April 2022 - nexa - server-nexa.polito.it

How can US law enforcement agencies access your data? Let’s count the ways | Apple | The Guardian
by Alberto Cammozzo April 5, 2022

April 5, 2022

<https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/apr/04/us-law-enforcement-agenc…> A brazen hack that exposed consumer data collected by Apple and the Facebook-parent company Meta has raised fresh questions about how secure our data is in the hands of tech companies and how easily law enforcement can get hold of the information big tech collects. It was revealed last week that hackers obtained the information of some Apple and Meta users by forging an emergency legal request, one of several mechanisms by which law enforcement agencies can request or demand that tech companies hand over data such as location and subscriber information. Facebook demands LAPD end social media surveillance and use of fake accounts Lawmakers and privacy advocates argued the forgery was a warning sign that the system is in need of reform. “No one wants tech companies to refuse legitimate emergency requests,” but the current system has “clear weaknesses”, Senator Ron Wyden said in a statement following the hack. A review of the myriad ways tech companies share consumer data with law enforcement agencies reveals that it’s often fairly straightforward for such bodies to get their hands on consumer data. “[Your data is] pretty much all available to the government in one form or another,” said Jennifer Lynch, the surveillance litigation director at the digital rights group the Electronic Frontier Foundation. “One of the real challenges with technology these days is that it is next to impossible to figure out exactly all the data that companies are collecting on us and to exert any kind of control over what happens to that data,” added Lynch. An emergency legal request, like the one the hackers forged, for instance, doesn’t require a subpoena or warrant, unlike many other legal requests. It’s supposed to be reserved for exceptional situations: Apple considers legal requests an “emergency” if “it relates to circumstance(s) involving imminent and serious threat(s) to: 1) the life/safety of individual(s); 2) the security of a State; 3) the security of critical infrastructure/installation”. But, as the hackers have shown, it can be easily exploited. Apple and Meta did not respond to a request for comment. Here are some of the main ways law enforcement can get hold of your data. Accessing your device Perhaps the most obvious way law enforcement can get your data is by accessing your physical device. Police can subpoena your device or get a search warrant to go through your phones. If your phone is locked or you only use encrypted messaging apps, police can use mobile device forensic tools to break the encryption or bypass your lock screens if they are armed with a warrant. In February 2021, a US appeals court ruled that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) can freely search your devices without a warrant at the borders. The move created “a massive loophole to target anyone traveling into or out of the US”, said Albert Fox Cahn, the founder of the privacy advocacy firm Surveillance Technology Oversight Project. Law enforcement requests If you scan privacy policies of your most used apps you’ll probably find a clause or two that says something along the lines of “we don’t share your user data ever unless it’s in response to a law enforcement request”. That means police, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice), the FBI and other law enforcement agencies can get your user data directly from tech companies through various forms of legal requests, without having to search your device. Sometimes, they can get it just by asking for it. Google, for example, received more than 39,000 requests for user information between July and December 2020, according to the company’s most recent transparency report. Google handed over user info in response to more than 80% of those requests, affecting the accounts of more than 89,000 users. In many cases these requests come with gag orders, meaning the company cannot notify users that their information has been requested for six months or more. Sometimes it will be years before a user finds out their information has been handed over to law enforcement. There are a handful of different types of law enforcement requests, some more sweeping than others and some carrying more legal weight. Three types of legal requests in particular have recently sparked concern among activists and experts: geofence warrants, keyword search warrants and administrative subpoenas. A keyword search warrant allows law enforcement to access the information of anyone who searched for certain terms or keywords within a certain time period. A geofence warrant allows law enforcement agencies