‘Banned’ article about faulty immobiliser chip published after two years

In 2012, three computer security researchers at Radboud University discovered weaknesses in the Megamos chip, which is widely used in immobilisers for various brands of cars. Based on responsible disclosure guidelines, the scientists informed the manufacturer immediately, and they wrote a scientific article on the topic that was accepted for publication at a prestigious digital security symposium (USENIX 2013). However, the publication never took place because in June 2013 an English court, acting at the request of Volkswagen, ruled that the article had to be withdrawn. Now, in August 2015, the controversial article that was ‘banned’ in 2013 is being published after all.

What went before

In 2008, Radboud scientists discovered weaknesses in the MIFARE CLASSIC chip that was used for instance in the public transport chip card for the Netherlands, the ‘OV-chipkaart’, and in London’s Oyster card. At that time, the Dutch court refused to ban publication, partly because Radboud University scrupulously complies with responsible disclosure rules.
Because of this, Volkswagen took the ‘Megamos case’ to an English court in 2013. This was possible because one of the researchers had transferred to the University of Birmingham in the meantime. In June 2013, the English court issued an injuction.

Defence

Radboud University, together with the University of Birmingham, immediately challenged this English publication ban: the data about the chip that the researchers used in their study was acquired in a lawful manner. The manufacturer was also informed more than 9 months prior to the proposed publication. According to the responsible disclosure guidelines of the Dutch government, pre-publication notice of 6 months is sufficient.
The controversial article contains a scientific analysis of the level of security of the Megamos chip and is certainly not a manual for hackers. Radboud University is a strong defender of academic freedom and believes that car owners have the right to know the strengths and weaknesses of the security of their car.

continue http://www.ru.nl/english/news-agenda/vm/informatics-digital/2015/megamos_2015/

Fetal Harvester at Planned Parenthood Describes ‘You can hear screaming’

FDA approves OxyContin for children 11 and older

The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved the powerful painkiller OxyContin for a new use in children 11 to 16 who are suffering from severe, long-term pain.

OxyContin is an extended-release opioid that has long been used to treat around-the-clock pain in adults. But most pain medications are not approved for use in children.

The FDA says it asked drugmaker Purdue Pharma to study how to safely use OxyContin in children.

“This program was intended to fill a knowledge gap and provide experienced health care practitioners with the specific information they need to use OxyContin safely in pediatric patients,” Sharon Hertz, an FDA drug division director, wrote in an online post.

Under the new approval, doctors are directed to only prescribe OxyContin to children who can already tolerate a minimum dose of 20 milligrams of oxycodone, the drug ingredient in OxyContin. Taking a sudden dose of an opioid can lead to overdose and death if patients haven’t previously been exposed to the drug type.

continue http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_OXYCONTIN_CHILDREN

Cortana Can Now Replace Google Now On Android Devices

Microsoft released a private beta version of its Cortana digital assistant for Android last month. While it includes similar features to the Windows 10 and Windows Phone version, Microsoft is taking its support of Android a step further with an updated app. In the latest beta version you can now replace the Google Now shortcut (pressing and holding the home button) to activate Cortana instead.

It’s a much-needed addition that lets Microsoft take over a common way of launching Google Now on Android handsets. There are still other ways to access Google Now features, but Microsoft is clearly hoping that most Android users will experiment with Cortana or set it as the default home button setting. The update version still doesn’t include “Hey Cortana” support, largely because of hardware limitations that prevent Cortana from always listening for the command. If you’re interested in testing Cortana for Android then Microsoft has a sign-up process for potential beta testers.
continue https://www.theverge.com/2015/8/9/9123161/microsoft-cortana-android-google-now-home-button

Push for higher minimum wage ignites worry about enforcement

(AP) — As a campaign to raise the minimum wage as high as $15 has achieved victories in such places as Seattle, Los Angeles and New York, it has bumped up against a harsh reality: Plenty of scofflaw businesses don’t pay the legal minimum now and probably won’t pay the new, higher wages either.

Some economists, labor activists and regulators predict that without stronger enforcement, the number of workers getting cheated out of a legal wage is bound to increase in places where wages rise.

Estimates on the size of the problem vary, but the Bureau of Labor Statistics said that in 2014, roughly 1.7 million U.S. workers – two thirds of whom were women – were illegally paid less than the federal minimum of $7.25 per hour.

Other studies put the number higher. A report by the Department of Labor in December estimated that in New York and California alone, there are 560,000 violations of the law every week, representing $33 million in lost income.
continue http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_MINIMUM_WAGE_CHEATED_WORKERS

Jerry Brown Bans the Word ‘Alien’ from California Labor Law

See-ming Lee / Flickr / CC / Cropped

by Joel B. Pollak10 Aug 20151063

California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law Monday that bans the word “alien” from the state’s labor laws.

