Week in Review
Posted by LS on February 17th, 2012. Category: Blog
This week a group of senators introduced a bipartisan cyber security bill that includes some new regulation requirements but does not give the president emergency authorities to interfere with the Internet as a previous version did.
Owners or operators of critical infrastructure systems would need to determine how to best meet performance requirements and to verify that that they were doing so, with owners having the ability to either “self-certify” compliance or use a third-party assessor.
“The proposed law ‘is the product of three years of hearings, consultations, and negotiations,” the statement announcing the measure says. “The bill envisions a public-private partnership to secure those systems, which, if commandeered or destroyed by a cyber attack, could cause mass deaths, evacuations, disruptions to life-sustaining services, or catastrophic damage to the economy or national security.’”
To read more: http://zd.net/x7MZUv
Recently, cyber hackers have been successful in creeping into the systems at Nortel Network Corp. Apparantly, this does not surprise some of the cyber security experts, but how can corporations avoid having valuable passwords, data and spy software from being exposed?
“It makes you wonder if their problems as a business could be related to a loss of intellectual property,” says Richard Bejtlich, chief security officer at Mandiant, an information security firm that does work for the U.S. government, defence contractors and Fortune 100 companies. “Somebody clearly values it, because they’re stealing it.”
To read more: http://bit.ly/AeOAxN
“Protecting Children from Internet Predators Act”
Public Safety Minister Vic Toews says new legislation to make it easier for law enforcement to conduct electronic surveillance “will slow down the proliferation of child pornography,” but the Opposition charges the bill will allow the government to spy on ordinary Canadians’ online activities.
To read more: http://bit.ly/yoM3sb
There is also a lively comments section to this article that seems to be a good cross section of Canadian opinion on this matter. As both netizens and Canadian citizens, we owe it to ourselves and our children to become much better informed on the intersection of the issues of personal privacy and law enforcement efficacy.
We will have a lot more to say on these matters in upcoming blog posts. Stay tuned!
Week In Review
Posted by LS on February 8th, 2012. Category: Blog
With the strong reaction against SOPA and PIPA, it is a wonder why anyone would attach their name to “supporting” such an act, but there are still a few on board on this losing train.
Neither bill is dead yet, and could resurface at any time, but until this point, it is no longer hovering our horizon. However, some supporters still feel strongly about their demands, notables like: Rep. Lamar Smith, Mark Amodei, Joe Baca, John Barrow, Karen Bass, and a few others.
To read more: http://bit.ly/yTJWDi
Canadians aren’t clear from the threat of SOPA & PIPA, and should not only be aware of, but also join in the protest of these bills.
“First, the SOPA provisions are designed to have an extra-territorial effect that manifests itself particularly strongly in Canada… Second, Canadian businesses and websites could easily find themselves targeted by SOPA. The bill grants the U.S. “in rem” jurisdiction over any website that does not have a domestic jurisdictional connection… Third, millions of Canadians rely on the legitimate sites that are affected by the legislation… Fourth, the U.S. intellectual property strategy has long been premised on exporting its rules to other countries, including Canada.”
Very important: “Write to your Member of Parliament to register one more objection to the digital lock rules in Bill C-11. The digital lock rules are the Canadian version of SOPA – overbroad, ineffective legislation that targets technology and that is widely opposed by most stakeholders. While many are frustrated by the sense the government simply ignores these objections, the SOPA protests are attracting attention and it is important to remind Canadian politicians of the similar concerns here.” Dr. Michael Geist
To read more: http://bit.ly/xzkTYv
In terms of Cyber Security, a subject that never goes dark, the US Senate continues to seek more regulation of Cyber Security.
“A developing Senate plan that would bolster the government’s ability to regulate the computer security of companies that run critical industries is drawing strong opposition from businesses that say it goes too far and security experts who believe it should have even more teeth.”
To read more: http://bit.ly/yHhShT
Hacker talk: Recently, Hacker group Anonymous tapped into FBI’s conference calls and taped them for future reference.
“Earlier today, Anonymous released a confidential conference call between the FBI and law enforcement officers in the UK. The 16-minute call discusses ongoing investigations into hackers associated with Anonymous, AntiSec, and LulzSec.
From all appearances, Anonymous retrieved the sensitive access code information and a list of attendees from an FBI email account. The group released a roughly 15-minute-long recording of what appears to be a Jan. 17 conference call devoted to tracking and prosecuting members of the loose-knit hacking group.”
To read more: http://bit.ly/xChWab
And that is the week as we know it, or at least enough for you to sift through for the afternoon. There is more, there will always be more… just be sure to keep yourself in the loop of the Federated Networks and our upcoming product launch.
