November 22nd, 2009

Internet: A threat to government or the other way around? (Part 3)

Posted by Doug Hanchard @ November 22, 2009 @ 3:32 PM

Categories: Censorship, Congress, Courts, E-government, Elections, Government 2.0, Government technology, Homeland security, Journalism, Justice, Law enforcement, Regulations, Senate, Social networks, State & Local Govt, Web, politics

Tags: U.S., Safety Agency, Government, Internet, Vertical Industries, Doug Hanchard

Part III

From 1959 to 1975, the era of demonstration (Vietnam War) was to protest on the lawns and parks of universities and public venues. The Kent State shootings by National Guard troops in May of 1970 was not the first demonstration against government, but it certainly was the event that ignited further demonstrations at universities all over the United States. Demonstrators had no defense against armed troops and the toll was significant both in political values and individual trust in government. News organizations covered every demonstration nationally from that event onwards until the end of 1975.

There are more Internet Packets than there are bullets

Almost 40 years later, some government officials and elected official are pushing agendas that have long term consequences to its people that have similar overtones of big brother control.  Today the landscape is very different.  If people don’t like what they see potentially becoming Law, they have a new tools without fear of an M-16 being pointed at them. At one extreme end of protest, several protests went directly onto the offensive and have launched cyber war attacks against government institutions such as Estonia. It has been alleged that a U.S. Congressman suggested cyber attacks should be ordered against North Korea. I investigated this claim and could not find a single article verifying its authenticity, but it’s been reported all over the internet. A request for an interview was declined by the Congressman’s office.

It doesn’t stop there; non government groups are also launching political cyber attack campaigns against (VANK vs. Japan) each other. Emailing an elected official was the first step. Media tools which are now at the disposal of anyone, is an arsenal that has far more power than any individual or group in government can defeat. Instead of thousands of journalists covering a story, there is potentially billions of people reporting bits of news that are crisscrossing the globe that nobody can stop - for now. There is the potential for citizens to protest by using the internet to attack their own government, particularly in the United States and the U.K. and may believe it is their right to do so. This is not the kind of digital divide that government knows how to deal with either.  The days of the Boston Tea party are long gone and we know what happened two years later and that is not a scenario that will unfold either.

Governments have seen this potential and are developing applications and systems that can defend and attack any Internet event, foreign or domestic. This is not (just) about firewalls and creating offensive capabilities, but also about proposing new laws, which many believe are the beginning of a new era of government knows best.

Information is power

Many fear this could behold a future that dictates who holds control over the Internet. Early indications are that this view has some validity. Several nations (United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, China, and Russia) are already monitoring and archiving significant information about their constituents.  There’s nothing new in knowledge that databases exist containing information about its citizens. Here’s what is new: the scale and ultimate purpose. Public safety agencies are encouraged to share multiple databases of information. That has created a new culture in police enforcement and created a new breed of police officer that simply has far more information than they need or should have available to them upon which to make an appraisal or use with valid merit. We have witnessed new variants of stereotype and investigation methods police officers use which are wrong in its outcome. England’s decision to maintain DNA records of individuals, even if found innocent has already caught several police officers making snap decisions that a suspect must be guilty of ’something’ - is a classic example that happens routinely.

What’s good for catching the bad guy maybe worse for the upstanding citizen

People realize that information is kept and archived about them. How it is used or manipulated however, is a completely different discussion. Privacy and protection from abuse of such information has now become a priority concern for everyone and currently there is a widespread worry that government simply does not have the trust of people to ensure its safeguarding. Memories of May 4, 1970 may come back to haunt many.

Governments are proposing laws allowing the tracking and archiving where users are on the Internet. These laws have their foundation in protection against illegal downloading of copyright materials and while valid, have far more reaching consequences than that purpose, and most recognize it as such - except many politicians. How much more information is the government going to track - this blog perhaps? I know that the 754^th ELSG - Electronic System Group (part of the 554^th ESW Wing) of the U.S. Air Force out of Hanscom Air Force Base has visited the blog, as has the Central Intelligence Agency. That doesn’t mean they are monitoring or tracking this blog, but what’s to stop them for doing so (hi guys! *wave*) and creating a file? - Good thing I know they’re the good guys…..

