Archive for 2012/09/01

Pirate Bay founder Gottfrid Svartholm Warg has been arrested in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh

Posted: 2012/09/01 in Copyright, Education / Awareness, Enforcement, Illegal File Sharing, Public Policy, Stats / reports

Svartholm Warg, known online by his nickname Anakata, was sentenced to one year in jail for his involvement in The Pirate Bay but has been missing for some time. Svartholm was wanted internationally but exact details as to why he was arrested have not yet been made public.

Pirate Bay founder Gottfrid Svartholm Warg was arrested by Cambodian police on Thursday in Phnom Penh, the city that he made his home several years ago. According to local sources he was arrested in an apartment above the Cadillac Bar on the riverfront, a place where he is known to have stayed in the past.

Neither Cambodian nor Swedish authorities have commented on the grounds of the arrest. The 27-year-old became wanted internationally after he failed to return to Sweden to serve his 12 month jail sentence earlier this year.

Gottfrid’s lawyer Ola Salomonsson thinks the arrest could be related to The Pirate Bay case, but this hasn’t been announced officially.

“As far as I understand it is because he is on an international wanted list,” he said.

While there is no extradition treaty between Cambodia and Sweden the lawyer believes his client could be transferred to his home country eventually.

Gottfrid has been battling poor health ever since The Pirate Bay appeal in 2010. He failed to attend that hearing due to an illness which left him too sick to leave hospital in Cambodia. Then, despite having supported his original absence with a medical certificate, Gottfrid failed to appear at a subsequent hearing. This prompted the Court of Appeal to finalize the initial verdict of one year jail time and a fine of $1.1 million.

All this time the Pirate Bay founder was nowhere to be found. Neither his lawyer nor his old Pirate Bay friends had heard from him. Sources in Cambodia, however, told TorrentFreak last year that Gottfrid was still in bad shape.

Gottfrid should have returned to Sweden to begin serving his sentence January 2nd this year, but again he failed to appear.

http://torrentfreak.com/pirate-bay-founder-arrested-in-cambodia-120901/

One of the world’s leading Pirate Bay proxy sites has been battling a crippling DDoS attack this week

Posted: 2012/09/01 in Cybercrime, Education / Awareness, Network Security, Stats / reports

Since Wednesday, the reverse proxy service operated by the UK Pirate Party has been under assault, rendering the service inaccessible to many of its users. The site they aim to facilitate access to – The Pirate Bay itself – has also been under attack. Both sites are fighting back and are determined to come out on top.

While some may find it entertaining to watch government and corporate websites collapse under the onslaught of tens of thousands of angry LOICs, this is a knife that cuts both ways and increasingly torrent sites are at the sharp end.

More:
http://torrentfreak.com/pirate-party-pirate-bay-proxy-fights-back-after-ddos-attack-120901/

The first Russian prototype tablet computer called RoMos – short for Russian Mobile Operating System – developed for the Ministry of Defense

Posted: 2012/09/01 in Education / Awareness, Network Security, New Business Models, Privacy / Data Protection, Public Policy, Stats / reports, Tech Evolution

http://blogs.wsj.com/emergingeurope/2012/08/30/russia-unveils-prototype-tablet/

Brain-Controlled Quadcopter Drone Takes Flight in China

Posted: 2012/09/01 in Education / Awareness, Stats / reports, Tech Evolution

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/08/zhejiang-university-china-brain-controlled-quadcopter/

How the U.S. Fights the Zeta Cartel, From Spies to Sanctions

Posted: 2012/09/01 in Education / Awareness, Enforcement, Organized Crime, Public Policy, Stats / reports

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/08/zetas/

Murder Suspect Allegedly Used GPS Tracker to Find Wife’s Lover

Posted: 2012/09/01 in Education / Awareness, Privacy / Data Protection, Stats / reports

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/08/murder-suspect-allegedly-used-gps-tracker-to-find-wifes-lover/

Disney’s 3D-Printed Princesses, Interactive Cakes, and Other Maker Technology

Posted: 2012/09/01 in Education / Awareness, New Business Models, Stats / reports, Tech Evolution

http://www.wired.com/design/2012/08/disneys-3d-printed-princesses-interactive-cakes-and-other-maker-technology/

Chemical biz ‘Nitro’ hackers use Java to coat PCs in poison ivy

Posted: 2012/09/01 in Cybercrime, Education / Awareness, Network Security, Privacy / Data Protection, Stats / reports

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/08/31/nitro_hackers_abuse_java_exploit/

Google: legitimate spyware sold by British firm Gamma International appears to be being used by some of the most repressive regimes in the world

Posted: 2012/09/01 in Education / Awareness, Google, Privacy / Data Protection, Public Policy, Stats / reports

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/08/31/finspy_gamma_polcie_spying/

Sky Broadband UK Hires Movie Star Bruce Willis to Sell You Internet Access

Posted: 2012/09/01 in Education / Awareness, New Business Models, Online advertising, Stats / reports

The TV advert (includes print and outdoor ads), which is due to air for the first time today, is expected to see Willis adopt a “stereotypical celebrity persona” as he attacks the headquarters of a presumably rival broadband ISP (BT or Virgin Media etc. – we don’t know).

