Hackers identifying themselves as “Anonymous” launched a denial-of-service attack Wednesday against a web site for Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to protest a government proposal to filter internet content, according to the Australian Associated Press.

Decius's comments:

This seems like a stupid stunt, but then again, the news reports caused me to notice the issue. I'm dismayed that the UK has allowed this kind of filtering scheme to be deployed with hardly a whimper of protest, at least as far as I heard over here. That success has emboldened censors in numerous western countries who want to deploy similar systems. I have the impression that the filter list that is running in the UK is fairly carefully managed such that most Internet users don't know its there. The only controversy that I've heard of was over that Scorpions album, which is obviously an edge case. The Australian filter list was leaked, and reports seem to indicate that it contains material that should not have been listed. Making matters worse, the Australian government has tried to censor the list.

I don't think goverments should filter the internet. If they insist, there is something to be said for doing it transparently.

‘Anonymous’ Declares War on Australia Over Internet Filtering | Threat Level | Wired.com

Decius wrote:
Apparently if you haven't already seen this you aren't very good at teh Internet.

Apparently, I fail the Internets. I good at the webs now. I has fixed it.

Epic Kludges and Jury Rigs

Hadley Leggett:

Starting this fall, you'll have a new reason to trust the information you find on Wikipedia: An optional feature called "WikiTrust" will color code every word of the encyclopedia based on the reliability of its author and the length of time it has persisted on the page.

Called WikiTrust, the program assigns a color code to newly edited text using an algorithm that calculates author reputation from the lifespan of their past contributions. It's based on a simple concept: The longer information persists on the page, the more accurate it's likely to be.

"They've hit on the fundamentally Darwinian nature of Wikipedia," said Wikipedia software developer and neuroscientist Virgil Griffith of the California Institute of Technology, who was not involved in the project.

Noteworthy writes: It's pretty egregious that neither Wired nor the WikiTrust folks bothered to mention the Puppy Smoothies paper, which was published in 2006, a year before the earliest citations on the WikiTrust site. (Why didn't Virgil mention this?)

The reliability of information collected from at large Internet users by open collaborative wikis such as Wikipedia has been a subject of widespread debate. This paper provides a practical proposal for improving user confidence in wiki information by coloring the text of a wiki article based on the venerability of the text. This proposal relies on the philosophy that bad information is less likely to survive a collaborative editing process over large numbers of edits. Colorization would provide users with a clear visual cue as to the level of confidence that they can place in particular assertions made within a wiki article.

Decius: Noteworthy later points out that the Wikitrust people did reference my paper in their first paper. I'm really happy to see these ideas making it into practice regardless of how much credit I'm getting. I pushed the ball a little bit forward but these guys have taken it all the way and thats awesome. Congrats Wikitrust!

Wikipedia adopts Text Coloring for Trust Idea that Decius helped develop

Quoted below is Tom's reply to the DMCA take-down notice that Texas Instruments sent:

Mr. Foster,

This afternoon I received an email from you, attached below, which orders me to remove a post from my blog at www.memestreams.net about the cracking of the TI-83 OS Signing Key. Upon receiving your email I removed the post you reference from MemeStreams. However, I do not think that the post you referenced on MemeStreams violates Texas Instruments' intellectual property. Your email does not make clear what aspect of my post you object to, and because it was so vague I suspect you may have emailed me without taking the time to properly digest the context and purpose of my post.

I am a professional computer security researcher. My personal blog on MemeStreams is a place were I regularly comment on matters relevant to computer security in both the technical and policy realm. The purpose of my post about the TI-83 signing key was to report the fact that the key had been cracked, to explain why I felt that event was important and unprecedented, to discuss the implications of that event for the practice of computer security, and to consider potential events that might follow in the future.

Absolutely nothing about my post was intended to encourage or facilitate the violation of Texas Instrument's Intellectual Property. I did not include specific information, such as the numeric keys, which might have facilitated that. Frankly, I don't care about calculator operating systems and neither does anyone else who reads my blog. My interest in the subject is purely academic - its about the implications that this event has for the greater practice of computer security.

