which can invest more in mobile and broadband networks to close the gap with the United States and Asia
More:
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/06/11/us-media-tech-summit-kroes-idUKBRE85A12A20120611
Archive for 2012/06/12
Europe’s top technology regulator Neelie Kroes supports consolidation as one way to create a handful of strong cross-border telecom leaders
Posted: 2012/06/12 in Education / Awareness, New Business Models, Public Policy, Stats / reportsGoogle’s Tim Bray Suggests HTTP Status Code For Legally Blocked Websites
Posted: 2012/06/12 in Blocking, Education / Awareness, Enforcement, Filtering, Legislation, New Business Models, Stats / reports, Tech EvolutionThis document specifies an additional Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) status code for use when resource access is denied for legal reasons. This allows server operators to operate with greater transparency in circumstances where issues of law or public policy affect their operation. This transparency may be beneficial both to these operators and to end users.
This status code indicates that the server is subject to legal restrictions which prevent it servicing the request.
Since such restrictions typically apply to all operators in a legal jurisdiction, the server in question may or may not be an origin server. The restrictions typically most directly affect the operations of ISPs and search engines.
Responses using this status code SHOULD include an explanation, in the response body, of the details of the legal restriction; which legal authority is imposing it, and what class of resources it applies to.
The use of the 451 status code implies neither the existence nor non-existence of the resource named in the request. That is to say, it is possible that if the legal restriction were removed, a request for the resource might still not succeed.
The 451 status code is optional; clients cannot rely upon its use. It is imaginable that certain legal authorities may wish to avoid transparency, and not only forbid access to certain resources, but also disclosure that the restriction exists.
More:
http://www.tbray.org/tmp/draft-tbray-http-legally-restricted-status.html
UK Information Commissioner’s Office sent an aggressive letter to senior Google veep Alan Eustace demanding “prompt” answers to seven questions to explain why Street View was able to slurp certain data
Posted: 2012/06/12 in Education / Awareness, Google, Privacy / Data Protection, Public Policy, Stats / reportsData-collecting cars collected payload data including emails and passwords from unencrypted Wi-Fi networks.
Now, the ICO wants Google to explain “precisely what type of data and sensitive personal data was captured within the payload data collected in the UK”.
It is also quizzing Google regarding just when its management became aware of what data had been collected by the Street View cars.
Further, the ICO wants to know why this information wasn’t provided to the regulator when Google visited the ICO’s London office with data that had been “pre-prepared” by the company in July 2010.
The ICO is also calling on Google to explain at what point senior members of the firm were privy to software design documents that showed what type of data could be captured by its Street View cars.
It’s essentially looking for a corporate audit trail that backs up – or conflicts with – Google’s original assertions about the embarrassing payload data slurp, which the company initially denied.
Finally, the ICO cited the Data Protection Act 1998 in its questions to Google. It wants to know what measures were introduced to prevent breaches at each stage of Street View’s development and subsequent deployment.
Much more:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/06/12/google_investigated_by_ico_over_street_view_again/
‘Bioskits’ Join Ranks of Stealth Malware
Posted: 2012/06/12 in Cybercrime, Education / Awareness, Privacy / Data Protection, Stats / reportsFacebook Is A Gold Mine For Cyber Criminals
Posted: 2012/06/12 in Cybercrime, Education / Awareness, New Business Models, Stats / reportsForget about using trojans or malware, just turn yourself into a criminal marketing expert. They are able to generate 250,000 ‘likes’ per week. Redirecting traffic to a multitude of malicious websites. It will become more difficult to differentiate legal and illegal ‘clicks’ and legal, illegal or erroneous purchases and downloads.
Social networks are designed to provide a maximum ease of use. That makes life very easy for social engineering criminals.
Dutch language news article and interview with Paul Judge of Barracuda Labs:
http://www.security.nl/artikel/41865/1/Facebook_goudmijn_voor_cybercriminelen_%28interview%29.html
The demand for data on mobile devices is doubling year-on-year. Estimates suggest that demand will exceed supply by 2013
Posted: 2012/06/12 in Bandwidth Management, Education / Awareness, Mobile tech, New Business Models, Stats / reports, Tech EvolutionIn fact it’s an issue that’s troubling a lot of people: scientists are trying to work out how cram more data into the same spectrum; Congress is auctioning off TV spectrum to use for wireless data instead. But those developments will take years to come to fruition.
