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Intel founder Gordon Moore once predicted that computing power would double every two years, an observation that would eventually be dubbed Moore's Law and used to show just how quickly technology advances.

Technology is no doubt rapidly evolving as Moore's Law says, but the laws that govern technology often take decades to catch up. In protecting individual privacy, preventing government overreach, and dealing with terrorist threats, our government has lagged.

In a time of continuing concern over balancing personal privacy and national security, laws like the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act that govern stored communication simply aren't up to snuff. Many arms of the federal government use general warrants warrants not aimed at a specific person to collect massive amounts of data in blatant violation of the Fourth Amendment. Often, this data is collected against the will of the companies who store them and often without probable cause against the users.

An ongoing battle between the federal government and Microsoft has put this all on display and revealed many of our system's current faults. To change this, Congress should look to passing things like the Email Privacy Act, a bipartisan bill that will protect customer data and help law enforcement wade through the morass of information they collect when seeking to root out potential threats.

The typical argument in favor of allowing the federal government broad authority on this issue is that it allows them access to a broad swath of necessary information. In other words, the more information, the better. But while this is a convenient excuse for mass data collection, many believe that intelligence agencies are overwhelming themselves with too much information to keep track of credible threats. In many cases, the federal government is warned about a suspect, but then he falls through the cracks.

In the case of the Pulse nightclub shooter, the Boston marathon bombers, and the shooters in Garland, Texas, in 2015, warning signs abounded. Omar Mateen had been interviewed twice by the FBI after being reported by members of his local mosque. The CIA and FBI were warned about the Tsarnaev brothers long before they committed their heinous acts. One of the shooters in Garland had previously been arrested.

So if the government had known about them, why weren't their plans thwarted? One possible explanation is that the sheer number of false leads that are obtained through use of mass collection caused by outdated laws like the ECPA had distracted from true threats. Mass collection of emails can lead to thousands of false leads, sending law enforcement running in circles. The Email Privacy Act will not only help solve this problem but will strengthen our Fourth Amendment protections from unreasonable search and seizure.

Introduced by Reps. Jared Polis, D-Colo., and Kevin Yoder, R-Kan., this bill has wide bipartisan support. Similar legislation passed the House last year by a vote of 419-0 with an astounding 300 co-sponsors. After failing to advance in the Senate because of issues related to pork barrel spending, this bill finally has a chance this session to become law. By passing it, Congress will help protect businesses and consumers from government overreach and strengthen our national security by allowing law enforcement to focus on credible threats, not black holes of information.

With such wide support for similar bills in the past, this could be an easy win for the Trump administration. By keeping our federal government from being overwhelmed by false leads and by preventing unconstitutional general warrants, we'll be able to rein in big government and help modernize the laws governing our system in the process.

Government will never advance as fast as Moore's Law, but after three decades of stagnation, it's finally time to catch up.

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Mass surveillance gets in the way of fighting terrorism - Washington Examiner

Dear Sheikh Talal bin Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa,

I understand you are President of Bahrains National Security Agency (NSA), appointed by your relative the King of Bahrain last August under 2016s royal decree 66.

I write out of concern for human Rights defender Ebtisam Al Saegh, who I understand has been in NSA custody since July 3 when men wearing masks and carrying weapons seized her from her home.

According to reports I have received she has undergone a series of long and abusive interrogations over the last 10 days, some lasting more than 12 hours. For instance, I understand that she was removed from Isa Town Womens Detention Centre at 9am yesterday morning and not returned until 3 am this morning, and was again taken at noon today.

Those who have seen her are seriously alarmed about her health, and fear that she might be left with a permanent disability.

Two days after she was taken, her family lodged complaints with the Ministry of Interior Ombudsman Office and the National Institute for Human Rights. The following day - July 6 - masked men again raided her home, took all the mobile phones in the house, and said "your mother didn't cooperate with us.

As you know, she was previously summoned for interrogation by the NSA on May 26 and held for seven hours. On her release she was hospitalized, injured and traumatized. She said during those hours she was forced to stand throughout the interrogation, blindfolded, and sexually assaulted. She also says she was threatened with rape. She told me she was severely beaten and punched on the head and different parts of the body when she used human rights terms to describe her work, and that her interrogators threatened to harm her children.