I did provide hyperlinks to the forums where the crack was discussed, but I did so only because those are the primary sources that demonstrate that the event that I was reporting on did, in fact, actually happen. While the DMCA has been used to prohibit people from providing hyperlinks in the past, this has only been done in the context where the purpose of providing those hyperlinks was to facilitate infringement. Nothing about my post encourages infringement. In my case the purpose of providing the links was to accurately report the news.

I have a constitutional right to report the news. I have a right to report that this event occurred, to explain what web forums it occurred in, and explain what implications I think it has. This is no different from a newspaper reporting that a murder occurred, reporting what street it occurred on, and explaining why their readers should care. The DMCA does not curtail these fundamental constitutional rights.

I sympathize with your position Mr. Foster. In fact, the post you asked me to remove predicted that Texas Instruments might pursue legal action against the people who are attempting to violate their intellectual property. However, I am not one of those people and I ever expected to receive a legal threat from you. As your email does not make clear what aspect of my post you object to, I've been forced to remove the post in its entirety. I feel this is a significant trespass upon my First Amendment rights and I presume that it could only have happened in error.

Please take a moment to carefully reconsider the position you've taken here.

Thank you,
Tom Cross

TI is seriously overreaching. Their actions in regard to Tom should not be (and may not be) legal.

TI just kicked the hornet's nest.

Response to Texas Instruments DMCA Notice

Janet Napolitano:

Today [27 August 2009] I announced new directives to enhance and clarify oversight for searches of computers and other electronic media at US ports of entry -- a critical step designed to bolster the Department's efforts to combat transnational crime and terrorism while protecting privacy and civil liberties.

The directives, available at DHS.gov, will enhance transparency, accountability and oversight of electronic media searches at U.S. ports of entry and includes new administrative procedures designed to reflect broad considerations of civil liberties and privacy protections -- measures designed to ensure that officers and agents understand their responsibilities to protect individual private information and that individuals understand their rights.

From the 10-page CBP Border Search of Electronic Devices Containing Information:

In the course of a border search, with or without individualized suspicion, an Officer may examine electronic devices and may review and analyze the information encountered at the border, subject to the requirements and limitations provided herein and applicable law.

Officers encountering business or commercial information in electronic devices shall treat such information as business confidential information and shall protect that information from unauthorized disclosure.

If after reviewing the information ... there is not probable cause to seize it, any copies of the information must be destroyed, and any electronic device must be returned.

Without probable cause to seize an electronic device or a copy of information contained therein, CBP may retain only information relating to immigration, customs, and other enforcement matters if such retention is consistent with the privacy and data protection standards of the system of records in which such information is retained.

DHS Secretary Napolitano Announces New Directives on Border Searches of Electronic Media

Marie K Cross, Maureen A Powers

Department of Cell Biology, Emory University, GA 30322, US.

Nup98 is a 98 kDa protein of the nuclear pore complex (NPC), the large macromolecular structure responsible for trafficking between the nucleus and the cytoplasm. NPC proteins are collectively referred to as nucleoporins, and are typically, but not always, named as Nup followed by the respective molecular weight in kDa. A subset of nucleoporins contains a repeat domain with multiple interspersed copies of a phenylalanine-glycine (FG) core motif. Nup98 is the only metazoan nucleoporin with the glycine-leucine-phenylalanine-glycine (GLFG) variant of these repeats. Here we provide a detailed summary of Nup98 and its many reported functions. The NUP98 gene encodes multiple transcripts that vary as a result of differential splicing. Nup98 is expressed in two major forms: the Nup98 protein derived from a 3 kb messenger RNA (mRNA), or the Nup98-Nup96 polyprotein translated from an 8 kb message. Both forms undergo autocatalyzed proteolysis to release the mature, 90 kDa Nup98 from the amino (N) terminus, and either an 8 kDa peptide or the Nup96 protein from the carboxy (C) terminus. Nup96 is a component of a major structural subcomplex of the NPC. Nup98 is a dynamic nucleoporin that moves on and off the NPC and shuttles between nuclear and cytoplasmic compartments. Nup98 is a key player in RNA export from the nucleus, has a role in the import of some nuclear proteins, and contributes to proper mitotic regulation during cell division. Nup98 is targeted by several viruses to selectively enhance viral expression and, in turn, NUP98 transcription is upregulated by the interferon γ-mediated immune response of the cell. The NUP98 gene is a site of chromosomal translocations that lead to expression of chimeric proteins containing the GLFG repeat domain of Nup98 fused to a variety of partner proteins. These fusions are associated most often with the development of acute myelogenous leukemia. Thus, Nup98 is a remarkably diverse and multi-talented nucleoporin with additional functions that are still being explored.

