Surveillance Made Easy: The Russian Way
December 2, 2021
US tech companies want a foothold in the Russian market and Putin wants them to have an edge to step on. There is a caveat, they must have an presence in Russia by the end of 2021 or else…er…face restrictions or bans. Rappler explains why Russia wants thirteen foreign technology companies to establish offices in: “Moscow Tells 13 Mostly US Tech Firms They Must Set Up In Russia By 2022.”
Communications regulator Roskomndazor released the demand on Monday, November 22 that explained what the companies needed to do and targeted ones that already have Russian offices:
“Foreign social media giants with more than 500,000 daily users have been obliged to open offices in Russia since a new law took effect on July 1. The list published on Monday names the companies for the first time. It lists Alphabet’s Google, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and messaging app Telegram, all of which Russia has fined this year for failing to delete content it deems illegal. Apple, which Russia has targeted for alleged abuse of its dominant position in the mobile applications market, was also on the list.”
If the companies do not follow the new demand, they will face restrictions of data collection, money transfers, and advertising or bans.
Russia wants to promote its own tech industry. The government is doing so by proposing more taxes on foreign companies, tax cuts for domestic tech, and any device to offer Russian software when brand new.
The demand is also viewed as a way for Russian to exert more control over the Internet and technology. It could hinder individual and corporate freedoms.
Rules are not clear about what and how tech companies should represent themselves in Russia. The Roskomndazor did say foreign entities are required to limit information that violates Russian legislation.
Russia might be masking domestic technology development and economic recovery behind surveillance.
Whitney Grace, December 2, 2021
Frisky Israeli Cyber Innovators Locked Down and Confined to Quarters
November 26, 2021
Before the NSO Group demonstrated remarkable PR powers, cyber centric companies in Israel were able to market to a large number of prospects. Conference organizers could count on NSO Group to provide speakers, purchase trade show space, and maybe sponsor a tchotchke for attendees. Governments and even some commercial enterprises knew about NSO Group’s technological capabilities and the firm’s ability to provide a network which eliminated quite a bit of the muss and fuss associated with mobile device surveillance, data analysis, and related activities.
How did that work out?
The PR sparked “real journalists” to use their powers of collecting information, analyzing those items, and making warranted conclusions about NSO Group’s enabling activities. Sure, pesky Canadian researchers were writing about NSO Group, but there wasn’t a “real news” story. Then… bingo. A certain individual associated with a “real news” organization was terminated and the arrows of data and supposition pointed to NSO Group’s capabilities and what one of the firm’s alleged customers was able to do with the system.
The journalistic horses raced out of the gate, and the NSO Group became a “thing.”
Vendors of specialized software are not accustomed to the spotlight. Making sales, collecting fees, and enjoying pats on the backs from colleagues who try hard to keep a low, low profile are more typical activities. But, oh, those spotlights.
The consequences have been ones to which cyber innovators like to avoid. Former superiors send email asking, “What are you doing?” Then government committees, consisting of people who don’t know much about next generation technologies, have to be briefed. And those explanations are painful because the nuances of cyber centric firms are different from explaining how to plug in a Tesla in Tel Aviv. Oh, painful.
Now, if the information in the Calcalist’s article “The Ministry of Defense Has Cut by Two-Thirds the Number of Countries That Cyber Companies Can Sell To” is accurate, the Israeli government has put a shock collar on NSO Group’s ankle and clamped the devices on other firm’s well-formed, powerful legs as well. The message is clear: Stay in bounds or you will be zapped. (I leave it to you to figure out what “zap” connotes.)
The publication’s story says:
The [Israeli] Ministry of Defense has cut by two-thirds the number of countries that cyber companies can sell to The previous list included 102 countries to which cyber exports are allowed, and now it includes only 37 countries. The latest list from the beginning of November does not include countries such as Morocco, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Who’s at fault? The Calcalist offers this statement:
It is implied that Israel used in a very permissive manner the special certificates that it may grant and was in any case aware of where the Israeli society is known. It is important to note that the new list includes companies to which cyber can now be exported and it is possible that in the past lists there were other countries to which systems could be exported without fear.
