Fergie's Tech Blog: 02/05/2006

Dilbert: Certified Project Manager Zombie

Click for larger image.

WSJ: Tech Companies & Internet Censorship

Amy Schatz writes in The Wall Street Journal:

Executives from Google Inc. and other Internet companies head to Capitol Hill next week, where they will become feature players in an awkward debate: Are U.S. companies giving in to China too easily?

Last month, Google announced an agreement with the Chinese government to censor search results from its Chinese site. It was the latest Internet company to accede to the Chinese government's censorship restrictions, following Cisco Systems Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo Inc.

The hearing will likely produce more embarrassing publicity for the companies, and it may drive legislative momentum among lawmakers concerned about China's influence on the U.S. economy. Congressional aides are expecting a standing-room-only crowd, and the reception from politicians may be chilly.

More here.

H5N1 News: Greece, Italy Find Deadly Strain of Bird Flu Virus

A Reuters newswire article, via MSNBC, reports that:

Greece and Italy said on Saturday they had found swans with the H5N1 bird flu virus, the first known cases in the European Union of wild birds with the deadly strain of the disease.

As the slow creep of the virus around the globe continued, Romania said more infections were suspected in birds in the Danube delta and Bulgaria said the lethal strain had been confirmed among swans in wetlands close to the Romanian border. The region is a haven and transit point for migrating birds.

Nigeria started testing people who have fallen ill close to where the virus has been found among birds, in the first outbreak in African of a disease that has spread seemingly inexorably across the Eurasian landmass from China and Vietnam.

Gadget of the Day: Pac-Man, Ms. Pac Man and Galaga Cocktail Table

Image source: Gizmodo

Bonus: I love Galaga. :-)

Via Gizmodo.

Here’s a tripleheader cocktail table that lets you play Pac Man, Ms. Pac Man and Galaga in their original form. Extreme Toys for Boys is offering this cocktail table unit, which looks just like the original but contains only the latest technology, at a sale price of $3600. Not sure why they call it the 20th Anniversary Edition, because those three games came into this world much earlier than that.

User Friendly: Google Genetics

Via UserFriendly.org.

Click for larger image.

Privacy Groups Seek Domestic Spying Papers

An AP newswire article, via The Washington Post, reports that:

A federal judge said Friday he was considering setting a deadline for the Justice Department to produce records on the Bush administration's warrantless surveillance program or to explain in court why it was refusing to do so.

U.S. District Judge Henry Kennedy said he was convinced the public would suffer irreparable harm if the government dragged its feet in a lawsuit filed over access to the documents.

The lawsuit was filed by three private groups who say the government is engaging in a pattern of delay and should be compelled to provide information on the underlying legal rationale for the surveillance and the scope of the eavesdropping program.

Congress is having difficulty getting the same information.

StormPay Battling Sustained DDoS Attack

Via Netcraft.

Payment gateway StormPay is recovering from a distributed denial of service attack (DDoS) that has kept its web site offline for much of the past two days. The company, which provides online payment processing for thousands of e-commerce web sites, came back online Friday after a sustained attack that commenced last weekend. The DDoS on StormPay is the latest in a series of attacks on services that allow web merchants to accept credit cards.

The attacks flooded StormPay with up to 6 gigabits a second of data, according to Barrett Lyon, chief technology officer of Prolexic Technologies, which specializes in DDoS defense and is working with StormPay to mitigate the attack. Lyon said the DDoS involved DNS amplification, using bogus DNS requests to cause Internet nameservers to inundate StormPay's web site with traffic.

Falun Gong Leader Brutally Attacked

Richard C. Morais writes on Forbes.com:

Peter Yuan Li--a key figure in the Falun Gong's technologically sophisticated attempt to undermine the Chinese Communist Party--was brutally attacked and beaten in his home in Duluth, Ga., as Forbes was going to press with its cover story on how the spiritual movement is penetrating the Chinese government's hi-tech censorship.

At 11:15 A.M. on Feb. 8, according to the Fulton County Police Department Incident Report, Asian men stormed the house of the Princeton-educated information technology technician, bound and gagged and beat him, before fleeing with two 16-inch Sony laptop computers, Li's wallet and yet unknown material from his files.

"They were not looking for valuables," says Dr. Li, who needed 15 stitches in his face. "They left my daughter's jewelry and camcorder and other valuables."

Update: FBI Makes Connections in Data Breach Case

Greg Sandoval writes on C|Net News:

A data security breach that has spurred at least two large banks to cancel thousands of customer debit cards appears to be connected to an older ongoing investigation in Sacramento, the FBI said Friday.

Scores of Bank of America and Washington Mutual customers have received notifications from the banks that their debit cards were cancelled because of a breach at a "third-party" establishment. In interviews with CNET News.com, neither bank would disclose the name of the unidentified company.

However, law enforcement and banking sources, who asked for anonymity, told CNET News.com that the unidentified business was one of the big-box retailers.

Fossett Breaks Flight Distance Record

Steve Fossett decided Saturday, Feb. 11, 2006 to go for an
aviation distance record despite losing 750 pounds of fuel.
Image source: CBS / AP

Via CBS News.

Adventurer Steve Fossett completed the longest nonstop flight in aviation history Saturday after flying around the globe and then some in roughly 80 hours.

Ground control said he broke the distance record of of 24,987 miles when he flew over Shannon, Ireland.

Oracle May Buy 3 More Companies

Carrie Kirby writes on SFGate.com:

Oracle Corp. is in talks to spend up to $600 million to buy three software companies in its biggest embrace yet of open source software, according to news reports.

The Redwood City database giant is reportedly looking to bolster its offerings in the area of middleware by buying Atlanta's JBoss, which sells an open source version of application server software. The story, first reported by BusinessWeek Online, cited unnamed sources and said negotiations could still unravel. The price being talked about is $400 million, the reports said.

Gapingvoid.com Fix

Via gapingvoid.com. Enjoy!

Bizarre Story of the Day: Hungarian PM appears on Internet as Hugh Grant

A Reuters newswire article, via Yahoo! News, reports that:

Hungary's most famous fan of Hugh Grant has taken his enthusiasm for the British actor to new heights.

A video clip available on the internet at http://dl.index.hu/trailer/2.wmv starts with Grant in the movie Love Actually, in the role of the British prime minister peering out of the window in his room at 10, Downing Street.

But the man who then turns to face the camera is Hungary's Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany, who goes on to dance to a pop song around his study.

Censorship Is Alleged at NOAA

Juliet Eilperin writes in The Washington Post:

James E. Hansen, the NASA climate scientist who sparked an uproar last month by accusing the Bush administration of keeping scientific information from reaching the public, said Friday that officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are also muzzling researchers who study global warming.

Hansen, speaking in a panel discussion about science and the environment before a packed audience at the New School university, said that while he hopes his own agency will soon adopt a more open policy, NOAA insists on having "a minder" monitor its scientists when they discuss their findings with journalists.

"It seems more like Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union than the United States," said Hansen, prompting a round of applause from the audience.

More here.

Indiana House Wrongly Valued at $400 Million

An AP newswire article, via Yahoo! News, reports that:

A house erroneously valued at $400 million is being blamed for budget shortfalls and possible layoffs in municipalities and school districts in northwest Indiana.

An outside user of Porter County's computer system may have triggered the mess by accidentally changing the value of the Valparaiso house, said Sharon Lippens, director of the county's information technologies and service department. The house had been valued at $121,900 before the glitch.

County Treasurer Jim Murphy said the home usually carried about $1,500 in property taxes; this year, it was billed $8 million.

The homeowner, Dennis Charnetzky, declined to comment about the situation to The Associated Press on Friday.

FTC to Hold High-Tech Issue Hearings

An AP newswire article, via Yahoo! News, reports that:

The Federal Trade Commission will host hearings this fall on emerging technologies being exploited by Internet spies and identity thieves.

The FTC last held similar hearings in 1995, when the technology to create now familiar problems such as spyware and spam was still in its infancy.

"It is time to look ahead and examine the next generation of issues to emerge in our high-tech global marketplace," FTC Chairwoman Deborah Platt Majoras said at an anti-spyware conference Thursday. "Ten years is an eternity for technology."

Wikipedia Reviewing U.S., Canadian and British Political Bios

An AFP newswire article, via Yahoo! News, reports that:

The founder of the vast online reference site, Wikipedia, said that volunteers were checking the biographies of American, Canadian and British lawmakers following some online spin-doctoring.

The huge online encyclopedia, which can be edited by anyone logging onto its site, is checking its biographies after it emerged some US lawmakers' biographies had benefited from flattering updates.

The volunteers who run Wikipedia discovered the online updates had originated from computers in the US Congress, sparking a wider review of other political biographies hosted on the site.

U.S. Charges California Man in 'Botnet' Case

A Reuters newswire article, via Yahoo! News, reports that:

A California man was indicted on Friday on federal charges of creating a robot-like network of hijacked computers that helped him and two others bring in $100,000 for installing unwanted ad software.

The indictment from a federal grand jury in Seattle also accuses Christopher Maxwell, 20, and two unidentified conspirators of crippling Seattle's Northwest Hospital with a "botnet" attack in January 2005.

Authorities say the hospital attack caused $150,000 in damages, shut down the intensive care unit and disabled doctors' pagers.

HBO Wants No Recording of Shows—Ever

Via Gizmodo.

Looks like HBO is trying to use a broadcast flag to ban us from recording any of its programming on our DVRs. The company has recently filed with the FCC, saying its shows—and all “Subscription Video On Demand” services—should be labeled as “Copy Never.” This means simply, if enacted, that we could never record its content on anything—not even your old, analog VCR.

Come on HBO, don’t be such a downer. We pay for your services, we love your programming, if we want to record an episode of The Sopranos, please don’t take that away. You make some good money on us, so don’t get so greedy.

The Onion: Wiretapping Intelligence

Via The Onion.

Click for larger image.

Ex-CIA Official Says Intelligence 'Misused' to Justify Iraq War

Walter Pincus writes in The Washington Post:

The former CIA official who coordinated U.S. intelligence on the Middle East until last year has accused the Bush administration of "cherry-picking" intelligence on Iraq to justify a decision it had already reached to go to war, and of ignoring warnings that the country could easily fall into violence and chaos after an invasion to overthrow Saddam Hussein.

Paul R. Pillar, who was the national intelligence officer for the Near East and South Asia from 2000 to 2005, acknowledges the U.S. intelligence agencies' mistakes in concluding that Hussein's government possessed weapons of mass destruction. But he said those misjudgments did not drive the administration's decision to invade.

Much more here.

Netflix Sends Frequent Renters to the Back of DVD Line

An AP newswire article by Michael Liedtke, via SFGate.com, reports that:

Manuel Villanueva realizes he has been getting a pretty good deal since he signed up for Netflix Inc.'s online DVD rental service 2 1/2 years ago, but he still feels shortchanged.

That's because the $17.99 monthly fee that he pays to rent up to three DVDs at a time would amount to an even bigger bargain if the company didn't penalize him for returning his movies so quickly.

Netflix typically sends about 13 movies per month to Villanueva's home in Warren, Mich. — down from the 18 to 22 DVDs he once received before the company's automated system identified him as a heavy renter and began delaying his shipments to protect its profits.

The same Netflix formula also shoves Villanueva to the back of the line for the most-wanted DVDs, so the service can send those popular flicks to new subscribers and infrequent renters.

Steve Martin Defends SNL Title

Thanks, John Paczkowski, for the pointer. This is hilarious.

AT&T Claims MPEG-4 Patent Infringement, Wants Apple to Pay Up

Image source: Engadget

Paul Miller writes over on Engadget:

We already knew that between MPEG-LA, Via Licensing and others, MPEG-4 and the H.264 codec were already awash with patent holders and complicated royalty systems, but it looks like there's a new kid on the block that wants its share of Apple, CyberLink, DivX, InterVideo and Sonic Solutions pie.

Fresh from its SBC merger, AT&T is going after the big iPod bucks claiming that the device infringes on their patents which they claim are "a core component of MPEG-4." AT&T claims that they're not just after the money and that they're looking to "make sure others are able to take advantage of this technology," but they also state: "what we're doing is pretty common among intellectual property holders," which isn't exactly comforting given the tech industry's history with such things.

Security Fix: Letter From the Anti-Spyware Coalition Conference

Brian Krebs writes on Security Fix:

As long as I have been writing about computer security, the number one complaint and help request from readers has consistently been how to eliminate or ward off threats introduced by spyware and adware. Now that I've spent the day at the first annual conference of the Anti-Spyware Coalition in Washington, D.C. -- an organization headed by the nonprofit Center for Democracy and Technology -- it was clear that the ever evolving threat of "badware" is presenting serious challenges, not just for law enforcement officials and policymakers, but for the vanguard of the tech security and advertising communities as well.

The twin themes that I heard throughout nearly every track of the conference were that a large portion of the spyware problem is being fueled by the advertising imperatives of Fortune 500 companies, and that -- ironically -- the scourge of spyware is perhaps most pronounced in the business environment.

Much more here.

Nuns' Account Frozen By Patriot Act

(Thanks, Gary!)

A UPI newswire article, via NewsWatch50/WWTI, reports that:

Nuns of Holy Name Monastery say ridiculous Patriot Act scrutiny led their bank to freeze the St. Leo, Fla., religious order's main account. I think the Patriot Act is unwise, said Sister Jean Abbott, the Benedictine order's business manager.

"If it happened to us, it can happen to anybody," she told the Tampa (Fla.) Tribune. "I think people need to know that nobody is safe from, in some cases, really ridiculous scrutiny."

The order said its account was frozen without explanation or notification for a week in November, causing checks to bounce and taking three months to straighten out.

Abbott said she was told the trouble began because an 80-year-old nun, a signatory on the account, did not have her Social Security number or photo identification on file.

"Clearly an international spy," Abbott wryly told the newspaper.

A Wachovia bank spokesman, citing privacy concerns, declined comment.

NPR: Online Gaming, Money and Tax Law

I listened to this on NPR this morning while running some errands, and it was quite fascinating.

Some players of online role-playing games are so determined that they will pay real money to get ahead. Steve Inskeep talks with Julian Dibbell, who wrote about the tax implications of this practice in a recent issue of Legal Affairs.

