nsa

A leaked document shows the National Security Agency (NSA) is trying to use adult websites to discredit people suspected of participating in terrorism campaigns targeting Americans. However, critics suggest it's a flawed approach that could hurt ... innocent civilians. The document was leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. It refers to agents gathering together evidence on "radicalizers" whose "private and public behaviors are not consistent". In other words, in private these radicalizers do things they would not want other people to know about. The suggestion is that releasing this ... (view more)

New reports suggest Microsoft is planning to take on National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance by stepping up its encryption. The hope appears to be that by encrypting more information the NSA will have limited access to Microsoft's sensitive ... data. Microsoft executives are reportedly meeting to determine what encryption techniques could be used to prevent the National Security Agency from spying on the company and its customers. Washington Post Report Alarms Tech Titans It's part of a response to a Washington Post report which appeared to prove that Microsoft, Google, and Yahoo are being ... (view more)

British security staff used bogus copies of the LinkedIn and Slashdot websites to install spyware on tech firm networks, according to leaked documents. They were able to pull off the hacker-like attacks with the help of the National Security Agency. ... The claims come from what appears to be a secret presentation from Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), the British equivalent to the National Security Agency (NSA). It seems the documents were made available to the NSA and then leaked by former contractor Edward Snowden. (Source: spiegel.de ) Secretive Agency Targets Telecommunications ... (view more)

United States Secretary of State (and former presidential candidate) John Kerry says the National Security Agency went too far with its controversial surveillance programs. Kerry indicated that he and U.S. President Barack Obama were largely unaware ... of the extent of the government's surveillance activity. "The president and I have learned of some things that have been happening in many ways on an automatic pilot, because the technology is there and the ability is there," Kerry recently noted. "In some cases, some of these actions have reached too far and we are going to try to make sure it ... (view more)

A former Microsoft privacy expert says he no longer trusts the Redmond, Washington-based tech firm. The problem: Microsoft has been too willing to work with the United States' government's highly controversial National Security Agency. Speaking at a ... conference in Lausanne, Switzerland, former Microsoft Chief Privacy Adviser Casper Bowden (who was with the firm from 2002 until 2011) said "I don't trust Microsoft now." Bowden, whose work at Microsoft involved devising privacy policy for forty different countries around the world, says that Microsoft's top executives never informed him that the ... (view more)

After the National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance scandal broke earlier this year, many Internet users have attempted to protect their private data . In some cases this simply involves deleting temporary Internet files. Others, however, have ... gone a step further by using encryption techniques to protect sensitive information stored in emails and text messages. However, a new report from Britain's The Guardian newspaper and non-profit organization ProPublica reveals that the NSA has tools that allow it to read many encrypted messages. NSA Invests Billions in Decryption Research The report ... (view more)

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)

The secretive National Security Agency (NSA) insists it only studies about 1.6 per cent of all Internet traffic. The agency suggests that means its level of data collection is comparable in scope to a "dime on a basketball court." The NSA was at the ... center of a media firestorm earlier this year when whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed the details about the agency's controversial PRISM surveillance program. Snowden is now hiding out in Russia (where he's been granted asylum) while, back home, U.S. President Barack Obama faces tough questions about the NSA's activity. NSA Studies Tiny ... (view more)