Hidden Webs May Be a Content Escape Hatch
March 28, 2018
Beyond Search and the Dark Cyber research team discussed a topic which raised some concern among the team. Censorship may be nudging some individuals to the hidden Webs; for example, the Dark Web, i2p, ZeroWeb, etc.
In the wake of several US school shootings, the outcry of more control over gun sales has grown louder. Many organizations have begun to distance themselves from firearms related topics, like YouTube who removed all of their firearms content recently. The response has created a strange subculture, as we discovered in this recent NPR story, “Restricted by YouTube, Gun Enthusiasts are Taking Their Videos to Pornhub.”
According to the story:
“InRangeTV, which has some 144,000 subscribers on its YouTube channel, has chosen to publish videos on an adult website called Pornhub…InRangeTV also recently wrote on Facebook that it is defending “Why are we seeing continuing restrictions and challenges towards content about something demonstrably legal yet not against that which is clearly illegal?” It then posted links to YouTube videos on synthesizing meth and other illicit acts.”
This is an odd place for a freedom of speech battle to take place, but not completely. It seems right in line with something Larry Flynt would have perused. Conversely, as far right leaning content is going closer and closer toward the dark web (pornography is not the dark web, but it feels like that’s the direction this is heading) the dark web is beginning to try to take down YouTube with rightwing trolling at an extreme level. What all this means for average citizens is that search is going to get more complicated, no matter what you are hunting for.
We also noted that a site dedicated to off color content has become the new home for those who are interested in weaponry. We think the shift may be gaining momentum. How does one “find” these types of content? Perhaps encrypted chat or old fashioned word of mouth messaging. Worth watching this possible shift.
Patrick Roland, March 28, 2018
The Digital Purloined Letter
March 28, 2018
Want to keep a Secret? Do it in public?
We spend a lot of time worrying about how secure our private data and messages are. If the internet has proven anything to us, it’s that if someone wants to get into your info, they’ll do it. So, one of the world’s most clandestine agencies has started using social media to do perform some of its most secret activities out in the open. We learned more from the recent Engadget piece, “NSA Sent Coded Messages Through Twitter.”
According to the piece, the NSA paid about $100,000 to Russian informants and did most of the communicating in secret messages on Twitter.
“It’s unknown how common this practice is, both on other social networks and from other agencies. However, it wouldn’t be surprising if there have been other instances. This lets intelligence bureaus orchestrate clandestine communications with little effort, and no way of knowing about the secret meaning (outside of leaks like this, of course) if you’re not directly involved.”
This certainly sounds like something straight out of a spy movie, but this level of secrecy is actually available to the general public. You just have to know where to look. For example, as recently as 2016, Facebook had a secret Messenger app that allowed for coded messages and for disappearing messages, not unlike Snapchat. So, if you are thinking of passing secrets to someone, social media is, oddly, a great place for it.
Patrick Roland, March 28, 2018
Google Does Not Buy Kentucky
March 28, 2018
Short honk: I read “MAP: A Look at Google’s Growing Empire.”
Google seems to like the Left Coast and the Right Coast. Bankrupt-loving Illinois makes the list along with Iowa, Texas, and ski country. But nothing in Kentucky. I assume the Commonwealth needs more than a morally questionable university, bourbon, horse racing, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and a couple of riverboats.
Stephen E Arnold, March 28, 2018
Munich Migrates To Windows 10
March 28, 2018
Despite the superiority of other operating systems, Microsoft Windows still tops the list as a popular office enterprise tool. Windows PCs have easy user interfaces, applications for easy management, and are understood at a near universal level. It does not come as a surprise when Munich, Germany decided to implement a change to Windows 10, says Silicon: “Munich Approves 49.3 million Euro Windows 10 Migration Plan.”
Munich’s city council decided to spend over 50 million euros to migrate their computer system to Microsoft Windows 10. This is the first major overhaul the city council has had since 2004 when they implemented a Linux desktop program. Linux is the open source software of choice and the city council decided to use it to reduce their dependency on Microsoft.
The “LiMux” programme saw a customised version of Ubuntu Linux rolled out to about 14,800 of the city’s 29,000 users and LibreOffice used by more than 15,000, in a bid to reduce the government’s dependence upon Microsoft. In 2012 then-mayor Christian Ude said LiMux had saved Munich more than €4m in licensing costs. The rollout was completed in 2013, nearly 10 years after it began, but a political shift the following year saw leadership turn in favour of a return to Windows.
