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☆ Furby, Is That You?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-15 | by ( Maggie Lange | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Not long after Furby’s release, the F.A.A. urged against using the toy on flights during takeoff and landing because there were concerns it would interfere with planes’ computer systems. In 1999, the National Security Agency banned Furby at its headquarters to prevent the toy, which could record and repeat audio, from capturing state secrets. “But people thought that Furby was weird because it encroached on being human,” Ms. Boyd said. Though the toy may have been unsettling to some, it found an audience: According to Hasbro, some 58 million Furbys have been sold since its release.

Persons: Kim Boyd, Furby, Ms, Boyd Organizations: National Security Agency, Hasbro Locations: mohawk

☆ Newly declassified report shows U.S. intelligence community remains divided over likely origin of Covid
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( Zoë Richards | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

(L-R) Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier, Director of the National Security Agency Gen. Paul Nakasone, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, CIA Director William Burns and FBI Director Christopher Wray testifies during a House Select Committee on Intelligence hearing concerning worldwide threats, on Capitol Hill March 9, 2023 in Washington, DC. The leaders of the intelligence agencies testified on a wide range of issues, including China, Russia, Covid-19 origins, and TikTok. "All agencies continue to assess that both a natural and laboratory-associated origin remain plausible hypotheses to explain the first human infection," the 10-page declassified report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said. But "almost all" intelligence agencies agreed that the virus wasn't genetically engineered, and all agencies agreed that Covid was not manufactured as a biological weapon. The spokesman added that "getting to the bottom of the origins" of Covid remains a top priority for the president.

Persons: Scott Berrier, Paul Nakasone, National Intelligence Avril Haines, William Burns, Christopher Wray, Covid, Joe Biden Organizations: Defense Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency, National Intelligence, CIA, Capitol, Intelligence, National Intelligence Council, Department of Energy, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Wuhan Institute, Virology, White House National Security Council Locations: Washington ,, China, Russia, Covid, Wuhan, U.S

☆ Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked 'Pentagon Papers,' dies at 92
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Bill Trott | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

In his later years Ellsberg would become an advocate for whistleblowers and leakers and his "Pentagon Papers" leak was portrayed in the 2017 movie "The Post." Courtesy Daniel Ellsberg Papers, Robert S. Cox Special Collections and University Archives Research Center, UMass Amherst Libraries. Ellsberg secretly went to the media in 1971 in hopes of expediting the end of the Vietnam War. Courtesy Daniel Ellsberg Papers, Robert S. Cox Special Collections and University Archives Research Center, UMass Amherst Libraries. He said he was inspired to copy the "Pentagon Papers" after hearing an anti-war protester say he was looking forward to going to prison for resisting the draft.

Persons: Daniel Ellsberg, Ellsberg, Long, Edward Snowden, Robert S, Henry Kissinger, Robert McNamara, Richard Nixon, Lyndon Baines Johnson, CourtesyDaniel Ellsberg, John F, Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Gordon Liddy, Howard Hunt, Snowden, Chelsea Manning, Carol Cummings, Patricia Marx, Bill Trott, Kanishka Singh, Dan Grebler, Diane Craft Organizations: U.S, Wikileaks, University Archives Research Center, UMass Amherst Libraries, Nixon, State Department, Harvard, Marine Corps, Pentagon, RAND Corporation, Ellsberg's, Chiefs, Staff, RAND, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, New York Times, The Times, Washington Post, Times, FBI, UMass, Libraries, National Security Agency, WikiLeaks, Thomson Locations: Vietnam, Kensington , California, America, Saigon, United States, Boston, U.S, North Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, American, Chicago , Illinois

