The Associated Press tells the story of Michael Fiola, a former Massachusetts government employee who was arrested in 2007 after child porn was found on his state-issued laptop computer. He was eventually cleared of all charges after some digging by the defense found that the laptop was infected with malware that was 'programmed to visit as many as 40 child porn sites per minute — an inhuman feat. While Fiola and his wife were out to dinner one night, someone logged on to the computer and porn flowed in for an hour and a half. Prosecutors performed another test and confirmed the defense findings. The charge was dropped — 11 months after it was filed.' The article also discusses the technical aspects of how it could happen and about similar cases in the United Kingdom in 2003.
Remove ads from your browser of choice and surf more safely. Extra security and NO ads...sounds like a win-win unless you depend on them for your site revenues.http://news.cnet.com/8301-13880_3-10387997-68.html?tag=contentMain;contentBody... more
The UK government is considering the mass surveillance and retention of all user communications on social-networking sites including Facebook, MySpace, and Bebo.
Home Office security minister Vernon Coaker said on Monday that the EU Data Retention Directive, under which ISPs must store communications data for 12 months, does not go far enough. Communications such as those on social networking sites and instant messaging could also be monitored, he said.
The UK government has previously said that communications interception was "vital", and has hinted that social-networking sites may be put under surveillance
All in the name of terrorism ofcourse, and only to protect ourselves, there are rumours that this has already been put into place.
When i'm on googlemail, the adverts on the side will match up to a few words that are written in any email i am reading at the time, so if the government says they wont check the content of texts, messages, etc they just want to see who we are messaging and when, well then how come compnies already have the power to read our messages?
The government has probably been spying on us for years, now its just getting more technical.
This is a gross breach of our humans rights, are you willing to stand up for yourself to someone who knows every web page you have browsed, those porn sights you have been on? every transaction you have made? this isn't about having something to hide, it's about a complete loss of our rights as humans, and if this is true about the government, then we have way over stepped the line to a scientific totalitarian police state, and it will only get worse.
Is privacy still possible? For a lot of people, the answer is no, as companies collect personal data in ever-increasing volumes.
Take a site like NextMark.com.
It's a sort of "Google" for mailing lists, where more than 1,400 data vendors offer lists of names — hundreds of thousands of names at a time — all sliced and diced and searchable. If you're looking for a list of people with heart disease, you can find it here. Heart disease plus Hispanic plus over 50? Also available.
This type of data has been for sale for a long time; even some public radio stations sell lists of their donors through the site.
What's changed is the speed with which information flows into databases like these. It used to come from sources such as magazine subscriptions and warranty cards. Now it's flowing from online sources — thousands of them — everything from gambling Web sites to dating services.First in a four-part series
Is privacy still possible? For a lot of people, the... more
A partire da Lunedi 26 Ottobre alle 22:00. Un'indagine rivela come le nuove tecnologie possano limitare la nostra privacy attingendo ai nostri dati personali.A partire da Lunedi 26 Ottobre alle 22:00. Un'indagine rivela come le nuove tecnologie... more
An assistant at a grocery store in Clackmannanshire, Scotland, was ordered by the Performing Right Society (PRS) to obtain a performer's license and to pay royalties because she was informally singing popular songs while stocking groceries. The PRS later backed down and apologized. This after the same store had turned off the radio after a warning from the PRS. We have entered an era where music is no longer an art for all to enjoy, but rather a form of private property that must be regulated and taxed like alcohol. "Music to the ears" has become 'dollars in the bankAn assistant at a grocery store in Clackmannanshire, Scotland, was ordered by the... more
Just remember, Google is a corporation, it is not your friend. It has no problem throwing you and your right to privacy under the bus. Google shut down a Gmail account and handed the user's private info over to a bank without putting up a fight. The Gmail user's offense? He received an email mistakenly addressed to his account.Just remember, Google is a corporation, it is not your friend. It has no problem... more
After transcripts of some voicemail messages from Google Voice users appeared in search results, Google has modified the telephony management service to prevent this from happening, the company said.After transcripts of some voicemail messages from Google Voice users appeared in... more
An american politician's attempt to unmask the identity of an email poster who allegedly made disparaging remarks about her teenage son in an online forum is stirring a debate about free speech rights on the Internet.An american politician's attempt to unmask the identity of an email poster who... more
SEE is a short documentary that presents the growing phenomenon of surveillance through the performance art of Raul Gschrey, a young German artist who is aware of the increasing number of CCTV cameras in his hometown Frankfurt.
The film takes a look at Frankfurt’s streets and public spaces, which are under intensive surveillance, as Raul artistically attempts to communicate with the people who operate the cameras through monitoring systems. He engages in question-and-answer antics to investigate the cameras’ use. Is there anyone watching? Do CCTV cameras provide a feeling of security or are they perceived as an uninvited, intrusive observer?
For Raul, the CCTV camera offers a stage on which people can change roles: from passive observed persons to self-empowered individuals who take active part in an interaction with them. He successfully manages to raise people’s awareness of surveillance, visual monitoring and encourages the public to behave actively and self-consciously using his techniques.
SEE echoes the Orwellian alarm of a despotic regime that continuously monitors its citizens and tries to exercise thought control. This is the nightmare view of the delightfully dastardly tomorrow that, according to many sociologists, has already started.
