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Submission + - Group Thinks Anonymity Should Be Baked Into the Internet Itself Using Tor

Submitted by Hugh Pickens DOT Com
Hugh Pickens DOT Com writes: David Talbot writes at MIT Technology review that engineers on the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), an informal organization of engineers that changes Internet code and operates by rough consensus, have asked the architects of Tor to consider turning the technology into an Internet standard. If widely adopted, such a standard would make it easy to include the technology in consumer and business products ranging from routers to apps and would allow far more people to browse the Web without being identified by anyone who might be spying on Internet traffic. The IETF is already working to make encryption standard in all web traffic. Stephen Farrell believes that forging Tor into a standard that interoperates with other parts of the Internet could be better than leaving Tor as a separate tool that requires people to take special action to implement. “I think there are benefits that might flow in both directions,” says Farrell. “I think other IETF participants could learn useful things about protocol design from the Tor people, who’ve faced interesting challenges that aren’t often seen in practice. And the Tor people might well get interest and involvement from IETF folks who’ve got a lot of experience with large-scale systems.” Andrew Lewman, executive director of Tor, says the group is considering it. “We’re basically at the stage of ‘Do we even want to go on a date together?’ It’s not clear we are going to do it, but it’s worth exploring to see what is involved. It adds legitimacy, it adds validation of all the research we’ve done.”

Submission + - Disabled Woman Denied Entrance to USA Due to Private Medical Records (thestar.com) 4

Submitted by Jah-Wren Ryel
Jah-Wren Ryel writes: The latest from the front lines in the War on Dignity:

In 2012, Canadian Ellen Richardson was hospitalized for clinical depression. This past Monday she tried to board a plane to New York for a $6,000 Caribbean cruise. DHS denied her entry, citing supposedly private medical records listing her hospitalization.

Submission + - Google supercomputers tackle giant drug-interaction data crunch (nature.com)

Submitted by ananyo
ananyo writes: By analysing the chemical structure of a drug, researchers can see if it is likely to bind to, or ‘dock’ with, a biological target such as a protein. Researchers have now unveiled a computational effort that used Google's supercomputers to assesses billions of potential dockings on the basis of drug and protein information held in public databases. The effort will help researchers to find potentially toxic side effects and to predict how and where a compound might work in the body.
“It’s the largest computational docking ever done by mankind,” says Timothy Cardozo, a pharmacologist at New York University’s Langone Medical Center, who presented the project at the US National Institutes of Health’s High Risk–High Reward Symposium in Bethesda, Maryland. The result, a website called Drugable, is still in testing, but it will eventually be available for free, allowing researchers to predict how and where a compound might work in the body, purely on the basis of chemical structure

Submission + - Why CyanogenMod was Pulled from Google Play

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The Next Web seems to have the answer: http://thenextweb.com/google/2013/11/27/google-forces-cyanogenmod-pull-one-click-installer-play-store-violation-developer-terms/

"We did some further digging, however, and sources told us the app was pulled over Google Play’s system interference clause, which notes that if an app makes changes with the user’s knowledge and consent, the user must be able to easily reverse the change either within the app or by uninstalling it altogether. CyanogenMod doesn’t offer either, and until it does, it’s staying outside of Google Play."

Submission + - U. S. Military Settles for Software Piracy (bbc.co.uk)

Submitted by Rambo Tribble
Rambo Tribble writes: The BBC reports that the U. S. government has agreed to pay software maker Apptricity $50 million to settle claims that the U. S. Army pirated thousands of copies of the firm's provisioning software. The report indicates 500 licensed copies were sold, but it came to light an army official had mentioned that "thousands" of devices were running the software.

Submission + - Black Silicon Slices and Dices Bacteria (gizmag.com)

Submitted by Zothecula
Zothecula writes: Originally discovered by accident in the 1980s, black silicon is silicon with a surface that has been modified to feature nanoscale spike structures which give the material very low reflectivity. Researchers have now found that these spikes can also destroy a wide range of bacteria, potentially paving the way for a new generation of antibacterial surfaces.

Submission + - Scientists 3D-print 300m lithium-ion batteries (techienews.co.uk) 1

Submitted by hypnosec
hypnosec writes: Harvard scientists have managed to 3D-print 300m lithium-ion batteries – the size of grain of sand – that could possibly pave way for new era of micro-electronics. The 3D-printed battery is thinner than that of a human hair and can be used to supply electricity to tiny robotic devices, medical implants as well as those devices that have been powerless for the want of such tiny batteries. According to Jennifer Lewis, a materials scientist at Harvard, 3D-printing of the battery was possible thanks to two important developments. Lewis’ first invention is “what she calls functional inks that can solidify into batteries and simple components, including electrodes, wires, and antennas." Second is the development of nozzles and high-pressure extruders that are used to squeeze out the batteries and other components from the 3D-printer.

Submission + - A New Linux Worm Targets The Internet of Things

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: A new Linux worm — luckily still not spotted being used in the wild — has been unearthed by Symantec researchers. Dubbed “Darlloz”, its targets are not just traditional computers, but also Internet-enabled devices such as home routers, set-top boxes, security cameras, and even industrial control systems. The worm inserts itself into target devices by exploiting a PHP vulnerability that has been patched as far back as May 2012.

