Sunday, April 12, 2015
Domestic Surveillance:
The Guardian (UK) - Stingray spying: FBI's secret deal with police hides phone dragnet from courts
"The FBI is taking extraordinary and potentially unconstitutional measures to keep local and state police forces from exposing the use of so-called 'Stingray' surveillance technology across the United States, according to documents obtained separately by the Guardian and the American Civil Liberties Union. Multiple non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) revealed in Florida, New York and Maryland this week show federal authorities effectively binding local law enforcement from disclosing any information – even to judges – about the cellphone dragnet technology, its collection capabilities or its existence. In an arrangement that shocked privacy advocates and local defense attorneys, the secret pact also mandates that police notify the FBI to push for the dismissal of cases if technical specifications of the devices are in danger of being revealed in court. The agreement also contains a clause forcing law enforcement to notify the FBI if freedom of information requests are filed by members of the public or the media for such information, 'in order to allow sufficient time for the FBI to seek to prevent disclosure through appropriate channels'. The strikingly similar NDAs, taken together with documents connecting police to the technology’s manufacturer and federal approval guidelines obtained by the Guardian, suggest a state-by-state chain of secrecy surrounding widespread use of the sophisticated cellphone spying devices known best by the brand of one such device: the Stingray..."
Technology:
Stephen Hall: Several users reporting ‘bricked’ Nexus 7 devices following Lollipop OTA updates, Nexus 5 seemingly affected too
"This is definitely concerning. Several people are reporting on Google’s product forums that their Nexus 7 devices have stopped working following updates to various versions of Android Lollipop. And while it may not necessarily be the same exact issue (as users are reporting a wide variety of different symptoms), some Nexus 5 users have seen their device become unusable following recent Lollipop updates as well. It’s not exactly clear which updates are affecting which devices, but the problem appears to be fairly widespread… The largest thread reporting the problem on the Google product forums, titled “Nexus 7 stuck on Google screen” and dating back to December, involves several Nexus 7 owners who claim that their devices are simply getting stuck on the Google logo boot screen. Some users are reportedly unable to boot into recovery mode, while others can but their device hangs for hours on the Fastboot “Erase Userdata” screen. It seems as if the 2013 Nexus 7 (assumably WiFi) is the device most commonly affected..."
A comment on the story from a product user gets it right:
"...They said they were aware of the issue but have no solution except “don’t upgrade”. They acted like it was my fault for updating my Google branded Nexus 7 (2013) 32GB. They seem to be trying to get people to go away by telling them the repair cost is $200. All I can say is don’t upgrade. But this is pretty ridiculous, Google should take some responsibility for making sure users can update the OS which was a major selling point with the Nexus lineup."
The Guardian (UK) - Stingray spying: FBI's secret deal with police hides phone dragnet from courts
"The FBI is taking extraordinary and potentially unconstitutional measures to keep local and state police forces from exposing the use of so-called 'Stingray' surveillance technology across the United States, according to documents obtained separately by the Guardian and the American Civil Liberties Union. Multiple non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) revealed in Florida, New York and Maryland this week show federal authorities effectively binding local law enforcement from disclosing any information – even to judges – about the cellphone dragnet technology, its collection capabilities or its existence. In an arrangement that shocked privacy advocates and local defense attorneys, the secret pact also mandates that police notify the FBI to push for the dismissal of cases if technical specifications of the devices are in danger of being revealed in court. The agreement also contains a clause forcing law enforcement to notify the FBI if freedom of information requests are filed by members of the public or the media for such information, 'in order to allow sufficient time for the FBI to seek to prevent disclosure through appropriate channels'. The strikingly similar NDAs, taken together with documents connecting police to the technology’s manufacturer and federal approval guidelines obtained by the Guardian, suggest a state-by-state chain of secrecy surrounding widespread use of the sophisticated cellphone spying devices known best by the brand of one such device: the Stingray..."
Technology:
Stephen Hall: Several users reporting ‘bricked’ Nexus 7 devices following Lollipop OTA updates, Nexus 5 seemingly affected too
"This is definitely concerning. Several people are reporting on Google’s product forums that their Nexus 7 devices have stopped working following updates to various versions of Android Lollipop. And while it may not necessarily be the same exact issue (as users are reporting a wide variety of different symptoms), some Nexus 5 users have seen their device become unusable following recent Lollipop updates as well. It’s not exactly clear which updates are affecting which devices, but the problem appears to be fairly widespread… The largest thread reporting the problem on the Google product forums, titled “Nexus 7 stuck on Google screen” and dating back to December, involves several Nexus 7 owners who claim that their devices are simply getting stuck on the Google logo boot screen. Some users are reportedly unable to boot into recovery mode, while others can but their device hangs for hours on the Fastboot “Erase Userdata” screen. It seems as if the 2013 Nexus 7 (assumably WiFi) is the device most commonly affected..."
A comment on the story from a product user gets it right:
"...They said they were aware of the issue but have no solution except “don’t upgrade”. They acted like it was my fault for updating my Google branded Nexus 7 (2013) 32GB. They seem to be trying to get people to go away by telling them the repair cost is $200. All I can say is don’t upgrade. But this is pretty ridiculous, Google should take some responsibility for making sure users can update the OS which was a major selling point with the Nexus lineup."
Thursday, April 02, 2015
Fair vs Free Trade:
Dave Johnson: Now We Know Why Huge TPP Trade Deal Is Kept Secret From the Public
"A key section of the secret Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement has been leaked to the public. The New York Times has a major story on the contents of the leaked chapter, and it's as bad as many of us feared. Now we know why the corporations and the Obama administration want the TPP, a huge 'trade' agreement being negotiated between the United States and 11 other countries, kept secret from the public until it's too late to stop it. The section of the TPP that has leaked is the 'Investment' chapter that includes investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) clauses. WikiLeaks has the text and analysis, and the Times has the story, in 'Trans-Pacific Partnership Seen as Door for Foreign Suits Against U.S.':
Dave Johnson: Now We Know Why Huge TPP Trade Deal Is Kept Secret From the Public
"A key section of the secret Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement has been leaked to the public. The New York Times has a major story on the contents of the leaked chapter, and it's as bad as many of us feared. Now we know why the corporations and the Obama administration want the TPP, a huge 'trade' agreement being negotiated between the United States and 11 other countries, kept secret from the public until it's too late to stop it. The section of the TPP that has leaked is the 'Investment' chapter that includes investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) clauses. WikiLeaks has the text and analysis, and the Times has the story, in 'Trans-Pacific Partnership Seen as Door for Foreign Suits Against U.S.':
An ambitious 12-nation trade accord pushed by President Obama would allow foreign corporations to sue the United States government for actions that undermine their investment "expectations" and hurt their business, according to a classified document. The Trans-Pacific Partnership -- a cornerstone of Mr. Obama's remaining economic agenda -- would grant broad powers to multinational companies operating in North America, South America and Asia. Under the accord, still under negotiation but nearing completion, companies and investors would be empowered to challenge regulations, rules, government actions and court rulings -- federal, state or local -- before tribunals organized under the World Bank or the United Nations.The WikiLeaks analysis explains that this lets firms 'sue' governments to obtain taxpayer compensation for loss of 'expected future profits.' Let that sink in for a moment: '[C]ompanies and investors would be empowered to challenge regulations, rules, government actions and court rulings -- federal, state or local -- before tribunals....' And they can collect not just for lost property or seized assets; they can collect if laws or regulations interfere with these giant companies' ability to collect what they claim are 'expected future profits,'.."
