- The New York Times reports that, early last week, National Security Agency (NSA) Director nominee, Vice Admiral Michael S. Rogers, declined to make written comment to the Senate Armed Services Committee on either Russia’s alleged involvement in the cyber attacks on the new Ukraine government or the extent of the damage those attacks caused. However, Adm. Rogers did say that “clearly cyber will be an element of every crisis we see in the future.”
- The Washington Post, also reporting on the NSA nominee, published an article last week indicating that the Vice Admiral supports President Obama’s choice to remove the mass metadata collection program from government control. However, Adm. Rogers “would oppose an end to the bulk collection of such data.”
- Speaking of metadata, Bruce Schneier, an internationally renowned security technologist, wrote an interesting post on his blog, “Schneier on Security,” about the line drawn between metadata collection and true surveillance. In Schneier’s view,
This might fool the average person, but it shouldn’t fool those of us in the security field. Metadata equals surveillance data, and collecting metadata on people means putting them under surveillance.
- Switching gears to the outgoing NSA Director, the Wall Street Journal reports that General Keith Alexander “assured the American Bar Association in a letter that the U.S. has a policy and legal safeguards to prevent the mishandling of confidential attorney information collected during surveillance missions.” The assurances came in response to a letter from the ABA president expressing concern in light of a recent report regarding an Australian intelligence agency’s information sharing practices, according to the WSJ.
- Glenn Greenwald and Ryan Gallagher wrote an article in the Intercept last week warning that the NSA is “dramatically expanding its ability to covertly hack into computers on a mass scale by using automated systems that reduce the level of human oversight in the process.” Specifically, according to the report, leaked NSA documents reveal that the NSA has developed malware “implants” through a system called “TURBINE” that could potentially infect millions of computers and remove data from the networks. Here’s an article on the same topic from Wired.
- Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg reportedly called President Obama to express his concern over government surveillance activities. According to Time, Zuckerberg posted on Facebook:
I’ve called President Obama to express my frustration over the damage the government is creating for all of our future. Unfortunately, it seems like it will take a very long time for true full reform.
Time further reports that the White House has confirmed such a conversation took place between Zuckerberg and President Obama.
- Lastly, in an open letter to its clients, IBM publicly reported that it has not provided the NSA with access to client data and would challenge any surveillance-related national security or gag orders the government may seek to impose. In closing, the letter states:
Technology often challenges us as a society. This is one instance in which both business and government must respond. Data is the next great natural resource, with the potential to improve lives and transform institutions for the better. However, establishing and maintaining the public’s trust in new technologies is essential.
Criticism, Current Affairs, cyber attack, Cyber Command, future, Law, NSA, Official Policy, Privacy, surveillance, technology, White House
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