- The DOJ is advocating for less stringent standards to obtain warrants to hack the computers of criminal suspects, the Wall Street Journal Blog reports. “The Justice Department effort is raising questions among some technology advocates, who say the government should focus on fixing the holes in computer software that allow such hacking rather than exploiting them.” DOJ investigators, however, say increased flexibility is necessary in this regard “especially when multiple computers are involved or the government doesn’t know where the suspect’s computer is physically located[,]” according to WSJ.
- Shortly after the Turkish government blocked citizen access to Twitter, officials made a similar play against YouTube, according to AP reports. (Here’s the link to the “Cyber Round Up” on the initial social media block). Again, these actions came just days before crucial local elections were held, the results of which have still not been released. (Although, as the WSJ reports, “[O]ne thing is clear: the secularist opposition suffered a walloping by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, failing to capitalize on corruption allegations, bans on social media and ongoing dissent.”) WSJ also reports that Google, Inc. has appealed the YouTube blackout in the Turkish courts.
- A perspective piece by columnist Hiawatha Bray published in the Boston Globe argues that, although we may seem doomed to become a “surveillance state,” “by combining anonymizing technology with tougher legal limits on access to location data, each of us might be able to preserve a cocoon of location privacy.” As an interesting side note, this piece reveals the results of location data research that shows, “if you track someone’s cellphone-usage patterns over a three-month period, you could probably predict where this person will be with an accuracy of 93 percent.”
- Wired reports that the cyber attack on Target, Neiman Marcus, and others just months ago has resulted in a class action lawsuit that calls into question whether third-party companies responsible for certifying the security of credit card-accepting entities, like Target, should be held liable in the event of a breach.
- A New York Times blog reports that Microsoft recently announced an end to its policy permitting “snooping” on private customer communications during the course of an investigation into stolen property. Here’s the announcement by Microsoft general counsel, Brad Smith.
- According to K&L Gates’ “European Regulatory Watch,” the outcome of a current debate over whether to overhaul the privacy protection framework in place in the EU “could shape the future of the digital economy, particularly with privacy and cyber sovereignty becoming key talking points in transatlantic diplomacy since the Snowden/NSA case.”
anonymity, Constitution, critical infrastructure, Criticism, Current Affairs, cyber attack, future, IT security, Law, NSA, Privacy, surveillance
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