In a response to Computerworld's article on NSA involvement in Windows 7 development, Microsoft stated: "Microsoft has not and will not put 'backdoors' into Windows."

Not to nitpick here, but doesn't this denial leave another "door" open? As in, couldn't the NSA have stuck their own backdoor into Windows 7 while official Microsoft employees turned a blind eye? Or—and this may come as really shocking—could Microsoft have simply lied to us in the interest of national security??

Of course, but if you freak out over this potential lack of digital autonomy, you're clearly a terrorist. [Computerworld via Digg]

According to the NSA's Information Assurance Director, Richard Schaeffer, it's important for the agency to work with Microsoft and other software makers because otherwise the increasing reliance on "private-sector computing products" could put national security at risk. By creating and maintaining high security standards, the agency hopes to reduce the danger of the "rising threat of cyberattacks." Whew. That actually sounds quite reasonable and like a good thing, rather than cause to panic after seeing "NSA" and "Microsoft" in the same sentence. [NPR via Crunch Gear]

There are a thousand gigabytes in a terabyte, a thousand terabytes in a petabyte, a thousand petabytes in an exabyte, a thousand exabytes in a zettabyte, and a thousand zettabytes in a yottabyte. In other words, a yottabyte is 1,000,000,000,000,000GB.

In terms of data on current human scales, a yottabyte is nearly infinite (though I'm sure the NSA will manage to fill the thing in like 2 weeks, and iPods will come with yottabytes in just a few months).

To be fair, the yottabyte figure is just one estimate generated by a Pentagon think tank. The facility could hold a mere hundreds of petabytes. But either way, the prospect is as unsustainable as it is frightening. This one facility will burn through as much electricity as the entirety of Salt Lake City.

All of this data comes from the book The Secret Sentry: The Untold History of the National Security Agency by Matthew M. Aid. And while the paranoid among you may read it, I, MARK WILSON, HAVE NO REASON TO FEAR THE NSA'S INVOLVEMENT IN MY LIFE OR INFORMATION AT ALL. [NYBooks via CrunchGear]

Credit to Nicholas Thompson over at Epicenter, who spent some quality time with the bill:

[I]n its original form, did have some seriously bad ideas in it. For example, in an emergency, the president could "order the limitation or shutdown of Internet traffic to and from any compromised Federal Government or United States critical infrastructure information system or network."

And then, Senate procedure happened. The softened, pared-down language of the current bill would only entitle the President to, "In the event of an immediate threat to strategic national interests involving compromised Federal Government or United States critical infrastructure information system or network" help to "direct the national response" to a crisis, "in coordination with relevant industry sectors." As Thompson notes, nothing scary is granted here, and the President definitely hasn't been authorized to take over private networks, for malign ends, for fun, or otherwise.

In reality, the bill might actually aid transparency, oddly enough: Thompson highlights a theory that, by ensuring the government's digital emergency management powers are kept out of the less accountable hands of the NSA and in the public view, abuses are less likely. So there's that! [Wired Epicenter]

Specifically, it's the IBM Social Network Analysis for Telecom Business Intelligence data mining tool, or SNAzzy for short, and it knows all about who called who and for how long on the network of "one of the largest mobile operators in the world."

The purpose of this snazzy snooping, as explained by Big Blue researchers, is to spot "churners" on a cell network who might influence their circle of friends with "profit-threatening behavior." The reasoning goes that when one person ditches a cell network for greener pastures, they can inspire their friends to do the same. Enter SNAzzy, which can apparently recognize this behavior, alert the carrier, and allow them to swoop in with retention materials and keep their remaining customers happy. It does this by mapping out call behavior, time, and a bunch of other heavy metrics that seem to be copy/pasted right out of the NSA.

Better still (I say sarcastically), IBM is already eying larger deployments beyond telecoms into areas like social networks. Personally, I can't wait to see what my Facebook picture stalking looks like when presented to me in graph form. [IBM va Slashdot]

The new BlackBerry is locked down by Genesis Key's SecureVoice technology that turns any Curve or 8830 into a hack-resistant handheld. When he gets the BlackBerry in a few months, he'll be able to call or text to other people with the same software, like Michelle Obama and top aides, whoever they are. The software is considered hardcore enough that it can access Top Secret-level classified data

In the meantime, he's been using a regular BlackBerry for personal stuff and that crappy Sectera Edge for official business.

I wonder if they're going to let Joe Biden in on the secret BlackBerry circle. Would you? [Washington Times via Fast Company]

The Sectera Edge, a brick of a smartphone with the styling of a five-year-old Palm Treo, is the only device of its type to be approved by the NSA. But it's not just a super-secure BlackBerry replacement: the Edge has two distinct "modes," normal and secure, and the phone toggles between them with the press of a button. In secure mode, it uses powerful encryption and constant monitoring to keep the data safe, while in normal mode, the phone functions pretty much like a typical smartphone with the same commercial encryption we normals are stuck with. I especially like the color themes signifying the difference: bright red means top-secret, just like in the movies.

