The Future of Ransomware
Ransomware isn’t new, but it’s increasingly popular and profitable. The concept is simple: Your computer gets infected with a virus that encrypts your files until you pay a ransom. It’s extortion taken to its networked extreme. The criminals provide step-by-step instructions on how to pay, sometimes even offering a help line for victims unsure how […]
CitizenFour: Why it’s already the movie of the year
By Alex Schlotzer, EFA Board Member Less than two weeks after its Australian release, CitizenFour today received the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. The film had previously won the British equivalent (BAFTA) as well as a long list of awards from film festivals and critics societies. I was fortunate enough to catch the Melbourne […]
Police using mobile phone tower dumps for fishing expeditions
Fairfax Media is today reporting that Australian police are receiving metadata dumps from mobile phone towers. These data dumps provide information about “the identity, activity and location of any phone that connects to targeted cell towers over a set span of time, generally an hour or two. A typical dump covers multiple towers, and mobile […]
Win a copy of No Place to Hide by Glenn Greenwald
We’ve got six copies of Glenn Greenwald’s recently published book, No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA and the Surveillance State to give away. Simply Join EFA or setup a recurring donation before the end of the financial year (30th June) to go into the weekly draw. Already an EFA member? Renew your membership […]
The Day The World Fought Back
In the last year, the world has learned that mass surveillance by governments knows no bounds. Today, 11th February, internet users around the world are standing together. Individuals, civil society organisations, and thousands of websites will let the world’s governments know that we reject global mass surveillance at home and overseas. Today, we fight back. […]
