'Curious activation' of Cuban cable

21 January 2013 Last updated at 09:05 ET

A high-speed fibre-optic cable connecting Cuba to the global internet appears to have finally been activated, monitoring experts have said.

Cubans currently rely on satellite connections - which are expensive and slow - to get online.

But the cable, which has been in place since 2011, has shown the first signs of activity, Renesys said.

Curiously, researchers noted traffic via the cable seemed only to be flowing into the country, not out of it.

"In the past week, our global monitoring system has picked up indications that this cable has finally been activated, although in a rather curious way," wrote Doug Madory, Renesys' senior researcher.

He explained that in the past week it had been noted that Telefonica, the Spanish telecoms company, had begun appearing in their data for Cuba.

When contacted by the BBC, Telefonica was not able to confirm that the activation had taken place.

But Renesys' data is a strong indicator that the cable is beginning to show signs of life - be it over five years since its original inception.

Improved

A joint project between the state-owned telecommunications companies of both Venezuela and Cuba, the Alternative Bolivariana para los Pueblos de nuestra America cable - known more succinctly as Alba-1 - had been hit by numerous delays before being completed in 2011.

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The cable's activation coincided with a change in visa rules

But users were left in the dark as to why they were unable to get themselves hooked up to the connection, and were forced to make do with the high-latency connections provided by satellite.

But in the past week, much lower latencies - meaning faster connections - have been observed in the country, a strong indicator that the cable was now in use.

But Mr Madory stressed: "These aren't exactly low latencies. Our measured latencies to Cuba are still quite high, albeit improved.

"The fact that the latencies to Cuba from many locations around the world have dropped below 480ms [milliseconds] means that the new Telefonica service cannot be entirely via satellite.

"However, if it were solely via submarine cables, we would expect latencies from many nearby countries to be less than 50ms."

Rule changes

Mr Madory speculated that the activation of the cable may be a sign the country is becoming "freer and more open" - particularly as the cable first showed signs of activity on the same day as rules about exit visas were changed.

The BBC has approached the Cuban government on the issue, but it is yet to comment.

Mr Madory went on to say that he did not believe there to be a China-style censorship firewall in place for Cuban internet users.

"In countries where we see latencies are impacted by censorship regimes, we often see a diurnal [daily] pattern in latencies," he said.

"This is due to traffic slowing during busy times when everyone is awake and using the Internet, and the censorship software is struggling to keep up.

"When looking at the distributions of these [Cuban] latencies over time, I see no diurnal pattern."

Despite the country's lacklustre internet, an online community has taken shape in the recent years. Most notably, blogger Yoani Sanchez rose to fame as a dissident blogger who wrote about life in Cuba.

Ms Sanchez used to email blog entries to friends outside of the country to publish online.

Her writing led to her being arrested in October last year as she prepared to cover the trial of politician Angel Carromero.

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Donated genetic data 'privacy risk'

18 January 2013 Last updated at 04:29 ET

Researchers have identified people in the US who anonymously donated their DNA for use in medical research - raising concerns about privacy.

They could uncover a person's identity using records of donated DNA coupled with other readily available sources of information on the internet.

It was made possible because of large "genetic genealogy" databases which help people trace their family tree.

The study was reported in the journal Science.

Weak male link

There is a strong link in men between their surname and unique markings on the male, or Y, chromosome.

These genetic markings are a useful tool when investigating a family tree as they are passed from father to son and are used in "genetic genealogy" databases.

Researchers from the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research used this freely available data to create a computer program which could match unique markers to surnames.

This was used to hunt through an academic database - the 1,000 genomes project.

It contains the entire genetic code of volunteers who donated their DNA anonymously. The only record is of the donor's age and their home state.

The computer program, however, could now work out surnames as well. This was enough, combined with a basic internet search, to work out the identities of around 50 people.

Privacy

One of the researchers, Yaniv Erlich, said: "This is an important result that points out the potential for breaches of privacy in genomics studies."

But he stressed very strongly that he would not want to see public sharing of genetic information curtailed, rather that people were aware of the realities.

"More knowledge empowers participants to weigh the risks and benefits and make more informed decisions when considering whether to share their own data.

"We also hope that this study will eventually result in better security algorithms, better policy guidelines, and better legislation to help mitigate some of the risks described."

