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INTEREST: Canadian/UK research firms find sophisticated "social malware" at work
by billing 29 Mar '09

29 Mar '09

...from: http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/techreports/UCAM-CL-TR-746.html The snooping dragon: social-malware surveillance of the Tibetan movement Shishir Nagaraja, Ross Anderson University of Cambridge March 2009, 12 pages Abstract In this note we document a case of malware-based electronic surveillance of a political organisation by the agents of a nation state. While malware attacks are not new, two aspects of this case make it worth serious study. First, it was a targeted surveillance attack designed to collect actionable intelligence for use by the police and security services of a repressive state, with potentially fatal consequences for those exposed. Second, the modus operandi combined social phishing with high-grade malware. This combination of well-written malware with well-designed email lures, which we call social malware, is devastatingly effective. Few organisations outside the defence and intelligence sector could withstand such an attack, and although this particular case involved the agents of a major power, the attack could in fact have been mounted by a capable motivated individual. This report is therefore of importance not just to companies who may attract the attention of government agencies, but to all organisations. As social-malware attacks spread, they are bound to target people such as accounts-payable and payroll staff who use computers to make payments. Prevention will be hard. The traditional defence against social malware in government agencies involves expensive and intrusive measures that range from mandatory access controls to tiresome operational security procedures. These will not be sustainable in the economy as a whole. Evolving practical low-cost defences against social-malware attacks will be a real challenge. ...and from the full text: "We monitored the network traﬃc on its mail service in California and immediately observed that gaining access to emails would have been straightforward for anyone who could monitor this circuit, since the traﬃc was unencrypted. The email server could be contacted via POP, IMAP and HTTP in insecure modes, with passwords and mail passing in plain text. We also noted that some passwords chosen by [the users] were easily broken with a dictionary attack[...] in about 15 minutes [3]. The ‘standard’ security-consultant advice might therefore have been that [users] turn on TLS encryption to their mail server, and adopt a password policy. However such a superﬁcial diagnosis and prescription would not have given much of a defence. It turned out that the attackers used a diﬀerent route. 2.1 The attack vector Email attachments appear to have been the favoured strategy to deliver malicious pay-loads. This worked because the attackers took the trouble to write emails that appeared to come from fellow Tibetans and indeed from co-workers. The use of carefully-written email lures based on social context to get people to visit bogus websites has been called ‘social phishing’; in this incident, such email was used to spread malware and we therefore call this strategy social malware. [...] We then examined samples of email attachments from the local ﬁle systems them with the expert help of Mikko Hypponen at F-Secure Corporation, who determined that they could support ﬁle search and retrieval operations and also function as keyloggers. This conﬁrms that the attackers had pretty much full access to the data on the infected computers. (In fact, one monk claimed that he actually ‘saw’ the bot open his Outlook Express and send infected attachments to others without any action on his part!) [...] ... there is nothing in the modus operandi that prevents [these attacks] from being carried out by a smaller opponent. For example, we saw no evidence that the initial break involved wiretapping the backbone traﬃc from Dharamsala to California [...]. There was no need, given the tools and methods they actually employed. In fact, even a capable motivated individual could have carried out the attacks we describe here. Until recently, one might have assumed that it would take a ‘geek’ to write good malware, and someone with interpersonal skills to do the social manipulation. But the industrialisation of online crime over the past ﬁve years means that capably-written malware, which will not be detected by anti-virus programs, is now available on the market. All an attacker needs is the social skill and patience to work the malware from one person to another until enough machines have been compromised to complete the mission. What’s more, the ‘best practice’ advice that one sees in the corporate sector comes nowhere even close to preventing such an attack. Thus social malware is unlikely to remain a tool of governments. Certainly organisations of interest to governments should take proper precautions now, but other ﬁrms had better start to think about what it will mean for them when social malware attacks become widespread. [...] So what are the broader implications? How can social malware be dealt with? [...] One thing we predict, though, is that the social response to the threat of social malware will be slow and ineﬀective. This is because of elementary security economics. Banks will try to shift the blame to accounting system providers, and vice versa. The