Edward Snowden Is Runner-Up for TIME's Person of the Year

Edward Snowden came in second place for TIME's Person of the Year, losing the top spot to Pope Francis, editors announced Wednesday morning.
The first revelations of the far-reaching NSA surveillance programs surfaced in a Guardian feature in June. We learned that Verizon had given the U.S. government all its customers' phone records for years. The Guardian's Glenn Greenwald also revealed that tech companies we trust with our most intimate secrets had been part of a surveillance program called PRISM.
When we started to digest the news, one question came to our minds: Who's leaking these incendiary documents to the press?

At first, we thought this would be our generation's Deep Throat

At first, we thought this would be our generation's Deep Throat, and the source would remain hidden for decades. We were wrong. Snowden stepped forward as the source, just four days after the publication of the first leaks.
"I know the government will demonize me," Snowden said. "I understand that I will be made to suffer for my actions [...] but I will be satisfied if the federation of secret law, unequal pardon and irresistible executive powers that rule the world that I love are revealed even for an instant."
And that was just the beginning. Six months and hundreds of top-secret documents later, new details continue to emerge as new stories are published in media outlets around the world almost weekly.
Never before had the NSA been subject to so much media coverage. After all, this is a top-secret operation that was once defined as the "No Such Agency." But now insiders call it "Not Secret Anymore," according to James Bamford, author of several books about the agency.
Without Snowden, the NSA — and let's not forget its sister surveillance agency, the British GCHQ — wouldn't be under such scrutiny from the public, legislators and world leaders. Even other notable whistleblowers have praised Snowden and underlined his historical importance.
"In my estimation, there has not been in American history a more important leak than Edward Snowden’s release of NSA material," wrote Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked the Pentagon Papers in 1971, exposing the lies of the U.S. government regarding the Vietnam War. "Snowden’s whistleblowing gives us the possibility to roll back a key part of what has amounted to an 'executive coup' against the U.S. constitution."
Courageous whistleblower or a dastardly traitor, Snowden deserved to be at the top of the list for TIME's Person of the Year. His decision to steal documents while working as an NSA contractor for Booz Allen Hamilton was the story of the year, and it will have lasting effects, regardless of legislative reform or lack thereof.
These surveillance programs, far-reaching has they are, deserved to be discussed, dissected and evaluated by citizens and their representatives. Snowden made that possible.

