Free Republic

Over the past year or two, someone has been probing the defenses of the companies that run critical pieces of the Internet. These probes take the form of precisely calibrated attacks designed to determine exactly how well these companies can defend themselves, and what would be required to take them down. We don't know who is doing this, but it feels like a large a large nation state. China and Russia would be my first guesses. First, a little background. If you want to take a network off the Internet, the easiest way to do it is with a distributed...

TORONTO - Canada is one of the few countries in the world where the first ‘tweetcast’ in NFL history cannot be viewed. Rogers is blacking out tonight’s New York Jets at Buffalo Bills game on Twitter, coast to coast. The NFL has arranged for the next 10 Thursday Night Football telecasts to be streamed live on Twitter, accessible either on the social media giant’s website or app. That is, the root TV feed from either CBS (this week) or NBC can be watched live, for free, on mobile phone, tablet, PC or connected TV. Rogers Communications Inc.’s Sportsnet cable network...

The head of the FBI on Wednesday defended putting a piece of tape over his personal laptop's webcam, claiming the security step was a common sense one that most should take. “There’s some sensible things you should be doing, and that’s one of them,” Director James Comey said during a conference at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “You go into any government office and we all have the little camera things that sit on top of the screen,” he added. “They all have a little lid that closes down on them. “You do that so that people who...

During an often-contentious hearing Wednesday, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, took on the Obama administration for what has become his latest signature issue: internet oversight.

The pillars that provide the basic infrastructure of the internet are being probed by an unknown entity that is probing for that point where the foundation cracks and the internet breaks. The internet’s critical and underlying basic infrastructure is being probed by an unknown attacker who is – patiently – looking for vulnerabilities, revealed cybersecurity expert and cryptographer Bruce Schneier. A board member at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the Tor project, Schneier is also the chief technology officer at Resilient, a cybersecurity firm recently acquired by IBM. In a blog post, Schneier states that some of the companies...

One expert witness, Paul Rosenzweig, predicts fireworks during the First Panel: "I will be testifying as well, but on the second panel—the fireworks will be on the first panel, I'm sure." The first panel will include many in favor of multinational oversight for ICANN, and the questioning will likely get hot. While many in congress trust President Obama's plan, Paul Rosenzweig noted: "The Chairmen of the four relevant committees (Senate and House, Judiciary and Commerce), however, have called for the administration to reconsider its decision." ** Get that -- ALL FOUR chairmen [who are most informed about the controversy], and...

A political action committee is looking to figure out whether it can safely use the Internet to support national political candidates, or whether the Federal Election Commission might seize the opportunity to impose the kind of regulations Democrats have been striving to attain. The request for an advisory opinion, filed on behalf of Citizen Super PAC, asks the FEC whether it would be permissible to email supporters of a candidate's campaign, or whether that would cross a line prohibiting coordination with candidates.

Washington (AFP) - Facebook, Twitter and news organizations including Agence France-Presse have joined a coalition of media and technology groups seeking to filter out online misinformation and improve news quality on social networks. First Draft News, which is backed by Google, announced Tuesday that some 20 news organizations will be part of its partner network to share information on best practices for journalism in the online age. Jenni Sargent, managing director of First Draft, said the partner network will help advance the organization's goal of improving news online and on social networks. ...

Called Adam Kinzinger’s (Ill 16) DC office yesterday and asked, “What is my Congressman going to do to prevent Obama from ceding our Internet freedom to the UN by giving up US control of ICANN?” They claimed they did not know anything about this. Has anyone else had a similar experience with their “Representative”?

Ted Cruz and other Republicans are barreling toward a September showdown with the White House over its plan to give up oversight of the internet, as the Obama administration tries to rally support from the tech and telecom industries. GOP lawmakers have long warned that the administration's plan to relinquish its authority over ICANN, the global nonprofit that manages the internet's domain name system, could give authoritarian countries like China and Russia an opening to make an online power grab. Now, as the actual date of the transition approaches — Oct. 1 — Republicans are looking at throwing up new...

As the October 1 deadline approaches for the us to turn over control of ICANN, the domain name non profit, to the international community, several congressional Republicans are vowing to fight the move because they say it's dangerous and premature. Politico: GOP lawmakers have long warned that the administration's plan to relinquish its authority over ICANN, the global nonprofit that manages the internet's domain name system, could give authoritarian countries like China and Russia an opening to make an online power grab. Now, as the actual date of the transition approaches — Oct. 1 — Republicans are looking at throwing...

