Schneier: Most People Will Never Use Tor Or PGP

Despite all the fuss about the revelations of Edward Snowden and the NSA surveillance in practice most people will never take anti-surveillance measures. In fact, most surveillance tools such as Facebook, Google and a smartphone are voluntarily used by people because they are like "handy", says security expert Bruce Schneier opposite Wired .

When asked how he ordinary, honest Internet users would convince tools like Tor or PGP or use your own mail server, he says this is not possible. The surveillance tools, he says, convenient and free. "That's why we use them. Most technical solutions to avoid surveillance to use tedious and difficult. And they only work to a certain level."

Schneier gives as an example the cell phone, which he describes as an "incidental tracking device". "If that was not the case, the system could not deliver phone calls. Metadata is very intimate and the surveillance data can not be encrypted." When it comes to addressing surveillance should therefore not be given to technical solutions, Schneier says.

The important thing is just to talk about it with each other, he says. "These are political issues that require political solutions, and it will be no political issues if we do not make Currently surveillance yet not showy,. We do not notice it because it happens automatically in the background Snowden left us. see what happens when people notice it. People should notice whatsoever of the lake. "

NSA Began Phasing Eavesdroppers

The US National Security Agency began to phase out the eavesdropping program that collected the phone records of US citizens and stored, now the Senate no agreement has been reached on an extension of the program, reports the Associated Press .

On June 1 expires section 215 of the Patriot Act, which allows intelligence services may collect phone records of Americans.Investigation FBI also uses this section, only to collect financial and other information in national security cases. As a solution was devised a new proposal, the USA Freedom Act.

This proposal would end the massive storage of telephone data, but would allow the NSA to the data store by searching telecom providers by case. However, the proposal fell short of three votes, since the Republicans voted against it. Because the outcome is the NSA now started to reduce the search of domestic telephone data. On May 31, the Senate comes back together for one last rescue attempt.

AVG Launches "Anti-Surveillance" Extension For Chrome

Czech anti-virus company AVG has an extension for Google Chrome developed claiming to users without internet surveillance to be used. What the Crumbe extension actually does is block trackers and cookies especially advertisers like.

This will be done in such a way that it does not break the functionality of websites, said AVG. Unlike other extensions that protect users against trackers makes Crumble not use a blacklist, but cookies itself analyzed by an algorithm. This should ensure that new trackers can be blocked immediately as soon as they appear, without the blacklist needs to be updated first.In addition, there is no difference in the blocked trackers place.

By blocking cookies will prevent as AVG Internet advertisers and trackers follow. However, experts have regularly shown that for tracking Internet cookies are not required. Well Crumble gives users insight into the trackers that are active on a website, since the extension that displays. Crumble is still in the beta phase and via the Chrome Store download.

Researcher: "Gemalto was specifically targeted by GCHQ"

The chip maker based in the Netherlands Gemalto was indeed a specific target of the British secret service GCHQ, although Gemalto denies this in a press release. Yesterday The Intercept dropped on the basis of documents that the NSA and GCHQ in 2010 had broken at Gemalto .

In addition, the encryption keys were to secure mobile communications captured. In a press release states that Gemalto would appear from the publication that it was not necessarily the target. "It was an attempt to maximize net eject and as many mobile phones as possible to reach, with the aim to monitor the mobile communications without the consent of telecom providers and users."

Andrew Fishman, researcher and journalist at The Intercept let on Twitter know that Gemalto was indeed the target of the secret services. Codenamed "Dapino GAMMA" which appears in the documents of the GCHQ are namely GCHQ code name for Gemalto. In an operation of the British secret service, named HIGHLAND FLING, Gemalto is even named. This operation was intended to access the email accounts of Gemalto employees in France and Poland. Because of the revelations is the share of Gemalto on the AEX stock market currently more than 6% in the minus.

NSA And GCHQ Would Have Hacked Sim Manufacturer Gemalto

The American and British secret services were established in the Netherlands SIM card manufacturer Gemalto five years ago there have been hacked and stolen the encryption keys used to secure mobile communications. Thus, the NSA and the British GCHQ would mobile communications eavesdropping without permission of telecom operators and foreign governments.

That claims The Intercept using documents whistleblower Edward Snowden. Gemalto product annually honors 2 billion SIM cards and is one of the largest manufacturers in the world SIM card. According to a presentation in 2010 of the GCHQ, different computers are infected with malware Gemalto that the British secret service at the time thought full access to the network.

Gemalto CEO Paul Beverly called the news disturbing. "The important thing for me is to understand how this could happen just so we can take steps to prevent it does not happen again," he tells The Intercept opposite. After being informed Gemalto's security team has conducted an investigation, but could find no trace of any hack. However, the slides of Snowden dating five years ago.

