1. Monthly archive
  2. October 2016

October 2016

Hackers reveal apparent targets of NSA cyber espionage

The hacker or hackers who stole National Security Agency-built cyber tools have dumped new files in what appears to be yet another change of plans in monetizing the heist. The new files provide some insight into the targets of the NSA affiliated hacking team called The Equation Group. Those targets include government servers in China and universities in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. This is the second dump of files that came from the group The ShadowBrokers, who in August released sample files containing previously unknown hacking techniques used to circumvent popular security hardware.

The August files also contained a tracking code used by the NSA that matched previously unreleased Edward Snowden documents, appearing to confirm the breach’s provenance. In August, the group offered the complete cache of documents for auction. Not seeing the bidding totals they wanted, the group changed to a crowdfunding approach, saying it would release all files publicly if enough people donated money to a bitcoin address. The latest leaks contain yet another change in business model: a direct appeal to the United States to purchase the remaining files from the group. “How bad do you want it to get? When you are ready to make the bleeding stop, payus, so we can move onto the next game. The game where you try to catch us cashing out! Swag us out!” wrote the Brokers in their latest release. The newly released files are divided by NSA target in folders titled with domain names and internet addresses. If authentic, they would reveal hundreds of historic targets across the world — the files appear to be nearly a decade old — in nations ranging from Russia to Japan to Germany and Hungary.

National Association of Broadcasters: FCC's Phased Approach to Repack Is Reasonable

The National Association of Broadcasters says it is OK with the Federal Communications Commission's phased approach to transitioning TV stations to new channels after the incentive auction, calling it a reasonable approach to spreading out the work required and trying to avoid bottlenecks in the supply chain for a daisy chain of station moves. NAB called the FCC's post-spectrum auction repack proposal a "productive and critical step." It also said it agreed that there should be no more than 10 different phases, saying more than that would be overly complex.

But it also had a couple of suggestions for avoiding missteps. The first was to prioritize minimizing viewer disruptions. The second was to remain flexible about which phase stations were placed in—saying they should be considered "tentative" assignments—based on "facts on the ground....Weather conditions, delayed zoning approvals, supply chain issues, and unanticipated engineering complexity for some stations can and will create delays that will have cascading effects for other stations." NAB put a sharper point on its number two suggestion. "Unfortunately, while there is much promise in the proposed scheduling plan, the Commission’s continued insistence that the transition can be completed in 39 months has painted the Commission into a succession of unnecessary corners that ultimately threaten the transition’s viability," NAB said.

FCC Mobility Fund Proposal Raises Important Questions

The Federal Communications Commission plans to vote in Nov on a proposal for a Universal Service/ Connect America mobility fund that FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler shared with other commission officials recently. A fact sheet about the FCC mobility fund proposal released to the public raises some important questions about the fund and how it would be implemented. Also last week, Chairman Wheeler circulated a proposal regarding data and VoLTE roaming within the commission – another proposal scheduled for a vote next month by the full commission.

One question I would ask about that is whether there are any currently subsidized areas that are high-cost for the landline provider but not for the wireless carrier. If so, it would appear that a wireless carrier who doesn’t really need funding might still get it if all of the 4G LTE carriers serving an area were previously collecting high-cost funding. That carrier would have to underbid the other carriers to continue to collect funding, but might not actually need funding at all. It also isn’t clear whether the proposed budget is sufficient to achieve what the FCC wants to accomplish, as the budget seems to have been calculated based on historical support for wireless carriers, rather than on an examination of the funding needed to achieve program goals.

FCC Consumer Advisory Committee: Announcement of Renewal of Charter, Appointment of Members, Designation of Chairperson, Agenda

By this Public Notice, the Federal Communications Commission announces the renewal of the charter of its Consumer Advisory Committee and appointment of members, designates a Chairperson, and further announces the date, time, and agenda of the Committee’s first meeting under its renewed charter.

In anticipation of the renewal of the Committee’s charter, by a Public Notice (DA 16-657) released June 14, 2016, the Commission solicited applications for membership on the Committee for its ninth two-year term. The application deadline was July 25, 2016. After a review of the applications received, Chairman Tom Wheeler hereby appoints twenty-nine (29) members to the Committee (including the Benton Foundation). Of these, seventeen (17) represent interests of general consumers, two (2) represent interests of people with disabilities, six (6) represent interest of industry, one (1) represents minority interests, two (2) represent interests of quasi-government/regulators, and one (1) represents interests of seniors. The Committee’s membership is designed to be representative of the Commission’s many constituencies, and the diversity of the selected members will provide a balanced point of view as required by the Federal Advisory Committee Act. In addition, Chairman Wheeler designates Eduard Bartholme representing Call For Action as Chairperson of the Committee. All appointments and reappointments are effective October 21, 2016, and shall terminate October 21, 2018, or when the Committee is terminated, whichever is earlier. The first meeting of the Committee under its renewed charter will take place on Friday, January 27, 2017, from 9:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. at the FCC.

Blacks face discrimination in ride-hailing, Including With Uber

African-American travelers wait as much as 30% longer for UberX rides, and people with African-American sounding names had their UberX trips canceled at twice the rate of those with white-sounding names, a study released Oct 31 found. Though the actual difference in wait times was small, on average 90 seconds, it is another reminder the online economy still mirrors a flawed world.

“Technology was supposed to be a tool that mitigated discrimination because it’s based on algorithms rather than subjective expectations. But we see that doesn’t always happen,” said Darrick Hamilton, a professor of economics and urban policy at The New School in New York City. Researchers at the University of Washington, Stanford University and MIT used black and white university students to study the behavior of drivers for UberX and Lyft. All told, they took nearly 1,500 rides on controlled routes. The tests were conducted in Seattle and Boston. In Seattle, African-American riders using UberX waited approximately 30% longer to be picked up than white riders. Black riders waited on average 5:15 minutes while white riders waited 4 minutes. The researchers suggested drivers may have taken longer to identify black riders at pickup, adding to the wait time. Uber drivers do not see riders' photos, only their names.

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