/cyber/ - Cyberpunk & Science Fiction

Apple moves to vacate court order requiring it to unlock an iPhone

>Apple has been cooperating with the investigation into the 2015 terrorist attack in San Bernardino, California until now, but the company recently ended up facing an order that it felt was unreasonable: to create a special version of iOS that would allow the government to brute-force one of the shooter's iPhones.

>Apple also thinks that this order could lead to even more dangerous invasions of privacy. The motion declares that "if Apple can be forced to write code in this case to bypass security features and create new accessibility, what is to stop the government from demanding that Apple write code to turn on the microphone in aid of government surveillance, activate the video camera, surreptitiously record conversations, or turn on location services to track the phone's user? Nothing."

Source:

https://techreport.com/news/29773/apple-moves-to-vacate-court-order-requiring-it-to-unlock-an-iphone

https://archive.is/gKLIj

Supplementary Reading:

http://www.reuters.com/article/apple-encryption-timcook-idUSKCN0VX2S5

https://archive.is/KZW2q

In London, Renters Now Outnumber Homeowners

>In London, the number of rented homes has just edged past the number that are owner-occupied, according to a report out this month. For the U.K.’s biggest city, this shift from owning to renting is, it seems, just the beginning. According to another new report, the ratio of renters to homeowners in London is expected to be yet greater by 2025, by which time the proportion of renters will have reached 60 percent.

>So what will the consequences of this change be? Homeownership will increasingly be seen as a luxury. Rents in London are so high—costing an average £743 ($1037) per bedroom in a shared apartment—that saving for a down payment can take decades even for the prosperous. Some middle-income Londoners will now only become homeowners in late middle-age, while many may give up on the idea of owning entirely.

Source:

http://www.citylab.com/housing/2016/02/londons-renters-now-outnumber-homeowners/470946/

https://archive.is/Zt9jK

February 26. 2016

Cool Components' email database taken in apparent data breach

>Hobbyist electronics specialist Cool Components has been hit with an apparent data breach in which persons unknown have made off with its customer email list - but the company claims its investigation has turned up no evidence of security issues.

>While Cool Components claims no breach has taken place, and that no payment details are stored on its systems, its customers are strongly advised to consider changing their password in case the company's assurances turn out to be hollow.

Source:

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/bits/2016/02/26/cool-components-data-breach/

https://archive.is/N4o8j

Researchers find privacy problems in popular Baidu browser

>This week, the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs released a report showing that the Android version of Baidu Browser, made by one of China's largest technology companies, leaks a user's location, browsing history and other data because of poor or missing encryption whenever the browser is used.

>And the browser's Windows version leaks even more data, including computer serial numbers. Any individual, company and government can hack a device or spy on users' online habits.

Source:

http://phys.org/news/2016-02-privacy-problems-popular-baidu-browser.html

https://archive.is/t9Qp8

>/cyber/ news is back

Thank you so much for doing this man.

>>40059

Never thought I'd see the day where I agree with Apple.

>>40085

The best part is that Bill Gates had to publicly deny that he was on the FBI's side rather than Apple's in this particular scenario, thanks to an interview that went around about a week ago insisting that he backed the feds:

http://www.macrumors.com/2016/02/23/bill-gates-apple-sides-fbi/

https://archive.is/1zjX2

Original source is an interview with The Financial Times, which has a paywall, so I can't link it, but snippets and hyperlink are included in the Macrumors article.

It made him look so bad that he went on record denying the report he didn't support Apple's decision:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3459535/Bill-Gates-backs-FBI-fight-against-Apple-hack-San-Bernardino-shooter-s-iPhone.html

https://archive.is/TXXOP

The original source this time is a televised interview from Bloomberg, which cannot be archived:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2016-02-23/gates-disputes-report-that-he-backs-fbi-in-apple-dispute

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Makes you wonder, if Jobs was still alive, what would the ensuing drama look like? I'm no fan of Apple either, but if ever there was someone with the temerity to call Gates out on bullshit it might have been Jobs.

>>40085

It's surreal isn't it? Apple of all corps are worried about invasions of privacy.

>>40109

they don't have to be good or altruistic to see the inevitable scandal that will happen when someone uses the backdoor for criminal purposes. paying for lawyers to stand up against the USA is a lot cheaper than doing damage control later.

Most major tech companies would do the same.

…atleast the rational ones

This is Why People Fear the ‘Internet of Things’

>February 18, 2016

>…a reader sent a link to a lengthy discussion thread on the support forum for Foscam, a Chinese firm that makes and sells security cameras. The thread was started by a Foscam user who noticed his IP camera was noisily and incessantly calling out to more than a dozen online hosts in almost as many countries.

>Turns out, this Focscam camera was one of several newer models the company makes that comes with peer-to-peer networking capabilities baked in.

>Foscam admits that disabling the P2P option doesn’t actually do anything to stop the device from seeking out other P2P hosts online…

http://krebsonsecurity.com/2016/02/this-is-why-people-fear-the-internet-of-things/

https://archive.is/oD6gN

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Paper Skin Mimics the Real Thing

>February 19, 2016

>The artificial skin may represent the first single sensing platform capable of simultaneously measuring pressure, touch, proximity, temperature, humidity, flow, and pH levels. Previously, researchers have tried using exotic materials such as carbon nanotubes or silver nanoparticles to create sensors capable of measuring just a few of those things. By comparison, the team at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia used common off-the-shelf materials such as paper sticky notes, sponges, napkins and aluminum foil. Total material cost for a paper skin patch 6.5 centimeters on each side came to just $1.67.

http://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/biomedical/devices/paper-skin-mimics-the-real-thing

https://archive.is/BlFg0

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Judge Confirms Government Paid CMU Scientists to Hack Tor Users for FBI

>February 24, 2016

>The security researchers from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) were hired by the federal officials to discover a technique that could help the FBI Unmask Tor users and Reveal their IP addresses as part of a criminal investigation.

