hardware

The Troubling Truth of Why It’s Still So Hard to Share Files Directly

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BY PARKER HIGGINS
WIRED

It’s not always easy to spot the compromises in the technology we use, where we’ve allowed corporate interests to trump public ideals like privacy and press freedom. But sometimes new developments can cast those uneasy bargains into relief—and show that the public may not have even been at the table when they were made. That was the case last month when, with an unassuming post to Twitter, technologist Micah Lee unveiled his latest project. It’s called OnionShare, and it’s a tiny free software app that creates a direct connection between two users, allowing them to transfer files without having to trust a middleman site like DropBox or Mega. It runs over Tor, which means that to anybody intercepting the traffic, both the sender and receiver are near-totally anonymous.

hardware

Replicating NSA’s gadgets using open source

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by Zeljka Zorz
Net Security

One peek at the leaked pages of NSA’s ANT catalog made wireless security researcher Michael Ossmann’s mind start spinning. “Could we – could I – make the gadgets that the agency uses to monitor and locate mobile phones, tap USB and Ethernet connections, maintain persistent malware on PCs, communicate with malware across air gaps, and more, by just using open source software and hardware?” he asked himself. So, he decide to look into the matter, and what he concluded is that it’s definitely possible to replicate most of those tools and their functionalities. In this podcast recorded at Hack In The Box Amsterdam 2014, he shares his insights on what to use – and how – to duplicate hardware devices found in the ANT catalog.

anonymity

Open Wi-Fi Is Not a CopyCrime: EFF’s Primer on Open Wi-Fi and Copyright

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By Corynne McSherry
EFF

Every day cafes, airports, libraries, laundromats, schools and individuals operate “open” Wi-Fi routers, sharing their connection with neighbors and passers-by at no charge. The City of San Francisco recently deployed a free, public Wi-Fi network along a three-mile stretch of Market Street. Sometimes people use those connections for unauthorized activities. Most of the time they don’t, and the world gets a valuable public service of simple, ubiquitous Internet access. At EFF, we are big fans of open wireless.

hardware

More than 90 people nabbed in global hacker crackdown

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By Evan Perez, Shimon Prokupecz and Tom Cohen
CNN

It is nicknamed “creepware,” and more than half a million people around the world have been prey to its silent computer snooping. Miss Teen USA Cassidy Wolf was one of them in a well-publicized case of hacking associated with the malware called Blackshades. Now, an international crackdown by the FBI and police in 19 countries has brought more than 90 arrests in what authorities say is a serious strike against a widespread and growing problem. U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara in New York told reporters the global investigation “exposed and crippled a frightening form of cybercrime that has affected hundreds of thousands of users around the world.” The sweep, capping a two-year operation, was coordinated so suspects didn’t have time to destroy evidence.

hardware

Oracle’s Java API code protected by copyright, appeals court rules

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by David Kravets
ARS Technica

A federal appeals court on Friday reversed a federal judge’s ruling that Oracle’s Java API’s were not protected by copyright. The debacle started when Google copied certain elements—names, declaration, and header lines—of the Java APIs in Android, and Oracle sued. A judge largely sided with Google in 2012, saying that the code in question could not be copyrighted. “Because we conclude that the declaring code and the structure, sequence, and organization of the API packages are entitled to copyright protection, we reverse the district court’s copyrightability determination with instructions to reinstate the jury’s infringement finding as to the 37 Java packages,” the US Appeals Court for the Federal Circuit ruled Friday. Google, which said it was exploring its legal options, decried Friday’s ruling.

hardware

To Save the Internet We Need to Own the Means of Distribution

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by David Morris
Common Dreams

With the announcement by the FCC that cable and telephone companies will be allowed to prioritize access to their customers only one option remains that can guarantee an open internet: owning the means of distribution. Thankfully an agency exists for this. Local government. Owning the means of distribution is a traditional function of local government. We call our roads and bridges and water and sewer pipe networks public infrastructure for a reason.

hardware

Will BlackBerry Once Again be King of Mobility?

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By Hyoun Park
CMSWire

Right now at least half of you are laughing at the title of this article, the other half are just being polite. But give me a chance to explain how and where BlackBerry could be the Future King of Mobility. Glory Days

We know the story: It wasn’t so long ago that BlackBerry was the king of mobility that met several needs. It was a phone. It was an email machine.

hardware

Tech Titans Launch ‘Core Infrastructure Initiative’ to Secure Key Open Source Components

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By Fahmida Y. Rashid
Security Week

Industry heavyweights including Microsoft, Google, Intel, and Cisco are banding together to support and fund open source projects that make up critical elements of global information infrastructure. The new Core Infrastructure Initiative brings technology companies together to identify and fund open source projects that are widely used in core computing and Internet functions, The Linux Foundation announced today. Formed primarily as the industry’s response to the Heartbleed crisis, the OpenSSL library will be the initiative’s first project. Other open source projects will follow. Core Infrastructure InitiativeThe Heartbleed vulnerability discovered earlier this month in OpenSSL has far-ranging implications because the popular SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) library is used in embedded systems, software applications, and in Internet infrastructure.

hardware

UK Govt: DVD and CD Ripping Will Be Legalized This Summer

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By Ernesto
TorrentFreak
The UK Government has published a guide informing consumers about an upcoming revision of copyright law which will legalize CD and DVD copying for personal use. The changes go into effect in June, and will also broaden other forms of fair use, including parody and quotation rights. To most consumers it is common sense that they can make a backup copy of media they own, but in the UK this is currently illegal. After a public consultation and a thorough inspection of local copyright legislation, the UK Government decided to change current laws in favor of consumers. The changes have been in the planning stage for a few years, but this summer they will finally be implemented.