In The News

The Two-Tier Internet: Fighting for Control of the Web's Future

Frank Dohmen, Martin U. Müller, Hilmar Schmundt August 27, 2010
Profit margins have shrunk for internet providers. Attracted by low prices and rapid growth, consumers rely on cloud computing, which uses central servers for storage of treasured documents – yet few understand internet technology or long-term maintenance needs. A recent release from Google and Verizon recommended regulations, calling “for governments to leave it up to the market to determine...

Iranian Activist Sues Telecoms Firm Over “Spying System”

Saeed Kamali Dehghan August 24, 2010
Mobile phone networks connect people and the exchange of ideas on issues small and grand. Isa Saharkhiz, activist and journalist, was arrested during Iranian post-election protests in summer 2009. His interrogators admitted to using Nokia Siemens Networks equipment to monitor his mobile phone calls, and a lawsuit has been filed against the corporation in US courts on his behalf. The company...

BlackBerry Challenges May Spread as Governments, RIM Collide

Anthony DiPaola, Hugo Miller August 12, 2010
Business people on the go, in need of instant contact and information, appreciate mobile devices and can’t imagine doing without smartphones like the BlackBerry. A major feature of the BlackBerry includes high-level security around communications, with encrypted messages and delivery through protected equipment in Canada and maker Research in Motion. “However, the system also makes it harder for...

Sites Feed Personal Details to New Tracking Industry

Julia Angwin, Tom McGinty August 10, 2010
Internet users are under constant surveillance, warns the Wall Street Journal after an investigation of 50 popular websites accounting for nearly half of US page views. Wikipedia.org was the only site without tracking devices, while other sites together included more than 3000 sensitive devices to track user interests behind every click. Analysts build profiles as trackers collect keystrokes and...

Iranian Exiles Struggle to Stay Involved

Neil MacFarquhar July 30, 2010
The reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in June 2009 sparked some of the worst social unrest in Iran since the1979 Islamic Revolution. Using popular networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, protesters mobilized quickly on streets and university campuses. Swift government repression ensued causing some protesters to seek refuge abroad. Away from home, using internet...

US Blocks China Fibre Optics Deal Over Security

Stephanie Kirchgaessner July 2, 2010
Fiber optics and other technologies add to globalization’s speed. But national-security concerns lead the US to apply the brakes. Plans for a joint venture between a New Mexico manufacturer of fiber-optic and solar-panel components and a Chinese investment firm were dropped after the government announced some "regulatory concerns." The US Committee on Foreign Investment – chaired by the...

Dealing With Disasters in a Connected World

S.L. Bachman May 10, 2010
Natural disasters are as old as the planet, but new technologies are making a difference. Social-media networks that thrive on cell phones, other mobile devices and the internet – including Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and more – have reduced the waiting time for news, relief and fundraising after any natural disaster. The response after three major earthquakes this year on three...