NPR: Project Eavesdrop – What Passive Surveillance Collects
In an experiment to see how pervasive NSA spying can be on Americans’ privacy, NPRTechnology Correspondent Steve Henn agreed to have his laptop and smart phone tapped by computer experts for one week. The piece illustrates how a data collection program easily identified the topic and details of a story Henn put together. Further, the program was able to capture web searches and contacts from the laptop, and thousands of pages of information from the phone even when the device was not being used.
Key Quote: Computer Expert: You know, I mean, that’s really the mind blowing thing about all this is that, you know, people are walking around every day with these, you know, mobile computers in their pockets and they have no idea what they’re sending to the world.
Henn: Over the rest of the week we are going to dig into the kind of information that leaks out from your phone and apps and websites that claim to be safe. And we’ll look at what a hacker or a spy agency could do with this stuff. It turns out, you don’t have to be as big or sophisticated as the NSA to capture these bits of information we leave trailing behind us. And you don’t have to let someone plant a bug in your office either
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: In Ga. Ethics Crisis, Whistleblowers Aren’t the Problem
Later today, Georgia officials are expected to announce the pricy settlements of two whistleblower cases involving former employees of the state ethics commission. The column above lambasts Governor Nathan Deal’s (R) “solution” to the problem of these settlements – his suggestion that future payouts “could be avoided if legislators change state law to deny whistleblower status to state employees, such as those at the ethics commission, who perform an investigative role.” The wrongdoing involved in these settlements, as pointed out in the column, involved Deal’s office.
Key Quote: Deal’s office and re-election campaign continue to stress that no one in the governor’s office has been implicated in the coverup, which isn’t completely true. Testimony has made it clear that as secret arrangements were being made to push Kalberman and Streicker out the door, the governor’s office was involved in finding and vetting a replacement for Kalberman.
Bloomberg: Lance Armstrong Questioning Put on Hold in Landis Case
A District Court Judge expects to rule within one week on a request from Lance Armstrong to dismiss a whistleblower lawsuit accusing the cyclist and his team of defrauding the government. The false claims action involves the team’s use of banned substances in violation of contracts with the U.S. Postal Service. The lawsuit was originally brought by former teammate Floyd Landis in June 2010 and was joined by the Department of Justice last year.
Orlando Sentinel: Shands to pay $3.25M in Whistleblower Settlement
Florida-based Shands Health Care System has agreed to pay an additional $3.25 million to settle the second part of a whistleblower case. This settlement relates to overbilling by the government, whereas a previous settlement of $26 million (based on the same whistleblower’s disclosures) involved improper patient admissions.
Dylan Blaylock is Communications Director for the Government Accountability Project, the nation’s leading whistleblower protection and advocacy organization.