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——— Forwarded message ———-
From:
PT Shamrock <ptshamrock@ptshamrock.com>
Date: Mon, Dec 14, 2009 at 2:58 PM
Subject: Mid December 2009 Newsletter
Mid December 2009 Newsletter
“Watch out for well-meaning men of zeal,”
- Words penned 74 years ago by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis.
In this issue:
* Seasons Greetings!
* Feds ‘Pinged’ Sprint GPS Data 8 Million Times Over a Year
* Scary Stuff – Yahoo: Our spying policy would ’shock’ customers
* Breaking News! Authority to Spy on Americans Unclear as
Patriot Act Expires
* UK jails schizophrenic for refusal to decrypt files
* RIPA III: A legislative turkey comes home to roost The tragic
consequences of anti-crypto law
* Good News? Police Intelligence may be a thing of the past
“Insert your own joke here.”
* Food for thought – Brussels gives CIA the power to search UK bank
records
* Santa’s Helper!
* The non-military Bureau of Labor Statistics uses the military term
“civilians” to refer to Americans
* Police State – Homeland Security or Homeland Enslavement?
* Horror Stories – North Korean misery as currency evaporates
* The District of Criminals – DOJ Pays $4M a Year to Read Public
Court Documents
* Manchester united against ID cards, ID minister finds
* Hot Tips
* Advisory – PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) needs extra privacy!
* Stop The Press!
* Dumbing Down – Drivers who leave engines running to clear screens
face fines under ‘idling offence’ rules
* Dumb signs – At midnight last night, the United Kingdom ceased to
be a sovereign state
* Dumb facts – Photographer questioned by police under anti-terror laws
for taking ‘too many’ pictures of town centre Christmas lights
* Dumb criminal acts – Police in Kent have at last acknowledged that
arresting people for being too tall might not be a very good idea.
* Cannon Fodder – Millions of mobiles blocked by Indian authorities
* Oz Corner
* Bug Bites- EU agency runs rule over ID cards for online banking logins
* Red Hot Product!
* Google Public DNS and Your Privacy
* Shamrock’s Missive
* Quotes
* Tid Bits – India plans its own net snoop system
* Bits n bobs – Manchester journo gets first ID card – late
* Letters To The Editor
* Quote of the Month!
* PT Shamrock’s Exclusive Member’s Site!
*** Seasons Greetings!
PT Shamrock extends our warmest wishes to our subscribers, customers
and their families for a Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy, safe
and prosperous New Year!
Our next issue will be published during the first week of 2010!
PT Shamrock
*** Feds ‘Pinged’ Sprint GPS Data 8 Million Times Over a Year
- Kim Zetter
Sprint Nextel provided law enforcement agencies with customer location
data more than 8 million times between September 2008 and October
2009, according to a company manager who disclosed the statistic at a
non-public interception and wiretapping conference in October.
The manager also revealed the existence of a previously undisclosed
web portal that Sprint provides law enforcement to conduct automated
“pings” to track users. Through the website, authorized agents can
type in a mobile phone number and obtain global positioning system
(GPS) coordinates of the phone.
The revelations, uncovered by blogger and privacy activist Christopher
Soghoian, have spawned questions about the number of Sprint customers
who have been under surveillance, as well as the legal process agents
followed to obtain such data.
But a Sprint Nextel spokesman said that Soghoian, who recorded the
Sprint manager’s statements at the closed conference, misunderstood
what the figure represents. The number of customers whose GPS data
was provided to local, state and federal law enforcement agencies was
much less than 8 million, as was the total number of individual
requests for data.
The spokesman wouldn’t disclose how many of Sprint’s 48 million
customers had their GPS data shared, or indicate the number of unique
surveillance requests from law enforcement. But he said that a single
surveillance order against a lone target could generate thousands of
GPS “pings” to the cell phone, as the police track the subject’s
movements over the course of days or weeks. That, Sprint claims, is
the source of the 8 million figure: it’s the cummulative number of
times Sprint cell phones covertly reported their location to law
enforcement over the year.
The spokesman also said that law enforcement agents have to obtain a
court order for the data, except in special emergency circumstances.
The information about the data requests and portal comes from Paul
Taylor, manager of Sprint’s Electronic Surveillance Team. He made the
revelations at the Intelligent Support Systems (ISS) conference, a
surveillance industry gathering for law enforcement and intelligence
agencies and the companies that provide them with the technologies and
capabilities to conduct surveillance.
The conference is closed to press, but Soghoian, who is a graduate
student at Indiana University, obtained entry and recorded a couple of
panel sessions, which he posted on his blog. In one of the
recordings, Taylor is heard saying that the automated system was
rolled out a year ago and that in 13 months it had processed more than
8 million requests for GPS data from law enforcement.
“We turned it on the web interface for law enforcement about one year
ago last month, and we just passed 8 million requests,” Taylor is
heard saying. “So there is no way on earth my team could have handled
8 million requests from law enforcement, just for GPS alone. So the
tool has just really caught on fire with law enforcement. They also
love that it is extremely inexpensive to operate and easy.”
Soghoian concluded on his blog that the quote provided proof that
“location requests easily outnumber wiretaps, and, likely outnumber
all other forms of surveillance request too.”
He cites a telecom attorney named Al Gidari who claimed at a talk last
year that each of the major wireless carriers received about 100
requests a week for customer-location data. At 100 requests a week
for each of the top four wireless carriers, the total should be around
20,000 requests a year.
“I now have proof that he significantly underestimated the number of
requests by several orders of magnitude,” Soghoian writes.
But Sprint spokesman John Taylor (who is not related to Paul Taylor)
says Soghoian had “grossly misrepresented” the 8 million figure, which
doesn’t refer to unique requests or to individual customers, but to
the total number of “pings” made on every number for the duration of a
law enforcement request.
“The figure represents the number of individual ‘pings for specific
location information, made to the Sprint network as part of a series
of law enforcement investigations and public safety assistance
requests during the past year,” said spokesman Taylor. “It’s critical
to note that a single case or investigation may generate thousands of
individual pings to the network as the law enforcement or public
safety agency attempts to track or locate an individual.”
There are four circumstances under which law enforcement agents can
use the Sprint website and obtain GPS data: 1) under the authority of
a court order; 2) to track the location of a customer who has made a
911 call; 3) in an emergency situation, such as tracking someone lost
in the wilderness or trying to locate an abducted child or hostage; 4)
with a customer’s consent.
In the case of court orders, Taylor said agents are required to
provide Sprint with the order, after which the company provisions the
law enforcement account to allow an agency to track the targeted phone
number. Court orders cover a 60-day period, and agents can do
automated pings to obtain real-time GPS data every three minutes
throughout that 60-day period. Taylor says this accounts for the 8
million figure.
“If you can access the info every three minutes over 60 days, that
adds up pretty quickly,” he told Threat Level.
He added that the GPS data includes only latitude and longitude and
the date and time of the ping.
The automated system was set up so that law enforcement agents
wouldn’t have to contact Sprint’s electronic surveillance team each
time they wanted to ping a phone number throughout the 60 days of a
court order. Agents still have to obtain a subpoena to get historic
call detail records, such as phone numbers called, the date, time and
duration of calls and the cell site and sector from which the calls
were made.
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Scary Stuff
Yahoo: Our spying policy would ’shock’ customers
- Raw Story
A little-noticed letter from Yahoo! to the US Marshals Service offers
troubling insight into the surveillance policies of one of the
Internet’s largest email providers.
In response to a Freedom of Information Act request seeking details of
Yahoo’s! policies allowing the Justice Department to request wiretaps
of its users and the amount they charge US taxpayers per wiretap, the
search engine leviathan declared in a 12-page letter that they
couldn’t provide information on their approach because their pricing
scheme would “shock” customers. The news was first reported by Kim
Zetter at Wired.
“It is reasonable to assume from these comments that the [pricing]
information, if disclosed, would be used to “shame” Yahoo! and other
companies, and to “shock” their customers,” a lawyer for the company
writes. “Therefore, release of Yahoo!’s information is reasonably
likely to lead to impairment of its reputation for protection of user
privacy and security, which is a competitive disadvantage for
technology companies.”
Yahoo! also argues that because their price sheet for wiretaps was
“voluntarily submitted” to the US Marshals Service, it is exempt from
the Freedom of Information Act law.
