For
my Computer Security students. Something for the toolkit.
Detekt
– free tool that scans your Windows computer for traces of
commercial surveillance spyware
Via
FastCoExit:
“Spyware like FinFisher contributes to a multi-billion
dollar business. But until last week, activists had few ways to
defend themselves, aside from the well-placed bit of duct tape over
the computer camera and rigorous digital hygiene practices. That’s
why Amnesty International, Privacy International, Digitale
Gesellschaft, and the Electronic
Frontier Foundation rolled out a new tool, called Detekt,
that lets you know when you’ve been hacked. “If the last 10 to
15 years of spying has been interception, search and seizure, and
detaining, this is the future of government spying,” says Privacy
International deputy director Eric King. “Detekt
has only been up for a day, and I know there’s already been
hundreds of thousands of hits on the website. My inbox is full of
people who have been infected.” Anyone can freely download
Detekt’s open-source
software, but if the
tool does detect spyware, getting rid of it is another matter
entirely. The Detekt website does link to instructions to
help people clear their machines, but it’s also no safeguard
against the NSA or GCHQ’s sophisticated mass surveillance methods,
the likes of which were revealed by Edward Snowden in June of 2013.”
How
to look completely innocent.
Fidgeting,
whistling, sweaty palms. These are just a few of the suspicious
signs that the Transportation Security Administration directs its
officers to look out for in airport travelers, according to a
confidential document obtained exclusively by The Intercept.
Read
more on The
Intercept.
In
related news, Joe Cadillic discusses the new use of biometric
iris and fingerprint scans at airports.
My
students seem to put everything on the credit cards, including stuff
from the school vending machines.
Mark
Wilson reports:
It’s disconcerting when you consider just how much your bank or
credit card company can see without even really trying: everywhere
you shop, eat, and play—right down to how much you spend and when.
(Suddenly, even Uber’s
God View doesn’t seem so scary.)
Capital One is developing an app called Ideas—an optional
stand-alone app from their main one—that mines customers’
spending histories to offer them relevant deals and events (for which
Capital One takes no cut). Each day, it produces a short,
personalized list of coupons (like save 10% at J. Crew) and things to
do (like check out The Book of Mormon), all translated to a
short, image-forward list you swipe through, kind of like Tinder. If
a customer likes an event, she can save it to be reminded later. If
a customer likes a deal, he can virtually clip the coupon. And if
that coupon goes unspent, then shortly before it expires, Ideas will
SMS the customer to warn him about it.
Read
more on FastCompany.
Eventually,
this will lead to “self-driving” scalpels.
Google
Moves to the Operating Room in Robotics Deal With J&J
…
The search giant is pooling resources and intellectual property with
Johnson
& Johnson to develop robots to assist surgeons. No financial
terms were disclosed. J&J
said in a statement that the deal is expected to close in the
second quarter and has to be reviewed by antitrust authorities.
Google
reckons it can use its machine-vision and image-analysis software to
help surgeons see better as they operate or make it easier for them
to get information that’s relevant to the surgery.
Perspective.
Lest you think all drones are the size of model airplanes.
Facebook's
Internet-Beaming Aquila Drone Has Wingspan Of A Boeing 737, Will Take
Flight This Summer
…
The drones are capable of cruising at an altitude of 60,000 to
90,000 feet, and can stay aloft for months at a time thanks to solar
panels embedded in the massive wings and onboard lithium-ion
batteries. Each drone will be capable of “[beaming] down backbone
Internet access” to people across the globe — those who otherwise
wouldn’t have easy access to Internet connectivity — as part of
the Facebook’s Internet.org
efforts. According to Facebook’s estimates, there are anywhere
from between 1.1 billion to 2.8 billion people on the planet that
don’t have access to the Internet.
This
could be very interesting. Imagine replacing the redacted text with
you own words (a la Woody Allen's “What's up tiger lilly?”)
FCC
Releases Redacted Manual for Mobile Surveillance
Follow
up to previous posting – StingRay
surveillance device intercepts a cellphone signals, capture texts,
calls, emails and other data – via Slate,
via TheBlot:
A heavily redacted copy of the 2010 manual for StingRay and KingFish
mobile data surveillance equipment was released by the FCC in
response to a FOIA request by TheBlot over the strong objections of
the equipment manufacturer. Matthew Keys for TheBlot: “On March 23
— more than six
months after the request had been filed and two months after the
January call — the FCC
delivered a heavily redacted user manual covering the StingRay,
StingRay II and KingFish devices. The
manual, which appears to be the same copy submitted to the FCC by
Harris in 2010, reveals the StingRay and KingFish equipment are
likely individual
components that comprise a cellphone surveillance kit
marketed and sold to police. The manual indicates the StingRay and
KingFish devices are sold as part of a larger surveillance kit that
includes third-party software and laptops. Tables that contain the
names of the other equipment is redacted in the copy provided by the
FCC, but other records reviewed by TheBlot indicate the laptops are
manufactured
by Dell and Panasonic, while the software is designed
by Pen-Link, a company that makes programs for cellphone
forensics. Numerous warnings note that the manual is “confidential,”
“not for public inspection” and contains information that falls
under the purview of the International Traffic in Arms Regulation
(ITAR), a federal statute that prohibits certain defense information
and equipment from being distributed outside the United States.
Harris also warns that the manual “may be provided only to …
government law enforcement agencies or communication service
providers,” and that the document contains material related to a
“restricted use item” that is “associated with the monitoring
of cellular transmissions.” (The latter phrasing appears clearly
in one section of the manual, despite being redacted on other pages.)
None of the redactions made to the document were explained by the
FCC as information withheld pursuant to national security interests.
Instead, the FCC explained its redactions through Exemption 4 of the
FOIA law, which protects the release of trade secrets and certain
confidential business information submitted to the government.”
Well
blogged, every week.
Hack
Education Weekly News
…
Enrollment at the University of Phoenix is down by over 50% over the
past 5 years, reports
CNN.
…
According
to a report released by the Education Department's National
Center for Education Statistics, “After taking grants into account,
the average full-time undergraduate in 2011–12 paid a net price of
$11,700 to attend a public two-year college and $18,000 for public
four-year college. Include loans, work-study and other forms of aid
and the out-of-pocket costs come in at $9,900 and $11,800,
respectively.”
…
“In
Defense of Snow Days” – according to research published by
Education Next, school closures due to bad weather have
little or no effect on student achievement. [Who
paid for that study? Bob]
…
From the American Association of University Women: “Solving
the Equation: The Variables for Women's Success in Engineering and
Computing.”
An
infographic for my students. May they become rich and famous (and
hire me as a consultant)
30
Inspirational Quotes for Entrepreneurs (Infographic)
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