The 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled that the National Security Agency exceeded the authority given to it by Congress with its bulk phone metadata collection program.
Update: A new report in The Intercept claims that Gemalto is drastically downplaying the effects of this attack. In the report, several security researchers came to the conclusion that "the company made sweeping, overly-optimistic statements about the security and stability of Gemalto's networks, and dramatically underplayed the significance of the NSA-GCHQ targeting of the company and...
According to new documents leaked by Edward Snowden, the NSA and its UK counterpart, Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), hacked into the computers of Gemalto, a company that manufactures SIM cards for a large number of carriers around the world. In doing so, the intelligence agencies acquired encryption keys that would allow them to intercept communications from customers of...
A bill introduced by Senator Patrick Leahy and supported by a coalition of technology companies designed to curb NSA data collection had undergone a Senate vote and failed by two votes. The USA Freedom Act fell short of the 60 votes needed to pass, garnering 58 votes in favor and 42 against. If it had passed, the bill would introduce sweeping changes with the NSA with the...
A number of big-name tech companies are teaming up to lobby the Senate to pass legislation that would limit the reach of the NSA's spying activities, Bloomberg reported today. The coalition of tech giants includes the likes of Apple, Google, and Microsoft, among others. The goal of the lobbying is to encourage the Senate to act on issues of NSA spying in advance of the Republican...
A new report suggests that a U.S. Marshals Service spy program operating under the Justice Department is collecting thousands of cellphone identification numbers from Americans by employing fake communication towers. The program has been operational since 2007 and the towers are mounted on Cessna airplanes operating out of at least five metropolitan-area airports. These fake towers...
Microsoft, along with other companies have been in the news surrounding the US National Security Agency (NSA) and general privacy concerns that government agencies have easy access to customer data. Brad Smith, General Counsel & Executive Vice President, Legal & Corporate Affairs at Microsoft, recently published a blog post detailing now is the time for an international...
When it comes to mobile platforms, Windows Phone 8 is reportedly very secure. Just look at the jailbreak scene on Windows Phone compared to Android and iOS. Sure, the lower number of handsets could be a valid reason why hackers haven’t exactly targeted the platform, but you think by know we’d be seeing more on the rooting/jailbreak front by now. Publicly the platform is more or less...
As many of us were enjoying the celebration of yet another revolution around the sun, Skype was busy getting their accounts attacked by cyber hackers. The Syrian Electronic Army allegedly decided to break into Skype’s Twitter, Facebook, and blog pages to deliver a message that the company was spying on the public. The hacks line up with the government surveillance programs being...
Many people have had their trust shaken by the United States National Security Agency’s involvement with top technology companies around the globe including Google, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, and many more. To this day, many people still feel at least a bit of lost faith towards the aforementioned technology giants and any personal data that they may hold. The paranoia can be seen in...
Earlier this year Microsoft and other tech giants like Google, Apple, and Facebook were accused of giving the government backdoor access to their systems. The program, in operation since 2007, is called PRISM and is operated by United States National Security Agency. Recent leaks by Edward Snowden revealed a relationship that has been in place for quite some time. Microsoft in...