Politics and Law

NSA probed fewer than 300 phone numbers in 2012 -- report

The U.S. government searched for detailed information on calls involving fewer than 300 phone numbers last year, according to an unclassified document circulated Saturday.

The paper said such searches -- part of two controversial U.S. intelligence gathering programs -- led to two men allegedly plotting to attack New York City's subway system, Reuters reported. The data, which the Associated Press reported is destroyed every five years, thwarted terrorist plots in the U.S. and more than 20 other countries.

The document, which has reportedly been circulating within the government by intelligence agencies, is an apparent attempt by … Read more

NSA spying flap extends to contents of U.S. phone calls

The National Security Agency has acknowledged in a new classified briefing that it does not need court authorization to listen to domestic phone calls, a participant in the briefing said.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, a New York Democrat, disclosed on Thursday that during a secret briefing to members of Congress, he was told that the contents of a phone call could be accessed "simply based on an analyst deciding that."

If the NSA wants "to listen to the phone," an analyst's decision is sufficient, without any other legal authorization required, Nadler said he learned. "I … Read more

Don't graduate if you don't have the latest tech skills

Looking at recent economic data, there are reasons to be concerned and also optimistic. The overall unemployment rate has been down, and then it's been up. The Dow Jones hit a record 15,000 points and nonfarm payroll employment expanded to 165,000 jobs in April alone. But a record number of people continue to drop out of the job market altogether.

While some of the recent announcements beat economists' forecasts, most of us can still feel the stagnation of the economy. The overall unemployment rate is moving at a snail's pace -- and not always in the … Read more

Facebook, Microsoft release NSA stats to reassure users

Facebook and Microsoft on Friday became the first Internet companies to disclose the total number of legal orders they receive for user data, including ones from the National Security Agency and from state, local, and federal police performing criminal investigations.

The total for Facebook: About 18,000 accounts over a six month period, or one-thousandth of one percent of user accounts.

Microsoft's total was about 31,000 accounts over the same six month period ending December 31, 2012. A Google representative told CNET this evening that the search company is working on disclosing the same type of statistics, and … Read more

Thousands of firms reportedly swap data with U.S. agencies

In a twist on recent revelations about classified U.S. intelligence gathering, thousands of companies are reportedly supplying national security agencies with sensitive information in exchange for classified intelligence.

U.S. Internet and telecommunications companies are providing government agencies with information such as vulnerabilities and equipment specifications rather than customers' private communications, sources tell Bloomberg.

Software makers, Internet security providers, and telecommunications providers, among others, have agreements with the National Security Agency, as well as the CIA, FBI, and U.S. military to provide information that could be used not only to defend the nation's infrastructure but to infiltrate … Read more

Yahoo reportedly fought court order before joining PRISM

Yahoo reportedly challenged a U.S. government order to help it spy on foreign users before ultimately failing and becoming part of the PRISM, the National Security Agency's controversial surveillance program.

The details of the dispute were never made public beyond a heavily redacted court order (PDF). But sources told The New York Times that Yahoo is the unnamed company that petitioned the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court in 2008 for review of the order over concerns it violated its users' the Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches and seizures.

The court responded that the company's concerns … Read more

Can you trust the NSA, the Internet giants, or your IT department?

Life is filled with trade-offs, and when it comes to keeping the country secure against terror attacks, Americans largely trust the government with broad access to personal data. Indeed, a recent Pew Research Center survey found that 56 percent of those polled favored the National Security Agency's previously undisclosed phone tracking activities compared with 41 percent who opposed letting the spy agency surveil phone records.

In making their case to the public, government officials tend to put the issue in black-and-white terms: Do you want to be responsible for a terrorist attack because the intelligence community failed to connect … Read more

Prosecutors team up to combat smartphone thefts

Prosecutors in New York and San Francisco will announce a program dubbed Save Our Smartphones on Thursday, according to the Associated Press.

The new intiative would bring together law enforcement officials, politicians, and consumer advocates across the country to fight the growing wave of smartphone thefts. The group wants to exert pressure on smartphone companies and their stockholders to reduce the market for stolen phones. One goal would be to set up a "kill switch" that would render all such phones inoperative.

Later on Thursday, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and San Francisco District Attorney George Gasc&… Read more

Twitter must reveal names behind anti-Semitic tweets, rules French court

Twitter has been ordered by a French appeals court to produce the names of the people behind any anti-Semitic tweets, according to Le Monde.

On Wednesday, the Paris Court of Appeal struck down an appeal by Twitter in which the site argued that it shouldn't be required to take action against tweets unless they're illegal in the country where the tweet was reported. Twitter had launched its appeal after a French court ruled in January that it must hand over the names of those who post anti-Semitic tweets.

The case stemmed from several tweets posted last October that … Read more