Archive for Politics
Author: Dave Lewis
June 26, 2008 at 7:54 am · Filed under Dumbass, Email, Politics
This is by far one of the more asinine things I have read in a while and speaks volumes to lunacy in the White House. The WH refused to open an email that was sent by the EPA because they disagreed with the conclusion that greenhouse gases are pollutants.
So, they played three monkeys and said, “la la la, I can’t see it. la la la” (not an exact quote) But, that’s not where the absurdity ends. The EPA could have sent a printed copy and that would have been the end of it.
Nope.
Instead they rewrote the conclusions to make more palatable for the dunking bird-set. Email has always been a best effort tool that has morphed into business critical function over the years. But, to say they wouldn’t open an email…wow. Remember folks, if you are a Republican or Democrat be sure to VOTE. You have a responsibility.
From NY Times:
Over the past five days, the officials said, the White House successfully put pressure on the E.P.A. to eliminate large sections of the original analysis that supported regulation, including a finding that tough regulation of motor vehicle emissions could produce $500 billion to $2 trillion in economic benefits over the next 32 years. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter.
Both documents, as prepared by the E.P.A., “showed that the Clean Air Act can work for certain sectors of the economy, to reduce greenhouse gases,” one of the senior E.P.A. officials said. “That’s not what the administration wants to show. They want to show that the Clean Air Act can’t work.”
November can’t come soon enough.
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Author: Dave Lewis
June 13, 2008 at 9:43 am · Filed under Hacker, Politics
Me thinks the congressman doth protest too much.
Based solely on an IP address they drew the conclusion that the attacker was actually Chinese. That, is pretty thin.
From Network World:
The Chinese Foreign Ministry has denied any connection to the attacks, according to reports. An FBI spokeswoman declined to comment on the matter late Thursday.
However, computer security experts said that the evidence that the two congressmen provided to back up their claims simply does not prove that the Chinese government, or even Chinese nationals, were involved.
“It’s so very hard to conclude that something came from someplace if all you’re going from is an IP address,” said Marcus Sachs, director of the SANS Internet Storm Center, a volunteer-run effort that tracks emerging computer threats. “Those of us who have done this for a living, we know that you can’t prove that it was a Chinese person on the keyboard if you have a Chinese IP address,” he said. “Without making some of the evidence public … you leave everybody else guessing.”
And the beat goes on.
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Author: Dave Lewis
June 12, 2008 at 8:58 am · Filed under Politics, Terrorism
Jeebus. The UK gov’t has apparently been into the Bush White House’s private stash of recreational horticulture.
Being commanded about by the child-monster has slowed down my news consumption. So, big thanks to PS for the heads up. Apparently the UK gov’t wants to set the new detention limit without charges to 42 days. This has triggered a firestorm.
From BBC:
Shadow home secretary David Davis has resigned as an MP.
He is to force a by-election in his Haltemprice and Howden constituency which he will fight on the issue of the new 42-day terror detention limit.
Mr Davis told reporters outside the House of Commons he believed his move was a “noble endeavour” to stop the erosion of British civil liberties.
The 59-year-old is one of the best known Tory MPs and his resignation came as a complete surprise in Westminster.
He told reporters outside the Commons: “I will argue in this by-election against the slow strangulation of fundamental British freedoms by this government.”
BBC Political Editor Nick Robinson said it was an extraordinary move which was almost without precedent in British politics.
Read on.
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Author: Dave Lewis
June 12, 2008 at 8:25 am · Filed under Politics, Web Security
Looking for a new security job with a helluva challenge? Know LAMP? Then the Obama campaign wants you.
From PC World:
Two months after their Web site was hacked, the organizers of Barack Obama’s presidential campaign are looking for a network security expert to help lock down their Web site.
“Obama for America is looking for a network security expert who wants to play a key role in a historic political campaign,” reads the ad, posted to the Barackobama.com Web site.
The requirements are pretty much what you’d read in any e-commerce security help-wanted ad: VPN (virtual private network) and Unix or Linux experience, along with a “deep understanding” of LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL and Perl) development. And of course, the successful candidate must be willing to “respond off-hours to high urgency security situations.”
Successful candidates will join Obama’s Boston team and should expect to find a new job come November.
So, find a new job in November cause its thanks for the memories? Or you can join the White House crew? So, if you can run on no sleep and you bleed caffeine then you might be a right fit.
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Author: Dave Lewis
June 6, 2008 at 7:15 am · Filed under Hacker, Politics, Spy Game
“Wasn’t me. Didn’t see me do it” - Bart Simpson
From the Associated Press:
China on Friday denied allegations that its operatives secretly copied the contents of a U.S. government laptop computer and used the data to try to hack into Commerce Department computers.
U.S. authorities say they are investigating whether surreptitious copying took place when a laptop was left unattended during a visit to China by Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez for trade talks last December.
