Monday, March 19, 2007

A “super-mashup?”

http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/03/18/1712256&from=rss

Google Snaps Up Stats Tool from Swedish Charity

Posted by Zonk on Sunday March 18, @03:53PM from the at-least-he's-rich-in-spirit dept. Google Software The Almighty Buck

paulraps writes "A stats program that began as a teaching aid for a university lecture has just been bought by Google for an undisclosed sum. The statistics tool, Trendalyzer, was developed by a professor and his son at Stockholm's Karolinska Institute. Unfortunately for the developers, the project has been run under the auspices of a charity, Gapminder, and financed over the last seven years by public money. Maybe that seemed smart at the time, but the professor, admitting that he won't see a dime of Google's cash, now seems regretful. As for what Google has purchased: 'Public organizations around the world invest 20 billion dollars a year producing different kinds of statistics. Until now, nobody has thought of collecting all the information in the same place. That should be possible with Trendalyzer, which will be able to present that quantity of data in a clear way as well as giving the user the ability to compare many different kinds of information.'" [Sounds like a tool the DHS would find a use for. Bob]



Should make for an interesting study. Will the bad guys go after guns now that they know where they are likely to be, or will they avoid homes with “protection?” I hope someone analyzes the data...

http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/109163

Should gun data lists be muzzled?

First Amendment rights collided with Second Amendment rights in the recent brouhaha.

By Laurence Hammack

It didn't take long for Sunshine Week to turn stormy.

At 9:15 last Sunday morning, just a few hours after The Roanoke Times was dropped on doorsteps and shoved into paper boxes across the region, Scot Shippee fired the first shot in what would become the newspaper's biggest Internet controversy.

In an online discussion forum, Shippee blasted the paper for posting on its Web site a database that included the names and addresses of everyone in Virginia licensed to carry a concealed handgun.

Shippee wrote that if the newspaper was so committed to public information, it would only be fair for him to publicly list the home address of editorial writer Christian Trejbal. A column by Trejbal that day had urged readers to celebrate Sunshine Week -- a national recognition of the public's right to know -- by using the database to see who in their community was "packing heat."

In the furor that followed, irate readers swamped the newspaper with hundreds of calls and e-mails. And Trejbal became the recipient of threats and a suspicious package that drew a state police bomb squad to his Christiansburg home.

There was no bomb, only fallout.

Even though The Roanoke Times hastily removed the database from its Web site, questions remain: Should people be allowed to know who among them is secretly armed? Or did identifying those who carry concealed handguns invade their privacy and make them targets for criminals?

... The issue of hidden guns and open records is handled differently from state to state.

Virginia is one of 17 states that treats information about concealed-handgun permit holders as a public matter, according to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

In another 18 states, the information is closed from public view. The remaining states have no laws or court decisions that clearly address the question one way or the other.


Another 'public's right to know”database. Any doubt this one is valid? (What will be redacted?)

http://www.cleveland.com/newsflash/cleveland/index.ssf?/base/news-30/1174257559324190.xml&storylist=cleveland

Proposed budget sets aside $10 million for legal records database

3/18/2007, 5:32 p.m. ET The Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — More than $10 million has been set aside in Gov. Ted Strickland's proposed two-year budget for the Ohio Supreme Court to develop an online database where law enforcement, government officials and the public could conveniently access legal records from courts statewide.

Millions of pages of court documents become public records in Ohio each year in 385 courts around the state. Some courts in Ohio's 88 counties use sophisticated technology and regularly post records online, while others don't do any electronic filing at all.

"Ohio cannot afford not to do this," said Chris Davey, spokesman for Chief Justice Thomas Moyer. "Under the current system, a person could commit domestic violence in Cuyahoga County and move to Medina County, and the courts would not have 100 percent ability to know about that previous offense."

... Since the public would have access, courts would have to sort through prickly issues of how to ensure that private information, such as Social Security numbers, isn't posted online.

... Officials also would have to figure out how to coordinate between courts that use different formats for their records.


Yet another database... Do we do this in the US? If not, why not? (Let's hope they don't mean “work around privacy concerns”)

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070319TDY02002.htm

Disaster-time info sharing eyed / Confidentiality pledges to work around privacy concerns in aiding people

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Mar. 19, 2007)

The Cabinet Office's study panel on assistance to vulnerable people during disasters plans to share information on such people between local governments and regional community associations by using confidentiality declarations, government officials said.

