New Research On Computer Backdoors Reveals Disturbing Long Term Risks For All Netizens

Nov 052012
 

Research by the University of Toronto Citizen Lab shows that computer back doors are a permanent security risk to users through out the world.

Their research based on events in the middle east demonstrates readily available commercial software is being used by governments to infiltrate computers used by critics and dissidents.

Bloomberg news reported the case of Ahmed Mansoor who was sitting in “his study in Dubai and made the mistake of clicking on a Microsoft Word attachment that arrived in an e-mail, labeled “very important” in Arabic, from a sender he thought he recognized.

“With that click, the pro-democracy activist unwittingly downloaded spyware that seized on a flaw in the Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) program to take over his computer and record every keystroke. The hackers infiltrated his digital life so deeply they still accessed his personal e-mail even after he changed his password.

Since then, Mansoor, 42, an electrical engineer and father of four, says he has suffered two beatings by thugs in September during his campaign for citizens’ civil rights in the Persian Gulf federation of the United Arab Emirates. While those assailants remain unknown, researchers say they’ve figured out what was behind the virtual assault.

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Funding For Free Expression, Online And Otherwise, Increasing

Jun 012011
 

 Despite the world wide economic downturn in recent years which has seen many countries and donors cut their aid budgets money for projects promoting free expression and  to combat censorship has increased.

A research study initiated by the Center for Media Assistance and the International Freedom of Expression Exchange says contrary to common perceptions more money is now being put into promoting free speech than ever before.

 The reports key findings are:

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Silencing The Dissenters: Internet Censorship In South East Asia and China

Oct 292010
 

Vietnam, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia and the Philippines are all moving towards Chinese-style internet censorship reports the Guardian newspaper in an excellent interactive analysis of the state of freedom of expression in the region.

The British newspaper, noted for its quality international coverage, provides and in depth look at the future of press freedoms in the region. It also identifies five key bloggers worth following from Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

Internet to 'revolutionize' Chinese literature, says author Hu Fayun

Jan 112010
 

Hu Fayun Photo: RFA

Here follows translated extracts from an interview which Wuhan author Hu Fayun gave to RFA’s Mandarin service recently.

“When I was in high school, I wrote one line on the page of my diary that you have to start earning honor from a young age. Honor is really the feeling a person has about their own dignity…that means that they will see everything they do and say as important, and it demands that one live authentically. This is the same as a truth passed down to us from our parents and from a number of ancient traditions, namely, that one shouldn’t tell lies.”

He said he thought that the period since 1949 had been a very special one for literary development in spite of restrictions on freedom of speech.

“Everyone has misgivings when they start to write. A lot of people stop writing…because there are so many examples of people who got themselves into big trouble through writing. The psyche of any Chinese person is going to contain these sorts of fears. Will I, in speaking out or through my writings, bring disaster upon myself and my family. At certain times, [writing] can even result in death. Continue reading »