Sen. Patrick Leahy
If you have any e-mails that are older than 180 days (and we all do), they’re considered “legally abandoned.” Any governmental agency can look at these e-mails simply by providing a statement saying that they are relevant to an investigation. The scariest part? There’s no judicial review or oversight required… none at all. You might Continue Reading →
China
Designs for many of the nation’s most sensitive advanced weapons systems have been compromised by Chinese hackers, according to a report prepared for the Pentagon and to officials from government and the defense industry. Among more than two dozen major weapons systems whose designs were breached were programs critical to U.S. missile defenses and combat Continue Reading →
Have you ever been watching cat videos on YouTube and thought, ‘You know what would really go well with these? A live look-in at Capitol Hill!’ While many of us have never had that thought, if you have … you’re in luck! YouTube recently brought live streams from members of US Congress to its site, Continue Reading →
Amazon Cloud Drive
Amazon.com Inc has been given a security clearance by the U.S. government that will make it easier for federal agencies to use its cloud computing services. Amazon Web Services, known as AWS, was certified to operate as a cloud service provider for three years under the government’s new FedRAMP program. The accreditation covers all AWS Continue Reading →
Apple
Apple CEO Tim Cook is expected to testify before a Senate subcommittee Tuesday to refute charges the company paid no taxes on tens of billions of dollars in overseas income. The Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations is expected to release findings Tuesday claiming Apple didn’t pay taxes on at least $74 billion in overseas income. Continue Reading →
3D Printed Gun
Ever the publicity hound, Sen. Chuck Schumer, who obviously has no idea what additive manufacturing actually is, came out big and strong against “stomach-churning” 3D printed plastic guns last week. “Everyone’s seen the movie ‘In The Line of Fire,’ where one of the great bad guys, [played by] John Malkovich, labored at making a gun Continue Reading →
Television
Arizona senator John McCain, introduced legislation that would force cable operators and other TV providers to split up their so-called programming bundles and instead offer TV shows in smaller, more affordable packages and as a la carte channels. His legislation, called the Television Consumer Freedom Act, also would require sports leagues that use publicly financed Continue Reading →
Government Regulation
The U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI believe they don’t need a search warrant to review Americans’ e-mails, Facebook chats, Twitter direct messages, and other private files, internal documents reveal.  Government documents obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union and provided to CNET show a split over electronic privacy rights within the Obama administration, Continue Reading →
Qualcomm
According to sources close to the situation, well-known tech exec Jon Rubinstein will be joining the board of Qualcomm, the San Diego-based chipmaker that has gotten a big boost of late for its role in the explosion of mobile devices.  Rubinstein is an interesting and logical choice for Qualcomm, having been a high-profile player for Continue Reading →