Patriot Act e-Mail Spying Approved

Declan McCullagh writes on C|Net News:

As part of a grand jury investigation that's still secret, the Justice Department asked a federal magistrate judge to approve monitoring of an unnamed person's e-mail correspondents.

The request had a twist: Instead of asking to eavesdrop on the contents of the e-mail messages, which would require some evidence of wrongdoing, prosecutors instead requested the identities of the correspondents. Also included in the request was header information like date and time and Internet address--but not subject lines.

The federal magistrate judge balked and asked the Justice Department to submit an additional brief to demonstrate that such a request would be legal.

Instead, prosecutors asked Judge Hogan to step in. He reviewed the portion of federal law dealing with "pen register" and "trap and trace" devices--terms originating in the world of telephone wiretapping--and concluded it "unambiguously" authorizes the e-mail surveillance request.

More here.

Video Surveillance Firm Forces Workers to Implant RFID Chips

Jan Libbenga writes on The Register:

A Cincinnati video surveillance company CityWatcher.com now requires employees to use Verichip human implantable microchips to enter a secure data centre. Until now, the employees entered the data centre with a VeriChip housed in a heart-shaped plastic casing that hangs from their keychain.

The VeriChip is a glass encapsulated RFID tag that is injected into the triceps area of the arm to uniquely identify individuals. The tag can be read by radio waves from a few inches away.

The news was reported by CASPIAN (Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering), a US organisation that opposes the use of surveillance RFID cards.

User Friendly: Anonymous Google Employee

Via UserFriendly.org.

Click for larger image.

Grapefruit or Penis? Vietnam Accents the Difference

An AFP newswire article, via PhysOrg.com, reports that:

A website seeking to advertise the humble grapefruit will not be permitted to register its name in Vietnamese because the word is spelt the same as penis, an official said Friday.

"We have to refuse the website name of www.buoi.com.vn because the word for grapefruit, buoi, without a proper tone marking can be misunderstood to mean penis," said Thai Huu Ly of the Vietnam Internet Network Information Centre.

UK: NTL Launches 100Mbs Field Trial

Clive Akass writes on Personal Computer World:

Cable giant NTL is to field test a 100Mbits/sec broadband service for homes from March at Ashford in Kent, the company revealed today.

The trial, which we flagged last week, is basically of a bandwidth-on-demand system – you get 100Mbits/sec when you need it, for instance to download movies.

NTL staged a demonstration at a show flat in Pimlico, London, in which the system delivered three high-definition TV streams simultaneously, leaving bandwidth to spare for other internet uses.

Feds Probe Web Sites Offering Big Paydays

Via CNN/Money.

Federal and state authorities are investigating Web sites that promise to generate generous returns to viewers who look at their ads, according to a report published Friday.

These so-called "auto surf" sites are Internet versions of a classic Ponzi scheme, a type of fraud that promises vast returns to investors but pays them with money from subsequent investors instead of revenue generated by business, the Wall Street Journal said.

Man Sought in Burglaries During Which He Ate, Checked e-Mail

An AP newswire article, via the La Crosse (Wisconsin) Tribune:

Authorities were seeking Thursday a burglar who allegedly took the time to make coffee, cook and eat meals, take showers, pick out a change of clothes, watch television and check his e-mail while inside three rural Washington County homes this month.

"He took clothes and meals," Sheriff Brian Rahn said. "Whatever he was finding in those refrigerators, he was filling up on it."

Sheriff's Department Capt. Dale Schmidt said investigators believe they knows who the burglar is, but he said authorities have not been able to find him since he took a car from the last of the homes that was entered. Schmitz said the man is believed to have left the area.

The burglar left behind other valuables, including jewelry, firearms and electronic equipment, Rahn said.

Gapingvoid.com Fix

Via gapingvoid.com. Enjoy!

NTT Develops Secure Instant Messaging System

Martyn Williams writes on InfoWorld:

Engineers at NTT Communications have developed a secure instant-messaging system that supports logging and archiving of messages to satisfy compliance regulations and can interact with some third-party instant messaging networks.

The system, which is expected to go on sale in Japan and overseas sometime in the year from April, has at its heart an instant messaging server through which all communication passes.

Links between the server and IM clients use Transport Layer Security (TLS) to guard against eavesdropping or spoofing and the server can archive copies of all messages to satisfy provisions of compliance regulations, such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, said Hiromichi Kasahara, a senior manager at NTT Communications' innovative IP architecture center, in an interview.

U.S. Government to Survey Businesses on Cyber-Crime

A Reuters newswire article, via eWeek, reports that:

The U.S. government said Feb. 9 it will launch its first national survey to estimate how much cyber-crime is costing American businesses.

The Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security will try to measure the number of cyber-attacks, frauds and thefts of information and the resulting losses during 2005, officials said in a statement.

The survey, to be completed by year-end, will collect information about the nature and extent of computer security violations, the monetary costs, types of offenders and computer security measures now used by companies.

EFF: Google Copies Your Hard Drive - Government Smiles in Anticipation

Via The EFF.

Google today [9 February 2006] announced a new "feature" of its Google Desktop software that greatly increases the risk to consumer privacy. If a consumer chooses to use it, the new "Search Across Computers" feature will store copies of the user's Word documents, PDFs, spreadsheets and other text-based documents on Google's own servers, to enable searching from any one of the user's computers. EFF urges consumers not to use this feature, because it will make their personal data more vulnerable to subpoenas from the government and possibly private litigants, while providing a convenient one-stop-shop for hackers who've obtained a user's Google password.

"Coming on the heels of serious consumer concern about government snooping into Google's search logs, it's shocking that Google expects its users to now trust it with the contents of their personal computers," said EFF Staff Attorney Kevin Bankston. "Unless you configure Google Desktop very carefully, and few people will, Google will have copies of your tax returns, love letters, business records, financial and medical files, and whatever other text-based documents the Desktop software can index. The government could then demand these personal files with only a subpoena rather than the search warrant it would need to seize the same things from your home or business, and in many cases you wouldn't even be notified in time to challenge it. Other litigants—your spouse, your business partners or rivals, whoever—could also try to cut out the middleman (you) and subpoena Google for your files."

The privacy problem arises because the Electronic Communication Privacy Act of 1986, or ECPA, gives only limited privacy protection to emails and other files that are stored with online service providers—much less privacy than the legal protections for the same information when it's on your computer at home. And even that lower level of legal protection could disappear if Google uses your data for marketing purposes. Google says it is not yet scanning the files it copies from your hard drive in order to serve targeted advertising, but it hasn't ruled out the possibility, and Google's current privacy policy appears to allow it.

More here.

Worm Propagation Strategies in an IPv6 Internet

Thanks to Bruce Schneier, who writes over on his blog:

Nice paper that dispels the myth that worms won't be able to propagate under IPv6, because the address space will be too sparse.

This excellent paper [.pdf] is authored by Steve Bellovin, Bill Cheswick, and Angelos Keromytis.

Kudos.

Security Breach Fallout Reaches 200,000 Debit Card Holders

David Lazarus writes on SFGate.com:

A data-security breach that resulted in numerous people having their debit cards canceled this week is actually much larger than first indicated.

As first reported in my Thursday column, an unspecified number of Bank of America customers have received letters warning that accounts may have been compromised "at a third-party location unrelated to Bank of America."

BofA has said only that the unnamed company is not a bank affiliate.

But well-placed sources within the banking and credit card industries now tell me that the company in question is a leading retailer in the office-supply business.

Those sources also place the total number of consumers affected by the security breach at nearly 200,000.

Patriot Act Compromise Clears Way for Senate Vote

Charles Babington writes in The Washington Post:

Efforts to extend the USA Patriot Act cleared a major hurdle yesterday when the White House and key senators agreed to revisions that are virtually certain to secure Senate passage and likely to win House approval, congressional leaders said.

The law -- passed in the wake of the 2001 terrorist attacks and scheduled to lapse in key areas last year -- makes it easier for federal agents to secretly tap phones, obtain library and bank records, and search the homes of suspected terrorists. Several Democrats said the compromise announced yesterday lacks important civil liberties safeguards, and even the Republican negotiators said they had to yield to the administration on several points.

Much more here.

Canadian Campus Police Take Sides In Islam Cartoon Issue

Steve Janke writes on Angry in The Great White North:

Shocking. Not surprising, perhaps, given Canada's tradition in recent years to value inoffensiveness over individual freedom, but I'm idealistic enough to to still be shocked:

The Cadre, UPEI's student newspaper has published the twelve infamous editorial cartoons that criticized aspects of Islam.

At the request of president Wade MacLauchlan, university administrators have removed all 2,000 copies of the paper from campus.

More here.

Due Diligence: Share the Burden

Click for the entire story.

Death Knell: Blu-Ray DVDs To Cost About 20% More

Sue Zeidler writes for Reuters:

Sony Pictures on Thursday disclosed prices for movies on its new Blu-ray DVD format, setting a target range seen as a 15-to-20 percent premium to the current DVD standard.

Blu-ray is locked in a multibillion-dollar standards war against a rival DVD format known as HD DVD. Analysts see the new pricing as an aggressive move by the studio owned by Sony Corp.

Fresh U.S. Outrage at Yahoo! Ahead of China Hearings

A Reuters newswire article by Joel Rothstein and Eric Auchard, via Yahoo! News, reports that:

U.S. Internet companies faced fresh bipartisan criticism in the Congress on Thursday following heightened controversy over Yahoo Inc.'s alleged role in the Chinese government's eight-year prison sentence against a second dissident.

"I don't like any American company ratting out a citizen for speaking out against their government," Rep. Tim Ryan, an Ohio Democrat and member of the House Human Rights Subcommittee, told Reuters on Thursday.

"This is the tip of the iceberg of a very oppressive regime that we have almost become accustomed to America," Rep. Chris Smith, a Republican and chairman of the House Human Rights Subcommittee, told Reuters.

The storm over Western media companies' compliance with China's policies comes before next week's hearing by Smith's committee where lawmakers from both parties are expected to grill representatives from Yahoo, Google Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Cisco Systems Inc..

"There are probably others (dissidents) that we need to find out about. We are going to make sure it doesn't get swept under the rug," Smith said.

E-Mails at the Heart of Lobbyist Disclosures

Dude! What's up with the hat and trenchcoat?!?
Jack Abramoff leaves federal court in Washington on Jan. 3
after pleading guilty to federal charges of conspiracy, tax evasion and mail fraud.
Image source: MSNBC / Gerald Herbert / AP file

A Reuters newswire article, via MSNBC, reports that:

Jack Abramoff said in correspondence made public Thursday that President Bush met him “almost a dozen” times, disputing White House claims Bush did not know the former lobbyist at the center of a corruption scandal.

“The guy saw me in almost a dozen settings, and joked with me about a bunch of things, including details of my kids. Perhaps he has forgotten everything, who knows,” Abramoff wrote in an e-mail to Kim Eisler, national editor for the Washingtonian magazine.

Abramoff added that Bush also once invited him to his Texas ranch.

Much, much more (probably more than you want to know) here.

Fortune: Is Slashdot the Future of Media?

A Fortune Magazine article by David Kirkpatrick, via CNN/Money, reports that:

If you want to see the future of media, go to Slashdot.org.

Two things distinguish it -- it's the most popular news and information site with the tech cognoscenti, particularly programmers and engineers. And all of its content is created by its users. They submit about 700 stories per day, which staff editors vet and reduce down to the 30-35 that get published. Of the site's 5.5 million unique visitors per month, about 25 percent post comments about those stories.

More here.

Update: TSA’s Secure Flight Program Suspended

Not only was the Secure Flight program blasted by the GAO, it has been suspended altogether!

An AP newswire article, via MSNBC, reports that:

An ambitious program to check every domestic airline passenger’s name against government terrorist watch lists may not be immune from hackers, a congressional investigator said Thursday.

And because of security concerns, the government is going back to the drawing board with the program called Secure Flight after spending nearly four years and $150 million on it, the Senate Commerce Committee was told.

Transportation Security Administration chief Kip Hawley did not say whether any security breaches had been discovered. An agency spokeswoman, Amy von Valter, told reporters, “We don’t believe any passenger information has been compromised.”

More here.

Texas AG Files Suit Against Sellers Of Private Phone Records

Via the web site of Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott today filed the state’s first lawsuit against a “data broker” and his companies – USA Skiptrace, AMS Research Services Inc. and Worldwide Investigations Inc. – for fraudulently marketing consumers’ private phone records. The suit comes in the aftermath of Attorney General Abbott announcing his broad investigation into several of these Web-based businesses last month.

The Attorney General is also seeking a temporary restraining order today against the Web-based businesses, found at www.usaskiptrace.com, and president John Strange of Denver. The businesses must answer to several allegations outlined in Attorney General Abbott’s suit, including openly soliciting services for a fee of at least $125 to produce private cell or land-line phone records, business or personal.

More here.

Source: Sony BMG Close to Leadership Change

A Reuters newswire article, via eWeek, reports that:

Sony Corp. and Bertelsmann AG are close to announcing a change in leadership of their joint Sony BMG Music Entertainment venture to resolve a dispute between the two companies, a source familiar with the situation said on Thursday.

The source said Andrew Lack, chief executive officer of Sony BMG Music Entertainment, and Rolf Schmidt-Holtz, its chairman, are expected to change roles.

A spokeswoman for German media giant Bertelsmann declined to comment, while a spokesman for Sony BMG was unavailable.

China's Fight With Falun Gong

Richard C. Morais writes on Forbes.com:

The shocking reenactments of torture in front of Pennsylvania Station in New York and the Chinese Embassy in London publicly make the point: Falun Gong, a popular spiritual movement brutally suppressed by the Chinese Communist Party, is effectively waging its counterwar against the Chinese government, from the West.

Overseas Falun Gong practitioners are, for example, leading an underground campaign to hack China's Internet firewalls, to counter the Chinese Communist Party's news blackout and propaganda in the Middle Kingdom. But there are many skirmishes between Chinese communism and Chinese spiritualism taking place on U.S. soil.

Much more here.

'Secure Flight' Program Comes Under Fire From GAO

This is a good time to mention UnSecureFlight.com.

Michael Arnone writes on FCW.com:

The Government Accountability Office and the airline industry slammed the Transportation Security Administration in a congressional hearing on the agency's two main passenger-screening programs.

TSA has made progress on Secure Flight, which is designed to screen out terrorists from airline passengers, but management problems persist, said Cathleen Berrick, director of homeland security and justice at GAO.

