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.
Story Length: 4:21
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December 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 MoreAugust 15, 2016
3:45
After the Democratic Party databases were hacked recently, election tampering has become a major concern for election officials. In May this year, a security analyst hacked into a Florida elections website to show that the system is vulnerable. The online voter registration system in Illinois was shut down after a computer gained unauthorized access to data in the system.
Read MoreApril 4, 2016
4:14
After the San Bernardino terrorist attack, the FBI took Apple to court to try and require them to unlock the iPhone of the suspected shooter. Apple refused, but then the FBI figured out how to get past the phone’s security on its own to look for evidence. After that, more cases of locked phones possibly containing evidence in criminal cases are showing up around the country. The FBI recently agreed to help prosecutors in Arkansas hack into to a phone that is believed to have information in a murder case. Listen to the possible privacy repercussions of the government hiring people to unlock phones and devices.
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.
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