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Saturday, June 8, 2013

Mobile and online privacy concerns follow reports about 'Prism'

The Guardian newspaper has reported that America’s National Security Agency collects the numbers and times of telephone calls made by customers of mobile network Verizon within the US and between the US and other countries.

This activity apparently began after a previously secret court order was granted on 25th April and will run until 19th July 2013. According to the press report, Verizon is not permitted to disclose the existence of the court order. It’s unclear whether this is a one-off order or part of an ongoing series.

A separate Guardian report claims that an NSA operation known as Prism has gathered information from internet companies including AOL, Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Skype and Yahoo - and has then passed this information to the UK’s GCHQ security agency. A number of the companies have issued public statements insisting they haven’t provided direct access to the NSA and didn’t know about Prism until the media reports.

UPDATE: 9th June 2013

James Clapper, the US Director of National Intelligence, has published a statement about the PRISM operation and has also declassified some of the information.

He refers to “reckless disclosures of intelligence community measures used to keep Americans safe” and insists “the surveillance activities published in The Guardian and The Washington Post are lawful and conducted under authorities widely known and discussed”.

PRISM is referred to as “an internal government computer system used to facilitate the government’s statutorily authorized collection of foreign intelligence information from electronic communication service providers under court supervision”. This means it’s not used for US citizens and requires court approval, as noted in section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

[More information: Washington Post; Google blog; Mark Zuckerberg statement; Yahoo blog, PRISM facts (pdf)]

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Opinion Articles

Operation Mobile as military prepares to synchronise with smartphones

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Kevin Deal, Vice President of Aerospace & Defence at IFS North America, writes:

It is difficult to believe that the idea of a hand-held mobile phone was an alien concept only a few short decades ago. From brick-sized analogue devices to wafer thin smartphones with processing capabilities comparable to those of laptops, new technology is constantly pushing the boundaries of what we can expect from our phones. And, in a reverse of the normal pattern of technology innovation, a development driven by consumers is set to have an important impact on aerospace and defence (A&D).

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Last week at The Fonecast: 19th November 2012

Confusion by numbers

Mark Bridge writes:

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We talk to Henry Lawson of nFluence media

Mark Bridge writes:

Today’s consumers receive a seemingly never-ending stream of online information from their social networks, from websites, in their email and on their mobile devices. But is there a way to let individuals stay in control whilst also helping companies advertise their products?  According to nFluence Media, there definitely is.

To find out more, I spoke to Henry Lawson, co-founder and CEO of nFluence, and started by asking him to explain exactly what nFluence did.

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Doro aims at the sweet spot for easy-to-use mobile phones

Mark Bridge writes:

Here’s a statement that’ll come as no surprise to anyone who works in the UK mobile industry.

For many people, their mobile phone isn’t just a communication device. It’s a personal statement.

Of course it is. Why else can you buy a gold-plated iPhone, a diamante-encrusted Blackberry or a Samsung Galaxy SIII in colours “inspired by the Earth’s richest materials”?

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Ofcom asks "Which type of communicator are you?"

New analysis of the UK’s communication habits has found that people can be categorised into five different groups of communicators, ranging from the ‘always on’ to the ‘detached’.

Earlier this year, Ofcom’s Communication Market Report revealed that the UK is now texting more that talking. Further analysis of the research, published today, looks at the methods and frequency of communication, as well people’s attitudes towards it.

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