President Barack Obama has appointed Howard Schmidt, adjunct faculty member in the Georgia Tech Information Security Center (GTISC) in the College of Computing, as the new White House cybersecurity coordinator.
“Howard is one of the world’s leading authorities on computer security, with some 40 years of experience in government, business and law enforcement,” said John Brennan, assistant to the president for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, in an e-mail announcing the appointment last month. “Howard will have regular access to the president and serve as a key member of his National Security Staff. He will also work closely with his economic team to ensure that our cybersecurity efforts keep the nation secure and prosperous.”
At Tech, Schmidt has helped set up the GTISC industry advisory board. He has worked on a research project to evaluate the cyber security policies of various United States stakeholders. He has also given lectures on security policies and strategies.
Schmidt previously served as former chief security strategist for the US CERT Partners Program and former special advisor to the White House for Cyberspace Security under President George W. Bush. He joined Tech in 2006 to work with GTISC to improve the state of information security by lending his vast knowledge and expertise in this growing technological area.
Schmidt’s distinguished career as an information security advocate includes leadership positions with both public and private sector organizations. He has served on the President’s Critical Infrastructure Protection Board, was an augmented member of the President’s Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology and held executive positions with the Information Systems Security Association, the Information Technology Information Sharing and Analysis Center, the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Information Security Privacy Advisory Board. Schmidt also served as vice president and chief security strategist for eBay and chief security officer for Microsoft Corporation, forming and directing the computer giant’s Trustworthy Computer Security Strategies Group.
David Terraso
Georgia Tech
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Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Tennis Channel Files FCC Complaint Against Comcast
/PRNewswire/ -- On Tuesday, January 5, Tennis Channel filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission demonstrating that Comcast Cable Communications is violating the FCC's program carriage rules, which prohibit cable system operators from discriminating against unaffiliated cable programming services in favor of networks they own. According to the complaint, Comcast isolates Tennis Channel on a premium sports tier received by a small fraction of Comcast subscribers while it carries Comcast-owned networks that compete with Tennis Channel on basic tiers available to far more subscribers at no additional charge.
"We did not want to file this complaint, but Comcast has left us with no choice," said Ken Solomon, chairman and CEO of Tennis Channel. "After steadily building the most comprehensive single-sport network in television over the past few years, in the first half of 2009 we had numerous discussions with Comcast. We made offers with added incentives for it to move us to a competitive, broadly penetrated service tier, as it has done recently with the MLB, NHL and NBA channels, in which it has financial interests. But Comcast declined to do so."
According to evidence included in the complaint, Tennis Channel's ratings performance is comparable in its service area to that of Comcast's leading sports services, the Golf Channel and Versus; it offers coverage of all four of tennis' Grand Slam events, while the Golf Channel and Versus offer little or no comparable coverage of the major events in the sports they cover; it charges a per-subscriber rate that is about half the rate charged by the Golf Channel and Versus, but broadcasts more than 2,700 hours per year of event coverage - compared to 2,400 hours on the Golf Channel and 1,350 hours on Versus; and it offers a full-time high-definition service.
Comcast's Golf Channel and Versus are among the most broadly distributed channels on Comcast systems, reaching almost all of Comcast's 23.8 million subscribers, according to the complaint, while Tennis Channel is limited to the added-cost premium sports tier that reaches only about 2.6 million homes. "This ten-to-one disparity in carriage seriously impedes our ability to grow and compete in the sports cable marketplace," said Solomon. "It results solely from Comcast's decision to protect the services it owns from legitimate competition."
The complaint notes that Comcast executives have conceded that they give special carriage consideration to their owned services and that advertiser-supported services like Tennis Channel cannot succeed if they are carried on the Comcast sports tier. The complaint also establishes that only unaffiliated sports networks are carried on that tier and that all of the services in which Comcast has an interest enjoy considerably broader coverage.
"This case is truly the litmus test for unaffiliated programmers everywhere, and the future of the public's interest in having a wide variety of voices and choice in the media marketplace," said Solomon. "Ultimately, we simply want to be treated comparably to the way Comcast treats the sports program services it owns."
Tennis Channel (www.tennischannel.com) is the only 24-hour, television-based multimedia destination dedicated to both the professional sport and tennis lifestyle. A hybrid of comprehensive sports, health, fitness, pop culture, entertainment, lifestyle and travel programming, the network is home to every aspect of the wide-ranging, worldwide tennis community. It also has the most concentrated single-sport coverage in television, with telecast rights to the US Open, Wimbledon, Roland Garros (French Open), Australian Open, Olympus US Open Series, ATP Masters Series, top-tier Sony Ericsson WTA Tour championship competitions, Davis Cup and Fed Cup by BNP Paribas, and Hyundai Hopman Cup. Tennis Channel is carried by nine of the top 10 MSOs, Verizon FiOS TV, and has a national footprint via DIRECTV and DISH Network.
The sport of tennis itself is currently enjoying major growth. Thirty million Americans played tennis last year, the most in two decades, according to study commissioned by the United States Tennis Association and Tennis Industry Association. A Sports Illustrated list of the top 10 athletes of the past decade included two tennis players and named a tennis player No. 1. Additionally, Tennis Channel's ratings for top-level tennis events are competitive with those for programming on the highest-ranking cable networks.
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"We did not want to file this complaint, but Comcast has left us with no choice," said Ken Solomon, chairman and CEO of Tennis Channel. "After steadily building the most comprehensive single-sport network in television over the past few years, in the first half of 2009 we had numerous discussions with Comcast. We made offers with added incentives for it to move us to a competitive, broadly penetrated service tier, as it has done recently with the MLB, NHL and NBA channels, in which it has financial interests. But Comcast declined to do so."
According to evidence included in the complaint, Tennis Channel's ratings performance is comparable in its service area to that of Comcast's leading sports services, the Golf Channel and Versus; it offers coverage of all four of tennis' Grand Slam events, while the Golf Channel and Versus offer little or no comparable coverage of the major events in the sports they cover; it charges a per-subscriber rate that is about half the rate charged by the Golf Channel and Versus, but broadcasts more than 2,700 hours per year of event coverage - compared to 2,400 hours on the Golf Channel and 1,350 hours on Versus; and it offers a full-time high-definition service.
Comcast's Golf Channel and Versus are among the most broadly distributed channels on Comcast systems, reaching almost all of Comcast's 23.8 million subscribers, according to the complaint, while Tennis Channel is limited to the added-cost premium sports tier that reaches only about 2.6 million homes. "This ten-to-one disparity in carriage seriously impedes our ability to grow and compete in the sports cable marketplace," said Solomon. "It results solely from Comcast's decision to protect the services it owns from legitimate competition."
The complaint notes that Comcast executives have conceded that they give special carriage consideration to their owned services and that advertiser-supported services like Tennis Channel cannot succeed if they are carried on the Comcast sports tier. The complaint also establishes that only unaffiliated sports networks are carried on that tier and that all of the services in which Comcast has an interest enjoy considerably broader coverage.
"This case is truly the litmus test for unaffiliated programmers everywhere, and the future of the public's interest in having a wide variety of voices and choice in the media marketplace," said Solomon. "Ultimately, we simply want to be treated comparably to the way Comcast treats the sports program services it owns."
Tennis Channel (www.tennischannel.com) is the only 24-hour, television-based multimedia destination dedicated to both the professional sport and tennis lifestyle. A hybrid of comprehensive sports, health, fitness, pop culture, entertainment, lifestyle and travel programming, the network is home to every aspect of the wide-ranging, worldwide tennis community. It also has the most concentrated single-sport coverage in television, with telecast rights to the US Open, Wimbledon, Roland Garros (French Open), Australian Open, Olympus US Open Series, ATP Masters Series, top-tier Sony Ericsson WTA Tour championship competitions, Davis Cup and Fed Cup by BNP Paribas, and Hyundai Hopman Cup. Tennis Channel is carried by nine of the top 10 MSOs, Verizon FiOS TV, and has a national footprint via DIRECTV and DISH Network.
The sport of tennis itself is currently enjoying major growth. Thirty million Americans played tennis last year, the most in two decades, according to study commissioned by the United States Tennis Association and Tennis Industry Association. A Sports Illustrated list of the top 10 athletes of the past decade included two tennis players and named a tennis player No. 1. Additionally, Tennis Channel's ratings for top-level tennis events are competitive with those for programming on the highest-ranking cable networks.
