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Posts Tagged “

Spying

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att

New Spy Law Will Provide Immunity To Wiretapping Telcos

Update: Voted! Passed 293-129.
Today the House votes on a new compromise FISA Bill that will make the NSA's formerly questionable activities—like spying on Americans—legal, and will grant conditional immunity upon the telephone companies that aided the NSA in spying on their customers. It's "conditional" because there will still be a court review, but nobody seems to be taking the court review seriously: Senator Russ Feingold, D-WI, calls it a "capitulation" in the ongoing fight over holding the telcos responsible, and Rep. Roy Blunt, R-MO, says the review will be a "formality." Looks like you're about to get off free, Verizon and AT&T! More »

1:07 PM on Fri Jun 20 2008
By Chris Walters
4,413 views, 110 comments

Latest by stopNgoBeau: @ARP: I only said it b/c of his obvious "I know more than you" attitude. more »

surveillance

Want To Spy On Comcast Subscribers? Comcast Has The Job For You!

If you'd like to help Comcast eavesdrop on its own subscribers, you're in luck: Comcast has posted a job listing for an "intercept engineer" on a headhunter site, according to Wired. Want ad for position of The Man, inside. More »

5:15 PM on Wed Jun 4 2008
By Alex Chasick
7,842 views, 31 comments

videos

Joel Johnson Hijacks AT&T Funded Show To Question Internet Filtering Plans

Joel Johnson, Boing Boing Gadgets editor, was booked to go onto an AT&T sponsored and underwritten show to talk about how cool gadgets are, but instead hijacked the interview to discuss The Big Blue And White Ball's recently announced plans to spy on the internet. The Hugh Thompson show is made by AT&T to show solely on its online AT&T Tech Channel, so what better way to count coup then to use it as a forum to ask why AT&T, in the interest of stopping potential copyright violations, wants to peer into every bundle of data its users send over the internets. After Joel keeps talking about the AT&T announcement, eventually Big Brother's voice comes over the studio loudspeakers and says "Hold, please." Gawker videographer Richard Blakeley taped this part of the interview and was grabbed by three security guards which he tried to exit, but eventually he was allowed to leave with the tape. They probably just wanted to analyze his packets for potential IP infringement. Read the rest of Joel's description of the event over at Boing Boing Gadgets. Our platonic man-crush on Joel just got larger.

Talking About AT&T's Internet Filtering on AT&T's The Hugh Thompson Show [Boing Boing Gadgets]

9:22 AM on Mon Jan 21 2008
By Ben Popken
3,786 views, 21 comments

Latest by n/a: What's wrong with Hugh Thompson? He moves and talks like he has Tourette's or Parkinson's...? more »

Wired is assembling a list of where each senator stands on the issue of granting immunity to phone companies who participated in wiretapping—which could be decided as early as today. The list includes phone numbers so you can call if you don't see a response for your senator. [Wired]

1 comment

the war on terror

Senate On Verge Of Agreeing To Immunity For Wiretapping Phone Companies

Yesterday, the leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee "reached a tentative agreement... with the Bush administration that would give telephone carriers legal immunity for any role they played in the National Security Agency's domestic eavesdropping program." The senators who have been reviewing classified documents related to the phone companies' participation in the program are now saying that they believe the companies "acted in good faith" and "that they should not be punished through civil litigation for their roles." More »

10:30 AM on Thu Oct 18 2007
By Chris Walters
1,637 views, 25 comments

Latest by SayAhh: Ken Lay should've asked for retro-immunity, then he would've been cleared of all them ridiculous Enron charges and wouldn't have died of [I believe] stress induced heart attack. OR, if you've ever watched 24, then you know how they more »

oh, big brother

AT&T's New Copyright Protection Plan: Read Everyone's Data!

AT&T has announced a plan to keep pirated content off their network by peeking at everyone's data to see if it contains copyrighted material. The plan, which the telecom somehow claims will "not violate user privacy," will only target repeat offenders. More »

9:46 AM on Sat Jun 16 2007
By Carey
3,454 views, 32 comments

spying

Walmart Worker Fired For Posting Joke On MySpace

Watch out, kids. Don't try to be funny on the internet or you'll be fired by Walmart. More »

12:24 PM on Thu May 31 2007
By Meg Marco
10,282 views, 79 comments

what clickstream data?

Which ISPs Are Spying On You?

You know, the cynic in us says that the answer to the question "Which ISPs Are Spying On You?" is "all of them," but Wired actually bothered to ask the 8 largest ISPs about their data retention policies. The sad part? Only 4 responded. More »

11:52 AM on Wed May 30 2007
By Meg Marco
5,331 views, 18 comments

surveillance

Wired Interview With Mark Klein, AT&T Spying Whistleblower

Wired has an informative, deeply terrifying, interview with Mark Klein the whistleblower who outed AT&T for spying for the NSA.
WN: How many people worked in or on that room?
More »

6:28 PM on Thu May 10 2007
By Meg Marco
439 views, 4 comments

privacy

Verizon Claims Disclosing Customer Records To The NSA Is "Free Speech"

Verizon is currently being sued over allegedly disclosing customer records to the NSA, but are defending themselves by claiming that the disclosure is free speech protected under the first amendment, according to Ars Technica.
"In fact, Verizon basically argues that the entire lawsuit is a giant SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) suit, and that the case is an attempt to deter the company from exercising its First Amendment right to turn over customer calling information to government security services.
More »

