Yet more previously secret surveillance operations waged by the United States National Security Agency were made public Wednesday morning thanks to leaked documents supplied by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. The files — published first by The Intercept this week and dissected over the course of a 3,000-word article attributed to journalists Glenn Greenwald and Ryan Gallagher — bring to... 

In a confidence-building step, Russia’s Defense Ministry has given permission for a surveillance flight by Ukraine over Russian territory near the border between the countries. Kiev had claimed Moscow was building up its military presence there. “The Ukrainians have asked for an unscheduled observation flight over our territory,” Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov told reporters in Moscow. Russia... 

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has said that it will deploy Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) reconnaissance planes in Poland and Romania to monitor the spiraling crisis in Ukraine. A NATO spokesman said the alliance gave the go-ahead on Monday for the reconnaissance flights following a recommendation from US Air Force General Philip Breedlove, who is NATO’s Supreme... 

National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden answered questions before the European Parliament on Friday, saying that the United States spy agency pressures its allies to take steps towards further enabling widespread and indiscriminate surveillance. “One of the foremost activities of the NSA’s FAD, or Foreign Affairs Division, is to pressure or incentivize EU member states to change their... 

Google chairman Eric Schmidt admitted on Friday that government attacks from China and the US forced his company to enhance security protocols. Speaking at the SXSW technology conference in Austin, Texas, Schmidt said governments around the world have realized that attempts to block internet access are futile and have moved on to other methods of control. “You don’t turn off the Internet: you... 

The Central Intelligence Agency’s inspector general has asked the US Justice Department to investigate allegations that the spy agency spied on the Senate Intelligence Committee. The allegations are directly related to a closed-door battle between the CIA and its congressional overseers over a 6,300-page report which details torture techniques, including water-boarding, wall-slamming and shackling,... 

British and American surveillance agencies teamed up to develop a system that collected millions of images from the webcams of unsuspecting and innocent internet users, new leaked documents reveal. This “Optic Nerve” program — administered by the UK’s GCHQ with the assistance of the National Security Agency — routinely intercepted and stored those webcam images in secret starting in... 

A group of lawmakers in Maryland has introduced a bill that would deny state support to the National Security Agency (NSA) headquarters in Ft. Meade, Md., which might see electricity and water supplies cut to the intelligence nerve center. Eight Republicans from the 141-member Maryland House of Delegates introduced the legislation that would deny the NSA “material support, participation or assistance... 

Properly mobilized people can become a massive online force capable of blocking ‘dangerous bills’ and changing government policies, Josh Levy of the Free Press told RT. The participants of The Day We Fight Back campaign say their call to action is simple. RT: What are the protesters trying to achieve? How exactly are they supposed to ‘fight back’? Josh Levy: This day of action [Wednesday,... 

More than 6,000 websites, including Reddit, Tumblr, Mozilla, are taking part in an online protest against government surveillance. The action marks two years since website blackouts against SOPA and PIPA and commemorates Aaron Swartz’s death. The February 11 online protest, going by the title ‘The Day We Fight Back’, is supposed to see around 6, 200 websites each host a large banner at the top... 

German media outlets say that the US National Security Agency (NSA) spied on former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder over his opposition to the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq. In 2002, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s predecessor was placed on the NSA’s list of the people who were under surveillance, Munich’s daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung and public broadcaster NDR reported on Tuesday, based... 

Citing worries about foreign surveillance efforts, the government of Switzerland has ordered tighter control methods on its own computer and phone technology systems in order to prevent Swiss communications from being monitored. The Swiss Federal Council, a seven-member committee that serves as the head of the Swiss government and is responsible for enacting federal policy, admitted concern about... 

The much vaunted multi-million dollar security ring put in place at taxpayer expense for this year’s Super Bowl was easily penetrated by a man with a fake pass and an excuse that he was “late for work,” yet another example of how government security theater cannot protect you and is a colossal waste of money. Prior to the big game, authorities boasted of their lavish preparations for Super... 

Documents released by US whistleblower Edward Snowden show the Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSEC) used airport Wi-Fi to track passengers from around the world. Travelers passing through a major Canadian airport were potentially caught up in a vast electronic surveillance net, which allowed the nation’s electronic spy agency to track the wireless devices of thousands of airline passengers... 

Countries spying on their allies sow distrust that could result in less, rather than more security, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned. She particularly referred to the surveillance and spying activities by the US and the UK. “But does that make it right for our closest allies, like the United States or Britain, to access all imaginable data – arguing that it helps their own security...