Coming up next - Justice System and Courts: they might ultimately decide the fate of the Internet

November 17th, 2009

The Queen could better manage security of personal information than civil servants are

Posted by Doug Hanchard @ November 17, 2009 @ 6:02 AM

Categories: Congress, Databases, E-government, Encryption, FBI, Government technology, Healthcare, Home Office, IT Management, Justice, Law enforcement, MI5, MI6, Memory Sticks, Network security, Personnel Management, Privacy, Public health, Queen Elizabeth II, Regulations, Royal Family, Scotland Yard, Security, Senate, State & Local Govt, UK, United Kingdom, piracy

Tags: Council, Health Care, Training, Servant, Laptop Computer, Ministry Of Justice, Notebooks, Vertical Industries, Identity Theft, Benefits

Her majesty’s servants seem to be lacking any sense of responsibility these days. Information in the health care sector, voter information are being either stolen or misplaced on a regular basis. Hundreds of incidents are occurring.

It’s one thing for a leak to be politically motivated, but quite another when it’s careless. In an article I wrote two weeks ago about an U.S. Ethics Committee staffer file sharing a sensitive file investigating members of Congress and winding up in the hands of the Washington Post ,many talk back readers suggested it was intentional.  England on the other hand, seems to have poor training and staff that have little respect or understanding of what they are dealing with.

Last week, the BBC reported that in the U.K., health records are being ‘lost’ in unprecedented scale:

“Unacceptable amounts of data are being stolen, lost in transit or mislaid by staff. Far too much personal data is still being unnecessarily downloaded from secure servers on to unencrypted laptops, USB sticks, and other portable media.”

Companies and public bodies that recklessly or deliberately break the rules face fines of up to half a million pounds from 2010. The Ministry of Justice is considering allowing the ICO to impose fines in the most serious cases.

Fines? How about PRISON instead? Nobody seems to budget for training or make individuals aware of the consequences if data is ‘lost’.

Organized crime seeks out data and coordinates such thefts. In a recent FBI investigation, they nabbed a ring that stole over $9 million with individual and commercial banking information compiled over an extensive period of time and found vulnerability in the bank network. The plan was then executed in less than 12 hours. The three masterminds were caught and yes - they ARE going to prison.

But when civil servants have proper control of the information they are dealing with, patient records and other database formats of personnel records and are lax in the way they handle, manage and secure the data there seems to be a complete lack of discipline for their actions. The bottom line is that nobody seems to care. They have inquiries, investigations and commissions of what went wrong, but in recent history, NOBODY has been fined or prosecuted for what appears to be absolute contempt for security of individuals’ information.

In England it’s almost on the verge of bizarre. The Home Office Minister, MP Hanson wants every ISP to monitor and enable them track where a user has been and what they are downloading - but they can’t seem to even dismiss an employee for losing or locking down memory sticks or laptops with complete data records of individuals that is far more damaging in terms of potential financial ruin of an individual.  The Right Honorable MP Hanson needs to check his backyard before worrying about what happens in public. The need to be heavy handed seems to be used on trivial things, like spying on a city council member that may or may not live within city limits - 21 times! Perhaps it’s time that Scotland Yard bring back Paul Temple and MI6 pull 007 out of retirement and wring somebody’s neck and throw them in jail, let alone be fired. This week, in yet another complete lack of security protocol, 4 laptops go ‘missing’ in a single event.  One of the laptops has voter information — with sufficient data to ruin an individual’s identity with the information contained on the laptop.

Files contained names, addresses, dates of birth, signatures, postal vote forms and statements used to confirm the identity of 14,673 voters. Councillor Julian Daly, whose details were on the missing laptop, said the situation was “troubling”.

The data was protected by two levels of security, the council said, but admitted there was a “slight risk” it could be accessed.

Hackers have time - it’s not a slight risk, it’s a DEFINITE risk.

Everyone affected is to receive a letter to inform them of the situation.

Inform? What good is that going to do? Their identities have ALREADY been compromised.

Mr Daly, who is leader of the Conservative group at the Lib Dem controlled council, added: “That’s all the information you need to set up a bank account. It’s classic identity theft territory. “It is troubling that the data was on a portable machine and it was accessible for someone to walk off with it.”

Bureaucrat Understatement of the year:

Daniel Goodwin, the council’s chief executive, said: “I would like to apologise to residents and reassure them the council takes its responsibility to look after their personal data very seriously.”

