Favorite Legal intern Danya Hajjaji was the lead author of this post. EFF filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit supporting a group of journalists in their lawsuit against Israeli spyware company NSO Group. In our amicus brief backing the plaintiffs’ appeal, we argued that victims of human…
All posts tagged Government Hacking and Subversion of Digital Security
In Final Talks on Proposed UN Cybercrime Treaty, EFF Calls on Delegates to Incorporate Protections Against Spying and Overcriminalization or Reject Convention
Favorite UN Member States are meeting in New York this week to conclude negotiations over the final text of the UN Cybercrime Treaty, which—despite warnings from hundreds of civil society organizations across the globe, security researchers, media rights defenders, and the world’s largest tech companies—will, in its present form, endanger human rights and make the…
EFF, International Allies Warn That Proposed UN Cybercrime Treaty, Rather Than Making Us More Secure, Could Legitimize Intrusive Surveillance and Drag Down Global Privacy and Free Expression Standards
Favorite EFF and international allies Access Now, Article 19, Epicenter, and Global Partners Digital are in Vienna this week and next for the fifth round of negotiations on the proposed UN Cybercrime Treaty, along with the over 100 representatives of Member States hashing out a new draft text. While we have not yet been allowed…
Uncle Sow: Dark Caracal in Latin America
Favorite In 2018, EFF along with researchers from Lookout Security published a report describing the Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) we dubbed “Dark Caracal.” Now we have uncovered a new Dark Caracal campaign operating since March of 2022, with hundreds of infections across more than a dozen countries. In this report we will present evidence that…
A Year in Internet Surveillance and Resilience: 2022 in Review
Favorite This year, we have seen an array of different ways governments around the world have tried to alter basic security on the web for users. Much of this was attempted through legislation, direct network interference, or as a request directly from a government to internet governance authorities. On the other hand, we have also…
Hacking Governments and Government Hacking in Latin America: 2022 in Review
Favorite In 2022, cyber-attacks on government databases and systems broke into headlines in several Latin American countries. These attacks have exposed government systems’ vulnerabilities—including sometimes basic ones, like failing to keep software updated with critical patches—and shown how attacks can affect government data, services, and infrastructure. On the other hand, they also served to shed…
Telegram Harm Reduction for Users in Russia and Ukraine
Favorite Russians and Ukrainians are both prolific users of Telegram. They rely on the app for channels that act as newsfeeds, group chats (both public and private), and one-to-one communication. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Telegram has remained an important lifeline for both Russians and Ukrainians, as a way of staying aware of the…
Brazil in 2019: Free Speech and Privacy in the Crosshairs. What Are the Threats?
Favorite Last year’s Brazilian elections were a victory for Jair Bolsonaro—a politician with highly controversial positions on the country’s past military dictatorship and civil rights. Bolsonaro’s ascent to power and the beginning of his administration in January has attracted international attention for their potential impact on human rights. His election reflects greater support for a…
Detecting Ghosts By Reverse Engineering: Who Ya Gonna Call?
Favorite This article was first published on Lawfare. The most recent purportedly serious proposal by a Western government to force technology companies to provide access to the content of encrypted communications comes from Ian Levy and Crispin Robinson of the Government Communications Headquarters, or GCHQ, the U.K.’s equivalent of the National Security Agency. Cryptography luminaries such as Susan…
The ENCRYPT Act Protects Encryption from U.S. State Prying
Favorite It’s not just the Department of Justice and the FBI that want to undermine your right to private communications and secure devices—some state lawmakers want to weaken encryption, too. In recent years, a couple of state legislatures introduced bills to restrict or outright ban encryption on smartphones and other devices. Fortunately, several Congress members…