Almost entire population of Ecuador has online data leaked

Yahoo – AFP, September 16, 2019

The security company vpnMentor uncovered a data breach on the server run
by the firm Novaestrat, which included Ecuadoran citizens' full names, dates
and places of birth, education levels, phone numbers and national identity card
numbers (AFP Photo/Philippe HUGUEN)

Quito (AFP) - Almost the entire population of Ecuador had their personal data leaked online, security experts said Monday, a massive breach that the government called a "very delicate" issue.

An estimated 17 million people, including almost seven million minors and children, had their data exposed by a breach on an unsecured server run by an Ecuadorean marketing and analytics firm.

"The information that I can share with you at this moment is that this is a very delicate issue, it is a major concern for the whole of the government and the state," said Interior Minister Maria Paula Romo.

The security company vpnMentor uncovered the breach on the server run by the firm Novaestrat, which included citizens' full names, dates and places of birth, education levels, phone numbers and national identity card numbers.

ZDNet, the cybersecurity website that first reported the breach, said there was even data on the country's president and on Julian Assange, the Wikileaks founder who applied for asylum in Ecuador and who spent years holed up in the country's London embassy before being arrested this year by British police.

As part of his application for asylum, Assange was issued with an Ecuadoran identity card.

The security company contacted Ecuador's Computer Emergency Response Team to secure the leaked data, ZDNet said.

Romo said the government was "working on an investigation which will permit us in the coming hours to assess who is responsible for what happened."

"I hope, too, that in the hours to come, the telecommunications ministry will be able to assess more thoroughly technical information about data protection," she said.

VIDEO: Restricted internet access doesn't stop young YouTubers in Cuba... even if it means working from outdoor public areas - the only place where they can access Wi-Fi - to passing their content across the island through a USB stick

VIDEO: Restricted internet access doesn't stop young YouTubers in Cuba... even if it means working from outdoor public areas - the only place where they can access Wi-Fi - to passing their content across the island through a USB stick pic.twitter.com/CtStDNkCrf

— AFP news agency (@AFP) March 13, 2018

Cuban town hooked on pirate social network

Yahoo – AFP, Alexandre GROSBOIS, May 9, 2017

The small Cuban town of Gaspar is one of the most connected spots in one
of the least wired countries on Earth (AFP Photo/ADALBERTO ROQUE)

Gaspar (Cuba) (AFP) - On a traffic island in a country town, young Cubans are doing what most of their compatriots cannot: surfing an online social network.

In one of the least wired countries on Earth, Gaspar, population 7,500, is one of the most connected towns of all.

Illegally, but with the grudging tolerance of the authorities, four local techies have launched "Gaspar Social" -- rural Cuba's answer to Facebook.

"I think it's wonderful what these lads here in Gaspar have done. It was a healthy change for a town that had rather lost its spark," says Arletty Guerra, 22, one of the locals thumbing her smartphone.

More than that, Gaspar Social's promoters hope it will lead the rest of the communist island to greater connectivity.

Social networking

Most Cubans must pay a $1.50 an hour to connect via state telecom firm Etecsa's wifi points. Users of Gaspar Social do not.

Though they cannot access the world wide web via Gaspar Social, they can share photos and videos with other users in the town.

The four creators of the Gaspar Social network in Cuba hope that it will lead 

the rest of the communist island to greater connectivity (AFP Photo/

ADALBERTO ROQUE)

It opened to the general public in October -- two months before Etecsa installed the town's first official wifi hotspot.

"In the beginning it was a network just for playing video games," says one of its creators, municipal computer technician Osmani Montero, 23.

"Then we opened it to all the people in Gaspar and the number of users grew hugely in just a month."

Extra capacity

Yoandi Alvarez, 30, a medical student, raised money to buy the first aerial and server for the network.

"The antenna was near my house," he recalls. "There were users at two or three o'clock in the morning sitting in the doorway to get online, covered in quilts and blankets."

Some 500 of the town's 7,500 inhabitants have started using Gaspar Social.

The team had to buy four extra relay antennas to handle the large number of users.

To the chat and file-sharing functions it has added a news page -- with state-authorized stories only.

