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For the second time, the Federal Government applied to the Federal High Court in Abuja for protection of witnesses that will testify against the former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, in the charge of unlawful possession of fire-arms and money laundering brought against him.

The fresh application to that effect was brought to court by Oladipo Okpeseyi recently engaged by the federal government to lead the prosecution.

In the motion dated January 23 and filed January 24, the government is insisting that the witnesses be given protection by the court by not allowing their names and addresses to be made public in the course of the trial.

But in an opposition to the fresh request, Mr. Dasuki asked the court to dismiss the government motion on the ground that it lacks merit and constitutes a gross abuse of court process.

The Ex-NSA in a counter affidavit filed by his lead counsel, Ahmed Raji, argued that there was no justification for the Federal Government to have brought the motion for secret trial for the second time having lost in the first motion.

The defendant insisted that the federal government had on its own volition placed the charges against him in the internet where the names, addresses and positions of the witnesses were conspicuously put at the disposal of the general public.

Besides, Mr. Dasuki maintained that when the first application was argued by the then Director of Public Prosecution of Nigeria, Mohamed Diri, Justice Adeniyi Adenola of the same court in a landmark ruling dismissed the request on the ground that the witnesses were already known by the public having given their names through the internet.

Mr. Dasukis lawyer further said that bringing the same motion to the same court constituted a gross abuse of court process and that what the prosecution ought to do if not satisfied with the decision of Justice Ademola, was to have gone to the Court of Appeal to ventilate its anger.

Mr. Dasuki, who attached a copy of the earlier court ruling on the application, urged the trial judge, Ahmed Mohammed, not to allow the fresh motion for secret trial to be entertained because it would violate his right to fair trial and will run contrary to the principle of the rule of law and natural justice.

When the motion came up on Tuesday, Mr. Opeseyi could not move the motion on the ground that the defence had just served him a voluminous counter affidavit objecting to the motion.

The prosecution counsel told Justice Mohammed that so many fundamental issues were raised in the counter affidavit and that plethora of authorities were also cited in the counter affidavit.

He, therefore, applied for an adjournment to enable him study the counter affidavit and respond to it appropriately.

The defence did not object to the request for the adjournment but clarified that the fresh motion for secret trial was served on the defendant last Thursday, hence their counter affidavit prepared over the weekend was served today within the time allowed by law.

Justice Mohammed has therefore fixed hearing of the motion for March 1.

The Federal Government through the Department of the State Security Service had in 2015 slammed a 2-count charge of unlawful possession of fire-arms and money laundering on Mr. Dasuki.

But the trial suffered a setback last year when Justice Ademola withdrew from further conducting the trial following his arrest by the SSS, also called DSS, on allegations of corruption.

The withdrawal of Mr. Ademola from the trial prompted the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Ibrahim Auta, to transfer the case file to the present judge

The Ex-NSA who pleaded not guilty to the charges was in 2015 admitted to bail by Mr. Ademola but was disallowed by the SSS from enjoying the bail. The security agency rearrested him and kept him in its custody since December 2015. Other courts like the ECOWAS court have also granted Mr. Dasuki bail, with all ignored by the SSS.

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Nigerian govt insists on secret trial of ex-NSA Sambo Dasuki - Premium Times

National Security Council Changes Are Very Significant, Hayden Says NPR January 30, 20174:58 AM ET. Heard on Morning Edition. Rachel Martin talks to ex-NSA and CIA director Michael Hayden about the reorganization of the White House National Security Council. Political adviser Steve Bannon has a permanent seat at the table ...

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National Security Council Changes Are Very Significant, Hayden Says - NPR

National security advisor Ajit Doval will hold talks with Russian officials in Moscow on Monday on counter-terrorism and security issues against a background of a thaw in ties between Russia and the United States that could redefine the relationship between the two countries.

Doval will meet Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, a confidant of President Vladmir Putin. The visit is seen as part of Indian efforts to gauge the possible realignments on key security and foreign policy issues as national capitals try to figure out the priorities of the Trump administration.

