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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: eavesdropping

eavesdropping stories: 10 news summaries
glossies

Your Cell Phone May Be Eavesdropping


Jun 6, 09 7:52 PM CDT
(Newser) - Be careful where you leave your cell phone. All it takes is a quick download—the equivalent of loading a ringtone—to install software that wiretaps your calls and even records ambient noise when the phone is unused. Experts say a surprising number of spouses, co-workers, and parents are using... More »

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cell phones • wiretap • spying • eavesdropping • smartphones • wiretapping

Gonzales: I'm a Casualty of
War on Terror

Controversial
ex-AG defends
White House role

Dec 31, 08 6:46 AM CST
(Newser) - Controversial former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales didn't deserve the flak he got as a high-ranking Bush administration official, he tells the Wall Street Journal. Gonzales was pilloried for his involvement in the government's "war on terror" policies, but he denies drafting the legal opinions that supported harsh interrogation techniques... More »

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Bush administration • Alberto Gonzales • White House • eavesdropping • attorney general • George W. Bush

NYPD Clashes With Justice on Surveillance

Cops say feds blunt anti-terror efforts; AG testy in series of letters

Nov 20, 08 10:24 AM CST
(Newser) - The Department of Justice has firmly rejected efforts by the New York Police Department to relax restrictions on eavesdropping, triggering a war of words between the agencies’ heads, the New York Times reports. The NYPD wants broader latitude for electronic surveillance, and less red tape for its requests, but Justice... More »

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Department of Justice • NYPD • New York • FISA • Michael Mukasey • eavesdropping • electronic surveillance laws • police department • Raymond Kelly

 Military Snooped 
 on Troops' 
 Phone Sex 

Intercept operators listened to calls of troops, journalists, aid workers for fun

Oct 10, 08 2:42 AM CDT
(Newser) - The US military routinely listened in on highly personal private phone calls of Americans calling home from the Middle East, two former operators told ABC News. President Bush has insisted that only the calls of terror suspects are monitored, but the whistleblowers say operators monitored the calls of blameless military... More »

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Senate Intelligence Committee • surveillance • National Security Agency • wiretap • Terrorist Surveillance Program • eavesdropping • whistleblower

Opinion

 Big Brother Comes to Sweden 

New surveillance law has country partying like it's 1984

Jul 13, 08 1:01 PM CDT
(Newser) - Don’t believe the hype: “Sweden is no cuddly liberal democracy,” writes Nathalie Rothschild for Spiked, berating her home country for “introducing the most Draconian surveillance law in Europe.” Known as the FRA law but nicknamed "Lex Orwell" by opponents, the legislation gives intelligence agencies... More »

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terrorism • surveillance • Sweden • FISA • Big Brother • eavesdropping • government spying

ANALYSIS

Telecoms Gain Immunity From Wiretap Suits

'It’s not compromise;
it’s pure theater,'
says one plaintiff.

Jun 20, 08 8:42 AM CDT
(Newser) - Yesterday's Congressional deal on warrantless wiretapping will wipe out some 40 pending lawsuits against phone companies that took part in the Bush administration's eavesdropping scheme, ending 5 months of Democratic resistance to giving the telcos immunity for their actions. In what the New York Times calls to the biggest change... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Bush administration • domestic surveillance • warrantless wiretapping • eavesdropping • wiretapping bill

Eavesdropping on Internet
Calls Is Easy

Researchers find potential encryption security problems

Jun 17, 08 7:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - Not only are most Internet phone calls not encrypted, but a bandwidth-saving technique could undermine encryption once it’s implemented. Researchers at Johns Hopkins found that a compression method called variable-bit-rate encoding makes it possible for eavesdroppers to identify given phrases in an encrypted VoIP call 50% of the time,... More »

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VoIP • eavesdropping • Internet phone • encryption

Wiretaps Continue Under Lapsed Law

Nervous phone firms agree to cooperate
with government

Feb 24, 08 11:31 AM CST
(Newser) - US spy agencies are continuing wiretap surveillance despite the fact that a law re-authorizing the administration's controversial program failed to pass a divided legislature last weekend. Telecommunications companies are cooperating with the government despite concerns, Reuters reports. Wiretaps will resume under the current law "at least for now,"... More »

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Congress • Department of Justice • wiretap • eavesdropping • Protect America Act • spies • Office of National Intelligence • George W. Bush

Free Phone Service Listens In, Tailors Ads

Startup sparks privacy concerns with marketing that draws on conversations

Sep 24, 07 12:42 PM CDT
(Newser) - In much the same way that Gmail scans emails to push relevant advertising, a California start-up is using voice-recognition software to translate the strategy to Internet phone calls. Puddingmedia offers free phone service if customers allow eavesdropping on their conversations, the AP reports. The data isn't recorded, but privacy advocates... More »

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technology • cell phones • online advertising • Skype • startup • eavesdropping • VOIP • Puddingmedia • Henry Blodget • Internet advertising • telephone

Russia and China Spying at Cold War Levels, Top Spy Warns

Patriot Act not enough, he tells lawmakers

Sep 18, 07 9:04 PM CDT
(Newser) - China and Russia are spying on the US at nearly cold war levels, the nation's top spy told lawmakers today. Vice Admiral McConnell defended the Patriot Act as necessary for US defense and asked Congress to give intelligence agencies even greater eavesdropping powers. His  testimony comes weeks after an alleged... More »

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China • Russia • Congress • Pentagon • Cold War • Patriot Act • hackers • spying • eavesdropping

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