Schoolkid punished for making a proxy
,----[ Quote ]
| He said he found it unfair that Fairfax County Public Schools felt it could
| impose “this kind of totalitarianism" on him and claims it has made him a
| criminal for making proxies.
`----
http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/02/01/school-kid-punished-making
Bavarian gov't caught buying malware to intercept Skype calls
,----[ Quote ]
| Documents on Wikileaks show that the German Bavarian government had planned
| to release trojans -- malware -- designed to allow them to intercept Skype
| calls. The leaked documents include wrangling over the pricing and payment
| for the malicious software. The docs were leaked by the German Pirate Party.
`----
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/01/26/german-govt-caught-b.html
Leaked UK gov't doc reveals plan to "coerce" Brits into national ID register --
MIRROR THIS FILE!
,----[ Quote ]
| Phil from the UK anti-ID-register group NO2ID sends in this nugget -- note
| the call to action there. We've got a sensitive government document revealing
| the British government's plan to trick us into a database state and we need
| as many copies as possible, as quickly as possible!
`----
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/01/29/leaked-uk-govt-doc-r.html
Related:
Mark Cuban to ISPs: block all P2P traffic; Ars to Cuban: um, no
,----[ Quote ]
| Of course, there are many legitimate uses for P2P that Google Video can't
| replace, like distributing Linux ISOs. Furthermore, the notion that the only
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
| people who benefit from P2P technology are the distributors is wrong. If I
| have the option of grabbing a download from a distant single server or from a
| torrent with hundreds of users, I'm going to opt for the torrent. Why? It's
| almost guaranteed to be faster, and let's face it: most BitTorrent software
| is quite adept at managing large downloads. Perhaps I want to throttle it
| while playing a game; perhaps I want to encrypt my transfers. If I'm
| distributing video or audio, perhaps I don't wish to be bound by the terms of
| Google Video.
`----
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071122-mark-cuban-to-isps-block-all-p2p-traffic.html
BitTorrent Admin Monitored by US Government, Forced to Dump Linux
,----[ Quote ]
| Sk0t, an ex-administrator of the EliteTorrents BitTorrent tracker is to have
| his internet connection forcibly monitored by the US Government. If that
| wasn’t bad enough, the monitoring software is Windows based - which means he
| is being forced to ditch Linux - or face being barred from the internet.
`----
http://torrentfreak.com/bittorrent-admin-monitored-by-us-government-forced-to-dump-linux/
Updates of Sorts and Things to Watch Out For.
,----[ Quote ]
| While there may have been the Enrons, Haliburtons, and other companies that
| members of We Are Change have to deal with, there are two main
| companies/groups that we have to deal with:
|
| * Microsoft
| * The Business Software Alliance
|
| It’s a symbiotic relationship of sorts between the two. One is supposed to
| make sure that users have shelled out an arm and a leg for their copies of
| software, yet it is used by the other to blackmail these same users. For now
| though, let us focus on the Redmond, Washington software company. In Michael
| Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11, there was a brief clip that allegedly showed a
| meeting of many companies who were talking about Iraq (second invasion of… at
| least it was implied to me anyway), and one of the names dropped: Microsoft.
`----
http://nixedblog.thenixedreport.com/?p=57
Legality of Fedora in production environment
,----[ Quote ]
| Recently the appropriate laws in my country (Russia) have beens
| ignificantly toughened. Now the police can check for illegal software
| usage by their own initiative (without request from the owner). The
| tax inspection demands that software should be registered at
| accounts departments.
|
| During such a checking, the user is obliged now to show all hardcopy
| license documents (with original signatures and stamps).
`----
http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00697.html
N. Dakota Judge rules that "host -l" command constitutes hacking
,----[ Quote ]
| A North Dakota judge issued a ruling in Sierra Corporate Design v. Ritz that
| has some pretty stunning implications about the use of the "host -l" command
| when accessing DNS records. In the judgment (which was prepared by the
| plaintiff's counsel and sent to the judge), the use of the "host -l" command
| is tantamount to computer hijacking and hacking.
`----
http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/01/17/n-dakota-judge-rules-that-host-l-command-constitutes-hacking/
Animal Rights Activists Forced to Hand Over Encryption Keys
,----[ Quote ]
| If you remember, this was sold to the public as essential for fighting
| terrorism. It's already being misused.
`----
http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2007/11/animal_rights_a.html
Judge: Man can't be forced to divulge encryption passphrase
,----[ Quote ]
| In this case, Judge Niedermeier took the second approach. He said that
| encryption keys can be "testimonial," and even the prosecution's alternative
| of asking the defendant to type in the passphrase when nobody was looking
| would be insufficient.
`----
http://www.news.com/8301-13578_3-9834495-38.html?tag=nefd.blgs
>From Zero to Holy $&*#!
,----[ Quote ]
| What if Linux and Free and Open Source Software became illegal to use due
| to “national security?” Never mind the fact that the American military uses
| it. Never mind the fact that Microsoft funded both political parties in the
| year 2000. Never mind that Richard Stallman has accused Microsoft of
| enabling terrorism in the first place.
`----
http://nixedblog.thenixedreport.com/?p=55
UK gov sets rules for hacker tool ban
,----[ Quote ]
| A revamp of the UK's outdated computer crime laws is long overdue. However,
| provisions to ban the development, ownership and distribution of
| so-called "hacker tools" draw sharp criticism from industry. Critics point
| out that many of these tools are used by system administrators and security
| consultants quite legitimately to probe for vulnerabilities in corporate
| systems.
`----
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/02/hacker_toll_ban_guidance/
German Security Professionals in the Mist
,----[ Quote ]
| This hope was important because earlier this year the German Government had
| introduced similar language into Section 202c StGB of the computer crime
| laws, which would have made the mere possession of (creates, obtains or
| provides access to, sells, yields, distributes or otherwise allows access to)
| tools like John, Kismet, KisMAC, Nessus, nmap, and the ability to Google
| effectively a crime.
`----
http://www.beskerming.com/commentary/2007/08/12/249/German_Security_Professionals_in_the_Mist
|
|
