Politics By Michael Allen, Mon, April 6, 2015

A video recently surfaced showing Rep. Jim Langevin explaining why Rep. Alan Grayson and Rep. Morgan Griffith could not have access to classified information about the National Security Agency's spying program.

According to the White House, President Barack Obama addressed the NSA spying programs on June, 7, 2013, after NSA documents had been leaked by Edward Snowden to journalist Glenn Greenwald:

"Now, the programs that have been discussed over the last couple days in the press are secret in the sense that they're classified. But they're not secret in the sense that when it comes to telephone calls, every member of Congress has been briefed on this program. With respect to all these programs, the relevant intelligence committees are fully briefed on these programs. These are programs that have been authorized by broad bipartisan majorities repeatedly since 2006."

At the time, Langevin was a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and had access to the details of the NSA spying program.

The Intercept reports that the video (below) shows Langevin at a town hall meeting on Aug. 29, 2013, explaining why noncommittee members such as Grayson and Griffith could not have access to information about the NSA they requested.

Langevin begins the segment by claiming that no one had come forward to claim that the NSA spying program had violated their privacy, but the program had been secret for years and had been only exposed by Snowden for a couple of months. Since then, there have been numerous claims of privacy violations.

Langevin stated:

"Just some of the things that they want, they cant have access to because theyre not cleared to do it. And there's, they again, they have oversight committees for a reason. There are things that they want access to that if they were to do it, they were read on these programs, again, it may compromise security. I don't, I cant off the top of my head tell you what it is that they want to know, but not every member of Congress is going to get access to information that they are seeking Again, otherwise, you, you could argue that we couldnt have classified information or classified programs and I would argue that this, they exist for a reason."

A spokesperson for Griffith told The Intercept that the congressman eventually got an opportunity to review the NSA program, but it took more than 100 days to get the authorization.

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Rep. Jim Langevin: Some In Congress Couldn’t Have Info About NSA (Video)

In a surprise interview with Edward Snowden, John Oliver made NSA spying revelations more relatable to the American public through the topic of dick pics. The HBO comedian, who gives his satire a sharp bite via exhaustive research, traveled to Moscow for a sit-down with the infamous whistle-blower. Oliver wasn't joking around at first when he called a Snowden leak that put Al Quaeda intelligence at risk "a fuck up." He added that "you have to own that... you're giving documents with information you know could be harmful." After an awkward pause, Snowden said "in journalism, we have to accept that some mistakes will be made."

The tone lightened up after that, however. Oliver had proved earlier that many Americans don't care about NSA spying via several man-on-the-street interviews, with many folks confusing Snowden for Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. However, once he framed it in terms of private photos, the same people were outraged. One actually said, "if the government was looking at a picture of (my husband's) penis, I definitely feel it would be an invasion of my privacy." Oliver told Snowden, "this is the most visible line in the sand for people: can they see my dick?" From there, he went through NSA programs like PRISM and asked Snowden to "explain to me its capabilities in regards to (a) photograph of my penis."

I guess I never thought about putting it in the context of your junk.

Snowden's answers were hilarious and horrifying at once. He described how the NSA can see your private photos, even if they're sent domestically. Citing PRISM and Google's Gmail, for instance, he said that "when your junk was passed by Gmail (to a foreign server), the NSA caught a copy of that." In the end, however, it was Oliver who gave a Journalism 101 lesson in making complicated things easy to grasp. Snowden said, "I guess I never thought about putting (the NSA leaks) in the context of your junk."

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Snowden shows John Oliver how the NSA can see your dick pics

Whistleblower William Binney on NSA Spying
William Edward Binney is a former highly placed intelligence official with the United States National Security Agency (NSA) turned whistleblower who resigned on October 31, 2001, after more...

By: Non Mirage Truth Vision

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Whistleblower William Binney on NSA Spying - Video

In the weeks following Edward Snowdens revelations of the NSAs massive web surveillance program PRISM, speculation was raised about the negative implications it could have on U.S. cloud companies.

Now, Forrester Research has taken the time to see just what kind of impact it has had, asking a host of foreign firms whether or not PRISM has caused them to scale back their spending on U.S. cloud services, and the answer makes for some uneasy reading.

A total of 1,668 non-U.S. business technology decision makers were quizzed in Forresters survey. The exact question asked was In the past year, has your company explicitly halted or reduced your spending with US-based companies for Internet-based services (e.g., cloud, online service/outsourcing) due to these security concerns?, with 26 percent of respondents answering in the affirmative.

