Archive for 2012/06/09

Pirate Bay Website Has Now Dropped 30 Positions Down The Popularity List In The Netherlands After Only Partially Implemented Website Blocking

Posted: 2012/06/09 in Blocking, Copyright, Education / Awareness, Enforcement, Filtering, Illegal File Sharing, Jurisprudence, Litigation, Online advertising, Public Policy, Stats / reports

On 4th February 2012, The Pirate Bay website was the 27th most popular website in The Netherlands according to Alexa.com

After a period of partially implemented site blocking measures by a specific group of Dutch Internet Service Providers, the website is now the 57th most popular site in The Netherlands, even less popular than the file sharing website Torrentz.eu:

http://www.alexa.com/topsites/countries;2/NL

It will be interesting to see just how a full-scale nationally implemented blocking campaign will affect the Pirate Bay’s popularity in The Netherlands over time.

See also:

Pirate Bay Website Has Now Dropped 30 Positions Down The Popularity List After Month Of Partial Website Blocking In UK
http://vrritti.com/2012/06/08/pirate-bay-website-has-now-dropped-30-positions-down-the-popularity-list-after-month-of-partial-website-blocking-in-uk/

and

http://vrritti.com/?s=pirate+bay+block&submit=Search

The way internet companies work is changing: “The business they’re in isn’t delivering bits anymore. It’s delivering content”

Posted: 2012/06/09 in Bandwidth Management, Education / Awareness, Filtering, Google, Net Neutrality, New Business Models, Stats / reports, Tech Evolution

The prime real estate here is in nondescript box-like structures all over the world, which serve as a link between internet service providers, websites, and consumers connecting to the web. In the late 1990s, companies like Akami and Level 3 invented a business for themselves by setting up servers with ISPs and then caching popular webpages locally. ISPs liked it because they had to carry less traffic on their networks. Websites liked it because it made their pages load faster.

But the internet is now in its very own age of video, and there’s simply so much traffic moving on the network that websites are striking deals with the ISPs themselves and installing their own gear in nondescript buildings all over the world.

Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, and others are doing this, says Dan Rayburn, an editor with StreamingMedia.com who follows this space. But Rayburn doesn’t call it a land rush. “There are a handful of companies that are large enough,” he says. “But you have to be a certain sized company doing enough traffic.”

Many of these deals are secret, but Deepfield Networks knows of about 40 companies that are setting up their own content delivery networks with service providers, according to Craig Labovitz. But he’s bound by non-disclosure agreements, and can’t name names. According to Labovitz, about 70 percent of Netflix traffic is now flowing through servers it set up at ISPs. Back in January, all that traffic was going through Content Delivery Network companies such as Level 3, Akamai, and Limelight.

Much more:
http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2012/06/cdn/

Military movie censorship ‘makes Americans warlike’

Posted: 2012/06/09 in Education / Awareness, Public Policy, Stats / reports

Pentagon sanitizing of war movies to protect the image of US soldiers is illegal and makes Americans more war-like, says David L. Robb, author of a book on the issue. He says even James Bond films fell victim to over-harsh US military censorship.

Much more:
http://www.rt.com/news/military-movie-pentagon-censorship-449/

Once you have the ability to turn off energy meters remotely, then it becomes a strategic vulnerability

Posted: 2012/06/09 in Cybercrime, Education / Awareness, Network Security, Privacy / Data Protection, Stats / reports

http://www.rt.com/news/smart-meter-hacker-blackout-455/

EU Council Demands Global Alliance to Block Child Abuse Websites

Posted: 2012/06/09 in Blocking, Cybercrime, Education / Awareness, Enforcement, Filtering, Illegal File Sharing, Legislation, New Business Models, Public Policy, Stats / reports, Tech Evolution
The Council of the European Union (CEU), which is where government representatives from EU Member States’ (e.g. UK) sit down to make new laws, has unanimously moved to promote a Global Alliance against child sexual abuse online that would require ISPs around the world to block websites “containing child pornography“.

