governments

MegaUpload's users may include U.S. government officials

When the file-swapping site MegaUpload was shuttered by the U.S. government--and consequentially its offices raided, $42 million of its assets frozen, and its leader Kim DotCom arrested--some officials might not have thought of unintended consequences, such as the loss of legitimate files.

They also might not have realized that they too might be outed as having used MegaUpload.

During an interview with TorrentFreak this week, DotCom said, "Guess what--we found a large number of Mega accounts from U.S. government officials, including the Department of Justice and the U.S. Senate."

Released on bail earlier this month, … Read more

City Council paper usage down 40 percent after switch to iPads

Stories of Apple's success in integrating the iPad into business have been easy to come by in the last year as many companies and organizations are finding that not only does the tablet save them time, but also money.

According to a report from AppleInsider, The City Council of Vancouver, Wash., found just that when it switched to iPads at the beginning of 2012. After these last two months, the council has seen a reduction in paper usage to the tune of 40 percent, which amounts to about 50,000 pages of paper over the course of the year.… Read more

Chinese get past censors and onto Facebook, YouTube, Twitter

China's "Great Firewall" is the tongue-in-cheek way to refer to the Chinese government's blocking and censorship of Web sites. And, somehow, that wall has been fractured this week.

It all started when Chinese citizens flooded President Obama's Google+ page over the weekend, leaving thousands of messages ranging from jokes to begging the U.S. president to do something about China's civil rights issues.

Now, Reuters reports that Chinese Internet users have accessed YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter--all sites normally blocked by the Great Firewall.

"I used Facebook for the first time yesterday," Zhang … Read more

How to use VPN to defeat deep packet inspection

Imagine a technology that can stop spam and malware, identify and block illegal downloads, and allow ISPs to prioritize the data they transmit by content as well as by type. Sounds pretty good.

Now imagine a technology that gives network managers and governments the ability to monitor everything you do on the Internet, including reading and recording your e-mail and other digital communications, and tracking your every move on the Web.

Of course, it's the same technology--deep packet inspection by name. That's how governments around the world are able to spy on their citizens' online activities and control … Read more

Military, government officials could get secure Android phones

Google's Android operating system may soon receive the U.S. government's seal of security approval, according to a report from CNN.

Citing a source close to the project, CNN says that developers in a government program are working on smartphones that run a customized version of the OS with security improvements. Though the first batch of test devices is authorized only for storing confidential documents, phones and tablets capable of transmitting such documents over wireless networks could arrive in the next few months.

Michael McCarthy, a director for the Army's Brigade Modernization Command, told CNN that the … Read more

Facebook touts its economic muscle--but only counts the good stuff

Facebook might be just another social network to us, but for world economies, it's actually helping drive growth.

Or so says one of its top officials, COO Sheryl Sandberg--though some of the figures she cited may be a little too carefully cherry-picked.

Speaking today at the Digital - Life - Design (DLD) Conference in Munich today, Sandberg said Facebook's business goes beyond "posts and pictures" to include "jobs and empowering people." All Things Digital, which attended the event, was first to report on Sandberg's comments.

Sandberg cited a host of statistics from a … Read more

Police need warrant for GPS tracking, high court rules

The Supreme Court struck down the U.S. government's argument that it can use GPS to track a suspect's vehicle without a warrant.

In a unanimous decision, the court said the Fourth Amendment protection of "persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures" would be violated if law enforcement agencies were allowed to attach a GPS location to a suspect's vehicle without obtaining a warrant.

Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, Sonia Sotomayor, and Chief Justice John Roberts sided with that opinion. Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Elena Kagan, and Samuel … Read more

For Chinese communists, only RedPad, not iPad, will do

When you're a member of the China Communist Party, the iPad just doesn't let you think different enough, it seems.

According to Reuters, China's Communist Party members can now carry the RedPad Number One, which among other things comes bundled with software that allows up-and-coming commissars to monitor both the news and the journalists who report it. The Android-based tablet, which comes with a 9.7-inch display and a leather case, isn't for the masses, though. The device sells for 9,999 yuan (about $1,600).

That exorbitant price tag is causing some bloggers in China … Read more

Alibaba, its sights on Yahoo, hires U.S. lobbying group

Chinese Internet company Alibaba is investing in new lobbying power in the U.S., a move that syncs up with its reported plans to make a serious bid for Yahoo.

A legal filing unearthed this week shows that the company hired the services of Washington D.C.-based Duberstein Group, headed by President Reagan's former chief of staff Kenneth Duberstein.

The hire comes months after chatter about Alibaba making a move to acquire Internet giant Yahoo. In a talk at Stanford University in September, Alibaba CEO Jack Ma told an audience that he was "very interested" in such a deal. … Read more