The plaintiff stands before a court of law, challenging the government’s use of surveillance. Months pass, six court dates come and go without a trial. It’s a common scene. The difference here is the venue: the Lahore High Court in present day Pakistan. This is no ordinary case. Unique among the many civil suits undertaken by EFF, Public Citiizen and other groups of that … [Read more...]

They came out of the deserts of the South, heavily armed and destroying all in their path. Their mission: to eliminate a government considered too liberal and to clamp down on the people through the most repressive interpretation of Islamic law: the doctrine of Takfir. Under Takfir anyone straying from Khawarij, the archetypal conservative Sunni school launched by 8th century … [Read more...]

Looking for objective analysis of lawful intercept or electronic surveillance? Good luck. Every other sector related to communications has squads of analysts tracking key players. Surveillance? Zero. But considering the pay-for-play racket industry analysts have sunk to, maybe that’s a good thing. Industry analysts are a different breed from market analysts. Market analysts … [Read more...]

Senator Patrick Leahy's revised "USA Freedom Act," introduced in the U.S. Senate yesterday, drew kudos of the sincere and also go-along-to-get-along variety. Privacy folk and tech companies huzzahed Leahy's move to end bulk collection of metadata under NSA Prism. NSA went along, issuing a bland endorsement. Amid the Hosannas nobody asked why a once important reform … [Read more...]

Beginning in August, C5IS will focus on companies recognized as among the most prolific producers of surveillance technology outside the U.S.:market leaders in Israel, the United Kingdom and Russia. From August - October, C5IS will devote each month to one country, while continuing timely analysis on news and events relevant to the industry – including our recap of events … [Read more...]