Information on elderly people living alone and physically disabled people who may need assistance in disasters has not been shared among various organizations or even within local governments because of excessive concerns over protecting personal information.

... In addition, the draft cited Muroran, Hokkaido, as an example of a progressive municipality in handling the issue. In the city, information on vulnerable people is provided to neighborhood associations and community volunteer disaster prevention organizations after approval by the city government's relevant examination council.



More technology to worry about?

http://news.com.com/2100-1041_3-6168160.html?part=rss&tag=2547-1_3-0-5&subj=news

A peek into Fujitsu's future

By Erica Ogg Story last modified Mon Mar 19 04:48:37 PDT 2007

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--The conference room of the future could substitute e-paper for whiteboards.

Click for gallery http://news.com.com/2300-1041_3-6168125-1.html?tag=ne.gall.pg

... With potential to change the way businesses communicate information, Fujitsu's color e-paper, which is essentially a thin liquid crystal display, is getting closer to market.

... Similar in form factor to an e-book reader, the Fujitsu version displays color--not mind-blowing color, but still more visually appealing than standard black and white--and is aiming for more commercial applications. Fujitsu's version is "green" and also appeals to the wallet: there is no power required to show an image. That means the technology can eventually be used for signage without having to replace batteries.

Power is necessary to change the image on the film--say, to turn a page. But the power requirement is so low that focused energy from a wireless device, like a cell phone, is enough to do the job. Consequently, one of the coolest applications for color e-paper now is as an enhancement to small mobile devices, according to Fujitsu special projects consultant Dave Marvit.

... If 8 inches seems too small, the Fujitsu researchers are currently working on a 12-inch version. Eventually, the displays will grow to 2.5 meters, said Mike Beirne, a Fujitsu spokesman.

... RFID tag might be a bad word for privacy watchdogs, but hospitals and the hospitality industry most likely won't be offended by a more efficient wash cycle. Fujitsu makes a flexible, waterproof radio frequency identification (RFID) tag that can be ironed onto uniforms, hospital gowns and linens to track their location and status.

Fujitsu's tags can also carry more information about the item they are attached to than the RFID chips inside, say, a passport, because they uses FRAM, or ferroelectric random access memory.

... Since the tags don't need to be individually scanned, like a bar code does, gigantic piles of laundry can be read and registered at once.

... Fujitsu is also continuing to develop the technique of hiding numerical information within images meant to be accessed through photos of the image. It's called steganography, and is much more fun than laundry because it helps you buy stuff. Actually, it also gives you access to information for which you may not know how to search.

For instance, if you see an ad in an outdoor lifestyle magazine for a pair of carving skis, and your mobile phone has Fujitsu's software installed, simply take a picture of the skis, and the ski maker's Web site, video or additional advertisement pops up on your phone.

... Fujitsu also showed off a way for human vein patterns to protect private information. Since every person's vein pattern in his or her hand is unique, researchers developed a way to use the pattern as a way to access secure information.

Using a hardware sensor--over which you place your palm--and Fujitsu's software, the Palm Secure tool not only reads a hand's vein pattern, it's also looking at the deoxidized hemoglobin inside those veins, also known as "the blue stuff." Basically it can tell if the blood inside those veins is warm and the person attached to the hand is alive, so people trying to get access to secure information, like government data or patient records, can't game the system.



We're number one! We're number one!”

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/INTERNET_SECURITY_THREATS?SITE=VALYD&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Most Computer Attacks Originate in U.S.

By JORDAN ROBERTSON AP Technology Writer Mar 19, 6:18 AM EDT

AP AUDIO Symantec's (sih-MAN'-tehks) security director, Vincent Weafer, says the company concludes Internet crime is expanding.

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- The United States generates more malicious computer activity than any other country, and sophisticated hackers worldwide are banding together in highly efficient crime rings, according to a new report.

Researchers at Cupertino-based Symantec Corp. also found that fierce competition in the criminal underworld is driving down prices for stolen financial information. [Free markets do that... Bob]

Criminals may purchase verified credit card numbers for as little as $1, and they can buy a complete identity - a date of birth and U.S. bank account, credit card and government-issued identification numbers - for $14, according to Symantec's twice-yearly Internet Security Threat Report released Monday.