Cuba's Gaspar Social started as a network for playing video games and has 

developed into a local version of Facebook (AFP Photo/ADALBERTO ROQUE)

Not-so-wide web

Cuba's government has been gradually opening up the economy over the past decade. It has said it aims to provide internet access to all Cubans by 2020.

But the online revolution has been slow in coming.

In a country of 11 million people, there are just 317 public wifi hotspots.

Only selected groups such as scientists, journalists and doctors are allowed to have internet access in their homes.

Small-scale local projects like Gaspar's "offer an alternative given Cuba's infrastructure problems," which prevent many homes from getting online, says Yudivian Almeida, a computing specialist at Havana University.

If just one home has an internet cable, using wireless technology "a whole network can be generated" for neighboring homes to get online, he says.

Got a permit?

Gaspar Social is one of about 30 local networks launched by young amateurs in Cuba in recent years.

In a small Cuban town some 500 people from a population of 7,500 use 

"Gaspar Social," an illegal but tolerated answer to Facebook (AFP Photo/

ADALBERTO ROQUE)

They are unlicensed but the communist authorities tolerate them as long as they do not venture into politics or pornography.

Gaspar Social's founders were called in last month after the network's success came to the attention of the ruling Communist Party.

They thought they were going to get shut down -- but the officials gave them instructions on applying for a permit, raising hopes that the state may authorize projects like theirs.

"They made it clear our network was illegal," Alvarez says. "But they said they wouldn't be taking our antennas down."

Cuba's new wifi hotspots attract eager users

Yahoo – AFP, 3 July 2015

Cubans use their mobile devices to connect to the Internet via wifi in

a street of Havana, on July 2, 2015 (AFP Photo/Yamil Lage)

Havana (AFP) - Near the popular Hotel Habana Libre in Cuba's capital, a gaggle of young people on cellphones, tablets and laptops log onto the new wifi hotspot -- a small milestone in one of the least connected countries.

Sitting on the sidewalks, low-rise walls, or makeshift seats, several dozen people sign in at the public access wifi zone, part of the government's plan to roll out Internet access across the Communist island nation.

President Raul Castro's government has said it wants all Cubans to have Internet access by 2020.

And last month, it announced plan to open 35 public wifi sites in 16 cities, pledging to halve the price to go online.

In order to access the network, users are asked to open an account with the state-owned Etecsa company for $1.50 and pay an hourly connection fee.

Since 2013, Cuba has had about 150 public Internet cafes where users can go online for the hourly rate.

But the price is steep in a country where the average salary is $20 a month.

Only 3.4 percent of Cuban households had access to the network in 2013, one of the lowest figures in the world, according to the International Telecommunication Union.

US President Barack Obama has named increased Internet access for the island as one of the goals of the historic thaw between Washington and Havana announced last December.

African nations face dilemma over digital switch

The UN has set June as the deadline for moving from analog to digital transmission. Only a few African countries seem prepared for the change. Even the largest television markets on the continent are lagging behind.

Deutsche Welle, 23 Feb 2015

A group of people stands near three large satellite dishes in a rural area.
Photo: John Hrusa epa dpa

Staring at a blank TV screen has become a reality for most Kenyans, and many other African TV viewers could face the same fate come June 17. That is the deadline set by the UN's International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for television programs to be transmitted only digitally.

After the deadline, satellite dishes and antennas will receive their signals via a different technology. Theoretically, it will be possible to receive many more channels and enjoy improved image quality.

There is a story behind Kenya's black screens. President Uhuru Kenyatta's government ordered a consortium of four major television networks to be blocked from broadcasting in analog. This happened after they refused to change their signals to digital. The media houses argued that they were not ready yet, and now they are in court trying to push for one hundred more days to prepare for the digital transition.

Apart from Nigeria and South Africa, Kenya is one of the largest television markets in Africa.

The Standard Group,one of Kenya's leading media house, says
it needs more time for the switchover

All three countries are not ready for the switchover, says Mike Jensen, an IT specialist with the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) based in South Africa. "The Kenyan situation is probably the worst-case scenario on the continent; South Africa is pretty close," Jensen said. "In Nigeria, only one state has made the switch," Jensen told DW.

Nationwide coverage after the switchover to digital broadcasting is by no means ensured in African countries. As in Kenya, it is often about money. The change is costly for governments and citizens alike, the APC states on its website, which seeks to create an awareness of the issue.

