Protest | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net KitGuru.net - Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards Tue, 07 May 2019 14:54:47 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cropped-KITGURU-Light-Background-SQUARE2-32x32.png Protest | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net 32 32 Around 200 Riot Games employees took part in walk out protest https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/around-200-riot-games-employees-took-part-in-walk-out-protest/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/around-200-riot-games-employees-took-part-in-walk-out-protest/#respond Tue, 07 May 2019 14:14:12 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=412455 Earlier this week, we learned that employees at Riot Games were planning a mass walkout due to growing issues with company management. At the time, it was estimated that around 100 employees would leave work to protest but the final number ended up being much higher than that. Over the last year, there has been …

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Earlier this week, we learned that employees at Riot Games were planning a mass walkout due to growing issues with company management. At the time, it was estimated that around 100 employees would leave work to protest but the final number ended up being much higher than that.

Over the last year, there has been a lot of talk surrounding Riot Games and its internal practices. Allegations of sexism came to light in 2018 and at this point in time, there are five on-going lawsuits against Riot Games for breaching the California Equal Pay Act. Riot attempted to block two of these lawsuits citing a clause in employee contracts that waives their right to sue. Riot has responded by outlining a new set of company values and hiring a Chief Diversity Officer but workers at the studio still feel like nothing is really changing.

As reported by the LA Times, more than 200 workers at Riot Games walked out of the Los Angeles office yesterday to protest the blocking of two equal pay lawsuits. Dylan Buck, one of the walkout organisers and a writer for Riot, told the LA Times that they “stand with the current plaintiffs”. Outside of Riot's HQ, staffers were seen holding up protest signs and a megaphone was being passed around to anyone who had something they would like to say.

There will be an ‘all hands' meeting at Riot on the 16th of May, at which point, protest organisers hope company leadership will have a satisfactory response prepared. In the meantime, Riot has said that it “respects the decision” of those who chose to protest and won't be handing out any punishments.

KitGuru Says: This is the first time we've seen a protest like this occur at a major games studio. Depending on the discussions that follow, this could end up having a major effect on the rest of the industry, whether it is through developer unionisation or empowering workers to stand up for their rights.

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Here’s what you need for a modern day protest https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/heres-what-you-need-for-a-modern-day-protest/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/heres-what-you-need-for-a-modern-day-protest/#comments Mon, 14 Dec 2015 11:05:41 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=278109 As much as many cheered on Arab Spring protests in Africa and the Middle East over the past few years, it was obvious even in less developed countries that the technological disparity between protesters and governments is widening. So what can modern day protesters do to keep themselves safe from harm and surveillance when marching? …

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As much as many cheered on Arab Spring protests in Africa and the Middle East over the past few years, it was obvious even in less developed countries that the technological disparity between protesters and governments is widening. So what can modern day protesters do to keep themselves safe from harm and surveillance when marching? Two NYU designers have a checklist that you should tick off before heading to one.

They are Pedro Oliveira and Xuedi Chen, part of the NYU Interactive Telecommunications Program. They believe that with the introduction of drone enforcement with non-lethal pepper spray and other weapons, the use of long range X-Ray equipment, increased facial detection technology and electronics tracking equipment, protesters need to better equip themselves in order to level the playing field.

With that in mind, the pair announced what they call, the Backslash Kit (via Ars), which offers protesters a number of options to counter brutality, surveillance and to better coordinate themselves to make their cause more secure.

The first item on the kit's list, is the Bandana. Looking like part urban camouflage, part QR code, the piece of cloth has a two fold purpose. Its patterning and placement help disrupt facial recognition technology, but based on the way it is folded, the pattern can also embed messages which foreign journalists and other organisations can pick up on and decode.

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Next up are some slightly more technological products. The wearable panic button will make all nearby devices flash if pressed. That way protesters can let others know if they are being funnelled into areas without camera coverage, where arrests or beatings could take place without oversight.