Forrester followed up by asking the 427 who said yes what their reasons for doing so were, and found that 34 percent cited fear of the intelligence community spying. A quick sum of the math shows that 9 percent of foreign firms have therefore ditched U.S. cloud companies due to the NSA, not an insignificant number by any means, despite The Registers insistence that Snowden didnt scare off many.

Its worth nothing that the respondents held, on average, only about a third of their company data in U.S. clouds anyway, so their decision to pull out may not be as significant as it first seems. But even so, U.S. cloud firms will still want to take notice of the survey, which indicates that most foreign companies simply dont trust them all that much anyway, irrespective of the NSA. In total, 53 percent of respondents said they would not trust any of their critical data with a U.S. cloud company, end of story.

Forrester concludes that those who do wish to use the cloud for their most critical data need to be extra careful when it comes to choosing a supplier. It recommends looking for a cloud provider that offers additional controls over their datas security, and a choice over the location in which its held. It points to Amazon Web Servicess (AWS) Key Management Service as a good example of this.

Even so, Forresters report finishes with a rather controversial warning for those who are trusting their data to the cloud.

Your business partners are accountable to their governments, and you cant expect them to put your interests above their own or those of their government, the report states.

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NSA spying caused 9 percent of foreign firms to dump U.S. clouds

Summary:Forrester Research said the revenue hit to U.S. cloud and outsourcing providers is less than initial projections because international customers upped security instead of leaving.

Spying by the National Security Agency will cost cloud and outsourcing providers about $47 billion in revenue over the next three years, but that sum is better-than-expected, according to a Forrester Research analysis.

IT Security in the Snowden Era

The Edward Snowden revelations have rocked governments, global businesses, and the technology world. Here is our perspective on the still-unfolding implications along with IT security and risk management best practices that technology leaders can put to good use.

In 2013 and 2014, the NSA's PRISM program, a massive Internet spying operation, was outed by Edward Snowden. As reports continually surfaced about the NSA's programs, large tech vendors began to see a hit. Officially, the NSA wasn't blamed, but multiple U.S. tech giants noted business tanked in China and other key markets.

It's official: NSA spying is hurting the US tech economy

What Forrester found is that the PRISM program has hurt U.S. cloud providers, but traditional outsources are taking the biggest hit. For instance, cloud providers will lose about $500 million in revenue between 2014 and 2016. Most international companies have stuck with U.S. providers, but are taking control of security and encryption, said Forrester analyst Ed Ferrara in a report.

Forrester's report noted:

The biggest difference between initial worst-case projections in 2013 of revenue loss of $180 billion and the current $47 billion projection is that customers took encryption into their own hands, said Forrester.

Excerpt from:
Snowden, PRISM fallout will cost U.S. tech vendors $47 billion, less than expected

The NSA consideredshutting down its clandestine call data collection program months before Edward Snowden leaked classified information in 2013. According to a report from the Associated Press, some people inside the agency were questioning the value of the program, believing that itsbenefits did not justify the costs.

Reportedly,internal critics were concerned with the rising costs of gathering and storing the to and from information from domestic landlines. Critics also pointed out the programs inability to capture most cellphone calls, as well as public outrage if the program were to ever go public. Arguably the biggest criticism, though, was the programs inability to play a crucial role in the unraveling of terrorist plots, stated the report.

Related:Tech giants demand end to NSA spying

The report, which cited current and former intelligence officials, also stated top managers in the agency were already discussing a proposal to shut down the program. However, Snowdens revelations changed things. Instead, NSA officials justified data collection, defending the programs effectiveness to Congress and the American public. Sources said that the proposal never made it to the desk of former NSA director Keith Alexander because officials doubted that he would sign off on it.

The argument against the bulk collection of call data was said to have been gaining momentum before the Snowden leaks. Aside from the concerns with costs, the program was also criticized for opening a growing number of loopholes that weakened its effectiveness.

By 2013, some NSA officials were ready to stop the bulk collection even though they knew they would lose the ability to search a database of U.S. calling records, the report read.

This new information comes as Congress is set to decide on whether to discontinue or reform the legal basis for the program. Sections 215 and 214 of the Patriot Act, which were first used in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, sunset on June 1. This effectively gives Congress its best shot of instituting changes into the NSA program. Previous attempts, like the USA Freedom Act, failed to move forward in spite of the outrage over the Snowden leaks.

