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Posts Tagged ‘Gmail’

Gmail users ‘have no legitimate expectation of privacy’

August 14, 2013 Comments off

rt.com

Image by GoogleImage by Google

 

As tensions worsen among privacy-focused email users amid the escalating scandal surrounding government surveillance, a brief filed by attorneys for Google has surfaced showing that Gmail users should never expect their communications to be kept secret.

Consumer Watchdog has unearthed a July 13, 2013 motion filed by Google’s attorneys with regards to ongoing litigation challenging how the Silicon Valley giant operates its highly popular free email service.

The motion, penned in hopes of having the United States District Court for the Northern District of California dismiss a class action complaint against the company, says Gmail users should assume that any electronic correspondence that’s passed through Google’s servers can be accessed and used for an array of options, such as selling ads to customers.

“Just as a sender of a letter to a business colleague cannot be surprised that the recipient’s assistant opens the letter, people who use Web-based email today cannot be surprised if their emails are processed by the recipient’s [email provider] in the course of delivery,” the motion reads in part. “Indeed, ‘a person has no Read more…

Categories: internet, Privacy Tags: , , ,

FBI seizes servers in brute force raid

June 22, 2011 1 comment

tgdaily

The FBI seized a number of web servers during a recent data center raid in Reston, Virginia – a facility used by the Swiss-based hosting company Digital One.

The operation knocked several web sites offline, including those run by New York publisher Curbed Network.

FBI seizes servers in brute force raid“This problem is caused by the FBI, not our company. In the night FBI [took] 3 enclosures with equipment plugged into them, possibly including your server — we cannot check it,” DigitalOne CEO Sergej Ostroumow confirmed in an official email to clients.

“After [the] FBI’s unprofessional ‘work’ we can not restart our own servers, that’s why our Web site is offline and support doesn’t work.”

Unsurprisingly, the raid has been tentatively linked to an ongoing investigation of Lulz Security.

Indeed, an unnamed government official told the New York Times the FBI was “actively investigating” LulzSec  along with suspected “affiliated” hackers.

While most Americans probably don’t really care about a few downed sites, the brute force raid executed by the Feds surely doesn’t bode well for the future.

One can’t help but wonder what comes next: mass Gmail seizures, Amazon cloud server confiscations, or perhaps entire data centers carted off in FBI trucks?

Clearly, U.S. law enforcement officials must learn how to minimize “collateral damage” to neutral civilian infrastructure during cyber-related raids. 

If they don’t, such operations could potentially be as disruptive as those executed by hostile digital infiltrators.

Rather ironic, don’t you think?

Categories: FBI, internet Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

China denies Gmail hacking accusations

June 2, 2011 Comments off

guardian

Google China's former headquarters in Beijing

Gmail account passwords were stolen by hackers suspected to be based in Jinan, capital of Shandong province. Photograph: Jason Lee/Reuters

China has rejected Google’s accusations that it is behind a wave of high-level hacking attacks and said its critics had “ulterior motives” in trying to blame the government in Beijing.

The rebuttal follows revelations that Chinese hackers have stolen the Gmail login details of hundreds of senior US and South Korean government officials as well as Chinese political activists.

Google has warned the victims of the “phishing” scam and made a public statement about the threat. The US company said it could not say for sure who was responsible, but it traced many of the attacks to Jinan, the capital of Read more…

Categories: China Tags: , , , , , , , ,

China Tightens Censorship of Electronic Communications

March 23, 2011 Comments off

nytimes.com

BEIJING — If anyone wonders whether the Chinese government has tightened its grip on electronic communications since protests began engulfing the Arab world, Shakespeare may prove instructive.

A Beijing entrepreneur, discussing restaurant choices with his fiancée over their cellphones last week, quoted Queen Gertrude’s response to Hamlet: “The lady doth protest too much, methinks.” The second time he said the word “protest,” her phone cut off.

He spoke English, but another caller, repeating the same phrase on Monday in Chinese over a different phone, was also cut off in mid-sentence.

A host of evidence over the past several weeks shows that Chinese authorities are more Read more…

Categories: China, Technology Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,