Archive for the 'Infrastructure' Category
U.S. Agencies Said to Swap Data With Thousands of Firms
June 14th, 2013Via: Bloomberg: Thousands of technology, finance and manufacturing companies are working closely with U.S. national security agencies, providing sensitive information and in return receiving benefits that include access to classified intelligence, four people familiar with the process said. These programs, whose participants are known as trusted partners, extend far beyond what was revealed by Edward […]
The Cyberwar Industrial Complex
June 13th, 2013Via: Wired: In short, despite the sequestration, layoffs, and furloughs in the federal government, it’s a boom time for Alexander. In April, as part of its 2014 budget request, the Pentagon asked Congress for $4.7 billion for increased “cyberspace operations,” nearly $1 billion more than the 2013 allocation. At the same time, budgets for the […]
GCHQ Also Accesses PRISM
June 7th, 2013It’s probably not just the U.S. and Britain. See Five Eyes, which also includes Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Via: Guardian: The UK’s electronic eavesdropping and security agency, GCHQ, has been secretly gathering intelligence from the world’s biggest internet companies through a covertly run operation set up by America’s top spy agency, documents obtained by […]
Nicaragua Gives Chinese Firm Contract to Build Alternative to Panama Canal
June 7th, 2013Via: Guardian: Nicaragua has awarded a Chinese company a 100-year concession to build an alternative to the Panama Canal, in a step that looks set to have profound geopolitical ramifications. The president of the country’s national assembly, Rene Nuñez, announced the $40bn (£26bn) project, which will reinforce Beijing’s growing influence on global trade and weaken […]
San Onofre nuclear Power Plant Closing Down
June 7th, 2013Via: CBS: The troubled San Onofre nuclear power plant in Southern California is closing, after an epic 16-month battle over whether the twin reactors could be safely returned to service, officials announced Friday. Operator Southern California Edison said in a statement it will retire the twin reactors because uncertainty about the future of the plant, […]
U.S. Government Clears Path for Iran to Back Orifice Itself
May 31st, 2013Via: Ars Technica: On Thursday, the Obama Administration lifted digital sanctions that for more than two decades have prevented companies that do business in the US from also selling or distributing digital goods—including mobile phones, hosting services, VPNs, and software updates—to Iran. Research Credit: almaverdad2
South Korea Halts Operations at Reactors Over Faked Certificates
May 28th, 2013Via: New York Times: South Korea was forced to turn off two nuclear power reactors on Tuesday and delay the scheduled start of operation at another two, after its inspectors discovered that the reactors used components whose safety certificates had been fabricated. South Korea’s nuclear power industry has been plagued by a series of forced […]
Is Google Going To Make Internet Access Available To Everyone?
May 24th, 2013Via: Bloomberg: Google (GOOG) Chairman Eric Schmidt’s April 13 tweet was bold, ambitious, and a bit inexplicable. “For every person online, there are two that are not,” wrote the co-author of the book The New Digital Age. “By the end of the decade, everyone on Earth will be connected.” Commenters were flummoxed by Schmidt’s prediction. […]
TEPCO Seeks Permission to Dump Groundwater from Fukushima Plant Into Ocean
May 14th, 2013Via: Japan Today: Officials from Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) on Monday met with a Fukushima fisheries cooperative to seek its members’ permission to dump groundwater from the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the ocean. The contaminated water storage has been a problem since early in the accident. TEPCO officials acknowledged last month […]
‘Syria Has Largely Disappeared from the Internet’
May 8th, 2013Via: Washington Post: Both Google and a Web security company called Umbrella Security Labs are indicating that the entire country of Syria may have been severed from the Internet. The outage appears to have begun at 2:45 p.m. Eastern time, or 9:45 p.m. in Syria. According to a blog post by Umbrella’s chief technology officer […]
