tagged w/ Technology Review
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The Wikileaks saga, which seems to have a daily twist and which now brings us a whole range of denial of service and legitimacy of hosting stories as well as the core political story, is purely and simply a case of inadequate internal information security, says Gary Flood
Wikileaks computer security
For what else is Private First Class Bradley Manning, the man who may or may not have leaked the material, that's to say possibly 90,000 pages of US Army stuff on the Afghan War, the terrifying video nasty of the helicopter gunship attack on civilians in Iraq, the 260,000 classified diplomatic cables and maybe more, but that horrifying thing - the disgruntled employee with access to stuff that can damage his employer if leaked and who has a grudge to justify himself doing so?
Is Manning a 'traitor,' along the lines of an Aldrich Ames, a Robert Hanssen or even a Guy Burgess? These scum betrayed their countries for a mix of monetary or so-called ideological motives; Manning, as we'll see in a minute, has more complex, perhaps more prosaic, motivations, apparently. I'm less interested in that aspect as seeing what he did as breaking the policies of his organisation (the US Army) and the trust of his employer (his country), with huge consequences for both.
As anyone who follows these CBR Rolling blogs will know, I write a lot about information security as a topic, generally taking the line that the biggest issue is never the external hacker but the internal threat. Thus, Manning. So his organisation has to take some blame for putting insufficient structure and safeguards in place to stop secrets walking out the door. Though they do; apparently every day, by my recent clippings; and there's no legislating for human nature, as we know.
In fact if you look specifically at what he allegedly did do, the parallels with corporate data leaks become clearer and clearer. Manning was an intelligence analyst assigned to a support battalion with the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division at Contingency Operating Station Hammer, in Iraq. He has boasted in an IM that he was the one who'd leaked the "Collateral Murder" video of a helicopter airstrike on July 12, 2007, in Baghdad, and all the rest of the data and that as a result he is facing charges under US military law for, and I quote, "transferring classified data onto his personal computer and adding unauthorised software to a classified computer system," and "communicating, transmitting and delivering national defence information to an unauthorised source".
Why did he do it? He seems to be a very unhappy young man. As a gay man, it seems he wasn't that happy about not being allowed to tell his comrades he was such under the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy. We are also told he felt he was being given demeaning jobs, like being made to fetch the coffee in the workplace. Apart from these features of personal discontent, he also has, it seems, some sort of political grievance too, being recorded as expressing disillusionment with American foreign policy, the diplomatic documents he filched detailing, in his view, "almost criminal political back dealings" and that he wanted their release to cause large-scale scandals and lead to "worldwide discussion, debates, and reforms."
Manning's superior officers - his managers - can't be blamed for not worrying that much that he wasn't fitting in. They can be blamed - and should be - for appalling security weakness. The bloke's a bloody Private, for God's sake! What kind of a system lets a Pfc access some of the most sensitive secrets of your country? OK, not nuclear, but that clip of civilians being mowed down like zombies in a video game's done as much damage to US reputation as a battlefield nuke, right?
And I don't even have to tell you how he got the stuff out - yes, on DVDs and CD-ROMs, without anyone batting an eyelid or checking what he was up to.
Two things are going to happen. Either we start figuring out a way to stop this happening, and the fact that the CIOs of the world's biggest military force haven't bothered trying leaves me little basis for confidence. Or two - we accept the fact that we have no secrets and that everything is porous.
Maybe that wouldn't be such a bad world, on the macro, geopolitical level. But dunno about you, but I don't want you reading my email, my post or my text messages.
Welcome to the real world: the one where people do what they've always done, sell secrets, despite all the ISO27001s you can throw at it.The Wikileaks saga, which seems to have a daily twist and which now brings us a whole... more
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Worlds Worst Aircraft (305 Pics)
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Steve Jobs hasn't minced words when defending Apple's decision to not support Flash on iPad and iPhone. But you won't see Ben Hoffman's iPad demonstration on a big screen anytime soon. For this week's infoMania Tech Report, Ben tests out his favorite websites, from Hulu to the New York Times -- all of which look completely awful.
The infoMania Tech Report is a weekly segment where technology guru Ben Hoffman takes a look at the newest tech products, gadgets and video games. It has been called "the funniest tech show on the web." (No source for that quote is available at this time. In fact, there's a good chance it was made up.) For more Ben visit http://current.com/techreport/ and Current TV.
infoMania is a half-hour satirical news show that airs on Current TV. The show puts a comedic spin on the 24-hour chaos and information overload brought about by the constant bombardment of the media. Hosted by Conor Knighton and co-starring Brett Erlich, Sarah Haskins, Ben Hoffman, Bryan Safi and Sergio Cilli, the show airs on Thursdays at 10 pm Eastern and Pacific Times and can be found online at http://current.com/infomania/ or on Current TV. And make sure to check out our facebook profile for special features at http://facebook.com/infomania.Steve Jobs hasn't minced words when defending Apple's decision to not... more
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You may recall a previous article we posted about a nifty little product in beta design called BudTrap. BudTrap’s sole purpose is to keep your iPod earphones untangled, make them easier to use and keep loose wires from flopping about. Well, the folks at BudTrap have since performed an overhaul on the BudTrap beta design, making it simpler to use and compatible with even more devices.
