34166887
submission
PatPending writes:
FTA:
Frustrated by their inability to stop sophisticated hacking attacks or use the law to punish their assailants, an increasing number of U.S. companies are taking retaliatory action.
Known in the cyber security industry as "active defense" or "strike-back" technology, the reprisals range from modest steps to distract and delay a hacker to more controversial measures. Security experts say they even know of some cases where companies have taken action that could violate laws in the United States or other countries, such as hiring contractors to hack the assailant's own systems.
Other security experts say a more aggressive posture is unlikely to have a significant impact in the near term in the overall fight against cybercriminals and Internet espionage. Veteran government and private officials warn that much of the activity is too risky to make sense, citing the chances for escalation and collateral damage.
29976499
submission
PatPending writes:
FTA: "The RetroShare network allows people to create a private and encrypted file-sharing network. Users add friends by exchanging PGP certificates with people they trust. All the communication is encrypted using OpenSSL and files that are downloaded from strangers always go through a trusted friend.
In other words, it’s a true Darknet and virtually impossible to monitor by outsiders.
RetroShare founder DrBob told us that while the software has been around since 2006, all of a sudden there’s been a surge in downloads. “The interest in RetroShare has massively shot up over the last two months,” he said."
29845231
submission
PatPending writes:
LYON, France — Interpol has arrested 25 suspected members of the Anonymous hackers group in a swoop covering more than a dozen cities in Europe and Latin America, the global police body said Tuesday.
29819285
submission
PatPending writes:
A new effort under way at the world's largest museum and research institution could eventually mean more of its 137 million objects will be publicly available, even if just via 3D digital models. The only problem? They need more companies that, like RedEye On Demand, have the resources to help bring the efforts to fruition.
29818361
submission
PatPending writes:
This year at the CanSecWest security conference, Google will once again sponsor rewards for Google Chrome exploits. This complements and extends their Chromium Security Rewards program by recognizing that developing a fully functional exploit is significantly more work than finding and reporting a potential security bug.
19045504
submission
PatPending writes:
From the article:
Hackers have repeatedly penetrated the computer network of the company that runs the Nasdaq Stock Market during the past year, and federal investigators are trying to identify the perpetrators and their purpose, according to people familiar with the matter.
The exchange's trading platform—the part of the system that executes trades—wasn't compromised, these people said. However, it couldn't be determined which other parts of Nasdaq's computer network were accessed.
Investigators are considering a range of possible motives, including unlawful financial gain, theft of trade secrets and a national-security threat designed to damage the exchange.
18782060
submission
PatPending writes:
In a prior Slashdot story, Honeywell To Sell Miami-Dade Police a Surveillance Drone, and this summary of Drones on The Home Front, drones are now used by the Texas Department of Public Safety; the Mesa County Sheriff's Office, Colorado; the Miami-Dade County, Florida, Police Department; and the Department of Homeland Security. But what about privacy concerns? "Drones raise the prospect of much more pervasive surveillance," said Jay Stanley, a senior policy analyst with the American Civil Liberties Union's Speech, Privacy and Technology Project. "We are not against them, absolutely. They can be a valuable tool in certain kinds of operations. But what we don't want to see is their pervasive use to watch over the American people."
18268412
submission
PatPending writes:
A Minnesota start-up company, LVX, is developing products under several patents and about a dozen pending applications, e.g., "Building illumination apparatus with integrated communications, security and energy management", that puts clusters of LEDs in a standard-sized ceiling light fixture. The LEDs are in optical communication with special modems attached to office computers. The first generation of the LVX system will transmit data at speeds of about three megabits per second, roughly as fast as a residential DSL line. LVX Chief Executive Officer John Pederson said a second-generation system that will roll out in about a year will permit speeds on par with commercial Wi-Fi networks. It will also permit lights that can be programmed to change intensity and color. Pederson said the next generation of the system should get even more efficient as fixtures become "smart" so the lights would dim when bright sunlight is coming through a window or when a conference room or hallway is empty. Hurdles: speed and installation costs. No word on the reliability and security of this system.
17844984
submission
PatPending writes:
A 10 page Powerpoint presentation that security and privacy analysis Christopher Soghoian recently obtained through a Freedom of Information Act Request to the Department of Justice, reveals that law enforcement agencies routinely seek and obtain real-time surveillance of credit card transaction. The government's guidelines reveal that this surveillance often occurs with a simple subpoena, thus sidestepping any Fourth Amendment protections.
17736188
submission
PatPending writes:
FTFA: The investigative arm of the Homeland Security Department appears to be shutting down websites that facilitate copyright infringement. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has seized dozens of domain names over the past few days, according to TorrentFreak. ICE appears to be targeting sites that help Internet users download copyrighted music, as well as sites that sell bootleg goods, such as fake designer handbags. The sites are replaced with a note from the government: "This domain named has been seized by ICE, Homeland Security Investigations."
17549662
submission
PatPending writes:
A Gizmodo investigation has revealed 100 of the photographs saved by the Gen 2 millimeter wave scanner from Brijot Imaging Systems, Inc., obtained by a FOIA request after it was recently revealed that U.S. Marshals operating the machine in the Orlando, Florida courthouse had improperly-perhaps illegally-saved [35,000] images [low resolution] of the scans of public servants and private citizens.
13162950
submission
PatPending writes:
From the article:
The Patent and Trademark Office announced today it has reached a two-year "no-cost" agreement with Google to make patent and trademark data electronically available for free to the public in bulk form.
Saying it lacks the technical capacity to offer such a service, PTO said the two-year agreement with Google is a temporary solution while the agency seeks a contractor to build a database that would allow the public to access such information in electronic machine-readable bulk form.
11476956
submission
PatPending writes:
Does e-mail stored in the cloud have the same level of protection as the same information stored by a person at home?
No, according to the Obama administration's Assistant U.S. Attorney Pegeen Rhyne, who wrote in a government motion filed last month, "Previously opened e-mail is not in 'electronic storage.' This court should therefore require Yahoo to comply with the order and produce the specified communications in the targeted accounts." (The Justice Department's position is that what's known as a 2703(d) order--not as privacy-protective as the rules for search warrants--should let police read e-mail.)
1186379
submission
PatPending writes:
The Google-owned video-sharing site YouTube has decided to introduce the ban for the UK only amid widespread unease about the increase in knife crime in the country.
"We recognise that there has been particular concern over videos in the UK that involve showing weapons with the aim of intimidation, and this is one of the areas we are addressing," a YouTube spokesperson said.
"I would like to see other internet service providers follow suit to reinforce our message that violence will not be tolerated either on the internet or in the real world," she said.
Story here.
61324
submission
PatPending writes:
FTA: The Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC), provider of pro-bono legal services to protect and advance Free and Open Source Software, has filed a brief with the United States Supreme Court arguing against the patenting of software.
In its brief, SFLC argues that software copied and distributed outside the United States cannot infringe U.S. patents. The brief also argues that the Federal Circuit's decisions declaring software to be patentable subject matter conflict with Supreme Court precedent and, as such, should be overruled.
http://www.itnewsonline.com/showstory.php?storyid= 7150&scatid=8&contid=3