Television viewers will usually need a decoder, which costs about $50 (44 euros), to decode the digital signal. Moreover, television companies will have to dig deep into their pockets to be able to broadcast their programs using the new technology.

Tanzania a digital model

Vera Moses, a Tanzanian viewer, says she is happy with the digital reception. "The quality of the pictures is good," she told DW in an interview.

Tanzania is one of three countries that has already largely switched to wide-band Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB). "In Dar es Salaam we already switched off analog transmission at the end of 2012," John Nkoma, the director of Tanzania's Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA), told DW. Most cities are now receiving programs via DVB-T, which is terrestrial digital broadcasting via antenna. The remote parts of Tanzania receive broadcasts via satellite.

Dar es Salaam has already gone digital

It took some persuasion to convince citizens and businesses of the merits of the new system, Nkoma said, as he revealed two secrets to Tanzania's success: Firstly, decoders were taxed less. "The price for the decoders is artificially low," Nkoma said, "so they have become affordable." Tanzanians can get a decoder for $30.

Secondly, user habits were taken into consideration. "The public was used to free-to-air channels, so we required that in the digital broadcasting platform there would be the five popular channels of this country and those would be available as free channels." Viewers whose subscriptions expire would have these five channels to fall back on.

Market interests

But according to APC's Mike Jensen, that is not the whole story. Tanzania and neighboring Rwanda had forced the switchover on the public by shutting off the analog signal. Of course, there were citizens in both countries who simply could not afford the necessary equipment, Jensen said.

He thinks governments should guarantee a realistic compensation for the costs. The price of a decoder, Jensen said, was also a big issue in Mauritius. The government ordered large amounts of cheap decoders from China. Many of which had defects.

Satellite transmission is also to be digitalized

Jensen also does not understand the date the ITU has chosen. He estimates that by then only six countries may succeed in formally completing the switchover.

Germany has already changed to digital broadcasting, and so have most of the other industrialized nations. But Latin America has planned the switchover for as late as 2020.

Jensen says African telecommunications companies pushed for the early date for Africa. These companies, he said, were the only ones to profit from such a date, because they wanted to monopolize television broadcasting.

German company revels in World Cup controversy

Yahoo – AFP, Celine Le Prioux, 17 June 2014

A picture taken on June 11, 2014 in Sao Paulo shows a GoalControl camera

 at the Arena Corinthians Stadium, on the eve of the opening match of the 2014

FIFA World Cup in Brazil (AFP Photo/Francois Xavier Marit)

Berlin (AFP) - The company that created the hi-tech cameras which ruled on a World Cup goal for the first time on Sunday is happily anticipating involvement in a growing number of football controversies, but not in its German home market.

GoalControl, which aims 14 cameras at the two goals in each World Cup match and produces 500 computer generated 3-D images in a split second, was called into action for the first time in France's 3-0 Group E win over Honduras.

This is football and even the way the technology worked caused arguments. But GoalControl, only set up in 2012, is enjoying its moment in the spotlight.

"The World Cup is of course an international showcase which will significantly increase demand for goal-line technology in general and our system in particular," company chief Dirk Broichhausen told AFP.

In the match, Karim Benzema's shot cannoned off a post and then hit Honduras goalkeeper Noel Valladares and went over the line.

The computer gave two judgements which were flashed onto the stadium screen. The ball was not over the line when it rebounded off the post, it said. Some fans thought that was the end of the matter.

Then it said that there was a goal after the ball hit Valladares.

FIFA said Monday they will modify the way decisions are communicated to fans. Delia Fischer, a spokeswoman for football's governing body, said the "unique" nature of the incident -- the ball striking a post and rebounding into the Honduran goalkeeper -- had caused the confusion.

GoalControl which has 40 staff and is based in the small western town of Wuerselen wants to use the incident to play in the big league.

The system, under which referees receive a vibration and an optical signal on their watches in less than one second, was put in place for the Confederations Cup in Brazil last year. But there was no controversy to test.

The company surprisingly beat three rivals, Cairos GLT System and GoalRef, which works with a chip in the ball, and Sony's Hawk-Eye, a camera-based system now used by the English Premier League.