The team shared their findings with officials at the US National Human Genome Research Institute who then removed ages of participants from the publicly-accessible genome database.

In an accompanying editorial Eric Green, director of the Institute, says there needs to be a balance between the rights to privacy of those taking part in research and the benefits to society to be gained from the sharing of biomedical research data.

Hit rate

Frances Rawle, head of policy at the UK's Medical Research Council, said: "This paper is useful and also timely as there is currently a great deal of discussion about the sharing of data both between researchers and more widely.

"The potential benefits to be gained from sharing genetic data relating to individuals must be balanced with the potential harm of unintended disclosure of personal information."

Prof Mark Jobling, a Wellcome Trust senior fellow at the University of Leicester, said if the same study was done in the UK the hit rate might be even higher because their had been less changing of surnames over time.

He added that a lot of effort was still required to identify individuals and even if someone had your genetic profile, most human traits are not easily predictable from DNA.

"When people sign up to genetic testing, you have to make it clear that that there is an outside chance someone could identify you. It is the very basis of informed consent."

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US general warns on Iran cyber-force

18 January 2013 Last updated at 05:16 ET

Cyber-attacks on Iran are turning it into a "force to be reckoned with" America's top cyber-soldier has warned.

Since 2010, Iran has come under attack many times by malicious viruses written specifically to target key industrial installations in the country.

The repeated attacks have provoked Iran to improve its cyber-capabilities, said Gen William Shelton who oversees US cyber-operations.

It meant Iran was becoming a growing force in web-based attacks, he said.

Gen Shelton issued the warning during a briefing given to reporters about the US Air Force division he heads that includes America's cyber-troops.

He said the 2010 Stuxnet virus attack on Iran's Natanz uranium processing plant had generated a "reaction" by Iran that had led it to rapidly improve its defensive and offensive cyber-capabilities. Since then Iran has been hit again and again by viruses. In December 2012, the Stuxnet virus returned and hit companies in the southern Hormozgan region.

That improved capability had helped it protect itself against subsequent attacks on oil terminals and other manufacturing plants. Its capability might well be turned against Iran's enemies in the coming years, he said.

"They are going to be a force to be reckoned with," said Gen Shelton, "with the potential capabilities that they will develop over the years and the potential threat that will represent to the United States."

Web war

Gen Shelton's comments come soon after a senior Iranian commander said it had growing "electronic warfare" capabilities that it planned to use to disrupt what it called enemy communication systems. The nation is known to have carried out web-based military exercises at the same time as other troops were on manoeuvres.

Currently, said Gen Shelton US cyber-forces were about 6,000 strong but would add another 1,000 people in the next 12 months. These workers were successfully fending off the vast majority of the millions of attacks aimed at military networks every day, he added.

In addition, he said, the cyber-forces could gather intelligence and were developing the ability to carry out hack attacks in support of more traditional military operations.

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Nokia backs 3D printing for phones

18 January 2013 Last updated at 08:22 ET

Nokia is releasing design files that will let owners use 3D printers to make their own cases for its Lumia phones

Files containing mechanical drawings, case measurements and recommended materials have already been released by the phone maker.

Those using the files will be able to create a custom-designed case for the flagship Lumia 820 handset.

The project makes Nokia one of the first big electronics firms to seriously back 3D printing.

In a blogpost, John Kneeland, one of Nokia's community managers, revealed the Finnish phone maker's decision to release the 3D drawings.

Printing in 3D involves sending a design file to a printer that then forms a solid version of that object by slowly building it up in layers of plastic. Early 3D printers could only work in one colour but the latest versions can produce intricate, multicoloured objects.

Industrial sequel

Mr Kneeland said Nokia was releasing what he called a "3D printing development kit" to help people produce the cases. The files are already available on the site Nokia maintains for its developers.

He said 3D printing was another way that the firm wanted to build links to that vast community of software and hardware engineers. To get the files, users must have registered with Nokia.

He said Nokia already used 3D printing internally to do rapid prototyping, but decided to back it more publicly to help the nascent technology realise its "incredible potential".

In the future, he said, 3D printing was likely to bring about phones that were "wildly more modular and customisable".

Nokia might just end up selling a phone template, he said, allowing entrepreneurs to use that to produce handsets that satisfy the particular needs of their locale.

