New Article - Web monitoring and blocking will only infuriate LulzSec and similar groups

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Category: Blog

Web monitoring and blocking will only infuriate LulzSec and similar groups With the recent government proposals to block websites (The Pirate Bay) and monitor emails, web browsing, phone calls, text messages and VOIP, it raises a whole host of questions that need addressing. Not only will it infuriate groups such as LulzSec, Anonymous and TeaMp0isoN it will also encourage individuals to go more underground by using increasingly enhanced countermeasures.

The proposals will remind people of communist or authoritarian states such as China, Iran and Syria. In China it is alleged they have 40,000 staff dedicated to sifting through social media alone. Phone calls are believed to have automated monitoring systems which flag up keywords such as democracy or Tiananmen Square. If flagged, a case officer is meant to monitor the lines. The same process applies to SMS, emails and also postal items.

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A usb stick with a serious self destruct mechanism

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Category: Blog

Well I have heard of plenty of hardware encrypted USB sticks and software systems which can self destruct, but this is something else: http://www.v3.co.uk/v3-uk/news/2144797/security-guardian-usb-stick-tracked-remotely-deleted/page/2.

Most hardware encrypted sticks lock out after 10 attempts, self erase or kill the key but this one physical destructs by using a electronic charge. No device cost is given but one website said £25 a month!

One way of getting passed it is wrapping it in lead sheets or a Faraday cage thus cutting off the GPS or Sim card signal. Still though the data should be well encrypted but the cost is a put off.

Number 10 and Home Office website "hacked", not

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Category: Blog

This evening there are reports that Number 10 and Home Office website was hacked and it raises questions about the websites security. The websites were not hacked, they were taken offline due to a DDoS attack. DDoS is often a give up attack if the website cannot be penetrated and protecting from DDoS is a tough one. DDoS simply involves sending tens of thousands of visitors to the website thus stopping genuine traffic. Think of it as sending 500 into a Tesco Metro, no one genuine could get in.

DDoS is typically a botnet of tens of thousands of computers. Either they are infected maliciously or the owner installed a small software app. All computers are controlled centrally or each computer relays to the next to slow down or stop tracking. Due to all the traffic it is hard to determine what is genuine and what is not.