Egypt’s protesters bypass Internet blockade
January 31, 2011
Prior to Egypt blockading Internet access, protestor groups already had a backup communications plan in place. Over the weekend and continuing today, mobilization of street protests have continued. Instead of Facebook postings, Twitter micro-posts and SMS text messages, couriers scooted on foot, motorbikes and other vehicles to homes of neighborhood leaders in charge of co-ordinating protests.
“They’re using old-fashioned word of mouth,” says Neil Hicks, policy advisor of the …More
Privacy implications of ubiquitous digital sensors
January 26, 2011
By Byron Acohido, USA TODAY, 26Jan2011, P1B
Odds are you will be monitored today — many times over.
Surveillance cameras at airports, subways, banks and other public venues are not the only devices tracking you. Inexpensive, ever-watchful digital sensors are now ubiquitous.
They are in laptop webcams, video-game motion sensors, smartphone cameras, utility meters, passports and employee ID cards. Step out your front door and you could be captured in …More
Stuxnet’s goal: cripple Iran, N. Korea nuclear weapons programs
January 17, 2011
A New York Times story, published 15 Jan. 2011, makes a strong case that the Windows Stuxnet computer worm may be part of a joint U.S. – Israeli effort to undermine Iran’s nuclear weapons aspirations.
Now comes Finnish antivirus firm, F-Secure, contributing its latest cogent, riveting technical breakdown of Stuxnet. F-Secure makes several stunning assertions of its own. It explains why Stuxnet:
Clearly appears to be …More
A call for each of us to assume digital responsibility
January 14, 2011
Giffords
In the wake of the Arizona shootings, a national debate has arisen about vitriolic statements directed at Rep. Gabrielle Giffords by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin on Palin’s Facebook page.
That debate added impetus to a series of workshops held at the University of Arizona on 13 Jan. 2011 on the notion of exercising “digital responsibility.”
In this LastWatchdog Q&A, Tony Anscombe, …More
DuckDuckGo billboard blasts Google’s online tracking practices
January 14, 2011
Commuters heading into work next week via the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge will see this whimsical billboard tilting at a serious issue: the degree to which search giant Google tracks Internet users without first gaining their permission.
The billboard touts DuckDuckGo.com, a 2-year-old search engine that promises never to use your search queries as a pre-text for compiling data about the sites you subsequently visit. The image …More
Google moves to control video on Web, mobile devices
January 13, 2011
The jockeying to see which tech giant controls the future of video on the Internet has hit another flash point.
Google’s decision to dump a widely-used video standard, called H.264, from its Chrome browser, in favor of a format it has created, called WebM, is drawing howls of derision in the tech community.
The H.264 format is used on about 66% of the video on the Web. It is …More
Plunge in spam volume foreshadows more insidious use of botnets in 2011
January 10, 2011
After a 16-day hiatus, the Rustock botnet, today began spreading email spam once again.
On Christmas Day, Rustock suddenly and inexplicably went dark, and stayed off line until now. Lesser botnets, Lethic and Xarvester, also shut down, according to Symantec Hosting Services.
This has caused current spamming levels to plunge to less that half the typical daily levels seen in 2010.
At its peak, kingpin botnet Rustock controlled as …More
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