Symantec Internet Security Threat ReportVolume XI: March 2007

Key Findings of the Internet Security Threat ReportVolume XI: March 2007

Flash Presentation



I wonder why the IRS doesn't just take our money up front (100% withholding) and require us to “prove” we don't owe it to them?

http://www.bespacific.com/mt/archives/014307.html

March 16, 2007

IRS Releases 2006 Data Book

"The Internal Revenue Service announced today that its 2006 Data Book is available on the IRS Web site. The report describes activities conducted by the IRS from October 1, 2005, through September 30, 2006, and includes information about returns filed and taxes collected, enforcement, taxpayer assistance and the IRS budget and workforce. During Fiscal Year (FY) 2006, the IRS collected more than $2.2 trillion in tax and processed over 228 million returns. Over 80 million returns, including 54.3 percent of individual income tax returns, were filed electronically in FY 2006. Over 108 million individual income tax return filers received tax refunds totaling $243 billion. In FY 2006, IRS spent an average of 42 cents to collect each $100 of tax revenue."

  • SOI Tax Stats - IRS Data Book: 2006 -- The files shown below come from the 2006 Internal Revenue Service Data Book, Publication 55B, Washington, DC, issued March 2007. Entire Publication. Adobe Acrobat PDF. Individual Data Book Excel tables will be loaded as available.



Interesting. If your organization is “targeted” is it proof that you have specific data the bad guys are after?

http://www.f-secure.com/weblog/#00001145

Video - Targeted Attacks

Posted by Sean @ 09:51 GMT

We have a new video available for you in which Mikko discusses Targeted Attacks.

Click on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFw9ZHy0V3c

The video has been available via our YouTube Channel since last Friday. So subscribe to the channel and you'll be ahead of the curve!



I surveil you

You surveil me

What a great country

we must be... (With no apology to Barney)

http://www.theage.com.au/news/Technology/AOL-introduces-location-plugin-for-instant-messaging-so-users-cansee-where-buddies-are/2007/03/19/1174152920852.html

AOL introduces location plug-in for instant messaging so users can see where buddies are

AOL is offering users of its AIM instant messaging service new capabilities to see where people on their buddy lists are physically located.

The first phase of this push is with an unusual software plug-in developed by Skyhook Wireless, whose backers include Intel Corp. Skyhook tracks locations by using the continuous wireless pulses emitted by all Wi-Fi transmitters and Wi-Fi-enabled computers, rather than more common satellite-based approach.

The Skyhook plug-in, available as a free download, [because we want to monitor everyone! Bob] adds a new grouping to AIM's buddy list window called "Near Me."

... AOL, a unit of Time Warner Inc., told The Associated Press that the Skyhook application was the first of several new location-aware capabilities it plans to add to AIM in the next couple of months, but the company declined to elaborate.

... Notably, where those cellular services rely on the Global Positioning Satellite capabilities built into a growing number of mobile handsets, the Skyhook system was developed through a seemingly oddball, laborious process:

The company has spent the past few years driving a fleet of 200 trucks [What about the black helicopters? Bob] up and down the streets of 2,500 cities and towns across the United States and Canada. These trucks scan for the pulse given off at least once a second by every home wireless router or commercial hotspot, recording the unique identifying code for that piece of Wi-Fi equipment. That code is correlated with the exact physical location where it was captured using GPS in the trucks, which cruise the streets at 15 to 50 miles (24 to 80 kilometers) per hour as they collect this information.

The resulting database consists of 16 million Wi-Fi access points covering an area where Skyhook says 70 percent of the U.S. population lives and six Canadian markets where the majority of that nation's people live.

When an AIM user installs Skyhook, the application gathers the identifying codes for all access points that are detected by the Wi-Fi card in the computer, [No further need for trucks or helicopters! “Our customers do our spying for us!” Bob] then compares those with the database to identify the person's location. When connected via a non-Wi-Fi computer, a user can manually input a location.



Might be fun to follow...

http://blayney.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?class=lifestyle%20news&subclass=news%20extra&story_id=567089&category=news%20extra

Access card hits credit limit

Peter Martin Sunday, 18 March 2007

TENSIONS ARE raw within the Government over its stalled plans for an Access Card. A scheme that the Government said was essential for Australia, on which it has already spent millions of dollars and encouraged the private sector to spend millions more, has been blocked by four of its own senators.