In its rush to push out Secure Flight, TSA has neglected to define systems requirements for Secure Flight or follow its own or industry best practices for information technology systems development, Berrick said.

More here.

New from Google Labs: Google Information Security Catastrophe

John Paczkowski writes over on Good Morning, Silicon Valley (GMSV):

Given Google's recent encounter with the Department of Justice, does it honestly think we'll allow it to copy and store the contents of our hard drives even for the shortest of times? Because that's what we need to do to avail ourselves of one of the feature enhancements the search sovereign just added to its Desktop application.

Google Desktop 3.0 boasts a “Search Across Computers” function that allows it to search for items stored on multiple computers simultaneously. That's a compelling feature for those of us who use multiple computers, but one that works only if you agree to allow Google to store your hard drive index locally on its servers. For up to 30 days.

Microsoft Buys FutureSoft Web Filtering Software

Elizabeth Montalbano writes on InfoWorld:

Microsoft Corp. Thursday said it was buying Web filtering software called DynaComm i:filter from FutureSoft Inc.

The company also released a generally available beta of the next version of its firewall and VPN (virtual private network) product, Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server 2006, and launched limited customer beta programs for both its Microsoft Client Protection and Microsoft Antigen for Exchange, according to Ted Kummert, corporate vice president for the Security, Access and Solutions Division at Microsoft.

February 12: Darwin’s Birthday Evolves Into Holiday

An AP newswire article by Kathy Matheson, via MSNBC, reports that:

Thanks to the "intelligent design" movement, Charles Darwin's birthday is evolving into everything from a badminton party to church sermons this weekend.

Defenders of Darwin's theory of natural selection are planning hundreds of events around the world Sunday, the 197th anniversary of his birth, saying recent challenges to the teaching of evolution have re-emphasized the need to promote his work.

"The people who believe in evolution ... really just sort of need to stand up and be counted," said Richard Leventhal, director of the University of Pennsylvania's Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. "Evolution is the model that drives science. It's time to recognize that."

More here.

Agreement Reached on Patriot Act Extension

An AP newswire article, via MSNBC, reports that:

A band of Senate Republican holdouts reached agreement with the White House Thursday on minor changes in the Patriot Act, hoping to clear the way for passage of anti-terrorism legislation that has been stalled in a dispute over protection of civil liberties.

Sen. John Sununu, R-N.H., and three other GOP lawmakers — all of whom joined with Democrats last year to block a long-term extension of the law — were to announce their accord with the administration in a late-afternoon news conference.

One GOP official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the legislation had been rewritten to make it clear that an individual receiving a so-called National Security Letter was not required to notify the FBI if he consulted a lawyer.

This official also said a second proposed change would clarify that only libraries that are “electronic service providers” could be required to provide information to government agents as part of a terrorist investigation.

Patch Tuesday: 7 Patches for Microsoft

Via Microsoft's February 2006 Advance Notification.

On 14 February 2006 Microsoft is planning to release:

Security Updates

One Microsoft Security Bulletin affecting Microsoft Windows Media Player. The highest Maximum Severity rating for this is Critical. These updates will not require a restart. These updates will be detectable using the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer and the Enterprise Scanning Tool.

Four Microsoft Security Bulletins affecting Microsoft Windows. The highest Maximum Severity rating for these is Critical. Some of these updates will require a restart. These updates will be detectable using the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer.

One Microsoft Security Bulletin affecting Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office. The highest Maximum Severity rating for these is Important. These updates will require a restart. These updates will be detectable using the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer.

One Microsoft Security Bulletin affecting Microsoft Office. The highest Maximum Severity rating for this is Important. These updates may require a restart. These updates will be detectable using the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer.

Verizon CEO Backs Off Executive's Google Slam

Dan Frommer writes on Forbes.com:

Verizon Communications Chief Executive Ivan Seidenberg retreated from a vice president's sharp statements panning search giant Google but affirmed the telecom industry’s desire for new revenue from Internet content companies.

Seidenberg says the market--not the government--needs to decide who will help subsidize the billions of dollars telcos like Verizon are spending to bury fiber-optic pipe across the U.S.

"I love what Google is doing to the extent that they generate more use of broadband," Seidenberg said Thursday. But he added that additional government network regulation is a ruse and that people are trying to "box in" carriers to provide services for free.

Much more here.

Telecom Execs Asked to Explain Cooperation in Wiretaps

Jeffrey Silva writes on RCR Wireless News:

Two powerful Senate Democrats asked executives of three telecom giants with major mobile phone units to turn over information on their alleged participation in the Bush administration's warrantless domestic surveillance program.

Sens. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, sent letters requesting company documents to Edward Witacre, chairman of AT&T Inc., which owns 60 percent of Cinglular Wireless L.L.C.; Gary Forsee, president of Sprint Nextel Corp.; and Ivan Seidenberg, chairman of Verizon Communications Inc., which is the majority owner of Verizon Wireless.

Another Ultra-Cool Gadget: I-O Data Double-DVD Device

Image source: Gizmodo

Via Gizmodo.

Here’s a double-decker DVD burner from I-O Data that lets you copy a disk from one of its TEAC DV-W28SL burners to the other with no PC in sight. You can also plug this model DVR-UW8DP into your computer via USB 2.0, and use it as a normal pair of drives.

You’ll pay dearly for the privilege: at $448, but the thing looks rather cool with the two discs hanging halfway out and that swanky blue light underneath the power switch. Wait a couple of months and it’ll probably cost a c-note.

Wanted: Competent Big Brothers

Michael Hirsh writes in Newsweek:

It all sounds frighteningly Orwellian. But the truth is that, for all the hue and cry over American civil liberties, we are a long way from Big Brother today. In fact, we could probably use a little more Big Brother about now.

After four and a half years, our intelligence and national-security apparatus still hasn’t learned how to track terrorists, and the Bush administration has put forward little more than cosmetic reforms.

Much, much more here.

More Serious Stuff: A Beer Dispensing PC

I'm thirsty!

Via OHGizmo!

If a beer dispensing case mod is not the most incredible and delicious hack known to man, then I don’t know what is.

More Surveillance Puts Strain on Carriers

Christopher Rhoads writes on the WSJ.com:

After the 2001 terrorist attacks, retired Federal Bureau of Investigation agent Michael Warren saw that many phone and Internet companies would need help meeting an expected jump in law-enforcement requests for customer calling and email information.

His prediction proved correct. Mr. Warren formed a company that won business from telecom, cable and Internet-service providers around the U.S. Last year, he sold the business for an undisclosed amount.

"There's been a significant increase in demand and pressure on companies for providing records, tracing calls and wiretapping," said Mr. Warren, now a vice president for fiduciary services at NeuStar Inc. of Sterling, Va., which bought his company. "That's led to a great deal of strain on carriers."

Often overlooked amid the controversy over the legality of the Bush administration's eavesdropping without warrants is a huge increase in recent years in the number of wiretaps conducted with court approval. Smaller telecom companies in particular have sought help from outsiders in order to comply with the court-ordered subpoenas, touching off a scramble among third parties to meet the demand for assistance.

German Labor Union Backs Off Deutsche Telekom Deal

An AP newswire article by Matt Moore, via SFGate.com, reports that:

The German labor union ver.di on Thursday backed off a tentative agreement with Deutsche Telekom AG over the company's plans to cut thousands of jobs through 2008.

Bonn-based Deutsche Telekom said in November that it planned to cut 32,000 jobs as part of a 3.3 billion euros ($3.9 billion) plan to restructure its operation and rein in expenses.

The service workers' union ver.di said Wednesday it had reached a compromise with Deutsche Telekom negotiators about the package of cuts, but neither the union nor the company released any details.

Secret Court's Judges Were Warned About NSA Spy Data

Carol D. Leonnig writes in The Washington Post:

Twice in the past four years, a top Justice Department lawyer warned the presiding judge of a secret surveillance court that information overheard in President Bush's eavesdropping program may have been improperly used to obtain wiretap warrants in the court, according to two sources with knowledge of those events.

The revelations infuriated U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly -- who, like her predecessor, Royce C. Lamberth, had expressed serious doubts about whether the warrantless monitoring of phone calls and e-mails ordered by Bush was legal. Both judges had insisted that no information obtained this way be used to gain warrants from their court, according to government sources, and both had been assured by administration officials it would never happen.

Much more here.

Google Grabs Even More Ground in Internet Search

An AFP newswire article, via Yahoo! News, reports that:

Google has gained more ground against its Internet search rivals and now accounts for nearly half of all online searches in the United States, a survey showed.

The survey by Nielsen/NetRatings showed Google accounted for 48.8 percent of all US search requests in December 2005, up from 43.1 percent a year earlier.

Google's closest rival, Yahoo, saw its share dip to 21.4 percent from 21 percent. The number three search engine, Microsoft's MSN Search, lost 3.1 percentage points to 10.9 percent.

AOL, Yahoo! Follow Bill Gates: 'We Don't See No Steenking Spam'

Via eMail Battles.

Unless you sleep under a rock, you've heard that AOL and Yahoo have decided to open their very own postal service for spammers. Pony up half a penny per message and you, too, can send unwanted email with guaranteed delivery that bypasses spam filters.

Yahoo's Antispam Product Manager Miles Libbey claims the Goodmail service is aimed at de-phishing transactional messages, like financial docs. As an apparent afterthought, Libbey muses, "We need to ensure that the spammers don't sign up for the service." (Who's a spammer? Anybody who doesn't buy the service.)

AOL's chief web strategist Barry Appelman agrees. He's convinced himself that adding a new revenue source will somehow magically "widen the gap between the amount of good email we want our users to get and the dwindling amount of bad email they might get." (Huh?)

More here.

Political Jab of the Day: Cartoon Politics

Click for larger image.

Oracle Expected to Cut More Than 1,000 Jobs

An AP newswire article by Michael Liedtke, via SFGate.com, reports that:

Business software maker Oracle Corp. will announce more than 1,000 job cuts Thursday as it outlines a course for harvesting higher profits from its recent $5.85 billion takeover of rival Siebel Systems Inc., a person familiar with the plans said.

The cuts, to be revealed during an afternoon conference call with industry analysts, have been widely anticipated since Redwood Shores, Calif.-based Oracle announced the acquisition five months ago.

VeriSign to Buy Snapcentric for Fraud Detection

Paul F. Roberts writes on eWeek:

Security and communications company VeriSign is buying Snapcentric, a maker of transaction monitoring software that can spot fraud, phishing attacks and other threats, according to a company executive.

Details of the purchase were still being resolved late Feb. 8, and VeriSign said it plans to disclose details of the purchase Feb. 9.

Telstra Profit Drops as Users Switch to Cellphones and Web

A Bloomberg News article, via The International Herald Tribune, reports that:

The telephone company Telstra said on Thursday that first-half profit fell 11 percent as customers abandoned its fixed-line business for cheaper cellphones and Internet services.

The chief executive officer, Sol Trujillo, affirmed his forecast that full-year pretax profit would be down as much as 26 percent on costs of eliminating jobs and on declining home-phone usage. Telstra shares have lost 20 percent since Trujillo, a former US West chief executive, started in July, forcing the government to lower the amount it expects to receive for selling its remaining stake.

Gadget of the Day: The Data Fortress

Image source: Gizmodo

Via Gizmodo.

A spry tipster just pointed us towards the Data Fortress, a steel-encased hard drive that can hold up to 640 GB and is completely fire-, water-, impact-, earthquake-, and ninja-proof. It can withstand heat up up to 1550 degrees Fahrenheit for about 30 minutes and looks like a great way to keep backup data safe and sound in deluge, mudslide, and fire-prone areas.

It’s apparently computer virus-proof, as well, but that seems something far more difficult to guarantee.

Bill Would Force Web Sites to Delete Personal Info

Declan McCullagh writes on C|Net News:

A bill just announced in Congress would require every Web site operator to delete information about visitors, including e-mail addresses, if the data is no longer required for a "legitimate" business purpose.

The proposal, introduced Wednesday by Rep. Ed Markey, seeks to import European-style privacy regulations by imposing a broad data-deletion requirement. It would apply to every U.S. Web site, even ones run by individuals, bloggers or nonprofit groups and charities.

Markey said the measure would help stop identity theft. "This warehoused personal information about consumers' Internet use should not be needlessly stored to await compromise by data thieves or fraudsters, or disclosure through judicial fishing expeditions," the Massachusetts Democrat said in a statement.

More here.

User Friendly: More Google World Domination

Via UserFriendly.org.

Click for larger image.

U.S. Plans Massive Data Sweep

Mark Clayton writes in The Christian Science Monitor:

The US government is developing a massive computer system that can collect huge amounts of data and, by linking far-flung information from blogs and e-mail to government records and intelligence reports, search for patterns of terrorist activity.

The system - parts of which are operational, parts of which are still under development - is already credited with helping to foil some plots. It is the federal government's latest attempt to use broad data-collection and powerful analysis in the fight against terrorism. But by delving deeply into the digital minutiae of American life, the program is also raising concerns that the government is intruding too deeply into citizens' privacy.

Much more here.

Google Sued for Selling 'Check 'n Go' Keyword

Via OUT-LAW.com.

The company behind a US cash-advance firm called Check ‘n Go has sued Google for selling its trade marks as keywords in search advertising, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. Such sales do not breach Google's own policy for the US and Canada.

The dispute has been brought by parent company CNG Financial Corp over Google's AdWords service. The service allows advertisers to sponsor particular search terms so that, whenever that search term is entered, the ad will appear next to users' search results under a list of 'sponsored links'. When the ad is clicked, the sponsor is charged.

White House Discloses Details on Surveillance

Declan McCullagh writes on C|Net News:

In a sign that political pressure from other Republicans is having an effect, the White House on Wednesday disclosed details about its domestic spying program in a secret meeting with members of a House of Representatives intelligence panel.

The briefing by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and intelligence adviser Michael Hayden represents a rare concession for the Bush administration, which has closely guarded the operational details about how eavesdropping is done and previously had discussed them only with a few congressional leaders.

Some BofA Clients Find Debit Cards Cancelled

David Lazarus writes on SFGate.com:

Numerous Bank of America customers have had their debit cards canceled and have been blocked from accessing their accounts online after an unnamed company experienced what appears to be a major security breach.

