Articles by date
20 June 2013
Barack Obama: NSA is not rifling through ordinary people's emails (The Guardian)
Barack Obama has sought to address European concerns over internet privacy in the wake of the National Security Agency surveillance scandal, insisting US authorities are not "rifling through the emails" of ordinary people and he is confident the US intelligence services have "struck the appropriate balance" between security and civil rights.
Firefox Web browser to move ahead plan to block tracking (Washington Post)
The maker of the popular Firefox browser is moving ahead with plans to block the most common forms of Internet tracking, allowing hundreds of millions of users to eventually limit who watches their movements across the Web, company officials said Wednesday.
For Web Firms, Faster Access Comes at a Price (Wall Street Journal)
Hoping to speed traffic through an increasingly congested Internet, several big Web companies including Google Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Facebook Inc. are paying major broadband providers for connections to get faster and smoother access to their networks, say people familiar with the matter.
Internet monitoring must have proper limits, Merkel tells Obama (Reuters)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel told U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday that government monitoring of Internet communications needed to remain within proper limits.
Google's chief legal officer denies company is 'in cahoots with NSA' (New York Times)
Governments must codify regulations on silent data gathering so that users around the world can regain confidence in the use of the internet, Google's chief legal officer, David Drummond, has said.
NSA Prism program a game changer on web privacy, says Sir Martin Sorrell (The Guardian)
The founder of the world's biggest marketing services company, Sir Martin Sorrell, has said he believes revelations about the National Security Agency's Prism internet surveillance program are a "game changer" that will spark a fundamental rethink of web privacy by web users.
Online news is becoming easier to sell, suggests study (BBC News)
Consumers are becoming more willing to pay for online news, although most still choose not to, a study suggests.
F.T.C. Is Said to Plan Inquiry of Frivolous Patent Lawsuits (New York Times)
The chairwoman of the Federal Trade Commission is expected on Thursday to recommend a sweeping investigation of "patent trolls," companies that buy large portfolios of technology patents and use them to sue software designers and makers of products like smartphones and tablet computers, people briefed on the inquiry said.
Cyber threats and leaks spur increased security focus (Reuters)
Increased cyber espionage by China and recent leaks by a contractor working at the National Security Agency have put a sharp focus on cybersecurity for aerospace and defence companies showing off their wares at this year's Paris Airshow.
China completes Internet, phone monitoring scheme for Tibet (Reuters)
China has completed a monitoring scheme in restive Tibet that requires all telephone and internet users to register under their real names, state media said on Wednesday, as part of a campaign to crack down on what officials describe as rumours.
Mississippi prosecutor blasts Google over drug ads (CNN)
Mississippi's top prosecutor Wednesday threatened to subpoena the search giant Google over what he called its failure to crack down on ads touting unlawful sales of prescription drugs and pirated entertainment.
19 June 2013
Prism: how can this level of state surveillance be legal? (The Guardian)
In the late 18th century the philosopher Jeremy Bentham developed a new type of institutional establishment which had a singular advantage over its predecessors: it allowed the authorities to observe inmates without their being able to tell in any particular moment whether or not they were being watched. The name given to this new architectural form of state control was Panopticon, literally meaning "watch all".
N.S.A. Chief Says Surveillance Has Stopped Dozens of Plots (New York Times)
Top national security officials on Tuesday promoted two newly declassified examples of what they portrayed as "potential terrorist events" disrupted by government surveillance. The cases were made public as Congress and the Obama administration stepped up a campaign to explain and defend programs unveiled by recent leaks from a former intelligence contractor.
Google Asks Secret Court for Permission to Publish National Security Request Data (New York Times)
Google on Tuesday filed a motion with the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, asking permission to publish data on national security requests that were made to it and authorized by the court.
Google, BT and Yahoo! agree plan to tackle child porn on the web (The Independent)
Computer experts are to track down and block online child abuse images in an attempt to reverse the spread of sites used by paedophile groups, the Government announced today.
Microsoft says it freed millions of computers from criminal botnet (Reuters)
Microsoft Corp said that an assault it led earlier this month on one of the world's biggest cyber crime rings has freed at least 2 million PCs infected with a virus believed to have been used to steal more than $500 million (320 million pounds) from bank accounts worldwide.
Privacy Officials Worldwide Press Google About Glass (New York Times)
Ten government privacy and data protection officials from seven countries have asked Google to address privacy concerns related to its wearable computing device, Glass.
Google's Effort to Skirt Regulation May Invite More Scrutiny (New York Times)
Google's motto is "don't be evil." But its recent acquisition of Waze, reportedly for $1 billion in cash, shows that just because you're not evil, it doesn't mean you can't be aggressive in pushing the boundaries of the law.
18 June 2013
Protecting Europe's Privacy by Viviane Reding (New York Times)
Here we go again: Another violation of the basic right to privacy. Another public outcry. Another blow to citizens' trust in the security of their personal data. Yet more evidence that something fundamental has to change if we want to stop citizens from worrying about somebody watching every time they visit a Web site or write an e-mail.
More Data on Privacy, but Picture Is Still Fuzzy (New York Times)
Technology companies, the custodians of reams of personal data from hundreds of millions of people around the world, have been under fire after recent revelations that they secretly handed over customer information, including e-mails, in response to requests by the federal government made in the name of national security.
Saudi Arabia threatens to block WhatsApp over regulation refusal (The Guardian)
Messaging app WhatsApp is the latest social networking service to face the wrath of the Saudi Arabian government, and could be blocked in the country within weeks.
Snowden: NSA snoops on U.S. phone calls without warrants (CNET)
Edward Snowden, who became famous for leaking top-secret U.S. government documents, said today that the National Security Agency can get a look at information from Americans' domestic phone calls without a warrant.
Yahoo reveals US surveillance requests (The Guardian)
Yahoo has joined the increasing number of technology companies publishing details of how many requests US law enforcement agencies have made for data on their users.
The German Prism: Berlin Wants to Spy Too (Der Spiegel)
The German government has been largely silent on revelations of US Internet spying. Berlin profits from the program and is pursuing similar plans.
Australian scientists apply quantum mechanics to cyber security (ABC News)
At a time when cyber security is high on the international agenda, Australian scientists are at the forefront of providing a more secure future.
