Intelligence gathering / analysis

Pegasus Spyware Maker NSO Is Conducting a Lobbying Campaign to Get Off U.S. Blacklist
The cybersecurity firm has invested heavily in top lobbyists and law firms in an effort to lift restrictions on doing business in America. NSO is hoping the Israeli prime minister will raise the issue with Joe Biden when the two meet this week.
- Read more
One Year On: Marking Progress on Biden’s Counter-Domestic Terrorism Strategy
Early in the Biden administration, the president instructed the intelligence community to evaluate the domestic terrorist threat – and intelligence officials concluded that it’s severe. On 15 June 2021, the Biden administration released the National Strategy to Counter Domestic Terrorism. Ryan B. Greer writes that now that it has been a full year since the launch, there is an opportunity to review the administration’s progress made toward countering the threat of domestic violent extremism.
- Read more

Spain Sacks Intelligence Chief in Wake of Pegasus Scandal
Paz Esteban was replaced after a controversy over the use of the Pegasus spyware to hack top Spanish officials’ cellphones, as well as spying on Catalan separatists.
- Read more
The Movement to Ban Government Use of Face Recognition
Our faces are unique identifiers that can’t be left at home, or replaced like a stolen ID or compromised password. Facial recognition technology facilitates covert mass surveillance of the places we frequent, people we associate with, and, purportedly, our emotional state. Communities across the country are fighting back.
- Read more

Google Fights Dragnet Warrant for Users’ Search Histories Overseas, but It Is Continuing to Give Data to Police in the U.S.
Google is fighting back against a Brazilian court order to turn over data on all users who searched for specific terms, including the name of a well-known elected official and a busy downtown thoroughfare. Google should be applauded for challenging this digital dragnet search in Brazil, but the company must also stand up for the rights of its users against similar searches in the U.S. and elsewhere.
- Read more
DHS Sued Over Vetting Program to Collect and Data Mine
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) the other day filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for records about a multi-million dollar, secretive program that surveils immigrants and other foreign visitors’ speech on social media.
- Read more

We Need Answers about the CIA’s Mass Surveillance
The Central Intelligence Agency has been collecting American’s private data without any oversight or even the minimal legal safeguards that apply to the NSA and FBI, an unconstitutional affront to our civil liberties. The whos, whats, whys, and hows of this semi-disclosed CIA program are still unknown, and the public deserves the right to know exactly what damage has been done.
- Read more
In 2021, the Police Took a Page Out of the NSA’s Playbook: 2021 in Review
Dragnet searches were once thought to be just the province of the NSA, but they are now easier than ever for domestic law enforcement to conduct as well. With increasing frequency, law enforcement has been using unconstitutional, suspicionless digital dragnet searches in an attempt to identify unknown suspects in criminal cases.
- Read more

U.S. Supreme Court Hears Case of Surveillance of Muslims
A decade ago, three Muslim men filed suit against the FBI, alleging the Bureau deployed a confidential informant who claimed to be a convert to Islam to spy on them based solely on their religious identity. On Monday, the Supreme Court heard the argument by the administration that it has the right to invoke the protection of “state secrets” to withhold information from the plaintiffs.
- Read more
Face Recognition Is So Toxic, Facebook Is Dumping It
Facebook’s decision to end its face-recognition program comes at a time when face recognition technology is receiving push back, criticisms, and legislative bans across the United States, and the globe.
- Read more

U.S. Tightens Export Controls on Items Used in Surveillance of Private Citizens, other Malicious Cyber Activities
The Commerce Department has released an interim final rule, establishing controls on the export, reexport, or transfer (in-country) of certain items that can be used for surveillance of private citizens or other malicious cyber activities.
- Read more
Surveillance Equipment: Scrutiny Necessary for the Police, Manufacturers
Facial recognition, body cameras and other digital technologies are increasingly used by police departments, municipalities and even gated communities, but these tools, manufactured by private companies, raise the specter of unchecked surveillance.
- Read more

Calif. Sheriff Sued for Sharing Drivers’ License Plate Data With ICE, CBP, Other Out-of-State Agencies
License plate scans occur through Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs): high-speed cameras mounted in a fixed location or atop police cars moving through the community that automatically capture all license plates that come into view, recording the exact location, date, and time that the vehicle passes by. The information can paint a detailed picture of our private lives, our daily schedules, and our social networks.
- Read more
Pegasus Project Shows the Need for Real Device Security, Accountability and Redress for those Facing State-Sponsored Malware
It is no surprise that people around the world are angry to learn that surveillance software sold by NSO Group to governments has been found on cellphones worldwide. People all around the world deserve the right to have a private conversation. Communication privacy is a human right, a civil liberty, and one of the centerpieces of a free society. And while we all deserve basic communications privacy, the journalists, NGO workers, and human rights and democracy activists among us are especially at risk, since they are often at odds with powerful governments.
- Read more
Spyware: Why the Booming Surveillance Tech Industry Is Vulnerable to Corruption and Abuse
The latest revelations about NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware are the latest indication that the spyware industry is out of control, with licensed customers free to spy on political and civilian targets as well as suspected criminals. We may be heading to a world in which no phone is safe from such attacks.
- Read more

Pegasus Spyware Maker NSO Is Conducting a Lobbying Campaign to Get Off U.S. Blacklist

One Year On: Marking Progress on Biden’s Counter-Domestic Terrorism Strategy

Spain Sacks Intelligence Chief in Wake of Pegasus Scandal

The Movement to Ban Government Use of Face Recognition

Google Fights Dragnet Warrant for Users’ Search Histories Overseas, but It Is Continuing to Give Data to Police in the U.S.

DHS Sued Over Vetting Program to Collect and Data Mine

We Need Answers about the CIA’s Mass Surveillance

In 2021, the Police Took a Page Out of the NSA’s Playbook: 2021 in Review

U.S. Supreme Court Hears Case of Surveillance of Muslims

Face Recognition Is So Toxic, Facebook Is Dumping It

U.S. Tightens Export Controls on Items Used in Surveillance of Private Citizens, other Malicious Cyber Activities

Surveillance Equipment: Scrutiny Necessary for the Police, Manufacturers

Calif. Sheriff Sued for Sharing Drivers’ License Plate Data With ICE, CBP, Other Out-of-State Agencies

Pegasus Project Shows the Need for Real Device Security, Accountability and Redress for those Facing State-Sponsored Malware

Spyware: Why the Booming Surveillance Tech Industry Is Vulnerable to Corruption and Abuse

More headlines

Free Subscription

The long view