accounting vendors will advise customers to lock down user PCs, without being too explicit about how. Companies seeking redress will ﬁnd themselves up against standard terms and conditions whereby both banks and vendors disclaim liability; in many markets they are oligopolistic suppliers, so may be able to defend these contract terms for some time. The banking regulators have shown that they believe whatever the banks tell them, that they are uninterested in protecting bank customers, and in any case they have no expertise in information security. The initial attacks will aﬀect only a minority of ﬁrms, so the rest will prefer to blame the attacks on the victims’ negligence rather than acknowledging that their own policies need to change. Many companies will rely for advice on their auditors, and big audit ﬁrms, being ponderous and bureaucratic, give the same advice year-in year- out until litigation or regulation forces change. In short, we predict that the criminals who adapt social malware to fraud will enjoy many years of rich pickings. Indeed, if either of us were inclined to crime, this would be what we’d go for. [...] 4 Conclusions [The attackers] used social phishing to install rootkits on a number of machines and then downloaded sensitive data. People in Tibet may have died as a result. The compromise was detected and dealt with, but its implications are sobering. It shows how diﬃcult it is to defend sensitive information against an opponent who uses social engineering techniques to install malware. We have described this social malware attack here and considered its consequences. [...] the techniques used are available even to private individuals and are quite shockingly eﬀective. In fact, neither of the two authors is conﬁdent that we could keep secrets on a network- connected machine that we used for our daily work in the face of determined interest from a capable motivated opponent. The necessary restrictions on online activity would not be consistent with eﬀective academic work. Organisations that maintain sensitive information on network-attached computers and that may have such opponents had better think long and hard. The implications are serious already for people and groups who may become the target of hostile state surveillance. In the medium term we predict that social malware will be used for fraud, and the typical company has really no defence against it. We expect that many crooks will get rich before eﬀective countermeasures are widely deployed. = - = - = - = ...from: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/29/technology/29spy.html?_r=1&th&emc=th Vast Spy System Loots Computers in 103 Countries By JOHN MARKOFF Published: March 28, 2009 TORONTO — A vast electronic spying operation has infiltrated computers and has stolen documents from hundreds of government and private offices around the world, including those of the Dalai Lama, Canadian researchers have concluded. Tim Leyes for The New York Times The Toronto academic researchers who are reporting on the spying operation dubbed GhostNet include, from left, Ronald J. Deibert, Greg Walton, Nart Villeneuve and Rafal A. Rohozinski. Vast Reach of ‘GhostNet’ In a report to be issued this weekend, the researchers said that the system was being controlled from computers based almost exclusively in China, but that they could not say conclusively that the Chinese government was involved. The researchers, who are based at the Munk Center for International Studies at the University of Toronto, had been asked by the office of the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan leader whom China regularly denounces, to examine its computers for signs of malicious software, or malware. Their sleuthing opened a window into a broader operation that, in less than two years, has infiltrated at least 1,295 computers in 103 countries, including many belonging to embassies, foreign ministries and other government offices, as well as the Dalai Lama’s Tibetan exile centers in India, Brussels, London and New York. The researchers, who have a record of detecting computer espionage, said they believed that in addition to the spying on the Dalai Lama, the system, which they called GhostNet, was focused on the governments of South Asian and Southeast Asian countries. Intelligence analysts say many governments, including those of China, Russia and the United States, and other parties use sophisticated computer programs to covertly gather information. The newly reported spying operation is by far the largest to come to light in terms of countries affected. This is also believed to be the first time researchers have been able to expose the workings of a computer system used in an intrusion of this magnitude. Still going strong, the operation continues to invade and monitor more than a dozen new computers a week, the researchers said in their report, “Tracking ‘GhostNet’: Investigating a Cyber Espionage Network.” They said they had found no evidence that United States government offices had been infiltrated, although a NATO computer was monitored by the spies for half a day and computers of the Indian Embassy in Washington were infiltrated. The malware is remarkable both for its sweep — in computer jargon, it has not been merely “phishing” for random consumers’ information, but “whaling” for particular important targets — and for its Big Brother-style capacities. It can, for example, turn on the camera and audio-recording