Double Standard On Display As Western Security Agencies Mimic Their Asian Counterparts In Online Court Case Debacle

Nov 022012
 

China’s security apparatus, and those of  many of its Asian neighbors, have been heavily criticized for their involvement in online censorship and surveillance and a failure to crack down on software and other intellectual piracy.

But their western counterparts may have managed to achieve a new low when it comes to abiding by and enforcing the rule of law over the internet, surveillance and intellectual property.  These actions would have been condemned by Western Nations if the case was in Asia and would probably have been attributed to corruption and other malfeasance.

But this controversy is being played out in a court case in New Zealand over the “megadownloads” website which is accused of being an internet piracy operation on a massive scale. The only certainty so fat is the arrogance and incompetence of  New Zealand and United States security agencies is being laid bare in an embarrassing and, for the case, catastrophic way.

The internal political fallout is also spectacular but more of a sideshow.

On trial is Kim Dotcom, originally from Germany but now a resident in New Zealand. He set up megadownloads and proceeded to make a fortune as people went to the site looking for free downloads of software, movies and other materials. Authorities contend it was  a fortune made on the back of stolen property.

The United States approached New Zealand’s Government Security Communications Bureau for assistance in gathering evidence with a view to extraditing him to America to stand trial.

From the beginning the investigation has been frightening in its utter and total incompetence. The GCSB is responsible for external intelligence issues, and I use the term “intelligence” purely in its technical sense. There are lot allowed by law to conduct surveillance on New Zealand residents.

They claimed they did not know Kim Dotcom was a resident. A quick check with the Department of Immigration could have answered that or if they were closed for the day perhaps Mr Dotcom’s  half million dollar fireworks display over Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city, to celebrate his attaining residency may have been a sufficient  hint.

It seems they never even did a google search on the man.

It is hard to imagine that even the intelligence agents’  primeval ancestors oozing from the oceans eons ago would not have seen the signs and  done some back ground checks before storming in with armed police to detain a man who does not look to be in the peak of physical condition that warranted such an operation.

This has now turned into a major political embarrassment and  looks as though it may destroy the case and raises questions about the US and NZ intelligence services.

The one good thing to come out of it is that we are being given a chance to see past the jingoistic rhetoric that surrounds online censorship, surveillance and the enforcement of the relevant aspects of the rule of law.

These wrongs are not nationalistic traits but traits of those who operate without supervision in the thirst for power and personal gain mixed in with a dash of incompetence and bigotry.

I am sure members of the New Zealand, American, British, Chinese, Russian security services among others have more in common with each other than they do with their fellow citizens.

The greatest danger to society is secrecy, censorship, lack of information and a closed and hidden Government. In this darkness festered the spores of Stalinism, Nazism and any other form of ism you care to mention that has reeked havoc on the world whether it came  from the left or the right of the political spectrum or from the devout to the atheist of personal faith.

I can only say that in my few dealings with members of intelligence agencies I have been left with less of a feeling that I have met a James Bond than having been lectured by some slightly precocious, overindulged 11-year-old who keeps insisting they are right but  cannot tell you why, topped off by what they assume is an enigmatic smile.

Then again perhaps that’s what they want us to believe.

 

 

 

New Report Highlights New Technologies Risks From Government Monitoring And Surveillance

Aug 012012
 

A new report has found that very  few users of new technologies in countries with repressive regimes including Vietnam and China are aware of the extent to which the authorities monitor and censor their information.

The report by independent watchdog Freedom House in association with the Broadcasting Board of Governors (who oversee RFA including providing funding for this blog) found that in some cases there was 100 percent penetration of the mobile network by government agencies.

The report confirms what RFAunplugged has been going on about for some time – if you live in a country with a repressive regime assume all electronic information you send, look up or transmit is going to be intercepted by some “very naughty pixies” working for the government. And if you don’t live in a repressive regime chances are some other sorts of pixies will probably be trying to steal your information or lie to you in some electronic form.

Once upon a time the secret police would have either kicked the door in or if in a more subtle mood quietly break into a house or office and rifle through papers, letters, correspondence looking for information.  In another section of the government, tireless workers would snip out offending articles from overseas publications before putting them on sale.