BofA is refusing to identify the company, saying in letters to customers this week only that the breach occurred "at a third-party location unrelated to Bank of America."

This is unusual. Past data-security breaches involving financial institutions have centered on systems being compromised at either bank offices or those of affiliated firms.

Michael Chee, a BofA spokesman, confirmed Wednesday that the breach in this latest case wasn't at a processing center used by the bank or any other affiliate.

More here.

E-Mail, Blogs, Text Messages Propel Anger Over Images

Kevin Sullivan writes in The Washington Post:

Mohammad Fouad Barazi, a prominent Muslim cleric here, received a text message on his cell phone last week. It was a mass mailing from an anonymous sender, he said, warning that Danish people were planning to burn the Koran that Saturday in Copenhagen's City Hall Square out of anger over Muslim demonstrations against Danish cartoons of the prophet Muhammad.

Hundreds of people -- Muslims and ethnic Danes -- turned out in response to the messages and the rampant rumors they sparked, and by the end of Saturday, police had arrested 179 people. In the end, no Koran was burned.

More here.

Japan Internet Suicide Deaths Soar to 91 in 2005

A Reuters newswire article by Elaine Lies, via Yahoo! News, reports that:

The number of Japanese killing themselves in groups after meeting through the Internet -- strangers afraid to die alone -- soared to a record 91 last year, nearly double that of 2004, police said on Thursday.

The deadly pacts pose a grim challenge for officials struggling to deal with Japan's high suicide rate, one of the worst among industrialised nations.

Britons Face 'Chip-and-Pin' Future in Fraud Fight

Via Reuters.

From next week, a signature will not be good enough to buy goods or services across Britain.

The deadline for shoppers to remember their debit and credit card pin numbers is Valentine's Day, next Tuesday. From then on, cardholders are no longer assured the option of signing to verify a purchase and may have their cards refused.

Banks and retailers have introduced chip-and-pin technology in recent years to halt rising card fraud, requiring an increasing number of shoppers to enter their four-digit PIN numbers to verify card purchases.

Yahoo! Considers 'Incentives' to Get People to Use Its Search Engine

I think my answer would be, "Stop turning people in to the Chinese government..."

Elinor Mills writes on the C|Net Yahoo! Blog:

Yahoo confirmed on Wednesday that it is polling some Yahoo Mail users about what they would want in exchange for making Yahoo their primary search engine. The survey was sent to a random sampling representing about 5 percent of its Yahoo Mail users, a Yahoo spokeswoman said.

"Yahoo! is cosidering launching a program to reward people who make Yahoo! their primary search engine. Yahoo! Mail users will be given early access to this program. You will receive a monthly reward if you make Yahoo! your primary search engine. This means that most of the searching you do each month must be on Yahoo! Search."

More details here.

Web Sites Hawking Phone Records Shut Down

An AP newswire article by Jennifer C. Kerr, via SFGate.com, reports that:

Following a wave of negative publicity and pressure from the government, several Web sites that peddled people's private phone records are calling it quits.

"We are no longer accepting new orders" was the announcement posted Wednesday on two such sites, locatecell.com and celltolls.com.

"Thank you for your patronage. It was a pleasure serving you," the sites said.

The Federal Trade Commission this week conducted a sweep of 40 sites known to have been selling private phone records. According to the FTC's Lydia Parnes, more than 20 sites have recently shut down or stopped advertising for new business.

Toon: In the Name of Free Speech

Click for larger image.

Another Cyber-Dissident Imprisoned Because of Data Provided by Yahoo!

Via Reporters sans Frontières.

Reporters Without Borders today condemned the US firm Yahoo! for handing over data on one of its users in China which enabled the authorities there to send him to prison for eight years, the second such case that has come to light in recent months.

It called on Yahoo! to supply a list of all cyberdissidents it has provided data on, beginning with 81 people in China whose release the worldwide press freedom organization is currently campaigning for.

It said it had discovered that Yahoo ! customer and cyberdissident Li Zhi had been given his eight-year prison sentence in December 2003 based on electronic records provided by Yahoo. “How many more cases are we going to find ?” it asked.

“We were sure the case of Shi Tao, who was jailed for 10 years last April on the basis of Yahoo-supplied data, was not the only one. Now we know Yahoo works regularly and efficiently with the Chinese police.

Australia: A Collision of Policy and Profit in Telstra Sale

Donald Greenlees writes in The International Herald Tribune:

The last time the Australian government sold a stake in the majority state-owned telecommunications carrier, Telstra, thousands of small household investors, under the influence of the dot-com frenzy, rushed to pay 7.20 Australian dollars a share.

But suffering the fate of many legacy telecommunications carriers around the world - excessive costs, outdated networks and declining market share - the good times for Telstra were close to an end.

For most of the small investors, the 1999 share purchase burned a hole in their pocket. The big winner was the government, which walked away with 16 billion dollars, or $11.9 billion, for the sale of 16.6 percent of the company.

With Telstra shares closing at 4.03 dollars on Wednesday and its management warning of lower profit ahead, the government has little chance of attracting a similar stampede of investors or a financial windfall of the same scale if it pushes ahead with plans to sell the balance of its Telstra holding later this year.

The Trouble With VoIP

Scott Woolley writes on Forbes.com:

Is running an Internet phone company a good business?

Vonage Holdings, the largest Internet phone company in the U.S., aims to convince investors it is, announcing plans today to go public and raise up to $250 million. At the same time, its prospectus provides a trove of new information about the financial struggles of a phone company that relies on the Internet instead of its own network to provide phone service.

In the three years and three months since Vonage began offering service, it has proved widely popular--and wildly unprofitable. Over 1.4 million customers have signed up; its subscriber rolls more than tripled last year alone. Cumulative losses over the company's brief life: $310 million.

More here.

SGI Warns That Bankruptcy Might Be Year-End Option

Ashlee Vance writes on Channel Register:

SGI issued its most ominous regulatory filing to date, warning that a bad 2006 could force the former high-flyer into bankruptcy.

In order to improve its business, SGI will consider measures ranging from axing or selling off product lines to pursuing "a strategic partner or acquirer." The hardware maker will basically look at anything and everything to remain a going concern.

They Saved the Internet's Soul

Ryan Singel writes on Wired News:

In some alternative universe out there, the world is using a very different internet. It's a network without sex and violence, devoid of four-letter words and racy ideas, subject to constant monitoring by censors and harsh punishment to those who cross the line into controversy.

It's the Taliban internet; the Kansas internet. It's the internet in a world in which the U.S. Supreme Court never overturned the 1996 Communications Decency Act -- the web's first and still most-sweeping U.S. censorship law, struck down after a legal challenge filed by civil liberties groups 10 years ago Wednesday.

"It was big stuff," said Marc Rotenberg, head of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, one of the groups that filed the case. "We were fighting to save the soul of the internet."

Lawmakers Struggle With How Neutral Networks Should Be

William Jackson writes on GCN.com:

Telecom reform is the top priority of Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. “We want to get a comprehensive telecom reform bill to the president’s desk this year,” Barton said. “There is no more important issue” to U.S. economic health, he added.

Barton, speaking Wednesday at the Congressional Internet Caucus’ State of the Internet Conference, said he hoped to introduce the bill this month. It will have to move quickly to see passage during this session.

“We don’t have that many legislative days this year,” he said. “It’s time to stop talking and start working. If we just wait on the Senate, I don’t see much happening.”

Reform probably is needed. The telecommunications and Internet industries have evolved quickly in the 10 years since the Telecom Reform Act of 1996, and much of that law is based on policy from the 1930s.

BellSouth: Let Providers Give Preferential Service

Grant Gross writes on InfoWorld:

Broadband providers need the right to enter into commercial agreements that allow some Web sites to perform better than rival sites, a BellSouth Corp. executive said Wednesday.

BellSouth, as the owner of a broadband network, should be able to charge extra for one search engine to return faster results than others that customers want to go to, said Bennett Ross, BellSouth's general counsel, speaking at the State of the 'Net conference in Washington, D.C.

The success of the Internet has been due to the U.S. government keeping its hands off the Internet, Ross said.

Others at the event, including "father" of the Internet Vinton Cerf, called on the U.S. Congress to pass a so-called net neutrality law, which would allow broadband customers to access any legal Web content and services and attach any legal device they want, while prohibiting broadband providers from giving their partners preferential service.

Brasil Telecom Trials Wireless Convergance

A UPI newsbrief, via PhysOrg.com, reports that:

Brasil Telecom has launched a trial of UTStarcom's fixed-mobile convergence solution in preparation for next-generation wireless services.

The trials in the capital Brasilia are a major test of UTStarcom's new Continuity end-to-end system in a market where cell-phone subscriptions top 12 million.

Bush Signs DTV Legislation

Jeffrey Silva writes on RCR Wireless News:

President Bush signed into law budget deficit legislation requiring TV broadcasters to surrender analog spectrum by Feb. 18, 2009, paving the way the redistribution of valuable frequencies to public safety and other wireless users.

The bill requires the Federal Communications Commission to auction 60 megahertz of the reclaimed spectrum by Jan. 28, 2008. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the auction of those airwaves could generate between $10 billion and $20 billion.

More details here.

FBI Probing Bulk Pre-Paid Cell Phone Purchases

Jefferey Silva writes on RCR Wireless News:

The FBI and Department of Homeland Security have advised state and local law enforcement officials to be alert for large purchases of prepaid cell phones, an FBI spokesman said.

The advisory follows an investigation of recent incidents in Texas, California and possibly other states in which individuals bought or tried to buy large quantities of prepaid cell phones.

An FBI-DHS bulletin went out yesterday to law enforcement officers across the country, an FBI spokesman said. The spokesman, who declined to release the bulletin, said the FBI probe found no clear terrorist ties to the purchases. However, he said FBI agents continue to run down leads of possible terrorist links in connection with bigger-than-normal purchases of prepaid cell phones.

Anonymizer to Offer 'Censor-Free Internet' to China

Via The Globe and Mail.

Anonymizer Inc., of San Diego, Calif., a provider of on-line identity protection technology, has announced that the company is developing a new anti-censorship system that will enable Chinese citizens to safely access the entire Internet filter-free, and also free from fear of persecution or retribution.

Anonymizer's new anti-censorship system for Chinese citizens will be available before the end of March, and will provide a regularly changing URL. In addition, users' identities will be protected from on-line tracking and monitoring by the Chinese government.

More here.

Vonage Files for $250 Million IPO

A Reuters newswire article, via CNN/Money, reports that:

Internet telephone service provider Vonage Holdings Corp. may raise up to $250 million in an initial public offering, according to a regulatory filing on Wednesday.

Terms have not been set for the offering, expected to lead by underwriters Citigroup, Deutsche Bank Securities, and UBS Investment Bank, according to the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

IE7 Beta Breaks Google AdSense

Ed Oswald writes on BetaNews:

Developers testing out the latest version of Internet Explorer 7 are discovering a nasty flaw -- the browser seems to be incompatible with Google's AdSense advertising service. Although the problem seems limited to those running IE7 Beta under Windows XP, it still has some developers worried. For many, AdSense has become the de facto method for generating revenue for their sites. Google generates over $2 billion in revenue yearly from the program alone.

"Considering that by the end of the year, IE7 should be available for almost all versions of Windows, unless Microsoft wants to face the ire of developers everywhere, it had better fix this," Nathan Weinberg of the InsideGoogle Web log wrote Wednesday. Although it is unknown as to why this is occurring, it is suspected it may have to do with how IE7 now handles JavaScript. Microsoft could not be reached for comment.

QinetiQ Exploding Ink Could Enable Point-and-Click Fuses

Image source: Engadget

Marc Perton writes over on Engadget:

UK defense contractor QinetiQ has filed a patent for an explosive ink that could allow fuses to be designed on a computer and then printed directly onto ordinary paper. The ink is stable when wet, and only becomes active when a current is fed through a metal strip placed on top of the printed fuse. Once the fuse is activated, it can be used to trigger just about any kind of explosive device, from fireworks to munitions. (We don't even want to know what happens if you get a paper jam.)

Somehow, we expect the defense industry to do its best to keep this one under lock and key, and we sort of hope they succeed, if only so we can avoid having to wait as TSA officials disassemble our portable inkjet every time we pass through customs.

Feds Endorse 'Go Slow' Approach on IPv6

Carolyn Duffy Marsan writes on NetworkWorld:

IPv6 advocates looking for the U.S. federal government to make a major financial commitment to the next-generation of the Internet’s main communications protocol will be disappointed with the findings of a new report from the Department of Commerce.

"Aggressive government action to accelerate the deployment of IPv6 by the private sector is not warranted at this time," according to the Commerce Department’s IPv6 Task Force, which consists of officials from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

Organized Online Crime is The Reason For Increase in Online Dating Sites?

Guy Matthews writes on The Inquirer:

THE NUMBER of dating sites across the world has increased by 17 per cent within the last twelve months, due partly to organised phishers, spammers and hackers using them to launch attacks on unwary lovers.

This is the claim of security vendor Internet Security Systems (ISS), which believes that some of the growth in web dating is down to developers of malicious code hoping to catch unsuspecting victims.

According to ISS, the five countries with the highest increase in dating websites over the past year are USA with 42.9%; Germany with 20.2%; China with 8.9%; the Netherlands with 7.9% and Russia close by with 7%. Interestingly, the UK reaches the top eight with an increase of only 1.8%.

EarthLink Firmly Says 'No' to Spying Without Subpoena

Via Red Herring.

As the storm over warrantless eavesdropping by President Bush’s administration continues to brew in Washington, EarthLink, one of the communications companies that have been asked to provide information, said it did not give surveillance access to the government without a court order.

EarthLink, an Atlanta-based Internet service provider, said its firm policy is to not respond to surveillance requests without a subpoena or other court order. And one consumer advocate cheered EarthLink’s stance, saying it reminds communications companies they can say “no.”

The 12-year-old firm was one of 20 companies that were sent letters by Rep. John Conyers (D-Michigan), asking for detailed information on the nature and content of surveillance requests they received from the National Security Agency.

Nortel Sees $2.47 Billion Charge to Settle Lawsuits

A Reuters newswire article, via eWeek, reports that:

Nortel Networks Corp. said on Wednesday it would take a charge of $2.47 billion, or 57 cents a share, after reaching an agreement in principle to settle two class action lawsuits.

