South Korea's View on China's Media Control and Censorship

Got bored of China's Internet censorship efforts, and its interest to control mobile communications as well? I haven't, and I doubt I ever will given China is among the many other countries on the world's map actively restricting access to information, and, of course, controlling the way it reaches the final audience -- if it does.

A recent article at The Korean Times, makes some very good points on the cons of censoring the reporting of "sudden events", and the typical for a (modern) communist type of government, total centralization. It emphasises on how :

"Beijing's approach is fundamentally flawed. The news media is a positive force in society. A free press is necessary to keep the government on its toes, especially when the government itself is not accountable to the public. Restricting the press will result in a public that is kept in the dark and in local governments whose excesses will no longer be subject to scrutiny.

Beijing should understand that many of today's problems today stem from abusive local officials. Premier Wen Jiabao acknowledged at a press conference in March that some local governments have infringed upon the legitimate rights and interests of the people, and social conflicts have subsequently occurred.

In this struggle between victimized farmers and avaricious officials, the press—and the central government—are on the same side. Muzzling the press will only deprive the victims of a powerful champion while enabling grasping officials to line their pockets without fear of being exposed. Surely, this cannot be what the Chinese government wants."

In case of a "sudden event" I feel they'd rather be winning time compared to keeping it quiet, then again I guess ruling one of the largest nation in the world while trying to maintain stability -- FDI matters folks -- is a dauting task, but one not necessarily having to do with ignoring the situation. Government accountability and possible changes in voting attitudes in China don't exist, mainly because there isn't any other party, but THE party, therefore historical (under)performance doesn't count at all.

In comparison, whereas Chinese citizens suffer from the lack of information or the blocked access to it, in the U.S there's a controversial debate going on regarding over-performing investigative journalists revealing details thought to be sensitive to national security, and the overall availability of potentially sensitive information to the general public. The problem isn't the "leak" as it's a common sense practice, but the publicity it got in the post 9/11, privacy-preserving society -- or at least one trying to. Doesn't really matter if the FOIA turned forty, "redacting" is often misspelled for censorship, in between the lines of personal and sensitive information.

At the bottom line, government practices' transparency with the help of the media watchdogs, a government incapable of knowing the exact state of a situation by itself, or the notion of too much publicly available information in today's OSINT world, up to you to decide, just don't rule, run business, or blog, by excluding the middle, or you'll sooner or later face with it in one way or another.

Security Research Reference Coverage

I’ve recently started getting more requests on participating or guiding to a certain extend, student theses and various other research papers. There's nothing more pleasant than exchanging points of view, don't preach, but teach and question everything is what I have in mind. So, I've decided to share some publications featuring some of my previous papers, and by the way, I'm very near to releasing two research papers on hot topics that emerged during 2006, so stay tuned!

Online Media
- Quoted in an article by Arthur G. Insana for ImediaConnection.com back in 2004, discussing the various threats posed by trojan horses. Trouble is, I'm no longer affiliated with the company. Respect the individual!
- Quoted in an article by Bill Brenner on the "Storm Worm" and social engineering when it comes to malware in general
- My paper on the future trends of malware got Slashdotted
- Security.nl covered the International Exploits Shop in an article
- Yet another article at Security.nl this time regarding my future trends of malware paper.
- Marc Olanié at Reseaux-Telecoms.net has been writing lots of articles regarding my research worth going through
- Microsoft, concepteur de virus
- Des truands, des failles, du business...
- Danchev sur l'Achat de failles
- Bientôt, le virus et l'attaque DoS on demand
- Encore et toujours F-Secure/Kaspersky...
- Clusif : le rapport criminalité 2005, chantages et escroqueries
- Le Cyber-Jihad fait trembler l'Amérique
- La vie secrète du phishing : 20/20 en éco et géographie
- Symantec : Boulevard du crime... et au delà

Research Papers/Academic
- Future of Malicious Code references my future trends of malware paper. Here's the French version
- Entwurf eines Kunstlichen Immunsystems zur Netzwerkuberwachung auf Basis eines Multi-Agenten-Systems references future trends of malware
- Limiting Vulnerability Exposure through effective Patch Management: Threat Mitigation Through Vulnerability Remediation references my best practices on security policies
- Developing a Security Policy refences my paper on security policies
- Policy Review references my paper on security policies