The new alliance seeks to pressure both foreign and domestic governments into “obtaining political commitments” to tackle the problem of child sexual abuse online by requiring counties to agree to a series of “policy targets“. At present Europe only encourages voluntary blocking, although the targets suggest that this could soon become mandatory.

The Core Global Alliance Policy Targets

1. Enhancing efforts to identify victims, whose sexual abuse is depicted in child pornography, and ensuring their assistance, support and protection;

2. Reducing as much as possible the availability of child pornography online, [among other things] by facilitating measures to remove or, where appropriate, block websites containing child pornography, and reducing as much as possible the re-victimization of children whose sexual abuse is depicted in child pornography:

3. Enhancing efforts to investigate cases of child sexual abuse online and to identify and prosecute offenders;

4. Enhancing efforts to increase awareness of the risks posed by children’s activities online, including grooming and self-production of images that may be distributed online.

The UK already has a similar system setup under the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), which works with most consumer broadband ISPs to block websites that contain child sexual abuse content. Web blocking is often a contentious issue but few object to its use in the context of helping to stamp out child abuse imagery. It’s also good to see the EU finally looking at the issue with a more global perspective, which is critical because most of this material is hosted outside of the EU.

More:
http://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2012/06/eu-council-demands-global-alliance-to-block-child-abuse-websites.html

See also:
http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/jha/130727.pdf

Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin are slated for questioning by U.S. antitrust regulators

Posted: 2012/06/09 in Education / Awareness, Google, Legislation, New Business Models, Public Policy, Stats / reports

Dudes, just tell the truth

Page and Brin hired a top Washington law firm to help them prepare for their interviews, two people familiar with the matter said.

The Google executives retained Williams & Connolly LLP, the Washington law firm that has represented President Bill Clinton, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and the late Senator Edward Kennedy, as counsel for the depositions, said the people, who didn’t want to be identified because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly about the matter. They didn’t know when the interviews are scheduled to take place.

Much more:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-08/google-founders-slated-for-questions-in-antitrust-probe.html

12-year old Victoria Grant explains why her homeland, Canada, and most of the world, is in debt

Posted: 2012/06/09 in Education / Awareness, Future Developments?, New Business Models, Stats / reports

April 27, 2012 at the Public Banking in America Conference, Philadelphia, PA.

See also:

And:

In Iceland, the people have made the government resign, the primary banks have been nationalized, it was decided to not pay the debt that these created with Great Britain and Holland due to their bad financial politics and a public assembly has been created to rewrite the constitution
http://vrritti.com/2012/05/28/in-iceland-the-people-have-made-the-government-resign-the-primary-banks-have-been-nationalized-it-was-decided-to-not-pay-the-debt-that-these-created-with-great-britain-and-holland-due-to-their-bad/

Nearly 200 people were arrested last month and almost 20 victims rescued in a crackdown on child pornography (Operation Orion)

Posted: 2012/06/09 in Education / Awareness, Enforcement, Public Policy, Stats / reports

The US immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said Friday the operation, codenamed Operation Orion, had been aimed at “individuals who possessed, received, transported, distributed, advertised or produced images or videos of child pornography.”

Operation Orion was conducted in cooperation with Homeland Security Investigations (HIS) special agents and other law enforcement agencies. From May 1 to May 30, arrests were made in the United States, Spain, the Philippines, Argentina and the UK according to information published on the ICE website.

Many perpetrators used the Internet to meet and groom underage children in chat rooms or on social networking sites.

“With the advent of summer vacation, children may have more time and access to the Internet, making this a good time to talk to them about online dangers,” said ICE Director John Morton.

“Let this operation be a warning to anyone who would think they can use the Internet to exploit children: we are out there looking for you, we will find you, and you will be prosecuted.”

Results of the operation were released a day after prosecutors from the US attorney’s office in Indianapolis, USA, reported that an international child pornography ring had been broken that had produced and distributed explicit images of infants and toddlers over the Internet.

