Protected areas in the ocean now exceed size of Europe

Nearly three percent of the world's oceans – an area slightly larger than Europe – now lies within designated marine protected areas, according to new data from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). This is a significant increase from 2010 when the area protected was just 1.2 per cent. However, many of the new protected zones may be of little value in terms of conservation.The IUCN, which yesterday released...

Read More...

Revealed: how US and UK spy agencies defeat internet privacy and security

 US and British intelligence agencies have successfully cracked much of the online encryption relied upon by hundreds of millions of people to protect the privacy of their personal data, online transactions and emails, according to top-secret documents revealed by former contractor Edward Snowden.This story has been reported in partnership between the New York Times, the Guardian and ProPublica based on documents obtained...

Read More...

NSA surveillance: Germany to send intelligence officials to US

 New claims emerged last night over the extent that US intelligence agencies have been monitoring the mobile phone of Angela Merkel. The allegations were made after German secret service officials were already preparing to travel to Washington to seek explanations into the alleged surveillance of its chancellor.aA report in Der Spiegel said Merkel's mobile number had been listed by the NSA's Special Collection Service (SCS)...

Read More...

A perspective on principles for Internet surveillance

Technology is often double-edged. On the one hand, innovations in communication technologies have increased the possibilities for individuals to share information and ideas beyond borders, access educational material and discover other cultures. On the other hand, the very same tools have also generated opportunities for State surveillance of users' personal exchanges. Such actions not only threaten privacy and the free flow...

Read More...