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A
newly approved 451 error code will be used on pages which have been
censored by the government for legal reasons. The code number was
inspired by the famous dystopian Ray Bradbury novel ‘Fahrenheit 451.’
The
Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG) approved on Monday a new
Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) status – code 451 that will be seen
by internet users when the page is blocked by government due to ‘legal
obstacles.’
“This status code indicates that the server is denying access to the resource as a consequence of a legal demand,” the body, responsible for internet operating standards, said in a statement.
IESG said that it advises the authorities to include the information on who and why blocked a certain website.
However, “it
is possible that certain legal authorities might wish to avoid
transparency, and not only demand the restriction of access to certain
resources, but also avoid disclosing that the demand was made.”
Though it said that in many cases the sites could still be accessed using a VPN or the Tor network.
The big cable companies are back —
and this time they're going through the courts to try to kill the Net
Neutrality rules we won earlier this year. Activists are filing a
"People's Brief" in a few days to make sure that the court understands
just how important Net Neutrality is: Click here to read the brief, and add your name below to sign on.
These lawsuits are by far the biggest threat to Net Neutrality.
Armed to the teeth with lawyers, the odds will be stacked in Comcast’s
favor if we stand idly by — even though the new Net Neutrality rules
were built on the strongest legal grounds possible.
It’s ridiculous that months after winning Net Neutrality, we still have to fight to defend the new rules. But we knew this was coming. Now, if we don’t take action, we’ll lose it to the cable industry’s army of lawyers.
That’s
why we’re organizing tens of thousands of people to weigh in together
as part of the People’s Brief, and why we need you to add your name
right now.
Normally
in cases like these, it’s only corporations and wonky nonprofits that
submit briefs. But given how we won Net Neutrality, with millions of
people weighing in to the FCC to support the Open Internet, we wanted to
make sure everyone can take part, directly.
Even
now that the battle has arrived in its final stages, we can use the
Internet to save the Internet. We think that's a pretty cool thing, and
we hope you'll join in.
Without
Net Neutrality, the big cable companies would control the Internet, and
make it harder for us to access information that doesn't align with
what's best for the companies' bottom lines or that disagrees with their
political leanings. If Net Neutrality weren't the norm, we might even
have been blocked from engaging in the online activism that helped
secure the Net Neutrality rules that we're now working to defend!
Help us share this action with as many people as possible!
By Ellen Messmer, Network World
April 10, 2014 12:22 PM ET
Network World - The
Heartbleed Bug, basically a flaw in OpenSSL that would let savvy
attackers eavesdrop on Web, e-mail and some VPN communications that use
OpenSSL, has sent companies scurrying to patch servers and change
digital encryption certificates and users to change their passwords. But
who's to blame for this flaw in the open-source protocol that some say
also could impact routers and even mobile devices as well?
A
German software engineer named Robin Seggelmann of Munster, Germany has
reportedly accepted responsibility for inserting what experts are
calling a mistake of catastrophic proportions into the open-source
protocol OpenSSL used by millions of websites and servers, leaving them
open to stealing data and passwords that many think has already been
exploited by cyber-criminals and government intelligence agencies.
“Half
a million websites are vulnerable, including my own,” wrote security
expert Bruce Schneier in his blog, pointing to a tool to test for the Heartbleed Bug vulnerability.
He described Heartbleed as a “catastrophic bug” in OpenSSL because it
“allows anyone on the Internet to read the memory of the systems
protected by the vulnerable versions of the OpenSSL software.” It
compromises secret keys used to identify service providers and encrypt
traffic, he pointed out. “This means anything in memory—SSL private
keys, user keys, anything—is vulnerable.” +More on Network World: The Heartbleed Bug: How to keep your info safe | The worst data breaches of 2014…so far (Q1)+
The
Heartbleed Bug was discovered by security analysts from Google and
Codenomicon and disclosed by the OpenSSL open-source group on April 7 as
an OpenSSL Advisory and a fix prepared by OpenSSL open-source
contributors Adam Langley and Bodo Miller. Across the world, companies
and vendors have been scrambling to either patch their systems or assure
users that their services weren’t using OpenSSL.
Microsoft for
example, issued an advisory that “Microsoft Azure Web Sites, Microsoft
Azure Pack Web Sites and Microsoft Azure Web Roles do not use OpenSSL to
terminate SSL connections. Windows comes with its own encryption
component called Secure Channel (a.k.a. SChannel), which is not
susceptible to the Heartbleed vulnerability.”
But Microsoft added,
“However, if you are using Microsoft Azure’s IaaS to host linux images,
then you should make sure that your OpenSSL implementation is not
vulnerable.”
Twitter also said its services weren’t impacted by
Heartbleed. However, websites including Yahoo Mail, Yahoo Messenger and
others were impacted. As news stories about the Heartbleed Bug filled
the news, there was widespread concern and bewilderment in the general
public, and it wasn’t uncommon to hear the problem described by people
as a computer virus, rather than a software flaw.
