to updates of its Android operating system in a fresh blow to the Chinese technology company that the US government has sought to blacklist around the world.
Google said it was complying with Trump’s executive order and was reviewing the “implications”, after Reuters initially reported the story.
Judge Dodges Legality of NSA Mass Spying, Citing Secrecy Claims
The Justice Department insists that our legal fight against this spying is bound by a Catch-22: no one can sue unless the court first determines that they were certainly touched by the vast surveillance mechanisms of the NSA. But, the government argued successfully, the court cannot decide whether any particular person’s email, web searches, social media or phone calls were touched by the surveillance unless the government admits it. Which, of course, it will not do.
Prague conference seeks to find consensus on approaching 5G cyber threats
“Over the past several years we have seen a big growth in communication technologies and systems. This trend will continue with the fifth generation of networks known as 5G. It will fundamentally transform the way we communicate and live.”
Launching the government’s Prague 5G Security Conference on Thursday, Andrej Babiš emphasised the revolutionary nature of 5G.
Prague 5G Security Conference
May 2, 2019
9:00 am Start of the Plenary Session
9:15 – 9:45 am Welcome speech by Mr Andrej Babiš, Prime Minister of the Czech Republic
9:45 am – 12:00 pm Welcome speech by Mr Tomáš Petříček, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic
9:45 am – 12:00 pm National Perspectives on 5G Security with Q&A
May 3, 2019 1 pm – 2:30 pm Working Group Chairs to Report Findings to the Plenary
Global security officials to hammer out united 5G security approach
Officials say they hope to conclude the meeting — attended by representatives from 30 European Union, NATO and countries such as the United States, Germany, Japan and Australia — with an outline of practices that could form a basis for a coordinated approach to shared security and policy measures.
Five Eyes intelligence experts meet amid Huawei 5G controversy
(24.04.2019)
Representatives from the UK, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand will meet at the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) annual two-day conference, CYBERUK, in Glasgow on Wednesday.
It comes as the Daily Telegraph reported that Huawei will have limited access to build “non-core” infrastructure like antennas despite warnings of potential national security threats.
Geopolitics – Huawei ban: Australia becomes increasingly isolated among Five Eyes partners if UK includes Chinese firm in 5G network
(26.04.2019)
The US has urged other Five Eyes members – the UK, Canada, New Zealand and Australia – to exclude Huawei from the construction of new telecommunications networks, claiming the company could provide covert access for Chinese intelligence collection, making secure data vulnerable.
However, if the reports from the UK prove accurate, Australia would stand alone as the only member of the Five Eyes alliance – aside from the US – with an all-out ban on Chinese telecoms equipment. Australia, for its part, on Thursday reaffirmed the ban.
Western ‘five eyes’ spy chiefs plotted to bring down Huawei over fears it is SPYING for Chinese government
(17.12.2018)
The meeting was first reported by The Australian Financial Review after intelligence officials had publicly voiced concerns about Huawei and China’s „cyber espionage capabilities”.
Huawei has denied the accusations, and Western intelligence agencies have not released any evidence to back up the claims.
U.S. Firms Are Helping Build China’s Orwellian State
(19.3.2019) When a Dutch cybersecurity researcher disclosed last month that Chinese security contractor SenseNets left a massive facial recognition database tracking the movements of over 2.5 million people in China’s Xinjiang province unsecured on the internet, it briefly shone a spotlight on the alarming scope of the Chinese surveillance state.
But SenseNets is a symptom of a much larger phenomenon: Tech firms in the United States are lending expertise, reputational credence, and even technology to Chinese surveillance companies, wittingly or otherwise.
US warns Germany that using Huawei tech will come at a cost
The letter, which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, echoes a steady drumbeat of warnings by top US officials, including Vice President Mike Pence, who flagged Huawei’s alleged connections to Chinese intelligence and its ability to compromise national security by selling equipment with „backdoors“ that could allow for unauthorized surveillance.
China Goes ‚1984‘ While America Goes ‚Brave New World‘–But What’s Next?
