Hackers losing their respect
for NSA and jobs there


The U.S. government's efforts to recruit talented hackers could suffer from the recent revelations about its vast domestic surveillance programs, as many private researchers express disillusionment with the National Security Agency.
 
Though hackers tend to be anti-establishment by nature, the NSA and other intelligence agencies had made major inroads in recent years in hiring some of the best and brightest and paying for information on software flaws that help them gain access to target computers and phones.
 
Much of that goodwill has been erased after the NSA's classified programs to monitor phone records and Internet activity were exposed by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, according to prominent hackers and cyber experts.
 
A turn in the community's sentiment was on show at two major security conventions in Las Vegas: Black Hat, which attracts more established cyber professionals, and Def Con, which gets a larger gathering of younger, more independent hackers.
 
“We've gone backwards about 10 years in the relations between the good guys and the U.S. government,” said Alex Stamos, a veteran security researcher who was to give a Def Con talk on the need to revisit industry ethics.
 
Stamos has willingly briefed FBI and NSA officials on his work in the past but said that he would now want their questions in writing and he would bring a lawyer to any meeting.
 
With top intelligence officials warning in March that cyber attacks and cyber espionage have supplanted terrorism as the top security threat facing the United States, the administration is trying to boost security in critical infrastructure and the military is vastly increasing its ranks of computer specialists.
 
The NSA, working with the Department of Homeland Security, has been lending more of its expertise to protect defense contractors, banks, utilities and other industries that are being spied upon or attacked by rival nations.
 
These efforts rely on recruiting talented hackers and working with professionals in the private sector.
 
Some security experts remain supportive of the government. NSA Director Keith Alexander's talk at the Black Hat conference was well received, despite a few hecklers.
 
But at the larger and less expensive Def Con, where attendance was expected to top last year's 15,000, conference founder and government advisor Jeff Moss asked federal agents to stay away.
 
Moss last year brought Alexander as a keynote speaker to woo the hacking community. But he said the relationship between hackers and the government has worsened since then.
 
“I haven't seen this level or sort of animosity since the 90s,” Moss said in an interview.
 
The NSA's surveillance programs target foreigners outside the United States who pose potential threats to U.S. security or who can provide intelligence for foreign policies. But the secret projects also scooped up huge amounts of American data, according to documents leaked by Snowden, triggering sharp criticism from many lawmakers and civil liberties advocates.
 
“A lot of people feel betrayed by it,” said H.D. Moore, an executive at security firm Rapid 7, though he said he would continue to brief the NSA on software flaws that the agency uses for both offensive and defensive cyber activities. “What bothers me is the hypocritical bit.  We demonize China when we've been doing these things and probably worse.”

Army Gen. Keith Alexander, head of the National Security Agency delivered a keynote address at the Black Hat hacker conference

Alexander took a conciliatory tone during his Black Hat speech, defending the NSA but saying he looked forward to a discussion about how it could do things better.
 
Black Hat attracts professionals whose companies pay thousands of dollars for them to attend. Def Con costs $180 and features many of the same speakers.
 
At Black Hat, a casual polling station at a vendor's exhibition booth asking whether Snowden was a villain or a hero produced a dead heat: 138 to 138. European attendees were especially prone to vote for hero, the vendor said.
 
Def Con would have been much rougher on Alexander, judging by interviews there and the reception given speakers who touched on Snowden and other government topics.
 
Christopher Soghoian, an American Civil Liberties Union technologist, drew applause from hundreds of attendees when he said the ACLU had been the first to sue the NSA after one of the spy programs was revealed.
 
Peiter Zatko, a hacker hero who funded many small projects from a just-departed post at the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, told another large audience that he was unhappy with the surveillance programs and that “challenging the government is your patriotic duty.”
 
The disenchanted give multiple reasons, citing previous misleading statements about domestic surveillance, the government's efforts to force companies to decrypt user communications, and the harm to U.S. businesses overseas.
 
