Rand Corporation: Zero Days, Thousands of Nights – The Life and Times of Zero-Day Vulnerabilities and Their Exploits
EU to ISP:s: Scan and censor everything
By HAX on March 26, 2017 in Big Brother, Big Entertainment, Big Media, Censorship, Copyright, EU, Free Information, Freedom of Speech, Intellectual Property, Internet, Privacy
Under the extreme rules proposed by the Commission in the Copyright Directive, uploads to the internet would need to be scanned to assess if any photo, video or text that is being uploaded can be “identified” based on information provided by copyright holders. This would block, for example, memes that include copyrighted images or videos, parody, quotation and other perfectly harmless activities.
In order to encourage internet companies to monitor and delete information as thoroughly as possible, it is also proposed that their legal liability for uploads would be increased.
EDRi: EU moves one step closer to the world’s worst internet filtering law »
The EU ePrivacy regulation
The latest dossier on our watch list is the EU ePrivacy regulation. (Aiming to replace the ePrivacy directive from 2002.)
EDRi explains…
This new regulation complements the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), adding more clarity and legal certainty for individuals and businesses – helping to protect our personal data by providing specific rules related to our freedoms in the online environment.
EDRi also list some comments…
- extending the scope of application of the new rules is a welcome improvement;
- the principle of “privacy by default” should not be partly replaced by the proposed “privacy by option”;
- the way in which consent will be required needs further clarifications;
- we need to secure citizens from ubiquitous tracking and ban sites from blocking visitors who do not accept cookies;
- the proposal to allow offline tracking of users needs to be amended to bring it into line with the rest of the proposal;
- collective redress mechanisms need to be explicitly mentioned.
Read more at EDRi:
• New e-Privacy rules need improvements to help build trust »
• e-Privacy Directive: Frequently Asked Questions »
• EDRis quick guide on the e-Privacy Regulation (PDF) »
Websites not liable for anonymous comments
EDRi » Human rights court: Website not liable for anonymous comment »
Wikileaks #Vault7 Dark Matter – bad news for Apple
Today, March 23rd 2017, WikiLeaks releases Vault 7 “Dark Matter”, which contains documentation for several CIA projects that infect Apple Mac Computer firmware (meaning the infection persists even if the operating system is re-installed) developed by the CIA’s Embedded Development Branch (EDB). These documents explain the techniques used by CIA to gain ‘persistence’ on Apple Mac devices, including Macs and iPhones and demonstrate their use of EFI/UEFI and firmware malware.
Decrypt, or else…
By HAX on March 22, 2017 in Big Brother, Cryptography, IT security, Law enforcement, Privacy, Rule of law, US
Falkvinge:
An appeals court has denied the appeal of a person who is jailed indefinitely for refusing to decrypt files. The man has not been charged with anything, but was ordered to hand over the unencrypted contents on police assertion of what the contents were. When this can result in lifetime imprisonment under “contempt of court”, the United States has effectively outlawed file-level encryption – without even going through Congress.
Falkvinge: With appeals ruling, the United States has effectively outlawed file encryption »
Ars Technica: Man jailed indefinitely for refusing to decrypt hard drives loses appeal »
Debunking Snowden conspiracy theories
The Intercept » Newly Obtained Documents Prove: Key Claim of Snowden’s Accusers Is a Fraud »
The Assange case – coming to a close, or not?
In the Assange case, Swedish prosecutors seem to be running out of excuses for dragging their feet.
The hearing at the Ecuadorian embassy in London is completed, after many years of delays. The transcript has been translated into Swedish. At least almost. On its web page, the Prosecutors’ Office writes (my translation)…
The prosecutors still awaits the translation of minor sections of the report. These are expected to be completed shortly.
Now, the Prosecutors’ Office will analyze the report and subsequently decide what other investigative meassures could be taken to move the investigation forward.
I suspect that the phrase »other investigative measures« will be of importance.
This case has dragged out for years, partly because of Assange – but mainly because of Swedish prosecutors unwillingness to move the case forward.
You don’t have to be a conspiracy theorist to suspect that there are interested parties who are quite happy having Julian Assange tucked away and guarded in a small embassy behind Harrods in London. This will hamper the work of Wikileaks and take a mental toll on Assange himself. Even a U.N. panel has objected to this form of treatment.
Once again, all attention will be directed at the Swedish Prosecutors’ Office. Will it finally decide to move the case forward or maybe close it? The latter would make most sense – if you look at the facts in this case, already well known to the world.
Or will they invent some new »investigative measures« as an excuse to keep Assange in limbo? I wouldn’t be surprised if they do.
This is no longer about justice. It’s about Sweden handling this case in a biased and unjust way – because of who Julian Assange is. And this goes all the way back to the Prosecutors Special Unit for »Advancement« of Sex Crimes re-opening this case after it had been closed by the regular branch of the Prosecutors’ Office.
I guess we’ll know what’s going to happen within the next few weeks. Or maybe not.
/ HAX
Facebook, Twitter asked to help Pakistani government to sentence people to death
Pakistan has asked Facebook and Twitter to help identify Pakistanis suspected of blasphemy so it can prosecute them or pursue their extradition.
Under the country’s strict blasphemy laws, anyone found to have insulted Islam or the prophet Muhammad can be sentenced to death.
The Guardian: Pakistan asks Facebook and Twitter to help identify blasphemers »
EU vs. social media on consumer rights
It is not acceptable that EU consumers can only call on a court in California to resolve a dispute. Nor can we accept that users are deprived of their right to withdraw from an online purchase. Social media companies also need to take more responsibility in addressing scams and fraud happening on their platforms.
• Reuters: EU authorities demand changes from Facebook, Google, Twitter »
• Engadget: EU orders Facebook and Google to prevent consumer scams »