Seriously - then Mr. Goodwin should take responsibility for complete lack of training of staff under his management and turn himself in and go to jail. It’s going to take that kind of punishment before somebody figures out that people have to follow some pretty basic COMMON SENSE rules and regulations or face the consequences. Either that or go to jail.

It would appear that the common trait among all these incidences in training or even having a security practice in place when such information is being used by employees, contractors and administrators. And clearly there is no sense of responsibility by any of the staff using the information. I sense HRM Corgi’s could manage security of the information better than some of the administrators in charge.

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November 10th, 2009

U.K. minister wants enhanced monitoring of Internet usage

Posted by Doug Hanchard @ November 10, 2009 @ 7:06 AM

Categories: Commerce, Courts, Cyber Security, Cybercrime, Databases, E-government, Government technology, Home Office, IT Management, Intelligence, International, Law enforcement, NSA, Network security, Networking, Open government, RIAA, Regulations, Security, Servers, Social networks, Standards, State & Local Govt, Telecom, UK, VoIP, piracy

Tags: Internet Usage, Agency, British Broadcasting Corp., Monitoring, Internet Service Provider, Service Provider, U.K., Web Portal, U.K. Home Office Minister David Hanson, Minister Hanson

U.K. Home Office Minister David Hanson is pushing for further data archiving of information by Communications Service Providers, including such web portals as Facebook. In a BBC published article, the Minister responsible for Privacy, Christopher Graham, (along with several other un-named ministers) has some serious concerns  with the proposal.

Home Office Ministry - United Kingdom

Not only does Minister Hanson suggest that records be accessible at the source, but also tracked by internet service providers. Such a system would require immense capital and infrastructure. Based on what the Minister desires, it would appear that he wants investigative agencies to have broader mandates in observing people and creating dossiers on anyone in the world. This suggests that the British are gearing up to have a significant electronic intelligence community, similar to the U.S. variant, the National Security Agency. While most G-8 nations have extensive archives and records, it has never been required by local internet service providers or other telecommunications companies to maintain the records to the extent the Home office is suggesting. Such systems have never been within the budget of local police agencies. Minister Hanson is possibly suggesting that these costs should be passed on to the user of the internet services through cost sharing mechanisms of the communications provider and the government through direct subsidy, using tax dollars to implement the initial construction of the platforms required. Read the rest of this entry »

November 9th, 2009

Wireless users may be shut off if sharing copyrighted files

Posted by Doug Hanchard @ November 9, 2009 @ 6:28 AM

Categories: Commerce, Copyright, Courts, International, Justice, Law enforcement, Mobile/wireless, Net neutrality, Patents, Privacy, Security, Telecom, UK, Web services, piracy

Tags: Service Provider, U.K., Wireless, Wireless Security Problem, Internet, Wi-Fi, Wireless LANs, Internet Service Providers (ISPs), Business Services, Wireless And Mobility

Internet services have created explosive growth in distribution of copyright materials. Some people are distributing it and don’t even know it, some argue. Reaction, regardless whether a consumer knows it or not, is to push for extensive reform and new enforcement capabilities to prevent further erosion and  protect their content. The U.K. government responded (Oct. 28) with proposed enforcement options for OFCom to use at its discretion. Among them is the ability to shut off a user’s wireless WiFi service if user is found to be transmitting internet traffic such as file transfer of copyright material. Singling out wireless access to the internet is just the start. Read the rest of this entry »

November 6th, 2009

Human x-ray machines: Coming soon to an airport near you

Posted by Doug Hanchard @ November 6, 2009 @ 5:00 AM

Categories: Canada, Congress, FAA, Government technology, Homeland security, Intelligence, International, Justice, Law enforcement, Privacy, Public health, Science, Security, Transportation, UK

Tags: U.S., Canada, Airport, Transportation, Security, Doug Hanchard

In the movie Total Recall, Arnold Schwarzenegger (Gov. of California) runs through a security check point corridor operating using X-Ray technology. That film was released in 1990. Today that technology is being installed around the world at airports, border check points, marine ports and high risk security environments such as court buildings. They are currently being assessed or used in Canada, the U.S., U.K., Russia, Japan, and Australia. Some countries, such as India, have outright rejected them based on privacy and considered too offensive to passengers. Significant concern is being raised as to the long term medical impacts to humans going through the devices.