6:41 PM on Mon May 7 2007
By Meg Marco
978 views, 20 comments

Latest by Trackback: AM, Then FM dishes up some live Zevon; The Week in Rock tackles another set of songs — and out come the Andrew Ridgeley confessions; Consumerist tells us why Verizon has the most evil best lawyers on the planet, then more »

surveillance

Walmart Investigates Nuns As A Potential Threat

A group of Benedictine nuns in Texas are shocked that Walmart considers them a threat and ordered a "threat assessment" from their crack security team. The nuns had filed a shareholder resolution that was critical to Walmart. "The Benedictine Sisters of Boerne, Texas have written a letter to Lee Scott, Wal-Mart's chief executive, to say they were "deeply disappointed, appalled and shocked." More »

2:59 PM on Fri May 4 2007
By Meg Marco
442 views, 25 comments

surveillance

Arkansas State Police Director Resigns To Go Work At Walmart

The director of the Arkansas State Police, Colonel Steve Dozier, has resigned from his position, (with provides a salary of $98,400 a year), to join Walmart's security force. According to WMC TV, Walmart spokesperson Sarah Clark says that Dozier will "oversee several elements of the company's security program" and will report to Ken Senser, Wal-Mart's senior vice president for global security, aviation and travel." More »

1:59 PM on Fri May 4 2007
By Meg Marco
605 views, 3 comments

walmart

Walmart's Spying Operation Is Hiring!

Former CIA or FBI intelligence expert? Want to train your eye on more... "innocent" suspects than you did during your days in law enforcement? Look no further than Walmart's Global Security division, which is headed by former senior CIA and FBI senior officer Kenneth Senser and Army Special Operations veteran David Harrison. More »

12:14 PM on Wed Apr 25 2007
By Meg Marco
2,043 views, 18 comments

walmart

New York City Comptroller Requests Investigation Into Walmart Spying Operation

Upset by a Wall Street Journal article exposing Walmart for spying on its shareholders, New York CIty Comptroller William C. Thompson Jr., has formally requested that the US Attorney General and the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate Walmart for "ill-considered and possibly illegal surveillance operations." New York City's Pension Fund holds about 8 million shares of Walmart. From the Wall Street Journal:
In letters to both agencies, Comptroller William C. Thompson Jr., citing a recent article in The Wall Street Journal, said he was "particularly troubled by reports that Wal-Mart engaged in chilling and truly outrageous surveillance activities."
More »

5:44 PM on Wed Apr 11 2007
By Meg Marco
855 views, 4 comments

Latest by Trackback: This week Wal-Mart met some harsh criticism for their possibly-illegal surveillance from both within the company and without. NYC comptroller William C. more »

walmart

Walmart Granted Gag Order Against Former Spy

A judge has granted Walmart a gag order against former spy (and employee) Bruce Gabbard. Gabbard was fired from Walmart for intercepting the text messages and conversations of a New York Times reporter. Sadly for Walmart, it seems Mr. Gabbard has been feeding the Wall Street Journal a steady diet of sensitive info, including tipping them off to "Project Red" a secret strategy to kick-start Walmart's sluggish stock. From the AP:
The suit and restraining order were filed two days after Wal-Mart apologized to activist shareholders for Gabbard's revelation that they were considered potential threats and ahead of a story in Monday's editions of the Wall Street Journal on Gabbard's claim that Wal-Mart had a super-secret "Project Red" aimed at bolstering its stagnant share price.
More »

11:24 AM on Tue Apr 10 2007
By Meg Marco
879 views, 16 comments

Latest by n/a: nice EFT terminal, I think I'll do the "four corners" trick... more »

walmart

Walmart Is Watching

The WSJ goes in depth today about Walmarts intense surveillance operation. According to the recently fired employee who intercepted calls and text messages from a New York Times reporter (and a few other Walmart employees) Walmart's surveillance tactics include: More »

8:33 PM on Wed Apr 4 2007
By Meg Marco
3,943 views, 20 comments

spying

Hewlett-Packard Is Listening

In their January issue Harper's published excerpts from "emails and other documents related to Project Kona II, a surveillance operation run by private investigators hired by Hewlett-Packard last January to identify a source of leaks of confidential HP information to the press." As a part of the program, HP obtained phone records under false pretenses and spied on reporters from New York Times, BusinessWeek, the Wall Street Journal, and CNET News:
FROM: KEVIN HUNSAKER
More »

1:57 PM on Mon Mar 12 2007
By Meg Marco
1,750 views, 6 comments

walmart

FBI Investigation: Is Walmart Reading Your Email?

Walmart probably knows what The Consumerist is doing Friday night, if what CNBC is reporting is true. They're reporting that the FBI has launched an investigation into Walmart's email monitoring practices. What started out as an internal monitoring program has gotten "out of control" and Walmart has apparently been monitoring the emails of non-employees. From CNBC:
"What we're told here is that Wal-Mart had security officials who were monitoring e-mails, but somehow the monitoring got out of control," said Williams, who broke the news on CNBC.
No word yet on the extent of the problem or who was targeted by the Walmart spies. —MEGHANN MARCO More »

2:53 PM on Mon Mar 5 2007
By Meg Marco
4,803 views, 15 comments

Latest by GrandestUgg: vr4z06gt.....Do you know the REAL story on Target? Have you ever seen a U.S. Soldier asking for 'Toys for Tots ' or any other soldier on Target property seeking any charity? Have you ever wondered why? You sound more »

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