Privacy

Hacking, cracking and the wild, wild web

PRIVACY – Who are hackers and what do they want from you?

Pop culture would have us believe they live in dank basements, wear black leather from head to toe and have pseudonyms such as Warlock or Neo.

Hacking and film have long gone hand in hand. Pre-internet we had the appropriately-named Gene Hackman in The Conversation, a 1974 movie focusing on the violation of people’s privacy.

You’ve got mail – how to stop spam and reduce cyber crime

We’ve all received them: emails offering special prices on Viagra, offering fortunes we didn’t know we had, offering links to fantastic websites we simply must visit right away.

Annoying as! But the technology to stop spam and other undesirable emails not only exists, it’s been around for years.

The internet is insecure – let’s build a better one, fast

A few days ago, senior FBI official Shawn Henry called for the creation of a new and secure “alternative internet” to secure key infrastructure and financial systems.

Anonymous, child porn and the wild, wild web

By Mark A Gregory, RMIT University

High-profile hacktivist group Anonymous has turned its attention to fighting child pornography.

UK court ruling on ISP filtering: copyright victory or download defeat?

By Mark A Gregory, RMIT University

Last week, the English High Court ordered British Telecom (BT) to block access to a members-only website that offers links to pirated films.

NewzBin2, the site in question, offers links to pirated films on what’s been described as a “grand scale”.

Hackers hit Steam: is it time to open the Valve on e-commerce regulation?

By Mark A Gregory, RMIT University

One of the world’s largest online video gaming networks, Steam, has been hacked and its 35 million users may have had their accounts “compromised”. And yes, “compromised” means their (encrypted) credit card details may have been stolen.

Stop Online Piracy Act draws battle lines for 'control' of the internet

By Mark A Gregory, RMIT University

Battle lines have been drawn in the US between proponents of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), currently being debated, and those who oppose any regulation of the internet.

Why is Anonymous hacking Australia?

A few days ago, Anonymous activists hacked into AAPTstole 40GB of data including customer information and forced offline ten Australian government websites.

An invincible file-sharing platform? You can't be serious

By Mark A Gregory, RMIT University

A new version of the peer-to-peer sharing application Tribler has created a buzz online following claims by the software’s lead developer that the app is impervious to attack.

Why is Telstra Next G serving your data to Netsweeper in America?

By Mark A Gregory, RMIT University

Telstra representatives have this week admitted to collecting data for a new internet filtering product and sending this data to the USA office of Netsweeper Inc.