The proposal presents the risk that “legitimate MVPD (multi-video program distributors) and online content sources will be presented in user interfaces alongside illegitimate sources (such as sites featuring pirated content),” MPAA warns. “In essence, this ‘shopping mall’ approach could enable the purveyor of counterfeit goods to set up shop alongside respected brand-name retailers, causing consumer confusion.”
Archive for 2010/07/22
Hollywood: Google TV would put us on board big pirate ship
Posted: 2010/07/22 in New Business ModelsCisco plugs gaping hole in Content Delivery System
Posted: 2010/07/22 in Cybercrime, Education / Awareness, Network Security, Privacy / Data ProtectionCisco has shipped a critical bulletin to warn about a serious security hole in the Cisco Internet Streamer application, which is part of the Cisco Content Delivery System. In an advisory, Cisco warned that exploitation of this vulnerability may allow a remote, unauthenticated attacker to obtain sensitive information, including password files and system logs
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/security/cisco-plugs-gaping-hole-in-content-delivery-system/6921
GOP senators move to block FCC on Net neutrality
Posted: 2010/07/22 in Net Neutrality, Public PolicySeven Republican senators have announced a plan to curb the Obama administration’s push to impose controversial Net neutrality regulations on the Internet
German court overturns injunction against RapidShare
Posted: 2010/07/22 in Illegal File Sharing, Jurisprudence, LitigationFile sharing service RapidShare doesn’t have to employ a word filter to combat the sharing of copyrighted files, the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf has now confirmed. The court reversed a preliminary injunction against RapidShare it issued last year, handing the company another legal victory
Every time there’s an airplane crash and they can’t find the flight data recorder I ask the same question: Why don’t they transmit all the data and record it in a server in real time? That’s what Iridium thinks too
http://gizmodo.com/5593628/online-flight-data-recorders-is-the-best-idea-in-a-long-time
Mariposa botnet suspects quizzed in Slovenia
Posted: 2010/07/22 in Cybercrime, Education / Awareness, Enforcement, Network Security, Organized Crime, Privacy / Data ProtectionInvestigators reckon Mariposa compromised 12.7 million Windows PCs worldwide. Spanish police recovered stolen bank and login credentials of 800,000 people from systems seized during the arrest of three local suspects
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/07/22/mariposa_botnet_arrests/
MPs call for crackdown on pre-paid credit cards
Posted: 2010/07/22 in Cybercrime, Education / Awareness, Public PolicyChild abusers getting away with it
Sony now facing single class-action for PS3 other-OS removal
Posted: 2010/07/22 in Education / Awareness, LitigationSony has been hit with seven class-action lawsuits over the removal of the “Other OS” option in the PlayStation 3 firmware, and the court has now agreed to bundle these suits into one large action. The result? Settlement becomes more likely, and simpler for all parties
Google Helping U.S. Army To Launch Missiles From Their Phones (WiFi triangulation would have come in handy)
Posted: 2010/07/22 in Education / Awareness, Google, New Business Models, Tech EvolutionGoogle, Motorola and HTC have been working along side Raytheon, markers of the Patriot missile defense system, to develop software which could allow a soldier on the battlefield to gain important information via an Android OS device. According to Raytheon, Google has helped push the limits of the phone and integrate features such as detailed satellite imagery, unmanned drone video and even tap into the Patriot missile system itself. This software could certainly allow the soldiers to gain all the intelligence they need to authorize a missile launch, and one day may even launch missiles from their phones
Kids not able to scrutinize nets
Posted: 2010/07/22 in Education / Awareness, Privacy / Data Protection, Stats / reportsResearch firm Dialogic surveyed 500 individuals, half of them minors between the age of 10 and 14, the other half being parents.
