| NSA, GCHQ break encryption, collaborate with top tech companies Posted: 06 Sep 2013 09:38 AM PDT The United States' National Security Agency has collaborated with technology companies and internet service providers to build the typically accepted standards of web security itself, and reportedly has the means to brute force encryption standards it itself had a hand in building.
New revelations from the Snowden cables reveal the NSA has cracked most encryption that was considered a safeguard for commerce and banking systems around the world, and the very same encryption that was supposed to protect sensitive data like medical records, as well as email, web searches, online chats, and phone calls - of Americans and others, globally.
Beginning in 2000, according to the New York Times, the NSA went about building supercomputers that were capable of breaking complex codes and encryption. Additionally, the secretive but bloated agency collaborated with US technology companies to build backdoors directly into their products and services.
These new revelations fly in the face of strings of denials from US internet companies after the initial Snowden leaks. Microsoft, Facebook, Apple and the gang were all adamant that there were no delibate backdoors built into software or hardware. Whether they were willing collaborators or had their hands forced in the name of "national security" is up in the air.
A 2010 GCHQ memo speaking of the NSA's work said: "For the past decade, N.S.A. has led an aggressive, multipronged effort to break widely used Internet encryption technologies. Cryptanalytic capabilities are now coming online. Vast amounts of encrypted Internet data which have up till now been discarded are now exploitable”.
$250 million a year is reportedly spent on a program which "covertly influences" technology company product designs, the Guardian reports, while the influence and capabilities of the agency against encryption is said to be closely guarded. Analysts were warned not to ask about, or speculate on, sources or methods.
The British spy agency, GCHQ, is itself largely bankrolled by the US taxpayer. It was earlier revealed that other English-language countries Canada, Australia, and New Zealand were allied with the USA's spying efforts - and although there was bluster from other European countries, protecting national business or security secrets was what had them irate. These latest leaks suggest even those were compromised, despite any international agreements.
The Guardian claims a GCHQ team has worked its way into encryptic traffic from top service providers - listed as Hotmail, Google, Yahoo, and Facebook.
The New York Times article is here while the Guardians' is here.
"Secure" email company Lavabit - which Edward Snowden is suspected of using to transmit information to Guardian journalists - shut itself down in light of the last round of leaks. Its CEO said if the public knew what he knew about email communications, they may be less likely to use it.
Likewise, popular law blog Groklaw decided to pull the plug, citing concerns about being able to properly provide anonymity where anonymity was necessary.
The latest revelations - that the United States and its allies are aggressively pursuing all online communications, including those that are encrypted - could be cited as a further reason for activists, the privacy minded, or civil liberties groups to withdraw from the internet, and there is a greater risk self censorship than ever before.  |
| VPNs caught in Cameron's porn filter Posted: 06 Sep 2013 07:30 AM PDT Popular mobile operator GiffGaff, which runs on the O2 network, includes at least one Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) in British prime minister David Cameron's deeply unpopular 'porn filter' dragnet.
TorrentFreak found that some VPNs have already been automatically blocked under the guise of an 'adult filter' of some - but not all - mobile providers. Exchanged between VPN provider iPredator and GiffGaff show that the former has been placed on a blacklist because it could potentially allow children to get around age restrictions.
VPNs are a way to route traffic away from ISPs and through independent providers, and have gained popularity in oppressive regimes that impose censorship on their citizens. Although they can certainly be used to access pornographic material, it is understood that, for many, this is not the primary purpose of a VPN.
A statement from GiffGaff explains:
"The response received from head office have confirmed that websites or services that offer, inter alia, a method for younger members to access over 18 content, without age verification; such as VPN services, are blocked by our network provider (O2) and are not controlled by GiffGaff.
"O2, along with other major mobile operators in the UK, have signed up to the code of practice with the UK's Independent Mobile Classification Body which sets forth guidelines in terms of content management and the protection, amongst others, of customers and members below the age of 18.
"In section 2.8 of our terms and conditions it states that we have the right to restrict access due to age which all of our members have agreed to abide by when joining the service.
"GiffGaff reserves the right to restrict access to certain services due to age restrictions".
This is the same reason Cameron used to justify a censorship programme which would see new customers actively have to opt-in to receiving adult services. The proposal was put forward to protect children, however, the terms of censored content are vague: as well as pornography, websites that are classified as "violent material," "extremist related content," "anorexia and eating disorder websites," "suicide related websites," "alcohol", "smoking," "web forums," and "esoteric material" are all included under policy.
Although those over 18 can enable such material, critics say the terms are deliberately vague and can be applied to a wide range of material.
For example, the Oxford English Dictionary defines "esoteric" as "intended for or likely to be understood by only a small number of people with a specialized knowledge or interest".
However, internet activists have a long history of dodging centrally imposed sanctions - indeed, the content industry's bureaucratic attempts to shut down piracy, through policy or otherwise, has turned into a game of whack-a-mole. When one is blocked or shut down, another appears, as in streaming websites. Proxy websites are made available, hosted outside a nation state's borders, making them more difficult to censor or control.
TechEye recommends a scan through the Streisand Effect's Wikipedia page.
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| Bristol University makes quantum computing public Posted: 06 Sep 2013 07:00 AM PDT The University of Bristol has launched a project called Qcloud - which promises to make quantum computing resources available for all.
There are not many quantum computers in existence - and if there are, they are confined to research in academia. But Bristol university, from 20 September, will open up its quantum processor, housed at the Centre for Quantum Photonics, to the public - giving researchers access to the system remotely using the internet.
Users pointing their browser to bristol.ac.uk/quantum-computing will open up a quantum simulator to academic research as well as members of the public - plus user guides and manuals to help users get their heads around the mind-boggling technology. Once the simulator has been run, it will be possible to submit experiment proposals to be run on an actual quantum photonic processor.
The idea is to open up the possibilities of quantum computing to engineers, mathematicians and scientists around the world, both in the classroom and the lab, according to the university.
The premise of quantum computing depends on the qubit - an information unit which is able to exist in multiple states at a single time. Calculations are then made by altering the state of the qubit, and Bristol points out that the nature of qubits means they could potentially calculate all answers to a math problem simultaneously, using algorithms to understand which answer the qubit displays is correct. By utilising this technique, there is the potential to run extremely complex computations a lot faster than with classical computing.
"This technology has helped accelerate our research and is allowing us to do things we never thought possible," said project leader, Professor Jeremy O'Brien. "It's incredibly exciting to think what might be achieved by making this more widely accessible, not only to the brightest minds already working in research, but to the next generation".
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