Surveillance | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net KitGuru.net - Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards Thu, 30 Mar 2023 15:41:25 +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 Surveillance | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net 32 32 Western Digital unveil storage for Public Safety, AI and Smart City Deployments https://www.kitguru.net/components/hard-drives/james-dawson/western-digital-unveil-storage-for-public-safety-ai-and-smart-city-deployments/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/hard-drives/james-dawson/western-digital-unveil-storage-for-public-safety-ai-and-smart-city-deployments/#respond Fri, 01 Nov 2019 09:30:58 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=433685 With a rise in smart camera devices featuring higher resolutions driving the requirement for high speed, high capacity on-device storage in smart city environments, manufacturers are looking for solutions to optimise storage for video and AI analytics. Western Digital has addressed this by offering new WD Purple storage drives. According to IHS Markit research, professional …

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With a rise in smart camera devices featuring higher resolutions driving the requirement for high speed, high capacity on-device storage in smart city environments, manufacturers are looking for solutions to optimise storage for video and AI analytics. Western Digital has addressed this by offering new WD Purple storage drives.

According to IHS Markit research, professional video surveillance is expected to grow from 140 million to 224 million worldwide between 2018 and 2023. Onboard storage requirements are due to follow this growth pattern by 17% per year. With 4k video becoming more common in these surveillance cameras, this illustrates a fast-growing demand for more high-performance storage.

Western Digital has launched the WD Purple SC QD101 Ultra Endurance microSD card that is specifically designed to meet the requirements of modern on-camera storage. The WD Purple SC QD101 features Western Digital’s advanced 96-layer 3D NAND technology, delivering a combination of ultra-endurance and high-performance storage with capacities up to 512GB.

The WD Purple microSD is designed for security system integrators and installers and includes a card health monitor that provides the ability to gauge the remaining endurance and pre-emptively service the card if required. The WD Purple SC QD101 microSD card is available in 32GB, 64GB, 128GB, 256GB and 521GB capacities.

In addition, Western Digital has introduced the WD Purple 14TB HDD for a wide range of security systems. Like other devices in the Western Digital locker, WD Purple HDDs are designed for 24/7 always-on, high definition security surveillance systems and feature Western Digital’s AllFrame technology, which improves video capture by reducing errors, pixilation and video interruptions.

The 14TB WD Purple HDD is available now. The WD Purple SC QD101 microSD card is expected to be available in the first quarter of 2020.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: Even though the Western Digital Purple microSD cards are designed for professional security system cameras, they could also be used by mainstream consumers for video recording, which should provide excellent performance.

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Huawei sets aside $2 billion to clear itself of security concerns in the UK https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/damien-cox/huawei-sets-aside-2-billion-to-clear-itself-of-security-concerns-in-the-uk/ https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/damien-cox/huawei-sets-aside-2-billion-to-clear-itself-of-security-concerns-in-the-uk/#respond Thu, 07 Feb 2019 11:38:05 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=403329 Following allegations made by the US government, officials from around the world have been omitting Huawei from network infrastructures in fear of surveillance. Huawei has allocated $2 billion in order to address those security concerns in the United Kingdom but has warned that the process could take up to five years to complete. Huawei reiterated …

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Following allegations made by the US government, officials from around the world have been omitting Huawei from network infrastructures in fear of surveillance. Huawei has allocated $2 billion in order to address those security concerns in the United Kingdom but has warned that the process could take up to five years to complete.

Huawei reiterated its rejection to these claims in an open letter to the UK’s Commons Science and Technology Committee, stating that it is not and has never been a threat to national security. Given that the company has been a part of the UK’s 3G and 4G infrastructure for quite some time before retroactively being removed, Huawei points towards its history as proof that it is innocent.

“Our solid track record in security is our strongest evidence. The governments in some countries have labelled Huawei as a security threat, but they have never substantiated these allegations with solid evidence,” explains head of Huawei’s carrier business group, Ryan Ding.

Given that Huawei’s primary headquarters is based in the authoritarian state of China, international government bodies fear that the smartphone and networking company could be forced to implement backdoor access in its equipment that would facilitate espionage efforts.

“We would like to reiterate that Huawei has never received any such requests from the Chinese government and in the event we did … we would categorically refuse to comply with it. Huawei is a closely watched company. Were Huawei ever to engage in malicious behaviour, it would not go unnoticed – and it would certainly destroy our business,” continues Ding.

“Cybersecurity remains Huawei’s top priority, and we will continue to actively improve our engineering processes and risk management systems. At our most recent board meeting, we officially signed off on a companywide transformation programme for our software engineering capabilities. The company will initially invest $2 billion over the next five years to comprehensively improve our software engineering capabilities.”

KitGuru Says: It’s a lofty investment with continued promises of finally ridding itself of the scrutiny, but only time will tell if government officials agree.

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U.S. House’s latest bill blocks emails from warrantless search https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/u-s-houses-latest-bill-blocks-emails-from-warrantless-search/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/u-s-houses-latest-bill-blocks-emails-from-warrantless-search/#respond Tue, 07 Feb 2017 09:22:23 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=321018 While the British government continues to make it easier for law enforcement to view the internet history of its citizens, the U.S. House of Representatives is looking to make it more difficult. The House has passed a motion that if it makes it through the Senate, would require police to acquire a warrant to look …

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While the British government continues to make it easier for law enforcement to view the internet history of its citizens, the U.S. House of Representatives is looking to make it more difficult. The House has passed a motion that if it makes it through the Senate, would require police to acquire a warrant to look at anyone's emails that are more than 180 days old.

During the Obama Presidency, many of the spying powers put in place by previous President Bush, were entrenched. While many weren't too concerned with that when Obama was in power, now that his successor has taken over, there has been some consternation about how he will use these powers. Looking to curtail his ability to do so, the House of Representatives wants authorities to receive judicial approval before going through the archives.

As it stands, U.S. agencies like the Justice Department, only require a subpoena, which while requiring judicial approval, does not require much oversight. They can also request emails and information on mass, which means little protection for individuals. With this latest bill, the House of Representatives wants to change that. It's something that a number of technology companies have been campaigning for for some time.

Source: Whitehouse

As Reuters reports, the passing of this bill was met with support from a number of those companies, including Google, who's representative said that it would fix a key flaw in U.S. law.

However, this is just the first stage of having a bill such as this passed. It will next need to make its way through the Senate, where it could see much more opposition.

It's also possible that this legislation, much like the Digital Economy Bill currently going through the UK's respective houses, will be amended with extras that could expand its scope and expand the surveillance powers of the law enforcement agencies it's looking to curtail.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: It's good to see politicians and representatives in the U.S. taking personal privacy a little more seriously now, but it's embarrassing that it took Trump for them to do that. Obama implemented, enforced and expanded the spying powers of his predecessor and almost no one batted an eye.

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22,000 police bodycam roll out finally gets started https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/22000-police-bodycam-roll-out-finally-gets-started/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/22000-police-bodycam-roll-out-finally-gets-started/#comments Mon, 17 Oct 2016 11:13:38 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=308803 The roll out of body cameras for the Metropolitan Police force is finally getting under way, despite original plans to begin it in March this year. In total 22,000 of the cameras will be attached to officers, especially those also equipped with firearms, with the adoption expected to be complete by next summer. The body cameras, …

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The roll out of body cameras for the Metropolitan Police force is finally getting under way, despite original plans to begin it in March this year. In total 22,000 of the cameras will be attached to officers, especially those also equipped with firearms, with the adoption expected to be complete by next summer.

The body cameras, known as Body Worn Video devices, have been quite controversial since first announced. While they do automatically back up footage remotely, which can be accessed by the public using freedom of information requests, the cameras aren't recording constantly and are manually turned on by the officer wearing them.

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The sentiment there is that the cameras are more for officer protection and collecting of evidence, rather than for encouraging more lawful behaviour among police. This is backed up by statements from commanding officers.

“Our experience of using cameras already shows that people are more likely to plead guilty when they know we have captured the incident on a camera. That then speeds up justice, puts offenders behind bars more quickly, and most importantly protects potential victims,” said Met commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe (via Ars).

policecam01

However the police also hope that these cameras can help diffuse violent situations. If police engage in an altercation, their targets may be less likely to attack them if they know video and audio evidence will be recorded. They will know when it's happening too, since the officers will state that they are recording “as soon as is practical,” and a red light will flash along with a beep, when recording is active.

