Quick Takes

teletypeArtist group perpetuates IP law insanity. When trolling gets profitable, everyone wants in.

Mark Cuban on patent law.

The web turns 20.

Comcast launches $10 broadband, but not for most of us. We’ll be subsidizing it.

Eric Schmidt wants in on the payment biz. Google checkout went nowhere, will wallet follow?

Gamers show off their custom cased computers.

Apple’s latest security vulnerability? Batteries!

Quick takes

kangaroocourtTechnically illiterate judges  making the patent system worse: Genes can be patented because they are separate form DNA?

When Patents attack!

Academics to build Gigabet net

Get ready for WiFi with a 60 mile range! Now if we could just get our corrupt government to make more of our public spectrum available for public use.

Fruitphone maker to replace potentially suicidal humans with robots.

Burma is now the #1 source of attack traffic.

As we predicted, Google TV crashes and burns.

Google’s open CODEC could face a dozen patent challenges.

Oooops

testbed2

Two key senators want to know if the leader of the vast U.S. intelligence apparatus believes it’s legal for spooks to track where you go through your iPhone.

In a letter that Sens. Mark Udall (D-Colorado) and Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) will send later on Thursday, obtained by Danger Room, the senators ask Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, “Do government agencies have the authority to collect the geolocation information of American citizens for intelligence purposes?”

Both senators are members of the panel overseeing the 16 intelligence agencies. In May, they sounded warnings that the Obama administration was secretly reinterpreting the Patriot Act to allow a broader amount of domestic surveillance than it had publicly disclosed.

“[R]ecent advances in geolocation technology have made it increasingly easy to secretly track the movements and whereabouts of individual Americans on an ongoing, 24/7 basis,” they write. “Law enforcement agencies have relied on a variety of different methods to conduct this sort of electronic surveillance, including the acquisition of cell phone mobility data from communications companies as well as the use of tracking devices covertly installed by the law enforcement agencies themselves.”

Source

Well gee dude, you signed off on the Patriot Act what do you expect you Turkey. But of course they are tracking you. They are probably tracking your mistress too, if you have one. Get real.

Big brother is alive and well: Obama team pushes internet ID plan

big_brotherEver since the Internet became public, pols have become increasingly less  comfortable with its openness and its ability to freely disseminate information at the speed of light. This could be in part due to the ability of individuals to share knowledge and opinions that are contrary to political agendas. It’s also introduced unprecedented and unwelcome transparency. The optional of  revealing identity has enabled the whistle blower to cry foul with less fear of reprisal.

The Obama administration is currently touting the benefits of a centrally managed identity system in yet another effort to exert some control over American internet users. While it’s claimed goals may seem benevolent, the dark underbelly enables the violation of the 4th and 9th amendments to the Constitution  and pushes into the boundaries of a couple more.

The federal government has no constitutional role in Internet identity. Netizens already have the ability to provide identity as they see fit. Where are verified identity is required, the open market has provided solutions. These solutions do need to evolve and improve. Washington, who has repeatedly demonstrated its inability and lack of will to defend or secure individuals’ data, has proven it is not a capable guardian. Involving it in any attempts to improve would likely result in something resembling a virtual version of how it controls national borders.

Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. – Benjamin Franklin.

The Internet is no different that the town square, public market or lecture hall of the physical world except for the fact that it does not exist within the boundaries of any nation. The pols have lost control of information and they want it back. We need to be forever vigilant in keeping our Internet free, open, and secure from political interference as well the common criminal.

10 years later, DOJ goes after botnet

pigsHere’s a first! DOJ claims to have  shuttered a botnet that is known to have been operating for at least 10 years!

It’s the first time law enforcement in the U.S. has requested permission from a court to take control of a botnet, according to a request for a temporary restraining order that was granted. Similar action was taken by Dutch officials who downloaded “good” software to computers infected with Bredolab botnet malware, the filing said.

In this case the malware, called “Coreflood,” records keystrokes and private communications, enabling it to steal usernames, passwords, and other private personal and financial information. Once a computer is infected with Coreflood, the malware communicates with a command-and-control server, allowing it to remotely control the compromised computer. The botnet is believed to have infected more than 2 million Windows-based computers worldwide in nearly 10 years.

Prosecutors allege that data stolen by the malware has been used to steal funds from victims’ accounts. In at least one case, the malware enabled attackers to take over an online banking session a victim was in the middle of and transfer money to a foreign account, according to court filings.

Could it be that the public outcry has finally caught the attention got the feds? Third Pipe has been a vocal critic of non existent enforcement, but big tech media has been mostly AWOL on the subject. A cursory read of the DOJ’s statement may provide a little more insight. It appears that the primary victim has been online banking. As that industry has evolved into an online relationship for most of us, it’s a safe bet that Coreflood had become more than a nuisance. I suspect the “too big to fail” banks that are able to muster a publicly funded bail out of their misadventures probably also have DOJ’s ear.

Unlike Hollywood’s misuse of the DOJ, this action actually does have some public benefit. I wish I could confidently say that public benefit was the agency’s primary motive. More troubling is that Justice simply shut down servers and domains. Without aggressive pursuit of the botnet’s owners and operators, it’s a safe bet the bad guys are already rebuilding.