New Lawsuit to Challenge Laptop Searches at U.S. Border
Ellen Nakashima writes in The Washington Post:
Criminal defense lawyers, press photographers and a university student are challenging the Obama administration's search policy permitting officers at U.S. borders to detain travelers' laptop computers and examine their contents even without suspecting the traveler of wrongdoing.
In a federal lawsuit to be filed Tuesday in the Eastern District of New York, the plaintiffs allege that the Department of Homeland Security policy violates constitutional rights to privacy and free speech.
At issue is the government's contention - upheld by two federal appeals courts - that its broad authority to protect the border extends to reviewing information stored in a traveler's laptop, cellphone or other electronic device, even if the traveler is not suspected of involvement in criminal activity. In the government's view, a laptop is no different than a suitcase.
After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the George W. Bush administration took an expansive view of the government's authority at the border in an effort to stop terrorists from entering the country, and to find evidence of terrorist plots.
The Obama administration has followed suit, the plaintiffs said, with a pair of DHS policies issued by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in August 2009 that reaffirmed the policy of suspicionless searches at the border.
More
here.
Happy Labor Day
Let's hope we can dig ourselves out of this
Great Recession soon...
- ferg
Blackwater Won Contracts Through a Web of Companies
James Risen and Mark Mazzetti write in The New York Times:
Blackwater Worldwide created a web of more than 30 shell companies or subsidiaries in part to obtain millions of dollars in American government contracts after the security company came under intense criticism for reckless conduct in Iraq, according to Congressional investigators and former Blackwater officials.
While it is not clear how many of those businesses won contracts, at least three had deals with the United States military or the Central Intelligence Agency, according to former government and company officials. Since 2001, the intelligence agency has awarded up to $600 million in classified contracts to Blackwater and its affiliates, according to a United States government official.
The Senate Armed Services Committee this week released a chart that identified 31 affiliates of Blackwater, now known as Xe Services. The network was disclosed as part of a committee’s investigation into government contracting. The investigation revealed the lengths to which Blackwater went to continue winning contracts after Blackwater guards killed 17 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad in September 2007. That episode and other reports of abuses led to criminal and Congressional investigations, and cost the company its lucrative security contract with the State Department in Iraq.
The network of companies — which includes several businesses located in offshore tax havens — allowed Blackwater to obscure its involvement in government work from contracting officials or the public, and to assure a low profile for any of its classified activities, said former Blackwater officials, who, like the government officials, spoke only on condition of anonymity.
More
here.
Mark Fiore: God-O-Matic
More Mark Fiore brilliance.
Via The San Francisco Chronicle.
- ferg
Krebs: FCC Must Make ISPs Crack Down on Spammers and Malware
Brian Krebs writes on CSO Online:
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is asking for help in developing a "Cybersecurity Roadmap," an ambitious plan to identify dangerous vulnerabilities in the Internet infrastructure, as well as threats to consumers, businesses and governments.
The one piece of advice I will offer the commission is to begin measuring the responsiveness of Internet service providers (ISPs) and hosting companies in quashing malicious threats that take up residence on their networks. This is an imperative first step to prevent attacks on the Internet infrastructure, in addition to making the Internet a friendlier place for users.
The FCC said that it is seeking comments on how to proceed with the roadmap, which is part of the commission's National Broadband Plan to roll high-speed Internet services to more Americans.
The commission made the request at almost the same time as the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project issued its finding that more than half of Americans disagree with federal efforts to expand broadband deployment, an effort for which the Obama administration has allocated more than $7 billion. The Pew report came as the FCC was releasing data showing that most Americans who are paying for high-speed access aren't getting anywhere near the Internet speeds they've been promised.
More
here.
Russian Trojan Blamed for Credit Card Losses at U.S. Diner
John E. Dunn writes on TechWorld.com:
Hundreds of lunchtime customers of a diner in the US city of Memphis are believed to have had funds stolen from their debit and credit cards after PCs at the venue became infected with malware.
Large numbers of customers reported having had funds taken after using Jason’s Deli in recent weeks, which prompted an investigation by the US Secret Service, part of the Department of Homeland Security.
After establishing that staff were not involved, police discovered that a computer system used by to verify credit cards had been infected with unidentified new-variant malware, which had logged and forwarded the data to criminals believed to be in Russia.
“The computers received a virus that was unknown before this event,” said Special Agent Rick Harlow of the US Secret Service in a news conference. “No antivirus program that we ran against it found it,” he said.
More
here.
