June 2010 - skunkworks - Skunkworks Site

Google now says that it will give European regulators data it secretly collected
by aki 04 Jun '10

04 Jun '10

June 3, 2010, 09:40 PM — IDG News Service — In a reversal of course, Google now says that it will give European regulators data it secretly collected from open wireless networks over the past three years. A Google spokesman said Wednesday that the data should be handed over within a matter of days. Last week, the company found itself in conflict with a privacy regulator at the German city of Hamburg, who wanted access to the data. Google said that it wasn't sure that handing over the data would be legal. "The data protection authority in Hamburg has made a number of requests -- including to be given access to an original hard-drive containing the payload data, and to a Street View car. We want to cooperate with these requests -- indeed we have already given him access to a car -- but as granting access to payload data creates legal challenges in Germany which we need to review, we are continuing to discuss the appropriate legal and logistical process for making the data available," Google said in a statement last week. Those challenges have apparently now been addressed. The company plans to hand over data to German, French and Spanish authorities, according to the Financial Times, (FT) which first reported this latest development on Wednesday. Google will publish a review of its privacy practices sometime within the next month, and also plans to publish the findings of an external audit into its Wi-Fi snooping operations, the FT reports. "We screwed up. Let's be very clear about that," Google CEO Eric Schmidt told the newspaper. http://news.idg.no/cw/art.cfm?id=00F4651D-1A64-6A71-CE5ADAD1917A813C -- www.projectskenya.info

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California Casualty ditches Cisco security box
by aki 04 Jun '10

04 Jun '10

When California Casualty recently replaced its Cisco MARS security box, the property and casualty insurance company not only swapped out the hardware appliance for a software-based virtual one, but also ended up phasing other tools it found to be no longer necessary. California Casualty ditched the Cisco Security Monitoring, Analysis and Response System (MARS), a security information event and monitoring (SIEM) appliance, mainly because Cisco wanted the company to scrap the device and start over again with a brand-new one. The insurance company, which still uses Cisco firewalls and intrusion-detection products, wanted to upgrade its existing box, as starting from scratch proved more expensive than was acceptable. "Our existing MARS installation was an older box that had reached end of life," says Skip Moon, assistant vice president, network development and engineering at San Mateo-based California Casualty, which has about 700 employees, two data centers and three call centers. "Cisco wouldn't do [a simple software] upgrade and wanted a whole new start-from-scratch license. We realized we had to do something" Other Cisco MARS customers, such as Bank of the West, have been seeking alternatives in light of Cisco's decision late last year to end support for new third-party devices. http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/060310-california-casualty-cisco-secu… -- www.projectskenya.info

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FTC cracks down on spyware seller
by aki 04 Jun '10

04 Jun '10

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has reached a settlement with Florida spyware vendor CyberSpy Software, two years after suing the company for selling "100 percent undetectable" keylogging software. Under the terms of the settlement, announced Wednesday, CyberSpy can keep selling its RemoteSpy spyware but must take new steps to prevent it from being misused or advertised as a tool for spying on someone else's computer. To prevent its program from being used illegally, CyberSpy must make changes to it to prevent surreptitious installation, and "encrypt data transmitted over the Internet, police their affiliates to ensure they comply with the order, and remove legacy versions of the software from computers," the FTC said in a statement. The FTC sued CyberSpy in November 2008 in an effort to get it to change its business practices. CyberSpy used to advertise its product as a tool that let users "secretly and covertly monitor and record PC's without the need of physical access." Today, it's billed as a tool that lets users spy on their own PCs -- in order to keep tabs on children or employees. http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9177620/FTC_cracks_down_on_spyware_s… -- www.projectskenya.info

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Pressure builds on banks as Family Bank rolls out mobile solution
by aki 04 Jun '10

