Bruce Schneier and Edward Snowden @ Harvard Data Privacy Symposium 1/23/15
Bruce Schneier, Harvard Berkman Center Fellow, talks with Edward Snowden about government surveillance and the effectiveness of privacy tools like encryption to an audience at Harvard #39;s School...
By: Harvard Institute for Applied Computational Science
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Bruce Schneier and Edward Snowden @ Harvard Data Privacy Symposium 1/23/15 - Video
The U.S. National Security Agency needs to consider the repercussions of its spying on electronic communications and data, especially how that impacts U.S. economic interests, former NSA analyst Edward Snowden said today.
Theres a big question on if the potential intelligence we gain is worth the effort. Theyre reducing the trust of the security in American products. This is critical in American industry. It has a real cost, not just moral but financially, said Snowden, speaking Friday via video at a Harvard University conference on privacy in a networked society. He also said the NSA must understand that the methods it employs to secretly collect data can also be used against the U.S.
Snowden made international headlines in 2013 after releasing classified U.S. government documents that detailed the NSAs extensive spying programs. Some of those documents, which are still being released, showed that the NSA placed or attempted to insert back doors in hardware, software and Web services from U.S. tech companies. This discourages potential customers and has cost the U.S. at least US$35 billion, said Snowden, citing studies.
Snowden now resides in Russia after the country granted him a three-year residency permit in 2014, as he expects to be prosecuted for his disclosures by the U.S.
Using encryption is still the best way to keep data private, said Snowden. The leaked documents show that the NSA still struggles to break encryption programs like PGP and Tor. Instead of trying to crack encrypted data, the NSA looks for other ways to obtain the information.
When they do attack, it is through a weakness. The wall is high so rather than go over it, they want to go around it or under it, Snowden said.
Exploiting a weak point, like a zero-day vulnerability, is one way that the NSA gets around encryption. With many governments, companies and people using the same technology, the same exploit that the U.S. government uses can also be used by another entity to attack the U.S. And while both countries may use the same exploit, the value of the data they acquire varies tremendously, he said.
Snowden offered the example of North Korea, whose government computer systems the NSA has been able to hack since 2010. Despite having this access, the U.S. missed information on missile launches, leadership changes and a recent hack that targeted Sony. The massive attack, which exposed sensitive information from the companys entertainment division, allegedly came from the reclusive, Communist nation. The U.S. gained very little information while North Korea was able to attack core U.S. beliefs.
If we have a weak end point and they hack us once, it doesnt matter if we hacked them 10 times. If they hack us once, because they have that one common standard, theyre far, far ahead. With Sony, everyone in the country is saying that they are attacking our basic values. It was so much [more] valuable for them than for us, he said.
As for who the NSA hires to carry out its hacks, theyre not mystical hacker steroid guys. A great portion of them are junior enlisted military guys, Snowden said, adding that their training isnt exceptional. This explains why the NSA publishes detailed guides on how its staff obtains information.
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US spy program has financial, security impacts, says Snowden
#39;Ordinary citizens likely to become pawns in international cyberwar games #39;
The NSA #39;s mass surveillance program appears to have been just the tip of the iceberg. According to documents leaked by Edward Snowden, the US is now getting ready for a full-blown digital war,...
By: RT
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'Ordinary citizens likely to become pawns in international cyberwar games' - Video
Edward Snowden: Controlled Opposition or Double Agent?
In today #39;s video, Christopher Greene of AMTV explains the Edward Snowden conspiracy. AMTV Website: http://www.amtvmedia.com Donate $5 / month to AMTV: http://www.amtvmedia.com/donate/ Get ...
By: AMTV
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Edward Snowden: Controlled Opposition or Double Agent? - Video
You have to take a little (sometimes a lot) of salt with some of the revelations made by Edward Snowden, but his latest claim is, on the surface at least, a damning one for Apple.
According to the NSA whistle-blowers lawyer, the iPhone has special software installed which can be remotely activated, and used to keep tabs on your whereabouts. A spyPhone, if you will.
Speaking to Russian news agency RIA Novosti, lawyer Anatoly Kucherena said, "Edward never uses an iPhone, hes got a simple phone. The iPhone has special software that can activate itself without the owner having to press a button and gather information about him, thats why on security grounds he refused to have this phone".
Now this quote comes from Kucherena, rather than Snowden himself, so its difficult to know exactly what this "software" is. The iPhone does, like most smartphones, track your location and uses these details for various (non-nefarious) reasons. It even has a built-in feature which plots on a map where you -- or your phone at least -- has been. To view this, go to Settings, Privacy, Location Services and scroll down (marveling, as you do, at the number of apps which have access to your location), and tap System Services. Select Frequent Locations. That will show a list of towns and cities youve visited. Select one to view the addresses youve been to there. Its eye opening stuff if youve never seen it before, but easily turned off if it bothers you.