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Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Justices Step Into Uncharted Waters With 'Sexting' Cyber-Liability Case
/PRNewswire/ -- When the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to take the case of a California police officer who sent sexually explicit text messages on a department-issued pager, news reports underscored the potential impact on private employers. Whether this case will lead to a new "blueprint" for privacy rules in the American workplace is uncertain at best, but it does point to the rising prominence of cyber-liability in our Twittering, Facebooking, iPhone-enabled age, said veteran attorney Joseph P. Paranac, Jr., a member of LeClairRyan's Labor & Employment team.
"In its first major case on cyber-liability, the Supreme Court is striding into uncharted territory," noted the Newark-based attorney. "But it is important to emphasize that this case, in which a police chief acquired and read transcripts of texts sent by his officers, involves a public employer. This was a state action. That means it is covered under Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures. Public employees have a greater expectation of privacy than their private-sector counterparts."
The Supreme Court will hear the case, Ontario v. Quon, this spring. At issue is whether the police chief in Ontario, Calif., violated the privacy rights of SWAT team member Jeff Quon and three other officers by acquiring and reading records of their texts, many of which turned out to be sexually explicit. The chief, who shared the texts with city officials, had sought to find out whether the officers were reimbursing the department for all personal messages sent from their pagers. The officers sued, and a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled in their favor.
While the public nature of this case might limit its ultimate impact on private employers, Ontario v. Quon nonetheless touches upon unexplored questions that are at the heart of the rapidly evolving field of cyber-liability, Paranac said.
For more than a decade, lawyers have urged employers to adopt straightforward policies on how their employees use company-owned computers, pagers and other electronic devices. The City of Ontario Police Department did have such policies in place, and specifically warned employees that their communications were subject to monitoring. According to the Ninth Circuit's ruling in the Quon case, however, the lieutenant in charge of monitoring pager use for the department had undermined this written policy by telling officers he would not read their texts.
"His informal policy, notwithstanding the official policy, was to go to the officers and ask them for a guesstimate of their personal pager use over and above the monthly content limit of 25,000 total characters," Paranac noted. "According to the court decision, the supervisor would then ask the officers to reimburse the department based on those guesses."
In the view of the Ninth Circuit panel, this mixed message was enough to create an expectation of privacy regarding personal texts. "Again and again, Labor & Employment attorneys have urged employers to adopt, clearly communicate and consistently enforce cyber-communications policies," Paranac said. "This case illustrates precisely why."
Indeed, the decision, which included a 10-page dissent, pointed to other cases in which government agencies, by adopting such straightforward and consistent approaches, were able to diminish their employees' privacy expectations. "This was true despite the greater expectation of privacy generally afforded public employees," Paranac noted.
As befits the complexity of cyber-liability, however, courts do appear to be demarcating some notable exceptions even to clearly enunciated Internet and electronic-communications policies. "For example, the case of Stengart v. Loving Care Agency Inc., which is headed for the New Jersey Supreme Court, centered on whether e-mails sent by an employee to her lawyer using a company-owned computer are protected by the attorney-client privilege and therefore off-limits from monitoring," Paranac noted. "In that case, the plaintiff used her password-protected Yahoo account, not the company's e-mail system, to communicate with her attorney about a planned lawsuit against the company."
The nation's highest courts might well carve out similar exceptions for other sensitive communications, such as doctor-patient e-mails sent with employer-owned equipment. "This puts employers in a quandary," Paranac said. "The best they can do is to establish and enforce clear and consistent polices, because we are just at the beginning of a process in which the courts will likely shape the limits of those policies. Until that process is complete, employers and employees alike will have to operate within a kind of cyber-liability grey area."
In its Quon ruling, meanwhile, the Ninth Circuit asserted that Arch Wireless, the pager provider that turned over the text transcripts to the police chief, violated the Stored Communications Act (SCA) of 1986 by doing so. The act stipulates that stored communications be released by third-parties only with the permission of the sender or receiver of the original message. "This act, which has largely been forgotten about and is rarely if ever cited in cyber-liability cases, was passed back in the prehistoric age, when it comes to Internet, e-mail and mobile devices," Paranac explained. "If the SCA is resurrected as a result of the Quon case, there could be major liability implications for third-party communications companies like Verizon and AT&T. They will likely have to grapple with questions like, 'Are we actually allowed to hand these texts or e-mails over to the employer?' "
In certain instances, IT specialists who work with third-party providers to facilitate access to employee communications might even be subject to liability under a newly resurrected SCA, Paranac noted. "I would not be surprised if Congress were to revisit the Stored Communications Act," he said. "If you look at the iPhone and the whole universe of apps, many of which are GPS-enabled, it becomes clear that we are dealing with communications and devices that nobody even dreamed of in 1986."
Much the same could be said of cyber-liability itself, the attorney added. "The wheels of justice turn slowly, and both courts and lawmakers are struggling to catch up to technology," he said. "Technology, however, evolves at an ever-accelerating pace."
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"In its first major case on cyber-liability, the Supreme Court is striding into uncharted territory," noted the Newark-based attorney. "But it is important to emphasize that this case, in which a police chief acquired and read transcripts of texts sent by his officers, involves a public employer. This was a state action. That means it is covered under Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures. Public employees have a greater expectation of privacy than their private-sector counterparts."
The Supreme Court will hear the case, Ontario v. Quon, this spring. At issue is whether the police chief in Ontario, Calif., violated the privacy rights of SWAT team member Jeff Quon and three other officers by acquiring and reading records of their texts, many of which turned out to be sexually explicit. The chief, who shared the texts with city officials, had sought to find out whether the officers were reimbursing the department for all personal messages sent from their pagers. The officers sued, and a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled in their favor.
While the public nature of this case might limit its ultimate impact on private employers, Ontario v. Quon nonetheless touches upon unexplored questions that are at the heart of the rapidly evolving field of cyber-liability, Paranac said.
For more than a decade, lawyers have urged employers to adopt straightforward policies on how their employees use company-owned computers, pagers and other electronic devices. The City of Ontario Police Department did have such policies in place, and specifically warned employees that their communications were subject to monitoring. According to the Ninth Circuit's ruling in the Quon case, however, the lieutenant in charge of monitoring pager use for the department had undermined this written policy by telling officers he would not read their texts.
"His informal policy, notwithstanding the official policy, was to go to the officers and ask them for a guesstimate of their personal pager use over and above the monthly content limit of 25,000 total characters," Paranac noted. "According to the court decision, the supervisor would then ask the officers to reimburse the department based on those guesses."
In the view of the Ninth Circuit panel, this mixed message was enough to create an expectation of privacy regarding personal texts. "Again and again, Labor & Employment attorneys have urged employers to adopt, clearly communicate and consistently enforce cyber-communications policies," Paranac said. "This case illustrates precisely why."
Indeed, the decision, which included a 10-page dissent, pointed to other cases in which government agencies, by adopting such straightforward and consistent approaches, were able to diminish their employees' privacy expectations. "This was true despite the greater expectation of privacy generally afforded public employees," Paranac noted.
As befits the complexity of cyber-liability, however, courts do appear to be demarcating some notable exceptions even to clearly enunciated Internet and electronic-communications policies. "For example, the case of Stengart v. Loving Care Agency Inc., which is headed for the New Jersey Supreme Court, centered on whether e-mails sent by an employee to her lawyer using a company-owned computer are protected by the attorney-client privilege and therefore off-limits from monitoring," Paranac noted. "In that case, the plaintiff used her password-protected Yahoo account, not the company's e-mail system, to communicate with her attorney about a planned lawsuit against the company."
The nation's highest courts might well carve out similar exceptions for other sensitive communications, such as doctor-patient e-mails sent with employer-owned equipment. "This puts employers in a quandary," Paranac said. "The best they can do is to establish and enforce clear and consistent polices, because we are just at the beginning of a process in which the courts will likely shape the limits of those policies. Until that process is complete, employers and employees alike will have to operate within a kind of cyber-liability grey area."