- Hu Xiaodong, “Security Centre for an Enterprise thesis”, CS Department, Stockholm’s University, references Building and Implementing a Successful Information Security Policy

- Jinqiao Yu, "TRINETR: An Intrusion Detection Alert Management and Analysis System dissertation", College of Engineering and Mineral Resources at West Virginia University, references Building and Implementing a Successful Information Security Policy

- Philippe Farges and Annick Tremblet, "Project on Trojans", Department of Computer Science Linkoping Institute of Technology, Sweden, references The Complete Windows Trojan Paper
- Fausi Qattan & Fredrik Thernelius, "Deficiencies in Current Software Protection Mechanisms and Alternatives for Securing Computer Integrity", Department of Computer and Systems Sciences
Stockholm University - Royal Institute of Technology, references The Complete Windows Trojan Paper
- Computer Knowledge, "Virus Tutorial" references The Complete Windows Trojan Paper
- Reyes, Juan Carlos, "Una Aproximación Teórica a la Prevención del Factor Humano en la Seguridad Informatica", references Reducing "Human Factor" Mistakes
- Rezan Fisli, "Secure Corporate Communications Over VPN-Based WANs", references Building and Implementing a Successful Information Security Policy
- Vo Khac Thanh, "An IT security policy framework", Asian Institute of Technology SAT : School of Advanced Technologies, references Building and Implementing a Successful Information Security Policy
- Rohmadi Hidayat, "Deteksi Trojan Dan Penanganannya", references The Complete Windows Trojan Paper
- Robert J. Kaufman III, "Susceptibilities Policy Review (Top-Down Methodology) Lesson 7 PPT", The University of Texas at San Antonio, College of Business, references Building and Implementing a Successful Information Security Policy
- "Trends of Spyware, Viruses and Exploits", references Malware - it's getting worse
- Steven M. Michnick, "Information Security Framework for Small and Medium Sized Businesses", references Passwords - Common Attacks and Possible Solutions
- Samer Catalan, "Trojan Horses", RWTH Aachen University, references The Complete Windows Trojan Paper
- Stephen M. Specht and Ruby B. Lee, "Distributed Denial of Service: Taxonomies of Attacks, Tools, and Countermeasures", Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Parallel and Distributed Computing Systems, International Workshop on Security in Parallel and Distributed Systems, references The Complete Windows Trojan Paper

- Delwyn Lee, Adam Marks, David Bell, “Student Residence Secure Solutions Analysis of ResNet Security”, references Building and Implementing a Successful Information Security Policy

- Clarissa L. Evans Brown, “A Policy to prevent outsider attacks on the local network”, GSEC Practical Assignment, references Building and Implementing a Successful Information Security Policy

- Hatim Ali Badr, “Online home users Defense in Depth”, GIAC Practical Assignment, references The Complete Windows Trojan Paper

- Tim Strong, “PestPatrol in a Corporate Environment: A Case Study in Information Security” – GIAC Practical Assignment, references The Complete Windows Trojan Paper's Future of Trojans section

- Sorcha Canavan, "An Information Policy Development Guide for Large Companies" – GSEC, Practical Assignment, references Building and Implementing a Successful Information Security Policy

- Gregory R. Panakkal, “Advanced Survival Techniques in Malware”, Cochin University of Science and Technology, references The Complete Windows Trojan Paper

- Michael D. Thacker, "Effective Security Policy Management” – Virus Bulletin 2005 Conference, references Building and Implementing a Successful Information Security Policy

- My paper regarding security policies has been discussed in a network security course at the George Mason University

- University of Melbourne’s Network Security Course teaches on my security policies publication

- University of Houston are giving assignments on my security policies publication

- Tim Lackorzynski, "Future Trends of Malware PPT", Fakultät Informatik, Technische Universität Dresden, Proseminar Dependable Systems is discussing my "Malware - Future Trends" research
- Widener University have included my "Steganography and Cyber Terrorism Communications" in their forensics course reading materials

Delicious Information Warfare - 27/07

Given the interest in the perspective, I'm continuing to share my daily reads for the last week and a half. Catch up with previous summaries, and see the big picture as well.

