Once Again, Pew Misunderstands the Dragnet
Back in July, I pointed out that Pew's analysis of a poll on the dragnet had falsely suggested 70% of participants were misinformed on the dragnet when in fact the polling outfit was.
A big chunk of Pew’s readers seem to have a more accurate…
And Now the Counterproliferation Excuse to Expand the Dragnet
The other day I noted how Obama's speech set up terrorism, in the context of war, to justify the structure of the dragnet, then slipped cybersecurity into that framework without distinguishing what should be significantly different frameworks.…
Attacks and Counterattacks: TTP and Pakistani Military Escalate Actions
The past three days have seen a number of major attacks between Pakistan's Taliban, known as the TTP, and Pakistan's military. On Sunday, a bomb exploded in a van transporting Pakistani troops, killing 20. This attack took place in Bannu (Bannu…
The Privacy Problems (?) of Outsourcing the Dragnet
Both Ed Felten ...
I am reminded of the scene in Austin Powers where Dr. Evil, in exchange for not destroying the world, demands the staggering sum of “… one MILLION dollars.” In the year 2014, billions of records is not a particularly…
Compensating the Dragnet
The first and second primary orders approving the phone dragnet, written by Malcolm Howard, included this paragraph.
(2) NSA shall compensate [redacted] for reasonable expenses in providing such tangible things;
The third primary order, written…
Obama's Dragnet: Policeman of the Whole World
And don't let anybody make you think that God chose America as his divine, messianic force to be a sort of policeman of the whole world. God has a way of standing before the nations with judgment, and it seems that I can hear God saying to America,…
IAEA Confirms Iran Has Halted Uranium Enrichment to 20%
Today, the IAEA has confirmed that Iran has discontinued enrichment of uranium to 20%, and has complied with the additional steps required at the beginning of the historic agreement between Iran and the P5+1 group of nations. By implementing…
Yes, Verizon, We Can Hear You Now
Apparently, James Clapper does not believe the information in the screenshot to the right to be classified. The name, Verizon, was left unredacted in one of the Primary Orders released last Friday (the one dated January 20, 2011). (h/t Michael)
The…
The Tech Back Door in Obama's New Spying Policy
I haven't had time to do a full post on the Presidential Policy Directive Obama rolled out with his speech the other day (besides pointing out how Obama sets it up to be disappeared when inconvenient). But Bart Gelllman noted something I had…
The Conference Championships Trash Talk
Sadly, this is our penultimate weekend of football here at the Wheelhouse. Down to two games, San Francisco versus Seattle and New England versus Denver. And, really, it is fitting, as these were probably the two best teams in their respective…
The Phone Metadata Program Metadata
ODNI released a bunch of the remaining phone dragnet primary orders (and amendments) here. I will have more to say about this later. Of particular note, though, they seem to be withholding the BR 09-15 primary order, which was right in the middle…
The Misplaced Enthusiasm for Obama's 2-Hop "Change"
I'm seeing a lot of enthusiasm about President Obama's promise to limit the NSA to 2 hops on its phone dragnet.
Effective immediately, we will only pursue phone calls that are two steps removed from a number associated with a terrorist organization…
Obama's Presidential Policy Directive: Pixie Dust 2.0
Back when John Yoo was finding ways to authorize President Bush's illegal wiretap program -- especially spying on Americans who were not agents of a foreign power -- he changed the meaning of certain limits in EO 12333 without rewriting EO 12333.…
Obama's Speech, Annotated Version
Obama's speech as written is below, with my comments (no indent) included.
At the dawn of our Republic, a small, secret surveillance committee borne out of the “The Sons of Liberty” was established in Boston. The group’s members included…
First Impressions, Obama's Speech
I will write far more on the President's speech and new Directive. But here are some early thoughts.
Obama used the example of Paul Revere as an example of the importance of intelligence over the life of "our country." Of course, Paul Revere…
Things Barack Obama Doesn't Consider "Abuse"
President Obama will shortly give a speech in which he'll make cosmetic changes to the NSA dragnet, but will continue, in many ways, the accessing of personal data from Americans with no probable cause.
As part of his cosmetic effort, he…
Not Content With Stoking Iran Tensions Through "Analysis", Albright Tries His Hand at Legislation
It's no secret that I am hardly a fan of David Albright and his Institute for Science and International Security. He often has been the "go to" authority when countries hostile to Iran have chosen to leak selectively groomed information to put…
The Schneier Briefing: Some Observations
6 Congresspersons and a security researcher walk into an unsecure room. ... And that's the best briefing they can get on some of the things NSA might be doing.
This morning I spent an hour in a closed room with six Members of Congress: Rep.…
Big Text Message
The Guardian today reported a story that presents a bigger issue for Brits than Americans: the NSA is capturing 200 million text messages a day and then mining their content for metadata. While the Guardian states that documents say American…
The Section 215 Phone Dragnet Is Just a Fraction of the Dragnet
I've been harping on the Review Group (and Leahy-Sensenbrenner's) recommendation to end bulk collection with National Security Letters. I've also noted the Review Group's nod to EO 12333 in its use of the phrase "or under any other authority"…