The report is a timely reminder that new technology is no protection against the  age old problems of those in power wanting to stay in power by any means including limiting access to information and targeting dissenters.

It is tempting to be flippant and suggest that this report is such a statement of the obvious that the next ones in the series will be “Water is wet” or “Fire Powerfully Hot” but sadly despite being obvious so many people, to their cost, choose to ignore these very obvious facts.

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Chinese Baidu attempts to penetrate Vietnamese market

Jul 082012
 

The information that Baidu Tra da quan (ice tea shop), a Chinese social network would make debut in Vietnam on July 1 has appeared on a lot of websites in Vietnam. Meanwhile, sources have said that besides the social network, the Chinese company has been implementing a series of other projects, quietly.

This report comes from Ezine Vietnamnet.

Baidu Tra da quan is slated to make debut in Vietnam in early July. However, the Vietnamese Internet community has been “throwing stone” into the social network for the last couples of weeks already. A lot of members of the Vietnamese social networks such as VOZ or GameVN have called on to boycott the Chinese social network. A lot of other people have also expressed their aversion to the products from the neighboring country.

Some experts said that the presence of Baidu in Vietnam is foreseeable. The Chinese giant has been developing very rapidly in China and it has automatically thought of expanding its business in South East Asia, where Vietnam is the nearest country in terms of geographical position.

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Should You Take Your Laptop Or Mobile Device To China, Vietnam Or Other Authoritarian Countries

Jun 262012
 

There is a very short answer to the question in the headline – “No”. Or more precisely take a laptop or mobile but only one that is clean of all files and even then there is a need to be careful.

Mobile phones and blue tooth devices can have their microphones turned on remotely so take out the batteries if you are in a sensitive meeting. Thermostats and office printers have been found communicating with websites in China.

The issues of online security in repressive regimes should not even need to be mentioned – just assume anything you have on your computer in that country is going to be copied.

I should mention before I go on that these risks are not peculiar to China or Asia in general.  Many years ago as a young reporter in New Zealand, which Transparency International ranked the world’s least corrupt country recently, I interviewed a gentleman who ran a company which specialized in the searching for bugs and listening devices.

He was often called in by companies, law firms and other private organizations to check for such items.

He said often he found nothing at his clients but when they were situated in  multi tenanted high rise buildings he estimated about 90 percent of the time he found that there was some sort of listening device planted in neighboring businesses.

So this is not specifically about China though that and Russia are the two countries business travelers seem most concerned about.

In general don’t keep anything on an electronic device you want kept confidential – even high end encryption software may not provide enough protection if whoever is snooping has enough resources and technology behind them.

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Stuxnet And Flame Prompt Imitators – Time To Clean Out The Files Again

Jun 252012
 

It did not take long for the Stuxnet and Flame malware to inspire imitators. A similar version of the software used by the US and Israeli authorities to attack Iran’s nuclear weapons program has turned up on computers in Peru but this time it appears to be corporate espionage not national security as the motivation.

The software called ACAD/Medre.A appears to target AutoCad computer assisted drafting files (CAD); it copies them then emails them off to the malware’s installer.

The software has not been linked to any government; it is conjectured to be an effort by contractors trying to find out what competitors are proposing for competitive bids.

While the commercial implications are serious what is even more worrying is the risks that such software poses to other groups. It will not take much to tweek the malware so that it targets the computers of activists, dissidents, opposition politicians and other deemed enemies of repressive regimes like China, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia among others.

Again it is a  reminder to maintain computer security and in very sensitive situations not to keep files on a computer you do not want others to see because as has been seen with Wikileaks and the like information has a habit of getting out.

Ezine VB reported on this new malware. The article follows.

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Flame And Stuxnet An Important Indication Of Malware Capability – It’s Time To Be Careful

Jun 122012
 

Flame and Stuxnet, the now seemingly related malware programs that have been linked to attacks on Iranians nuclear weapons program are a potent example of just how sophisticated online intrusion can be with enough resources.

The issue netizens need to focus on is not the end result – sabotaging Iran’s plans to create a nuclear weapon, but rather the means of that sabotage.

Putting Stuxnet to one side given its specific role in damaging centrifuges and looking at Flame we see malware that is ripe for misuse.

