38 Issue 1404
I
t’s been a busy week in the world of cyber-security,
encryption and politics. Our own government amended
(tinyurl.com/MMnet04a)– if that’s the correct term
(tinyurl.com/MMnet04b) – the Investigatory Powers
Bill in a way that appeared to award it more power than
the original draft, despite the concerns expressed by three
parlimentary committees (tinyurl.com/MMnet04c). On the
other side of the Atlantic, Apple continued to go head to head
with the US government over whether it should be made to
hack its own equipment (tinyurl.com/MMnet04d).
This time, the two sides were arguing it out in front
of a congressional committee in anotherround of what’s
becoming an increasingly bitter scrap, punctuated by
moments of histrionics on both sides. Perhaps the strangest
of these is arecent claim that the phone could containa
‘cyber-pathogen’ that could pose a wider threat (tinyurl.
com/MMnet04e). This is strangely contrary to previous
statements from San Bernadino police and the director of
the FBI, which were far less confident about anything of
any evidential value being found on the phone. Indeed, ina
comment toArsTe chnica, iPhone forensics expert Jonathan
Zdziarski dismissed the claim as suggesting that “a magical
unicorn exists on the phone.”
Meanwhile, in NewYork, a judge ruled against the police in a
similar case, making several points that could ultimately influence
the ruling on the bigger Apple furore (tinyurl.com/MMnet04f).
His comments were especially interesting, as they touched on
what a decision against Apple could mean for the future of
surveillance. Whatever is decided in the end, it’s going to have
massive implications, that’s for sure.O
ne of the first times we ever came across Reddit was in
a discussion with a website creator. He illustrated to us
just how big a spike in visitors the site could provide when
articles are posted there, but how that was not something
he could influence, due to the site’s aversion to any kind of
self-promotion and commitment to truly viral promotion of
content. It was the first thing we thought of when weread the
story of Reddit3016 (tinyurl.com/MMnet04g), a parody of
‘the internet’s homepage’, which imagines what it could look
like 1,000 years from now (reddit3016.com).
The reason that conversation popped into our head is the fact
that, despite claims from Reddit3016’s creator that Reddit mods
are removing links to his site across various subreddits (tinyurl.
com/MMnet04h), another version of the story could be that he
is falling foul of the sites rules on self promotion. It certainly
seems weird that he would both be falling foul of corporate
censorship, while also being trumpeted by one of the site’sMeanwhile... On The Internet...
.AVWhy?
Videos For YourEyes...
Not NecessarilyFor YourBrain
One of the common moans you’re likely to hear about modern music is
that ‘it’s all made by machines’. It’s a theme that’s been endlessly mined by
‘real’ musicians for years and is still riffed up to this day (tinyurl.com/
MMnet04u). However, when the machines are as impressive as the one
built by Martin Molin of the band Wintergaten (tinyurl.com/MMnet04v), it
seems a ludicrous thing to hold against it. In an interview withWired
(tiny url.com/MMnet04w), he says the machine–which he built himself
from wood after conceptualising it in 3D software, and iterating it into its
final form–took 14 months to make.Time well spent!co-founders (tinyurl.com/MMnet04i), but stranger things have
happened... certainly on Reddit.I
t would appear that Netflix is making good on itsrecent
commitment to blocking the use ofVirtual Private Network
(VPN) services to access its content (tinyurl.com/MMnet04j).
These services have become more prevalent inrecent years,
and highlighted the inconsistency of its content provision
across the globe – a function, one suspects, of the complex
licensing minefield it has to navigate with various studios and
content providers.
For example, the US version of the streaming service is very
different to what is available in the UK (it offers a much wider
range of films and more – including vintageDoctor Who,we’re
told). And it’s preferred by many Brits to our native offering.
However, while early efforts to stop online border hopping met
with mixed success, arecent post on Reddit (tinyurl.com/
MMnet04k) has highlighted that people are beginning to see
that the company’s warning was more than just lip-service.
While our tests showed that not all VPN services were being
blocked (sorry, we’re not going to tell you who’s working), the
reaction to the heavier policing of its users has met, as you’d
expect, with a fair amount of ire online (tinyurl.com/MMnet04l).
This included the usual threats to abandon the service, in favour of
less legal sources (tinyurl.com/MMnet04m). Exactly what impact
the move will have on user numbersremains to be seen, however,
but we suspect that Netflix has its eye on the bigger picture of
preserving itsrelationship with big movie makers in the face of
increasing competition. And the more itrelies on its own content
to drive subscriptions, the less geographical boundaries (or people’s
ability to traverse them virtually) will matter.W
hile we’re talking about not using internet services in the
ways they were intended, we come to the story of how in
the future people may find themselves in court over setting up false
profiles on social media (tinyurl.com/MMnet04t).We’re not talking
about using a nom de plume or nickname here, we’re talking
about people setting up accounts specifically for the purpose of
impersonating, embarrassing or harassing another individual. Pretty
indefensible, if we’re honest.F
ew things in the world of tech raise a smile like a good Steve
Ballmer GIF (tinyurl.com/MMnet04n,tinyurl.com/
MMnet04o,tinyurl.com/MMnet04p,tinyurl.com/
MMnet04q), and we suspect he knows it (tinyurl.com/
MMnet04r). So this footage of him loving his new post-Microsoft
gig serves as a nostalgia dose of sorts:tinyurl.com/MMnet04s).QUICK BITS...The HTCViveʼs UK cost is actually a pretty substantial £689, plus shipping costs – add another