Of course, nobody has confirmed that the Sectera Edge is going to be used by President Obama, but it will certainly be used by high-ranking members of the Department of Defense and others who need its functionality. The Edge costs $3,350, although it doesn't seem likely that they're available to purchase even if somebody was inclined to.

No word yet on the speed-dial number for the Kremlin. [YouTube]

Now the question is, should these lawsuits be allowed to proceed, or should any company that may have helped save American lives be thanked for performing a patriotic service; should those who stepped forward to say we're going to help defend America have to go to the courthouse to defend themselves, or should the Congress and the President say thank you for doing your patriotic duty? I believe we ought to say thank you.

The Billboard Liberation Front today announced a major new advertising improvement campaign executed on behalf of clients AT&T and the National Security Agency. Focusing on billboards in the San Francisco area, this improvement action is designed to promote and celebrate the innovative collaboration of these two global communications giants.

"This campaign is an extraordinary rendition of a public-private partnership," observed BLF spokesperson Blank DeCoverly. "These two titans of telecom have a long and intimate relationship, dating back to the age of the telegraph. In these dark days of Terrorism, that should be a comfort to every law-abiding citizen with nothing to hide."

AT&T initially downplayed its heroic efforts in the War on Terror, preferring to serve in silence behind the scenes. "But then we realized we had a PR win on our hands," noted AT&T V.P. of Homeland Security James Croppy. "Not only were we helping NSA cut through the cumbersome red tape of the FISA system, we were also helping our customers by handing over their e-mails and phone records to the government. Modern life is so hectic - who has time to cc the feds on every message? It's a great example of how we anticipate our customers' needs and act on them. And, it should be pointed out, we offered this service free of charge."

Commenting on the action, and responding to questions about pending privacy litigation and the stalled Congressional effort to shield the telecoms from these lawsuits, NSA spokesperson [REDACTED] remarked: "[REDACTED] we [REDACTED] condone [REDACTED] warrantless [REDACTED], [REDACTED] SIGINT intercepts, [REDACTED] torture [REDACTED] information retrieval by [REDACTED] means necessary."

"It's a win-win-win situation," noted the BLF's DeCoverly. "NSA gets the data it needs to keep America safe, telecom customers get free services, and AT&T makes a fortune. That kind of cooperation between the public and private sectors should serve as a model to all of us, and a harbinger of things to come."

Come see the improvement at 14th St. and Valencia St. in San Francisco.

The BLF (www.billboardliberation.com) has been improving outdoor advertising since 1977. Prior campaigns have included work for Exxon, R.J. Reynolds, and Apple Computers.

AT&T (www.att.com) is America's favorite telecommunications trust. Based in San Antonio, Texas, it has over 300,000 employees and annual revenues of $117 Billion.

NSA (www.nsa.gov) is the largest intelligence organization in the world. Headquartered at Fort Meade, Maryland, its budget, personnel, products, and services are all classified.

Blank DeCoverly
BLF Minister of Propaganda

Mark Klein explained the situation a bit in this video and why he was lobbying against immunity for the telcos—which the FCC declined to investigate. It's this exact bill that's about to pass the Senate, as they've voted to limit debate on it "all but assuring" it gets the rubber stamp. Also included are provisions to essentially legalize the government's actions, effectively expanding its ability to spy within our borders. Scary stuff. [Threat Level, Threat Level]

Not only are these things up to military spec, which means you can drop it on the dirt while taking cover, it's got a personal organizer. The features that makes it NSA-approved are its advanced SIPRNET and NIPRNET access, DoD PKI-enabled Common Access Card Support, DoD 8100.2 requirement satisfaction, Type 1 classified data encrypted storage support, and the ability to be used inside "closed areas" with an SCIF-Friendly mode. Those specs are like security fanfic porn to the NSA tech crew. [GDC4s via Crave]

Congress asked for the probe, which would include AT&T, Verizon and Qwest. But National Intelligence Director Michael McConnell sent a letter to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin saying that the investigation would "pose an unnecessary risk of damage to the national security," and that McConnell and friends "support your determination not to initiate an investigation."

Sorry to get on a soap-box here, but how much longer is this government allowed to subordinate our rights to their not entirely legal whims or cozy corporate partnerships? Like, what, a year and change? Until then, maybe I just won't use the phone. Or the internet. Or cable. Can they wiretap bourbon? [Reuters]

NSA: File-Sharers Unfit to Spy on Americans [Danger Room]

Too bad the vehicle itself only travels 30 feet, and it's one of those wind up cars (you pull it backwards along the floor and then let go). But the signal supposedly works through walls, which means that the movement is really a secondary feature to being able to listen-in on your sister talking about boys. Ewwww.

Available next fall for between $14.99 and $19.99. –Noah Robischon

This is probably based on an OEM spec that has been tweaked for the NSA.

A Smartphone for the NSA [Treonauts]