NSA tripled its phone record collection in 2017

The NSA retired its old surveillance program that indiscriminately inhaled billions of phone logs a day back in 2015, but that doesn’t meant it’s no longer collecting call data. According to a transparency report (PDF) released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the agency got its hands on 534 million call and text records from telecommunications companies like AT&T and Verizon in 2017. That’s over three times the number (151 million) it collected in 2016, which was the first full year since new surveillance rules under the USA Freedom Act took effect.

While the NSA can no longer scoop up everyone’s info, phone companies have to keep call and text metadata, including phone numbers, call duration and number of characters in texts, under the new law. The NSA can then put in a request to access all the records of its targets and everyone they’ve been in contact with. Before the agency can get those records, though, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court has to agree that the main target can reasonably be linked to terrorist activities.

Since the whole process sounds quite complex, these new numbers have alarmed privacy advocates. Robyn Greene from Washington-based Open Technology Institute told Reuters that “[t]he intelligence community’s transparency has yet to extend to explaining dramatic increases in their collection.” Office of the Director of National Intelligence spokesperson Timothy Barrett, however, defended the NSA and said that it “has not altered the manner in which it uses its authority to obtain call detail records.”

It’s unclear if the agency found loopholes in the law it can exploit, but the sudden spike in the number of records it collected could be attributed to several things. To start with, the way the new rules work means a single request could generate massive amounts of data. For instance, the report says the agency only put in a request for 40 targets in 2017, and yet those produced 534 million logs, because the NSA got access to the records of every single person they’ve been in contact with. Further, there could be a lot of duplicates in that pile, since every single telecom keeps its own documentation. Due to those factors, Barrett said he expects the stats in the report to “fluctuate from year to year.”

In addition to revealing how many metadata records are now in the NSA’s hands, the report also contains information on the agency’s other surveillance activities. The number of people targeted by court-approved wiretaps apparently dropped from 1,687 in 2016 to 1,337 in 2017. However, the NSA’s warrantless surveillance targets, noncitizens overseas whose data the agency gets from American tech corporations like Google, went up from 106,469 to 129,080.

Source: Reuters, The New York Times, Office of the Director of National Intelligence (PDF)

Elon Musk hung up on NTSB chairman during a call regarding deadly Model X crash

A few weeks prior to his famously frustrated investor call, Tesla CEO Elon Musk hung up on the chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board during a call regarding an investigation into a fatal crash involving a Model X, Bloomberg reports.

NTSB chairman Robert Sumwalt called Musk to warn him that the company’s blog posts placing blame on the car’s driver for the fatal accident had crossed a line. Tesla had previously been warned against making statements regarding the crash while it was under investigation.

During a speech given to the International Society of Air Safety Investigators’ Mid-Atlantic Regional Chapter, Sumwalt said that “best I remember, he hung up on us.” Sumwalt had been discussing the NTSB’s policy of bringing on industry experts to help with its investigation.

The NTSB was originally looking into why the Model X’s battery caught fire after the car crashed into a highway barrier. Tesla later said that the car had been in Autopilot mode when the accident occurred. This prompted the NTSB to expand the scope of its investigation to include the Autopilot feature.

Musk’s decision to hang up on Sumwalt may have prompted the board to kick Tesla’s representatives off the investigation. Tesla had previously released a statement saying that it had decided to “withdraw” from the NTSB’s investigation. On April 12, however, the NTSB released a statement saying that it had chosen to remove Tesla’s represtentatives.

While Tesla has not responded to Sumwalt’s comments regarding the phone call, it has spoken out about the board’s decision to remove Tesla from the ongoing investigation. A Tesla spokesperson even told TechCrunch that the NTSB is “more concerned with press headlines than actually promoting safety.” Tesla maintained that it had a right to warn customers to maintain control of their vehicles while Autopilot was being used.

In addition to the Mountain View investigation, the NTSB is also investigating a Tesla crash in Los Angeles. As of right now, the NTSB has not released any findings regarding the Mountain View crash, though Tesla has cast blame on the car’s driver.

Sumwalt isn’t the only person to annoy Musk during a phone call. During a recent earning’s call, the Tesla CEO lashed out at Wall Street for focusing too much on quarterly earnings.

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Idaho State lost a gram of weapons-grade plutonium

Idaho State University has lost 1 gram of weapons-grade plutonium — nuclear material that was being used for research purposes before it was misplaced, the Associated Press reports. In response, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has proposed an $8,500 fine against the university.

An NRC spokesperson, Victor Dricks, said that the amount of material was too small to create a nuclear weapon, but said it could be used in a dirty bomb meant to spread the radioactive substance. The university’s VP of research, Dr. Cornelis Van der Schyf, blamed incomplete record keeping for the loss, reiterating that the lost material poses no risk to the public.

