Government

Just as a report on cyber security ordered by U.S. president Obama nears release, security experts are reportedly describing America's defenses as "broken," "childlike," and "embarrassing." Tim Mather, chief strategist for security firm RSA, told ... the BBC News that the approach relied upon for years isn't working and he thinks we're seeing a real breaking point in security. According to the BBC, the security industry is at a crossroads and has a responsibility to alter the way it operates. The time has come to develop new technologies to keep pace with and move ahead of the ... (view more)

The British Home Secretary has reportedly scrapped plans for a super database , but still wants communications firms to record and organize all emails, phone calls, Internet use and visits to social networking sites for security purposes as part of ... a modernization in UK police surveillance tactics. Instead of a super database, communications companies from Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to mobile phone networks are being asked to extend the range of information they currently hold on their customers and organize it so it can be used to investigate crime and terrorism. CSPs Asked to Record ... (view more)

According to reports, the European Commission will soon begin an investigation into the British government's use of Internet surveillance. It could result in the government being forced to defend its policy on Internet privacy in front of European ... judges. Ironically, the investigation isn't a result of U.K. data retention laws . The legal action resulted over Internet Service Providers (ISPs) using controversial behavorial advertising without consent from their customers. EU Wants "Clear Consent" from Users According to the report , the European Union (EU) wants "clear consent" from ... (view more)

Current and former national security officials speculate that the U.S. electrical grid is under attack from Russian and Chinese cyber-spies. No damage has been done to the system yet, but the threat remains in place should a war or other national ... security crisis hit the U.S. One senior intelligence official says that the Chinese and the Russians have attempted to map infrastructure which includes the electrical grid, nuclear power plants, financial networks and our water and sewage systems. (Source: wsj.com ) Constant Attacks Against Military Networks Alleged The report of the intrusions came ... (view more)

Details of the controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) being negotiated across the globe are now labeled as a "properly classified" national security secret by the White House, in spite of a Freedom of Information Act request. ... (Source: wired.com ) Leaked Docs Suggest Massive Breach of Privacy Leaked documents posted on WikiLeaks suggest that the proposed trade accord would criminalize peer-to-peer file sharing, subject iPods to border searches, and allow Internet service providers (ISPs) to monitor customer communications. ACTA is a treaty (PDF) regarding ... (view more)

Despite the fact that the UK parliament network was vulnerable to the Conficker virus just last week, reports suggest that the UK Government is forging ahead with their dubious plans to harvest all the personal electronic data of every citizen and ... storing it for one year, opening the door to the Big Brother super database . Mobile phone calls, emails and Internet activities of every Briton will be stored for a year, placing legal duties on Internet companies to store everyone's private information, including email traffic and Internet browsing histories effective Monday, April 6, 2009. The ... (view more)

According to reports, U.S. senators drafted legislation aimed at giving the federal government unprecedented authority over the nation's critical infrastructure, including the power to shut down or limit traffic on private networks during ... emergencies. The draft of the proposed legislation is allegedly intended to establish cyber-security standards to be imposed on both the government and the private sector, including companies providing software, IT work, or other services to networks deemed as 'critical' infrastructure, as well as mandating licenses for any and all individuals who administer ... (view more)

The Conficker/Downadup worm has reportedly found its way onto the British government's IT system, joining millions of others who have fallen victim to it. An email sent to MPs, lords and their staff revealed that parliament's IT network appears to ... be completely unsecured. The Conficker/Downadup worm has been in circulation since November 2008 and a patch is available from Microsoft that fixes it. The fact that parliament's systems have become infected indicates that their anti-virus software, if there is any, hasn't been updated since last year and could be vulnerable to other attacks. ... (view more)

The UK Government is now considering the mass surveillance of all user communications on social-networking sites. The EU Data Retention Directive , which directs UK Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to store its customers' names, addresses, IP ... address, user IDs and all email and Internet telephony communications for a year apparently aren't enough for Home Office Security Minister Vernon Coaker. He suggests that communications like those on social-networking sites as well as instant messaging should also be monitored. Harvesting And Storing All Internet Communications Speaking at a meeting of ... (view more)

Recently we looked at some of the problems with mass surveillance and the myth associated with justifications of its use. If you think you're being watched, as noted by Wired.com, you're probably right. But, how did we end up a mass surveillance ... society? (Source: wired.com ) We may not have realized it at the time, as noted by Scott Horton from Harper's Magazine, but in the period from late 2001 to January 19, 2009, many argue that the U.S. was a dictatorship. (Source: harpers.org ) Bush Memorandums Made Available A set of memorandums written by U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) lawyers were ... (view more)