“I don't think anyone should believe anything they tell us,” former NSA hacker Charlie Miller said of top intelligence officials. “I wouldn't work there anymore.”
 
Stamos and Moss said the U.S. government is tilting too much toward offense in cyberspace, using secret vulnerabilities that their targets can then discover and wield against others.
 
Closest to home for many hackers are the government's aggressive prosecutions under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which has been used against Internet activist Aaron Swartz, who committed suicide in January, and U.S. soldier Bradley Manning, who leaked classified files to anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks.
 
A letter circulating at Def Con and signed by some of the most prominent academics in computer security said the law was chilling research in the public interest by allowing prosecutors and victim companies to argue that violations of electronic terms of service constitute unauthorized intrusions.
 
Researchers who have found important flaws in electronic voting machines and medical devices did so without authorization, the letter says.
 
If there is any silver lining, Moss said, it is that before Snowden's leaks, it had been impossible to have an informed discussion about how to balance security and civil liberties without real knowledge of government practices.
 
“The debate is just starting,” he said. “Maybe we can be a template for other democracies.” 


DEA had a program, too,
that is beyond NSA's efforts


Former spy-agency contractor Edward Snowden has caused a fierce debate over civil liberties and national security needs by disclosing details of secret U.S. government surveillance programs.

The Reuters news agency has uncovered previously unreported details about a separate program, run by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, that extends well beyond intelligence gathering.

Its use, legal experts say, raises fundamental questions about whether the government is concealing information used to investigate and help build criminal cases against American citizens.

The DEA program is run by a secretive unit called the Special Operations Division, or SOD.

Here is how NSA efforts exposed by Snowden differ from the activities of the SOD.

Purpose of the programs:

NSA: To use electronic surveillance to help the Federal Bureau of Investigation catch terrorists, the U.S. military fight wars, and the Central Intelligence Agency collect intelligence about foreign governments.

SOD: To help the DEA and other law enforcement agents launch criminal investigations of drug dealers, money launderers and other common criminals, including Americans. The unit also handles global narco-terrorism cases.

Gathering of evidence

NSA: Much of what the agency does remains classified, but Snowden's recent disclosures show that NSA not only eavesdrops on foreign communications but has also created a database of virtually every phone call made inside the United States.

SOD: The SOD forwards tips gleaned from NSA intercepts, wiretaps by foreign governments, court-approved domestic wiretaps and a database called DICE to federal agents and local law enforcement officers.

The DICE database is different from the NSA phone-records database. DICE consists of about 1 billion records, and is primarily a compilation of phone log data that is legally gathered by the DEA through subpoenas or search warrants.

Disclosure to the accused

NSA: Collection of domestic data by the NSA and FBI for espionage and terrorism cases is regulated by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

If prosecutors intend to use FISA or other classified evidence in court, they issue a public notice, and a judge determines whether the defense is entitled to review the evidence. In a court filing last week, prosecutors said they will now notify defendants whenever the NSA phone-records database is used during an investigation.

SOD: A document reviewed by Reuters shows that federal drug agents are trained to  recreate  the investigative trail to conceal the SOD's involvement.  Defense attorneys, former prosecutors and judges say the practice prevents defendants from even knowing about evidence that might be exculpatory.

They say it circumvents court procedures for weighing whether sensitive, classified or FISA evidence must be disclosed to a defendant.

Oversight

NSA: Congressional leaders and intelligence committee members are briefed on the NSA's classified programs.

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court reviews and approves warrants for domestic eavesdropping.

SOD: DEA officials who oversee the unit say the information sent to law enforcement authorities was obtained through subpoena, court order and other legal means.

A DEA spokesman said members of Congress "have been briefed over the years about SOD programs and successes." This includes a 2011 letter to the Senate describing the DICE database. But the spokesman said he didn't know whether lawmakers have been briefed on how tips are being used in domestic criminal cases.


Obama returning to Southwest
to claim credit for turnaround


With images of vacant, half-built residential developments that gathered dust after the recession, the U.S. Southwest once symbolized the 2008-2012 housing bust that wiped out $7 trillion in homeowner equity and wrecked the finances of many Americans.