In New York last month, Doval had met his American counterpart Michael Flynn before he formally took charge under the Trump administration. Flynn, like Doval, is an intelligence expert.

During his meetings with the Russians, Doval is expected to focus on anti-terrorism issues such as the fight against Islamic State and situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Russia has remained our trusted partner and high-level interactions help two sides exchange notes on all major developments including the evolving regional security architecture, an Indian official said.

For Indian officials, a realignment of Russia-US ties is welcome as it would wean Moscow away from the deeper strategic embrace of China. Those who believe in a possible realignment are going by the right optics set in motion by both Moscow and Washington.

The positive call was a significant start to improving the relationship between the United States and Russia that is in need of repair, a White House statement said after the phone conversation between Trump and Putin. Though it would sound unreasonable to expect Trump would trample over ties with China that hinges on huge economic interest, India hopes better Russia-US ties would bring more balance to issues that Beijing aggressively pushes in the region.

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As US, Russia look to reset ties, NSA Doval in Moscow for talks - Hindustan Times

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National Security Agency (NSA) officials refuse to release anyinformationabout its private contractors or even conduct search for related records.

NSA Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) chief liaison John Chapman denied a records request regarding the U.K.-based behavioral research company SCL groupwithout searching for any responsive documents. (RELATED:Feds: 20 Year NSA Spy Made Off With Six Full Boxes Of Documents)

Please be advised that due to changing security concerns, this is now our standard response to all requests where we reasonably believe acquisition records are being sought on a contract or contract-related activity, Chapman wrote in a Jan. 17, 2016 letter responding to a FOIA request Gizmodo filed.

His comment suggests the NSA the agency that saw massive attention after Edward Snowden leaked hundreds of thousands of documentswill preemptively deny FOIA requests regarding agency contractors, Gizmodo reported Thursday. Chapman did not explain what the changing security concerns were, though hisletter claimedreleasing records could cause damage (at minimum) to the national security.

This sounds like a non-Glomar Glomar response, James Madison Project deputy executive director Bradley Moss told Gizmodo, referring to agencies refusal to neither confirm nor deny existing records. (RELATED:One NSA Employees Mistake Caused The Worst Leak Since Snowden)

Theyre clamping down across the board, Moss continued. There is clearly a determined and deliberate attempt to plug any gap that sheds light on the national security apparatus.

Moss also noted that NSAs FOIA rules and guidelines dont indicate anything that allows the agency to categorically and preemptively deny such requests.

A SCL Group subsidiary, Cambridge Analytica, worked on the Brexit campaign and made $14.4 million from the last election cycle, including $5.7 million from GOP Sen. Ted Cruzs campaign and $5.6 from President Donald Trumps.

SCL Group has worked with various governments and private entities, including the Department of State, according to the companys website. A State Department official called the claim peculiar and couldnt verify the claim without additional information, Gizmodo reported.

Chapmans office doesnt really answer questions over the phone, a person who answered the phone when Gizmodo called for more information said.

Gizmodo reported it would appeal the denial.

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NSA Keeping Information About Its Contractors Secret | The Daily ... - Daily Caller

With everything from pill bottles to air fresheners to strollers and breast pumps now connected to the web, the Internet of Things is truly upon us. And while its nice that the IoT lets me monitor my opiate consumption, my ambient scent level, and my lactation volume all at once, these God-sent efficiencies arent without their drawbacks. Every new point on the network is a new weakness crying out to be exploited, and theres no end of people and organizations willing to exploit it.

If the government ever takes an interest in my daily breastmilk output, a quick hack of my smart pump will give them unfettered access to data as raw as my nipples. And thats just the tip when it comes to how they might fuck with my privacy. Yours, too.