In its Quon ruling, meanwhile, the Ninth Circuit asserted that Arch Wireless, the pager provider that turned over the text transcripts to the police chief, violated the Stored Communications Act (SCA) of 1986 by doing so. The act stipulates that stored communications be released by third-parties only with the permission of the sender or receiver of the original message. "This act, which has largely been forgotten about and is rarely if ever cited in cyber-liability cases, was passed back in the prehistoric age, when it comes to Internet, e-mail and mobile devices," Paranac explained. "If the SCA is resurrected as a result of the Quon case, there could be major liability implications for third-party communications companies like Verizon and AT&T. They will likely have to grapple with questions like, 'Are we actually allowed to hand these texts or e-mails over to the employer?' "
In certain instances, IT specialists who work with third-party providers to facilitate access to employee communications might even be subject to liability under a newly resurrected SCA, Paranac noted. "I would not be surprised if Congress were to revisit the Stored Communications Act," he said. "If you look at the iPhone and the whole universe of apps, many of which are GPS-enabled, it becomes clear that we are dealing with communications and devices that nobody even dreamed of in 1986."
Much the same could be said of cyber-liability itself, the attorney added. "The wheels of justice turn slowly, and both courts and lawmakers are struggling to catch up to technology," he said. "Technology, however, evolves at an ever-accelerating pace."
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Thursday, December 31, 2009
Apple Picks New Technology as Featured iPhone App
(BUSINESS WIRE)--Grammy Award winning producer Dallas Austin and Fried Green Apps announce that Mix Me In has earned a spot in the coveted “New and Noteworthy” section of Apple’s App Store.
“This technology will change how records are produced and how fans listen to music.”
“It’s more than an iPhone App, it’s a completely new way for artists to release music,” says Austin, producer of artists like Gwen Stefani, Michael Jackson, and Pink. “This technology will change how records are produced and how fans listen to music.” Austin worked with the development team behind Mix Me In’s patent-pending technology and is encouraging artists to release original material in the Mix Me In format.
"Fried Green Apps has invested an incredible amount of time and energy creating a music technology that revolutionizes how fans experience their favorite music,” says Fried Green Apps CEO Bill Pike. “We are thrilled that Apple was impressed enough with Mix Me In’s technology to highlight us as a Featured App.”
Mix Me In takes popular songs and breaks them down into different streams, isolating the lead singer; guitar; drums; backup singers; keyboards; and anything else that goes into the song. It then allows users to mix the streams together any way they want. There are also alternate acoustic versions of each stream. So you can change a synthesizer to a classical piano or an electric guitar to an acoustic guitar. Rather than having one version of a song, Mix Me In provides listeners with hundreds of variations. And, with a simple tap on their iPhone, users can even mix their own voice or instruments onto the streams, making the possibilities limitless. Users can also upload their mixes to the Mix Me In website for the whole world to hear.
James Shaffer, lead guitarist for KoRn says, “This is much more than an iPhone App. We see it as an exciting new way to deliver music to our fans.”
“The app is only the tip of the iceberg,” says Pike. “We are in discussions with major artists to release new original music powered by Mix Me In's technology. This will give fans greater control over how they interact with their favorite artists just like Mix Me In gives them greater control over how they interact with their favorite songs.”
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“This technology will change how records are produced and how fans listen to music.”
“It’s more than an iPhone App, it’s a completely new way for artists to release music,” says Austin, producer of artists like Gwen Stefani, Michael Jackson, and Pink. “This technology will change how records are produced and how fans listen to music.” Austin worked with the development team behind Mix Me In’s patent-pending technology and is encouraging artists to release original material in the Mix Me In format.
"Fried Green Apps has invested an incredible amount of time and energy creating a music technology that revolutionizes how fans experience their favorite music,” says Fried Green Apps CEO Bill Pike. “We are thrilled that Apple was impressed enough with Mix Me In’s technology to highlight us as a Featured App.”
Mix Me In takes popular songs and breaks them down into different streams, isolating the lead singer; guitar; drums; backup singers; keyboards; and anything else that goes into the song. It then allows users to mix the streams together any way they want. There are also alternate acoustic versions of each stream. So you can change a synthesizer to a classical piano or an electric guitar to an acoustic guitar. Rather than having one version of a song, Mix Me In provides listeners with hundreds of variations. And, with a simple tap on their iPhone, users can even mix their own voice or instruments onto the streams, making the possibilities limitless. Users can also upload their mixes to the Mix Me In website for the whole world to hear.
James Shaffer, lead guitarist for KoRn says, “This is much more than an iPhone App. We see it as an exciting new way to deliver music to our fans.”
“The app is only the tip of the iceberg,” says Pike. “We are in discussions with major artists to release new original music powered by Mix Me In's technology. This will give fans greater control over how they interact with their favorite artists just like Mix Me In gives them greater control over how they interact with their favorite songs.”
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Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Google Loses Domain Name Dispute
/PRNewswire/ -- Internet giant Google has lost an arbitration over the domain name, Groovle.com. In a decision released today, The National Arbitration Forum, dismissed Google's complaint (Claim Number: FA0911001293500) that it was entitled to the domain name, Groovle.com. Google had claimed that the domain name Groovle.com, is "confusingly similar" to its trademark for "Google." The National Arbitration Forum is an international arbitration service accredited by ICANN, the international agency that oversees the Internet, to provide resolution services for domain name disputes around the world.
The unanimous three person panel composed of two retired American judges and one American law professor, ruled that Groovle.com "is not confusingly similar" to Google's trademark, "Google." To-date, Google has commenced 65 domain name disputes and this is only the second time that it has ever lost.
Young Canadian entrepreneurs Jacob Fuller and Ryan Fitzgibbon, who have been friends since high school, launched the innovative Groovle.com web site in 2007, and it has proven immensely popular with young Internet users. As Fuller explains, "Groovle was created to provide users the ability to upload photos and customize their Internet start page. We thought it would be a cool feature to have a nice photo of friends, family etc., every time you launch your web browser, instead of the very plain Google.com and Yahoo.com page." Says Fitzgibbon, "Since we launched Groovle in 2007, Google, Bing and Ask.com have each come out with something similar."
Groovle's young creators are elated with the decision. "We were stunned when Google launched the domain name dispute as we have great respect for Google and have always had a good relationship with them," said Ryan Fitzgibbon. Jacob Fuller added that, "Google never had anything to fear from our web site. The arbitrators' decision that the two domain names are sufficiently different should put Google at ease and we look forward to a renewed positive relationship with Google."
Groovle was successfully defended by renowned domain name lawyer and Internet law expert, Zak Muscovitch, who says, "Google clearly miscalculated here, however, my clients are prepared to put this behind them."
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The unanimous three person panel composed of two retired American judges and one American law professor, ruled that Groovle.com "is not confusingly similar" to Google's trademark, "Google." To-date, Google has commenced 65 domain name disputes and this is only the second time that it has ever lost.
Young Canadian entrepreneurs Jacob Fuller and Ryan Fitzgibbon, who have been friends since high school, launched the innovative Groovle.com web site in 2007, and it has proven immensely popular with young Internet users. As Fuller explains, "Groovle was created to provide users the ability to upload photos and customize their Internet start page. We thought it would be a cool feature to have a nice photo of friends, family etc., every time you launch your web browser, instead of the very plain Google.com and Yahoo.com page." Says Fitzgibbon, "Since we launched Groovle in 2007, Google, Bing and Ask.com have each come out with something similar."
Groovle's young creators are elated with the decision. "We were stunned when Google launched the domain name dispute as we have great respect for Google and have always had a good relationship with them," said Ryan Fitzgibbon. Jacob Fuller added that, "Google never had anything to fear from our web site. The arbitrators' decision that the two domain names are sufficiently different should put Google at ease and we look forward to a renewed positive relationship with Google."
Groovle was successfully defended by renowned domain name lawyer and Internet law expert, Zak Muscovitch, who says, "Google clearly miscalculated here, however, my clients are prepared to put this behind them."
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Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Nokia Requests ITC Investigation Into Apple Patent Infringement
PRNewswire/ -- Nokia (NYSE: NOK) announced it has today filed a complaint with the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) alleging that Apple infringes Nokia patents in virtually all of its mobile phones, portable music players, and computers.
The seven Nokia patents in this complaint relate to Nokia's pioneering innovations that are now being used by Apple to create key features in its products in the area of user interface, as well as camera, antenna and power management technologies. These patented technologies are important to Nokia's success as they allow better user experience, lower manufacturing costs, smaller size and longer battery life for Nokia products.