Goal-line technology was first used in the 2012 FIFA Club World Cup when the Hawk-Eye and GoalRef systems were tested. But again there was no contentious goal to rule on.

"We are convinced that goal-line technology will emerge in Europe's most important professional football leagues but also worldwide in coming years," predicted Broichhausen, a passionate football fan, in an email to AFP.

For now, however, Germany is resisting. Germany's 36 first and second division clubs voted in March to reject the precision technology.

The debate was revived two months later, however, in the German Cup final. The referee failed to grant a valid goal to Borussia Dortmund against arch-rivals Bayern Munich, who won in extra time.

Broichhausen said GoalControl costs about 200,000 euros ($270,000) for each stadium.

The company chief did not want to comment on the turnover generated by his business, but German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung recently put GoalControl sales at just less than 10 million euros.

Related Article:

Goal-line technology tweak after France-Honduras confusion

Goal-line technology tweak after France-Honduras confusion

Yahoo – AFP, 16 June 2014

Honduras' goalkeeper and captain Noel Valladares (R) handles the ball to score

 an own goal from a shot by France's Karim Benzema at the Beira-Rio Stadium in

 Porto Alegre during the 2014 FIFA World Cup on June 15, 2014 (AFP Photo/Franck Fife)

Rio de Janeiro (AFP) - World Cup chiefs said Monday they will modify the way decisions made by goal-line technology are communicated to fans after confusion during France's 3-0 victory over Honduras.

Sunday's Group E game in Porto Alegre made history after the system awarded a goal for the first time ever in international football.

The drama erupted three minutes after half-time when France striker Karim Benzema thumped a volley against the inside of a post.

The ball flew back across the face of goal before hitting Honduras goalkeeper Noel Valladares and then rebounding into the goal.

Valladares tried to scoop the ball to safety, but Brazilian referee Sandro Ricci awarded the goal -- classed as an own-goal -- after receiving an instant signal that the ball had crossed the line.

However Honduras officials reacted angrily after screens displaying the computer-generated animation of the incident flashed mixed messages.

A "No Goal" message was flashed up for Benzema's initial shot which hit the post, followed by a "Goal" message for the own goal by Valladares.

FIFA spokeswoman Delia Fischer said the "unique" nature of the incident -- the ball striking a post and rebounding into the Honduran goalkeeper -- had caused the confusion.

"Yesterday's situation was quite unique," she said, because it had triggered two animations.

"We are working to make it more clear. We will modify so you just see the 'goal' decision," Fischer said.

"There were no mistakes yesterday. It all worked as planned. However we are working to modify it to make much clearer for fans inside the stadiums."

Goal-line technology is being used for the first time at the 2014 World Cup following a U-turn by FIFA President Sepp Blatter.

It followed the notorious incident at the 2010 finals when England midfielder Frank Lampard had a valid goal disallowed against Germany despite replays showing the ball had crossed the line by several inches.

Related Article:

German company revels in World Cup controversy

South American leaders to attend 6th BRICS Summit

The BRICS Post, June 11, 2014

The 2014 Summit’s debates will focus on the theme “BRICS – inclusive
growth: sustainable solutions” [gov.br]

The Brazilian cities of Fortaleza and Brasilia will host the 6th BRICS Summit on the 14th, 15th, and 16th July, an event that will showcase the growing economic clout of the five countries.

The 2014 Summit’s debates will focus on the theme “BRICS – inclusive growth: sustainable solutions”.

As part of a BRICS outreach strategy to emerging economies, a working session will be held on 16th July between the heads of states of BRICS and their counterparts from the governments of South American nations. Argentina had expressed interest in joining the powerful bloc, although BRICS have ruled out expansion of the group for now.

BRICS Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting, Trade Ministers meeting, Development Bank Presidents meeting, Business Forum and a session of the BRICS Business Council will be held on 14th July in Fortaleza.

The $100 billion Contingency Reserve Arrangement (CRA) will be launched at this year’s Summit and final details of the New Development Bank (NBD) will also be unveiled.

In the Durban Summit last year, leaders from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa had approved a $100 billion fund to combat currency crises.

“The establishment of a self-managed contingent reserve arrangement would have a positive precautionary effect, help BRICS countries forestall short-term liquidity pressures, provide mutual support and further strengthen financial stability,” South African President Jacob Zuma said after the five BRICS leaders met in Durban in March.

