http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20090403054218817
MEPs urge governments to produce surveillance register
Friday, April 03 2009 @ 05:42 AM EDT Contributed by: PrivacyNews
Governments should create a list of all organisations that track internet use and produce an annual report on internet surveillance, the European Parliament has said.
The Parliament also said that users' online activity should not be monitored in the fight against piracy.
Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) voted by a huge majority to adopt a policy statement on the freedoms citizens do and should have online. The statement calls on the European Commission and national governments to take action to protect free speech and halt the intrusion of criminals and industry into private communications.
Source - Out-Law.com
Related? Comments point out several flaws in this story, including the “one day does not a trend make” and “what is confiker gonna do” questions. We need to revisit this later.
http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/04/03/013221&from=rss
After Sweden's New Law, a Major Drop In Internet Traffic
Posted by timothy on Friday April 03, @02:36AM from the back-to-corked-bottles dept. The Internet Privacy Politics
iamnot writes
"The new IPRED law came into effect in a big way in Sweden on April 1st. A news report has come out showing that internet traffic dropped by 30% from March 31st to April 1st. A lawyer from the Swedish anti-piracy agency was quoted as saying that the drop in traffic 'sends a very strong signal that the legislation works.' Is the new law, which allows for copyright holders to request the identification of people sharing files, truly curing people of their evil ways? Or perhaps it is just taking some time for Swedish downloaders to figure out the new IPREDator VPN system from The Pirate Bay."
Government websites can be useful, and we should probably point them out when they make the attempt.
http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20090403054808247
FTC Offers ‘Red Flags’ Web Site
Friday, April 03 2009 @ 05:48 AM EDT Contributed by: PrivacyNews
The Federal Trade Commission has launched a Web site to help entities covered by the Red Flags Rule design and implement identity theft prevention programs. The Rule requires “creditors” and “financial institutions” to develop written programs to identify the warning signs of ID theft, spot them when they occur, and take appropriate steps to respond to those warning “red flags.”
Source - Kansas City InfoZine
Similar to unique variables in paper copies. That always told us which politician leaked Top Secret documents, but clearly didn't stop the leaks.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10211136-93.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-5
Studio: Good chance FBI can trace 'Wolverine' leak
by Greg Sandoval April 2, 2009 5:45 PM PDT
FBI agents have started looking for whoever is responsible for uploading to the Internet an incomplete version of the unreleased movie "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" on Tuesday evening.
… However, studio representatives told news agency Reuters because of forensic marks, the authorities would be able to trace "the source of the leak."
Studios embed identification marks on prints and film copies and that's how authorities tracked down Kerry Gonzalez, the New Jersey man who leaked the superhero film "Hulk" to the Web weeks before its theatrical release. Gonzalez was caught and pleaded guilty to felony copyright infringement charges. He was sentenced to six months house arrest and ordered to pay a $7,000 fine.
Gonzalez is an example of how hard it is for studios to protect their multimillion-dollar products, according to a film industry insider. Gonzalez had nothing to do with the movie business. He told FBI agents that he obtained a videotape copy of the film print from a friend who worked at an advertising agency connected with the movie. [Note that the “forensic marks” didn't point to Gonzalez but to his friend. Perhaps the friend ratted him out when the FBI threatened to ship him to Guantanamo? Bob]
Here's an idea I'll have to build on for my Business Continuity class.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13846_3-10210850-62.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-5
FDA tests internal cloud for disaster recovery
by Dave Rosenberg April 2, 2009 2:58 PM PDT
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is looking at using an internal (or private) cloud to manage disaster recovery.
In early testing, Joe Klosky, a senior tech adviser at the FDA, was able to successfully restart applications and services within 45 minutes onto other, differently configured servers in their environment without issues using Cassatt Active Response, not people or outsourced services.
… Find out more about the FDA's disaster recovery results here.
Related Something for my Computer Security class to kick around.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10787_3-10211116-60.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-5
Telcos said testing plan to offer PCs to businesses
by Charles Cooper April 3, 2009 4:00 AM PDT
Telecommunications providers on four continents are testing a plan to provide so-called virtual desktop computing to their business customers.