The cameras record in HD quality and have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. All wirelessly transmitted data is encrypted. Police also have the option to mute audio in some instances.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: As much as there's a strong argument for police being recorded at all times, it will likely become par for the course that bodycams will be switched on during arrests. At that point if they are ever not on, that will draw enquiries in itself. If they really can diffuse violent situations too, that's hardly a bad thing. 

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No wiretaps were rejected by U.S. courts in 2015 https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/no-wiretaps-were-rejected-by-u-s-courts-in-2015/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/no-wiretaps-were-rejected-by-u-s-courts-in-2015/#comments Fri, 01 Jul 2016 11:03:04 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=297881 One of the big provisions that many politicians and intelligence agencies have claimed when pushing surveillance laws forward, is that intrusive search would require a warrant. While that should provide some measure of oversight for certain snooping activities, it turns out that in 2015 not a single wiretap was rejected by U.S. courts. Although this …

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One of the big provisions that many politicians and intelligence agencies have claimed when pushing surveillance laws forward, is that intrusive search would require a warrant. While that should provide some measure of oversight for certain snooping activities, it turns out that in 2015 not a single wiretap was rejected by U.S. courts.

Although this statistic alone shouldn't necessarily raise any red flags, the fact that the number of wiretaps increased by a full 17 per cent throughout the year, leading to almost 4,150 wiretaps being approved in that same period, should certainly raise an eyebrow or two.

These statistics come out of an annual wiretap report from the United States Courts and it not only breaks down how many wiretaps were authorised, but separates our state and federal wiretaps and plots them geographically too. California had a full 41 per cent of the total number of state issued wiretap orders, while Arizona had the most federal wiretaps, with a total of eight per cent of them.

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The report made no mention of how many lip-readers were employed. Source: Universal 

Other information turfed up by Zdnet includes the fact that although most wiretaps were initially designed to last for just 30 days, almost 80 per cent were extended for one reason or another. Some extensions were even issued more than 30 times, leading to wiretaps being in place for years, when they were initially issued for just a short period of time.

Although an easy argument to make against those who may take issue with so many long-running wiretaps is that they were based around horrific crimes, terrorism and similarly serious criminal issues were factored into a different report entirely, as they are related to national security issues.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: There is nothing intrinsically wrong with a wiretap, but this report does suggest that there is a real culture of surveillance in authority groups that seems to have little oversight from third parties protecting the rights of people who may have their whole lives on show without legal precedent. 

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Snooper Charter’s Mass Surveillance now under independent review https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/security-software/jon-martindale/snooper-charters-mass-surveillance-now-under-independent-review/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/security-software/jon-martindale/snooper-charters-mass-surveillance-now-under-independent-review/#respond Wed, 25 May 2016 10:37:56 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=293898 The British government's upcoming Investigatory Powers Bill (IPB) is set to have a further independent review, this time focusing in on the specific powers for “bulk collection.” Along with other measures of the bill, this has caused particular concern because of its potential for mass hacking of consumer devices. The Investigatory Powers Bill has been …

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The British government's upcoming Investigatory Powers Bill (IPB) is set to have a further independent review, this time focusing in on the specific powers for “bulk collection.” Along with other measures of the bill, this has caused particular concern because of its potential for mass hacking of consumer devices.

The Investigatory Powers Bill has been attacked from all angles since first proposed. Privacy organisations have railed against it for its ability to circumvent protective measures, politicians have raised concerns about the security of collected data records and watchdogs pointed fingers at the mass hardware surveillance measures it makes legal.

It's that hardware-focused surveillance that is now set to go under independent review. Many aspects will be investigated, such as the bill's note that ISPs and technology companies may be required to maintain a “technical capability,” to enable to viewing users' data (as per TechCrunch). That could would essentially invalidate encryption and many other security features designed to protect users form hackers.

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Source: Pixabay

Very much like the debate in the U.S. recently around Apple and its unwillingness to unlock the San Bernardino attacker's iPhone. Such a refusal would be illegal if the Investigatory Powers Bill was introduced in the UK.

The IPB hasn't had much support in the UK however, with Labour abstaining from a previous vote on the matter. However the concession that an independent body investigate the bill will go some way to assuaging concerns and it may be that with a few modifications to the bill more politicians will back it.

That may ultimately depend on what the independent body says of it though. It's set to be conducted this summer, headed by David Anderson who previously reviewed British anti-terrorism legislation and the IPB back in 2015. Although he has previously shown support for new surveillance powers, he does at least want them clearly defined in law, with no vagaries that could be exploited by unscrupulous law enforcement.

He has also made clear he wants to the process of warrant issuing handled by the judiciary system. As it stands, the IPB would allow home secretary Theresa May to bypass that in “emergency” situations.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: It's a bit concerning that the independent reviewer that is brought in to look at this bill is already known to be a supporter of much of its abilities. I like that he wants safeguards, but there are surely more ‘independent' people who could be brought in to head the investigation.

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Vice met with Edward Snowden to discuss surveillance states https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/vice-met-with-edward-snowden-to-discuss-surveillance-states/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/vice-met-with-edward-snowden-to-discuss-surveillance-states/#comments Tue, 24 May 2016 10:00:46 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=293749 Vice might get a bit of flak for its hipster approach to journalism at times, but it's also produced some pretty hard hitting documentaries and provided real insight into some of the stranger parts of the world. Its latest target in an upcoming episode is government surveillance, so company founder Shane Smith flew to Moscow …

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Vice might get a bit of flak for its hipster approach to journalism at times, but it's also produced some pretty hard hitting documentaries and provided real insight into some of the stranger parts of the world. Its latest target in an upcoming episode is government surveillance, so company founder Shane Smith flew to Moscow to meet whistle blower Edward Snowden.

The upcoming episode of Vice News targets the surveillance states that have grown up in the aftermath of the 11th September attacks in 2001, looking at mass spying on populations, the lack of oversight and the power that reams of data and metadata on a person can give an organisation.

There are concerns over intelligence agencies spying on each other, on politicians, on foreign allies and individual citizens. Much of the data gathered is acquired without the need for a warrant and in some cases oversight committees aren't even aware of it. Indeed, there are allusions that intelligence agencies could spy on the groups designed to keep an eye on their activities.

All of these aspects are discussed by Smith and Snowden in the upcoming episode and we have our first look at it thanks to the new trailer release. This isn't just a Snowden episode though, as Smith also reaches out to other people campaigning to end the surveillance state in the U.S., including those from ex-government positions, who have unique insight into the practices of law enforcement and intelligence agencies.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: There's a bit of editing over-excitement for this piece and the Snowden tucked-chin looks a bit dramatic, but what he's talking about is serious. Here's hoping something interesting comes out of this, even if it's just a raising of awareness among more people. 

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Manchester police to be fitted with 3,000 bodycams https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/manchester-police-to-be-fitted-with-3000-bodycams/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/manchester-police-to-be-fitted-with-3000-bodycams/#respond Wed, 18 May 2016 11:12:32 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=293210 As surveillance increases across the world for civilians, perhaps it's a good thing that those enforcing the laws are also being scrutinised. 3,000 Police in Manchester are set to be fitted with body cameras, though much of when and how they are used, will be left up to the officers themselves. Of the 3,000 cameras …

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As surveillance increases across the world for civilians, perhaps it's a good thing that those enforcing the laws are also being scrutinised. 3,000 Police in Manchester are set to be fitted with body cameras, though much of when and how they are used, will be left up to the officers themselves.

Of the 3,000 cameras said to be fitted to Manchester officers in the next couple of months, 191 have been put into service so far. Specific units like those dealing with hostage and crisis negotiation will receive them, as well as tactical units, traffic police and those working in specialised areas like airports.

One aspect that may not please privacy campaigners though, is that the cameras will actually be switched off by default. Though the clips they record will be stored for 31 days, it will be up to the individual officers when recording takes place. Specifically it's cited as being useful in domestic violence scenarios, or during stop and searches.

copcam

Source: Greater Manchester Police

According to the official statement from the Greater Manchester Police, the cameras will be used: “at appropriate times and for certain incidents, such as those that are domestic abuse related and during stop and search.”

Due to the shoulder placement of the cameras, officers that use firearms will not be fitted with them. Unfortunately the shoulder mounts lead to poor video quality when drawing and aiming.