The off-grid router allows for a quickly established offline network for local communication, should mobile reception or data traffic be shut down. When used in conjunction with the panic buttons too, a map of local protesters can be created. When used with the Personal Blackbox drive, images and video can be uploaded locally to a private cloud, allowing for upload online – without metadata – from a central location.

These gadgets should be combined with a jammer though, the designers say, as without it, law enforcement can gather data on smartphones and other electronics and use it to track down protesters weeks and months after the fact. There's also the possibility of remote killswitches which could shut down user electronics mid-protest, killing connectivity.

While less technologically impressive than the other gadgets here, a standard can of spray paint with some QR code stencils could let protesters know certain information about certain areas, without it being as obvious as a hand-made sign. It's also more durable too.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: This all sounds pretty smart, but we're sure that's not all the kit you'd want to take on a protest. What other gear, electronic or other wise would you show up with?

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French politicians urge rethink on Taxi laws due to Uber https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/french-politicians-urge-rethink-on-taxi-laws-due-to-uber/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/french-politicians-urge-rethink-on-taxi-laws-due-to-uber/#comments Tue, 28 Jul 2015 10:44:48 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=261043 Uber has been a pretty disruptive company to the traditional taxi industries around the world. There have been protests, sometimes violent, against the use of the technology as it tends to cut into the profits of those driving standard taxis. In the aftermath of these issues, Uber has actually suspended some of its services in …

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Uber has been a pretty disruptive company to the traditional taxi industries around the world. There have been protests, sometimes violent, against the use of the technology as it tends to cut into the profits of those driving standard taxis. In the aftermath of these issues, Uber has actually suspended some of its services in France, which has led current economy minster, Emmanuel Macron to call for a rethink on taxi laws.

Although concentrated in France, this sort of reaction is being felt all over the world. In some cases, Taxi drivers have responded negatively to the perceived lack of security and background checks on Uber drivers, which don't face the same sort of regulations as traditional taxis. However, others have complained because Uber uses a smartphone GPS system to calculate a fare, rather than the usual taxi meters.

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Regardless of the reason for the fall out though, clearly the driving industry needs to address these problems, which is what France's minister is hoping to achieve. Speaking at a startup convention, Macron said that he would hold talks with relevant parties in August to address the issue.

“We will find a new set of regulations that will take into account the new dynamics of the sector,” he said (via Reuters).

However much may depend on official rulings by European courts. A Spanish judge recently asked for a clarification on what sort of service Uber was legally classified as. If it was considered part of the taxi industry, more regulation may be required for drivers and the service itself.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: As much as it will likely spark more protests in the future, the popularisation of driverless vehicles will likely kill off the entire taxi industry before long.

Image source: Wikimedia

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Reddit’s CEO just resigned following recent moderator protest https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/reddits-ceo-just-resigned-following-recent-moderator-protest/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/reddits-ceo-just-resigned-following-recent-moderator-protest/#comments Sat, 11 Jul 2015 12:56:17 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=258583 It has been quite the week for Reddit and its staff, following this week's massive moderator protest ,the company's interim CEO, Ellen Pao, has resigned, with Reddit co-founder, Steve Huffman ready to step in and take the reins immediately. According to reports, this was a mutual decision between Pao and the Reddit board of directors. …

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It has been quite the week for Reddit and its staff, following this week's massive moderator protest ,the company's interim CEO, Ellen Pao, has resigned, with Reddit co-founder, Steve Huffman ready to step in and take the reins immediately.

According to reports, this was a mutual decision between Pao and the Reddit board of directors. This follows a petition calling for Pao's resignation, which was signed by over 200,000 people. It was clear that the mods and community at large were unhappy with the way Reddit was being handled, fuelling quite a bit of backlash.

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Steve Huffman is apparently looking forward to returning to Reddit, after founding it a decade ago. The company will apparently begin focussing on strengthening its position on mobile and growing the platform.

