Category: Topics (All Other)

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21.3% of Malicious ‘Spam’ Researched by Symantec comes from Shaoxing China (30% China, 21.1% from Romania, US 3rd)

02 China, Cyberscams, malware, spam

Researchers based in Symantec studied over 12 billion emails and
identified that almost 30% of all malicious emails are sourced from
within China and that 21.3% came from the Chinese city of Shaoxing
alone.  The researchers were also able to identify that the primary
targets for these malicious emails were human rights activists and
experts in Asian defence policy, which they claim indicates a strong
state involvement in the attacks.  The research shows that 28.2% of the
targeted attacks came from China, with 21.1% coming from Romania and the
United States coming in as the third highest source of malicious emails.

Read the original article

PhiBetaIota: It's worth noting that the article says “hacker” and later “attacks” as though they are equivalent. Anyone with a more sophisticated understanding of hacking is aware that this is not the case, and that there is a whole community of hackers that embody a whole other non-malicious form of hacking (see 2600.com & their summer conference in NYC).

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Mobile + Micro-Volunteering

11 Society, Civil Society, Gift Intelligence, microfinancing, Mobile, Non-Governmental

It seems as though we've also entered a phase of “micro”. From micro-phones and micro-processors to micro-loans, micro-giving, micro-blogging, and  micro-volunteering. (How will “nano” fit into this?)

Problem:
73% of Americans do not volunteer (2007 US Dept Labor).
Root Cause:
Most volunteer opportunities require vetting, many hours, and a long-term commitment. It’s akin to a second job. For most people, the process is inconvenient, takes too much time, and doesn’t easily fit into hectic lives.Our Theory of Change: Americans have spare time – billions of hours – but in small windows of idle moments: sitting in an airport, waiting in a doctor’s office, riding the bus to work, and more. If we can reach people during these spare moments we harness a huge pool of untapped human energy.To harness micro spare time we must reach people via mobile, but until recently, mobile phones were limited.

The arrival of smartphones like iPhone (with Internet, graphics, camera, GPS, video, audio, and more) created enormous possibilities. 115 million smartphones were sold in 2007 with projections of 700 million by 2012 (WashPost, Aug 2008).The Extraordinaries is smartphone software that allows millions of volunteers to perform tasks on their smartphones in just a few minutes. We make volunteering feel like a video game to encourage repetition and competition. People login to our system from any place on Earth within cell reception, and constructively use small windows of spare time for science, medicine, nonprofits, government, and more. Nearly anything you do on a regular computer you can do on a smartphone.

You can help:
-Translate micro-finance loan applications (Kiva).
-Transcribe subtitles for human rights videos (Witness).
-Immigrants improve their English (Phone ESL).

(I'm sure you can think of many more possibilities)

Also see this list from Time Magazine

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Poverty Dichotomies: USAID’s Famine Early Warning Systems Network, & “Dead Aid” (poverty reduction vs. wealth creation)

01 Poverty, 03 Environmental Degradation, International Aid

Poverty was considered the #1 threat to humanity's planetary security by the “High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change” organized by the SG of the United Nations in 2004.

Dichotomies reside within organizations. And the United Nations seems to be at odds over what is more important, poverty or “‘climate change”. And recently expressed at the “State of the Planet 2010” event in NYC, even linking the two. Who is going to say face-to-face with those in poverty not to cut trees or burn coal to cook or heat because they should lower their ‘carbon footprint' because that will “save the planet”? (Side issue: Solar LED lighting, solar battery chargers, water filters, etc have been developed for the ‘rural poor').

USAID, Wartime, & Dead Aid:

Jeffrey Sachs' had closing remarks at the “State of the Planet 2010” event on March 25, stating that those who claim that aid is not helping Africa are saying “absolute nonsense!” (in an almost angry tone) was interesting despite not going into detail. I'm curious what American organizations who are focused on foreign aid have to say about aid for Americans who are homeless/malnourished, etc. Can't domestic and foreign aid groups network, learn from each other, and developed new ideas? (one example).

Examples of opposition to Jeffrey Sachs' nonsense statement:

If seemingly great opportunities such as the March 25 “State of the Planet 2010” event fall short in generating ‘public intelligence' and ideas to resolve global challenges, then we must look elsewhere. Bono and Jeffrey Sachs are limited while ambitious. This creates a lot of attention, funding, and publicity, but is not wholly effective/is not an answer to the world's problems. It's more of a stimulant to come up with better frameworks that involve more people that desire to network empathy, intelligence, and resources. That, more than traditional ideas on “leadership” herding people towards a promise land will do more good.

Related:

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North Koreans + Cellphones = Subverting Oppression, Citizen Intelligence, Baring Secrets

Counter-Oppression/Counter-Dictatorship Practices, Government, Mobile

(So cool, so ill) Read the rest of the story fr NY Times

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea, one of the world’s most impenetrable nations, is facing a new threat: networks of its own citizens feeding information about life there to South Korea and its Western allies.

The networks are the creation of a handful of North Korean defectors and South Korean human rights activists using cellphones to pierce North Korea’s near-total news blackout. To build the networks, recruiters slip into China to woo the few North Koreans allowed to travel there, provide cellphones to smuggle across the border, then post informers’ phoned and texted reports on Web sites.

The work is risky. Recruiters spend months identifying and coaxing potential informants, all the while evading agents from the North and the Chinese police bent on stopping their work. The North Koreans face even greater danger; exposure could lead to imprisonment — or death.

Related:
Mobile_Citizen_Intelligence_Link_Table (examples of on-the-ground to on-the-web)

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President Obama’s Behind the Scenes Advisory Posse

Power Behind-the-Scenes/Special Interests, Videos/Movies/Documentaries

Obama has said that the Council on Foreign Relations is just a forum where people talk about foreign issues. He has actually said that he didn't even know if he was a member (video of that here).

He has downplayed, or it could be said that he lied about his relationship with Zbigniew Brzezinski (see this interview with Brzezinski on his role in the power elite and accusations of ‘conspiracy').

Earlier this year (according to Intelligence Online issue #609), Jami Miscik, president and vice chairman of Kissinger Associates was  appointed a member of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board. She has been with the CIA and Lehman Brothers bank.

Robert Eringer, former spymaster for Prince Albert II of Monaco (who, in January 26 won a court case against the gov of Monaco after the prince declared immunity due to his head of state status), wrote briefly about the presidential history in relation to the Trilateral Commission and Obama's list of Trilateral Commission appointees:

• Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner;
• National Security Adviser James Jones;
• Deputy National Security Adviser Thomas Donilon;
• Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair;
• State Department special envoys Richard Holbrooke. Dennis Ross, and Richard Haas;
• Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice;
• Lawrence Summers, Director of the National Economic Council;
• Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg;
• Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell;
• Paul Volcker, chairman of the Economic Recovery Committee.

Related:
2010 Membership list

noble gold