Government Snooping | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net KitGuru.net - Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards Thu, 10 Sep 2015 15:48:04 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cropped-KITGURU-Light-Background-SQUARE2-32x32.png Government Snooping | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net 32 32 Microsoft and US still butting heads over data stored in Ireland https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/microsoft-and-us-still-butting-heads-over-data-stored-in-ireland/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/microsoft-and-us-still-butting-heads-over-data-stored-in-ireland/#comments Thu, 10 Sep 2015 15:47:23 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=267247 Microsoft and the US Department of Justice are still butting heads over access to data stored on the company's Ireland based servers. The US has been trying to force Microsoft in to giving it access to information in the firm's datacentre in Ireland for some time now and Microsoft is continuing to fight them at …

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Microsoft and the US Department of Justice are still butting heads over access to data stored on the company's Ireland based servers. The US has been trying to force Microsoft in to giving it access to information in the firm's datacentre in Ireland for some time now and Microsoft is continuing to fight them at every turn.

The courts actually granted a search warrant for the Department of Justice to access Microsoft's servers but in December 2014, the company filed an appeal: “Microsoft is challenging a US government search warrant seeking access to customer emails in Dublin. Lower courts ruled in favour of the government and Microsoft appealed to the US Court of Appeals, filing its first brief with the Second Circuit in December 2014”, Microsoft said in a brief (Via: The Inquirer)

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Since Microsoft's brief filing, the case has attracted input from 28 other technology and media companies, 23 trade associations, the Irish government and a member of the European Parliament, and we already know how protective the EU is over privacy, you only need to look at Google's ‘right to be forgotten' to see proof of that.

“The power of a subpoena to reach business records anywhere in the world has only ever applied to a company's own records, not to private documents it holds in trust for its customers. A customer's private email correspondence is no different from the contents of a safe deposit box or the letter inside a FedEx envelope. Like those physical letters, an electronic message belongs to the customer alone, not the email provider.”

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Microsoft has gained a lot of support for standing up to the US government in this case. User privacy and protection from prying eyes has become a big concern over the last couple of years so I imagine many will be glad to see Microsoft continuing to argue its case here. 

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US government: Phone encryption will lead to child deaths https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/us-government-phone-encryption-will-lead-to-child-deaths/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/us-government-phone-encryption-will-lead-to-child-deaths/#comments Thu, 20 Nov 2014 13:51:39 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=222548 The US government is attempting to fight back against the new encryption technologies used on smartphones. An official at the US Department of Justice stated that tragedy would ensue if the authorities did not have unwarranted access to devices such as a suspect's phone. The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple and Google are currently …

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The US government is attempting to fight back against the new encryption technologies used on smartphones. An official at the US Department of Justice stated that tragedy would ensue if the authorities did not have unwarranted access to devices such as a suspect's phone.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple and Google are currently at a standoff with the US Department of Justice over smartphone encryption. According to those who attended a meeting, a US official said: “New encryption technology that renders locked smartphones impervious to law enforcement would lead to tragedy. A child would die, because police wouldn't be able to scour a suspect's phone”.

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The meeting reportedly ended with an Apple official calling the dead child scenario inflammatory. Apple executives say that law enforcement agencies would be able to obtain data elsewhere, such as through wireless carriers. However, the DOJ argued that this would make the job harder for the Police, even with a court order.

Even if Apple was served with a court order to unlock a device, it wouldn't have the key required to decipher the information encrypted on iPhones.  The latest encryption options offered by the likes of Apple and Google came shortly after it was revealed that the NSA was illegally snooping and spying on people around the world, often without reason or cause.

An NSA reform bill recently failed in the US Senate and many US tech companies are challenging the government on the legal framework used to obtain data. WhatsApp has been the latest company to begin offering end-to-end encryption on its service, keeping all text conversations private and uncrackable by those wishing to snoop.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: The US Department of Justice wouldn't be in this position if it didn't allow agencies like the NSA to blatantly abuse their power and spy on people without proper cause. Now tech firms and their customers want to take that power away and they have nobody to blame but themselves.

Sources: The Wall Street Journal, AndroidCentral

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Twitter to sue US government over transparency reports https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/twitter-to-sue-us-government-over-transparency-reports/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/twitter-to-sue-us-government-over-transparency-reports/#respond Wed, 08 Oct 2014 13:33:52 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=215532 Twitter has filed a lawsuit against the US government, alleging that its First Amendment rights to free speech are being violated by rules that prevent the company from disclosing the amount of national security requests it receives. Twitter is currently able to publish the amount of national security letters and Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act orders …

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Twitter has filed a lawsuit against the US government, alleging that its First Amendment rights to free speech are being violated by rules that prevent the company from disclosing the amount of national security requests it receives.

Twitter is currently able to publish the amount of national security letters and Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act orders it receives but only in vague, broad terms like 0-999 rather than specific figures. The company is arguing that this is not narrow enough and that it should be able to inform the public of what orders it has and hasn't received.

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Twitter said in its court filing that “When the government intrudes on speech, the First Amendment requires that it do so in the most limited way possible. The government has failed to meet this obligation.”

Over the last year or so, tech companies have been pressing the US government for permission to publicly disclose more information about how much they have to hand over. Twitter is now seeking to invalidate rules that prevent national security request figures from being published.

Ben Lee, a lawyer for Twitter, wrote a blog post explaining why the company is suing the government:

“It’s our belief that we are entitled under the First Amendment to respond to our users’ concerns and to the statements of U.S. government officials by providing information about the scope of U.S. government surveillance — including what types of legal process have not been received. We should be free to do this in a meaningful way, rather than in broad, inexact ranges.”

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Tech companies have been fighting for permission to disclose information requests to the public for some time now. Do you guys think Twitter can pull this off? 

Sources: Twitter, Verge

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Vodafone reveals extent of government snooping https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/matthew-wilson/vodafone-reveals-extent-of-government-snooping/ https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/matthew-wilson/vodafone-reveals-extent-of-government-snooping/#respond Fri, 06 Jun 2014 13:02:14 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=197054 Vodafone has revealed the extent of government snooping on its mobile network today, it turns out that many government agencies have full access to Vodafone's 400 million customers, being able to snoop on conversations and general user data at any time without warning. The 40,000 word document that was published today revealed that 29 countries …

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Vodafone has revealed the extent of government snooping on its mobile network today, it turns out that many government agencies have full access to Vodafone's 400 million customers, being able to snoop on conversations and general user data at any time without warning.

The 40,000 word document that was published today revealed that 29 countries that Vodafone operates in actually prohibit all carriers from disclosing any details on wiretapping so some of the details are still being left out. However, this does confirm fears that governments have been forcing telecom companies to install secret wires to give agencies direct access to user conversations and data.

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Speaking to The Guardian, Executive Director of Privacy International, Gus Hosein, said: “These are the nightmare scenarios that we were imagining.” These direct access wires that government agencies have do not require a warrant, meaning that agencies can spy on you at any time without any form of justification. Hosein says that one solution could be to “amend legislation which enables agencies and authorities to access an operator’s communications infrastructure without the knowledge and direct control of the operator.”

The extent of government snooping was first widely revealed last year when Snowden leaked secret documents showing just how much spying really goes on behind the scenes. One of the leaked documents showed that telecommunication companies had granted Britain's spy agency, GCHQ, access to a network of undersea cables. Vodafone has said that government requests are often vague and come without any real information due to the secrecy involved.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: This is Vodafone's first step in user transparency, however, this information is useless without change. Governments need to amend the laws and implement a warrant system that shows exactly why a user's data is being accessed. 

Source: The Verge

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