functions of an infected computer, enabling monitors to see and hear what goes on in a room. The investigators say they do not know if this facet has been employed. The researchers were able to monitor the commands given to infected computers and to see the names of documents retrieved by the spies, but in most cases the contents of the stolen files have not been determined. Working with the Tibetans, however, the researchers found that specific correspondence had been stolen and that the intruders had gained control of the electronic mail server computers of the Dalai Lama’s organization. The electronic spy game has had at least some real-world impact, they said. For example, they said, after an e-mail invitation was sent by the Dalai Lama’s office to a foreign diplomat, the Chinese government made a call to the diplomat discouraging a visit. And a woman working for a group making Internet contacts between Tibetan exiles and Chinese citizens was stopped by Chinese intelligence officers on her way back to Tibet, shown transcripts of her online conversations and warned to stop her political activities. The Toronto researchers said they had notified international law enforcement agencies of the spying operation, which in their view exposed basic shortcomings in the legal structure of cyberspace. The F.B.I. declined to comment on the operation. Although the Canadian researchers said that most of the computers behind the spying were in China, they cautioned against concluding that China’s government was involved. The spying could be a nonstate, for-profit operation, for example, or one run by private citizens in China known as “patriotic hackers.” “We’re a bit more careful about it, knowing the nuance of what happens in the subterranean realms,” said Ronald J. Deibert, a member of the research group and an associate professor of political science at Munk. “This could well be the C.I.A. or the Russians. It’s a murky realm that we’re lifting the lid on.” A spokesman for the Chinese Consulate in New York dismissed the idea that China was involved. “These are old stories and they are nonsense,” the spokesman, Wenqi Gao, said. “The Chinese government is opposed to and strictly forbids any cybercrime.” The Toronto researchers, who allowed a reporter for The New York Times to review the spies’ digital tracks, are publishing their findings in Information Warfare Monitor, an online publication associated with the Munk Center. [...] In any case, it was suspicions of Chinese interference that led to the discovery of the spy operation. Last summer, the office of the Dalai Lama invited two specialists to India to audit computers used by the Dalai Lama’s organization. The specialists, Greg Walton, the editor of Information Warfare Monitor, and Mr. Nagaraja, a network security expert, found that the computers had indeed been infected and that intruders had stolen files from personal computers serving several Tibetan exile groups. Back in Toronto, Mr. Walton shared data with colleagues at the Munk Center’s computer lab. One of them was Nart Villeneuve, 34, a graduate student and self- taught “white hat” hacker with dazzling technical skills. Last year, Mr. Villeneuve linked the Chinese version of the Skype communications service to a Chinese government operation that was systematically eavesdropping on users’ instant-messaging sessions. Early this month, Mr. Villeneuve noticed an odd string of 22 characters embedded in files created by the malicious software and searched for it with Google. It led him to a group of computers on Hainan Island, off China, and to a Web site that would prove to be critically important. In a puzzling security lapse, the Web page that Mr. Villeneuve found was not protected by a password, while much of the rest of the system uses encryption. Mr. Villeneuve and his colleagues figured out how the operation worked by commanding it to infect a system in their computer lab in Toronto. On March 12, the spies took their own bait. Mr. Villeneuve watched a brief series of commands flicker on his computer screen as someone — presumably in China — rummaged through the files. Finding nothing of interest, the intruder soon disappeared. Through trial and error, the researchers learned to use the system’s Chinese-language “dashboard” — a control panel reachable with a standard Web browser — by which one could manipulate the more than 1,200 computers worldwide that had by then been infected. Infection happens two ways. In one method, a user’s clicking on a document attached to an e-mail message lets the system covertly install software deep in the target operating system. Alternatively, a user clicks on a Web link in an e-mail message and is taken directly to a “poisoned” Web site. The researchers said they avoided breaking any laws during three weeks of monitoring and extensively experimenting with the system’s unprotected software control panel. They provided, among other information, a log of compromised computers dating to May 22, 2007. They found that three of the four control servers were in different provinces in China — Hainan, Guangdong and Sichuan — while the fourth was discovered to be at a Web-hosting company based in Southern California. Beyond that, said Rafal A. Rohozinski, one of the investigators, “attribution is difficult because there is no agreed upon international legal framework for being able to pursue investigations down to their logical conclusion, which is highly local.”

