U.S. Authority To Intercept Electronic Comunications Extended

Federal Power To Intercept Messages Is Extended -- New York Times

WASHINGTON — Congress gave final approval on Friday to a bill extending the government’s power to intercept electronic communications of spy and terrorism suspects, after the Senate voted down proposals from several Democrats and Republicans to increase protections of civil liberties and privacy.

The Senate passed the bill by a vote of 73 to 23, clearing it for approval by President Obama, who strongly supports it. Intelligence agencies said the bill was their highest legislative priority.

Critics of the bill, including Senators Ron Wyden of Oregon, a Democrat, and Rand Paul of Kentucky, a Republican, expressed concern that electronic surveillance, though directed at noncitizens, inevitably swept up communications of Americans as well.

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My Comment: When this Act was passed years ago by President Bush and a Republican Congress it was front page on the New York Times (as it should be). Now .... this story and this same bill is deeply buried in the New York Times that I only discovered accidentally today .... media bias .... nah.

Memo To All Intelligence Agencies: Take Notice

Quantum Hackers Use Lasers to Crack Powerful Encryption Without Leaving a Trace -- Popular Science

Quantum cryptography is one of the most secure known means of transmitting data, due to the fact that even if a third party does intercept a quantum signal, that interference changes the encryption key, making the tampering apparent to parties at both ends. But a handful of quantum hackers at Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim recently performed successful hacks of two commercial quantum cryptographic systems -- and they did so without leaving a trace.

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My Comment: If understanding how quantum communication, cryptography, and hacking works .... this article is for you.

Citing National Security, Blackberry Services To Be Suspended In the UAE And Saudi Arabia

BlackBerry Users In UAE, Saudi May Have Services Cut -- Yahoo News/Reuters

DUBAI/RIYADH (Reuters) – More than a million BlackBerry users may have key services in Saudi Arabia and the UAE cut off after authorities stepped up demands on smartphone maker Research In Motion for access to encrypted messages sent over the device.

BlackBerry's Messenger application has spread rapidly in the Gulf Arab region but because the data is encrypted and sent to offshore servers, it cannot be tracked locally.

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More News On The UAE And Saudi Arabia Suspending Blackberry Services

UAE and Saudi Arabia ban instant messaging on BlackBerry mobile phones -- The Telegraph
UAE to Ban BlackBerry Services, Saudi Follows Suit -- ABC News
UAE to suspend BlackBerry services -- Financial Times
United Arab Emirates to block key features on BlackBerrys -- Washington Post
BlackBerry Challenges Set to Spread as Governments, RIM Collide -- Bloomberg
U.A.E. Is to Bar BlackBerry E-Mail Over Security Issues -- New York Times
Two Mideast countries to ban BlackBerry functions -- CNET
UAE restricts BlackBerry use -- L.A. Times
BlackBerry users in UAE see speech, business concerns -- FOX News