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Out in the Open: Teenage Hacker Transforms Web Into One Giant Bitcoin Network

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Most people think of bitcoin as a form of money, if they think of bitcoin at all. But 19-year-old hacker Vitalik Buterin sees it as something more much more. He sees it as a new way of building just about any internet application.

The bitcoin digital currency is driven by open source software that runs across thousands of machines around the globe. Borrowing code from this rather clever piece of software, independent hackers have already built applications such as the Twitter-style social network Twister, the encrypted e-mail alternative Bitmessage, and the unseizable domain name system Namecoin. But Buterin believes that many other applications can benefit from the genius of the bitcoin software, and thats why hes joining forces with several other hackers to create something called Ethereum.

Buterin believes so many other applications can benefit from the genius of the bitcoin software, and thats why he has joined forces with several other hackers to create something called Ethereum.

He envisions Ethereum as an online service that lets you build practically anything in the image of bitcoin and run it across a worldwide network of machines. At its core, bitcoin is a way of reliably storing and moving digital objects or pieces of information. Today, it stores and moves money, but Buterin believes the same basic system could give rise to a new breed of social networks, data storage systems and securities markets all operated without the help of a central authority.

Born in Russia and raised in Canada, Buterin was interested in mathematics and computer science from an early age. But when he first stumbled on to bitcoin in 2011, it didnt grab him. I ignored it, he says. I thought it had no intrinsic value, so it had to fail.

But, over the next few weeks, he grew curious about this unusual creation. He received his first bitcoins as payment for articles written for a site called Bitcoin Weekly, where he was paid five bitcoins per article, the equivalent of $3.75 at the time. It was my first ever real job, and it paid around $1.30 per hour, he says. He kept writing about the digital currency in the pages of Bitcoin Magazine and other pubs. Then, in 2013, just as he was about to lose interest in the thing, the price of bitcoin skyrocketed.

Deciding that bitcoin was going to be a much bigger deal than most people realized, he dropped out of university and started traveling the world, jumping from bitcoin meetup to bitcoin meetup and contributing to various open source projects. Ethereum is the result of all those conversations and software experiments.

Ethereum wont use the peer-to-peer network that bitcoin runs on, nor will it use the same software. Instead, Buterin and his team are building a completely new system that will run atop its own network. But the project borrows heavily from the ideas behind the bitcoin software.

All bitcoin transactions, for instance, are stored in a massive public ledger called the blockchain. This is a type of encrypted database, and you can use it to power other applications as weve seen with Twister and BitMessage. Ethereum will feed still more applications through something similar to the blockchain, and it will offer a stripped-down version of the Python programming language known as Ethereum Script thats specifically designed for building these blockchain-based applications.

As with bitcoin, the network that underpins Ethereum will be powered by machines donated by the people of the world, and to encourage donations, the system will allow these machines to collect fees from developers who build and run an applications atop the network. In similar fashion, bitcoin shares its money with those who run the machines driving its network.

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Out in the Open: Teenage Hacker Transforms Web Into One Giant Bitcoin Network

50 top US cyber security experts write open letter calling for end to NSA ‘snoop-ops’

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Washington, Jan. 25 : Experts in the fields of computer science, security and cryptography have reportedly published an open letter calling for an end to the National Security Agency's alleged mass surveillance programmes.

The letter states, 'every country must give intelligence and law-enforcement authorities the means to pursue terrorists and criminals, but we can do so without fundamentally undermining the security that enables commerce, entertainment, personal communication, and other aspects of 21st-century life.'

According to Cnet, more than 50 big names, including former chief technologists for the Federal Trade Commission, Edward Felten, Bellovin, director of the International Association for Cryptologic Research, Shai Halevi and researchers from MIT, Georgia Tech, Carnegie-Mellon, Princeton, Yale, Harvard, and a raft of other respected universities have signed the letter.

The alleged programmes were exposed by a former contractor of the agency, Edward Snowden, who has been charged with espionage by the US for the revelations that brought forth the extent of indiscriminate government surveillance on innocent citizens.

The report said that the NSA bypassed common web encryption methods for carrying out its surveillance activities, including hacking into the servers of private companies to steal encryption keys.

In their letter, the security experts have pointed out the alleged snoop-ops have not only compromised privacy of citizens but it also poses a threat to the US technology sector.

The researchers have urged the US government to subject all mass-surveillance activities to public scrutiny and to resist the deployment of mass-surveillance programs in advance of sound technical and social controls, the report added.

--ANI (Posted on 26-01-2014)

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50 top US cyber security experts write open letter calling for end to NSA 'snoop-ops'

» About PVT. Manning Private Manning Support Network

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If you had free reign over classified networks and you saw incredible things, awful things things that belonged in the public domain, and not on some server stored in a dark room in Washington DC what would you do?

God knows what happens now. Hopefully worldwide discussion, debates, and reforms I want people to see the truth because without information, you cannot make informed decisions as a public.