See the article here:
The NSA almost ended phone spying before Snowden leaks

A shooting occurred at the gates of the National Security Agency in Fort Meade, Maryland, leaving one person dead and another injured.

According to Fox 5 in Washington D.C., the incident escalated after a car tried to bypass security at an entrance to the NSA facility at around 9 a.m. Monday morning. Authorities are yet to provide a motive for the incident, however, they have given a detailed description of the events that led to the fatal shooting.

Update on 3-30-2015: Added changed number of perpetrators, included comments from Fort Meade commander andNSA spokesman, as well as details about the stolen car used in the incident.

NSA spokesman John Freed told ABC News that the driver disobeyed routine instructions for safely exiting the secure campus, which led security personnel to put up barriers. The driver was said to have sped toward an NSA police car that was blocking the road. Officers shot at the vehicle when the driver refused to stop. In addition to the two people in the car, a police officer was also hurt in the incident.

Related:Tech giants demand an end to NSA spying, as Patriot Act is set to expire

CBS Baltimorereported that one person died and another was sent to the hospital. Fort Meade Garrison Commander Brian Foley told the Associated Press that the shooting has been contained, and there is an ongoing investigation. He said that the residents, service members, and civilian employees at the installation are safe, adding that they will continue to remain vigilant at all of our access points.

Initially, there were conflicting reports about the gender of the perpetrators, however, NBC News said that the perpetrators were men disguised as women. When the car was searched after the incident, police found wigs, a weapon, and some cocaine. Mary Phelan, a spokeswoman for the Howard County Police Department, told the Associated Press that the car used in the incident was stolen from a hotel in Jessup, Maryland.

The FBI has taken over the investigation. For now, authorities are saying that the incident can not be linked to terrorism.

FBI Baltimore is investigating a shooting incident which occurred this morning at a gate at the National Security Agency at Fort Meade just off I-295 in Anne Arundel County, MD. The shooting scene is contained and we do not believe it is related to terrorism, the agency wrote in a statement. We are investigating with NSA Police and other law enforcement agencies. Our Evidence Response Team is processing the crime scene, and FBI Agents are doing joint interviews with witnesses. We are working with the U.S. Attorneys Office in Maryland to determine if federal charges are warranted. We have no further information at this time to release.

A similar security incident occurred in Fort Meade earlier this month. Hon Young, who was behind a shooting in the area, was caught after officers recognized his car from surveillance footage. This is a breaking news story, so details are still murky. Well update this article when authorities make further announcements.

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One dead in fatal shooting at NSA headquarters

A technology coalition headed by Apple, Microsoft, and Google urged President Barack Obama and other government officials to end the National Security Agencys bulk collection of phone call metadata. In a letter addressed to the President and other key figures, the coalition, made up of privacy advocates, technology firms, and trade companies, called the NSA program untenable, and urged the House to move forward with reforms.

The letter, which was also addressed to high-ranking officials such as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker John Boehner, singled out sections 215 and 214 of the Patriot Act, which have been used to legally justify the NSAs data collection. The provision, which sunsets on June 1, was first used in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.

Related:Google, Facebook, ACLU and others urge Senate to fix watered down NSA bill

Many of us have differing views on exactly what reforms must be included in any bill reauthorizing USA PATRIOT Act Section 215, which currently serves as the legal basis for the National Security Agencys bulk collection of telephone metadata and is set to expire on June 1, 2015. That said, our broad, diverse, and bipartisan coalition believes that the status quo is untenable and that it is urgent that Congress move forward with reform, the group wrote.

Critics say that the Patriot Act is being used to unjustly collect the phone records of innocent people. If there were ever a time to reform the NSA, its now because a vote for reauthorization, without comprehensive reform of NSA spying, will very clearly be a vote against the Constitution, said the Electronic Frontier Foundation, one of the organizations that signed the letter.

The NSA data collection program has already been the subject of many reform efforts ever since Edward Snowden leaked classified information from the agency in 2013. To date, none have been successful. The most recent attempt, the USA Freedom Act, failed to even move forward to a final vote in the Senate. Last January, the Obama administration also abandoned a plan that would have designated a third party for the task of collecting and storing phone call data.

