The long tail of the television industry
Laughing Squid notes that CBS is placing its back catalog of television shows online for free. Brilliant move as this will allow them to gain additional advertising revenue from older shows. I'd happily watch the old seasons of Star Trek if I can do so at my own pace and on demand. Sure, I can buy the DVDs, but I am not a big enough fan to do that and DVDs have to be stored and maintained. I'd rather have that content in the cloud. The only issue will be making sure the quality is good enough to watch. I'd love to see more archives come into the cloud, especially old historical material such as presidential debates and old newcasts which would be interesting to watch and put in today's context.
Quote of the day...
"I have noticed even people who claim everything is predestined, and that we can do nothing to change it, look before they cross the road."
Stephen Hawkings
CIA worried about overseas cyberattacks
SANS FLASH
CIA Confirms Cyber Attack Caused Multi-City Power OutageOn Wednesday, in New Orleans, US Central Intelligence Agency senior analyst Tom Donohue told a gathering of 300 US, UK, Swedish, and Dutch government officials and engineers and security managers from electric,
water, oil & gas and other critical industry asset owners from all across North America, that "We have information, from multiple regions outside the United States, of cyber intrusions into utilities, followed by extortion demands. We suspect, but cannot confirm, that some of these attackers had the benefit of inside knowledge. We have information that cyber attacks have been used to disrupt power equipment in several regions outside the United States. In at least one case, the
disruption caused a power outage affecting multiple cities. We do not know who executed these attacks or why, but all involved intrusions through the Internet."According to Mr. Donohue, the CIA actively and thoroughly considered the benefits and risks of making this information public, and came down on the side of disclosure.
Delegates at the meeting shared information on how attackers are eluding current defenses and on promising practices for mitigating the most critical vulnerabilities. Link--->
What the Jihadist web does when they think no one is watching
Fascinating post. No way to determine accuracy, but it jives with informal comments I've heard about the contents of confinscated laptops.
But it's Islambase's Hamza who shows himself to be the least likely pure Islamist. He is the most regular poster on Islambase and when he's not glorifying terror or insulting Jews, Hindus, Kafir and everyone else on the face of the planet, he's posting Global News stories, designed not to pierce the Islambase bubble - nice stories about how well Al Qaeda is actually doing (really...promise!) and how corrupt the West is (his favourite posts are about paedophiles and men having sex with bicycles).
Hamza requires a psychiatrist but none advertise themselves on Islambase. Luton-based Hamza uses a network computer and a private one - he's caught on both. What he gets up to on the private one is most fascinating:
In one keyboard impression trail, Hamza shows himself up as a genuine sicko; visiting the site Strangeland.com, he goes to a section entitled Death Flix and watches a video called "Leftovers from suicide bomb", then a video called "Iraqi execution: WARNING GRAPHIC" before tucking into some "Franz Reichelt Jumps Off the Eiffel Tower with his Coat Parachute and Dies". He then switches to Strangeland's porn section where he watches several short clips including: "Wifey in the shower", "Trapeze titties on Titty Tuesday", "Pedifile's Punishment" and "Santa's Jugs".
After seventeen minutes on Strangeland, he goes for something even more hardcore on a site called Puretna. Clicking on "TNAFlix full length streaming porn movies for free!!!" he then clicks on "Long Videos" and starts browsing by category. I won't print here the results of the category search he undertakes but - according to the Russians - the categories he searches through include "Gay/Bi-Male", "SheMale/Trans" and "Home Made". [Link--->]
Film highlights impact of cybercrime
I was featured in this film. Uncertain if I will attend the New York event or not.
Update: I will be at the NY event. If you want to meet-up let me know.
Enterprise application security solutions provider Fortify Software will present the world premiere of a new documentary, The New Face of Cybercrime in private screenings at three cities — San Francisco, New York, and London — this month. An expert panel discussion about cybercrime and a reception will follow each screening.
This film by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Frederic Golding highlights the impact cybercrime has on consumers and businesses.
When sensitive or private data gets into the wrong hands, the loss is tallied not only in billions of dollars, but in consumer trust as well. The New Face of Cybercrime showcases security experts, hackers, and executives discussing the evolving threats to information security and the need for security measures that are several steps ahead of these threats. Featured in the film are these experts: Matthew Devost, CEO, The Terrorism Research Center; James Routh, CISO, The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation; Lt. Col. Jeff Salyards, USAF, Director, Defense Computer Forensics Laboratory; Mike Ullman, Chairman and CEO, JC Penney Company Inc.
