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Apple downplays Masque bug risk for users of iOS devices

November 14, 2014February 17, 2016

Apple has downplayed exploit fears stemming from the discovery of a security loophole which could trick users into downloading malicious apps on to their iOS devices. On Monday, security researchers at FireEye detailed the discovery of the Masque bug in a new report. The researchers said the bug, in which apps running on iOS 7.1.1 and later — including the latest iOS 8 — can be replaced with malicious, legitimate-looking applications. Once granted access to a user’s device, these apps could theoretically install malware or steal user data. The “Masque…

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Russia and China Edge Out US With Proposed Cyber Security Pact

October 24, 2014February 17, 2016 Staff Writer

Russia and China look set to sign a bilateral cyber security agreement next month in a move which could further isolate the US on the world stage. Russian newspaper Kommersant, whose owner has ties to Vladamir Putin, cited sources “close to the Kremlin” as saying the “two-sided agreement” would probably be ready by November 10, when the president will be in Beijing to attend the APEC summit. Putin and China’s president Xi Jinping are also expected to hold a joint address on information security during the visit, the report said. The…

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Right to Be Forgotten: Google must block a group of websites worldwide Rules Canadian Court

June 20, 2014March 3, 2016

On the heels of Europe’s “Right to Be Forgotten” ruling, a British Columbia court in Canada has ruled Google must block a group of websites worldwide. The case was opened by industrial networking devices manufacturer Equustek Solutions, Inc. to block a network of websites it claims are owned by former associates who stole trade secrets to illegally manufacture and sell competing products. According to a report from the The Globe and Mail, a temporary injunction against Google was issued last Friday in spite of Google’s protests that Canadian courts had no…

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Privacy under attack: the NSA files revealed new threats to democracy

May 28, 2014March 3, 2016

In the third chapter of his History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Edward Gibbon gave two reasons why the slavery into which the Romans had tumbled under Augustus and his successors left them more wretched than any previous human slavery. In the first place, Gibbon said, the Romans had carried with them into slavery the culture of a free people: their language and their conception of themselves as human beings presupposed freedom. And thus, says Gibbon, for a long time the Romans preserved the sentiments –…

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Politics curtailing Silicon Valley’s fast-growing financial ties with Russia’s tech sector: Entrepreneurs, investors say

April 14, 2014 Staff Writer

SAN MATEO, Calif. (AP) – Entrepreneurs and investors say Silicon Valley’s fast-growing financial ties with Russia’s tech sector are being slowed down by current political tensions between the White House and the Kremlin. “It’s safe to say a lot of investors here are taking a step back to see how the situation will unfold,” said Alexandra Johnson, who manages a $100 million venture fund called DFJ VTP Aurora, a Menlo Park, Calif., branch of Russian bank VTB. For decades, Russia’s sophisticated scientists and engineers remained at arm’s length from Silicon…

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After The Gold Rush: Domain Names Have Lost Their Glitter

November 26, 2013 Staff Writer

When it comes to investing, I’m what financial advisers somewhat derisively call “risk averse.” But in all modesty, I just have this knack for woulda coulda shoulda. My latest involves the subject of buying domain names. Specifically, I shoulda registered the domain name VacationRentals.com, not too long ago, because I coulda sold it to HomeAway in 2007 for $35 million. Had I done that, today I might be negotiating the purchase of a Paris apartment and planning my next private jet vacation, instead of figuring out how to fit my…

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Google talks African strategy

November 11, 2013 Staff Writer

Trying to use a single e-commerce strategy across various regions is bad business. This was the word from Luke McKend, country head for Google SA, who was speaking at the World Retail Congress Africa, held in Sandton this week. McKend said this statement is particularly relevant in an African context. People are increasingly using the Internet to look for an instantaneous response that is related to where they are, according to McKend. “Fully a third of all Google searches have some kind of implicit location information,” he said, adding that…

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The Open (Internet) Society and Its Enemies: Can Multistakeholderism Survive “Information Dominance”?

October 18, 2013 Staff Writer

Information Dominance For General Keith Alexander, the head of the US‘s major surveillance agency, the NSA’s fundamental ambition appears to be what he and the US military call “Information Dominance”. “Information Dominance is the ability to seize and control the information domain “high ground” when, where and however required for decisive competitive advantage… Information Dominance means freedom of action to maneuver and act — conduct offensive and defensive actions, kinetically and non-kinetically — at the intersection of maritime, information and cyberspace domains” John Arguilla, a leading US cyberwar strategist defines…

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book fair targets Internet giants Amazon, Apple and Google

October 11, 2013 Staff Writer

Organisers of the world’s biggest book fair warned on Tuesday against the domination of Internet giants as the publishing world grapples to blend old and new forms of reading. American giants Amazon, Apple and Google — whose entry into the world of online sales and digital books is threatening the traditional publishing industry — are “logistics magicians but are not publishers”, said Juergen Boos, director of the Frankfurt Book Fair. “There’s no passion there,” he told reporters as the giant German book fair prepared to open Wednesday. Boos warned it…

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