The company, one of the world's largest telecom equipment suppliers, was hit with lawsuits in the wake of revised financial guidance in 2001 and its restatement of 2003 financial results to correct bookkeeping errors.

Nortel, which is still the target of regulatory and criminal investigations over its accounting scandal, said it wanted to settle the lawsuits so that it could focus on rebuilding its business.

The Internet Supasses 'Credit' in NY Consumer Complaints

A Reuters newswire article, via Yahoo! News, reports that:

The Internet has passed credit and banking as the biggest source of consumer complaints in New York state, Attorney General Eliot Spitzer said on Wednesday.

Spitzer's office received 7,723 complaints about the Internet last year, up 28 percent from 2004, he said.

Complaints about the Internet accounted for about 15 percent of the more than 51,000 written complaints the office received last year.

User Friendly: Google World Domination (Beta)

Via UserFriendly.org.

Click for larger image.

Republican Who Oversees NSA Calls for Wiretap Inquiry

Eric Lichtblau writes in The New York Times:

A House Republican whose subcommittee oversees the National Security Agency broke ranks with the White House on Tuesday and called for a full Congressional inquiry into the Bush administration's domestic eavesdropping program.

The lawmaker, Representative Heather A. Wilson of New Mexico, chairwoman of the House Intelligence Subcommittee on Technical and Tactical Intelligence, said in an interview that she had "serious concerns" about the surveillance program. By withholding information about its operations from many lawmakers, she said, the administration has deepened her apprehension about whom the agency is monitoring and why.

Ms. Wilson, who was a National Security Council aide in the administration of President Bush's father, is the first Republican on either the House's Intelligence Committee or the Senate's to call for a full Congressional investigation into the program, in which the N.S.A. has been eavesdropping without warrants on the international communications of people inside the United States believed to have links with terrorists.

More here.

Qwest to Connect NASA Centers

Michael Hardy writes on FCW.com:

Qwest Communications has signed an agreement with NASA to provide local and national connectivity to six NASA centers and several other locations. Qwest will provide end-to-end wavelength services using its QWave optical communications technology.

The new core network Qwest will create for NASA will start with circuits running at 2.5 gigabits/sec, immediately scalable to 10 gigabits/sec. In the longer term, that network will provide the foundation for moving the large volumes of data that NASA's activities generate.

Google Hires A9 Search Chief

Via Red Herring.

Amazon.com has appointed a new chief executive, David Tennenhouse, 48, for its A9.com search unit after the former chief, Udi Manber, was coaxed away by Google to become the search giant’s vice president of engineering.

Amazon hired Dr. Tennenhouse from Intel, where he was vice president of Intel’s corporate technology group and director of research. He formerly worked as director of the information technology office at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

Scandinavia: Telenor Aims to Gain Control of Glocalnet

A UPI newsbrief, via PhysOrg.com, reports that:

Telenor Wednesday made an offer for all outstanding shares in Glocalnet, a Swedish broadband provider.

The Norwegian telecommunications group has had a 36.6-percent stake in Glocalnet since 2002, and it will now be taking control of the company.

Gapingvoid.com Fix

Via gapingvoid.com. Enjoy!

Microsoft Being Sued Over Fingerprint Patent

Via The Inquirer:

Microsoft is being sued by a firm which claims it's infringing a fingerprint patent.

International Automated Systems (IAS) Inc started the case in a Utah district court earlier this week, with the plaintiffs being Microsoft and "John Does 1-20".

IAS alleges that Microsoft and the Does are breaching US patent 5,598,474 - a "process for encrypting a fingerprint onto an IDA card". That patent was issued to Neldon Johnson on the 28th of January 1997. It's alleged Microsoft and the Does made, sold and continue to make fingerprint readers covered by the patent.

Canada: Telus Pleads 'Not Guilty' in Cellphone Records Case

Katherine Harding writes in The Globe and Mail:

Telus Corp. has pleaded not guilty to allegations it ignored a court order to supply cellphone records requested by the RCMP. The RCMP have said the information is needed for Project Kare, one of the highest-profile and expensive criminal investigations in Alberta's history.

The task force is hunting for the killer, or killers, of more than a dozen Edmonton prostitutes. Many of the bodies had been dumped in fields surrounding the city. Telus has since turned over the cellphone records to police.

Kieren McCarthy Signs to Write Book on Sex.com Story

Kieren writes on his blog:

The best, most exciting, most important story surrounding the formation of the Internet we know today is the incredible tale of Sex.com.

The domain was registered in the very early days of 1994 - when domains were free - by a Chicago geek called Gary Kremen. It was then stolen in 1995 but lifelong con-man Stephen Cohen who used it to build up an enormous multi-million-pound empire.

But Kremen fought and fought and fought, using up his own personal fortune from the sale of dotcom boom shares, and after years of battles - in and out of the courts - finally won the domain back. As a result, he put domain names in their proper place in law for the first time.

More here.

Microsoft Reports Two Bugs, Third Identified

Jeremy Kirk writes on InfoWorld:

Microsoft is warning of two bugs in its software that could potentially give unauthorized control or access over a person's computer, while a third problem has been highlighted by a security research company.

One vulnerability revisits the Windows Metafile (WMF) debacle from December, but impacts fewer users. The bug is in Internet Explorer (IE) 5.01 Service Pack 4 on the Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 OS and IE (Overview, Articles, Company) 5.5 Service Pack 2 on Windows Millennium, Microsoft said.

An attacker could gain control if a user opened a malicious e-mail attachment or if a user were persuaded into visiting a Web site that had a specially-crafted WMF image, Microsoft said.

Political Jab of the Day: Follow the Leader

Click for larger image.

Spanish Hacker Jailed for Two Years

John Leyden writes on The Register:

A Spanish hacker who launched a denial of service attack that hobbled the net connections of an estimated three million users has been jailed for two years and fined €1.4m. Santiago Garrido, 26, (AKA Ronnie and Mike25) launched the attack using a computer worm in retaliation for been banned from the popular "Hispano" IRC chat room for breaking its rules.

The resulting surge in malicious traffic disrupted an estimated three million users of Wanadoo, ONO, Lleida Net and other ISPs, or approximately a third of Spain's net users, at the time of the 2003 attack.

Icahn Unveils Plan to Shake Up Time Warner

An AP newswire article, via SFGate.com, reports that:

Carl Icahn, stepping up his battle against Time Warner Inc., on Tuesday unveiled details of his plan to shake up the media conglomerate, saying it should be split into four separate public companies.

In a report prepared by his investment-banking adviser Lazard Ltd., Icahn also said Time Warner should extend its share buyback plan to a total of $20 billion worth of stock through a series of "Dutch auction" tender offers.

Juniper Releases SSG Security Appliance

Paul F. Roberts writes on eWeek:

Juniper Networks unveiled a new integrated router and security appliance on Feb. 6: the Secure Services Gateway 500 Series.

The SSG is a LAN/WAN router that sports an integrated firewall, VPN, and will eventually support anti-virus, anti-spam and Web filtering features, according to Adam Conway, product line manager for Juniper's Security Products Group.

Broadband, Content Firms Clash Over Network Neutrality

Google Vice-President and Chief Internet Evangelist Vinton Cerf (R)
speaks with Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Chairman
Ted Stevens (R-AK) (L) and Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS) during a hearing on Internet.
Image source: Yahoo! News / Reuters

A Reuters newswire article by Jeremy Pelofsky, via Yahoo! News, reports that:

High-speed Internet providers and Internet content companies clashed before lawmakers on Tuesday, in dispute over whether a law enshrining the right to surf anywhere on the Web would help or harm consumers.

Representatives of local telephone and cable companies that offer fast Internet access, known as broadband, said passing a new law could stymie innovation while companies like Google Inc. said that could happen without legislation.

Broadband providers have largely pledged that consumers will be able to access any Internet site. But some also said they may charge more for services that use faster private Internet networks, like downloading movies.

White House Denies Wi-Fi Tax

Jeffrey Silva writes on RCR Wireless News:

The White House today clarified that a new budget proposal to set user fees on un-auctioned spectrum would not lead to taxes on frequencies designated for Wi-Fi.

But the White House said satellite, taxi and other industry sectors that do not pay for spectrum could be forced to pay for use of the nation's airwaves in the future.

More here.

Microsoft to Unveil Paid Security Service

An AP newswire article by Allison Linn, via Yahoo! News, reports that:

A new security service from Microsoft Corp. will charge users $49.95 per year to better protect its Windows operating system from spyware, viruses and other Internet attacks.

Microsoft plans to release the product in early June.

Called Windows OneCare Live, the subscription service will compete with security products made by traditional Microsoft partners, including Symantec Corp. and McAfee Inc. — although the software giant insists that its aim is not to run those companies out of business.

U.S. Government Considered Web-Surveillance Project

Via Privacy.org.

In November 2001, Acxiom Corp. proposed to the U.S. Department of Justice that it conduct an Internetwide surveillance of Web sites touching on topics such as "abortion, racial superiority, politics, religion, immigration, and foreign affairs," using technology designed to extract business contact information from dot-com sites.

Information about the proposed surveillance was included in documents released Thursday by the Electronic Privacy Information Center.

Forgent Signs Yet Another License Agreement

Via The Austin Business Journal.

Following the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's decision last week to re-scrutinize its primary patent cash crop, Austin's Forgent Networks Inc. has reached a patent license agreement with audiovisual and information technology company Orion Electric Co. Ltd.

The agreement covers Forgent's main revenue stream -- the '672 patent for JPEG data compression technology.

More here.

.EU Internet Domain Names Open For Business

An AFP newswire article, via Yahoo! News, reports that:

Hundreds of thousands of businesses raced to snap up ".eu" internet domain names, with "sex.eu" taking the prize for the most sought-after address on the first day companies could apply.

Two months after the .eu domain name was launched for public institutions and trademark holders, the tag was opened up to companies other than those seeking a site for a brand, as well as for art works and literature.

Within the first hour, sex.eu domain had received 23 applications, followed by schumacher.eu with 15, realestate.eu with 12 and business.eu also with 12 applications, said the European Registry of Internet Domain Names (Eurid).

Anti-Spam Groups Reject e-Mail Payment Plan

Tom Espiner writes on C|Net News:

A leading anti-spam agency has struck back at moves to charge companies a fixed fee to ensure e-mails are delivered, saying it will erode freedoms.

On Monday, Richard Cox, chief information officer of anti-spam organization Spamhaus, said that "an e-mail charge will destroy the spirit of the Internet."

"The Internet has become what it is because of freedom of communication. Open discussion is what gives it value. There should be no cost for particular services, and e-mail should be free and accessible to all. This will disenfranchise people," said Cox.

User Friendly: More Kama Sutra Worm Fantasies

Via UserFriendly.org.

Click for larger image.

Cyber-Attacks Against Danish Sites

Image source: F-Secure

Mikko writes over on the F-Secure "News from the Lab" Blog:

Since the outcry on the cartoon images of Muhammed started, there's been a series of attacks against Danish web sites.

Many of these are just typical defacements, but the message is very directly anti-Danish.

Zone-h.org has categorized over 500 defacements like this since the conflict started.

More examples here.

Cisco, Kineto Team for 'Converged' Service

Nancy Gohring writes on NetworkWorld:

Cisco and Kineto Wireless are working together to make it easier for mobile phone operators to move from trialing services that let mobile phone customers roam between Wi-Fi and cellular networks to offering commercial services, the companies planned to announce on Tuesday.

The companies have linked Kineto's controller, which lets mobile operators offer combined Wi-Fi and cellular services, with Cisco products that operators may already use, such as its authentication, authorization and accounting server.

SBC Flexes Its Muscle With the SF Chronicle

Om Malik writes on his Next Generation blog:

David Lazerus, a columnist for San Francisco Chronicle might have messed with the Texas one too many times. Tweaked by his writings, SBC has decided to pull all the advertising from San Francisco Chronicle (about $5 million.) How quaintly old fashioned!

John Battelle reports on the ongoing saga and warns Google, “Because this is your new competitor, Google. Get to know them. As you offer free WiFi to all of San Francisco … and undermine AT&T/SBC’s broadband business …hard ball players like SBC are going to go after you, and rest assured, their motto ain’t 'don’t be evil.'“

Russian Trojans Used to Steal €1M in France

Kim Willsher writes in The Guardian:

Russian thieves have stolen more than €1m (£680,000) from personal bank accounts in France using "sleeper bugs" to infect computers. French authorities claim the thieves can take control of and empty a bank account in seconds. In one hit, a bank customer lost €40,000.

Police say the virus is embedded in emails or websites and remains dormant until the user contacts their bank online. When that happens, the bug becomes active and records passwords and bank codes which are then forwarded to the thieves. They then use the information to check the victim has money in the bank before transferring funds to the accounts of third parties, known as mules, who may have agreed to allow money to pass through their accounts in return for a commission of between 5% and 10%.

Police claim this is set up through fictitious companies, including one American firm named World Transfer, although the mules could be unaware that their computers are being used for theft.

A dozen Russian thieves, described by police as being typically aged between 20 and 30, and several Ukrainian masterminds of the scam have been arrested in Moscow and St Petersburg.

Without 'Net Neutrality' Will Consumers Pay Twice?

Marguerite Reardon writes on C|Net News:

The debate over whether broadband providers should be allowed to prioritize the traffic they carry and to charge companies to ship data via their networks is about to get its second airing in Washington.

On Tuesday the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation is holding a hearing to discuss the issue. Companies such as Amazon.com, eBay, Google and Microsoft are pushing congressional leaders to draft legislation that calls for "network neutrality," which would bar phone companies and cable operators from picking favorites.

The carriers, not surprisingly, strongly oppose any legislation that would limit their ability to charge for carrying content on their network. They believe that a so-called tiered service model will let them deliver new services, such as video, more efficiently and more cheaply to consumers.

More here.

Web Heavy-Hitters and User Advocates to Argue in Senate

Tom Abate and Verne Kopytoff write on SFGate.com:

Should everyone's information travel over the Internet's digital highways at the same speed? Or should the firms that own those roadways be able to collect tolls from those willing to pay more to avoid traffic jams?

Those questions will be at the core of testimony before the Senate Commerce Committee today, with consumer advocates arguing that Congress should protect the Internet's open traditions while network providers counter that they should be free to charge for speedier delivery of video and voice traffic.

