Internet

Meet Project Vigilant--the Wikileaks leak

In the last week or so, descriptions of a secretive group called Project Vigilant have ranged between dubbing it a hoax and proclaiming it to be the next big threat to Internet privacy.

Neither is quite accurate.

Highlighting Project Vigilant's role in outing an alleged Wikileaks source, a Salon.com column warned that the organization's members have "extensive, sophisticated expertise in compiling highly invasive data about individuals' Internet activities." It's been labeled a "shadowy spy group" that's "building dossiers" for the feds.

To security maven Richard Bejtlich, however, Project Vigilant … Read more

DHS tries to defuse privacy criticism, asks for help

LAS VEGAS--A top Homeland Security official on Wednesday sought to downplay concerns about privacy and Internet monitoring raised by recent reports of the department's activities.

Jane Lute, the department's deputy secretary, told an audience at the Black Hat security conference here that she wants "to create a safe, secure, resilient place where we can thrive...The goal here is not control. It's confidence."

"How do we craft a strategy that permits the fullest exploitation of technology while ensuring our safety?" asked Lute, a lawyer who also has a degree in political science and … Read more

Wikileaks denies receiving classified State Dept. cables

A Wikileaks representative has denied receiving more than 150,000 classified U.S. State Department cables.

Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange said at the TED Global conference in Oxford, England, last week that if the organization had received the cables, "we would have released them."

The question of diplomatic cables arose after an Army intelligence specialist, Bradley Manning, was linked to Wikileaks. Manning may face a court-martial; one document listing charges against Manning says he transmitted "more than 50 classified U.S. State Department cables" to an unnamed person not authorized to receive them, in violation of … Read more

White House drafting plan for cyberspace safety

The White House is hoping to come up with a comprehensive strategy to better protect people in cyberspace and is asking the public for help.

Releasing a draft of the potential new National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace (PDF) last Friday, the government is aiming to set up a system that would let people voluntarily create trusted identities to use in online transactions.

The goal, as described in a blog post by White House cybersecurity chief Howard Schmidt, is to secure and protect transactions in cyberspace through use of a special ID--a smart card or digital certificate--that would prove … Read more

ACLU fights N.C. quest for Amazon customer data

A request by the North Carolina Department of Revenue for personally identifiable Amazon.com customer data that could be linked to purchases is unconstitutional because it violates Internet users' rights to privacy and free speech, the American Civil Liberties Union said Wednesday.

The ACLU, on behalf of seven Amazon customers, has intervened in a lawsuit that Amazon filed in April over an information request from the North Carolina Department of Revenue (NCDOR) for all the purchase records of customers with a North Carolina shipping address since August 2003, as part of a tax audit.

Amazon has provided the agency with … Read more