Governments around the world are demanding increasingly larger amounts of user data from search giant Google, according to the company’s latest Transparency Report.
Tag Archives: NSA
Just how much information can be squeezed from one week of your metadata?
Thanks to a Dutch man who volunteered to let researchers snoop on his mobile phone, we now have a glimpse of the type of information that can be squeezed from what officials would have us believe is “just” metadata. Toss in a list of exposed passwords hints courtesy of Adobe, and analysts also got access to his accounts. 
Target tops the list of most epic privacy fails
Our readers ranked Target’s data breach ahead of Adobe, Snapchat, Google Glass, and Talking Angela for the biggest privacy failure of the past year.
US government “threatened” Yahoo with daily $250,000 fines over user data
In the post-Snowden era many web firms came in for criticism over their apparent willingness to bend over for the NSA as the agency went on a massive data grab. Now, however, Yahoo has revealed how much it would have cost the company to disregard government data requests – a cool quarter of a million dollars per day.
Social media users don’t like discussing Snowden and surveillance online
Just 42% of those surveyed said they were willing to air their views or enter a discussion on Facebook or Twitter but 86% said they would be happy to discuss the NSA surveillance program in a face-to-face setting.
Snowden: NSA working on ‘MonsterMind’ cyberwar bot
The cyber defense system would instantly and autonomously neutralize foreign cyberattacks against the US and could also be used to launch retaliatory strikes. To do so, it would have to control and analyze all traffic entering the US – a chilling prospect that was the last straw, the whistleblower says. 
Apple iPads and MacBook Pros banned for Chinese government use
China has banned government officials from buying Apple products, reportedly to avoid the possibility of the US hijacking the technology to spy on Beijing. 
Evidence of another Snowden-like mole is worrying Feds
The US government has been trying to answer a crucial question: is Snowden a lone wolf, or are other Edward Snowdens out there, leaking ever more classified documents? Given new leaks published by Glenn Greenwald’s The Intercept, the Feds now fear they have their answer, and it is in the affirmative. 
Apple faces class action suit for tracking users without consent
A Californian plaintiff says that nobody at Apple ever told her about tracking her whereabouts, nor did anybody ever ask for her permission. She says she only found out about it by watching a recent Chinese state TV report about iPhone being a security risk to the state. 
US Senator takes a swing at the NSA
If it emerges unscathed from the chamber, it could mean an end to bulk metadata collection, an end to the secrecy the government’s been operating under, and reform of the USA Patriot Act that’s been used to grant it vast surveillance rights. 