The hearing will revolve around a concept called "network neutrality," the idea that traffic on the Internet should flow as democratically as possible. Consumer advocates -- with support from Internet heavyweights such as Google and Microsoft -- want Congress to regulate when and how network providers charge extra for providing faster, or preferential, delivery.

Much more here.

Verizon Executive Calls for End to Google's 'Free Lunch'

Arshad Mohammed writes in The Washington Post:

A Verizon Communications Inc. executive yesterday accused Google Inc. of freeloading for gaining access to people's homes using a network of lines and cables the phone company spent billions of dollars to build.

The comments by John Thorne, a Verizon senior vice president and deputy general counsel, came as lawmakers prepared to debate legislation that could let phone and cable companies charge Internet firms additional fees for using their high-speed lines.

Google to Unveil New Chat Feature

An AP newswire article by Michael Liedtke, via Yahoo! News, reports that:

Online search engine leader Google Inc. is wedding its instant messaging and e-mail services in the same Web browser, hoping the convenience will lure users from the larger communications networks operated by its chief rivals.

The new chat feature to be unveiled Tuesday will provide users of Google's Gmail service with a list of contacts drawn from past e-mail exchanges and then signal who's available for online conversations.

Apple Launches $149 iPod Nano

A Reuters newswire article, via Yahoo! News, reports that:

Apple Computer Inc on Tuesday launched a new 1 gigabyte iPod nano music player for $149 and said it cut the price of its shuffle music player.

It said the shuffle music player will now go on sale at $69 for the 512 megabyte version and for $99 for the 1 gigabyte model. It said the new 1 gigabyte nano could hold up to 240 songs or 15,000 photographs.

UK: BT Sounds Child Web Porn Warning

Via The BBC.

The number of attempts to view illegal child pornography on the web has increased since 2004, according to BT.

The company has a system to block sites carrying indecent images of children and over the past four months it has been thwarting 35,000 hits each day.

When BT first launched its Cleanfeed system 18 months ago, there were just over 10,000 attempted hits every day.

Bush Proposes Tax on Wi-Fi, Unlicensed Spectrum

Jeffrey Silva writes on RCR Wireless News:

President Bush, facing a huge budget deficit, today proposed squeezing more money from the nation's airwaves by supporting legislative changes that would allow the Federal Communications Commission to set "user fees" on "un-auctioned" radio spectrum.

The proposal, contained in the president's 2007 budget plan and projected to raise $3.6 billion during the decade, is believed to be aimed at unlicensed frequencies used for Wi-Fi and other applications.

Confidential Patient Data Sent to Wrong Company

A ComputerWorld article by Jaikumar Vijayan, via NetworkWorld, reports that:

A small Lockport, Manitoba-based distributor of herbal remedies has for the past 15 months been mistakenly receiving faxes containing confidential information belonging to hundreds of patients with Prudential Financial's insurance group. The data exposed in the breach -- and faxed to the company by doctors and clinics across the U.S. -- included the patients' Social Security numbers, bank details and health care information.

So far, at least, efforts to deal with the issue appear to have failed, said Jody Baxmeyer, vice president of marketing at North Regent RX, the company that's been receiving the faxes.

The situation has been caused by North Regent's toll-free fax number, which is nearly identical to one used by Prudential to receive medical claims-related information from doctors, Baxmeyer said. In fact, the two numbers differ by only one digit, Baxmeyer said.

Honeywell Blames Ex-Employee in Data Leak

Robert McMillan writes on InfoWorld:

Honeywell International Inc. says a former employee has disclosed sensitive information relating to 19,000 of the company's U.S. employees.

Honeywell discovered the information being published on the Web on Jan. 20 and immediately had the Web site in question pulled down, said company spokesman Robert Ferris.

In court filings dated Jan. 30, the company accused former employee Howard Nugent, of Arizona, of accessing the information on a Honeywell computer and then causing "the transmission of that information."

H5N1 News: Genes of H5N1 Reveal Chinese Origin

Debora MacKenzie writes in NewScientist:

The H5N1 flu virus has been circulating continuously in poultry in south-eastern China for a decade, scientists have found. A massive genetic analysis shows the virus has mainly been spread by poultry, but also that wild birds carried it from southeast China to Turkey.

Yi Guan and colleagues at Shantou University, plus scientists in Xiamen and Hong Kong, say the only way to stop the virus is to control it in southeast China. The Chinese authorities have denied the country is the epicentre of the virus and opposed independent flu research.

The researchers analysed samples taken from 13,000 migratory birds and 50,000 market poultry in southeast China between January 2004 and June 2005, when the Chinese government banned independent sampling. In the markets, they found H5N1 in about 2% of apparently healthy ducks and geese, and some chickens, in all but two of the months in the sampling period.

Black Hat Fingers Email As Easy Target

Via eMail Battles.

In a world where even the dimmest network manager understands the need to deploy stripped-down, hardened servers behind bulletproof firewalls, Core Security's product manager, Max Caceres, told attendees to Black Hat Federal 2006 that attackers should take the easy route: Users.

Users offer a sloppy, target-rich environment with nearly unlimited access to trouble. They form a poorly guarded bridge between the internal network and the Internet.

Admins who allow email clients to receive unadulterated HTML documents are opening a hole in network security that can be very difficult to defend... especially once an attacker is inside the network perimeter.

Alcatel To Upgrade China Telecom's DSL Network

Via ChinaTechNews.com.

China Telecom has selected Alcatel (ALA) to upgrade its existing broadband access network across 26 provinces in China to prepare for triple play service delivery.

This agreement was signed through Alcatel Shanghai Bell, Alcatel's flagship Chinese company.

China Telecom will deploy the Alcatel solution in South China's 18 provinces and North China's eight provinces including Guangdong, Shanghai, Sichuan, Zhejiang, Fuzhou, Hei Longjiang and Inner Mongolia.

Oops… No Tsunami After All

An AP newswire article, via CBS News, reports that:

A tsunami warning which was automatically sent to television and radio stations throughout Alaska Monday morning was issued in error, the National Weather Service said.

"It went out by mistake, there is no danger of tsunami anywhere," said K.B. Bennekamper, a meteorologist in the service' Anchorage forecast office.

The message, which went directly from the weather service to Alaska broadcasters, only contained a tsunami warning header. If it were a real emergency, Bennekamper said meteorologists would have added actual text into the body of the message, outlining which areas of the state would have been covered by the warning.

Gonzales: NSA May Tap 'Ordinary' Americans' e-Mail

Anne Broache writes on C|Net News:

Agents operating a controversial National Security Agency surveillance program may have inadvertently spied on the e-mails and phone calls of Americans with no ties to terrorists, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Monday.

Gonzales stressed that the program is "narrowly focused" and that adequate steps are taken to protect privacy, though he said he was unable to describe such procedures because of the program's classified nature.

BitTorrent to Crack Down on Use of Name

John Borland writes on C|Net News:

The creators of the BitTorrent file-swapping application will soon begin cracking down on how other software developers use the BitTorrent name, company President Ashwin Navin said Monday.

BitTorrent's creator, Bram Cohen, has long allowed other people or companies to use his work freely under an open-source software license. Over the past several years, that has led to an explosion of software programs that claim they are compatible with BitTorrent downloads.

However, now that Cohen has created a company aimed at using BitTorrent to distribute movies and other media legally, that unregulated software world is looking more worrisome. The company will soon start enforcing a trademark policy that ensures people using the BitTorrent name are producing safe software, Navin said.

U.S. Delays Pivotal Military Satellite Project

Jim Wolf writes for Reuters:

U.S. plans to award a multibillion-dollar satellite communications contract for a pivotal project are being delayed a year until 2008 following budget cuts, Defense Department officials said Monday.

Teams led by Lockheed Martin and Boeing are vying to build an initial five laser-linked satellites to expand space-based communications systems for the military.

The program is designed to create a kind of Internet in the sky, extending high-bandwidth satellite links to forces deployed worldwide. It would hook them into the so-called Global Information Grid, the Pentagon's voice, video and data network.

Cisco Invests in Disney's MovieBeam Spinoff

Via Reuters.

Cisco Systems Inc. said on Monday it has made an investment in MovieBeam Inc., the on-demand movie service that Walt Disney Co. spun off in January.

Cisco, Disney and several venture capital firms including Intel Corp.'s Intel Capital, Mayfield Fund, Norwest Venture Partners and Vantage Point Venture Partners invested $48.5 million in MovieBeam, according to MovieBeam spokeswoman Michelle Cox.

A Cisco spokeswoman declined to provide details of the company's interest in MovieBeam.

RIAA Double-Speak

Ray Beckerman writes on The Recording Industry vs. The People blog:

While the RIAA has been going around trying to villify P2P end users as "pirates" and "downloaders", we have learned that on November 15, 2004, in testimony before the Federal Trade Commission, the RIAA admitted that most P2P end users don't even know that their files are in a shared files folder.

"As an initial matter, P2P software may, upon installation, automatically search a user’s entire hard drive for content. Files that users have no intention of sharing may end up being offered to the entire P2P network. Continued sharing of personal information is hard to avoid and is facilitated by confusing and complicated instructions for designating shared items. A study by Nathaniel S. Good and Aaron Krekelberg at HP Laboratories showed that “the majority of the users…were unable to tell what files they were sharing, and sometimes incorrectly assumed they were not sharing any files when in fact they were sharing all files on their hard drive.”

Three Charged With Wiretapping, Racketeering

Robert Lemos writes on SecurityFocus:

A federal grand jury indicted private investigator Anthony Pellicano and two associates for the alleged illegal use of law enforcement data and wiretapping using a custom software program, prosecutors announced on Monday.

The 110-count indictment charges Pellicano and his associates with creating a criminal enterprise in which the private detective allegedly paid tens of thousands of dollars to police officers to provide him with confidential law enforcement information on numerous individuals. In addition, the indictment charges Pellicano and the two associates--a software developer and a telecommunications engineer--with creating a program known as Telesleuth in 1995 and using it as early as 1997 to wiretap such people as Herbalife co-founder Mark Hughes, actor Sylvester Stallone and journalist Anita Busch.

American Muslims Fear NSA Wiretapping

Keith Oppenheim writes on the CNN Anderson Cooper 360 blog:

When I got the assignment to cover Arab-American reaction to the Bush administration wiretapping revelations, I knew who to call.

Osama Siblani is the publisher of the Arab American News, a newspaper based in Dearborn, Michigan, with an online edition that's read around the world. For more than a decade, whenever I've contacted him, he's always given me an accurate picture of what's going on in metro Detroit's Arab community, one of the largest outside the Middle East.

Right off the bat, Siblani told me many Arab-Americans fear their government is listening to their phone conversations. In fact, he says he's quite sure his newspaper's phones are bugged. I asked him if he had any evidence. He said no. But since he regularly makes calls to contacts in Arab countries overseas, he reasoned that his newspaper would be a likely target for eavesdropping.

More here.

NIST Issues Guidelines for Data Removal

Joab Jackson writes on GCN.com:

Wonder no longer about how to remove sensitive data from the hard drives and optical disks you are about to toss. The National Institute of Standards and Technology has issued a set of draft guidelines on how to safely remove information from obsolete forms of storage.

Matthew Scholl, Richard Kissel, Steven Skolochenko and Xing Li of the NIST Information Technology Laboratory authored Special Publication 800-88 [.pdf], “Guidelines for Media Sanitization: Recommendations of the National Institute of Standards and Technology,” which was sponsored by the Homeland Security Department.

Graphic: Undersea Cables

Via C|Net News.

Click for larger image.
Image source: C|Net / TeleGeography Research

The vast bulk of international telephone and Internet traffic travels through underwater cables. This map shows the cables that were in use as of the end of 2004 and gives an indication of where traffic is heaviest.

Time Warner Shareholders Seek $3.3B in Suit

A Reuters newswire article, via CNN/Money, reports that:

AOL and AOL Time Warner institutional shareholders plan to file a new lawsuit seeking $3.3 billion from the world's largest media company, according to a statement from the attorney representing the shareholders.

William Lerach, the lead attorney representing about 100 shareholders who opted out of a $2.6 billion settlement last year, said his firm plans to release more information on Tuesday.

'Synthetic ID Fraud' -- How Widespread Is It?

In a rather fascinating story, Bob Sullivan writes on The Red Tape Chronicles:

SSN-only ID theft -- also called synthetic ID fraud -- is often undetectable because of the way credit bureaus store data and release it to consumers. Free credit reports ordered by consumers don’t reveal all credit history entries connected to a Social Security number. Only entries that precisely match a consumer's name, Social Security number and other personal information appear on such reports. Accounts opened using the consumer's number but a different name are often omitted, according to the bureaus. That means SSN-only theft, like Harrison’s, can be almost impossible to detect.

It’s also impossible to say how common such theft is; the only agencies that would know –- the credit bureaus and the Social Security Administration -- aren’t talking. But an investigation by MSNBC.com last year revealed that millions of workers pay taxes using the wrong Social Security number every year, hinting that the problem may be much wider than generally believed.

Read the entire story here.

CenterPoint, IBM Roll Out Smart Grid in Houston

A Reuters newswire article by Bernie Woodall, via Yahoo! News, reports that:

CenterPoint Energy and IBM on Monday announced that 44,500 Houston Electric customers will participate in a broadband-over-powerline (BPL) rollout that is seen as another step toward an intelligent grid system for electric and gas companies.

The limited deployment will center on utility company applications and not on broadband for high-speed Internet in homes.

EchoStar Telecom Satellite Set For Launch

A UPI newsbrief, via PhysOrg.com, reports that:

The EchoStar X telecommunications satellite is on track for launch Wednesday and will provide television services for DISH Network once in orbit.

The spacecraft was built by Lockheed Martin and will provide DISH with a Ku-band direct broadcast package with designed minimum service life of 15 years.

Lockheed said EchoStar X is the 27th of its A2100 telecom satellites and the fourth delivered to DISH. Its intended parking spot above Earth is 110 degrees west.

Ice Cream Man Convicted of Selling Pirated Copies to Kids

Ryan Block writes on Engadget:

If only we'd thought of selling pirated DVDs, CDs, and PlayStation / Xbox / PC games out of the trusty Engadget ice cream truck to the impressionable youth we've long since been pushing sweets on, but alas that scam has apparently already landed one William Agnew in the slammer. Dude got busted and fessed up to selling such wares (warez?) by the truckful -- literally -- after being caught with four thousand pirated discs.