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INTEREST: SuSe LINUX 11 Release Candidate available for download
by billing 26 Feb '09

26 Feb '09

The next version of both the SusE LINUX Enterprise Server (SLES) and Desktop (SLED) - version 11 - is being made available in the Release Candidate for downloads. A registration is required to complete the download process. Here's the write-up about SLES/SLED 11: Novell Downloads Disclaimer ATTENTION! By downloading the above ISO images provided for the SUSE Linux Enterprise 11 Sneak Preview, you are accessing pre-release versions of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 and SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 11. You are using these pre-release versions at your own risk! These pre-release versions of SUSE Linux Enterprise 11 are made available exclusively via download as a preview. Novell recommends to use them solely for evaluation purposes. Do not use the pre-release versions to run any system in production. Also, there is no upgrade path available from the Sneak Preview versions to the final General Availability versions of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 and SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 11, or to later versions. Novell does NOT provide any bug-tracking channel, support, services, or warranty for the use of these pre-release versions, no matter if you update from a previous version of SUSE Linux Enterprise or if you perform a completely new installation. Thanks http://download.novell.com/protected/Summary.jsp?buildid=_skp4YryXVs~

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FYI: Adobe Acrobat and Reader Vulnerability exploits PDF files
by billing 21 Feb '09

21 Feb '09

Begin forwarded message: > From: Ken De Cruyenaere <kdc(a)cc.umanitoba.ca> > Date: February 20, 2009 9:43:00 PM CST (CA) > To: um-compureps(a)cc.umanitoba.ca > Subject: [C-REPS] Heads up ! - Adobe Acrobat and Reader Vulnerability > > > There is an exploit in the wild and a patch is not expected until > March 11th. > > See below for suggested (temporary) solutions. > > ----- Forwarded message from CERT Advisory <cert-advisory(a)cert.org> > ----- > > > Systems Affected > > * Adobe Reader version 9 and earlier > * Adobe Acrobat (Professional, 3D, and Standard) version 9 and > earlier > > > Overview > > Adobe has released Security Bulletin APSB09-01, which describes a > vulnerability that affects Adobe Reader and Acrobat. This > vulnerability could allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary > code. > > > I. Description > > Adobe Security Bulletin APSB09-01 describes a memory-corruption > vulnerability that affects Adobe Reader and Acrobat. Further > details are available in Vulnerability Note VU#905281. An attacker > could exploit these vulnerabilities by convincing a user to load a > specially crafted Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) file. > Acrobat integrates with popular web browsers, and visiting a > website is usually sufficient to cause Acrobat to load PDF content. > > > II. Impact > > An attacker may be able to execute arbitrary code. > > > III. Solution > > Disable JavaScript in Adobe Reader and Acrobat > > Disabling Javascript may prevent some exploits from resulting in > code execution. Acrobat JavaScript can be disabled using the > Preferences menu (Edit -> Preferences -> JavaScript and un-check > Enable Acrobat JavaScript). > > > Prevent Internet Explorer from automatically opening PDF documents > > The installer for Adobe Reader and Acrobat configures Internet > Explorer to automatically open PDF files without any user > interaction. This behavior can be reverted to the safer option of > prompting the user by importing the following as a .REG file: > > Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 > > [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AcroExch.Document.7] > "EditFlags"=hex:00,00,00,00 > > > Disable the display of PDF documents in the web browser > > Preventing PDF documents from opening inside a web browser will > partially mitigate this vulnerability. If this workaround is > applied it may also mitigate future vulnerabilities. To prevent PDF > documents from automatically being opened in a web browser, do the > following: > 1. Open Adobe Acrobat Reader. > 2. Open the Edit menu. > 3. Choose the preferences option. > 4. Choose the Internet section. > 5. Un-check the "Display PDF in browser" check box. > > > Do not access PDF documents from untrusted sources > > Do not open unfamiliar or unexpected PDF documents, particularly > those hosted on web sites or delivered as email attachments. Please > see Cyber Security Tip ST04-010. > > > IV. References > > * Adobe Security Bulletin apsa09-01 - > <http://www.adobe.com/support/security/advisories/apsa09-01.html> > > * Securing Your Web Browser - > <http://www.us-cert.gov/reading_room/securing_browser/> > > <snip> > ----- End forwarded message ----- > > > --- > Ken De Cruyenaere Computer Security Coordinator > kdc(a)cc.umanitoba.ca Information Services & Technology > (204) 474-8340 University of Manitoba > > > > ----- End forwarded message ----- > > _______________________________________ > um-compureps mailing list > um-compureps(a)lists.umanitoba.ca > http://lists.umanitoba.ca/mailman/listinfo/um-compureps >