"You want a waterproof, glow-in-the-dark phone with a bottle-opener and a solar charger? Someone can build it for you - or you can print it yourself," he wrote.

He added that, in his view, 3D printing was a technology that justified its hype and said it was "the sequel to the Industrial Revolution".

"However, it's going to take somewhat longer to arrive than some people anticipate, and that may disappoint people," he said.

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Dotcom starts new file-sharing site

20 January 2013 Last updated at 11:02 ET

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Inside the life of controversial internet tycoon Kim Dotcom

Megaupload boss Kim Dotcom has set up a new cloud storage and file-sharing site.

Mega, a web-based service that lets people upload and store files of any kind, is a sequel to the Megaupload system that was shut down last January.

Police raids on the offices and home of Kim Dotcom led to the closure of Megaupload.

The Mega site went online on Sunday, followed by a lavish launch party held at Mr Dotcom's New Zealand mansion.

Mr Dotcom, who was born Kim Schmitz, has said the new site complies with the law and warned that attempts to take it down would be futile.

"This is not some kind of finger to the US government or to Hollywood," he said on Saturday.

"Legally, there's just nothing there that could be used to shut us down. This site is just as legitimate and has the right to exist as Dropbox, Boxnet and other competitors."

Extradition hearing

Hours after the site was launched, Mr Dotcom tweeted that it had received 250,000 user registrations, although limited server capacity meant Mega was unreachable to many.

In a series of earlier tweets Mr Dotcom said every customer would have 50 gigabytes of free storage - far more than is offered by rival services such as Dropbox or Microsoft's SkyDrive.

Mega will be encrypted so only those who upload data have access to it.

Data is also being held in the cloud to make it easy for users to get and share files.

The 2012 raids on Megaupload were carried out because, said US law enforcement, many users of Megaupload were engaged in pirating content and illegally sharing it.

They accused Mr Dotcom, and other managers at Megaupload of profiting from piracy.

At the launch party for Mega, Mr Dotcom made light of the incident, re-enacting the raid on his mansion by New Zealand authorities with a helicopter and actors dressed as armed police.

He has rebuffed the accusations of piracy and is fighting a legal battle to stay in New Zealand from where he ran Megaupload.

A hearing on whether he can be extradited to the US has now been delayed until August.

The case has generated controversy in New Zealand over the way the police and intelligence services gathered evidence before the raid and won an apology to Mr Dotcom from the country's prime minister.

Mr Dotcom has also won support from prominent computer pioneers such as Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.

The raid on Megaupload put 25 petabytes of data uploaded to it by its 50 million members into a legal limbo.

In one message, Mr Dotcom said he was working with lawyers and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which campaigns on digital rights issues, to get access to that seized data and return it to users.

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Web 're-defining' human identities

21 January 2013 Last updated at 01:00 ET By Pallab Ghosh Science correspondent, BBC News

Social networks such as Facebook and on-line gaming are changing people's view of who they are and their place in the world, according to a report for the government's chief scientist.

The report, published by Prof Sir John Beddington, says that traditional ideas of identity will be less meaningful.

One consequence could be communities becoming less cohesive.

This change could be harnessed to bring positive changes or if ignored could fuel social exclusion, says the study.

"This can be a positive force, exemplified by the solidarity seen in the London 2012 Olympics or a destructive force, for example the 2011 riots," says the report.

"Due to the development of smart phones, social networks and the trend towards (greater) connectivity disparate groups can be more easily mobilised where their interests temporarily coincide."

"For example," it says, "a 'flash mob' can be mobilised between people who have not previously met".

The report, entitled "Future Identities," says that near continuous access to the internet, termed "hyper-connectivity", will drive profound changes to society over the next 10 years.

'Hyper-connectivity'

Prof Beddington commissioned the study as part of the Government Office for Science's Foresight programme - the influential Foresight reports look ahead to highlight emerging trends in science and technology with a view to informing policies across government departments.

Continue reading the main story

The internet can allow many people to realise their identities more fully"

End Quote Foresight report

"The most dynamic trend (in determining identity) is hyper-connectivity," Prof Beddington told BBC News.