I have known Ebtisam al Saegh for six years and I know she is not a liar. She told me that during the torture she was questioned about other Bahraini activists, about myself and about Human Rights First.

Im sure you are aware of the international outcry there was over what happened in May, and about her latest arrest, and the increased scrutiny the NSA now faces. Her case has been raised at the U.S. State Department and in the British parliament.

Since the NSAs powers of arrest were restored earlier this year, following devastating criticism of the agency and the stripping of some of its authority in 2011, a series of reports have emerged of detainees being tortured in NSA custody. We fear the abuse of Al Saegh is not an isolated incident.

Sheikh Al Khalifa, as president of the NSA you have some serious questions to answer about the conduct of those under your supervision.

Can you tell us how you have investigated the allegations of torture made in May, what your findings were and what action you have taken?

Can you also explain why Ebtisam Al Saegh has not been allowed access to a lawyer in the last 10 days, or why her family have not been permitted to see her?

Will you commit to investigating all allegations of mistreatment or torture committed by the NSA and hold those responsible to account?

Sheikh Al Khalifa, I am one of many worried about what is happening to Ebstisam al Saegh. Your speedy answers to these questions would be appreciated by us all.

The Morning Email

Wake up to the day's most important news.

Read more from the original source:
Questions for Head of Bahrain's NSA 10 Days After Ebtisam al Saegh's Arrest - HuffPost

A high-ranking official of the National Security Agency said in a talk here Wednesday that the electronic surveillance agency is working to improve its public relations in the wake of Edward Snowdens damaging leaks.

Jonathan Darby, the NSAs deputy chief of cybersecurity operations, said the agency realized it had to get out and talk more about what we do after Snowden in 2013 revealed ways in which U.S. spy agencies collect phone, email and other communications.

Darby contended that most of the Snowden-related stories in 2013 were twisted or dead-out wrong, and he pushed back on a movie glorifying the former NSA contractors actions, saying the leaks put peoples lives at risk.

Snowden fled to Moscow in June 2013 after he was identified as the source of information several newspapers printed about previously undisclosed NSA surveillance programs. Snowden remains in Russia, where he was granted asylum until 2020.

Before an audience of 180 at a Lancaster Rotary Club luncheon, Darby portrayed the NSA as scrupulously law-abiding and completely accountable to Congress and the courts.

If the law does not affirmatively give us the authority to take an action, we can not and we will not do it, said Darby, a Montana native who joined the NSA in 1983 as a foreign language analyst. We do not independently decide what to collect.

He said the $11-billion NSA is a joint military-civilian spy agency with the dual mission of intercepting foreign communications and protecting U.S. government communications.

This spy agency spies. Thats what we do, legally and within policy guidelines, he said.

Darby stressed that the NSA does not spy on Americans at home or abroad unless a federal judge approves it.

Also, if the communications of an American are intercepted incidentally through the valid targeting of a foreigner, the Americans communication is masked, he said. The procedures, in place for decades, have government and court approval, he said.

Darby defended a program, up for Congressional renewal this year, that allows the NSA to compel a U.S. communications company to turn over communications of noncitizens outside of the United States.

Saying the program prevents terrorist attacks, Darby pointed to the 2009 arrest of a man who planned a bombing on a New York City subway.

Darby pushed back against the perception that the NSA indiscriminately vacuums up all communications around the world.

He said the quantity of data the NSA collects is analogous to a dime on the floor of a basketball court.

Darby said NSA employees take an oath to defend the Constitution, including its guarantees of civil liberties.

Some will say that (strict oversight and legal restrictions) ties one arm behind our back, Darby said. As an NSAer, I say, Damn straight. Thats fine. Thats who we are as a country.

Asked about allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, Darby said the NSA joined with the FBI and CIA in coming to that assessment.

It goes back to, Heres the facts, Darby said. We laid out the facts.

On cybersecurity, Darby said the country increasingly understands the threats to the nations computer networks and that existing security measures arent adequate for the long term.

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Edward Snowden's leaks has NSA in damage-control mode, spy agency official tells Lancaster audience - LancasterOnline

Tesla Autopilot is about to encounter some serious competition.

It comes from Cadillac, in the form of Super Cruise, an automatic steering system that Cadillac bills as the industrys first hands-free technology.

