sudo-discuss

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7412 discussions

by Eddan Katz

The Supreme Court opinion on the Myriad Genetics case about the BRCA1 & BRCA2 patents is out. Great news for science and medicine. Opinion was 9-0, invalidating the patent Myriad used to exercise a monopoly over breast cancer diagnostic tests. > http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/12pdf/12-398_8njq.pdf > > Held: "A naturally occurring DNA segment is a product of nature andnot patent eligible merely because it has been isolated, but cDNA ispatent eligible because it is not naturally occurring." From the introductory summary -- > Each human gene is encoded as deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), which takes the shape of a “double helix.” Each “cross-bar” in that helix consists of two chemically joined nucleotides. Sequences of DNA nu- cleotides contain the information necessary to create strings of amino acids used to build proteins in the body. The nucleotides that code for amino acids are “exons,” and those that do not are “introns.” Sci- entists can extract DNA from cells to isolate specific segments for study. They can also synthetically create exons-only strands of nu- cleotides known as composite DNA (cDNA). cDNA contains only the exons that occur in DNA, omitting the intervening introns. > > Respondent Myriad Genetics, Inc. (Myriad), obtained several patents after discovering the precise location and sequence of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, mutations of which can dramatically in- crease the risk of breast and ovarian cancer. This knowledge allowed Myriad to determine the genes’ typical nucleotide sequence, which, in turn, enabled it to develop medical tests useful for detecting muta- tions in these genes in a particular patient to assess the patient’s cancer risk. If valid, Myriad’s patents would give it the exclusive right to isolate an individual’s BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, and would give Myriad the exclusive right to synthetically create BRCA cDNA. Petitioners filed suit, seeking a declaration that Myriad’s patents are invalid under 35 U. S. C. §101. As relevant here, the District Court granted summary judgment to petitioners, concluding that Myriad’s claims were invalid because they covered products of nature. The Federal Circuit initially reversed, but on remand in light of Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories, Inc., 566 U. S. ___, the Circuit found both isolated DNA and cDNA patent eligible.

12 years, 3 months

Lessig: It’s Time to Rewrite the Internet to Give Us Better Privacy, and Security

by Eddan Katz

A Sudo- Call to Action. http://thebea.st/18vg9Eh It’s Time to Rewrite the Internet to Give Us Better Privacy, and Security It’s not too late to restore confidence, writes “digital Cassandra” Lawrence Lessig, but we need to start by asking the right questions. sent from eddan.com

