Author Archive
Threats
Report: NSA Gave Germany Access to Powerful Internet Surveillance Tool
Germany's internal spy agency traded surveillance data on its citizens for access to XKeyscore, Die Zeit newspaper says.
Threats
Germany Charges Own Spy With Spilling Secrets To US, Russia
The spy, arrested last summer, is accused of accepting more than $100,000 from the CIA to snoop on Germany.
Science & Tech
What’s Inside the Justice Department’s Secret Cybersecurity Memo?
Despite calls for its release, the government will not make public a memo that Sen. Ron Wyden says is crucial to the Senate’s looming cybersecurity debate.
Science & Tech
FBI Director Warns Lawmakers ISIS Is Using Encryption To Order Killings
'This is not your grandfather’s al-Qaida,' James Comey told the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Policy
Cyber Legislation Won't Stop Foreign Hackers, Clinton Says
Clinton's comments are her most detailed about cybersecurity since officially declaring her White House bid nearly three months ago.
Science & Tech
FBI Director: Encryption Is Great As Long As It Lets Us In
Ahead of Capitol Hill hearings, James Comey blogs that a good-guys-only backdoor would keep Americans safer than universal strong encryption.
Science & Tech
Second OPM Hack Exposed Information About Military, Intelligence Workers
Officials confirmed Friday they had detected a second intrusion that may be far more damaging than the one reported last week.
Policy
Senate Democrats Blast McConnell for Tying Cyber Measure to Defense Policy Bill
Legislation that has been long debated in the Senate is being jammed into the NDAA — and Democrats are furious.
Policy
McConnell To Pair Cybersecurity Measure With Defense Bill
Privacy advocates still fear the information-sharing bill could lead to more NSA spying.
Policy
Senate Passes NSA Reform Bill
The USA Freedom Act, which will restore but reform the expired Patriot Act's spy authorities, earned final passage Tuesday and will be sent to the president.
Threats
Here's What Happens To Spying With the Patriot Act Now Expired
Some key authorities may be dead for now, but the intelligence community has a number of weapons and workarounds still available.
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Policy
What Is Rand Paul's NSA Endgame?
With days to go before the Patriot Act expires, the Kentucky Republican could kill the agency’s domestic-phone spying — or save it.
Policy
Exasperated White House Pushes Senate To Pass Surveillance Reform Bill
Without naming Rand Paul, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest faulted the Kentucky Republican for holding up legislation.
Policy
NSA Domestic Spying Will Start Stopping This Week
Lawmakers only have until Friday—not June 1—to resolve their standoff over the NSA's domestic surveillance, according to a new memo from the Obama administration.
Policy
Republicans Come Out In Force To Keep NSA's Domestic Surveillance Alive
Sen. Mitch McConnell and his fellow GOP security hawks are working hard to keep the spy agency’s phone dragnet. But they’re making some dubious claims in its defense.
Policy
Federal Appeals Court Rules NSA Spying Illegal
The phone data collection program 'exceeds the scope of what Congress has authorized,' a federal judge ruled Thursday in New York.
Policy
Rand Paul Is Suddenly Quiet About Ending the NSA's Domestic Surveillance
Sen. Rand Paul hates the Patriot Act and NSA mass surveillance, but remains tight-lipped about majority leader Mitch McConnell's plan to keep both alive.
Science & Tech
House Passes Blockbuster Cybersecurity Bill
Despite fears that the measure could bolster the NSA's spying power, it cleared the lower chamber by a wide margin.
Policy
New McConnell Bill Would Extend NSA's Domestic Surveillance Through 2020
The measure aims to restore a core provision of the USA Patriot Act that would permit the bulk collection of U.S. phone records beyond the next presidential term.
Policy
The Senator Who Might Scuttle NSA Reform
Without the backing of Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, the USA Freedom Act will likely stall in the Senate, where last year it fell two votes short.
