In our 567th issue:
On March 15th, an HTTPS/TLS Certificate Authority (CA) was
tricked into issuing fraudulent certificates that posed a
dire risk to Internet security. Based on currently
available information, the incident got close to - but was
not quite - an Internet-wide security meltdown. These
events show why we urgently need to start reinforcing the
system that is currently used to authenticate and identify
secure websites and email systems.
EFF and the ACLU appealed a ruling that the government can
collect the private records of three Twitter users as part
of its investigation related to WikiLeaks, arguing that
secret demands for information endanger privacy rights. The
ruling further held that the users cannot learn which other
Internet companies were ordered to turn over information
about them to the government. EFF and the ACLU are
challenging the ruling on behalf of Birgitta Jonsdottir, an
Icelandic parliamentarian who is appealing jointly with
fellow Twitter users Jacob Appelbaum and Rop Gonggrijp.
Distributed social networks represent a model that can
plausibly return control and choice to the hands of the
Internet user. With more user control, diversity, and
innovation, individuals speaking out under oppressive
governments could conduct activism on social networking
sites while also having a choice of services and providers
that may be better equipped to protect their security and
anonymity.
EFF Updates
Good and Bad in Google Book Search Decision A federal district court in New York issued a long-awaited
ruling in the Google Books case, acknowledging the
importance of the privacy concerns but getting some things
fundamentally wrong in its copyright analysis.
Fair Use For the Win in Righthaven Case A judge in the Nevada federal district court patiently
explained why fair use disposes of Righthaven's copyright
claim arising from the republication of an entire news
article by a nonprofit organization.
In-District Meetings: an Offline Tool for Defending Your Online Rights If you are passionate about digital rights, then meeting
with your Congressional representatives is one the most
powerful steps you can take in advocating for free speech
and privacy online.
miniLinks
Defend Your Digital Privacy
Access Now has published a security guide for Internet and
cell phone users in the Middle East.
Victory in NSA Spying! A federal appeals court reinstated the ACLU's lawsuit
challenging the FISA Amendments Act, ruling that the
plaintiffs in the case could challenge the FAA without
first showing with certainty that they had been spied on
under the statute.
Burma Cuts Off VoIP
Burma's (Myanmar) military junta orders Internet cafes to
stop offering VoIP calls, declaring them illegal.
Administrivia
ISSN 1062-9424
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Announcements
ACTION! Don't Let TPP Become the Next ATCTA
Like ACTA, the Trans-Pacific Partnership is being
negotiated in secret, and on a fast timetable. Contact your
lawmakers and demand transparency!
ACTION! Rein in PATRIOT and Restore JUSTICE
Liberty-loving citizens have a brief window of time to
contact lawmakers and demand meaningful reforms to the
PATRIOT Act.
SunshineWeek 2011 Webcast and Local Panel: The Road
Forward on Open Government
EFF Activist Rainey Reitman joins Declan McCullagh, Chief
Political Correspondent for CNET, and James Jacobs,
Government Documents Librarian at Stanford, to discuss
WikiLeaks and its relationship to Open Government.
Location: San Francisco, CA
Date: March 30, 2011
WEB 2.0 Expo
Eva Galperin, EFF Activist, discusses the growing threat of
"traitorware," the class of software and devices that work
behind your back to betray your privacy.
Location: San Francisco, CA
Date: March 31, 2011
Flourish! 2011
EFF Technology Director Chris Palmer will be speaking about
EFF's 2011 Tech Projects, including the SSL Observatory,
HTTPS Everywhere, censorship-resistant DNS, secure cloud
filesystems, and the open source security auditing project.
Location: Chicago, IL
Date: April 2, 2011
SOURCE Boston and SOURCE Seattle
EFF is a proud partner of two SOURCE Security Conferences!
In addition to advanced technical talks, SOURCE offers
workshops on entrepreneurship, management strategies, job
interviewing, presentation skills, and proficiencies and
strategies designed for the security industry.
Location: Boston, MA
Date: April 20, 2011
and
Location: Seattle, WA
Date: June 15-16, 2011
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