“Unfortunately, because there was a lack of sufficient historical records to demonstrate the disposal pathway employed in 2003, the source in question had to be listed as missing,” he told the AP. “The radioactive source in question poses no direct health issue or risk to public safety.”

The discrepancy was discovered by a school employee during the course of a routine inventory investigation. The employee found that the university could not account for one of its 14 samples of plutonium. Records from 2003  indicate that the material was on the campus and had been marked for disposal. There are no records to indicate that the disposal took place, however.

The last known record of the missing plutonium comes from November 23, 2003, which states that it had been marked “pending disposal of the next waste shipment.”

School officials reviewed documents relating to waste barrels that had been shipped off campus but found no trace of the plutonium. A search of the campus also yielded no results — forcing the university to conclude that it was missing.

The material in question was being used by the university’s nuclear engineering program, which partners with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory. The university was researching means of ensuring that containers of nuclear waste did not leak as well as ways to better detect the material.

The university has 30 days to dispute the NRC’s proposed fine though it has not indicated whether it will or not. Dricks has said that, overall, the university has a “good record with the NRC.” The missing material is a shame; after all, NASA plans to use nukes to save us all from killer asteroids.

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‘Mars, here I come!’ NASA’s InSight launches from California on a six-month journey

NASA’s newest Mars mission lifted off in the fog atop an Atlas V rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base at 4:05 a.m. local time Saturday morning. It was a rare treat for space enthusiasts in California, as it’s the first interplanetary mission ever to launch from the West Coast.

And we have liftoff! #Mars, here I come! 6 months and counting to the Red Planet. pic.twitter.com/wBPYdZVUlt

— NASAInSight (@NASAInSight) May 5, 2018

InSight (short for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy, and Heat Transport) will travel more than 300 million miles on a six-month journey to Mars. It’s scheduled to land on the red planet on November 26.

Previous Mars missions have studied the topography and atmosphere of the planet in depth, but nothing like InSight has ever been done before. Equipped with an array of sophisticated monitors, the car-sized mobile laboratory will probe deep beneath the surface of Mars, explained JPL Director Michael Watkins. It will collect data on “marsquakes,” monitor heat flow deep beneath the surface, and measure how the planet wobbles as it rotates. The mission was delayed for two years after leaks were found in the seismometer.

“InSight will help us unlock the mysteries of Mars in a new way, by not just studying the surface of the planet, but by looking deep inside to help us learn about the earliest building blocks of the planet,” Watkins said.

NASA

A couple of tiny hitchhikers will also be going along for the ride. Two CubeSat satellites nicknamed “Wall-E” and “Eva” will follow the spacecraft all the way to Mars. Officially named Mars Cube One, or MarCO, the duo is an experimental addition to the mission that’s designed to send data back to Earth as InSight lands on the planet’s surface. This is the first time the laptop-sized CubeSats will be used outside of an Earth orbit.

“These are our scouts,” said JPL engineer Andy Klesh. “CubeSats haven’t had to survive the intense radiation of a trip to deep space before, or use propulsion to point their way towards Mars. We hope to blaze that trail.”

The satellites are named after the animated Pixar characters because they use compressed gas commonly found in fire extinguishers for propulsion.

Once it arrives at Mars, the 1,340-pountd InSight will enter the thin atmosphere at 13,200 miles per hour. After deploying a supersonic parachute to slow itself down, it will jettison the heat shield and the lander itself will finally emerge. Its 12 descent engines will then guide the lander to a safe touchdown just a few minutes later.

Bruce Banerdt of JPL has been waiting a long time for this moment. “Scientists have been dreaming about doing seismology on Mars for years,” he said. “In my case, I had that dream 40 years ago as a graduate student, and now that shared dream has been lofted through the clouds and into reality.”

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Best demos available on Playstation 4 right now

It’s an awesome day! You just got a PlayStation 4! You now have it all set up and you’re ready to dig into some serious gaming. However, the problem is that the only game you have is the used copy of Rugby 15 that your aunt got you. Sure, you could go ahead and pretend to enjoy one of the most poorly reviewed games available on the PS4, but there is another way. Fortunately for you, there are plenty of demos available for some really great games and we’re going to take a look at some of the coolest games with demos on offer in the PlayStation Store.

A Way Out

A Way Out is a co-op only game where you play as one of the two prisoners trying to break out of jail. You play as either Leo and Vincient as you both continue on the emotional journey that happens throughout this game. Try it for free right now to see if it’s something you truly want to purchase.

See at PlayStation Store

Yakuza 6

Follow the story of Kazuma Kiryu, a man who has to take care of the son of his sister’s son. Throughout this journey to find the kid’s father, Kazuma meets some unstoppable forces on the way. See if you can take on the Tojo clan with the free demo before you buy it.

