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The Telecom Digest for November 12, 2012
Volume 31 : Issue 264 : "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
Internet. All contents here are copyrighted by Bill Horne and
the individual writers/correspondents. Articles may be used in other
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We must fight spam for the same reason we fight crime: not because we
are naive enough to believe that we will ever stamp it out, but because
we do not want the kind of world that results when no one stands
against crime. - Geoffrey Welsh
See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details
and the name of our lawyer, and other stuff of interest.
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Date: Sat, 10 Nov 2012 18:55:21 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Judge Questions Tools That Grab Cellphone Data on Innocent People
Message-ID: <p06240823ccc499950c86@[10.0.1.6]>
Judge Questions Tools That Grab Cellphone Data on Innocent People
By Jennifer Valentino-DeVries
October 22, 2012
A judge in Texas is raising questions about whether investigators are
giving courts enough details on technological tools that let them get
data on all the cellphones in an area, including those of innocent
people.
In two cases, Magistrate Judge Brian Owsley rejected federal requests
to allow the warrantless use of "stingrays" and "cell tower dumps,"
two different tools that are used for cellphone tracking. The judge
said the government should apply for warrants in the cases, but the
attorneys had instead applied for lesser court orders.
Among the judge's biggest concerns: that the agents and U.S.
attorneys making the requests didn't provide details on how the tools
worked or would be used - and even seemed to have trouble explaining
the technology.
...
http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2012/10/22/judge-questions-tools-that-grab-cellphone-data-on-innocent-people/
***** Moderator's Note *****
The Wall Street Journal site requires a paid subscription to read articles.
Bill Horne
Moderator
Date: Sun, 11 Nov 2012 11:07:21 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: When a Palm Reader Knows More Than Your Life Line
Message-ID: <p0624082fccc579126e21@[10.0.1.6]>
When a Palm Reader Knows More Than Your Life Line
By NATASHA SINGER
November 10, 2012
"PLEASE put your hand on the scanner," a receptionist at a doctor's
office at New York University Langone Medical Center said to me
recently, pointing to a small plastic device on the counter between
us. "I need to take a palm scan for your file."
I balked.
As a reporter who has been covering the growing business of data
collection, I know the potential drawbacks - like customer profiling
- of giving out my personal details. But the idea of submitting to an
infrared scan at a medical center that would take a copy of the
unique vein patterns in my palm seemed fraught.
The receptionist said it was for my own good. The medical center, she
said, had recently instituted a biometric patient identification
system to protect against identity theft.
I reluctantly stuck my hand on the machine. If I demurred, I thought,
perhaps I'd be denied medical care.
Next, the receptionist said she needed to take my photo. After the
palm scan, that seemed like data-collection overkill. Then an office
manager appeared and explained that the scans and pictures were
optional. Alas, my palm was already in the system.
No longer the province of security services and science-fiction
films, biometric technology is on the march. Facebook uses
facial-recognition software so its members can automatically put name
tags on friends when they upload their photos. Apple uses voice
recognition to power Siri. Some theme parks take digital fingerprints
to help recognize season pass holders. Now some hospitals and school
districts are using palm vein pattern recognition to identify and
efficiently manage their patients or students - in effect, turning
your palm into an E-ZPass.
...
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/11/technology/biometric-data-gathering-sets-off-a-privacy-debate.html
***** Moderator's Note *****
Many years ago, I responded to a request from, IIRC, the ACLU, which
asked for suggestions on how best to illustrate the dangers of
allowing profit-making corporations to assemble commercial databases
which would, sooner or later, contain every fact of our lives.
I suggested, and they used, the metaphor of a man ordering a pizza
over the phone, only to be told that he may only order vegetarian
items because meats would contribute to his cholesterol level, and
then told that he would have to bring cash because his credit card was
maxed out. I also suggested that the metaphorical pizza parlor try to
upsell a health-club membership due to the customer's latest weight
measurement, but they didn't use that part.
Palm scanners have little to do with your health, and everything to
do with the Medical Industry's Financial heatlh: they want to track
your every move, including the movement of your bank account, and they
want to do it in real time so that their computers can choose the most
profitable combination of practitioner, service level, and
prescription while you're still standing in line without a clue.
Bill Horne
Moderator
Date: Sat, 10 Nov 2012 16:42:45 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: How to Devise Passwords That Drive Hackers Away
Message-ID: <p06240808ccc46908ab5c@[10.0.1.11]>
How to Devise Passwords That Drive Hackers Away
By NICOLE PERLROTH
November 7, 2012
Not long after I began writing about cybersecurity, I became a
paranoid caricature of my former self. It's hard to maintain peace of
mind when hackers remind me every day, all day, just how easy it is
to steal my personal data.
Within weeks, I set up unique, complex passwords for every Web site,
enabled two-step authentication for my e-mail accounts, and even
covered up my computer's Web camera with a piece of masking tape - a
precaution that invited ridicule from friends and co-workers who
suggested it was time to get my head checked.
But recent episodes offered vindication. I removed the webcam tape -
after a friend convinced me that it was a little much - only to see
its light turn green a few days later, suggesting someone was in my
computer and watching. More recently, I received a text message from
Google with the two-step verification code for my Gmail account.
That's the string of numbers Google sends after you correctly enter
the password to your Gmail account, and it serves as a second
password. (Do sign up for it.) The only problem was that I was not
trying to get into my Gmail account. I was nowhere near a computer.
Apparently, somebody else was.
It is absurdly easy to get hacked. All it takes is clicking on one
malicious link or attachment. Companies' computer systems are
attacked every day by hackers looking for passwords to sell on
auctionlike black market sites where a single password can fetch $20.