But as housing stages a recovery around the United States, including the hard-hit Sun Belt, President Barack Obama goes back to the region today to claim some of the credit while urging further action to keep the housing winning streak alive.

More than four years after Obama outlined his plan to halt the housing market free fall in February 2009, he returns to Phoenix, where he will again talk about housing. The speech is another stop in a summer tour in which he is highlighting aspects of the economy that have improved under his watch while chiding political foes for obstructing faster progress.

But in Phoenix, the bright housing picture of increased sales and firmer prices mask continued challenges for those seeking housing, particularly those at the bottom rungs of the economic ladder, say homeowner advocates.

“My fear is that people think the problem is over,” said Patricia Garcia Duarte, president of Neighborhood Housing Services of Phoenix. “There are still families that are struggling.”

Even those who have steady work and decent credit find themselves turned down by lenders requiring big down payments and pristine credit, she said.

Arizona, Nevada, California and Florida were the states hit hardest by cratering house prices, over building and the wave of foreclosures that started during the 2008 financial crisis. In Phoenix, Obama can point to gains in house prices and declines in foreclosures to argue that his policies established a floor for housing markets and set the stage for a rebound.

Ms. Garcia Duarte, whose organization is a chapter of a national nonprofit, said she still sees plenty of people, however, who are trying to do everything they can to stay in their homes.

What she sees in the trenches is that while foreclosures are down, more families are resorting to short sales, a sale for less than what is owed on the property, to minimize the damage. And because investors have bought homes instead of individuals, some communities have seen homeownership decline and renting rise, she said.

“I would like the president to highlight that homeownership should be a good investment,” she said. “I think policymakers shifted and crossed out homeownership as a good thing to do for this country.”

Obama's return to Phoenix will have historic resonance because he spoke there the day after signing his $787-billion stimulus plan into law more than four years ago.

He is again focusing on the economy, trying this time to pressure lawmakers into passing government spending bills that reverse deep spending cuts and allocate funds to repair roads and bridges, and raise the nation's debt limit without drama before looming fall deadlines.

The president's focus on housing reflects the sector's outsize impact on the broader economy. Not only is a home usually a family's largest purchase, the effects of home buying ripple outward and affect a swath of other businesses such as appliance, furniture and hardware sales, landscaping and finance.

Obama is using his series of speeches to press for action to strengthen a tepid economic recovery. He is emphasizing jobs and middle class economic stability to counter a Republican message of concern over debt and deficits.

With his legislative initiatives on guns and immigration dead or stalled, Obama may also be motivated to build support for Democrats in 2014 mid-term elections. Democrats hold a slim majority in the Senate that may be at risk and are in the minority in the House of Representatives.

With housing, the president may feel he has some progress to boast about.

“It went from free fall to surging house prices; there's a big revival in housing construction,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody's Analytics. “The whole world has been turned around for a place like Phoenix.”

The median new home sale price rose almost 18 percent in greater Phoenix between May 2012 and May 2013, and the median normal existing home sale price rose more than 12 percent in that period, according to a recent Arizona State University report. Normal sales exclude the sale of distressed or bank-owned properties.

Analysts say housing appears to be on a solid footing not just in the Southwest, but nationally. Much of the early gains have been driven by investment funds, and economists say more individuals need to become involved to sustain the market. But that will require a stronger jobs market.

“Investors were instrumental in turning housing markets around, but we need to see the baton passed from the investor to the first-time home buyer,” said Zandi.

Homeownership in the United States hit a 17-1/2-year low in the second quarter as Americans continue to shift toward renting, one of the lingering legacies of the recession.


Founder of Amazon plans
to purchase Washington Post


The founder of Internet retail giant Amazon, Jeffrey Bezos, is buying one of the top U.S. newspapers.

The Washington Post announced Monday that Bezos will buy the paper and its affiliated publications for $250 million. It said Amazon has no role in the purchase.