The total cost for the cameras is said to be a million pounds (thanks Ars), with further costs of another £855,000 over the next three years for maintenance and footage storage.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Bodycameras on police seems like a good plan and keeping costs down by not recording everything is probably a good thing, but the fact that they can only be turned on as and when the police want, seems like it won't do much to provide oversight of their activities.

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133 NZ police staff illegally snooped through citizen records https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/133-nz-police-staff-illegally-snooped-through-citizen-records/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/133-nz-police-staff-illegally-snooped-through-citizen-records/#comments Wed, 27 Jan 2016 10:48:25 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=282199 Over the past five years, 133 police officers working in New Zealand were found to have illegally looked through confidential police files, leading to criminal charges for two, and 16 to resign. While many used the police systems to look at their own profiles, others used them to check on ex-partners, relatives and friends; in …

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Over the past five years, 133 police officers working in New Zealand were found to have illegally looked through confidential police files, leading to criminal charges for two, and 16 to resign. While many used the police systems to look at their own profiles, others used them to check on ex-partners, relatives and friends; in some instances, to hand over information to criminals.

One of the big arguments that comes from many a politician's mouth in the wake of terrorist or other nefarious acts, is that they need more access to information. They want to know web browsing histories, or have access to all forms of communication, always promising that adequate safeguards are in place. Clearly that hasn't been the case in New Zealand, as more than one per cent of its entire force was reprimanded for misusing their access to citizen data.

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NZ police meeting then first-lady Laura Bush in 2008. They probably already knew her measurements. Source: Wikimedia

It wasn't always police officers, as some are said to be support staff or employees of the police forces, but all of them used the official computer systems to illegally spy on people. Two of those involved passed information on to criminals and were summarily arrested, one given eight years for drugs and corruption convictions (as per the NZHerald).

“Police take the security of confidential information very seriously and there are strict controls on access to information held in the National Intelligence Application system, with staff bound by a code of conduct, police instructions and the Policing Act 2008,” a spokesperson said.

Although they claimed that accessing information without legitimate reason was a serious misconduct, of all those found to have sneaked a peek at somebody's file, no one was fired. 16 resigned during the investigation, but more than 75 people were given warnings only.

New Zealand is part of the Five Eyes surveillance network and regularly shares information with other English speaking nations.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: This is exactly why granting more powers of surveillance to police and intelligence agencies would be a terrible idea. It will be abused and people will use that power to their own personal advantage. 

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GCHQ shot down encryption standard because it was too good https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/security-software/jon-martindale/gchq-shot-down-encryption-standard-because-it-was-too-good/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/security-software/jon-martindale/gchq-shot-down-encryption-standard-because-it-was-too-good/#comments Fri, 22 Jan 2016 11:44:37 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=281779 Amid all the arguments about encryption ongoing in the press and government right now, it's easy to forget that it's something that GCHQ and other intelligence agencies have been railing against for some time. I turns out that in 2010, it helped to reject a smartphone encryption standard that would have made surveillance harder and …

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Amid all the arguments about encryption ongoing in the press and government right now, it's easy to forget that it's something that GCHQ and other intelligence agencies have been railing against for some time. I turns out that in 2010, it helped to reject a smartphone encryption standard that would have made surveillance harder and make it easier to detect.

GCHQ is currently pushing a new encryption key standard for mobiles in the UK, known as MIKEY-SAKKE, which as security researcher Steven Murdoch recently detailed, has a huge backdoor in it to allow unfiltered surveillance of anyone using it. This is important, because it's this platform that the intelligence agency has repeatedly pushed for over other standards, like the more secure MIKEY-IBAKE.

gchq

There's a reason the building looks like a three pronged Goatse.

The IBAKE method of key distribution was proposed back in 2010, but as a document from a meeting at that time reveals, GCHQ's decryption and data analysis branch, the National Technical Assistance Centre, poo-pooed it, citing that it would cause delays in snooped on conversations, which might make it obvious to those being spied on. It would also make it harder to go back and listen to past calls.

As The Register points out though, the most worrisome part of all of this, is that the MIKEY-SAKKE alternative that was pushed first back in 2010, is now being marketed by governments and commercial entities as a way to better security on smartphones, when in-fact it opens up a backdoor to make it much easier for the NSA and GCHQ to spy on people.

They're selling snake venom and calling it an antidote.

As Murdoch puts it: “The properties that MIKEY-SAKKE offers are actively harmful for security. It creates a vulnerable single point of failure, which would require huge effort, skill and cost to secure – requiring resource beyond the capability of most companies.”

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Weakening security standards not only makes it easier for governments to spy on their own people, but also makes it more likely that foreign nations and other nefarious groups can do the same. The godlike power to snoop in on every one will be abused and helps foster a strange, patriarchal role for GCHQ employees too.

 

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CISA surveillance bill bundled in with NASA’s budget https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/cisa-surveillance-bill-bundled-in-with-nasas-budget/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/cisa-surveillance-bill-bundled-in-with-nasas-budget/#comments Thu, 17 Dec 2015 12:25:20 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=278454 Following the years of failed-attempts by politicians and copyright lobby groups to have the world accept distasteful bills like PIPA and SOPA, it's no surprise that the tactics to push them through have changed. Nowadays they're hidden within legislation like trade bills in the case of the TTIP and TPP, but even more hidden is …

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Following the years of failed-attempts by politicians and copyright lobby groups to have the world accept distasteful bills like PIPA and SOPA, it's no surprise that the tactics to push them through have changed. Nowadays they're hidden within legislation like trade bills in the case of the TTIP and TPP, but even more hidden is the recent push for the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act in the U.S., which has been bundled into the NASA budget discussion.

CISA is a bill that would make it possible for private companies to share information with law enforcement agencies in the United States without the need for a warrant and without taking into consideration any other privacy enhancing laws. Ostensibly this is to make it easier to track down terrorists and other nefarious criminals, but privacy advocates are concerned that it could turn America into a surveillance state with no safeguards.

While a bill like that may receive a lot of opposition from the public and technology companies, preventing it has now become much harder, as it's been hidden within other legislation. In this case it's the “omnibus,” bill, which deals with all sorts of government funding, including the NASA budget. This is something that politicians are unlikely to shoot down and the president unlikely to veto, as it would also bring an end to everything else within the bill.

budgetbill

As Wired points out, the stripped back version of CISA that's found within the omnibus bill, is even worse than previous iterations. It would allow the president to set up ‘portals' between companies and intelligence agencies, making it perfectly legal for them to send data on citizens to the FBI, NSA or other groups, without first going through the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). It also only requires a “specific threat,” to warrant such action, versus what was previously described as an “imminent threat.”

So in reality, that language is loose enough that if there are any problems that the NSA or FBI can't solve, they could look through information held on anyone by a company and go fishing for potential evidence against them, without a warrant.

Even beyond the potential privacy infringing implications, the DHS previously warned that so much data could be recorded and sent to law enforcement, that they wouldn't be able to see the forest for the trees.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: It's amazing how determined politicians are to ram home these sorts of bills, when the opposition from tech companies and organisations is so great. 

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Cameron may fast-track surveillance bill after Paris attacks https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/security-software/jon-martindale/cameron-may-fast-track-surveillance-bill-after-paris-attacks/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/security-software/jon-martindale/cameron-may-fast-track-surveillance-bill-after-paris-attacks/#comments Mon, 16 Nov 2015 15:15:59 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=275224 “Never let a good crisis go to waste,” is a saying most often attributed to Winston Churchill, but he was far from the first person in a position of political power to consider this motto; he won't be the last either. David Cameron has announced that following the attacks in France just a few days …

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“Never let a good crisis go to waste,” is a saying most often attributed to Winston Churchill, but he was far from the first person in a position of political power to consider this motto; he won't be the last either. David Cameron has announced that following the attacks in France just a few days ago, that Britain should reconsider the plan for the draft Investigatory Powers Bill announced last week.

The bill, named by many as a successor to the Theresa May backed “Snooper's Charter” – which was shot down in 2013 – would force internet service providers to store the browser history of their customers for up to 12 months. It was initially set to be debated in both houses of parliament next year, with a plan to potentially bring it into law in 2017.

However following last week's attacks, the British Prime minister now believes we should “look at the timetable,” of the possible legislation and perhaps bring it forward.

