France’s PATROIT Act? – “Visit Website; Go to Jail” March 23, 2012
Posted by Chris Mark in Industry News, Laws and Leglslation, terrorism.Tags: al qeada, Chris Mark, france murders, mark consulting group, PATRIOT, privacy, Red Scare, security, terrorism
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In the aftermath of the murder of 7 people in France by a self-proclaimed Al Qaeda militant, France’s president Nicolas Sarkozy has proposed a sweeping law that would jail those who visit extremist websites. “Anyone who regularly consults Internet sites which promote terror or hatred or violence will be sentenced to prison,” he told a campaign rally in Strasbourg, in eastern France. “What is possible for pedophiles should be possible for trainee terrorists and their supporters, too”
The murders of 7 people in Toulouse were horrific. Among those killed were a Rabbi and several children at a Jewish school. The murderer, 23 year old Mohamad Merah, was killed by French police after a standoff. (more…)
“Failed State of Security”- Published by IDGA March 21, 2012
Posted by Chris Mark in InfoSec & Privacy, Laws and Leglslation, Risk & Risk Management.Tags: Chris Mark, cybersecurity, deterrence theory, IDGA, InfoSec, mark consulting group, research brief, whitepaper
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The Institute for Defense and Government Advancement (IDGA) has published the whitepaper “Failed State of Security”; A Rational Analysis of Deterrence Theory & Its Effect on Cybercrime. Check it out!
Abstract “In reviewing the literature on criminology and information security it appears that, while they share many common themes, there is a disconnect between the criminological theory and its application in information security. Information security, as a field, is focused on the protection of information assets. Criminology is focused on the prevention of criminal behavior. As most information security practitioners will likely attest, there is little overlap between the two fields and there has been little research or focus on the use of crime theories on the prevention of cybercrimes. This paper attempts to bridge the gap between the fields and highlight the deficiencies in the current approach of compelling victims to prevent cybercrime as opposed to deterring the criminals from committing cybercrimes.”
Colombian Troops Kill Dozens of FARC Guerillas March 21, 2012
Posted by Chris Mark in terrorism, weapons and tactics.Tags: Chris Mark, Colombia, FARC, kidnapping, narco, Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, security, terrorism
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According to a story on CNN, Colombian government forces have killed dozens of leftist guerrillas in the past two days. Various operations throughout Colombia killed an estimated 39 members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). FARC has been at war with the Colombian government since the 1960’s and by 2005 had kidnapped an estimated 2,500 people. In the first half of 2011 FARC had kidnapped 108 people.
While self labeled as a “leftist” guerrilla group, many organizations have labled FARC as a terrorist organization or ‘narco terrorist’ organization. (more…)
“Warren & Brandeis Cringe”- Identification through Typing March 21, 2012
Posted by Chris Mark in InfoSec & Privacy, Laws and Leglslation.Tags: Chris Mark, DARPA, InfoSec & Privacy, mark consulting group, privacy, security, the right to privacy, typing authentication, warren and brandeis
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Several years ago a few researchers demonstrated that the way in which people type is unique enough to be used to identify that person with a high degree of confidence. It is not simply speed but includes cadence, time between particular keystrokes and other aspects. This week DARPA announced that they are working to make the solution a reality. Due to the uniqueness of a person’s typing DARPA says: “mimicking keystroke dynamics is physiologically improbable,” This means that it would increase the challenge of masquerading as another person. I mark this up as “good in theory and terrifying in practice”. In a talk last year a DARPA representative explained the process as such: “is move to a world where you sit down at a console, you identify yourself, and you just start working, and the authentication happens in the background, invisible to you, while you continue to do your work without interruptions.” This is precisely where the issue comes to life. (more…)
Social Media – Dangerously Anonymous & Plausibly Deniable March 19, 2012
Posted by Chris Mark in Industry News, InfoSec & Privacy, Risk & Risk Management, terrorism.Tags: Chris Mark, facebook, hacktivism, mark consulting group, plausible deniability, Social media, terrorism
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Today on Foxnews was a story about a person who claimed to be an occupy Wall Street protester who tweated a threat to kill a police officer. A user with the name “Smackema1” tweeted: “We won’t make a difference if we don’t kill a cop or 2,” What is interesting about this is that the person had never attended any Occupy protests and was actually in Florida when he sent the tweet. The author, who police are trying to identify, clarified his remarks to a Florida newspaper when he said: “It’s not like I meant anything of it. Who takes anything like that seriously? I’m in Florida, what am I going to do?” (more…)
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