Published: 17:33 EST, 9 April 2014 | Updated: 17:57 EST, 9 April 2014
Internet
users have been warned to change all their computer and phone passwords
following what could be a ‘catastrophic’ security breach.
Major technology firms have urged the public to immediately update their online security.
The
alert is the result of the discovery of an internet bug called
‘Heartbleed’, which is able to bypass computer security settings.
LastPass Heartbleed Checker warns if a website may be at risk. It also reveals websites that aren't affected
HOW TO BEAT THE BUG
If
a password is in any dictionary in any language then it will take just
three minutes to crack, warned computer expert Tony McDowell.
The
worst passwords are the likes of ‘password’, ‘123456’, ‘qwerty’, or
your child’s name. Using the same password for every site can leave you
even more vulnerable to hackers, he added. His
advice is to use a phrase rather than a word. For example, use
‘nameisabella’ rather than just ‘Isabella’ – and use a mixture of
letters and numbers.
A password of ‘name!saBe1la’ would take a year to crack, said Mr McDowell, managing director of Encription Ltd.
‘Most hackers give up after 24 hours unless it is something they really want to gain access to,’ he added.
Edward Snowden warns of personal data vulnerability
The
former NSA contractor takes part in a video conference at the South by
Southwest tech event in Texas and answers questions via Twitter to an
enthusiastic audience.
...
Former
National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden speaks remotely to
the South by Southwest Interactive conference in Austin, Texas,
superimposed over an image of the Constitution. (Spencer Bakalar / Los Angeles Times / March 10, 2014)
By Steve Appleford
March 10, 2014, 9:31 p.m.
AUSTIN, Texas — Edward Snowden
brought no bombshells when he arrived to an excited round of applause
Monday, his stubbled face relaxed as it was beamed in from across the
continents for a "virtual conversation" about the vulnerability of
personal data. His presence was event enough.
Public appearances by the former National Security Agency
contractor and U.S. exile are rare, and this one was beamed in from an
undisclosed location in Russia via several online proxies for his own
security, a bit of technological cloak-and-dagger that could only add to
his mystique for the three roomfuls of international tech specialists
struggling to hear his words in video that was choppy and often
inaudible.
His message still got through: Personal information is
vulnerable not only to government prying but to growing numbers of
outside infiltrators because companies have failed to adequately protect
the data of their customers. His own exile after leaking to reporters
secret information he had gathered while an NSA consultant has made him a
central figure in that conversation, and he says he has no regrets.
"Would
I do it again? Absolutely," Snowden said into the camera, in response
to one of several questions submitted to him via Twitter (#AskSnowden)
and screened backstage at the South by Southwest Interactive conference.
"I took an oath to support and defend the Constitution. And I saw the
Constitution was being violated on a massive scale."
He warned,
"If we allow the NSA to continue unrestrained, every other government
will accept that as a green light to do the same."
The chosen
Twitter questions were notably nonconfrontational for a figure often the
subject of heated debate even among supporters. One asked whether the
mass surveillance was driven by privatization. Another wondered about
the potential for society to "reap benefits" from the "big data." None
asked about his life in Russia, or what further revelations might be
coming.
The first question came from Timothy John Berners-Lee, a
British scientist known as the inventor of the World Wide Web, who asked
Snowden how he would create an accountability system for governance.
Edward Snowden, the NSA whistleblower whose unprecedented leak of
top-secret documents led to a worldwide debate about the nature of
surveillance, insisted on Monday that his actions had improved the
national security of the United States rather than undermined it, and
declared that he would do it all again despite the personal sacrifices
he had endured.
In remarks to the SXSW culture and technology
conference in Texas, delivered by video link from his exile in Russia,
Snowden took issue with claims by senior officials that he had placed
the US in danger. He also rejected as demonstrably false the suggestions
by some members of Congress that his files had found their way into the
hands of the intelligence agencies of China or Russia.
Snowden
spoke against the backdrop of an image of the US constitution, which he
said he had taken an oath to protect but had seen “violated on a mass
scale” while working for the US government. He accepted praise from Sir
Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the world wide web, accorded the first
question via Twitter, who described him as “acting profoundly in the
public interest”.
The session provided a rare and extensive
glimpse into the thoughts of Snowden, granted temporary asylum by Russia
after the US revoked his passport. He struck back strongly against
claims made again last week by the NSA director, General Keith
Alexander, that his release of secret documents to the Guardian and
other outlets last year had weakened American cyber-defences.
“These
things are improving national security, these are improving the
communications not just of Americans, but everyone in the world,”
Snowden said. “Because we rely on the same standard, we rely on the
ability to trust our communications, and without that, we don’t have
anything.”
He added later that thanks to the more secure
communication activity that had been encouraged by his disclosures, “the
public has benefited, the government has benefited, and every society
in the world has benefited”.
