Archive for March, 2006
Author: Dave Lewis
March 23, 2006 at 1:43 pm · Filed under News
Here is a post from Boing Boing that I felt compelled to re-post.
The Supreme Court of the United States has declined to overturn an important case about obscenity and the Internet, leaving anyone who publishes sexual material on the Internet in uncertainty about whether they’re open to federal penalties.
At stake is the obscenity section of the Communications Decency Act, which bans publishing “obscene” material on the net. The problem is that US courts use “local standards” to determine whether something is obscene — so if in the eyes of some local community, the material is obscene, then you can’t distribute it there.
But the Internet can distribute material into all communities in the country, and because the Communications Decency Act is federal, prosecutors can bring their charges in the most sex-o-phobic corner of the country (say, the conservative Catholic private town that the guy who founded Domino’s Pizza is building in Florida).
By turning down this case, the Supremes have said that the whole country is now subject to the decency standards from its most conservative, anti-sex, anti-nudity corners; that the local standard from that place will become the national standard.
“According to the court’s decision,” Alan Levy, a lawyer and member of the NCSF, wrote in an article for the New York Law Journal last year, “in order to prove that the statute is overbroad, one would have to present evidence regarding each of the 1.4 million web sites and determine whether each of the local communities in the Unied States would deem the material on that Web site as obscene. … Considering that there are 94 federal districts in the country (temporarily ignoring that there are numerous communities within a district); if one multiplies the number 1,400,000 by 94, we reveal 131,600,000 possible applications of the CDA, and that only applies to adult sites that happen to have material related to [sadomasochism].”
Scary sh!t.
Article Link
Author: Dave Lewis
March 23, 2006 at 1:40 pm · Filed under Privacy
Here’s one that slipped by me when it was originally posted. The Federal Trade Commission brought a lawsuit that included a subpoena for the complete contents, including deleted messages, of a Gmail account.
In November 2003, the Federal Trade Commission sued AmeriDebt and founder Andris Pukke on charges that the company deceived customers about credit counseling and failed to use customers’ money to actually pay their creditors.
The part that is most worrisome is that this provides case law to permit future email account seizures. As we slip further below the surface.
Article Link
Author: Dave Lewis
March 22, 2006 at 7:22 am · Filed under News
Imagine my surprise. Due to “security concerns” the 2007 launch of Vista has been delayed. In an interesting twist there will not be a version for 64 bit computing or tablets. Very odd.
Article Link
Author: Dave Lewis
March 21, 2006 at 7:40 am · Filed under Crime, News
We are starting to see a complaint from law enforcement that will only grow as time goes on. Interpol and others are short on funds and people in order to fight the rising tide of crime on the interweb.
“The problem is that these [governments] put up computer crime units and feel that is enough. They do not see changes in technology or the need for updates.”
This mirrors the private sector. Many C-level execs are either out of touch or just prefer to stick their fingers in their ears and yell “LALALALALA” as they run in the opposite direction. Bernhard Otupal of Interpol said,
“[Criminals] don’t need more money because they have stolen credit cards. There are not enough trained people [in the police] who know how to deal with the internet and find information. It would have to be a common effort with private industry - the problem is that law enforcement is not allowed to partner private industry.”
While I can understand the desire to partner with private industry I would worry that this would blur the edges far too much.
Article Link
Author: Dave Lewis
March 21, 2006 at 6:38 am · Filed under News
Who says the war on terror doesn’t come at a price? The FBI are feeling the pinch for one. Budget constraints are causing some agents to go without email.
“We just don’t have the money, and that is an endless stream of complaints that come from the field,”
Next up, the episode of MacGyver FBI training video on how to disable a bad guy with a stick of gum, a piece of string and a paperclip.
Article Link
Author: Dave Lewis
March 20, 2006 at 11:08 pm · Filed under News
Well, let’s throw good money after bad. Rather than work on the problem of securing the ports the DHS intends to spend money on bright new boxes to do the job for them. Oh wait, I see they have the machine that goes “ping”.
