“Unless it’s your first day on the internet, you’re probably aware that downloading certain files can be a serious mistake. It doesn’t take a cybersecurity expert to know that double-clicking the TotallyNotAVirus.exe file that mysteriously appeared in your downloads folder is a bad idea. If you’re a bit more security conscious, you probably also know that PDF files, Excel spreadsheets, and Word documents can also contain malicious code. But how many times have you considered the possibility of malware hidden inside an image file? A sophisticated hacking group known as Worok has developed a new type of malware that can be concealed in innocuous-looking PNG images, and they’ve been using it to target governments and large corporations around the world.”
The collection of signals intelligence shall be authorized by statute or Executive Order, proclamation, or other Presidential directive, and undertaken in accordance with the Constitution and applicable statutes, Executive Orders, proclamations, and Presidential directives.
(b) Privacy and civil liberties shall be integral considerations in the planning of U.S. signals intelligence activities. The United States shall not collect signals intelligence for the purpose of suppressing or burdening criticism or dissent, or for disadvantaging persons based on their ethnicity, race, gender, sexual orientation, or religion. Signals intelligence shall be collected exclusively where there is a foreign intelligence or counterintelligence purpose to support national and departmental missions and not for any other purposes.
(c) The collection of foreign private commercial information or trade secrets is authorized only to protect the national security of the United States or its partners and allies. It is not an authorized foreign intelligence or counterintelligence purpose to collect such information to afford a competitive advantage[4] to U.S. companies and U.S. business sectors commercially.
(d) Signals intelligence activities shall be as tailored as feasible. In determining whether to collect signals intelligence, the United States shall consider the availability of other information, including from diplomatic and public sources. Such appropriate and feasible alternatives to signals intelligence should be prioritized.[Obama White House Archives]
A press release on Tuesday from the ODNI revealed that the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA), their research and development arm, is starting work on the Human Interpretable Attribution of Text Using Underlying Structure program – HIATUS for short.
Multiple branches of the US military have bought access to “petabytes” of American citizens’ private online data via a tool called Augury, giving them access to an almost omniscient set of data points, Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) claimed in a letter to the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) on Wednesday. The alleged data trove includes an individual’s email communications, browsing history, and other behavioral information, all on demand and without a warrant.
The Tactical Hermit 
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