CyberLaw Blog

Archive for September, 2009

China strengthens Great Firewall ahead of anniversary: “

Tor users targeted

The Chinese government has used its unrivalled net censorship apparatus to attack parts of the Tor network ahead of the 60th anniversary of communist rule, according to activists.…

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(Via The Register – Public Sector.)

Yaman Akdeniz, an Associate Professor of law at the Faculty of Law, Istanbul Bilgi University today (29 September, 2009) made an appeal to the Beyoglu Criminal Court of Peace to overturn the blocking decision involving both myspace.com and Last.fm from Turkey. The blocking decision was enforced by the Turkish ISPs since Friday, 18 September, 2009 by the order of the Beyoglu Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office (order no 2009/45 dated 26.06.2009)

The blocking order was issued subsequent to a request made by Mu-yap, the Turkish Phonographic Industry Society with regards to intellectual property infringements through these two sites.

Akdeniz asked the Court with his lawyer to overturn the blocking decision, and argued that the Supplemental Article 4 of the Turkish Law No. 5846 on Intellectual & Artistic Works which was used as a legal measure to issue the blocking order is unconstitutional. Therefore, Akdeniz asked the Beyoglu Criminal Court of Peace to consider sending his case to the Turkish Constitutional Court for review.

Details of the appeal will be made available once the Court considers the case. [Blog entry by Dr. Yaman Akdeniz - I will update this story as more information is made available - last update on 29.09.2009]

Big differences in big banks’ security – Which? Computing magazine – Press – About Which?

27 August 2009

Some of Britain’s biggest banks appear to be leaving their customers’ online accounts vulnerable to fraud because of poor security, says Which? Computing.

Online accounts at Abbey and Halifax have weaker visible security measures in place than some of their rivals, while Barclays’ security is excellent, say Which? Computing experts.

Halifax has one of the least secure log-in procedures. It asks for three pieces of information to confirm a customer’s identity. As each entry is typed in full, this makes the information vulnerable to a simple keylogger, a virus that sits on a computer and tracks every keystroke with the aim of collecting passwords.

Keylogging software is blamed for online banking fraud more than doubling in 2008. It soared to £52.5m last year, up from £22.6m in 2007.*

In contrast, Barclays and Lloyds TSB ask customers to use drop-down menus. Simply using menus rather than the keyboard stops keyloggers from quickly capturing passwords. Barclays customers who forget their PINsentry device** must enter a five-digit passcode and two characters from a memorable word.

Browsing to another site can be unsafe with some accounts. Customers of Abbey, Alliance & Leicester, HSBC and Halifax are not immediately logged out if they browse, which means someone else could take over the session, leaving accounts vulnerable if accessed on a shared computer.

Which? Computing also found significant differences in how well money transfers appear to be protected. Abbey, First Direct, Halifax and HSBC have no visible security controls for money transfers, so if a banking session is hijacked, a criminal can enter the amount they want to.

Sarah Kidner, Editor, Which? Computing says:

‘There are surprisingly big differences between big banks’ visible online security systems. Some simple measures, like the use of drop-down menus, could improve safety considerably. The banks may say it’s the hidden security measures that count, but to have real confidence in an online account, customers need to see security in place.’

- Ends -
Notes to Editor

*According to the UK Payments Administration (formerly APACS).
**A device which generates a random password each time a customer logs in to their account.

How good is your bank’s consumer-facing security?
Barclays: Excellent.
First Direct, Lloyds TSB, Nationwide, NatWest, RBS: Good.
Alliance & Leicester, HSBC: Average.
Abbey, Halifax: Poor.

Bt plans to soak subscribers to police filesharing – The Inquirer: “BT plans to soak subscribers to police filesharing

£25 each per year

By Rosalie Marshall, Thursday, 24 September 2009, 14:27

PROPOSALS to suspend the Internet connections of people caught illegally downloading copyrighted files will cost each UK broadband customer about £25 a year, according to BT.

The proposals are being driven by business secretary Peter Mandelson as a means of curbing illegal downloads, which allegedly are eating into the profits of the UK’s entertainment industry.

John Petter, BT’s consumer division boss, said policing downloads could cost the industry about £1 million a day.

Petter said that because broadband is a thin-margin business, there is no way any ISP, including BT, would be able to absorb the cost so it would have to be passed on to consumers.

A BT spokesman said the main cost would be the integration of new technology into the network to allow ISPs to track downloaders. Other overheads would include the costs of notifying and educating consumers on the new policy as well as enforcement costs.

‘We feel that instead music labels should develop new business models,’ said the spokesman.

‘At the moment, they just want to outsource all their problems to ISPs. Legislation before the introduction of Digital Britain did allow music labels to go after people that downloaded copyrighted music, but they did not take advantage of it because it would have generated bad PR for themselves,’ the spokesman added.

Responding to BT, a Department for Business spokesman said, ‘We have issued a consultation on our proposals. It is clear that the rights holders do suffer harm from file-sharing; it is also clear that tackling unlawful file-sharing will involve costs. We have asked industry for reliable figures on both the damage caused by file-sharing and on the cost these obligations will involve.’

He added, ‘Any decision would be based on a proper cost-benefit analysis and have to be proportionate. We hope BT will respond to the consultation and provide the information to help us make an informed decision.’

No ISP has come out in support of Mandelson’s proposals, which came as a surprise to the industry given that such a move was specifically ruled out by the government’s Digital Britain report in June.

Earlier this month, the chief executives of Britain’s biggest internet providers, including BT, united to criticise the government’s latest plans.

BT’s Ian Livingston, Carphone Warehouse’s Charles Dunstone and Orange’s Tom Alexander said because the vast majority of their customers do not illegally download content, many innocent customers would suffer as a result of Mandelson’s proposals.

