Decrypted: DEA spying on protesters, DDoS attacks, Signal downloads surge

This week saw demonstrations spread out across the world sparked by the murder of George Floyd, an unarmed Black male, eliminated by a white law enforcement officer in

Minneapolis last month. The U.S. hasn’t seen demonstrations like this in a generation, with millions taking to the streets each day to provide their voice and assistance. They were fulfilled with greatly armored authorities, drones viewing from above, and “covert”monitoring by the federal government. That’s precisely why cybersecurity and personal privacy is more vital than ever, not least to secure law-abiding protesters demonstrating versus police cruelty and institutionalized, systemic bigotry. It’s likewise prompted those operating in cybersecurity– much of which are former police themselves– to inspect their own privilege and confront the racism from within their ranks and lend their understanding to their fellow residents.

DEA enabled’hidden security’of protesters The Justice Department has approved the Drug Enforcement Administration, normally tasked with imposing federal drug-related laws, the authority to conduct “covert security” on protesters across the U.S., effectively turning the civilian police department into a domestic intelligence company

. The DEA is among the most tech-savvy government firms in the federal government, with access to “stingray”cell site simulators to track and locate phones, a secret program that allows the firm access to billions of domestic phone records, and facial acknowledgment technology.

Legislators decried the Justice Department’s move to permit the DEA to spy on protesters, contacting the government to “right away rescind”the order, explaining it as “antithetical” to Americans’ right to quietly assembly.

Article curated by RJ Shara from Source. RJ Shara is a Bay Area Radio Host (Radio Jockey) who talks about the startup ecosystem – entrepreneurs, investments, policies and more on her show The Silicon Dreams. The show streams on Radio Zindagi 1170AM on Mondays from 3.30 PM to 4 PM.