Since the SHIELD Act was introduced two years ago, momentum has been building for patent reform in Congress. And when the House overwhelmingly passed the Innovation Act in December, it seemed real legislation might be close at hand. Since then, the Senate has been thrashing out its version of a patent bill. We need to keep up the pressure to make sure that any final deal includes meaningful reforms that will slow the flood of patent troll litigation. With the Senate about to break for recess, the next few days could be crucial. Our friends at Engine have set up…
Author: EFFSource
EFF has long advocated for websites to support HTTPS instead of plain HTTP to encrypt and authenticate data transmitted on the Internet. However, we learned yesterday of a catastrophic bug, nicknamed “Heartbleed,” that has critically threatened the security of some HTTPS sites since 2011. By some estimates, Heartbleed affects 2 out of 3 web servers on the Internet. 1 Heartbleed isn’t a bug in the design of HTTPS itself but rather the result of a simple programming error in a widely-used piece of software called OpenSSL. It allows an attacker who connects to an HTTPS server running a vulnerable version…
Today the European Court of Justice declared the EU’s Data Retention Directive invalid, declaring that the mass collection of Internet data in Europe entailed a “wide-ranging and particularly serious interference with the fundamental rights to respect for private life and to the protection of personal data.” The Directive ordered European states to pass laws that obliged Internet intermediaries to log records on their users’ activity, keep them for up to two years, and provide access to the police and security services. The ECJ joins the United Nations’ Human Rights Committee which last month called upon the United States to refrain…
While NSA surveillance has been front and center in the news recently, fusion centers are a part of the surveillance state that deserve close scrutiny. Fusion centers are a local arm of the so-called “intelligence community,” the 17 intelligence agencies coordinated by the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC). The government documentation around fusion centers is entirely focused on breaking down barriers between the various government agencies that collect and maintain criminal intelligence information. Barriers between local law enforcement and the NSA are already weak. We know that the Drug Enforcement Agency gets intelligence tips from the NSA which are used in…
Throughout April, the Electronic Frontier Foundation will receive 10% of ticket proceeds for HOPE X, the tenth biennial Hackers On Planet Earth conference founded by 2600 Magazine. For two decades, HOPE has cultivated a unique experience showcasing expert security research, software hacking, hardware hacking, civil liberties, art, and community. As staunch defenders of digital freedom and innovation, EFF is a proud participant. Be sure to catch talks from EFF technologists, attorneys, and activists on a wide range of topics: from web encryption, to the Open Wireless Movement, to our campaign against the U.S. government’s mass spying programs, and more. HOPE…
You would think that by now the Internet would have grown up enough that things like online banking, email, or government websites would rely on thoroughly engineered security to make sure your data isn’t intercepted by attackers. Unfortunately when it comes to the vast majority of websites on the Internet, that assumption would be dead wrong. That’s because most websites (with a few notable exceptions) don’t yet support a standard called HSTS—HTTPS Strict Transport Security. Why is lack of HSTS even an issue? To see what could go wrong, imagine the following common scenario. You’re in a coffee shop and…
Today, April 4th is 404 Day. EFF, along with our friends at the National Coalition Against Censorship and the Center for Civic Media at MIT, are using today to call attention to blocked and banned websites in libraries and public schools across the country. Join us this afternoon, at 12pm PDT / 3pm EDT for a digital teach-in with some of the top researchers and librarians working to analyze and push back against the use of Internet filters on library computers. Use #404day on Twitter to send questions and comments our way. Privacy info. This embed will serve content from…
This post has been written in collaboration with Fundacion Karisma in Colombia Last February, the Colombian media revealed that the country’s intelligence service carried out widespread surveillance of key NGOs, journalists, and leftist politicians, including their own governmental team responsible for negotiating a peace agreement with the Colombian guerilla. The Colombian operation, named Andromeda, sheds light on an unchecked intelligence surveillance apparatus, highlighting how the country has failed again to put human rights at the center of their surveillance activities. This new disclosure recollects previous instances of illegal surveillance, known as “Las Chuzadas.” The Colombian secret service (DAS) used to…
After a two-week ban on the website imposed by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey’s Constitutional Court has ruled that the block breached freedom of expression. Access to Twitter was subsequently restored within the country. The ban on Twitter drew widespread criticism both within and outside of Turkey. President Abdullah Gul, who hails from the same party as Erdoğan, spoke out against it. The White House issued a statement opposing the restriction, and Twitter itself condemned the choice, posting alternative options for tweeting to their @policy account. While we are happy to see that the court ruling has been respected…
We support the Mozilla community and the vital work they’ve done—and must keep doing—for the open Internet. EFF has been following the discussions around the choice of Brendan Eich as Mozilla’s CEO, including the announcement that he is stepping down. As partners to Mozilla in campaigns that have included the fight against SOPA/PIPA, the StopWatching.US Coalition against mass surveillance, the effort to Encrypt the Web, the battle to prevent non-consensual online tracking, and ongoing work to make Firefox a more secure browser, we appreciate the frank and honest discussion that the community has undergone over this issue and respect the…