So to all you would-be software copiers out there looking to get in on the racket, remember: intellectual property theft may well get you put away, so stick to the straight and narrow and just keep on peddling sweets to increasingly sedentary obese kids with type b diabetes, ok?

Report: Telecoms Helped NSA Wiretapping

An AP newswire article, via MSNBC, reports that:

The largest U.S. long-distance carriers cooperated with the National Security Agency’s wiretapping of international calls without warrants, according to a published report Monday that cited unnamed telecommunications executives and intelligence officials.

MCI, Sprint and AT&T grant access to their systems without warrants or court orders, and provide call-routing information that helps physically locate the callers, USA Today reported.

Representatives at Sprint Nextel Corp., AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc., which last year acquired MCI, had no comment Monday on the newspaper’s report.

House Committee Has Eyes on Black Market Data Sites

Roy Mark writes on internetnews.com:

The House Committee on Energy and Commerce unleashed its full investigative and subpoena powers Friday on online data brokers selling confidential phone records. The panel "demanded" the brokers disclose how they are obtaining the records.

The committee sent demand letters to First Source Information Specialists of Tamarac, Fla., which manages the datafind.org, locatecell.com, celltolls.com, peoplesearchamerica.com sites, and PDJ Services of Granbury, Texas, which operates phonebust.com.

Google to Launch Online Payments Service: Gbuy

Matt Marshall writes on SiliconBeat:

Google chief executive Eric Schmidt says Google's pending online payments service GBuy won't compete directly with eBay's PayPal, but eBay doesn't believe him, according to this WSJ story:

...The Mountain View, Calif., Web-search giant, which has terrified Silicon Valley with its ability to quickly create new consumer products and services, is developing a rival service called GBuy. For the last nine months, Google has recruited online retailers to test GBuy, according to one person briefed on the service. GBuy will feature an icon posted alongside the paid-search ads of merchants, which Google hopes will tempt consumers to click on the ads, says this person. GBuy will also let consumers store their credit-card information on Google.

Telecom Turnaround is Afoot

A Business 2.0 article by Om Malik, via CNN/Money, reports that:

For the first time in years, executives at telecom-equipment makers are feeling ebullient about the future, thanks largely to an insatiable demand around the globe for broadband connections.

Companies virtually given up for dead after the telecom bubble popped, like JDS Uniphase, Redback Networks, and Ciena, have all made remarkable turnarounds as demand for the gear that powers fast Internet connections has risen sharply. But the ultimate proof of telecom's broadband resurgence may come on Tuesday when industry leader Cisco reports its earnings.

In the U.S., Comcast, Time Warner, AT&T, BellSouth, and Verizon together added almost 2 million new broadband lines in the fourth quarter of 2005. And broadband is far from just a U.S. phenomenon.

Toshiba Buys Westinghouse for $5.4B

Ed Oswald writes on BetaNews:

Toshiba agreed Monday to purchase U.S. power plant company Westinghouse for $5.4 billion, far more than the company was expecting to garner through a sale of its assets. The Japanese electronics maker will retain a controlling 51 percent stake of Westinghouse, however several minority investors are expected to come forward before the transaction completes by the middle of the year.

Even though it may seem as Toshiba may have nothing to gain from such a transaction, the conglomerate's wide range of products actually include boiling water reactors. Westinghouse produces the more commonly used pressurized water reactors, used by 60 percent of the industry. But the market has looked at the transaction unfavorably: some say the company may strain itself financially by spreading its resources too thin.

Cuba: Journalist Stops Eating & Drinking to Demand Unrestricted Internet Access

Via Reporters sans Frontières.

Reporters Without Borders voiced support today [2 February 2006] for Guillermo Fariñas, the editor of the Cubanacán Press independent news agency, who has consumed no water or food since midday on 31 January and has told President Fidel Castro in an open letter he will pursue his hunger strike “to the death” if he and his fellow journalists are not allowed the Internet access they need for their work.

Fariñas told Reporters Without Borders : “I want all Cuban citizens to have the right to an Internet connection, but also for the independent press to be able to report on the government’s activities, and if I must be a martyr for Internet access, so be it.” In his open letter, he points out that the overwhelming majority of Cubans have no Internet access.

Internet Lions Turn Paper Tiger in China

Tom Zeller Jr. writes in The New York Times:

What if the Chinese authorities didn't simply force Google to exclude sites like hrw.org (the Human Rights Watch Web site) and lesbian.com from the Chinese version of its search engine results, or insist that Yahoo hop to whenever the government fancied the identity of one of its e-mail users, as the authorities have done?

What if they also stipulated that the chief executive of any Internet company doing business in China had to have "Mao Zedong — Luv U 4 Eva" tattooed across his back? Would the companies leave China?

The scary thing is, one might reasonably chew on that question longer than this one: What if Chinese law required Internet companies to reveal the identities of all users who forwarded really bad e-mail jokes, lame chain letters or any messages containing the terms "free speech," "Tiananmen Square" or "Super Freak," because such activities carried a 10-year prison term?

More here.

The Slingbox Hating Has Begun

Om Malik writes on his Next Generation blog:

It is an all familiar story - a new disruptive technology comes to market, and the established players start to get hot under the collar. TiVo’s time shifting technology was met with “this is not good” for the industry skepticism from television networks. Now it is the turn of Slingbox, which is pushing the concept of ‘place-shifting.’

It has generally been met with praise from most, and has garnered big money investments from the likes of Charlie Ergen and John Malone. Capitol Broadcasting President Jim Goodmon, however, thinks that Slingbox is illegal.

More here.

User Friendly: The 'Kama Sutra' Worm

Via UserFriendly.org.

Click for larger image.

Netcraft February 2006 Web Server Survey

Via Netcraft.

In the February 2006 survey we received responses from 76,184,000 sites, an increase of 933K from January's total. This month's survey finds different trends emerging in hostnames and active sites. Apache continues its strong growth with an increase of 1.3 million hostnames for the month, adding nearly a full point to its commanding market share lead. The active sites data shows a very different result, with Windows servers gaining 185K active sites, while Apache adds just 14K.

The split reflects increased volatility in the Web Server Survey in recent months following a lengthy period of market share stability. Factors include continuing site shifts at registrars and large domain "parking" operations. In recent months both Apache and Microsoft have seen sudden dips in hostname market share as huge blocks of bulk-registered domains expired at Zipa (December) and enom (November). This month there was a drop of 269K sites on Apache at Dotster as a clock of bulk-registered domains expired, which was offset by a surge in new domain registrations, which included 1.4 million new sites on Apache.

RIAA's 'Making Available' Argument Comes a Head this Week

Ray Beckerman writes on The Recording Industry vs. The People blog:

The RIAA's newly discovered argument that merely "making available" is in and of itself a copyright infringement, even without any physical copying, comes to a head this week in not one, but two, cases in Manhattan federal court, Elektra v. Barker and Atlantic v. Does.

In Elektra the issue arises in the context of a motion to dismiss complaint.

In Atlantic it comes about in a motion to vacate the ex parte discovery order.

For unexplained reasons, SONY BMG withdrew from both cases after the motions were made.

Using Rootkits to Defeat Digital Rights Management

Mark Russinovich writes over on the SysInternals Blog:

The Sony rootkit debacle highlighted the use of rootkits to prevent pirates and authors of CD burning, ripping, and emulation utilities from circumventing Digital Rights Management (DRM) restrictions on access to copyrighted content. It’s therefore ironic, though not surprising, that several CD burning and disc emulation utilities are also using rootkits, though the technology is being used in the opposite way: to prevent DRM software from enforcing copy restrictions.

Because PC game CDs and DVDs do not need to be compatible with set-top players software vendors can store data on media in unorthodox ways that require software support to read it. Attempts to make a copy of such media without the aid of the software results in a scrambled version and the software has DRM measures to detect and foil unauthorized copying.

Much, much more here.

LAPD to Throw GPS 'Beacons' at Fleeing Cars

Via Gizmodo.

The Los Angeles Police Department plans to install “dart-like” GPS devices from Starchase, LLC, that will be propelled from officers’ cars and attach to fleeing vehicles. Once attached, a GPS sensor kicks, from which officers can monitor the vehicle’s movements via a secure website, as the homing beacon transmits all pertinent data via a wireless transmitter.

Gapingvoid.com Fix

Via gapingvoid.com. Enjoy!

Did Nvidia Hire an Army of Message-Board Sock-Puppets?

Via Boing Boing.

Nvidia stands accused of hiring online actors to create dozens of personae in online forums, where they won gamers' trust by talking about subjects unrelated to Nvidia's products, and then splurged in an orgy of sock-puppet boosterism of Nvidia's stuff.

Consumerist has notes on its ongoing investigation into the "Manchurian Fans" scandal. A former employee of AEG, a firm that specializes in tricking people into thinking that its employees are regular users who talk up products because they plain like them, has been hired by Nvidia, but he won't answer Consumerist's questions. Nvidia's PR person won't return their calls either.

More here.

UK: Getmetickets.net Shut Down By Government

Via The BBC.

Ticket agency Getmetickets.net, which provoked anger from many music fans, has been shut by the government.

The site gained notoriety after customers complained that they paid high prices to get into sold-out shows but their tickets never turned up.

The company did not appear to have enough tickets to supply its customers, the official receiver has said.

Google Subpoena Hearing Delayed

Stephen Lawson writes on InfoWorld:

A hearing on U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' attempt to compel Google Inc. to turn over search records to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has been postponed until March 14.

The hearing in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, in San Jose, had been set for Feb. 27. In an order filed Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge James Ware pushed the date back without explanation.

The Topology of Covert Conflict

Thanks to Bruce Schneier for pointing out this fascinating research paper by Shishir Nagaraja and Ross Anderson (University of Cambridge) on the implications for warfare, terrorism, and peer-to-peer file sharing.

Abstract

Often an attacker tries to disconnect a network by destroying nodes or edges, while the defender counters using various resilience mechanisms. Examples include a music industry body attempting to close down a peer-to-peer file-sharing network; medics attempting to halt the spread of an infectious disease by selective vaccination; and a police agency trying to decapitate a terrorist organisation. Albert, Jeong and Barabási famously analysed the static case, and showed that vertex-order attacks are effective against scale-free networks. We extend this work to the dynamic case by developing a framework based on evolutionary game theory to explore the interaction of attack and defence strategies. We show, first, that naive defences don’t work against vertex-order attack; second, that defences based on simple redundancy don’t work much better, but that defences based on cliques work well; third, that attacks based on centrality work better against clique defences than vertex-order attacks do; and fourth, that defences based on complex strategies such as delegation plus clique resist centrality attacks better than simple clique defences. Our models thus build a bridge between network analysis and evolutionary game theory, and provide a framework for analysing defence and attack in networks where topology matters. They suggest definitions of efficiency of attack and defence, and may even explain the evolution of insurgent organisations from networks of cells to a more virtual leadership that facilitates operations rather than directing them. Finally, we draw some conclusions and present possible directions for future research.

UK: BT Suspends SMS Trial Amid Data Protection Fears

Tim Richardson writes on The Register:

BT is to pull the plug on a new SMS service amid fears it might breach data protection laws.

The service - BT SMS Self Service - lets punters text BT to see when their phone bill was last paid or to find progress on a fault. BT began trialling the service last month as part of a new way for punters to stay in touch.

Snag is, not only does the text service enable BT customers to find out about their own phone lines, it can let them snoop on the details of others.

Gonzales Makes Case For Domestic Spy Program

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales testifies at the
Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.
Image source: MSNBC / AP

An AP newswire article, via MSNBC, reports that:

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was appearing before a Senate hearing Monday to make the case for President Bush's controversial electronic eavesdropping program. But even before he spoke, the Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee asked the administration to have a special federal court review the entire effort.

In his opening statement, Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said a question he would ask of Gonzales is if the administration would allow the Foreign Intelligence Service Court to review the program.

Specter also expressed skepticism over President Bush’s assertion that he has the legal authority to wiretap Americans’ conversations without a warrant.

UK: Bulldog Faces Uncertain Future

Tim Richardson writes on The Register:

There are fears for the future of broadband ISP Bulldog amid reports that parent Cable & Wireless (C&W) could be about to undertake a massive restructuring.

Despite large amounts of cash being ploughed into the business, Bulldog has only managed to attract some 80,000 users to its broadband service - way behind established ISPs such as AOL, BT, Pipex and Wanadoo.

The ISP has also been dogged by a poor customer service record that culminated in hundreds of complaints and an investigation by the communications watchdog Ofcom.

Microsoft Signs Deal With Sony Ericsson

An AFP newswire article, via Yahoo! News, reports that:

The US software giant Microsoft announced in an communique that it has reached a licensing agreement with mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson, which will enable the Stockholm-based company's "smart" phones to connect to computers via Microsoft's Exchange software.

The deal, which helps Microsoft's drive into the mobile telephone market, will allow a company's employees to have access to their home base via the protocol Exchange ActivSync from a so-called "smart" mobile phone, which combines the functions of telephone, personal assistant and messaging service, found in Sony Ericsson's models P990 and M600.

Lockheed to Help Update Defense Communications

Patience Wait writes in The Washington Post:

In less than a week, Lockheed Martin Corp. won two key contracts for improving and expanding space-based communications systems for the military.

On Jan. 27, the Air Force picked the Bethesda contractor to carry out the Mission Operations System contract for its space communications program. The contract is for 10 years and has an anticipated value of $2.1 billion.

On Thursday, the Air Force awarded the company a contract, worth $491 million, to build a third spacecraft for the Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellite system. The company already holds contracts for the initial two satellites.

The Wired 2005 Vaporware Awards

Leander Kahney writes on WIred News:

Ladies and gents, welcome to the 2005 Vaporware Awards -- the prize that celebrates the tech products that were promised last year but never delivered.

We have a few surprises this year -- wait 'til you find out the winner; you'll never guess what it is.

A number of products were nominated by only one reader, like the Kinetta Camera (which is apparently now shipping), or SBC's combo satellite TV/internet video service.

On the other hand, lots of people voted for Microsoft's Xbox 360. But even though it was in short supply, it's not strictly vaporware.

Much more here.

