Posts Categorized: Civil Liberties

Investigative reporter for CBS News continues to fight government electronic surveillance

Posted by & filed under Censorship, Civil Liberties, Cyberforensics, Cybersecurity, Electronic Surveillance, IT and Politics.

As an investigative reporter for CBS News, Ms. Attkisson was responsible for investigating and reporting on national news stories. Between 2011 and 2013, she investigated and prepared various high-profile news reports, including ones related to the “Fast and Furious” “gunwalking” operation and the attack on the American diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya… In 2011——at the… Read more »

WikiLeaks Reveals How the CIA Can Hack a Mac’s Hidden Code

Posted by & filed under Apple, Civil Liberties, Cybersecurity, Electronic Surveillance.

IF THE CIA wants inside your Mac, it may not be enough that you so carefully avoided those infected email attachments or maliciously crafted web sites designed to plant spyware on your machine. Based on new documents in WikiLeaks’ ongoing release of CIA hacking secrets, if Langley’s hackers got physical access, they still could have… Read more »

Smile, you’re on camera, and it knows who you are

Posted by & filed under App Economy, Artificial intelligence, Civil Liberties, Emerging Technologies, Ethical Issues, Privacy.

Facial recognition technology has evolved at breakneck speed, with consequences that could be benign or altogether more sinister, depending on your point of view.  High-definition cameras combined with clever software capable of measuring the scores of “nodal points” on our faces – the distance between the eyes, the length and width of the nose, for… Read more »

Sextech as a necessity?

Posted by & filed under App Economy, Censorship, Civil Liberties, Entertainment, Ethical Issues.

Note: the video in this article contains graphic language.  Viewer discretion is advised. Entrepreneur Cindy Gallop is hellbent on bringing “sextech” out of the fringes.  You’re probably thinking: Does the world really need more connected vibrators or smart kegel trainers?  But Gallop defines “sextech” as any technology venture designed to innovate and enhance human sexuality…. Read more »

Great. Now Even Your Headphones Can Spy on You

Posted by & filed under Civil Liberties, Ethical Issues.

CAUTIOUS COMPUTER USERS put a piece of tape over their webcam. Truly paranoid ones worry about their devices’ microphones—some even crack open their computers and phones to disable or remove those audio components so they can’t be hijacked by hackers. Now one group of Israeli researchers has taken that game of spy-versus-spy paranoia a step… Read more »

Tech firms seek to frustrate UK internet history log law

Posted by & filed under Censorship, Civil Liberties, Cybersecurity, Emerging Technologies, Ethical Issues.

Plans to keep a record of UK citizens’ online activities face a challenge from tech firms seeking to offer ways to hide people’s browser histories.  Internet providers will soon be required to record which services their customers’ devices connect to – including websites and messaging apps.  The Home Office (the UK department responsible for the… Read more »

Facebook made China censorship tool

Posted by & filed under Censorship, China, Civil Liberties, Cybersecurity, Ethical Issues, ethics.

Facebook worked on special software so it could potentially accommodate censorship demands in China.  Since 2009, the only way to access Facebook in China has been via a virtual private network – software designed to “spoof” your real location and avoid local internet restrictions.  Facebook, which has 1.8 billion active users, is aggressively looking to… Read more »

Canadians want judicial oversight of any new digital snooping powers for police

Posted by & filed under Civil Liberties, Cybersecurity, Ethical Issues, IT and Politics, IT and the law.

Most Canadians feel strongly about their right to privacy online, but a new poll shows the vast majority are willing to grant police new powers to track suspects in the digital realm — so long as the courts oversee the cops. Source: CBC Date: November 17th, 2016 Link: http://www.cbc.ca/news/investigates/police-power-privacy-poll-1.3854186 Discussion 1) In the US, leaks by a whistleblower, Edward… Read more »

Hillary’s 33,000 emails might not be ‘missing’ after all

Posted by & filed under Business Intelligence, Civil Liberties, Cloud Computing, cloud services, IT and Politics.

For months now, we’ve been told that Hillary Clinton’s 33,000 missing emails were permanently erased and destroyed beyond recovery. But newly released FBI notes strongly suggest they still exist in several locations — and they could be recovered, if only someone would impanel a grand jury and seize them. Source: New York Post Date: November 1st, 2016… Read more »

German Chancellor Merkel says Facebook, Google ‘distort perception,’

Posted by & filed under Civil Liberties, Ethical Issues, ethics, IS ethics, IT and Politics, IT Trends.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel launched a broadside at internet media giants, accusing them of “narrowing perspective,” and demanding they disclose their privately-developed algorithms. Merkel previously blamed social media for anti-immigrant sentiment and the rise of the far right. Source: RT News Date: November 1st, 2016 Link: https://www.rt.com/news/364235-merkel-facebook-google-algorithms/ Discussion 1) Is it possible that Facebook and Google algorithms could… Read more »