« November 2007 | Main | January 2008 »

December 31, 2007

Mandatory Internet filters to "protect children"


Conroy announces mandatory internet filters to protect children - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Senator Conroy says anyone wanting uncensored access to the internet will have to opt out of the service.

He says the Government will work with the industry to ensure the filters do not affect the speed of the internet.

"There are people who are going to make all sorts of statements about the impact on the [internet] speed," he said.

"The internet hasn't ground to a halt in the UK, it hasn't ground to a halt in Scandinavian countries and it's not grinding the internet to a halt in Europe.

I really can't think how this is going to "protect children" - transnational white slave gangs operating in countries with little regulation will continue to abuse children for profit while pampered perverts from rich nations will always be able to access the material they want.

The whole thing is like putting your fingers in your ears and going "la-la-la-la" in a pretence the problem doesn't exist - if anyone really wanted to crack down on this kind of thing they would "follow the money" to its conclusion and then arrest those responsible instead of applying "out of sight out of mind" band-aids ...

... but I forget - its not really about "child-porn" is it? Its all about more censorship on the Internet using child-porn as an excuse ...


Tags: , , , , ,

December 23, 2007

Hacker's Handbook V3.0

I have had a lot of people ask about whether there would be a "Hacker's Handbook v3.0" as there have been many many changes across the years since I wrote v1.0.

I am pleased to announce that I have just been informed by my editor (god bless him!) that Carlton have given the green light to the 3rd Edition of "Hacker's Handbook" - but in their infinite wisdom are rebranding it as "Cyberthreat Handbook" (bless their little cotton socks!).

Anyhow - I have no idea when they plan to publish it (probably in the Spring) - and now I have to sit down and re-write, edit and generally get off my lazy fat behind and do some real work ...

Anyhow here is the info-sheet used by Carlton along with a mock up of the cover and the back cover blurb.

cyberthreat cover 320px v2.jpg
Since the first edition of Complete Hackers Handbook nearly everything has changed – sometimes for the better and mostly for the worse.

The word “Hacker” has been reclaimed by real hackers who like to play with things and make something new of them. The explosion of technology called “Web 2.0” is the result.

Meanwhile the “Black Hat Hackers” have moved on. Hacking is no longer a game for “script kiddies” or computer enthusiasts – but a serious and organised criminal enterprise.

Cyberspace has become occupied by transnational criminal gangs who mount “Phishing” attacks to steal personal information and who use “BotNets” to run “Distributed Denial of Services” (DDOS) attacks on likely targets for “CyberExtortion”.

“CyberActivists” of all creeds and religions battle it out on the Internet using “0 day exploits” and “drive by Trojans” to infect servers and personal computers alike.

During open warfare and times of tension between factions in the real world there is likely to be a corresponding increase in cyber-attacks and web-defacements that affects every Web user by increasing the chances of their computer being attacked.

Finally - “The Balkanisation of the Internet” caused by “Cyber Censorship” - is a problem that affects the Internet at a hidden level, whether it is enforced by “Blacklist” style “CensorWare” programs at a local level or by “Cyber Curtains” that restrict free speech in certain countries (e.g. “The Great Firewall of China”).

Examining the new dangers the Internet faces underscores the point that the Internet is still a vulnerable and fragile technology. These new threats undermine the very nature of the Internet - and may ultimately destroy it as the utility of tools such as email and web browsing decreases to zero - leading to the “Death of the Internet”

The CyberThreat Handbook is the ultimate guide to this intriguing electronic art.

Since Hackers Handbook 1.0 was published the Internet has got more dangerous – with the numbers of attacks accelerating on a daily basis.

Cyberspace has been invaded by transnational criminal gangs who mount “Phishing” attacks to steal personal information for Identity Theft and use “BotNets” to run “Distributed Denial of Services” (DDOS) attacks on likely targets for “CyberExtortion”.

These criminal hackers attack computers as a means to an end – so they target people who use the Internet on a daily basis to mount their criminal attacks – placing ordinary users at risk..

The growth of Information Warfare means that CyberJihadis, CyberActivists and Black Hat Hackers funded by secretive intelligence agencies, battle it out on the Internet by infecting servers and personal computers alike.

During open warfare and times of tension between factions in the real world there is likely to be an increase in cyber-attacks and web-defacements that affects every Web user – wherever they are.

These new threats undermine the very nature of the Internet - and may ultimately destroy it as the utility of tools such as email, online commerce and web browsing decreases to zero.

The CyberThreat Handbook is not just Hacker’s Handbook 3.0 – instead it offers the ultimate guide to an art that is no longer just intriguing – but also highly dangerous.

Revised and Updated: Phishing, BotNets, CyberExtortion, CyberJihad, Information Warfare, DarkNets, and the links between Hackers and Transnational Crime.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Described by the BBC as an “author and chronicler of the hacking scene”, Dr.K is a veteran IT specialist and “old school” hacker who has worked with computers for over 24 years.

Trained in Cognitive Psychology, Psycholinguistics and Artificial Intelligence, Dr.K soon spotted the potential of the Internet and began learning TCP/IP in the days before the “World Wide Web” had even been developed.

Dr.K later worked in IT as part of the team that developed the prototype smartcard systems that later became the “Oyster Card” - before moving on to be an IT specialist for what The Times has called “The World’s Most Famous Secret Society”.

A long time attendee of “London 2600” - Dr.K eventually went on to write Complete Hacker’s Handbook (Carlton 2000, 2nd Edition 2002) and Hackers’ Tales (Carlton 2004).

I'll update here as I have more information - but I guess that writing a book about the Internet is a much more public experience since the 1st Edition and a lot of stuff will spill over into this blog.


Tags: , , , , , , , , ,