My knowledge of Hebrew is lousy and Google translate is not helping me much. The main idea is that up and down the chain of command, the “chain” was not managed well. Hence, the PR gaffes, the alleged terminations, and the large number of high intensity lights directed at companies which once thrived in the shadows.
Some observations:
- Countries unable to acquire the technology associated with NSO Group are likely to buy from non-Israeli firms. Gee, I wonder if China and Russia have specialized software vendors who will recognize a sales opportunity and not do the PR thing in which NSO Group specialized?
- The publicity directed at NSO Group has been a more successful college class than the dump of information from the Hacking Team. A better class may translate to more capable coders who can duplicate and possibly go beyond the Israeli firms’ capabilities. This is a new state of affairs in my opinion.
- Cyber technologies are the lubricant for modern warfare. Israel had a lead in this software sector. It is now highly likely that the slick system of government specialists moving into the private sector with “support” from certain entities may be changed. Bummer for some entrepreneurs? Yep.
Net net: The NSO Group’s PR excesses — combined with its marketing know how — has affected a large number of companies. Keeping secrets is known to be a wise practice for some activities. Blending secrecy with market dynamics is less wise in my experience. This NSO Group case is more impactful than the Theranos Silicon Valley matter.
Stephen E Arnold, November 25, 2021
Heads Up, Dark Overlord: Annoying the FBI May Not Be a Great Idea
November 19, 2021
Well this is embarrassing. The New York Post reports, “FBI Server Hacked, Spam Emails Sent to Over 100,000 People.” Writer Patrick Reilly tells us:
“The FBI’s email server was apparently hacked on Friday night to send threatening spam emails to over 100,000 people, the agency said. Authorities have not determined the sender or motive behind the rambling, incoherent emails, filled with technological nonsense. The emails warned receivers that their information may be under attack by Vinny Troia, famous hacker and owner of cybersecurity company Night Lion Security, in connection with notorious cybersecurity group TheDarkOverlord. The FBI confirmed the incident on Saturday, but said the hacked systems were ‘taken offline quickly,’ after it had been reported. ‘The FBI and CISA are aware of the incident this morning involving fake emails from an @ic.fbi.gov email account,’ the agency said in a statement. ‘This is an ongoing situation and we are not able to provide any additional information at this time. The impacted hardware was taken offline quickly upon discovery of the issue. We continue to encourage the public to be cautious of unknown senders and urge you to report suspicious activity ic3.gov or cisa.gov.’”
First reported by European nonprofit the Spamhaus Project, the emails came from an FBI server. Readers may recall TheDarkOverlord stole Netflix videos in 2017 and released them online as torrents after the streaming platform refused to pay the ransom. A year before that, the same outfit stole patient information (though, thankfully, not medical records) from three medical databases. Those groups also refused to give in to demands, so the hacker(s) sold the data from hundreds of thousands of patients on the Dark Web. If this attack is indeed the work of TheDarkOverlord, we wonder what the outfit expects will happen when annoying a quite capable entity. I have an anecdote for my lectures. That’s a plus for me.
Cynthia Murrell November 19, 2021
Is Patent Law Transparency Is an Oxymoron?
November 18, 2021
Here’s a quote for you:
patent examiners were being guided to flout the Supreme Court.
Who is writing this? A crazed and unappreciated patent attorney? A mechanical engineer who thought working on patents would be fun? A zonked out MBA who thought that cutting and pasting from random patents would result in an award?
Nope.
The statement comes from the Public Interest Patent Law Institute. You can read the article with that statement on the Piplius Web site or just click this link: “Patent Office Secrets Revealed!”
I have looked at a handful of patents, and I thank my lucky stars for blunting my interest in becoming a legal eagle. But even a clueless person like myself marvels at some of the patents granted. Let me cite one example. Banjo (now SafeX) went on a patent filing spree. Some of those patents explain the fancy math used in the Banjo / SafeX system. Does the patent cover the information in those novel inventions? My reaction is, “What the heck?”
The Piplius (I love that made up word) write up says:
The secret guidance concerns the application of the part of the Patent Act that prohibits patents on abstract ideas, laws of nature, and natural phenomena. The Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld this prohibition. Each time, it has emphasized that patents combining these categories of subject matter with generic or conventional components are invalid.
