This November, the Central Intelligence Agency was forced to release a 90 page document. They did so begrudgingly, because in this document were the detailed reports of decades of experimentation on prisoners with the purpose of creating a “truth serum.” In the report, they discussed trapping prisoners in coffin-like boxes, repeatedly waterboarding prisoners, and kindly, […]
Tag: NSA
Interview with Jonathan Reiber, cybersecurity expert
Jonathan Reiber is a security expert currently serving as Senior Advisor at Technology for Global Security, a think-tank in Palo Alto, California, and a Visiting Scholar at UC Berkeley’s Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity. A frequent public speaker, his writing and work has been featured in Foreign Policy and Literary Hub and highlighted by the Atlantic and […]
Apocalypse Tomorrow
Part 4 of a series on U.S. cybersecurity. Part 1. Part 2. Part 3. I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones. -Albert Einstein The age of cyberwarfare is finally upon us. This transformation is irreversible; former Defense Secretary Chuck […]
The Great Game
Part 3 of a series on U.S. cybersecurity. Part1. Part2. Part 4. By 2010, the Iranian nuclear program was clearly behind schedule. Despite dire predictions from the world powers, Iran seemed little closer to acquiring the bomb. The reasons for the delay were somewhat puzzling: perhaps the IR-1 centrifuges used at the nuclear facility at […]
Suspicious Surveillance
Part 2 of a series on U.S. cybersecurity. Part 1. Part 3. Part 4. In June of last year, now-infamous National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden began leaking classified documents to the media. Since then, the steady stream of revelatory documents has generated a firestorm of criticism against NSA practices. The NSA, which is at […]
Surfing the Darknet
Surfing the Darknet is part 1 of a series on U.S. cybersecurity. Part 2. Part 3. Part 4. Overshadowed in the past months by bombings in Syria and Iraq as well as Ebola in Texas was news of earth-shattering significance for the way we communicate around the globe. The much-discussed but little-understood Shellshock vulnerability has […]
These Are Not The Drones You Expected
The conflict between liberty and security has once again reared its ugly head in Sacramento as privacy rights have come under heavy fire. On September 28, 2014, Governor Jerry Brown vetoed AB 1327, a bill that would have created stricter guidelines regarding the use of drones in law enforcement. The bill, which passed in both […]
While You Were Sleeping
Last night, holed up in the London Ecuadorian Embassy, Julian Assange attempted once more to set the world alight with the release over 1.7 million U.S. diplomatic cables. This time however, the cables date from 1976, the conflicts and figures involved in the documents are no longer active, and the media, frankly, does not care. […]