Verizon, meanwhile, says they can’t provide details on how much they
charge for wiretaps because it would be “confusing.”
“Customers may see a listing of records, information or assistance
that is available only to law enforcement,” Verizon writes, “but call
in to Verizon and seek those same services. Such calls would stretch
limited resources, especially those that are reserved only for law
enforcement emergencies.”
Consumers might “become unnecessarily afraid that their lines have
been tapped or call Verizon to ask if their lines are tapped (a
question we cannot answer),” the telecom giant adds.
Verizon also revealed it “receives tens of thousands of requests for
customer records, or other customer information from law enforcement.”
The Freedom of Information request was filed by muckraker Christopher
Soghoian.
“Assuming a conservative estimate of 20,000 requests per year, Verizon
alone receives more requests from law enforcement per year than can be
explained by any published surveillance statistics,” Soghoian
responds. “That doesn’t mean the published stats are necessarily
incorrect, merely that most types of surveillance are not reported.
“In the summer of 2009, I decided to try and follow the money trail in
order to determine how often Internet firms were disclosing their
customers’ private information to the government,” he adds later. “I
theorized that if I could obtain the price lists of each ISP,
detailing the price for each kind of service, and invoices paid by the
various parts of the Federal government, then I might be able to
reverse engineer some approximate statistics. In order to obtain
these documents, I filed Freedom of Information Act requests with
every part of the Department of Justice that I could think of.”
Cox Communications, meanwhile, says they charge “$2,500 to fulfill a
pen register/trap-and-trace order for 60 days, and $2,000 for each
additional 60-day-interval,” Zetter notes. “It charges $3,500 for the
first 30 days of a wiretap, and $2,500 for each additional 30 days.
Thirty days worth of a customer’s call detail records costs $40.”
“Comcast’s pricing list,” she adds, “which was already leaked to the
internet in 2007, indicated that it charges at least $1,000 for the
first month of a wiretap, and $750 per month thereafter.”
Shamrock’s comment: It is advisable to use an offshore email account
for the sending or receiving of sensitive emails. Also its best to use
pgp encryption for all emails as well.
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*** Breaking News!
Authority to Spy on Americans Unclear as Patriot Act Expires
House Defies White House and Renews Two of Three Expiring Provisions
- Elizabeth Gorman
Rushed into law by Congress just weeks after Sept. 11, 2001 three
controversial provisions of the Patriot Act granting officials
far-reaching surveillance and seizure powers in the name of national
security, are due to expire this New Year’s Eve. Share Brian Ross
reveals what the government heard on wiretaps.
Two differing bills passed by the House and Senate judiciary
committees in recent weeks will have to be reconciled in Congress, but
only when the Senate isn’t backlogged by health care, Democratic aides
told ABC News.
“This critical legislation protects our national security, as well as
our civil liberties, and the clock is ticking,” said Rep. Jim
Sensenbrenner, R-Wisc., an author of President Bush’s 2001 Patriot Act
and former chairman of the House Judiciary Committee during the Bush
administration.
Sensenbrenner urged the House and Senate to act quickly in
reauthorizing the provisions before they expire at the end of this
year.
Full article at
<http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/sunsetting-provisions-patriot-act-revives-privacy-debate/story?id=9173895>
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*** UK jails schizophrenic for refusal to decrypt files
- The Register
Exclusive – The first person jailed under draconian UK police powers
that Ministers said were vital to battle terrorism and serious crime
has been identified by The Register as a schizophrenic science
hobbyist with no previous criminal record.
His crime was a persistent refusal to give counter-terrorism police
the keys to decrypt his computer files.
The 33-year-old man, originally from London, is currently held at a
secure mental health unit after being sectioned while serving his
sentence at Winchester Prison.
Full article at <http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/11/24/ripa_jfl/>
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*** RIPA III: A legislative turkey comes home to roost
The tragic consequences of anti-crypto law
- By Professor Ross Anderson
Comment The first conviction of a man under the draconian powers of
RIPA Part III tragically bears out a prediction I made at the time:
that these powers would do little or nothing to tackle serious crime
or terror, but would create a power the police could use to harass
people and undermine their right to remain silent.
After all, a hardened criminal can use deniable encryption, or claim
to have forgotten the password; the likely victims would be the less
organised and the vulnerable.
And so it has turned out. The first person convicted under this law
was a vulnerable eccentric who refused to decrypt the files on his
laptop when the Met’s terror squad told him to. He was convicted and
jailed despite prosecutors accepting that he was not involved in
terrorism at all. He is now in a mental hospital.
Old-timers will remember the crypto wars of the 1990s. The US
government tried to force everyone to use the Clipper chip, an
encryption device for which they had a back-door key. When
cryptographers broke the Clipper chip, Washington tried to make
cryptography illegal unless the keys were deposited with a ‘trusted
third party’ from whom the police could obtain keys secretly using a
warrant.
Cryptographers and computer companies fought back, complaining of the
threat to privacy, the chilling effect on e-commerce and the cost.
Eventually the chief crypto warrior, Al Gore, dropped the issue during
his presidential campaign in an attempt to curry favour with the
industry.
As sometimes happens, US policy had toxic effects here. In 1996,
trade minister Ian Taylor laid a trap for the opposition by talking of
government control of cryptography. His shadow Chris Smith was not to
be outdone at the ‘tough on crime’ game, and promised that New Labour
would require people to hand over keys so that paedophiles could not
escape surveillance.
This raised a storm of protest from geeks and from the IT industry,
which had been cosying up to New Labour in the belief they’d win the
1997 election. Anne Campbell, the MP for Cambridge, ended up in
charge of the issue as back then she was the only Labour MP with a
publicly visible email address that she actually answered.
The compromise that appeared among New Labour’s election promises was
a power to compel decryption of seized material. Taylor then calmly
said that he’d changed his mind; crypto control was not necessary.
This nifty piece of political footwork was not enough to save John
Major, though, and Labour’s election promise duly arrived as Part III
of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.
Blair initially tried for even more macho controls on crypto, but
these were undermined by UK crypto campaigners, by the Gore U-turn,
and by an EU ruling that keys would only be good for digital
signatures if only the signer had a copy. So the bill’s passage
through Parliament was turbulent; there was much talk of serious crime
and of terror. But even despite the events of 2001, Part III was not
actually brought into force until 2007.
The whole business brings to mind a comment attributed to Bismarck:
“Laws are like sausages, it’s best not to watch them being made.”
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Good News ?
Police Intelligence may be a thing of the past
*Insert your own joke here.*
- John Ozimek, The Register
The days of police unlawfully collecting and holding personal
information on individuals exercising their legal right to protest may
be drawing to a close.
That, at least, is the conclusion of protest groups who have
themselves been the object of police surveillance in the past, and
judging by the response from the Association of Chief Police Officers
(ACPO), they may well be right.
A key report, Adapting to Protest, was put together by Her Majesty’s
Chief Inspector of Constabulary, Dennis O’Connor, and published today.
It criticises Police forces that have failed to move with the times
when it came to dealing with major political demonstrations, and
raises a number of issues with which El Reg readers will be familiar.
These include “an absence of clear standards on the use of force” and
“inappropriate use of public order powers such as stop and search and
overt photography”.
Criticism is also levelled at differences between forces in their
understanding of the law, inconsistent equipment and tactics and
outdated training and guidance.
However, it is in the area of surveillance and data collection that
this report may have its most far-reaching effect. It adds, almost as
afterthought, that there should be a “Review of the status of the
Association of Chief Police Officers to ensure transparent governance
and accountability structures, especially in relation to their
quasi-operational role of the commissioning of intelligence and the
collation and retention of data”.
This brings together two issues that have been increasingly
troublesome to those who feel that the Police have been exceeding
their brief in recent years and even acting unlawfully.
At present, surveillance of demonstrations and the collection,
retention and dissemination of information is managed by three units,
with an estimated spend of 9 million, set up and managed within ACPO.
The largest of these is the National Public Order Intelligence Unit
(NPOIU), which runs a central database containing details of thousands
of so-called domestic extremists.
Information is fed into this system from Forward Intelligence Teams
(FIT), run by individual police forces, and fed back out again to
police forces in various formats, including “spotter cards” which
provide local police with a handy “I-spy” guide to potential
troublemakers.