Any device that communicates with your home network and/or your smartphone can potentially be hacked, by the government or someone else. Not only would the hackers be able to see and record any data stored and collected by the device, but they can potentially use it as a backdoor to hack into your network/smartphone itself, and from there to any other connected devices. Suddenly its not just your copious mammalian excretions theyre looking at, but other sensitive information like bank records and exotic massage appointments. Your voice activated dishwasher could become your Judas, turning you in to the NSA for thirty pieces of silver and a filter change.

In Orwells 1984, Big Brothers surveillance was overt. Folks knew the cameras and voice recorders were everywhere, so they acted with appropriate paranoia. In the real world, the IoT has created the largest and most pervasive network of potential spy apparatus ever concocted, and consumers have welcomed it into their homes without a second thought. Even after Snowden and the PRISM revelations, we cant imagine that the government (or anyone else with the time and skill) is using our your voice-activated refrigerator to listen in on phone calls to the Game of Thrones sex line. Or that your smartlampequipped with a camera for multi-gesture motion controlis reporting your habit of shame-eating fish sticks and ketchup while binging Care Bears and Cousins.

But direct observation like this is just the beginning. Yes, law enforcement agencies from local police departments to federal agencies to secret Illuminati-affiliated watchdog organizations now have hundreds of different ways to record your actions and conversations. Weve been a connected society with cameras and microphones in our pockets for a while now; some Israeli hotshots even figured out how to turn your earbuds into bugs. The IoT makes this kind of thing easier once you become a target of an investigation, but its more of a legal game changer than a practical one (whether or not a FISA court can issue a secret warrant to tap your toaster is something for the lawyers to fight out).

A bigger deal is the governments ability to collect all of the information that everybody produces with their online lives and their IoT real-world devices, and to sift through that data looking for new targets. To store all that data indefinitely so they can look back retroactively once new targets are identified. To run Big Analysis on all this Big Data and predict your potential to become a terrorist before you even have a fleeting unpatriotic thought, and to use your IoT music system to figure out what room of the house youre in right when the drone is passing by.

At least it will minimize collateral damage.

Comparisons to 1984 have been cliche for a long time now, and extremely so since the last election cycle, but that doesnt mean they arent apt. Thoughtcrime could very quickly become a thing, now that the IoT can report our every behavior and Big Data can predict our beliefs with a scary degree of accuracy. You wont have to worry about your kids turning you in or a keen bureaucrat tricking you into keeping a journal; your kitchenware and smart curtain rods will tell Big Brother everything they need to know about your hidden thoughts.

Itll be just like Minority Report, except instead of clean-shaven precogs feeding information to a charismatic psychopath like Tom Cruise itll be neck-bearded data miners feeding information to an uncharismatic psychopath like Jeff Sessions.

And lets not forget the criminal component here. Though data mining isnt something most identity thieves and blackmailers will have the resources for, the amount of data a savvy hacker can get away with when they find just one weakness in your panoply of IoT devices should give you pause. Just one improperly encrypted mattress and pictures from that petting zoo birthday party that got waaaay too wild could end up in the hands of your worst enemy. Ted, from accounting. And once Ted has you at his mercy, there isnt an app in the world that can save you.

Dont think this is all just cynicism and scaremongering, either. Then-CIA Chief Gen. David Petraeus said the government would be using the IoT to spy on people back in 2012, about nine months before a bit of cyber stalking and the FBI sifting through his email metadata exposed an extramarital affair, and he resigned. We know what the NSA was doing with our emails and cell phones. The devices we have now give them a data collecting power many orders of magnitude greater, and wed be morons to think they wouldnt use it.

Of course, were willing to shell out thousands of dollars, so we use our phones to track things like how many eggs are left, so we might not be winning any intelligence prizes. Just dont say you werent warned when the breastfeeding regulators come knocking.

Daniel A. Guttenberg is an Atlanta-based writer who fell into the startup world by accident and has been gleefully treading water ever since. He will be survived by his beard and his legacy of procrastination.

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You Down with IoT? (Yeah, the NSA Knows Me) - SnapMunk