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Image source: Wikimedia

His statement was backed up by several other MPs who also called for a quicker look at the legislation, which defenders claim would make it easier for the police and intelligence agencies to crack down on organised crime and terrorist actions. Detractors however claim that it does not have enough safeguards in place to prevent abuse, and that serious criminals do not use general web browsing, without obfuscation, to communicate with one another.

As a further measure to help prevent any such attacks taking place in the UK, Cameron also announced that the budget for British intelligence would be expanded, allowing for the hiring of 1,900 new agents who would be deployed within MI5, MI6 and GCHQ to expand current spying operations, as per Wired.

KitGuru Says: It does seem a little ridiculous to suggest that attacks similar to the ones in France could be prevented if GCHQ could look through the browser history of everyone in the UK. Security is so important, but we have to be incredibly careful in the wake of emotional attacks like the one last week, as it creates a reactionary atmosphere that can send us down a road that will very hard to retread.

 

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U.S. judge tried to bribe FBI agent to reveal text messages https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/u-s-judge-tried-to-bribe-fbi-agent-to-reveal-text-messages/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/u-s-judge-tried-to-bribe-fbi-agent-to-reveal-text-messages/#comments Fri, 06 Nov 2015 11:40:57 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=274475 As further indication that police and intelligence agency access to digital records can be abused, a U.S. judge attempted to bribe an FBI agent with beer in the hopes that it would give him access to the text messages sent from two separate phone numbers. Eventually they settled on $100 in exchange for a disc …

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As further indication that police and intelligence agency access to digital records can be abused, a U.S. judge attempted to bribe an FBI agent with beer in the hopes that it would give him access to the text messages sent from two separate phone numbers. Eventually they settled on $100 in exchange for a disc said to contain the text messages in question, though the judge now faces charges that could land him in jail for decades if convicted.

“[S]ee what you can do without drawing attention. This involves family so I don't want anyone to know,” said  North Carolina judge Arnold Ogden Jones, in a message to an FBI agent. They negotiated from a couple of cases of beer, to $100 in cash, which was exchanged for a disc that was represented in a way to suggest it had the text messages in question on it.

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Source: WITN screencap

Judge Jones was arrested shortly after on the 27th October and now faces charges related to bribing a public official and attempting corrupting influence of official proceedings. He has been released without bond but has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation by the Superior Court, along with the police.

It's not clear for what reason Jones wanted the text messages, which are said to relate to a certain family. It could be that it was related to a case, though you would imagine from its wording that it may concern his own relatives. It wasn't revealed in any of the documents (via Ars) whether the FBI did actually have the ability to access the text messages in question, but it did not provide any real information to the judge as part of the deal.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Although it's good to see that one corrupt judge will now not be in such a position of power, it shows that there are people within the legal system that will abuse the state's ability to collect digital data on individuals. Mass surveillance offers way too much power without enough oversight.

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You probably wouldn’t want to work at Konami https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/you-probably-wouldnt-want-to-work-at-konami/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/you-probably-wouldnt-want-to-work-at-konami/#respond Mon, 03 Aug 2015 16:27:27 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=261846 Konami has been making headlines a lot this year. First the publisher had a pretty vague but very public falling out with Metal Gear Solid creator, Hideo Kojima, then we learned that the Silent Hills reboot was cancelled and now, it turns out that Konami in general is just a pretty awful place to work. …

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Konami has been making headlines a lot this year. First the publisher had a pretty vague but very public falling out with Metal Gear Solid creator, Hideo Kojima, then we learned that the Silent Hills reboot was cancelled and now, it turns out that Konami in general is just a pretty awful place to work.

According to reports coming straight out of Japan, Konami employees are being treated very poorly indeed. Nikkei has published a report this week, revealing that Kojima productions staff are restricted from internet access at work, they don't have their own email addresses to limit their communication with external parties and they are even monitored with surveillance cameras.

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Departments that do need to talk to parties outside of the company, like sales, are provided with an email address consisting of random letters and numbers. These email addresses are changed and re-issued every few months. Lunch breaks are apparently managed by time cards, while employees that are late getting back to their desks are punished.

Employees are all monitored by surveillance, those who don't perform up to expectations run the risk of being transferred to other tasks, like cleaning the company gym or security guard duty. Aside from that, the report also claims that in total, Konami has spent $80 million on Metal Gear Solid V.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Well working at Konami sure sounds depressing, particularly if you were part of Kojima's team. 

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Gigabyte Worldwide VP Henry Kao exclusive interview https://www.kitguru.net/components/motherboard/leo-waldock/gigabyte-worldwide-vp-henry-kao-exclusive-interview/ Wed, 24 Jun 2015 07:13:55 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=255908 It's tempting for senior officials at every company to regurgitate the ‘About Us' section of their web site. Henry Kao is different. Prior to the cameras being switched on, Henry assured us that we could ask ‘Anything we want'. And so we did. Henry gave us his full, frank opinion on everything from oppressive surveillance …

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It's tempting for senior officials at every company to regurgitate the ‘About Us' section of their web site. Henry Kao is different. Prior to the cameras being switched on, Henry assured us that we could ask ‘Anything we want'. And so we did. Henry gave us his full, frank opinion on everything from oppressive surveillance becoming the norm with wearable technology, to AMD's chances of success with its next gen products and processes.

KitGuru says: We thank Henry for his refreshingly honest overview of the market and his insight into the challenges facing some of the biggest companies in the tech industry today.

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More than a quarter self-censor online after Snowden leaks https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/security-software/jon-martindale/more-than-a-quarter-self-censor-online-after-snowden-leaks/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/security-software/jon-martindale/more-than-a-quarter-self-censor-online-after-snowden-leaks/#comments Wed, 17 Dec 2014 09:47:25 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=226736 A survey recently appeared online from CIGI-Ipsos, that looked at how people felt about different aspects of online life. Part of it quizzed them on the aftermath of Edward Snowden's NSA leaks, with over 60 per cent saying they were aware of him and almost 40 per cent saying they had taken action to tighten up their …

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A survey recently appeared online from CIGI-Ipsos, that looked at how people felt about different aspects of online life. Part of it quizzed them on the aftermath of Edward Snowden's NSA leaks, with over 60 per cent saying they were aware of him and almost 40 per cent saying they had taken action to tighten up their personal privacy since. One of the saddest bits of news however is that an average of 28 per cent of those asked said that they had begun to self-censor what they said online to avoid being targeted by international intelligence agencies.

This survey undertaken by CIGI-Ipsos quizzed over 23,000 internet users around the world, between the ages of 16 and 64 and polled results by category and global region. It discovered that some 58 per cent of those living in Latin America now no longer visit certain sites since Edward Snowden's revelations. 42 per cent of Europeans did the same, while over a third of those quizzed (from every region) said they now changed their password regularly to help protect their security.

infographic23

A lot of this is down to fear of government censorship and surveillance, with over 62 per cent saying they were concerned about being monitored online. Hacking was more of a worry, with 77 per cent of those asked saying they were concerned about someone stealing personal information on them and hacking into their accounts.

This has led to 28 per cent of those asked claiming to censor what they say online. This could be to do with the way people have been attacked for things they said out of context, including those that have been arrested for making jokes on social networks.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Self-censoring because you want to be a nicer person is one thing. Censoring because you're afraid someone might consider you a terrorist due tosomething you said being picked up by an NSA algorithm, is another thing entirely. 

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Ex-MI5 intelligence officer: Britain ‘prostituting itself’ to NSA https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/ex-mi5-intelligence-officer-britain-prostituting-itself-to-nsa/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/ex-mi5-intelligence-officer-britain-prostituting-itself-to-nsa/#comments Mon, 27 Oct 2014 09:54:15 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=218593 Annie Machon, ex-member of the MI5 British Intelligence agency and partner of MI6 whistle blower, David Shalyer, who exposed investigations into British Politicians for socialist ties in the late 90s, has spoken out against the current climate of surveillance in Britain and the US. Not only did she claim that British MPs who parrot support …

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Annie Machon, ex-member of the MI5 British Intelligence agency and partner of MI6 whistle blower, David Shalyer, who exposed investigations into British Politicians for socialist ties in the late 90s, has spoken out against the current climate of surveillance in Britain and the US. Not only did she claim that British MPs who parrot support for it have no idea what they're talking about, but even went so far as to say that the British intelligence services “prostituted themselves,” to the USA.

