The PCLOB Needs a Director

The US Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board is looking for a director. Among other things, this board has some oversight role over the NSA. More precisely, it can examine what any executive-branch agency is doing about counterterrorism. So it can examine the program of TSA watchlists, NSA...

Ed Felten Joins White house as Deputy CTO

Ed Felten, a professor at Princeton University and a well-respected voice on security and privacy issues, is joining the White House as the deputy CTO. In his new role, Felten will be working under Megan Smith, the CTO of the United States and a former Google vice president. Felten has been at...

FTC Hires Privacy Researcher Ashkan Soltani as Chief Technologist

The FTC has hired Ashkan Soltani, a highly regarded and respected technologist and privacy researcher, as its chief technologist. The move is the latest in a string of interesting hires by the Federal Trade Commission. In 2009 the agency hired Chris Soghoian, a privacy and security researcher, as...