Sunday, September 30, 2012

Hacking to what end? Misdirection? Establishing a “new normal” might have some long term benefits.
Cyber attackers hit Canadian energy companies
CALGARY -- The federal government said it is taking action after revelations of a cyber attack on a major player in Canada's energy industry.
Calgary-based Telvent Canada, an IT service company that helps manage 60% of all oil and gas pipelines in North America and Latin America, confirmed the cyber attack.
The company said some customer files had been impacted, but would not disclose which companies were targeted.
… The breach, which some experts have linked to Chinese hackers, was first reported by a U.S. journalist and cybercrime blogger.
… Word of the hack, which is said to have hit operations in the U.S., Spain and Canada, did not surprise Davies.
"It's nothing new for the industry," he said.
"It's the new normal."

(Related) What strategy makes this worthwhile?
U.S. banks hit by more than a week of cyberattacks
U.S. banks have been buffeted by more than a week of powerful cyberattacks, but the mystery surrounding their perpetrators lingers.
One expert said Friday that he was suspicious of claims of responsibility purportedly made by Islamists angry at an anti-Muslim movie made in the United States, explaining that the widely circulated Internet postings might have been an attempt to deflect attention from the true culprit.
… Such attacks are fairly common and generally don’t compromise sensitive data or do any lasting damage. Still, they can be a huge headache for companies that rely on their websites to interact with customers.


A lot of interesting questions when civilians conduct the war.
Not Even the White House Knows the Drones’ Body Count
Government officials claim they’re ultra-precise killing machines that never, ever miss their targets. Outside groups say they’re covered in children’s blood. The fact is no one has a clue exactly how many militants and how many innocents have been slain in the U.S. drone war that spans from Pakistan to Somalia. Remember that before you start your next Twitter feud about the drone war.
… The death toll claims, which vary wildly, are all educated guesswork.
It’s one of many conclusions in a new report on the covert, robotic air war that doesn’t fit neatly into the dominant narratives about the drone campaign, pro or con. (The report is due to publish at midnight GMT on Sunday.) Using interviews with dozens of people in northwest Pakistan — one of the epicenters of the unmanned air assaults — The Center for Civilians in Conflict and Columbia Law School’s human rights clinic have crafted a nuanced view of the civilian impact of this most controversial component of the Obama administration’s counterterror efforts. Table your preconceived notions about the drone war before you read — starting with the notions about who the drones are actually taking out.


“We don't need no stinking IP lawyers!” Note that this is not coming from geeks dressed as Klingon warriors...
"The most recent call for curtailing patents comes not just from an unexpected source, the St. Louis Fed, but also in its most basic form: total abolition of all patents. Via the Atlantic Monthly: a new working paper (PDF) from two members of the St. Louis Federal Reserve, Michele Boldrin and David Levine, in which they argue that while a weak patent system may mildly increase innovation with limited side-effects, such a system can never be contained and will inevitably lead to a stifling patent system such as that presently found in the U.S. They argue: '...strong patent systems retard innovation with many negative side-effects. ... the political demand for stronger patent protection comes from old and stagnant industries and firms, not from new and innovative ones. Hence the best solution is to abolish patents entirely through strong constitutional measures and to find other legislative instruments, less open to lobbying and rent-seeking.' They acknowledge that some industries could suffer under a such a system. They single out pharma, and suggest other legislative measures be found to foster innovation whenever there is clear evidence that laissez-faire under-supplies it."


My first thought was, “This guy's an idiot!” After some reading and more thought I have concluded that he is in fact a complete and total idion in need of a rubber room.
"Reminiscent of buggy whip manufacturers taking legal action against auto makers, the former U.S. Register of Copyrights, Ralph Oman, has given an amicus brief in the Aereo case (PDF) stating that all new content-delivery technology should be presumed illegal unless and until it is approved by Congress. He adds that providers of new technology should be forced to apply to Congress to prove they don't upset existing business models."


No reason it has to be done this quickly
"A group of Finnish mathematics researchers, teachers and students write an upper secondary mathematics textbook in a three-day booksprint. The event started on Friday 28th September at 9:00 (GMT+3) and the book will be (hopefully) ready on Sunday evening. The book is written in Finnish. The result — LaTeX source code and the PDF — is published with open CC-BY-license. As far as the authors know, this is the first time a course textbook is written in three-day hackathon. The hackathon approach has been used earlier mainly for coding open source software and writing manuals for open source software. The progress can be followed by visiting the repository at GitHub or the project Facebook page."


I was thinking about a Robotics class. Perhaps a challengs for “do it yourself” drones? Complete with hardpoints for weapons mounts.
These $10 Robots Will Change Robotics Education
When the African Robotics Network announced their $10 robot design challenge this summer, co-founder Ken Goldberg was careful not to share too many expectations, lest he influence contestants' designs. But he never imagined one of the winning entries would prominently feature a pair of Spanish lollipops.
The challenge, hosted by AFRON co-founders Goldberg and Ayorkor Korsah, emphasized inexpensive designs to help bring robotics education to African classrooms. Goldberg announced AFRON's 10 winners in three categories today at Maker Faire, including the lollipop-laden Suckerbot and traditional (roaming) category first prize winner Kilobot, a Harvard-spawned three-legged, vibrating, swarming robot.
… Suckerbot, designed by Thomas Tilley, a computer scientist living in Thailand, started with a hacked PlayStation controller, and wound up winning first prize in the tethered robot category. In this case, the tether is the controller's USB cable, and Tilley attached the rumble motors to a pair of wheels. Suckerbot's list of parts comes to $8.96, but the real genius is the Chupa Chups. Tilley needed a way for the robot to sense if it ran into something, so he stuck a lollipop in each joystick. Whenever the Suckerbot bumps something, the weight of the sucker tips the joystick forward, and a signal is sent to the processor.


For my wino friends. (I say wino because I can never remember how to spell oenophile)
Amazon to start selling wine?
… The Wall Street Journal reports today that Amazon will be launching a wine marketplace in the next few weeks, one that will surely lift the spirits.
It seems that company executives were in Napa only this week, meeting with 100 different wineries and explaining the launch.
The meeting created some intrigue. Amazon's terms are reportedly 15 percent of sales, plus a $40 fee to join the marketplace.
My religious reading of Wine Industry Insight tells me that all the wineries attending the meeting signed nondisclosure agreements -- after which a couple of them may have offered a murmuring here or there. Perhaps a little local Cabernet was available at the meeting.
Naturally, working with the might of Amazon might allow for lower shipping fees for the wineries -- which will reportedly be responsible for arranging all the boxing and delivery.
… Clearly, there are regulatory issues, as different states tend to have their own quirks when it comes to sales and delivery of one of nature's great inspirational soothers.


Perspective (Plus, I like what they plan for New Jersey!)


An amusing Infographic...

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