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FYI: if you share, make sure you have a termination clause...
by billing 20 Feb '09

20 Feb '09

....or... All your content are belong to us.... forever. As you may already have heard, the online "social networking" service FACEBOOK briefly changed their "Terms of Service" this month... and then changed them back. The initial change allowed FACEBOOK to retain anything you'd put into your FACEBOOK account (pictures, text, poems, songs, etc.), even if you had closed your account. The online video-blog Rocketboom (www.rocketboom.com) has a video that examines some of the issues surrounding this event: http://www.rocketboom.com/rb_09_feb_19/

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FYI: ECODISC DVD stuck in Mac slot drive...
by billing 18 Feb '09

18 Feb '09

...from: http://www.ecodiscdvd.net/ "EcoDisc is the revolutionary, eco-friendly DVD with all the optical properties, playability and quality of traditional DVDs at a third less of the cost. They use 50% less polycarbonate and produce 52% less CO2 emissions. You can easily convert your existing CD line to a more profitable EcoDisc line. They’re thinner, lighter, more flexible, more durable and environmentally friendly. Go green, save green, make green. Go EcoDisc." Sounds great, right? Thinner, lighter, use less material, creates less pollution, flexible.... what could be the problem? They are "too thin" for slot-loading drives..... They've already been used in magazine give-away's in the UK. They're coming to North America... ...from: http://www.digitaltoast.co.uk/ecodisc-cover-dvd-stuck-in-mac-slot-drive ECODISC DVD STUCK IN MAC SLOT DRIVE The problem of unwanted freebie coverdiscs has been growing for a while now. So, someone invented EcoDiscs, which are half the thickness of a normal DVD. Except they’ll bugger your Mac up and leave you with a bill for £65+VAT. The Independent and The Daily Mail amongst others gave away some ecodisc cover DVDs this weekend, and on Monday, a distressed relative called to say the mac was making strange noises. After a couple of hours, I began searching on the internet, and found the answer: http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/01/17/slot_load_pc_pro_drive_mayhem/comme… http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/155010/mail-on-sunday-angers-mac-users-with-dvd… http://qompute.wordpress.com/2008/01/18/ecodisc-becoming-ecodisaster-for-ma… http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/01/17/slot_load_pc_pro_drive_mayhem/ http://digg.com/apple/Environmental_DVD_Wrecks_Apple_Drives http://www.kizo.com/2008/environmental-dvd-wrecks-apple-drives/ http://apple.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/01/17/1747254 I phoned The Independent who took no responsibility at all, but said they’d send out a standard form reply by email (which never came) disclaiming all responsibility. So, there’s a warning on the disc (click for full size: hint, you're looking for this symbol ) Yes, it’s 4mm high, in fuzzy print. As if anyone is going to see that! It needs to be the LARGEST thing on the disc. I then called the manufacturer, ODS, who sent me the document below - yes, the solution is to turn the Mac upside down while ejecting the disc. In fact, as this didn’t work at first, I followed further guidelines on the net suggesting I bang it while ejecting and upside down! This finally freed the disc, but does anyone have any idea how bad that can be for a hard drive?! It could cause a head-crash and data loss at the least. Another surprising thing is that according to one of the articles above, Ecodisc have had “less than 12 calls about it”. Makes you wonder why they need a standard document like this, doesn’t it... Everything below is quoted: EcoDisc – argument guideline to get EcoDisc out of Apple computer If customers face the unlikely incident that the EcoDisc is not ejected out of a computer slot-in drive (even after several trials) our recommendation is: To try with 1. turn laptop/PC upside down, 2. press manual “eject” button To restart the computer once again and try with the eject button If accessible: to take the disc-drive out of the computer, open the disc-drive with a screw driver and then take the disc out. A technically versed person can accomplish this within ten minutes To take the computer to the next Apple shop for fixing; cost approx. 25-50€. Not to insert a second EcoDisc afterwards, because we cannot guarantee that this measure works with all slot-in drive constructions existing world wide Not to use tools like tweezers or other, because these tools might really damage the drive, but the EcoDisc itself does not damage the drive or destroy it, just might block the ejection mechanism ....sounds like the best thing is to just not insert them in the first place.... thanks, wayne