Produced and Directed by Apostolos Gaitanis
Editing by Chris Tsatsanis
Music by DATURAH
Many thanks to Bernd Metz, Jesse Karjalainen and Miguel Samothrakis
Copyright Apostolos Gaitanis 2009SEE is a short documentary that presents the growing phenomenon of surveillance... more
Independently produced mock Public Servce Announcement on the Patriot Act.
With inauguration of a new president the time is ripe for policy change. Issues such as post-9/11 public privacy are still hot and in need of discussion.Independently produced mock Public Servce Announcement on the Patriot Act.
With... more
Hate Twitter spam (who doesn't?)? Twitter has added a "Report As Spam" feature to the service. Better late than never!Hate Twitter spam (who doesn't?)? Twitter has added a "Report As Spam" feature to the... more
A privacy activist argues that the devices pose new security risks to those who carry them, often unwittinglyA privacy activist argues that the devices pose new security risks to those who carry... more
An attorney defending against a music-piracy lawsuit didn’t cross ethical bounds by filing motions broadly attacking the recording industry and posting them on his blog, a magistrate judge has ruled, rejecting demands from the RIAA for monetary sanctions.
picture-19Attorney Ray Beckerman was “less than forthcoming at times” in defending a client against an RIAA lawsuit, but the music industry’s concerns were “largely overstated,” New York Magistrate Judge Robert M. Levy wrote Friday (http://beckermanlegal.com/pdf/?file=/Lawyer_Copyright_Internet_Law/umg_lindor_091009MagistrateDecision.pdf) (.pdf).
“Although defendant’s counsel took an unusually aggressive stance and, at times, veered into hyperbole and gratuitous attacks on the recording industry as a whole, I do not find clear evidence of bad faith on counsel’s part,”
Levy also ruled that the RIAA, which has sued 30,000 individuals, was not a vexatious litigant, shooting down Beckerman’s counter-complaint against his courtroom opponents. “Plaintiffs have doggedly pursued their copyright infringement claim, but I find no evidence of undue vexatiousness or ill motive on their part,” Levy wrote.An attorney defending against a music-piracy lawsuit didn’t cross ethical bounds by... more
On Nov. 1, a law in Oklahoma will go into effect that will collect personal details about every single abortion performed in the state and post them on a public website. Implementing the measure will “cost $281,285 the first year and $256,285 each subsequent year.” Here are the first eight questions that women will have to reveal:
1. Date of abortion
2. County in which abortion performed
3. Age of mother
4. Marital status of mother
(married, divorced, separated, widowed, or never married)
5. Race of mother
6. Years of education of mother
(specify highest year completed)
7. State or foreign country of residence of mother
8. Total number of previous pregnancies of the mother
Live Births
Miscarriages
Induced Abortions
Although the questionnaire does not ask for name, address, or “any information specifically identifying the patient,” as Feminists for Choice points out, these eight questions could easily be used to identify a woman in a small community. “They’re really just trying to frighten women out of having abortions,” Keri Parks, director of external affairs at Planned Parenthood of Central Oklahoma, said. The Center for Reproductive Rights is challenging the law, arguing that “it violates the Oklahoma Constitution because it ‘covers more than one subject’ — a challenge that previously worked to strike down an abortion ultrasound law.On Nov. 1, a law in Oklahoma will go into effect that will collect personal details... more
The root cause of application security vulnerabilities is usually design bugs, and often there are implementation defects. The empirical data showed that software bugs accounted for over 55% of the contributing vulnerability to the event (see the Business Threat Modeling study).The root cause of application security vulnerabilities is usually design bugs, and... more
I’m not arguing for an eggshell model of security - crunchy on the outside, squishy on the inside - but it makes things much easier to be able to address an application server’s security requirements without the need to assume that whatever security you implement on an application level is all you will have.I’m not arguing for an eggshell model of security - crunchy on the outside, squishy... more
In Estonia the State Department has arranged for a series of meetings/lectures and discussions for Mr. Clinton. In addition to visiting the NATO Center Mr. Clinton will meet with representatives of the Estonian government, private sector entities, law enforcement, university and primary education professionals.In Estonia the State Department has arranged for a series of meetings/lectures and... more
Yesterday, Chicago lost its bid for the 2016 Olympics (which went to Rio de Janiero instead), and it's looking very likely that US border procedures were one of the main factors which knocked Chicago out of the race: 'Among the toughest questions posed to the Chicago bid team this week in Copenhagen was one that raised the issue of what kind of welcome foreigners would get from airport officials when they arrived in this country to attend the Games. Syed Shahid Ali, an I.O.C. member from Pakistan, in the question-and-answer session following Chicago's official presentation, pointed out that entering the United States can be "a rather harrowing experience." ... The exchange underscores what tourism officials here have been saying for years about the sometimes rigorous entry process for foreigners, which they see as a deterrent to tourism.Yesterday, Chicago lost its bid for the 2016 Olympics (which went to Rio de Janiero... more
Infected users are often spreading additional malware by having infected Web sites posted on their Webpage without their knowledge. Friends are then more apt to click on these sites since they appear to be endorsed by their contacts. Tips on avoiding these tactics…Infected users are often spreading additional malware by having infected Web sites... more