"Nokia has been the leading developer of many key technologies in small electronic devices" said Paul Melin, General Manager, Patent Licensing at Nokia. "This action is about protecting the results of such pioneering development. While our litigation in Delaware is about Apple's attempt to free-ride on the back of Nokia investment in wireless standards, the ITC case filed today is about Apple's practice of building its business on Nokia's proprietary innovation."
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
It should be noted that certain statements herein which are not historical facts, including, without limitation, those regarding: A) the timing of product, services and solution deliveries; B) our ability to develop, implement and commercialize new products, services, solutions and technologies; C) our ability to develop and grow our consumer Internet services business; D) expectations regarding market developments and structural changes; E) expectations regarding our mobile device volumes, market share, prices and margins; F) expectations and targets for our results of operations; G) the outcome of pending and threatened litigation; H) expectations regarding the successful completion of contemplated acquisitions on a timely basis and our ability to achieve the set targets upon the completion of such acquisitions; and I) statements preceded by "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "foresee," "target," "estimate," "designed," "plans," "will" or similar expressions are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on management's best assumptions and beliefs in light of the information currently available to it. Because they involve risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from the results that we currently expect. Factors that could cause these differences include, but are not limited to: 1) the deteriorating global economic conditions and related financial crisis and their impact on us, our customers and end-users of our products, services and solutions, our suppliers and collaborative partners; 2) the development of the mobile and fixed communications industry, as well as the growth and profitability of the new market segments that we target and our ability to successfully develop or acquire and market products, services and solutions in those segments; 3) the intensity of competition in the mobile and fixed communications industry and our ability to maintain or improve our market position or respond successfully to changes in the competitive landscape; 4) competitiveness of our product, services and solutions portfolio; 5) our ability to successfully manage costs; 6) exchange rate fluctuations, including, in particular, fluctuations between the euro, which is our reporting currency, and the US dollar, the Japanese yen, the Chinese yuan and the UK pound sterling, as well as certain other currencies; 7) the success, financial condition and performance of our suppliers, collaboration partners and customers; 8) our ability to source sufficient amounts of fully functional components, sub-assemblies, software and content without interruption and at acceptable prices; 9) the impact of changes in technology and our ability to develop or otherwise acquire and timely and successfully commercialize complex technologies as required by the market; 10) the occurrence of any actual or even alleged defects or other quality, safety or security issues in our products, services and solutions; 11) the impact of changes in government policies, trade policies, laws or regulations or political turmoil in countries where we do business; 12) our success in collaboration arrangements with others relating to development of technologies or new products, services and solutions; 13) our ability to manage efficiently our manufacturing and logistics, as well as to ensure the quality, safety, security and timely delivery of our products, services and solutions; 14) inventory management risks resulting from shifts in market demand; 15) our ability to protect the complex technologies, which we or others develop or that we license, from claims that we have infringed third parties' intellectual property rights, as well as our unrestricted use on commercially acceptable terms of certain technologies in our products, services and solutions; 16) our ability to protect numerous Nokia, NAVTEQ and Nokia Siemens Networks patented, standardized or proprietary technologies from third-party infringement or actions to invalidate the intellectual property rights of these technologies; 17) any disruption to information technology systems and networks that our operations rely on; 18) developments under large, multi-year contracts or in relation to major customers; 19) the management of our customer financing exposure; 20) our ability to retain, motivate, develop and recruit appropriately skilled employees; 21) whether, as a result of investigations into alleged violations of law by some former employees of Siemens AG ("Siemens"), government authorities or others take further actions against Siemens and/or its employees that may involve and affect the carrier-related assets and employees transferred by Siemens to Nokia Siemens Networks, or there may be undetected additional violations that may have occurred prior to the transfer, or violations that may have occurred after the transfer, of such assets and employees that could result in additional actions by government authorities; 22) any impairment of Nokia Siemens Networks customer relationships resulting from the ongoing government investigations involving the Siemens carrier-related operations transferred to Nokia Siemens Networks; 23) unfavorable outcome of litigations; 24) allegations of possible health risks from electromagnetic fields generated by base stations and mobile devices and lawsuits related to them, regardless of merit; as well as the risk factors specified on pages 11-28 of Nokia's annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2008 under Item 3D. "Risk Factors." Other unknown or unpredictable factors or underlying assumptions subsequently proving to be incorrect could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Nokia does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent legally required.
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The seven Nokia patents in this complaint relate to Nokia's pioneering innovations that are now being used by Apple to create key features in its products in the area of user interface, as well as camera, antenna and power management technologies. These patented technologies are important to Nokia's success as they allow better user experience, lower manufacturing costs, smaller size and longer battery life for Nokia products.
"Nokia has been the leading developer of many key technologies in small electronic devices" said Paul Melin, General Manager, Patent Licensing at Nokia. "This action is about protecting the results of such pioneering development. While our litigation in Delaware is about Apple's attempt to free-ride on the back of Nokia investment in wireless standards, the ITC case filed today is about Apple's practice of building its business on Nokia's proprietary innovation."
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
It should be noted that certain statements herein which are not historical facts, including, without limitation, those regarding: A) the timing of product, services and solution deliveries; B) our ability to develop, implement and commercialize new products, services, solutions and technologies; C) our ability to develop and grow our consumer Internet services business; D) expectations regarding market developments and structural changes; E) expectations regarding our mobile device volumes, market share, prices and margins; F) expectations and targets for our results of operations; G) the outcome of pending and threatened litigation; H) expectations regarding the successful completion of contemplated acquisitions on a timely basis and our ability to achieve the set targets upon the completion of such acquisitions; and I) statements preceded by "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "foresee," "target," "estimate," "designed," "plans," "will" or similar expressions are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on management's best assumptions and beliefs in light of the information currently available to it. Because they involve risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from the results that we currently expect. Factors that could cause these differences include, but are not limited to: 1) the deteriorating global economic conditions and related financial crisis and their impact on us, our customers and end-users of our products, services and solutions, our suppliers and collaborative partners; 2) the development of the mobile and fixed communications industry, as well as the growth and profitability of the new market segments that we target and our ability to successfully develop or acquire and market products, services and solutions in those segments; 3) the intensity of competition in the mobile and fixed communications industry and our ability to maintain or improve our market position or respond successfully to changes in the competitive landscape; 4) competitiveness of our product, services and solutions portfolio; 5) our ability to successfully manage costs; 6) exchange rate fluctuations, including, in particular, fluctuations between the euro, which is our reporting currency, and the US dollar, the Japanese yen, the Chinese yuan and the UK pound sterling, as well as certain other currencies; 7) the success, financial condition and performance of our suppliers, collaboration partners and customers; 8) our ability to source sufficient amounts of fully functional components, sub-assemblies, software and content without interruption and at acceptable prices; 9) the impact of changes in technology and our ability to develop or otherwise acquire and timely and successfully commercialize complex technologies as required by the market; 10) the occurrence of any actual or even alleged defects or other quality, safety or security issues in our products, services and solutions; 11) the impact of changes in government policies, trade policies, laws or regulations or political turmoil in countries where we do business; 12) our success in collaboration arrangements with others relating to development of technologies or new products, services and solutions; 13) our ability to manage efficiently our manufacturing and logistics, as well as to ensure the quality, safety, security and timely delivery of our products, services and solutions; 14) inventory management risks resulting from shifts in market demand; 15) our ability to protect the complex technologies, which we or others develop or that we license, from claims that we have infringed third parties' intellectual property rights, as well as our unrestricted use on commercially acceptable terms of certain technologies in our products, services and solutions; 16) our ability to protect numerous Nokia, NAVTEQ and Nokia Siemens Networks patented, standardized or proprietary technologies from third-party infringement or actions to invalidate the intellectual property rights of these technologies; 17) any disruption to information technology systems and networks that our operations rely on; 18) developments under large, multi-year contracts or in relation to major customers; 19) the management of our customer financing exposure; 20) our ability to retain, motivate, develop and recruit appropriately skilled employees; 21) whether, as a result of investigations into alleged violations of law by some former employees of Siemens AG ("Siemens"), government authorities or others take further actions against Siemens and/or its employees that may involve and affect the carrier-related assets and employees transferred by Siemens to Nokia Siemens Networks, or there may be undetected additional violations that may have occurred prior to the transfer, or violations that may have occurred after the transfer, of such assets and employees that could result in additional actions by government authorities; 22) any impairment of Nokia Siemens Networks customer relationships resulting from the ongoing government investigations involving the Siemens carrier-related operations transferred to Nokia Siemens Networks; 23) unfavorable outcome of litigations; 24) allegations of possible health risks from electromagnetic fields generated by base stations and mobile devices and lawsuits related to them, regardless of merit; as well as the risk factors specified on pages 11-28 of Nokia's annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2008 under Item 3D. "Risk Factors." Other unknown or unpredictable factors or underlying assumptions subsequently proving to be incorrect could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Nokia does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent legally required.
