national security

Microsoft and Google say they really want you to know how much of your personal information they're passing on to the National Security Agency (NSA). In a bid to gain that right, the tech titans are suing the United States government. The lawsuit is ... the result of data collection by the NSA. The agency has been at the center of a media firestorm ever since whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed the extent of the NSA's surveillance programs earlier this year. Negotiations with U.S. Government Break Down Microsoft and Google want consumers to know how much information they're forced to pass on to ... (view more)

Some of the world's biggest technology companies say they're not happy about revelations involving the National Security Agency (NSA) and data collection. The firms are forming a united front in a quest to create greater transparency around this ... kind of surveillance. Last week whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed the National Security Agency had been using a controversial surveillance program known as PRISM to spy on users of major Internet programs and services. This included users of products provided by Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Yahoo, YouTube, Skype, America Online, and Apple. ... (view more)

Leaked documents claim the U.S. government has direct access to user data for some of the web's most popular services. Officials admit the program exists but insist it's only being used to targeting foreigners who may pose a threat to U.S. national ... security. The documents were reportedly leaked from a National Security Agency (NSA) program called PRISM to the British newspaper The Guardian. The documents say the program involves NSA officials gaining direct access to the servers of nine tech companies, including Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, Facebook, PalTalk, YouTube, Skype, AOL and Apple. ( ... (view more)

Apple has pulled a new application from its popular App Store after a United States senator complained terrorists could outfox law enforcement by using it to make fake identification cards. However, the removal has met with criticism from many ... users. "License" was originally released by DriversEd.com, to let Apple users take pictures of themselves and place their photo on a driver's license template. The point never was to help terrorists (or teens hoping to get their hands on alcohol) create fake IDs, but simply to help Apple users get creative with photos of themselves and their friends. ( ... (view more)

Current and former national security officials speculate that the U.S. electrical grid is under attack from Russian and Chinese cyber-spies. No damage has been done to the system yet, but the threat remains in place should a war or other national ... security crisis hit the U.S. One senior intelligence official says that the Chinese and the Russians have attempted to map infrastructure which includes the electrical grid, nuclear power plants, financial networks and our water and sewage systems. (Source: wsj.com ) Constant Attacks Against Military Networks Alleged The report of the intrusions came ... (view more)