FBI surrounds house of Saudi student following sightings of him with pressure cooker pot, only to find he was cooking rice

Saudi student Talal al Rouki (pictured) was questioned by FBI agents after neighbours saw him carrying a pressure cooker. FBI are vigilant after Boston bombers used a pressure cooker to make an explosive.   Original post on dailymail.co.uk    Comments on reddit.com   

FBI’s Latest Proposal for a Wiretap-Ready Internet Should Be Trashed – Wired Opinion

The FBI has some strange ideas about how to “update” federal surveillance laws: They’re calling for legislation to penalize online services that provide users with too much security. While it’s not yet clear how dire the going-dark scenario really is, the statutory “cure” proposed by the FBI — with fines starting at $25,000 a day for companies that aren’t wiretap capable — would surely be worse than the disease.   Original post on wired.com    Comments on reddit.com   

DOJ: We don’t need warrants for e-mail, Facebook chats – Politics and Law

An FBI investigation manual updated last year, obtained by the ACLU, says it’s possible to warrantlessly obtain Americans’ e-mail ‘without running afoul’ of the Fourth Amendment. Read this article by Declan McCullagh on CNET News.   Original post on cnet.com    Comments on reddit.com   

Obama May Back F.B.I. Plan to Wiretap Web Users

The Obama administration is on the verge of backing an F.B.I. plan for an overhaul of surveillance laws that would make it easier to wiretap people who communicate by Internet rather than phone.   Original post on nytimes.com    Comments on reddit.com   

Former FBI agent revealed that every phone conversation a US citizen engages in is recorded. “We certainly have ways in national security investigations to find out exactly what was said in that [phone] conversation. It’s not necessarily something that the FBI is going to want to present in court”

Original post on cnn.com    Comments on reddit.com   

Texas judge denies FBI request to use Trojan to infiltrate unknown suspect’s computer.

Pursuing criminal hacking groups is high on the FBI’s list of priorities—but the bureau is adopting some hacking techniques of its own. And a Texas judge isn’t happy about it. On Monday, a judge denied an FBI request to install a spy Trojan on a computer in an unknown location…   Original post on slate.com    Comments on reddit.com   

Officials: Suspect described plot before Miranda

BOSTON (AP) — The surviving suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings acknowledged to the FBI his role in the attacks but did so before he was advised of his constitutional right to keep quiet and seek a lawyer, U.S. officials said Wednesday.Once Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was read his rights on Monday, he immediately stopped talking, according to four officials of both political parties who were briefed on the interrogation but insisted on anonymity because the briefing was private.After roughly 16 hours of questioning, investigators were surprised when a magistrate judge and a representative from the U.S. Attorney’s office entered the hospital room and read Tsarnaev his rights, the four officials and one law enforcement official said. Investigators had planned to keep questioning him.It is unclear whether any of this will matter in court since the FBI says Tsarnaev confessed to a witness and U.S. officials said Wednesday that physical evidence, including a 9 mm handgun and pieces of a remote-control device commonly used in toys, was recovered from the scene.But the debate over whether suspected terrorists should be read their Miranda rights has become a major sticking point in the debate over how best to fight terrorism. Many Republicans, in particular, believe Miranda warnings are designed to build court cases, and only hinder intelligence gathering.Christina DiIorio Sterling, a spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz, said in an email,   Original post on ap.org    Comments on reddit.com   

Officials: Boston Marathon bombing suspect awake, responding sporadically to questions in writing – abc7news.com

Sources tell ABC News that the Boston bombings suspect is awake and has been responding sporadically to questions in writing.   Original post on abclocal.go.com    Comments on reddit.com   

FBI foils massacre plan at Northamptonshire school

A British teenager’s plans to carry out a massacre at his school using handguns and explosives was foiled by the FBI after agents received a tip-off from an American chatroom user, a court has heard.   Original post on telegraph.co.uk    Comments on reddit.com   

Apple’s iMessage encryption trips up feds’ surveillance – Politics and Law

Internal document from the Drug Enforcement Administration complains that messages sent with Apple’s encrypted chat service are ‘impossible to intercept,’ even with a warrant. Read this article by Jennifer Van Grove on CNET News.   Original post on cnet.com    Comments on reddit.com   

Andrew Weissmann: FBI wants real-time Gmail, Dropbox spying power.

Despite the pervasiveness of law enforcement surveillance of digital communication, the FBI still has a difficult time monitoring Gmail, Google Voice, and Dropbox in real time. But that may change soon, because the bureau says it has made gaining more powers to wiretap all forms of Internet conversation and cloud…   Original post on slate.com    Comments on reddit.com   

Susan Illston, U.S. district court judge, declares national security letters unconstitutional.

They are used by the FBI to bypass courts and conduct secret surveillance. But now, in what could prove to be a major blow to the Department of Justice, a federal court has found that National Security Letters are unconstitutional. In a ruling released today, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston…   Original post on slate.com    Comments on reddit.com   

Google Says the FBI Is Secretly Spying on Some of Its Customers – Threat Level

The terrorists apparently would win if Google told you the exact number of times the Federal Bureau of Investigation invoked a secret process to extract data about the media giant’s customers. That’s why it is unlawful for any record-keeper to disclose it has received a so-called National Security Letter. But under a deal brokered with the President Barack Obama administration, Google on Tuesday published a   Original post on wired.com    Comments on reddit.com   

Stingray, IMSI catcher: FBI files unlock history behind cellphone tracking tool.

It was described recently by one rights group as a “secretive new surveillance tool.” But documents just released by the FBI suggest that a clandestine cellphone tracking device known as the “Stingray” has been deployed across the United States for almost two decades—despite questions over its legality. Stingrays, as I’ve…   Original post on slate.com    Comments on reddit.com   

FBI Employees Download Pirated Movies and TV-Shows

BitTorrent is used by millions of people every day, even in places where you wouldn’t really expect. New data reveals that employees at the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division are sharing movies and TV-shows with the rest of the world. Is the FBI gathering information on BitTorrent users, or could it be that the feds harbor in-house pirates?   Original post on torrentfreak.com    Comments on reddit.com   

Minister: Iceland refused to help FBI on WikiLeaks

From Yahoo! News: Iceland’s interior minister said Friday that he ordered the country’s police not to cooperate with FBI agents sent to investigate WikiLeaks two years ago, offering a rare glimpse into the U.S. Department…   Original post on yahoo.com    Comments on reddit.com   

FBI’s Scientology investigation: Balancing the First Amendment with charges of abuse and forced labor

The untold story of two dogged FBI agents, witnesses on the lam, and the surrender of self inside the Church of Scientology. Editor’s note: This is Part 1 of a special report on an investigation by the FBI into the Church of Scientology. Read Part 2 and previous coverage at our special report page.   Original post on tampabay.com    Comments on reddit.com