Weekly Axis Of Easy #16
This is your #AxisOfEasy Weekly Briefing for the week of September 11, 2017, wherein easyCEO Mark E. Jeftovic sends out a short briefing on the state of the ‘net and how it affects your business, security and privacy.
Sorry for the lag between issues! I was traveling. First I was in London, UK, to take part in the first annual Ethereum Name Service (ENS) Workshop, which I will be blogging about this week; and then on vacay.
In this issue:
- Equifax data breach exposes millions of customers data
- How the CIA made Google
- Should Registrars regulate? Tough times for White Supremacist websites
- easyDNS refuses service to DailyStormer domain
Equifax data breach exposes millions of customers data
Equifax revealed one of the most ruinous data breaches of the year. With potentially as many as 143 million customer records at risk, including social security numbers, credit cards and other personal data, the breach is unique in that many of those affected never directly opted-in to a relationship with the firm as their credit details were routinely reported to them by third parties.
The intrusion is suspected to have occurred via a vulnerability in the Apache Struts framework (CVE-2017-9805). The Apache foundation has issued this statement regarding the situation.
Parenthetically a few additional eyebrows where raised when it came to light that three senior Equifax executives, including the CFO; dumped a pile of their Equifax shares after the breach was discovered but before the company announced it publicly.
Investigative journalist Nafeez Ahmed posted an exhaustively documented expose about Google’s early stage funding and its ties to the U.S intelligence community.
It’s a long read, but worth it.
Tough times for White Supremacist websites
A few weeks ago Godaddy opened a big can of worms when it terminated service to The Daily Stormer, a website run by and for white supremacists, citing Terms of Service violations after they published an inexcusable hatchet job about the victim of the vehicular homicide in the Charlottetown rally.
The Daily Stormer began a long bouncing around phase where they lurched from provider to provider (Google, Tucows, Dreamhost, Russia) each time being terminated, before setting up shop on the dark web.
Concurrently, Network Solutions also terminated Stormfront, one of the web’s oldest white power sites.
Aside from being asked our opinion about whether “Technology Companies Should Police the Web” in this Globe and Mail article, no sleep was lost over the plight of these sites here at easyDNS.
And then…
easyDNS refuses service to DailyStormer domain
On Sept 8, we received an email from the founder of The Daily Stormer if we would allow his website to move over to easyDNS.
We said “no” and we blogged about it here.
There ensued a vigorous discussion on Reddit, and on Hackernews over whether we’re acting in a manner consistent with our track record and stated core values, which include the right to free speech.
We believe we’ve exhaustively rebutted all criticisms in this matter. To sum it all up, allowing a site such as the Daily Stormer onto our platform was never a “free speech” issue. They can say whatever they want, but we are under no obligation to enter into a business relationship with them (or anybody) in order to provide them the means with which to say it. That’s not our problem, it’s theirs.
Our top priority is always to look out for our existing customers, act in a way consistent with our internal moral compass and at the end of the day be able to look at ourselves in the mirror. We think we’ve done that here, but as always if you have any questions or concerns about it, feel free to weigh in on the blog comments.
I have been thinking more about the planned blockchain and disruptive technology newsletter over the summer. Reply to this email if you’re interested
Previously on #AxisOfEasy
If you missed the previous issues, they can be read online here:
- July 31, 2017: RIP Flash, Adobe To Kill Prolific Security Nightmare
- July 24, 2017: Cops: “You Cannot Hide On The Dark Web”
- July 17, 2017: New Ransomewanre Will Share Your Browser History
- July 10, 2017: China Shuts Down Access To Popular VPN Services
- July 4, 2017: Freedom Of Speech Ends Where Criminal Law Begins
Regards,
Mark E. Jeftovic
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