Tag: Edward Snowden

Federal Trade Commission Warns Data Brokers about the Uncontrolled Sale of Raw Location Data

A couple of weeks ago, we wrote about an important order from the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC). It set minimum privacy requirements for biometric surveillance in commercial settings, and marked an interesting move by the FTC to extend its activities in this area. As if to confirm that this was not just a one-off, … Continue reading “Federal Trade Commission Warns Data Brokers about the Uncontrolled Sale of Raw Location Data”

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  • Mar 29, 2022 |
  • Glyn Moody |
  • General Privacy News, Governments, Social Media, Surveillance,

How a Few Thoughtless Words about Privacy Led to Huge Political and Economic Headaches for the US and EU

One of the most surprising developments in recent years is how privacy – something that by definition is about small, intimate things – has become a major global force in the spheres of economics and politics. Perhaps the clearest demonstration of that transformation involves data flows across the Atlantic, and the Austrian lawyer and activist … Continue reading “How a Few Thoughtless Words about Privacy Led to Huge Political and Economic Headaches for the US and EU”

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  • Oct 12, 2021 |
  • Glyn Moody |
  • Cybersecurity, Governments, Social Media,

Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) is Great for Catching Bad Actors; But It Can Also Be Used Against the Good Ones – You and Me

Most people have heard of open source these days – after all, it has conquered every aspect of computing, with the possible exception of the desktop. But Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) may be less familiar. It was brought to prominence by the Bellingcat group, which describes itself as “an independent international collective of researchers, investigators … Continue reading “Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) is Great for Catching Bad Actors; But It Can Also Be Used Against the Good Ones – You and Me”

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  • Sep 3, 2021 |
  • Glyn Moody |
  • Cybersecurity, Encryption, General Privacy News, Governments, Social Media, Surveillance,

Apple Has Betrayed Its Privacy Legacy – and Will Undermine End-to-end Encryption Everywhere

Apple is a company that has always made much of its commitment to privacy, and has succeeded in turning it into a unique selling point of its products. That proud history made a recent announcement all the more shocking. Nobody could deny that Apple’s Expanded Protections for Children are motivated by the best intentions, and … Continue reading “Apple Has Betrayed Its Privacy Legacy – and Will Undermine End-to-end Encryption Everywhere”

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  • May 13, 2021 |
  • Glyn Moody |
  • Cybersecurity, Encryption, General Privacy News, Governments, Social Media,

Anthropologists say smartphones are now “the place where we live”: what does that mean for privacy?

The modern smartphone is a wonder. In terms of raw computing power, an article on ZME Science compared an iPhone 6 with the computers used to send astronauts to the moon: the iPhone 6’s clock is 32,600 times faster than the best Apollo era computers and could perform instructions 120,000,000 times faster. You wouldn’t be … Continue reading “Anthropologists say smartphones are now “the place where we live”: what does that mean for privacy?”

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  • Apr 16, 2021 |
  • Glyn Moody |
  • Censorship, Encryption, General Privacy News, Governments, Social Media,

How China’s massive Digital Silk Road project threatens privacy around the globe

Most people are aware of the recent rise of China as an economic, political and military superpower. Less well known is China’s massive infrastructure program known as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the signature project of China’s leader, Xi Jinping, unveiled in 2013. The scale of Xi’s ambitions is indicated by Morgan Stanley’s estimate … Continue reading “How China’s massive Digital Silk Road project threatens privacy around the globe”

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Privacy Talks: Interview with Micah Lee from The Intercept

This interview first aired on September 25, 2020 Timestamp Links & Questions: [0:50] – Could you tell us a little bit about what you do in your position as Director of Information Security at First Look Media, the organization behind The Intercept? [1:39] – How and why was First Look Media Started? [2:40] – Could … Continue reading “Privacy Talks: Interview with Micah Lee from The Intercept”

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  • Jan 26, 2020 |
  • Glyn Moody |
  • General Privacy News, Governments, Surveillance,

Top EU court’s advisor: bulk surveillance is “disproportionate”, and national security exemptions do not always apply

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), the EU’s top court, has played a key role in protecting privacy in the digital age, in Europe and beyond. In 2014, it ruled that a major piece of EU legislation, the Data Retention Directive, was “invalid” – that is, illegal – and should be taken … Continue reading “Top EU court’s advisor: bulk surveillance is “disproportionate”, and national security exemptions do not always apply”

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  • Jan 11, 2019 |
  • Ryan Hopkins |
  • General Privacy News, Governments, Surveillance,

How the NSA Spies on Us All – Part 4: The 90’s – Present

This is part 4 of a series. See: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 Up until 1998, the NSA had been a purely defensive intelligence agency, that was tasked with cryptography (enemy code breaking), passive collection of SIGINT, intelligence production for other agencies, and defense of American and Five Eyes networks. Enter the … Continue reading “How the NSA Spies on Us All – Part 4: The 90’s – Present”

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