In addition, ACPO runs the National Extremism Tactical Coordination
Unit (NETCU), which advises companies on how to manage political
campaigns, and the National Domestic Extremism Team (NDET), which
pools intelligence gathered by investigations into protesters across
the country.
Concerns over the legality of this data collection have been raised by
the Information Commissioner. A spokesman for his office told The
Register: “We do have genuine concerns about the ever increasing
amounts of information that law enforcement bodies are retaining.
“Organisations must only collect people’s personal information for a
proper purpose. We will need to talk to ACPO to understand why they
consider it is necessary to hold lawful protesters’ details in this
way, before considering whether this meets the terms of the Data
Protection Act.”
This is on top of criticisms regularly levelled at ACPO that, as an ad
hoc body set up to provide co-ordination across the Police Forces of
England and Wales, it sits in a curious legal limbo, highly
influential in setting police policy and tactics, yet not subject to
specific controls.
Attempts by members of the public to elicit information on the
development of police policy on a number of core issues are now
effectively thwarted by the fact that the policy development took
place within ACPO, and was therefore beyond the reach of the Freedom
of Information Act.
The HMIC report appears to acknowledge these issues, as does ACPO
President Sir Hugh Orde, whose first public interview since taking
office included an acknowledgement of public disquiet over the way his
units are gathering data and agreed that the scheme “can go tomorrow”,
although some form of monitoring of protesters would need to continue,
with independent regulation.
Whilst expressing his continued belief in the virtues of the British
model of policing, Chief Inspector Denis O’Connor warned that it could
be undermined if formidable public order uniform and tactics are
perceived to dominate, the law is misused, the police appear to take
sides or thoughtless acts of aggression are perceived to have
occurred.
He said: “British police risk losing the battle for the public’s
consent if they win public order through tactics that appear to be
unfair, aggressive or inconsistent. This harms not just the
reputation of the individual officers concerned but the police service
as a whole.”
Val Swain, an activist for FitWatch, who actively monitor police
surveillance tactics in this area, welcomed the HMIC report, but felt
it could go further.
She said: “While we welcome this first step, we need to go much
further than HMIC’s recommendations. What we need is an actual change
in the culture of public order policing. The way the police behave in
relation to protest, public order situations, and indeed the public
generally, must differ from what has gone before.”
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Food for thought
Brussels gives CIA the power to search UK bank records
- The Sunday Times
THE CIA is to be given broad access to the bank records of millions of
Britons under a European Union plan to fight terrorism.
The Brussels agreement, which will come into force in two months’
time, requires the 27 EU member states to grant requests for banking
information made by the United States under its terrorist finance
tracking programme.
In a little noticed information note released last week, the EU said
it had agreed that Europeans would be compelled to release the
information to the CIA “as a matter of urgency”. The records will be
kept in a US database for five years before being deleted.
Critics say the system is “lopsided” because there is no reciprocal
arrangement under which the UK authorities can easily access the bank
accounts of US citizens in America.
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*** The non-military Bureau of Labor Statistics uses the military term
“civilians” to refer to Americans
- Exposing Faux Capitalism
The Bureau of Labor Statistics, a non-military department of the
federal government, refers to Americans who aren’t members of the
military, as “civilians.”
The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines a “civilian” as: 1: A
specialist in Roman or civil law. 2 a: one not on active duty or in
the armed services or not on a police or firefighting force. 2 b:
OUTSIDER
The non military Bureau of Labor Statistics uses the military term
“civilians” to refer to Americans 121109banner2
The last definition is particularly revealing. Does the non-military
Bureau of Labor Statistics really regard Americans who are not members
of the military, or police or firefighting forces, as outsiders? That
would include themselves, by definition.
Why the use of the military term “civilian,” to refer to Americans who
aren’t members of the military? Why not a non-military classification
such as the categories of Americans who aren’t members of the
military, police or firefighters, and those who are?
If the majority of Americans are outsiders to their government,
according to the terminology implied by definition of the Bureau’s
classification system, then what does that say about the form of
American government today?
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*** Police State
Homeland Security or Homeland Enslavement?
- Chuck Baldwin, Campaign For Liberty
By now, most readers are familiar with the story of how a Virginia
couple, Michaele and Tareq Salahi, crashed the White House State
Dinner last Tuesday evening. President and Mrs. Obama were
entertaining Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the first
official State Dinner of the new administration. The Salahis were not
on the invited guest list, but were still allowed to walk right into
the White House. They even had face-to-face conversations with both
President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. Photographs of the
Salahis with the President and Vice President have been published in
numerous newspapers and on hundreds of web sites.
I wonder if the American people are thinking this episode through?
Think of it: in the post-9/11 world, a world that has invented the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Transportation Security
Administration (TSA), body scanners, retina readers, the Patriot Act,
hundreds of laws and regulations restricting the freedoms and
liberties of the American people, thousands of cameras photographing
our public movements, and satellite spy devices, a couple can walk
right into the White House and meet the President and Vice President
without being invited!
Is there something wrong with this picture, or what?
I well remember what I had to go through when I was an invited guest
of then-Vice President George H. W. Bush at the White House. My
wife and I joined several others for a luncheon with Vice President
Bush and his wife, Barbara. Later that day, we were in a crowd of
several hundred who got to meet President Ronald Reagan. Needless to
say, security was tight.
Upon arriving, we had to show the proper credentials to White House
security, along with a photo ID and the personal invitation that had
been sent to us ahead of time. I remember how some of the folks who
had actually received invitations were denied entrance due to
bureaucratic mix-ups or unintentional lapses in proper protocols. And
these were people who really did have an invitation to be there. I
can tell you this: there was absolutely no way that an uninvited
person could have gained access to the White House that day. And
remember: that was nearly two decades BEFORE 9/11!
That an uninvited couple could be granted access to the President and
Vice President in this day and time is more than a “fluke.” It
betrays something much deeper.
For the last 8 years, the American people have been told they must
sacrifice certain liberties in order that the federal government might
protect them. And for the most part, the American people have been
happy to accommodate this incessant intrusion into their personal
liberties. They know the feds are monitoring their emails, personal
phone conversations, and even their personal letters when received
from overseas. They have sat silently as their banking institutions
have monitored and reported virtually any and all financial
transactions to the federal government. In today’s super-security
world, one cannot even cash a check without showing the bank teller
his or her driver’s license, which is recorded and made available to
the feds. Sometimes, we are even required to provide our thumbprints.
Beyond that, even certain service personnel that must come into our
homes to provide in-home repair services, home inspections, or general
services are often required to report what they see to various law
enforcement authorities. All of this is done in the name of “national
security.”
All the while, America’s federal buildings today more resemble castles
of ancient Europe than they do buildings that house the people’s
servants. Concrete barriers along with super-reinforced, “bomb proof”
structures remind one of castles of old, with their guard towers and
crocodile-filled moats. Today, people must walk through
metal-detectors and surrender their pocketknives to even visit their
local supervisor of elections office (or just about any other public
office, for that matter). Again, this is all done under the rubric of
“homeland security.”
In the name of “national security,” veterans who have been accused of
some kind of domestic disturbance or who have affirmatively answered
an ambiguous question on a VA form regarding whether they have
feelings of “anger” or “depression” are having their right to keep and
bear arms stripped away. That’s right, in the name of “homeland
security,” some of the very men who were entrusted with lethal weapons
to fight America’s wars are now being told they are not fit to
purchase or possess their own firearms.
Yet, in spite of all of the above, an uninvited couple is allowed to
calmly walk right past Secret Service personnel and have personal
audiences with the President and Vice President of the United States
in what is ostensibly the most heavily-guarded, tightly secured
building in the country: the White House.
Furthermore, this story comes on the heels of the mass shooting on
what one would think would be a rather secure location: the US Army
base at Fort Hood, Texas. And, have we forgotten the fellow who
brought a gun into the Capitol Building (the home of the US Congress)
in Washington, D.C., a few years ago and killed two police officers?
Dear Reader, ask yourself this question, Do you really think those
schmucks in Washington, D.C., actually believe that protecting you and
me is more important than protecting American soldiers, US
congressmen, and especially the President of the United States? “Are
you serious?” (To quote Nancy Pelosi.) The truth is, to the elites in
DC, you and I are expendable commodities. In fact, to some of the
soulless creatures running things, you and I are worth more dead than
alive (but that’s a topic better discussed at a later date).
