Lycos, Spammers & Electronic Civil Disobedience

Lycos has just launched a new screensaver that attempts to disrupt, but not disable, websites used by spammers to sell products. The goal is to slow down access to these sites by implementing a bandwidth attack - a client-side denial of service attack (DoS). Client-side DoS attacks differ from server-side DoS attacks because in order to be successful client-side DoS attacks require the participation of many thousands of individuals whereas server-side attacks usually involve a few individuals who break into computers and use them as zombies in order to conduct DoS attacks. Basically, each user that installs the screensaver receives a list from a central database of spam sites then issues a connection to each of the spam sites. If a large number of users begin making requests to the selected sites, the servers will become overloaded. Lycos argues that since these spam sites have to pay for their bandwidth �more requests means higher bills� for the spammers. Lycos has implemented a �health check� to ensure that no server is completely shutdown.

This is precisely the same technique used in past Electronic Civil Disobedience (ECD) campaigns. Though not as slick as the flash GUI that Lycos has the tools used in ECD campaigns ( Disturbance Developer Kit, e-hippie virtual sit-in tools) operate much the same way. Client-side DoS has been criticized by Oxblood Ruffin (of cDc/Hacktivismo) who describes it as "being pecked to death by a duck".

Confronting U.S. censorship ... from Iran

Shirin Ebadi, the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize Winner, Human Rights activist and lawyer, is suing the U.S. Treasury Department because the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) prohibits the publications of books by Iranian authors (unless the work is completed without the involvement of any American citizens). The Dallas Morning News (subscription req'd) is carrying an article by Ebadi where she describes how she cannot publish her memoirs in the U.S.: "it would be illegal for an American literary agent, publisher, editor or translator to help me." Legal documents concerning the case are available here.

FoxNews v. Al Jazeera

Well, Canadians can now enjoy Fox News but not Al Jazeera. Fox News has been approved by the CRTC. However, Al Jazeera was given a conditional approval that carries certain restrictions: distributors must retain an audio-visual recording of each Al Jazeera program for a period of four weeks (8 weeks is a complaint is launched), ensure that no "abusive comment" is broadcast, and alter or delete the service to comply with these restrictions.

The Commission recognizes that this measure is a restriction on the freedom of expression of BDUs [Broadcasting Distribution Undertaking] and, potentially, of viewers of Al Jazeera. However, the right to freedom of expression is not absolute; it is subject to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society. -- CRTC

No Canadian distributors carry Al Jazeera.

Internet Filtering in Saudi Arabia in 2004

The OpenNet Initiative has just released a new study documenting Internet filtering in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. ONI researchers tested over 60,000 Web addresses during a three-year period and found that the most aggressive censorship focused on pornography (98% of sites tested blocked), drugs (86%), and gambling (93%). The study also explains how filtering occurs: the Saudi system uses a combination of commercial software from the United States (Secure Computing'SmartFilter) and input from expert local staff and Saudi citizens to control the availability of Web sites inside the Kindgom. For the first time, ONI's tests differentiate SmartFilter's blocking from blocking put in place specifically by Saudi Arabia's Internet Services Unit personnel. As the ONI's research reveals, even though the system is relatively transparent and evident to users, errors and over-blocking still occur. Click Here for the full report.

Canadian Copyright & ISP Liability

The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage re-introduced the Interim Report on Copyright Reform suggesting that reform is neccessary for Canada to comply with WIPO. digital-copyright.ca outlines the major proposed changes including the adoption of a "notice and takedown" approach to copyright violations and holding ISP's liable (unless they act as true "intermediaries") for copyrighted material passing through their networks.

The Filtering Matrix: Reality and the Great Firewall of China

In a recent entry, I argued that those interested in issues of Internet censorship, filtering and surveillance should make an increased effort to demystify the technology being used, be more accurate and thorough when investigating these issues, and avoid speculative scenarios. However, we should not underestimate the filtering and surveillance regime in China: Internet Filtering in China is a reality.

Internet filtering in China is best described as a matrix of control in which technological and non-technological measures intersect at different levels of access to enforce strict information control policies. Such a matrix of controls (combining filtering and surveillance technology with fear, intimidation and imprisonment) discourages most people from attempting to access banned information, let alone actively seek out means to circumvent such controls. Exaggerating China�s power of information control may be mistaken, but underestimating it is worse.

Geolocation Filtering

The BBC, using data collected by Netcraft, reports that since Monday October 25th 2004, the official website of the Bush-Cheney campaign website (www.georgewbush.com) has been restricted to Internet users located in the United States. The ONI connected to remote computers located in fifty countries* around the world in order to test the accessibilty of www.georgewbush.com. Out of the fifty locations tested, only those in Canada and the United States were able to access www.georgewbush.com. All others were shown an Access Denied page. These results show a map of which countries were able to reach the website.

The full bulletin is available here.

National Intranet: The Inclusion Model

There have been several reports noting that Iran is seeking to implement a National Intranet. Known as Shaare'2 (or Shaareh II) the national Intranet will locally provide various services (web hosting & chat) in order to reduce international bandwidth costs. National Instranets can also be used to cache or mirror external content. Myanmar has had a national Intranet since 2001 tha provides access to sites and publications. When used in conjunction with or as a national Internet filtering strategy this approach can have a serious impact on free access to information.