In a unanimous recommendation on Thursday the Senate's Finance and Public Administration Committee asked the Government to withdraw the legislation it had already passed in the House of Representatives and start again.

It is a sign of how seriously Minister Chris Ellison takes the Senate Committee's report that within about an hour he had agreed.

... As it happens, the Chair of the Committee, Queensland Liberal Senator Brett Mason, is one of Australia's leading experts on privacy law. A barrister and an academic before entering politics, he wrote his PhD thesis on privacy, and last year published a book entitled Privacy Without Principle: The Use and Abuse of Privacy in Australian Law and Public Policy.

... The reason for the urgency was never made clear. As one committee member asked in frustration: "Where's the fire?"

At the heart of the scheme proposed by the Government was an unresolved conundrum. On one hand the Government said that the new card was to be used only for the purpose of replacing the existing Medicare and Commonwealth benefits cards. Under no circumstances was it to become a national ID card. The minister introducing the Bill, Ian Campbell, even described the Bill as an "anti-ID card Bill".

On the other hand, every detail about the design of the card appeared to facilitate it becoming a national ID card.

In its unanimous report the committee mocked the "well-intentioned" clause in the legislation that specified a five-year jail term for anyone who demanded the card as proof of ID. It said the penalty purported to criminalise behaviour that was "an almost inevitable consequence" of the design of the card.

... The committee members were not necessarily against the idea of a universal national identification card, particularly in an era of heightened security concerns. Mason's own book about privacy makes the point that no one has an absolute "right" to privacy in modern times. But the Government's problem and the committee's problem was that the Government deliberately decided not to make that case.

Every time a representative of ASIO or the Federal Police told the committee of the ways in which the card could be used for surveillance the Chair had to remind them that the Government had explicitly said that was not the purpose of the card.



We don't need no stinking evidence!” It's sufficient that you are not like me.

http://theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/articles/too_guilty_to_fly_too_innocent_to_charge/0013451

Too Guilty to Fly, Too Innocent to Charge?

Faisal Kutty Posted Mar 18, 2007

[Paper available at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=962797 ]



This is always a security managers nightmare. It's like leaving the bank vault open because it takes too long to work the combination...

http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/software/soa/Microsoft_partner_Vista_less_secure_than_XP/0,130061733,339274261,00.htm

Microsoft partner: Vista less secure than XP

By Tom Espiner, ZDNet UK 19 March 2007 06:31 AM

Security company Kaspersky claimed that Vista's User Account Control (UAC), the system of user privileges that can be used to restrict users' administrative rights, will be so annoying that users will disable it.



Another technology customers want to disable...

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070318-75-percent-customer-problems-caused-by-drm.html

Musicload: 75% of customer service problems caused by DRM

By Ken Fisher | Published: March 18, 2007 - 05:39PM CT

Deutsche Telekom's Musicload, one of the largest online music stores in Europe, has come out strongly against DRM on account of its effects on the marketplace and its customers, according to German-language Heise Online.

Musicload said in a letter distributed last week that customers are having consistent problems with DRM, so much so that 3 out of 4 customer service calls are ultimately the result of the frustrations that come with DRM.



Another indication that someone thinks reading is “too hard” and we should be read to...

http://www.macuser.com/podcasting/podcast_novels_let_your_ears_j.php

Podcast novels: let your ears join the fun

Posted Mar. 17, ’07, 12:20 PM PT by Thomas Gagnon-van Leeuwen



A collection from many schools...

http://digg.com/general_sciences/free_university_lectures_computer_science_mathematics_physics

free university lectures - computer science, mathematics, physics

information wants to be free.

http://lecturefox.com/



George Bernard Shaw once said: 'England and America are two countries divided by a common language'

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070316/od_nm/soccer_england_chelsea_celery_dc;_ylt=Am0GUfu0.cyRIYntAZONLjPMWM0F

Soccer fans in trouble for "stalking"

Fri Mar 16, 9:22 AM ET

LONDON (Reuters) - Chelsea warned their fans on Friday against throwing celery during matches, saying it was a criminal offence and that anyone caught lobbing the popular salad vegetable could be banned.

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