Microsoft Releases Aggregate of Law Enforcement Requests

Microsoft has released their latest Law Enforcement Requests Report. It gives an aggregate of how many user's and accounts have been released to law enforcement agencies in the last six months. This is the second report Microsoft has released with their first being in March

The total number of customer data requests was 37,196 totaling some 66,539 accounts across all Microsoft services, including Skype. This number reflects requests made officially for the first half of 2013, but does not include requests pertaining to national security. There are many requests from dozens of countries, but the main concentration of requests comes from five countries. The US, Turkey, Germany, France and the United Kingdom. These five countries make up 73% of the requests made. 

You can read more about the report and see future reports on Microsoft's site.

Google says 'Government Surveillance is On The Rise'

In an article recently published on NBCnews.com, Google has released information regarding governments' requests for information on users as part of their 'Transparency Report'.

There have been 20,938 total inquiries to Google, involving 34,614 accounts worldwide. Currently, it seems, that governments around the world are increasing surveillance of Internet users. Google has stated they have complied with most of these requests. It's also worth noting that this is only in reference to Google. The numbers are likely much higher when you take into account all providers governments may also be issuing these inquiries to.

The report comes following prominent email snooping cases from official agencies. A situation that puts front and center the fact that, in current digital times, it is so important for us to be advocates for our own privacy and safety when going online.

This is why we're working so hard here at GoTrusted. To make sure our customers' privacy is protected while using our Secure VPN Tunnel. Whether that's from malicious individuals or governments who's policies take a turn and privacy becomes the target. We are here to make sure worrying about your online privacy and security isn't an issue.