Shortly afterward, three serious attempts at data break-ins at the Commerce Department were reported, according to U.S. officials.
In Beijing’s first comments on the allegations, Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said Chinese officials knew nothing about the laptop cited in the reports. He repeated China’s claim that it too was a victim of cybercrime.
OK, there was a point where I was willing to play along. I figured it was a Bush administration tactic to point at the Chinese and say, “there, baddies”. But, with France, Australia, India and others all singing the same tune one has to wonder. Especially when you take into account this interview by CNN with Chinese hackers in March. I don’t doubt that the Chinese have hackers all countries do.
Is it all a media gambit or is there a clear and present danger? I know the Chinese government are no fans of mine.
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Author: Dave Lewis
June 5, 2008 at 9:51 pm · Filed under Politics, Security Mgmt
Former DOJ staffer Mischel Kwon to head up the US-CERT.
From Network World:
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has chosen a new head of its U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT).
Mischel Kwon, will start as director of US-CERT on June 24, a DHS spokeswoman said Thursday. She is presently acting deputy director of IT security and the chief IT security technologist at the U.S. Department of Justice. She is also an adjunct professor at The George Washington University, where she runs the school’s Cyber Defense Lab.
She replaces Cheri McGuire, who left in March, and will report to Cornelius Tate, director of the DHS’s National Cyber Security Division.
Deducting 10 points for excessive use of the word “cyber”.
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Author: Dave Lewis
May 20, 2008 at 5:46 pm · Filed under Politics, Security Mgmt
There was always that one kid in class. You know, the one that didn’t always get it. Or spent most of the day staring out the window. Daydreaming knuckle heads that were nowhere near inclined to excel. Well, it appears that they US gov’t is one of those kids. Well, on average anyway.
From the Washington Post:
The federal government earned an overall grade of “C” for securing its computer systems and networks from cyber attack last year, a slight improvement from the “C-minus” mark the government was given in 2006.
The report cards were issued today by Rep. Tom Davis of Virginia, the ranking Republican on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Nine agencies earned failing grades for 2007, including the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Interior, Labor, Transportation, Treasury, Veterans Affairs, as well as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The grades are based on data submitted by the agencies and agency inspector generals to the White House for fiscal year 2007.
There are a couple bright spots. The DOJ, SSA, EPA and the GSA were among eight agencies that managed to score an “A” on their report card. They get to go to McDonald’s.
But, the NRC gets no hot apple pie with their happy meal.
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Author: Dave Lewis
May 19, 2008 at 9:54 pm · Filed under Legal Aspects, Politics
From the Canadian Press:
Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his cabinet have exempted contracts with Parliament and Canada’s spy agency from oversight by a new ombudsman’s post that was central to the 2006 Conservative election campaign.
The government slipped the exemptions through last week in regulations that empower the contract procurement ombudsman under the Accountability Act - flagship legislation the government introduced as its first bill soon after taking office.
Opposition MPs were taken by surprise at the exemptions, saying they were unaware the Senate, the House of Commons and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service would be excluded from the ombudsman’s statutory duty to review contracts for “fairness, openness and transparency.”
The exemptions also mean anyone who has a complaint about contracts to supply goods or services to Parliament - including contracts with offices of MPs, senators or CSIS, will be unable to have them reviewed by the ombudsman.
Hey, now that seems reasonable. (insert heavy sarcasm)
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Author: Dave Lewis
March 26, 2008 at 7:42 am · Filed under Freedoms, Politics
Syria has tightened its grip on internet access in a bid to intimidate their citizenry.
From the Associated Press:
Syria is cracking down more on Internet use, imposing tighter monitoring of citizens who link to the Web, as well as jailing bloggers who criticize the government and blocking YouTube and other Web sites deemed harmful to state security.
The tighter hand is coming even as Syrian officials show off a press center with fast Internet access and wireless technology for journalists covering this weekend’s Arab League summit. The clampdown doesn’t appear to be tied to the summit.
In recent days, authorities extended restrictions on Web use by requiring owners of Internet cafes to keep detailed logs of their customers, apparently to make it easier to track down anyone deemed to be a threat.
The rules, conveyed orally by security agents, require Internet cafes to record a client’s full name, ID or passport number, the computer used and the amount of time spent on the device. The logs must be available to show to security agents upon demand.
And jailing bloggers that speak out. Damn that pesky freedom of expression. Old despots fear that which they cannot control.
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Author: Dave Lewis
March 26, 2008 at 7:14 am · Filed under Freedoms, Malware, Politics
From Heise:
In the last few days, pro-Tibetan groups on the internet have been the target of unusually well-executed attacks using trojans in e-mail attachments. F-Secure reports that the attachments are PDF files which exploit an undisclosed encoding vulnerability in the Adobe Reader to install and run a keylogger. This records everything typed on the infected computer and sends it to server on a well-known Chinese DNS bouncer.
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