04 Jun '10

http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Company%20Industry/Pressure%20builds%20o… Family Bank said trials runs of the Pesa Pap service had helped its customers significantly cut down on the number of trips to banking halls, with most preferring to deposit, withdraw and transfer money using their mobile phones, the ATM network and M-Pesa dealers. “The mobile phone reduces the cost of running bank operations. These services certainly lower the cost of transfers, improve safety and security while making payments more convenient,” said Prof Ndungu. Analysts expect a surge in the number of banks entering into similar partnerships with mobile phone service providers opening a new frontier of competition in the banking sector. Equity, Kenya’s largest bank by customer base, has already signalled its intention to initiate more deals like M-Kesho with other mobile operators to increase its reach. Equity Bank CEO James Mwangi said last week that M-Kesho had within a week of its launch signed up more than 20,000 customers signalling that there is pent-up demand for the services. But even as the banking industry rejoices in the value that technology is bringing to their business processes, insecurity is emerging as a key challenge. “My only hope is that players are securing their customers from any fraudulent activity. It is well known that an increase in financial transactions using technology attracts more risks,” said Bitange Ndemo, Information PS -- www.projectskenya.info

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KICT Board Grants and sharing ideas.
by aki 03 Jun '10

03 Jun '10

For those who have read the KICTB brief and are going for it, excellent move. For those who are skilled and may not have some ideas to work with, I share these ideas as I cannot focus on them due to personal constraints . Though I've not seen the RFP application forms, if anyone has already done so, they could help others get the process going incase there are clarifications needed. ( Deadline for submitting complete application forms is July 19, 2010. ) Ladies, Gents. This thread is to share those ideas that you may not have time to start or complete but someone else on the list can take up and benefit from. Your ideas may also be a wish list that you want to see happen and could lead to better ideas. However time is short for those interested, we have to ensure that the KICTB grant opportunity is not lost. IDEAS SUMMARY LIST ( incase they are useful to you ) : 1) Archive and Digitization of the Kenya National Museums : Create an online archive and searchable system. Each item needs to be scanned into image format with a water mark. The archives will provide a low image resolution for thumbnails preview and caption information about each asset. The assets will restrict high resolution images to paid categories. The archive database will be fully searchable by tags in caption like description, date, category etc. The system developed should be user friendly so that anyone who is the archive administrator can upload, edit and save content. 2) Historical Kenya : The National Archives and Kenya's journey over time. We have one of the greatest discoveries right in our backyard. Then after there is not much public information easily available nor informative. Do we have cave paintings? Do we have BC/AD timelines and what transpired? What impact did Shaka Zulu have on Kenya? Why is it that some local traditional dancers dress are simlar to those of the Zulu traditional dancers? This would be an interesting timeline project. An online system similar to 1) above. 3) A portal Mapping of all National Parks with GPS : Everyone knows how difficult it is to navigate in such areas. An old idea but with edge/grps. A site portal with single webcam feed of each possible location and integration over mobile devices. Example : Each year thousands of wildbeasts cross the mara, yet no one can predict the excat time. This year the rivers are full, crocodiles in plenty but also plenty of grass. So will they cross in larger or smaller numbers? Having a webcam feed that DOES NOT capture the event live but only streams small frames. Afterall you want people to visit and see the event in realtime, not on a desktop. 4) Nepad portal : This was suggested a while back but did anyone ever get it going? Rgds, Me thots.

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Some things in this world are hard to understand, like why you should get sued for operating unsecured wifi
by Dennis Kioko 03 Jun '10