The transition back to Microsoft comes with a change in the city council’s leadership. Dieter Reiter pushed fo have Microsoft license and he won. The Microsoft Windows transition cost of over 49 million euros is only part of the 89 million euro IT overhaul that is in progress. The IT overhaul also includes retraining and testing staff.
The Munich city council will not be migrating to Microsoft Office, which would incur an even higher price tag. Munich will instead continue to use LibreOffice, because of the staff’s familiarity and the custom templates. The city council also hopes to implement cloud application usage.
As with anything related to politics, opposing parties are critical of the return to Microsoft and say it wastes money. Nothing new on that end and it only points to more organizational problems than a simple OS.
Whitney Grace, March 28, 2018
Quote to Note: Mobile Ads As a Google Business
March 27, 2018
I read “Where Yegge’s Wrong.” In the write up I noted one sentence which popped out as a quote to note. Here’s the passage I highlighted in bright blue:
Mobile ads still completely suck as a business, BTW.
Interesting. As desktop search becomes a terra incognita for some young wizards, will Google find a way to de-suck mobile ads?
What happens if the surveillance capitalism thing begins to erode online advertising at Google? With Google’s costs becoming very difficult to control, some creativity thinking may be warranted.
Stephen E Arnold, March 27, 2018
The Country of Facebook Rebuffs England
March 27, 2018
I read “Facebook’s Zuckerberg Will Not Answer UK Lawmakers’ Questions over Data Scandal.” The main idea of the “real” news story struck me as:
Zuckerberg will instead send his Chief Technology Officer Mike Schroepfer or Chief Product Officer Chris Cox to appear before parliament’s Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee.
Several observations:
- The lawmakers in England are likely to interpret the refusal of Facebook’s president as a slap in the face.
- Facebook may face increasing friction from lawmakers and, possibly, from government agents with regard to some of Facebook’s activities in England
- Increased attention from British entities may increase Facebook’s costs in the form of regulatory compliance and tax scrutiny.
England has demonstrated that it can take immediate and direct action in certain matters of state. Facebook’s decision to ignore a request from the country may spark additional actions.
England can arrest, detain, and deport individuals. Planning a jaunt to London to catch a play may evolve into a risky proposition for individuals identified as of particular interest to England.
Serious business in the view of the addled goose.
Stephen E Arnold, March 27, 2018
Now That Craigslist Censors Content Where Will That Info Go?
March 27, 2018
Short honk: I read in Newsweek (sorry, The Daily Beast) this story: “The New Law That Killed Craigslist’s Personals Could End the Web As We’ve Known It.” Like many write ups, the main point for The Daily Beast write up strikes me as:
Under current law, the site can’t be held legally liable if someone uses veiled terms to solicit commercial sex—aka prostitution—through the Craigslist personals. But FOSTA will change that, opening up Craigslist (and every other digital platform) to serious legal and financial jeopardy should it accidently “promote” or “facilitate” prostitution.
What happens when censorship forces some content producers to find other communication channels? The research for my “Dark Web Notebook” suggests that some content producers will shift to hidden services; for example, peer to peer, encrypted chat system. Others will turn to the information leaking Dark Web. And a few will become innovators, cooking up new communication confections to dodge authorities.
In my upcoming lecture for some lawyers at a well known government agency, I emphasize that the cyber enforcement task is going to become much more difficult and quickly.
There are some fixes, and if you want to talk about this options, write darkcyber333 at yandex dot com for more information. (Yes, I have a nifty video conferencing system and a PayPal account.)