Read more: http://www.whitespace.bz/ws/web/forms/pulse/PulseMainArticle.aspx?id=378You may recall a previous article we posted about a nifty little product in beta... more
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It was a difficult decision not to purchase an iPhone with it's 80 gazillion apps (exaggerating) and fancy packaging; The choice to go with a PalmPre was driven more so by the mobile carrier rather than the device itself.
Situated in NYC, I have inside information from a sales person at a T-Mobile retail location who revealed that in NYC, AT&T and T-Mobile "share" cell towers which leads to a parallel quality of service. This is a result of local restrictions such as 24/7 access and leasing to install cell towers on private property.
The question is: Would you want to give the keys to your home to AT&T? Also note, cell towers are ugly and it has been alleged that proximity to cell towers, like radio wave towers, may have side effects to health in humans and animals, but again... total speculation and not my area of expertise.
A little back story, I was held hostage by T-Mobile for over 5 years and the service was horrible, specifically the rate at which my calls were dropped. This sub par service led to lost business, anxiety, frustration... dare I say hatred? To go with AT&T would have been a lateral move, so I opted for SPRINT NEXTEL and the PalmPre.
Finally, I have validation in this choice as the service ratings in NYC are made available from ARChart, Rethink Wireless reports: " ....AT&T Wireless is delivering amongst the world's worst 3G data speeds in some of its US markets. While AT&T is achieving an average download speed of 1,037 kbps across the country, in New York the average is just 767 kbps, one of the poorest in the study and far behind the speeds delivered by carriers in less developed countries like China, South Africa and Venezuela."
The article notes "Owing to the nature of our research methodology, a network cannot be tested if no data connection is present or if the connection is dropped midway through the speed test - two issues which are the source of common complaints levied by AT&T customers." and to that end, the article concludes "The study's best performing carrier is T-Mobile Hungary, at just over 1,600 kbps, meaning that 3G in Budapest is more than twice as fast as in New York."
I have to admit, T-Mobile worked spectacularly well when I was in Germany - full bars in the middle of the most remote regions - but, I live and work in NYC, so what good does that do us?
It seems clear to me that the FCC should invite the TelCo's/Mobile Carriers from successful international markets to their "broadband workshops" (Visit http://www.Broadband.Gov for more information on the FCC and their broadband initiative) and invite US TelCo's to take notes from abroad!
What do you think?
Link to the ARChart "report": http://www.arcchart.com/reports/bnp.asp?ref=rethinkwbIt was a difficult decision not to purchase an iPhone with it's 80 gazillion apps... more
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This is the first ever showing of the new show apps and hats. I hope you will join us to watch our first show that is launched this Friday (March 21st 2009)!
This video shows the girls in several clips from some of the exciting episodes to come. They will be choosing a different category every two weeks and then each of them is selecting one application from that category. What is their first category? What applications are featured? And what the heck are they laughing at! Find out - this Friday xThis is the first ever showing of the new show apps and hats. I hope you will join us... more
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cmoz
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Business is the category chosen for you. (Don’t forget- have your say and suggest a category or game you want to include! )
Apps and HatsThis week the girls are in their Victorian splendor. Clothes straight out of ‘The Dancing Platform at Cremorne Gardens’ Painted by Phebus Levin in 1864. More on that in a later post! If only they had iPhones back in the Victorian times, I wonder what they would have Tweeted about….
They have each picked an application to review. Hattie has chosen a free application while Christine’s is paid for.
What ratings are they giving? Do the girls finally stop laughing? And do you agree with Christine or Hattie?Business is the category chosen for you. (Don’t forget- have your say and... more
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cmoz
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MIT's "Technology Review" has announced its listing of the 2008 "Young Innovators Under 35." MIT's annual listing (the TR35) honors 35 young innovators who have made outstanding contributions to the fields of medicine, electronics and nanotechnology, among others.
This detailed article includes photographs and a video announcing the list of honored young innovators.MIT's "Technology Review" has announced its listing of the 2008... more
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"Web 2.0--the dream of the user-built, user-centered, user-run Internet--has delivered on just about every promise except profit. Will its most prominent example, social networking, ever make any money?""Web 2.0--the dream of the user-built, user-centered, user-run Internet--has... more
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