>…a federal judge in Washington has recently confirmed that the computer scientists at CMU's Software Engineering Institute (SEI) were indeed behind a hack of the TOR project in 2014, according to court documents [PDF] filed Tuesday.

https://thehackernews.com/2016/02/tor-hack.html?m=1

https://archive.is/O7ng3

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Prosecutors halt vast, likely illegal DEA wiretap operation

>February 25. 2016

>Prosecutors in a Los Angeles suburb say they have dramatically scaled back a vast and legally questionable eavesdropping operation, built by federal drug agents, that once accounted for nearly a fifth of all U.S. wiretaps.

>The wiretapping, authorized by prosecutors and a single state-court judge in Riverside County, alarmed privacy advocates and even some U.S. Justice Department lawyers, who warned that it was likely illegal.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/02/25/dea-riverside-wiretaps-scaled-back/80891460/

https://archive.is/baTwf

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IRS taxpayer data theft seven times larger than originally thought

>February 26, 2016

> In May 2015, the government agency said criminals used a tool on the IRS website to steal the tax forms of 104,000 people. Then in August, it revised that number up to 330,000.

>On Friday, the tax-collection agency revealed that number is now closer to 720,000.

http://money.cnn.com/2016/02/26/technology/irs-data-theft/

https://archive.is/06jS8

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While it defies U.S. government, Apple abides by China's orders — and reaps big rewards

>February 26, 2016

>Since the iPhone was officially introduced in China seven years ago, Apple has overcome a national security backlash there and has censored apps that wouldn't pass muster with Chinese authorities. It has moved local user data onto servers operated by the state-owned China Telecom and submits to security audits by Chinese authorities.

>The approach contrasts with Apple's defiant stance against the FBI, which is heaping pressure on the company to decrypt an iPhone that belonged to San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farook.

http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-apple-china-20160226-story.html

https://archive.is/VYaxQ

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Chinese ISPs Caught Injecting Ads and Malware into Web Pages

>February 27, 2016

>Chinese Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have been caught red-handed for injecting Advertisements as well as Malware through their network traffic.

>Three Israeli researchers uncovered that the major Chinese-based ISPs named China Telecom and China Unicom, two of Asia's largest network operators, have been engaged in an illegal practice of content injection in network traffic.

https://thehackernews.com/2016/02/china-hacker-malware.html?m=1

https://archive.is/ljoOV

EU Unveils Details of Data Privacy Pact with US

>February 29, 2016

>The EU on Monday unveiled details of a new deal with the US to curb government spying on the personal Internet data of European citizens, but critics said it fell short and threatened fresh legal action.

>Brussels and Washington announced the new EU-US "Privacy Shield" deal on February 2, replacing a previous agreement that was thrown out by the European Court of Justice last year.

http://phys.org/news/2016-02-eu-unveils-privacy-pact.html

https://archive.is/IqckU

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Eurpoean Arrests Target 'Darknet' Selling Drugs, Arms, Fake ID

>February 29. 2016

>Police in seven European countries raided operators of "darknet" online platforms trading in weapons, illegal drugs, fake IDs and counterfeit money, arresting nine suspects, German authorities said Monday.

>The German security services called the raids and arrests "a major blow against the German-speaking underground economy and further proof that there is no complete anonymity on the Internet, including in the so-called darknet".

http://http://phys.org/news/2016-02-european-darknet-drugs-arms-fake.html

https://archive.is/wEb8V

>>40060

How did they not expect Baidu browser to be a privacy nightmare?

>>40101

PSYCHO-PASS

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>>40127

>further proof that there is no complete anonymity on the Internet, including in the so-called darknet"

I'd call that sloppyness on their side rather than them not being anonymous enough.

>>40095

*puts on tinfoil hat*

Have you seen the CommonCore thing that circulated the gamergate-related boards?

Of course Gates would side with the feds, if that CC thing is true.

>>40127

>further proof that there is no complete anonymity on the Internet, including in the so-called darknet".

Or the guys you caught were lazy.

>>40299

but woulf it fly in KSP?

>>40299

In the future, company logos will be all over military craft.

>>40309

>implying a military-industrial complex doesn't already exist.

>>40309

Good catch

Our reality is pretty cyberpunk in concept, we just don't realize it because it doesnt look the way it did in movies

>>40310

>>40331

Boeing™ sponsored attack drones powered by Rolls Royce™ soon.

>>40309

>>40367

I don't really think it's good to put your company logo on your weapons and vehicles. I don't know what marketing will think when they see news footage of tanks crushing dead bodies beneath their treads with your logo on it.

>>40059

I'm calling bullshit on Apple's publicity stunt. Don't they already cooperate with PRISM? And on account of CISPA, the FBI would have considerable access to data collected by the NSA.

https://www.yahoo.com/tech/facebooks-zuckerberg-meets-chinas-propaganda-031503568.html

Mark Zuckerberg Meets China's Propaganda Chief

>>40688

oy vey no archive?