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Feds tell Web firms to turn over user account passwords

Feds tell Web firms to turn over user account passwords
The U.S. government has demanded that major Internet companies divulge users' stored passwords, according to two industry sources familiar with these orders, which represent an escalation in surveillance techniques that has not previously been disclosed. If the government is able to determine a person's password, which is typically stored in encrypted form, the credential could be used to log in to an account to peruse confidential correspondence or even impersonate the user. Obtaining it also would aid in deciphering encrypted devices in situations where passwords are reused. "I've certainly seen them ask for passwords," said one Internet industry source who spoke on condition of anonymity. A second person who has worked at a large Silicon Valley company confirmed that it received legal requests from the federal government for stored passwords. "This is one of those unanswered legal questions: Is there any circumstance under which they could get password information?"

Your Microsoft Xbox One Is Always Watching and Listening - Ellis Benus Infographic from: Note: The Microphone is always on because you can use a voice command to turn on the Xbox. Attention Parents The Xbox One: Privacy vs Your Child’s Hobby Just the Facts: Xbox One Microsoft will be releasing a new console in the coming months.Every console will include a Kinect 2 webcam.The webcam MUST be connected for the Xbox to function.The microphone is ALWAYS ON, even when the Xbox is powered down. It can analyse faces, emotional expressions and even heart beats. 1 in 2 webcams can be hacked. Microsoft has filed a patent to use the camera and it’s features to spy on anyone around to target better ads and even help the government on request. This is an unprecedented level of corporate data-mining and control.

OPERATION TROLL THE NSA Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA H.R. 3523 (112th Congress), H.R. 624 (113th Congress)) is a proposed law in the United States which would allow for the sharing of Internet traffic information between the U.S. government and technology and manufacturing companies. The stated aim of the bill is to help the U.S. government investigate cyber threats and ensure the security of networks against cyberattacks.[1] Some critics saw CISPA as a second attempt at strengthening digital piracy laws after the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect Intellectual Property Act both met huge opposition.[12] Intellectual property theft was initially listed in the bill as a possible cause for sharing Web traffic information with the government, though it was removed in subsequent drafts.[13] Content[edit] CISPA is an amendment to the National Security Act of 1947, which does not currently contain provisions pertaining to cybercrime. Recent developments[edit] House voting counts[edit]

CISPA is Back. - Take Action Now CISPA is Back. <div class="message"> Javascript must be enabled to use this action. </div> Send a message to your representatives asking them to oppose this dangerous bill. Please enter your zip code: Update: The House of Representatives passed CISPA. Not in the United States? CISPA is a dangerous "cybersecurity" bill that would grant companies more power to obtain "threat" information (such as from private communications of users) and to disclose that data to the government without a warrant -- including sending data to the National Security Agency. CISPA was recently passed by the House of Representatives. Last year, tens of thousands of concerned individuals used the EFF action center to speak out against overbroad and ineffective cybersecurity proposals. Now we need your help again. Privacy Policy

Edward Snowden's asylum-seeking letter to Brazil - in full NSA former contractor and whistleblower Edward Snowden has written an open letter to the people of Brazil, published by newspaper Folha de São Paulo today (17). Read the full text of the letter below, where Snowden attempts to ask the country for asylum for the second time. "Six months ago, I stepped out from the shadows of the United States Government's National Security Agency to stand in front of a journalist's camera. I shared with the world evidence proving some governments are building a world-wide surveillance system to secretly track how we live, who we talk to, and what we say. My greatest fear was that no one would listen to my warning. At the NSA, I witnessed with growing alarm the surveillance of whole populations without any suspicion of wrongdoing, and it threatens to become the greatest human rights challenge of our time. American Senators tell us that Brazil should not worry, because this is not "surveillance," it's "data collection."