to seek the device information of all the users who were at a certain place at a certain time. Google, the only company that currently discloses the number of geofence warrants it receives, said it fielded a little under 3,000 in the last quarter of 2020. Both types of warrants, privacy experts say, are over-broad and thus violate the constitutional protection against unreasonable searches. While many warrants typically seek the information of a single person or group of people who are suspected of a crime, geofence and keyword search warrants work backwards and cast a wide net hoping to narrow down a list of suspects. It’s not unlike cell-tower dumps, for which law enforcement agencies ask cellphone companies for the information of all people who were connected to a cell tower in the vicinity of a crime scene at the time the crime was suspected to have occurred. A federal judge in Virginia recently ruled that local authorities violated the constitution when using a geofence warrant to investigate a 2019 robbery, setting a precedent that attorneys representing people caught up in these types of searches could use to receive remedies for being falsely suspected or accused of a crime. Administrative subpoenas carry less legal weight than other requests: law enforcement agencies don’t need a judge to sign off on them but they also aren’t self-enforcing. The only way the agencies can force a company to hand over the data demanded in the request is by taking them to court after they refuse to comply. Still, companies will often comply with the request even though it is not a court-ordered subpoena. Some experts have expressed concern of the use of this type of request by Ice, which has requested user data from tech companies like Google, fearing the agency is using them to expand its surveillance on US citizens. An Ice official previously said the agency does not often send administrative subpoenas to tech companies for non-criminal purposes. In a press release, Ice said it “uses statutorily-authorized immigration subpoenas to obtain information as part of investigations regarding potential removable aliens”. Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Data brokers There is an entire industry of companies and firms that buy and sell your data for a profit. The shadowy network of data brokers operates fairly under the radar but often provides easy access to user data such as your location and purchase history to other entities, including law enforcement. Data brokers can collect your personal data from a handful of different sources, such as your social media profiles, public records and other commercial sources or companies. Some data brokers integrate directly into apps to hoover up information like location and purchase history. These brokers, which can include some telecommunications companies and credit reporting agencies, then sell that raw data, or inferences and analysis based on that data,to other companies and government agencies. It’s not always clear whether a data broker has collected or sold your information. In fact, recently data broker X Mode, whose customers include military contractors, was exposed for buying location data from the Muslim prayer app Muslim Pro without the knowledge of users of the app. Surveillance tech companies Law enforcement agencies also contract with surveillance tech companies like Clearview AI and Voyager, which scrape your information from the internet and social media and feed it into their own algorithms. Consumer tech companies you may interact with on a daily basis also provide services to police. Amazon’s smart doorbell Ring, for instance, gives some police special access to their Neighbors social network and makes it easy for the police to monitor and request Ring footage from consumers. Contracts between tech companies and law enforcement agencies have become more frequent as the tech industry seeks out new avenues of growth, experts say. Because many of the spaces tech is already in have clear dominant players, law enforcement contracts have become an appealing growth strategy because of the seemingly endless supply of funding for agencies like the Department of Homeland Security and local police. Data-sharing There’s also quite a bit of inter-agency data sharing happening at the local, state and federal levels of government. While it might seem unsurprising that law enforcement agencies share information, you might be surprised to learn that an entity like the DMV shares information with agencies like Ice. That data-sharing is made easier by services from companies like Palantir, which creates a centralized network of digital records which include “chronic offenders” and other people deemed of interest that can be easily accessed by the company’s law enforcement partners at all levels – from many local police departments to the FBI.

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sistema di credito sociale - la Cina è vicina (era:Bologna: citizen wallet)
by maurizio lana April 4, 2022

April 4, 2022

siamo 'semplicemente' qui, con il citizen wallet di Bologna: https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sistema_di_credito_sociale "Il sistema di credito sociale è un'iniziativa creata dalla Repubblica Popolare Cinese al fine di sviluppare un sistema nazionale per classificare la reputazione dei propri cittadini." "Fino a ora, nessun sistema di credito sociale comprensivo ed esteso a tutta la nazione esiste ma ci sono molteplici progetti sperimentali che stanno testando il sistema su scala locale e in alcuni settori dell'economia. Un programma di questo tipo è stato implementato a Shanghai per mezzo dell'app Honest Shanghai, che utilizza un software di riconoscimento facciale per cercare all'interno di archivi del governo, e classifica gli utenti in questo modo. Alcune documentazioni hanno dichiarato che i punteggi potrebbero basarsi anche su informazioni estrapolate dalle abitudini di ricerca online dei cittadini cinesi." in Cina sono partiti con un programma pilota in una grande città. se uno volesse sottrarsi potrebbe farcela a «offuscarsi»? penso a Bologna, e penso a Shanhgai, e penso a me nella mia città Maurizio Il 31/03/22 11:41, Vincenzo Mario Bruno Giorgino <vincenzo.giorgino(a)unito.it> ha scritto: > Date: Thu, 31 Mar 2022 11:41:36 +0200 > From: Vincenzo Mario Bruno Giorgino <vincenzo.giorgino(a)unito.it> > To: Giuseppe Attardi <attardi(a)di.unipi.it> > Cc: Nexa <nexa(a)server-nexa.polito.it> > Subject: Re: [nexa] Bologna: citizen wallet > > > La tentazione però è forte per le pubbliche amministrazioni, specie "eco > progressiste" e orientate al "bene comune". > I cittadini elettori verrebbero valutati dall'Amministrazione eletta e > sulla quale non avrebbero alcun potere della stessa portata. > E il paradosso sarebbe che ciò avviene perchè i dati sul comportamento > della popolazione sono chiusi in silos statali controllati dai politici e > solo a loro noti (e alle aziende che eventualmente avrebbero l'appalto). > Altro paradosso è che ciò avviene anche perchè deve essere garantita la > riservatezza... dei dati individuali! Sottratti agli individui per il loro > bene. Chissà che ne farebbero... > > Vi ricordo il MoM dell'ultimo Governo Renzi con IBM Watson: i dati sanitari > dei lombardi (9M) poi di tutti gli italiani in cambio di un centro di > ricerca IBM-Watson a Milano con 500-700 ricercatori assunti. > "Un vaste programme!" > > Se IBM era disposta alla transazione, avrà fatto prima i conti sul valore > dei dati, che per E&Y, relativamente alla popolazione della Gran Bretagna, > assomma a circa 10 miliardi di sterline all'anno. Tra l'altro, i cittadini, > con questo valore in tasca, di conoscenza e, in secondo luogo, economico, > non sarebbero più una voce di costo del SSN, ma una voce di entrata e di > influenza. Dovrebbero avere voce in capitolo su molti aspetti di questa > valorizzazione, magari anche sulla gestione dei dati durante le > emergenze come la pandemia, in cui è in gioco la vita senza un'adeguata > (rapida) e granulare (dati grezzi anonimizzati, vedi ad es. la proposta di > Alex Pentland del MIT già citata qui tempo fa) conoscenza della > diffusione del virus. > > Per contro, l'Amministrazione Obama varò nel 2010 il programma > Blue Botton: tutti i dati sanitari dei beneficiari di Medicare (43M) e dei > Veterani (1M) disponibili a loro stessi in formato ASCII. > https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/open/innovations/BlueButton > > Buona riflessione a tutti, > > Vincenzo Giorgino > > > > > > > > Il giorno gio 31 mar 2022 alle ore 11:10 Giuseppe Attardi < > attardi(a)di.unipi.it> ha scritto: > >> Una follia: la illustra bene l’episodio “Nose Dive” di Black Mirror. >> >> — Beppe >> >> On 30 Mar 2022, at 20:24, <nexa-request(a)server-nexa.polito.it> < >> nexa-request(a)server-nexa.polito.it> wrote: >> >> From: 380° <g380(a)biscuolo.net> >> To: nexa(a)server-nexa.polito.it >> Subject: [nexa] Bologna: citizen wallet >> Message-ID: <87tubfd52t.fsf(a)xelera.eu> >> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" >> >> Buongiorno nexiane, >> >> >> https://corrieredibologna.corriere.it/bologna/politica/22_marzo_29/bologna-… >> >> Bologna, la «patente digitale» per i cittadini virtuosi: punti e >> premi. E un’app con tutti i servizi >> >> --8<---------------cut here---------------start------------->8--- >> >> L’idea è simile al meccanismo di «una raccolta punti del supermercato», >> come sottolinea lo stesso assessore. «Il cittadino avrà un >> riconoscimento se differenzia i rifiuti, se usa i mezzi pubblici, se >> gestisce bene l’energia, se non prende sanzioni dalla municipale, se >> risulta attivo con la Card cultura». Comportamenti virtuosi che >> corrisponderanno a un punteggio che i bolognesi potranno poi «spendere» >> in premi in via di definizione: «Scontistiche Tper, Hera, attività >> culturali e così via». >> >> La sperimentazione dell’app dopo l’estate >> >> Il progetto del citizen wallet partirà in via sperimentale dopo >> l’estate, ma resta il nodo della privacy e delle resistenze che potrebbe >> incontrare tra i cittadini. «Ovviamente nessuno sarà costretto a >> partecipare, chi vuole darà il consenso scaricando e utilizzando >> un’apposita applicazione, io credo saranno in tanti ad aderire», >> scommette l’assessore pentastellato, che punta ad allargare il più >> possibile i vantaggi per i cittadini virtuosi: «Vogliamo fargli capire >> che non sono degli “sfigati” ma che i loro comportamenti vengono >> premiati». >> >> --8<---------------cut here---------------end--------------->8--- >> >> Saluti, 380° >> >> -- >> 380° (Giovanni Biscuolo public alter ego) >> >> «Noi, incompetenti come siamo, >> non abbiamo alcun titolo per suggerire alcunché» >> >> Disinformation flourishes because many people care deeply about injustice >> but very few check the facts. Ask me about <https://stallmansupport.org>. >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> nexa mailing list >> nexa(a)server-nexa.polito.it >> https://server-nexa.polito.it/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nexa >> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |mural of Giulio Regeni in Mohammed Mahmoud Street, Cairo the source is https://alwafd.news/images/thumbs/752/new/027f918bb62bf148193d5920ca67ded7.… the meaning of the place https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-20395260| ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Maurizio Lana Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici Università del Piemonte Orientale piazza Roma 36 - 13100 Vercelli tel. +39 347 7370925

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Here’s How We Beat Amazon
by Enrico Nardelli April 4, 2022

April 4, 2022

Amazon workers in Staten Island have achieved the most important labor victory in the United States since the 1930s. Here’s an inside account of how they did it. https://jacobinmag.com/2022/04/amazon-labor-union-alu-staten-island-organiz… -- EN ===================================================================== Prof. Enrico Nardelli Direttore Laboratorio Nazionale "Informatica e Scuola" del CINI Dipartimento di Matematica - Universita' di Roma "Tor Vergata" Via della Ricerca Scientifica snc - 00133 Roma tel: +39 06 7259.4204 fax: +39 06 7259.4699 mobile: +39 335 590.2331 e-mail: nardelli(a)mat.uniroma2.it online meeting: https://blue.meet.garr.it/b/enr-y7f-t0q-ont home page: http://www.mat.uniroma2.it/~nardelli blog: http://link-and-think.blogspot.it/ ===================================================================== --

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Google Ordered Russian Translators Not to Call War in Ukraine a War
by Giacomo Tesio April 4, 2022

April 4, 2022

An internal email shows that despite its anti-war stance, the company bowed to Kremlin decrees. In early March, contractors working for Google to translate company text for the Russian market received an update from their client: Effective immediately, the ongoing Russian war against Ukraine could no longer be referred to as a war but rather only vaguely as “extraordinary circumstances.” The internal email, obtained by The Intercept, was sent by management at a firm that translates corporate texts and app interfaces for Google and other clients. Most Read Ukrainian Journalist Finds Charred Remains Where Alleged War Crime Was Filmed Robert Mackey The U.S. Has Its Own Agenda Against Russia Jeremy Scahill Honor Culture Is Back. We Eradicated It for a Reason. Ryan Grim The email passed along instructions from Google with the new wording. The instructions also noted that the word “war” should continue to be used in other markets and that the policy change was intended to keep Google in compliance with a Russian censorship law enacted just after the invasion of Ukraine. [...] According to a translator who spoke to The Intercept, the orders apply to all Google products translated into Russian, including Google Maps, Gmail, AdWords, and Google’s policies and communications with users. (The translator asked for anonymity to avoid reprisal by their employer.) [...] Western commentators have generally lauded Google’s efforts related to the invasion. But the email and translations in Google’s Help Center suggest that its principled stand against Russian state propagandizing is to some extent outweighed by the company’s interest in continuing to do business in Russia. Continua su https://theintercept.com/2022/03/28/google-russia-ukraine-war-censorship/ Giacomo