(11.7.2018)
Postman’s key point was that Big Brother didn’t need to bother watching John Doe or controlling him, because John Doe probably was already willing to be controlled by forces that rendered him harmless to Big Brother. Postman argued that Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World was more prescient than Orwell’s 1984, because in his book Huxley portrayed a citizenry perfectly willing to give up its most sacred possessions for trivial things.
‚Social Credit‘ Tech Is Coming: 5 Ways for U.S. Entrepreneurs to Capitalize
(12.10.2018)
This may all sound frightening, but a system devised by human beings to control others can also be controlled, if you know what you’re doing. If you’re a true entrepreneur, then you see the opportunity in every social evolution. And big changes mean even bigger opportunities. Are you ready?
Democratic 2020 Candidate Wants Government-Sponsored ‘Social Credit’ System Comparable To China’s
(17.11.2018)
New York entrepreneur and Democratic 2020 candidate Andrew Yang wants to implement a system in which a government-run mobile app rewards Americans with “digital social credits” (DSCs) for good behavior.
Americans would receive DSCs under Yang’s system for things such as “participating in a town fair,” “fixing a neighbor’s appliance” or “tutoring a student,” his presidential campaign website explains.
Is China’s social credit system really the dystopian sci-fi scenario that many fear?
(6.12.2018)
To use Jamie Horsley’s argument in Foreign Policy, „China’s Orwellian social credit score isn’t real…There is no such thing as a national ’social credit score‘.“
Apart from the (negative) political implications of the work-in-progress social credit system, we should also consider the economic implication of such a system.
We’re closer to China’s disturbing ‘Social Credit System’ than you realize
In addition to more mundane areas like whether you pay your community charge on time, the system’s reputational algorithm will also factor in your choice of online friends. That person who complains about how the government is doing its job could suddenly cost you some serious social cred. Befriend too many wrongthinkers and you could quickly find yourself classed as a wrongthinker too.
Social Credit System being tested in China; could the U.S. be next?
(11.2.2019) „We’re beginning to see it already where insurance companies affect your premium based on whether you’re eating healthy, getting a good night’s sleep or getting enough exercise,“ he said, adding that the need for Congress to act is urgent.
But Chertoff said the emphasis needs to change from how do we keep things confidential, and instead pass laws that focus on who controls the data once it’s been generated.
China’s plan to organize its society relies on ‘big data’ to rate everyone
(22. Oktober 2016)
The ambition is to collect every scrap of information available online about China’s companies and citizens in a single place — and then assign each of them a score based on their political, commercial, social and legal “credit.”
The government hasn’t announced exactly how the plan will work — for example, how scores will be compiled and different qualities weighted against one another. But the idea is that good behavior will be rewarded and bad behavior punished, with the Communist Party acting as the ultimate judge.
Blacklists and redlists: How China’s Social Credit System actually works
(23.10.2018) The idea is simple: By keeping and aggregating records throughout the government’s various ministries and departments, Chinese officials can gain insight into how people behave and develop ways to control them.
The goal writes Rogier Creemers, a postdoctoral scholar specializing in the law and governance of China at Leiden University in The Netherlands, is “cybernetic” behavioral control, allowing individuals to be monitored and immediately confronted with the consequences of their actions. In so doing, authorities can enhance the county’s expanding surveillance apparatus.
China: Police DNA Database Threatens Privacy
(15.5.2017) The issue of DNA collection has received some press attention. In one case in Shandong province, police collected DNA from more than 5,000 male students in one college in October 2013. The students were given no explanation about why their information was taken, and many “did not understand nor felt comfortable about it.” When reached by journalists, the school said it was to cooperate with the police’s request to establish a database about migrant populations, but the police said it was to solve a number of theft cases on the campus.
China has turned Xinjiang into a zone of repression — and a frightening window into the future
(23.2.2019) When George Orwell’s “1984” was published seven decades ago, it seemed a dire warning of a future dystopia ruled by thought police and authoritarian control. Today, such a world is becoming a reality in Xinjiang. We agree with human rights groups who have urged the United Nations Human Rights Council, when it meets starting Monday, to launch an international fact-finding mission to Xinjiang to expose this unsettling experiment in state control of human behavior.
