Intelligence

Facebook given deadline in “largest privacy class action in Europe”
Facebook has been given four weeks to respond to a class action, launched against it by an Austrian activist and supported by 60,000 users. The suit claims Facebook violated users' privacy, by cooperating with the NSA's PRISM program. The class action initiated by Max Schrems, an Austrian lawyer, data privacy activist and founder of Europe vs. Facebook group has passed its first review in the V [...]
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Masters of the Internet: GCHQ scanned entire countries for vulnerabilities
GCHQ is scanning servers in multiple foreign countries for vulnerable ports, according to German newspaper Heise. Using a tool called Hacienda, the intelligence agency seeks to "master the internet" for sources of espionage. Spanish for estate, Hacienda can port scan all of the servers in a country to provide information on user endpoints and scan for potential vulnerabilities. The ability to p [...]
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“We are giving all of our privacy for just the possibility of a little bit of safety”
Intelligence agencies like the NSA and GCHQ seek to scoop up literally every single form of digital and non-digital communication and data in the world all the time, political cartoonist and author Ted Rall told RT. It is very clear that the general mood in Europe as well as in the UK and in the USA is in favor of more privacy in the wake of Edward Snowden’s NSA revelations. [...]
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Ron Paul: US ‘hiding truth’ on downed Malaysian Flight MH17
Former Congressman Ron Paul said the US knows "more than it is telling" about the Malaysian aircraft that crashed in eastern Ukraine last month, killing 298 people on board and seriously damaging US-Russian relations in the process. In an effort to inject some balance of opinion, not to mention pure sanity, into the ongoing debate over what happened to Malaysian Flight MH17, Ron Paul is convinc [...]
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New York Times finally begins describing CIA interrogation tactics as ‘torture’
In the more than ten years since the CIA'€™s interrogation tactics began coming to light, many members of the mainstream media refused to describe them as torture. On Friday, the New York Times announced they will begin using the word. The about-face by the Grey Lady comes a week after President Barack Obama made a rare acknowledgment during a press briefing concerning the United States’ pa [...]
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No to NATO protesters begin 192-mile “Long March on Newport”
Peace activists have set out on a three-week "Long March on Newport" to protest against September's NATO Summit. Police say they have drafted in 9,000 officers to face the protesters in one of the UK's biggest ever police operations. More than 20,000 activists from around the world are expected to take part in demonstrations during the summit, where a week-long peace camp and a counter summit a [...]
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Snowden granted 3-yr residence permit – lawyer
Edward Snowden has received a residence permit in Russia, which is valid for three years, starting on August 1, the former NSA contractor's lawyer announced. “On the first of August he received a three-year residence permit,” lawyer Anatoly Kucherena told reporters. [...]
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Confirmed: US spy plane fleeing Russian jet invaded Swedish airspace
US officials have confirmed Swedish media reports of a mid-July incident in which an American spy plane invaded Sweden's airspace as it was evading a Russian fighter jet. The maverick plane was spying on Russia when it was intercepted. The incident, which happened on July 18, went public last Wednesday after a classified document from Sweden’s Defense Ministry was leaked to the press. [...]
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Obama’s “helplessness” an act: Snowden reveals scale of US aid to Israel
The turmoil gripping the Middle East is a direct result of the provision of cash, weapons and surveilla's "helpless detachment" is just for show, the Intercept's Glenn Greenwald writes. In a bold examination, the former Guardian journalist reveals the amazing contrast between what the United States says publicly, and what it does behind the curtain. [...]
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Wiretapped: Israel Eavesdropped on John Kerry in Mideast Talks
New information indicates that Israeli intelligence eavesdropped on telephone conversations by US Secretary of State John Kerry. Sources told SPIEGEL the government then used the information obtained from the calls during negotiations in the Mideast conflict. SPIEGEL has learned from reliable sources that Israeli intelligence eavesdropped on US Secretary of State John Kerry during Middle East p [...]
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‘If there is actual evidence, US should show it or stop accusing Russia’
US officials are making groundless assertions about Moscow’s involvement in the downing of flight MH17, former CIA and US State Department official Larry Johnson told RT. On July 29 Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) issued an open letter to President Obama calling him to immediately release the evidence on the Malaysian airplane downing in eastern Ukraine. [...]
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Obama on CIA’s post-9/11 tactics: “We tortured some folks”
President Barack Obama made a rare acknowledgment during a Friday press briefing concerning the United States' past use of enhanced interrogation tactics in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks. “In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, we did some things that were wrong. We did a whole lot of things that were right, but we tortured some folks. We did things that were contrary to our val [...]
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Kiev forces fire ballistic missiles into E. Ukraine – CNN
In the past two days Kiev's forces have launched several short-range ballistic missiles into areas in east Ukraine controlled by self-defense forces, CNN reports, citing US government sources. The move “marks a major escalation” in the Ukrainian crisis, CNN said. [...]
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Old technology in NSA age: Typewriter sales surge in Germany
An increasing number of businesses are opting out of staying virtually connected and are reverting back to old technologies to avoid being spied on. The move has led to a surge in typewriter sales in Germany. German typewriter makers such as Bandermann and Olympia have cited climbing sales amid NSA spying revelations. [...]
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10 more questions Russian military pose to Ukraine, US over MH17 crash
Russia has released military monitoring data, which shows Kiev military jets tracking the MH17 plane shortly before the crash - and posed yet another set of questions to Ukraine and the US over the circumstances of the tragedy. [...]
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Berlin wants to prosecute US handlers of German spies
Criminal prosecution is likely to be expanded on Americans involved in recruiting and supervising activities of German officials spying for the US intelligence, Germany's Justice Minister Heiko Maas told Welt am Sonntag. If investigators find a body of evidence that alleged double agents in Germany’s federal intelligence service and Defense Ministry have been spying to the benefit of American in [...]
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Obama’s ratings tumble in Germany, Russia in wake of NSA spying, Ukraine crisis
Revelations of the National Security Agency's global spy program, together with civil strife in Ukraine has severely damaged Barack Obama's popularity among Brazilians, Germans and Russians, a major US polling agency reported. Thanks to a series of global scandals, the United States in general, and its commander-in-chief in particular, [...]
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“Snowden should be praised, not prosecuted” – UN rights watchdog
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights believes the world owes a "great dea" to NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, saying he should not face trial for his revelations of sweeping state surveillance as they have served the public interest. “Those who disclose human rights violations should be protected: we need them,” Commissioner Navi Pillay told reporters on Wednesday. [...]
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Privacy concerns? UK police test ‘faster-than-ever’ facial recognition software
Facial recognition surveillance software being tested by British cops that allows "faster than ever" data searching and tracking of subjects is raising concerns among privacy activists. NeoFace software analyses dozens of facial features from digital CCTV images or police body cameras and matching them with the 90,000 photos stored on Leicestershire Police's database, which had become the first un [...]
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