WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was arrested in London after officials in the Ecuadorian Embassy, where he had been living since 2012, said they would no longer provide protection for him as a political refugee. In 2010, WikiLeaks hacked into U.S. government computers and published classified information, posing a national security threat, according to many officials. Assange argued that he was operating as a journalist, exposing U.S. government actions that should not be kept secret from the public. Listen to this story to hear about the impact on national security and diplomacy of the unauthorized release of classified documents by WikiLeaks.
Story Length: 3:52
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March 14, 2017
4:21
Concerns about national security and electronic privacy are growing following a leak of documents on WikiLeaks. The documents show how the CIA uses technology to gather intelligence from companies and individuals. This development is damaging to the CIA, because it reveals its use of surveillance, while also highlighting vulnerabilities in its technology systems. Companies will now be able to close gaps in their security, making it harder for the CIA to gather intelligence from them. At the same time, some people are worried about groups who can use this information to launch an attack against the CIA. Listen to learn more these leaks.
Read MoreDecember 19, 2016
4:57
There is evidence that a CIA assessment found that Russia intervened in the U.S. presidential election to try to help Donald Trump win. In this story, a reporter from the Washington Post discusses what they found out about how the Russians intended to help Trump in the election. It’s known that Russians hacked into both Democratic and Republican emails, and released emails to Wikileaks that were damaging to the Democratic campaign. President-elect Trump has stated that he does not trust the CIA’s assessment. Listen to hear more about what is known about the CIA report.
Read MoreJune 7, 2015
3:52
The provision of the Patriot Act that allowed the government to conduct massive phone surveillance has expired. The National Security Agency can no longer conduct bulk surveillance. In its place, Congress passed the USA Freedom Act, which allows for limited surveillance. Politicians in both the Democratic and Republican parties felt that this phone surveillance needed limits but there was a showdown over how far the changes should go. Listen to learn how this standoff came to an end and changed the way the government conducts surveillance.
Read MoreApril 28, 2015
5:56
The National Security Agency or NSA has been under scrutiny since one of its former workers, Edward Snowden, exposed the government agency’s widespread domestic surveillance programs in 2013. This revelation didn’t just change the way the American public understood the role of the NSA, it also changed the way technology companies and potential employees did. Now it’s harder for the NSA to recruit potential code breakers and spies. Listen to learn how these changed perceptions have complicated the government’s recruiting efforts.
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