In Canada, the Canadian Air Transport Security Agency (CATSA) organization has completed some field trials at smaller airports (Kelowna, B.C.) and is looking to purchase a half dozen of the machines to continue further assessment. There are approximately 18 airports in the U.S. using them. In the U.K. several airports now have them including Manchester. Testing in several countries has been going since 2004. In the U.S. the Transportation Security Administration began field trials in 2007. The technology offers security details to process passengers quickly and determine if weapons or other contraband is on a person without doing physical body search. Such technology would significantly improve the detection of hidden materials. Read the rest of this entry »

November 5th, 2009

FCC Chairman testifies on driving while texting

Posted by Doug Hanchard @ November 5, 2009 @ 2:30 PM

Categories: Canada, Commerce, Congress, FCC, Law enforcement, Mobile/wireless, Obama, State & Local Govt, Transportation

Tags: FCC, Phone, Chairman, Cell Phone, Federal Government, Cellular Phones, Telecom & Utilities, Government, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology

Last week I posted that the Government of Ontario has implemented a ban on driving while using a mobile phone or CB radio. U.S. Congress is now holding hearings on the issue.

Chairman Julius Genachowski of the Federal Communications Commission testified before the Subcommittees on Communications, Technology and the Internet, Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection, Committee on Energy and Commerce on the topic of Technological Devices and Vehicle Safety. Chairman Genachowski’s testimony brought out some interesting facts.

1995: approximately 34 million people had subscribed to a mobile phone.

2009: 276 million

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported in 2008 that driver distraction is the cause of 16% of all fatal crashes - 5,800 people killed - and 21% of crashes resulting in an injury - 515,000 people wounded.

I posted last week that 6 U.S. states have banned driving while talking on a cell phone. 18 states now have some kind of law, primarily aimed at texting while driving.

President Obama signed an Executive Order banning all Federal employees (except in an emergency) from texting while driving any government vehicle or driving while on the job.

According to the Automobile Association of America (AAA), nearly 50% of teens admit to texting while driving.

Bluetooth and speech-to-text technology sales are likely to skyrocket, along with civilian versions of Heads Up Displays (HUD) in rear view mirrors.

November 5th, 2009

Copyright associations want enforcement for free

Posted by Doug Hanchard @ November 5, 2009 @ 10:41 AM

Categories: Canada, Censorship, Congress, Copyright, Courts, Cyber Security, Cybercrime, Defense, E-government, European Union, Intellectual Property, International, Justice, Law enforcement, Privacy, RIAA, Regulations, Security, State & Local Govt, Telecom, UK

Tags: Monitor, Internet Service Provider, Deep Packet Inspection Technique, Internet Service Providers (ISPs), Monitors & Displays, Internet, Hardware, Components, Doug Hanchard

The internet has opened the Pandora’s Box - that everything that can be duplicated - will be. This simple truth will drive up costs for you the consumer. You will pay one of three ways: through the government and the court system (taxes);through your monthly internet access fees paid to your ISP (network operations and infrastructure); or, finally, through higher product costs. More than likely, you will pay all three.

The first generation of technology, copyright protection was easy to target and manage. Organizations such as the MPAA, RIAA, and others lobbied and won governing laws and regulations that ‘taxed’ (in some countries it is defined as a levy) blank tape cassettes and eventually blank CD and DVD products to ‘pay’ for potential infringements of copyright materials. Products that were not taxed (so far) were hard drives, memory cards and Next Gen (NG) Personal Video Recorders (PVR’s) used to record television shows. The time has probably come in which artists and vendors will have to contribute funding for enforcement through sales of their products directly in each jurisdiction they wish to have copyright protection.  That cost would then be passed onto consumers through increases in prices. Read the rest of this entry »

November 4th, 2009

European Parliament to revisit telecom regulations

Posted by Doug Hanchard @ November 4, 2009 @ 4:30 AM

Categories: Courts, Cyber Security, Disaster recovery, E-government, European Parliament, European Union, Government technology, International, Justice, Law enforcement, Mobile/wireless, Network security, Open government, Privacy, Regulations, Security, Spam, Standards, State & Local Govt, Telecom, UK, VoIP, piracy

Tags: Internet Access, Telecom Regulation, European Parliament, Telephony, Telecom & Utilities, Telecommunications, Networking, Doug Hanchard

The Members of the European Parliament (MEP) are to convene once more on November 4 to discuss Internet access, along with new rules that are currently being tabled and will be the sole topic up for discussion. At the last meeting on October 6, the Council of EU Telecommunications Ministers formally rejected Parliament’s second-reading amendment on internet access, which dealt with access freedom, indirectly pointed to file sharing and creating a law on disconnecting users that do so illegally.

