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Secrecy and Security News

Newer News: May 2012

April 2012

• Watching the Watchers by Ann Finkbeiner, The Last Word on Nothing, April 26. "Those amateur trackers operate out of their back yards using binoculars, stop watches, cameras, and math. They spot the satellite, communicate positions and trajectories to their colleagues, and calculate the orbit that the NRO doesn't want them to calculate."
• FAS Comment on Using Secrecy Orders to Conceal Economically Significant Patents, submitted to the USPTO, April 26. "Economic security is not analogous to national security, so the use of secrecy orders is inappropriate to protect economic security."
• FAS Comment on Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Second Explosives Handling Wharf (EHW-2) at Naval Base Kitsap at Bangor, submitted to the Navy, April 25. "We wish to express our concern that Appendices A-C of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Second Explosives Handling Wharf (EHW-2) at Naval Base Kitsap at Bangor have been withheld in their entirety as DoD UCNI (Unclassified Controlled Nuclear Information). We urge that the decision to withhold this information be reviewed and reconsidered."
• Govt Seeks Extension for Response to Lawsuits on CIA Drones, letter to the court, April 23. "Given the significance of the matters presented in this case, the Government's position is being deliberated at the highest level of the Executive Branch. It has become clear that further consultation and discussion at that level of the Executive Branch is necessary before the Government can make its submission to the Court."
• Request for Comments on Using Secrecy Orders to Conceal Economically Significant Patents, Federal Register, April 20. "The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is seeking comments as to whether the United States should identify and bar from publication and issuance certain patent applications as detrimental to the nation's economic security. The USPTO is also seeking comments on the desirability of changes to the existing procedures for reviewing applications that might be detrimental to national security."
• Military Intelligence Gadfly Will Lead All Military Intelligence by Spencer Ackerman, Wired Danger Room, April 17. "One of the most disruptive men in the sprawling U.S. spy community, someone who turned the military's elite killers into top spies, will likely soon be in charge of all military intelligence."
• The Case Of An Accused Leaker: Politics Or Justice? by Carrie Johnson, NPR Morning Edition, April 13. "Former CIA official John Kiriakou heads to a Virginia courthouse Friday, where he's expected to plead not guilty. He's the sixth person accused of violating the Espionage Act during the Obama presidency."
• Former CIA Officer John Kiriakou Indicted for Allegedly Disclosing Classified Information, news release, April 5. "The indictment charges Kiriakou with one count of violating the Intelligence Identities Protection Act for allegedly illegally disclosing the identity of a covert officer and with three counts of violating the Espionage Act for allegedly illegally disclosing national defense information to individuals not authorized to receive it."
• US draws up plans for nuclear drones, The Guardian, April 2. "American scientists have drawn up plans for a new generation of nuclear-powered drones capable of flying over remote regions of the world for months on end without refuelling."

Older News: March 2012

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Maintained by Steven Aftergood
Updated May 1, 2012