People familiar with the outlines of the pilot program say the idea is to offer Internet access to companies via dumb terminals connected through the so-called cloud. The tests are said to involve companies in the United States, Europe, Australia, and China.
The testing period is slated to run through the middle of the year. If it works out to participants' satisfaction, the pitch to customers will be why it makes more sense in an economic recession to outsource their computing infrastructure to the telcos, according to the sources. The hope is that more companies now have an extra incentive to turn over the costs and complexity to outsiders.
I would have guessed this was available years ago. I wonder what other little bits haven't been digitized yet?
http://www.bespacific.com/mt/archives/021003.html
April 01, 2009
Institute of Advanced Legal Studies - Flare Index to Treaties
"The Flare Index to Treaties [was recently launched] by the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (IALS). The Index is a searchable database of basic information on over 1,500 of the most significant multilateral treaties from 1856 to the present, with details of where the full text of each treaty may be obtained in paper and, if available, electronic form on the Internet. The Index includes only those treaties where there are three or more parties to the instrument. The selection has been based on entries in Multilateral Treaties: index and current status, compiled and annotated within the University of Nottingham Treaty Centre by M.J. Bowman and D.J. Harris (London: Butterworths, 1984, ninth supplement, 1992) and International Legal Materials (Washington, D.C., American Society of International Law, 1962-).
How interesting. Now whole states hate Microsoft. Very “Central Planning”-like of Texas. Perhaps they could force Steve Ballmer out? (Or is this all an April Fool joke?)
http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/04/02/2158253&from=rss
Texas Senate Proposes a Budget With a No-Vista-Upgrades Rider
Posted by timothy on Thursday April 02, @06:22PM from the macro-vs.-micro dept. Windows Government United States Upgrades
CWmike writes
"The Texas state Senate yesterday gave preliminary approval to a state budget that includes a provision forbidding government agencies from upgrading to Windows Vista without written consent of the legislature. Sen. Juan Hinojosa, vice chairman of the Finance Committee, proposed the rider because 'of the many reports of problems with Vista … We are not in any way, shape or form trying to pick on Microsoft, but the problems with this particular [operating] system are known nationwide,' Hinojosa said during a Senate session debating the rider (starting at 4:42 of this RealMedia video stream). 'And the XP operating system is working very well.' A Microsoft spokeswoman said in response, 'We're surprised that the Texas Senate Finance Committee adopted a rider which, in effect, singles out a specific corporation and product for unequal treatment. We hope as the budget continues to go through the process, this language will be removed.'"
I doubt this translates to students surfing in the classroom, but no doubt I'll hear this quoted for years!
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/04/02/1937229&from=rss
Australian Study Says Web Surfing Boosts Office Productivity
Posted by timothy on Thursday April 02, @03:50PM from the it-wasn't-just-the-office-doors dept. Businesses The Internet Science
Hugh Pickens writes
"Dr Brent Coker, professor of Department of Management and Marketing at Melbourne University, says employees who surf the internet for leisure during working hours are more productive than those who don't. A study of 300 office workers found 70 percent of people who use the internet at work engage in Workplace Internet Leisure Browsing (WILB). 'People who do surf the internet for fun at work — within a reasonable limit of less than 20 per cent of their total time in the office — are more productive by about nine per cent than those who don't,' said Coker. 'People need to zone out for a bit to get back their concentration. Think back to when you were in class listening to a lecture — after about 20 minutes your concentration probably went right down, yet after a break your concentration was restored. It's the same in the workplace.' However, Coker warns that excessive time spent surfing the internet could have the reverse effect."
I've used Opera. I like the download handling. Not sure what it buys Ford.
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13746_7-10211075-48.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-5
Ford picks Opera for in-dash Web browsing
by Antuan Goodwin April 2, 2009 4:20 PM PDT
Al Gore, Jupiter is calling! Global Warming! Global Warming! (Just not our globe)
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/04/02/1435208&from=rss
Jupiter's Great Red Spot Is Shrinking
Posted by CmdrTaco on Thursday April 02, @11:22AM from the like-my-will-to-live dept.
cjstaples noted a CNN story proclaiming that Jupiter's signature red spot is shrinking. Over a 10 year study, the giant storm lost just over half a kilometer per day for a total loss of about 15%. Scientists know about shrinkage, right?
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