The point is, all this talk about “national security” is simply a ruse
for Big Government elitists to steal our liberties and make slaves out
of us. They don’t care about security; all they care about is POWER.
So, the next time you are required to be strip-searched by an airport
screener, or to surrender your pocketknife at your local county
commissioner’s office, or to show your driver’s license to your bank
teller, or to submit to a random police checkpoint; the next time you
make a phone call that you know is monitored by a federal agent (and
they all are), or drive under a video camera, or visit these
castle-esque federal buildings, remember Michaele and Tareq Salahi.
And, if you are old enough, remember the time in America when we
really were the “land of the free.” And also remember that it’s not
security they seek it’s the abolition of our liberty.
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Horror Stories
North Korean misery as currency evaporates
- London Telegraph
North Korea has been plunged into chaos, and its shops and markets
paralysed, by a shock announcement from the government that it would
devalue the country’s currency by a factor of 100 to one.
Any larger sums must be deposited in bank accounts, to which North
Koreans do not have free access. The move will leave millions of
people with worthless banknotes in their possession.
The devaluation has triggered panic in the streets. Shops and markets
have been ordered to close their doors and remain shut during the
week-long exchange of bills, according to Good Friends, a Seoul-based
welfare group.
On the black market, rice has soared in price 20-fold and the cost of
a block of tofu has risen from 500 won to 10,000 won (Pounds47.50 at
the official exchange rate) according to the Chosun Ilbo, a South
Korean newspaper.
Intelligence services in South Korea said that the North Korean
government has stepped up security as a safeguard against possible
riots and that army bases have been placed on standby. A curfew has
been declared in the North Hamkyung province, according to DailyNK, an
online newspaper.
The move was an attempt by the government to rein in North Korea’s
burgeoning private economy, which has allowed some families to amass
relatively considerable savings.
The underground economy plays a key role in the hardline Communist
state, with smugglers importing ever-greater volumes of Chinese and
South Korean goods. The growing size of the private economy also made
it more tempting for farmers to divert their grain from government
procurement to the black market.
Coal, oil and machinery are all banned in North Korea, but are freely
available on the black market. The free sale of food was officially
banned in 2005, when the state started issuing full-scale rationing.
“North Koreans are restricted from making profits through businesses
other than their day job,” said Cho Bong-hyun from the Industrial Bank
of Korea. “But people often make more money from their personal
ventures than from their work. The government wants to crack down on
such slush funds and also to encourage a better flow of cash to help
the economy.”
“Pyongyang took the measure to control wealth, something that the
North Korean government couldn’t manage effectively,” said a South
Korean official to the Dong’a Ilbo, a South Korean newspaper.
The move may also have been intended to curb inflation. “The
inflation problem was so serious that I guess there would have been no
other way but the currency reform, but it just strengthened people’s
distrust in the North Korean won,” said a North Korean trade worker in
the Chinese city of Dandong to Yonhap, the South Korean news agency.
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*** The District of Criminals
DOJ Pays $4M a Year to Read Public Court Documents
- Ryan Singel
The federal court system charged the Department of Justice more than
$4 million in 2009 for access to its electronic court filing system,
which is composed entirely of documents in the public domain.
That’s according to government documents made public through a Freedom
of Information Act request by open government advocate Carl Malamud
(pictured right). Malamud sought the information to prove that an
open source repository of U.S. legal materials, a project called
Law.gov, could eventually save the government a billion dollars.
The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts runs the search system
known as Public Access to Court Electronic Records, or PACER. PACER
charges citizens, journalists, corporate lawyers and even the Attorney
General $.08 per page to look at court filings in U.S. District
Courts. The system pulled in nearly $50 million in 2006. The
contract between the PACER office and the Justice Department began in
2002 with a charge of $800,000, which quickly rose to more than $4.2
million in 2009.
PACER is a buggy, barebones system with an interface seemingly
designed in 1995. Though all the court documents it indexes are in
the public record, the U.S. Court system refuses to make them
available for bulk download. PACER also does not cover tax courts or
the Supreme Court.
To cover the gaps, the Justice Department paid West Publishing, a
giant legal publisher, $5 million in 2005. That contract promised the
DOJ online access to the opinions of the Supreme Court, tax courts
records, appeals court decisions and bankruptcy court. Also covered
were state laws and court rules, the Congressional record, the U.S.
code and federal public laws.
West, and its competitor, Lexis Nexis, buy court data in bulk,
reformat it and add proprietary citation codes. They then license the
database of public documents at high rates to libraries, law firms and
government agencies. Even the U.S. Court system pays West’s high
license fees to access public court documents that West purchased from
it.
The Justice Department isn’t alone in paying for access to court
documents for PACER. In fact, it seems to be standard operating
policy. The IRS, for example, spent $950,000 in 2008 to see
the same documents.
Continue Reading “DOJ Pays $4M a Year to Read Public Court Documents”
at <http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/12/wiretap-prices/#more-11567>
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*** Manchester united against ID cards, ID minister finds
- John Oates, The Register
The put-upon people of Manchester got the chance to quiz Home Office
minister Meg Hillier on ID cards, while Parliament got an update on
the national identity register – the database at the heart of the
project.
Sir Joseph Pilling told the Home Affairs committee that 538 people
were now on the database – one of them foreign the rest Brits.
Pilling is the UK ID czar and is described as “an independent voice…
safeguarding the public’s privacy and identity rights”, although he’s
been a Home Office Sir Humphrey since 1966. Hier Klicken!
Meanwhile, Meg Hillier spent part of yesterday responding to questions
from readers of the Manchester Evening News.
This grassroots, reach-out web chat was an enormous success in turning
round public opinion using just reasoned argument – think Peel’s
speech on the Corn Laws. The online poll carried out by the paper,
clearly not astro-turfed by any special interest group, found four per
cent of respondents were in favour of the cards against 96 per cent of
people who were against it.
This didn’t faze Meg though, who told the audience that around two
thirds of the public couldn’t wait to get their hands on an ID card.
So, there you are, ID cards are like Man United – all the supporters
live outside Manchester.
Otherwise the web chat repeated other Home Office half-truths.
Hillier said: “But another real benefit is that once you have
registered no-one can steal your identity” and “the databases will be
very secure – think Police National Computer. No-one will be able to
download information and it will not be on PCs on people’s desks.”
Regular readers won’t need reminding of the government’s rubbish
record of managing the DNA database, the criminal records databases or
the complete failure of the prisoner tracking database.
She also said that less than 100 “highly security vetted” people will
have direct access to the database – which suggests that not many
requests will be made of it, or they’ll be working very fast.
Hillier also reminded the Mancs of the penalties for anyone failing to
update the register with their correct address, which, really, are all
for their own good.
“The penalty charges are really an encouragement to keep info up to
date – this only actually affects your address. The main beneficiary
of up to date address is the card holder so we don’t envisage many
people not complying.”
Of course, if the biometrics confirm your ID, what’s your address got
to do with it?
And with that she said, “I’m sorry I can’t stay longer – it’s been an
interesting discussion.
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Hot Tips
We received this letter to the editor. Due to its length we have
placed it in our Hot Tips section for this issue.
Dear Shamrock;
Please give me the low down on your anonymous, non clipper chip mobile
phones?
Thanks
B. L.
USA
Dear B.L;
Nearly all Mobile phones sold in Western Europe and North America
contain a 15 digit International Mobile Identity code, i.e. an IMEI
number. That’s not taking into account the very real possibility of a
mobile having a GPS tracking chip or a clipper [spy] chip inside as
well.
Even worse, most mobiles sold in America have the ability to be turned
on remotely by the authorities EVEN when your mobile phone is turned
off. In that event your conversation can be heard whilst your mobile
is off. This technology has been possible for many years now with
your landline phone. Even with your telephone on the hook, the
authorities have the ability to turn on your landline phone and listen
in on your sensitive conversations and what you do in the ‘privacy’ of
your home.
A 15-digit IMEI number can be used to identify a handset on an
operator’s network, allowing individual calls to be traced to the
phone it came from. Phones without a valid IMEI are usually
inexpensive, unbranded handsets manufactured in China. [See the
article below, "Millions of mobiles blocked by Indian authorities".]
The only way to prevent any of the above from happening is to unplug
your landline phone from the wall socket and take the battery out of
your mobile when you’re not using your mobile. Alternatively use a
non spy chip mobile.
