Tuesday, July 09, 2013

I'm shocked, shocked I tell you!
McAfee: S. Korea major cyberattack part of 4-year spy op
The cyberattacks against South Korean banks and news agencies which took place in March were part of a long-term, domestic covert operation called "Operation Troy", which was aimed at stealing sensitive military and government data, McAfee said.
The cyberattacks in South Korea on March 20, 2013 which reportedly affected 30,000 computers has since been dubbed "Dark Seoul".
While it remains unclear if the attacks were state-sponsored, the security vendor said in a report released Monday, the operation which had been going on since 2009, were conducted by two separate hacker groups--New Romanic Cyber Army Team and the Whois Hacking Team.
The attackers gang had infected PCs with a malware, the 3Rat Trojan, which automatically sought out documents of interest by scanning computers for military keywords in English and Korean, the report noted. Once the malware identified documents of interest, it encrypted those files and delivered them to the hackers' servers.
… In March this year, a cyberattack launched against local Internet service provider, LG Uplus, resulted in server outages at three domestic broadcasters YTN, MBC, and KBS, as well as the Shinhan Bank and NongHyup Bank.


We are becoming a nation of wimps.
The NFL has banned fanny packs from stadiums
… Last month a story made the rounds about how the NFL was banning large bags such as backpacks and purses from their stadiums. W e all moaned, but chalked it up to an increased need for safety in the 21st century, even if some of the items prohibited, like seat cushions, seemed a bit over the top.
… In reviewing a story about how the Indianapolis Colts are shipping season ticket holders bags that are pre-approved for stadium entry, however, something caught our eye. And that was included in the NFL’s list of banned items, along with backpacks and purses and seat cushions, was something we could scarcely believe: the fanny pack.


If you are politically active (particularly for the other party) we're gonna out ya!”
From their web site:
Public.Resource.Org has discovered that the Internal Revenue Service has posted the Social Security Numbers of tens of thousands of Americans on government web sites. The database in question contains the filings of Section 527 political organizations such as campaign committees. This Section 527 database is an essential tool used by journalists, watchdog groups, congressional staffers, and citizens. While the public posting of this database serves a vital public purpose (and this database must be restored as quickly as possible), the failure to remove individual Social Security Numbers is an extraordinarily reckless act.
On July 2, Public.Resource.Org discovered this systematic violation of Americans’ privacy and notified the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. We documented our findings in an audit document, copies of which were furnished to I.R.S. officials and senior White House officials. On July 3, the administration removed this database from public view.
Public.Resource.Org uncovered this serious violation of federal law in the course of an unrelated audit which was sparked when, on June 18, the I.R.S. notified Public.Resource.Org that it had sent out an improperly-vetted shipment of data on DVD for the January release of the Form 990-T, the Exempt Organization Business Income Tax Return. Because the I.R.S. had publicly released that data in February, and had not notified recipients of the bulk data subscription of this privacy breach for several months, Public.Resource.Org conducted a systematic examination of the breach and how it was handled and delivered that audit to the Inspector General on July 1, 2013.
Read more on PublicResources.org


You conspire with people you meet? Perhaps not everone you meet is a conspirator?
Marissa Vahlsing writes:
After more than eight months of silence, U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan recently issued a long-awaited decision on the enforceability of a subpoena served by Chevron on Microsoft in connection with Chevron’s lawsuit claiming that it has been the victim of a conspiracy in the $18.2 billion judgment against it for massive environmental contamination in Ecuador. But Kaplan’s decision begs more questions than it answers.
The sweeping subpoena was one of three issued to Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft, demanding IP usage records and identity information for the holders of more than 100 email accounts, including environmental activists, journalists and attorneys. Chevron’s subpoena sought personal information about every account holder and the IP addresses associated with every login to each account over a nine-year period.
[From the article:
This could allow Chevron to determine the countries, states, cities or even buildings where the account-holders were checking their email so as to “infer the movements of the users over the relevant period and might permit Chevron to makes inferences about some of the user’s professional and personal


This might be fun until they shut them down...
App lets you stream TV channels to your Android phone or tablet
The US TV & Radio Free app might seem a little too good to be true. It streams unlimited live TV to your Android device, and it doesn't cost a penny.
The app offers an extensive list of channels: AMC, Bravo, Cartoon Network, Discovery Channel, Food Network, FX, MTV, NBC, Nickelodeon, Syfy, TBS, TNT, and lots more. Even more surprising: a few premium channels, including HBO, Showtime, and Starz.
According to the description shown within the app, it's an aggregator of freely available content:


Another way to drive my students crazy?
First Person: Laura Nissinen ‘I read the news in Latin’
… Nuntii Latini is a weekly overview in Latin of the international news – or conspectus rerum internationalium hebdomadalis as we say. It’s broadcast by YLE, the Finnish Broadcasting Company.


For all my bookie friends who claim they like “real books” rather than eBooks... You know who you are.
Sure, free public libraries are always a valid option, but library space is always going to be limited. With the advent of the ebook, there are even ebook libraries that you can utilize free of charge. But, again, library selection is always inherently limited. Plus, there’s something to be said for buying and owning your own books – a joy that libraries cannot provide.
CheapRiver It’s a site that specializes in finding the cheapest pricings of books across all of Amazon’s different regional sites. Even though you’re American, you may find your desired book for a cheaper price in the UK store. Or vice versa. A big factor, of course, is international exchange rates – and CheapRiver takes advantage of those to find you the best prices.
BookFinder BookFinder is a search engine owned by AbeBooks that flips through all major online book retailer shops and reports the best prices and best selections.
AddALL I like the AddALL search engine because it can search ebooks, print books, used books, magazines, as well as music and movies. You can set the shipping destination and AddALL will calculate both shipping rate and sales tax into your search, which ends up providing really accurate results and comparisons.
Thrift Books Thrift Books is a used book online retailer that operates out of the US and provides free shipping to all of the US

(Related) A more general tool for “power shoppers”
This article details how to get RSS feeds for Etsy, Craigslist, Amazon and eBay.

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