Pao did release a resignation letter, pointing out that the board was pushing for growth in ways that the former CEO believed would go against the core principles of Reddit: “So why am I leaving? Ultimately, the board asked me to demonstrate higher user growth in the next six months than I believe I can deliver while maintaining reddit’s core principles.”

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Lots of news surrounding Reddit this week. Do you guys think Pao was right to step down? Do you think this will improve things at all? 

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Pepper spray drones tested in India https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/jon-martindale/pepper-spray-drones-tested-in-india/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/jon-martindale/pepper-spray-drones-tested-in-india/#comments Thu, 09 Apr 2015 09:22:44 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=244144 Even though drones may bring the promise of faster deliveries, wonderfully gimballed footage and the ability to really up the ante on curtain peeping neighbours, they're also seeing a lot of use in military and policing sectors. In India for example, they've been trialling them for use with crowd control by fitting them with tear …

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Even though drones may bring the promise of faster deliveries, wonderfully gimballed footage and the ability to really up the ante on curtain peeping neighbours, they're also seeing a lot of use in military and policing sectors. In India for example, they've been trialling them for use with crowd control by fitting them with tear gas and they've proven rather effective.

Yashasvi Yadav, head of the local police in the city of Lucknow, said that the drones had done excellently in tests and had been used to disperse tear gas from various heights for the purpose of dispersing crowds. He went on to explain that tests have involved utilising the drones in high-wind and congested areas, to make sure that the gas is specifically targeted and doesn't have too much of a collateral effect on the surrounding area.

“Pepper is non-lethal but very effective in mob control. We can spray from different heights to have maximum results,” he said.

drone22
I get the feeling the silhouette of this will get increasingly threatening in years to come

The drones will begin use later this month and can act autonomously once given commands. They are able to fly just over half a mile from their operator and can carry a camera and several pounds of pepper spray, depending on the desired flight time.

As The Telegraph poins out, India often has passive protests that require little management, but violent ones regularly break out too. Hopefully it's more the latter that the police will utilise its new weapon for controlling.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: You would imagine that the gas would need to be deployed from quite a height, otherwise a quick, accurate rock throw could put a real dent in the department's finances.

Image Source: Don McCullough/Flickr

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10,000 Hungarians protest internet tax https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/10000-hungarians-protest-internet-tax/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/10000-hungarians-protest-internet-tax/#comments Mon, 27 Oct 2014 08:55:42 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=218583 We reported last week that the Hungarian government had announced a new tax set to be brought into effect in 2015, that would see individuals and corporations taxed by the gigabyte they used. No measly sum either, but around £0.40 per GB. Due to public upheaval it later added a cap to the amount payable …

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We reported last week that the Hungarian government had announced a new tax set to be brought into effect in 2015, that would see individuals and corporations taxed by the gigabyte they used. No measly sum either, but around £0.40 per GB. Due to public upheaval it later added a cap to the amount payable each month, but many people were still unhappy and over the weekend some 10,000 took to the streets of the capital, Budapest, to protest the tax and demand its dismissal.

The protesters held a vigil outside the economy ministry, chanting and holding up signs that alluded to a free internet. One organiser is quoted by France24 as saying to the crowd:

“There will be no Internet tax… we will block it. If the tax is not scrapped within 48 hours, we will be back again,” he said.

The protest was said to be almost entirely peaceful, though there were some reports of old keyboards being thrown against government buildings, some smashing windows.

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Economy minister Mihály Varga announced the new tax law last week

While the Hungarian government has insisted that the tax, which is expected to raise several billions, is to give the government a tighter budget in 2015, many others have suggested that it's a way for it to clamp down on groups that use social media and other internet resources to be critical of the government. Understandably, others are simply worried that it will have a crippling effect on the economy, as large bills are passed on to ISP customers, giving them less disposable income.

If the government doesn't scrap the plans for an internet tax, protesters have warned that they will be back tomorrow, the 28th October.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Quite an impressive number of people for such a short notice protest. Did any of our Hungarian readers take part?