SB 432, introduced by State Sen. Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia), removes the term “alien,” previously defined as “any person who is not a born or fully naturalized citizen of the United States.” It also removed the state’s preference for hiring U.S. citizens on public works projects during periods of unemployment.

The bill passed the State Senate unanimously. Mendoza said at the time the State Senate approved the bill that the term “alien” was “offensive,” adding: “It has no place in our laws and should not be the basis of employment hiring.” Last month, as the State Assembly added its approval, he said: “Alien is now commonly considered a derogatory term for a foreign -born person and has very negative connotations.”

continue http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/08/10/jerry-brown-bans-illegal-alien/

Laser Cut Your Own Vinyl Records

Amanda Ghassaei] has created an awesome hack for making your own vinyl records using a laser cutter from an MP3 file. Her excellent hack uses a Processing sketch that converts a digital audio file into a vector graphics file, which is then burned onto vinyl using a laser cutter. We saw a demo of this at the FabLab11 conference, and it’s an impressive hack.

One of the best parts of her write up are the details of how she arrived at the appropriate processing settings to get the record sounding as good as possible, but still be cuttable. It’s an object lesson in how you iterate on a project, trying different approaches and settings until you find the one that works. She also decided to take it a few steps further, cutting records on paper and wood for the ultimate eco-friendly record collection.
continue http://hackaday.com/2015/08/07/laser-cut-your-own-vinyl-records/

Illegal Alien Crime Accounts For Over 30% Of Murders In Many States [Video]

The Federal Reserve’s War on Drugs

by George Selgin

That’s right: the Federal Reserve is now in the business of enforcing the U.S. government’s drug laws, even if that means making a mockery of both state governments’ right to set their own drug policies and the Fed’s own governing statutes.

The Fed’s involvement in drug prohibition became official last month, when the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City informed Denver’s Fourth Corner Credit Union — a non-profit cooperative formed by Colorado’s state-licensed cannabis manufacturers — of its decision to deny its application for a master account.  Since asking any sort of depository institution to operate without such an account, and hence without access to the Fed’s payment facilities, including its check clearing, wire transfer, and ACH facilities, is like asking a commercial airline to make do with propeller-driven biplanes, and established banks don’t want the extra hassle that comes with dealing with pot growers, the Kansas City Fed’s action forces Colorado’s marijuana industry to do business on a cash-only basis, with all the extra risk and inconvenience that entails.[1]

The Fourth Corner Credit Union isn’t taking this sitting down.  On the contrary: it is suing the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.  Your typical civil action isn’t exactly a page turner.  But this one reads like a chiller, largely because that’s exactly what it is.  If you like a good horror story, I suggest you read the whole thing.  But for the sake of those in a hurry, here are the Cliff Notes.   Unless otherwise indicated, the details are as alleged by the lawsuit itself.

The basic legal facts as set forth in that document are, first, that it is the essence of the so-called “dual” banking system that both state governments and the Federal government have the right to grant charters to banks and other depository institutions, and, second, that, according to the 1980 Monetary Control Act, “All Federal Reserve bank services…shall be available to nonmember depository institutions and such services shall be priced at the same schedule applicable to member banks.”

Furthermore, as if to resolve any doubts regarding whether access to the Fed’s payment services was to be granted even to depository institutions that did business with pot growers, on August 13, 2014 the Board of Governors, together with the FDIC, the Comptroller of the Currency, and the National Credit Union Authority, issued guidelines declaring that

Generally, the decision to open, close, or decline a particular account or relationship is made by a bank or credit union, without the involvement of the supervisor.  This decision may be based on the bank or credit union’s particular business objectives, its evaluation of the risks associated with offering particular products or services, and its capacity to effectively manage those risks.[2]

Now to the facts of the case, also as presented in the suit.  On November 19, 2014, The Fourth Corner Credit Union acquired an unconditional charter from the state of Colorado, having received  a conditional charter from the state some months before, pending its application for share deposit insurance.  Fourth Corner applied to the Kansas City Fed for a master account on the same day.  As it had previously applied for and received a Routing Number from the ABA, and had applied with the National Credit Union Authority (NCUA) for deposit insurance (and was exploring options for private insurance in case its NCUA request was denied), it had satisfied the only eligibility requirement for having such an account, and so had only to submit a “resolution” authorizing the Fed to open an account for it, together with an FRB “Official Authorizations List.”  Once these documents were approved, the Kansas City Fed was expected to accept and process a one-page Master Account Agreement completed by the credit union.  No other documents were necessary.

CONTINUE http://blog.tenthamendmentcenter.com/2015/08/the-federal-reserves-war-on-drugs/