- Most kids and parents say they know how to recognize advertising in various online media. When asked how they were able to do that it turned out that in practice kids and parents were not always able to distinguish facts from ads;
- The majority of the people indicated that they knew how to make use of the internet in a responsible way. A significant number of people posted their personal details online nonetheless ;
- Parents feel they are educating their kids on how to make use of the internet; Kids do not perceive it that way. 71 percent of the parents argue that they are teaching their kids on how to use the web. 53 percent of the youth does not regard their parents as teachers in relation to this topic.
Dutch language article: http://www.nu.nl/internet/2297794/jongeren-beoordelen-internet-niet-kritisch.html
German Street View content showing up in The Netherlands
Posted: 2010/07/22 in Google, Privacy / Data ProtectionDutch media are reporting that the website Websonic.nl has discovered that when navigating Google Streetview, German streets appear when visiting the Dutch town of Rijssen. It appears that Streetview content related to the German town Marl, 127 kilometers away from Rijssen, mistakenly ended up in content related to Rijssen.
It’s a sensitive issue since Google Street View has not gone online yet in Germany, because of issues related to data privacy. Google was not available for comment but did remove the majority of the faulty content, not all of it.
Dutch language articles: http://www.nu.nl/internet/2297884/duitse-street-view-beelden-in-rijssen.html and http://www.websonic.nl/nieuws/google-street-view-toont-duitse-beelden-in-rijssen-8959
Previously:
U.S. Air Force deadly 1944 bombing of Nijmegen accidental
The deadly U.S. Air Force bombing of the city on February 22, 1944 was a mistake. Over 750 people perished in the raid which has caused controversy ever since. The conclusion that the bombing was accidental is substantiated in a recent report by the NIOD, the Dutch Institute for War Documentation. According to its researchers, the pilots assumed they were flying over Germany, which only is a few kilometres to the east of the city.
The Lanier Law Firm Files Infringement Lawsuit Over Email Spam Patent
Posted: 2010/07/22 in Education / Awareness, Filtering, LitigationThe Lanier Law Firm is announcing a patent infringement lawsuit filed on behalf ofLongview, Texas-based InNova Patent Licensing LLC against a group of 36 corporate defendants accused of infringing an InNova patent that represents one of the cornerstones of email communications.
The federal lawsuit focuses on a revolutionary InNova patent, U.S. Patent No. 6,018,761, that covers technology used to differentiate between spam email messages and those that users actually want to receive. The InNova patent was awarded to inventor and mathematician Robert Uomini nearly 15 years ago when Internet email was still in its formative stages. Mr. Uomini is the founder of InNova.
“Email as we know it would essentially stop working if it weren’t for InNova’s invention,” says Mr. Banys, who leads The Lanier Law Firm’s national intellectual property practice. “More than 80 percent of email is spam, which is why companies use InNova’s invention rather than forcing employees to wade through billions of useless emails. Unfortunately, the defendants appear to be profiting from this invention without any consideration for InNova’s legal patent rights.”
EU review of information sharing systems
Posted: 2010/07/22 in Privacy / Data Protection, Public PolicyThe European Commission has carried out a stocktaking of existing EU instruments used for storage and exchange of personal data
http://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010-2014/malmstrom/news/default_en.htm#20100720
UPD Hundreds of Thousands of Piracy Warning Letters to Suffocate UK ISP Users
Posted: 2010/07/22 in Public PolicyThe BBC’s technology correspondent, Rory Cellan-Jones, reports that “two of the biggest ISPs” in the UK are warning that Ofcom expects broadband providers will have to issue “hundreds of thousands” of copyright infringement warning letters “a month” to customers of ISPs whom are suspected of unlawful file sharing (P2P) activity. This is a basic requirement of the new Digital Economy Act 2010 (DEA).