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Interrogazione parlamentare sul bando per la realizzazione del polo strategico nazionale (PSN)
by D. Davide Lamanna April 4, 2022

April 4, 2022

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segnalazione di un CfP
by Giovanni Leghissa April 4, 2022

April 4, 2022

Care nexiane, Mi permetto di sottoporre alla vostra attenzione un call for papers della mia rivista online, “Philosophy Kitchen” https://philosophykitchen.com/2022/03/cfp18-cibernetica-sistemi-teorie-mode… Spero che possa interessare … Un caro saluto Giovanni

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"Ricerca, educazione e accesso al patrimonio culturale" | 6 maggio 2022, ore 9.00-18.00
by Nexa Media April 4, 2022

April 4, 2022

Gentilissimi, vi invitiamo a partecipare al convegno organizzato dall'Istituto di Informatica Giuridica e Sistemi Giudiziari, e dal Capitolo Italiano Creative Commons: /*"Ricerca, educazione e accesso al patrimonio culturale. Un confronto tra diritti fondamentali ed eccezioni al diritto d'autore"*/, che si terrà *venerdì 6 maggio 2022*, dalle ore 9.00 alle ore 18.00, presso il *Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche - Aula Marconi*, Piazzale Aldo Moro n. 7, Roma. Per chi non potesse partecipare in presenza sarà possibile collegarsi da remoto; in entrambi i casi è necessario iscriversi al seguente link: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/3860291188661858060 Partecipano, tra gli altri: *Marco Ricolfi*, Co-Fondatore e Co-Direttore del Centro Nexa, Università degli studi di Torino; *Maurizio Borghi*, Trustee del Centro Nexa, Università degli studi di Torino; *Deborah De Angelis*, Fellow del Centro Nexa, Creative Commons - Capitolo italiano. Maggiori informazioni sul convegno sono disponibili alla pagina: https://nexa.polito.it/ricerca-educazione-accessopatrimonioculturale Cordiali saluti, -- Anita Botta Communication Manager Nexa Center for Internet & Society Politecnico di Torino – DAUIN Corso Duca degli Abruzzi, 24 - 10129 Torino web: https://nexa.polito.it/ mail: anita.botta(a)polito.it tel: 011 090 7219

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On the Weaponization of Open Source
by Vetro' Antonio April 3, 2022

April 3, 2022

"My problem is that this weaponization is killing off trust. I think the temptation of using open source projects as weapons against Russia should be resisted because it sets a dangerous precedent and may ultimately set back the open source movement and push organizations back into seeking refuge in commercial software with all its opaqueness and obscurity." https://www.computer.org/publications/tech-news/community-voices/on-the-wea…

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BMJ 2022;376:o702: The illusion of evidence based medicine
by 380° April 3, 2022