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INTEREST: Stanford's "Clean Slate" Internet redesign...
by billing 16 Feb '09

16 Feb '09

...from: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/15/weekinreview/15markoff.html?th&emc=th Do We Need a New Internet? By JOHN MARKOFF Published: February 14, 2009 Two decades ago a 23-year-old Cornell University graduate student brought the Internet to its knees with a simple software program that skipped from computer to computer at blinding speed, thoroughly clogging the then-tiny network in the space of a few hours. The program was intended to be a digital “Kilroy Was Here.” Just a bit of cybernetic fungus that would unobtrusively wander the net. However, a programming error turned it into a harbinger heralding the arrival of a darker cyberspace, more of a mirror for all of the chaos and conflict of the physical world than a utopian refuge from it. [...] ...from: http://cleanslate.stanford.edu/about_cleanslate.php About Clean Slate Mission Our mission is to "reinvent the internet" so Future Internet can: • overcome fundamental architectural limitations (e.g. lack of security and mobility support) of today's Internet • incorporate new technologies (e.g. sensor networks, optical networks) • enable new class of applications and services (e.g. content dissemination, sensorized physical world, large scale virtual world environments) • continue to be a platform for innovations and thus be an engine for economic growth and prosperity for the society. We know our mission is ambitious - that is what makes it worthy of our group of very talented students, staff, and faculty. Our Approach • We think of the Internet in very broad terms: it is not just about the TCP/IP protocol stack and switches and routers. It is the collection of systems that make the heart of the Internet: the services, computation and storage - those concentrated in dedicated centers, and those globally distributed. It is also the diversity of ways that we will connect to, and interact with, the Internet - via mobile and personal communication, with virtual presence and virtual worlds, reaching all parts of the globe. Together, these form the online infrastructure that society will continue to depend on. • We are taking an interdisciplinary approach with students, staff, and faculty from Departments of Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, and Management Science and Engineering and from Business School and Law School. Stanford's depth and breadth of expertise combined with its collaborative culture makes the interdisciplinary program possible. • We are also partnering with the industry to benefit from its insights, technologies, and resources. Stanford's long history of successful collaboration with the industry and its location and role in the Silicon Valley makes the industry collaboration at this scale possible. • We are reducing barrier to exploring a (radical) idea by creating a mechanism to seed exploratory projects. • We are also undertaking larger collaborative flagship projects to address broader research themes and associated challenges that require development of new architectures, technologies and systems and their deployment in a test bed network. For these projects, we are exploring special partnerships with the industry. • We are selectively collaborating with researchers outside Stanford and also contributing to national initiatives such as NSF's GENI initiative including FIND that we share a common vision with. • We are making it an enjoyable and fun experience for the participants in the program. Our Team We have assembled a great team with members that have a strong track record of contributions in all aspects of the Internet: • From theory to system development to deployment to technology commercialization • From physical layer technologies to network architectures and protocols to distributed systems and services to applications • Security and robustness of networks and systems • Economics and policy issues pertaining to current and future Internet You can learn more about the team by looking at People section of the website. We are always interested in new members including undergraduate and graduate students who have a passion to make the world a better place using innovations especially in