Tag Archives: Technology

Western Digital self-encrypting hard drives riddled with security flaws

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“Several versions of self-encrypting hard drives from Western Digital are riddled with so many security flaws that attackers with physical access can retrieve the data with little effort, and in some cases, without even knowing the decryption password, a team of academics said.  The paper, titled got HW crypto? On the (in)security of a Self-Encrypting Drive series, recited a litany of weaknesses in the multiple versions of the My Passport and My Book brands of external hard drives. The flaws make it possible for people who steal a vulnerable drive to decrypt its contents, even when they’re locked down with a long, randomly generated password.”

http://arstechnica.com/security/2015/10/western-digital-self-encrypting-hard-drives-riddled-with-security-flaws/

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Microsoft Admits Windows 10 Automatic Spying Cannot Be Stopped

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“Speaking to PC World, Microsoft Corporate Vice President Joe Belfiore explained that Windows 10 is constantly tracking how it operates and how you are using it and sending that information back to Microsoft by default. More importantly he also confirmed that, despite offering some options to turn elements of tracking off, core data collection simply cannot be stopped.  This backs up detailed data that some had chosen to dismiss as conspiracy theories.  Instead it gave the impression that turning off all user accessible spying options in Windows 10 settings would provide owners with full privacy – that’s tantamount to spying.”

http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2015/11/02/microsoft-confirms-unstoppable-windows-10-tracking/

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Juniper warns of backdoor spying code in firewalls

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“Juniper, a major manufacturer of networking equipment, said on Thursday it found spying code planted in certain models of its firewalls, an alarming discovery that echoes of state-sponsored tampering.   The internal review uncovered two problems. One could allow remote administrative access to a ScreenOS device over telnet or SSH. The second vulnerability can allow an attacker who can monitor VPN traffic to decrypt it. VPNs are encrypted connections between a user and another computer and are often used by companies to allow secure remote access to their systems.  Disturbingly, Juniper wrote that ‘there is no way to detect that this vulnerability was exploited.'”

http://www.pcworld.com/article/3016915/security/juniper-warns-of-spying-code-in-firewalls.html

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Brazil Shuts Down WhatsApp, Wants To Shut Down The Social Web

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“A judge in Sao Paulo has ordered WhatsApp to shut down for 48 hours, starting at 9pm Eastern tonight.  WhatsApp is the single most used app in Brazil, with about 93 million users, or 93% of the country’s internet population. It’s a particularly useful service for Brazil’s youth and poor, many who cannot afford to pay the most expensive plans on the planet.  But if Brazil’s conservative Congress gets its way, they’re going to take down the entire social web as we know it, with bills circulating through the legislature to criminalize posting social media content and to allow the government to spy on its citizens.”

http://techcrunch.com/2015/12/16/brazils-congress-has-shut-down-whatsapp-tonight-and-the-rest-of-the-social-web-could-be-next/

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Drone owners must register with FAA, starting December 21

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“The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday that US residents must register hobbyist drones by February 19 at its drone registration website. Registration opens December 21 and is free through January 20, the agency said. After that, the FAA will charge $5 for registration.  Accepting the guidance of an advisory panel, the FAA said registration is required for any hobbyist drone weighing between 0.55 pounds and 55 pounds. That weight limit includes even relatively small drones like the $549 Parrot Bebop 2, not just the serious $1,000 hobby-oriented models from companies like DJI. The FAA’s registration rule (PDF) applies only to hobbyist drones.”

http://www.cnet.com/news/faa-to-open-drone-registration-on-december-21/

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A Secret Catalogue of Government Gear for Spying on Your Cellphone

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“The catalogue includes details on the Stingray, a well-known brand of surveillance gear, as well as Boeing ‘dirt boxes’ and dozens of more obscure devices that can be mounted on vehicles, drones, and piloted aircraft. Some are designed to be used at static locations, while others can be discreetly carried by an individual. They have names like Cyberhawk, Yellowstone, Blackfin, Maximus, Cyclone, and Spartacus. Within the catalogue, the NSA is listed as the vendor of one device, while another was developed for use by the CIA, and another was developed for a special forces requirement. Nearly a third of the entries focus on equipment that seems to have never been described in public before.”

https://theintercept.com/2015/12/17/a-secret-catalogue-of-government-gear-for-spying-on-your-cellphone/

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Congress adds contested cybersecurity measures to ‘must-pass’ spending bill

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“Congress added some of the most controversial parts of the latest cybersecurity bill to its gigantic end-of-year ‘must-pass’ omnibus spending package, including mandatory sharing of any consumer data it collects with the Internal Revenue Service, FBI and the National Security Agency.  Civil liberties experts said they were dismayed that Congress had used the late-night bill to pass some of the most invasive parts of the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (Cisa).  Language that would have prevented consumer financial data from being shared directly with the NSA, for example, is not in the final version of the bill.”

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/dec/16/congress-cybersecurity-information-sharing-cisa-spending-bill

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The Kafkaesque Sacrifice of Encryption Security in the Name of Security

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“The encryption backdoor argument has been made and soundly rejected many times, most notably in the 1990s, when the government wanted the Clipper Chip, a requirement for a back door in technology for law enforcement and national security officials to use.  A report by a group of leading security experts concluded that installing back doors would undermine security by creating an enormous vulnerability: ‘If law enforcement’s keys guaranteed access to everything, an attacker who gained access to these keys would enjoy the same privilege.'”

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/kafkaesque-sacrifice-encryption-security-name-daniel-solove

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Hillary Clinton: Stop helping terrorists, Silicon Valley – weaken encryption

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“Part of the problem, according to Clinton, is a tech sector that has become resistant to government efforts to pressure it into introducing backdoors into its products. Said Clinton: ‘So we need Silicon Valley not to view government as its adversary. We need to challenge our best minds in the private sector to work with our best minds in the public sector to develop solutions that will both keep us safe and protect our privacy. Now is the time to solve this problem, not after the next attack.’  Clinton’s thoughts were echoed in an editorial Friday by the Washington Post in which the paper also argued that tech companies needed to work with government to find solutions to encrypted communication.”

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/11/20/clinton_silicon_valley/

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Obama calls out encryption in terror strategy speech

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“United States President Barack Obama has given just his third Address to the Nation from behind his desk at the Oval Office, to deliver a speech in which he all-but-called-on the technology industry to allow access to encrypted communications.  Future actions, Obama said, will include an attempt to ‘urge high-tech and law enforcement leaders to make it harder for terrorists to use technology to escape from justice.’  The sentence isn’t explained, but seems a clear reference to the technology industry’s argument that encryption is essential for everyday life and therefore ought not to be equipped with back doors for government use.”

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/12/07/obama_encryption_policy_change_in_terror_response_speech/

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