SOPA and PIPA still in the News
Posted by LS on January 25th, 2012. Category: Blog
… and not going anywhere soon.
Well, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) are likely off the legislative calendar, as reported by the Huffington Post and with whom we agree, but has the web won? Not yet.
“California’s two most prominent and powerful industries — Silicon Valley and Hollywood — are at war in Washington.”
Read more: http://huff.to/z3GhDK
In fact, the reality is that SOPA and Pipa are just postponed, not forgotten. However, it is still a major success for “Free Web” supporters, with both SOPA and PIPA being indefinitely shelved, given that “no further action” will be taken until a general consensus has been made, and compromises sought.
To read more: http://zd.net/wNVRxW
Many people were surprised by the fact that the SOPA and PIPA bills were pulled in both the House and Senate after massive online protest, most notably former senator Chris Dodd, who clearly viewed these bills as critical to the online piracy he is actively opposed to.
At the Sundance Film festival today, Dodd seemed geniunely stunned by the force with which the internet hordes responded to the proposed laws.
Read more: http://bit.ly/ylogVz
Can you live without Facebook for a day or so? Because… you may have to. Everyone’s favourite hackers plan to bring down everyone’s favourite social site, as their way of protesting the SOPA and PIPA bills.
A video illustrating these threats was posted on Youtube on Monday, where the narrator begins his appeal by saying: “ An online war has begin between Anonymous, the people and the Government of the United States.” He sites SOPA, PIPA and other Internet threats as the reason for this move.
Read more: http://bit.ly/xipU5U
Stay tuned – the SOPA/PIPA saga is not likely over…
SOPA/ PIPPA
Posted by LS on January 18th, 2012. Category: Blog
What a day today has been.
CNET.com reported that Google will participate by adding a link to its homepage with information about SOPA, but it will not blackout its page or change its prominent logo.
Wikipedia, however, joined the SOPA blackout, reports MSNBC, along with Reddit and MoveOn.org.
This is all in protest of SOPA/PIPA bills… two terms the average consumer still is not familiar with. I thought Pippa was Kate Middleton’s younger sister… guess there are two, does the Queen know?
Mashable.com also recognized this and illustrated an informative way for people who may not be in-the-know can find out, read up and learn more about these bills. I mean, hey, if your computer blacks out for the day… you kind of want to understand why, right? Right.
Read more at mashable.com
“Tutorspree founder Aaron Harris is one of many who can’t articulate the reasons behind the backlash to his satisfaction — but he matches tutors and students for a living. He launched a new website on Tuesday that sets up self-proclaimed SOPA/PIPA experts with people who want to learn more about SOPA and has signed himself up as a student.”
“Anyone who signs up on the “Explain SOPA” website to teach or learn will receive an email on Wednesday with a match’s contact information. As with Tutorspree’s standard service — which hosts about 4,000 tutors of various topics– they can then arrange a private SOPA/PIPA lesson themselves.”
Week in Review
Posted by LS on January 17th, 2012. Category: Blog
It’s just Tuesday morning over here, and already the hacker talk and cyber security news is flowing in. Sometimes no news, is good news… so what does lots of news mean then? Ouch. Lucky for you, our product launches soon…
Amazong-owned, e-commerce firm, Zappos, has just announced that 24 million customer accounts have been hacked. Doesn’t sound like small potatoes this am, and was definitely a late Sunday evening shocker for Zappos customers.
“Though the company says that no complete credit card numbers were revealed in the breach, the intruders may have accessed customers’ names, e-mail addresses, phone numbers, addresses, the last four digits of their credit card numbers, and encrypted passwords.”
Read more: http://onforb.es/wYkHqX
What were you doing at 19 years old? Most young adults are in first year university at 19 years old: discovering the perils of beer bongs and the complexities of the opposite sex… but not young Nicholas Allegra.
“…he’s been spending his days on a hobby that periodically sends shockwaves through the computer security world: seeking out cracks in the source code of Apple’s iPhone, a device with more software restrictions than practically any computer on the market, and exploiting them to utterly obliterate its defenses against hackers.” – Forbes
Like editing an English paper, Allegra power drives through the popular device, but tries to keep a low-profile in the cyber world as, “Comex”.
To read more: http://onforb.es/oPbLlP
Top American prosecuter reaches out to companies, and urges them to come forward if they have been hacked.
“Cyber security experts say that corporations rarely acknowledge breaches, and often keep them secret from law enforcement out of fear that news of a compromise will damage their reputation, hurt stock prices and possibly lead to further attacks.”
To read more: http://reut.rs/AxUxAJ
And so this is Monday, check in again next week for the latest and greatest in the Cyber realm. Have a safe, protected, and