article thumbnail

The PCLOB Needs a Director

Schneier on Security

So it can examine the program of TSA watchlists, NSA anti-terrorism surveillance, and FBI counterterrorism activities. The PCLOB was established in 2004 (when it didn't do much), disappeared from 2007-2012, and reconstituted in 2012. It issued a major report on NSA surveillance in 2014.

article thumbnail

Russians Hack FBI Comms System

Schneier on Security

Yahoo News reported that the Russians have successfully targeted an FBI communications system: American officials discovered that the Russians had dramatically improved their ability to decrypt certain types of secure communications and had successfully tracked devices used by elite FBI surveillance teams.

Hacking 264
Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

Identifying People Using Cell Phone Location Data

Schneier on Security

But way back in 2012, the Canadian CSEC—that’s their NSA—did some top-secret work on this kind of thing. There’s a whole lot of surveillance you can do if you can follow everyone, everywhere, all the time. Nowadays, it seems like an obvious thing to do—although the search is probably unconstitutional.

article thumbnail

On Chinese "Spy Trains"

Schneier on Security

The reason these threats are so real is that it's not difficult to hide surveillance or control infrastructure in computer components, and if they're not turned on, they're very difficult to find. Even so, these examples illustrate an important point: there's no escaping the technology of inevitable surveillance. Our allies do it.

article thumbnail

RedTorch Formed from Ashes of Norse Corp.

Krebs on Security

Flushed with venture capital funding in 2012, Norse’s founders started hiring dozens of talented cybersecurity professionals. An ad for RedTorch’s “Cheetah” counter-surveillance tech. By 2014 it was throwing lavish parties at top Internet security conferences.

article thumbnail

North Korea-linked APT group ScarCruft spotted using new Android spyware KoSpy

Security Affairs

North Korea-linked threat actor ScarCruft (aka APT37 , Reaper, and Group123) is behind a previously undetected Android surveillance tool namedKoSpythat was used to target Korean and English-speaking users. ” KoSpy collects SMS, calls, location, files, audio, and screenshots via plugins.

Spyware 77
article thumbnail

Chinese Supply-Chain Attack on Computer Systems

Schneier on Security

That included an FBI counterintelligence investigation that began around 2012, when agents started monitoring the communications of a small group of Supermicro workers, using warrants obtained under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act , or FISA, according to five of the officials.