Apparently Willis’s reason for doing this is because he has just exceeded the download limit of his package while streaming an online movie and doesn’t like the suggestion of being told to watch it in a lower quality instead. So at least the plot of this advert is no worse than that of Hudson Hawk or Die Hard 4.

More:
http://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2012/09/sky-broadband-uk-hires-bruce-willis-to-sell-you-its-internet-access.html

The disappearance of midwage, midskill jobs is part of a longer-term trend

Posted: 2012/09/01 in Education / Awareness, New Business Models, Stats / reports

http://www.infowars.com/majority-of-new-jobs-pay-low-wages-study-finds/

Google gets patent for software that can intelligently identify any object on the planet

Posted: 2012/09/01 in Education / Awareness, Google, Stats / reports, Tech Evolution

http://www.infowars.com/google-gets-patent-for-software-that-can-intelligently-identify-any-object-on-the-planet/

Do you have a reasonable expectation of privacy if you have a private, protected Twitter account?

Posted: 2012/09/01 in Education / Awareness, Enforcement, Litigation, Privacy / Data Protection, Public Policy, Stats / reports

It’s ‘the internets’ fool…of course not!

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mtpiii/we-need-legally-protected-tweets

These Researchers Know Where You Live, Pirates

Posted: 2012/09/01 in Copyright, Education / Awareness, Enforcement, Illegal File Sharing, Privacy / Data Protection, Stats / reports

Watch out pirates, you may not be as anonymous as you think, especially if you upload to the Pirate Bay. Researchers have recently published a tool that lets you get all kinds of data, including location, about some of the most prolific accounts.

Finding out the IPs of people who have downloaded is nothing particularly new, but researchers from the University of Oregon, University of Carlos III in Mardid and others have been keeping a close eye on Pirate Bay uploaders and were able to dig up a bit more info. Now they’ve published a tool—MYPROBE—that can help anyone peruse the available data, which includes a list of IPs and locations connected to any given account. You can search by top publishers, top ISPs, top countries, or find details about any uploader you choose.

More:
http://gizmodo.com/5939819/these-researchers-know-where-you-live-pirates

Anonymous Thankful To Oracle: The Java 7 update released by Oracle on Thursday allows attackers to take complete control of end-user computers

Posted: 2012/09/01 in Cybercrime, Education / Awareness, Network Security, Privacy / Data Protection, Stats / reports

http://arstechnica.com/security/2012/08/critical-bug-discovered-in-newest-java/

This documentary reveals how public policy actually entices Americans into dealing drugs

Posted: 2012/09/01 in Education / Awareness, Enforcement, Public Policy, Stats / reports

How to Make Money Selling Drugs offers a provocative glimpse into the lives of those on both sides of the “war on drugs,” delivering a diverse and unique perspective on the subject through interviews with 50 Cent, Eminem, The Wire producer David Simon, Arianna Huffington, Woody Harrelson, Eminem and Susan Sarandon, as well as infamous drug kingpin “Freeway” Rick Ross. Presenting a step-by-step guide on how to go from street dealer to drug lord, the documentary reveals how public policy actually entices Americans into dealing drugs. Bert Marcus Productions was granted unprecedented access from top-ranking government officials, including U.S. Drug Czar to the Drug Enforcement Agency, all providing varied viewpoints on this controversial subject.

http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/independent/howtomakemoneysellingdrugs/

“The Drug War Is A Holocaust In Slow Motion”

Posted: 2012/09/01 in Education / Awareness, Enforcement, Public Policy, Stats / reports

As America remains embroiled in conflict overseas, a less visible war is taking place at home, costing countless lives, destroying families, and inflicting untold damage on future generations of Americans. Over the last forty years, the War on Drugs has cost $1 trillion, accounted for more than 45 million arrests, made America the world’s largest jailer, and damaged poor communities at home and abroad. Yet for all that, drugs are cheaper, purer, and more available today than ever before. Filmed in more than twenty states, THE HOUSE I LIVE IN captures heart-wrenching stories from individuals at all levels of America’s War on Drugs. From the dealer to the grieving mother, the narcotics officer to the senator, the inmate to the federal judge, the film offers a penetrating look inside America’s longest war, offering a definitive portrait and revealing its profound human rights implications.

http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/independent/thehouseilivein/