Enter the Freedom Phone
The Freedom Phone is a mobile phone usually manufactured in China
without a 15-digit IMEI number, clipper, spy or any GPS chip inside.
They’re mostly low end models, but a few models are available with a
tri-band facility. Tri-band mobiles can be used anywhere in the world
having and offering a GSM mobile system. Along with an offshore sim
card, (mobile number,) that is as much privacy as one can get these
days when it comes to making and receiving sensitive mobile calls.
Currently purchasing a non 15-digit IMEI number mobile phone in the US
and Western Europe isn’t against the law. However that’s likely to
change when one takes into account that hundreds of new laws are being
passed every year to ‘protect’ you against the bad guys!
For further information see
http://www.ptshamrock.com/auto/freedomphone.htm
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*** Advisory
PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) needs extra privacy!
- Leprechaun
Okay so you’ve cleared your internet cache and deleted your online and
computer traces with an excellent FREE program like CCleaner. [See
http://www.ccleaner.com/ ]
You also use a top rated uninstall program so all your unwanted
programs are deleted with no traces left heather and yonder on your PC
or laptop. Finally you use or should use pgp so all your emails are
encrypted. [Note: If you need help with PGP, just email us and place
"PGP" in your subject heading. We'll email you a easy to follow guide
on downloading, setting up and using pgp in a safe and fast manner.]
However have you really covered your tracks and erased all data in
connection with any or all of the above programs during your computer
use? We’d venture a guess and say hardly!
Allow me, the little leprechaun, to enlighten you in this Advisory.
As 90% percent of computers use a Windows operating system, we’ll use
for this Advisory a Windows operating system, i.e. XP, Vista, or
Windows 7 for this example.
Revealed
You’ll be amazed at what data, files, attachments and even email
addresses are left on your PC that you probably never realized and
most certainly wouldn’t want anyone else snooping around seeing, to
learn or know about. To understand what I’m saying, may I suggest you
take a sobering look at your “AppData” folder.
The “AppData” folder
On most Windows OS (operating systems,) the default settings hide the
“AppData “folder and many other files, folders, ini files and other
items as well. So in order to be able to view and locate your
“AppData” folder, here’s what you need to do:
View hidden folders
Go to your start menu and click on “Control Panel.” When the Control
Panel icons appear, click on the icon called “Folder Options.” Once
you’ve opened your “Folder Options,” at the top you should see a tab
called “VIEW.” Click on and open the VIEW tab.
Down the “VIEW” list a wee bit, you should see a folder called
“ADVANCED SETTINGS.” Under the “ADVANCED SETTINGS” folder, there
should be a subfolder called “Hidden Files and Folders.” There are
several options under that heading. Tick inside the “Show hidden,
folders and drives” circle. Then click okay and close your control
panel.
Viola, now you should then be able to see your formerly hidden
“AppData” folder as well as numerous other items, i.e. .ini files,
etc. All will appear faded, but that’s because they are “Hidden”
files and folders revealed.
Now where is the AppData folder you might be asking? Here’s how to
locate that now unhidden folder, i.e. your “AppData” folder.
Go back to your start menu and click on it. Then click on “Computer.”
Then click on and open your “Local Disk (C:) drive,” which is, for
most persons, the drive where your OS system is located. Look
carefully and you’ll locate a folder called “Users”. Open the “USERS”
folder then locate the folder that has the same name as your computer
name. As an example, when you installed your operating system you
were probably asked what name you wanted your computer or laptop
called and known as. You might have called your PC “My Computer
Name.” Locate that folders name inside your “USERS” folder, or the
name of your computer folder, then click on and open that folder, e.g.
“My Computer Name” folder.
Inside your “MY Computer Name” folder, you will see a slightly faded
folder called “AppData.” That’s the folder we are referring to in
this Advisory, i.e. the “AppData” folder. Click on and open the
“AppData” folder. Inside you will see several folders, one of which
should be called “Roaming.” Open the “Roaming” folder.
Inside your “Roaming” folder you’ll see numerous folders with the
names of programs you’re currently using, and quite possibly some
folders containing the names of programs you thought you uninstalled,
perhaps some time ago.
If you use PGP, and you really should, you will see a folder called
“PGP Corporation.” Open that “PGP Corporation” folder. Inside you’ll
see another folder called “PGP.” Open the “PGP” folder. Inside the
“PGP” folder, you’ll see a “Cache” folder and several other funny
looking files and such. Some of those items will/should be one or
more text files called “PGPlog.txt”, “PGPlog1.txt”, etc. and so on.
Open those text files and read what’s in them. Chances are there will
be a list, a record of pgp emails you’ve sent or received along with
the EMAIL ADDRESSES attached to the pgp keys you’ve used for ’secure’
communications. That’s not Pretty Good Privacy in our book!
It’s shocking if I say so myself. In the, hopefully, unlikely event
your laptop or PC is compromised, that information in the hands of
another person or authority could be dangerous to your health.
Therefore it might be a good idea to get into the habit of deleting
your “PGPlog.txt” files every day for greater privacy!
In the event you uninstalled any unwanted program such as an email
program, you’ll probably see a folder in your “AppData Roaming” folder
with the name of that uninstalled program. E.g. you uninstalled
“Poco Mail” sometime back. Open the folder “Poco Mail” and see what
traces have been left behind. You’ll be shocked to see what’s been
left in that folder AFTER you thought you uninstalled that email
program. You probably assumed that the uninstall deleted all former
folders and content in your email program. You might even find long
deleted attachments that could be embarrassing or worse for you.
Your Registry and Registry Keys
It doesn’t end there with what’s left behind on your PC we’re sad to
report. With the following information you really need to know what
you are doing. If you don’t please DO NOT do it as you’re liable to
cause more problems with your computer than it’s worth and have to
conduct a clean install of your OS along with all programs currently
in use. There’s no joy if you have to do that!
However in the event you DO know what the heck you’re doing and are
very careful, take a good look inside your registry and the registry
keys attached to them inside the registry software folders. A quick
search in your registry will most likely reveal long ago deleted
programs. These folders and sub keys should be deleted if they are
left over from uninstalled programs and are no longer needed by you or
any of the programs currently being used.
However we reiterate, ONLY do this if you really know what you’re
doing and the program is not or will not be used with any current
programs and effect your computer operating properly.
Conclusion
This Advisory isn’t about how to go into your registry and delete
uninstalled program folders and keys, so we’re not going into that
aspect of secure deletion. Neither is this Advisory the definitive
answer on how to REALLY clean unwanted and undesired files and
folders.
However we do trust that this Advisory will give you a sobering look
at how many trails you leave behind each and every time you use your
computer, along with a couple of easy ways to clean up your tracks.
Readers comments and input are always appreciated.
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*** Stop The Press
Only two left – Anonymous Hong Kong sim card (mobile number.)
Just US$99.99 plus shipping. First come, first served. Order now at
https://www.ptshamrock.com/order_bwe.html
Your ordering code is “99HKG.” Merry Christmas from Shamrock’s
Leprechaun.
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Dumbing Down
Drivers who leave engines running to clear screens face fines under
‘idling offence’ rules
- Daily Mail
Motorists who leave their cars running on frosty mornings to warm up
the engine and clear the windscreen could face being fined under
anti-pollution rules this winter.
Drivers are being told that leaving a car idling for more than a
couple of minutes wastes fuel, and they could be served with
on-the-spot fines of up to GBP40.
However motoring groups have warned the rules should not be used to
stop responsible motorists leaving engines ticking over while they
remove ice and condensation from windows.
Many councils now enforce the ’stationary idling offence’, which was
quietly introduced by the Government in 2002.
Drivers who leave engines running to clear screens face fines under
idling offence rules 121109banner2
It is particularly aimed at drivers of buses and taxis who sometimes
leave engines running for half-an-hour or more while waiting for
passengers, pumping out pollution unnecessarily.
One of the latest authorities considering imposing the rules is Sefton
council in Merseyside.
It says running engines while a vehicle is not moving is an
‘inefficient use of fuel’ and results in the release of gases that
have a ‘negative effect on both climate change and public health’.
Fines will start at GBP20, doubling if they aren’t paid within three
weeks.