More:
http://gizmodo.com/5917643/how-mobile-data-can-keep-up-with-demand
Mathematical Proof That Crime Doesn’t Pay
Posted: 2012/06/12 in Education / Awareness, Enforcement, Stats / reportsIf you’re struggling for cash, maybe the idea of robbing a bank has idly entered your mind. Don’t do it! Because a new study by a team of economists shows that it doesn’t make any financial sense whatsoever.
More:
http://gizmodo.com/5917656/mathematical-proof-that-robbing-banks-doesnt-make-economic-sense
TomTom Confirms Its Involvement With iOS 6 Maps
Posted: 2012/06/12 in Education / Awareness, New Business Models, Stats / reportsGoogle Books reaches agreement with French publishers
Posted: 2012/06/12 in Copyright, Education / Awareness, Google, New Business Models, Stats / reportsYesterday, June 11, Google Books and the French National Publishers Association – a group of book publishers – reached an agreement in the long-term dispute over the scanning of out-of-print books. French publishers and authors will drop their lawsuits and Google will come up with a “framework agreement”, which contains guidelines for the digitalization of out-of-print books. Publishers can choose whether or not they want to sign the agreement. The details of the agreement are yet unknown.
PGP creator Phil Zimmermann : This is not Facebook. Our customers are customers. They’re not products. They’re not part of the inventory
Posted: 2012/06/12 in Education / Awareness, New Business Models, Privacy / Data Protection, Stats / reportsZimmermann’s new company, Silent Circle, plans to release a beta version of an iPhone and Android app in late July that encrypts phone calls and other communications. A final version is scheduled to follow in late September.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-57451057-83/phil-zimmermanns-post-pgp-project-privacy-for-a-price/
World’s Most Famous Anarcho-Capitalist Libertarian Julian Assange Tries To Make Maximum Use Of Courts And Laws
Posted: 2012/06/12 in Education / Awareness, Litigation, Privacy / Data Protection, Public Policy, Stats / reportsWikiLeaks chief Julian Assange has asked Britain’s Supreme Court to reopen his extradition case, an unusual legal manoeuvr aimed at blocking his removal to Sweden.
British Supreme Court spokesman Ben Wilson confirmed Tuesday that papers had been lodged in the high-profile case, which has dragged on for the better part of two years.
The move was expected. The Supreme Court rejected Assange’s last-ditch appeal against extradition to Sweden last month, but lawyer Dinah Rose stood up after the verdict was read out to complain that justices relied on evidence that attorneys for the Australian computer expert had not had the chance to properly cross-examine.
Reopening a Supreme Court case after a ruling has been made is virtually unheard-of, and legal experts here say it would be a major embarrassment for Britain’s most senior judges.
“It would be very damaging for their reputation,” Julian Knowles, a lawyer with London’s Matrix Chambers, told The Associated Press late last month.
The justices could choose to reject Assange’s challenge. If they agree to reopen the case, they could ask both sides to offer written submissions or hold a new hearing.
Wilson, the court spokesman, said he couldn’t give a timescale for any eventual decision.
Assange, 40, is wanted in Sweden over allegations of rape and molestation stemming from a visit to the Scandinavian country in mid-2010. He has not been charged and denies any wrongdoing.
Bankrun in Greece. Between 100M and 500M EUR disappearing day after day
Posted: 2012/06/12 in Education / Awareness, Stats / reportsThis month, at least 5 Billion EUR will be moved to other countries or will be physically stored. This time, there are no customers queueing up at the banks themselves, this is all happening in virtual, digital realms
Dutch language news article:
http://www.standaard.be/artikel/detail.aspx?artikelid=DMF20120612_077
See also:
Bottom line: The situation in Europe remains fluid and dangerous. With currency flight from troubled countries and an uncertain outcome for Spain and Italy, flight to safe haven currency and bonds is likely to continue and make the ongoing debt crisis more dangerous and difficult to resolve.
http://wallstreetsectorselector.com/2012/06/did-someone-say-currency-control-bank-run-uup-fxf-euo/
ICANN’s batching program, called digital archery, is deeply flawed and should be abandoned before it causes havoc with the new gTLD program
Posted: 2012/06/12 in Education / Awareness, New Business Models, Stats / reportsAs well as arbitrarily creating winners and losers, creating unfair advantages for certain types of applicants and for certain regions, the program may be suffering from another software “glitch” of the kind that damaged the application process. There is a much better solution: a single batch for all applications.
In a phone followup to our communication with ICANN regarding the glitch we discovered with the Digital Archery program, ICANN acknowledged that the issue was real, but that it related to display only (not to actual data recorded), and that the issue has been fixed as of Saturday.
