nsa – Duane Morris TechLaw

July 6, 2016 by Eric J. Sinrod

Government Surveillance of Internet Traffic

At this point, it may come as no surprise that the US government has some ability to monitor internet traffic. However, the tremendous extent of government surveillance may be somewhat alarming to those who are interested in privacy on the internet.

An article by RT.com reports that the NSA has the ability to read 75 percent of all U.S. internet traffic. The article points out that programs referred to as Stormbrew, Lithium, Oakstar, Fairview, and Blarney all have the ability to monitor the actual text of emails, not just email metadata. Continue reading “Government Surveillance of Internet Traffic”

August 13, 2014May 20, 2016 by Eric J. Sinrod

Wait, Now USB Devices May Be Unsafe Too?

Thumb drives, keyboards, and mice, oh my! That’s right, these USB devices now may be the latest “lions, tigers, and bears” to fear in our high-tech world.

According to a recent Reuters article, such USB devices possibly can be compromised to hack into personal computers in a previously unknown form of attack that supposedly can side-step current security precautions.

As reported by Reuters, Karsten Nohl, a chief scientist at SR Labs in Berlin, has stated that hackers potentially can load software onto very small and inexpensive chips that control the functions of USB devices, but which presently do not have “built-in shields” that would prevent tampering with the devices’ operative code.

Continue reading “Wait, Now USB Devices May Be Unsafe Too?”

August 21, 2013July 18, 2016 by Eric J. Sinrod

NSA Seeks To Come Clean On Surveillance Practices

With potential reforms in the wind with respect to government surveillance practices, the National Security Agency (NSA) has issued a seven-page report that seeks to explain and justify its conduct.

The report, titled “The National Security Agency: Missions, Authorities, Oversight and Partnerships,” begins with a quote from President Obama that calls for “reviewing the authorities of law enforcement, so we can intercept new types of communication, but also build in privacy protection to prevent abuse.”

Continue reading “NSA Seeks To Come Clean On Surveillance Practices”