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October 17, 2014 Rhett Jones

A tiny violin is playing for Police Commissioner Bill Bratton today because he’s unhappy that Google and Apple’s new encryption techniques won’t allow law enforcement to search your phone. Responding to the companies’ latest effort to make phones with default encryption settings that even they can’t access, Bratton says: It’s disgraceful that these two companies are… consciously… thwarting […]

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October 14, 2013 Marina Galperina

Activist? Hacker? About to have your cover blown, your data drive read or your phone searched? Not to worry. From F.A.T. artist Addie Wagenknecht, meet Prism Break Barbie.  The Barbie is equipped with a 3-inch and .6 ounces concealed spring-loaded spike which can be activated by hand or by sitting the doll on a USB or […]

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August 22, 2013 Michael Rougeau

Edward Snowden: traitor to his country, true American hero, or video game protagonist? Pick two out of three. The man who blew the whistle on the NSA is no longer holed up in a Russian airport terminal, washing his hair in the sinks of public restrooms with travel-sized bottles of shampoo. Now he’s the star […]

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Andy Cush

Have you heard about PRSM? It’s “a brand new way to share everything” featuring seamless integration with Skype, Google, Facebook, Yahoo, and Apple Products. PRSM makes it easy to communicate with others, streaming things like status updates, emails, purchases, searches, and locations. Sound familiar? Maybe it’s because you’re already signed up. GetPRSM.com expertly skewers both […]

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August 15, 2013 Andy Cush

The NSA leaks of the past few months have united a pretty amazing cross-section of people, on all shades of the political spectrum, against federal government surveillance. Case in point: Chaplain Gordon James Klingenschmitt, the host of a Christian YouTube show called Pray in Jesus Name, recently devoted a segmented to praying away the “satanic, evil spirit” […]

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August 9, 2013 Andy Cush

For anyone who would like to express their appreciation for Edward Snowden’s efforts as a whistleblower but don’t know how, the folks at Fight for the Future created a website for doing just that, allowing supporters to post images showing their gratitude. According to Tiffiniy Cheng, co-founder of the civil liberties-minded nonprofit, the site has gotten over 10,000 […]

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August 1, 2013 Andy Cush

By now, you’re surely aware that your privacy is being eroded upon (and if you weren’t before, yesterday’s XKeyscore leaks were a helpful reminder). Perhaps you’ve vaguely aware of things like Tor and DuckDuckGo, but don’t have a clear, fully-formed idea of how to keep your private things private. Yes, the extent of surveillance by […]

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July 25, 2013 Andy Cush

Last week, the NSA announced the winner of its first annual Science of Security Competition, an event designed to honor important research in cybersecurity, increase NSA collaboration with academia, and “build the science base of national security efforts.” That competition’s top honoree, Dr. Joseph Bonneau, says he wants to see the NSA “abolished” if serious reforms aren’t […]

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Andy Cush

Earlier this week, we told you about an amendment to this years defense appropriations bill that would divert any taxpayer money away from the NSA’s surveillance of American citizens. That amendment was voted on yesterday, and despite bipartisan support, failed to pass. For now, the NSA will continue to spy on you. Senator Mark Udall (D-CO), […]

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July 23, 2013 Kyle Chayka

Tomorrow, the House of Representatives is expected to vote on an amendment to the 2014 Defense Appropriations bill, which will determine the Pentagon’s spending next year. The amendment, sponsored by Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI), would divert taxpayer money away from NSA surveillance of and collection of data from American citizens who aren’t under investigation, a […]

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