In The News

Headwinds as the US Moves Toward Secretive Trade Agreement

David Dapice May 19, 2015
The very notion of global trade would suggest openness – and certainly a lack of secrets. But the Trans-Pacific Partnership is a new kind of agreement, one that pushes deep integration and focuses on regulations for corporations as well as lower tariffs, explains economist David Dapice. Twelve nations including the United States, Japan, Australia, Canada, Mexico – but not China – are...

“Big Brother” Technology Comes to Australia's Shops

Nina Hendy March 23, 2015
Most shoppers realize that retailers analyze internet traffic to study consumer habits. But free wireless in retail stores, restaurants and hotels could also turn consumer phones into tracking devices. “Retailers and other businesses with high foot traffic - such as pubs, cafes and restaurants - are increasingly offering free access to wi-fi networks and asking consumers to grant access to their...

There’s No Such Thing as Anonymous Data

Scott Berinato February 13, 2015
Analysis of huge datasets offers the potential for lifesaving health care, productive economies and workplaces, and smooth highway traffic. Yet consumers must assume that every electronic transaction could be compromised, suggests Scott Berinato for Harvard Business Review. Berinato reports on a paper published in Science by Yves-Alexandre de Montjoye showing how “anonymous credit card data can...

Apple Lets Down Its Asia Users

Vanson Soo February 5, 2015
Apple’s Asian fans may soon rethink their commitment to iPhones and iPads. “Apple Inc. has caved in to Chinese demands for security inspections of its China-made devices including iPhones, iPads and Mac computers,” reports security consultant Vanson Soo for Asia Sentinel. “If only Apple users managed to chuck away their cult mentality and come to their senses about their privacy and security...

Drone Patrols on US Border Ineffective, Report Finds

Jack Nicas January 7, 2015
Military-grade drones are too costly and ineffective for US border patrol, suggests a US inspector general report. “Customs and Border Protection has used drones since 2004 to aid investigations and patrol borders,” reports Jack Nicas for the Wall Street Journal. “The Inspector General report estimated the drone program cost $62.5 million in fiscal 2013…. Some independent analysts and the...

The FBI Used the Web’s Favorite Hacking Tool to Unmask Tor Users

Kevin Poulson December 29, 2014
Anonymity on the Tor network may be compromised: “FBI agents relied on Flash code from an abandoned Metasploit side project called the ‘Decloaking Engine’ to stage its first known effort to successfully identify a multitude of suspects hiding behind the Tor anonymity network,” reports Kevin Poulson for Wired. “Tor, a free, open-source project originally funded by the US Navy, is sophisticated...

How Social Media Is Helping Islamic State to Spread Its Poison

Con Coughlin November 11, 2014
Exposure of top-secret, massive US surveillance operations by Edward Snowden – and subsequent efforts by companies like Twitter, Facebook, Google and Apple to counter the surveillance – is aiding the Islamic State, contends Con Coughlin for the Telegraph. “Aided by the increased use of encryption software by the leading internet service providers, terrorist groups such as the Islamic State … have...