Facing Jail and Fines, Parents Summoned to Court to Have Children Vaccinated
November 22nd, 2007The part I like is that the parents of 900 students ignored this absurd fascist decree.
Via: Baltimore Sun:
Scores of grumbling parents facing a threat of jail lined up at a courthouse today to either prove that their school-age kids already had their required vaccinations or see that the youngsters submitted to the needle.
The get-tough policy in Prince George’s County was one of the strongest efforts made by any U.S. school system to ensure its youngsters receive their required immunizations.
Two months into the school year, school officials realized that more than 2,000 students in the county still didn’t have the vaccinations they were supposed to have before attending class.
So Circuit Court Judge C. Philip Nichols ordered parents in a letter to appear at the courthouse today and either get their children vaccinated on the spot or risk up to 10 days in jail. They could also provide proof of vaccination or an explanation why their kids didn’t have them.
By about 8:30 a.m., the line of parents stretched outside the courthouse in the county on the east side of Washington.
Research Credit: ON
Tor Exit Nodes Harvest Huge Amounts of Sensitive Information
November 21st, 2007Relying on Tor for security/anonymity is as dumb as relying on proxy servers. If you read the ugly truth, you already know that.
But, as usual, it’s not that bad, it’s worse.
Dan Egerstad, a Swedish security researcher, set up several Tor servers and used basic traffic analysis techniques to glean lots of foreign government email traffic that was just passing through. Twits were sending clear text email via Tor. HAHA. I know: Tell me another one!
Tor makes it VERY easy to become the man in the middle. Point, click and the next thing you know, total bozos will be compromising themselves in unimaginable ways because they think nobody is watching if they’re using Tor.
Egerstad tried to warn the governments involved. Iran was the only country to express any interest in the issue. Predictably, within days of this information spewing across the Internet, Egerstad was arrested, interrogated and had his computers confiscated.
There are lots of stories about this situation out there, but look at this from heise-security:
Members of the Teamfurry community got curious and took a look at the advertised configurations of a few randomly selected TOR exit-nodes. They stumbled on some extremely interesting results. There are, for example, exit-nodes which only forward unencrypted versions of certain protocols. One such node only accepts unencrypted IMAP and POP connections (TCP ports 143 and 110) and only forwards messenger connections from AIM, Yahoo IM and MSN Messenger if they are received on ports on which traffic is handled as plain text. The same procedure is applied to Telnet and VNC connections, used for remote access to systems. Further, there are systems which are only interested in specific destinations and, for example, exclusively forward HTTP packets bound for MySpace and Google. HTTPS traffic to these destinations is, however, blocked.
These peculiar configurations invite speculation as to why they are set up in this way. The Teamfurry blog declines to go so far as to impute nefarious motives to these nodes. Nevertheless, the report does raise the question of whether users should route personal data via such nodes. It is certainly generally believed that Chinese, Russian and American government agencies operate TOR exit-nodes. Large companies and illegal hacker groups are also thought to operate exit-nodes. Looking through the list of TOR exit-nodes, it is striking that the number of exit-nodes in China and the US has increased disproportionately over the last year.
Tor exit nodes that only forward unencrypted traffic…
* chuckle *
You’ve almost got to feel sorry for anyone who sends clear text data through that thing (thinking it’s secure). The fact that several governments do it, apparently on purpose, is even more hilarious/frightening/absurd.
Don’t work for the NSA?
Set up some Tor servers and you can run your own little ECHELON system. For kids 8 and up only.
Research Credit: JD
China Freezes Lending to Curb Investing Frenzy
November 21st, 2007Translation: China wants fewer U.S. Dollars.
These lending restrictions will raise the value of the yuan, raising the prices of the crap at Walmart, lowering demand, stemming the flow of dollars to China.
That’s my best guess, anyway, as to the implications of this.
Via: Wall Street Journal:
Chinese authorities are slamming the brakes on bank lending, in their latest attempt to curb the runaway investment threatening to overheat what is soon to be the world’s third-largest economy.
In recent weeks, regulators have quietly ordered China’s commercial banks to freeze lending through the end of the year, according to bankers in several cities. The bankers say that to comply, they are canceling loans and credit lines with businesses and individuals.
