The New York Times reports that the National Security Agency has been placing cookies onto the computers of anyone who visits their website. The cookies were tracking the online activity of those users. Two cookie files were not set to expire until 2035. An NSA spokesman said the files were an unintentional result of a software upgrade that was recently completed. The cookies are now disabled. In 2000, federal agencies were given specific guidelines for acceptable use of cookie files. In 2003, an additional White House mandate said that if an agency is using cookies, they must describe how the information will be used and seek approval from a senior official. In 2002, the CIA removed cookies from one of its websites after a privacy group discovered them. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe Read CIO Senior Writer Ben Worthen’s theory about the NSA’s snooping. –Margaret Locher Related content feature Mastercard preps for the post-quantum cybersecurity threat A cryptographically relevant quantum computer will put everyday online transactions at risk. Mastercard is preparing for such an eventuality — today. By Poornima Apte Sep 22, 2023 6 mins CIO 100 CIO 100 CIO 100 feature 9 famous analytics and AI disasters Insights from data and machine learning algorithms can be invaluable, but mistakes can cost you reputation, revenue, or even lives. These high-profile analytics and AI blunders illustrate what can go wrong. By Thor Olavsrud Sep 22, 2023 13 mins Technology Industry Generative AI Machine Learning feature Top 15 data management platforms available today Data management platforms (DMPs) help organizations collect and manage data from a wide array of sources — and are becoming increasingly important for customer-centric sales and marketing campaigns. By Peter Wayner Sep 22, 2023 10 mins Marketing Software Data Management opinion Four questions for a casino InfoSec director By Beth Kormanik Sep 21, 2023 3 mins Media and Entertainment Industry Events Security Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe