Internet

Will the FDA regulate social media? (Q&A)

ASPEN, Colo.--The U.S. Food and Drug Administration started to discuss possible Internet regulations at an event it convened in 1996. Fifteen years later, the pharmaceutical industry is still waiting for an outcome.

A blog post from the Public Relations Society of America last week complained that "it's time for the FDA to act and to properly advise" pharmaceutical manufacturers about what kind of advertising is and isn't allowed, especially on social-networking sites. PhRMA, a trade association representing pharmaceutical makers, said this month that "we continue to wait for FDA's guidance, and to … Read more

Peter Thiel thinks tech innovation has 'stalled'

ASPEN, Colo.--One of the Internet's most influential investors and entrepreneurs is offering a dire prediction: the pace of technological change is stagnating.

Peter Thiel, a co-founder of PayPal and early investor in Facebook, warned that--despite spectacular advances in computer-related fields over the last few decades--technological progress overall is actually "stalled out."

"There's been insane progress in computers, Internet, and all things related to it," Thiel told a conference here organized by the Technology Policy Institute last night. "It's been offset by incredible failure in energy. To a first order, the two … Read more

White House pledges new Net privacy approach

ASPEN, Colo.--A White House aide today previewed the administration's forthcoming approach to Internet consumer protection, saying it will provide "privacy law without regulation."

"Businesses that are engaged in responsible privacy practices today ought not to face any additional burdens," said Danny Weitzner, associate administrator at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) who's on assignment to the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy.

Weitzner suggested during a discussion at a Technology Policy Institute conference here that: "You can have stronger privacy law, clearer rules, clearer principles established in law, … Read more

FTC commissioner calls for new 'do not track' approach

ASPEN, Colo.--The U.S. Federal Trade Commission should take a different approach to "do not track" that would involve investigating online advertising, and then perhaps regulating it, a commissioner said today.

J. Thomas Rosch, a Republican commissioner who was appointed in 2006, suggested that the best way to create a do-not-track mechanism for the Web would be for the FTC to require all advertising networks to disclose what they do.

"The commission could serve those entities with compulsory process," Rosch said at the Technology Policy Institute's Aspen Forum here. We could "direct them … Read more

Lose your laptop? Change all passwords, pronto

LAS VEGAS--If your Windows laptop is stolen, be warned: new research shows how a thief can gain access to the passwords used by your Amazon.com, Google, Yahoo, Facebook, and other Web accounts.

The passwords for accounts in the cloud are supposed to be protected by Windows' built-in encryption. But a team of security researchers demonstrated at the Black Hat security conference here how last week to bypass the operating system's security.

A thief--or someone unconcerned with the finer points of federal hacking laws--can take advantage of the vulnerability to discover the passwords stored by Web browsers and other … Read more

Face-matching with Facebook profiles: How it was done

LAS VEGAS--Facebook's online privacy woes are well-known. But here's an offline one: its massive database of profile photos can be used to identify you as you're walking down the street.

A Carnegie Mellon University researcher today described how he assembled a database of about 25,000 photographs taken from students' Facebook profiles. Then he set up a desk in one of the campus buildings and asked willing volunteers to peer into Webcams.

The results: facial recognition software put a name to the face of 31 percent of the students after, on average, less than three seconds of … Read more

Hacking laptop batteries: A new security threat

LAS VEGAS--The latest security threat to your laptop comes from an unexpected source: its battery.

A security researcher demonstrated today at the Black Hat security conference how he was able to gain complete control of the microprocessor embedded in batteries used in Apple Macintosh laptops and then remove or bypass the built-in safeguards.

"I can clearly brick the battery," said Charlie Miller, principal research consultant at security firm Accuvant Labs. "That's a cinch. I'm a pro at that."

Miller suggested it would be possible to overheat a battery and start a fire by convincing … Read more

White House: Need to monitor online 'extremism'

A White House terrorism strategy released today says Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks aid in "advancing violent extremist narratives" and should be monitored by the government.

The 12-page strategy (PDF), which outlines ways to respond to violent extremism, promises that: "We will continue to closely monitor the important role the Internet and social-networking sites play in advancing violent extremist narratives."

President Obama said in a statement accompanying the report that the federal government will start "helping communities to better understand and protect themselves against violent extremist propaganda, especially online."

While much of the … Read more

Microsoft curbs Wi-Fi location database

Microsoft has ceased publishing the estimated locations of millions of laptops, cell phones, and other devices with Wi-Fi connections around the world after a CNET article on Friday highlighted privacy concerns.

The decision to rework Live.com's geolocation service comes following scrutiny of the way Microsoft made available its database assembled by both Windows Phone 7 phones and what the company calls "managed driving" by Street View-like vehicles that record Wi-Fi signals accessible from public roads. Every Wi-Fi device has a unique ID, sometimes called a MAC address, that cannot normally be changed.

Live.com's database, … Read more

Stanford researcher exposes Microsoft's Wi-Fi database

A Stanford University researcher has created a Web page allowing people to query Microsoft's massive database for the locations of their--or someone else's--laptops, cell phones, and other Wi-Fi devices.

The Web page, created this morning by Elie Bursztein, a postdoctoral researcher at the Stanford Security Laboratory, lets people type in the unique 12-character Wi-Fi address of any wireless device. If there's a match, the site displays a map of where Windows Phone 7 devices and Microsoft's fleet of Wi-Fi recording vehicles saw the wireless device last.

A CNET article last night provided details about Microsoft's … Read more