National Security Agency

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Ex-NSA Worker Admits Guilt in Russia Spy Case

Defendant sent a thank-you note to fake contact before trying to turn over files

(Newser) - A former National Security Agency employee from Colorado pleaded guilty Monday to trying to sell classified national security information to Russia. Federal prosecutors agreed to not ask for more than about 22 years in prison for Jareh Sebastian Dalke when he is sentenced in April if he adheres to the...

US Moves to Guard Edge in Artificial Intelligence

NSA director says security center will help protect current international advantage in the technology

(Newser) - The National Security Agency is starting an artificial intelligence security center—a crucial mission as AI capabilities are increasingly acquired, developed, and integrated into US defense and intelligence systems, the agency's outgoing director announced Thursday. Army Gen. Paul Nakasone said the center would be incorporated into the NSA's...

NSA Analyst Who Sold Secrets Dies 'With Many Regrets'

Ronald Pelton spent decades in prison for spying for Soviet Union

(Newser) - A former National Security Agency analyst who sold secrets to the Soviet Union has died almost seven years after his release from federal custody . Ronald William Pelton served nearly 30 years in prison after his arrest in 1985. The FBI said Pelton, who worked for the NSA for 14 years...

New Details Emerge on Carlson's NSA Controversy

Axios reports his texts may have been 'incidentally collected' by agency

(Newser) - Last week, Tucker Carson of Fox News caused a stir by accusing the National Security Agency of spying on him and trying to get his show off the air, allegations the NSA denied . Now, a report from Jonathan Swan at Axios appears to shed light on the controversy. It seems...

NSA: No, We're Not Spying on Tucker Carlson
NSA Responds
to Tucker Carlson's
Spying Claims
THE RUNDOWN

NSA Responds to Tucker Carlson's Spying Claims

Fox News host said he'd 'confirmed' that was happening, but agency says nope

(Newser) - Tucker Carlson is claiming the US government is reading his private emails in an attempt to take his show off the air. "The Biden administration is spying on us," the host of Fox News' Tucker Carlson Tonight said on Monday's show. "We have confirmed that."...

NSA to Microsoft: You Really Need to Patch This

And there's news for Windows 7 users

(Newser) - The National Security Agency has discovered a major security flaw in Microsoft's Windows 10 operating system that could let hackers intercept seemingly secure communications, the AP reports. But rather than exploit the flaw for its own intelligence needs, the NSA tipped off Microsoft so that it can fix the...

France Dismisses Snowden's Latest Asylum Request

It's 'not the time,' foreign minister says

(Newser) - France's foreign minister says "it's not the time" to grant a new asylum request from former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, the AP reports. Snowden has been living in Russia to escape US prosecution after leaking classified documents detailing government surveillance programs. Asking France again for...

GOP Aide Reveals NSA Phone Program Not Being Used

Luke Murry suggests the White House may not renew the controversial program

(Newser) - Nearly six years ago, Edward Snowden exposed the National Security Agency's covert collection of millions of Americans' phone and text records; the White House defended it as a critical tool in the fight against terrorism. Now, a new White House may be done with the program. The New York ...

26-Year-Old Gets Longest Sentence Ever for Media Leak

Former NSA contractor Reality Winner sentenced to 5 years, 3 months

(Newser) - A 26-year-old just made history in a way she likely never anticipated. Georgia native Reality Winner received a sentence of 63 months in prison Thursday after she admitted leaking a government document to the media, reports CNN . Prosecutors say it's the longest sentence ever imposed on a federal defendant...

NSA Contractor Brought Classified Info Home. Russians Got It: Report

Sources say data breach compromises US cyber defense

(Newser) - A National Security Agency contractor who apparently wanted to get a little extra work done from home inadvertently provided highly classified material to the Russian government, the Wall Street Journal states in an exclusive report. Unnamed sources say an NSA contractor brought the material home with him in 2015 where...