“GCHQ has prostituted itself the the NSA to the tune of millions of dollars with no accountability or oversight,” she said (via the Guardian). “We live in an endemic surveillance state now. Politicians say ‘we know the intelligence agencies are working within the law and protecting, not eroding, our freedoms’. But politicians don’t have a bastard clue what spies can get away with and Britain is the least accountable of all the western intelligence agencies.”

Machon also touched on how this could come about though, suggesting that when you inhabit a world of surveillance, you lose touch with the fact that what you're observing is the real world, with real people in it. Describing her own time with MI5, she said: “When I first started reading transcripts of phone conversations it felt highly intrusive – information about their private lives and who they were having an affair with that even their families didn't know. It becomes god-like … a massive sense of dislocation from the real world.”

annie
Machon speaking in 2013 in Hamburg. Source: Wikimedia

This is something that we've seen echoed elsewhere, where NSA contractors and employees were found to be investigating their partners and potential love interests using the highly sophisticated snooping system to look into their private communications.

All of this came out during a talk by Machon at this year's Playful conference, which had a theme of “Hidden – what lies beneath?” During her talk, Machon said that there had been a real change in attitude at intelligence agencies (and to some extent in the public) over the past couple of decades. At one point she drew a comparison between a failed, but secretive, plan to assassinate Libyan Dictator Colonel Gaddafi in 1996, to the widely reported capture and death of him in 2011. She suggested that this was a “dangerous moral slide,” that the entire nation was taking.

Machon was however complimentary of whistle blower Edward Snowden. She likely empathises with his position, as she too – along with Shayler – spent several years in exile from her home.

Discuss on our Facebook Page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Quite a damning of British intelligence, but when they can snoop on anything and everything done online, it seems hard not to criticise a group with such omnipotence and so little oversight. Especially when the age and (dis)interest of politicians practically guarantees them not fully understanding the scope of the potential snooping being undertaken. 

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Snowden on those that say ‘I have nothing to hide’ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/security-software/jon-martindale/snowden-on-those-that-say-i-have-nothing-to-hide/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/security-software/jon-martindale/snowden-on-those-that-say-i-have-nothing-to-hide/#comments Mon, 13 Oct 2014 09:15:12 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=216236 Over the past year, the world has become much more aware of the way government's sniff out data on potential criminals: in short, everything is recorded. Edward Snowden's revelations about this have helped create a growing tide of disquiet with regards to overly intrusive surveillance and especially when it comes to gag orders on services …

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Over the past year, the world has become much more aware of the way government's sniff out data on potential criminals: in short, everything is recorded. Edward Snowden's revelations about this have helped create a growing tide of disquiet with regards to overly intrusive surveillance and especially when it comes to gag orders on services that are forced to cooperate with law enforcement. However there's still a lot of people that suggest that there isn't a problem with the police or anyone else going through all of their personal files, because they ‘have nothing to hide.'

During a chat at the New Yorker Festival this weekend, Edward Snowden himself addressed these claims in a video interview.

“When you say, ‘I have nothing to hide,’ you’re saying, ‘I don’t care about this right,'” he said. “You’re saying, ‘I don’t have this right, because I’ve got to the point where I have to justify it.’ The way rights work is, the government has to justify its intrusion into your rights.”

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Ultimately, this inverts the way rights work he said and called for governments to change their policies on spying.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fidq3jow8bc']

This is particularly poignant at the moment here in the UK, after Cameron and co. rushed through new human rights breaching snooping laws earlier this year and recently pledged to ditch the European sanctioned human rights legislation in favour of a newly designed British one, in order to better tackle ‘terrorism'.

Snowden went on in his chat, to recommend that web users around the world make use of more encryption tools to at the very least make their data harder to read and therefore less valuable a resource to collect. While some critics claim that heavier end user encryption could make it harder for law enforcement to tackle criminal threats, Snowden said that warrants give full access to a person's phone or other electronic device, thereby often handing over the private keys too. It just makes it harder for mass data collection.

When asked if he would ever return to the US, Snowden said that he would love to, but only on condition that the government offer him an open trial so he could fairly explain himself. It has so far declined.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: It's amazing that politicians can decry the hackers that leak private photos of individuals, when their spy agencies do almost the exact same thing.

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Snowden discussions much more common offline than on https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/snowden-discussions-much-more-common-offline-than-on/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/snowden-discussions-much-more-common-offline-than-on/#respond Wed, 27 Aug 2014 08:21:25 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=209095 If you've ever lamented the fact that your friends on Facebook or some other social platform don't seem particularly interested in discussing Edward Snowden and the revelations he made last year that opened everyone's eyes to the reach of government intelligence agencies, it might just be that they prefer to talk about it somewhere where …

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If you've ever lamented the fact that your friends on Facebook or some other social platform don't seem particularly interested in discussing Edward Snowden and the revelations he made last year that opened everyone's eyes to the reach of government intelligence agencies, it might just be that they prefer to talk about it somewhere where they aren't being recorded.

According to a report by the PewResearch Internet Project, it was discovered that while 86 per cent of Americans were happy to discuss Edward Snowden and his revelations in person, only 42 per cent were happy to do so over Facebook and Twitter. For those that were unwilling to discuss Snowden altogether, they didn't think that social networking was a good platform for talks on it at all.

However, all respondents said they were more willing to discuss the situation if they felt that their audience – be it offline or on – agreed with their point of view.

surveillance

For PewInternet, the most eye opening part of the research was the diminished role social networking played in allowing open discussion on the subject. While both Facebook and Twitter were instrumental in discussing government surveillance during the Arab Spring and other anti-government protests, when it comes to the leering eyes of Western governments, people see those avenues as far less secure. That's not surprising of course, since both sites were forced to hand over data to the government without telling anyone due to secret court proceedings which they were both banned from discussing.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: It's a real shame that governments like ours and the USA's, which champion freedoms of speech and expression, especially when condemning the actions of groups overseas, would feel the need to trample those principles when it comes to their own people. 

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Kim Dotcom pledges Internet Party will stop mass snooping https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/kim-dotcom-pledges-internet-party-will-stop-mass-snooping/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/kim-dotcom-pledges-internet-party-will-stop-mass-snooping/#comments Fri, 25 Jul 2014 09:15:49 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=204717 Surveillance, snooping, the mass collection of data and the oppressive oversight of governments around the world has been a big topic over the past year. Kim Dotcom is someone that knows about it all too well, considering he himself was spied upon illegally before being arrested with an invalid warrant back in 2012. With his …

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Surveillance, snooping, the mass collection of data and the oppressive oversight of governments around the world has been a big topic over the past year. Kim Dotcom is someone that knows about it all too well, considering he himself was spied upon illegally before being arrested with an invalid warrant back in 2012. With his new Internet Party political push however, he's pledging to end all mass surveillance in New Zealand and make the practice illegal.

Of course it's very easy for a party without a seat in parliament yet to make grandiose claims, just as every opposition party has done for years, but this is an issue he takes very seriously.

“Everyone should care about their basic human right to privacy. More and more people do. Governments want to engage in mass surveillance and have total citizen control. We have just woken up,” he said to The Guardian. He also said that governments would never be able to stand up to this generation of internet users and that he plans to help “abolish mass surveillance and rejuvenate politics by giving the internet generation a voice.”

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Plus, its logo is a cat

He also confirmed that he believes the Internet Party could work elsewhere. When asked if that applied to the UK, he responded “100 per cent. Someone is starting an Internet Party there.”

While of course the policies of Dotcom's Internet (MANA) Party are a big selling point, part of the appeal is the engagement with people. Through a heavy online presence, the push for apps and interaction with party members through parties and unique campaigns, Dotcom claims to be building the political party of a new age.
“I'm just shaking my head about the incompetence of the New Zealand government in all tech and internet matters,” Dotcom continued. “They don't have a vision for the future. They are not thinking bold thoughts like how can we double our GDP by focusing on growing our tech and internet sector. That's where real growth is going to happen in the decades to come.

“The internet is the biggest gift to mankind and we need to protect it from overreaching governments and greedy corporations.”

Dotcom also confirmed that while his legal team worked on getting the MPAA and RIAA trials pushed back beyond that of his again delayed extradition trial next year, that he was hoping to sue the New Zealand GCSB intelligence agency for its illegal raid on his home.

