In the months leading up to the Orlando terrorist attack, does anyone recall a positive news article or analysis on lawful intercept or any aspect of the surveillance industry? It’s doubtful. Not only after the Edward Snowden NSA revelations, but well before, national and tech trade press embraced a hostile attitude toward intelligence support systems (ISS). Among today’s media … [Read more...]
Is China’s Counter-Terrorism Law Really So Dreadful?
Six months have passed since implementation of China's Counter-Terrorism Act, a law that drew fierce criticism from privacy organizations, tech companies that do business in China, and U.S. President Obama. Heading the list of complaints were objections to Chinese authorities’ plans to require “back doors” into network equipment and end user devices, as well as access to all … [Read more...]
Deciphering the Harris Hailstorm IMSI Catcher: All About LTE
In the nearly five years since Harris Corporation launched its latest model of IMSI catcher, Hailstorm, the general consensus on the product remains “no consensus” -- a remarkable achievement in “keeping the lid on” a surveillance technology of any kind. To this day, descriptions of Hailstorm are so scattered and opaque that even the most astute ISS professional could be … [Read more...]
Does Dark Mail Really Pose a Threat to Surveillance?
C5IS examines Dark Mail, the long-awaited secure email system that may not be so hacker-proof as advertised. A former General Counsel for the National Security Agency once commented that if an agent could obtain sufficient metadata on a target, then “content” became almost irrelevant. Metadata alone would provide sufficient indication of the target’s whereabouts, identity … [Read more...]
The Art and Science of DNS Hijacking
DNS hijacking is a form of cyber attack that involves using malware to infect a target’s device, gain access to its TCP/IP data, change these settings, then re-route the target to a fake duplicate of a bona fide site to either capture personal information or to track the target, or both. As a stock in trade not only of black hats but also ethical malware companies and law … [Read more...]