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Tech giants demand end to NSA spying, as Patriot Act is set to expire

Politics By Ethan Brown, Wed, March 25, 2015

In the wake of the numerous spying scandals from the National Security Agency (NSA) to other departments of the federal government, two politicians are looking to overhaul the nations spying and security practices with a new sweeping piece of legislation.

Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wisconsin) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky) introduced the Surveillance State Repeal Act in a memorandum on Tuesday (Mar. 24). The law, which was first created in 2013 after the Edward Snowden leaks severely damaged the reputation of the NSA and the United States around the world, would repeal the controversial USA Patriot Act and the 2008 FISA Amendments Act, another NSA spying program that was utilized to collect information from everyday American citizens.

More specifically, the legislation would remove all of the Patriot Act, which was overwhelmingly passed in October 2001 following the September 11 terror attacks. It would also require the U.S. Attorney General to delete and destroy any information that was retained from the 2008 FISA Amendments Act if that person is not under investigation.

The law would also protect whistleblowers, like Snowden, from being criminally charged for exposing fraud and illegal activities occurring under the federal government. The authors of the proposed legislation showed their support for the bill in a written statement.

The warrantless collections of millions of personal communications from innocent Americans is a direct violation of our constitutional right to privacy, said Rep. Pocan. Revelations about the NSAs programs reveal the extraordinary extent to which the program has invaded Americans privacy. I reject the notion that we must sacrifice liberty for security we can live in a secure nation which also upholds a strong commitment to civil liberties. This legislation ends the NSAs dragnet surveillance practices, while putting provisions in place to protect the privacy of American citizens through real and lasting change.

The other author of the legislation also released a statement.

The Patriot Act contains many provisions that violate the Fourth Amendment and have led to a dramatic expansion of our domestic surveillance state, Rep. Massie wrote. Our Founding Fathers fought and died to stop the kind of warrantless spying and searches that the Patriot Act and the FISA Amendments Act authorize. It is long past time to repeal the Patriot Act and reassert the constitutional rights of all Americans.

The proposed legislation will likely not be voted on before the renewal of the Patriot Act, which is set for June 1. While some of the Patriot Act has been repealed over time, legislation still remains intact specific to how the government is allowed to obtain information from Americans.

Sources: The Daily Caller, rt.com, pocan.house.gov

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Bipartisan Bill Looks To Remove Controversial Patriot Act

A law bill introduced in the US House of Representatives on Tuesday seeks to abolish the Patriot Act, ban Uncle Sam from forcing backdoors into technology, and safeguard whistleblowers like Edward Snowden.

Ever since Snowden leaked top-secret files detailing the NSA and GCHQ's global surveillance of innocent people, there have been calls for reforms which have sparked little more than tinkering at the edges of the laws enabling the blanket snooping.

This bipartisan bill, introduced today by Reps. Mark Pocan (D-WI) and Thomas Massie (R-KY), takes a scorched-earth approach, and will simply dismantle the laws that make bulk data collection possible and institute new controls to protect privacy.

"The Patriot Act contains many provisions that violate the Fourth Amendment and have led to a dramatic expansion of our domestic surveillance state," said Congressman Massie.

"Our Founding Fathers fought and died to stop the kind of warrantless spying and searches that the Patriot Act and the FISA Amendments Act authorize. It is long past time to repeal the Patriot Act and reassert the constitutional rights of all Americans."

The Surveillance State Repeal Act, H.R. 1466 [PDF], if somehow passed, will kill off the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT Act), which was passed in just three days in the panic following the September 11 attacks.

It would also get rid of the 2008 FISA Amendments Act, signed in the dying days of the last Bush presidency, which the NSA has used to justify large-scale data collection and surveillance programs. If passed, any future spying on American citizens requires a warrant and probable cause and information collected without that authorization would have to be destroyed.

"The warrantless collection of millions of personal communications from innocent Americans is a direct violation of our constitutional right to privacy," said Congressman Pocan.

"Revelations about the NSA's programs reveal the extraordinary extent to which the program has invaded Americans' privacy. I reject the notion that we must sacrifice liberty for security- we can live in a secure nation which also upholds a strong commitment to civil liberties."

In addition the bill would bar the government from mandating that technology firms install backdoors to their encryption systems and products, something law enforcement has been pressing for but which the industry and security experts believe would be a disaster.

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PATRIOT Act axed, NSA spying halted ... wake up, Neo, it's just a dream in the US House of Reps