The Internet Service Providers Association (ISPA) also registered its disappointment with the government’s apparent U-turn. The ISPA has pointed out that policing downloads could contravene data protection laws that prevent ISPs from looking at the content of information over their networks.

Another problem that has been raised is how ISPs will differentiate between legitimate downloads and illegitimate ones. For example, entertainers and producers that want to share their content with people may risk causing the recipients to be falsely identified as copyright criminals. µ”

Syria: Blogger Kareem Arbaji Sentenced to Three Years in prison: “

On September 13, 2009, the Syrian State Security Supreme Court sentenced the young blogger Kareem Arbaji to three-years prison for ‘publishing mendacious information liable to weaken the nation’s morale,’ under article #286 of the Syrian penal code.

The thirty- one years old economics graduate, Kareem Arbaji, has been detained for over two years, since June 7th, 2007, by military intelligence officers.

Human Rights Reports reveal that Arbaji has been tortured during the detention:

Kareem Arbaji was detained before being tried, he received a cruel and disproportionate sentence even if he was convicted. He was tortured during investigations and ill treated for more than two years in prison.

It is likely that Arbaji has been arrested, detained and then sentenced for opinions he expressed on the blocked Syrian forum, Akhawiya, which he used to administrate along with other members. The forum members have created a page to honor and support their friend behind bars. A Facebook group too has been recently created in support of the jailed blogger. Several Syrian bloggers have expressed their anger at the courts order. The Arab bloggers league has also issued a statement denouncing Kareems sentence.

Below is an excerpt of The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) report regarding the Syrian courts decision to sentence Kareem Arbaji:

ANHRI requests the Syrian government to immediately release Kareem Arbaji and all prisoners of conscience in Syrian dungeons, to abolish arbitrary detention policy and stop the security interference in judiciary affairs.

ANHRI asserts that the charge against Arbaji is a false one , only used as a pretext to inhibit freedom of expression and repress activists.

ANHRI also urges the Syrian government to eliminate the state security court as it is a stain to the Syrian justice.

Several Syrian and other human rights organizations and websites have joined ANHRIs call to release the jailed blogger.

It is worth to note that along with Kareem Arbaji, Syrian authorities sentenced several Syria bloggers in prison. On 11-5-2008 the State Security Court in Damascus stated its verdict on the Syrian blogger Tariq Biasi who was held in detention since 7-7-2007.

Also Tariq al-Ghorani (1985, assistant engineer) – Maher Ibrahim Esber (1980, a shop owner) – Husam Melhem (1985, a law student) – Omar al-Abdullah (1985, philosophy student) – Diab Siriyyeh (1985, student) – Ayham Saqer (1975, works at a beauty salon) – Allam Fakhour (1979, a student at the Faculty of Fine Arts – Sculpture Department) all were arrested, detained and sentenced for expressing their views on blogs and online forums, particularly on syriandomari blog and Akhawiya.

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(Via Global Voices Advocacy.)

MÜYAP: No Intention to Block Access to Last FM and MySpace: “MÜYAP chairman Forta claimed: ‘Ownership rights are stolen, we fight for our right. Turkish law blocked access to the websites’. Forta argued that MÜYAP agreed with MySpace and that the site can be accessed again within a few days.”

(Via Bianet :: English.)

Copyright Protection Without Harm to Freedom of Speech: “In the course of the discussion of blocked access to the entire contents of MySpace, RSF pointed out that the Turkish Internet legislation violates the European Convention for Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.”

(Via Bianet :: English.)

Euro project to arrest us for what they think we will do: “

‘Positively chilling’ says Liberty

Radical Think Tank Open Europe has this week exposed a study by the EU that could lead to the creation of a massive cross-Europe database, amassing vast amounts of personal data on every single citizen in the EU.…

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(Via The Register – Public Sector.)

Reporters Sans Frontières: Prosecutors violate online free expression to protect copyright

Published on 23 September 2009

The social networking website MySpace has been blocked in Turkey since 19 September over a copyright dispute. Anyone trying to visit the site sees a message saying access has been blocked by order 2009/45, issued on 26 June by the prosecutor of the Istanbul district of Beyoglu. Two other sites, Lastfm.com.tr and Akilli.tv, have been blocked by the same order.

“Copyright is often used as grounds for censoring the Internet,” Reporters Without Borders said. “But blocking websites is a disproportionate sanction that violates online free expression. “Withdrawing the content that violates copyright would suffice. Censorship is a common reflex in Turkey and we condemn it strongly.”

Yaman Akdeniz, a law professor at Istanbul’s Bilgi University, told Reporters Without Borders: “Measures are taken against the Internet as if this was still the era of the dinosaurs.”

Disconnecting access to a website on the orders of a prosecutor rather a judge is a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights, which Turkey has signed.

Many European countries, including France, are look at the possibility of suspending the Internet connections of those who illegally download content protected by copyright. While the desire to protect literary and artistic creation is understandable, Reporters Without Borders believes such measures would constitute an unacceptable restriction of online freedom of expression.

The press freedom organisation urges the Turkish government to amend law 5651 governing offenses committed online in order to reconcile it with the need to respect free expression in accordance with the European Convention on Human Rights.

The video-sharing website YouTube has been inaccessible since May 2008 in Turkey, which is ranked 102nd out of 173 countries in the Reporters Without Borders press freedom index.

Guide to EU small claims procedure for cross-border disputes below €2,000: “A consumer protection group has published a guide to taking legal action against anybody in the European Union for a fixed cost and without the need to hire lawyers. The guide is designed to help people use the EU’s small claims procedure.”

(Via OUT-LAW News.)