There is little doubt that it was developed by state agencies, almost certainly the US and Israel, and was aimed at countries in the middle east.

But there can now be little doubt that countries like China, Vietnam and other regimes involved in covert surveillance of their own citizens will now have their own cyber experts trying to emulate these programs.

And the targets are likely to be those netizens who try to obtain or share information that the state deems harmful such as calls for democratic reform or human rights, investigations into corruption or official malfeasance.

Flames abilities were comprehensive. It could take screen shots, turn on the computers microphone or webcam and listen and view what was going on in the room, steal passwords, data and even act a hub for blue tooth devices, stealing data from any in range.

Like any weapon be it conventional, nuclear or in this case cyber it is not the technology that is the concern but the use it is put to.

Now would be a good time to have a clean out of old files, exercise discretion on email and unplug microphones and webcams when the computer is not in use.

Background to latest developments in the Stuxnet and Flame storycan found in a very good report by online news source TPM. The re current story is below.

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Anti-Censorship Software Infected With Key Stroke Logger – A Warning To All Netizens

May 312012
 

Netizens beware a version “Green Simurgh” a software popular in Iran and Syria for bypassing censors and monitoring has been found to be infected with malware that records all the users keystrokes.

Ezine Computerworld reported the discovery of the keystroke recorder. The  malware gives its creators access to everything the user has written while using the software including passwords, text and other content.

While this appears to be confined to the middle east netizens in China, Vietnam and other parts of the region living under repressive governments should be aware that what may appear to be a tool to safely use the internet can actually be a trap.

It is important to monitor newsgroups and sites dedicated to online freedoms to keep abreast of such developments. There are risks from authoritarian regimes and criminal gangs who both are using this type of ruse to collect information.

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Media Freedom Groups Call On Vietnam To Release Jailed Bloggers

Mar 132012
 

Vietnam’s jailing of five bloggers, all members of the minority Catholic community, has generated a fire storm of protest from media freedom and human rights groups.

Wire Service DPA reports tha: “in a letter to Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, the press freedom groups expressed “deep concern over the unfounded arrest and detention” of Dang Xuan Dieu, Ho Duc Hoa, Nguyen Van Duyet, Nong Hung Anh and Paulus Le Son.

 The five men were reportedly detained in July and August, although the government has yet to publicly confirm the arrests.

The Vietnamese Government has had an uneasy relationship with the Catholic Church. About ten percent of Vietnamese are Catholic, the largest population in Asia after the Phillipines.

They are wary of the church officials and priests routinely have their sermons monitored by the authorities who say they are on the look out for subversion.

 DPA says “The bloggers are said to belong to the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, a Catholic order which in recent years has organised prayer vigils against perceived government harassment.

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Harvard Study On Censorship Circumvention Tools

Sep 122011
 

Harvards Berkman Center For Internet and Society has released a new study looking at internet circumvention tools and their use.

This builds on previous work they did in 2007 and brings up to date the technology and new methods in use.

This excellent document is available in PDF format here.

It is a concise and interesting summary of the how various tools work in the field, their success and their practicality. Anyone working in this area particularly in China, Vietnam, Burma and other regimes that routinely block websites and limit online access to information will find the study a worth reading because it gives a longer term look at circumvention rather than a snap shot.

The report’s introductions notes: “This evaluation also differs from our earlier work (2007 Circumvention Landscape Report; 2010 Circumvention Tool Usage) in that we cover significantly more tools and examine two classes of tools (ad-supported proxy servers and VPN services) which we did not review previously.

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Has Your Phone Been Hacked? Some Signs It Has And What To Do About It

Aug 082011
 

Hacking into mobile phones is widespread using readily available software.

Those who embark on such activities range from parents trying to keep track of the children through to repressive regimes, China, Burm and  Vietnam among some of the more active, who are trying to censor the information their citizens have access to at the same time keep watch on any indications of movements that threaten their hold on power.

I have posted a number of blogs about dealing with such technology and how to avoid getting hacked but how do you tell if it has already happened.

Ezine Entrenpeneurs News has a useful guide to signs that your phone may have been hacked. Signs you can look for to find out if your phone has been hacked, where you can go to really find out if you have been hacked, and even give you a resource some people are using to hack smart phones.

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