The Post, which is known for breaking major stories including the Watergate scandal in the Nixon era, had been owned by the Graham family for four generations.

In a statement Monday, Post Chairman Donald Graham said the paper would be better served with another owner. He said newspaper-industry challenges, including declining revenue, led the family to consider selling the paper.

The Graham family is one of many multigenerational families that have sold metropolitan newspapers in recent decades.

Bezos said in a letter published on the Washington Post's website that the paper will not change radically.

He said "the values of The Post do not need changing." Bezos said "the paper’s duty will remain to its readers and not to the private interests of its owners."

The Amazon CEO says he will remain in Seattle, where Amazon is based, and will delegate the paper's daily operations to managers.

The Post reports that Bezos ranks 11th on Forbes list of the wealthiest individuals in America with a net worth of $23.3 billion.

The Washington Post says it has suffered a 44 percent decline in its operating revenue over the past six years. The decline is part of an industry-wide challenge for newspapers, which are losing advertising revenue and circulation.

The Post has been a leading U.S. newspaper for decades, breaking stories such as the Watergate scandal, the Pentagon Papers and recently, disclosures about the National Security Administration's surveillance programs.


GOP expresses unhappiness
with Ms. Clinton's programs


U.S. Republicans are threatening to boycott 2016 presidential candidates debates sponsored by networks CNN and NBC unless the networks cancel plans for special programs on Democrat Hillary Clinton, a possible 2016 White House contender.
 
Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus wrote to executives for NBC Entertainment and CNN Worldwide, saying the planned programs were political ads for the former secretary of State and former first lady.
 
Priebus asked the companies to scrap plans by Aug. 14 for the NBC miniseries on Clinton and for the CNN documentary film.
 
Representatives from Comcast-owned NBC and Time Warner-owned CNN did not immediately comment.
 
“As an American company, you have every right to air programming of your choice,” Priebus wrote in the letters to NBC Entertainment Chairman Robert Greenblatt and CNN Worldwide President Jeff Zucker.
 
“But as American citizens, certainly you recognize why many are astounded at your actions, which appear to be a major network's thinly veiled attempt at putting a thumb on the scales of the 2016 presidential election.”
 
Priebus said if CNN and NBC went ahead with the Clinton shows, he would seek a binding RNC vote that the Republican Party would not work with the two networks on its 2016 primary debates or sanction the debates sponsored by them.
 
CNN in the past has pointed out that its film unit operates separately and without CNN's editorial guidance. NBC's Greenblatt, when asked in July about Ms. Clinton's opponents potentially demanding equal time from the network, said the series would likely air before the presidential race heats up in the spring or summer of 2015.


A step toward soylent green
with burger from the lab


Today, scientists unveiled what they are calling the first hamburger to be made from meat produced in a laboratory instead of a cow.

Mark Post, whose laboratory at Maastricht University in the Netherlands developed the processes behind the new burger, is calling the product cultured beef. Monday, a professional chef cooked the test tube burger in a frying pan and then had two volunteers taste it in front of reporters in London.

The beef was grown in a lab using muscle stem cells taken from a cow. The cells were then placed in a nutrient rich solution in a ring-shaped form around a hub of gel. The muscle stem cells then grew into small strands of meat. It takes about 20,000 such strands to make a 140-gram burger.

Post said the cultured beef production method could be developed into a solution to the growing global demand for meat. The method could also be more environmentally friendly than high-density livestock farming.

“What we are going to attempt is important because I hope it will show cultured beef has the answers to major problems that the world faces,” said Post. “Our burger is made from muscle cells taken from a cow. We haven’t altered them in any way. For it to succeed, it has to look, feel and hopefully taste like the real thing.”

In addition to the muscle cells, other ingredients such as salt, egg powder and breadcrumbs went into the burger and red beet juice and saffron were added for color.

Commercial production of cultured beef could begin within 10 to 20 years, the scientist said.

One of those to taste the burger was Austrian food researcher Hanni Rutzler.