Is this the software Kucherena is referring to? Or does Edward Snowden know, or think he knows, of additional tracking software built into Apples devices? Its hard to say for certain. As an iPhone user Im personally not worried in the slightest -- theres no hidden spy software on the iPhone -- although if I was Edward Snowden Id be using a dumb phone too.
Recently leaked NSA files from Snowden reveal that British spy agency GCHQ previously used the iPhones UDID (unique identifier) as a way to track owners. This is no longer a worry for paranoid users however, as the published files are dated November 2010 and Apple moved away from the UDID system to more privacy-friendly methods in March 2013.
Photo Credit: digieye /Shutterstock
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Snowden: iPhone has special software that gathers information on you
Edward Snowden, a former contractor who fled the United States after exposing NSA spy secrets, shared documents with German magazine Der Spiegel that appear to show that China stole sensitive data about U.S. warplanes, including engine schematics and radar design. ... more >
U.S. military officials are pushing back against a claim that National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden made last week about China stealing top-secret data on a pricey warplane program.
Snowden, a former contractor who fled the United States after exposing NSA spy secrets, shared documents with German magazine Der Spiegel that appear to show that China stole sensitive data about the warplane, including engine schematics and radar design.
The magazine made public a report on Chinas intelligence theft earlier this month.
But on Tuesday, the F-35 fighter jet program office told Reuters that the documents released by Der Spiegel only show non-classified data about the jet.
Classified F-35 information is protected and remains secure, the program office told Reuters in a statement.
In the statement, Pentagon officials said they continue to take all potential cyberattacks seriously, and that the incident in question was not expected to negatively impact the program, Reuters reported.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei on Monday denied China stole the jet data, according to The New York Times. The complexity of the alleged cyberattacks means that it is extremely difficult to identify the source, Mr. Lei said.
I wonder if they can produce evidence to prop up such accusation and groundless attack, he said.
Pentagon spokesman Army Col. Steve Warren declined on Tuesday to discuss whether the Chinese had been able to peek at U.S. military technology secrets.
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Edward Snowden China warplane data theft claim rebutted by U.S. military
Word out of Russia is that whistleblower Edward Snowden refuses to use an Apple iPhone over fears that the handsets are built to remotely track and transmit data about users.
The famed engineer-turned-leaker's attorney apparently told Russian state media that Snowden believes the Apple handset contains remote management and tracking tools that could be used to compromise his privacy.
"Edward never uses an iPhone, hes got a simple phone," attorney Anatoly Kucherena told the English-language Sputnik News, a division of state-run news agency Rossiya Segodnya. "The iPhone has special software that can activate itself without the owner having to press a button and gather information about him, thats why on security grounds he refused to have this phone."
The attorney did not elaborate on just what this tracking software is, whether security experts are aware of it, or who would have the capability to view the "information" gathered and there may be a bit of an agenda behind his comments.
Authorities in Russia have taken issue with the iPhone recently over security concerns. The Apple iCloud platform has drawn the ire of the Kremlin and spurred new laws that require data generated in Russia to be stored within the country's borders.
To be fair, Putin and company aren't the only ones taking offense to the iPhone's security policies, although not all critics see the matter the same way. Authorities in the US have complained that the strong encryption on the Apple handset make spying on citizens too difficult for local and federal police.
Apple, meanwhile, has been reluctant to offer its devices for sale in Russia, temporarily suspending sales for a week last month due to concerns over currency fluctuations. Russian media have criticized the company's decision to hike prices in response to the plummeting ruble.
The Sputnik News article which we remind you, dear reader, was generated by state-run media goes on to cite Kucherena as saying that "on the whole, Snowden is satisfied with his life in Russia."
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Snowden SLAMS iPhone, claims 'special software' tracks users
Snowden leaks documents that show China stole F-35 designs from US
Top secret documents released by former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden show Chinese cyber spies stole vast amounts of important military data from the US. The documents suggest...
By: TomoNews US
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Snowden leaks documents that show China stole F-35 designs from US - Video
Next Media video: Leaked documents show China stole key designs of F-35 jets
Top secret documents released by former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden show Chinese cyber spies stole vast amounts of important military data from the US. The documents suggest that.
By: The Malay Mail Online
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Next Media video: Leaked documents show China stole key designs of F-35 jets - Video
Snowden Documents Point Finger At China For F-35 Hack
China is rejecting accusations that it stole information about the F-35 jet, claims made in the wake of the latest leaks from Edward Snowden. Follow Sebastian Martinez: http://www.twitter.com/seba...
By: Newsy World
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Snowden Documents Point Finger At China For F-35 Hack - Video