The attorney’s office announced seven men had been convicted in connection with the case and that two more had pleaded guilty. Authorities were still investigating suspects in the US, Sweden, Serbia, the Netherlands and the UK, as reported by Associated Press news agency.

According to First Assistant US Attorney Josh Minkler, over two dozen children had been abused in the US and overseas in the production of the material.

The investigation began in 2010 with the arrest of David Bostic. During a raid on his home in Indiana, USA, authorities found hundreds of images and videos on his computer of children aged between two months and four years engaged in sexual acts. Investigators used the material to gain access to others involved in the case.

More:
http://www.dw.de/dw/article/0,,16011063,00.html

See also:

Investigators have busted a child pornography ring spread across the U.S. and Europe that produced and distributed sexually explicit images of babies and toddlers online (Operation Bulldog)
http://vrritti.com/2012/06/09/investigators-have-busted-a-child-pornography-ring-spread-across-the-u-s-and-europe-that-produced-and-distributed-sexually-explicit-images-of-babies-and-toddlers-online/

The Life Of Child Abuse Investigators: “Think of something, make it ten times worse, and we’ll have video to go with it”
http://vrritti.com/2012/06/04/the-life-of-child-abuse-investigators-think-of-something-make-it-ten-times-worse-and-well-have-video-to-go-with-it/

Man Leading To Robert Mikelsons Sentenced to 18 Years on Child Porn Charges
http://vrritti.com/2012/06/09/man-leading-to-robert-mikelsons-sentenced-to-18-years-on-child-porn-charges/

Investigators have busted a child pornography ring spread across the U.S. and Europe that produced and distributed sexually explicit images of babies and toddlers online (Operation Bulldog)

Posted: 2012/06/09 in Education / Awareness, Enforcement, Stats / reports

“This operation uncovered a dangerous and depraved group of criminals who were devoted to trading sexually explicit images of children under the age of five,” Assistant U.S. Attorney General Larry Breuer said in a statement.

More than 20 suspects have been captured in nine states, and authorities are investigating yet more elsewhere in the U.S., as well as Sweden, Serbia, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Josh Minkler said at an Indianapolis news conference that more than two dozen children in Indiana and elsewhere were abused in the production of the pornography.

“Children who far too often weren’t old enough to comprehend the crimes committed against them,” Minkler said. “Children who were raped in this state and were too young to ask for help.”

Some of the suspects had legal custody of their victims, and those children have been removed, prosecutors said.

The “most prolific producer of child pornography” in the group was 26-year-old David Bostic, Assistant U.S. Attorney Brant Cook said.

Bostic persuaded parents to allow him to babysit and, thus entrusted, abused the children without their knowledge, Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve DeBrota said.

He was arrested in November 2010 after federal, state and local investigators raided his home in Bloomington, Ind., uncovering hundreds of pictures and videos on his computer of children engaged in sexual acts, including four girls aged from 2 months to 3 years and one 4-year-old boy who had been entrusted to his care.

He was convicted on 65 counts and sentenced to 315 years in prison.

Bostic’s arrest heralded the launch of Operation Bulldog; further investigation of his computer led investigators to others in the group.

DeBrota said the members met though a website and traded videos and still images by email.

“When they found a like-minded individual with this particular attraction that was very powerful and helped them rationalize what they were doing – in their world – was OK,” DeBrota said. “That ability to find a like-minded individual online that you couldn’t find in the real world is a severe danger that comes with the Internet.”

DeBrota told reporters that one suspect had an ultrasound image of an unborn baby whom the prosecutor characterized as a potential future victim. He declined to provide more details, citing the ongoing investigation.

“We have examples of offenders who were planning on having children for the purpose of having a class of victims,” DeBrota said.

Shawn Kuykendall, 32, of Summerville, S.C., was sentenced Wednesday to 25 years, while 23-year-old Javahn Algere, of New Orleans, got 12 years and 21-year-old Richard Szulborski, of East Texas, Pa., was sentenced to a 15-year term.