Police Made 1.1 Million Data Requests to Cellphone Carriers in 2012

After the summer's string of revelations about NSA surveillance, companies like Google, Facebook and Microsoft have united in protest, published transparency reports and asked for permission to reveal even more information.
Cellphone companies like Verizon or AT&T have thus far remained silent when it comes to NSA. Major carriers are, however, now revealing that they received 1.1 million data requests from local law enforcement agencies in 2012, including requests for location data, text messages, browsing history and call logs.
The data, which does not include NSA or national security-related investigations, was revealed on Monday by the seven major U.S. cellphone carriers, answering a series of questions posed by Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.). Their answers open a small window into how AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile and others collaborate with police across the country.
The 1.1 million number refers to the number of requests the companies received, not necessarily how many they responded to. AT&T, however, reported that it denied only 1,300 out of a total of 297,500 requests, while Verizon said it "does not track" whether they provided the requested data or not.
By comparison, in 2011, based on numbers also reported at Markey's behest, carriers received 1.3 million data requests. But that number isn't directly comparable to this year's total, since Sprint refused to reveal data this time around, arguing that its systems make it impossible to reveal such a number.
The telecoms also reported 9,000 so-called "cellphone towers dumps," where cops ask for all phone numbers that connected to one or more towers at certain times, which could affect hundreds of thousands of phone numbers, revealing customers' precise locations at a certain point in time.
As it turns out, one in four law enforcement agencies have used cell tower dumps, according to a report published on Sunday by USA Today.
The carriers' reports also revealed that not all companies require warrants when releasing customer data.
For example, AT&T doesn't require a warrant when releasing historical (i.e., not real-time) cellphone location data, only a simple court order. And the content of text messages older than 180 days is released by AT&T with a court order or a subpoena. Verizon requires a signed court order or a search warrant for historical data, but doesn't provide real-time location data at all, and it always requires a warrant for the content of texts.
"If the police want to know where you are, we should know why,” said Markey in a statement. "When law enforcement access location information, it's as sensitive and personal as searching an individual’s home and should be treated commensurately."
For Markey, these numbers and the carriers' varying practices are cause for concern, and they underscore the need for privacy reforms.
"As law enforcement uses new technology to protect the public from harm, we also must protect the information of innocent Americans from misuse," Markey said in a statement. "We need a 4th Amendment for the 21st century. Disclosure of personal information from wireless devices raises significant legal and privacy concerns, particularly for innocent consumers." Markey also announced he plans to introduce his own legislation to add warrant requirements to such data requests.
During the last year, Montana and Maine were the first states to make warrants a requirement when cops request cellphone location, and the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled along the same lines as well.
The USA Today investigation also revealed that 25 police departments own Stingray devices, machines the size of a suitcase that act as cell towers and can surreptitiously track cellphone users' locations and intercept conversations by tricking cellphones into connecting to them.
36 more police departments, however, declined to disclose if they've ever used Stingrays, or if they have ever requested cellphone tower dumps.
Both Stingrays and cell tower dumps are criticized by privacy advocates for their wide reach. To target one or a few suspects, critics say, police end up gathering information on thousands of unrelated customers. Stingrays, which are also called IMSI catchers, intercept data from all phones within a mile, according to USA Today.
Privacy and digital liberties advocates have also pointed out that the use of these devices is often secret, and there's no clear regulation limiting their use.
Markey's inquiry also revealed how much the U.S. law enforcement agencies have paid carriers for their surveillance requests. AT&T received a $10 million reimbursement, T-Mobile got $11 million, and Verizon was paid slightly less than $5 million.
Finally, the companies' practices differ also in how long they retain these types of data — which determines how far back in time cops can go. Most retain data for six to 18 months, but AT&T keeps data for up to five years.

NSA Sent Undercover Agents to Spy on 'World of Warcraft,' 'Second Life'

First it was porn; now, it's your video games.
The National Security Agency has been monitoring online games including World of Warcraft, Second Life and video games on Xbox Live, sometimes even using undercover agents disguised as trolls or orcs.
This is the latest revelation to come from documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, as first reported by The New York Times, ProPublica and The Guardian on Monday.
Since at least 2007, the NSA and its sister British spy agency the GCHQ (Government Communications Headquarters) have worried that terrorists might use online video games to secretly plan attacks, drive fundraising efforts or simply communicate on unmonitored channels, according to the leaked documents (.PDF).

These online video game networks are opportunities for intelligence agencies to spy on terrorists, the documents warned, since they can act as "target-rich communications network" where criminals could "hide in plain sight."
"Terrorists use online games — but perhaps not for their amusement," an invitation to a secret internal meeting in 2007 noted. "They are suspected of using them to communicate secretly and to transfer funds."
So the spy agencies built mass-collection capabilities to monitor gamers on the Xbox Live network and deployed undercover agents in both World of Warcraft and Second Life. The GCHQ boasted that it had "successfully been able to get the discussions between different game players on Xbox Live."
The NSA started began attempts to link World of Warcraft metadata with real-life terrorists and arms dealers in 2008, noting that its players included telecom engineers, embassy drivers, scientists, the military and other intelligence agencies. In other words, all very interesting targets for the NSA and GCHQ.
Agents also infiltrated the then-popular online roleplaying game Second Life, where undercover agents tried to recruit informants amid concerns that its unregulated economy could be used to launder money. Since the number of undercover agents was so high, per the leaked documents, the agencies involved — including the CIA and FBI — had to ensure they didn't step on each other's toes and pursue the same leads.

he GCHQ gathered 176,677 lines of data from Second LifeThe New York Times and ProPublica. "For terror groups looking to keep their communications secret, there are far more effective and easier ways to do so than putting on a troll avatar."
Blizzard Entertainment, the producer of World of Warcraft, denied granting permission to the NSA or the GCHQ to monitor its networks, the news organizations reported. Both Microsoft and Linden Lab, the maker of Second Life, declined to comment.
The Xbox Live monitoring revelation comes a few months after critics expressed concerns about the new Kinect's camera monitoring abilities and researchers proved that smart TVs like Samsung's can be hacked remotely to spy on its owners.

