April 2009
12 posts
4 tags
What Happens When Larry and Sergey Die? →
That’s the question on the mind of Robert Darnton, who runs Harvard University’s library system. For years, the Google Book Search project has digitized millions of books from libraries around the world, running into copyright law and a class action lawsuit from the Association of American Publishers in the process. When Google reached a tentative settlement of the suit in October,...
3 tags
The Bazaar's Open Source Platform →
Earlier analysis (see the “The Optimal Size of a Terrorist Network” for more) indicates that the disruption of al Qaeda network mega-hub in Afghanistan has put strict limits on the size of the surviving virtual network elements. This size limitation may represent a barrier to attacks on the US, but is likely well within the capabilities of what is necessary for limited regional...
2 tags
Inside the precision(?) hack(?) →
There’s a scene toward the end of the book Contact by Carl Sagan, where the protagonist Ellie Arroway finds a Message embedded deep in the digits of PI. The Message is perhaps an artifact of an extremely advanced intelligence that apparently manipulated one of the fundamental constants of the universe as a testament to their power as they wove space and time. I’m reminded of this scene by the...
3 tags
Microsoft's Windows 7 Starter Is A Gift To Google →
Microsoft’s (MSFT) supposed plan for Windows 7 on cheap netbooks is a cut-down version called “Windows 7 Starter.” The forced limitation, according to reports, is that it will only let you run three or fewer apps at a time; if you want to run more, you’ll have to pay up for a full version of Windows 7.
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The case against PACER: tearing down the courts'... →
If you want to find out how the Obama administration is spending the stimulus money, you can go to recovery.gov for detailed spending data. Many executive branch agencies provide information about their activities via the government’s regulations.gov portal. And the Library of Congress has the Thomas system, which gives the public free, searchable access to information about the activities...
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The Increasing Frequency of Black Swans →
Black Swans (Nassim Taleb) are extreme events that have system wide consequences (9/11, the Internet, financial collapse, etc.). These events typically occur infrequently enough to escape near/mid term analytical methods (as in, most of our analysis is over time horizons that don’t measure the occurrence or probability of these events).
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AP source: Spies compromised US electric grid →
Spies hacked into the U.S. electric grid and left behind computer programs that would let them disrupt service, exposing potentially catastrophic vulnerabilities in key pieces of national infrastructure, a former U.S. government official said Wednesday. The intrusions were discovered after electric companies gave the government permission to audit their systems, the ex-official said. The official...
4 tags
A Chinese ghost in the machine? →
CYBERSPACE is ideal for spies. Digitally disguised and undeterred by borders or passports, they can pick locks anywhere in the world, pilfer secrets without trace and even leave toxic traps for the unwary. Security chiefs are very worried; NATO’s new cyberwarfare think-tank in Estonia gets requests for help from across the world. And for researchers outside the charmed circle of high-security...
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The Cybersecurity Act of 2009: Trying to create... →
The cyber arena is filled with the effluvia of vendor driven agendas and political wrangling for budgetary dollars. As a topic cyber security is especially vulnerable as the waning leadership and expertise is so centralized in so few individuals that consensus can be driven literally from people sitting in one room. Consider the recent testimony by Dr. Eugene Spafford to the Senate Commerce...
2 tags
Robot achieves scientific first →
A laboratory robot called Adam has been hailed as the first machine in history to have discovered new scientific knowledge independently of its human creators. Adam formed a hypothesis on the genetics of bakers’ yeast and carried out experiments to test its predictions, without intervention from its makers at Aberystwyth University.
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5 tags
Congressional Testimony: Threats to US Security in... →
I am here before the subcommittee today to provide testimony on 21st Century security threats. I
hope this testimony is of value despite its brevity. My analytical method is to provide
frameworks for decision makers to help them make sense of rapidly changing environments.
These frameworks are intended to provoke high quality thinking — agreement or disagreement
with their specifics...
4 tags
Chinese cyberespionage network runs across 103... →
Researchers in Toronto have released a document that describes what may be the first real evidence of a government-operated cyber-espionage network in action. In a ten-month investigation, the team documented the operation of what they dubbed GhostNet, and its various worldwide infections.