Chinese hackers are accused of launching denial-of-service attacks against the Japanese government in recent days, apparently in protest over the recent maritime incident between China and Japan.
Susan Crawford connects the dots with much of today’s news, suggesting that consolidation in access to big pipes has led to leveraging against content owners and government officials.
Congressman Henry Waxman (D-CA) is formulating rules for net neutrality, which includes a late 2012 expiration date and bars the FCC from reclassifying broadband services under Title II.
Marvin’s note to Justin’s posting: This may be bad news. Most of the reports about these rules suggest an unsatisfactory proposal even worse than the Google-Verizon pact. It would make AT&T and Comcast happy, but not serve American citizens or American businesses. Things appear to be fluid. Still monitoring. (Here is a draft of the proposal leaked by industry.)
I’m confused about something and welcome someone to unconfuse me…
Last month, the United Arab Emirates announced the intention to ban Blackberry data usage because the UAE couldn’t monitor people using Blackberry connections:
The basic dispute involves BlackBerry’s use of satellites rather than domestic routers to send e-mail and text-message data, which makes it harder for a law-enforcement agency or other outside party to monitor. Also, the company encrypts the data and can’t even access it itself.
At the time, the U.S. State Department said the ban would set a “dangerous precedent.”
Today, however, the New York Times reports that federal officials want legislation with the same effect the UAE sought–to monitor all traffic.
Essentially, officials want Congress to require all services that enable communications — including encrypted e-mail transmitters like BlackBerry, social networking Web sites like Facebook and software that allows direct “peer to peer” messaging like Skype — to be technically capable of complying if served with a wiretap order. The mandate would include being able to intercept and unscramble encrypted messages.
Now, there are differences–I would be unsurprised if the US laws (at least on the books) require more legal process for monitoring than do the UAE laws.
But another difference is probably the important one–that was them, this is us. As we grapple with new technologies, and their work through their impact on privacy and security, we should aim for consistency. I see how our officials’ first instinct is to think the UAE’s motives oppose freedom and privacy, while ours merely ensure security. I’m sure the UAE officials have a different instinct. Unless I’m missing something, we could look hypocritical, something we see here in the open Internet debate, and wisely recognized by senior officials.
Google and Microsoft are fighting to amend the 1986 Electronic Communications Act in an effort to extend privacy for users of their cloud-based email services.
Federal law enforcement and national security officials want to make sure that all services enabling communication (BlackBerry, Facebook, Skype, etc.) can technologically comply with any wiretap issues that are ordered.
Establishing U.S. Cyber Command closed the gap that prevented the Defense Department from defending its crucial information networks, the organization’s commander told the House Armed Services Committee yesterday.
David Kravets over at Wired discusses T-Mobile’s legal arguments in a federal case that for the first time raises the issue whether mobile providers may block message content they don’t like.
Tech Crunch reports that soon Saudi online media will be required to register with the government.
An Australian teenager has become an overnight Internet celebrity for admitting that he was the mastermind behind the “mouseover” attack that led to Tuesday’s Twitter mayhem.
Marvin Ammori 