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Monday, December 28, 2009
Two Consumer Groups Ask FTC to Block Google's $750 Million Purchase of AdMob
/PRNewswire/ -- Two consumer groups today asked the Federal Trade Commission to block Google's $750 million deal to buy AdMob, a mobile advertising company, on anti-trust grounds. In addition, the groups said, the proposed acquisition raises privacy concerns that the Commission must address.
In a joint letter to the FTC, Consumer Watchdog and the Center for Digital Democracy (CDD) said Google is simply buying its way to dominance in the mobile advertising market, diminishing competition to the detriment of consumers.
"The mobile sector is the next frontier of the digital revolution. Without vigorous competition and strong privacy guarantees this vital and growing segment of the online economy will be stifled," wrote John M. Simpson, consumer advocate at Consumer Watchdog and CDD Executive Director Jeffery A. Chester. "Consumers will face higher prices, less innovation and fewer choices. The FTC should conduct the appropriate investigation, block the proposed Google/AdMob deal, and also address the privacy issues."
Last week Google said the FTC has made a so-called "second request" for additional information about the deal indicating the commission is scrutinizing the proposal in great detail.
Besides the anti-trust issues, the letter from the two non-partisan, non-profit groups said, a combined Google/AdMob raises substantial privacy concerns. Both AdMob and Google gather tremendous amounts of data about consumers' online behavior, including their location. AdMob, for example, targets consumers using a wide range of methods, including behavioral, ethnicity, age and gender, and education. In addition to its extensive mobile ad apparatus, Google also provides mobile advertising and data driven analytical services through its DoubleClick subsidiary. The consolidation of AdMob into Google would provide significant amounts of data for tracking, profiling and targeting U.S. mobile consumers.
Read the letter here: http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/resources/LtrFTCfinal.pdf
"Permitting the expansion of mobile advertising through the combination of these two market leaders without requiring privacy guarantees poses a serious threat to consumers," the letter said. It noted that earlier this year several consumer groups, including CDD, petitioned the FTC to specifically protect consumer privacy on mobile phones, especially involving mobile advertising.
Initially Google was able to obtain its dominance in online search advertising largely because of innovative efforts. It then moved into display advertising through the acquisition of DoubleClick. When the FTC approved that acquisition, the Commission said it would watch developments in Internet advertising closely. Since that deal was approved, the online and mobile ad markets have evolved substantially, with Google becoming more dominant in the Internet ad market.
"The proposed Google/AdMob deal offers the FTC an opportunity to check Google's increasingly anticompetitive behavior," Simpson said. "This deal is yet one more example of Google attempting to eliminate a threat to its power." "The FTC must protect competition and personal privacy in the key mobile sector," noted Chester.
The Center for Digital Democracy is a nonprofit Washington, DC-based group focused on the digital marketplace and the public interest. Visit the center's Website at: www.DemocraticMedia.org.
Consumer Watchdog, formerly the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights is a nonprofit, nonpartisan consumer advocacy organization with offices in Washington, DC and Santa Monica, Ca. Our website is: www.ConsumerWatchdog.org.
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In a joint letter to the FTC, Consumer Watchdog and the Center for Digital Democracy (CDD) said Google is simply buying its way to dominance in the mobile advertising market, diminishing competition to the detriment of consumers.
"The mobile sector is the next frontier of the digital revolution. Without vigorous competition and strong privacy guarantees this vital and growing segment of the online economy will be stifled," wrote John M. Simpson, consumer advocate at Consumer Watchdog and CDD Executive Director Jeffery A. Chester. "Consumers will face higher prices, less innovation and fewer choices. The FTC should conduct the appropriate investigation, block the proposed Google/AdMob deal, and also address the privacy issues."
Last week Google said the FTC has made a so-called "second request" for additional information about the deal indicating the commission is scrutinizing the proposal in great detail.
Besides the anti-trust issues, the letter from the two non-partisan, non-profit groups said, a combined Google/AdMob raises substantial privacy concerns. Both AdMob and Google gather tremendous amounts of data about consumers' online behavior, including their location. AdMob, for example, targets consumers using a wide range of methods, including behavioral, ethnicity, age and gender, and education. In addition to its extensive mobile ad apparatus, Google also provides mobile advertising and data driven analytical services through its DoubleClick subsidiary. The consolidation of AdMob into Google would provide significant amounts of data for tracking, profiling and targeting U.S. mobile consumers.
Read the letter here: http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/resources/LtrFTCfinal.pdf
"Permitting the expansion of mobile advertising through the combination of these two market leaders without requiring privacy guarantees poses a serious threat to consumers," the letter said. It noted that earlier this year several consumer groups, including CDD, petitioned the FTC to specifically protect consumer privacy on mobile phones, especially involving mobile advertising.
Initially Google was able to obtain its dominance in online search advertising largely because of innovative efforts. It then moved into display advertising through the acquisition of DoubleClick. When the FTC approved that acquisition, the Commission said it would watch developments in Internet advertising closely. Since that deal was approved, the online and mobile ad markets have evolved substantially, with Google becoming more dominant in the Internet ad market.
"The proposed Google/AdMob deal offers the FTC an opportunity to check Google's increasingly anticompetitive behavior," Simpson said. "This deal is yet one more example of Google attempting to eliminate a threat to its power." "The FTC must protect competition and personal privacy in the key mobile sector," noted Chester.
The Center for Digital Democracy is a nonprofit Washington, DC-based group focused on the digital marketplace and the public interest. Visit the center's Website at: www.DemocraticMedia.org.
Consumer Watchdog, formerly the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights is a nonprofit, nonpartisan consumer advocacy organization with offices in Washington, DC and Santa Monica, Ca. Our website is: www.ConsumerWatchdog.org.
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Tuesday, December 22, 2009
NCSA Applauds President Obama's Cybersecurity Coordinator Appointment
/PRNewswire/ -- The National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA), the leading public private partnership in cybersecurity education and awareness, today applauded President Obama's appointment of Howard Schmidt as Cybersecurity Coordinator. Mr. Schmidt brings with him the necessary breadth and depth of experience across government, industry, and non-profit sectors, along with a broad understanding of the unique challenges cybersecurity presents to America's national and economic security.
"On behalf of the NCSA Board of Directors, I congratulate Howard on his appointment," said Shannon Kellogg, NCSA Board Chairman, and Director of Information Security Policy for EMC Corporation. "Cybersecurity is our shared responsibility and together we can educate Americans to be good digital citizens at home, work and school, helping create a robust and secure digital infrastructure. NCSA looks forward to continuing to work with the Obama Administration to expand national cybersecurity awareness efforts, one of the recommendations stated in the President's 60 Day Review on Cybersecurity earlier this year."
"NCSA looks forward to working closely with Mr. Schmidt to continue the important national public awareness campaign to help every American understand the steps they need take to protect the computers they use, the networks they connect to, and the digital assets we all share," said Michael Kaiser, NCSA executive director. "We thank President Obama for making cybersecurity awareness and education a strong priority, including posting tips for staying safe online with the announcement of Mr. Schmidt's appointment."
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"On behalf of the NCSA Board of Directors, I congratulate Howard on his appointment," said Shannon Kellogg, NCSA Board Chairman, and Director of Information Security Policy for EMC Corporation. "Cybersecurity is our shared responsibility and together we can educate Americans to be good digital citizens at home, work and school, helping create a robust and secure digital infrastructure. NCSA looks forward to continuing to work with the Obama Administration to expand national cybersecurity awareness efforts, one of the recommendations stated in the President's 60 Day Review on Cybersecurity earlier this year."
"NCSA looks forward to working closely with Mr. Schmidt to continue the important national public awareness campaign to help every American understand the steps they need take to protect the computers they use, the networks they connect to, and the digital assets we all share," said Michael Kaiser, NCSA executive director. "We thank President Obama for making cybersecurity awareness and education a strong priority, including posting tips for staying safe online with the announcement of Mr. Schmidt's appointment."