Stephen E Arnold, March 27, 2018
Importance of Good Data to AI Widely Underappreciated
March 27, 2018
Reliance on AI has now become embedded in our culture, even as we struggle with issues of algorithmic bias and data-driven discrimination. Tech news site CIO reminds us, “AI’s Biggest Risk Factor: Data Gone Wrong.” In the detailed article, journalist Maria Korolov begins with some early examples of “AI gone bad” that have already occurred, and explains how this happens; hard-to-access data, biases lurking within training sets, and faked data are all concerns. So is building an effective team of data management workers who know what they are doing. Regarding the importance of good data, Korolov writes:
Ninety percent of AI is data logistics, says JJ Guy, CTO at Jask, an AI-based cybersecurity startup. All the major AI advances have been fueled by advances in data sets, he says. ‘The algorithms are easy and interesting, because they are clean, simple and discrete problems,’ he says. ‘Collecting, classifying and labeling datasets used to train the algorithms is the grunt work that’s difficult — especially datasets comprehensive enough to reflect the real world.’… However, companies often don’t realize the importance of good data until they have already started their AI projects. ‘Most organizations simply don’t recognize this as a problem,’ says Michele Goetz, an analyst at Forrester Research. ‘When asked about challenges expected with AI, having well curated collections of data for training AI was at the bottom of the list.’ According to a survey conducted by Forrester last year, only 17 percent of respondents say that their biggest challenge was that they didn’t ‘have a well-curated collection of that to train an AI system.’
Eliminating bias gleaned from training sets (like one AI’s conclusion that anyone who’s cooking must be a woman) is tricky, but certain measures could help. For example, tools that track how an algorithm came to a certain conclusion can help developers correct its impression. Also, independent auditors bring in a fresh perspective. These delicate concerns are part of why, says Korolov, AI companies are “taking it slow.” This is slow? We’d better hang on to our hats whenever (they decide) they’ve gotten a handle on these issues.
Cynthia Murrell, March 27, 2018
DarkCyber for March 27, 2018, Now Available
March 27, 2018
DarkCyber for March 27, 2018, is now available at www.arnoldit.com/wordpress and on Vimeo at https://vimeo.com/261699559.
Stories this week: HyperionGray’s Dark Web map explored, Dark Web service firms shift into high-profile marketing mode, Bitcoin attracts more US government scrutiny, alleged Dark Web specialist Freedom Hosting hacked and its data location, and digital currencies attract more US government scrutiny.
Stephen E Arnold discusses four topics in this week’s Dark Web program.
HyperionGray’s Dark Web map makes it easy to get an overview of the Dark Web. The map, when clicked, displays thumbnails of Dark Web sites. Plus, the map allows the viewer to explore Dark Web sites which share feature and content similarities.
Freedom Hosting, a Dark Web services firm, was hacked before it went offline. DarkCyber reports that one hacker discovered a cache of CP (child pornography) data on the site. The hacker copied Freedom Hosting’s customer data and other information. The hacker then made that data publicly available online.
Dark Web consulting and services has become a significant line of business for some specialized firms. In the last six months, some of these companies have stepped up their marketing efforts. DarkCyber reports that more widely available information about the Dark Web has an upside and a downside. The upside is the likelihood of these companies’ attracting more sales leads. The downside is that bad actors now have an easier time keeping pace with techniques and technologies used by security and law enforcement professionals.
DarkCyber notes that the US government is stepping up its interest in digital currencies. One reason is that initial coin offering are being used by some to raise money for startups and that tax authorities may need a way to ensure that income tax payers are reporting and paying applicable taxes.
You can view the program at www.arnoldit.com/wordpress.
Kenny Toth, March 27, 2018
Facebook and Its Advertising: In Newspapers No Less
March 26, 2018
Google is allegedly earmarking millions to help dead tree publications survive the digital winter. Will the money help? Probably not.
I noted what struck me as an interesting move. The BBC’s write up “Facebook Boss Apologizes in UK and US Newspaper Ads” reveals to non newspaper readers the company’s fascinating mea culpa white out.
I learned:
Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg has taken out full-page adverts in several UK and US Sunday newspapers to apologies for the firm’s recent data privacy scandal.
Let’s recap the view of some dead tree senior managers.
- Digital media recycles our content and does not pay producers of “real news”
- Facebook and Google have replaced traditional newspapers and magazines as the gatekeepers of what’s right and what’s wrong, saying, “Hey, that’s our job.”
- Digital giants are indifferent to the downstream impacts of their nifty technologies.
Now Facebook is using the dead tree channels to explain:
“This was a breach of trust, and I am sorry.”
I assume that some at Facebook see the matter as off the table.
Ironic? Nope, just implement the “it’s easier to apologize than ask permission” method.
My question, “Has Facebook bought some Adwords or hired Cambridge Analytica-type outfits to make this apology more efficacious?”
Stephen E Arnold, March 26, 2018
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