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The Telecom Digest for March 26, 2014
Volume 33 : Issue 46 : "text" Format
====== 32 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
journals or newsgroups, provided the writer's name and the Digest are
included in the fair use quote. By using any name or email address
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owner.
Addresses herein are not to be added to any mailing list, nor to be
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that address. Chain letters, viruses, porn, spam, and miscellaneous junk
are definitely unwelcome.
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: Sun, 23 Mar 2014 00:57:27 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: N.S.A. Breached Chinese Servers Seen as Security Threat
Message-ID: <p06240822cf541a17c95f@[10.0.1.11]>
N.S.A. Breached Chinese Servers Seen as Security Threat
By DAVID E. SANGER and NICOLE PERLROTH
MARCH 22, 2014
WASHINGTON - American officials have long considered Huawei, the
Chinese telecommunications giant, a security threat, blocking it from
business deals in the United States for fear that the company would
create "back doors" in its equipment that could allow the Chinese
military or Beijing-backed hackers to steal corporate and government
secrets.
But even as the United States made a public case about the dangers of
buying from Huawei, classified documents show that the National
Security Agency was creating its own back doors - directly into
Huawei's networks.
The agency pried its way into the servers in Huawei's sealed
headquarters in Shenzhen, China's industrial heart, according to
N.S.A. documents provided by the former contractor Edward J. Snowden.
It obtained information about the workings of the giant routers and
complex digital switches that Huawei boasts connect a third of the
world's population, and monitored communications of the company's top
executives.
One of the goals of the operation, code-named "Shotgiant," was to
find any links between Huawai and the People's Liberation Army, one
2010 document made clear. But the plans went further: to exploit
Huawai's technology so that when the company sold equipment to other
countries - including both allies and nations that avoid buying
American products - the N.S.A. could roam through their computer and
telephone networks to conduct surveillance and, if ordered by the
president, offensive cyberoperations.
...
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/23/world/asia/nsa-breached-chinese-servers-seen-as-spy-peril.html
-or-
http://goo.gl/MJ4ZyB
Date: Sun, 23 Mar 2014 00:23:45 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Can You Trust 'Secure' Messaging Apps?
Message-ID: <p06240816cf5410f8a60d@[10.0.1.11]>
Can You Trust 'Secure' Messaging Apps?
By MOLLY WOOD
MARCH 19, 2014
It's officially a post-Snowden and post-WhatsApp world, and my inbox
is filled with pitches from companies promoting their secure
messaging apps. But can you trust them?
As the messaging wars heat up, security seems to be the big
differentiator -the levels of security range from "military grade" to
lightweight, depending on the app. But all of them have one thing in
common, said the cryptographer and security expert Bruce Schneier:
You shouldn't use them if your life is on the line.
Mr. Schneier said when it comes to evaluating the security of a
secure messaging app, the real question lies in why you need it.
...
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/03/19/can-you-trust-secure-messaging-apps/
Date: Sat, 22 Mar 2014 00:34:31 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Being Smart About Phone Fees Overseas
Message-ID: <p06240803cf52c318645d@[10.0.1.11]>
Being Smart About Phone Fees Overseas
Stephanie Rosenbloom
MARCH 19, 2014
YOU WANT TO USE your smartphone while traveling abroad. But choosing
an affordable method can seem mind-numbingly complicated. Should you
buy an international roaming plan? And if you do, what does 100
megabytes of data get you anyway? Perhaps you need a hot spot pass?
Or a SIM card? If you don't want an eye-popping phone bill, it's
essential to decide before you're on the plane.
"The pain you can get from just a couple of mistakes can be big,"
said Bill Menezes, a principal research analyst covering mobile
services for the technology research firm Gartner.
With a little planning, however, you can stay in touch and on budget.
Let's walk through the three simplest ways to do just that, from the
most obvious to more creative (and cheaper) solutions.
...
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/23/travel/being-smart-about-phone-fees-overseas.html
Date: Sun, 23 Mar 2014 00:23:45 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Revelations of N.S.A. Spying Cost U.S. Tech Companies
Message-ID: <p06240813cf540fb45a13@[10.0.1.11]>
Revelations of N.S.A. Spying Cost U.S. Tech Companies
By CLAIRE CAIN MILLER
MARCH 21, 2014
SAN FRANCISCO - Microsoft has lost customers, including the
government of Brazil.
IBM is spending more than a billion dollars to build data centers
overseas to reassure foreign customers that their information is safe
from prying eyes in the United States government.
And tech companies abroad, from Europe to South America, say they are
gaining customers that are shunning United States providers,
suspicious because of the revelations by Edward J. Snowden that tied
these providers to the National Security Agency's vast surveillance
program.
Even as Washington grapples with the diplomatic and political fallout
of Mr. Snowden's leaks, the more urgent issue, companies and analysts
say, is economic. Technology executives, including Mark Zuckerberg of
Facebook, raised the issue when they went to the White House on
Friday for a meeting with President Obama.
Rest at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/22/business/fallout-from-snowden-hurting-bottom-line-of-tech-companies.html
-or-
http://goo.gl/dtBJil
RELATED COVERAGE
Obama and Tech Executives to Meet Again on Privacy Issues
MARCH 21, 2014
It is impossible to see now the full economic ramifications of the
spying disclosures - in part because most companies are locked in
multiyear contracts - but the pieces are beginning to add up as
businesses question the trustworthiness of American technology
products.
...
Rest at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/22/technology/obama-and-tech-executives-to-meet-again-on-privacy-issues.html?action=click&contentCollection=Technology&module=RelatedCoverage®ion=Marginalia&pgtype=article
-or-
http://goo.gl/XncF6V
Date: Sun, 23 Mar 2014 00:23:45 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Not the Best Way to Sell a Smartphone
Message-ID: <p06240811cf540f383d04@[10.0.1.11]>
Not the Best Way to Sell a Smartphone
By DAVID SEGAL
MARCH 22, 2014
As HTC readied a new version of its flagship smartphone, it planned
for many challenges. It didn't know that one of them would be Roshan
Jamkatel, a teenager from Schaumburg, Ill.
On March 2, Roshan - a self-described prankster - turned up on
YouTube offering a hands-on, guided tour of the sequel to HTC's
highest-profile product, the One. The world's first glimpse of the
device was scheduled for this Tuesday, March 25, at the sort of
orchestrated reveal that has become the industry standard, with
product demonstrations, plenty of video-screen close-ups and a crowd
to give the proceedings a sense of moment. Locations in New York City
and London were booked for the occasion.
But Roshan upstaged this show with a rambling, mumbly critique that
was posted for all the world to see. (The video was up, then taken
down, then resurrected on a batch of Android fan sites, and now is
much harder to find.) Forget stagecraft. The phone was placed on what
appears to be Roshan's outer-space-themed bedspread, and his
monologue was sprinkled with bland endorsements like, "The build
design of this phone is really nice," and "This camera, I give it a 9
- no, an 8.7."
...
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/23/technology/marketing-missteps-at-htc.html
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