The price for zero day exploits is sky-rocketing, and hackers world-wide pore over every detail of commonly used software, seeking the small wedge to drive through corporate and government defenses.

Users who rely on encryption built into Microsoft products may be surprised to learn that Microsoft is alleged to provide "pre-encryption" data to NSA, thus bypassing the expected communication privacy.

XMission is located only about 15 miles from the new NSA data center in Utah, but its CEO is determined to keep his customer's data out of the facility, and away from state and local governments, unless due process is followed, consistent with the US Constitution. Cipher subscribers may be interested to know that this newsletter is emailed to them through XMission servers.

The US restricts commerce with some countries, and they must restrict resellers from moving products to the banned nations. Yet Internet security technology for monitoring networks seems to be used in two of those places.

"Leaks shed light on how spy agency may use supercomputers, gigantic hard drives." Are there exabytes, zetabytes, or yottabytes behind the new walls?
(Cipher readers may be interested in the several articles published in the SL Tribune about the new data center).

Many people are upset about the revelations of NSA surveillance, but lost in the attention are the judges of the secret courts who feel that they are reviled without opportunity to explain themselves.

US Senators of both political parties are asking for disclosure of more information about government communications surveillance.

Much of the US population was surprised to learn that information about their phone calls goes directly from their phone provider to government databases.

The US Defense Secretary complained about China's attempts to learn US secrets. The complaints preceded Snowden's information about US cyberespionage in Europe.

The talks about cyberattacks were motivated by their economic impact on the US, which Gen. Keith B. Alexander of NSA described as "the greatest transfer of wealth in history." Alexander is a proponent of offensive cyberwarfare.

Apple's new security system, using passwords and verification codes, provides security for some user interactions with the company, but not the iCloud storage system.