Tesla and a few other luxury car brands offer similar technology that lets drivers go hands-free for brief periods.

With Super Cruise, however, a driver could spend hours on a freeway without ever having to touch the steering wheel at all.

Its a giant step for parent company General Motors, said Mike Ramsey, an analyst at Gartner.

This is the first system where the car is doing the driving, and the human is overseeing it, he said. Its an explicitly hands-off system.

Advanced as it appears to be, the system cannot be considered in any way driverless. The human driver remains responsible for the operation of the car functionally, and legally.

Super Cruise includes a tiny camera that tracks eye and head movement to make sure the driver is paying attention to the road, ready to take control if needed. Look away from the windshield too long 10 seconds or so and the car will flash warnings and sound alarms with increasing urgency, and eventually ease to a stop if no actions taken.

Tesla Autopilot and systems from Mercedes-Benz and BMW don't use head tracking. They require drivers to return hands briefly to the steering wheel for a few moments after a short passage of time to keep automatic steering engaged.

This week, Audi said it introduced what it calls the AI Traffic Jam Pilot on its top-line A8 limousine, capable of driving hands-free on in a single lane on divided highways at up to 37 miles per hour.

The Cadillac system operates at highway cruising speeds. For now, Super Cruise will be available only on the 2018 CT6, Cadillacs flagship sedan. Dealers will start receiving those cars in September. Cadillac hasnt priced the option yet, but competing systems run several thousand dollars. Already, an option-loaded CT6 runs near $90,000.

Theyre going to get some people who would never consider a Cadillac to buy a Cadillac to get this, Ramsey said. Though I dont know how big that universe is.

But hands-free driving is likely to filter down to less expensive automobiles over the next few years as more systems are sold and costs are reduced assuming it proves popular and reliable.

Tesla set the pace for automatic steering when it introduced Autopilot on its luxury cars in 2014, adding a sophisticated layer to smart cruise control, now a popular option even in mid-priced vehicles.

Smart cruise control adjusts speed and braking to maintain a distance with the car ahead, and can help a driver keep the car from drifting into another lane.

But smart cruise systems cant negotiate curves without human input. That requires automatic steering. The big deal when Autopilot was introduced is it wasnt just accelerate and brake, but it could turn corners, said Karl Brauer, analyst at Kelly Blue Book.

Beyond hands-free driving, Super Cruise introduces another innovation. Where the Tesla relies solely on camera and radar sensors to identify lane markings and other vehicles around the car, Super Cruise adds a combination of GPS and digital mapping to anticipate terrain to make for smoother turns.

Cadillac said it has mapped practically all interstate highways and limited access roads with on-off ramps in the U.S. and Canada 160,000 miles worth.

Combining GPS positioning with the map, the carmaker said Super Cruise can see 2,500 meters ahead. The carmaker said that helps keep the car centered, making for a smooth ride, and lessening the chance that the system will be confused and start wobbling a bit as it searches for lane markings, as Teslas sometimes do.

And the map system allows Super Cruise, unlike Autopilot, to automatically adjust speed while taking a curve.

We want every experience to be relaxed, comfortable and safe, said Cadillacs Pam Fletcher, executive chief engineer.

Super Cruise carries some limitations, however. For now, it only works on major highways; once you hit the exit ramp, it turns itself off. And it lacks some features offered by Tesla, including automatic lane changes.

Cadillac invited the Los Angeles Times to try a CT6 sedan equipped with Super Cruise for an hour along Interstate 280 in Silicon Valley. A lot of time was spent with arms folded, looking down, sideways, and backwards at length to see when the warnings would kick in.

Ten seconds is plenty of time to make meaningful eye contact in conversation with your spouse, or turn around to yell at the kids. You can cradle a cup of coffee with both hands and gaze out at the world outside the windshield as long as youd like.

And while the company is unlikely to say so, for legal reasons, 10 seconds is enough time to check a message on your phone and type out a short response. Or write some thoughts on a notepad.

But turn away long enough and a slim light bar embedded at the top of the steering wheel shifts from green to red. Soon an alarm chimes, or the driver seat vibrates (drivers choice), the red lights start flashing, a voice lays the warning on thick and before long say youve fallen deep asleep or youve had a heart attack the car will slow down in its lane and gradually come to a stop.

