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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Chinese Censorship: Democracy, Corruption and Kate Winslett’s Breasts In 3D

May 122012
 

The absurdity of China’s censorship policies reached new highs (or lows depending on your point of view) when in addition to the usual  online ban of mention of blind activists, corruption and democracy, Kate Winslet’s breasts were cut from the 3D version of the Titanic movie.

The Hollywood reporter quoted a Chinese official as saying: “Considering the vivid 3D effects, we fear that viewers may reach out their hands for a touch and thus interrupt other people’s viewing.

“To avoid potential conflicts between viewers and out of consideration of building a harmonious ethical social environment, we’ve decided to cut off the nudity scenes.”

If the censors had actually done what would have been the most humane thing and banned James Cameron’s overhyped, sentimental pile of drivel in its entirety (or for the benefit of those obsessed with 30 feet tall 3D breasts,  just run the nude scenes and cut the rest) that would have been a service to the people.

But like so much censorship it creates more questions than answers. Is China over-run with with movie goers trying to get their hands on the onscreen “naughty bits”? If so it would appear rather than censorhip for the masses then some sort of education or mental health program for the afflicted would be more in order. One can only wonder what these officials make of breast feeding.

Sex like democracy, fundamental human rights and justice can often seem  mystifying, capricious and just out of reach but we are all living proof you cannot ban it.

Satelite Phones No Longer Safe From Interception

Feb 092012
 

Satelite phones long a standby of activists, human rights and aid workers stationed in hostile environments including China, Burma, and Cambodia  have been regarded as a secure means of communication but two researchers in Germany using basic technology took less than an hour to decrypt the European protocol for satelite phones.

The news is disturbing for those working in sensitive areas and particularly people whom rely on them to get news reports out of areas under heavy censorship or as a last resort in case of abduction or serious physical danger.

In a paper bluntly called “Don’t Trust Satellite Phones,” researchers Benedikt Driessen and Ralf Hund say they reverse-engineered the encryption algorithms used by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute.

Ezine Ars Technica which covers technology issues says the satellite telephones, had  until now been considered secure from eavesdropping. They are not, say two researchers who cracked the security used in some sat phone systems.

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British Rockband And Vocal Human Rights Activists “Radiohead” Set UP Chinese Microblogging Site

Jul 042011
 

British rock band Radiohead has taken a tentative step into Chinese cyberspace, even though they have been critical of China’s human rights record.

Newsvine, carried a report from wire service, AP, saying “Radiohead recently launched a page on the “weibo” site of leading Chinese Internet portal Sina.com. “Weibo,” which translates as “microblog,” is the Chinese-equivalent of Twitter.

“But the band has only posted a single message on Friday. It says “testing the weibo.”

“Sina.com checks the authenticity of celebrity weibos and has certified the Radiohead weibo as genuine.

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Burmas Emerging New Leadership?- Same Meat Different Gravy

May 152011
 

Burma’s aging leadership is being replaced by a younger (realtively) group of leaders. But there is little to choose between the old and the new.

Veteran journalist and Burma expert, Bertil Lintner, says the indications coming out of Burma or Myanmar as the current regime prefers to call it are that nothing is going to change when it comes to democracy and human rights.

Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Mr, Lintner says the new guard are little more than clones of the old one.

“Some in Asia have looked to recent events in the Middle East for clues about whether similar uprisings against unpopular authoritarian regimes could happen in places like China or Burma. But that’s not the only point to consider from Asia’s perspective. Those stories also offer a warning about the nature of change within such regimes, a red flag that is particularly relevant for Burma right now: A younger set of leaders is not always as liberal as outsiders hope.

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Beatings, Censorship and Isolation – Not A Great Day For Human Rights And Free Speech In China

Feb 212011
 

It has not been a day to celebrate for human rights and free speech advocates in China.

A series of incidents over 24 hours have highlighted China’s heavy handed approach to those who dare speak out – they include violence against demonstrators, attacks on lawyers and human rights activists and a despairing message from, Liu Xia, the wife of Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo, saying she and her family were being held hostage and in isolation by the Government.

 The Australian newpaper reports Chinese security forces turned out in their thousands yesterday to prevent protests after detaining dozens of lawyers and activists.

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Subversive China New Years’ Video Card Circulating On The Net

Jan 242011
 

This is a vivid and timely reminder that there are many people in China aware of the censorship, corruption and human rights abuses they face. And they are not happy.

While the following video will not be to everyones taste it does show just how angry some people in China are.

This is from ChinaGeeks, a website offering translations and analysis of events in China today.

Be warned this animated cartoon is not suitable for children. 

Subversive Chinese New Years Video

Translation

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Cambodia’s Freedom Levels Plummet In 2010

Jan 152011
 

Cambodia levels of freedom were severly eroded in 2010 and several other Asian nations stood out for all the wrong reasons were two findings in a just released global feedom index.

AFP  – Cambodians march along a street during the 62nd Anniversary of Human Rights Day in Phnom Penh, Dec. 10, 2010.

RFA reports: “Cambodia was among 25 countries whose freedom levels plunged in 2010 amid an erosion of civil rights and political liberties in the tightly-ruled Southeast Asian state, according to an annual survey released Thursday by global watchdog Freedom House.

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Year End Round Up Of Censorship And On Line Issues In South East Asia

Jan 072011
 

Myanmar’s Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s release from house arrest and the Red Shirt protests  and ensuing political toil in Thailand were probably the top political stories of 2010 in Southeast Asia.

But as Global Voices reports in its year end analysis there was a lot more going on in the region  and very little of it was encouraging for free speech and access to information.

Below are extracts from their year end report which can be viewed in full by clicking here.

Censorship

Web and media censorship have intensified in the region. Press freedom and freedom of expression were topics which were actively written by blogger advocates in Malaysia, Singapore, and Cambodia.

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Chinese White Paper Proclaims Human Rights And Internet Freedom Progress – But Definitions Open To Debate

Sep 272010
 

The Chinese government Sunday released a white paper on human rights in China in 2009. It hightlighs Internet freedom and the country’s efforts in safeguarding citizens’ legitimate civil and political rights.

According to China’s official news agency Xinhua “The overall cause of human rights has been promoted in an all-round way,” says the white paper, published by the State Council Information Office under the title “Progress in China’s Human Rights in 2009″.

But there is already some disagreement about what terms such as “human rights” and freedom mean.

The Wall Street Journal blogger  Josh Chin summed it up like this:

Ask American politicians to explain “human rights” and you’re likely to get the usual litany of time-worn liberal democratic abstractions: freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, habeas corpus.

“Ask a Chinese politician and you get…car ownership?

“In an extensive whitepaper released over the weekend, China’s State Council Information Office argues authorities in Beijing have made significant progress in protecting human rights over the past year. Entitled “Progress in China’s Human Rights in 2009 (full text), the paper features a cornucopia of statistics and arguments that throws into stark, and sometimes amusing, relief the different ways Chinese and Western governments define the concept.

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