Trump mishandled classified documents that included information about the secretive U.S. nuclear program and potential domestic vulnerabilities in the event of an attack, the federal indictment said. Unauthorized disclosure of classified documents posed a risk to U.S. national security, foreign relations, and intelligence gathering, prosecutors said. Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump attends a campaign event in Manchester, New Hampshire, U.S., April 27, 2023. The indictment also alleges Trump conspired with Nauta to keep classified documents Trump had taken from the White House and hide them from a federal grand jury. The case does not prevent Trump from campaigning or taking office if he were to win the November 2024 presidential election.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, John Rowley, Jim, Walt Nauta, Jack Smith, Smith, General Merrick Garland, Trump’s, Matt Bennett, Joe Biden, Biden, Brian Snyder, Lago, Nauta, Aileen Cannon, Cannon, Sarah N, Lynch, Jonathan Stempel, Jack Queen, Jacqueline Thomsen, Karen Freifeld, Nathan Layne, Heather Timmons, Nandita Bose, Andy Sullivan, Noeleen Walder, Howard Goller Organizations: U.S, White House, The Justice Department, Trump, Republican, Reuters, Democratic, Former U.S, REUTERS, White, Mar, Pentagon, CIA, National Security Agency, Department of Energy, Prosecutors, Defense Department, FBI, TRUMP, AS, Democrat, Biden, Thomson Locations: Lago, Florida, Miami, United States, U.S, Former, Manchester , New Hampshire, New Jersey, Mar, New York, Georgia

The documents, according to the indictment, included details about U.S. nuclear weapons, spy satellites and the U.S. military. Here are some of the documents mentioned in the indictment:- A document marked TOP SECRET//[redacted]/[redacted]//ORCON/NOFORN that the indictment says concerned "nuclear capabilities of a foreign country." - A document marked SECRET//FORMERLY RESTRICTED DATA that the indictment says concerned "nuclear weaponry of the United States." - Six top-secret documents marked TK, standing for Talent Keyhole, a classification for materials related to U.S. spy satellites. The indictment says these documents concerned the military capabilities of foreign countries.

Persons: Donald Trump, Jonathan Landay, Daniel Wallis Organizations: U.S ., Pentagon, CIA, National Security Agency, National Reconnaissance Office, United States, Department of Energy, FISA, Foreign Intelligence, Thomson Locations: Florida, United States, U.S

☆ Analysis: There is now some public evidence that China viewed TikTok data
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Multiple security experts told CNN that this appears to be the first reported instance of the CCP accessing actual TikTok user data. TikTok announced its withdrawal from Hong Kong in 2020 after China imposed a national security law there. There have been isolated reports of improper access to TikTok data in the past. The improper access, company officials have said, was a misguided attempt at identifying the source of leaks to the press. TikTok has also said it is implementing a plan to store US user data on third-party US-based servers, with access to that data controlled by US employees.

Persons: Yintao Yu, Yu, ByteDance, —, ” Yu, ’, Yu’s, Flipagram, “, TikTok, James Lewis, John Scott, Rob Joyce, ” Joyce, ”, Shou Chew, Chew Organizations: CNN, Chinese Communist Party, Hong Kong, Wall Street, Flipagram, CCP, Center for Strategic, International Studies, University of Toronto’s, National Security Locations: TikTok’s Beijing, Hong Kong, California, Beijing, Hong, China

"The FSB has uncovered an intelligence action of the American special services using Apple mobile devices," the FSB said in a statement. The FSB said the plot showed "close cooperation" between Apple and the National Security Agency (NSA), the U.S. agency responsible for cryptographic and communications intelligence and security. The FSB provided no evidence that Apple cooperated with, or had any awareness of, the spying campaign. "The hidden data collection was carried out through software vulnerabilities in U.S.-made mobile phones," Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said all officials in the presidential administration knew that gadgets such as iPhones were "absolutely transparent."

