Yearly Archives: 2013

New Zealand Government Announces That Software Will No Longer Be Patentable

"In a bill passed earlier today, the Government of New Zealand announced that software in the country will no longer be patentable. New Zealand’s largest IT representative body, the Institute of IT Professionals, expressed relief and said the decision removed a major barrier to software-led innovation. The policy was passed in a Supplementary Order Paper, which sets out proposed amendments to the existing Patents Bill." Continue reading →

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Air Force Strips 17 Officers Of Authority To Control And Launch Nuclear Missiles

"The Air Force stripped an unprecedented 17 officers of their authority to control nuclear missiles after a string of unpublicized failings, including a remarkably dim review of their unit's launch skills. The group's deputy commander said it is suffering 'rot' within its ranks. 'We are, in fact, in a crisis right now,' the commander, Lt. Col. Jay Folds, wrote in an internal email obtained by The Associated Press and confirmed by the Air Force. The tip-off to trouble was a March inspection of the 91st Missile Wing at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., which earned the equivalent of a 'D'' grade when tested on its mastery of Minuteman III missile launch operations." Continue reading →

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Reuters: U.S. cyberwar strategy stokes fear of blowback

"Even as the U.S. government confronts rival powers over widespread Internet espionage, it has become the biggest buyer in a burgeoning gray market where hackers and security firms sell tools for breaking into computers. The strategy is spurring concern in the technology industry and intelligence community that Washington is in effect encouraging hacking and failing to disclose to software companies and customers the vulnerabilities exploited by the purchased hacks. That's because U.S. intelligence and military agencies are using the tools to infiltrate computer networks overseas, leaving behind spy programs and cyber-weapons." Continue reading →

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U.S. Blames China’s Military Directly for Cyberattacks

"The Obama administration on Monday explicitly accused China’s military of mounting attacks on American government computer systems and defense contractors, saying one motive could be to map 'military capabilities that could be exploited during a crisis.' The accusations relayed in the Pentagon’s annual report to Congress on Chinese military capabilities were remarkable in their directness. Missing from the Pentagon report was any acknowledgment of the similar abilities being developed in the United States, where billions of dollars are spent each year on cyberdefense and constructing increasingly sophisticated cyberweapons." Continue reading →

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How the Iraq War Became a War on Christians

"The U.S. fails to recognize that the Islamist-Wahabbist commitment to eradicating Christian minorities today will result in the extinction of diverse modes of Islam tomorrow, a fact that is not lost on moderate Muslims. The objective of the Iraq War—to democratize the Middle East—may yet be realized. But democracy in the Middle East is proving less tolerant than the regimes it has succeeded. These democracies will not march ineluctably toward liberty and pluralism, as some naïve optimists continue to forecast despite the evidence, but will end in the ordered barbarism of Saudi Arabia, where punishments include beheading and crucifixion, according to Amnesty International." Continue reading →

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Sudan government shuts down local TEDx conference

"Sudan’s security service on Saturday ordered the closure of a community forum, one of the independently run TEDx events held around the world, even though it was non-political, the organiser said. 'They unplugged the electricity,' Anwar Dafa-Alla, who founded Sudan’s version of TEDx two years ago, told AFP. He said almost 1,000 people were attending the event at a luxury Khartoum hotel when officials stopped it before it was even half finished. The state minister of information and culture, Mustafa Tirab, said that the government 'will do our level best to provide freedom of expression and freedom of speech for all those who are inside Sudan'." Continue reading →

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Bloomberg News Used Its Private Data to Spy on Geithner and Bernanke

"CNBC has learned from a former Bloomberg employee that he accessed usage information of the company's data terminals of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and former U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. The information appeared to concern general functions used by the officials and the frequency with which those functions — such as looking at a bond, equity markets or news — were accessed. The source said all Bloomberg journalists who knew of this capability of the terminal would have had access to the usage information of the officials." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBloomberg News Used Its Private Data to Spy on Geithner and Bernanke

IRS Scandal: What Does the US Congress Expect?

"Obama himself is evidently thin-skinned and his administration, like others before it, obviously sees its mandate not only as implementing chosen policies but battling those in the general populace who would oppose those policies via extra-political means. Within this context, employing the IRS as a weapon against perceived enemies seems eminently logical. After all, the Obama administration would not be the first to use the awesome power to tax as a strategic advantage. Nonetheless, the fallout has been intense." Continue reading →

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Indian government now snooping on SMSs, online chats

"The government last month quietly began rolling out a project that gives it access to everything that happens over India's telecommunications network—online activities, phone calls, text messages and even social media conversations. Called the Central Monitoring System, it will be the single window from where government arms such as the National Investigation Agency or the tax authorities will be able to monitor every byte of communication. But privacy and internet freedom advocates are worried that in the name of security, the government could end up snooping on people, possibly abusing a system that does not have enough safeguards to protect ordinary citizens." Continue reading →

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Use of secretive ‘Stingray’ FBI cell phone tracking tool ruled lawful by judge

"Despite the fact that the FBI was accused of hiding information from judges when obtaining authorization for use of the secretive 'Stingray' cell phone tracking device, a judge has ruled that the use of the device by federal agents was lawful. On Wednesday, Judge David Campbell dismissed the motion to suppress the information gathered through the Stingray device in the case of Daniel Rigmaiden. Campbell ruled that the use of the Stingray did not in fact constitute a 'severe intrusion' and ruled that 'no Fourth Amendment violation occurred.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUse of secretive ‘Stingray’ FBI cell phone tracking tool ruled lawful by judge