Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The man who leaked a massive effort by the National Security Agency to monitor e-mails, texts and other Internet traffic of virtually all Americans is a 29-year-old high school dropout, CNN reports. Edward Snowden revealed himself as the source during an interview with the British newspaper, The Guardian, saying he regrets nothing…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The FBI’s use of a clandestine cellphone tracking device is a lawful surveillance tool, a judge has ruled, Slate.com reports. The Stingray, as it’s called, is a transceiver that tricks cell phones into using a fake network. Judge David Campbell dismissed concerns that the surveillance was overly intrusive. The ACLU said the…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The FBI is accessing private emails of suspects without as much as a warrant, records obtained by the ACLU suggest, according to NBC News. The documents “paint a troubling picture of the government’s email surveillance practices,” wrote Nathan Freed Wessler, attorney with the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy and Technology Project. “Not only does…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com A group of privacy advocates is suing the FBI for refusing to release details about its Next Generation Identification system, which will be one of the largest biometric databases in the world, WND reports. The Electronic Privacy Information Center filed the suit, demanding information about technical specifications and private companies that are…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The DEA cannot eavesdrop on Apples’s iMessage chat service because of secure encryption, Slate.com reports. That’s good news if you’re concerned about privacy. But for law enforcement, the inability to monitor iMessages sent between two Apple devices is problematic. Wireless technology has challenged law enforcement’s ability to monitor suspicious activity. The problem…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Border Patrol is prohibited from conducting a thorough search of an electronic device like a computer or cell phone unless there is reasonable suspicion of a crime, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday, the Inquisitr reports. But the ruling does not prevent Border Patrol from making cursory checks of electronic…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Police don’t need a search warrant to install hidden surveillance cameras to spy on suspects, a federal judge ruled Tuesday, CNET reports. The case involved DEA agents installing multiple surveillance cameras without a warrant to uncover evidence of a marijuana growing operation. The DEA didn’t violate the Fourth Amendment, which protects against…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The FBI is upgrading its tools to track criminals. A $1 billion upgrade includes expanding its fingerprint database to include iris scans, facial images and palm prints, Slate reports. By 2014, the FBI hopes to roll out a pilot nationwide database of iris images from other law enforcement agencies. Slate reports that…
