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Privacy

Submission + - Privacy-oriented crypto research (physorg.com)

Submitted by sTeF
sTeF writes: There is a lot of scientific effort being put into protecting our private data. Even the big seem to be interested, recently Microsoft acquired Stefan Brands' Credentica. Also of interest seems to be this research by Amit Sahai:

... Sahai has come up with a mathematical system — known as functional encryption — that will not only help to simplify the encryption of data in servers but will also allow access to the data in an intuitive way, making it much harder for hackers to gain access to sensitive information but much easier for programmers to secure it.
There is some additional info in the article, but it leaves some details open. Maybe some informed readers want to comment on this? :)
Microsoft

Submission + - OOXML approved by ISO

Submitted by sTeF
sTeF writes: I hope this is an AFJ, Microsoft wins: "The much-debated open document standard Office Open XML (OOXML) has been approved by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), according to a document obtained by Intellectual Property Watch."
Security

Submission + - Hibernation file a new potential threat. 3

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: Matthieu Suiche writes:

For Windows 2000, Microsoft provides a feature called Hibernation also know as suspend to disk that aims to save the system state into an undocumented file called hiberfil.sys. This file contains all the physical memory saved by the Operating System and aims to be restored by the user the next time the computer is powered on. Live forensics analysis is used to use physical memory dump to recover information on the targeted machine. One of the main problems is to obtain a readable physical memory dump, hibernation is an efficient way to save and load physical memory. Hibernation analysis has notable advantages. System activity is totally frozen, therefore coherent data is acquired and no software tool is able to block the analysis. The system is left perfectly functional after analysis, with no side effects. The hibernation file opens two valuable doors: The first one is (live?) forensics analysis for defensive computing. Hibernation is an efficient and easy way to get a physical memory dump. But the main issue about it was: How to read the hiberfil.sys? That's how the idea of SandMan born. The second one is a new concept we will be introduced and called "offensics" which is a portmanteau from "offensive" and "forensics". If we can read hiberfil.sys, can we rewrite it? The answer is: Yes, with SandMan you can.
SandMan is an open-source framework which makes readable and writable the undocumented windows hibernation file. The author said that 32bits hibernation file "from Windows XP to Windows 2008 Server" are supported yet. Then, it's now possible to retrieve keys/hash used by cryptographic softwares present in memory if they are present during the hibernation process. Furthermore, internal structures mapped in memory which contains information like "application privilege rights" can be modified too though the hibernation file.
Patents

Journal Journal: Nigerian OLPC patent lawsuit

Journal by sTeF

Seems like the OLPC will have a hard time, threatening the the big players turf has it's consequences. A US-based Nigerian company has sued Nicolas Negroponte and the OLPC project, the keyboard seems to be the culprit.
Microsoft

Submission + - Microsoft will vote on Open XML

Submitted by
Elektroschock
Elektroschock writes: "Rui Seabra reveals that the national standard organisation of Portugal plans to sent Microsoft as head of its ISO delegation to the Ballot Resolution meeting in Geneve. The Ballot Resolution Meeting (BRM) will work on amendments to the Open XML standard (DIS 29500) as put forward by ECMA International. The meeting will be held behind closed doors and last 5 days. While Microsoft would get privileged access and voting rights other interested stakeholders for instance Portuguese SMEs and software develoeprs are excluded from participation and review. The head of the delegation will exercise all voting rights for the nation, here Portugal. All national ISO members need to submit their list of delegates to ISO until Dec 11."
Security

Meshnet Digital Armor To Protect Tanks 164

Posted by Zonk from the web-facing-armor-plating dept.
An anonymous reader writes "General Dynamics Canada and Secure Computing have partnered to develop Meshnet, a hardware/software firewall designed to protect networks and digital devices inside tanks and other military vehicles from hostile computer and virus attacks. Without adequate protection a tech savvy enemy can infiltrate networks, manipulate information, and deny crews the data they need to participate in modern warfare. Exactly such an event happened last year to an Israeli crew, when hackers from Hezbollah eavesdropped on their communications. 'The system uses Secure Computing's off-the-shelf Sidewinder Security Appliance ... Sidewinder consolidates all major Internet security functions into a single system, providing "best-of-breed" antivirus and spyware network protection "against all types of threats, both known and unknown," according to Secure Computing.'"
Patents

Submission + - Redhat sued for Patent Infringement

Submitted by
tqft
tqft writes: "http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20071011205044141
"The first ever patent infringement litigation regarding Linux. Here's the patent, for those who can look at it without risk. If in doubt, don't. "
For those who can without fear read a patent:
http://www.google.com/patents?id=3tUkAAAAEBAJ&dq=5,072,412

http://www.setexasrecord.com/news/202417-recent-copyrightpatent-infringement-cases-filed-in-u.s.-district-courts