"There is quite some intense flavor," Rutzler said. "The look was quite similar to meat. It has quite a bite. The surface of the meat was crunchy - surprisingly. The taste itself was as juicy as meat can be, but different. It tastes like meat, not a meat-substitute like soya or whatever."

Post’s research, which began in 2008, was funded partially by a $330,000 donation from Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google.


Oceans to change drastically
in carbon dioxide future


If history’s closest analog is any indication, the look of the oceans will change drastically in the future as the coming greenhouse world alters marine food webs and gives certain species advantages over others.

Paleobiologist Richard Norris and colleagues show that the ancient greenhouse world had few large reefs, a poorly oxygenated ocean, tropical surface waters like a hot tub, and food webs that did not sustain the abundance of large sharks, whales, seabirds, and seals of the modern ocean. Aspects of this greenhouse ocean could reappear in the future if greenhouse gases continue to rise at current accelerating rates. Norris is with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography  at the  University of California-San Diego.

The researchers base their projections on what is known about the greenhouse world of 50 million years ago when levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere were much higher than those that have been present during human history. Their review article appears in an Aug. 2 special edition of the journal Science titled “Natural Systems in Changing Climates.”

For the past million years, atmospheric CO2 concentrations have never exceeded 280 parts per million, but industrialization, forest clearing, agriculture, and other human activities have rapidly increased concentrations of CO2 and other gases known to create a “greenhouse” effect that traps heat in the atmosphere. For several days in May 2013, CO2 levels exceeded 400 parts per million for the first time in human history and that milestone could be left well behind in the next decades. At its current pace, Earth could recreate the CO2 content of the atmosphere in the greenhouse world in just 80 years.

In the greenhouse world, fossils indicate that CO2 concentrations reached 800 to 1,000 parts per million. Tropical ocean temperatures reached 35º degrees C (95º F), and the polar oceans reached 12 degrees C (53°F)—similar to current ocean temperatures offshore San Francisco. There were no polar ice sheets. Scientists have identified a reef gap”between 42 and 57 million years ago in which complex coral reefs largely disappeared and the seabed was dominated by piles of pebble-like single-celled organisms called foraminifera.

“The ‘rain forests-of-the-sea’ reefs were replaced by the gravel parking lots of the greenhouse world,” said Norris.

The greenhouse world was also marked by differences in the ocean food web with large parts of the tropical and subtropical ocean ecosystems supported by minute picoplankton instead of the larger diatoms typically found in highly productive ecosystems today. Indeed, large marine animals — sharks, tunas, whales, seals, even seabirds — mostly became abundant when algae became large enough to support top predators in the cold oceans of recent geologic times.

“The tiny algae of the greenhouse world were just too small to support big animals,” said Norris. “It’s like trying to keep lions happy on mice instead of antelope. Lions can’t get by on only tiny snacks.”

Within the greenhouse world, there were rapid warming events that resemble the projected future. One well-studied event is known as the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum  56 million years ago, which serves as a guide to predicting what may happen under current climate trends.

That event lasted about 200,000 years and warmed the earth by 5 to 9 degrees C (9 to 16° F) with massive migrations of animals and plants and shifts in climate zones. Notably, despite the disruption to Earth’s ecosystems, the extinction of species was remarkably light, other than a mass extinction in the rapidly warming deep ocean.

“In many respects the PETM warmed the world more than we project for future climate change, so it should come as some comfort that extinctions were mostly limited to the deep sea,” said Norris. “Unfortunately, the PETM also shows that ecological disruption can last tens of thousands of years.”

Norris added that continuing the fossil fuel economy even for decades magnifies the period of climate instability. An abrupt halt to fossil fuel use at current levels would limit the period of future climate instability to less than 1,000 years before climate largely returns to pre-industrial norms. But, if fossil fuel use stays on its current trajectory until the end of this century, then the climate effects begin to resemble those of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, with major ecological changes lasting for 20,000 years or more and a recognizable human fingerprint on Earth’s climate lasting for 100,000 years.