KitGuru Says: I'm so disillusioned with British politicians, I'd vote for an Internet Party MP here. I can't see one running in my county for a while, but there's a vote waiting for it here if someone does. 

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Snowden calls for surveillance blocking technologies https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/security-software/jon-martindale/snowden-calls-for-surveillance-blocking-technologies/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/security-software/jon-martindale/snowden-calls-for-surveillance-blocking-technologies/#respond Mon, 21 Jul 2014 08:41:33 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=203859 Whistleblower Edward Snowden spoke at a New York based hacking conference, Hackers On Planet Earth (HOPE) this weekend. Broadcasting himseelf via a video feed from Moscow where he currently resides under threat of extradition to the US, he called on those assembled and other hackers and technology leaders around the world, to push for the …

The post Snowden calls for surveillance blocking technologies first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
Whistleblower Edward Snowden spoke at a New York based hacking conference, Hackers On Planet Earth (HOPE) this weekend. Broadcasting himseelf via a video feed from Moscow where he currently resides under threat of extradition to the US, he called on those assembled and other hackers and technology leaders around the world, to push for the development of surveillance blocking software and hardware that will make the job of governments looking to spy on everyone to catch but a few, much harder.

“You in this room, right now have both the means and the capability to improve the future by encoding our rights into programs and protocols by which we rely every day,” he said. “That is what a lot of my future work is going to be involved in.”

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Snowden has been hiding out in Moscow for over a year now

As Reuters points out, Snowden's future may be a little shakier than he makes out however, as he did not touch on the possibility that his Russian visa which needs extension this month if he is to stay in country, may not be renewed. He may also come in to play as a bargaining chip in the ongoing problems between Russia and the US over the Ukraine and the recent downing of the Malaysia airlines plane.

Other speakers are the conference included the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which touched on its efforts to sue the NSA for its snooping and information on SecureDrop, a tool designed to allow whistleblowers to get in touch with journalists anonymously if needed.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: It's not too surprising that Edward Snowden sees much of the rest of his life as a campaigner. Unless he somehow becomes exonerated by the US, which seems unlikely, the next few years of his life are not going to be easy.

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UK Home Secretary calls for more government surveilance https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/uk-home-secretary-calls-for-more-government-surveilance/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/uk-home-secretary-calls-for-more-government-surveilance/#comments Wed, 25 Jun 2014 12:23:06 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=200006 Despite last year's Edward Snowden revelations kicking off big debates about government intrusion in the day to day lives of internet and telephone users the world over, the British government doesn't feel like it has enough eyes on its citizens. The Home Secretary, Theresa May, recently made a speech about how the dangers of terrorism …

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Despite last year's Edward Snowden revelations kicking off big debates about government intrusion in the day to day lives of internet and telephone users the world over, the British government doesn't feel like it has enough eyes on its citizens. The Home Secretary, Theresa May, recently made a speech about how the dangers of terrorism mean we need to have more government surveillance.

While I've love to take her to task for using the terrorism buzzword for scaremongering purposes, in all fairness, the speech was her annual Lord Mayor's Defence and Security lecture and with the recent problems in Iraq, it's fair to say that terrorism was bound to come up.

Image Source: Home Office
Image Source: Home Office

However, her veiled threats that terrorists are in our back garden, certainly seemed more in-line with typical tabloid headline fear:

“The terrorist threats to this country and our interests are changing faster than at any time since 9/11. We continue to face possible attacks by al Qaida in Pakistan and Afghanistan,” she said. “They are on the doorstep on Europe, just a few hours flying time from London, and they want to attack us – not just in Syria or Iraq but here in Britain.”

Image source: Spacial
Image source: Spatial

Someone should point out to Miss May that in the 21st century, the whole world is only a few hours flight away.

She went on to discuss data collection in the past, suggesting that it was nothing to worry about as the government had always been doing it, but that now it was getting harder. Which is why it needs more power. 

“It is much harder now – there is more data, we do not own it and we can no longer always obtain it,” she said. “I know some people will say ‘hurrah for that’ – but the result is that we are in danger of making the internet an ungoverned, ungovernable space, a safe haven for terrorism and criminality.”

She ended with a show of determination, stating that she and those that believed as she does – that government tracking and monitoring need to be stepped up – would never give up:
“Yes, we have to make sure that the capabilities can only be used with the right authorisation and with appropriate oversight. But this is quite simply a question of life and death, a matter of national security. We must keep on making the case until we get the changes we need.”

Understandably, many people completely disagree with May on the topic of privacy, government oversight and surveillance. Loz Kaye, leader of the Pirate Party UK commented that she was trying to once again bring about the “Snooper's Charter,” an invasive communications bill that was shot down in 2013 by dwindling support.

“Yet again Theresa May is trying to open the door to bring back the Snoopers' Charter. Despite her claiming it is ‘fictitious', we now know thanks to Snowden that the UK has an unprecedented ability to carry out mass surveillance,” he said. “What capabilities does the Home Secretary want over and above OpticNerve's interception of webcam images of people not suspected of any wrongdoing?”

He then went on to point out many of the individuals who had been tracked down using already available surveillance techniques. If the government was currently helpless, then why were they so easy to find?

“Theresa May suggests that the Internet is becoming an ungoverned place. That is obviously nonsense. Try telling that to Richard O'Dwyer, Paul Chambers or Peter Sunde. Far from protecting us, mass surveillance dismantles the very freedoms this government claims to be upholding. This is not abstract as she claims, it is a real danger for our democracy”.

KitGuru Says: Theresa May once again seems absolutely out of touch with the reality of being a citizen. Just as she ignored claims that banning Khet would do more harm than good because she was on the warpath, here again she shows disdain for personal privacy and a disinterest in listening to the people that helped put her in office. Perhaps if she'd had her phone hacked like German chancellor Angela Merkel and some of her personal information had been leaked, she might not be so excited by the prospect of more government intrusion. 

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Synology announces two new NAS devices https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/nas/matthew-wilson/synology-announces-two-new-nas-devices/ https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/nas/matthew-wilson/synology-announces-two-new-nas-devices/#respond Tue, 29 Apr 2014 09:45:55 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=189825 Synology, a company dedicated to creating high performance, reliable and cost effective NAS solutions has announced two new devices- the DS414j and EDS14. The former is a 4 bay NAS device aimed at home users who require up to 20TB of storage, while the latter is an all new device aimed at the surveillance market. The …

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Synology, a company dedicated to creating high performance, reliable and cost effective NAS solutions has announced two new devices- the DS414j and EDS14. The former is a 4 bay NAS device aimed at home users who require up to 20TB of storage, while the latter is an all new device aimed at the surveillance market.

The DS414j is the successor to the DS413j, featuring a retro looking black chassis, dual core CPU, floating point and USB 3.0 making it the fastest and most powerful J series NAS from Synology to date. The drive is available now for £258 including VAT here in the UK and €250 excluding VAT in the rest of Europe. The drive is available globally but there is no word on US pricing just yet.

f-DS414j_right-45f-EDS14-right-45

The EDS14 is a brand new device rather than an update to a previous model, It’s a diskless, compact and shock-proof storage device. It comes with the famous DSM built in which makes it a simple plug & play NAS device. This one is also available globally for £154 including VAT here in the UK and €150 excluding VAT for the rest of Europe. This device is also available globally but unfortunately we don't have the US pricing.

KitGuru Says: If you're in the market for a NAS device then these might be worth considering. Expect a review from us soon. Do any of you guys currently use a NAS drive?

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Mega CEO talks about being spied upon at TedX https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/mega-ceo-talks-about-being-spied-upon-at-tedx/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/mega-ceo-talks-about-being-spied-upon-at-tedx/#respond Mon, 24 Feb 2014 10:54:59 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=178754 There's very few people that are ok with the idea of being spied on by government agencies and even less that like it. However when it's going on, there isn't a lot we can do, even if you're a millionaire head of an encrypted cloud network. That's the situation Vikram Kumar found himself in – …

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There's very few people that are ok with the idea of being spied on by government agencies and even less that like it. However when it's going on, there isn't a lot we can do, even if you're a millionaire head of an encrypted cloud network. That's the situation Vikram Kumar found himself in – or at least, so he says – when he took on the role of new Mega CEO last year and he's spoken about the experience at TedX in Queenstown New Zealand.
“The company founders [Mr Dotcom and others] were under surveillance by the GCSB and its partner, the NSA, the start-up was not doing anything bad but it was in the national interest of the US to keep an eye on the company,” he said, going on to discuss how initially the idea of being watched all the time was laughable, but that as time went on, it became less tasteful and more comparable to the five stages of grief.

internetparty
Today Mr Kumar's aims are more political, heading up Kim Dotcom's Internet Party, hence the more vocal attack against mass surveillance. 

