kim holland, observations

2006-02-06T12:48:00.000-08:00

SploitCast Gets Made

SploitCast Episode 4 "New SploitCast, good stuff" reviewed by Phillip Torrone of Make Magazine.

The guest speaker was Ab3nd discussing Emulating Magnetic Cards. We saw him present this topic at Schmoocon 2006, loved it, and asked him to join us on SploitCast. He graciously accepted the invitation and we had a great time. Episode 4 focuses on the dangers of magnetic cards, the methods of emulating them, and their future. We lightly discuss the subject of RFID and related problems. Ab3nds' Schmoocon presentation and code can be found here.

Make editor Phillip Torrone also posted a review of SploitCast following Episode 1, "Good show for the security minded". The crew members of SploitCast are all huge Make Magazine and O'Reilly fans (we all have our collections of O'Reilly animals on our book shelves) so this is awesome.

Podcast

2006-02-02T09:49:00.000-08:00

GPS On A USB Flash Drive

I couldn't resist posting this, a GPS on a USB flash drive, Trackstick. The technology is awsome although I'm not sure all of its potential applications are. Imagine what, uhm uhm, a certain noisy administration could do with these, or might be already.

It might be fun for students in the classroom to track business travelers on their world wide journeys or extreme adventurers on expeditions all in real time.

The GPS records date, time, location, direction, altitude, and speed. It receives signals from 24 satellites and has a built in 1MB memory, enough to store months worth of travel data. You can use Google Earth amoung others to re-trace routes using the stored data. The perfect high-tech travel log.

I do want to emphasize that I don't condone most of the uses that Trackstick promotes for this devise on their website, which I purposely left off.

2006-01-29T07:09:00.000-08:00

What Are We Waiting For?

I think it is very dangerous ground we are on. Since September 11 the Bush presidency has successfully implemented a fear campaign to a nation of puppets. The frightening thing (one of many) is when we look back at other countries that have fallen prey to dictatorship or worse and question how it happened, sometimes there is a plausible explanation. The nation was destitute and vulnerable and the bad guy was a brilliant business leader or genius orator, what explanation do we have?

We are watching our country deteriorate before our eyes and are not responding. Look at our national deficit, trade deficit, national health care crisis, our over stretched under supplied exhausted military, critical education crisis, and the state of our foreign affairs. Has the United States ever been so loathed worldwide?

What happened to the foundation of our political system? Remember, our elected officials are elected to represent their constituents, us, they are not elected to omnipotence. They work for us, they are accountable to us, and this includes the president.

I can't comprehend how and why this fear campaign continues to work on Americans. Be afraid and Bush will protect you. What we need to be afraid of is President Bush. America has more enemies now than before September 11 as the result of Bush's bully mentality foreign and domestic policies.

The damage done by this president can't be repaired for many administrations to come. We need to start now, demand accountability, stop the destruction, and start to repair America.

2006-01-27T13:58:00.000-08:00

Michael Schumacher driving the 2006 248 F1 in Italy.

FERRARI RULES

Ferrari is gearing up for an amazing year. Felipe Massa topped the track times three days in a row ending Thursday at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona driving the V8 powered Ferrari. Michael Schumacher took to the track in the 2006 248 F1 finishing in eighth position.

2006-01-26T14:42:00.000-08:00

Thursday January 26, 2006 Bush on the defense again calling it a
"Terrorist Surveillance Program".

It's Simple.
The Law Is The Law.

It just seems simple. We have a system of checks and balances in place to protect us from things like our own government when neccesary, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, FISA. No one is immune to federal laws, not even the president. It's not about American's wanting to protect terrorists or make it more difficult to catch them. It's also not about impeding any process that would prevent terrorists from striking Americans. That is not what the hoopla is about. It is about following the law. Again, it seems simple.

Americans' are being illegaly wiretapped according to our federal laws. You set up a wiretap to gain information and evidence that you don't already have. I am not arguing that fishing for information about known or suspected terrorists isn't legitimate. But there are federal laws prohibiting eavesdropping on Americans without a court order. The law even makes exceptions to allow for justification after the fact to prevent compromising an investigation when time is critical. So why can't this administration just follow the law. I really can't comprehend the arrogance and bully mentality of this president, it's the kind of behavior that contributes to the attitude that so much of the world has toward America now. It's frightening when our president takes the law into his own hands and refuses to be accountable. The law is the law and no one is above it, including the president.

