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ZDNetGovWeek: FTC, FBI, NSA, RSA... oh my!

It's one of those three-letter weeks. Identity theft is up, the NSA is getting down, the FBI wants to go real-time, and the RSA conference is just an out-of-control mess. Same ol' same ol'.
Written by David Gewirtz, Senior Contributing Editor

ZDNet's worldwide team provides global 24/7 technology news and analysis. In addition to my own coverage analysis here in the ZDNet Government column and on ZDNet's DIY-IT, every week I'll bring you a selection of the best government-related articles posted by our intrepid reporters and analysts. Here are some of the most interesting from the last week.

Top stories this week

Identify theft tops consumer complaint list in 2013: FTC
The Federal Trade Commission says it received nearly 300,000 identity-theft complaints from consumers last year, easily outpacing gripes about debt collectors, banks and mobile service providers.

Utah can’t quit figure out how to deal with the NSA datacenter
While the NSA datacenter and its activities are in the national spotlight, local authority remains divided on how to treat it.

The NSA may not be listening to your private phone calls, but it has been watching your private parts
The U.K. and U.S. government's ability to tap into webcams — and directly into your living rooms and offices — shows the biggest and most blatant lack of respect for people's privacy by Western governments in living memory.

FBI chief: We need to share cybersecurity data in 'machine-time'
T
he director of the FBI discusses closing the gap between government and the private sector by sharing data in "machine-time" -- not "human-time."

'Obnoxious' RSA protests by DEF CON organizations, Code Pink draw ire
Code Pink unfurled banners yesterday, today DEF CON -affiliated organizations protest on the ground, and tomorrow a sold-out protest event show that "obnoxious" RSA protests are certainly drawing attention.

Other government coverage around ZDNet

Adobe pledges $300M to Obama's ConnectED digital literacy project
Adobe touted EchoSign alone could save schools up to $250 million over the next five years at a rate of $20 per document filing.

New Human Services front line system takes blame for legacy tech
The Australian Department of Human Services' customer-facing system Customer First is taking the blame for issues that are often not the fault of the new system.

E-health record signup boost on back of public hospital push
A total of 1.4 million Australians have registered for an e-health record as public hospitals have been increasingly encouraging patients to sign up for the service.

Tech industry mounts pressure, threatens exodus over Arizona's proposed 'anti-gay' law
Apple, Intel, Salesforce.com, and now Microsoft are just a few of the big corporate names adding their voice forward to protest Arizona's SB 1062, a law that would allow employees and workplaces to discriminate against people based on their religious beliefs.

Union slams Tasmanian NBN trial as election stunt
The Communications Union has branded NBN Co's trial of fibre via Aurora's power poles as a political stunt, because NBN Co has used that deployment method in the past.

We're building undersea cable to thwart US spying, say Brazil and Europe
A joint EU-Brazil plan to lay a new submarine cable looks to have been prompted by fears of communications interception by the NSA.

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