12 years, 3 months

BAD IDEA Re: Opt out of PRISM

by Matthew Harbowy

I'm mystified how any of this helps. Even in a fully encrypted world, the destination ip and where it came from is not encrypted. Like with phone numbers, if you make a peer-to-peer connection and they can correlate it with any other information (geotagging, etc) they don't need to decrypt or even know what the two people are talking about. I strongly suspect that the decoding of content, while it may be of use, is not sufficiently advanced. There's no agreed protocol for semantic network evaluation. "The crow flies at midnight" still is (and will likely be, forever) a completely secure form of communication because it requires a realm of shared meaning. It means just as much to a NLP computer as "darmok and jelad at tanagra" But connections are already neatly encoded. Lumeta has nailed this, and I saw early prototypes of their Internet networking mapping before this was spun off from Lucent in the mid 1990's, and you can see the results of this work at http://www.cheswick.com/ches/map/ Think about it. Do you think, just from types of cars (no license plates, no text or color info, just (sedan, hatchback, pickup, SUV) moving between addresses, you couldn't figure out who worked for a particular corporation? While big business is still stumbling around in the dark, the creation of accurate, time-dependent maps of all electronic networks tells more about people than any other piece of information, because it is not subject to translation error during the process of encoding and analyzing semantic content. And the precious content which is protected by these tools doesn't even need to be decoded. They can do that later, after the arrest, to retconn a story about how they knew. Putting together lists like this of "what you can do" just makes n00bs that much easier to track by their metadata. If Ford and GM put tracking chips in all their cars and you reacted by driving around only Yugos, DeLoreans, or a DIY car, doesn't that make your metadata easier to track? So, for my vote, following recommendations like this is a terrible idea. Matt. On Wednesday, June 12, 2013, Andrew wrote: > this is an awesome list of great software. I also think it's important > that people understand that privacy, anonymity, and securing require more > than just switching to Ubuntu, using Firefox, etc... It requires real > changes in behavior, as well as technical solutions. For example, you can > use encrypted email all you want, but if the person you are communicating > with doesn't also have good security practices they can be compromised and > all your communications can be made available to anyone with access to > their computer. > > Also keep in mind that these technical solutions will never be enough. For > example, keyloggers are easy to trick someone in to installing or can even > be placed in to "legitimate" via automatic updates without the user > knowing. At any moment Apple, Microsoft, and Google could switch on a > network of spying computers unprecedented in American history, (are you > sure you and everyone you are communicating with are using 0% software from > these companies?). > > The point is that this is not a technical problem. And, so far it's still > very difficult for the NSA to gain human intelligence, so if you want to > share secrets, the best way to do it is over drinks at your friends house > surrounded by people you trust. > > --Andrew > > > On Wed, Jun 12, 2013 at 10:46 AM, Eddan Katz <eddan(a)clear.net<javascript:_e({}, 'cvml', 'eddan(a)clear.net');> > > wrote: > >> "Opt out of PRISM, the NSA’s global data surveillance program. Stop >> reporting your online activities to the American government with these free >> alternatives to proprietary software." >> >> >> http://prism-break.org/ >> >> _______________________________________________ >> sudo-discuss mailing list >> sudo-discuss(a)lists.sudoroom.org <javascript:_e({}, 'cvml', >> 'sudo-discuss(a)lists.sudoroom.org');> >> http://lists.sudoroom.org/listinfo/sudo-discuss >> >> > > > -- > ------- > Andrew Lowe > Cell: 831-332-2507 > http://roshambomedia.com > >

12 years, 3 months

Fwd: [liberationtech] NSA Director Alexander @ Senate Appropriations Committee (Jun 12)

by Eddan Katz

> From: Gregory Foster <gfoster(a)entersection.org> > Date: June 12, 2013, 9:51:06 PM PDT > To: liberationtech(a)lists.stanford.edu > Subject: [liberationtech] NSA Director Alexander @ Senate Appropriations Committee (Jun 12) > Reply-To: liberationtech <liberationtech(a)lists.stanford.edu> > > U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations (Jun 12) - "Hearing on Cybersecurity": > http://www.appropriations.senate.gov/ht-full.cfm?method=hearings.view&id=33… > > Complete video of the hearing and prepared testimony of each of the witnesses is linked here. This previously scheduled hearing received some press today as it was General Keith B. Alexander's first public appearance since the inception of the Snowden event. > > The General's prepared testimony provides a useful primer on the NSA/CSS and its relationship with Cyber Command - the US military branch active in the networked domain (PDF download): > http://www.appropriations.senate.gov/ht-full.cfm?method=hearings.download&i… > > gf > > -- > Gregory Foster || gfoster(a)entersection.org > @gregoryfoster <> http://entersection.com/ > > -- > Too many emails? Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password by emailing moderator at companys(a)stanford.edu or changing your settings at https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech

12 years, 3 months

East Bay Community Wireless Mesh

by Marc Juul

The sudo room mesh networking group has gotten to the point where we are nearly ready to launch a free community wireless network in the east bay! We will be launching the first part of the network with 100+ wifi nodes, and we need your help to raise the money! Even a single dollar helps! https://www.wepay.com/donations/oakland-community-mesh-network Even if you can't contribute monetarily, please consider forwarding this to your friends / social network of choice. We will provide a free wireless network controlled and maintained by the local community. The network will be used it to provide both local community services, post-disaster backup connectivity and free internet connectivity focusing on the less connected communities. We are also looking for new members. What you can do to help: *Do you have access to a rooftop or tower where we can mount an antenna to make the mesh reach further? Do you know anyone who does? *Do you want to adopt a node, either for mounting on the outside of your apartment/house or in your window? *Do you want to run an indoor node in your home? Maybe the router you have is already compatible! *Do you want to help with community outreach? We want to engage the local communities and need your help to reach more people. *Can you help with design of fliers or websites? We meet every Thursday evening at 8:30 pm at sudo room, and everyone is welcome to join! If you're more interested in donating equipment directly, look at our wishlist: https://sudoroom.org/wiki/Mesh/Wishlist -- Marc Juul