Dutch court rules in favor of unblocking Pirate Bay as ban ‘ineffective’
Published time: January 28, 2014 17:28
People in the Netherlands will soon have access to The Pirate Bay,
one of the world’s most censored file-sharing websites, as a court in
The Hague ruled that Dutch ISPs need to stop blocking the site after the
ban proved ineffective against piracy.
The Court of The Hague released its verdict that
two leading ISPs operating in the country – XS4All and Ziggo – no
longer have to block access to file sharing website The Pirate
Bay.
“In applying the case law from the European Court of Justice
(ECJ), the Court of Appeal held that an access provider is not
under an obligation to take measures that are disproportional
and/or ineffective” according to the
legal representative of XS4ALL.
The court’s verdict was based on the Charter of Fundamental
Rights of the European Union, which includes the “freedom to
conduct a business” and “right to property.”
Entrepreneurial freedom overrides property rights, the court
ruled.
The Pirate Bay was blocked by Ziggo in 2010 after anti-piracy
group Stichting Brein, which represents copyright holders in the
Netherlands, went to court, citing the file-sharing website’s
copyright violations. In 2012, XS4ALL joined Ziggo to appeal the
court’s previous ruling. Brein took the case to court again,
winning a full trial.
Google will buy London-based artificial intelligence company DeepMind. The Information
reports that the acquisition price was more than $500 million, and that
Facebook was also in talks to buy the startup late last year. We’ve
emailed Google and DeepMind for comment. The acquisition was originally confirmed by Google to Re/code.
Google’s hiring of DeepMind will help it compete against other major
tech companies as they all try to gain business advantages by focusing
on deep learning. For example, Facebook recently hired NYU professor
Yann LeCunn to lead its new artificial intelligence lab, IBM’s Watson supercomputer is now working on deep learning, and Yahoo recently acquired photo analysis startup LookFlow to lead its new deep learning group.
DeepMind was founded by neuroscientist Demis Hassabis, a former child prodigy in chess, Skype and Kazaa developer Jaan Tallin, and researcher Shane Legg.
This is the latest move by Google to fill out its roster of
artificial intelligence experts and, according to Re/code, the
acquisition was reportedly led by Google CEO Larry Page. If all three of
DeepMind’s founders work for Google, they will join inventor, entrepreneur, author, and futurist Ray Kurzweil, who was hired in 2012 as a director of engineering focused on machine learning and language processing.
***Presently there are approximately 143 Google mergers and
acquisitions listed. I have only provided the most recent 43. More can be
seen Here on Wikipedia***
~Desert Rose~
.....
List of mergers and acquisitions by Google
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This incomplete list is frequently updated to include new information.
Google's logo
Google is a computer software and a web search engine company that has been acquiring, on average, more than one company per week since 2010.[1]
The table below is an incomplete list of acquisitions, with each
acquisition listed being for the respective company in its entirety,
unless otherwise specified. The acquisition
date listed is the date of the agreement between Google and the
acquisition subject. The price of each acquisition is listed in US dollars because Google is headquartered in the United States.
If the price of an acquisition is unlisted, then it is undisclosed. If
the Google service that is derived from the acquired company is known,
then it is also listed here.
Google has acquired over 100 companies, with its largest acquisition being the purchase of Motorola Mobility,
a mobile device manufacturing company, for $12.5 billion. Most of the
firms acquired by Google are based in the United States, and, in turn,
most of these are based in or around the San Francisco Bay Area. To date, Google has divested itself of three [2] business units: Frommers, which was sold back to Arthur Frommer in April 2012;[3]SketchUp, which was sold to Trimble in April 2012;[4] and Google Radio Automation, which was sold to WideOrbit in 2009.[5]
Many Google products originated as services provided by companies that Google has since acquired. For example, Google's first acquisition was the Usenet company Deja News, and its services became Google Groups. Similarly, Google acquired Dodgeball, a social networking service company, and eventually replaced it with Google Latitude. Other acquisitions include web application company JotSpot, which became Google Sites; Voice over IP company GrandCentral, which became Google Voice; and video hosting service company Next New Networks, which became YouTube Next Lab and Audience Development Group.
Following the acquisition of Israel-based startup Waze
in June 2013, Google submitted a "10-Q" filing with the Securities
Exchange Commission (SEC) that revealed that the corporation spent
US$1.3 billion on acquisitions during the first half of 2013, with
US$966 million of that total going to Waze.[6]
Google is buying London-based artificial intelligence company DeepMind
Technologies, according to reports.
Technology news website Re/code,
which first reported the deal, said the price was $400 million (£242m),
which would make it Google's largest European acquisition so far. Other
reports suggest the acquisition price was closer to $500 million.
Google declined to confirm the figure, while privately-held DeepMind was not
immediately available for comment.
DeepMind was founded by 37-year-old neuroscientist and former teenage chess
prodigy Demis Hassabis, along with Shane Legg and Mustafa Suleyman.
TechCrunch