I applaud ICANN for the followup and the quick fix, and hope that it was a one-off problem and not a harbinger of other troubles. The batching program itself remains deeply flawed as discussed in my previous post and as communicated in a letter to Cherine Chalaby, ICANN Board member and Chair of the Board New gTLD Program Committee.
http://www.mindsandmachines.com/2012/06/digital-archery-glitch-followup/
Digital Archery Experts, Pool.com and Key-Systems are offering digital archery services. The companies promise that they can secure a slot in the first batch of applications that will be initially evaluated by ICANN.
Under Pool.com’s Digital Archery Engine, the fee will be $25,000 if the company will be able to secure a spot in the first batch, $10,000 for spot in the second batch and there will be no fee if the spot secured for a client falls under batch 3 or lower.
On the other hand, under Digital Archery Experts’ Batch One Bullseye offering, the company is accepting clients on a first come per serve basis and they will only pay if they are included in the first batch. [11] The company partnered with Sedari, a gTLD business management firm in offering the Batch One Bullseye digital archery service to its clients.
Meanwhile, Key-Systems is offering its digital archery service to new gTLD applicants for €15,000 ($18,800). According to Alexander Siffrin, CEO of the company his team was able “hit the specified time exactly in the testing system – matching even the millisecond.”
Sainsbury works with publishers HarperCollins, Penguin and Random House Group to develop eBook selling website Anobii
Posted: 2012/06/12 in Education / Awareness, New Business Models, Stats / reports, Tech EvolutionAnobii is a website which sells ebooks to be read on a range of devices, including e-readers, tablets such as the iPad and smartphones.
It also allows users to rate and review books, and share their comments with other members on the site and on different social networking sites. It has more than 600,000 users around the world and a library of 60,000 ebooks.
Julian Assange continues to look for solutions to the problems of privacy, online communication and freedom, with the people he believes know the answers – the Cypherpunks
Posted: 2012/06/12 in Education / Awareness, Stats / reportsThe movement argues against governments and powerful corporations monopolizing information, and says citizens should have a greater right to their own privacy.
In this interview they rekindle the atmosphere of the informal chats they used to have before the Wikileaks firestorm, but the subject matter is anything but cozy.
If you missed it, you can watch Part 1 of their talk here.
More:
http://www.rt.com/news/assange-interview-cypherpunks-internet-588/
See also:
WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange – The Cypherpunk Revolutionary
http://vrritti.com/2011/03/04/julian-assange-the-cypherpunk-revolutionary/
Anonymous, CCC, Cypherpunk, DDoS, Hacker, Hadopi, MegaUpload, Parti Pirate, WikiLeaks, 4Chan, 5e Pouvoir
http://vrritti.com/2012/02/11/anonymous-ccc-cypherpunk-ddos-hacker-hadopi-megaupload-parti-pirate-wikileaks-4chan-5e-pouvoir/
Despite blanket media coverage of Wikileaks and Julian Assange, there has been little discussion of the fact that Assange is merely one leader within a large and complicated social movement: Wikileaks, Karl Marx and You
http://vrritti.com/2011/01/12/despite-blanket-media-coverage-of-wikileaks-and-julian-assange-there-has-been-little-discussion-of-the-fact-that-assange-is-merely-one-leader-within-a-large-and-complicated-social-movement-wikileaks/
“If the Internet was walking around in public, it would look and act a lot like Julian Assange”
http://vrritti.com/2010/12/25/if-the-internet-was-walking-around-in-public-it-would-look-and-act-a-lot-like-julian-assange/
WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange – A CypherPunk
http://vrritti.com/2010/12/10/wikileaks-julian-assange-a-cypherpunk/
Blast From The Past. Cypherpunks write code, Cypherpunks break the laws they don’t like. Don’t get mad, get even. Write code
http://vrritti.com/2011/01/22/blast-from-the-past-cypherpunks-write-code-cypherpunks-break-the-laws-they-dont-like-dont-get-mad-get-even-write-code/
Blast From The Past. John Gilmore, Cypherpunk & EFF co-founder: ‘The Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it
http://vrritti.com/2011/01/23/blast-from-the-past-john-gilmore-cypherpunk-eff-co-founder-the-net-interprets-censorship-as-damage-and-routes-around-it/
Blast From The Past. ‘The first serious infowar is now engaged. The field of battle is WikiLeaks. You are the troops.’ – John Perry Barlow
http://vrritti.com/2011/01/24/blast-from-the-past-the-first-serious-infowar-is-now-engaged-the-field-of-battle-is-wikileaks-you-are-the-troops-john-perry-barlow/
500 Full-Length Movies You Can Stream Completely Free
Posted: 2012/06/12 in Education / Awareness, Stats / reportsWe’re not talking about pay-for streaming which allows unlimited viewing here. Rather, a list of old films scattered across sites like YouTube, the Internet Archive, Crackle, and Veoh. That are completely, entirely, 100 percent free to watch. The movies—listed by OpenCulture—are split up by genre and the list includes a short explainer for each flick. Which is fortunate because, while there are plenty of classics in there including films by Hitchcock and an armful of John Wayne westerns, some are rather more obscure.
