Privacy advocates lost out when Congress reauthorized Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act without major reforms. But the renewal fight returns in 2 years.
A woman holds a phone in front of the office of NSO Group, which makes a tool that can see and hear everything a phone is used for.
Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images
A tool made for tracking criminals and terrorists has potentially been used against politicians, dissidents and journalists. Here’s how the spyware works.
Researchers tried several times to have the document declassified, including in 1992, 2004 and 2016. It was initially written to help American NSA agents crack difficult coded messages.
Dan Coats, left, then director of national intelligence, told Congress in 2019 about the potential danger of a pandemic.
Office of the Director of National Intelligence
Warnings about major disease outbreaks are supposed to come from national and international medical intelligence and surveillance agencies that most Americans have never heard of.
Blowing the whistle carries major risks.
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In many instances, whistleblowers find the abusive power they have revealed turned against them, both ending their careers and harming their personal lives.
Richard Forno, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Ransomware has crippled governments and companies around the world, encrypting data and demanding payment for the decryption key – though that’s no guarantee of recovering the information.
What’s the best way to keep data secure?
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The FBI and police officials say they need to decrypt secure communications to fight crime. But they have other options, and modern threats make clear the importance of strong encryption.
When is it okay for the government to keep a secret?
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Nir Kshetri, University of North Carolina – Greensboro
What’s the best way for spy agencies to protect the public: secretly exploit software flaws to gather intelligence, or warn the world and avert malicious cyberattacks?
The technical consensus is clear: Adding ‘backdoors’ to encryption algorithms weakens everyone’s security. So what are the police and intelligence agencies to do?
The world is searching – will we protect ourselves?
Graphic via shutterstock.com
Richard Forno, University of Maryland, Baltimore County and Anupam Joshi, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
The latest release from WikiLeaks, of information about CIA hacking efforts, is yet another reminder of how Americans and our government must better protect our secret information.
Sanjay Goel, University at Albany, State University of New York
The new movie about the NSA leaker is a new way for the public to learn about government surveillance, communications technology and privacy. How well does it prepare the public for that discussion?
Cybersecurity just got even more difficult.
Charis Tsevis/flickr
Nir Kshetri, University of North Carolina – Greensboro
The top cyberspy agency couldn’t stay immune from attacks forever. What does it mean for governments, companies and internet users as a whole that the NSA has been hacked?
The high court’s ruling has Google and other tech companies rushing to build data centers in Europe.
Reuters
The EU’s highest court invalidated a key data sharing agreement between the union and the US, exposing the deep cultural clash over privacy and surveillance.
The Tribute in Light is seen on the 14th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. 9/11 was the beginning of major changes in the intelligence community.
Reuters/Andrew Kelly
The tactics used by America’s current and potential future enemies are constantly changing. Higher education can help by producing graduates able to work in intelligence communities.