Contractors Already Have Access to the Phone Dragnet
In today's HJC hearing on the NSA, there was extensive discussion about the risks of outsourcing the dragnet to the telecoms or -- especially, to a third party holding all the data. It's a concern I share.
That said, not a single person at…
Mike Rogers Aims to Criminalize One of the Main Things that Affords Journalists Protections: Getting Paid
Remember DOJ's efforts to placate journalists (rather stunningly, in retrospect, rolled out a month after the first Edward Snowden leaks)?
As I noted at the time, DOJ's new protections for the press applied not to the act of journalism, but…
Afghanistan, Pakistan Peace Talks With Taliban Continuously Marred by Posturing, Intervention
For both Afghanistan and Pakistan, the prospect of a future not marred by terrorist attacks is a strong incentive to explore peace talks with the Taliban groups that have fueled the bulk of the violence in both countries. Over the past few years,…
The "Foreign Intelligence" Dragnet May Not Be about "Foreign Intelligence"
There's one more totally weedy change in the phone dragnet orders I wanted to point out: the flimsy way the program has, over time, tied into "foreign intelligence."
To follow along, it's helpful to use the searchable versions of the phone…
Were the 58-61,000 Internet Targets Part of NSA's 73,000 Targets?
As I noted, Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft all released transparency reports today.
During the second half of 2012, Microsoft had FISA requests affecting 16,000-16,999 accounts, Google had 12,000 - 12,999. We don't have Yahoo's numbers for…
Is Google Sharing 9,500 Users' Data, or 65,000?
Google just released its shiny new transparency numbers reflecting DOJ's new transparency rules.
While they tell us some interesting things, the numbers show how many questions the transparency system raises. I've raised the questions…
US Official Position Says Hacking Is Permissible?
According to LAT's Ken Dilanian, it is the "official position" of the US government that some kinds of hacking are "permissible."
The official U.S. position — that governments hacking governments for military and other official secrets is…
For the Purposes of Analytical Efficiency, Making Copies of the Dragnet
In 2008, NSA started (or started telling the FISA Court) it was copying the dragnet.
Starting with the January docket BR 08-01 (the date is illegible but it should be around January 4, 2008), the orders added a footnote saying,
5 The Court…
Super Bowl Sex Trafficking Trash Talk 2014
Now that the super exciting Pro Bowl is over (shoot that thing and put us all out of its worthless misery), we are down to just one last football game. But it is a good one, with the top ranked team in each conference representing, and the best…
Michael Hayden: Bulk Collection Is Better for Privacy than Particularized Collection
Michael Hayden's wisdom:
Frankly, metadata is one way that you arrive at those specific targeting conclusions in a way that certainly, from the American perspective, does not squeeze privacy very much because it is bulk collection, not particularized…
Goldilocks Porridge of NSA Reform
Since Obama's speech on the dragnet, I've been skeptical the promise to obtain court review before conducting phone dragnet searches means anything. There's nothing -- not a thing -- in the actual speech or the White House fact sheet accompanying…
Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall, Who's the Hackiest of Them All?
Here are some excerpts from the Global Threats report pertaining to the cyber threat.
We assess that computer network exploitation and disruption activities such as denial-of-service attacks will continue.
[snip]
... many countries are…
The FBI's Improving Cooperation with FSB
There were a number of questions about security threats to the Sochi Olympics at the Global Threat hearing the other day. One of them provided Jim Comey the opportunity to say this:
National Counterterrorism Center Director Matthew Olsen: So…
When Judge Reggie Walton Disappeared the FBI Director: The Tell that FISC Wasn't Following the Law
SEN. MIKULSKI: General Clapper, there are 36 different legal opinions.
DIR. CLAPPER: I realize that.
SEN. MIKULSKI: Thirty-six say the program’s constitutional. Judge Leon said it’s not.
Thirty-six "legal opinions" have deemed…
Public Finally Realizes Military Failed in Iraq & Afghanistan, But Will Pentagon & Pols Learn?
At long last, after over twelve years of war in Afghanistan and nearly eleven years since the invasion of Iraq, the majority of citizens in the US admit that the vaunted US military failed to achieve its goals in either effort. A Pew poll released…
The 5-Eyes Tippecanoe -- Er, Tipping & Cueing
CBC has a scathing report about a pilot project their SIGINT agency, CSEC, did in 2012, tracking the free WiFi in Canadian airports. The article -- with lots of quotes from furious people describing how illegal this is under Canadian law --…
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Faces the Death Penalty
Attorney General Holder has decided to seek the death penalty for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. The Prosecutors cite Dzhokhar's "betrayal of the US," his encouragement to others, the depraved manner in which he conducted his attack, and his targeting of…
Reuters Allows Anonymous "Diplomats" to Blame Syria for Delays Mostly US' Fault
Yesterday, Reuters granted anonymity to "sources", including two who are each identified as "a senior Western diplomat", to blame Syria for delays in shipping its chemical weapons-related materials out of the country. Only when we get to the…
Jim Comey: For FBI, Section 215 Only Provides Agility
In yesterday's Threat Hearing, James Clapper and John Brennan provided so much news early, I suspect many didn't stick around to hear the question Angus King posed to Jim Comey. He asked about the significance of the phone dragnet.
SEN. KING: Director…
Adel Daoud Wins Review of FISA Application
As I've written before, Adel Daoud is a 20-year old American citizen from the Chicago suburbs busted in 2012 for attempting to bomb a nighclub. Since Dianne Feinstein mentioned Daoud's case during the 2012 FAA reauthorization fight, his lawyers…