Alternative names for this molecule: 98 kDa nucleoporin; ADAR2; ADIR2; GLFG-repeat containing nucleoporin; Nuclear pore complex protein Nup98; Nuclear pore complex protein Nup98-Nup96; Nucleoporin 98; Nucleoporin 98kD; Nucleoporin 98kDa; Nucleoporin Nup98; NUP196; NUP96; Nup96; NUP98; Nup98; Nup98-Nup96; p97

Nanochick's paper is now available online.

Nup98 : Abstract : UCSD-Nature Molecule Pages

... But my luggage didn't. I've got no clothes, laptop, or charger for my mobile phone. However, I have travel insurance, so it looks like ill be getting a new suit or too for free. (Hopefully)

I always love a good adventure.

Les Paul, whose innovations with the electric guitar and studio technology made him one of the most important figures in recorded music, has died, according to a statement from his publicists. Paul was 94.

Paul was a guitar and electronics mastermind whose creations -- such as multitrack recording, tape delay and the solid-body guitar that bears his name, the Gibson Les Paul -- helped give rise to modern popular music, including rock 'n' roll. No slouch on the guitar himself, he continued playing at clubs into his 90s despite being hampered by arthritis.

R.I.P. Les Paul

Having certain influence in the world, XCon Information Security Conference is one of the most authoritative and famous information security conference in China, and also one of the largest. Upholding rigorous work style, Xcon invited information security experts and fans, network security consultants from abroad and home for years. XCon commit to create a friendly, harmonious information security platform.

In the summer of this year, XCon2009 will come in time. and meet you in Beijing, the capital city of China. Then, there will be many information security experts, scholars, researchers and related professionals who come from many different countries invited to present and give speeches. The meet will involve application security, intrusion detection and forensic analysis, wireless and Voip security and security in emerging field. So if you have new technologies, new discoveries or successful experiences in some fields, welcome to XCon to share with us; If you want to stay abreast of the latest developments in this rapidly moving technological field, or want to learn somethings you never known, welcome to XCon to be with us!

I will be attending XCon in Beijing next week. This should be interesting...

XCon2009 XFocus Information Security Conference

No one knows to what extent the U.S. has already engaged in cyber offensive attacks. In 2007, the Department of Homeland Security grabbed headlines when it released a video to raise alarm about vulnerabilities in the U.S. power grid. The video showed a simulated remote hacker attack against an electrical turbine which caused the turbine to spin out of control and collapse in a cloud of smoke.

The performance might easily have been inspired by a 1982 incident, in which the U.S. sabotaged the Siberian pipeline. After the U.S. learned from a Russian scientist that the Soviets were stealing data on U.S. technology, the CIA hatched a plot to insert a logic bomb into software it knew was headed to Russia to operate pumps, valves and turbines on the Siberian natural gas pipeline. The equipment worked fine initially, but at a pre-programmed time caused excessive gas pressure to build on the valves. The resulting explosion was captured by orbiting satellites and was "the most monumental non-nuclear explosion and fire ever seen from space," according to a former U.S. official who disclosed the incident in his 2004 memoir. Although there were no human casualties, the story might easily have had a different ending.

Future of Cyber Security: What Are the Rules of Engagement?