More:
http://gizmodo.com/5917304/here-are-500-full+length-movies-you-can-stream-completely-free
The Daily Mail and other publications are guilty of stealing and re-running “significant” parts of a massively-popular interview of Paul McCartney
Posted: 2012/06/12 in Copyright, Education / Awareness, Enforcement, Litigation, Stats / reportsIn some cases without attribution, in all cases, without providing a link to the source, and in many cases, doing so in a way that he says paints a falsely-negative picture of one of the greatest musicians of our time.
Now, Drowned in Sound is taking legal action against The Daily Mail and possibly other outlets.
In an international hacking case, a Dutch man appeared in U.S. federal court today and pled not guilty to stealing at least 44,000 credit card numbers
Posted: 2012/06/12 in Cybercrime, Education / Awareness, Enforcement, Privacy / Data Protection, Public Policy, Stats / reportsDavid Benjamin Schrooten, aka “Fortezza,” is being targeted by federal prosecutors for allegedly hacking into computers and stealing massive amounts of credit card numbers. Once he obtained the numbers, he allegedly sold them in bulk quantities via different Web sites. The 44,000 is reportedly from just one sale.
Police caught onto Schrooten’s alleged heist last November after a Seattle restaurant owner contacted the police. According to the Associated Press, several customers who ate at the restaurant got suspicious charges on their cards. Some were even getting charged $70 to $80 in as little as 10 minutes after using their cards at the restaurant.
Local and federal authorities eventually caught onto the trail of one of Schrooten’s alleged partners, Christopher A. Schroebel, 21, who was living in Maryland. According to the Associated Press, Schroebel put spying malware in the sales systems of dozens of business. Investigators said that the two alleged hackers worked together to create Web sites to sell the credit card numbers.
Schroebel was arrested in November and pled guilty to federal charges last month. His sentence is not yet set.
As for Schrooten, who is also 21, he was arrested in Romania and landed in Seattle on Saturday to attend his hearing in court today. He is being charged with access device fraud, identity theft, and 12 other federal counts. Police told the Associated Press that the investigation into Schrooten’s cybercrime ring is ongoing.
“People think that cyber criminals cannot be found or apprehended. Today we know that’s not true. You cannot hide in cyberspace,” U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan said at a news conference, according to the Associated Press. “We will find you. We will charge you. We will extradite you and we will prosecute you.”
James Bond-style malware targets firm that secures industrial systems
Posted: 2012/06/12 in Cybercrime, Education / Awareness, Network Security, Privacy / Data Protection, Stats / reportsA recently sent e-mail addressed a Digital Bond employee by name and used an account that was registered to appear as if it belonged to Dale Peterson, the company’s founder and CEO. According to a blog post published late last week, it made reference to a paper Peterson co-authored in 2009 and asked the employee to click on a Web link that led to a compressed file stored on a compromised server. Malicious code in the file installs a remote backdoor on end-user machines. It was detected by only seven of 42 antivirus products. That suggests the trojan hadn’t circulated widely before it was unleashed on Digital Bond, presumably to tap its employees’ expertise in the security of ICS, or industrial control systems.
The remote access trojan, which was hosted on research.digitalvortex.com, creates a backdoor that funnels data on infected machines to a second domain name, hint.happyforever.com. It bears similarities to malware seen in Operation Shady Rat, a five-year espionage campaign discovered last year that targeted at least 14 countries. Similarities include the use of encoded commands hidden in otherwise normal looking webpages and an overlap in the command and control servers used in the two attacks.
More:
http://arstechnica.com/security/2012/06/jamesmalware-targets-industrial-systems-experts/
Flame’s crypto attack may have needed $200,000 worth of compute power
Posted: 2012/06/12 in Education / Awareness, Network Security, Privacy / Data Protection, Stats / reportsThe cryptographic attack that Flame engineers used to hijack Microsoft’s Windows Update process was so computationally demanding, it would have required the equivalent of $200,000 worth of computing time from Amazon’s EC2 Web service for most people to carry it out.
More:
http://arstechnica.com/security/2012/06/flame-crypto-attack-may-have-needed-massive-compute-power/