Abu Dhabi announces launch of Israeli-installed mass surveillance system
(14.7.2016) Tools for the collection of data include all manner of devices, from cameras on the street to smart devices connected to the internet.
“Every person is monitored from the moment they leave their doorstep to the moment they return to it. Their work, social and behavioural patterns are recorded, analysed and archived,” a source close to the project told MEE at the time.
South Africa – E-Evidence Training
(1.3.2019) The event was a great example of collaborative working between intergovernmental organisations, 14 Focal Points, representatives from the US and U.K. Central Authorities and Service Providers.
Next we move onto the Caribbean and then Australia!
Huawei accuses US of ‘political’ campaign against telecoms group
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“Some say that because these countries are using Huawei equipment, it makes it harder for US agencies to obtain these countries’ data,” he added.
Mr Xu also revealed that Huawei would spend more than $2bn to restructure the code used in its telecoms services worldwide after a series of “confrontational” meetings with Britain’s cyber security agency over the issue.
Huawei Works With Arm, Not Intel, on New CPU
(7.1.2019) William Xu, director of the board and chief strategy marketing officer of Huawei, noted that Huawei had worked extensively with Intel. But he said a diversity of applications and data is driving varied computing requirements. “Huawei has long partnered with Intel to make great achievements,” said Xu in a statement. “Together we have contributed to the development of the ICT industry. Huawei and Intel will continue our long-term strategic partnerships and continue to innovate together.”
Don’t use Huawei phones, say heads of FBI, CIA, and NSA
During his testimony, FBI Director Chris Wray said the government was “deeply concerned about the risks of allowing any company or entity that is beholden to foreign governments that don’t share our values to gain positions of power inside our telecommunications networks.” He added that this would provide “the capacity to maliciously modify or steal information. And it provides the capacity to conduct undetected espionage.”
TEMPEST: A Signal Problem
(1972) Now, let´s go back to the beginning. During World War II, the backbone systems for Army und Navy secure teletypewriter communications were one-time tapes and the primitive crypto-equipment SIGTOT. For encrypting, the Services used a Bell-telephone mixing device, called 131-B2. When one of these mixers was being tested in a Bell laboratory, a researcher noticed, quite by accident, that each time the machine stepped, a spike appeared on an oscilloscope in a distant part of the lab. After he examined these spikes more carefully, he found that he could read the plain text of the message being enciphered by the machine.
Artificial security and defence intelligence of the European Union
(16.1.2019) According to the study published by the European Union Institute for Security Studies, in the coming years artificial intelligence (AI) will be present in almost all areas of daily life: communication, healthcare and even security and defence.
Billionaire Backer Of Palantir & Facebook Insists He’s Bankrupting Journalists To Protect Your Privacy
(16.8.2016) We’ve already made it quite clear where we stand on Peter Thiel financing a number of lawsuits against Gawker Media as some sort of retaliation for some articles he didn’t like. Lots of people who really hate Gawker don’t seem to care how problematic Thiel’s actions are, but you should be concerned, even if you dislike Gawker — in part, because many of the lawsuits Thiel appears to be backing are clearly bogus and just designed to bankrupt the company, which happened a couple months ago.
This week is the auction to see who ends up with Gawker, and Thiel is taking a weird victory lap with a silly and misleading oped in the NY Times where he argues that this was really all about making a stand for privacy and has nothing to do with shitting on the First Amendment. There’s a lot in the article that’s bullshit, and it deserves a thorough debunking, so here we go.
Secretive Data Company Palantir Weighs Giant Public Offering
(18.10.2018) Palantir is discussing with investment banks Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley plans to go public as soon as the second half of 2019, the people said. Some bankers have told the firm it could go public with a valuation of as much as $41 billion—depending in part on the timing—or twice what it was most recently…