A good Christian Science Monitor article that brings up a new program, reminds us of old ones, and points out some serious issues. The comments of the EFF and EPIC folks are arguably the most important. On the one hand the data in use is personal, but at the same time it is for the…

Just came across these guys. Looks very promising and blogroll-worthy. Clearly much more serious than I, but then this is what passes for fun in my world. And in case I failed to mention it earlier, check out the musings on defense and security by my friend Mark at The Subtle Stirrup. He’s a real…

In as much as a blog is something of an exercise in self-indulgence, it is nevertheless nice to get a sense of who you are reaching. For those who are keen on knowing who your fellow readers are: Over 85% of you are registered as coming from a .com, which is good because it means…

On Target I knew there was a reason I shopped at Target so much more than I do a certain other large retail chain. In the past few years, [Target] has taken a lead role in teaching government agencies how to fight crime by applying state-of-the-art technology used in its 1,400 stores. Target’s effort has…

I’m amazed at the stunning lack of understanding about the now widely reported NSA terrorism surveillance program. I expect as much for the yak-o-sphere, but listening to the AG go round and round with the Senate Judiciary Committee made me dizzy. Surely this august panel isn’t this dim? Oh wait, I forgot we were talking…

Eli Lake throws a log on the fire: The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence is studying 12 hours of audio recordings between Saddam Hussein and his top advisers that may provide clues to the whereabouts of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction. The committee has already confirmed through the intelligence community that the recordings of…

The director of the CIA has launched a major internal probe into media leaks about covert operations. In an agencywide e-mail, Porter Goss blamed “a very small number of people” for leaks about secret CIA operations that, in his words, “do damage to the credibility of the agency.” According to people familiar with the Goss…

Math geeks strike back!

. . . Same old stuff again . . . UPI reports that even during the “long war” recruiting intelligence officers isn’t a cake walk: U.S.News & World Report said Saturday the CIA would not be able to meet a demand by members of Congress and President George W. Bush to expand its human intelligence…

Written to cast more shadows on the NSA terrorist surveillance program, but the bottom line issue is captured in the beginning of this piece in the Washington Post: Fewer than 10 U.S. citizens or residents a year, according to an authoritative account, have aroused enough suspicion during warrantless eavesdropping to justify interception of their domestic…