networking and systems. If you are interested, look at Contact section of the website. ...from: http://yuba.stanford.edu/trainwreck/ The Future of TCP: Train-wreck or Evolution? April 1, 2008 Stanford University, Stanford, CA Sponsored by: The Stanford Clean Slate Internet Program Cisco Systems The Stanford Computer Forum Home Program Committee Important Dates Agenda Registration Logistics ParticipantsContact Workshop Description: Spurred on by a widespread belief that TCP is showing its age and needs replacing - and a deeper understanding of the dynamics of congestion control - the research community has brought forward many new congestion control algorithms. There has been lots of debate about the relative merits and demerits of the new schemes; and a standardization effort is under way in the IETF. But before the next congestion control mechanism is deployed, it will need to be deployed widely in operating systems and - in some cases - in switches and routers too. This will be a long road, requiring the buy-in of many people: Researchers, product developers and business leaders too. Our own experience of proposing new congestion control algorithms has been met with the challenge: "Show me the compelling need for a new congestion control mechanisms?", and "What will really happen to the Internet (and my business) if we keep TCP just the way it is?" As a community, we need examples that are simple to understand, and demonstrate a compelling need for change. We call them the "Train wreck scenarios". Examples might show that distribution of video over wireless in the home will come to a halt without new algorithms. Or that P2P traffic will bring the whole network crashing down. Or that huge, high-performance data-centers need new algorithms. Whatever your favorite example, we believe that if we are collectively armed with a handful of mutually agreed examples, it will be much easier to make a business case for change. Or put another way, if we can't articulate compelling examples to industry leaders, then is the cost and risk of change worth it? The goal of the workshop is to identify a handful of really compelling demonstrations of the impending train-wreck. The outcome will be a set of canonical examples that we will use to persuade industry of the need for change. You can choose the way you present your demonstration: You could bring equipment and show a live-demo; you could show simulations or animations; or you could produce a video showing a real or synthetic demo. Whatever method you choose, the goal is to create a case that will persuade a mildly-technical but influential business leader of the need for change. We will invite a panel of judges to give prizes for the most compelling examples in two categories: (1) The Overall Most Compelling Example, which will be judged on a combination of the technical merits and the presentation of the scenario, and (2) The Most Technically Compelling Example, which will be judged on its technical merit alone, without consideration of the way it is presented. The whole purpose of the workshop it to focus on the problem, not the solutions. We are most definitely not interested in your favorite scheme, or ours. So we need some ground-rules. No-one is allowed to mention a specific mechanism, algorithm or proposal at any time during the workshop: Not in their talk, not in a panel, and not in questions to the speakers. The only mechanisms that will be allowed mention are: TCP (in its standard and deployed flavors), and idealized alternatives for purposes of demonstration. For example, comparing TCP with an oracle that provides instantaneous optimal rates to each flow. We will video the entire workshop and all the demonstrations, and make it publicly available on the Internet. We will make any proceedings and talks available too. The goal is to open up the demonstrations for public scrutiny and feedback after the event. The event is hosted by the Stanford Clean Slate Program and local arrangements will be made by the Stanford Computer Forum, Nick McKeown and Nandita Dukkipati. The workshop has received offers of support and funding from Cisco Systems and Microsoft. Last updated March 30, 2008

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FYI: got a car? Look out for computer malware...
by billing 06 Feb '09