Sentenced earlier were Bostic; Danny L. Druck, 58, of Louisville, Ky., eight years; Chris Reid, 37, of Saginaw, Mich., 35 years; Todd King, 41, of Crestline, Calif., eight years.

Nicholas King, 28, of Bellingham, Wash., and 22-year-old Jeremy Labrec, of Lubbock, Texas, have pleaded guilty and await sentencing, prosecutors said.

“Child pornography rings pose a threat to children around the world and we will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute those who participate in such groups,” Breuer said.

Operation Bulldog was a result of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide Department of Justice initiative to combat online child sexual exploitation and abuse.

http://www.abc6.com/story/18727845/feds-break-international-child-porn-operation
Nearly 200 people were arrested last month and almost 20 victims rescued in a crackdown on child pornography (Operation Orion)
http://vrritti.com/2012/06/09/nearly-200-people-were-arrested-last-month-and-almost-20-victims-rescued-in-a-crackdown-on-child-pornography/

The Life Of Child Abuse Investigators: “Think of something, make it ten times worse, and we’ll have video to go with it”
http://vrritti.com/2012/06/04/the-life-of-child-abuse-investigators-think-of-something-make-it-ten-times-worse-and-well-have-video-to-go-with-it/

Man Leading To Robert Mikelsons Sentenced to 18 Years on Child Porn Charges
http://vrritti.com/2012/06/09/man-leading-to-robert-mikelsons-sentenced-to-18-years-on-child-porn-charges/

Man Leading To Robert Mikelsons Sentenced to 18 Years on Child Porn Charges

Posted: 2012/06/09 in Education / Awareness, Enforcement, Public Policy, Stats / reports

Robert DiDuca, of Milford, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Boston Friday to 18 years in federal prison, to be followed by 10 years of probation. He pleaded guilty in November 2011 to possession, production and distribution of child pornography.

In a statement, U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz said: “I hope that today’s sentence sends a strong message that the government will bring all of its resources to bear on child exploitation investigations and prosecutions. Protecting children is one of our highest priorities, and we will
continue to aggressively and proactively root out anyone engaged in the exploitation of a child.”

She commended investigators, whose efforts led not only to the arrest of DiDuca, a former hotel manager, but led “to a worldwide investigation, culminating in dozens arrests and the rescue of nearly over 130 children,” she said.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, when arrested, DiDuca had possession of more than 27,000 images of child pornography.

Investigators found that Diduca engaged in an online chat with an individual being separately prosecuted in Arizona, “persuading him to sexually abuse” a 4-year-old child and take sexually explicit photos of the child, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

The release continued: “Diduca provided the individual with a camera and suggested how the child should be posed. Diduca was also a member of an online forum for those with a sexual interest in children, and sent a pornographic image of a child via email. An investigation of that distributed image led to the identification of the child, and the arrest of a Dutch national in the Netherlands, who was charged with production, distribution, and possession of child pornography, as well as the sexual assault of 87 minors.”

http://milford-ma.patch.com/articles/robert-diduca-sentenced

See also:

Nearly 200 people were arrested last month and almost 20 victims rescued in a crackdown on child pornography (Operation Orion)
http://vrritti.com/2012/06/09/nearly-200-people-were-arrested-last-month-and-almost-20-victims-rescued-in-a-crackdown-on-child-pornography/

Investigators have busted a child pornography ring spread across the U.S. and Europe that produced and distributed sexually explicit images of babies and toddlers online (Operation Bulldog)
http://vrritti.com/2012/06/09/investigators-have-busted-a-child-pornography-ring-spread-across-the-u-s-and-europe-that-produced-and-distributed-sexually-explicit-images-of-babies-and-toddlers-online/

The Life Of Child Abuse Investigators: “Think of something, make it ten times worse, and we’ll have video to go with it”
http://vrritti.com/2012/06/04/the-life-of-child-abuse-investigators-think-of-something-make-it-ten-times-worse-and-well-have-video-to-go-with-it/