Marvin Ammori

Evgeny Morzov writing in the Wall Street Journal has a fascinating piece on the cunning uses of the Internet by authoritarian governments to sustain their hold on power.  One poignant excerpt:

As the public sphere has grown decentralized and media based in the West have lost their dominance in setting the global agenda, it has become easier for governments—as well as for corporations, fringe movements and anyone else with an ax to grind—to promote their agendas. Bribing 100 bloggers is often much easier than bribing the editorial board of one newspaper.

Read more here.

Davide Castelvecchi at Scientific American has a piece discussing the negative effects proposed federal wiretapping laws would have on quantum encryption development.  Castelvecchi notes that by its very nature, quantum encryption is limited to the two communicating parties, and that legislation requiring communications technology to possess mechanisms enabling third parties (i.e. the government) to intercept and decrypt the data  could render the encryption method illegal.

Part Two of the UNL Space and Telecom Conference – a panel on Cyber Policy featuring Scott Borg (US Cyber Consequences Unit), Jason Healey (Delta Risk LLC), and Marcus Sachs (Verizon), with Kim Hart of Politico moderating.

Link here.

The Canadian government released its Cyber Security Strategy yesterday.  The initiative consists of 3 broad “pillars” –

• Securing Government systems;
• Partnering to secure vital cyber systems outside the federal Government; and
• Helping Canadians to be secure online.

The document describes specific measures that will be taken within each pillar, and on its face appears fairly comprehensive.  The plan also stresses cooperation among different government agencies as well as local governments and the private sector.  Some have argued that Canada’s strategy is long overdue and that in the face of an imminent threat the government would be ill-prepared.   Critics stressed that to avoid that possibility the government must act swiftly to implement its plan.

(hat tip Internet Storm Center)

On Tuesday, a German computer specialist offered a hint that Israel may be behind the sophisticated malware.

Information technology, and the world’s reliance on it, has redefined the front lines of national security, Deputy Defense Secretary William J. Lynn III said at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City yesterday.

“Any major future conflict will almost certainly include elements of cyberwarfare,” he said. “And the threat posed by cyberwarfare extends far beyond military operations – it extends to the very heart of our economy.”

Anonymous, the online collective engaged in a global cyber-war with the pro-copyright industry, has said it will not end its attacks until it stops being angry at its enemies.

Bruce has a thoughtful post about the US authorities’ push to ensure communications technologies can be tapped.  Worth reading.

Interesting profile, with some of my thoughts included.