The ACLU Presents: NSA Surveillance and More

Architecture and Background

The ACLU Presents: NSA Surveillance and More ALEX ABDO STAFF ATTORNEY, ACLU NATIONAL SECURITY PROJECT CATHERINE CRUMP STAFF ATTORNEY, ACLU SPEECH PRIVACY & TECHNOLOGY PROJECT CHRISTOPHER SOGHOIAN PRINCIPAL TECHNOLOGIST, ACLU SPEECH PRIVACY & TECHNOLOGY PROJECT KADE CROCKFORD ACLU OF MASSACHUSETTS TECHNOLOGY FOR LIBERTY PROJECT NICOLE OZER TECHNOLOGY AND CIVIL LIBERTIES POLICY DIRECTOR, ACLU OF CALIFORNIA From the NSA's PRISM and metadata programs to IMSI catchers, location tracking to surveillance drones, and warrantless wiretapping to the AP's emails -- this has been the year of surveillance. Come join the American Civil Liberties Union as we unravel the thicket of new technologies and laws that allow the U.S. government to surveil Americans in more intrusive ways than ever before. We will explore the latest news and trends in surveillance, reasons to despair, grounds to be hopeful, and ways in which you can help the ACLU's fight against government overreaching. Catherine Crump (@CatherineNCrump) s a Staff Attorney with the ACLU's Speech, Privacy and Technology Project.

Vulnerability Analysis

She specializes in free speech and privacy litigation, particularly regarding the impact of new technologies on First and Fourth Amendment rights. She is lead counsel in the ACLU's challenge to the government's suspicionless searches of laptops at the international border, and is litigating a series of cases challenging the government's claim it can track the location of people's cell phones without a warrant. Christopher Soghoian (@csoghoian) is the Principal Technologist with the ACLU's Speech, Privacy and Technology Project. He completed his Ph.D. at Indiana University in 2012, which focused on the role that third party service providers play in facilitating law enforcement surveillance of their customers.

Exploitation and Demonstrations

In order to gather data, he has made extensive use of the Freedom of Information Act, sued the Department of Justice, and recorded phone company executives bragging about their surveillance practices. Kade Crockford (@onekade) is director of the Technology for Liberty program at the ACLU of Massachusetts, where she quarterbacks the ACLU of Massachusetts' work challenging the growing surveillance state and defending core First and Fourth Amendment and due process rights. Kade is currently working on a long term project to document and challenge the militarization and federalization of state and local law enforcement, focusing on the procurement and deployment of advanced surveillance and weapons systems, towards the end of bringing local police back under local control. She built and maintains the dedicated privacy website www.PrivacySOS.org, which hosts the Privacy Matters blog. Alex Abdo (@AlexanderAbdo) is a staff attorney in the ACLU's National Security Project, where he litigates cases concerning the expansive surveillance policies of the post-9/11 era.

Remediation and Defensive Strategies

For example, he was counsel in the ACLU's recent Supreme Court challenge to the NSA's warrantless wiretapping program; he is currently challenging the NSA's collection of all Americans' telephony metadata; and he is suing for release of the government's secret interpretation of Section 215 of the Patriot Act. Nicole Ozer is the Technology and Civil Liberties Policy Director at the ACLU of California. She works on the intersection of new technology, privacy, and free speech and developed the organization's online privacy campaign, Demand Your dotRights (www.dotrights.org). Nicole graduated magna cum laude from Amherst College, studied comparative civil rights history at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, and earned her J.D. with a Certificate in Law and Technology from Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California Berkeley. Before joining the ACLU, Nicole was an intellectual property attorney at Morrison & Foerster LLP. Nicole was recognized by San Jose Magazine in 2001 for being one of 20 "Women Making a Mark" in Silicon Valley.