Category Archives: NSA Spying

Zuckerberg Phones Obama for Answers About NSA Spying

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When youre Mark Zuckerberg, you can do things a little differently from everyone else. Worried about a pesky construction project next door? Drop $30 million and buy up a four-pack of your neighbors homes. Worried that the NSAs widespread surveillance may undermine everyones trust in the internet and torpedo your social networking business? Give the President a call.

Apparently, thats what Zuck did last night, shortly after the website First Look Media reported that the NSA had been masquerading as a Facebook server in order to infect target computers. Ive called President Obama to express my frustration over the damage the government is creating for all of our future, Zuckerberg wrote in a note he posted to Facebook today.

When our engineers work tirelessly to improve security, we imagine were protecting you against criminals, not our own government. Mark Zuckerberg

A White House spokeswoman confirmed that Zuckerberg and Obama spoke last night, discussing recent reports in the press about alleged activities by the U.S. intelligence community, but she declined to tell us what exactly was said. It seems, however, that Facebooks CEO and founder did not get what he wanted. Unfortunately, it seems like it will take a very long time for true full reform, Zuckerberg wrote.

Zuckerberg is just one of the many people across Silicon Valley who are concerned about the future of the internet now that ex-NSA contractor Edward Snowden has revealed the extent of the agencys surveillance programs. Although companies such as Facebook may participate in many of the agencys efforts, the scope of the NSAs spying has taken even savvy Silicon Valley insiders by surprise. Widespread spying undermines everyones trust in the internet. To keep the internet strong, we need to keep it secure, Zuckerberg wrote. This is why Ive been so confused and frustrated by the repeated reports of the behavior of the US government. When our engineers work tirelessly to improve security, we imagine were protecting you against criminals, not our own government.

Things were once better between Zuckerberg and Obama. Just over two years ago, Facebook hosted a town hall meeting where the friendly discussion revolved around the economy. Back then, the U.S. Federal Trade Commissions scrutiny of Facebooks privacy policies was the topic most likely to come up in a private conversation. Since then, the tables have turned, and Zuckerberg is now the guy worried about privacy.

Today, Zuckerberg called on the feds to be much more transparent about what theyre doing, or otherwise people will believe the worst. But that isnt going to happen any time soon. Though the NSA has said that parts of yesterdays reports are incorrect, there remains much that is still unclear.

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Zuckerberg Phones Obama for Answers About NSA Spying

NSA SPYING: New report claims VPNs infiltrated too

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The latest report on the National Security Agency's spying capabilities revealed even more sobering details about the government's ability to pry into private communications, including VPNs.

First it was the phone records, and then it was Internet usage. Later, it came to light that the NSA has even used Angry Birds apps to track locations. These days, it seems like keeping track of the things the NSA isn't monitoring might make for a shorter list -- especially since new reports are adding even more items.

"They're sending out e-mails. They're looking for you to click on links. They're posing as Facebook," Matthew Willis, of computer forensic services, told Fox 9 News.

There is no shortage of hackers online, but many people may be surprised to learn that one of the most sophisticated threats siphoning data from computers across the globe is the NSA.

"They want to monitor everything they possibly can, and if there's something that's not on that list, they'll eventually get to it," Willis said.

According to newly-released documents from NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, the NSA has been using a program code-named "Turbine" to infect computers using the same type of code cyber-crooks do.

"They're taking all that data and they're moving it off to their own servers," Willis said.

Fox 9 News will not show the leaked documents because they are classified as top secret, but Willis -- who worked for the NSA -- claims that "weaponized" malware has been used by the government as far back as the Gulf War.

As a cyber security expert, Willis admits he is even more surprised by the evidence that the NSA has been hacking into virtual private networks, which are the backbone of corporate Internet security.

"Clearly, VPN monitoring, I think, is the most interesting new revelation," Willis said.

