Re: [liberationtech] Comments on Internews new information security guide
On Wed, Nov 14, 2012 at 2:02 AM, Eric S Johnson cra...@oneotaslopes.org wrote: Alternatively, since (like OTR) no Skype communication is known to have ever been successfully in-line-intercepted […] I guess it depends on your definition of “in-line interception”, but there is a topic making rounds in Russian blogosphere today about hijacking Skype accounts based on knowledge of victim's email. You can download chat history from conversation partners (or possibly even from the victim who is logged in elsewhere) after that. Apparently, Skype was vulnerable to the method for at least several months (with many users hijacked), and ignored reports by the blogger in question. It seems that they put in some crude temporary fix today, partially disabling users' ability to reset passwords. http://habrahabr.ru/post/158545/ (Russian, with details and noise) http://en.ria.ru/world/20121114/177453756.html (English, summary) -- Maxim Kammerer Liberté Linux: http://dee.su/liberte -- Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password at: https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
Re: [liberationtech] Comments on Internews new information security guide
On Tue, Nov 13, 2012 at 07:39:17PM -0500, Collin Anderson wrote: Well sure, but once your computer is compromised, the tool that you are using to communicate does not really matter anymore. This is nothing on Skype; I think we can say that the IP-revealing exploit from this Spring/Summer was more than enough to not trust the security of the Skype client for any time to come. You had any reason to assume a proprietary client which routes through the corporation's server farm (running FreeBSD) to be trustable in the first place? If yes, what the hell is wrong with you? -- Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password at: https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
Re: [liberationtech] Comments on Internews new information security guide
On 11/14/2012 01:02 AM, Eric S Johnson wrote: Alternatively, since (like OTR) no Skype communication is known to have ever been successfully in-line-intercepted, the question might be one of priorities: what cybersec weakness has most often resulted in compromise of an activist? Not true for skype chat: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10056127-83.html Researchers at University of Toronto say they've uncovered targeted surveillance of TOM-Skype users in China and that text chats are recorded and blocked if they contain certain words. -- Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password at: https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
Re: [liberationtech] Comments on Internews new information security guide
Confirmation from Skype that they have temporarily disabled password resets due to a trivial account hijacking vulnerability: http://heartbeat.skype.com/2012/11/security_issue.html More data here from Costin Raiu of Kaspersky: https://www.securelist.com/en/blog/208193933/New_Skype_vulnerability_allows_hijacking_of_your_account The exploit, which has been available for two months already, takes advantage of the Skype password reset feature. This allows you to reset the password of somebody else's account, as long as you know the e-mail address associated with their main Skype account. On Wed, Nov 14, 2012 at 2:30 AM, Tim Dittler ditt...@informatik.hu-berlin.de wrote: On 11/14/2012 01:02 AM, Eric S Johnson wrote: Alternatively, since (like OTR) no Skype communication is known to have ever been successfully in-line-intercepted, the question might be one of priorities: what cybersec weakness has most often resulted in compromise of an activist? Not true for skype chat: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10056127-83.html Researchers at University of Toronto say they've uncovered targeted surveillance of TOM-Skype users in China and that text chats are recorded and blocked if they contain certain words. -- Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password at: https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech -- Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password at: https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
[liberationtech] In Red Hook, Mesh Network Connects Sandy Survivors Still Without Power
In Red Hook, Mesh Network Connects Sandy Survivors Still Without Power BY BECKY KAZANSKY http://techpresident.com/blog/35803 | Monday, November 12 2012 A Red Hook Houses resident accesses mesh network-provided wifi using a smartphone. Photo: Becky Kazansky / techPresident *Wondering what kind of articles we feature on Personal Democracy Plushttp://personaldemocracy.com/static-content/personal-democracy-plus, our subscription offering? Subscribers support this kind of original in-depth reporting — but because this piece is focused on Hurricane Sandy relief so soon after the storm, and to offer non-subscribers a look, we're offering it to everyone. Red Hook Initiative is still accepting offers of donations and volunteers http://rhicenter.org/category/blog/.* When the New York City Housing Authority turned off power, water, and heat to residents of the Red Hook Houses shortly before Hurricane Sandy arrived, residents said, most of the more than 5,000 residents who live in the complex chose not to leave. With the electricity went the means residents of the Houses, the largest residential complex in Brooklyn, used to communicate with the outside world. As the days dragged on and outrage spread over living conditions, camera crews made their way in to catch a glimpse of people suffering in the dark. Resident Khadijah Jones, speaking to the Village Voicehttp://www.villagevoice.com/2012-10-31/news/sandy-s-unequal-impact/%3Cbr%20/%3E, described her situation as our Katrina. As of Sunday, some people had power back, but no heat. Others have no power or heat. No one has Internet to their homes, and cell service is still spotty too. But thanks to an experimental wireless network launched in the neighborhood last year, some of them were able to gain Internet access back this weekend — even if they did not have power yet in their building. Through a mesh network first launched in November 2011 through a local nonprofit, residents after the storm were able to alert people to their needs over social media and check up on relatives. Access is limited and the network could, at the time, support only about 100-150 connections simultaneously. But in the wake of a disaster that created a new camaraderie in Manhattan around cellphone charging stations and free wifi, New Yorkers can appreciate that when the neighborhood goes dark, even a scrap of a link to the outside world is better than nothing. Jones and I had kept in touch since I'd first interviewed her several months ago about her work doing community outreach for the Red Hook Initiative, a local nonprofit that focuses on