Tag Archives: Privacy

Disappointment

Richard Posner is a 7th Circuit Federal Judge. He’s always struck me as the ideal jurist. Informed not only on the law but in many other areas, especially economics. More than a Judge, he’s an intellectual and perhaps even a … Continue reading

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They’re Doing it for Your Own Good

Britain calls forth the four horsemen and apparently without shame or self awareness.

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The Problems with Gratuitously Collecting Data

Over at Neustar Research, Anthony Tockar has an interesting if terrifying post on the analysis of anonymized data from New York City’s Taxi and Limousine Commission. The data, which was obtained through a FOIA request, contains details of every Taxi … Continue reading

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Join the NSA and Do Illegal Things

“We’re going to give you the opportunity to do stuff you can’t legally do anywhere else” — NSA Director's hiring pitch at Stanford. — Morgan Mayhem (@headhntr) November 6, 2014 You probably can’t legally do those things at the NSA … Continue reading

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Abusing the Patriot Act

Remember how I told you that law enforcement will always abuse surveillance powers? Here’s the latest proof. Despite the solemn promises, less than 1% of sneak-and-peek warrants are actually for terrorism investigations.

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Just A Reminder

I know I’ve said it over and over but it bears repeating: Law Enforcement will ALWAYS abuse any data collection opportunity they are given.

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Golden Keys and the Four Horsemen of the Infocalypse

Recently, The Washington Post published an editorial suggesting that Apple, Google, and other smart phone manufacturers provide a golden key to allow law enforcement access to locked phones. “Golden Key,” of course, is just a euphemism for a backdoor. It’s … Continue reading

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You Can Trust Us

When arguing that they be given some new extraordinary power, governments always say, “You can trust us not to abuse this power.” It always turns out to be a lie. Here, from Britain—a democratic country by any honest person’s definition—is … Continue reading

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Automobiles and Apple

For those who have been off-planet and haven’t heard the news, Apple’s iOS 8 encrypts the contents of users’ iPhone and iPads in such a way that only the user—not Apple—can access it. That means that Apple can no longer … Continue reading

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Privacy for the Rest of Us

A recurrent theme around here has been the need to give crypto-enabled apps a user interface that is transparent to Aunt Millie. This is important because no matter how well-protected the geeks make themselves, no one is truly safe until … Continue reading

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