MAIN FOCUS: NSA spying on Internet companies | 31/10/2013
The NSA intelligence agency also infiltrated the main communication links of Internet giants Google and Yahoo around the globe, secret documents leaked by Edward Snowden and published by the Washington Post on Wednesday reveal.The spying programmes testify to a pathological desire for control, some commentators say. Others warn that the spying row between the US and Europe is working to the advantage of Russia and China.
Almost half of Facebook?s advertising revenue now stems from mobile
Facebook revealed in its third quarter earnings report today that mobile ad revenue represented 49 percent of its $1.8 billion in overall advertising revenue. The news should reassure investors that had been worried about the monetization gap between mobile and desktop for companies like Facebook.
German cops raid Pirate Party members looking for whistleblower who outed Skype wiretapping
The German Pirate Party received whistleblower leaks showing that the German authorities were infecting peoples’ computers with a virus tailored to allow wiretapping of Skype connections. This — like previous German use of wiretapping malware — is probably illegal.
But Germany is more interested in punishing the whistleblower than in cracking down on illegal police wiretapping. After the leak was published, a Pirate Party spokesperson’s home was raided and computers confiscated as the police sought to uncover the identity of the leaker.
The promise, and problems, of mobile phones in the developing world
In the rush to spread the information revolution, digital development agendas pose an increasing threat to privacy. But are they also unknowingly facilitating new surveillance capabilities?
New Algorithm Assesses the Quality of Wikipedia Articles
An algorithm that assesses the quality of Wikipedia articles could reassure visitors and help focus editors on entries that need improving, according to the computer scientists who developed it.
Twitter is reportedly planning to encrypt DMs and introduce other new security measures
Just in time for Halloween, the Washington Post has brought us a horror story about U.S. and U.K. intelligence agencies reading massive amounts of private data directly off of the internal communications infrastructure of U.S. Internet giants Google and Yahoo.
