US Tried to Fine Yahoo $250K a Day For Refusing to Release User Data
Yahoo's general counsel said Thursday that the US government tried to force them to give up their user data in 2008 by threatening to fine them $250,000 each day they refused.
Rogue "Interceptor" Cell Phone Towers Discovered Near U.S. Army Bases
Les Goldsmith is the CEO of ESD, a defense and law enforcement technology firm based in Las Vegas. They make one of the oldest, most expensive high-security cell phones on the market. And lately, Goldsmith and his CryptoPhone customers have been noticing some pretty ominous, fake cell phone towers across America.
The Taliban Already Had This Artist's "Anti-Drone Tent" Idea
Dutch artist Sarah van Sonsbeeck is showing an Anti-Drone Tent now at Mediamatic Fabriek in Amsterdam. It promises to shield users from aerial infrared surveillance by hiding them beneath the heat-reflective surface of a Mylar® space blanket. It's a neat idea. That's why the Taliban has been using it for years.
Brooklynites Catch Renegade Dog Poop With Hidden Camera Campaign
In Fort Greene, Brooklyn, the dog shit situation has simply gotten out of hand.
What's the deal with this mysterious black vehicle that has been parked around the National Mall recently? A brief photo essay.
The Intercept's "New Snowden" Is Not the Newsworthy Detail
A new, disturbing, and vitally important report from The Intercept has revealed documents proving that more than 40 percent of the U.S.'s Terrorist Screening Database, or 280,000 people, had "no recognized terrorist group affiliation." This is news. The fact that it came from a mysterious "New Snowden" is not. Right?
Apple Snuck Backdoor Surveillance Tools Into Their (i.e. Your) iOS
Innovation did not die with Steve Jobs. Apple has quietly installed data discovery software, including a file-relay tool that can bypass backup encryption, in around 600 million iPhones, iPads, and other devices running their latest iOS. You are correct to surmise that this has been a boon to law enforcement.
Amazon Is the Scariest Part of The CIA's New Amazon Cloud Storage
Megalomaniacal internet retailer Amazon began as an online seller of books—as CEO Jeff Bezos once explained it to a horrified Kansas City bookseller—because it allowed the company to gather data on affluent, educated shoppers. Their latest customer is the entire intelligence apparatus of your democracy. Checkmate!
Snowden: NSA Workers Routinely Share Your Nude Photos
The Guardian posted a 14-minute video preview of an upcoming interview with Edward Snowden today, and among talk of the Russians (not working for them), Gitmo (could "live with" going), and 1984 (hasn't read it in a while) was this unsettling bit about NSA workers and nude photos.
Private Company Will Monitor Every Car Driving In Hungary In Real Time
Hungary's Ministry of National Development (MND) quietly plans to spend 12 billion forints ($52,615,440 in USD) on a real-time, nationwide license plate-monitoring system tied to e-tolls. What follows is a translation of a post on Gawker's Hungarian-language site Cink, that I asked my friend's father to help with.
NSA, FBI Spied on Muslim-American Leaders, Including Ex-Bush Official
A new report from The Intercept shows that the NSA and FBI specifically targeted five prominent Muslim-Americans for surveillance, including a former Bush administration official. Glenn Greenwald hinted that a big scoop was on the way last week, but delayed its publication pending new reporting.
Huge Scope of Electronic Surveillance Hidden In Sealed Court Files
In the Age of Edward Snowden, few people expect anything but widespread surveillance. Important fact, though: the culprits aren't just the NSA. Often it's just plain old regular federal law enforcement behind the veil. And as a story at the Wall Street Journal yesterday highlighted, courts only lightly get to…
Heroic Ospreys Will Not Stop Building Nests on This Traffic Camera
The osprey, Pandion haliaetus, is a bird of character. The ancient poets knew this, and the Maryland Transportation Authority is discovering it the hard way. Last week, a pair of ospreys decided to build their nest on a platform overlooking the approach to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, where the MDTA keeps a traffic…
Indian officials are now deploying drones in their ongoing hunt for the man-eating tigress that has been terrorizing the region around Jim Corbett National Park. The heavily forested terrain is reportedly unsuitable for elephants, the traditional mobile tiger-hunting platform.
Russia Says Its Sochi Bathroom Spy Cameras Show No Plumbing Problems
The Wall Street Journal reports that Russia is aggressively defending itself against complaints that the much-maligned bathrooms in its Olympic accommodations are in any way substandard. The Russians are, in fact, keeping a very, very close eye on the bathroom situation:
All Workers Now Get The Comfort of Knowing the Boss Is Spying on Them
The number of working-age Americans who are not in the labor force is at an all-time high. Temp workers are a higher percentage of the workforce than they've been in more than a decade. In a tight environment like this, workers can't complain over a company spying on them, can they?
D.C. Car-Chase Driver Thought the Government Was Monitoring Her
Miriam Carey, the woman killed after yesterday's violent police chase in Washington D.C., was reportedly in the grip of a belief that "Obama electronically monitored her." This fear of constant government surveillance is being described as a "delusional" belief.
The NYPD Guide to Watching Cricket (and Muslims) In New York City
The NYPD loves cricket. They are so interested in it that they complied an exhaustive report on everywhere to watch the sport in New York City. Let's go hit some homeruns or whatever they do in cricket, and also attempt to bait Muslims into talking about Jihad!
This Is the NYPD's Secret Spy Cab
In Enemies Within, the new book from Pulitzer Prize-winning Associated Press reporters Matt Apuzzo and Adam Goldman on the NYPD's indiscriminate and probably illegal spying program, reference is briefly made to a "real yellow cab, complete with an authentic taxi medallion registered under a fake name" used by the…