06 Feb '09

...from: http://isc.sans.org/diary.html?date=2009-02-03 The SANS Institute (SysAdmin, Audit, Network, Security: an affiliation of over 165,000 computer security personnel around the world) has posted the above article on their site. The short story is that fliers put under the windshield wipers of cars in Grand Forks, ND alluded to parking violations and gave a web site URL. Browsing to the URL installed malware on Microsoft Windows machines. Click on the link for all the "gory" details.... Wayne

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INTEREST: Treating Stuttering with iPhone
by billing 02 Feb '09

02 Feb '09

...from: http://www.medgadget.com/archives/2009/02/start_treating_your_stuttering_wi… Monday, February 2, 2009 Start Treating Your Stuttering with iPhone Filed under: Neurology , Rehab Hollins Communications Research Institute, based in Roanoke, Virginia, is a premier organization dedicated to treatment and research of speech impediment disorders, specifically stuttering. Until now, patients at the facility had to regularly come in to receive objective analysis of their speech using desktop computers. To increase compliance with therapy and to help people assess their own speech on the go, an iPhone application was created which can listen to and provide objective feedback to the patient and clinicians back at the facility. The iPhone device was programmed at HCRI with a sophisticated voice monitoring system that evaluates and scores speech behaviors taught during stuttering therapy. When clients use the device during training in outside situations, such as in a shopping mall, restaurant or business setting, fluency measurements for each utterance are displayed on the iPhone screen. Having this data immediately available to stuttering therapy program participants makes speech practice more effective and helps improve the speed with which fluency results are achieved. In addition, the iPhone records every speech sample in an onboard file for later transmission to HCRI. This information enables the institute's therapists to provide more detailed and precise training to clients, as they learn to apply new speech capabilities in everyday situations. The iPhone has exceeded expectations during trials with stuttering therapy participants, according to HCRI Founder and President Ronald L. Webster, Ph.D. Client scores in outside trials were similar to those made in the clinical environment, indicating that quality transfer of fluency skills was being attained. Webster added that client responses during the trials, which were completed last week, have been extremely positive. He attributes the device's strong appeal to the fact that the iPhone is a practical and fun piece of technology to use for the advancement of stuttering treatment outcomes .

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FYI: Seagate hard drives locking up: more info available; still need to contact Seagate tech support
by billing 02 Feb '09

02 Feb '09

- original info: > While it's been some time since Seagate drives shipped in Apple > machines, external drives or other machines may have them.... here's > a description of the problem and a link to find out if your Seagate > drive may be susceptible... > > ...from: > http://news.zdnet.co.uk/hardware/0,1000000091,39596623,00.htm ...and from: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/01/16/barracuda_failure_plague/ Countries affected by the hard drive firmware failure: ...and to determine if your SEAGATE hard drive may have the problem visit: http://seagate.custkb.com/seagate/crm/selfservice/search.jsp?DocId=207931 An issue exists that may cause some Seagate hard drives to become inoperable immediately after a power-on operation. Once this condition has occurred, the drive cannot be restored to normal operation without intervention from Seagate. Data on the drive will be unaffected and can be accessed once normal drive operation has been restored. This is caused by a firmware issue coupled with a specific manufacturing test process. Support is available through Seagate’s call center, which can be reached by dialing: 1-800-SEAGATE (1-800-732-4283). Seagate also says that customers can expedite assistance by sending an email (discsupport(a)seagate.com). The company asks that you include your drive's model number, serial number, and current firmware revision. Thank-you, Wayne Billing Information Services and Technology University of Manitoba

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INTEREST: the Macintosh is 25 years young...
by billing 29 Jan '09

29 Jan '09

This past Saturday (January 24) 25 years ago, Apple launched the Macintosh with an add during the SuperBowl: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-715862862672743260 25 years later, MacWorld magazine has a bit of a "photo retrospective" of 25 years of Macintosh.... and Steve Jobs. ...from: http://www.macworld.com/article/138405/2009/01/mactimeline.html Wayne

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