Persons: Russia Apple, NSA Kaspersky, Apple, Eugene Kaspersky, Igor Kuznetsov, Kaspersky, Dmitry Peskov, Guy Faulconbridge, Raphael Satter, James Pearson, Zeba Siddiqui, Mark Potter, Andrew Heavens, Matthew Lewis, Diane Craft Organizations: NSA, Apple, Federal Security Service, FSB, Apple Inc, Soviet, National Security Agency, Twitter, Reuters, NATO, Harvard University's, Federal Guards Service, Kremlin, Kommersant, San, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, MOSCOW, Soviet Union, U.S, Israel, Syria, China, States, United Kingdom, Australia, Washington, London, San Francisco

☆ Chinese state-sponsored hackers infiltrated U.S. naval infrastructure, secretary of the Navy says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The U.S. Navy has been hit by the Chinese state-sponsored hack that Microsoft disclosed Wednesday, Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro told CNBC's Morgan Brennan on Thursday. The warnings alerted corporate and public enterprises that a sophisticated Chinese state-backed hacking group had successfully exploited a vulnerability in a popular cybersecurity suite. The vulnerability, which was exploited by a group codenamed "Volt Typhoon," affects critical cyber infrastructure across a range of industries, Microsoft said Wednesday. The company said the Chinese hackers had targeted communications and maritime sectors in Guam, which is home to a key U.S. military base. The Chinese Foreign Ministry and state-controlled press dismissed the findings from Microsoft and the intelligence community as "disinformation."

☆ Meta warned that its record $1.3 billion fine sets a 'dangerous precedent' when the internet is already 'fracturing under pressure from authoritarian regimes'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Meta was handed a record $1.3 billion fine by the European Union on Monday. That was over concerns that Facebook data transferred to the US could be used to spy on European citizens. Meta warned that its record $1.3 billion fine "sets a dangerous precedent" related to online freedoms in a statement released Monday. "At a time where the internet is fracturing under pressure from authoritarian regimes, like-minded democracies should work together to promote and defend the idea of the open internet," the statement added. Meta has been given a five-month grace period to stop transferring Facebook users' data to the US.

☆ Meta hit with a record-breaking $1.3 billion fine over data privacy breaches
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Meta has been fined $1.3 billion, the Irish Data Protection Commission announced Monday. It was previously warned about transferring Facebook users' data to the US. In a record for European Union privacy violations, Meta has been fined $1.3 billion over its handling of users' data, Ireland's Data Protection Commission announced Monday. Meta was previously warned by the EU for transferring Facebook users data to US servers, saying that it was not sufficiently protected from American spy agencies. Companies have been in limbo over data protection rules since 2020, when the EU banned a pact which regulated data transfers across the Atlantic.

☆ FBI broke rules in scouring foreign intelligence on Jan. 6 riot, racial justice protests, court says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

FBI officials repeatedly violated their own standards when they searched a vast repository of foreign intelligence for information related to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and racial justice protests in 2020, according to a heavily blacked-out court order released Friday. The violations were detailed in a secret court order issued last year by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which has legal oversight of the U.S. government's spy powers. At issue are improper queries of foreign intelligence information collected under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which enables the government to gather the communications of targeted foreigners outside the U.S. That program expires at the end of the year unless it is renewed. FBI searches must have a foreign intelligence purpose or be aimed at finding evidence of a crime. The order says the FBI had maintained that the queries were likely to return foreign intelligence, though the reasons given for that assessment are mostly redacted.

☆ Special counsel John Durham concludes FBI never should have launched full Trump-Russia probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Zachary Cohen Devan Cole Tierney Sneed Evan Perez Hannah Rabinowitz Jeremy Herb Marshall Cohen | Zachary Cohen | Devan Cole | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

“Strzok, at a minimum, had pronounced hostile feelings toward Trump,” Durham wrote, while quoting in a footnote previously known texts between Strzok and Lisa Page, then an FBI attorney. Witness testimony exposed the FBI’s overreliance on the dossier as it sought court approval to wiretap a former Trump campaign adviser in 2016. Mixed results over 3+ yearsBarr tapped Durham in 2019 to review the origins of the Russia probe, and the scope of Durham’s work grew over the years. Former special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, which inherited the initial Russia probe, released a detailed accounting of Russia’s effort to interfere in the 2016 election. Mueller found no evidence of a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia, but investigators documented numerous contacts between Trump associates and Russians.

