Police Could Get Your Location Data Without a Warrant. That Has to End:
Your cell phone records every location you visit if the phone’s location services are turned on, which is more often than not. Called cell-site location information, this data is tracked on both Android devices and iPhones. The information can be quite telling; it might show the location of your home, your office, and other places you visit often. The problem is that it can teach police about a person’s behavior and then can be used against them. In some states, the data can be used without a warrant.
Source: Wired
Trump’s Still Using His Old Android Phone. That’s Very, Very Risky:
AS PART OF a broader look at President Donald Trump’s acclimation to the White House, the New York Times noted on Wednesday that Trump still uses his personal, consumer-grade Android smartphone in the White House. That’s worrying.
Even if you’re not a security expert, some potential dangers of keeping an insecure device in the White House probably come to mind right away. There’s a reason President Obama had to make do with a heavily modified BlackBerry for most of his time in office, and why security officials reportedly issued Trump a locked-down device when he took office. One that he apparently doesn’t always use. If Trump does use his old Android smartphone in his spare time—which recent@realDonaldTrump tweets sent from Android seems to support—he’s leaving himself exposed to all manner of unsavory outcomes.
Source: Wired
Facebook Adds Support For Physical Authentication:
It’s abundantly clear at this point that passwords alone are not enough to protect online accounts, but adding a “second authentication factor” or additional element that helps prove you are who you claim can have pitfalls of its own. So this week Facebook added support for a strong “second factor” that has been gradually gaining momentum. Physical dongles that you keep plugged into your computer or carry with you are a quick and easy second piece of proof for logging into your account; Facebook will now support any physical security key that uses the open source Universal 2nd Factor standard developed by the FIDO Alliance. Sure, it’s possible to lose these dongles, but they’re robust because physical objects are hard to surveil and replicate remotely.
Source: Wired
Complaints Describe Border Agents Interrogating Muslim Americans, Asking for Social Media Accounts:
Customs and Border Protection agents have been invasively questioning Muslim-Americans at U.S. border crossings about their political and religious beliefs, asking for their social media information, and demanding passwords to open mobile phones, according to a set of complaints filed by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
In one case, a 23-year old American citizen alleges that he was choked by a CBP agent after declining to hand over his phone for inspection while crossing the border back from Canada.
The complaints deal with the cases of nine people who have been stopped at various U.S. border crossings, eight of whom are American citizens, and one Canadian. They were filed to the Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Justice.
Source: theintercept.com
Hacker Steals 900 GB of Cellebrite Data
The hackers have been hacked. Motherboard has obtained 900 GB of data related to Cellebrite, one of the most popular companies in the mobile phone hacking industry. The cache includes customer information, databases, and a vast amount of technical data regarding Cellebrite’s products.
The breach is the latest chapter in a growing trend of hackers taking matters into their own hands, and stealing information from companies that specialize in surveillance or hacking technologies.
Read the letter the FBI sent MLK to try to convince him to kill himself
“There is only one thing left for you to do. You know what it is. You have just 34 days,” the letter says, apparently urging King to commit suicide. Fortunately, King didn’t back down. But the letter is a terrifying reminder of what government surveillance agencies can be capable of.
This past year was rough. We saw a sharp increase in internet shutdowns globally, pressure to weaken encryption and legitimize mass surveillance, rampant government hacking, and other developments that put the most vulnerable people and communities — dissidents, activists, journalists, human rights defenders, and marginalized people — at risk for surveillance, censorship, and other attacks on their fundamental rights.
But that’s only half of the story. The other half is you — our supporters, international partners, and grantees who achieved real progress last year. You’re still going strong, and getting stronger. It’s going to take some serious collaboration to slow or reverse some of the trends we’re seeing — and that’s exactly what we’re hoping to do. We’re excited to work with and beside you for a better world in 2017.
Source: accessnow.org