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Stop Watching Us rally draws thousands https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/stop-watching-us-rally-draws-thousands/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/stop-watching-us-rally-draws-thousands/#respond Mon, 28 Oct 2013 12:46:16 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=159555 Organisers of the Stop Watching Us protest rally that took place in Washington DC over the weekend, are calling it the biggest anti-mass surveillance protest in US history, as thousands arrived to listen to speeches, march and to deliver a petition to government, requesting an end to the mass collection of data on American citizens …

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Organisers of the Stop Watching Us protest rally that took place in Washington DC over the weekend, are calling it the biggest anti-mass surveillance protest in US history, as thousands arrived to listen to speeches, march and to deliver a petition to government, requesting an end to the mass collection of data on American citizens by the NSA.

The protesters gathered initially outside of Union Station, a short walk from the Capitol Building where the majority of speakers would make their voices heard. Signs were handed out to attendees, stating “Stop Watching,” followed by a blank space where people could fill in whatever it was that they didn't want the government to look in on. Several examples can be seen in the video created after the event.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdifI2l1mWA']

Many of the speakers at the reflecting pool included musicians and political campaigners, poets and whistle-blowers alike, leading to some interesting takes on the problem at hand. The general consensus was the same however: Stop Watching Us.

It wasn't just focused inwards at America's surveillance of its own citizens though, The Guardian quotes Thomas Drake, former NSA official and whistle blower, who was shocked to learn that the NSA had tapped the phone of the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel.

“For what? Why would you violate her rights? Because, what, she might know something about terrorism?” he said. “What is that all about? They're an ally! They're partnered with us. I mean there are threats to the international order and stability. Why would you breach the trust of the chancellor of Germany?” he said.

Edward Snowden was also a big focus of the day, with many a sign professing thanks to the NSA document leaker, who is currently residing in Russia under temporary asylum. While obviously unable to attend, a statement from the ex-NSA contractor was read out:

“This isn't about red or blue party lines, and it definitely isn't about terrorism,” Snowden wrote. “It's about being able to live in a free and open society.” He also drew attention to the fact that certain American political elections are coming up soon, with large portions of Congress and the Senate due to contest their seats next year, and warned them that the public was watching how they reacted to the news of the NSA's actions.

Some politicians have beat him to the punch though and already gunning for NSA crackdowns, most notably Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner, who is hoping to shackle the NSA's power with a redraft of the Patriot Act.

KitGuru Says: Did any KG readers attend the protest? If so, how do you think it went?

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Whatsapp website briefly defaced by protestors https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/security-software/matthew-wilson/whatsapp-website-briefly-defaced-by-protestors/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/security-software/matthew-wilson/whatsapp-website-briefly-defaced-by-protestors/#comments Tue, 08 Oct 2013 11:25:25 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=156826 A group of protesters demanding peace for Palestine took it upon themselves to paint their message across the Whatsapp website this morning. Taking responsibility, is KDMS, a team of pro-Palestinians claiming to be a part of the Anonymous group. The Whatsapp page title was changed to ‘You got pwned', the reasoning behind which seems to be …

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A group of protesters demanding peace for Palestine took it upon themselves to paint their message across the Whatsapp website this morning. Taking responsibility, is KDMS, a team of pro-Palestinians claiming to be a part of the Anonymous group.

The Whatsapp page title was changed to ‘You got pwned', the reasoning behind which seems to be all about Palestine losing land to Israel. The page goes on to say Palestinian land has been stolen by “Zionist”  and that they deserve their land back and their people released from Israeli jails.

WhatsApp-hacked-site_610x1479

The groups tag line seems to be ‘There is no full security'.

The actual Whatsapp messaging service wasn't affected during the attack but the main website is currently down. The domain IP for the Whatsapp site was also changed, allowing the hackers to redirect people to any page they wanted.

Millions of people use Whatsapp as their primary messaging service every day, so it's good to know that the actual service was not affected. However, maybe this could be seen as a wake up call for Whatsapp to step up its security.

KitGuru Says: While the Whatsapp site is down for now, presumably it won't take too long to bring it back up and return it to normal. The question is though, whether security will be tightened enough to prevent a repeat attack?

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Turkish government wants to crack down on Twitter https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/turkish-government-wants-to-crack-down-on-twitter/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/turkish-government-wants-to-crack-down-on-twitter/#respond Fri, 28 Jun 2013 14:38:34 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=140377 We've talked about Turkey before. It's a hotbed of protest right now and its government isn't a big fan of that, or social networking. In a new move, the ruling party is now hoping to coerce Twitter to set up a facility in the country, so it can have more control over how the social …

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We've talked about Turkey before. It's a hotbed of protest right now and its government isn't a big fan of that, or social networking. In a new move, the ruling party is now hoping to coerce Twitter to set up a facility in the country, so it can have more control over how the social network operates within the country.

Turkish citizens, like those taking part in the Arab Spring before them, have been using social networks a lot throughout the protests, to help organise marches and to spread information about the brutal retaliation by state police. The Prime Minister of Turkey once called Facebook and Twitter places where you'll hear the worst kind of lies. Now he wants someone close at hand that he can take to task for it.

“There needs to be an interlocutor we can put our grievance to and who can correct an error if there is one,” said Transport and Communications Minister Binali Yildrim (via BBC).

protest
It started out as a protest against the building of yet another shopping centre, but the crowds quickly rallied against the aggressive police reaction

So far, Twitter hasn't responded to the government request, but the BBC cites a source close to Twitter executives, who said the social network had no plans to set up an office there.

With all the recent revelations about PRISM and social networks (among other tech firms) said to be regularly handing over consumer data to authorities like the US' NSA and CIA, it would have been a poor move by Twitter had it agreed to move an office to Turkey as it would suggest further cooperation with the government there.

KitGuru Says: I'm not that surprised about either party's actions here. Turkey is continuing to bluster about cracking down on the online world, without any real means to do it and Twitter is hardly going to offer itself up for censorship. 

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Turkish citizens take to VPN to prevent government crackdown https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/turkish-citizens-take-to-vpn-to-prevent-government-crackdown/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/turkish-citizens-take-to-vpn-to-prevent-government-crackdown/#comments Tue, 04 Jun 2013 14:04:40 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=137232 It seemed clear from yesterday's rants by Turkish PM  Recep Tayyip Erdogan, that he's not a big fan of the internet and specifically social networks. In the past, countries undergoing heavy civilian protests have attempted to crack down on internet usage because it helps protesters organise and get the word out on any government atrocities – …

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It seemed clear from yesterday's rants by Turkish PM  Recep Tayyip Erdogan, that he's not a big fan of the internet and specifically social networks. In the past, countries undergoing heavy civilian protests have attempted to crack down on internet usage because it helps protesters organise and get the word out on any government atrocities – something our readers have been discussing on Facebook. In an effort to circumvent any planned IP blocks or internet blackouts, Turkish citizens have begun taking out subscriptions to VPN services in droves, ensuring that their internet access remain as unimpeded and anonymous as possible.

One company called AnchorFree said in a discussion with Wired, that it had received as much as a 1,000 per cent increase in sales of its Hotspot Shield VPN software during the peak of the protests. Mobile VPN services have also increased exponentially. Not all these sales came from Turkey and not all of them were to prevent government intervention in internet access, but the coincidence is too obvious to not be equatable.

Anyone wishing to get hold of a VPN service, there are plenty of affordable ones out there. However, twitter accounts representing the hacktivist movement, Anonymous, have been tweeting out free access to some services, so it's worth keeping an eye on them too.

YourAnonNews
AnonymousIRC

Representatives of the group also took down Turkish government websites over the weekend and are regularly tweeting up to date pictures and information on the escalating events in the country.