Article Link
Author: Dave Lewis
March 19, 2006 at 4:01 pm · Filed under Politics
Frightening, no? There is a very interesting op-ed piece by Michael Crichton on the NYTimes.com today. In 1986 researchers filed a patent application for testing for certain amino acids in the blood.
They went one step further and asked for a patent on the basic biological relationship between homocysteine and vitamin deficiency. A patent was granted that covered both the test and the scientific fact. Eventually, a company called Metabolite took over the license for the patent.
The company Metabolite sued another company, Labratory Corp. for infringing on said patent, and won. So, if I were to suggest that I was suffering from a vitamin deficiency that I could technically be in violation of their patent. I worry about how the world is changing. After the disasterous events of Sept. 11, the neo-conservatives have lept to action. The key phrase was uttered by George W. Bush, “If you’re not with us, you’re against us.” Thus a modern dark time was born. The inference was made that to contradict the government was a treasonous act. Then the cavalcade began, the Patriot Act, The invasion of Afghanistan, and the war in Iraq. The neo-conservatives of the Bush White House have fought to control the hearts and minds of the people. Companies have taken it upon themselves to capitalize on this mood.
It’s not all bad news however. Today I went to see the movie “V is for Vendetta“. This movie is rather brilliant. And, at the same time, alarming. Why? Simply put, it is a mirror of our times. A totalitarian regime has a firm grasp around the throats of their people. Using fear and intimidation to control. Sound familiar? Thankfully the American people do not need violence. What they need is to vote. And when that time comes they need to vote wisely. As we have seen, Bush and his cadre are losing favor with the people as his numbers slip ever lower. So, as the corporations attempt to cash in and even patent thoughts. Their time is limited. “People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people.“
Author: Dave Lewis
March 19, 2006 at 11:20 am · Filed under Privacy
A federal judge has kicked Google in the jewels. They have been ordered to hand over search data. So, what’s next?
The US Government is seeking to defend the 1998 Child Online Protection Act, which has been blocked by the Supreme Court because of legal challenges over how it is enforced.
While it looks innocent on the face of it. This government leaves a great deal to be desired with respect to honesty. Google’s competition meanwhile, rolled over like good little doggies.
Article Link
Author: Dave Lewis
March 16, 2006 at 11:57 pm · Filed under Forensics
Today was something else. When I woke up this morning I was confronted with the horror of horrors. The chambermaid had not replenished the in-room coffee. I started to tremble as I stared in disbelief. Snapping out of it I turned to getting a work out in before class. Nope. No love. The gym was packed. This is not starting well. Alright then back to the room. After sending some emails to the office I was on my way to class.
Today was great. I made it on time and I was able to get a cup of coffee from Starchucks downstairs. Yes, not a fan. But, by that point I was jonesin. Today we tackled Enscripts, the EnCase Decryption Suite (EDS), Virtual File System (YFS) and *nix/Mac artifacts. First off we started messing with the Enscripts. These allow an investigator to run ANY type of search on the acquired computer. And I mean ANY search. The EDS allows the investigator to crack passwords, pull out SIDs et cetera (Tired and not long on words this everning). The VFS allows an investigator to load up an evidence file as a VMWare image. So, imagine having to testify in court. You could load up the acquired OS to show the jury exactly what the suspect would have seen. Rather powerful, no? Finally we got to the linux/unix and Mac OSX artifacts. As of this latest version, 5.05a, now has support for Mac. This had traditionally been the hobgoblin of the law enforcement community. No more. All in all my brain was leaking out of my ears again.
All in all, a very good day.
Author: Dave Lewis
March 16, 2006 at 11:05 pm · Filed under Humour, Malware
It is really something to see when companies f**k things up. Last week we were treated to McAfee deleting Microsoft’s Excel product when it erroneously flagged it as a virus. Well, not to be outdone, Symantec has screwed up it’s Norton Security Software. An update that went out today blocked access to AOL.
“This update incorrectly detected traffic patterns used as part of the AOL connection as a potential risk,” Symantec said in the statement. AOL has about 20 million Internet service subscribers.
Hmm, only 20 million potentially pissed off people. Nice.
Article Link
« Previous entries ·
Next entries »