Citing the admission of the NSA head General Alexander, that PRISM had stopped no more than a single act of terrorism, Kumar went on to call on everyone to reject mass surveillance. “Governments are entering into every corner of our lives, I think it's important. The internet makes each one of us an easy target for everyone all over the world,” he said, suggesting that it must be stopped.

KitGuru Says: I've said it before but it's worth repeating, I'm becoming quietly confident that there will be some measure of reform when it comes to spying laws. There's enough impetus behind it from all corners, that the smell of change is in the air.

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UK legal advice claims GCHQ spying ‘illegal’ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/uk-legal-advice-claims-gchq-spying-illegal/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/uk-legal-advice-claims-gchq-spying-illegal/#respond Wed, 29 Jan 2014 10:34:22 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=174956 Legal advisers to the British government have told MPs that much of the surveillance that GCHQ has been taking part in over the past few years could be considered illegal and in breach of human rights, and was only possible due to vagaries in current legislation that have been obtusely interpreted by the intelligence community to …

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Legal advisers to the British government have told MPs that much of the surveillance that GCHQ has been taking part in over the past few years could be considered illegal and in breach of human rights, and was only possible due to vagaries in current legislation that have been obtusely interpreted by the intelligence community to allow it to continue its privacy invasions.

The warning is a serious one, as not only does it suggest that the general activities of GCHQ could be considered illegal under British and International law, but that individual staff at the agency could be guilty of criminal activity. And they've been doing so for years under the proviso that they were working within the legal framework afforded to them, without consideration that it could be an incorrect interpretation of the law that allowed them to do so in the first place.. It even sights a horrific example where theoretically staff that passed on information to the US, could be liable for the deaths of innocent civilians killed by drones strikes.

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Working here makes you a potential accessory to murder. Good job guys. 

“An individual involved in passing that information is likely to be an accessory to murder,” the report suggested. It also goes on to recommend that the government draw up a memorandum on how data is shared overseas and what that data is allowed to be used for, thereby dissolving any responsibility British intelligence would have if that data was then used for something other than initially stated.

However, avoiding blame for overseas actions wasn't the only thing the legal advisers were interested in, there was also a lot of talk of problems with privacy invasion. It cites the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) of 2000 that potentially blocks some of GCHQ's spying activities on a legal level, but states that its wording is outdated and needs to be updated in order to continue offering the same level of protection to British citizens. As it stands, RIPA makes it completely illegal to mass intercept the contents of communication between two people in the UK, even if those messages are routed overseas.

The advisory board also highlighted the European Convention of Human Rights, suggesting that the the bulk collection of metadata could be considered a “disproportionate interference” into people's personal lives and is therefore in breach of article eight of the convention. Other aspects of current GCHQ spying were also said to be likely considered unlawful by many watchdog organisations.

It also highlighted how the mere fact that this surveillance has only been outed by a whistleblower was also problematic, since the European Court of Human Rights explicitly states that any country taking part in any sort of meaningful surveillance of its citizens, must be transparent about it. Since we have only just heard about the schemes that have been ongoing at GCHQ for over five years, there's even more reason to believe British intelligence has been in breach of human rights law.

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It's a sad day when you wish this was what our intelligence agencies were really like

As the Guardian reports, the summary of the advice is perhaps the most damning, stating: “In short, the rules concerning communications data are too uncertain and do not provide sufficient clarity to be in accordance with the law … we consider the mass interception of communications via a transatlantic cable to be unlawful, and that these conclusions would apply even if some or all of the interception is taking place outside UK territorial waters.”

The suggestions by this legal group that the British intelligence community has not only performed illegal surveillance, but has repeatedly breached human rights, does not bode well for the court case looming in the European Court of Human Rights, which will examine if the British government and GCHQ are guilty of human rights violations. If found guilty, the court could force the government to pay material and/or moral damages to those affected – theoretically every person in Britain – as well as cover the legal expenses of those that brought the case to the court, in this case, rights lobby groups.

KitGuru Says: What's interesting about this report, is that it gives MPs the chance to distance themselves from the whole surveillance scandal by throwing GCHQ under the bus. While I'm sure there are ministers that are just as guilty, part of me would love to watch the firework show if high ranking politicians started pointing the finger exclusively at the intelligence agency. 

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Angry Birds data used by GCHQ and NSA https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/security-software/jon-martindale/angry-birds-data-used-by-gchq-and-nsa/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/security-software/jon-martindale/angry-birds-data-used-by-gchq-and-nsa/#respond Tue, 28 Jan 2014 09:56:57 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=174768 In the wake of the Edward Snowden leaks from early 2013, the western world and specifically US and British citizens, have come to accept that the NSA and GCHQ have no doubt snooped in our conversations, metadata, Facebook posts and more, with the excuse that they're protecting us from terrorism. We also know that the …

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In the wake of the Edward Snowden leaks from early 2013, the western world and specifically US and British citizens, have come to accept that the NSA and GCHQ have no doubt snooped in our conversations, metadata, Facebook posts and more, with the excuse that they're protecting us from terrorism. We also know that the NSA sent agents ‘undercover' into games like World of Warcraft and Second Life, so it shouldn't really come to anyone's surprise that the most popular game series ever, Angry Birds, was also used by intelligence agencies to gather up data on average citizens.

Understandably, Rovio, the developer of Angry Birds has released a statement saying that it has no knowledge of any NSA backdoor within its software, or of any data being gathered from it – of course with the current US secrecy laws in place, it's very hard for any company to tell its customers if it is forced into bed with the NSA. Fortunately that's soon about to change, so we may have much more candid revelations about how in-depth the relationship between with US-intelligence and some companies have been.

While the NSA activities here are no doubt unsurprising to anyone that's been keeping up with revelations surrounding the PRISM scheme, the fact that the intelligence agency does and has been gathering smartphone and location information from apps is a new revelation, backed up by internal slides leaked by Mr Snowden in his continued skirt lifting of the US authorities. It explains that along with Angry Birds, the NSA and GCHQ targeted many applications that recorded information on the user, with the intelligence agencies particularly excited about apps that have users uploading images of themselves.

nsa
“Wanted: selfies, nudes” – NSA

However many apps also broadcast location data, something the NSA was particularly interested in as it believed these could help keep track of terrorists. Of course we know that throughout the past few years of NSA data hoovering, which has involved wholesale metadata collection from US phone calls, as well as much more invasive overseas strategies, has ultimately resulted in the stopping of one or perhaps two terrorist attacks.

Google Maps was a big source of data gathering too. Every time the service was used on a smartphone, the US an British intelligence agencies were able to suction up massive amounts of location data, to the point where (as the Guardian reports), one document from 2008, suggested that anyone using “Google Maps on a smartphone is working in support of a GCHQ system.” What's potentially worse about this, is GCHQ is happy to share data with its pals in the NSA, who have far less consideration (and laws binding them) when it comes to foreign nationals. Concern has already been raised over the tight nit relationship between the two agencies that could allow both to circumvent safeguards designed to protect their own citizens from being overwatched by the local spies.

nsaandroid
GCHQ has put a lot more time into targeting Android devices than Apple, but the latter aren't any more secure

While it doesn't make the revelation any worse, the fact that GCHQ chose to name its data gathering schemes after characters in The Smurfs TV series almost seems sociopathic. They're called things like Nosey Smurf, Tracker Smurf and Dreamy Smurf.

The NSA has so far refused all calls for it to reveal how much data is recorded from apps, how often, or how and where that data is stored.

KitGuru Says: This is just one more reason not to trust apps to have access to all your data, on social networks and/or your handset. It also highlights how important campaigns like the one being put to the EU Court of Human Rights are. Make sure to give them a few sheckles if you want to see the British government be judged on its privacy invasions.

All images most likely copyright NSA/GCHQ, but we'll give The Guardian a source credit there too.

