NSA spies on Israeli top brass

Seems that the NSA had interest in spying on Israel. Wonder how Israel is going to react to this news.

How to protect yourself from FBI webcam spying

RT America tells you here how you can make sure you webcam isn't used for spying by the FBI, or anyone else:

NSA tracked calls of 35 world leaders

A memo revealed that back in 2006 the NSA has interest in tracking phone calls of 35 world leaders, thanks to an unnamed US official in the memo that turned over about 200 phone numbers.

So it appears that Germany and Brazil aren't the only nations that were under the watchful eyes of the NSA.

The Guardian (with excerpt of memo)

Real name and face on Google's ads?

Coming soon, Google may feature you in their online ads. with your real name and profile picture. In Google's new Terms of Use, it revealed that it may use your Google+ profile  name and picture as shared endorsements to family, friends and other users.

Ars Technica - with more info

NSA and British intel had interest in decryption

More documents about the NSA revealed that they may have had interest in breaking encryption to gain access to information from the Internet, such as e-mails, medical records and banking info.

GCHQ (British intelligence) also may had interest in decrypting info on the web as well.

Many people use encryption to protect information for a good reason: privacy. Also this is done to deter cyber-criminals who may use sensitive info for their own purposes.

So this may prove that even with encryption, there's not much escape from the NSA, providing they have the effective back-door means to access such encrypted info.

TheGuardian - Revealed: how US and UK spy agencies defeat internet privacy and security

People protesting NSA surveillance programs in Washington DC

Thanks to the Associated Press for covering this, now people in Washington are protesting the NSA surveillance programs, the collection of data from cell phones and the Internet.

Obama to support Internet wiretapping program

RT America video on FBI's latest attempt to monitor Internet users on chats, emails and more.

US entertainment industry calls for use of rootkits against Internet pirates

So, if going after Internet piracy with DMCA takedowns and ISP throttling of Net connections aren’t enough, the music and movie industries in the US are looking to take their Internet piracy fight to the next level with legalizing the use of malware, such as spyware and rootkits, to go up against Internet pirates on the web.

One of many measures looked at, is the ability to lock your PC with a notice saying for example, that you broke a law and need to pay a fine (known as ransomware).

Such as measure like this takes the fight directly to the user.

Source: Boing Boing

Boston marathon bomber left behind digital trail

Russia Today America video on one of the Boston bombers that left behind a digital past on YouTube, Twitter and other social media sites that may reveal more about both of the suspects.

How Twitter can get you fired

Russia Today video on how social media sites like Twitter can get people fired from their jobs.

Even digital dirt (info out there about you on the web) may be enough to raise an eyebrow or two from employers, because most of them keep tabs on you on the web, and so will job recruiters.

It serves as a reminder to keep your private stuff private and be mindful on what info you put out on the web.

New Apple security measure creates a flaw or two

After Apple's recent security breach, the company has rolled out two-step verification for its Apple accounts, to send a code to their devices. Before then, all it takes for you to authenticate yourself is your email address and date of birth to recover your password.

Apple fixed the issue, but are they any more flaws left behind?

Porn on Ice: RT video on Iceland Internet porn ban attempt

Russia Today video on Iceland's Internet blocking of porn, also the country will prevent buyers from purchasing pay-per-view porn, subscriptions and paid downloads.

Iceland looking to censor Internet porn

Just as we thought Iceland has long respected Internet freedom and free from Internet surveillance, now it looks to censor porn altogether instead of just child porn.

Halla Gunnarsdottir had this to say about the Internet being somewhat lawless: “There are laws in our society. Why should they not apply to the Internet”?

Sounds like a huge response for taking a country’s law books and presence to the Internet, while the authoritarian regimes are already doing the same, such as Iran, China and Russia.

The UK ISPs wanted to block out porn by default, by making it an option for Internet subscribers to opt in if needed, if they want to view this kind of content. Will Iceland resort to this model?

Australia conducted a test in 2008 on Internet filtering of porn and depictions of crime and drug use. Some parts of that country are still doing this now.

As soon as a regime censors one form of Internet, it’s a pretext to censor anything else that they think violates the laws in their country, or simply do not approve of.

So fellow Icelanders: Tell those politicians to respect Internet freedom by not posing as Internet cops over what you can do and post like in Communist China and Islamic Iran.

Source: MSN News

Twitter wants to track TV trends

CNN video on Twitter's newest move on gathering analytic data on TV trends -because when people watch TV or go to the movies, Internet users are likely to leave feedback.

Twitter is looking into this after its acquisition of Bluefin Labs.

Perhaps not the first social media to begin data gathering on media trends - YouTube may have done a study with Neilsen on video viewership.

France court tells Twitter to release identities of racist tweeters

A French court puts Twitter on the spotlight and tells them to turn over data of anti-Semitic tweeters, and that’s because in France, hate and racist speech is illegal in the country.

Twitter said that they are reviewing the request, but will they comply?

When it comes to some European countries like Germany and France going after Nazi paraphernalia and hate comments online, that can be just the pretext needed for Internet subjugation.

Source: Tech News World

Top ISPs Six Strikes Anti-Piracy measures may apply to free Wi-Fi

For those that think the six strikes copyright enforcement blitz only applies to residential customers and not in public areas, think again.

The top ISPs - AT&T, Comcast, Verizon, and others may expand the six strikes copyright rule to their Wi-Fi hotspots, and go after businesses that are providing patrons their Wi-Fi access and throttling down their Net speed if used for infringement purposes.

It shows even if you use public Wi-Fi, you may be subject to an unexpected decrease in Net speed.

Source: TechDirt

If you're looking to petition Verizon not to pursue businesses that provide their Wi-Fi access, sign the petition here.

Google removes censorship notice from Chinese search

Google decides to take away the ability to notify Chinese internet surfers of censored search results from China’s internet censorship systems, days after its plans to visit North Korea.

Is it because the Chinese regime already know about it, or that it serves no purpose to Google?

North Korea has it’s own domestic Intranet in place, so will Google’s visit to the country help in terms of setting up shop, or otherwise?

Source: Information Policy