12 years, 3 months

Opt out of PRISM

by Eddan Katz

> "Opt out of PRISM, the NSA’s global data surveillance program. Stop reporting your online activities to the American government with these free alternatives to proprietary software." http://prism-break.org/

12 years, 3 months

Fuck you, NSA

by aestetix

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Hey! How?s it going? I?m all right. My job is so shitty I wish I could overthrow my boss. It?s like this oppressive regime where only true believers in his management techniques will stay around. I work marathon-length hours and he?s made all these changes that have made it the worst architecture firm to work at in Manhattan. Like he moved the office to the Financial District and fired my assistant. She was the only one who knew where the blueprints were! I need access to those blueprints to complete my job! F my life, right? And he keeps trying to start all these new initiatives to boost revenue, but seriously we just need to stick to what we do best. There?s only one true profit center. I seriously feel ready to go on strike at any second. I just read this article about how these free radical particles can cause the downfall of good health and accelerate aging. These could actually cause death to millions of Americans. If these particles are flying around undetected everywhere, does that mean we?re all radicalized? Have you seen the second season of Breaking Bad? I just finished it. I couldn?t believe that episode where they poison the guy with ricin! That was the bomb! I won?t say any more because I don?t want to reveal the earth-shattering events to come. Oh! So I?ve been planning a big trip for the summer. I?m thinking of visiting all of the most famous suspension bridges in the United States. So probably like the Golden Gate Bridge, The Brooklyn Bridge, and the Verrazano Narrows Bridge. I?m gonna bring my younger brother and I know he?ll want to go to bars, so I?m thinking of getting him a fake drivers license, but I hope that doesn?t blow up in my face. Okay, I gotta run! I?m late for flight school. I missed the last class where we learn how to land, so I really can?t miss another one. Talk to you later! - ---- For more information on this, visit: http://www.trollthensa.com/ -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG/MacGPG2 v2.0.18 (Darwin) Comment: GPGTools - http://gpgtools.org iQEcBAEBAgAGBQJRuQEbAAoJEOrRfDwkjbpTg9oH/jW2dJN+UkggQY2wh9+R8huC V4Vn/6tyWdI4w+kXriu+JBzJeh0YHgm0yX3AgpQXvg4jOobjBo0fyxbXBWW87fIu pi34/+uu6U1VN5DW4y5ZlvmI4/RNmKb+U2NtlCFVyrU9arS2MKs8G+YDJx28thvB O1zwWhgu1IJIj3Jn039hPRXbcUOkbZ0aWkczHA/n0ei8wn3v8e1VRasL0bMqZUpC QqG1bWeVF3SsIMHOAQL/KsBqmPFXWw1A59shzMtbkWbjIE/6v36LiuSI5++Xgza4 hUHtlIXyTCay17pYZh+x/I9Jm2u2bZ16sSBCXTGhSwlegrKslq8urbP7mtWDk2c= =zC5s -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

12 years, 3 months

Would love to see minutes notes

by Romy Ilano

I'm in developer heaven this week so can't make it to the meeting tonight Looking forward to seeing the minutes! --- Romy Ilano Founder of Snowyla http://www.snowyla.com romy(a)snowyla.com

12 years, 3 months

Noob Mesh Networking Question

by Andrew

Say you have two houses near each other that want to share their Internet connections with eacth other as one wireless node. So, for example, they could both connect to Neighborhood WIFI and get a connection that uses their combined bandwidth. How is this possible? What's the best way to set this up so that other houses could join in and share their bandwidth as well. Thanks, Andrew -- --------- http://www.vagabondballroom.com

12 years, 3 months

Sudden public interest in basic crypto/security tools.

by William Gillis

Hey Sudoroomers, I've been deluged by friends this weekend suddenly interested in things like finally figuring out how to install that there tor, or god forbid venturing into the realm of pgp. I offered my nonstop 1:1 handholding services over facebook to any and all friends and have been a little overwhelmed by the number. Someone local suggested a teach day at Sudoroom and I thought I'd check to see if anyone else is interested and, you know, what actual members have to say. There has never been a more opportune moment for cryptoparty outreach, and yet I haven't seen anyone declare anything yet. Am I just out of the loop?

12 years, 3 months

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