EFFector Vol. 23, No. 08 March 26, 2010 editor@eff.org A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation ISSN 1062-9424 effector: n, Computer Sci. A device for producing a desired change. : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : In our 531st issue: * GOVERNMENT EXPLOITS SSL CERTIFICATES SECURITY FLAW? Researchers released a draft paper about an inherent browser security flaw with evidence that governments may be able to surreptitiously spy on users' "secure" communications. Most modern browsers rely on certificate authorities (CAs) to vouch for whether a secure site is what it claims to be. But there's evidence that governments are being sold tools that they can use as part of a scheme to have CAs issue certificates for surveillance operations, enabling the undetectable spoofing of ceratin websites or services. For details about the security research: http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/03/researchers-reveal-likelihood-governments-fake-ssl * AS PROMISED, GOOGLE HAS STOPPED CENSORING SEARCH ENGINE RESULTS IN CHINA this week, definitively underscoring the gap between Western democratic values and the Chinese government's authoritarian approach to the Internet. Censorship technology operated by the Chinese government is still active, but Google itself is no longer complicit and has taken a principled stand along those who fight censorship in China and the rest of the world. For more about Google ceasing censorship in China: http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/03/google-stops-its-chinese-censorship : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : EFF Updates * EFF Appeals Dismissal of Warrantless Wiretapping Case EFF argues to the 9th Circuit that the District Court in Jewel v. NSA was wrong in holding that AT&T customers who were spied on had "no particularized injury." EFF also warns that the ruling would dangerously blind courts from acting when lawbreaking is widespread. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/03/eff-appeals-dismissal-warrantless-wiretapping-case * EFF Urges Supreme Court to Protect Text-Message Privacy In an amicus brief to the United States Supreme Court, EFF argues that modern communication methods like text messages retain the constitutional privacy protections applied to earlier technologies. http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2010/03/23 * Groups Call On IP Czar To Get Priorities Straight Responding to the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator's request for comments, EFF and others urged balance, restraint, and creativity in considering IP enforcement policies. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/03/public-interest-groups-call-ip-czar-get-priorities * Viacom Makes Its Case Against Yesterday's YouTube Newly unsealed documents reveal Viacom's radical demands for online service providers. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/03/viacom-makes-its-case-against-yesterdays-youtube * Senators Unveil Yet Another Flawed National ID Card Plan The plan to give biometric cards to all workers in order to "solve" illegal immigration fails to recognize the many pitfalls that will prevent it from being effective. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/03/senators-unveil-another-flawed-national-id-card * FTC to Internet Companies: Start Using SSL In a speech before an FTC roundtable, outgoing FTC Commissioner Pamela Jones Harbour called on Web services to start using HTTPS/SSL encryption. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/03/ftc-internet-companies-start-using-ssl * Video: EFF Panel on "Architecture Is Policy" Earlier this month, several EFF board members discussed how technology design can maximize or decimate our basic rights to free speech, privacy, property ownership, and creative thought. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/03/video-eff-panel-architecture-policy * Book Review: Property Outlaws Written by two legal scholars, the book is a thoughtful rebuttal to the notion that property is absolute and trespassers are always "thieves." http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/03/book-review-property-outlaws * Check Out EFF's Favorite Books We are a bookish crowd here at EFF -- check out a list of some of our favorite books! https://www.eff.org/pages/eff-favorite-books : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : Announcements * Evan Ratliff: Shedding Your Identity in the Digital Age On April 13, Evan will talk about his experience trying to "disappear" in a modern world for a special Geek Reading event. Join us at San Francisco's 111 Minna bar for Evan's presentation on the questions of privacy, surveillance, and identity raised by his groundbreaking experiment. While researching a story for Wired Magazine about people who fake their own deaths, journalist Evan Ratliff began to wonder: How hard would it be to disappear in today's digital world? Email, online banking, mobile phones and other ubiquitous technologies leave traces of ourselves that can be easily tracked. If you wanted to disappear while using these tools, could you? To find out the answer, he went underground himself, and issued a challenge to his readers: find Evan and win $5000. While continuing to use the Internet, mobile phones -- and a variety of disguises -- Evan managed to stay on the run for a total of 25 days before obsessive fans tracked him down in