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A Turkish protest image posted by Anonymous in the past ten minutes

The recent furor in Turkey began with people protesting the creation of a new shopping centre in Istanbul (where there are many already), which would have seen a park demolished. However, the aggressive tactics of the police, who used water cannons and tear gas (some reports suggest tear gas was added to the water as well) on peaceful protestors, has turned most demonstrations into anti-government, instead of anti-mall protests. There have also been videos of police brutality circling around online.

KitGuru Says: If any of our readers are in Turkey at the moment, citizens or otherwise: be safe. Also, know that you can get in touch with us if you have any information on the ongoing demonstrations there.

Our contact page
Our Facebook
My email

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Turkish PM is not a Facebook fan https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/turkish-pm-is-not-a-facebook-fan/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/turkish-pm-is-not-a-facebook-fan/#comments Mon, 03 Jun 2013 12:20:55 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=137066 The prime minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has named social media as “the worst menace to society,” suggesting that it is a tool of liars, that is being utilised to bad mouth the government and support protests in the country. Protests have been taking place due to the proposed demolition of Istanbul's Taksmi Gezi …

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The prime minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has named social media as “the worst menace to society,” suggesting that it is a tool of liars, that is being utilised to bad mouth the government and support protests in the country.

Protests have been taking place due to the proposed demolition of Istanbul's Taksmi Gezi Park, to allow for a new shopping centre to be built. This is far from the first that has been constructed in the city, another one is something the locals feel is completely unnecessary. Due to police interference in the protest and the use of tear gas and water cannons, more protests with an anti-government focus have sprung up around the country, with many of those involved documenting their experiences online – especially through social media.

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I trust anyone with a flag pin on their lapel. Source Wiki

The Turkish authorities however believe much of the information being spread is lies, the motivation for which it claims, could be from a foreign power.

Despite the obvious distrust felt towards the PM by his nation's populace though, he is keen to deny claims that he is a dictator. He continued to lash out against social media sites in an interview reported in Radikal (via Wired) where he said: “There is now a menace which is called Twitter. The best examples of lies can be found there.”

KitGuru Says: He sounds like every Western leader talking about terrorism. Or every Western leader in every sci-fi flick talking about an alien invasion. 

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Westboro Baptist Church Shirley Phelps’ Twitter hacked https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/westboro-baptist-church-shirley-phelps-twitter-hacked/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/westboro-baptist-church-shirley-phelps-twitter-hacked/#respond Tue, 18 Dec 2012 12:04:49 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=119397 The Westboro Baptist Church is a deplorable group at the best of times, but in the last couple of days it's received an extra helping of hate from the world at large after it announced its intention to protest the funerals of the the 20+ children that died during the dreadful shooting at Sandy Hook …

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The Westboro Baptist Church is a deplorable group at the best of times, but in the last couple of days it's received an extra helping of hate from the world at large after it announced its intention to protest the funerals of the the 20+ children that died during the dreadful shooting at Sandy Hook elementary school last week. Since then it's website has been hacked by Anonymous and 15 year old hacker Cosmo The God, has taken over Shirley Phelps' Twitter.

“This account is now being ran by @CosmoTheGod #UGNazi #oops,” read the first tweet published by Cosmo on the account. Since then he's gone on to retweet numerous mentions of his actions, as well as negative messages aimed at the Westboro Baptist Church and its supporters.

Shirley Phelps
My Twitter got hacked? Shirley you can't be serious.

Along with the rest of his group, UGNazi, Cosmo was part of some of the biggest hacks in 2012, including those of the NASDAQ exchange website and CIA.gov. Cosmo's part in it was often related to social engineering, the practice of fooling staff at organisations to give out security information by appearing to be someone else over the phone or through other forms of communication.

At the time of writing he still has control over Shirley Phelps' account, with the latest tweet linking to a petition claiming that the Westboro Baptist Church should be labelled as a hate group. According to Wired, he's managed to do so by exploiting a flaw in Twitter's support ticket system, which makes it possible for an account holder to cancel a ticket before it is acted upon.