☆ Austin lambasts ‘irresponsible’ and ‘unprecedented’ Republican hold on military nominations
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Haley Britzky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin wrote a letter strongly criticizing an ongoing hold on senior military promotions and nominations in the Senate led by Republican lawmakers, saying it would create a “perilous precedent” for the military and impose “unconscionable” burdens on military families. The Senate approves thousands of civilian and military nominations every year, typically through unanimous consent. But Austin warned in his letter to Warren that the nominations need to be approved as quickly as possible. The United States military relies on the deep experience and strategic expertise of our senior military leaders,” he said. “The longer that this hold persists, the greater the risk the US military runs in every theater, every domain, and every service.”

☆ China probes Capvision in national security warning to consulting firms
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Chinese authorities have carried out an investigation into consulting firm Capvision Partners, state media CCTV reported on Monday. CCTV said that investigations by Chinese national security authorities had found that overseas institutions have used domestic consulting firms to steal state secrets and intelligence on areas key to China. Chinese authorities have carried out an investigation into consulting firm Capvision Partners, state media CCTV reported on Monday, in a warning to other advisory firms as the country tightens its national security laws. CCTV said that investigations by Chinese national security authorities had found that overseas institutions have used domestic consulting firms to steal state secrets and intelligence on areas key to China. CCTV did not say whether authorities levelled any punishment against Capvision but that the national security agency had dealt with the company "in accordance with regulations."

☆ Russian security agents have been using a secret network of corrupted computers to spy on NATO for decades, but the US just busted it open, feds say
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

US authorities have busted open a secret computer network run by Russian security agents. FBI agents have neutralized what the Justice Department called "sophisticated malware." "Globally, the FSB has used Snake to collect sensitive intelligence from high-priority targets, such as government networks, research facilities, and journalists." Director of Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) Alexander Bortnikov attends a meeting of the service's collegium in Moscow, Russia, February 28, 2023. Top Justice Department officials praised the FBI's ability to neutralize the FSB's network.

☆ FBI Warrantless Searches of Americans’ Communications Declined Sharply, Spy Agency Says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Dustin Volz | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

The National Security Agency is allowed to capture without a warrant communications thought to belong to foreigners living abroad., sometimes scooping up Americans’ data in the process. Photo: Patrick Semansky/Associated PressWASHINGTON—The number of warrantless searches of Americans’ telephone calls, emails and text messages conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation plummeted last year, dropping from millions of searches to about 120,000, according to a U.S. intelligence report. A senior FBI official attributed the drop in part to better compliance with restrictions on searches of the data after adoption of internal reforms, as well as to variations in national- security investigations. Additionally, a large percentage of the searches in 2021 were related to efforts to identify potential victims of an unidentified Russian hacking campaign that struck critical infrastructure in the U.S., said the report, which was released Friday. Other factors in the decline include changes in suspected foreign spies’ communications practices and advances in technology.

☆ Limit access to most secret US documents, Senate intel panel head says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, April 23 (Reuters) - Too many people have access to the U.S. government's closest secrets and a central entity should oversee the classification process, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee said on Sunday, addressing leaks of documents in an online chat group. The United States has numerous intelligence gathering entities and Warner said the situation needed to be dealt with. "We need somebody fully in charge of the whole classification process and I think for those classified documents there ought to be a smaller universe," he said. As an example, Warner said the National Security Agency has suffered leaks in the past and internal controls limit the copying of documents. Warner also said that not everyone handling a document needs to see the whole document and that just seeing the header could be enough.

This chat room was publicly listed on a YouTube channel and was easily accessible, the newspaper added. The Pentagon declined to comment on the new information reported by the New York Times. The 21-year-old U.S. Air National Guardsman facing criminal charges for leaking top-secret military intelligence records online was arrested last week. The user claimed to be posting information from the National Security Agency, the Central Intelligence Agency and other intelligence agencies, according to the New York Times. The leaks did not come to light until they were reported by the New York Times in early April even though the documents were posted earlier.