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Friday, December 11, 2009
Pop-up Advertisements Offering Anti-virus Software Pose Threat to Internet Users
An ongoing threat exists for computer users who, while browsing the Internet, began receiving pop-up security warnings that state their computers are infected with numerous viruses.
These pop-ups known as scareware, fake, or rogue anti-virus software look authentic and may even display what appears to be real-time anti-virus scanning of the user's hard drive. The scareware will show a list of reputable software icons; however, the user cannot click a link to go
to the actual site to review or see recommendations.
The scareware is intimidating to most users and extremely aggressive in its attempt to lure the user into purchasing the rogue software that will allegedly remove the viruses from their computer. It is possible that these threats are received as a result of clicking on advertisements contained on a website. Cyber criminals use botnets to push the software and use advertisements on websites to deliver it. This is known as malicious advertising or malvertising.
Once the pop-up appears it cannot be easily closed by clicking "close" or the "X" button. If the user clicks on the pop-up to purchase the software, a form is provided that collects payment information and the user is charged for the bogus product. In some instances, whether the user clicks on the pop-up or not, the scareware can install malicious code onto the computer. By running your computer with an account that has rights to install software, this issue is more likely to occur.
Downloading the software could result in viruses, Trojans and/or keyloggers being installed on the user's computer. The repercussions of downloading the malicious software could prove further financial loss to the victim due to computer repair, as well as, cost to the user and/or financial institutions due to identity theft.
The assertive tactics of the scareware has caused significant losses to users. The FBI is aware of an estimated loss to victims in excess of $150 million.
Be cautious — cyber criminals use easy to remember names and associate them with known applications. Beware of pop-ups that are offering a variation of recognized security software. It is recommended that the user research the exact name of the software being offered.
Take precautions to ensure operating systems are updated and security software is current.
If a user receives these anti-virus pop-ups, it is recommended to close the browser or shut the system down. It is suggested that the user run a full, anti-virus scan whenever the computer is turned back on.
If you have experienced the anti-virus pop-ups or a similar scam, please notify the IC3 by filing a complaint at www.IC3.gov.
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These pop-ups known as scareware, fake, or rogue anti-virus software look authentic and may even display what appears to be real-time anti-virus scanning of the user's hard drive. The scareware will show a list of reputable software icons; however, the user cannot click a link to go
to the actual site to review or see recommendations.
The scareware is intimidating to most users and extremely aggressive in its attempt to lure the user into purchasing the rogue software that will allegedly remove the viruses from their computer. It is possible that these threats are received as a result of clicking on advertisements contained on a website. Cyber criminals use botnets to push the software and use advertisements on websites to deliver it. This is known as malicious advertising or malvertising.
Once the pop-up appears it cannot be easily closed by clicking "close" or the "X" button. If the user clicks on the pop-up to purchase the software, a form is provided that collects payment information and the user is charged for the bogus product. In some instances, whether the user clicks on the pop-up or not, the scareware can install malicious code onto the computer. By running your computer with an account that has rights to install software, this issue is more likely to occur.
Downloading the software could result in viruses, Trojans and/or keyloggers being installed on the user's computer. The repercussions of downloading the malicious software could prove further financial loss to the victim due to computer repair, as well as, cost to the user and/or financial institutions due to identity theft.
The assertive tactics of the scareware has caused significant losses to users. The FBI is aware of an estimated loss to victims in excess of $150 million.
Be cautious — cyber criminals use easy to remember names and associate them with known applications. Beware of pop-ups that are offering a variation of recognized security software. It is recommended that the user research the exact name of the software being offered.
Take precautions to ensure operating systems are updated and security software is current.
If a user receives these anti-virus pop-ups, it is recommended to close the browser or shut the system down. It is suggested that the user run a full, anti-virus scan whenever the computer is turned back on.
If you have experienced the anti-virus pop-ups or a similar scam, please notify the IC3 by filing a complaint at www.IC3.gov.
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Wednesday, December 9, 2009
NASA Making Government More Accessible With Cutting-Edge Use of New Media
/PRNewswire/ -- NASA is supporting the White House's Open Government Directive with a number of Internet-based programs designed to make the agency more accessible and create a dialog with the American people about their space program.
NASA is one of six departments and agencies working to spur innovation by making it easier for high-tech companies to identify collaborative, entrepreneurial opportunities. Government agencies are home to treasure troves of data and information, too much of which is underutilized by the private sector because it is either not easily found or exists in cumbersome formats. NASA and the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration in the Department of Health and Human Services, the Agricultural Research Service in the Department of Agriculture, the National Institute of Standards and Technology in the Department of Commerce and the Department of Energy are working together to increase access to information on publicly-funded technologies that are available for license, opportunities for federal funding and partnerships, and potential private-sector partners.
NASA's Innovative Partnerships Programs Office is working to establish an RSS feed to publicize technologies available for public licensing. By making information from multiple agencies available in RSS and XML feeds on Data.gov, the government empowers innovators to find the information they need and receive real-time updates, which can fuel entrepreneurial momentum, create new jobs, and strengthen economic growth. NASA's RSS feed will make these opportunities more visible to the commercial and research communities. NASA plans on having the feed operational by Dec. 31.
NASA also has undertaken an extensive effort to use the Internet and social media tools to engage the public on agency activities. NASA's home page on the Internet, www.nasa.gov, offers information on all of the agency's missions, research and discoveries.
In January 2009, nasa.gov capitalized on the agency's growing social media efforts by rolling out a new "Connect and Collaborate with NASA" page, at www.nasa.gov/connect. This provides the public with quick connections to the agency's pages on Twitter, Facebook, UStream, YouTube, Flickr and MySpace, as well as NASA podcasts and vodcasts on iTunes. The page also provides links to agency chats, Tweetup events, RSS feeds and the agency's official blog.
The agency's social media presence was further expanded in November with the addition of NASA's Twitter feed to the homepage. The website offers links to NASA-related desktop "widgets" and opportunities for the public to collaborate directly with the agency through art contests, engineering challenges and imagery and data analysis.
Another new communication tool is Spacebook, a NASA internal expert networking utility. Spacebook has been used to improve collaboration across NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. The Spacebook site allows new and established NASA staff to get to know the agency's diverse community of scientists, engineers, project managers and support personnel.
"Space doesn't explore itself. Science doesn't discover itself. People do that, and to do that they have to talk," said Emma Antunes, the project manager who also manages Goddard's Web site. "They have to trade questions and ideas. They have to connect. And, the more diverse the group, the more likely connections and conversations will lead to new ideas and innovation. Spacebook will enhance NASA's capacity to do just that."
For more information about NASA's use of the Internet and social media to interact with America, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/connect
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NASA is one of six departments and agencies working to spur innovation by making it easier for high-tech companies to identify collaborative, entrepreneurial opportunities. Government agencies are home to treasure troves of data and information, too much of which is underutilized by the private sector because it is either not easily found or exists in cumbersome formats. NASA and the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration in the Department of Health and Human Services, the Agricultural Research Service in the Department of Agriculture, the National Institute of Standards and Technology in the Department of Commerce and the Department of Energy are working together to increase access to information on publicly-funded technologies that are available for license, opportunities for federal funding and partnerships, and potential private-sector partners.
NASA's Innovative Partnerships Programs Office is working to establish an RSS feed to publicize technologies available for public licensing. By making information from multiple agencies available in RSS and XML feeds on Data.gov, the government empowers innovators to find the information they need and receive real-time updates, which can fuel entrepreneurial momentum, create new jobs, and strengthen economic growth. NASA's RSS feed will make these opportunities more visible to the commercial and research communities. NASA plans on having the feed operational by Dec. 31.
NASA also has undertaken an extensive effort to use the Internet and social media tools to engage the public on agency activities. NASA's home page on the Internet, www.nasa.gov, offers information on all of the agency's missions, research and discoveries.
In January 2009, nasa.gov capitalized on the agency's growing social media efforts by rolling out a new "Connect and Collaborate with NASA" page, at www.nasa.gov/connect. This provides the public with quick connections to the agency's pages on Twitter, Facebook, UStream, YouTube, Flickr and MySpace, as well as NASA podcasts and vodcasts on iTunes. The page also provides links to agency chats, Tweetup events, RSS feeds and the agency's official blog.
