DefenceTalkThe sale of two intelligence satellites to the UAE by France for nearly a billion dollars could go south after they were found to contain American technology designed to intercept data transmitted to the ground station. The equipment, costing 3.4 billion dirhams ($930 million), constitutes two high-resolution Pleiades-type Falcon Eye military intelligence satellites, which a […]https://www.defencetalk.com/france-uae-satellite-deal-shaky-after-us-spy-tech-discovered-onboard-50043/

DefenceTalkTop US officials expressed concern Tuesday at reports that Chinese telecoms giant Huawei is set to build a new broadband network in South Korea that Washington sees as a possible spying risk. Huawei, barred from projects in the United States and Australia over national security concerns, was reportedly selected as a subcontractor for LGU+, a […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-concerned-over-deal-by-chinas-huawei-in-south-korea-49809/

DefenceTalkThe US National Security Agency has tapped into key communications links from Yahoo and Google data centers around the world, the Washington Post reported Wednesday. The Post, citing documents obtained from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden and interviews with officials, said the program can collect data at will from hundreds of millions of user accounts, […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-taps-links-to-google-yahoo-data-centers-report-49531/

DefenceTalkUS law enforcement and intelligence agencies are collecting massive amounts of data on Americans and storing it for too long, creating a potential for abuse, a research report said Tuesday. The report by Brennan Center for Justice at New York University found that data collection and storage on Americans, often with no connection to terrorist […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-data-collection-opens-doors-to-abuse-report-49322/

DefenceTalkNever mind the non-stop collection of metadata and other sneaky surveillance tools being implemented by the NSA: a new report has revealed that the National Security Agency’s spy powers allow the government to grab location data on just about anyone. In an article published by the Washington Post over the weekend, journalist Dana Priest detailed […]https://www.defencetalk.com/nsa-locates-cell-phones-even-when-they-are-turned-off-48558/

DefenceTalkHong Kong has risked the threat of US reprisals in allowing Edward Snowden to leave. But its government insists that the rule of law took primacy for a territory that jealously guards its separateness from mainland China. On social media, there was talk of political considerations at play in allowing the former National Security Agency […]https://www.defencetalk.com/snowden-exit-hong-kong-revels-in-its-rule-of-law-48223/

DefenceTalkUnmanned drones are roaming American skies conducting surveillance on people in the United States, albeit in a “very minimal way,” the head of the FBI revealed to Congress on Wednesday. Federal Bureau of Investigation director Robert Mueller said his agency’s use of a small number of aerial drones is relatively new, and that the bureau […]https://www.defencetalk.com/fbi-director-says-surveillance-drones-used-in-us-48199/

DefenceTalkChina’s official army newspaper Sunday branded the United States Internet surveillance programme exposed by former spy Edward Snowden as “frightening”, and accused the US of being a “habitual offender” when it comes to network monitoring. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Daily hit out at the US for implying that spying on citizens from other countries […]https://www.defencetalk.com/china-army-newspaper-hits-out-at-uss-prism-program-48114/

DefenceTalkThe US government’s vast online data collection system revealed this week could tap into companies like Google and Facebook without the knowledge of top executives, experts said. The so-called PRISM program could be so secret that only a small number of computer network administrators and company lawyers may have been aware of it, according to […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-data-mining-system-technical-details-murky-48069/

DefenceTalkChinese hackers have gained access to secret designs for a slew of sophisticated US weapons programs, officials said Tuesday, possibly jeopardizing the American military’s technological edge. The breaches were part of a broad Chinese campaign of espionage against top US defense contractors and government agencies, officials said, confirming a Washington Post account of a Pentagon […]https://www.defencetalk.com/chinese-hackers-spying-on-us-weapons-programs-47956/