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Thread ID: 71158	2006-07-28 03:09:00	Paranoid Yet?	SurferJoe46 (51)	Press F1

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474257	2006-07-28 03:09:00	The annual conference is called HOPE (Hackers on Planet Earth), but if you're already worried about the safety of private information and the technologies that supposedly secure it, you could be forgiven some despair . From such classic seminar topics as "Phone Phreaking 101" to "Vulnerabilities in a Connected Future," the running theme of the weekend confab was summed up by the title of one other session: "Privacy Is Dead . . . . . . . . Get Over It . " Unfortunately, that panel was absent its leader, online investigator Steve Rambam, aka Steve Rombom, who was greeted by four FBI agents and handcuffed shortly before the presentation, charged with witness tampering and obstruction of justice in the course of one of his cases . One hack that attracted a lot of attention was a demo put on by Annalee Newitz, who has a VeriChip RFID chip implanted in her arm, and Jonathan Westhues, who has an antenna attached to a laptop that can read and clone the information on such chips, which have been touted for the transportation of medical and other personal data and someday for use in retail transactions . "Their Web site claims that it cannot be counterfeited," said Newitz . "That is something that Jonathan and I have shown to be untrue . " The pair has made quite a hobby out of exposing the weaknesses in RFID, but VeriChip isn't ready to make any concessions yet . "We can't verify what they may or may not have done," said company spokesman John Procter said . "We haven't seen any first-hand evidence other than what's been reported in the media . It's very difficult to steal a VeriChip … it's much more secure than anything you'd carry around in your wallet . " If you're starting to feel a bit paranoid and want to discuss these issues with friends online, you may want to switch your IM application to ScatterChat ( . realcities . com/a/hBExR-BAPnpi4APtV1IAT4MsO . APnpha5d/gmsv27" target="_blank">esp . realcities . com) , launched at the conference and described as "a secure instant messaging client (based upon the Gaim software) that provides end-to-end encryption, integrated onion-routing with Tor, secure file transfers, and easy-to-read documentation . " The developers, Hacktivisimo, say their aim is "to allow non-technical human rights activists and political dissidents to communicate securely and anonymously while operating in hostile territory" or corporate users in a similar environment .	SurferJoe46 (51)
474258	2006-07-28 04:45:00	Good read, thanks. Interesting to hear about ScatterChat. Looks like a good alternative to Gaim, since Gaim seems to have gone stagnant. Hopefully the development of ScatterChat is kept active (hopefully it starts again on gaim too :))	mejobloggs (264)
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