Shirley Phelp's is currently on a list of people that are banned from entering the UK for “fostering extremism or hatred”.

KitGuru Says: Nobody is going to condone hacking but there are certainly more just targets than others. Using the funerals of murdered school children to further your own cause, puts you at the top of that list.

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Jordanian website blackout hits hundreds in protest https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/jordanian-website-blackout-hits-hundreds-in-protest/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/jordanian-website-blackout-hits-hundreds-in-protest/#respond Wed, 29 Aug 2012 17:15:53 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=106305 Update: The main site for 7oryanet does appear to be down for now, but the explanation of the protest is still up. The site's owners just tweeted that they are working on getting the site back online. Original Story In a similar style to the website blackouts initiated by many admins earlier this year in …

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Update: The main site for 7oryanet does appear to be down for now, but the explanation of the protest is still up. The site's owners just tweeted that they are working on getting the site back online.

Original Story

In a similar style to the website blackouts initiated by many admins earlier this year in protest of the SOPA/PIPA bills, citizens of Jordan have been doing the same by blacking out hundreds of popular sites to protest a draft bill to amend the Press and Publications law.

If passed, the bill could be used to block international websites, as well as giving the government the go ahead to restrict online commenting and social media.  As well as this, it holds platform providers responsible for the comments of its users, meaning many websites would no longer be able to operate user input information for fear that they would be targeted by the government.

Another part of the bill that sounds curiously familiar, is the fact that all of the propositions are very ambiguous, meaning it wouldn't take much to extend the initial intentions of the law far further. Evidently unhappy with such a potential turn out, the Jordanians are out in the force, blacking out their websites.

For a more detailed explanation of the bill and the problems with it 70ryanet has a good run down.

Blackout Jordan
This is what you get if you visit many of Jordan's bigger sites today

In a similar fashion to SOPA/PIPA and ACTA, those protesting the bill feel it has been rushed through parliament and that not only is further scrutiny needed, but it should be stopped in its tracks.

Understandably the movement has been gaining traction on social networks, with Twitter being inundated with #BlackoutJo tweets, some from popular figures; like Noor Al Hussein, Jordan's Queen. She posted:  “Hypocrisy,lies,intolerance,hate,violence-all unhealthy evils. Where does it start and end. #censorship #BlackOutJO”.

It's hoped by the organisers of the protest that if enough exposure from international media is placed upon this bill, that the government will withdraw it.

KitGuru Says: Better not let them down then. Good luck Jordan. #BlackoutJO

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Hacktivists infect 30,000 PCs at Saudi oil company https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/security-software/harrison/hacktivists-infect-30000-pcs-at-saudi-oil-company/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/security-software/harrison/hacktivists-infect-30000-pcs-at-saudi-oil-company/#respond Fri, 24 Aug 2012 14:03:37 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=105678 For as long as there have been computers, there have been hackers. Moving forward in the 21st century, there seems to be an ever increasing risk of activists, with a political agenda and computer skills, attacking major companies without putting themselves at risk in the streets. KitGuru considers this latest wave of attacks and what …

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For as long as there have been computers, there have been hackers. Moving forward in the 21st century, there seems to be an ever increasing risk of activists, with a political agenda and computer skills, attacking major companies without putting themselves at risk in the streets. KitGuru considers this latest wave of attacks and what it could mean for corporate security in the future.

Roll the clock back around 4,000 years and the small strip of land to the West of Jordan was owned by the Canaanites, a land of merchants. At some point the Israelites conquered the land, followed by the Babylonians and it's been the same ever since. According to who you speak to, this land is not Israel or Palestine. For the Arab Youth Group (AYG), the area should be Palestine and, they feel, that claim should be backed up by all in the Arab world.

From what you can find on the web, the AYG believes that Saudi Arabia has got into bed with the USA (and, through that relationship, Israel) and turned its back on the plight of the Palestinians. You can read more about it here.