A China Banking Regulatory Commission official here confirmed that local and Chinese subsidiaries of foreign banks have been asked to ensure that loans at the end of the year don’t exceed the total outstanding on Oct. 31. The official described the request as “guidance aimed at supporting the macro-control measures being implemented.”
Over the past few years, Chinese authorities have repeatedly sought to rein in investment in sectors such as property development, where they deemed it was becoming excessive. But even in China a blanket edict to halt lending growth is unusual.
…
By raising rates further China could risk boosting the value of its currency, the yuan, too much for the comfort of its exporters, a critical part of the Chinese economy. A stronger yuan would make Chinese exports less competitive in world markets.
Research Credit: Skyline
Japan to Start Fingerprinting Foreign Travelers
November 21st, 2007Via: Reuters:
Japan began fingerprinting foreigners entering the country on Tuesday in an anti-terrorism policy that has sparked complaints from human right activists, business travelers and long-term residents.
Research Credit: Mark
UK: Catastrophic Loss of Personal Data on Millions of Parents
November 21st, 2007Via: Telegraph:
Every parent in the country has been put at risk of fraud and identity theft after the Government lost 25 million personal records in Britain’s worst ever data protection breach.
Two compact discs containing bank details and addresses of 9.5 million parents and the names, dates of birth and National Insurance numbers of all 15.5 million children in the country went missing after a junior employee of HM Revenue and Customs put them in the post, unrecorded and unregistered.
Alistair Darling, already under pressure over the Northern Rock crisis, revealed the “inexcusable†blunder to incredulous MPs, admitting that there was still no trace of the CDs more than a month after they went missing.
The Chancellor, who first learnt of the “catastrophic†breach eleven days ago but only disclosed the first details, insisted there was no evidence the information “has found its way into the wrong handsâ€.
But experts warned that the data could be hoarded for years by criminal gangs before being used to commit fraud on an unparalleled scale.
It means every family in the country will have to remain vigilant for years to come, keeping a close watch on their finances for any sign of fraud.
The discs – which were not encrypted – also contained all the information a criminal would need to commit identity theft by applying for loans, credit cards and goods in someone else’s name.
‘Fortress Britain’
November 21st, 2007Via: Telegraph:
Train passengers face routine airline-style bag checks and body searches as part of a new counter-terror crackdown announced by Gordon Brown.
He conjured up visions of ”Fortress Britain” as he unveiled a succession of security measures at airports, railway stations, sports venues and other public places.
U.S. Military Demands Return of Signing Bonuses from Wounded Personnel
November 21st, 2007Via: kdka.com:
The U.S. Military is demanding that thousands of wounded service personnel give back signing bonuses because they are unable to serve out their commitments.
To get people to sign up, the military gives enlistment bonuses up to $30,000 in some cases.
Now men and women who have lost arms, legs, eyesight, hearing and can no longer serve are being ordered to pay some of that money back.
Wal-Mart Seizes Accident Settlement from Former Employee
November 21st, 2007Always low prices.
Via: Wall Street Journal:
A collision with a semi-trailer truck seven years ago left 52-year-old Deborah Shank permanently brain-damaged and in a wheelchair. Her husband, Jim, and three sons found a small source of solace: a $700,000 accident settlement from the trucking company involved. After legal fees and other expenses, the remaining $417,000 was put in a special trust. It was to be used for Mrs. Shank’s care.
Instead, all of it is now slated to go to Mrs. Shank’s former employer, Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
Two years ago, the retail giant’s health plan sued the Shanks for the $470,000 it had spent on her medical care. A federal judge ruled last year in Wal-Mart’s favor, backed by an appeals-court decision in August. Now, her family has to rely on Medicaid and Mrs. Shank’s social-security payments to keep up her round-the-clock care.
Related: Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price
Cryptogon Readers Send Contributions
November 21st, 2007Several readers sent contributions during the recent “pause” on Cryptogon:
JA $25
PR $50
JG $25
AP $25
Thank you all very much.
Open Thread
November 16th, 2007Guys, if you feel like posting interesting information about what’s going on out there, please do so on comments to this post.
I have no idea what’s happening in the world. My contact with Cryptogon-relevant information ended a couple of days ago. I’m looking forward to getting back to regular posting soon.
Please note that, as always, I have to approve comments manually because of the insidious spam and troll issues.