01. The fine art of shoulder surfing - Many hackers download their tools but traditionalists skilled in shoulder surfing still pose a threat. to Security on july 2

02. VCs discuss the next big things - Cell phone gambling in China and other wireless trends are what venture capitalists at Brainstorm were talking about. to Investing Mobile on july 2

03. Life After Privacy - Personal information is no longer personal. The only question is: who gets to see it? to Security Privacy on july 2

04. Spy Agency Sought U.S. Call Records Before 9/11, Lawyers Say - The U.S. National Security Agency asked AT&T Inc. to help it set up a domestic call monitoring site seven months before the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, lawyers claimed June 23 in court papers filed in New York federal court. to Intelligence Surveillance Wiretapping Terrorism NSA on july 2

05. MySpace, a place without MyParents - Scott Granneman looks at the mass hysteria surrounding MySpace social security issues, examines a collection of frightening reports, and then discusses the real issue of parenting and parental supervision behind keeping our children safe. to Security NewMedia MySpace on july 2

06. Limiting Vulnerability Exposure through effective Patch Management: threat mitigation through vulnerability remediation - This document aims to provide a complete discussion on vulnerability and patch management. It looks first at the trends relating to vulnerabilities, exploits, attacks and patches. These trends provide the drivers of patch and vulnerability management. to Vulnerabilities 0day on july 2

07. 'Blue Pill' Prototype Creates 100% Undetectable Malware - Joanna Rutkowska, a stealth malware researcher at Singapore-based IT security firm COSEINC, says the new Blue Pill concept uses AMD's SVM/Pacifica virtualization technology to create an ultra-thin hypervisor that takes complete control of the underlying.. to Malware Rootkit Technology on july 2

08. Hacker attacks hitting Pentagon - "This stuff is enormously important," said John P. Stenbit, the Pentagon's chief information officer until 2004. "If the keys get into the wrong hands, all kinds of bad things happen. to Defense InformationWarfare on july 2

09. Data Mining Myspace Bulletins - I was able to whip together a small C program that generates urls, retrieves the bulletin, and saves the html to a file. Once all of the data has been downloaded, it's easy to parse through using a tool like grep. to Security NewMedia MySpace on july 2

10. How A Trigger Set Off A Logic Bomb At UBS PaineWebber - A forensics investigator testifying at the computer sabotage trial of a former systems administrator for UBS PaineWebber detailed how each line of code in the trigger helped set off a devastating logic bomb. to Insider Malware on july 2

11. On the Economics of Information Security - Papers - The Fifth Workshop on the Economics of Information Security (WEIS 2006). to Security Leadership on july 2

12. What's Wrong with This Picture? - A messy desk is a vulnerable desk. We've created one with 20 egregious violations of a good policy. See if you can find them. to Security Workplace on july 2

13. Space attack on satellites could be devastating - If the US does not protect its Earth-orbiting satellites, the equivalent of a car bomb in space could take the economy back to the 1950s, according to witnesses testifying in Washington DC earlier this week. to Military Satellite Space SPAWAR on july 2

14. Air Force to spend $450K datamining blogs for war on terror - The Air Force Office of Scientific Research recently began funding a new research area that includes a study of blogs. Blog research may provide information analysts and warfighters with invaluable help in fighting the war on terrorism. to Intelligence Terrorism Surveillance Technology on july 2

15. How Did U.S. Assess Iraqi Bioweapon Production? - One of the most vivid allegations made by the U.S. government regarding Iraqi weapons of mass destruction was the claim that Iraqi had developed mobile laboratories for the production of biological weapons. to Intelligence on july 2

16. Month of Browser Bugs - I will publish one new vulnerability each day during the month of July as part of the Month of Browser Bugs project. to Vulnerabilities 0day Metasploit on july 3

17. IM's Hidden Dangers - But unlike water-cooler chatter, IMs leave a trail—one that can be tracked by employers, regulators, and law-enforcement officials. And like e-mail, IMs are considered legal documents. to IM Compliance on july 6

