National Security Agency
Where's the Evidence That Mass Surveillance Actually Works?
Officials are again pointing to the need for mass surveillance to take down terrorists. Here’s what we know about how well it works.
France Is Upset With the U.S. So Is the Rest of the World, Apparently
The latest Pew poll shows America has earned some less-than-favorable marks around the globe.
Secret Memos Reveal Warrantless Surveillance of Internet Activity
The Obama administration has stepped up the National Security Agency's surveillance program on U.S. soil to search for signs of hacking.
The Hidden Intelligence Breakdowns Behind the Mumbai Terrorist Attacks
After Edward Snowden, the government said its controversial surveillance programs had stopped a terrorist—David Coleman Headley. The claim is largely untrue.
Most Americans Don't Mind Being on Candid Camera
The latest Pew survey shows that a majority of people actually approve of mass surveillance.
Here's One Unexpected Way to Land on the NSA's Watch List
If you downloaded the privacy software Tor in 2011, you may have been flagged to be spied on.
Reining in the National Security Agency
A measure adopted by the House to bar the National Security Agency from meddling with encryption standards was inserted into a defense appropriations bill and approved on a voice vote.
The Truth About Truthers
While it's turned into a disparaging term, being a "truther" once meant you were the opposite of a liar.
The NSA Is Put on Notice Over Encryption Standards
An amendment proposed by the House would remove the requirement that the National Institute of Standards and Technology consult with the NSA on encryption standards.
A Quick Guide to Encrypting the Data You Store and Transmit
Here are some techniques that anybody can use to protect their privacy online.
U.S. Needs to Stop Running Internet Security Like a Wikipedia Project
One lesson of the Heartbleed bug is that our government is paying to undermine Internet security, not to fix it.
ZunZuneo: Do Former Users Care That It Was Secretly Built by USAID?
Our criticism of the U.S. government's covert or "discreet" funding of communication channels like ZunZuneo or Radio Free Europe presumes that they try to seed something non-native.
What the Proposed NSA Reforms Wouldn't Do
All the plans purport to end the bulk phone records collection program, but there are big differences.
Do You Own Your Identity Online? Facebook, the NSA, and Surveillance
The European “right to be forgotten” could help protect U.S. citizens against blanket data surveillance.
Secrecy, Surveillance, and Misinformation: Lessons From Moynihan
Rereading the late senator in a post-Edward Snowden and Julian Assange era.
Standards Agency Suggests Dropping Its Own Encryption Standard
The decision follows revelations about the NSA’s covert influence on computer security standards.
Everything We Know About What Data Brokers Know About You
The companies that sell information about how much money you make—and whether you’re pregnant, divorced, or trying to lose weight—are facing new scrutiny.
Privacy: Rebelling Against the New Surveillance and NSA Spying
Commercial products and artistic projects that hint at how we might protect ourselves from government detection in the future, should we so choose.
How the NSA's High-Tech Surveillance Helped Europeans Catch Terrorists
"We were inside their computers."
The History of Public Phone Conversations
The NSA's eavesdropping and data-gathering may be unsettling, but it's only recently that we've begun to think of our telephone conversations as personal and private.