· February, 2013

Stories about Privacy from February, 2013

Imgur.com blocked in Azerbaijan?

  7 February 2013

Popular image-sharing site Imgur.com appears to be blocked in Azerbaijan. There is little evidence that Imgur is popular in Azerbaijan. But a few weeks ago, when hacker group Anonymous released a huge volume of documents leaked from Special State Protection Service of Azerbaijan, a user went through the materials and posted some of the more interesting documents available on Imgur.com. This post details a user's technical investigation of the blocking.

It's Time for Transparency Reports to Become the New Normal

  6 February 2013

Surveillance is a growth industry: every existing report shows that the number of government requests for user data is rising, and this trend shows no sign of abating. Transparency reports are essential to helping users understand the scope of Internet surveillance and make informed decisions about storing their sensitive data or engaging in private communications. Companies should not wait until their users are clamoring for clarification. It is time for transparency reports to become the new normal.

Chinese Hackers Spy on Journalists to Track Sources

  5 February 2013

In January, the New York Times reported that its computers had been under constant attack by Chinese hackers over the past four months. Shortly thereafter, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post also reported that they were targeted by Chinese hackers. The story is familiar to Chinese journalists, who, together with citizen reporters from mainland China, are very vulnerable to hacking and online harassment compared to their peers overseas.

About our Privacy coverage

Stories about laws/policies/practices (by governments or companies) that affect the universal right to privacy in any way, negative or positive. Some of these stories may overlap with the surveillance category, but others will not.