18. Trend Micro Execs Face Probe - Agency may charge CEO and her husband with trading in shares of his former company, SINA. Trend Micro reported revenues of $621.9 million in 2005, compared with $587.4 million in 2004. The company currently has nearly 3,000 employees around the world. to Investing AntiVirus on july 6

19. Blast from the past: '50s Nevada A-bombs light LA's night sky - In the early 1950s, several above-ground atom bomb tests at the Nevada Proving Ground were visible in Los Angeles. This photo and five similar ones from 1951-1955 are from the Los Angeles Public Library Photo Database. to Defense Nuclear Technology on july 6

20. FOIA at Forty - The fortieth anniversary of the Freedom of Information Act, signed into law by President Johnson on July 4, 1966, was marked with the release of several interesting and informative publications.
to FOIA on july 6

21. Early Days On The Anti-Virus Front: A Personal Perspective - An anti-virus programmer reminisces about the people and the organizations that were pivotal in the earliest days of the war against computer viruses.
to Malware AntiVirus on july 6

22. The Blue Pill Hype - The working prototype I have (and which I will be demonstrating at SyScan and Black Hat) implements the most important step towards creating such malware, namely it allows to move the underlying operating system, on the fly, into a secure virtual machine. to Malware Rootkit Innovation on july 6

23. New PoC virus can infect both Windows and Linux - The virus is interesting, said analysts on Kaspesky's Viruslist website, because it is capable of infecting ELF, the file format used for Linux systems, and PE, Windows' file format. to Malware on july 6

24. Iranian intelligence services ban access to Azerbaijani websites - He reported that the ban aims at depriving Iranian Azerbaijanis of the contact with the international community. to Censorship Intelligence Iran on july 6

25. Can the N.Y. Times Be Charged Under the Espionage Act? - Can The New York Times be prosecuted for their story about the government's secret terrorist finance tracking program? to Intelligence Espionage Terrorism FreeSpeech on july 6

26. Text messaging censorship: PITA, BFD, or BTHOM? - Text messaging and the first level of censorship begins at the phone. While it's certainly possible to enter any word using the alphabetic method in which a=2, b=2-2, c=2-2-2, d=3 and so on, it isn't very convenient. to Censorship Mobile on july 6

27. Iran Accuses Academic Of Espionage For U.S. - Iran today accused jailed academic Ramin Jahanbegloo of having spied for the United States, with the aim of toppling the ruling Islamic system. to Intelligence Espionage Iran on july 6

28. Italian intelligence officials arrested over CIA kidnap - Italian police arrested two officials with Italy's military intelligence agency on Wednesday on suspicion of helping the CIA in the alleged kidnapping of a terrorism suspect in Milan, judicial sources said. to Intelligence Espionage CIA on july 6

29. New York Times Draws Criticism Over Decision to Reveal Intelligence Program - Executive editor of the New York Times Bill Keller and former director of the NSA Admiral Bobby Inman debate the newspaper's publication of the Bush administration's surveillance of banking records and the process in deciding what is fit to print. to FreeSpeech on july 6

30. Hackers May Lose Nuclear Option - The risk was illustrated in 2003, when the Slammer worm penetrated a network at the idled Davis-Besse nuclear plant in Ohio, disabling a safety monitoring computer for nearly five hours. to SCADA Nuclear Cyberterrorism Malware on july 7

31. 3 arrested in Coca-Cola trade secret scheme - "As the health of our enterprise continues to strengthen and the breadth of our innovation pipeline continues to grow, our ideas and our competitive data carry increasing interest to those outside our business." to Insider Espionage on july 7

32. Proactive Protection: a Panacea for Viruses? - The first in a series of articles that discuss the newest technologies used by antivirus companies which focuses on proactive technologies. to Malware Innovation on july 7