See at PlayStation Store

Watch Dogs 2

Take on the persona of Marcus Holloway, a young hacker who teams up with other hackers, and expose the dangers that lie within ctOS 2.0. Help take down the corrupt corporations that have a hand on this software, and make sure it never gets into the wrong hands. Stop them in the free demo to see if it’s something you would enjoy.

See at PlayStation Store

Destiny 2

Forget about Rugby 15. You deserve to sink your teeth into something a little more delicious. Great news, one of the most popular online multiplayer games is available for a test run right now. Go get a feel for the second installment of Bungie’s first-person shooter epic right now, for free!

See at PlayStation Store

Doom

Speaking of first-person shooters, Bethesda just recently rebooted the Granddaddy of first-person shooters. If the last time you plated Doom was on a bootlegged floppy then maybe it’s time to revisit the series. Doom has garnered mostly positive reviews so a chance to dip your toe in that water and see for yourself seems like a good deal to me.

See at PlayStation Store

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard

Perhaps you are in the market for some spooky scares. Resident Evil 7 has got you covered. The latest entry into the Resident Evil series just happens to be a blast and is also chock full of creepy moodiness. Get the demo and see if you can handle it!

See at PlayStation Store

NieR: Automata

Well on its way to becoming the sleeper hit of 2017, you couldn’t do much better as far as RPG demos go. If you want to get a peek at the game that’s blowing people away with its impeccable game design then now is your chance.

See at PlayStation Store

Final Fantasy XIV

Maybe you’re a big fan of massively multiplayer online experiences. Maybe you’re also a big fan of the Final Fantasy franchise. If both of these assumptions are true then I have great news for you. The multiplayer Final Fantasy XIV has a demo that is just waiting for your download. You can play the game for free all the way up through level 35. How’s that for a bargain?

See at PlayStation Store

Injustice 2

Oh, you’re looking for a fighting game? Netherrealm has you covered. The DC comics empire may stumble in the world of cinema but thanks to Injustice 2, they are doing great in the gaming department. Download the demo now and take control of all your favorite DC heroes in some no holds barred fighting fun.

See at PlayStation Store

The Evil Within 2

Oh no! You didn’t get spooked out enough from the Resident Evil 7 demo? That’s ok, there are more scares to be had. Get yourself some more survival horror action with The Evil Within 2. With its largely favorable reception, I think you can spend a little time and no money playing the demo in order to see if you’d like to take the full ride that The Evil Within 2 has to offer.

See at PlayStation Store

Hopefully, this list affords you the opportunity to try out a few of those blockbuster games that everyone is talking about without having to open your wallet. The games listed are here are just a few of the demos that are available on the PS4. If you want to see what else is available all you have to do is go to the games section of the PlayStation Store and select the Demos section. There is a veritable smorgasbord of games there and they are adding more all the time.

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Facebook only checks for impostors within your circle of friends

When you go to Face Recognition in Facebook’s Settings page, there’s a link that leads you to more info about it that says switching it on can “help protect you from strangers using a photo of you as their profile picture.” That pertains to a feature Facebook launched in March that’s supposed to tip it off if somebody is impersonating you. According to a new report by The Washington Post, though, the technology won’t quite solve Facebook’s problem with fake accounts. The social network has admitted to the publication that it mostly looks for impostors only among your friends and friends of friends.

Facebook said that it does compare profile pics against millions of other users’, but it didn’t reveal a specific number. It also didn’t disclose how it chooses which accounts to compare against. Besides, “millions” is still a tiny fraction of the 2 billion users on the website. In the event that it does find fakes, it doesn’t always penalize the right person — the Post says that in some cases, it disables people’s real accounts instead.

In addition to comparing profile pics against a small number of users, Facebook reportedly said that it only reviews new accounts created since the feature launched, because it would take too much power to compare billions of profile photos against each other. Considering the social network’s problem with fake accounts, which it calls “undesirables,” has been going on for years, the technology won’t be able to completely solve the issue as it is.

The company believes that there were as many as 87 million undesirables as of last quarter, which is almost five times as many as the 18 million fakes on the website back in 2016. Those fakes were linked to Russia’s efforts to influence the most recent Presidential Elections — Russian troll farm Internet Research Agency apparently created fake Americans on social networks like Facebook to post anti-Clinton sentiments.

Even Sen. Christopher A. Coons became the victim of a Facebook impostor with a lot of Russian friends that copied his name, photos and info. He brought up the issue to Mark Zuckerberg when the Facebook chief appeared before the Senate to answer questions about the Cambridge Analytica fiasco. When asked why Facebook shifts “the burden to users to flag inappropriate content and make sure it’s taken down,” Zuckerberg replied:

“…it’s clear that this is an area… we need to do a lot better on. Over time, we’re going to shift increasingly to a method where more of this content is flagged up front by AI tools that we develop.”