-Quotes from an online chat attributed to PVT Manning

The trial of military whistle-blower and democracy advocate PVT Chelsea Manning (known as Bradley Manning untilher Aug 22, 2013 announcement)finished on August 21st. After a prosecution which starkly showcased US government officials misplaced priorities when it comes to human rights, Army whistleblower PVT Manning was sentenced to 35 years in prison. This case sets a dangerous precedent for the first amendment, opening whistle-blowers and those who help them to extreme prosecution. However, as we enter the appeals process, [Chelsea] Mannings story is far from over.

The information that Manning gave to the public exposed the unjust detainment of innocent people at Guantanamo Bay, shown us the true human cost of our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and changed journalism forever. There is no evidence that anyone died as a result of the leaked information. Through WikiLeaks Manning revealed:

Read more about what was revealed in these documents.

For her actions, PVT Manning has received the following honors and awards:Sam Adams Award (2014) Sam Adams Associates for Integrity in Intelligence Sean Macbride Peace Prize(2013) International Peace Bureau In His Footsteps Award (2013)- Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club Nobel Peace Prize nominee (2014, 2013 & 2012) Movement of the Icelandic Parliament, Oklahoma Center for Conscience and Peace Research, and former Nobel Laureate Mairead Maguire Person of the Year (2012)- UK Guardian 2013 Peace Prize US Peace Memorial Foundation Peacemaker of the Year (2013) The Peace & Justice Center of Sonoma County Hero of Peace Award (2013) Eisenhower Chapter of Veterans for Peace SF Trans March Award (2013) San Francisco Trans March SF Pride Grand Marshal Runner-Up (2013) SF LGBT Pride former Grand Marshals Peoples Choice Human Rights Award (2012)- Global Exchange

More About the Trial On July 30, 2013, PVT Manning was found not guilty of the most serious charge against her, that of Aiding the Enemy. However, she was convicted of 20 offenses, including 6 under the Espionage Act. On August 21, 2013 she was sentenced by military judge Col. Denise Lind to 35 years in prison -less than the 60 years requested by the government, yet still an unusually harsh sentence for a non-violent crime. The New York Times Editorial Board published the following in response:

35 years is far too long a sentence by any standard. In more than two weeks of hearings, government lawyers presented vague and largely speculative claims that Private Mannings leaks had endangered lives and chilled diplomatic relations. On the other hand, much of what Private Manning released was of public value

Human Rights Watch general council Dinah PoKempner stated that:

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» About PVT. Manning Private Manning Support Network

Edward Snowden NSA leaker asks for extra security after receiving death threats from US officials !! – Video

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Edward Snowden NSA leaker asks for extra security after receiving death threats from US officials !!
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Edward Snowden NSA leaker asks for extra security after receiving death threats from US officials !! - Video

Snowden Says Whistle-Blower Law Gaps Preclude Return

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Edward Snowden, the former government contractor who exposed secret intelligence programs, said he wont return to the U.S. because of gaps in federal whistle-blower laws that he said would leave him unprotected.

Snowden, who fled to Hong Kong and then to Russia after leaking classified documents on the governments Internet and telephone data spy programs, said Congress needs to broaden the Whistleblower Protection Act so that national security contractors can more easily fight for changes from within the intelligence system.

Returning to the U.S., I think, is the best resolution for the government, the public, and myself, but its unfortunately not possible in the face of current whistle-blower protection laws, Snowden wrote yesterday in an Internet question-and-answer session.

While the authenticity of Snowdens identity couldnt be independently verified, two advocates who have advised Snowden - - Jesselyn Radack of the Government Accountability Project and Ben Wizner of the American Civil Liberties Union -- said by e-mail they could confirm Snowdens participation.

The session was conducted by the Courage Foundation, which describes itself as a trust formed to help defend journalistic sources such as Snowden, who gave classified National Security Agency documents to media organizations including the U.K.-based Guardian newspaper and The Washington Post.

It marked at least the second time that Snowden has used an Internet chat to communicate with the public about his efforts to change U.S. surveillance laws. A similar session was conducted in June on the Guardians website.

Some members of Congress, including House Speaker John Boehner, an Ohio Republican, have called Snowden a traitor for disclosing intelligence programs meant to prevent terrorism.

Snowden, 30, faces charges of theft and espionage and is in Russia on temporary asylum. Attorney General Eric Holder said yesterday that if Snowden wanted to return to the U.S. and plead guilty, prosecutors would be willing to negotiate.

Weve always indicated that clemency for Snowden is off the table, Holder said during a forum at the University of Virginia. Were he to come back to the United States and enter a plea, we would engage with his lawyers.

Snowden yesterday defended his actions as an act of civil disobedience and said hes aware of threats that have been made against his life.

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Snowden Says Whistle-Blower Law Gaps Preclude Return


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