The agency's social media presence was further expanded in November with the addition of NASA's Twitter feed to the homepage. The website offers links to NASA-related desktop "widgets" and opportunities for the public to collaborate directly with the agency through art contests, engineering challenges and imagery and data analysis.
Another new communication tool is Spacebook, a NASA internal expert networking utility. Spacebook has been used to improve collaboration across NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. The Spacebook site allows new and established NASA staff to get to know the agency's diverse community of scientists, engineers, project managers and support personnel.
"Space doesn't explore itself. Science doesn't discover itself. People do that, and to do that they have to talk," said Emma Antunes, the project manager who also manages Goddard's Web site. "They have to trade questions and ideas. They have to connect. And, the more diverse the group, the more likely connections and conversations will lead to new ideas and innovation. Spacebook will enhance NASA's capacity to do just that."
For more information about NASA's use of the Internet and social media to interact with America, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/connect
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Trusted Computer Solutions Announces December 15 Webinar “What You Don’t Know CAN Hurt You”
(BUSINESS WIRE)--Trusted Computer Solutions, Inc. (TCS), a leading developer of cross domain and cyber security solutions, today announced it will host a complimentary webcast titled “What You Don’t Know CAN Hurt You” taking place on December 15, 2009 at 11 a.m. EST. This educational webcast will look at CounterStorm™, a solution that reinforces existing network security methods by stopping zero day and targeted attacks, and how anomaly detection techniques can be used in conjunction with traditional detection solutions to locate malicious behavior quickly and without known signatures.
At the Black Hat USA conference in July, Trusted Computer Solutions announced the general availability of CounterStorm. The solution employs an integrated suite of sophisticated detection engines that are uniquely correlated to provide unparalleled accuracy and speed in identifying and automatically stopping the new generation of increasingly destructive attacks.
The webcast will include discussion around the following topics:
* Current network defenses against known malware
* Advanced threats
* Mitigating advanced threats with anomaly detection
* The CounterStorm approach
WHO:
Brian Lindauer, Senior Software Engineer – CounterStorm, Trusted Computer Solutions
WHAT:
What You Don’t Know CAN Hurt You
WHEN:
Tuesday, December 15; 11 a.m. – Noon EST
WHERE:
Webcast; Registration for the event can be accessed at TCS Webinar Registration
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At the Black Hat USA conference in July, Trusted Computer Solutions announced the general availability of CounterStorm. The solution employs an integrated suite of sophisticated detection engines that are uniquely correlated to provide unparalleled accuracy and speed in identifying and automatically stopping the new generation of increasingly destructive attacks.
The webcast will include discussion around the following topics:
* Current network defenses against known malware
* Advanced threats
* Mitigating advanced threats with anomaly detection
* The CounterStorm approach
WHO:
Brian Lindauer, Senior Software Engineer – CounterStorm, Trusted Computer Solutions
WHAT:
What You Don’t Know CAN Hurt You
WHEN:
Tuesday, December 15; 11 a.m. – Noon EST
WHERE:
Webcast; Registration for the event can be accessed at TCS Webinar Registration
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Monday, November 23, 2009
Georgia Monitors Sex Offenders' Internet Activities by Using RemoteCOM
/PRNewswire/ -- On 11-19-2009 the State of Georgia Department of Corrections renewed a contract with RemoteCOM to monitor the Internet and computer activities of sex offenders on probation. As part of the new Georgia SB 474 it requires registered sex offenders to submit to computer monitoring and limitations of Internet access.
RemoteCOM is a computer monitoring company that specializes in the monitoring of the computers of offenders that are on parole or probation. CEO/President Robert Rosenbusch writes, "Everything is based on needs, and we have realized there is a tremendous need to keep our children safe as they surf the Internet. We have found that several courts have ruled that denying the sex offender access to the Internet is much like denying them access to a phone, and feel that this is overbearing given today's dependence on computers and computer-related technologies. Therefore they have put the burden on the probation departments to find ways to manage the offender's computer use, to ensure that they do not violate the conditions of their probation. The Georgia Department of Corrections has taken a tremendous step forward in trying to protect their communities and children by providing this type of monitoring."
One of the main focuses of RemoteCOM's services is to keep our children safe online. The second is to provide both technical and human resources to our probation and parole departments as they manage these offenders in our society. It has become apparent over the years that these departments are stretched thin with personnel and they carry a heavy case load. They are extremely limited in the time and resources they have, and would not have time to monitor these individuals' computer data on a daily basis. That is why RemoteCOM provides the assistance of doing the monitoring for them, and provides them with up-to-date alerts when monitors encounter something that may be a part of the offenders' grooming cycle or if they continue with any illegal activity.
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RemoteCOM is a computer monitoring company that specializes in the monitoring of the computers of offenders that are on parole or probation. CEO/President Robert Rosenbusch writes, "Everything is based on needs, and we have realized there is a tremendous need to keep our children safe as they surf the Internet. We have found that several courts have ruled that denying the sex offender access to the Internet is much like denying them access to a phone, and feel that this is overbearing given today's dependence on computers and computer-related technologies. Therefore they have put the burden on the probation departments to find ways to manage the offender's computer use, to ensure that they do not violate the conditions of their probation. The Georgia Department of Corrections has taken a tremendous step forward in trying to protect their communities and children by providing this type of monitoring."
One of the main focuses of RemoteCOM's services is to keep our children safe online. The second is to provide both technical and human resources to our probation and parole departments as they manage these offenders in our society. It has become apparent over the years that these departments are stretched thin with personnel and they carry a heavy case load. They are extremely limited in the time and resources they have, and would not have time to monitor these individuals' computer data on a daily basis. That is why RemoteCOM provides the assistance of doing the monitoring for them, and provides them with up-to-date alerts when monitors encounter something that may be a part of the offenders' grooming cycle or if they continue with any illegal activity.
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Thursday, November 19, 2009
FDA Issues 22 Warning Letters to Web site Operators
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today completed a coordinated, weeklong, international effort, called the International Internet Week of Action (IIWA), intended to curb illegal actions involving medical products.
During the effort, the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations (OCI), in conjunction with the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research and the Office of Regulatory Affairs, Office of Enforcement, targeted 136 Web sites that appeared to be engaged in the illegal sale of unapproved or misbranded drugs to U.S. consumers. None of the Web sites are for pharmacies in the United States or Canada.
The agency issued 22 warning letters to the operators of these Web sites and notified Internet service providers and domain name registrars that the Web sites were selling products in violation of U.S. law. In many cases, because of these violations, Internet service providers and domain name registrars may have grounds to terminate the Web sites and suspend the use of domain names.
“The FDA works in close collaboration with our regulatory and law enforcement counterparts in the United States and throughout the world to protect the public,” said FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D. “Many U.S. consumers are being misled in the hopes of saving money by purchasing prescription drugs over the Internet from illegal pharmacies. Unfortunately, these drugs are often counterfeit, contaminated, or unapproved products, or contain an inconsistent amount of the active ingredient. Taking these drugs can pose a danger to consumers.”
The IIWA is an initiative sponsored by the International Criminal Police Organization, the World Health Organization's International Medical Products Anti-Counterfeiting Task Force, the Permanent Forum on International Pharmaceutical Crime, and national health and law enforcement agencies from 26 participating countries.
The goal of the IIWA is to protect public health by:
* increasing the public's awareness about the dangers and risks associated with purchasing drugs and medical devices from Web sites
* identifying producers and distributors of counterfeit and illegal pharmaceutical products and medical devices
* targeting these individuals and businesses with civil or criminal action
* seizing counterfeit and illegal products and removing them from the supply chain.
Code named Operation Pangea II, the IIWA provided an opportunity to enhance cooperation among international and domestic regulatory and law enforcement partners to effectively act against those involved in the manufacture and distribution of illegal medications.
During the week, OCI and FDA import specialists joined with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service to target and interdict shipments of violative pharmaceutical products moving through certain International Mail Facilities (IMFs) and express courier hubs.
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During the effort, the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations (OCI), in conjunction with the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research and the Office of Regulatory Affairs, Office of Enforcement, targeted 136 Web sites that appeared to be engaged in the illegal sale of unapproved or misbranded drugs to U.S. consumers. None of the Web sites are for pharmacies in the United States or Canada.