Source: Washington Post

US elevates the role of Cyber Command

After months of talk and planning, US Cyber Command is now just as important as the rest of the Pentagon’s commands — at least, on paper. The military has officially elevated its cyberwarfare division to a “unified command” that operates independently of the NSA. It’s not a complete split. General Paul Nakasone (shown above) will run both Cyber Command and the NSA, replacing Admiral Michael Rogers.

The change in structure comes as the US is readying an Integrated Cyber Center that will help both the country and its allies plan responses to cyberattacks.

Nakasone has vowed a more aggressive response to online threats, whether they come from Russia, China or elsewhere. He’s concerned that adversarial nations won’t back off unless they face more serious repercussions for their actions. In the past, American officials have been hesitant to launch attacks against major powers knowing that the US is heavily dependent on a digital infrastructure that might buckle under the weight of a large cyberwarfare campaign.

Whether or not this shuffle actually changes Cyber Command’s practices isn’t certain. In addition to Nakasone’s shared leadership, there’s the question of whether or not this will prompt changes in policy beyond the potential for harsher responses. Right now, the changeover is mostly symbolic — it’s clear the US sees cyberwarfare as important, but the elevated command will have to flex its muscles if it wants to show that it’s truly on par with its conventional peers.

Source: Reuters

Let’s cheer each other up in the weekend comments thread!

We should be happy over the weekend, so let’s do this.

This is one of those rare weekends when I’m sad that I’m not working. Or at least not getting ready for work stuff.

For the first time in about 10 years I’m not getting ready to head to Google I/O and it’s bothering me a little. And to be honest, it’s also making me a little annoyed. I’ve had to deal with some back surgery over the past winter holidays and I’m sitting this year out. Don’t laugh, because one day you’ll be old, too.

Normally I’d be making sure I had a handful of SD cards and camera batteries to cram into my rucksack or grabbing a handful of travel-sized toiletries from the drug store. Happily gathering the stuff I needed to head out to California for the best damn week a geek could ever have. Like health insurance or vacation days, Google I/O is something I consider a job benefit.

This year I had to opt-out because i don’t think I want to deal with one part of it — Shoreline Amphitheater’s horrible accessibility. On a good year it’s bad enough that I need to hit Andrew or Daniel to boost me up a hill or two (and I can’t thank them enough for being a good sport about it) but I know I just can’t handle it this time. Then I think that I’d be fine if Google I/O was back at the Moscone Center instead of out in the park. And then I get grouchy so I stop thinking about it.

That’s just me, though, and next year I’ll be back and have a blast. Meanwhile, everything is in good hands with the best bunch of travelling bloggers known to mankind there bringing us all the great stuff and poking fun of the silly stuff that Google has to show off. Andrew, Alex, Daniel, Russell and Mr. Mobile got this. Come to think of it, they do every year and I just have fun learning about dope shit. Now I know why I’m sad.

Take a minute and share what you’re doing this weekend. Push some of those good vibes my way!

Today’s best deals you won’t want to miss

Whether you’re looking for new tech gear or household items, we’ve got you covered.

Today you can get big discounts on workout equipment, the Garmin fenix 3 GPS watch, essential kitchen appliances, and more! Don’t pass these up.

View the rest of the deals

If you want to know about the deals as soon as they are happening, you’ll want to follow Thrifter on Twitter, and sign up for the newsletter, because missing out on a great deal stinks!

Apple News had a one-week exclusive on a documentary series

Apple isn’t kidding about its intentions to turn its News app into more than just an aggregator. BuzzFeed has confirmed to Digiday that Apple reached a deal to premiere the documentary series Future History: 1968 through News a week before it reached social networks, YouTube and even BuzzFeed’s own mobile app. Apple had first crack at the initial three episodes and gave BuzzFeed a cut of the pre-roll ad revenue in addition to featuring the show prominently. It not only highlighted the documentary in its featured video galleries, it sent a notification to people who follow BuzzFeed News.

The exact terms of the deal aren’t public, but it appears to have been successful. BuzzFeed’s Roxanne Emadi said the Apple News version got “several hundreds of thousands of views” across its three episodes during the one-week exclusive, while those episodes netted over 110,000 views between Facebook, Twitter and YouTube in the time since.

To some extent, the deal may have been necessary. Publishers have reportedly been reluctant to create original videos for Apple News because of a lack of revenue and the challenge of getting someone to watch longer, in-depth videos. Apple appears to be using the deal as proof that News-specific videos can be successful, albeit with heavy promotion in an app pre-installed on millions of devices.

It’s safe to say that Apple is repeating the strategy it used to great effect in the music world: it’s snapping up exclusives and whole companies (in this case, Texture) in a bid to elevate its services from nice-to-have extras to serious money makers. The company is increasingly reliant on services for revenue as the smartphone market cools down, and deals like this may play an important part in that shift.

Source: Digiday