2006-01-21T07:58:00.000-08:00

49 Days Until F1 Season Kicks-Off

Ferrari is back on track this year. Schumacher is running fantastic times both in the V10 with the engine governed and in the new V8. Massa really stepped up to the plate the end of 2005 after signing to Ferrari and he will follow in the classic Ferrari tradition of great drivers. Ferrari Rules.

2006-01-10T17:49:00.000-08:00

Sixty Days Until Bahrian

March 10-11-12 the 2006 F1 season
starts at Sakhir in Bahrain.
Ferrari rules.

2006-01-07T13:28:00.000-08:00

Isabella's IPTV Debut

Hakhound Isabella makes her debut sniffing out packets
on the William & Mary wifi network on Hak.5 episode 6 released January 5, 2006.

2006-01-07T09:11:00.000-08:00

SploitCast
Episode One
SploitCast, a new downloadable talk show for "hackers, geeks, and the security paranoid", debuts Sunday January 8, 2006.

It's unique format emphasizes that it's a community driven show. In addition to featuring notable guests from the digital security field, listeners are encouraged to participate.

SploitCast topics will include new vulnerabilities, exploit code, security and technology news, and interviews and round table discussions with professionals in the security industry.

The crew is made up of a diverse group of students and IT professionals. Some you may already be familiar with like Harrison Holland, Jonathan Goldsboro, and Paul Tobias from Hak.5 and Rob from the US Computer Emergency Readiness Team (USCERT).

This is a sure fire hit.

Jonathan Goldsboro, Hak.5

2006-01-01T20:23:00.000-08:00

"If somebody from al-Qaeda is calling you, we'd like to know why."
George Bush, 1.1.2006

George Bush was visibly angry when he suggested that the New York Times report that revealed the domestic eavesdropping program had been irresponsible. In his weekly radio address he said, "America's enemies had learned information they should not have."

What, that American's are outraged oversomething he is doing?

But, Bush defends his domestic spying program again. According to the BBC earlier today President Bush said that he is conscious of peoples civil liberties and the violation of their privacy but "If somebody from al-Qaeda is calling you, we'd like to know why."

Well, how do you even respond to that?

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is suggesting that when Bush secretly authorized the NSA to spy on Americans he may have violated the constitution and his oath of office. "His order was in clear violation of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) which was passed by congress in 1978 in response to revelations that former President Nixon was using national security claims to spy on American citizens he considered his enemies." The result was that FISA made it a crime to use electronic surveillance with out court approval.

There are provisions in place for emergency searches when time is critical and the normal warrant process would compromise an investigation. These provisions are not being complied with by this administration. In fact, they are blatantly and arrogantly disregarding federal regulations with no accountability to Congress or American citizens.

According to the New York Times "at least one judge on the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court questioned whether the information obtained under the NSA program was being improperly used by the administration for unlimited spying." They also reported on 1.1.06 that "James B. Comey, then deputy attorney general, refused to sign on to the recertification of the program in March 2004".

The ACLU says, "The president clearly violated the law when he authorized, and then repeatedly re-authorized, the NSA to spy on Americans with out first obtaining a warrant."

This is reminiscent of Project SHAMROCK and Project MINARET . No president is above the law, as Nixon discovered.

2005-12-27T17:58:00.000-08:00

Are you being
snooped on?

Privacy advocate Richard M. Smith has an interesting suggestion for determining if you are being eavesdropped on. It includes setting up two hotmail accounts, one through a non U. S. provider such as rediff.com, and emailing language that gets NSA's attention. His suggestions can be found on his website Who is snooping on my email?

2005-12-09T07:37:00.000-08:00

"Mac-On-A-Stick"

I thought this was interesting
and I wanted to pass it on.
It is directions to use Mac OS and
Linux from a portable

flash stick. An older 32MG
flash stick will do, imagine what you could do with 4G's. The complete instructions can be found here.

2005-12-04T11:09:00.000-08:00

Civil What?

Chairman Thomas Kean, left, and Vice Chairman Lee Hamilton of the 911
Commission with President George W. Bush.

