March 2010
18 posts
Revisiting the Firewall →
I saw an interesting conversation start on Twitter today… it started by a simple question - “How relevant is the firewall in today’s IT infrastructure?” …the answer is …well … it depends! Some of us still think about the firewall as that CheckPoint v3.0 on the Nokia IP440 running IPSO you installed way, way back in 1999. You know who you are. There are...
Iran Arrests 30 Accused Of U.S.-Backed 'Cyberwar' →
Iranian security forces say they have arrested 30 people and disabled “the most important U.S.-backed organized networks of cyber war launched by anti-revolutionary groups.” A report issued by the FARS news agency in Iran states that the networks received U.S. aid “and served Washington through such anti-revolutionary groups as the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO), monarchist...
Secret Document Calls Wikileaks ‘Threat’ to U.S.... →
Wikileaks presents a “threat to the U.S. Army” and publishes “potentially actionable information” for targeting military personnel, according to a classified intelligence report posted Monday on the whistleblowing site. The 32-page report entitled Wikileaks.org – An Online Reference to Foreign Intelligence Services, Insurgents, or Terrorist Groups? (.pdf) indicates the government’s concern that...
The Next Hope: Call for Projects and Tech Art →
2600 Magazine presents The Next HOPE, the eighth conference in the 16 year history of the Hackers On Planet Earth series. It will happen at the Hotel Pennsylvania in the middle of New York City from July 16-18, 2010, and will be the largest creative technology conference on the U.S. East Coast. Traditionally HOPE conferences have been more about the talks than the physical projects, but with the...
Your Social Network as a Credit Risk Vector →
idiosyncratic-routine:
(via notforpublicconsumption via CreditCards.com)
Pretty much everything you and your network reveal may be compiled, including status updates, “tweets,” joining online clubs, linking a Web site or posting a comment on a blog or news Web site. “In the past, marketing products to people was primarily done via demographics — age, sex, location, education, etc.,” says...
Why Google keeps your data forever, tracks you... →
Not many companies could get away with defending controversial data retention practices by saying that the data is needed to “learn from good guys, fight off bad guys, [and] invent the future.” But that’s how Google sees itself and its practices—not surprising from a company that would give itself an unofficial motto like “don’t be evil.” I had the chance...
Google Responds To Privacy Concerns With... →
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA—Responding to recent public outcries over its handling of private data, search giant Google offered a wide-ranging and eerily well-informed apology to its millions of users Monday. “We would like to extend our deepest apologies to each and every one of you,” announced CEO Eric Schmidt, speaking from the company’s Googleplex headquarters. “Clearly there...
Exploit the User with SET – The Social Engineering... →
I have to say… SET is just plain awesome. The Social Engineering Toolkit (SET) is a set of python scripts created by David Kennedy (aka rel1k) to automate many client side penetration testing vectors. In conjunction with Social-Engineer.org, which is also a top-notch resource, it provides for some of best extensibility in this type testing. A couple of weekends ago Dave released 0.4 of SET at...
WatchCraft Night Walkthrough of New Resistor!
So we had our first Craft Night this week in the new space. We moved in Saturday. So in less than a week you can see how far we have come. I am pretty excited about what we’re going to be able to do.
via NYC Resistor
The Data Singularity is Here →
In the next two blog posts I’ll attempt to sketch the forces behind what I’m calling, somewhat sensationally, the Data Singularity, and then (in a following post) discuss what I see as its consequences. In a nutshell, the Data Singularity is this: humans are being spliced out of the data-driven processes around us, and frequently we aren’t even at the terminal node of action. International cargo...
HTC Phones Pre-installed With Mariposa Bot Client →
Security researchers have found that Vodafone, one of the world’s larger wireless providers, is distributing some HTC phones with malware pre-installed on them. The phone, the HTC Magic, runs the Google Android mobile operating system, and is one of the more popular handsets right now. A researcher at Panda Security received one of the handsets recently, and upon attaching it to her PC,...
Time Bandits →
In 1933, with his great scientific discoveries behind him, Albert Einstein came to America. He spent the last twenty-two years of his life in Princeton, New Jersey, where he had been recruited as the star member of the Institute for Advanced Study. Einstein was reasonably content with his new milieu, taking its pretensions in stride. “Princeton is a wonderful piece of earth, and at the same time...
Argos credit-card scandal worsens →
Fresh doubts have been raised over the online security of high street retailer Argos, following a PC Pro investigation. Yesterday, we revealed that Argos was sending customers’ unencrypted credit-card numbers and security codes in order confirmation emails, potentially exposing them to online fraud. Now it’s emerged that those very same confirmation emails contain a web link -...
Obama admin declassifies major cybersecurity plans →
Bowing to pressure from activist groups and to the dictates of common sense, the Obama administration has done what the Bush administration wouldn’t and declassified some general information [PDF] about the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative (CNCI), a sweeping program that the Bush White House launched in early 2008 to protect the government and critical civilian networks from...
Bogus Copyright Claim Silences Yet Another Larry... →
Nearly a year ago, we wrote about how a YouTube presentation done by well known law professor (and strong believer in fair use and fixing copyright law), Larry Lessig, had been taken down, because his video, in explaining copyright and fair use and other such things, used a snippet of a Warner Music song to demonstrate a point. There could be no clearer example of fair use — but the video...
The Complaint: Apple’s Patent Lawsuit Against HTC... →
Earlier today, Apple issued a press release stating that it has filed suit against cell phone manufacturer HTC for patent infringement. No mention of Android or Google was in the press release. But the actual legal complaints, which we’ve obtained and embedded below, make no bones about it. As expected, this lawsuit is about Android. HTC, of course, is one of the largest manufacturers of Android...
Giga-Biter In Obstruction Charge (ATM Skimmers) →
In a bold and bizarre attempt to destroy evidence seized during a federal raid, a New York City man grabbed a flash drive and swallowed the data storage device while in the custody of Secret Service agents, records show. Florin Necula ingested the Kingston flash drive shortly after his January 21 arrest outside a bank in Queens, according to U.S. District Court filings. Necula and several...