Tech Giants Fight Surveillance and Other News You Need to Know

Welcome to this morning's edition of "First To Know," a series in which we keep you in the know on what's happening in the digital world.
Today, we're looking at three particularly interesting stories. Some of the biggest names in the tech industry, including Microsoft, Google and Apple, are joining forces to limit government surveillance. A new report shows the technology that police use to tap into mobile phones. A device called a Stingray can act as a cellphone tower and determine the location of a mobile phone. And if you’re not crazy about iOS 7, we have the new Tumblr for you.

Google, Microsoft Lead Campaign to Limit Government Surveillance

Eight technology giants, including Google and Microsoft, have started a public campaign to limit government surveillance of users, The New York Times reports.
The companies — Google, Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, Twitter, AOL, LinkedIn, and Yahoo — published an open letter in national newspapers and opened a website at reformgovernmentsurveillance.com (which, curiously, doesn't work at the time of this writing).
In the letter, the Reform Government Surveillance group is calling for the U.S. President and Congress to limit surveillance of people, as it "undermines" their freedoms.
"We understand that governments have a duty to protect their citizens. But this summer's revelations highlighted the urgent need to reform government surveillance practices worldwide," the letter said.
“The balance in many countries has tipped too far in favor of the state and away from the rights of the individual — rights that are enshrined in our Constitution. This undermines the freedoms we all cherish.”
The initiative comes after a string of leaks this summer, detailing the NSA's extensive surveillance of users, including spying on data centers of Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and other tech companies.

How the FBI Used Hacker Tricks to Track Down a Would-Be Bomber

Malicious hackers commonly use phishing emails to lure would-be victims into clicking a seemingly harmless link that will actually install malware on their computers, allowing the perpetrators to siphon data, or even spy on their victims.
But the FBI is increasingly using the same techniques in its investigations; that's how it tried to track down a suspect who was making a series of bomb threats last year, according to The Washington Post, which confirms that the feds are relying on hacker's tricks to fight crime.

The FBI's elite hacker team created a customized piece of malicious software, or malware, that would install on a suspect's computer when he signs into his Yahoo email account. A judge in Colorado authorized the bureau to use the malware, according to court documents obtained by The Post.
The malware was designed specifically to siphon certain information from the suspect's computer to the FBI, including location data and websites visited. What's more, it allows the FBI to spy on a suspect through his webcam even without its indicator light turning on.
This is not the first time that the FBI has reportedly used malware, spyware and other hacking tricks to track down suspected criminals.
In August, it was revealed that the FBI uses sophisticated hacking tools. Chris Soghoian, principal technologist at the American Civil Liberties Union, discovered this after researching LinkedIn, where FBI contractors openly advertised their hacking services for the bureau.
The FBI's use of these techniques has critics concerned they could be too intrusive and perhaps illegal.
"There hasn't been a debate in Congress about the FBI getting into the hacking business; there hasn't been any legislation giving this power; this just sort of happened out of nowhere," Soghoian said at the Def Con hacking conference this summer.
This shaky legal ground was evident in a similar case earlier this year in which a Texas judge refused to sign off on an FBI warrant request to install malware that would covertly extract files from a suspect's laptop, and take pictures using its camera, according to The Wall Street Journal.
"It's time for a real discussion about what the rules should be," Kevin Bankston, a privacy and free speech lawyer and the policy director of the New America Foundation's Open Technology Institute, said on Twitter.
In the case of the would-be bomber, identified only as "Mo," the malware didn't work as intended, but revealed that Mo actually loves in Tehran, where he is safe from arrest by the FBI — although not from its hacking tools.