The latest report card is out and the Bush administration is receiving failing grades according Thomas Kean and Lee Hamilton of the 9/11 Discourse Project and the Report on The Status of 9/11 Commission Recommendations. One of my many fears is in regard to the Bush administration's rampant abuse of our civil liberties.

This administration doesn't have the same understanding of, or respect for, civil liberties as most American's I know. I understand it to mean protections from the power of government including free speech and the right to privacy. Clearly, based on actions taken recently like illegal wiretapping by the FBI and mandatory backdoors to software such as SKYPE and PGPphone, they don't.

According to the 9/11 Discourse Project the administration's response to the 9/11 Commission Report is cause for concern almost across the board including civil liberties. To be exact: Civil Liberties and Executive Power: Balance between security and civil liberties, Grade-Some Progress. "Because of concerns regarding the shifting balance of power to the government, we think a full and informed debate on the PATRIOT Act would be healthy. ...that there is adequate supervision of the executives use of the powers to ensure protection of civil liberties... If power is granted, there must be adequate guidelines and oversight to properly confine its use." This is exceedingly alarming.

Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, Grade-Minimal Progress. "The board within the executive branch to oversee adherance to guidelines we recommend and the commitment the govenment makes to defend our civil liberties."

President Bush appointed a three member board, a chair, and vice chair. The board was created (section 1061, public law 108-458) and the house passed appropriations bill increasing it's funding from $750,000 in 2005 to $1.5 million in 2006. To date, no meetings have been held, no staff have been named, no work plan has been outlined, no work has begun, and no office has been established. No surprise.

Set privacy guidelines for government sharing of personal information, Grade-Minimal Progress. "As the President determines the guidelines for information sharing among government agencies and by thoses agencies with the private sector, he should safeguard the privacy of individuals about whom information is shared." Minimal Progress? The recomendation is that a Civil Liberties Protection Officer should be named and begin work promptly.

One example of the lack of privacy safegards is the case CIA agent of Valerie Plame. While she was not in the private sector she is an American citizen and the result of the violation of her civil liberties was potentialy fatal.

According to Bruce Schneier, founder and CTO of Counterpane Internet Security, Inc. the "U. S. Department of Justice is quietly shopping around the explosive idea of requiring Internet service providers to retain records of their customer's online activities." I find that an intolerable and unjustified intrusion. The information is private and misuse of those records could yield immeasurable damage.

I see the Bush administration as a huge boulder snowball rolling down a mountain continually accelerating, gaining size and force, and crushing everything in its way. I am extremely alarmed about the total disregard for our rights with no accountability. Where is it going to stop, or crash?

The next press conference of the 9/11 Discourse Project is Monday December 5, 2005 at 10:00a.m.

2005-12-02T09:29:00.000-08:00

Mandatory Wiretapping.

In case you missed it back on September 23, 2005 Marlene H. Dortch, Secretary, Federal Trade Commission, signed an obscure "policy" document adopting the following principles (FCC-05-151A1-1.pdf): "To encourage broadband deployment and preserve and promote the open and interconnected nature of the public Internet, consumers are entitled to run applications and use services of their choice, subject to the needs of law enforcement."

That is "subject to the needs of law enforcement", you read it right. The first announcement apparently wasn't enough. On Friday evening the FCC announced another decision: According to the three-page document, to preserve the openness that characterizes today's Internet, "consumers are entitled to run applications and use services of their choice, subject to the needs of law enforcement." (Does the use of the word subject mean it is a subjective policy?)

The FCC's best explanation is that Americans don't have the right to use software (SKYPE, etc) without built in backdoors for wiretapping. Since when don't we have the right to private conversations?

And to furthur violate our rights and add salt to the earlier wound the the FCC ruled in August that certain providers of broadband communication like libraries and college campuses must comply by May 2007 with the 1994 Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) and allow remote monitoring and packet level access of network communications.

With our huge national deficit, who is going to pay this additional $7 billion cost to install equipment in our colleges and universities so that the FBI can wiretap our kids private and personal conversations? What will happen to enrollment when tuition goes up to accomodate this invasion.

At least you picked an appropriate venue. If anyone knows how to organize, rally, and fight back injustice it is certainly students. However, this is an invasion and injustice we all need to seriously fight to stop.