30 Years of the Digest ... founded August 21, 1981

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The Telecom Digest for April 4, 2012
Volume 31 : Issue 85 : "text" Format
Messages in this Issue:
Meanwhile, back from the grave (Jim Haynes)
Re: MasterCard, VISA Warn of Processor Breach (tlvp)
Re: MasterCard, VISA Warn of Processor Breach (tlvp)
Apple holds the master decryption key when it comes to iCloud security, privacy (Monty Solomon)
Re: Q.: Credo mobile: who are they? (Scott Dorsey)
'Texting lane' just for laughs, but issue serious (news)
Wireless Taxes and Fees: A Tragedy of the Anticommons (Bill Horne)
The New World of Massive Data Mining (Monty Solomon)

====== 30 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 1981 ======

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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


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Date: Tue, 03 Apr 2012 11:20:36 -0500 From: Jim Haynes <jhaynes@cavern.uark.edu> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Meanwhile, back from the grave Message-ID: <slrnjnm8qk.1sp.jhaynes@Frances.localdomain> I just got the first in several years telemarketing call trying to sell me an extended car warranty. Those pretty much dried up after they called a congressman, as I recall.
Date: Mon, 2 Apr 2012 23:04:47 -0400 From: tlvp <mPiOsUcB.EtLlLvEp@att.net> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: MasterCard, VISA Warn of Processor Breach Message-ID: <bw7u5d5qai39$.abs3erdd9xn6$.dlg@40tude.net> On Fri, 30 Mar 2012 13:48:16 -0400, Monty Solomon wrote: > MasterCard, VISA Warn of Processor Breach > > > http://krebsonsecurity.com/2012/03/mastercard-visa-warn-of-processor-breach/ > > > http://blogs.gartner.com/avivah-litan/2012/03/30/new-credit-card-data-breach-revealed/ > Further details try to suggest it 'ain't as bad as it might have been': http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/global-payments-data-breach-is-contained/72895 But calling the breach "contained"? 'Zat "damage control"? or "whitewash"? Cheers, -- tlvp -- Avant de repondre, jeter la poubelle, SVP.
Date: Mon, 2 Apr 2012 23:32:55 -0400 From: tlvp <mPiOsUcB.EtLlLvEp@att.net> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: MasterCard, VISA Warn of Processor Breach Message-ID: <rpx626l7c2tq.1afj897qsrisw$.dlg@40tude.net> On Fri, 30 Mar 2012 13:48:16 -0400, Monty Solomon wrote: > MasterCard, VISA Warn of Processor Breach Here's Sophos Security's take on this Global Payments breach: http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2012/03/30/mastercard-and-visa-payment-processor-compromised-up-to-10-million-cards-stolen/ Not much different from earlier reports (indeed, not much later, either). Cheers, -- tlvp -- Avant de repondre, jeter la poubelle, SVP.
Date: Tue, 3 Apr 2012 19:53:00 -0400 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Apple holds the master decryption key when it comes to iCloud security, privacy Message-ID: <p06240880cba13abc94a1@[10.0.1.4]> Apple holds the master decryption key when it comes to iCloud security, privacy By Chris Foresman Ars Technica Ars recently attempted to delve into the inner workings of the security built into Apple's iCloud service. Though we came away reasonably certain that iCloud uses industry best practices that Apple claims it uses to protect data and privacy, we warned that your information isn't entirely protected from prying eyes. At the heart of the issue is the fact that Apple can, at any time, review the data synced with iCloud, and under certain circumstances might share that information with legal authorities. We consulted several sources to understand the implications of iCloud's security and encryption model, and to understand what types of best practices could maximize the security and privacy of user data stored in increasingly popular cloud services like iCloud. In short, Apple is taking measures to prevent access to user data from unauthorized third parties or hackers. However, iCloud isn't recommended for the more stringent security requirements of enterprise users, or those paranoid about their data being accessed by authorities. ... http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2012/04/apple-holds-the-master-key-when-it-comes-to-icloud-security-privacy.ars
