Threat Level

Monday morning the government filed one last motion in United States of America v. Aaron Swartz. “Pursuant to FRCP [Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure] 48(a), the United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, Carmen M. Ortiz, hereby dismisses the …

The FBI’s been warning that its surveillance capabilities are “going dark,” because internet communications technologies are getting too difficult to intercept with current law enforcement tools. So the FBI wants a more wiretap-friendly internet, and legislation to mandate it will …

An advanced and well-orchestrated computer spy operation that targeted diplomats and governments for at least five years has been uncovered by security researchers in Russia. Focused on targets in Eastern Europe, the campaign appears to be aimed at gathering classified …

We often say, upon the passing of a friend or loved one, that the world is a poorer place for the loss. But with the untimely death of programmer and activist Aaron Swartz, this isn’t just a sentiment; it’s literally …

A federal judge late Friday blocked enforcement of a California voter-approved measure that would have dramatically curtailed the online, First Amendment rights of registered sex offenders. Proposition 35, which passed with 81 percent of the vote in November, would have …

A Texas high school student on Friday asked a federal appeals court to overturn a lower court’s order upholding her school suspension for refusing to wear around her neck an RFID-chip student ID she claims is the “Mark of the …

President Barack Obama signed legislation Thursday granting the public the right to automatically display on their Facebook feeds what they’re watching on Netflix. It’s great news for those wanting to flood their Facebook feeds with whatever time-suck they’re watching. But …

Internet of Things has been a magic meme, the theme we’ve been hearing all week at CES, the oft-heralded prediction that may have finally arrived in 2013. But … with great opportunity comes great responsibility. Along with its conveniences, the …

Who needs precogs when you can use an algorithm to predict crime? Authorities in two states and D.C. are using software created by a University of Penn professor to predict the likelihood that parolees will commit murder, in order to …

What is “homeland security?” The federal bureaucracy doesn’t know, and that’s problematic for a government that has been fighting the ill-defined “war on terror” following 9/11, according to a Wednesday report from the Congressional Research Service. In short, “homeland security” …

We’ve heard it countless times from losers of courtroom showdowns who claim they’re going to take their defeat all the way to the Supreme Court. But over a traffic citation? Jonathan Frieman, a 56-year-old Northern California man, is joining the …

A Texas high school student who claimed her student identification was the “Mark of the Beast” because it was implanted with a radio-frequency identification chip has lost her federal court bid Tuesday challenging her suspension for refusing to wear the …

A Romanian national is being sentenced in the United States to 21 months in prison for his role in a successful plot to hack credit-card-processing systems at more than 150 Subway restaurants and 50 other unnamed retailers.

A military judge overseeing pretrial hearings in the Bradley Manning case refused to dismiss the charges against the former Army intelligence analyst Tuesday, according to reports, but ordered that the accused WikiLeaker will be granted a 112-day sentencing credit for …

When the nominations for the Academy Awards are announced Thursday, millions of people already will have watched some of the leading flicks. But they likely didn’t view them on a theater’s big screen, even though they haven’t been released on …

A Chinese national was set to plead guilty Monday for his role in a massive $100 million online software piracy scheme that authorities said was “one of the most significant copyright infringement cases ever uncovered.”

A federal appeals court is reinstating a civil rights lawsuit brought by a New York man arrested for disorderly conduct after flipping off a police officer in traffic.

Google and Yahoo were among the top advertising networks servicing the most ads on pirate sites, according to a new study unveiled Thursday. The analysis by the Annenberg Innovation Lab at the University of Southern California found that Pasadena, California-based …

The leader of the in-theater camcording gang known as the IMAGiNE Group was handed a 60-month prison term Thursday in what is the nation’s longest sentence in a file-sharing case.

A federal appeals court’s August ruling in which it said the federal government may spy on Americans’ communications without warrants and without fear of being sued won’t be appealed to the Supreme Court, attorneys in the case said Thursday.