D66 MP Gerard Schouw call it incredible. He and other policymakers will ask for clarification from the government and want to know whether the AIVD knew Gemalto was a target. "We have a law in the Netherlands on the activities of secret services and hacking is not allowed," said the MP. He also does not think Plasterk such operations would approve by foreign secret services.

Cookies Have Life Of 7985 Years

Cookies that websites place on the computers of visitors may 7985 last year, according to international research that was conducted in the Netherlands ( pdf ). The 59 sites were surveyed Dutch total 2089 cookies behind. Dutch media sites on average put most cookies per visitor 42.2. Webshops follow with 25.9 cookies. Dutch websites scoring average this.

It is mainly British media sites (83.1 cookies), French media sites (73.8 cookies) and Danish media sites (75.3 cookies) protruding. The study also specified where cookies come from. In the case of the Dutch sites, there were 607 of the 2089 cookies originating from the visited website. The remaining 1482 cookies were placed by third parties such as advertisers and trackers. Netherlands ends with this agent in the moot.

Websites can also specify if the cookies expire. Two Danish and one British website have their cookies on 31/12/9999 expired. Ie about 7985 years. In total, 15 sites were found to place cookies with a lifespan of over 100 years. The average lifespan of a cookie that is placed by the visited website is 14.34 years. Cookies are not counted over 100 years, then the researchers at two years out.

In the case of cookies from third parties, there was a French website that a third party cookie left behind that 7985 year went along. A total of 15 third parties were found placed 27 cookies with a life of more than 68 years. The average lifespan of any "third party" cookies thus amounts to 1.77 years. Cookies are more than 68 years are not included, the average life is 1.33 years. Most third-party cookies come from Doubleclick.net , which was found on 213 web sites and placed 247 cookies.

"Setting a long expiration date for a cookie does not only mean that the device's usefulness will survive, but the person using it at the time. Although the life of a cookie on a device depends on the purpose for which it was placed, it is difficult for an expiration date in the year 9999 to justify, " says Simon Rice of the UK Information Commissioner's Office.

US Senator Concerned About Voice Recognition Smart TVs

US Senator Al Franken is concerned about voice recognition and call screening of smart TVs, which he both Samsung and LG has sent a letter to the manufacturers will be asked to further explain the operation of this feature and the use of data collected.

This week it was announced that Samsung televisions recorded words send it to a third party. In addition, consumers were warned that if they discuss confidential information, this data can be transmitted. "This relatively new technology has major implications for the privacy of people and I am concerned about the extent to which Samsung collects voice data SmartTV users and shares," said the senator's letter ( pdf ). He also worries that Samsung does not give customers the necessary information so that they understand how their voice data can be used by third parties.

A letter ( pdf ) with similar questions was sent to manufacturer LG. Senator wants to know how consumers can avoid voice and data viewing behavior are recorded and transmitted by the manufacturers. Samsung now has the operation of the voice recognition on their own blog clarified. So that the data is sent to Nuance Communications. Franks wants to know, however, whether there are other third parties that receive the data.

The American civil rights movement EFF warns of the privacy implications of smart TVs, which are present in the living room or bedroom and include cameras and microphones and have access to the viewing habits of users. This can provide very personal information. "If the software security researchers can not investigate on these devices and developers can not develop alternatives or adjustments, users are bound by the terms of the manufacturer and to trust that they are implemented as promised," the EFF.

The civil rights movement holds also that these smart TVs are often connected to the Internet and can be updated remotely.Therefore, the user's privacy is not just about delivering to the manufacturer, but to anyone who can access the television and can customize the software to gather additional information.

Blogs And Twitter Users Who Follow The British Secret Service

British intelligence service GCHQ has set up a program to follow discussions of hackers and security experts on Twitter and blogs, according to documents Edward Snowden where The Intercept on message. The list of Twitterers are all kinds of hackers and security experts as well as from anonymous hacktivists and several companies such as Microsoft and the French VUPEN.

The Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) of Finland and the Netherlands are on the list of followed Twitter accounts. In the case of the Netherlands was about GOVCERT that on January 10, 2012 passed in the National Cyber ​​Security Center (NCSC). Since 2012 until today there was once through theGovcert_NL account twittered. All communications which runs through the Twitter account of the NCSC.

However, the document Snowden dates from 2012. It is unclear whether GCHQ eventually @ NCSC account followed.Because of the focus on the list of Twitter accounts where The Intercept on message was there again today fromGovcert_NL a tweet sent in English which warned that the account is no longer in use.

In total, it would GHCQ about 60 blogs and Twitter users use as an information source. The followed blogs are primarily of security, anti-virus companies and security researchers. According GCHQ can be used Twitter to be alerted in real time about new security issues and possible plans of hacktivists. It also appears that the Secret Service was planning to extend monitoring to IRC channels and Pastebin, where more and more information would come from.