“Fortify Software commissioned this film because we, along with many other experts, believe that the threat of cybercrime has reached unprecedented levels,” said John M Jack, president and CEO of Fortify Software. “No one is safe. To defend your systems, you must know not only who might attack you now but also who might attack you in the future and how. We’re talking about a level of protection where every application itself will need to be impervious to attack, so the information behind it is protected.”
Following the screenings, panels of security experts will discuss what executives must know to protect their organizations’ most critical assets against the growing threat of cybercrime. These panels will include the following authorities: Marco Bavassano, Director, Telecom Italia; Mark Hughes - Director BT Goup, Security; Gary McGraw, CTO, Cigital - Author of Software Security; Roger Thornton, Founder & CTO of Fortify Software; Mike Evans, Security Manager, Visa.
The New Face of Cybercrime” will be screened at the following locations and dates: San Francisco, Metreon, Private Theater— January 17; New York, Tribeca Grand Hotel — January 24
London, Apollo West End—January 29.
RIP - Mark Fleshner
It seems that early January is again a time of sorrow. Almost a year after losing my good friend Robert Garigue, I am saddened to report on the passing of my friend Mark Fleshner.
Mark was a brilliant lawyer and scientist holding both a Ph.D and J.D. as well as several other degrees. He is the author of patents I can't claim to understand and co-founded two very successful intellectual law practices in the Northern Virginia area.
Mark was a good friend and neighbor and I enjoyed my time with him as we developed a special kinship based on our shared eccentricity, insomnia, and love of music. While one might find me DJing in my basement on a given weekend night, Mark would set up a full fledged band or just jam on the guitar in his basement. Mark and Kara's home is a place of natural comfort based on their tremendous sense of hospitality and inherent social nature. Mark also introduced Joy and I to what would become our favorite chardonnay and the next bottle we crack open will be bittersweet.
He and his wife are beloved by my daughter Maddie and she expressed sadness this Christmas (due to their recent move 15 miles away) at not having been over to bake cookies (and eat ribbon candy) with them this year as it had been an annual tradition. Maddie always felt special when they would invite her over to their house without her little brother or parents to tag along.
Mark was nervous to become a father and it was an issue we talked about several times. Our conversations about fatherhood are some of the most memorable we had. It was the only thing I witnessed him approach in life without absolute confidence which is a feeling many of us can share. When his daughter was born he, as expected, was a natural and he found great joy in his daughter Gigi who turns one this month. It was quite sad to be with Gigi the day after Mark's passing and as I carried her about the house looking at paintings, I watched her several times pick her head up and widen her eyes as we approached a crowd in a look that I know was longing for daddy. She will be surrounded by much love in her life and we can be thankful that the spirit of his memory will be present in those around her.
As for my own daughter, she announced that she saw a show on TV where a new puppy developed the same mannerisms and habits as a recently deceased grandmother, so she is hopeful that Mark might come back as a puppy. Such is the logic of a seven year old, but she was mostly sad for Gigi who won't know her father. That meant extra love for her own father that day and extra tears when she got a timeout from me. On Monday Mark got a special entry in her school journal that described how she felt and ended with a simple truth - "He was a great man".
When it was released on DVD Mark insisted I watch the movie Walk the Line about Johnny Cash and loaned me his recently purchased copy. In light of Maddie's comments, I couldn't help but hear these Highwaymen lyrics in my head for the rest of the day.
"I fly a starship across the Universe divide
And when I reach the other side
I'll find a place to rest my spirit if I can
Perhaps I may become a highwayman again
Or I may simply be a single drop of rain
But I will remain
And I'll be back again, and again and again and again and again.."
Rest in peace Mark. You were much loved and will be greatly missed.
Trending towards simulation
Another scientist is proposing that our universe is one big virtual reality simulation. [Link--->]
State of the world - 2008
It is my favorite time of year over the online community Well.com right now as famous cyberpunk author/futurist Bruce Sterling is hosting his 9th annual State of the World forum. Up for discussion so far - the role of cities in destabilizing nation states, the status of al Qaeda, globalization, natural tendencies to resist a green future, the false utopia of global government, William Gibson's new book resembling Soviet dissident fiction, and conspiracy theories and we've just gotten started. Mozy on over to State of the World thread.