"Plaintiffs IP Innovation and Technology Licensing Corp. claim to have the rights to U.S. Patent No. 5,072,412 for a User Interface with Multiple Workspaces for Sharing Display System Objects issued Dec. 10, 1991 along with two other similar patents.
"

Get your game faces on. Party Time."
Graphics

Submission + - Free/Libre Intel X11 graphics driver for 965GM

Submitted by sTeF
sTeF writes: Keith Packard has announced the inclusion of a free Intel driver into Xorg:

In addition to Intel 965GM chipset support, the X.org 2.0 driver adds native video mode programming support for all chipsets from i830 forward. The driver supports automatic video mode detection and selection, monitor hot plug, dynamic extended and merged desktops and per-monitor screen rotation.

The official Intel Linux Graphics website even reveals links to Ubuntu developers, could we also find a link to the Dell Ubuntu offering? Ubuntu will be much easier to setup for 3D accelerated desktops (think Beryl) than on competing ATI and NVidia chipsets. Maybe this will make the ATI announcement from earlier to day more credible if they want to hold on to Linuxers.
Portables

Submission + - Linux Mobile Foundation Finally Announced!

Submitted by
hip2b2
hip2b2 writes: "Finally, some of the largest players and users in the mobile industry have gotten together to form the Linux Mobile Foundation. This foundation was annouced a few months back but was kept ultra-secret. It is about time it stepped out of the dark. The LiMo Foundation was founded by Motorola, NEC, NTT DoCoMo, Panasonic Mobile Communications, Samsung Electronics, and Vodafone."
Microsoft

Submission + - MS copies feature, then patents it

Submitted by
jbgreer
jbgreer writes: "Michael Kölling, a senior lecturer at the University of Kent and one of the developers of BlueJ, an educational development environment, realized last year that Microsoft had copied one of the BlueJ features into Visual Studio. Flattery, right? Recently he was informed that Microsoft has filed a patent describing the very same feature. For more details, read Michael's blog entry."
Programming

Submission + - Almost Threads in Seven Lines of ANSI C

Submitted by blboo
blboo writes: This C library provides a thread-like programming abstraction in an astonishing seven lines of ANSI C code. The code consists only of declarations and macros in a header file so code using the library only needs to include the file; no libraries need to be linked. The code is pure ANSI C so the library is extremely portable.
The Internet

Submission + - Politic in Netherlands Think About Internet Tax

Submitted by
robinvanleeuwen
robinvanleeuwen writes: "Two political parties in the Netherlands are thinking about introducing a
tax for internet that will compensate the music industry for their loss of
income due to illegal downloading.

Nicolien Vroonhoven (member of politic party CDA) says: "In practice you see that
many people who use the internet also illegaly download"

—

Following a bablefish translation of the original dutch article on:
http://www.nu.nl/news/957277/52/PvdA_en_CDA_denken _na_over_heffing_internetabonnement.html

PvdA and CDA thinks Internet subscription after concerning levy read

Spent: 26 January 2007 10.28
Last modified: 26 January 2007 16.45
AMSTERDAM — plate societies would have accept that by means of Internet unpaid music is copied. If financial compensation could would be considered in that case a levy on Internet subscriptions. That says PvdA-Kamerlid Martijn of dam in an interview with NU.nl.

"we must be realistic", thus of dam, Internet spokesman for the PvdA. "it is not fine to hear for muzikanten, but it is a lost fight to copy on Internet to reduce", says of dam.

The plate societies have also reached themselves the conclusion that kopieerbeveiligingen do not work. There needs, as it happens, but the one someone beveiliging to break through and the product stands on Internet. The moment protection or suppression becomes more malignant, directly also technique becomes more malignant exchange music.

The Dutch line organisation for the music industry NVPI made recently confessed that music societies none more use of kopieerbeveiliging on muziek-cd's, because the costs do not even out the results.

Levy

To approach the muzikanten and authors, see of dam a possibility of laying levies on Internet movement. "the chamber was against levies on Mp3-spelers whereas there are also beveiligingen", thus of dam.

As plate societies less molars for beveiliging and DRM, if they accept that there is copied, then can it talk there concerning more compensation by means of levies. The degree of protection and levies is himself in communicating barrels. Of dam it finds more logical than levies lay on Internet movement, then on products.

CDA

CDA also philosophises concerning such a Internet levy. "in practice to see you that many people who Internet uses illegally will download", thus cda-Kamerlid Nicolien of Vroonhoven compared with NU.nl. "condition for such a levy is, however, that people must pay then not also once more for downloading music himself."

The culture spokesman of the cda-fractie recognises that the protection of copyright is a complicated subject. It is difficult there get the finger. Technology goes very fast.

Update of dam emphasise Friday in a response that its party has no concrete plans for Internet levies. It would go for a ' purely hypothetical idea pace '."

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