Breaking: I’m being told that Syria is blocking Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and other social networks.
Italian Court Orders All ISPs To Block KickAssTorrents
KickAssTorrents, one of the most popular BitTorrent websites on the Internet today, is facing a total blackout in Italy. Following an investigation by the country’s cybercrime police, an ISP blocking order has now been granted against a site which authorities say is run by criminals generating millions of dollars. The move follows similar blockades against both The Pirate Bay and the now-defunct BTjunkie.
According to a report coming out of the police department with responsibilities for tackling cybercrime, KickAssTorrents will soon be subjected to a nationwide ISP blockade.
“This is another memorable dark day for digital piracy in Italy. After starting with The Pirate Bay in 2008 and the final closing of the doors at BTjunkie in February 2012, the Guardia di Finanza has targeted another super-pirate platform, virtually located in the Philippines and servers scattered around the world,” GdF said in a statement.
“This colossal site of 10 million active torrents receives over 3 million visits daily from all over the world and Italy was the third most popular country of origin for users behind only India and the USA.”
Law Enforcement Considers Blocking Cell Service During NATO Protests
Reports suggest local law enforcement agencies are considering shutting down cell phone services in the city over the weekend and while it will most likely be very effective, many are questioning if the move is legitimate.
The Daily Beast reports that the FBI and Secret Service have standing authority to jam signals and they can also push for the shutdown of cell towers, thanks to “Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) 303,” which lays out the nation’s official “Emergency Wireless Protocols.”
According to the National Communications System, the protocol details a “shutdown and restoration process for use by commercial and private wireless networks during national crises.”
The irony of the situation is, of course, in the fact that the US security services are considering doing something they’ve condemned others for. Just a month ago, President Barack Obama announced a plan to penalize authoritarian regimes that block internet access for protesters. The penalties will be aimed at countries like Syria and Iran that use technology to enable human-rights abuses against dissidents – but to many, this is a perfect example of double standards.
This potential development is just one of the drastic security measures Chicago law enforcement agencies are considering. They’ve also invested as much as $1 million on riot-control equipment, including at least one long-range acoustic device, or LRAD, and upgrades to shields to be worn by the police.
City of Frankfurt (Germany) Bans ‘Blockupy’
The demonstration authorities of the city of Frankfurt announced in to the press on the afternoon of May 4, 2012, that they are prohibiting all of the actions planned by the Blockupy Frankfurt alliance from May 16-19. The legal notifying party for the more than fifteen actions was directly informed about this decision with regard to only one case – and even this was delayed by one day.
This decision completely prohibits the protests against crisis policies that profoundly affect the lives of millions of people in Europe. The alliance is planning protests during the action days against the austerity policies of European governments and the Troika (ECB, EU Commission and IMF) and had applied to the city for permits for some of these protests as demonstrations, rallies, pickets and demonstrative assemblies, as is legally required for demonstrations.
This ban is an open breach of the constitutional right to demonstrate. We insist that the protest against the crisis politics can take place in the Frankfurt financial district and at the ECB headquarters, as it complies with the existing jurisdiction of the German Federal Constitutional Court.
All democrats can only be extremely appalled by this illegitimate and undemocratic action and demand an immediate abandonment of this total ban. What was possible at Tahrir Square in Cairo, at the Puerta del Sol in Madrid or in Zucotti Park in New York must also be possible in Frankfurt am Main!
The Pirate Party UK has created a portal to The Pirate Bay to combat the recent censorship in the United Kingdom.
The Pirate Bay Enjoys 12 Million Traffic Boost After UK Censors Site
Last week the UK High Court ruled that several of the country’s leading ISPs must block subscriber access to The Pirate Bay. The decision is designed to limit traffic to the world’s leading BitTorrent site but in the short-term it had the opposite effect. Yesterday, The Pirate Bay had 12 million more visitors than it has ever had, providing a golden opportunity to educate users on how to circumvent blocks. “We should write a thank you letter to the BPI,” a site insider told TorrentFreak.
Last Friday the UK High Court ruled that several of country’s leading ISPs must censor The Pirate Bay website having ruled in February that the site and its users breach copyright on a grand scale.
On hearing the news a Pirate Bay insider told TorrentFreak that the measure will do very little to stop people accessing the site and predicted that “the free advertising” would only increase traffic levels.