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European Court of Human Rights to demand UK spying justification https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/european-court-of-human-rights-to-demand-uk-spying-justification/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/european-court-of-human-rights-to-demand-uk-spying-justification/#respond Mon, 27 Jan 2014 10:15:33 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=174487 Even if you're one of those people that isn't a big fan of European intervention in British politics, you surely have to admit that it's nice to see Europe weighing in on our behalf in this instance. The EU Court of Human Rights has issued a demand that will see the UK government be forced …

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Even if you're one of those people that isn't a big fan of European intervention in British politics, you surely have to admit that it's nice to see Europe weighing in on our behalf in this instance. The EU Court of Human Rights has issued a demand that will see the UK government be forced to justify its spying activities through the intelligence agency GCHQ's Tempora scheme, which has it gathering up huge swathes of information on the general public by harvesting it directly from underwater fibre optic cables.

As Wired points out, since Article 8 of the Convention of Human Rights states that every person has a “right to respect for his privacy and family life,” especially in the home, the British government may well have breached human rights laws by instigating its data gathering schemes. Because of this, the UK now has until May to provide evidence to the contrary, at which point the European Court of Human Rights will decide whether it has breached the law or not.

tempora
The UK's very own Eye of Sauron

The case was opened last October, but has been fast tracked through thanks to the efforts of rights groups within the UK and elsewhere; the campaigners are understandably pleased with the news.

The only potential roadblock tin seeing the British government face off against the court, is that the EU may decide the rights groups should first take the case to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, a secretive court specifically designed to deal with complaints against public body surveillance in the UK. However campaigners deliberately “skipped” this step, because any trial wouldn't have taken place in the public eye and there would not be a right to an appeal if the case went against them.

To help fund further stages of the court case, PrivacyNotPrism is hoping to raise funds through crowd funding. You can donate here.

KitGuru Says: Good to see that GCHQ has a chance to be dragged over the coals in the same fashion as the NSA is getting in the US – perhaps even more so. What comes of it will depend on the court, but if found guilty of breaching human rights legislation, the UK could be bound to implement any changes suggested by the court, which could make things very interesting. 

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Think tank suggests NSA mass surveillance doesn’t stop terrorism https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/think-tank-suggests-nsa-mass-surveillance-doesnt-stop-terrorism/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/think-tank-suggests-nsa-mass-surveillance-doesnt-stop-terrorism/#respond Wed, 15 Jan 2014 11:51:10 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=172094 The New American Foundation think tank has just released a new report which suggests that the NSA's mass surveillance programs have almost no impact on the prevention of Terrorism and that more traditional methods like local law enforcement, community tip-offs and informants are much more effective. To determine how effective the NSA's data collection actually …

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The New American Foundation think tank has just released a new report which suggests that the NSA's mass surveillance programs have almost no impact on the prevention of Terrorism and that more traditional methods like local law enforcement, community tip-offs and informants are much more effective.

To determine how effective the NSA's data collection actually was in investigating and ultimately capturing terrorists, the NAF looked into the cases of 225 individuals who were indicted, convicted and in some cases killed following the 11th September attacks in 2001. These people were then divided into categories based on how they came to the attention of the NSA, some of which were down to phone metadata, some from more detailed surveillance that was allowed if a non-US citizen was (loosely) involved and other methods, including tips from family members and friends and informants close to the person. Self disclosure through video was also a common one.

Ultimately the NAF found that just 1.8 per cent of terrorist related cases, were aided by the use of US Citizens' phone metadata. More in-depth surveillance of non-US civilians also did very little to aide investigations, with less than five per cent of cases benefiting from the intrusive spying.

“Surveillance of American phone metadata has had no discernible impact on preventing acts of terrorism and only the most marginal of impacts on preventing terrorist-related activity, such as fundraising for a terrorist group,” concluded the NAF in its breakdown of the report.

nsasurveillance
Either the NSA is going on a strict diet, or its data collection does very little

This is evidence that can certainly be backed up by the NSA's own statements on the matter. Soon-to-be ex director of the NSA, General Keith Alexander stated in mid-2013 that his agency's efforts had stopped over forty different terrorist attacks. He later said however, that that number was more like one or perhaps two and even in those instances, it wasn't actual attacks that were prevented and the original tip-off came from British intelligence.

Ultimately, the report concludes, the NSA doesn't need better access to the data, or more of it or better methods of acquiring it, it simply needs to get better at sharing that information with other agencies, as several instances are cited where if there was better communication between the NSA and FBI, terrorist suspects could have been investigated much earlier than actually happened.

If you want to read the full report, you can do so here.

Kitguru Says: Not the most surprising results but a damning indictment of NSA success rates. It also really helps further the case that the freedoms being sacrificed in the name of security, are really not paying off.

[Thanks Wired]

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Academics rally against fading personal privacy https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/academics-rally-against-fading-personal-privacy/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/academics-rally-against-fading-personal-privacy/#respond Mon, 06 Jan 2014 11:37:09 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=170400 Hundreds of university researchers, lecturers, professors have come together to sign the Academics Against Surveillance charter, which demands that governments around the world provide better online protection for their citizens' right to privacy, which they say has been eroded by the actions of organisations like the NSA, GCHQ and GCSB. “Intelligence agencies monitor people's Internet …

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Hundreds of university researchers, lecturers, professors have come together to sign the Academics Against Surveillance charter, which demands that governments around the world provide better online protection for their citizens' right to privacy, which they say has been eroded by the actions of organisations like the NSA, GCHQ and GCSB.

“Intelligence agencies monitor people's Internet use, obtain their phone calls, email messages, Facebook entries, financial details, and much more,” it begins, also highlighting that other forms of communication are intercepted and that large tech companies are forbidden from even discussing it.

“This has to stop.”

Conceived and founded by a handful of academics in the wake of Edward Snowden's revelations, the list of people signing the declaration has now grown to several hundred. This is a marked turn around form before it was created, as the people behind it felt the entire academic community had been a little quiet on the topic. Something they wanted to rectify.

academics
We also need some new gears for this faux 18-speed

“People must be free from blanket mass surveillance conducted by intelligence agencies from their own or foreign countries,” it continues. “States must effectively protect everyone's fundamental rights and freedoms, and particularly everyone's privacy.”

Signatories have come from all over the world to put their name on the digital charter, though it's interesting to note where the majority come from. Australia surprisingly has very few, despite being the home of the GCSB, an intelligence organisation that has been found guilty (though not charged) with using invalid warrants and illegal surveillance against Kim Dotcom. Most of the numbers are made up of Europeans, with Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands having the biggest groups of academic signatories.

KitGuru Says: Every time I see a group of respected people stand up for personal privacy, it gives me a little more hope that we won't end up in a 1984 future.

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Kim Dotcom alludes to US phone tapping https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/security-software/jon-martindale/kim-dotcom-alludes-to-us-phone-tapping/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/security-software/jon-martindale/kim-dotcom-alludes-to-us-phone-tapping/#comments Fri, 06 Dec 2013 11:43:36 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=166026 The overreaching of the US government's domestic and international spy programs continues to be theorised in the latest revelations from Kim Dotcom's extradition trial, with the Megaupload founder and expert witnesses suggesting that the FBI may have used a fake mobile phone tower to record his phone calls, as late as August this year, despite …

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The overreaching of the US government's domestic and international spy programs continues to be theorised in the latest revelations from Kim Dotcom's extradition trial, with the Megaupload founder and expert witnesses suggesting that the FBI may have used a fake mobile phone tower to record his phone calls, as late as August this year, despite it being over a year and a half since his initial arrest.

This is completely unproven at the moment and based on Dotcom's own experiences and a suggestion by the New Zealand police's former head of its crime lab, John Thackray, but both are convinced that the US has been tapping Mr Dotcom's phone. He says that back in August he was on a phone conference with his lawyer, when he heard his voice played back to him, which he believes was the result of faulty surveillance equipment, most likely being used by the authorities of New Zealand and/or the US.

dotcomboat

If you look closely, you can see a NSA diver with a shark fin on

Mr Thackray said that in circumstances like the ones described by Dotcom, he may well have been under surveillance.

The response from the US (via the New Zealand Herald) has been that its assurances to counter these claims should be enough to put people's minds at ease.

KitGuru Says: This really wouldn't surprise me at this point. PRISM has been shown to be a hugely ambitious and invasive scheme, why wouldn't it continue to be used to keep track of someone like Dotcom, that has proved to be a real thorn in the side of the authorities?

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