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Thursday, May 23, 2013

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CISPA Sponsor Mike Rogers May Go On To Lead The FBI

We've often heard stories of politicians passing legislation soon before they left office, only to have that very same legislation help them in their next job (coincidentally, we're sure). So it does seem interesting that Rep. Mike Rogers, the main champion behind CISPA, the privacy-destroy cybersecurity bill, is apparently a top candidate to head the FBI -- so much so that the FBI Agents Association, representing 12,000 FBI agents, has officially stated that it would like him to take the job. I'm sure it would be much easier to run the FBI if it could have companies violate the privacy of their users without any possible liability (even if they promised to protect that privacy), which is exactly what CISPA would allow. For what it's worth, there are a number of other candidates for the job, though it's somewhat horrifying to see one other top candidate be...

Saudi Arabian Telco Asks Pro-Privacy Researcher To Help Them Spy On Citizens, Hilarity Then Seriousness Ensues

Via Chris Soghoian, we learn that a Saudi Arabian telecom company (one of just two) contacted well-known pro-privacy researcher Moxie Marlinspike recently to see if he might help them intercept communications from a variety of popular communications apps , including Twitter, Viber, Line and WhatsApp. Curious about what they wanted, Marlinspike emailed with them a bit, and then published what he was told -- including the fact that they later told him they very quickly and easily figured out how to intercept WhatsApp communications. Eventually, he told them that he wouldn't work with them, and the guy he was communicating with told him by not helping the Saudi government intercept communications, he was helping the terrorists:

I know that already and I have same thoughts like you freedom and respecting privacy, actually Saudi has a big terrorist problem and they are misusing these services for spreading terrorism and...

DOJ's History Of Ignoring The Rules When Getting Phone Records Of Journalists

There was, of course, plenty of talk about the DOJ getting two months of phone records concerning calls involving some reporters. Since the original story came out, reporters have quickly deduced what the government was after : they were trying to figure out who leaked information about the CIA stopping a plane bombing plot , because the "would be bomber" was actually working for the US, and revealing the news apparently ended the work early. The DOJ going batshit insane over a leak to the press is, unfortunately, par for the course for the Obama administration, which has been ridiculously aggressive (to an unprecedented level) in going after anyone who leaks to the press.
And while some are still trying to argue that this is a non-story , what may be more important is pointing out what a complete bullshit response the DOJ gave to this whole thing:

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Why ESPN's Offer To Pay To Have Its Content Bypass Data Cap Meters Plays Right Into The Hands Of Wireless Providers

ESPN has been making a little bit of noise recently about being willing to throw a few bucks towards wireless providers in exchange for letting its content roll through to users without affecting their data caps. While this may sound like a good deal for sports fans stuck with low data caps, there's a whole lot wrong with this "offer," above and beyond the obvious "pay-to-skirt-net-neutrality" issue. Chris Morran has a good rundown of the negative side effects ESPN's data subsidy would unleash . First and foremost, ESPN offering to help out users with data caps plays right into the industry's talking points.

Subsidizing wireless usage in this way would only give rise to this myth that smartphone data plans are capped because of congestion and a supposed high cost of moving data. However, studies show that the cost of delivering content to wireless customers has dropped while the user base...

ANZ 'Quick 3-Question Survey' Phishing Scam

Email purporting to be from ANZ claims that recipients can have $35 credited to their accounts just for opening an attached file and filling in a brief survey....

DailyDirt: Life On Other Planets

We've discovered thousands of exoplanets beyond our solar system, and some of them are even in the "Goldilocks zone" where liquid water could possibly exist. Some astronomers think life could be abundant in the universe, but there's not that much hard evidence (yet!). Here are just a few astronomical discoveries that might encourage researchers to look for signs of life a bit more carefully.

Exoplanets have been discovered circling some extremely old, metal-poor stars, creating interesting curiosities that might expand the theories of how planets form. These exoplanets might not harbor any kind of life... or we may want to get a bit more creative about how we envision life on other worlds. [ url ]
A free-floating planet named CFBDSIR2149 is not orbiting a star, and it's only one of about two dozen or so known examples of a starless planet. This rogue planet is relatively young compared to...

Amazon Buys Sunlight Readable Color Display Company Liquavista

Nate the greatest writes "It looks like those 4 month old rumors are true. Amazon has confirmed today that they have bought Liquavista, a Netherlands based screen tech company. There's no info yet on how much Amazon paid to Samsung, but previous rumors suggested that the asking price was under $100 million. Amazon also isn't talking about how they plan to use the electrowetting screen tech, but many are assuming that a Color Kindle is in the works."...