03 Jun '10

I have tried understanding this Ofcom is advising anyone who offers free Wi-Fi access to consider restricting the service or risk potential prosecution. The telecoms regulator last week detailed its three-strikes scheme for dealing with illegal downloaders<http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/broadband/358306/ofcom-details-three-strikes-sc…>, which was introduced as part of the Digital Economy Act. Contained in the 74-page document is a warning to free Wi-Fi providers that they will be held responsible for the actions of their users. "Some businesses provide access in their public areas, and some consumers may also run unprotected Wi-Fi networks to allow others in their community free access to the internet," Ofcom's draft proposal states<http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/copyright-infringement/condoc.pdf>. "We consider that a person or an undertaking receiving an internet access service for its own purposes is a subscriber, even if they also make access available to third parties." Subscribers may have their details handed to copyright owners if they've been caught performing illegal downloads three times in the same year. Those who wish to continue to enable others to access their service will need to consider whether take steps to protect their networks against use for infringement The regulator goes on to suggest that such providers may wish to reconsider leaving their Wi-Fi open. "Those who wish to continue to enable others to access their service will need to consider whether [to] take steps to protect their networks against use for infringement, to avoid the consequences that may follow," Ofcom warns. *Wi-Fi hotspots* Yet, while people setting up Wi-Fi hotspots for altruistic reasons face potential prosecution, businesses that provide Wi-Fi as a service appear to be offered immunity by Ofcom. "Where a Wi-Fi network is provided in conjunction with other goods or services to a customer, such as a coffee shop or a hotel, our presumption is that the provider is within the definition of internet service provider," Ofcom's draft proposal states. And because ISPs with fewer than 400,000 customers are currently exempt from the copyright enforcement scheme, Ofcom says it "would initially exclude those operators". An Ofcom spokesperson insists that small providers are not being offered carte blanche. "Should robust evidence be provided that infringement is a problem on smaller ISPs and should it be proportionate, then the scope of the code will be extended," the spokesman claimed. Read more: Ofcom warns off free Wi-Fi providers | Security | News | PC Pro<http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/security/358342/ofcom-warns-off-free-wi-fi-prov…> http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/security/358342/ofcom-warns-off-free-wi-fi-prov… :( http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/security/358342/ofcom-warns-off-free-wi-fi-prov…) but they win hands up -- with Regards:

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Telkom E1
by Brian L 03 Jun '10

03 Jun '10

good afternoon good people Does anyone on the list know whether it is possible to get a Telkom PRI line in Kilifi? Kind regards, -- |3 R 1 /-\ |\|

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Equity Bank Eazzy 24/7
by Francis 03 Jun '10

03 Jun '10

Hi Skunks! Just a quick one. How does Equity Banks Eazzy 24/7 work? Assuming I have my customer ID and Pin sent through the phone, how do I access my account details from my phone i.e. phone number? Thanks

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Re: [Skunkworks] SYBASE ERROR
by wambugu esther 03 Jun '10

03 Jun '10

hey guys.. im getting a sybase error error 694(An attempt was made to read logical page '%ld', virtpage '%ld' from virtual device '%d' for object '%ld' in database '%d'. The page was not read successfully. You may have a device problem or an operating system problem.). The SYBASE write up talks about it being a hardware error but hardware error logs don't show up any problem with the hardware. So was wondering if i increase the rate of I/O polling count which controls the maximum number of processes that Adaptive Server can run before the scheduler checks for disk and/or network I/O completions. has anyone encountered the error and how did they sort it out... -- Best regards Esther Wambugu

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Mixit: Safaricom Rules
by David Kiania | Asentric Consulting Ltd 03 Jun '10

03 Jun '10

For all the flack Safcom gets on this list we have to give them marks for innovation and forethought. In today's newspaper they have launched Mixit (http://www.mxitlifestyle.com/) is a Peer-to-Peer IM client that runs on mobile-to-mobile and desktop-to-mobile. While some see this as cannibalizing SMS revenues, it's a stroke of genius because they still stand to make cash from the data traffic as opposed to loosing it to a competitor all together. (Rule No. 4 in business: Cannibalize your revenue and business model before your competition does it for you) After declining to support Mixit as a product, MTN SA now looses more than 8M Rand (KES 80M) a day, and the sad part, the app runs on their platform on either gprs/edge. Kudos Safaricom, You Rock! Kiania

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