New Orleans. Tuesday, April 13, 2010 at 7 PM 111 Minna Bar 111 Minna Street San Francisco, CA 94105 To purchase tickets visit: https://secure.eff.org/site/Ticketing?view=Tickets&id=100181 * EFF Seeking Staff Intellectual Property Attorney Dream job alert: EFF is seeking an intellectual property staff attorney for its legal team. Responsibilities will include litigation, public speaking, media outreach, plus legislative and regulatory advocacy, all in connection with a variety of intellectual property and high technology matters. Qualified candidates should have at least four years of legal experience, with knowledge in patent law and at least one other IP specialty (copyright, trademark, trade secret). Litigation experience is required, including significant experience managing cases, both overall case strategy and day-to-day projects and deadlines. Candidates should have good communication skills and interest in working with a team of highly motivated lawyers and activists in a hard-working nonprofit environment. Strong writing and analytical skills as well as the ability to be self-motivated and focused are essential. Tech savviness and familiarity with Internet civil liberties and high tech public interest issues preferred. This position is based in San Francisco. Interested applicants should submit a resume, writing sample, and references to ipjob@eff.org. * Volunteer/Deferred Open Government Legal Fellow Dream fellowship alert: EFF has a opening for a deferred associate or a full-time volunteer to contribute to our open government work, the FOIA Litigation for Accountable Government (FLAG) Project, in our San Francisco office. This fellowship will involve handling Freedom of Information Act requests and follow-on litigation. The position includes motion practice, negotiation with the government, strategic decisionmaking and reviewing the documents we receive to find out what's interesting and useful to the public debate, then getting them posted to the website in an organized manner. These are very good skills for young lawyers. The position is unpaid, but we'll work with the various deferral programs available to young attorneys. The ideal candidate will possess these qualifications: * Demonstrated interest in, and knowledge of, civil liberties issues involving emerging technologies. * Excellent writing and communications skills, preferably demonstrated in a track record of blogging, investigative reporting, or other similar activities. * Ability to manage and organize large quantities of documentary materials, and to present them to an audience in a compelling and informative manner. * Litigation background desirable, but not required. * Familiarity with basic information technology tools and, preferably, experience in designing and/or managing web-based resources. Contact foiafellow@eff.org if you're interested. * Work With EFF and Tor for Google's Summer of Code Interested in working with EFF or Tor, and getting paid for it by Google? If you are a student and a coder, then we have good news for you: A few of our projects have been accepted for Google's Summer Of Code 2010. At EFF, there are three projects we're focused on: First, TOSBack, which tracks changes to the terms of service of the Internet's most popular websites. Secondly, OurVoteLive, which tracks problems in elections with polling places and voting machines across the US. Third, you could help us implement improvements to Switzerland, a passive IP-layer network neutrality testing system. You can read more about our possible summer projects here. In addition, our friends and colleagues at the Tor project have dozens of ideas for improving their software, which allows users to route around Internet censorship and surveillance. For more about the Google Summer of Code with EFF: http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/03/gsoc * Help EFF Go to SouthEast LinuxFest! EFF is looking for donations of airline miles, flight vouchers, and hotel points for travel to SouthEast LinuxFest in Spartanburg, NC, as well as other conferences and speaking engagements. If you have enough airline miles for a free ticket and would like to send an EFF staffer to a conference, let us know, and we will help you with the process of making the reservation. Please note that at this time we are unable to combine miles from multiple individuals. We are also looking for hotel rewards points to help reduce our overall travel costs. As a thanks for your donation, we can offer a free membership and a mention in EFFector (if you'd like). Please contact aaron@eff.org if you can help! : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : * Administrivia EFFector is published by: The Electronic Frontier Foundation 454 Shotwell Street San Francisco CA 94110-1914 USA +1 415 436 9333 (voice) +1 415 436 9993 (fax) http://www.eff.org/ Editor: Richard Esguerra, EFF Activist richard@eff.org Membership & donation queries: membership@eff.org General EFF, legal, policy, or online resources queries: information@eff.org Reproduction of this publication in electronic media is encouraged. Signed articles do not necessarily represent the views of EFF. To reproduce signed articles individually, please contact the authors for their express permission. Press releases and EFF announcements & articles may be reproduced individually at will. Current and back issues of EFFector are available via the Web at: http://www.eff.org/effector/