Hackers regularly exploit tools like John the Ripper, a free
password-cracking program that use lists of commonly used passwords
from breached sites and can test millions of passwords per second.
...
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/08/technology/personaltech/how-to-devise-passwords-that-drive-hackers-away.html
***** Moderator's Note *****
http://xkcd.com/936/
Bill Horne
Moderator
Date: Sat, 10 Nov 2012 16:42:45 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: T-Mobile widens 4G HSPA+ network in direct bid for iPhone customers
Message-ID: <p06240804ccc466640ced@[10.0.1.11]>
T-Mobile widens 4G HSPA+ network in direct bid for iPhone customers
By Mikey Campbell
November 07, 2012
T-Mobile on Wednesday announced that it had activated 4G HSPA+ data
networks in three new metropolitan areas, taking direct aim at
Apple's U.S. carrier partners by noting customers with unlocked
iPhones can enjoy quick data speeds an pay less by switching
providers.
The announcement was posted on the fourth-largest U.S. carrier's blog
by Chief Technology Officer Neville Ray, who said the
iPhone-compatible HSPA+ service on the 1900 MHz band was being rolled
out in parts of Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and Houston. Currently,
T-Mobile does not officially carry the iPhone and can only support
unlocked versions of the handset.
...
http://appleinsider.com/articles/12/11/07/t-mobile-widens-4g-hpsa-network-in-direct-bid-for-iphone-customers
Date: Sat, 10 Nov 2012 09:41:23 -0600
From: Neal McLain <nmclain@annsgarden.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: The Smart TV Viewer's Bill Of Rights
Message-ID: <509E75A3.1010808@annsgarden.com>
Quoting the article:
> 4. The Right to Quality. I didn't buy a 60-inch TV to watch cats,
> babies and skateboard wipeouts in my living room. That's what my
> office PC is for.
>
> 5. The Right to Free TV. Our parents watched three channels and
> paid nothing. I watch five channels and pay $150 a month. Don't
> charge me even more for programs that come from the Internet.
This sounds like the latest iteration of the old cable TV "a-la-carte"
discussion: pay for only the channels you watch. The market for
television programming doesn't work that way. If you subscribe to cable
or satellite TV, you're part of the audience for every channel on the
dial even if you only watch five of them.
Advertising rates are based on "net paid circulation," and every
subscriber is part of the circulation for every channel. The advertiser
is paying for the right to reach you even if you never watch his
advertisements. Not surprisingly, then, programmers all want their
programs carried on the basic tier, and they contractually prohibit
anything that smells like a-la-carte.
Parenthetically, there's been an ongoing discussion within the cable TV
industry about moving all sports programming to a separate tier. This,
of course, has raised vehement opposition from ESPN et al. Several
cable TV companies support the idea, but so far, the programmers are
winning the battle. It will take an Act of Congress (literally) to
change the situation, and Congress seems to have little interest in
getting involved in such a hot-button issue.
In any case, internet TV blows up the whole business model. There's no
such thing as "basic" service; every program has to stand on its own as
a separate retail product. So of course the programmer is going to
charge more for each program.
Bottom line: you're not going to get internet TV programming at the same
per-program price that you pay when it's part of a larger package.
Unless, of course, you're happy watching cats, babies and skateboard
wipeouts.
For more on the a-la-carte issue, see my blog at:
http://theoldcatvequipmentmuseum.org/320/321/index.html#alacarte
Neal McLain
Date: Sun, 11 Nov 2012 16:10:30 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Inside the Secret World of the Data Crunchers Who Helped Obama Win
Message-ID: <p06240802ccc5c30ec54f@[10.0.1.6]>
Inside the Secret World of the Data Crunchers Who Helped Obama Win
By Michael Scherer
Nov. 07, 2012
Time
http://swampland.time.com/2012/11/07/inside-the-secret-world-of-quants-and-data-crunchers-who-helped-obama-win/print/
-or-
http://tinyurl.com/afspvq6
Date: Sun, 11 Nov 2012 16:10:30 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: ORCA, Mitt Romney's high-tech get-out-the-vote program, crashed on Election Day
Message-ID: <p06240800ccc5b9668207@[10.0.1.6]>
ORCA, Mitt Romney's high-tech get-out-the-vote program, crashed on Election Day
Online voter-turnout system failed Tuesday
By Michael Kranish
Globe Staff / November 9, 2012
WASHINGTON - Mitt Romney's online voter-turnout operation suffered a
meltdown on Election Day, resulting in a crucial 90-minute
"buckling" of the system in Boston and the inability of some campaign
workers across the country to use a vital smartphone program,
according to campaign officials and volunteers.
Code-named ORCA, the program was kept secret until just before the
election in order to prevent hacking of the system. It was then
trumpeted by Romney's aides as an unrivaled high-tech means of
communicating with more than 30,000 field workers who were stationed
at polling places on Election Day. Those volunteers were supposed to
track who voted and to alert Boston headquarters if turnout was lower
than expected at key precincts.
But at Boston's TD Garden, where 800 Romney workers were staffing
phones and computers in coordination with the field workers to
oversee the turnout, the surge in traffic was so great that the
system didn't work for 90 minutes, causing panic as staffers
frantically tried to restore service. Some campaign workers also
reported that they had incorrect PINS and had not been informed that
they needed certification to work at polling places.
...
http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2012/president/candidates/romney/2012/11/10/orca-mitt-romney-high-tech-get-out-the-vote-program-crashed-election-day/gflS8VkzDcJcXCrHoV0nsI/singlepage.html
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