So what? The write up says:
The Patent Office cannot retract unlawfully granted patents, but it can and must prevent such patents from being granted in the future. It can do so easily by re-instating the guidance the last Director unilaterally rescinded. That guidance is consistent with Supreme Court precedent and fully open to the public. The next Patent Office Director can and must restore it.
How many patents may have been processed so that laws were allegedly violated? My thought is that an eager first year at one of the estimable law schools might look into this question. On second thought, nah, who cares unless it is billable. But I chuckle at the notion of secret procedures.
Stephen E Arnold, November 18, 2021
Giants of Social Media, Out of Touch, Are We?
November 17, 2021
Just a short item. I read “How to Hit the Top on Each Social Media Platform.” I ignored the how to part. I don’t want to hit the “top” on any social media platform. Not for this 77 year old, nope.
In the write up was a very suggestive item of information. Of course, I believe everything I read on the Internet. The statement which caught my attention was:
According to an Axios analysis of the top 50 most-followed accounts on each platform, TikTok is especially unique in minting its own stars who don’t blow up on other platforms.
- The top five most-followed accounts on TikTok — Charli D’Amelio, Khaby Lame, Addison Rae, Bella Poarch and Zach King — do not rank in the top 50 of any other social media network.
- Collectively, those five stars have 480 million followers on TikTok, but less than half of that amount of followers across Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Facebook combined.
- Top TikTok personalities have been able to land massive Hollywood deals across film, TV and podcasts, without building audiences on other platforms.
If these data are accurate, it follows that “peak” US social media has come and is now officially going. The data, if on the money, suggest:
- Those with access to TikTok data have a valuable trove of signals. These can be used for many things; for example, which individual is most likely to have a predisposition to resist authority.
- A split between old school social media and new school social media is similar to the technical and intellectual bifurcation between those with traditional college educations and those who prefer short video content. Does this presage a new approach to thinking and decision making which outsiders may struggle to understand.
- The social damage sparked by old school social media platforms may be accelerated by the “velocity” and algorithmic steering of the TikTok type environment.
Now who owns TikTok? What outfits have access to these real time data? What managers have direct access to the stars identified as bright sparks in the TikTok universe? Time for some academics, real journalists, and researchers not accepting China centric funding to do some objective analysis.
Stephen E Arnold, November 17, 2021
Facebook: A Buckeye for Good Luck or Bad Zuck?
November 17, 2021
Facebook is an excellent example of what happens when a high school science club “we know a lot” mentality. The company has been quite successful. Its advertising is thriving. Its ageing user base shows no reluctance to check out pictures of their grandchildren. Enterprising vendors have found Facebook classifieds an idea way to sell a wide range of products.
The Ohio Attorney General, however, does not see these benefits as material. “Attorney General Yost Sues Facebook for Securities Fraud after Misleading Disclosures, Allegations of Harm to Children.” The write up states:
Zuckerberg and other company officials, the lawsuit maintains, knew that they were making false statements regarding the safety, security and privacy of its platforms. Facebook admitted in those internal documents that “We are not actually doing what we say we do publicly.”
Was their harm? The write up says:
In roughly a month, those revelations caused a devaluation in Facebook’s stock of $54.08 per share, causing OPERS and other Facebook investors to lose more than $100 billion. Yost’s lawsuit not only seeks to recover that lost value but also demands that Facebook make significant reforms to ensure it does not mislead the public about its internal practices.
The case will take time to resolve. Several observations:
- Other “funds” may find an idea or two in the Ohio matter. Science club wizards are not comfortable when the non-science club people pile on and try to take their lunch money and their golden apple. Maybe more AG actions?
- The focus on money is more compelling than harming Facebook users. Money is the catnip for some, including OPERS-type outfits.
- Quoting the Zuck may signal that luck is running out for the pioneer of many interactions.
Net net: Worth monitoring this matter. It may come to nothing. On the other hand it may come to some settlement, just smaller than $100 billion. Jail time? Interesting question.
Stephen E Arnold, November 16, 2021
Prevarication: Part of the Global Game?
