ACMA Takes Aim at Whirlpool, Supplier

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14 March 2009
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In an unprecedented move, Australia’s communications regulator has threatened to fine a company up to $11,000 a day for indirectly leaking part of its top-secret list of banned internet web pages. The action by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has wide ramifications for media companies, online publishers, web hosting suppliers and any organisation that publishes feedback from readers or customers on their web site

Solar Panels in the Sahara ‘Could Power the Whole of Europe’

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13 March 2009
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All of Europe’s energy needs could be supplied by building an array of solar panels in the Sahara. Technological advances combined with falling costs have made it realistic to consider North Africa as Europe’s main source of imported energy. By harnessing the power of the Sun, possibly in tandem with wind farms along the North African coastline, Europe could easily meet its 2020 target of generating at least 20 per cent of its energy from renewable sources

Sydney Police Bust eBay Fraudsters

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12 March 2009
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Sydney police have charged two men over what is alleged to be a multi-million dollar credit card fraud racket involving online auction giant eBay. NSW Police today issued a statement saying the pair had purchased more than $4.5 million in goods using fake credit cards bearing bank details skimmed or stolen from legitimate card-holders. The goods were then allegedly sold online through eBay and other sites

Ban Lifted on Abortion Funding

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10 March 2009
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Australia will lift a 13-year ban on using foreign aid funds to support family planning and safe abortions in poor nations. Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith announced his decision to scrap the ban at a meeting of Labor MPs and Senators this morning, after months of internal party consultation about a policy shift. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told the meeting he did not personally support the change and had had longstanding conservative views on abortion — but said there had been a clear majority view in the Labor caucus for change

UK Filters in the Wikipedia Amendments

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10 March 2009
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The UK government wants to cut out users rights to access Internet content, applications and services. Some of the information used to justify the change has been cut and pasted from the Wikipedia. Amendments to the Telecoms Package circulated in Brussels by the UK government, seek to cross out users’ rights to access and distribute Internet content and services. And they want to replace it with a principle that users can be told not only the conditions for access, but also the conditions for the use of applications and services. The UK government texts have been heavily criticised by the French campaigning group La Quadrature du Net. It is believed that they could have been drawn up by the UK regulator, Ofcom

Bletchley Park to Stage Retro Computer Orchestra

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9 March 2009
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The shrill bleeps from 80s home computers and the hammering clicks of ancient calculating machines are noises that many people would prefer to forget, but not chip-tune musician Matthew Applegate. He plans on assembling a virtual orchestra of 20 retired relics of computing at the National Museum of Computing at Bletchley Park. The choice of venue will even allow Applegate to feature the famous Colossus Mark 2 computer in the event, which was used for code-breaking in World War II and was recently reconstructed at Bletchley Park in 2007

From (& To) Russia, With Love

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7 March 2009
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If you ask security experts why more cyber criminals aren’t brought to justice, the answer you will probably hear is that US authorities simply aren’t getting the cooperation they need from law enforcement officials in Russia and other Eastern European nations, where some of the world’s most active cyber criminal gangs are thought to operate with impunity. But I wonder whether authorities in those countries would be any more willing to pursue cyber crooks in their own countries if they were forced to confront just how deeply those groups have penetrated key government and private computer networks in those regions?

Australian Government Considers Quantum Leap in Secure Communications

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7 March 2009
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Australian governments may soon have the world’s most secure data communication system if trials of a locally-developed quantum cryptography technology are successful. The system is built on Quantum Key Distribution (QKD), considered the world’s most secure medium, which uses special lasers capable of detecting the slightest attempt to eavesdrop. It could remove the need for governments to use couriers to deliver one-time keys for sensitive information

NSW to Allow Secret Searches, Hacking

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6 March 2009
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New South Wales Police are being given sweeping new powers to search people’s homes and hack into their computers for up to three years without their knowledge. The State Government admits police have already used the measures, even though the Supreme Court ruled the practices unlawful in 2006. The Government says new legislation, to be introduced into Parliament today, will ensure police evidence collected using the practices will hold up in court. Police Minister Tony Kelly says the reforms will allow police to collect enough evidence for a prosecution without tipping off criminals

Welcome to the New Gold Mines

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6 March 2009
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In Rights, Technology, World
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Li Hua makes a living playing computer games. Working from a cramped office in the heart of Changsha, China, he slays dragons and loots virtual gold in 10-hour shifts. Next to him, rows of other young workers do the same. It is just like working in a factory, the only difference is that this is the virtual world, says Li. The working conditions are hard. We don’t get weekends off and I only have one day free a month. But compared to other jobs it is good. I have no other skills and I enjoy playing sometimes. Li is just one of more than 100 workers employed by Wow7gold, an internet-based company that makes more than £1m a year selling in-game advantages to World of Warcraft (WoW) players. Customers may ask for their avatar’s skill level to be increased (power levelling), or for a virtual magic sword or precious ore to be obtained. As one player put it: Where there’s a demand, China will supply it

UK Government Wants To Bypass Data Protection Act

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4 March 2009
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Clause 152 of the Coroners and Justice Bill, currently being debated by the UK Parliament, would allow any Minister by order to take from anywhere any information gathered for one purpose, and use it for any other purpose. Personal information arbitrarily used without consent or even knowledge: the very opposite of Data Protection. An Information Sharing Order, as defined in Clause 152, would permit personal information to be trafficked and abused, not only all across government and the public sector — it would also reach into the private sector. And it would even allow transfer of information across international borders. NO2ID has launched a Facebook group to challenge this threat to data protection — via Slashdot

Canadian Stem Cell Breakthrough

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3 March 2009
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In Health, Science, World
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The ethical debate over embryonic stem cell use may soon be moot, thanks to a Canadian team of researchers who, together with a team out of Scotland, has found a safe way to grow stem cells from a patient’s own skin. The revolutionary finding, described in a paper published yesterday by the international science journal Nature, means doctors may be one step closer to treating a multitude of diseases, including Alzheimer’s, diabetes and Parkinson’s

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