Over 40 groups have sent a letter to the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board asking the agency to recommend that the executive branch put a moratorium on facial recognition. What are your thoughts on this initiative? . A number of advocacy groups are pressuring the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board -- an independent government agency that advises the presidential administration on privacy matters -- to recommend that the federal government suspend use of facial recognition while accuracy and privacy issues are addressed. Forty groups led by the Electronic Privacy Information Center signed a letter on Monday that called for the agency to stop government use of facial recognition “pending further review,” citing a recent New York Times report ona massive facial recognition databaseas one reason why the PCLOB should recommend the suspension to the Secretary of Homeland Security and President Trump. The report found that more than 600 law enforcement agencies across the U.S. were using a database of social media photos built by Clearview AI, a little-known startup. The link for this article located at Security Today is no longer available. . Civil liberties organizations call for a halt to state-sponsored facial recognition due to privacy threats and reliability doubts.. Privacy Oversight Board, Facial Recognition Ban, Government Technology, Civil Liberties. . LinuxSecurity.com Team
Amid months of damaging investigative reporting and pressure by advocacy groups like EFF, senators are finally joining the fight to learn just how invasive and harmful Amazon’s Ring cameras are to the privacy of people in their vicinity. What are your thoughts on Ring cameras? Learn more in an interesting EFF article: . In September, after it had been revealed that over 400 police departments around the country had entered into agreements with Ring, Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) sent a letter to the company demanding answers. These agreements give police departments access to a portal that allows them to bulk request footage from Ring users with little beyond an incident number connected to a specific case to prove they need the footage. This simple process to access potentially hundreds of cameras in the vicinity of an incident creates a vested interest for police to help expand the use of Ring cameras within their towns. We’ve written before about concerns with Ring-law enforcement partnerships; as of November 2019—two months after Markey sent his letter—there are now well over 600. . Lawmakers are currently probing the potential privacy risks associated with Amazon's Ring surveillance cameras, as advocacy organizations express growing apprehension.. Ring Cameras, Privacy Invasion, Police Surveillance, Security Concerns. . LinuxSecurity.com Team
For governments worldwide, encryption is a thorn in the side in the quest for surveillance, cracking suspected criminal phones, and monitoring communication.. Officials are applying pressure on technology firms and app developers which provide end-to-end encryption services provide a way for police forces to break encryption.. Officials are applying pressure on technology firms and app developers which provide end-to-end encr. governments, worldwide, encryption, thorn, quest, surveillance, cracking. . LinuxSecurity.com Team
It. The digital watchdog said on Monday it received a handful of heavily redacted documents from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), which it sued last July after it and the National Security Agency moved too slowly on a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.. The tech oversight agency acquired extensively censored files from American intelligence, prompting worries regarding its transparency regulations.. Software Flaw Disclosure, Government Oversight, National Security. . Anthony Pell
Senator Ron Wyden thought he knew what was going on. The Democrat from Oregon, who has served on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence since 2001, thought he knew the nature of the National Security Agency. As a committee member with a classified clearance, he received regular briefings to conduct oversight. But when the The New York Times broke the story in late 2005 that the spy agency was engaging in warrantless wiretapping, Wyden was as surprised as the rest of us. The link for this article located at Wired is no longer available. . Senator Ron Wyden discusses his insights on the NSA and the complexities of state surveillance, stressing the importance of civil liberties and regulatory scrutiny.. Senator Ron Wyden, NSA oversight, privacy advocacy, government surveillance. . LinuxSecurity.com Team
Civil libertarians saw their hopes for curtailing the National Security Agency's massive digital surveillance program dimmed in the wake of a report from a US government privacy board vindicating much of the international communications dragnet. . The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) voted Wednesday to adopt a 200-page report on the NSA's so-called "702" powers, which include the widespread collection of foreign email, voice and text messages and Americans' international calls. The link for this article located at The Guardian UK is no longer available. . The recent decision by the PCLOB regarding NSA surveillance brings to light significant issues related to civil rights and the ongoing push for privacy reforms.. NSA Reform, Digital Surveillance, Civil Liberties, Privacy Oversight, Government Policy. . Dave Wreski
U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders sent a letter to the NSA on Friday asking, "Has the NSA spied, or is the NSA currently spying, on members of Congress or other American elected officials?" The only acceptable answer ought to be, "No, of course not." . The honest answer: "Yes." The NSA has spied on members of Congress, but acknowledging that would unnerve millions of Americans. That's why their official response to the letter was so evasive that CNN summed it up, "NSA won't say whether it spies on Congress.". The honest answer: 'Yes.' The NSA has spied on members of Congress, but acknowledging that would unn. senator, bernie, sanders, letter, friday, asking, spied. . LinuxSecurity.com Team
Cryptographers are fighting back against efforts by spy agencies to secretly weaken the encryption standards designed to keep the Internet secure.. In an open letter posted online Monday, security experts from universities in the United Kingdom and Luxemburg blasted the National Security Agency and its British counterpart GCHQ for what they describe as the The link for this article located at Slate is no longer available. . Security experts criticize CIA's clandestine tactics aimed at eroding web encryption, jeopardizing digital safety for all users.. Internet Security, Encryption Standards, Cryptography Efforts. . LinuxSecurity.com Team
Get the latest Linux and open source security news straight to your inbox.