"The collection and use of data by government and the private sector, the balancing of individual rights and liberties against privacy and security and the issue of how to tackle social exclusion, will be affected by these trends," he said. "I hope the evidence in today's report will contribute to the policy making process."

This latest report on identity undertook 20 separate reviews in which leading UK and international experts assessed research in computer science, criminology and social sciences.

It states that the changing nature of identities will have substantial implications for what is meant by communities and by social integration. The study shows that traditional elements that shape a person's identity, such as their religion, ethnicity, job and age are less important than they once were.

Instead, particularly among younger people, their view of themselves is shaped increasingly by on-line interactions of social networks and on online role playing games.

The study found that far from creating superficial or fantasy identities that some critics suggest, in many cases it allowed people to escape the preconceptions of those immediately around them and find their "true" identity. This is especially true of disabled people who told researchers that online gaming enabled them to socialise on an equal footing with others.

"The internet can allow many people to realise their identities more fully, " the authors write. "Some people who have been shy or lonely or feel less attractive discover they can socialise more successfully and express themselves more freely online".

The report points out that in 2011, 60% of internet users were members of a social network site, a huge surge in usage, up 43% from 2007. Consequently, it says that there may greater political activism using these networks as was seen in the revolution in Tunisia and the mobilisation of dissent in Egypt and Libya.

There will also be a blurring of work and social identities as photos and details of people's personal lives become increasingly public on social networking sites. The report cites a hypothetical example of how a young person was denied promotion because her employer found drunken photos of her from her university days.

The report says that as the distinction between online and real world identities diminishes criminals are likely to try and exploit the many new forms of interlinked data relating people's identities and from social media and professional and financial websites in order to steal identities.

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N Korea allows foreign mobile use

21 January 2013 Last updated at 01:46 ET

Foreign visitors to North Korea are for the first time being allowed to take their own mobile phones with them into the country, according to reports.

Previously, all foreigners had to leave their mobiles at the border and collect them when they left.

Visitors can now buy a SIM card at the airport, which will let them make international calls. But they cannot make local calls or go online.

Most North Koreans have limited or no access to the internet.

China's state news agency, Xinhua, said the changes had been in place since 7 January this year.

A report of phones being allowed in came from a China-based tour group, Young Pioneer Tours.

A spokesman said they had been preparing to hand over their mobiles as they entered North Korea, but a border guard simply asked whether the devices were equipped with GPS and then indicated they should carry them through regardless of the answer.

"He just motioned for us to put them in our bags. Zero explanation," said the company's managing director, Gareth Johnson.

Mr Johnson said his North Korean counterparts later confirmed that this was "a new policy".

An Associated Press report out of Pyongyang said the SIM cards would also allow foreigners to contact foreign embassies in Pyongyang and international hotels.

Schmidt visit

North Korea's mobile network is run by a joint state-owned and Egyptian company, Koryolink.

An Egyptian employee of Koryolink told Xinhua the new policy was a result of talks between the company and North Korean officials.

He said internet services would soon be made available to foreign visitors, adding that there was no technical issue preventing this.

But he dismissed speculation that it was connected to the recent visit to North Korea by the head of Google, Eric Schmidt.

Mr Schmidt visited North Korea in early January, though after the new policy is reported to have come into effect.

He urged North Korea to end its self-imposed isolation and allow its citizens to use the internet.

It is believed that only the elite in the country have access to the internet - few people have access to a computer and those that do can usually only access a domestic web service and not the internet.

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Slowdown looms for smartphone users

21 January 2013 Last updated at 05:55 ET

Operators will be unable to keep up with smartphone users' growing demand for data on the move, a report warns.

On average, iPhone, Android or Windows Phone handset owners consumed 35 times more data traffic than a typical phone user, said the annual Deloitte report.

And this would contribute to a 50-fold growth in wireless traffic by 2016.

The bandwidth crunch would not mean users failing to connect at all, the report added, but mobile networks would suffer "rush hours" just like roads do.

During these times, it might take two or three attempts to connect, there would be three or four times as many dropped calls, web pages may freeze and browsing speeds would be much reduced, the report said.

"In the worst situations, download speeds may be under 1Mbps for lengthy periods of time, making video streaming impossible and even web browsing difficult," it said.

Many governments had seen the crunch coming, said the report, and had freed radio spectrum they were now auctioning off to help operators cope.