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NSA SPYING: New report claims VPNs infiltrated too

Edward Snowden NSA Spying Censorship Internet linux hacking Screenshot Scandal Ukraine Mar 10 2014 – Video

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Edward Snowden NSA Spying Censorship Internet linux hacking Screenshot Scandal Ukraine Mar 10 2014
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Edward Snowden NSA Spying Censorship Internet linux hacking Screenshot Scandal Ukraine Mar 10 2014 - Video

Snowden claims he raised concerns about NSA internally 10 …

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June 9, 2013: This photo provided by The Guardian Newspaper in London shows Edward Snowden in Hong Kong.AP/The Guardian

Ex-NSA contractor Edward Snowden said he tried more than 10 times to go through official channels to alert someone about government spying programs, but nobody listened.

According to The Washington Post, Snowden claimed in European Parliament testimony that he reported policy or legal issues about the NSA to more than 10 officials, but as a contractor he had no legal avenue to pursue the matter.

"As an employee of a private company rather than a direct employee of the U.S. government, I was not protected by U.S. whistle-blower laws, and I would not have been protected from retaliation and legal sanction for revealing classified information about lawbreaking in accordance with the recommended process," Snowden said in his testimony.

Snowden was at the CIA before becoming an NSA contractor. He was working for Booz Allen Hamilton at an NSA facility in Hawaii when he leaked information about the NSA spying programs to the press, The Washington Post reported.

Snowden described the reactions he received when telling his coworkers his concerns.

"The first were well-meaning but hushed warnings not to 'rock the boat,' for fear of the sort of retaliation that befell former NSA whistle-blowers like Wiebe, Binney, and Drake," he said, according to the Post, adding that the other responses were suggestions that he, "let the issue be someone else's problem."

Snowden testified, "there was a unanimous desire to avoid being associated with such a complaint in any form."

The NSA disputes his account, previously telling The Washington Post that, "after extensive investigation, including interviews with his former NSA supervisors and co-workers, we have not found any evidence to support Mr. Snowdens contention that he brought these matters to anyones attention.

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Julian Assange Blasts NSA Spying, Says ‘Obama …

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Entertainment

03.08.14

The WikiLeaks founder participated in a glitch-filledbut candidlive video chat from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London as part of the South By Southwest tech fest.

Introduced as a trailblazer who has led the fight against censorship, the White Stallion of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, was beamed into a packed hall of journalists and concerned citizens from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London where he has been staying in asylum from an extradition order for over a year, for a Skype chat with Benjamin Palmer of The Barbarian Group, an interactive marketing firm based in Boston.

And the dapper Assange, whos been in exile for 650 days, had some harsh words for President Obama on the National Security Agency revelations brought forth by Edward Snowden.

There is a question whether the Barack Obama administration is at all serious and who really wears the pants in the administration, said Assange. Is it the intelligence agencies, or is it the civilian part of that administration?

He continued: We know what happens when a government gets serious: someone is fired, someone is forced to resign, someone is prosecuted, a big criminal investigation is launched, or budgets are cut, and none of those five things have happened in the last eight months since the Edward Snowden revelations. That means the Obama administration isnt serious.

Assange did, however, admit that Obama had his hands tied thanks to NSA spying, saying that if Obama decided to disband the NSA, he would be rolled and people would come up with some type of dirt. The National Security Agency, having intercepted all this information, has dirt on everyone. Congress would impeach him for some act or another, or he would have been found to have committed some criminal act.

'The ability to surveil everyone on the planet is almost there, and arguably will be there within a few years. Thats led to a huge transfer of power from the people who are surveilled upon, to those who perform the surveillance.'

The SXSW keynote discussion was plagued by several glitches, and basically forced the Aussie hacker to go rogue and respond to questions sent in onlinewhich, he joked, was because of the NSA crowding the airwaves. But it wasnt all about the NSA. Assange also spent a portion of the chat giving his two cents on Ukrainea country he described as very dear to my heart.

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