April 3, 2022

Buongiorno nexiane, sarà OT qui? «The illusion of evidence based medicine» (di sicuro l'illusione non è limitata alla medicina, n.d.r) BMJ 2022; 376 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.o702 (Published 16 March 2022) https://www.bmj.com/content/376/bmj.o702 Questi alcuni estratti arbitrariamente selezionati da me, ma l'articolo non può essere riassunto. --8<---------------cut here---------------start------------->8--- Evidence based medicine has been corrupted by corporate interests, failed regulation, and commercialisation of academia, argue these authors The advent of evidence based medicine was a paradigm shift intended to provide a solid scientific foundation for medicine. The validity of this new paradigm, however, depends on reliable data [...] The release into the public domain of previously confidential pharmaceutical industry documents has given the medical community valuable insight into the degree to which industry sponsored clinical trials are misrepresented. Until this problem is corrected, evidence based medicine will remain an illusion. The philosophy of critical rationalism, advanced by the philosopher Karl Popper, famously advocated for the integrity of science and its role in an open, democratic society. [...] Scientific progress is thwarted by the ownership of data and knowledge because industry suppresses negative trial results, fails to report adverse events, and does not share raw data with the academic research community. [...] The pharmaceutical industry’s responsibility to its shareholders means that priority must be given to their hierarchical power structures, product loyalty, and public relations propaganda over scientific integrity. [...] As a result, university departments become instruments of industry: through company control of the research agenda and ghostwriting of medical journal articles and continuing medical education, academics become agents for the promotion of commercial products. [...] The corporate university also compromises the concept of academic leadership. Deans who reached their leadership positions by virtue of distinguished contributions to their disciplines have in places been replaced with fundraisers and academic managers, who are forced to demonstrate their profitability or show how they can attract corporate sponsors. [...] for example, physicians are selected based on their influence on prescribing habits of other physicians. [...] Ironically, industry sponsored KOLs (key opinion leaders, n.d.r.) appear to enjoy many of the advantages of academic freedom, supported as they are by their universities, the industry, and journal editors for expressing their views, even when those views are incongruent with the real evidence. While universities fail to correct misrepresentations of the science from such collaborations, critics of industry face rejections from journals, legal threats, and the potential destruction of their careers. [...] Regulators receive funding from industry and use industry funded and performed trials to approve drugs, without in most cases seeing the raw data. [...] Unconcerned governments and captured regulators are unlikely to initiate necessary change to remove research from industry altogether and clean up publishing models that depend on reprint revenue, advertising, and sponsorship revenue. Our proposals for reforms include: [...] --8<---------------cut here---------------end--------------->8--- Ometto le proposte di riforma degli autori (se vi interessano potete facilmente trovarle voi) perché mi interessano veramente poco, è la diagnosi che conta, ma che è ancora /ampiamente/ ignorata, contrastata, misconosciuta e perfino negata: la "evidence based"-qualcosa è **una illusione**, la scienza (la medicina è scienza?!?) è /altra cosa/ (con buona pace di Popper e dei positivisti, ma non divaghiamo) Saluti, 380° P.S.: per una analisi, completa di comoda rappresentazione grafica, su quali sono i meccanismi e gli "input" attraverso i quali si giunga alla illusione scientifica (chiamata scientific halucination nel testo) si veda https://nooscope.ai/ -- 380° (Giovanni Biscuolo public alter ego) «Noi, incompetenti come siamo, non abbiamo alcun titolo per suggerire alcunché» Disinformation flourishes because many people care deeply about injustice but very few check the facts. Ask me about <https://stallmansupport.org>.

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Contra Chrome
by Giacomo Tesio April 2, 2022

April 2, 2022

Hi, my nae is Scott McCloud! I'm a cartoonist and comics scholar. Back in 2008, I created a comic book for GOOGLE explaining the inner working of their soon-to-be-released new browser Chrome. The comic was a web phenomenon when for two days it was the only source of information on this major software release. But now that we're entering the 2020s, be and the good folks at Google had the same feeling: Chrome has changed so much that we owe you guys an update. [...] In fact you don't even have to push RETURN at all. From the moment you begin to type [nella barra degli indirizzi/omnibox], everythig is instantly syphoned off. (we jokingly call this Chrome's "no return policy") Let's take a moment here to sink in: ALL those words you might deem TOO SENSITIVE to even TYPE -- your ex's name, an abortion clinic, that group therapy idea -- before you even DECIDED whether to send them, Google has already EXTRACTED them, your doubts, your hesitations. [...] And the Google Assistant, Google's answer to Alexa, will not function properly until you have granted Google access to your browsing history. It won't even respond to "What time is it?" until you feed all of your browsing history and contacts. Though it is still LISTENING, of course, then still RECORDING everything you SAY. Continua su https://contrachrome.com/ Un fumetto davvero molto chiaro ed istruttivo. Gli articoli di approfondimento (pagina 28 e 29) potrebbero essere tratti dalla lista Nexa, ma in realtà ne ho trovati anche alcuni che non conoscevo. Ne consiglio caldamente la lettura. Giacomo

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