That’s the number of downloads of the 3D-printable file for the so-called “Liberator” gun that the high-tech gunsmithing group Defense Distributed has seen in just the last two days, a member of the group tells me . . .
The controversial gun-printing group is hosting those files, which include everything from the gun’s trigger to its body to its barrel, on a service that has attracted some controversy of its own: Kim Dotcom’s Mega storage site . . .
The gun’s blueprint, of course, may have also already spread far wider than Defense Distributed can measure. It’s also been uploaded to the filesharing site the Pirate Bay, where it’s quickly become one of the most popular files in the site’s 3D-printing category. “This is the first in what will become an avalanche of undetectable, untraceable, easy-to-manufacture weapons that will turn the tables on evil-doers the world over,” writes one user with the name DakotaSmith on the site. “Share and enjoy.”
Blueprints for 3-D Printed Gun Going Viral
The online blueprints for a 3-D printed gun published by a company called Defense Distributed are going viral online, with distribution help from Kim Dotcom's recent venture. The blueprints have already been downloaded 100,000 times. From Forbes:
Obama Administration Wants Backdoor Access into All Internet Communications
The New York Times reports that the Obama administration is likely to come out in support of a plan that would require basically all internet communications technologies to include a backdoor that would give government easier access to wiretap and spy on those communications. Excerpt:
The Obama administration, resolving years of internal debate, is on the verge of backing a Federal Bureau of Investigation plan for a sweeping overhaul of surveillance laws that would make it easier to wiretap people who communicate using the Internet rather than by traditional phone services, according to officials familiar with the deliberations.What this boils down to, is government opposition to secure online communications. Any backdoor into such communications technologies will expose users to unintended threats, because those vulnerabilities will be exploited in unintended ways.
The F.B.I. director, Robert S. Mueller III . . . since 2010 has pushed for a legal mandate requiring companies like Facebook and Google to build into their instant-messaging and other such systems a capacity to comply with wiretap orders . . .
While the F.B.I.’s original proposal would have required Internet communications services to each build in a wiretapping capacity, the revised one, which must now be reviewed by the White House, focuses on fining companies that do not comply with wiretap orders.
Your Credit Card Company and Bank are Threats to Your Information Security
Today, online hacktivist group Anonymous has launched Operation USA, which is targeting U.S. government and banking websites. Ahead of the attack, the US Department of Homeland Security downplayed the planned operation. According to reports:
“OpUSA poses a limited threat of temporarily disrupting U.S. websites,” the homeland security bulletin states, saying the attackers will likely use commercial hacking tools in a variety of “nuisance-level” strikes, defacing websites or temporarily knocking them offline.Once again, the Department of Homeland Security appears to have proven themselves to be both ignorant and inept. Hackers are already claiming to have leaked detailed credit card information on 10,000 individuals to the website pastebin. The leak contains names, addresses, home phone numbers, social security numbers, credit card numbers, mother's maiden name, the answers to the card holder's so-called "security question" and so on. Make sure your information is not in the leak, and if it is, take appropriate action. This hack succinctly demonstrates how woefully inadequate the security protocols are at some of the world's largest banks and credit card companies. The question we should be asking is not, why would a hacktivist group engage in such malicious behavior. Your working assumption should be that hackers are ALWAYS attempting to access your personal and financial information. The real question is why are these corporations that we trust with our personal and financial information so insecure?
Secure Quantum Internet
Government researchers have revealed that they have been working on a cryptographically secure quantum internet for over two years. From MIT Technology Review:
One of the dreams for security experts is the creation of a quantum internet that allows perfectly secure communication based on the powerful laws of quantum mechanics.
The basic idea here is that the act of measuring a quantum object, such as a photon, always changes it. So any attempt to eavesdrop on a quantum message cannot fail to leave telltale signs of snooping that the receiver can detect. That allows anybody to send a “one-time pad” over a quantum network which can then be used for secure communication using conventional classical communication. . . . .
Today, Richard Hughes and pals at Los Alamos National Labs in New Mexico reveal an alternative quantum internet, which they say they’ve been running for two and half years. Their approach is to create a quantum network based around a hub and spoke-type network. All messages get routed from any point in the network to another via this central hub. . . .
Government Spyware Disguised as Mozilla Firefox
Is there no limit to the mendacity of government and business? Mozilla reports that it has sent a cease and desist letter to spyware firm Gamma International to prevent them from hiding their malicious code behind the Firefox brand. Excerpt:
A recent report by Citizen Lab uncovered that commercial spyware produced by Gamma International is designed to trick people into thinking it’s Mozilla Firefox. We’ve sent Gamma a cease and desist letter today demanding that these illegal practices stop immediately.
As an open source project trusted by hundreds of millions of people around the world, defending Mozilla’s trademarks from this type of abuse is vital to our brand, our users and the continued success of our mission. Mozilla has a longstanding history of protecting users online and was named the Most Trusted Internet Company for Privacy in 2012 by the Ponemon Institute. We cannot abide a software company using our name to disguise online surveillance tools that can be – and in several cases actually have been – used by Gamma’s customers to violate citizens’ human rights and online privacy.
It’s important to note that the spyware does not affect Firefox itself, either during the installation process or when it is operating covertly on a person’s computer or mobile device. Gamma’s software is entirely separate, and only uses our brand and trademarks to lie and mislead as one of its methods for avoiding detection and deletion.
Through the work of the Citizen Lab research team, we believe Gamma’s spyware tries to give users the false impression that, as a program installed on their computer or mobile device, it’s related to Mozilla and Firefox, and is thus trustworthy both technically and in its content.
Has the Internet Already Killed Television?
From NPR:
In a flashy presentation to advertisers Wednesday night, Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt declined to forecast that Internet video will displace television watching. Instead he declared: "That's already happened."
Schmidt said "the future is now" for YouTube, which recently passed the milestone of 1 billion unique visitors every month. But, he added with the Third World in mind, if you think that's a large number, "wait until you get to 6 (billion) or 7 billion."
Schmidt and YouTube, which billed the event as a "brandcast," shifted away from the video platform's relationship to TV.
Are Americans Leaving Facebook in Droves?
It is likely only a matter of time before Facebook goes the way of Friendster and Myspace. If you are wondering what Friendster and Myspace are, others may be doing the same about Facebook in a few short years. The Guardian reports that users are beginning to leave Facebook in droves. Excerpt:
Facebook has lost 10 million users in the US and seen no growth in monthly visitors in the UK over the past year, according to data from market research firm Nielsen.
Research shows that the number of unique visitors to the Facebook website from computers, smartphones and tablets has fallen from 153m in March 2012 to 142m in March this year, having peaked at 158m last August.The article speculates that the drop in web traffic may not indicate an equally large drop off in actual use, as many people may simply be using Facebook's smartphone app instead of visiting the website. But it is also quite likely that many people have begun to leave Facebook over privacy concerns.
The news came as Facebook announced its latest quarterly results, saying it had 1.11 billion monthly active users around the world, up 23% from a year ago. Mobile monthly active users were 751 million, up 54%. But much of the growth is coming from poorer nations, where advertising revenues are lower.
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