Authorities investigate CyberBunker “minister” over cyber attacks

The authorities in the Netherlands and other countries are currently investigating a man whom they say is at the center of the recent cyber attacks against Spamhaus, an anti-spam group. Sven Olaf Kamphuis, who calls himself the “Minister of telecommunications and foreign affairs for the Republic of CyberBunker”, started a war against Spamhaus because the anti-spam group blacklisted two of Kamphuis’s companies, CB3ROB and CyberBunker.

Authorities investigate suspect in cyberattacks

The New York Times states that Kamphuis asked for support from hackers to launch attacks against Spamhaus. He wrote on his Facebook,

“Yo anons, we could use a little help in shutting down illegal slander and blackmail censorship project ‘spamhaus.org,’ which thinks it can dictate its views on what should and should not be on the internet.

Kamphuis later stated that he had no direct roles in the attacks against Spamhaus, and that it was actually the work of Stophaus, an anti-Spamhaus group, that was directly to blame. He states that Stophaus was also at fault for causing the internet lag that affected many consumers in the past week. Dutch authorities, however, have discovered evidence that contradicts Kamphuis’s statement. Greenhost, a Dutch internet hosting service, discovered the digital footprints of one of Kamphuis’s companies, CB3ROB, in the digital attack against Spamhaus.

A security specialist at the University of Amsterdam, J.P. Velders, stated, “It’s very clear that he has a big role in this, even if there isn’t 100 percent airtight proof that he is behind it.” Velders says that authorities need to figure out how much he was involved in these cyber attacks, and how they can take action against him.

Kamphuis worked at XS4ALL, a Dutch ISP, where one of his ex co-workers stated that he was constantly reprimanded for hacking into his boss’s computer system. The ex co-worker also stated that Kamphuis was a very eccentric person, and that he “hates authority in any form.” Erik Bais, owner of A2B-Internet, a company that used to work with Kamphuis’s company, stated that Kamphuis is “like a loose cannon” and that he doesn’t have “regard for repercussions or collateral damage.”

Kamphuis is currently discussing his distaste for Spamhaus publicly on his Facebook. There he states that he is an internet freedom fighter who is along the same lines as Julian Assange and that what Spamhaus is doing is censorship. He stated that Spamhaus as acted “without any court verdit, just by blackmail of suppliers and Jew lies.”

[via The New York Times]


Authorities investigate CyberBunker “minister” over cyber attacks is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
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2020 US Census expected to move online, catch up with 2010

2020 US Census poised to move online

The US Census is an expensive beast to run when paper is involved: multiply the $96 per household of the 2010 Census by millions of households and you’ll feel the government’s pain. When the mandate is to keep those expenses in check for the 2020 study, it’s almost no surprise that the Census Bureau is now telling the Washington Post that it expects to rely on the internet for its next decennial survey in the wake of smaller-scale trials. The anticipated move is about more than just cutting the costs of lengthy forms and postage stamps, though. While frugality is the primary goal, joining the modern era should also reduce the need for follow-ups — the Bureau would know as soon as we were done, after all. There’s no question that an online Census is overdue when swaths of the US government (and society) can already skip traditional paperwork, but we still appreciate having a tentative schedule for one of the last great digital transitions.

[Image credit: USDA, Flickr]

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Source: Washington Post

Facebook gets green light to build its second campus at California headquarters

Facebook gets green light to build its second campus at California headquarters

Seems as if building new, fancy properties is quickly becoming the norm within the tech sector. Following in both Apple and Google’s spacious footsteps, Facebook too will be looking to amplify its California-based headquarters — and now it’s received the OK from Menlo Park authorities to commence turning Frank Gehry’s design vision into a reality. The second campus itself is set to boast nearly 434,000 square feet in total and be built across 22 acres, which will be plenty of space to house anything from a rooftop park to an underground tunnel which leads to Facebook’s existent abode. As for city council members, they seem to be rather pleased by Zuck’s proposed construction, with one Kirsten Keith expressing how she “feels very lucky that we’ll have a Frank Gehry building here.” Well then, cheers all around.

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Via: Sky News

Source: Mercury News

Drobo adds Copy cloud syncing and Plex media server apps for 5N owners

Drobo adds Copy cloud syncing, Plex media server apps for 5N owners

Drobo has long had an apps platform to extend the usefulness of its smart drive enclosures, but there’s been limits to what it can do in the cloud and mobile spaces. The company is widening that support this week, and it’s inaugurating the effort with a pair of apps for the Drobo 5N. For us, the real highlight is Plex support, which turns the 5N into a high-capacity, redundant media server that can boost its storage as the content library gets bigger. The more pragmatic among us will like Barracuda Networks’ Copy, which offers unlimited file syncing and sharing that will seem familiar to Dropbox aficionados. Copy is already available for free, while Plex should also be gratis when it’s ready in April — the only real hurdle will be justifying $600-plus for a living room video hub.

