“Proxy Wars 101” – Russian Attack Helicopters Caught Bound for Syria June 19, 2012
Posted by Chris Mark in News.Tags: assad, geopolotics, HIND, mark consulting group, Mi25, muhajideen, proxy war, revolution, Russia, syria, terrorism
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According to a story on MSNBC, a ship carrying military attack helicopters and missiles from Russia to Syria was stopped off the coast of the UK yesterday. The insurers cancelled the coverage of the ship forcing it to turn back. The interesting part of this scenario is the fact that the ship was carrying Russian Mi25 (HIND) attack helicopters to Syria. Thee Mi25 is one of the most noticeable and lethal attack helicopters in history. It was highlighted in numerous movies including Red Dawn and Rambo 3. It is very effective at ground support. For those who have been living in a cave for the past few months, Syria is currently engaged in a revolution and the government has been accused of a brutal crackdown on the revolt with the indiscriminate killing of civilians. The international community has nearly universally condemned Assad’s actions….nearly. Russia and China appear to in support of the Assad regime. Syria and Russia have a long standing relationship extending to the days of the Soviet Union. You can read more about it here. (more…)
“The Rise of CyberEspionage” – Chris Mark Published in Homeland Security Network June 18, 2012
Posted by Chris Mark in cyberespionage, cybersecurity.Tags: anonymous, china, cybercrime, cyberespionage, cybersecurity, data breach, data security, homeland security network, L3, mark consulting group, RSA, security
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An article I wrote on the Rise of Cyber Espionage was picked up by the Homeland Security Network. I must admit that the article title is not what was submitted but the article is one I wrote. If you are interested, spin on over to the Homeland Security Network and read the article. Any feedback would be appreciated..here is an excerpt:
“On April 15, 2011, the US Congressional Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations conducted a hearing on Chinese cyber-espionage. The hearing revealed the US government’s awareness of Chinese cyberattacks. In describing the situation in her opening remarks, sub-committee chairperson Dana Rohrbacher astutely stated:
“[The]United States is under attack.”12 “The Communist Chinese Government has defined us as the enemy. It is buying, building and stealing whatever it takes to contain and destroy us. Again, the Chinese Government has defined us as the enemy.”
“See, Hear & Speak no Evil”- Google Censorship Requests June 18, 2012
Posted by Chris Mark in Industry News, privacy.Tags: Censorship, cybersecurity, freedom of speech, google, InfoSec, mark consulting group, privacy, requests, satire
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Google today released information related to the censorship requests by Governments around the Globe. While many are familiar with China and other nations restricting access, it is interesting to see so many “Western” countries requesting censorship. An interesting example is the Canadian Government requesting the removal of “…YouTube video of a Canadian citizen urinating on his passport and flushing it down the toilet. “ To their credit, Google did NOT comply with this request. In another request, Google “…received a request from the Central Police in Italy to remove a YouTube video that satirized Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s lifestyle.” Again, Google did not comply. The interesting part of these requests is that they request removal of material that is typically considered a right of free speech and protest. Satire has been used as a form of protest in West for centuries (look at Voltare, Oscar Wilde…etc.etc.) and civil disobedience (urinating on a passport, is a good example) has certainly been used as form of protest. One has to wonder whether how much more information ‘free’ governments have kept from the public. You can see the Google removal requests here.
“A Victory?…for Democracy?”…Muslim Brotherhood Wins Egyption Presidency June 17, 2012
Posted by Chris Mark in News, terrorism.Tags: al qaeda, Arab Spring, Egypt, Election, mark consulting group, Mohammad Morsi, Salafi, terrorism
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It was just announced that the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohammad Morsi was leading and expected to win the Egyption presidency in the first election since the removal of Hasni Mubarak from the Egyptian presidency. Egypt was one of the countries that revolted in the Arab Spring of 2012. Interestingly, Mr. Morsi is being elected in a democratic election. What is the significance? Many in the US have labored under the belief that if given the choice ALL people would choose a government similar to the US. In 2003, at the National Endowment of Democracy, President George Bush said:
“This freedom deficit … has terrible consequences for people in the Middle East and for the world. In many Middle Eastern countries, poverty is deep and it is spreading. Women lack rights and are denied schooling, whole economies remains stagnant while the world moves ahead,” Bush said. (more…)
Social Media as a Privacy Tool? June 14, 2012
Posted by Heather Mark in privacy.Tags: google, Heather Mark, InfoSec & Privacy, mark consulting group, privacy, risk management
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As one that closely follows the intersection of privacy and technology I read with great interest a paper released by Google entitled “Vanity or Privacy? Social Media as a Facilitator of Privacy and Trust.” The paper is to be presented at the 2012 ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work. The paper is relatively short and presented as though it was undertaken in the nature of academic research. I doubt I need to replay for the reader Google’s recent privacy issues and its recent changes to the company’s privacy policy. With that in mind, it is difficult to read the short paper as anything other than a justification for these recent changes. Unfortunately for Google, the paper is patently one-sided and the premises themselves are flawed, to put it mildly. It should be noted that the authors of the paper do include the following caveat: “While these examples offer no judgment on whether social media is good for privacy in any absolute sense, they do support our contention that it is possible to design social media systems that are engaging and supportive of privacy and trust.”
Before I delve into the paper itself, it is important to provide some baseline definitions for privacy and trust, particularly with respect to the online environment. Privacy has traditionally been defined as the right to be let alone. (more…)
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