The I-280 trip was too short to make a thorough assessment of the technology, but Super Cruise provided a silky smooth ride with no wobbling.

Super Cruises restriction to major-highway driving and the lack of features such as automatic lane changing in part stem from Cadillacs concern about public perception.

While it plans to give Super Cruise more room to roam as the technology develops, we are taking a very systematic approach, said Cadillac Global President Johan de Nysschen.

That contrasts with Teslas more aggressive approach to technology development, in keeping with its Silicon Valley mentality. Tesla makes clear that its Autopilot technology is in beta phase tech industry speak for new software rolled out to select early customers, who are warned it might contain bugs.

The Tesla approach tends to get technology into the market faster. They are more aggressive, analyst Bauer said. Every new Tesla now is equipped with the hardware needed to handle completely self-driving cars, including the upcoming Model 3.

De Nysschen said Cadillac is trying to balance the need to quicken the pace of technology development while ensuring the technology is safe and secure.

We cant contemplate the idea that customers are doing the beta testing. Our beta testing is done by engineers.

Still, GM is taking a big risk, said Gartners Ramsey: If any major safety problems unexpectedly arise, the media will jump on it and public acceptance of self-drive technology could turn negative.

While the National Safety Council estimates there were nearly 40,000 U.S. highway deaths in 2016, only one has been reported with an automatic steering system engaged. That was a Florida crash in May of 2016 that killed a Tesla driver as his car drove under the trailer of a big-rig truck.

National safety officials determined the Autopilot system could not be blamed for that crash. But in its aftermath, and under public pressure, Tesla reduced the amount of time drivers could go hands-free on Autopilot.

Laws on driverless cars vary from state to state. Michigan and Florida, for instance, impose few restrictions. California is in the midst of a driverless vehicle regulation revamp. The federal government has issued guidelines, which are being reviewed by the Trump administration.

Since 2016, all new Tesla cars have been equipped with sensor hardware capable of total driverless operation when the software is ready. No date has been set, but Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk said the company is moving toward driverless systems as fast as possible.

Even todays robot-assisted cars, Musk has said, are safer drivers than humans.

They may be, said Cadillacs De Nysschen, but we need to be able to gain the confidence of both the regulators and the public.

UPDATES:

3:18 p.m.: This article was edited to clarify the description of components in Audis hands-free system.

11:50 a.m.: This article has been updated with information about state and federal regulations.

This article was originally published at 11 a.m.

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Cadillac Super Cruise hands-free driving software takes on Tesla Autopilot - Los Angeles Times

Review Milestone Marks Capterra as the Worlds Largest and Most Trusted Business Software Review Site

Capterra, the worlds most comprehensive, free web service for helping businesses find and compare software, today announced that it has surpassed200,000 user-generated software reviewsand ratings on its site. Since its founding in 1999, Capterra continues to advance as a leader in the business software buying marketplace, and is on track for record growth again this year with over 50,000 reviews submitted by users year-to-date.

Capterra was the first website to introduce user reviews of software to help businesses better evaluate these systems, starting back in 2008. The companys popularity and impact on the software buying marketplace has grown exponentially since then, and today millions of businesses useCapterra.comeach month to help them find the software solutions that best fit their needs.

We launched user-reviews back in 2008 because we believed that the power of reviewsas a way to maximize the voice of the customerapplied not only to consumer products, but to B2B products as well, says Capterra Co-founder and GM,Michael Ortner. The ability to hear directly from peers as you are going through the buying process has now become the norm.

Ortner continues, This level of transparency is great for the business software industry as a whole. When you look at the renewed focus on user experience and customer service over the last five to ten years, it is hard to imagine that user-reviews have not played a major role in that.

Capterras industry-leading milestone of 200,000 reviews demonstrates just how critical peer reviews have become to software buying process. Capterra continues to provide software buyers with the tools to get input from their peers, and is making strides in its mission to help individuals make well-informed and confident technology decisions for their businesses.

Capterra is the worlds most comprehensive, free web service for helping businesses find and compare software. Millions of businesses use Capterra.com each month to search for their best-fit solutions. Capterra combines over 200,000 user reviews of more than 30,000 software companies to help buyers find the right software quickly, enabling businesses to operate more efficiently.

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Capterra Surpasses 200000 Business Software Reviews - MarTech Series (press release)