Rolling Stones Lyrics Edited by Thought Police at Super Bowl

Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones perform during halftime of
Super Bowl XL on Sunday in Detroit.
Image soure: Amy Sancetta / AP

An AP newswire article, via MSNBC, reports that:

They may not have flashed any body parts — except for Mick Jagger’s well-toned stomach — but the Rolling Stones made ABC glad it imposed a five-second tape delay on the Super Bowl halftime show.

Two sexually explicit lyrics were excised from the rock legends’ performance Sunday. The only song to avoid the editor was “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” a 41-year-old song about sexual frustration.

In “Start Me Up,” ABC’s editors silenced one word, a reference to a woman’s sexual sway over a dead man. The lyrics for “Rough Justice” included a synonym for rooster that the network also deemed worth cutting out.

Professor Uses Math, Science to Predict Terrorist Targets

An AP newswire article, via USA Today, reports that:

A University of Wisconsin-Madison professor is working on a computer model that she says can identify the targets that terrorists are most likely to hit, which would help authorities figure out how to best allocate their limited security resources.

Vicki Bier, a professor of industrial engineering and engineering physics, uses a combination of game theory and risk analysis to predict where terrorists might strike next. Her efforts are part of a collaborative three-year, $12 million project funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Australia: Telstra's Offshore Option

Michael Sainsbury writes on Australian IT:

TELSTRA has completed the initial phase of a massive overhaul of its $1.3 billion-a-year information technology operations that could see hundreds more jobs moved offshore to India.

The company's operations chief Greg Winn is believed to have targeted staff cuts of 225 this month, with a further 200 by June 30 and is exploring outsourcing more functions to third-party providers.

Telstra has about 1500 full-time equivalent IT staff and 1200 contractors. Mr Winn's target is believed to be about 1600 full- time staff, paving the way for more outsourcing.

Toon: Super Bowl Party Foobar

Click for larger image.

Alltel Urges RIM to Settle BlackBerry Dispute

A Reuters newswire article, via Yahoo! News, reports that:

U.S. wireless carrier Alltel Corp. has urged Research in Motion Ltd. to settle a legal dispute involving its popular BlackBerry device, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Alltel told RIM it is concerned about the impact of a possible BlackBerry-service shutdown on its roughly 100,000 e-mail customers, the Journal reported in its weekend edition.

Google, Skype in Startup to Link Hotspots

An AP newswire article by Peter Svensson, via Yahoo! News, reports that:

Google Inc. and eBay Inc.'s Skype are investing in a startup that plans to help hotspot owners charge for Wi-Fi access, a plan that could face significant opposition from Internet service providers.

The Internet heavyweights were joined by venture capital firms Index Ventures and Sequoia Capital in making a $22 million investment in FON, the Spanish startup. In its announcement Sunday, FON did not say how much each investor was contributing.

Reminder: Yahoo! to Feature Links to Super Bowl Ads

I mentioned this back on 1 February 2006, so if you miss one, love one, or just want to see it again, go to Yahoo! to find 'em:

Super Bowl party so much fun you've missed some of those vaunted TV commercials? No worries: Just go online.

Yahoo Inc. will feature on its video home page, at http://video.yahoo.com, links to this year's Super Bowl ads, hosted at MTV Networks' ifilm.com. There will be a delay from when the ads air but the first of the ads should start appearing before the game ends, said Ethan Fassett, Yahoo's product manager for video search.

Google 'Death Penalty' for BMW Web Site

Stephen Hutcheon writes in The Sydney Morning Herald:

Luxury car maker BMW has had its German website blacklisted by Google after it was caught trying to artificially boost its popularity ranking on the world's leading internet search engine.

The delisting was reported by several bloggers and later confirmed in a blog post by Google software engineer Matt Cutts wrote that the methods used by BMW were a violation of the search engine's guidelines.

Teens Reveal Too Much Online

An AP newswire article, via Wired News, reports that:

On websites such as MySpace, teenagers can find people around the world who share their love of sports, their passion for photography or their crush on the latest Hollywood star. But authorities say teens are increasingly finding trouble in an online environment where millions of people can, in seconds, find out where they go to school, learn their interests, download their pictures and instantly send them messages.

Police in the central Connecticut city of Middletown suspect that as many as seven girls were recently assaulted by men they met on MySpace. The FBI says it regularly receives calls from police trying to figure out how to stay ahead of popular technology that puts children a mouse click away from millions of strangers.

More here.

DHS: Ever-Vigilant Against Vegan Menace

Via Boing Boing.

A vegan who picketed a ham store was surveilled by a Homeland Security spook, who arrested her for taking down his license-plate number. Tax-dollars well-spent. Nation well-defended.

Once every person with a nonstandard dietary preference has been imprisoned, I'm sure we'll be able to leave our shoes on in the airport again.

Details on this ludicrous behavior here.

Dilbert: Perfect Monster

Click for larger image.

Blogger at Center of Lawsuit Is Identified

An AP newswire article, via The New York Times, reports that:

The mayor of Smyrna has identified the author of Internet writings at the center of a defamation suit that led to a recent state court ruling protecting the anonymity of Internet authors.

The mayor, Mark Schaeffer, said Thursday that a stepdaughter, Cristina Rawley, who lives with him and his wife, was the author of the writings.

The writings attacked a town councilman, Patrick Cahill, and his wife and prompted Mr. Cahill to sue Mr. Schaeffer for defamation and ask the court to force the Internet service provider to disclose the identity of the author.

Increasingly, Internet's Data Trail Leads to Court

Saul Hansell writes in The New York Times:

Who is sending threatening e-mail to a teenager? Who is saying disparaging things about a company on an Internet message board? Who is communicating online with a suspected drug dealer?

These questions, and many more like them, are asked every day of the companies that provide Internet service and run Web sites. And even though these companies promise to protect the privacy of their users, they routinely hand over the most intimate information in response to legal demands from criminal investigators and lawyers fighting civil cases.

Much more here.

Bush Taps Telecom Lawyer for FCC Vacancy

Anne Broaceh writes on C|Net News:

President Bush announced on Friday that telecommunications lawyer Robert McDowell is his intended pick for the vacant fifth seat on the Federal Communications Commission. McDowell, 42, has served since February 1999 as a senior vice president for Comptel, a trade association that lobbies primarily for communications companies that compete against the "big Bell" companies.

If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, McDowell would tip the commission to a Republican majority--composed of two Democrats and three Republicans--and would assume a term lasting until June 30, 2009. Last month, the Senate confirmed Tennessee utility regulator Deborah Tate, also a Republican, to another vacant commission post.

Bloggers Rally Around Librarians Over DRM

Jennifer Guevin writes on the C|Net Blogma blog:

Librarians are worried that the rapid rise of digital rights management technology is threatening their ability to archive copyrighted works and lend them to multiple patrons. The British Library told the BBC they are concerned that excessive use of DRM could cause several problems.

For one, without legal exceptions for libraries, some DRM restrictions can limit their ability to lend digital media to users. Libraries currently have privileges that allow them to copy and distribute copyrighted items. But unless publishers produce unrestricted versions of digital material for libraries, they won't be able to exercise those privileges. Another concern is that, as technology advances and various software formats eventually become obsolete, copyrighted works can be lost if the technology is rendered useless before art moves into the public domain.

More here.

Cyber Storm Exercise Will Be Global, Official Says

Michael Arnone writes on FCW.com:

The Homeland Security Department’s Cyber Storm cybersecurity exercise scheduled for next week will have a worldwide scope, an industry official said today.

Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom will join 20 companies and two U.S. government agencies, said a senior industry official who requested anonymity because of the information’s sensitive nature.

Cyber Storm will test federal and private-sector readiness for cyberattacks, particularly against critical infrastructure.

The massive exercise, scheduled for Feb. 6-10, has been planned for a long time, the official said. Participants will face realistic scenarios, the official said.

User Friendlly: The Death of The Telegram

Via UserFriendly.org.

Click for larger image.

Surveillance Net Yields Few Suspects

Barton Gellman, Dafna Linzer and Carol D. Leonnig write in The Washington Post:

Intelligence officers who eavesdropped on thousands of Americans in overseas calls under authority from President Bush have dismissed nearly all of them as potential suspects after hearing nothing pertinent to a terrorist threat, according to accounts from current and former government officials and private-sector sources with knowledge of the technologies in use.

Bush has recently described the warrantless operation as "terrorist surveillance" and summed it up by declaring that "if you're talking to a member of al Qaeda, we want to know why." But officials conversant with the program said a far more common question for eavesdroppers is whether, not why, a terrorist plotter is on either end of the call. The answer, they said, is usually no.

More here.

Go Daddy 2005 Super Bowl Ad Followed by Huge Gains

Image source: Netcraft

Via Netcraft.

After a year of explosive growth, Go Daddy has surpassed 1&1 Internet as the world's largest web host - at least for the moment. With a net gain of 255K hostnames this month, Go Daddy's web infrastructure now houses 5,544,296 hostnames, about 95K more than 1&1, according to our Hosting Provider Switching Analysis. 1&1, which is based in Germany, has had the largest number of hostnames each month since the inception of the hosting survey in early 2003.

The milestone comes as Go Daddy prepares to advertise in Sunday's Super Bowl XL broadcast, which is expected to be seen by a global television audience of more than 90 million. Go Daddy, which will pay $2.5 million for each of two 30-second ads, had 13 of its edgy ad submissions rejected by ABC censors before gaining an approval on Thursday.

Gonzales to Downplay Spy Program's Scope

A Reuters newswire article, via Yahoo! News, reports that:

U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales plans to tell a Senate committee on Monday that President George W. Bush's warrantless domestic surveillance program is carefully targeted and "not a dragnet," Time magazine reported on its Web site on Saturday.

Citing Bush administration documents, Time said Gonzales will say that contrary to speculation in media reports, the program "is not a dragnet that sucks in all conversations and uses computer searches to pick out calls of interest."

"No communications are intercepted unless first it is determined that one end of the call is outside of the country and professional intelligence experts have probable cause ... that a party to the communication is a member or agent of al-Qaeda or an affiliated terrorist organization," Time quoted Gonzales as saying in written responses to questions by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter.

Fergie's Tech Blog

Saturday, February 11, 2006

Dilbert: Certified Project Manager Zombie

WSJ: Tech Companies & Internet Censorship

H5N1 News: Greece, Italy Find Deadly Strain of Bird Flu Virus

Gadget of the Day: Pac-Man, Ms. Pac Man and Galaga Cocktail Table

User Friendly: Google Genetics

Privacy Groups Seek Domestic Spying Papers

StormPay Battling Sustained DDoS Attack

Falun Gong Leader Brutally Attacked

Update: FBI Makes Connections in Data Breach Case

Fossett Breaks Flight Distance Record

Oracle May Buy 3 More Companies

Gapingvoid.com Fix

Bizarre Story of the Day: Hungarian PM appears on Internet as Hugh Grant

Censorship Is Alleged at NOAA

Indiana House Wrongly Valued at $400 Million

FTC to Hold High-Tech Issue Hearings

Wikipedia Reviewing U.S., Canadian and British Political Bios

U.S. Charges California Man in 'Botnet' Case

Friday, February 10, 2006

HBO Wants No Recording of Shows—Ever

The Onion: Wiretapping Intelligence

Ex-CIA Official Says Intelligence 'Misused' to Justify Iraq War

Netflix Sends Frequent Renters to the Back of DVD Line

Steve Martin Defends SNL Title

AT&T Claims MPEG-4 Patent Infringement, Wants Apple to Pay Up

Security Fix: Letter From the Anti-Spyware Coalition Conference

Nuns' Account Frozen By Patriot Act

NPR: Online Gaming, Money and Tax Law

Patriot Act e-Mail Spying Approved

Video Surveillance Firm Forces Workers to Implant RFID Chips

User Friendly: Anonymous Google Employee

Grapefruit or Penis? Vietnam Accents the Difference

UK: NTL Launches 100Mbs Field Trial

Feds Probe Web Sites Offering Big Paydays

Man Sought in Burglaries During Which He Ate, Checked e-Mail

Gapingvoid.com Fix

NTT Develops Secure Instant Messaging System

U.S. Government to Survey Businesses on Cyber-Crime

EFF: Google Copies Your Hard Drive - Government Smiles in Anticipation

Worm Propagation Strategies in an IPv6 Internet

Security Breach Fallout Reaches 200,000 Debit Card Holders

Patriot Act Compromise Clears Way for Senate Vote

Thursday, February 09, 2006

Canadian Campus Police Take Sides In Islam Cartoon Issue

Due Diligence: Share the Burden

Death Knell: Blu-Ray DVDs To Cost About 20% More

Fresh U.S. Outrage at Yahoo! Ahead of China Hearings

E-Mails at the Heart of Lobbyist Disclosures

Fortune: Is Slashdot the Future of Media?

Update: TSA’s Secure Flight Program Suspended

Texas AG Files Suit Against Sellers Of Private Phone Records

Source: Sony BMG Close to Leadership Change

China's Fight With Falun Gong

'Secure Flight' Program Comes Under Fire From GAO

New from Google Labs: Google Information Security Catastrophe

Microsoft Buys FutureSoft Web Filtering Software

February 12: Darwin’s Birthday Evolves Into Holiday

Agreement Reached on Patriot Act Extension

Patch Tuesday: 7 Patches for Microsoft

Verizon CEO Backs Off Executive's Google Slam

Telecom Execs Asked to Explain Cooperation in Wiretaps

Another Ultra-Cool Gadget: I-O Data Double-DVD Device

Wanted: Competent Big Brothers

More Serious Stuff: A Beer Dispensing PC

More Surveillance Puts Strain on Carriers

German Labor Union Backs Off Deutsche Telekom Deal

Secret Court's Judges Were Warned About NSA Spy Data

Google Grabs Even More Ground in Internet Search

AOL, Yahoo! Follow Bill Gates: 'We Don't See No Steenking Spam'

Political Jab of the Day: Cartoon Politics

Oracle Expected to Cut More Than 1,000 Jobs

VeriSign to Buy Snapcentric for Fraud Detection

Telstra Profit Drops as Users Switch to Cellphones and Web

Gadget of the Day: The Data Fortress

Bill Would Force Web Sites to Delete Personal Info

User Friendly: More Google World Domination

U.S. Plans Massive Data Sweep

Google Sued for Selling 'Check 'n Go' Keyword