Virus Information News

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FBI provided Anonymous with targets, new leaks show

RT

June 7, 2014

Leaked documents pertaining to the case against an American computer hacker currently serving a 10-year prison sentence have exposed discrepancies concerning the government's prosecution and raise further questions about the role of a federal informant.

The documents - evidence currently under seal by order of a United States District Court judge and not made public until now - shines light on several aspects of the case against Jeremy Hammond, a 29-year-old hacktivist from Chicago, Illinois who was arrested in March 2012 with the help of an online acquaintance-turned-government informant. Last May, Hammond entered a plea deal in which he acknowledged his role in a number of cyberattacks waged by the hacktivist group Anonymous and various offshoots; had his case gone to trial, Hammond would have faced a maximum of life behind bars if found guilty by jury. Articles published in tandem by The Daily Dot and Motherboard on Thursday this week pull back the curtain on the government's investigation into Hammond and reveal the role that Hector Monsegur, a hacker who agreed to cooperate with authorities in exchange for leniency with regards to his own criminal matters, played in directing others towards vulnerable targets and orchestrating cyberattacks against the websites of foreign governments, all while under the constant watch of the US government.

NSA can easily bug your switched-off iPhone: Here's how you can stop them

RT

June 7, 2014

Edward Snowden's recent revelation that the NSA can bug cell phones even when they are turned off left some experts split on whether it is true or not. But a group of hackers claim that at least there is a way to protect your phone from spies' ears.

Snowden, who exposed the American government's secret mass surveillance program, has been making headlines in the media for almost a year with shocking details about the scale of snooping by the National Security Agency (NSA). In last week's interview with NBC, the former CIA employee yet again added to the spreading privacy panic when he said the NSA can actually eavesdrop on cellphones even when they are turned off.

Growing Backlash to Facebook's Ambient Sound Recording Feature

thenewamerican.com

by Joe Wolverton, Ii, J.D.

June 9, 2014

Seems not everybody is happy with Facebook's gift of a built-in ambient sound recorder.

An Australian news site reports that "the feature has sparked an online backlash, with users mobilising [sic] in an effort to get the social media giant to kill off the development." The petition has over half a million signatures as of press time. "Facebook just announced a new feature to its app, which will let it listen to our conversations and surroundings through our own phones' microphone. Talk about a Big Brother move," the petition reads.

Cyberbullying law would let Canada cops 'remotely hack computers, mobile devices, cars'

thefreethoughtproject.com

June 11, 2014

New cyberbullying legislation introduced by the Canadian government is set to let police gain access to computers and remotely track cellphone users' movements and activities, privacy experts fear.

Bill C-13 Protecting Canadians from Online Crime Act, known as the cyberbullying bill, is currently being studied by a parliamentary committee. In fact, the term 'cyberbullying' may be a bit misleading: there are no mentions of 'cyber' or 'bully' in the document, despite the fact that the bill originated following several children committing suicide as a result of online bullying. Despite the bill introducing responsibility for sending nude photos, for instance, what the law mainly does is greatly expand police authority, giving officers powers to remotely hack into computers, mobile devices or cars in order to track location or record metadata, director of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association Cara Zwibel told Members of Parliament. She added that those changes were "inappropriate."

Massive flaw could have exposed every Gmail user's address

RT

June 12, 2014

A gaping security bug in Google's systems may have been used to unearth millions upon millions of users' email addresses. The activist claimed it took Google a month to rectify the problem after his report to the company.

Tel Aviv-based security researcher Oren Hafif discovered the bug and has informed Google, which has managed to resolve the problem. However, before Hafif notified Google, he successfully retrieved some 37,000 addresses from the system. "I have every reason to believe every Gmail address could have been mined," Hafif told Wired.

How A Hacker Nabbed $600,000 In Two Months By Googling People's Home Networks

businessinsider.com

June 17, 2014

A hacker figured out how to control the certain home networks to mine for something called Dogecoin, netting over half a million dollars.

In this case, a hacker figured out how to control certain home networks to mine for a computer currency called Dogecoin, netting over half a million dollars in a matter of months. The hacker's exploits were documented by Dell's security team, which points out that the hacker used a competitor's computer storage product to do the dirty work. The Dell team traced the likely culprit to a German-speaking person who goes by the code-name of "Folio" on GitHub.

Copyright Troll Malibu Media Allowed To Get Six Strikes Info From Comcast

techdirt.com

by Mike Masnick

June 27, 2014

A few weeks ago, we wrote about how Malibu Media was up to its old tricks again, demanding six strikes data from Comcast as part of its evidence gathering for its copyright trolling.

Apparently, no one fought the request, so a magistrate judge has granted Malibu Media's request and told Comcast to comply with the forthcoming subpoena. When the six strikes plan was first put into place, many people worried that the information from it would be used in lawsuits, but people hadn't realized that it might also get abused by copyright trolls. All the more reason to question whether or not such a program is a good idea. When you have a system that allows "strikes" to be issued with no due process at all, which can then be used by a company currently responsible for 40% of all copyright lawsuits -- nearly all of which they're really using to shake down settlement fees -- it should make you wonder if the six strikes program is really such a good idea.

Germany Ends Verizon Contract Over NSA Concerns

countercurrentnews.com

June 29, 2014

Today Germany broke the news to the world that they will cancel a national contract with Verizon Communications.

This comes as part of the continued fallout from revelations by Edward J. Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor, who leaked the truth that American intelligence agencies have been routine accessing global data provided by telecom companies. One of the most upset amongst nations has been Germany, where the personal cellphone of Chancellor Angela Merkel was reportedly tapped by United States intelligence agencies.

'Lost' emails, lost confidence

thehill.com

by Rep. Pete Olson

June 29, 2014

What's also troubling is the lack of outrage from the media on behalf of the Americans who were bullied by the IRS.

The First Amendment to the Constitution, in the Bill of Rights, "prohibits the making of any law... abridging the freedom of speech." Every American is protected by this inalienable right that ensures that the government cannot attack its citizens for their beliefs. Yet, one of the most powerful federal agencies, the Internal Revenue Service, did exactly that when they targeted conservative non-profit organizations seeking tax-exempt status. Officials at the IRS have admitted to these actions and Congress has been investigating. Yet, the IRS has refused to provide critical information about the extent of the targeting and who was involved. After promising for a year to deliver emails related to how certain conservative groups were targeted and who was involved in the decision making process, the IRS informed Congress last Friday that they cannot locate many of the emails in question prior to 2011 as the result of a computer crash during that year. Lois Lerner, former head of the IRS division that processes applications to determine tax-exempt status, is currently under investigation by three congressional committees, the Justice Department and the IRS inspector general. Her emails are the ones the IRS claims have both been erased and the data is unrecoverable due to the hard drive in question being recycled.

Obama Likes Secrets, Including Yours

reason.com

June 30, 2014

The surprising thing about the Supreme Court's decision on police searches of cell phones was its unanimity.

The surprising thing about the Supreme Court's decision on police searches of cell phones was its unanimity. Aligned on the same side of a major law enforcement issue were liberal and conservative justices who normally fight like cats and dogs. All agreed that it's intolerable to let cops ransack the voluminous contents of mobile phones. Who could disagree? Well, cops, of course. And the Obama administration.

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