. Military Space News .
CYBER WARS
Yahoo denies surveillance claims amid privacy outcry
By Rob Lever
Washington (AFP) Oct 5, 2016


Yahoo on Wednesday rejected allegations of mass email surveillance amid an outcry from privacy activists over a report that it created a special scanning program at the behest of US intelligence.

The report, which said the US internet giant secretly scanned hundreds of millions of email accounts to help American intelligence, was "misleading," Yahoo said.

"We narrowly interpret every government request for user data to minimize disclosure," the company said in a statement to AFP. "The mail scanning described in the article does not exist on our systems."

A report Tuesday by Reuters news agency, citing former employees of the internet firm as sources, said Yahoo had built a custom program in 2015 which scanned all its emails to help the National Security Agency (NSA) and the FBI.

The New York Times reported Wednesday that Yahoo had been ordered by a federal judge to search its emails for a digital "signature" in an investigation seeking information about a state-sponsored entity linked to attacks.

The Times, quoting an unnamed government official, said that in order to comply with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court order, Yahoo had needed to modify its software which scans for spam and child pornography.

According to the Times' report, the government request was unusual because it required Yahoo to systematically scan all of its users' emails -- rather than hand over data from specific users.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which oversees the NSA, did not respond directly to the claims but said in a statement it does not comment on "specific techniques" to gather intelligence.

The statement echoed earlier remarks from intelligence officials, saying: "The United States only uses signals intelligence for national security purposes, and not for the purpose of indiscriminately reviewing the emails or phone calls of ordinary people."

- Privacy 'bombshell'? -

But the report was described by some activists as a "bombshell" which could, if proven true, reveal a new level of surveillance by the National Security Agency, already roiled by disclosures in 2013 by former contractor Edward Snowden.

"There's still much that we don't know at this point, but if the report is accurate, it represents a new -- and dangerous -- expansion of the government's mass surveillance techniques," the Electronic Frontier Foundation said in a statement.

Patrick Toomey, a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, said: "Based on this report, the order issued to Yahoo appears to be unprecedented and unconstitutional."

Bruce Schneier, a cryptographer and fellow at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society who has clashed with the NSA over surveillance, said he was not surprised by the latest claims.

"The NSA is spying on the internet, they use different techniques," Schneier told AFP.

If confirmed, the allegations would be at odds with Yahoo's transparency report which claimed it received a relatively small number of US government requests in 2015.

Yahoo also backed Apple's effort to challenge a US government effort to force the iPhone maker to build a program to help decrypt a handset used by one of the shooters in a 2015 California shooting spree.

- 'Not comforting' -

Julian Sanchez, a fellow at the Cato Institute and critic of NSA surveillance, said his concerns were not allayed by Yahoo's statement.

"Yahoo's meticulously worded statement not terribly comforting," said Sanchez, who took issue in particular with the phrase "does not exist on our systems."

"DID it exist? Does it exist somewhere else?" he tweeted.

It was not immediately clear how or if other US tech companies faced similar situations.

Microsoft said in a statement: "We have never engaged in the secret scanning of email traffic like what has been reported today about Yahoo."

Facebook, in a statement to AFP, said it "has never received a request like the one described in these news reports from any government, and if we did we would fight it."

Twitter issued a similar denial.

"We've never received a request like this, and were we to receive it we'd challenge it in a court," a Twitter spokesman said.

The report adds to Yahoo's woes over security and privacy, weeks after it acknowledged data from some 500 million users may have been compromised by hackers in a breach in 2014.

In Europe, the Ireland-based Office of the Data Protection Commissioner said it would look into the latest allegations, in addition to the data breach.

"Any form of mass surveillance infringing on the fundamental privacy rights of EU citizens would be viewed as a matter of considerable concern by this office," a statement by the agency said.

rl/ec

YAHOO!


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
Cyberwar - Internet Security News - Systems and Policy Issues






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

Previous Report
CYBER WARS
Yahoo hacked by 'professional' criminals: researchers
Washington (AFP) Sept 29, 2016
The massive theft of Yahoo user data disclosed last week came from "professional" hackers seeking to profit from the breach, according to an analysis by security researchers. The analysis published Wednesday by the security firm InfoArmor, which claims to have seen some of the data, contrasts with Yahoo's claim that the attack was likely "state-sponsored," but did suggest that stolen data wa ... read more


CYBER WARS
Lockheed's PAC-3 missile destroys ballistic missile targets in test

Saab gets order for man-portable air defense missile system

Lockheed gets $157 million U.S. Navy Aegis contract

Britain orders miniature anti-missile jammers

CYBER WARS
BAE receives $249 million for U.S. Army common missile warning system

U.S. Navy sets intercept record with SM-6 missile

AeroVironment producing Switchblade missiles for Army

Lockheed Martin delivers first modernized TACMS missile to U.S. Army

CYBER WARS
Northrop Grumman to procure long-lead items for Triton drone

Leonardo-Finmeccanica launches MALE RPAS program in Europe

Manned, unmanned helos coordinate missile attack

Unmanned air and sea vehicles coordinate together

CYBER WARS
TeleCommunications Systems continues USMC satellite services

SES unveils new tactical surveillance and communications solution

Newest DARPA Challenge: 'Shift Paradigm' With Robot Radio

SES Government solutions to provide the US with a high performance network

CYBER WARS
Lockheed to produce upgraded Surface Electronic Warfare system

Saab to study precision ammo for shoulder-fired weapons

Engility to aid Marines with new command-and-control gear

UV Lens for Smart Ballistics System

CYBER WARS
Poland drops talks in 3 bn euro Airbus chopper deal: ministry

Three missing after S. Korea helicopter crashes at sea

Booz Allen Hamilton wins USMC support contract

Hughes, Airbus DS to expand partnership

CYBER WARS
Philippines, US hold war games after Duterte tirades

US-Philippines military alliance 'ironclad': Pentagon chief

US-Philippines military alliance 'ironclad': Pentagon chief

China warns Japan not to 'play with fire' in S. China Sea

CYBER WARS
NIST-made 'sun and rain' used to study nanoparticle release from polymers

Scientists forge nanogold chains with atomic precision

NIST illuminates transfer of nanoscale motion through microscale machine

Electron beam microscope directly writes nanoscale features in liquid with metal ink









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.