Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Border Patrol officials are hoping to soon use “non-lethal weapons designed to immobilize” people on surveillance drones, the Atlantic reports. The discovery comes from documents obtained by the Electronic Frontier Foundation. “This is the first we’ve heard of any federal agency proposing using weapons on drones flown domestically,” the EFF wrote. “The…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The NSA, which has come under fire for its widespread use of surveillance, may keep copies of intercepted material involving an American if it contains evidence of a crime or significant intelligence, the Associated Press reports on the agency’s secret rules. The documents, published by The Guardian in the latest leak, require…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Outgoing FBI Director Robert Mueller acknowledged for the first time that the bureau uses surveillance drones inside the U.S., the L.A. Times reports. Testifying at a Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, Mueller said remotely piloted aircraft are used “in a very, very minimal way and very seldom.” Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, called…
By CHARLIE SAVAGE New York Times WASHINGTON — Robert S. Mueller III, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, warned Wednesday that dismantling the National Security Agency’s once-secret program that is keeping records of billions of domestic phone calls by Americans would slow down investigators as they seek to stop terrorist attacks. Testifying before…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The revelation last week that the Justice Department was spying on a Fox News reporter provoked a response of shock and outrage from the network. Turns out, the news shouldn’t have been all that surprising. The Washington Post reports that federal prosecutors alerted Rosen by email and sent a certified letter to Fox’s…
Lawrence Harmon Opinion for Boston Globe The Boston office of the FBI clammed up when asked if its agents were at the controls of low-flying aircraft making continuous loops over Quincy and abutting communities during all hours of the day and night in recent weeks. But short of towing a colorful banner declaring “FBI Surveillance…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Residents have been reporting suspicious, loud and low-flying aircraft in the Boston area since last month. Turns out, the small planes belong to the FBI, the Business Insider reports. While the FBI won’t comment on the planes, which include a Cessna 208 carrying registration N1132F, Cessna 206H N309JK, and Cessna 182s N859JA…
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…
