Running Naked through the Internet category archive
Facebook Frolics 0
This could get interesting. Facebook, after all, is a business built on snooping.
(snip)
Facebook had argued that the alleged scanning of its users’ messages was covered by an exception under the federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act for interceptions by service providers occurring in the ordinary course of business.
But Hamilton said Facebook had “not offered a sufficient explanation of how the challenged practice falls within the ordinary course of its business.”
Did Kim Jong-Un Get a Sony of His Owny? 0
As my two or three regular readers know, I’ve long said that the internet is a public place and that those who forget that do so at their peril.
In addition, there is no such thing as absolute security. If someone wants to break into any ole house, your good security system will send them to your neighbor’s house. If he or she absolutely positively wants to break into your house regardless of the cost, your house is breached.
Before I get to my list of links, I must remind you that Sony has a history of poor security practices and incompetent response to the resulting breaches. They have also attempted to infect their customers’ computers with malware. As regards security, note that “big” and “bumble” both start with “b.”
The last reminder is this: Don’t believe the gee-whiz reportage on network security from the establishment press. For all their good will (and sometimes their lack thereof), most of those folks know nothing about how networks work and are not competent to evaluate the statements of the persons they interview. If some bozo in a three-piece suit were to tell them that Uncle Fester’s phase-lock loop light bulb represented the next breakthrough in physics, they would report it without question.
I’ve rounded up some posts about the Sony kerfuffle from persons who usually know what they are talking about.
Bruce Schneier, preeminent network security expert, says it’s important to know who you are dealing with. A snippet:
To understand any given episode of hacking, you need to understand who your adversary is. I’ve spent decades dealing with Internet hackers (as I do now at my current firm), and I’ve learned to separate opportunistic attacks from targeted ones.
China Hand (I don’t know who he is, but he seems to be a reasonable sort of guy) is skeptical of the North Korean connection; he’s suspects it’s a knee-jerk reaction (more at the link):
I have a suspicion that the United States has an app for that: blame somebody, preferably somebody unpopular, as quickly and categorically as possible.
George Smith thinks that Sony didn’t know when to hold them, didn’t know when to fold them and has composed a ditty in Sony’s honor.
Network Security Theatre 0
Notice that it’s “opt out,” rather than “opt in.” The hope, natch, is that you won’t notice it at all.
Twitter Inc. said Wednesday that users will receive a notification when the setting is turned on and can opt out using settings on their phones. On iPhones, this setting is called “limit ad tracking.” On Android phones, it’s “opt out of interest-based ads.”
And people worry about the NSA.
(More details at the link.)