[Thanks, Jack]

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Source: Drobo

Twitter music app reportedly includes Vevo, may expand to more services

Twitter music app reportedly includes Vevo, may expand to more services

As much as we’re intrigued by the prospect of Twitter’s music app, the rumored emphasis on SoundCloud would potentially limit the selection given major label resistance to giving away ad-free content: we’d expect a lot of DJ sets and indie demos. A supposed leak from AllThingsD has Twitter catering to the less adventurous among us by adding Vevo support. While the full workings of the rumored app remain a mystery, Twitter would reportedly play Vevo’s mostly pop-oriented music videos through a custom player. It might not be the only service involved, too: the same tips suggest that Twitter wants to round up multiple services, and the two that have surfaced so far are just the first to hop aboard. We have a hunch that the expanded app (if real) won’t make the originally claimed March launch when we’re already at the last weekday of the month, but the latest tidbit suggests Twitter is far from giving up on turning microblogs into mini jukeboxes.

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Source: AllThingsD

Vine enables video embeds, keeps web viewers in the loop

Vine switches on video embeds, keeps web viewers in the loop

Vine video posts have had an ephemeral quality when there’s been few ways to show them off outside of catching a web link the moment it appears. There’s a better way to make those six seconds last an eternity now that the Twitter-run service offers support for embedding its loops on the web. As long as you have access to an existing web link or share a clip through an updated iOS app, you can get HTML code to embed a video in two styles and three different sizes. While it’s not quite the expanded platform support that some are hoping for, embedded viewing does make it easier to see what Vine is about — and potentially delight (or annoy) blog readers who’d have otherwise missed your ultra-short movie projects.

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Source: App Store, Vine

Facebook expected to introduce themed Android OS, HTC handset next week

HTC’s Status may not have been a tremendous hit, but it looks like Facebook hasn’t severed its ties with the smartphone maker just yet. According to TechCrunch and New York Times sources, April 4th’s “Come See Our New Home on Android” event is set to feature an HTC smartphone with a custom, Facebook-centric OS. It’s perhaps the next best thing to a phone designed and manufactured by Facebook, but instead, HTC will be tasked with creating the hardware. The integration is expected to run deep, however — when you power on the device, a Facebook home screen is what you’ll see first. Additionally, the device’s camera and messaging apps will default to Facebook, according to the New York Times report. Hardware specifications have yet to be revealed, but software will clearly be the focus here. Tune in at 1PM EST next Thursday for our liveblog, direct from Facebook HQ.

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Source: The New York Times, TechCrunch

Chinese Gamer Spends Six Years At Internet Cafe

Chinese Gamer Spends Six Years At Internet Cafe

Not Meng

We’ve published a number of stories of gamers around the world who had their lives cut too short after spending way too many hours at local Internet cafes. But you rarely hear similar stories of gamers practically living at an Internet cafe for several years, and that’s exactly what we have in the following story.

Li Meng has reportedly more or less been living at an Internet cafe near Changchun for the past six years as he only leaves his spot to eat and shower. Otherwise, he can be found at the cafe to play games in the evenings until he gets sleepy, and then proceeds to fall asleep during the daylight hours. We imagine the seats at the cafe must be extremely comfortable to be able to sleep in. (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Raspberry Pi Runs Classic DOS Games Thanks To Emulator, Wii U Miiverse Coming To Smartphones, PC In A Few Weeks,

Chrome Web Store search overhaul puts top category results on one page

Google overhauls Chrome Web Store search to put all top results on one page

If you’ve frequently been sifting through the Chrome Web Store for content, you’ve probably been stymied once or twice by search results that didn’t initially show the content type you were looking for. At least some of us shouldn’t face that problem following a quiet update from Google. Searches now show the top hits for apps, extensions and themes on one page, and a click of a category header is all that’s needed for more detail. Just fire up Chrome (or a Chromebook) to see the remade results page.

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Via: Joe Marini (Google+)

Source: Chrome Web Store

Facebook planning Android-related event on April 4th

Facebook planning Android related event on April 4th

It looks like Facebook‘s got an Android-related event up its sleeve next Thursday April 4th right here in the Bay Area. So, what’s this about? A major revamp of Facebook’s Android app? An Android-based Facebook phone like HTC’s rumored Myst? Whatever it is, we’ll obviously be there to liveblog the announcement in great detail, so be sure to tune in at 1PM ET (10AM PT). While focusing its recent efforts on features like Graph Search and News Feed, Facebook’s been clear that mobile is a top priority for 2013. Let’s just hope this event brings something more exciting to fruition than HTC’s half-baked Status.

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