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Dumb signs
At midnight last night, the United Kingdom ceased to be a sovereign
state
- Daniel Hannan, London Telegraph, Tuesday, Dec 1st, 2009
We woke up in a different country today. Alright, it doesn’t look
very different. The trees still seem black against the winter sun;
the motorways continue to jam inexplicably; commuters carry on
avoiding eye contact. But Britain is no longer a sovereign nation.
At midnight last night, we ceased to be an independent state, bound by
international treaties to other independent states, and became instead
a subordinate unit within a European state.
Yes, a European state. Take a quick dekko at the definition set out
in Article One of the 1933 Montevideo Convention on the Rights and
Duties of States: “The state as a person of international law should
possess the following qualifications: (a) a permanent population; (b)
a defined territory; (c) government; and (d) capacity to enter into
relations with the other states.”
Until yesterday, the EU qualified on grounds (a), (b) and (c). Now it
has ticked the final box. Under the Lisbon Treaty, which came into
force today, it acquires “legal personality”, which gives it the right
to sign accords and treat with other states. Nor is this right simply
theoretical: the EU now has a foreign minister, a diplomatic corps
(the European External Action Service) and 160 overseas embassies.
Until yesterday, the EU could not annex additional policy areas
without a new treaty, which needed to be ratified by all its
constituent nations. Now, it has the so-called “passerelle” clause,
or self-amending mechanism. Parliament, in other words, no longer has
the final say on extensions of EU jurisdiction. The EU derives its
authority, not from its 27 members, but from its own foundational
texts.
Until yesterday, Britain could simply walk out of the EU by abrogating
the Treaty of Rome and repealing the 1972 European Communities Act.
Henceforth, it will have to go through the secession procedure laid
down in Lisbon. In other words, in the minds of Euro-lawyers, at any
rate, if not of British constitutionalists, the EU gets to settle the
terms on which its members are allowed to leave. Formal sovereignty
has been shifted from the national capitals to Brussels.
It is appalling, demeaning, disgraceful that such a thing should have
been done without popular consent, and in the absence of the
referendum that all three parties had promised. “There’s no point in
crying over spilt milk,” you might say. True. But there is every
point in mopping it up.
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Dumb facts
Photographer questioned by police under anti-terror laws for taking
‘too many’ pictures of town centre Christmas lights
- UK Daily Mail
An amateur photographer taking pictures of Christmas lights was
questioned by police under anti-terror laws.
Andrew White, from Brighton, was taking pictures in a busy town centre
in nearby Burgess Hill when he was spotted and followed by two Police
Community Support Officers.
They stopped him and asked why he had been taking pictures and if he
was a professional photographer.
Mr White, 33, asked why they wanted to know and was told it was to do
with counter-terrorism legislation.
Police said he was stopped for ‘taking too many photographs in a busy
shopping area’.
Shamrock’s comment: The incredible dumbing down continues.
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*** Dumb criminal acts
Police in Kent have at last acknowledged that arresting people for
being too tall might not be a very good idea.
- The Register
Or rather, arresting someone for no better reason than “because they
could” was unlawful and not altogether sensible.
The story begins this July when photographer Alex Turner was stopped
whilst taking snaps in Chatham High St and approached by two men, who
refused to identify themselves, but demanded that he show them some
ID. When he refused, they called for back-up. A PCSO and WPC
arrived: Turner took a photo of the pair, and was promptly arrested.
He was then handcuffed, held in a police van for 20 minutes, searched
in public by plain clothes officers before being released. It remains
unclear, both from from his own account and from subsequent police
explanations, exactly why he was arrested although he did note at
the time that the WPC stated she had felt threatened by his size – 5′
11″ and about 12 stone – and implied that she found it intimidating.
Mr Turner complained: a police internal investigation was carried out;
and this week, the Investigating Officer (IO) finally got back to him
with the very welcome news that, according to their barrister, his
arrest was unlawful.
This would therefore render both the subsequent search unlawful as
well as Mr Turner’s detention in a police van.
The professional standards department of Kent Police will now consider
the report, together with any recommendations made.
The IO apologised for the delay explaining that “special branch” had
claimed that the burden of proof required to lawfully arrest under
terrorist legislation was somewhat less than it is under other
legislation, and that they believed Mr Turner’s arrest to have been
lawful. For that reason, Kent Police had sought the advice of legal
counsel.
According to Mr Turner, the IO said that he thought he had had a “raw
deal” on the day of the arrest. He added that the arrest was in part
a consequence of the strong message given to the police on the ground
and council officers about being alert to potential terrorist threats.
However, as there were few terrorist activities in Kent, regular
officers generally have a low level of knowledge of anti terrorist
legislation, and Kent Police have now launched county-wide awareness
raising training of anti-terrorist legislation to address this
shortfall.
This refreshing candour on the part of the IO is in sharp contrast to
statements put out at the time of the arrest by Kent Police.
El Reg asked Kent Police on several occasions to explain what had
happened and also to reveal the precise legal grounds for the arrest.
Even if an arrest is subsequently determined to be unlawful, police
officers should, at the time of making that arrest, have a clear idea
of the legal grounds for so doing, and be able to make that clear to
members of the public.
Failing to respond directly to our inquiry the first time, Assistant
Chief Constable Allyn Thomas claimed merely that Mr Turner’s quite
legal behaviour was “suspicious”, thereby implying that generalised
suspicion, irrespective of any statutory basis for arrest, is good
enough for Kent Police.
This was followed by a statement from Chief Superintendent Steve
Corbishley, who also failed to identify the precise legal powers used,
alluding merely to “a number of powers which [police] are able to use
in relation to stop and search” and expressing confidence that the
public are happy with the police acting in this way.
We have asked Kent Police for further comment on this result, but at
time of writing, we have not received any reply.
Bootnote Kent Police did get back to us in the end, with the following
statement: “Kent Police can confirm that Mr Turner has been updated on
the internal investigation. The investigation is on-going with Kent
Police’s Professional Standards Department and it would not be
appropriate to comment at this time.”
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Cannon Fodder
Millions of mobiles blocked by Indian authorities
- UK Register
India has blocked service to an estimated 25 million mobile phones
lacking valid identity codes over concerns criminal or militant groups
could use them to organize attacks.
Mobile phones with a blank or all-zero International Mobile Identity
(IMEI) code went dead at midnight Tuesday as a result of a government
security directive that became law in October 2008.
The 15-digit IMEI number can be used to identify a handset on an
operators network, allowing individual calls to be traced to the phone
it came from. Phones without a valid IMEI are usually inexpensive,
unbranded handsets manufactured in China.
According to the Times of India, Chinese-made handsets account for
about 13.3 per cent of the country’s total mobile market.
India’s government claims these untraceable phones are a potential
security threat when in the hands of unsavory individuals. The Indian
Cellular Association urged compliance with the rules:
“Terrorists and dangerous elements may have taken cover under the
illegal and fictitious IMIE mobile phones, which could have been used
to trigger a series of criminal activities,” the trade organization
wrote in an October newsletter.
“As a part of the great mobile trade and industry, we believe that by
disallowing the existence of illegal IMEI numbers in our telecom
ecosystem we can play a greater role to strengthen our nation’s
security requirements,” it continued.
The government has allowed operators to provide a new unique ID number
to phones that don’t comply with the new regulation.
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Oz Corner:
Home truths: Australia trumps US when it comes to McMansions
- Sydney Morning Herald
Biggest In The World
1. Australia – 215
2. United States – 292
3. New Zealand – 196
4. Denmark – 137
5. Greece – 126
The average size of new homes around the world in square metres.
Australians are piling on sitting rooms, family rooms, studies and
extra bedrooms at the fastest rate in the world, with the size of our
homes overtaking those in the US as the world’s biggest.
The typical size of a new Australian home hit 215 square metres in the
past financial year, up 10 per cent in a decade, according to Bureau
of Statistics data compiled for Commonwealth Securities.
US figures show the size of new American homes shrinking from 212
square metres before the financial crisis to 202 square metres in
September.
New homes in other parts of the world are far smaller, with Denmark
the biggest in Europe at 137 square metres and Britain the smallest at
76 square metres.
The figures lend weight to a claim by the deputy governor of the
Reserve Bank, Ric Battellino, this month that Australian house prices
are high in part because Australian houses are better.
The Reserve is due to meet tomorrow to decide whether to increase
interest rates. Almost half of the $250 billion spent on housing each
year was on alterations and additions, with one in every seven new
houses “simply replacing existing houses that have been demolished”.