The user claimed to be posting information from the National Security Agency, the Central Intelligence Agency and other intelligence agencies. A chain of digital evidence collected by The Times ties the posts containing the sensitive information to Airman Teixeira. The posts were made under a user name that The Times has previously connected to Airman Teixeira. Fellow Discord members sent the user birthday wishes on Dec. 21, the same date Airman Teixeira’s sister wished him a happy birthday on Facebook. And he posted a photograph of an antique German rifle for which The Times found an online receipt in Airman Teixeira’s name.

☆ Russian hackers are targeting cameras at Ukrainian coffee shops to spy on convoys of Western military aid, top NSA official says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Isobel Van Hagen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Russian hackers are using "creative" ways to tap into cameras in Ukraine, according to a US official. US defense manufacturers are also under "daily pressure" from Russian hackers, said NSA's Rob Joyce. "We're watching the Russian hackers log into public-facing webcams to watch convoys and trains delivering aid," the NSA official said. He added that while hackers are logging into closed-circuit cameras in public, they are also hacking into cameras on private properties. On both sides of the conflict in Ukraine, hacking efforts and electronic warfare are significant, although Russian hacking has been an increasing concern for the US military, Insider previously reported.

Washington CNN —The Pentagon has begun to limit who across the government receives its highly classified daily intelligence briefs following a major leak of classified information discovered last week. All the email lists have been reviewed, a senior defense official said, and some restrictions may only be temporary. Everyone on the lists had proper clearance, but not everyone needs to receive that information daily, the official added. Previously, slides from the Joint Staff briefing deck could be accessed by hundreds, if not thousands, of people across the government, officials said. “Having to scale that distribution back, even temporarily, is a bitter pill,” said the source familiar with internal joint staff deliberations.

WASHINGTON, April 12 (Reuters) - America's cybersecurity watchdog has no confidence that the cellular network used by American first responders and the military is secure against digital intrusions, U.S. The letter from the Oregon Democrat, a member of the intelligence committee, was addressed to the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). It concerns FirstNet, a dedicated mobile network for public safety officials such as emergency workers, firefighters and law enforcement. "These security flaws are also a national security issue, particularly if foreign governments can exploit these flaws to target U.S. government personnel," his letter said. Wyden called on FirstNet to share any security audits with the NSA and CISA or - alternatively - for the government to commission audits of its own.

☆ U.S. and China wage war beneath the waves – over internet cables
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +28 min

Three of China’s state-owned carriers – China Telecommunications Corporation (China Telecom), China Mobile Limited and China United Network Communications Group Co Ltd (China Unicom) – had committed funding as members of the consortium, which also included U.S.-based Microsoft Corp and French telecom firm Orange SA, according to six people involved in the deal. China Telecom, China Mobile, China Unicom and Orange did not respond to requests for comment. China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom were resolutely behind HMN Tech, which had come in with a bid of around $500 million. China Telecom and China Mobile threatened to walk off the project, taking tens of millions of dollars of investment with them. Among them is China Telecom, which had previously won authorization to provide services in the United States.

☆ Everyone in Washington is talking about a TikTok ban. But is it really a national security threat?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +16 min

However, more than two years after the Trump administration first issued a similar threat to TikTok, evidence remains unclear about whether the app is a national security threat. “Regarding privacy, we also did not see the TikTok app exhibiting any behaviors similar to malware.”TikTok has cited Lin’s research as part of its defense. He also repeatedly noted that TikTok does not collect more user data than most of its peers in the industry. TikTok later confirmed the incident and ByteDance fired several employees who had improperly accessed the TikTok data of two journalists. “And governments around the world are ignoring their duty to protect citizens’ private information, allowing big tech companies to exploit user information for gain.

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