Australian Broadcasting Corporation - ASIO given computer hacking powers. New laws have been passed to give Australia's domestic spy organisation, ASIO, powers to hack into computers. The bill gives ASIO the right to enter and modify computers remotely, and also expands its powers to access financial information from the transaction monitoring authority, AUSTRAC, and the Tax Office.

Slashdot | Your Rights Online | Australian Gov't OKs Its Spies to Crack Servers.

Slashdot | Your Rights Online | Waiting for the Knock.

CNN - CIA files stir up specter of East German secret police - November 7, 1999. Revelations about the feared secret police could surface soon when the CIA hands over Stasi files obtained during the collapse of the East German regime.

CNN - Biggest U.S. spy agency choking on too much information . The largest U.S. spy agency -- the National Security Agency -- is in crisis, overwhelmed by too many targets, too much information and the challenges created by increasingly sophisticated technologies.

Slashdot | Articles | NSA Overwhelmed with Information.

New York Times - free registration required Behavioral Drugs Focus of Debate in Colorado Schools. A resolution recently passed by the Colorado Board of Education to discourage teachers from recommending behavioral drugs like Ritalin and Luvox has intensified a national debate over the growing use of prescription drugs for children.

New York Times - free registration required Alibris Pays $250,000 to End Charges it Kept Amazon.com E-Mail. Alibris Inc. paid $250,000 to settle federal charges that its predecessor company intercepted and stored e-mails sent between customers and Amazon.com Inc., the United States Justice Department said this week.

Linux Today: Richard Stallman -- Waiting for the Knock. Richard Stallman on privacy in light of some recent regulations proposed in Britain.