Submission + - Why Bitcoin Is Doomed to Fail

Submitted by Hugh Pickens DOT Com
Hugh Pickens DOT Com writes: Economist Edward Hadas writes in the NYT that developers of bitcoin are trying to show that money can be successfully privatized but money that is not issued by governments is always doomed to failure because money is inevitably a tool of the state. “Bitcoin exemplifies some of the problems of private money,” says Hadas. “Its value is uncertain, its legal status is unclear, and it could easily become valueless if users lose faith.” Besides, if bitcoin ever really started to take off, governments would either ban it or take over the system says Hadas. The authorities might be motivated by a genuine concern about the stability of a shadow monetary system or they might act out of self-preservation because tax evasion would be too easy in a parallel economy. “Part of the interest in virtual currencies like bitcoin is that their anonymity can provide a convenient cloak for criminal activity. Part is technological — this is a cool idea. And part is speculative — gamblers bet that bitcoin’s value will increase,” concludes Hadas. “Truly private money is an inferior alternative to the money that comes with the backing of a political authority. After all, no bank or bitcoin-emitter can be as public-minded as a government, and no private power can raise taxes or pass laws to unwind monetary excesses.”

Submission + - CyanogenMod Installer removed from Google Play Store (muktware.com)

Submitted by sfcrazy
sfcrazy writes: Today Google asked the CM team to voluntarily remove the app from the store or they would be forced to remove it administratively. CM team chose to remove the app voluntarily. According CyanogenMod team Google initially said that the app was in violation of Google’s Play’s developer terms. When the CM team reached out to the Play team the found that “though application itself is harmless, and not actually in violation of their Terms of Service, since it ‘encourages users to void their warranty’, it would not be allowed to remain in the store."

Submission + - $2 Smartphone App checks IDs better than TSA (komonews.com)

Submitted by McGruber
McGruber writes: According to KOMO News (http://www.komonews.com/news/local/TSA-Should-Take-Notice-of-Bartender-App-That-Checks-ID-233397761.html) Barzapp, an $2 smartphone app being marketed to bartenders, bouncers and anyone who could lose their job if they don't spot a fake ID, could offer up a better ID check than the TSA now has in place.

Currently, a TSA agent must review a passenger's government issued ID and check the name on the boarding pass against it prior to entering electronic scanning area. This name check happens so fast that passengers sometimes wonder if they are really checking the ID at all. "I guess they are making sure you name matches your boarding pass and confirming, like, who you are, maybe?" said passenger Casey Stengal, who is not really sure why the check is necessary.

Since 2007, TSA has been working on developing a Credential Authentication Technology to use at airport checkpoints. But after spending tens of millions of dollars and four rounds of soliciting vendors and testing possible equipment, the TSA still doesn't have an electronic ID verification system in place.

"The TSA is still testing this type of technology," TSA Press Secretary Ron Feinstein said in an email. The TSA has not identified a technology it would like to use with no deadline for it to be in service.

Submission + - Death and the NSA: Q&A with Bruce Schneier (vice.com) 1

Submitted by Daniel_Stuckey
Daniel_Stuckey writes: Since Edward Snowden's disclosures about widespread NSA surveillance, Americans and people everywhere have been presented with a digital variation on an old analog threat: the erosion of freedoms and privacy in exchange, presumably, for safety and security. Bruce Schneier knows the debate well. He's an expert in cryptography and he wrote the book on computer security; Applied Cryptography is one of the field's basic resources, "the book the NSA never wanted to be published," raved Wired in 1994. He knows the evidence well too: lately he's been helping the Guardian and the journalist Glenn Greenwald review the documents they have gathered from Snowden, in order to help explain some of the agency's top secret and highly complex spying programs. To do that, Schneier has taken his careful digital privacy regime to a new level, relying on a laptop with an encrypted hard drive that he never connects to the internet. That couldn't prevent a pilfered laptop during, say, a "black bag operation," of course. "I know that if some government really wanted to get my data, there'd be little I could do to stop them."

Submission + - The Biggest Fraud in Kickstarter History is Currently Unfolding (kickstarter.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The SmartDuino project launched on Kickstarter last October promised many things, including making it super simple for hobbyist to create amazing electronic projects easily, and ended up raising an amazing $157,571 for project creator Dimitri Albino. But allegations of fraud soon came out shortly after funding ended — including Arduino creator Massimo Banzi calling Mr. Albino's claims of being the manufacturer of the Arduino a lie and claimed his project violated the Arduino Trademark. Now a year later, after many broken promises and no products delivered, the project backers are demanding answers, refunds and threatening international legal action in what looks to be the largest fraud in Kickstarter history.

And to add insult to the victims of this, Mr. Albino's company, SmartMaker, is currently running multiple other projects on crowdfunding site Indiegogo which so far have raised over $420,000 and also have had similar fraud claims being made.

Submission + - Whistle blowing in action (nature.com)

Submitted by bmahersciwriter
bmahersciwriter writes: Helene Hill thought she was close to retirement when, on a whim one day, she decided to check on a junior colleague's cell cultures. They were empty, she says, yet he produced data from them soon after. Blowing the whistle on what she thinks was research misconduct cost her 14 years and $200,000. See how she and other whistleblowers fared in this story from Nature.

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