It’s not possible to buy advertising “articles” from leading UK publications such as the BBC, Guardian and Telegraph, but yesterday The Pirate Bay news was spread across all of them and dozens beside, for free. The news was repeated around the UK, across Europe and around the world reaching millions of people. The results for the site were dramatic.
“Thanks to the High Court and the fact that the news was on the BBC, we had 12 MILLION more visitors yesterday than we had ever had before,” a Pirate Bay insider informed TorrentFreak today.
UK ISP’s Must Censot The Pirate Bay, High Court Rules
The High Court has ruled that several UK ISPs including Sky, Everything Everywhere, TalkTalk, O2 and Virgin Media must censor The Pirate Bay website. A sixth ISP, BT, has asked for more time to consider its position.
This means that millions of Internet users will be prevented from accessing the popular BitTorrent site in the weeks to come. The Pirate Bay say they aren’t concerned by yet another court-ordered blockade, and point out that there are plenty of ways to circumvent such censorship.
A conglomerate of music labels filed a lawsuit against several Internet providers, demanding that they block subscriber access to The Pirate Bay.
In February the High Court agreed that The Pirate Bay and its users do indeed breach copyright on a major scale, and today this decision was followed by a court order.
A Pirate Bay spokesperson told TorrentFreak that this measure is going to do very little to stop people from accessing their site, as there are many ways to circumvent it. “This will just give us more traffic, as always. Thanks for the free advertising.”
The UK Pirate Party is also prepared for the block and is offering a reverse proxy which allows blocked Internet users to access The Pirate Bay.
Bahrain Denies Visas To Foreign Journalists For F1
Bahrain has denied visas to foreign journalists and photographers, including from AFP, to cover this Sunday’s controversial Grand Prix race.
An AFP photographer, accredited by the sport’s governing body, the FIA (Federation Internationale de l’Automobile), was informed by Bahrain’s information affairs authority that there has been a “delay to your visa application, so it might not be processed.”
Associated Press said two of its Dubai-based journalists were prevented from covering the Grant Prix because they could not receive entry visas, despite being accredited by the FIA.
Meanwhile, cameramen already in Bahrain were required to keep fluorescent orange stickers on their cameras so that they would be easily recognisable to ensure they do not cover any off-track events, such as ongoing protests.
In February, Bahraini authorities rejected visa requests by AFP and other international organisations to cover the first anniversary of the month-long Shiite-led protest that was crushed in mid-March.
The authorities have yet to respond to AFP’s request to accredit a local photographer, after having banned AFP’s local correspondent from reporting last spring.
Bahrain’s main opposition group, Al-Wefaq, has called for a week of daily protests to coincide with the Grand Prix, using the sports event to focus media attention on their long-standing demands for greater equality and representation in the Sunni-ruled kingdom.
The event was cancelled last year in the wake of the uprising against the Sunni monarchy and the government crackdown that followed in which a government commission said 35 people were killed.
28 Companies that support the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act of 2011
US Telecom - The Broadband Association
National Cable & Telecommunications Association
CTIA - The Wireless Association
Cyber, Space & Intelligence Association
The Financial Services Roundtable
Independent Telephone & Telecommunications Alliance
CISPA Replaces SOPA As Internet’s Enemy No. 1 (Must Read)
The Internet has a new enemy. The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act of 2011 (CISPA), also known as H.R. 3523, is a “cybersecurity” bill in the House of Representatives. While CISPA does not focus primarily on intellectual property (though that’s in there, too), critics say the problems with the bill run just as deep.
As with SOPA and PIPA, the first main concern about CISPA is its “broad language,” which critics fear allows the legislation to be interpreted in ways that could infringe on our civil liberties. The Center for Democracy and Technology sums up the problems with CISPA this way:
• The bill has a very broad, almost unlimited definition of the information that can be shared with government agencies notwithstanding privacy and other laws;
• The bill is likely to lead to expansion of the government’s role in the monitoring of private communications as a result of this sharing;
• It is likely to shift control of government cybersecurity efforts from civilian agencies to the military;
• Once the information is shared with the government, it wouldn’t have to be used for cybesecurity, but could instead be used for any purpose that is not specifically prohibited.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) adds that CISPA’s definition of “cybersecurity” is so broad that “it leaves the door open to censor any speech that a company believes would ‘degrade the network.’”