But these auctions were relatively rare and governments often asked that the spectrum be put to a specific use, such as serving rural areas, rather than just to lighten the load on the busiest parts of a network.

Fourth generation (4G) networks would also speed the passage of data, as they were much more efficient at using available bandwidth, said the report.

But it added: "Demand for wireless bandwidth will likely attempt to outstrip these improvements in supply for at least several years.

"Major metropolitan areas in some geographies should expect to see continued deterioration in end-user experience."

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Atari Inc. files for bankruptcy

21 January 2013 Last updated at 07:56 ET

The US operations of Atari have filed for bankruptcy protection.

The maker of the ground-breaking video game Pong is seeking to separate from its loss making French parent Atari SA.

Atari Inc, together with Atari Interactive Inc, Humongous Inc. and California US Holdings Inc. want to secure independent funding to develop digital and mobile games.

Atari said in December it was looking to raise cash and was talking to investors.

In a statement, the companies said, "with this move the US based Atari operations seek to separate from the structural financial encumbrances of their French parent holding company, Atari SA".

Atari SA, formerly known as Infogrames SA has been struggling financially for years.

The US operations of Atari have shifted their business from retail games to digital games in recent times and have become a growth engine for Atari SA.

"The Chapter 11 process constitutes the most strategic option for Atari's US operations as they look to preserve their inherent value and unlock revenue potential unrealized while under the control of Atari SA," the statement said.

Atari's Pong was an arcade game credited with helping kick-start the multi-billion pound video games industry but more recent titles include 'Centipede', 'Missile Command' and Rollercoaster Tycoon'.

Neither Atari SA or Atari Inc. were available for comment.

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Codebreaking contest has record year

21 January 2013 Last updated at 08:13 ET By Zoe Kleinman Technology reporter, BBC News

A team from City of London School has been named the winner of a national codebreaking competition.

In total 6,268 pupils from 725 British schools took part in the National Cypher Challenge at the end of 2012.

Previous years have seen 200 teams take part but this year 1,600 teams signed up to decode a series of cryptic codes released online.

The event was organised by Southampton University with support from GCHQ and commercial partners.

The competition was only for UK schools but teams from Tokyo, Bangkok, Florida and Honolulu also applied to take part.

It ran over a period of two months, with codes of increasing difficulty being issued periodically on the internet for school teams to crack, explained Prof Graham Niblo, organiser of the contest and head of mathematics at Southampton University.

While 1,600 teams signed up for the challenge only 30 managed to complete every level, he said.

Cypher secrets

"We started with a Caesar cypher, which is the most basic cypher that everybody learns at school. We ended with a Trifid cypher - the most difficult one this year," he told the BBC.

A Caesar cypher is decoded by substituting the letters in a code with others further down the alphabet. For example, an A becomes a C, a B becomes a D and so on.

Continue reading the main story

Teachers tell me the children find it very gripping and engaging"

End Quote Prof Graham Niblo National Cypher Challenge

A Trifid cypher is a complex combination of both an advanced version of the Caesar cypher and anagrams, where words are jumbled.

"It is the longest it has ever taken for the winners to decode any of our cyphers. This year they had to think quite hard about it," said Prof Niblo.

He added that it was very difficult for contestants to cheat.

"We did catch a couple of people trying to get help online. We tracked them down and warned them off," he said.

"The last cypher was not a standard cypher, and we modified it so they couldn't use any standard decryption software."

The winning team - Samson Danziger, Daniel Hu, Anthony Landau and Charlie Hu - cracked the Trifid code in 44 hours and 20 minutes. They will receive a £1,000 prize from GCHQ.

In second place was Andrew Carlotti from Sir Roger Manwood's School in Kent and a team from King Edward VII School in Sheffield came third.

The top 50 runners-up will also receive Raspberry Pi computers.

Competition history

The National Cypher Challenge is now in its 11th year.

Foreign Secretary William Hague MP launched the competition at codebreaking museum Bletchley Park in October 2012, as part of three GCHQ initiatives aimed at attracting young people into maths and computer science.

"Teachers tell me the children find it very gripping and engaging," said Prof Niblo.

"A number of them worked on it at home or went along to maths clubs they wouldn't usually attend."

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