In The News

A New Rice Revolution on the Way?

John Berthelsen January 19, 2011
New research from Asia has produced strains of rice that can withstand a range of disease, soil and weather conditions. Developed over 12 years, the process “holds out the hope of a scientific method of increasing yields of other crops, making them hardier and more resistant to disease and insects and cutting the use of fertilizers and pesticides without resorting to genetic modification,”...

A Walled Wide Web for Nervous Autocrats

Evgeny Morozov January 13, 2011
The philosophy of the open-source software movement maintains that the internet is a vehicle for free speech, too essential for proprietary ways. Suspicion that US law enforcement officials have requested backdoor access from US software producers has alarmed governments and users around the globe. Moving to end dependence on US products, Russia will require public institutions to rely on open-...

Hackers Crack Open Mobile Network

January 12, 2011
As soon as any technology is unveiled, the adept and curious test its boundaries, often discovering flaws. Using four phones and open-source software, a pair of researchers demonstrated how they could monitor targeted mobile calls and texts at the Chaos Computer Club Congress in Berlin. Any call made over the Global System of Mobile Telecommunications, or GSM – about 5 billion devices in all – is...

The Post-WikiLeaks World – Part II

Rebecca Wexler December 17, 2010
After WikiLeaks released secret diplomatic cables, the US government strives to apologize for sensitive breaches in confidences and punish all involved. Internet privacy is elusive for both individuals and powerful institutions, and this two-part series examines responses to leaks from governments and internet chat forums. The second article describes a motley group of strangers who apply...

To Conquer Wind Power, China Writes the Rules

Keith Bradsher December 16, 2010
For China, it's not enough that foreign firms set up factories, introducing Chinese workers to new industries. China imposes strict local-content requirements, directing firms to local suppliers. Those Chinese suppliers, aided by free land and low-cost loans, eventually transform into fierce competitors, explains Keith Bradshser, reporting for the New York Times about manufacture of wind...

Military Bans Disks, Threatens Courts-Martial to Stop New Leaks

Noah Shachtman December 15, 2010
In a classic case of closing the barn door after the horse has run off, the Pentagon has ordered troops against using CDs, flash drives or other removable devices on the Department of Defense system for classified documents. The military is targeting what it labels an “insider threat,” after the release of thousands of classified US State Department cables. The US suspects a young Army private,...

WikiLeaks Battle: A New Amateur Face of Cyber War?

Peter Apps December 9, 2010
Angry amateurs have emerged to disrupt websites of companies that decline to do business with WikiLeaks as it continues gradual release of more than 250,000 US State Department documents. Targets include credit-card companies that decline to accept donated funds to WikiLeaks and technology companies that have dropped their server support. Governments have long anticipated battle with terrorists...