Mr Battellino said Australians had so many holiday houses that the
latest census found 8 per cent more dwellings than households.
Sydney houses are by far the nation’s biggest with new free-standing
houses typically spanning 263 square metres – providing more than 100
square metres of indoor space per person.
But the high proportion of townhouses and apartments in Sydney pushes
the average dwelling size down to 205 square metres, just below the
Australian average and about the same as in the US.
“Another way of looking at it is the number of bedrooms,” said a
Commonwealth Securities economist, Craig James. “Around 20 years ago
only one in every six homes had four or more bedrooms. By 2006 it was
one in every 3.5 homes.
“While the fast pace of population growth points to the need for more
and more homes, we are living in the biggest homes in the world. The
simple fact is they could be better utilised.”
Mr James is encouraged by a slight increase in the number of
Australians living in each home. The average household size has crept
up from 2.52 to 2.56 people in 2007-08.
“It may not seem remarkable but it appears to be the first increase in
at least a century, and perhaps the first since European settlement.
“It makes sense. Population is rising, as is the cost of housing and
the cost of moving house, so we are making greater use of what we’ve
got. Children are staying at home longer and more people are opting
for shared accommodation. The key question is whether it’s permanent
or temporary. If sustained, it will save us building 166,000 homes.”
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Bug Bites:
EU agency runs rule over ID cards for online banking logins
- John Leyden
A study by an EU cybersecurity agency into the use of electronic
identity cards for online banking has highlighted seven types of
vulnerability and 15 possible threats.
ENISA (the European Network and Information Security Agency) compared
the suitability of smart eID cards to other authentication techniques
for online banking, such as two-factor authentication and the use of
mobiles to send out transaction authorisation codes.
ID cards can be applied to the world of online banking but seven
classes of risks need to be taken into account before rolling out the
technology. These problem include flaws in smart card design, weak or
flawed cryptography protocols, keylogging Trojans or other malware on
PCs used for internet banking, and card theft.
ENISA also suggests that a standardised approach to authentication
using ID cards is needed before they can be widely used for online
banking or other sensitive applications, such as accessing government
services. Better standards for integration between smartcard readers
and PCs are among the technologies that need to be developed and
widely adopted before the technology can really take off, it suggests.
Privacy concerns are a further complicating factor.
Despite its caution, ENISA wants national ID cards to become as
flexible and as multi-purpose as possible, adding “[the] universally
applicable eID card is technologically feasible.” The report doesn’t
address the question of whether this is desirable.
Dr Udo Helmbrecht, executive director of ENISA, concludes: “Electronic
identity cards offer secure, reliable electronic authentication to
internet services, but banks and governments must cooperate better to
be able to use national eID cards for banking purposes.”
ENISA’s 41 page paper on national ID cards and electronic banking,
which provides a comprehensive overview of authentication technologies
and attack scenarios while being a bit light on conclusions, can be
found at <http://www.enisa.europa.eu/act/it/eid/eid-online-banking/>
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*** Red Hot Product!
Here’s another Red Hot product at a very affordable price.
This Visa Prepaid Debit Card can be used in person or online to
purchase goods and services in addition to making cash withdrawals at
ATM’s machines worldwide.
You can send money to any other cardholder for free. You can also
send money orders and pay bills online. Plus there is online balance
checking as well. When your card arrives, it is ready to use. Simply
activate it and add money.
These cards offer interesting load and card withdrawal allowances.
One can have as much as US$10,200 on the card total at any one time.
You are also allowed to load up to US$7,000 per day. For U.S.
residents, if loading the card at an authorized merchant store, you
can load up to US$5,000, subject to the merchants individual load
limits.
Loads can be made by bank wire, authorized merchant stores and at most
any Western Union and MoneyGram office. You can also load your
card with cheques and money orders as well as via PayPal.
By providing your name and address the card is dispatched within 10
business days for US customers. For overseas customers it takes
somewhat longer for the card to reach you, but it is dispatched
immediately.
Applying is quite “flexible!” For U.S. customers source doesn’t ask
for copies of id, but will ask you for your name, address, date of
birth and social security number. Overseas clients can fax a copy of
their ID direct to source. Just follow the printed instructions that
comes with your card and you are all set to use this impressive card.
Order your card now at https://www.ptshamrock.com/order_bwe.html for
just Eur 200. Your ordering code is “E200Prepaid”.
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*** Google Public DNS and Your Privacy
- JR Raphael, PCWorld
Google’s expanding its grasp on the Internet with a newly revealed DNS
resolving service. Google Public DNS, announced Thursday on Google’s
blog, will offer you an alternative way to connect to Web sites.
As with the launch of most Google services, people are starting to ask
questions about what kind of data will be collected and how exactly it
will be used. (Or, in more lay terms, “Is Google going to be evil?”)
Here are some straight-forward answers, straight from the source.
Google Public DNS: An Introduction
First, a brief description of what exactly Google Public DNS is: In a
nutshell, the DNS — or domain name system — is what actually finds
and directs you to a Web site when you type in its URL. You input
“pcworld.com,” the system translates that into the matching numerical
address of PC World’s server, and you’re taken to the page. That’s
the simple explanation, anyhow.
For most users, DNS lookups are handled automatically through an
Internet service provider; they’re not tasks most of us see or devote
much thought to. You do have the option, however, of using your own
third-party DNS resolver. That’s where Google Public DNS comes in.
The advantage of using a system such as Google’s is that it can be
faster, more efficient, and more secure than the default ISP
alternatives. Companies such as OpenDNS already offer such
functionality. As OpenDNS founder David Ulevitch points out, Google
Public DNS will not offer the ability to filter content and customize
the experience in the same way that a pay-to-play service does.
Google Public DNS and Your Privacy
Okay, that’s out of the way — now let’s tackle the all-important
question of privacy. What exactly will Google be watching with its
new Google Public DNS service?
Here’s the breakdown of what is and isn’t collected:
Your IP address: yes. But only temporarily. That data, Google
says, is never stored for more than 24 to 48 hours, and it’s collected
solely to identify technical problems and help protect from attacks.
Your name or other personally identifying information: no. Google
assures this type of data is never collected.
Your location: yes. Google says it permanently stores “metro-level”
info on your whereabouts for the purpose of debugging and improving
the Google Public DNS experience. Most of this information is held
for two weeks, Google says, though a “small subset” is sampled for
permanent storage. The company promises that it never ties the
location data to any other information collected from your session.
The Web sites you look up: yes. But again, Google says that
information is not stored along with any data that would identify who
you are.
Lots of technical details: yes. Google Public DNS permanently logs
technical items such as your request type, transport protocol, and the
length of time it takes the system to complete your requests. You can
see a full list of these technical details on Google’s official Public
DNS privacy policy.
None of the information collected, Google says, is ever tied to your
Google account, stored as part of your profile on any other Google
service, or shared with any third-party provider.
Google Public DNS and Advertising
One last concern: What about ads? Is Google going to be inserting
sponsorships into your surfing experience?
So far, there are no indications that it will. Typically, with DNS
resolvers, ads appear when users try to go to a Web page that can’t be
found; at that time, a custom error page will pop up that features
sponsored banners or text links. The FAQ for Google Public DNS,
however, states the following:
“If you issue a query for a domain name that does not exist, Google
Public DNS always returns an NXDOMAIN record, as per the DNS protocol
standards.”
Now, with that being said, some people still have their doubts.
OpenDNS’s Ulevitch, for example, believes a deeper motive may exist.
“You have to remember they are also the largest advertising and
redirection company on the Internet,” he says. “To think that
Google’s DNS service is for the benefit of the Internet would be
naive. They know there is value in controlling more of your Internet
experience, and I would expect them to explore that fully.”
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Shamrock’s Missive:
Another year as well as the first decade of the 21st century is
nearing an end. Privacy and civil liberties continue to erode at an alarming
rate.
For many, one’s personal and financial privacy is but a faint memory
of yesteryears! One is tracked from cradle to grave, from the time
you wake up until you fall asleep. Even then you are still being
tracked and recorded on hundreds, if not thousands of databases around
the world.
The US dollars’ dramatic decline, nearly thirty percent since the
spring of 2009 (only a few months ago,) hasn’t been for the faint of heart.