33. Japan to speed up installation of missile defense system - The envisioned missile defense system will detect launches of ballistic missiles with Aegis and other sophisticated radar systems and shoot them down with the sea-based Standard Missile-3 and the land-based Patriot Advanced Capability-3. to Defense Military on july 7
34. FCC CALEA Wiretap Rule for Broadband and VOIP - This document addresses the assistance capabilities required, pursuant to section 103 of the (CALEA- for facilities-based broadband Internet access providers and providers of interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). to Security Terrorism Intelligence Wiretapping CALEA VoIP Compliance on july 7
35. Tensions Ramping up with North Korea - "The U.S. was hell bent on espionage over military objects of the DPRK in March when it staged large-scale RSOI and "Foal Eagle" joint military exercises, bringing about the dark cloud of nuclear warfare." to Defense Military Reconnaissance on july 7
36. Over 1,200 Cases of U.S. Aerial Espionage - Translated 2004 News Items - Involved in the aerial espionage were latest reconnaissance planes of different missions including U-2, RC-135, E-8C, E-3, RC-7B, RC-12, RF-4, P-3 and EP-3. to Espionage Military Reconnaissance on july 7
37. Interview : An Ethical Hacker Protects the World Cup Network - Dr. Tom Porter is the mastermind behind the security for the World Cup network and a lifetime hacker himself. He shares his thoughts about network security, hacking and protecting the World Cup network. to Security Interview Leadership on july 7
38. Google’s Microsoft Syndrome - Google has fixed a security flaw in its RSS reader that could have allowed hackers to steal users’ personal information, but experts warned Thursday that the online giant could increasingly become a magnet for hackers, displacing Microsoft as the No. 1 target to Vulnerability Google NewMedia Web on july 7
39. Hefty bill for online click fraud - Online advertisers paid more than $800m last year for fraudulent clicks on their ads and more than a quarter of them have reduced their spending as a result, according to a study by the Outsell media research firm. to NewMedia Advertising Investing on july 7
40. BitDefender Ships Anti-Rootkit Beta - The anti-virus vendor, based in Bucharest, Romania, on July 7 lifted the wraps off a new anti-rootkit utility that promises to spot and delete stealthy software programs that are used by malicious hackers to hide malware. to Malware AntiVirus Rootkit Technology on july 7
41. VPN market to hit $29bn by 2009 - The virtual private network (VPN) services market was worth $23bn (£12.5bn) in 2005 and is expected to grow another 22 per cent to hit $29bn (£15.8bn) by 2009, according to an industry analyst. to Security VPN Investing on july 7
42. US managers accused of industrial espionage - Three former US car industry executives have been accused of selling trade secrets to the Chinese. to Espionage Insider on july 7
43. Mod terror documents found in ditch - According to the newspaper, it includes phone numbers for the UK's most important military figures, such as the Defence Secretary, Chief of Defence Staff and Director of Special Force. to Security on july 7
44. Authorities say gangs using Internet - Some of the country's most notorious street gangs have gotten Web-savvy, showcasing illegal exploits, making threats, and honoring killed and jailed members on digital turf. to PSYOPS on july 7

$960M and the FBI's Art of Branding Insecurity

In previous posts "Are cyber criminals or bureaucrats the industry's top performer?", and "Insiders - insights, trends and possible solutions" I emphasized on how bureaucracy results in major insecurities, and provided further info on various issues related to insiders and risk management solutions -- ones the FBI is obviously far from implementing given the access control issues they have in place. It seems like two years ago, a Consultant Breached FBI's Computers :

"A government consultant, using computer programs easily found on the Internet, managed to crack the FBI's classified computer system and gain the passwords of 38,000 employees, including that of FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III. The break-ins, which occurred four times in 2004, gave the consultant access to records in the Witness Protection Program and details on counterespionage activity, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court in Washington. As a direct result, the bureau said it was forced to temporarily shut down its network and commit thousands of man-hours and millions of dollars to ensure no sensitive information was lost or misused."

How he did it? With access to hashes and 90 days password expiration period, he had all the time in the world, excluding the fact that according to the article a FBI agent even game him his password.

Passwords are a hot topic, and so are the insecurities posed by them. Moreover, spending near $1B for a non-existent case system, while dealing with access control issues is rather unserious for thought to be serious institution -- have you guys considered an open source alternative? You wouldn't come across lots of developers with top-secret clearances applying for the top, but obviously a top-secret clearance cannot prevent insider behavior as well.