Moreover, the inclusion of “intellectual property” means that companies and the government would have “new powers to monitor and censor communications for copyright infringement.”
Furthermore, critics warn that CISPA gives private companies the ability to collect and share information about their customers or users with immunity — meaning we cannot sue them for doing so, and they cannot be charged with any crimes.
According to the EFF, CISPA “effectively creates a ‘cybersecurity’ exemption to all existing laws.”
“There are almost no restrictions on what can be collected and how it can be used, provided a company can claim it was motivated by ‘cybersecurity purposes.’” the EFF continues.
“That means a company like Google, Facebook, Twitter, or AT&T could intercept your emails and text messages, send copies to one another and to the government, and modify those communications or prevent them from reaching their destination if it fits into their plan to stop cybersecurity threats.”
Read the full text of CISPA here, or the full official summary at the bottom of this page.
Read More & SIGN THE PETITION TO SAVE THE INTERNET FROM CISPA
Britain Will Begin Monitoring Calls, Text, Emails And Online Activities (Must Read)
Britain is to allow one of its intelligence agencies to monitor all phone calls, texts, emails and online activities in the country to help tackle crime and militant attacks, the Interior Ministry said on Sunday.
“It is vital that police and security services are able to obtain communications data in certain circumstances to investigate serious crime and terrorism and to protect the public,” a Home Office spokesman said.
The proposed law already has drawn strong criticism, from within the ruling Conservative Party’s own ranks, as an invasion of privacy and personal rights.
“What the government hasn’t explained is precisely why they intend to eavesdrop on all of us without even going to a judge for a warrant, which is what always used to happen,” Member of Parliament David Davis told BBC News.
“It is an unnecessary extension of the ability of the state to snoop on ordinary people,” he said.
New legislation is expected to be announced in the legislative agenda-setting speech given by the queen in May.
Currently, British agencies can monitor calls and e-mails of specific individuals who may be under investigation after obtaining ministerial approval, but expanding that to all citizens is certain to enrage civil liberties campaigners.
Internet companies would be required to install hardware which would allow the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), referred to as Britain’s electronic ‘listening’ agency, to gain real-time access to communications data.
The new law would not allow GCHQ to access the content of emails, calls or messages without a warrant, but it would allow it to trace who an individual or group was in contact with, how frequently they communicated and for how long.
The Pirate Bay Is Serious About Using Low Orbit Server Drones
A few days back The Hacker News reported that one of the world’s largest BitTorrent sites “The Pirate Bay” is going to put servers on GPS-controlled aircraft drones in order to evade authorities who are looking to shut the site down.
Most of the people from World didn’t take it serious but The Pirate Bay is apparently deadly serious about investing in drone servers that it will fly in international airspace to make it incredibly difficult for governments to stop its expansion.
A blog posting on the Pirate Bay site said the service had gone offline for a few hours on 18th March to move its front machines (which redirect a user’s traffic to a masked location). “We have now decided to try to build something extraordinary,” it said.
If actually happening, it is part of a wider move to stay several steps ahead of the law, with The Pirate Bay gleefully thumbing its nose at the legislative attempts to bring it down. While a number of users are relying on VPNs (virtual private networks) to mask what they are doing online, some services are offering something similar, but on a mass scale.
The Department Of Defense Wants Control Of The Internet Back
This may seem totalitarian,
but they did give us the whole thing, so they may have a point. Via M.I.T.’s Technology Review:The U.S. Department of Defense may have funded the research that led to the Internet, but freewheeling innovation created the patchwork of privately owned technology that makes up the Internet today. Now the U.S. government is trying to wrest back some control, as it adjusts to an era when cyberattacks on U.S. corporations and government agencies are common.
At the RSA computer security conference yesterday, representatives of the White House, U.S. Department of Defense, and National Security Agency said that safeguarding U.S. interests required them to take a more active role in governing what has been a purely commercial, civilian resource. But some experts are concerned that the growing influence of defense and military organizations on the operation and future development of the Internet will compromise the freedom that has made it a success.
great…. another threat to the internet as we know it.