Date: 3 Apr 2012 11:27:17 -0400 From: kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: Q.: Credo mobile: who are they? Message-ID: <jlf4sl$gcd$1@panix2.panix.com> tlvp <mPiOsUcB.EtLlLvEp@att.net> wrote: >Postal flier reached me yesterday, from "Credo mobile", seemingly a MVNO >reselling Sprint wireless service, and portraying itself as anti-tea-party >in keeping with its activist-oriented sales hook. > >Who -- or what -- are they, really? In league with Working Assets? Other? They are Working Assets, which changed their name some time ago. Also, the long distance service recently moved from MCI-provided service to Sprint-provided service. Don't know about the mobile services. --scott -- "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
Date: Tue, 03 Apr 2012 15:38:48 +1000 From: "news" <news@newsfe23.iad.highwinds-media.com> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: 'Texting lane' just for laughs, but issue serious Message-ID: <pan.2012.04.03.05.38.44.609054@yahoo.com.au> 'Texting lane' just for laughs, but issue serious April 3, 2012 - 10:00AM PHILADELPHIA: The sidewalk lanes for the digitally distracted may be a joke but officials in Philadelphia want the public to know the issue is no laughing matter. Lines on some sidewalks near City Hall now designate part of the pavement as "e-lanes" suitable for chronic texters and digital music aficionados -- although only through the end of the week. .......... Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/digital-life/digital-life-news/texting-lane-just-for-laughs-but-issue-serious-20120403-1w9ne.html#ixzz1qx8uxYW0
Date: Tue, 03 Apr 2012 21:27:38 -0400 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Wireless Taxes and Fees: A Tragedy of the Anticommons Message-ID: <jlg82d$vvd$1@dont-email.me> Two researchers at George Washington University's Mercatus Center have analyzed the tax burden telephone users bear, and found that it's out of proportion to other levies. by Matthew Mitchell, Thomas Stratmann Jan 23, 2012 Combined federal, state, and local taxes on wireless services are about twice as high as the average retail sales tax. While the normative justification for above-average taxation of wireless service is weak, there is a compelling public-choice explanation: The mobile service tax base appears to suffer from a tragedy of the anticommons. That is, multiple parties have the power to block or partially block access to a resource, resulting in under-utilization of the resource. Numerous overlapping tax authorities seek to obtain revenues through wireless-service taxation, and this may lead to overexploitation of the tax base. The anticommons problem has two dimensions. First, the mobile-service tax base funds numerous distinct projects at each level of government. Second, the base is taxed by numerous overlapping levels of government. Rest at http://mercatus.org/publication/wireless-taxes-and-fees-tragedy-anticommons -or- http://goo.gl/FO0UM -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my address to write to me directly)
Date: Tue, 3 Apr 2012 20:41:54 -0400 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: The New World of Massive Data Mining Message-ID: <p0624088ccba148f0e89e@[10.0.1.4]> The New World of Massive Data Mining The Diane Rehm Show GUEST HOST: TOM GJELTEN April 2, 2012 Every time you go on the Internet, make a phone call, send an email, pass a traffic camera or pay a bill, you create data, electronic information. In all, 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are created each day. This massive pile of information from all sources is called "Big Data." It gets stored somewhere, and everyday the pile gets bigger. Government and industry are finding new ways to analyze it. Last week the administration announced an initiative to aid the development of Big Data computing. A panel of experts join guest host Tom Gjelten to discuss the opportunities - for business, science, medicine, education, and security - but also the privacy concerns. Guests John Villasenor, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and professor of electrical engineering at UCLA. Michael Leiter, senior counselor, Palantir Technologies, former director, National Counterterrorism Center. Dr. Suzanne Iacono, co-chair, Big Data Senior Steering Group and senior science adviser, Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering at the National Science Foundation. Daphne Koller, professor, Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory ... http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2012-04-02/new-world-massive-data-mining
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