funsec mailing list archives
Re: When US-made 'censorware' ends up in iron fists
From: "Paul Ferguson" <fergdawg () netzero net>
Date: Wed, 24 Oct 2007 18:04:48 GMT
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 I think it's a bit ironic that anyone can make a big deal about other countries "censoring" the Internet, while in the U.S. virtually all individual privacy rights in The Internet are virtually non-existent due to the U.S. Government's "War on Terror". People should be up in arms about that... - - ferg - -- "Richard M. Smith" <rms () computerbytesman com> wrote: http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1010/p01s01-ussc.html?page=2 from the October 10, 2007 edition - When US-made 'censorware' ends up in iron fists ... ONI testing in 2005 indicated that Burma censored the Internet using software made by Fortinet, a Sunnyvale, Calif., company. The firm, says ONI, responded by saying it doesn't sell software directly to end-users. ONI challenges Fortinet's claim, pointing to a 2004 article, reachable online, by the official New Light of Myanmar newspaper. The story covers a ceremony bringing together Burma's prime minister and Benjamin Teh, described as "an official representative of Fortinet." ... Other ONI research revealed that Iranian Internet service providers (ISPs) have used filtering software of two other California firms: Websense Inc. and Secure Computing Corp. A Websense spokeswoman denies the firm has sold software to Iran, which would be illegal. A published study by Nart Villeneuve at the University of Toronto found that from 2004 to 2005 the Iranian ISP ParsOnline used Websense's product. By 2006, the ISP had dropped Websense, he said in an e-mail. ... Secure Computing has said publicly in the past that the Iranians may have obtained an illegal copy of its software. A company executive, Atri Chatterjee, says the software, called SmartFilter, would still function without frequent database updates from Secure Computing, though at a degraded capacity. Such updates could also be obtained illicitly, he says. ONI also found in 2005 that Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates, countries with Internet censorship, use SmartFilter. The company wouldn't confirm or deny. "We are a US organization that adheres to US rules. We only do business with organizations and countries we are approved to do business with," says Mr. Chatterjee. That position is echoed by Blue Coat Systems Inc., whose sales materials have boasted that Internet access across Saudi Arabia is "monitored and controlled" by its technology. ... -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: PGP Desktop 9.6.3 (Build 3017) wj8DBQFHH4k0q1pz9mNUZTMRAtXlAJ9/qafROLlxWFuyifsmPwvZwAfadQCgxPa3 FlH+okdu7+zHCwcH3QZVioI= =tqMx -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- _______________________________________________ Fun and Misc security discussion for OT posts. https://linuxbox.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/funsec Note: funsec is a public and open mailing list.
Current thread:
- When US-made 'censorware' ends up in iron fists Richard M. Smith (Oct 24)
- <Possible follow-ups>
- Re: When US-made 'censorware' ends up in iron fists Paul Ferguson (Oct 24)