XMPP Mandating Encryption on Messaging Service Operators

Beginning today, the operators of instant messaging services that rely on the extensible messaging and presence protocol XMPP are expected to deploy encryption into the platforms they maintain. The XMPP Standard Foundation XSF announced today that a large number of services on the public XMPP...

TLS 1.3 Has Consensus to Deprectate RSA Key Transport

The IETF working group responsible for the TLS 1.3 standard is closing in on a decision to remove RSA key transport cipher suites from the protocol. Decades-old RSA-based handshakes don’t cut it anymore, according to experts, who are anxious to put a modern protocol in place, one that can fend of...

IE 12 to Support HSTS Encryption Protocol

Microsoft confirmed today it will support HTTPS Strict Transport Protocol HSTS in Internet Explorer 12, bringing its browser in line with other major vendors in its support of the protocol. Browsers supporting HSTS force any sessions sent over HTTP to be sent instead over HTTPS, encrypting...

NSA Surveillance Reform Demonstrate Need for Public Scrutiny

The Snowden leaks and the ensuing critical spotlight shone on the National Security Agency’s surveillance programs have nudged many technologists, privacy hounds and politicians away from their desks and onto the front lines calling for reforms. Two nights ago, the New York Times reported that...

US Prosecutor drops Criminal charges against Barrett Brown

U.S. Prosecutors decided not to pursue crucial criminal charges against journalist and activist Barrett Brown, and dismiss a majority of charges related to sharing a link to a dump of credit card numbers connected to the breach of intelligence firm Stratfor. Supporters say Brown just copied the...

Oversight Board Calls NSA Metadata Collection Illegal

Another independent review board investigating the National Security Agency’s collection of phone records metadata has come down hard on the program, calling it illegal, recommending the government end the program, and questioning its effectiveness in ferreting out terrorists. The Privacy and Civ...

Google Kills Privacy Feature

UPDATE: Google has removed a pivotal privacy feature from its Android operating system that gave users the ability to deny permissions in and regulate information collection attempts by installed applications. The feature, which users could control with a tool called AppOps Launcher, first appear...

Twitter Implements Perfect Forward Secrecy

Twitter took another step toward not only securing the privacy of its users’ communication over the social network, but in warding off the prying eyes of government surveillance with the implementation of Perfect Forward Secrecy. The technology thwarts the efforts of anyone who may be collecting...

EFF Encrypt the Web Report Shows Crypto Leaders, Laggards

There’s nothing like a little peer pressure to nudge someone toward doing the right thing. That’s the philosophy behind the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Encrypt the Web Report, which examines the encryption capabilities of 18 leading Internet companies, including large carriers, social...

TrueCrypt Audit Team Creates Technical Advisory Board

As the TrueCrypt audit chugs along toward a deterministic, clean build of the open-source encryption software and a palatable license, the organizers have brought prominent security and legal experts aboard as a technical advisory team. The experts will not only provide guidance on the current...

Government to Release Hundreds of Documents Related to NSA Surveillance

In response to a lawsuit by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Department of Justice is preparing to release a trove of documents related to the government’s secret interpretation of Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act. The declassified documents will include previously secret opinions of the...

House Rejects Amendment to Sever NSA Data Collection Funding

By a narrow dozen votes, the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday failed to pass an amendment to the Department of Defense Appropriations Act of 2014 that would have severed funding for the NSA’s phone record surveillance program turned out by Edward Snowden. The amendment, put forth by Rep...

EFF: Forced Decryption Violates Fifth Amendment

If the government would like to force Jeffrey Feldman to decrypt the contents of the hard-drives and Dell computer found in his apartment, then they must offer him immunity and cannot use any of the information found on the devices as part of their case against him. That is what the Electronic...

Who Governs The Internet and whose property is it?

The recent exposes and revelations by Edward Snowden about the Top Secret Internet Snooping program currently run by US National Security Agency NSA have shocked the world. The extent of snooping is even more shocking and what has just stunned the world is the sheer name of top Internet companies...

NSA collecting phone records of millions of US citizens daily

The National Security Agency is collecting telephone records for millions of Americans without informing the individuals involved. The shocking news has been revealed by 'Guardian' whose journalists had access to a "Top Secret" court order, signed by Judge Roger Vinson, issued in April against...

NSA collecting phone records of millions of US citizens daily

The National Security Agency is collecting telephone records for millions of Americans without informing the individuals involved. The shocking news has been revealed by 'Guardian' whose journalists had access to a "Top Secret" court order, signed by Judge Roger Vinson, issued in April against...

Google ordered to hand over sensitive users details to FBI without a warrant

Judge Susan Illston of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on Friday has ordered the Google to hand over customer details to FBI without a warrant. FBI counter terrorism agents began issuing the secret letters, which don't require a judge's approval, after Congress...

Google ordered to hand over sensitive users details to FBI without a warrant

Judge Susan Illston of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on Friday has ordered the Google to hand over customer details to FBI without a warrant. FBI counter terrorism agents began issuing the secret letters, which don't require a judge's approval, after Congress...

Obama Expands Surveillance to Critical Infrastructure

A little-known policy through which the Departments of Justice, Defense, and Homeland Security offered prosecutorial immunity to companies that helped the U.S. military monitor Internet traffic on the private networks of defense contractors has reportedly been expanded by Executive Order to inclu...

Two Texas Bills Could Shape Mobile Privacy

Two bills introduced in Texas this week could refine mobile privacy in the state and tweak how law enforcement can request sensitive information from cell phones going forward. A press release from the Texas Electronic Privacy Coalition TxEPC credits Bryan Hughes, a Republican from the town of...