Snowden live chat: 'I never stole any passwords, nor did I trick an army of co-workers' National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden wants to return to the United States, but he believes he would not be able to get a fair trial because current whistle-blower protection laws do not cover NSA contractors. In what was billed as a live online chat, Snowden said his return "is the best resolution for the government, the public, and myself, but it’s unfortunately not possible. "This is especially frustrating," he wrote, "because it means there’s no chance to have a fair trial, and no way I can come home and make my case to a jury." Snowden responded to questions submitted by Twitter users with the hashtag #AskSnowden. The 30-year-old fugitive also denied a report that he stole passwords and misled co-workers at the agency. Snowden conceded that some spying is necessary for national security. "Not all spying is bad," he wrote. View gallery In this image made from video released by WikiLeaks on Friday, Oct. 11, 2013, former National Securi … Earlier this week, U.S.

Live Q&A with Edward Snowden: Thursday 23rd January, 8pm GMT, 3pm EST @mperkel #ASKSNOWDEN They say it’s a balance of privacy and safety. I think spying makes us less safe. do you agree? Intelligence agencies do have a role to play, and the people at the working level at the NSA, CIA, or any other member of the IC are not out to get you. The people you need to watch out for are the unaccountable senior officials authorizing these unconstitutional programs, and unreliable mechanisms like the secret FISA court, a rubber-stamp authority that approves 99.97% of government requests (which denied only 11 requests out of 33,900 in 33 years And even the President now agrees our surveillance programs are going too far, gathering massive amounts of private records on ordinary Americans who have never been suspected of any crime. I’m going to stop here. @mrbass21 Recently several threats have been made on your life by the intelligence community. Not all spying is bad. Yes.

Snowden speaks: NSA spies create 'databases of ruin' on innocent folks Ex-NSA contractor turned whistleblower Edward Snowden used his first public Q&A to call for the US to lead a global initiative to ban mass surveillance of populations. He also wants governments to ensure that intelligence agencies can protect national security while not invading everyday privacy. "Not all spying is bad. The biggest problem we face right now is the new technique of indiscriminate mass surveillance, where governments are seizing billions and billions and billions of innocents' communication every single day," he said. "This is done not because it's necessary - after all, these programs are unprecedented in US history, and were begun in response to a threat that kills fewer Americans every year than bathtub falls and police officers - but because new technologies make it easy and cheap." Snowden said the vast amounts of data being stored about everyone is harmful in two key ways. As for the decision to go public, Snowden said he had no choice.

Moscow Extends Snowden's Asylum A Russian lawmaker says the government in Moscow has no intention of expelling U.S. national security leaker Edward Snowden when his year-long temporary asylum ends in August. Alexey Pushkov, head of the foreign affairs committee in the State Duma, Russia's lower legislative house, said Friday that Snowden "will not be sent out of Russia." He spoke about Snowden while on a panel to discuss "the future of U.S. power" at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos. No clemency The former NSA contractor, 30, faces espionage charges in the United States, but Russia has rebuffed American demands for his extradition. In an online chat, Snowden said that his return to the United States "is the best resolution for all parties." Snowden has leaked details of the vast U.S. intelligence operations over the last several months. His disclosures have sparked an extensive debate in the U.S. about the scope of the surveillance.

Guess Which Political Party Just Condemned the NSA’s Mass Surveillance Program Share RNC Chairman Reince Priebus stands on stage at an annual winter meeting in Washington, Friday, January 24, 2014. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) The Republican National Committee passed a resolution renouncing the National Security Agency’s mass data collection programs, disclosed by whistleblower Edward Snowden last year. The “Resolution To Renounce The National Security Agency’s Surveillance Program”, which reportedly passed by an “overwhelming majority” during the party’s annual winter meeting Friday, calls for an investigation into the NSA’s “dragnet” surveillance program and for the creation of a committee to make “specific recommendations for legal and regulatory reform to end unconstitutional surveillance.” The RNC also pushed for an amendment to Section 215 of the Patriot Act to “make it clear that blanket surveillance of the Internet activity, phone records and correspondence—electronic, physical, and otherwise—of any person residing in the US is prohibited by law.”

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