Tag Archives: Big Data

Revolt Against NSA: Major Internet Companies

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“The National Security Agency is immune to budget cuts. It is therefore beyond reform. Congress pays it $52.6 billion a year to do whatever it wants.  The only reason we know what the NSA’s budget is, is because Edward Snowden leaked it. There will be no further leaks.  Eight major Internet firms, including Google, Apple, and Microsoft, have sent a letter of protest to Congress. It will have no effect on the NSA’s budget. If it does not lead to a budget cut, the letter will have no effect. The only way to change a bureaucracy is to cut its budget.  The reason why the eight companies are protesting is because of Edward Snowden’s leaks. Snowden’s leaks were crucial to exposing what the NSA is doing.”

http://teapartyeconomist.com/2013/12/09/revolt-nsa-major-internet-companies/

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Google removes CyanogenMod Installer from Play Store

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“The reasoning given by Google is that the CyanogenMod Installer violates the Google Play Store’s developer terms by actively encouraging Android users to ‘void [the] warranty’ on their devices. As we saw when we took the app for a test drive, the Installer does indeed de-hair the hairy process of unlocking an Android device’s bootloader and getting an alternate ROM installed; apparently, though, the Installer made things just a little too easy.  The CyanogenMod Installer application didn’t even last a full month on the Play Store, but the CyanogenMod team still says that it has seen ‘hundreds of thousands of installations of the application.'”

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/11/google-removes-cyanogenmod-installer-from-play-store/

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N.S.A. May Have Hit Internet Companies at a Weak Spot

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“Government spies hit them at a weak spot — the fiber-optic cables that connect data centers around the world and are owned by companies like Verizon Communications, the BT Group, the Vodafone Group and Level 3 Communications. In particular, fingers have been pointed at Level 3, whose cables are used by Google and Yahoo.  The Internet companies’ data centers are locked down with full-time security and state-of-the-art surveillance, including heat sensors and iris scanners. But between the data centers — on Level 3’s fiber-optic cables that connected those massive computer farms — information was unencrypted and an easier target for government intercept efforts.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/26/technology/a-peephole-for-the-nsa.html?_r=0&pagewanted=all

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Google boss: Entire world will be online by 2020

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“‘For every person online, there are two who are not,’ Schmidt wrote on his Google+ account. ‘By the end of the decade, everyone on Earth will be connected.’  He followed up with a related thought.  ‘Think about how great the internet is with 2B users. Now think about how amazing it will be when 5B come online in a decade. #NewDigitalAge.’  It’s just the sort of big thinking that has led Google to become one of the largest and most innovative tech companies in the world. The rise of the mobile Web is also sure to play a role. In Africa, more people have access to a mobile phone than have access to electricity.”

http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/15/tech/web/eric-schmidt-internet/

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How times have changed: Eric Schmidt on privacy in 2009 and today

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“Back in 2009, Google CEO Eric Schmidt told CNBC that ‘if you are doing something you don’t want anybody to know, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place.’ Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal published an interview with Schmidt, during which he said: ‘The NSA allegedly collected the phone records of 320 million people in order to identify roughly 300 people who might be a risk. It’s just bad public policy…and perhaps illegal. You have to take a strong position in favor of privacy. Privacy is really the right to be left alone. Do you really want the government tracking all of those information, especially if you’re just a domestic citizen who is just going about your life?'”

http://www.privacysos.org/node/1225

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Google’s Schmidt Sees Encryption Killing Censorship

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“Protecting Internet traffic with hard-to-crack code may prevent governments from censoring their populations’ communications within a decade, Google Inc. (GOOG) Chairman Eric Schmidt said.  Schmidt described the coming of a ‘network age’ in which Internet users communicate and organize socially through private channels shielded by encryption, which scrambles data with a mathematical formula that can be decoded only with a special digital key.  ‘We can end government censorship in a decade,’ Schmidt said during a speech in Washington. ‘The solution to government surveillance is to encrypt everything.'”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-21/google-s-schmidt-sees-encryption-killing-censorship.html

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Cyanogenmod goes pro with Cyanogen Inc. and $7 million in funding

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“Cyanogenmod is hitting the big leagues with the founding of Cyanogen Inc. The new company is up and running thanks to a $7 million dollar series A investment by Benchmark Capital and Redpoint Ventures.  Cyanogenmod is the most popular custom Android ROM. Unlike stock Android, which is only available on Nexus devices, Cyanogenmod brings a near-stock experience to users of almost every Android device.  Users willing to hack their devices can remove their default version of Android and install Cyanogenmod. Many make the switch to either remove bloatware and manufacturer customizations or for the plethora of custom-developed Cyanogenmod features.”

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/09/cyanogenmod-goes-pro-with-cyanogen-inc-and-7-million-in-funding/

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Now the taxman is spying on your home using Google Earth

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“HMRC has spent nearly £1billion over the past three years trying to enforce the rules. Over the past 18 months, it has set up dozens of taskforces to probe the tax receipts and business practices of industries as diverse as restaurants, private cab firms, hairdressers, outdoor markets, car dealerships and even Avon Ladies. It has also spent £50million on the supercomputer, which is called Connect. Created by defence giant BAE Systems three years ago, it now holds more than a billion pieces of information about any taxpayers it suspects.  It includes tax payment records, interest on bank accounts, details of any properties owned, loans, job history and electoral records.”

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2494152/Now-taxman-spying-home-using-Google-Earth-Satellite-images-clues-wealth-lifestyle-youre-paying-enough.html

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‘Terms and Conditions May Apply’ Trailer

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“Terms And Conditions May Apply examines the cost of so-called ‘free’ services and the continuing disappearance of online privacy. People may think they know what they give up when they click ‘I Agree’ on companies like Facebook and Google. They’re wrong.”

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Key role of Yahoo, Microsoft and Google in NSA data collection revealed

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“The key role US telecoms and internet companies play in NSA surveillance programs is detailed in a top-secret document provided by whistleblower Edward Snowden.  In the five weeks from June 5 2010, data from Yahoo generated by far the most reports, followed by Microsoft and then Google.  Between them, the three companies accounted for more than 2,000 reports in that period – all but a tiny fraction of the total.  While the internet companies are listed by name in the NSA document, the telecoms companies are hidden behind covernames.  The names of these ‘corporate partners’ are so sensitive that they are classified as ‘ECI’ – Exceptionally Controlled Information.”

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/11/02/snowden-document-reveals-key-role-of-yahoo-microsoft-and-google-in-nsa-data-collection/

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