The agency issued 22 warning letters to the operators of these Web sites and notified Internet service providers and domain name registrars that the Web sites were selling products in violation of U.S. law. In many cases, because of these violations, Internet service providers and domain name registrars may have grounds to terminate the Web sites and suspend the use of domain names.
“The FDA works in close collaboration with our regulatory and law enforcement counterparts in the United States and throughout the world to protect the public,” said FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D. “Many U.S. consumers are being misled in the hopes of saving money by purchasing prescription drugs over the Internet from illegal pharmacies. Unfortunately, these drugs are often counterfeit, contaminated, or unapproved products, or contain an inconsistent amount of the active ingredient. Taking these drugs can pose a danger to consumers.”
The IIWA is an initiative sponsored by the International Criminal Police Organization, the World Health Organization's International Medical Products Anti-Counterfeiting Task Force, the Permanent Forum on International Pharmaceutical Crime, and national health and law enforcement agencies from 26 participating countries.
The goal of the IIWA is to protect public health by:
* increasing the public's awareness about the dangers and risks associated with purchasing drugs and medical devices from Web sites
* identifying producers and distributors of counterfeit and illegal pharmaceutical products and medical devices
* targeting these individuals and businesses with civil or criminal action
* seizing counterfeit and illegal products and removing them from the supply chain.
Code named Operation Pangea II, the IIWA provided an opportunity to enhance cooperation among international and domestic regulatory and law enforcement partners to effectively act against those involved in the manufacture and distribution of illegal medications.
During the week, OCI and FDA import specialists joined with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service to target and interdict shipments of violative pharmaceutical products moving through certain International Mail Facilities (IMFs) and express courier hubs.
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Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Spear Phishing E-mails Target U.S. Law Firms and Public Relations Firms
The FBI assesses with high confidence that hackers are using spear phishing e-mails with malicious payloads to exploit U.S. law firms and public relations firms. During the course of ongoing investigations, the FBI identified noticeable increases in computer exploitation attempts against these entities.
The specific intrusion vector used against the firms is a spear phishing or targeted socially engineered e-mail designed to compromise a network by bypassing technological network defenses and exploiting the person at the keyboard. Hackers exploit the ability of end users to launch the malicious payloads from within the network by attaching a file to the message or including a link to the domain housing the file and enticing users to click the attachment or link.
Network defense against these attacks is difficult as the subject lines are spoofed, or crafted, in such a way to uniquely engage recipients with content appropriate to their specific business interests. In addition to appearing to originate from a trusted source based on the relevance of the subject line, the attachment name and message body are also crafted to associate with the same specific business interests. Opening a message will not directly compromise the system or network because the malicious payload lies in the attachment or linked domain. Infection occurs once someone opens the attachment or clicks the link, which launches a self-executing file and, through a variety of malicious processes, attempts to download another file.
Indicators are unreliable to flag in-bound messages; however, indicators are available to determine an existing compromise. Once executed, the malicious payload will attempt to download and execute the file ‘srhost.exe’ from the domain ‘http://d.ueopen.com’; e.g. http://d.ueopen.com/srhost.exe. Any traffic associated with ‘ueopen.com’ should be considered as an indication of an existing network compromise and addressed appropriately.
The malicious file does not necessarily appear as an ‘exe’ file in each incident. On occasion, the self-executing file has appeared as other file types, e.g., ‘.zip’, ‘.jpeg’, etc.
Please contact your local field office if you experience this network activity and direct incident response notifications to DHS and U.S. CERT.
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The specific intrusion vector used against the firms is a spear phishing or targeted socially engineered e-mail designed to compromise a network by bypassing technological network defenses and exploiting the person at the keyboard. Hackers exploit the ability of end users to launch the malicious payloads from within the network by attaching a file to the message or including a link to the domain housing the file and enticing users to click the attachment or link.
Network defense against these attacks is difficult as the subject lines are spoofed, or crafted, in such a way to uniquely engage recipients with content appropriate to their specific business interests. In addition to appearing to originate from a trusted source based on the relevance of the subject line, the attachment name and message body are also crafted to associate with the same specific business interests. Opening a message will not directly compromise the system or network because the malicious payload lies in the attachment or linked domain. Infection occurs once someone opens the attachment or clicks the link, which launches a self-executing file and, through a variety of malicious processes, attempts to download another file.
Indicators are unreliable to flag in-bound messages; however, indicators are available to determine an existing compromise. Once executed, the malicious payload will attempt to download and execute the file ‘srhost.exe’ from the domain ‘http://d.ueopen.com’; e.g. http://d.ueopen.com/srhost.exe. Any traffic associated with ‘ueopen.com’ should be considered as an indication of an existing network compromise and addressed appropriately.
The malicious file does not necessarily appear as an ‘exe’ file in each incident. On occasion, the self-executing file has appeared as other file types, e.g., ‘.zip’, ‘.jpeg’, etc.
Please contact your local field office if you experience this network activity and direct incident response notifications to DHS and U.S. CERT.
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Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Fraudulent Automated Clearing House (ACH) Transfers Connected To Malware And Work-At-Home Scams
Within the last several months, the FBI has seen a significant increase in fraud involving the exploitation of valid online banking credentials belonging to small and medium businesses, municipal governments, and school districts. In a typical scenario, the targeted
entity receives a "spear phishing" email which either contains an infected attachment, or directs the recipient to an infected web site. Once the recipient opens the attachment or visits the web site, malware is installed on their computer. The malware contains a key logger which will harvest the recipients business or corporate bank account log-in information. Shortly thereafter, the perpetrator either creates another user account with the stolen log-in information, or directly initiates funds transfers by masquerading as the legitimate user. These transfers have occurred as both traditional wire transfers and as ACH transfers.
Further reporting has shown that the transfers are directed to the bank accounts of willing or unwitting individuals within the United States. Most of these individuals have been recruited via work-at-home advertisements, or have been contacted after placing resumes on well-known job search web sites. These persons are often hired to "process payments", or "transfer funds". They are told they will receive wire transfers into their bank accounts. Shortly after funds are received, they are directed to immediately forward most of the money overseas via wire transfer services such as Western Union and Moneygram.
Customers who use online banking services are advised to contact their financial institution to ensure they are employing all the appropriate security and fraud prevention services their institution offers.
The United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) has made information on banking securely online available at
http://www.us-cert.gov/reading_room/Banking_Securely_Online07102006.pdf.
Protecting your computer against malicious software is an ongoing activity and, at minimum, all computer systems need to be regularly patched, have up to date anti-virus software, and a personal firewall installed. Further information is available at
http://www.us-cert.gov/nav/nt01/.
If you have experienced unauthorized funds transfers from your bank accounts, or if you have been recruited via a work-at-home opportunity to receive transfers and forward money overseas, please notify the IC3 by filing a complaint at www.IC3.gov.
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Arts Across Georgia
entity receives a "spear phishing" email which either contains an infected attachment, or directs the recipient to an infected web site. Once the recipient opens the attachment or visits the web site, malware is installed on their computer. The malware contains a key logger which will harvest the recipients business or corporate bank account log-in information. Shortly thereafter, the perpetrator either creates another user account with the stolen log-in information, or directly initiates funds transfers by masquerading as the legitimate user. These transfers have occurred as both traditional wire transfers and as ACH transfers.
Further reporting has shown that the transfers are directed to the bank accounts of willing or unwitting individuals within the United States. Most of these individuals have been recruited via work-at-home advertisements, or have been contacted after placing resumes on well-known job search web sites. These persons are often hired to "process payments", or "transfer funds". They are told they will receive wire transfers into their bank accounts. Shortly after funds are received, they are directed to immediately forward most of the money overseas via wire transfer services such as Western Union and Moneygram.
Customers who use online banking services are advised to contact their financial institution to ensure they are employing all the appropriate security and fraud prevention services their institution offers.
The United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) has made information on banking securely online available at
http://www.us-cert.gov/reading_room/Banking_Securely_Online07102006.pdf.
Protecting your computer against malicious software is an ongoing activity and, at minimum, all computer systems need to be regularly patched, have up to date anti-virus software, and a personal firewall installed. Further information is available at
http://www.us-cert.gov/nav/nt01/.
If you have experienced unauthorized funds transfers from your bank accounts, or if you have been recruited via a work-at-home opportunity to receive transfers and forward money overseas, please notify the IC3 by filing a complaint at www.IC3.gov.
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Arts Across Georgia
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