Wikipedia's 'map of ownership' for the region West of Jordan over the last 4,000 years is complex to say the least

So far, this is the kind of discussion and disagreement that you would expect to find anywhere there is contention. But last week, the AYG claims to have launched a huge malware-hack-attack on Saudi Aramco, which is part and parcel of Saudi Arabia and one of the biggest oil companies in the world.

Of the 120,000 PCs said to be inside the company's network defence system, AYG claims that around 30,000 were hacked and infected with a malware threat called Shamoom. The key attribute of this attack is that, after data has been pulled out of the machine, the system is encouraged to ‘commit suicide' by destroying its own Master Boot Record (MBR) etc, effectively rendering the PC dead.

Even though this is one of the most destructive hacktivist attacks every launched, the AYG claim that it is only a ‘first step' against Saudi Arabia. On their blog post, the AYG seem quite clear about what happens next if, in their opinion, the Saudis continue to support Israel:-

“…[We have] Targeted Administrable structures and substructures of Aramco and Also the Stock Exchange of Saudi Arabia. This action has been done in order to warn the Saudi rulers. If the rulers of Saudi Arabia continue to betray the nation, will face more severe action…”

Quite what action would be considered ‘more severe action' than crippling 30,000 PCs in a company, has not been clarified – but it doesn't sound good.

Having watched even the most peaceful protests in the UK end in deaths, speaking against the authorities in any country seems fraught with danger – even if you do it peacefully and within the bounds allowed by law/free speech in your country. It's easy to see how any government's strong-armed approach to demonstrations in the street, will lead directly to an increase in the kind of attack made by the AYG.

If you were running the Saudi government and were offered the choice between on-going electronic attacks or civil protest against the crown in the streets of Riyadh or Jeddah, what would you choose?

Khalid Al-Falih runs Saudi Aramco which has suffered a huge electronic attack by Arab Youth Group hacktivists

.

KitGuru says: While riots are clearly wrong, demonstrations that allow normal citizens freedom of speech should be encouraged – if only because they can serve as a pressure valve to allow alternative opinions through into the mainstream. What happened at Saudi Aramco seemed to be disturbingly different. Saudi Aramco might be one of the world's biggest supporters of Israel or it could be largely indifferent. The question is ‘Who is to say – and who should decide what the consequences will be?'. From what we have seen, the AYG believe that it is their judgement call and that they must also carry out punishment. Now that is a dangerous path.

Comment below or in the KitGuru forums.

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YouTube introduces auto face blurring https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/youtube-introduces-auto-face-blurring/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/youtube-introduces-auto-face-blurring/#comments Wed, 18 Jul 2012 17:08:17 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=100577 YouTube has announced new privacy pro feature that allows video uploaders to blur the faces of everyone in a video with just a simple click. According to the blog post detailing the feature, the idea is to allow anonymity for those that need or deserve it. Examples given include children in home movie footage, or …

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YouTube has announced new privacy pro feature that allows video uploaders to blur the faces of everyone in a video with just a simple click.

According to the blog post detailing the feature, the idea is to allow anonymity for those that need or deserve it. Examples given include children in home movie footage, or protesters in countries where the government might use the video against those speaking out.

YouTube Blur
Showing the blur feature in action

To use the blur feature, all you need do is navigate to the Video Enhandements tool, go to “additional features” and hit apply for the “Blur All Faces” button. YouTube admits that this isn't a perfect technology yet and as such may not detect every face within the video due to lighting or camera angle, but the majority should be.

“YouTube is proud to be a destination where people worldwide come to share their stories, including activists. Along with efforts like the Human Rights Channel and Citizentube that curate these voices, we hope that the new technologies we’re rolling out will facilitate the sharing of even more stories on our platform,” said Amanda Conway, a YouTube policy associate.

KitGuru Says: This technology is a nice little feature to add to the current YouTube offerings. Hopefully YouTube doesn't apply the filter when the video is viewed, but when uploaded . Otherwise you could have companies or governments petitioning YouTube to reveal the original footage.

Image source: YouTube

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