The establishment's false narratives about the world are imploding in spectacular fashion thanks to the Internet, and the establishment's propagandists are increasingly being called out for their deception. That has the establishment extremely upset. So upset, in fact, that establishment propagandists and the federal government are busy demonizing online freedom and concocting ways to clamp down on voices that expose the false narratives. But Americans can stop it. From abolishing and censoring comment sections on establishment media websites to squandering Americans' tax money on stopping online “trolls” and even creating government-controlled troll accounts to manipulate public opinion, the establishment is...

Around November 12 2015 the complaints started pouring in. Small business owners and other various webmasters have been unable to log in to their Yahoo Small Business dashboard, now called the Aabaco Small Business Dashboard. The Yahoo login screen says that the name has changed but the team is the same. You would think there has been a seamless transaction that has taken place. Unfortunately, this is where the problems begin. Yahoo Small Business clients are having all kinds of problems, and Aabaco is not helping. So far I have heard: Aabaco will not answer the phone Aabaco says wait...

Apple, Amazon, Google, Energy companies, and Airlines, and others back Microsoft in battle with government overreach. Link only due to copy right issues: Apple, Google Back Microsoft Over ‘Sneak-and-Peek’

The IRS warned tax practitioners on Friday of a new wave of cyberattacks that allow criminals to remotely access practitioners' computers and file fraudulent tax returns. The attacks come as practitioners prepare for the Oct. 17 extended filing deadline for individual returns; the IRS reported similar attacks before the April 15 deadline. The IRS says that the attacks allow thieves to take control of practitioners' computers, access client data, and complete and e-file tax returns, directing the resulting refunds into the criminals' own accounts. Victims become aware of the attacks when reconciling e-filing acknowledgments.

After Obama gives away the Internet's 'phone directory' [at the end of this month] numerous FRiends assure me, "Trump will fix it when he's president." I will make it clear that is wildly dangerous. Besides, why wait? Now that we've cut through the spin and made it easy to understand, this issue is a big win for conservatism and exposes the entire DNC's contempt for freedom of speech. Besides, the more rapidly voters are aware, the easier the fix will be. Assuming Hillary doesn't steal this election, Trump will wish he had prevented this treasonous outrage during the campaign. Here's...

"It is with profound regret that we must report that ITT Educational Services, Inc. will discontinue academic operations at all of its ITT Technical Institutes permanently after approximately 50 years of continuous service. With what we believe is a complete disregard by the U.S. Department of Education for due process to the company, hundreds of thousands of current students and alumni and more than 8,000 employees will be negatively affected. The actions of and sanctions from the U.S. Department of Education have forced us to cease operations of the ITT Technical Institutes, and we will not be offering our September...

Indonesia has asked the chairman of China's Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, Jack Ma, to act as adviser in the development of the Southeast Asian country's nascent e-commerce industry, according to a video released by the government. Indonesia has the world's fourth-largest population, boasting a young, internet-savvy demographic, and a thriving e-commerce market that is increasingly attracting global investors. Earlier this year, Alibaba bought a controlling stake in Southeast Asian online retailer Lazada Group for around $1 billion, while a group of investors led by private equity firms KKR & Co LP and Warburg Pincus LLC poured more than $550 million...

WINTHROP HARBOR, Ill. (WLS) -- Two convicted felons who were not allowed to possess firearms were caught at a north suburban gun range after Evanston police came across a Facebook Live broadcast. Police say members of the Evanston Police Department Intelligence Unit regularly monitor various social media outlets. On Wednesday, an investigator monitoring Facebook found an active Evanston gang member and convicted felon on parole taking part in a Facebook Live video from a Winthrop Harbor gun range, police said. Facebook Lives are videos that users can make that post in real-time and then once completed, stay on the user's...

The space rocket which exploded before takeoff yesterday (1 September) was carrying a satellite Facebook intended to use to connect sub-Saharan Africa to the Internet. Whilst many critics have had doubts about the plan of founder Mark Zuckerberg to provide web access to the developing world, the destruction of the SpaceX rocket and its cargo will set the plan back many months, if not years. The explosion of the Falcon 9 rocket on the launchpad at NASA’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida also saw the destruction of its AMOS-6 satellite, manufactured by an Israeli firm, but leased to...