Politics

Since April 25, and running through July 19, Verizon has been giving the National Security Agency (NSA) daily information on all calls, both domestic and international. First reported by The Guardian, this transference of data comes after a “top secret court order issued in April.” So what, exactly, is Verizon handing over after you call Continue Reading →

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 →

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.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 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 →

Apple receives so many police demands to decrypt seized iPhones that it has created a “waiting list” to handle the deluge of requests, CNET has learned. Court documents show that federal agents were so stymied by the encrypted iPhone 4S of a Kentucky man accused of distributing crack cocaine that they turned to Apple for Continue Reading →

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 →

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 →

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 →