training programs for kids and adults, community outreach, and working with media. The first time Jones and I spoke after the storm, she was camping out in Flatbush, Brooklyn, busy applying for Federal Emergency Management Agency assistance on her friend's computer. She'd fled the Red Hook Houses after enduring several days without heat, light, or water, but came home two days later to check in on neighbors and help friends and community members apply for FEMA assistance on available computers at the Red Hook Initiative's offices on Hicks Street. As the Red Hook Initiative became a de facto hub for Occupy Sandy volunteer coordination, donation collections, and food distribution, it also became a beacon of connectivity for volunteers and neighborhood residents without power in their homes. Sandy's devastating flooding had rendered much local telecommunication infrastructure useless, but perhaps because of RHI's relative distance from the worst flooding at the piers lining the bay — or just plain luck — the power was back up and running at RHI the morning after the storm. Back in November, RHI placed two wifi mesh nodes on its roof, the product of joint efforts of activist Jonathan Baldwin and RHI's media programs coordinator, Tony Schloss. The nodes blanketed the surrounding block with wifi connected to the global Internet through a Verizon FiOS connection. When people came in to RHI to get warm, they also charged their phones, called worried relatives, and checked their email. Mesh networks are often used for last mile rural Internet access because they enable wifi coverage to spread over a larger area than it would through traditional, centralized, hub-and-spoke model networks. When a hub-and-spoke network's hub goes down, the spokes all lose connectivity. Mesh networks are all spokes. If one fails, traffic can find another route through other nodes to get to the Internet — so long as the point or points in the mesh that are also connecting to the Internet still have their connection — or to continue communicating with one another. These networks come in different configurations. Some are meticulously planned by communities and span cities like Vienna, Athens and rural Catalonia in Europe, offering alternatives to established Internet service providers. Others are set up in the wake
[liberationtech] question about scholarship on facebook use in Iran
From: elham gheytanchi elhamu...@hotmail.com Hello: I was wondering if AOIR members can refer me to a list of scholarship on facebook in Iran? Thanks,elham gheytanchi -- Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password at: https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
[liberationtech] Literature on anonymity activism
From: Luis Hestres luishest...@gmail.com Hello, Can anyone recommend some good literature on anonymity and activism? Obviously with a fous on online activism, but broader recommendations would be great as well. Thanks! Luis - - - - - Luis E. Hestres Ph.D. student | School of Communication | American University More about me at luishestres.com or LinkedInhttp://www.linkedin.com/in/hestres | Follow me on Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/luishestres/ Theoretical critiques are like sociopaths: Their aggressive drives are rarely balanced by constructive instincts. -- From Caught in a Winding, Snarling Vine: The Structural Bias of Political Process Theory by Jeff Goodwin and James M. Jasper, Sociological Forum 14(1), 1999 -- Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password at: https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
Re: [liberationtech] Literature on anonymity activism
Check out This Machine Kills Secrets On Nov 14, 2012 8:10 PM, Yosem Companys compa...@stanford.edu wrote: From: Luis Hestres luishest...@gmail.com Hello, Can anyone recommend some good literature on anonymity and activism? Obviously with a fous on online activism, but broader recommendations would be great as well. Thanks! Luis - - - - - Luis E. Hestres Ph.D. student | School of Communication | American University More about me at luishestres.com or LinkedInhttp://www.linkedin.com/in/hestres | Follow me on Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/luishestres/ Theoretical critiques are like sociopaths: Their aggressive drives are rarely balanced by constructive instincts. -- From Caught in a Winding, Snarling Vine: The Structural Bias of Political Process Theory by Jeff Goodwin and James M. Jasper, Sociological Forum 14(1), 1999 -- Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password at: https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech -- Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password at: https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
[liberationtech] Fwd: CodeHS Crowdfunding Campaign -- CS in HS
I just donated to the below campaign -- the folks involved are both motivated and capable, and I'm confident that they'll make a big impact if we get them the resources they need. Sam King Director | Code the Change https://codethechange.org - ask me how you can help the CS for Social Change movement! Teacher | CS1U: Practical Unix http://cs1u.stanford.edu - videos and exercises are available free online! facebook https://www.facebook.com/samjking, linkedinhttp://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=55518052, twitter http://twitter.com/codethechange, google+https://plus.google.com/111459971983433860521, verbose letters http://samking.org -- Forwarded message -- From: Jeremy Keeshin jke...@codehs.com Date: Tue, Nov 13, 2012 at 1:41 AM Subject: CodeHS Crowdfunding Campaign -- CS in HS To: Sam King samk...@cs.stanford.edu Hey Sam-- We just launched a crowdfunding campaign for CodeHS called CS in HS to teach 1,000 high school students to code in the next six months. Was wondering if you could share our campaign with some of your lists. Thanks! Jeremy == CodeHS http://codehs.com/ is a site to teach computer science to high schoolers. We are launching a crowdfunding campaign called *CSinHS*http://csinhs.com/ with the large goal to bring computer science to every high school, and with the specific goal to teach 1,000 high school students to program in the next six months. Almost no high schools in the country offer CS, but computer science education is critical for the jobs of the future. Everyone gets stuck when learning to program, and the focus of CodeHS is providing help from real people along the way. If you believe CS should be in HS, then we need your help. There are lots of ways you can help - Contribute to the campaign at indiegogo.com/csinhs - Spread the word about the campaign here: www.csinhs.com - Record a video sharing why you should learn to code http://csinhs.com/record Contact us with any questions. Jeremy Keeshin and Zach Galant, t...@codehs.com -- Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password at: https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
