"Cell-phone tracking technology known as cell-site simulators (CSS) are being operated by potentially malicious actors in our nation's capital. DHS doesn't know who's operating them or why, or whether these fake cell towers are installed elsewhere in the country."
"In the most ironic story of the day, the company that makes the paper that Swiss banknotes are printed on was just bailed out by the money-printing, stock-purchasing, plunge-protecting, savior-of-global equities...Swiss National Bank."
"The information in the file also included names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, positions, grades and duty stations. The agency said it 'did not include any information about employees’ spouses, children, family members and/or close associates.' The agency confirmed that the incident was not due to an external cyber-attack from unknown sources but stemmed from a leak inside the DHS itself. The breach was eventually categorized as a 'privacy incident.'"
"A crackdown on organized crime by Bulgarian law enforcement in May resulted in the seizure of more than 200,000 bitcoins – an amount worth more than $3 billion at today's prices. Twenty-three Bulgarian nationals were arrested during the operation, and officials said at the time that the arrests and subsequent asset seizures followed an investigation into an alleged customs fraud scam. In all, the alleged perpetrators avoided paying some 10 million leva (Bulgaria's national currency), worth roughly $6 million."
"The Shadow Brokers disclosures, which began in August 2016, have been catastrophic for the N.S.A., calling into question its ability to protect potent cyberweapons and its very value to national security. The agency regarded as the world’s leader in breaking into adversaries’ computer networks failed to protect its own."
"Bitcoin is too expensive for one of the most powerful women in finance. Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund, on Friday told CNBC's Sara Eisen that bitcoin is 'too expensive for me at the moment' when asked if she would ever buy into the red-hot digital currency. Lagarde last month gave a soft defense of the cryptocurrency during a speech in London. She said cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin could 'give existing currencies and monetary policy a run for their money.'"
"The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has never been known as a forward-thinking place when it comes to drug and crime policy, but these days, the hide-bound drug fighting agency is coming off as much more reasonable on drugs than its bosses, President Trump and Attorney General Sessions."
"Amnesty International just released a report that heavily implicates the United States in a number of criminal acts in Mosul, Iraq." Continue reading →
"According to plaintiff Kyle Zak, the spying began when Bose released a mandatory Bose Connect application that all users must install to 'fully operate its wireless products.' What Bose didn’t draw much attention to, according to the suit, is that Bose Connect collects data on all the musical content or audio books that you listen to on its headphones. As the suit notes, this is a major invasion of privacy." Continue reading →
"Today, powerful people situated strategically around the Fed are protecting that institution and its members. But times are not what they were. There is the Internet to contend with and a mood of informed populism in the US that does not bode well for a continued Fed coverup. Thus, the Fed faces an institutional conundrum. The public pressure on the Fed in the long run will surely not let up. In fact, it may subside a little as the Fed tends to this latest stock market bubble, what we have called a 'Wall Street Party.' But when the party is ending and insiders (and hopefully you, dear reader) have drunk their fill of the bubbly and retired, there will be Hell to pay." Continue reading →