November 11, 2021
TikTok is owned by Chinese company ByteDance. China is infamous for its Big Brother tactics on its citizens and enemies. It is reasonable to assume China is using TikTok to spy on Americans. Gadgets 360 reports, “TikTok Tells US Lawmakers It Does Not Give Information To China’s Government.” Michael Beckerman is TikTok’s executive of public policy for North and South America. He assured the US Congress the video sharing platform safeguards US data.
Congressmen from the Republican and Democratic parties are concerned about TikTok’s influence in the US and what data is potentially fed to China. Republicans pressured Beckerman for more information about user data than the Democrats. Both parties are worried how TikTok encourages negative and harmful behavior in young people:
“Executives from YouTube and Snapchat also testified. In a show of bipartisanship, senators of both parties, including Democratic panel chairman Richard Blumenthal, accused the three companies of exposing young people to bullying and sometimes steering them to information that encouraged harmful behaviors such sexualized games or anorexia. The executives responded that their companies have sought to create a fun experience and to exclude dangerous or unsavory content.”
Former President Donald Trump sought to ban TikTok in the US, because he believed it collected data on US citizens that was shared with China. Trump said this was a threat to the US’s safety. Current President Joe Biden rescinded the proposed ban, but he did seek to review foreign-controlled apps.
Does anyone truly believe TikTok? If the company succeeds in converting short videos into a super app, what’s going on behind the digital smokescreen?
Whitney Grace, November 11, 2021
A Dry Google Secret: Water Use in Oregon Dalles
November 9, 2021
Just a quick item. I want to keep track of this type of environmental secret and a local government’s effort to carry the water for the mom and pop online ad company. “The Dalles Sues to Keep Google’s Water Use a Secret.” The write up states:
Google is contemplating two new server farms on the site of a former aluminum smelter in The Dalles, where it already has an enormous campus of data centers on its property along the Columbia River. Google says it needs more water to cool its data centers, but neither the company nor the city will say how much more – only that The Dalles can’t meet Google’s needs without expanding its water system.
Data centers have to be cooled. Even nifty low draw devices can become toasty. It seems clear that neither Google nor the Dalles wants to reveal the water consumption. I wager that it is more than a couple of gallons a day.
Interesting.
Whatever the number, Intel may be asked about its proposed fabs’ water consumption. Arizona is downstream from some thirsty farms in Utah. Fabs are water piggies too.
Stephen E Arnold, November 9, 2021
Bitcoin: Now a Teenager. We Know What Is Ahead?
November 5, 2021
Bitcoin is 13 years old. Zits, staying out late, pushing boundaries, and trying out controlled substances. Did I miss anything.
Oh, yes, these thoughts were sparked by “Bitcoin White Paper turns 13 Years Old: The Journey So Far.” This nine page document by the mysterious Nakamoto entity has set off a fuse in the financial industry.
The write up provides a walk down memory lane. The essay states:
While it isn’t clear whether more countries will adopt BTC as legal tender in the future, or whether interest for Bitcoin ETFs will wane, it appears clear that Bitcoin is here to stay and serve as both a store of value and medium of exchange, and that’s only 13 years after the idea was first introduced. Imagine what will happen in the next 13 years.
Stock up on NFTs and crypto. Keep your eye on tax regulations too.
Stephen E Arnold, November 5, 2021
Facebook under the Meta Umbrella May Be a Teddy Bear
November 2, 2021
Facebook (oops, Meta) appears to be changing now that it is under the Meta umbrella. “Facebook Will Let Kazakhstan Government Directly Flag Content the Country Deems Harmful” reports:
Facebook owner Meta Platforms has granted the Kazakh government access to its content reporting system, after the Central Asian nation threatened to block the social network for millions of local users.
Will Kazakhstan be a pace-setter like China and Russia when it comes to country specific censorship? If Facebook (oops, Meta) finds that TikTok and other non-Zuck properties do not appeal to young people, Facebook (oops, Meta) will have to trade off its long-cherished policies for deals that generate revenue.
Money is the pressure point which caused Facebook (oops, Meta) to indicate that it has a kinder, gentler side. What other countries will want to embrace the warm and fuzzy social media giant’s alleged new approach?
Stephen E Arnold, November 2, 2021
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