Tuesday, May 07, 2013

“Oh, you noticed that we broke into your home? Don't worry, we were just testing your security.”
Associated Press reports:
The Speaker of the Missouri House says an attempt to access a secure website listing Missouri’s concealed gun permit holders was part of an investigation into whether the state had appropriately shielded the information.
In an interview with The Associated Press, House Speaker Tim Jones, R-Eureka, declined Monday to identify the person who tried to access the information last Thursday. But Jones said it was an appropriate action.
Read more on KY3.
So wait… when researchers attempt to test the security of systems, they can get prosecuted criminally, but state legislators can grant themselves permission to attempt to hack a state database and that’s okay?
[From the article:
Those attempts were unauthorized because information on concealed gun permit holders can only be shared with law enforcement.


“What do they know and how long will they keep it?”
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California (ACLU-SC) today jointly filed suit against two Los Angeles-area law-enforcement agencies over their failure to produce records related to the use of automatic license plate readers (ALPRs).
Mounted on squad cars and telephone poles, these sophisticated camera systems read license plates and record the time, date, and location a particular car was encountered. EFF and the ACLU-SC filed requests with the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department under the California Public Records Act seeking documents relating to policy and training on ALPRs, as well as a week’s worth of ALPR data collected by the agencies in 2012. While the sheriff and police departments produced some materials, they failed to provide documents related to sharing information with other agencies, and neither agency has produced the data collected during the one-week period.
“Location-based information like license plate data can be very revealing,” said EFF Staff Attorney Jennifer Lynch. “By matching your car to a particular time, date and location — and building a database of that information over time — law enforcement can learn where you work and live, what doctor you go to, which religious services you attend, and who your friends are. The public needs access to data the police actually have collected to be able to make informed decisions about how ALPR systems can and can’t be used.”
… While the police can use this technology to match license plates against databases to find stolen or wanted cars, the systems currently record and store information on every car, even where there’s no reason to think a car is connected to any crime.


Is this “playing nice?” Will China pass a law requiriing Texas to turn over data?
Karen Brooks Harper reports:
A minor dustup over the protection of private info hosted by ISPs flared up briefly on the floor, on a bill by Rep. John Frullo that would allow Texas judges to issue search warrants for companies based in other states – like Yahoo in California – to hand over online records that could help them investigate crimes relating to cases like child pornography and human trafficking.
Frullo briefly tried to fend off an amendment by Bedford GOP Rep. Jonathan Stickland that requires law enforcement to get a warrant before they can get emails from an ISP that are over 180 days old.
Read more on Dallas Morning News. And see Grits for Breakfast for comments on this development.


Finally someone will smack these lawyers?
Judge Asks IRS, Feds to Investigate Copyright-Trolling Attorneys
Using terms like “brazen conduct and relentless fraud,” a federal judge on Monday sanctioned attorneys running a BitTorrent copyright lawsuit factory, and recommended federal prosecutors investigate for potential criminal charges.
Los Angeles federal judge Otis D. Wright II said the Prenda Law attorneys’ “moral turpitude” is “unbecoming of an officer of the court.” (.pdf) The judge said the attorneys “fraudulently signed” documents about who owned the rights to sue thousands over the illegal downloading of pornographic films.
The attorneys, including John Steele, a Chicago barrister who has sued thousands for unlawfully downloading porn, were also labeled a racketeering outfit.
The judge often used Star Trek references as he blasted them.
“The federal agency eleven decks up is familiar with their prime directive and will gladly refit them for their next voyage. The Court will refer this matter to the United States Attorney for the Central District of California. The will also refer this matter to the Criminal Investigation Division of the Internal Revenue Service and will notify all judges before whom these attorneys have pending cases.”
Kurt Opsahl, an intellectual property attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said the judge’s opinion underscores “the ease of which you can file copyright lawsuits.”
… “Plaintiffs have outmaneuvered the legal system. They’ve discovered the nexus of antiquated copyright laws, paralyzing social stigma, and unaffordable defense costs,” the judge wrote.
Adding insult to injury, the lawyers were ordered to pay $40,000 in legal fees and the same in sanctions.


I thought this would be a 1 word report: “Nuts!”
May 06, 2013
Military and Security Developments Involving the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea 2012
DOD - Military and Security Developments Involving the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea 2012. A Report to Congress Pursuant to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012.
  • "Section 1236 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012, Public Law 112-81, provides that the Secretary of Defense shall submit a report "in both classified and unclassified form, on the current and future military power of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea" (DPRK). The report shall address an assessment of the security situation on the Korean Peninsula, the goals and factors shaping North Korean security strategy and military strategy, trends in North Korean security, an assessment of North Korea's regional security objectives, including an assessment of the North Korean military's capabilities, developments in North Korean military doctrine and training, an assessment of North Korea's proliferation activities, and other military security developments." [Greta E. Marlatt]

(Related) Nothing new here...
U.S. says Chinese government behind cyberespionage
The Chinese government and military have engaged in widespread cyberespionage targeting U.S. government and business computer networks, the Pentagon said Monday.
China maintained a steady campaign of computer intrusions in 2012 that were designed to acquire information about the U.S. government's foreign policy and military plans, according to the Pentagon's annual report to Congress on China's military.
"China is using its computer network exploitation capability to support intelligence collection against the U.S. diplomatic, economic, and defense industrial base sectors that support U.S. national defense programs," according to the 83-page 2013 "Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China" (PDF).


For the Crypto class...
May 06, 2013
Revolutionary Secrets: Cryptology in the American Revolution
Revolutionary Secrets: Cryptology in the American Revolution, Jennifer Wilcox, Center for Cryptologic History, National Security Agency, 2012.


Another take on the “Freemium” model?
Google nears launch of paid YouTube subscriptions, report says
The information comes from a Financial Times report over the weekend that suggests the company could be rolling out paid subscriptions for over 50 different premium channel partners. The subscriptions will reportedly set you back about $2 per month, per channel.
We heard rumblings about paid YouTube subscriptions back in January, with the video service rumored to have been in discussions with several of its channel partners about a new subscription-based program. It was also said that those subscriptions would range between $1 and $5 per month, which is in line with the FT report.
Google is currently making plenty of money on YouTube videos, but the company realizes it’s hitting a brick wall when it comes to gaining the kind of content that people desire from other video services. The company has already spent upwards of $200 million to market and cultivate premium content through its channel partners, but so far it’s still not lucrative enough for those partners. The subscription would likely be another source of revenue both for Google and those content creators.

(Related) Resolving the “First Sale” question?
"According to CNET and various other sources, CS6 will be the last version of Adobe's Creative Suite that will be sold in the traditional manner. All future versions will be available by subscription only, through Adobe's so-called 'Creative Cloud' service. This means that before too long, anyone who wants an up-to-date version of Photoshop won't be able to buy it – they will have to pay $50 per month (minimum subscription term: one year). Can Adobe complete the switch to subscription-only, or will the backlash be too great? Will this finally spur the creation of a real competitor to Photoshop?"


For my phone and tablet packing students.
Office Suite Pro 7 (PDF &HD) Made by MobiSystems, OfficeSuite Pro allows you to view, create, edit, print and share Word, Excel and PowerPoint files on the go.

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