technology

The NSA: And Who Will Watch the Watchmen?

"While the government can hardly be accused of illicit activity in the gathering of one's publicly revealed Facebook information, surreptitious wiretapping without a warrant is another matter, with the legal niceties far from sorted out at this point. One of the truly disturbing facts about Edward Snowden's leaks—which have caused such a commotion in the media and among civil libertarians, while also provoking calls in Congress for him to be tried as a traitor—is that they should have come as no surprise to anyone who has been paying the slightest attention. Clues have been popping up all over the place for more than a decade." Continue reading →

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Feds Crack Encrypted Drives, Arrest Child Porn Suspect

"The arrest came months after the authorities told a federal judge they were unable to decrypt the drives and needed the defendant to disclose his passwords — pitting the constitutional right against compelled self-incrimination against the government’s need to access data. In June, the authorities urged the court to demand that Feldman fork over his passcodes, saying the suspect could 'forget his passwords.' The authorities did not say what type of encryption Feldman used. But the case illustrates that encryption isn’t foolproof and that the authorities are making headway cracking encryption." Continue reading →

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Micropayments now ready to slash price of online news

"Microtransactions could let users read the rest of a New York Times article for a few cents instead of signing up for a full monthly subscription, Armstrong wrote, or 'pay for Wi-Fi internet metered by the minute (or second!) if you just need to check one email' or 'support your favorite artists or coders with a tip'. The idea of a Bitcoin-based paywall is already out there. BitWall aims to give publishers more flexibility over how they charge for content, allowing for sales of daily, weekly or monthly subscriptions, or on a per-article basis. Meanwhile, Flattr allows people to make donations to the creators of free online content." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMicropayments now ready to slash price of online news

It’s Time for a Crypto Bank: The Crypto Finance IPO

"Coupled with recent moves from the US Government, the sporadic shutdown of Bitcoin services, and suspicion from many other banks over Bitcoin transactions, users must be eagerly awaiting the launch of the world’s first crypto bank: Crypto Finance. Crypto Finance is planning to launch in Q4 this year, and will be based in Panama. The company will offer personal and business bank accounts for individuals converting up to 20 different Fiat currencies, and an exchange for purchasing crypto currency with Fiat currency. Transactions will be faster, fees lower, and '100% of the funds will remain intact in the customer’s account'." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIt’s Time for a Crypto Bank: The Crypto Finance IPO

Google confirms critical Android crypto flaw used in $5,700 Bitcoin heist

"Google developers have confirmed a cryptographic vulnerability in the Android operating system that researchers say could generate serious security glitches on hundreds of thousands of end user apps, many of them used to make Bitcoin transactions. This weakness in Android's Java Cryptography Architecture is the root cause of a Bitcoin transaction that reportedly was exploited to pilfer about $5,720 worth of bitcoins out of a digital wallet last week. The disclosure, included in a blog post published Wednesday by Google security engineer Alex Klyubin, was the first official confirmation of the Android vulnerability." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGoogle confirms critical Android crypto flaw used in $5,700 Bitcoin heist

Meet The Man Behind Booming Black Market Drug Website Silk Road

"Anyone can download and run Tor, exchange some dollars or euros for the digital currency Bitcoin and go shopping on Silk Road for drugs that are vacuum-sealed and discreetly mailed via the U.S. Postal Service. By one measure, Roberts’ eBay-like service was grossing $1.2 million a month in the first half of 2012. Since then the site has doubled its product listings, and revenue now hits an annual run-rate of $30 million to $45 million by FORBES’ estimate. One analysis found that Silk Road received around 60,000 visits a day, mostly users seeking to buy or sell drugs, along with other illicit items including unregulated cigarettes and forged documents." Continue reading →

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Math Advances Raise the Prospect of an Internet Security Crisis

"The encryption systems used to secure online bank accounts and keep critical communications private could be undone in just a few years, security researchers warned at the Black Hat conference in Las Vegas yesterday. The NSA has for years recommended ECC as the most reliable cryptographic protection available. Implementations of ECC were pioneered and patented by a company called Certicom that is now a subsidiary of the phone manufacturer BlackBerry. Although the U.S. government has purchased licenses, other companies that want to use ECC will need to make expensive deals with Certicom to avoid lawsuits." Continue reading →

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Owner of Snowden’s Email Service on Why He Closed Lavabit Rather Than Comply

"Lavabit, an encrypted email service believed to have been used by National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden, has abruptly shut down. The move came amidst a legal fight that appeared to involve U.S. government attempts to win access to customer information. In a Democracy Now! broadcast exclusive, we are joined by Lavabit owner Ladar Levison and his lawyer, Jesse Binnall. 'Unfortunately, I can’t talk about it. I would like to, believe me,' Levison says. 'I think if the American public knew what our government was doing, they wouldn’t be allowed to do it anymore.'" Continue reading →

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Google: Gmail users ‘have no legitimate expectation of privacy’

"As tensions worsen among privacy-focused email users amid the escalating scandal surrounding government surveillance, a brief filed by attorneys for Google has surfaced showing that Gmail users should never expect their communications to be kept secret. The motion, penned in hopes of having the United States District Court for the Northern District of California dismiss a class action complaint against the company, says Gmail users should assume that any electronic correspondence that's passed through Google’s servers can be accessed and used for an array of options, such as selling ads to customers." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGoogle: Gmail users ‘have no legitimate expectation of privacy’

Craigslist has cost U.S. newspapers $5 billion

"The study, to be published in the journal Management Science covering the period 2000 to 2007, found Craigslist has had a huge impact on local US newspapers, which have in the past relied heavily on classifieds. Over that period the researchers noted a 20.7 percent drop in classified ad rates, a 3.3 percent increase in subscription prices and a 4.4 percent decrease in circulation, according to a summary of the research released this week by New York University. 'We ascribe this impact to Craigslist,' Seamans told AFP. 'When Craigslist enters a market, the effect on a newspaper’s classified ads is almost immediate,' he added." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCraigslist has cost U.S. newspapers $5 billion