Feds Say It Would Be Unsafe to Release Alleged NSA Leaker

Reality Winner denied bail

(Newser) - Alleged NSA leaker Reality Winner was denied bail Thursday after prosecutors warned that she might have more secrets to release—including those stored only in her head. Winner, 25, was shackled during her appearance in the federal courtroom in Augusta, Ga., where she pleaded not guilty to illegally transmitting national...

Feds: NSA Contractor Leaked Info on Russia Election Hack
Feds Arrest
First Leaker
Under Trump
THE RUNDOWN

Feds Arrest First Leaker Under Trump

Reality Leigh Winner accused of leaking info on Russia election hack

(Newser) - Her name is "Reality," but her story sounds more like something from a spy thriller: Reality Leigh Winner, a 25-year-old intelligence contractor, was arrested Monday in the first criminal case of the Trump's administration's campaign against leaks, the New York Times reports. The arrest was announced...

NSA Contractor May Have Taken Hacking Tools

Which would explain how they turned up for sale online

(Newser) - Officials initially suggested the NSA contractor accused of stealing piles of state secrets, dubbed the "second Snowden," may have simply kept the files for himself . Now, they might be changing their tune. Investigators say there are "forensic clues" that Harold Thomas Martin III is the source of...

Feds: 'Second Snowden' Hoarded Secrets for Years
Feds: 'Second Snowden'
Hoarded Secrets for Years
THE RUNDOWN

Feds: 'Second Snowden' Hoarded Secrets for Years

NSA contractor's motive still unclear

(Newser) - Authorities are still trying to figure out how much harm the NSA contractor dubbed the "second Snowden" may have done—but they know he had plenty of time to do it. Investigators believe Harold Thomas Martin III, a 51-year-old technology contractor, hoarded top-secret information for up to a decade,...

Pardon Snowden So He Can Work for US Public
Pardon Snowden So He
Can Work for US Public
OPINION

Pardon Snowden So He Can Work for US Public

Human rights officials make the case in NYT

(Newser) - Edward Snowden put out a public plea earlier this week for a pardon from President Obama—and two human rights activists agree with his call for clemency. Making their case for the ex-NSA contractor in the New York Times , Kenneth Roth (director of Human Rights Watch) and Salil Shetty (secretary...

Hackers Say They Hacked NSA's Elite Hackers

Files released online appear to be genuine: experts

(Newser) - An apparent hacking group calling itself the "Shadow Brokers" claims to have hacked the NSA and is asking for about $570 million to share the data. Two sets of files were posted online Saturday—one open, the other encrypted—which the group claims are from the Equation Group, an...

While Spying on Israel, NSA Recorded US Lawmakers, Too

Agency did keep 'trash talk' against administration out of reports: US officials

(Newser) - In 2013, after Edward Snowden dropped his NSA bombshell, President Obama called for an end to spying on certain world leaders. But Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli bigwigs remained on the "keep an eye on" list for "compelling national security" reasons, current and ex-US officials tell the Wall ...

Controversial NSA Surveillance Program Ends Saturday

'A long-awaited victory for privacy advocates'

(Newser) - After more than a decade, the federal government's practice of collecting data on telephone calls made by the vast majority of Americans will end at midnight Saturday, NBC News reports. According to Reuters , the end of the program—exposed by Edward Snowden more than two years ago—represents the...

CIA Chief Blasts 'Hand-Wringing' Over Surveillance

Debate renews over whether government spying is a necessary evil

(Newser) - Civil liberty advocates are worried that a spate of ISIS attacks will bring a renewed push for more-intense government surveillance, and comments by CIA chief John Brennan won't make them feel any better. Following the downing of Flight 9268 , last week's suicide bombings in Beirut , and Friday's...

Snowden Just Joined Twitter
 Snowden Just Joined Twitter 

Snowden Just Joined Twitter

Neil deGrasse Tyson apparently talked him into the @snowden handle

(Newser) - "Can you hear me now?" isn't just a Verizon catchphrase anymore. It was also the first official tweet from Edward Snowden on Tuesday from wherever he's holed up in Russia, the Intercept reports. He was apparently cajoled into joining by Neil deGrasse Tyson during a StarTalk Radio...

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