2010 doesn’t see any light at the end of the tunnel for the
continuing declining US dollar either we are sorry to write.
Perhaps hope springs eternal. Be sure to see and read our upcoming
January interview with one of the world’s top nationality experts, i.e.
Dr. Charles Freeman, best selling author and a leading authority
on second nationalities.
Until next year, here’s wishing you and yours a Merry Christmas and a
Happy New Year.
See you next issue
Shamrock
“The people never give up their liberties but under some delusion.”
- Edmund Burke, 1784
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Quote
“An act of the legislature repugnant to the Constitution is void.”
- Marbury v. Madison
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Even More Quotes
“Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do
not.”
- Thomas Jefferson
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Another Quote
“A man who believes in nothing will fall for anything.”
- Malcolm X
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Thought provoking quotes:
“Gandhi and Dr. King did not engage in civil disobedience,
they simply stopped asking for permission to live.”
- unknown
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*** Tid Bits
India plans its own net snoop system
- The Register
On the anniversary of the Mumbai terror attacks, the Indian government
has announced its own version of the UK’s Interception Modernisation
Programme (IMP) – a massive expansion of communications surveillance
for the internet age.
A pilot of the Centralised Monitoring System (CMS) will begin by June
next year, communications minister Gurudas Kamat said on Thursday.
Like IMP, CMS will see a network of monitoring probes inserted
throughout the country’s fixed line and wireless communications
networks.
Again like the British project, which is scheduled for completion in
2016, CMS probes will be configured centrally and allow intelligence
and law enforcement agencies to easily intercept calls, texts and
internet sessions.
“In the existing system secrecy can be easily compromised due to
manual intervention at many stages while in CMS these functions will
be performed on secured electronic link and there will be minimum
manual intervention,” Kamat told the upper house of India’s
legislature.
The system will also create huge silos of communications data (who
contacts whom, when, where and how) to be analysed and mined. But
while UK ministers plan to outsource storage and initial processing to
ISPs and phone companies, the Indian government plans its own series
of regional and central databases.
Planning for CMS was begun in 2007, but has gained momentum in the
wake of the Mumbai attacks, when the terrorists received orders via
VoIP.
The laws needed to legitimise such a system here are not expected to
be introduced until the next Parliament. A Home Office consultation
on its plans over summer attracted a very negative response from the
communications industry.
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*** Bits n bobs
Manchester journo gets first ID card – late
- Joe Fay
A Manchester Evening News hack claims to be the first member of the
public to get an ID card in the government’s pilot, despite her
application almost being scuppered by an accident with a roast potato.
Angela Epstein was offered the first appointment at the City’s ID
central office, after covering the scheme in her column in the paper.
Her card was turned round in less than 24 hours, she said, leaving her
“so proud I could almost burst I haven’t felt this good about cradling
something small and pink since my daughter Sophie was born.”
She then admitted that was a slight exaggeration, before taking her
readers on a fascinating travelogue through the bowels of the
government’s ID bureaucracy.
After being offered the appointment, Epstein wrote, she turned up at
the office, presumably on Monday, the day the pilot went live.
“I’d filled in a form, not dissimilar to a passport application, which
was checked over and imputed [sic] into a computer by a charming but
slightly nervous lady whose badge said Pauline was that her ID, I
wondered?
“I was then asked to choose five ‘password’ questions from a list of
20 which were unique to me and could subsequently prove who I was.
They included name of first pet, favourite song and best subject at
school. Cute but slightly bonkers, perhaps.”
After that Epstein was lead to “a curtained booth to have biometric
particulars taken down: not as saucy as it sounds but simply my photo,
prints and electronically recorded signature.”
But at this point she revealed that the process was almost aborted:
“Thanks to a small burn on my index finger (roast potatoes can be
lethal) the plaster I was wearing scuppered my prints, foxed the
scanner and baffled the interviewing officer at Manchester’s Passport
and Identity Service in Piccadilly.”
Luckily, the government has staffed its ID apparatus with top notch
civil servants brimming with initiative, and “we put our heads
together and agreed that removing it (the plaster, not the finger)
would resolve the situation.”
Epstein was told she’d get her card the same day, instead of the
normal four to ten, what with there being no backlog.
However, it didn’t actually turn up until the next day. This wasn’t
due to a the crush of applications, but because it had to come via
something called Chadderton.
She adds that when she went to pick it up, a “Roy Cropper wannabe
complete with diagonally placed bag was eagerly awaiting his turn
while a middle-aged man with a nice wax jacket did the crossword.”
So, two days in, and the government appears to have enticed at least
three people to join the scheme, and is already running late
distributing the cards.
Of course, Epstein understands some people have reservations about the
ID card. “As I’ve said before I understand why people have their
reservations, but I personally can’t see what there is to lose if
you’re a law abiding citizen with nothing to hide.”
Which suggests to us that the biometrics booth, as well as including
photo, dabs and signature scanners also includes a state of the art
human chipping device.
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*** Letters to the Editor:
Keep them postcards and letters coming’ folks, ’cause we
done mailed the rosebushes!!
Dear Shamrock:
Many thanks for the cracking product, XXX. It’s everything your web
site said and more.
G.I.
Wales
Dear Shamrock:
Wishing all at PT Shamrock, including your leprechaun, a happy holiday
season.
A. J. H., your newsletter enthusiast for 12 years now.
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Quote of the month!
“When injustice becomes law, rebellion becomes DUTY!”
- anonymous
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*** “PT Shamrock’s Exclusive Member’s Site!”
Each month we offer exclusive information, free privacy programs,
access to our newsletter archives and other insider information
for members only.
Our member’s site is accessed by user name and password only. This
is available to our newsletter subscribers ONLY!
Each month the password will change and you will have to e-mail us
from your subscribers e-mail address to request the NEW password in
order to gain access.
As a subscriber to our newsletter you automatically qualify for this
exclusive service. Just send an e-mail to
<mailto: ptshamrock@ptshamrock.com> and place “Members” in the subject
heading. We will forward to you full details for signing up and gaining access
to our Members Site, reserved for you.
Enjoy.
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Dear Friend:
If you like our newsletter please tell your friends and associates
about us. They can subscribe *FREE* by sending an e-mail to:
<mailto: ptbuzz-on@mail-list.com>.
Our pledge!
We never spam our subscribers, never rent or give our
subscribers list to anyone, and unlike other newsletters do
not accept paid advertisements; And of course, our PT Buzz
Newsletter is absolutely free, just packed full of interesting
privacy news and information with a tad of humor thrown in for
good measure.
We’re probably the oldest privacy newsletter on the Internet!
Thank you for your patronage and help in spreading the word.
Shamrock
“The right to privacy is a part of our basic freedoms. Privacy is
fundamental to close family ties, competitive free enterprise, the
ownership of property, and the exchange of ideas.”
PT Shamrock – issue one; 1994
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Don’t forget to check out our Special Offers at <www.ptshamrock.com>
See you next issue!
“Mehr sein, als scheinen” (German Proverb)
Be more, seem less!
PT Shamrock
- – - – - – - – - – NOTICE – - – - – - – - – -
In compliance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is
distributed free without profit or payment for non-profit
research and for educational purposes only.
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PT Shamrock Limited Suite #79, 184 Lower Rathmines Road, Rathmines, Dublin D6, Ireland
. Evidently buying leads is on the top of the sin tree. I got a spam complaint or two. From what Ive been told since then if in business in email marketing you will get spam complaints no matter what you do. Its not if its when you get spam complaints. Well bluehost spam complaint department was very arrogant and insulting.. basically didn’t want to work things out. I had paid for a whole year of hosting up front. So I told them this call is going to go downhill from here just refund me. So the special person sent me to billing. Everyone there was very polite other than the spam complaint department. So I had gotten over the whole thing when I got a domain renewal notice in email. Technically speaking I told them I wanted a refund.. that should have included the domain name. But I thought ok .. i can use that domain so i will get it forwarded. So I went to the website and did the live chat support thing. They wont forward the domain like so many other GOOD companies will .. they want you to have hosting before you can use the domain… !! @$$%^^^&*@$%%. They are useless! Cant even get domain forwarding without driving away poeple. I stayed polite to the person on the chat as its not their fault they work for a sucky company that doesn’t know how to make money from domain forwarding. Oh well .. I’m done with my rant.. please tell everyone you know that Bluehost.com sucks if you agree with me.
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