In a press release by the European Parliament, the Council for EU telecommunications will be discussing a variety of legal issues that have caused a stir around the world on restricting internet access.

Alejo VIDAL-QUADRAS (EPP, Spain) who heads Parliament’s Conciliation Committee delegation, said after the last of these meetings on Thursday morning: “We go into the negotiations in a spirit of compromise, but determined to defend users’ rights and committed to the development of a regulatory framework that will incentivise investment and open up the market. We will do all we can to achieve a good solution, but Council has to understand that Parliament will defend without hesitation the freedom of the citizens it represents”.

The group is reviewing a complete package of innovation, safety and other reforms in respects to telecommunications, including traditional television and radio broadcast, security, privacy,  email spam, cyberterrorism,  phone number portability and those with disabilities accessing technology. Currently the council is at a significant cross roads on the Internet access and file sharing, copyright and this single issue could scrap the entire telecom package being tabled and given final reading for passage.

Looming larger is how European Parliament’s new regulations and Laws would affect sovereignty of each nation’s jurisdiction with respect to enforcement. One such example: if an individual is convicted of an infraction in Spain, would that country’s court decision (if based on this new set of Laws) be then applicable to all other nations inside the EU with respect to the individual’s conviction? If it is enforceable and agreed upon by all signing nations, this may indicate that Europe is beginning to eliminate the issue of sovereignty all together.

November 2nd, 2009

Net Neutrality: You own the Internet - make sure it becomes Law

Posted by Doug Hanchard @ November 2, 2009 @ 6:23 AM

Categories: Censorship, Congress, Copyright, Courts, Cybercrime, E-government, FCC, International, Journalism, Justice, Law enforcement, Net neutrality, Privacy, Regulations, Security, Social networks, Standards, State & Local Govt, Telecom, Web services

Tags: Regulation, Net Neutrality, Law, News Organization, Changes, Internet, Doug Hanchard

Last week I wrote about how Net Neutrality could be blown to pieces in satire and followed up with another piece suggesting that the Internet is not free from government monopolies and corporate service providers. An advocate of an open system that has choice and no boundaries barring access needs some ammunition to fight back with. It has plenty if used appropriately.

For the first time in the world, there’s a service that has a unique platform, allowing all free people to interact, demonstrate, express and bind together to resolve issues. The internet is the vehicle which has and will continue to drive change, innovation, and create an entirely new political landscape that does not have limitations. Could turn out to be a bad or good thing. But internet users will be decision makers on this point, not corporations. Read the rest of this entry »

October 26th, 2009

Talk and drive? More governments ban handheld phone use in vehicles

Posted by Doug Hanchard @ October 26, 2009 @ 12:34 PM

Categories: Canada, Courts, International, Law enforcement, Mobile/wireless, Telecom, Transportation, Twitter

Tags: Phone, Lufthansa, Government, Cell Phone, Accident, Ontario Provincial Police, Telecom & Utilities, Policies And Procedures, Cellular Phones, Human Resources

You just finished buying a new cell / mobile phone and it’s got everything you need in one neat little gadget. Your email, address book and calendar. It has your presentation, web browser and of course the ability to twitter what you are doing right this second…like getting a ticket for using it while driving down the road.

It’s now law. The government of Ontario has banned operating handheld devices while driving any motor vehicle on public roads. There are exceptions made for public safety and other government agencies. But these are exceptions. You can still talk and drive, providing you are not actually holding the device. Blue-tooth enabled phones or headsets are allowed. Fixed devices to dashboards are allowed, such as GPS units. The law will be enforced in all jurisdictions with warning tickets for approximately 30 days prior to fines being issued.

The Ontario Provincial Police is warning people publicly that if caught driving while holding and talking on a cell phone a fine could be just the start of your problems. If during an accident investigation it’s determined that driving while talking on a cell phone is a contributing factor to the accident, existing laws and fines may expose the driver causing the accident, fines to be levied at the maximum rate and driver points assessed at the maximum allowed under law. Read the rest of this entry »