Category Archives: security
FDR on Security
A good deal of my dissertation is concerned with notions of security, and insecurity, in informational environments. While my primary concern is with young people’s experiences and understandings of cyber(in)security, I’ve also taken an interest in contemporary and historical discourses of security (e.g. Seven Takes on Security). So, I was excited to see Michael Moore [...]
The Eco-governmentality of Surveillance
The NY Times reports on China’s new surveillance policy requiring citizens to log into news sites with their “real identities” before posting comments. After pointing out that the comments posted to these news sites were already heavily censored and traceable via a commenter’s IP address, the article notes the fallibility of this new layer of [...]
Also posted in governance, identity, informationalism, privacy, surveillance Tagged China, ecogovernmentality, governmentality Leave a comment
Seven Takes on Security
From the Compact Oxford English Dictionary: security noun (pl. securities) (1) the state of being or feeling secure. (2) the safety of a state or organization against criminal activity such as terrorism or espionage. (3) a thing deposited or pledged as a guarantee of the fulfilment of an undertaking or the repayment of a loan, [...]
Posted in security Tagged definition, IGF, Low, Microsoft, military, OSSTMM, Schneier Leave a comment
iPhones of Mass Destruction and the Code War
According to Apple, jailbreaking your iPhone violates Apple’s license agreement, constitutes copyright infringement – and – is a threat to national security. Meet the new weapon of mass destruction: the hacked iPhone. Just like Saddam Hussein’s WMDs, the iPhone of Mass Destruction is more red herring than reality. In a nation obsessed with security, particularly [...]
Also posted in censorship, participation, privacy, property, surveillance Tagged Apple, DMCA, EFF, hacking, iphone, piracy 3 Comments
Goldman Sachs and the war on (loose) code
Loose nukes code is fast becoming an object of national security. Like their industrial cold war predecessors, code has been framed as the informational equivalent of a loose nuke — potentially capable of obliterating markets and governments if obtained by a rogue state hacker. This growing meme has been furthered most recently by the news [...]
Also posted in informationalism, property, surveillance, work Tagged automation, code, Goldman Sachs 1 Comment
the great irony of informationalism
On May 29, 2009, Obama announced his intention to appoint a “cyber czar” to coordinate cybersecurity policy for private and government computer networks in the US. Obama also argued the importance of educating the public about cybersecurity while highlighting the dialectical reality of cyberspace: Cyberspace is real and so are the risks that come with [...]
Cookie Monsters published in CYE
Cindi Katz and I just published an article in a special issue of Children, Youth and Environments that focuses on Children and Technological Environments. CYE is an open access journal so you can read our article for free through their website (FYI – they ask you to create an account before providing access to the [...]
Also posted in censorship, commodification, education, informationalism, participation, play, property, surveillance, youth Tagged AriX, article, hacking, iphone, OLPC Leave a comment
ACLU: YouAreBeingWatched.US
You ARE being watched, US. Since 9/11 Homeland Security has pumped an enormous amount of money into public surveillance technologies (online and off). Yet, as most recent studies are showing, the presence of this surveillance does nothing to reduce crime or make people more safe. So, what is this surveillance being funded for? To help [...]
stop the madness and just switch to an open-source browser
Yet another major security flaw found in Internet Explorer, Microsoft’s proprietary web browser. Via the BBC: Users of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer are being urged by experts to switch to a rival until a serious security flaw has been fixed. The flaw in Microsoft’s Internet Explorer could allow criminals to take control of people’s computers and [...]
Securing Cyberspace in 60 Minutes