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The Telecom Digest for October 16, 2012
Volume 31 : Issue 240 : "text" Format
====== 31 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 1981 ======
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Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the
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See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details
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Date: Sun, 14 Oct 2012 21:34:49 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Hands on: Securing iOS, pwning your kids with Apple Configurator 1.2
Message-ID: <p0624086acca1185f6d94@[10.0.1.3]>
Hands on: Securing iOS, pwning your kids with Apple Configurator 1.2
How I used Apple's mobile device config update for entertainment and vengeance.
by Sean Gallagher
Oct 14 2012
Apple recently released the latest version of Configurator, the
company's management software for iOS devices, for download in the
Mac App Store. Configurator version 1.2 is intended to give
organizations a way to mass-configure iPads, iPhones, and even iPods
with applications, settings, and security policies. It's also, as it
turns out, the perfect tool to prank a teenage son, teaching him the
hazards of leaving his iPad unattended and of interrupting conference
calls with extended drum solos.
Configurator version 1.2 is enhanced to take advantage of the
enterprise management features in iOS 6. It provides all the policy
configuration muscle Apple gives to mobile device management tool
developers with its management interfaces, in a free Mac OS X
application. That includes the ability to lock down the lock screen,
put a device into "app lock" mode, making it boot straight into an
application, and blocking users' access to the rest of iOS's
features. All those features let you turn a device into a secure
wireless kiosk, a point-of sale system, or (as I did to my son's
iPad) a dedicated My Little Pony Ruckus Reader platform with an
appropriately-themed lock screen.
Of course, I backed all his stuff up first. I'm not that evil.
...
http://arstechnica.com/apple/2012/10/hands-on-securing-ios-pwning-your-kids-with-apple-configurator-1-2/
Date: Sun, 14 Oct 2012 22:36:22 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Facebook moves to keep phone numbers for two-factor protection private
Message-ID: <p0624086fcca126f7d945@[10.0.1.3]>
Facebook moves to keep phone numbers for two-factor protection private
Numbers used for additional security are no longer in a new reverse
lookup database.
by Dan Goodin
Oct 14 2012
Ars Technica
Facebook engineers have modified a controversial feature to prevent
it from exposing the phone numbers users must provide to receive an
additional level of security against account takeovers.
The change, made over the weekend, tweaks a recently added reverse
phone number lookup service (which, as you'd expect, allows users to
enter an unknown phone number to see who it belongs to). The service
no longer includes phone numbers users provide when signing up for
two-factor authentication protection known as login approvals. Login
approvals require users to provide a one-time password sent to their
mobile device when logging into their accounts from new computers or
smartphones. Previously, those numbers were automatically included in
the reverse lookup database. Users who wanted to avail themselves of
the two-factor protection ran the risk of exposing their phone
numbers to the world at large or their Facebook friends, depending on
how privacy settings were configured.
...
http://arstechnica.com/security/2012/10/facebook-moves-to-keep-phone-numbers-for-two-factor-protection-private/
Date: Sun, 14 Oct 2012 22:35:21 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: FCC Relaxes The Cable Encryption Prohibition
Message-ID: <p0624086ecca1254773eb@[10.0.1.3]>
FCC 12-126
Basic Service Tier Encryption, MB Docket No. 11-169
http://www.fcc.gov/document/commission-relaxes-cable-encryption-prohibition
Adopted: October 10, 2012
Released: October 12, 2012
I. INTRODUCTION
1. With this Report and Order (Order), we amend our rules to allow
cable operators to encrypt the basic service tier in all-digital
cable systems if they comply with certain consumer-protection
measures. As discussed below, this rule change will benefit consumers
who can have their cable service activated and deactivated from a
remote location. By allowing remote activation and deactivation, we
expect our amended rules will result in benefits to both cable
operators and consumers by significantly reducing the number of truck
rolls associated with provisioning service and significantly reducing
the need for subscribers to wait for service calls to activate or
deactivate cable service. At the same time, we recognize that this
rule change will adversely affect a small number of cable subscribers
who currently view the digital basic service tier without using a
set-top box or other equipment. If a cable operator decides to
encrypt the digital basic tier, then these subscribers will need
equipment to continue viewing the channels on this tier. To give
those consumers time to resolve the incompatibility between consumer
electronics equipment (such as digital television sets) and newly
encrypted cable service, we require operators of cable systems that
choose to encrypt the basic service tier to comply with certain
consumer protection measures for a period of time. In addition, we
note that this rule change may impact the ability of a small number
of subscribers that use certain third-party equipment that is not
CableCARD compatible to access channels on the basic service tier. To
address this issue, we require the six largest incumbent cable
operators to comply with additional requirements that are intended to
ensure compatibility with certain third-party-provided equipment used
to access the basic tier.
...
http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2012/db1012/FCC-12-126A1.pdf
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