Protection for ISPs as intermediaries from liability for content
Keeping Kids Safe Cannot Be Outsourced
Posted: 2010/07/22 in Blocking, Education / Awareness, FilteringThe government, industry and churches can and should do more to help parents. But ultimately, parents need to take greater responsibility
http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2010/07/keeping-kids-safe-cannot-be-outsourced/
South Africa: Piracy over P2P a crime
Posted: 2010/07/22 in Education / Awareness, Enforcement, Illegal File Sharing, LegislationSo downloading or buying pirated material can’t result in criminal charges being laid against you, though copyright holders can claim damages from you if they want.
“Distributing those materials, even for free, is a crime,” Michalson stated.
http://mybroadband.co.za/news/telecoms/13938-Warning-Piracy-over-P2P-crime.html
Filming began this week for The Tunnel, a thriller set in Sydney’s subterranean world, which, unusually, is being funded by online fans frame by frame
http://sydney-central.whereilive.com.au/news/story/web-fans-fund-local-film/
Warner Bros. and Netflix Announce Expanded Agreement Covering Streaming Content
Posted: 2010/07/22 in New Business ModelsWarner Bros. Home Entertainment Group and Netflix, Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX) today announced an expansion of the companies’ existing streaming content agreement. The new agreement adds a slate of catalog TV shows available to watch instantly at Netflix and extends the existing license for catalog movies through 2011
Canadian Court Lets Perfect 10 Case Against Google Move Forward
Posted: 2010/07/22 in Google, LitigationFor the most part, these lawsuits have gone nowhere, but Perfect 10 is incredibly persistent
What does it give you? Well, when someone searches for anything relevant to your business — either in their browser at home, or on the go, your listing in Google Maps will be “Tagged”. Tagged items are visually different from the rest, and usually offer up deals or coupons.
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/google/google-tags-now-free-for-30-days/2309
Google Explains Why Making Special Copyright Laws For Newspapers Is A Mistake
Posted: 2010/07/22 in Copyright, Google, New Business Models, Public Policy“The large profit margins newspapers enjoyed in the past were built on an artificial scarcity: Limited choice for advertisers as well as readers. With the Internet, that scarcity has been taken away and replaced by abundance.”
Wall Street Calling Telcos’ Bluff On Stopping Investment If Net Neutrality Put Into Law
Posted: 2010/07/22 in Education / Awareness, Net Neutrality, New Business Models“it’s nice to see that more and more people are calling the telcos on their bogus claim that net neutrality rules would mean that telcos would cut back on investment”
iPhone thief nabbed by GPS, cops say
Posted: 2010/07/22 in Education / Awareness, Enforcement, Mobile techCloud load testing suite can impersonate a million iPhones
Posted: 2010/07/22 in Mobile tech, The CloudMost cloud applications are “load tested” for the first time when they’re launched, but one company aims to change that with a testing tool that can tweet, send SMS, watch movies, order music, and generally impersonate millions of users interacting with a cloud app
During a hearing before the House of Representatives’ Committee on Foreign Affairs, some congressional lawmakers on Wednesday said they want the U.S. government to retaliate against countries that turn a blind eye to online piracy, as well as people who peddle knockoffs of American products here and abroad
The Netherlands demanding transparency in relation to ACTA
Posted: 2010/07/22 in Illegal File Sharing, Public PolicyMinisters of Economic Affairs and Justice will continue to ”make a plea for more transparency”, and feel it’s important that “individuals and companies which are being hurt by piracy have a chance to be heard, as well as individual citizens who may be worried about these developments”
Dutch language article: http://webwereld.nl/nieuws/66634/nederland-eist-hernieuwde-openheid-acta.html
Dutch judge bans sales of R4 cards and modded Wii’s
Posted: 2010/07/22 in Education / Awareness, JurisprudenceEleven online stores are told to cease sales of the cards and modded consoles, a Court in The Hague stated. By selling the goods, the stores are in breach of Dutch laws. Current supplies have to be destroyed within 14 days.
Dutch language article: http://tweakers.net/nieuws/68707/rechter-verbiedt-verkoop-r4-flashkaartjes-en-omgebouwde-wiis.html
