Skyway Recommended January 13th to 19th
This week: Cisco Assumes Your Network’s Hacked; Smart ‘Things’ Sending Spam; Frustrations of Canadian Wireless Policy; Realtor Accepts Bitcoin; NSA’s Radio Pathway into Computers; Internet Free Speech Dead in US?; Google Breaches Canadian Privacy Laws
Each Monday we’ll pass on links to articles we thought were well worth reading from the previous week, for those who live where we do (British Columbia, Canada), work like we do (high speed business internet), and think about things we do (internet trends, internet privacy, internet censorship, cutting-edge technology, etc.). If you don’t want to wait ’til Monday, we usually tweet and link to these as we come across them…
IT World Canada | Assume your network has been hacked, says Cisco
Another security vendor has issued a report looking back on the previous 12 months with gloomy words and predictions. “The threat picture in 2013 was pretty bleak,” Levi Gundert, technical lead at Cisco System Inc.’s Threat Research Analysis and Communications (TRAC) group, looking at the figures. The number of vulnerabilities and threats catalogued by the company was the highest since it began counting in 2000, he said. Threats were up 14 per cent over 2012. Read More…
Quartz | The Internet of things: Someone’s refrigerator just took part in a malicious cyberattack
Between December 23 and January 6, more than 100,000 internet-connected smart “things,” including media players, smart televisions and at least one refrigerator, were part of a network of computers used to send 750,000 spam emails. So says a study just released by enterprise security company Proofpoint. Read More…
Bloomberg | Why Canadian Wireless Policy Frustrates Investors
Anyone who wants to know how six years of concerted policy making by the Canadian government fell into disarray this week should ask Naguib Sawiris. The Egyptian billionaire decided to bankroll Canadian wireless startup Wind Mobile in 2008, only to be hit with a multi-year battle over Canada’s foreign ownership laws that delayed Wind’s debut. Prime MinisterStephen Harper’s government ultimately overruled its own regulator in the interests of gaining a new wireless player. Read More…
Business in Vancouver | Abbotsford-based Real estate developer accepting bitcoin for deposits
Abbotsford-based Quantum Properties has become the first B.C. real estate developer to accept bitcoin for deposits on homes. “We’ve decided as of today that we’ll take deposits using bitcoin,” Quantum CEO Diane Delves told Business in Vancouver January 15. Read More…
NY Times | N.S.A. Devises Radio Pathway Into Computers
The National Security Agency has implanted software in nearly 100,000 computers around the world that allows the United States to conduct surveillance on those machines and can also create a digital highway for launching cyberattacks. Read More…
Esquire | Free Speech on the Internet Was Killed Today
January 14 — Today, a federal appeals court handed over control of free speech on the Internet to a handful of companies. This is why it matters. Read More…
Business in Vancouver | Google Breaches Canadian Privacy Laws with Targeted Ads
Google Inc. (Nasdq:GOOG) has had its knuckles rapped by Canada’s privacy commissioner for targeting a Canadian with sleep apnea with ads for sleep aid cures. Read More…
Financial Post (Terence Corcoran) | Ottawa’s wireless policy shambles may still deliver tougher competition
With Wind out of the game, one or two regional players–especially Quebecor’s Videotron– could scoop up prime national spectrum at lesser prices, beefing up competition in Canadian wireless. Read More…