BRICS have 43 per cent of the world’s population and total foreign-currency reserves of $4.4 trillion.

Brazilian Ambassador José Alfredo Graça Lima addressing a press conference in Brasilia on Tuesday said the keenly awaited BRICS Bank will finance infrastructure and sustainable development projects.

Developing nations have long complained that the World Bank and International Monetary Fund are failing to address underdevelopment and Western nations have too much say over the management of these institutions.

The BRICS Bank’s start-up capital of $50 billion would eventually be built up to $100 billion. Russia has proposed that each member contributes an equal, 20 per cent share. All the members of BRICS except Brazil has proposed to host the Bank.

Social inclusion and sustainable development will be in focus during this year’s summit.

The 6th Summit will inaugurate the second cycle of BRICS, with each member country hosting one summit each.

The African Union attended last year’s Summit as observers even as BRICS countries try to increase bilateral trade with the continent. Meanwhile, the invitation this year to Latin American heads of states comes as the region tries to match the inspiring growth rates of above 4.3 per cent of 2004-11.

Meanwhile, South American nations are also jointly exploring the creation of a communications system to curtail US spying in the region.

Latin American countries raised a storm of protest after, according to US NSA leaks by former contractor Edward Snowden, the agency spied on an array of nations in the region, including Brazil.

The meet in Brasilia with a congregation of BRICS and South American leaders in attendance could call for an end to mass surveillance like the one carried out the US intelligence agency and gross invasions of privacy.

TBP

Paraplegic in 'Iron Man' bodysuit to open World Cup

Yahoo – AFP, Rosa Sulleiro, 9 June 2014

Undated handout picture showing a Brazuca football beside an exoskeleton

at Brazilian scientist Miguel Nicolelis' lab in Sao Paulo, Brazil

The first kick at the World Cup opening ceremony will be made by a paraplegic wearing an Iron Man-like robotic bodysuit controlled by signals from the brain.

Brazilian doctor Miguel Nicolelis led a team of 156 scientists from around the world to create the futuristic exoskeleton, which was designed to enable paralysis victims to walk.

At the World Cup opening ceremony Thursday in Sao Paulo, a paraplegic whose identity has been kept secret will leave behind his or her wheelchair to take to the pitch in the suit and give the tournament's first kick.

Undated handout picture showing scientists

 at work at Brazilian scientist Miguel Nicolelis'

lab in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Electronic circuits in the device's "feet" will send a return signal to the user via an artificial skin worn on the arm, conveying the sensation of movement and contact.

"It's the first time an exoskeleton has been controlled by brain activity and offered feedback to the patients," Nicolelis, a neuroscientist at Duke University, told AFP.

"Doing a demonstration in a stadium is something very much outside our routine in robotics. It's never been done before."

His voice contains a mix of exhaustion and excitement, the result of 30 years' work, more than 200 scientific papers and countless clinical tests that are nearing a spectacular summit.

Nicolelis started down this path in 1984 when he wrote his doctoral thesis on neural connections in muscular control.

He said the idea for the suit came to him in 2002, when scientists were just beginning to explore robotic exoskeletons.

"In 2009, after we learned Brazil was hosting the World Cup, they asked me for ideas to show Brazil in a different way than the world usually sees it. That's when I suggested doing a scientific demonstration to teach people that Brazil is investing and has human potential to do things beyond football," he said.

Undated handout picture showing

 Brazilian scientist Miguel Nicolelis at

his lab in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Nicolelis said he and a team of some 40 people have barely left the lab since March, when they arrived in Sao Paulo, Brazil's largest city and economic hub, to finalize preparations.

But it's been rewarding, too, he said, recalling the moment on April 24 when a paralyzed user first took steps in the exoskeleton.

They named the device the BRA-Santos Dumont, a combination of the three-letter sporting code for Brazil and Alberto Santos-Dumont, a Brazilian aviator, inventor and bon vivant who once demonstrated controllable flight was possible by flying his dirigible around the Eiffel Tower.

Scientific controversy

Some scientists have criticized Nicolelis for ditching academic publications in favor of mass media -- he posts research updates on Facebook -- and the anonymity of the lab for the lights of the World Cup stage.

Undated handout picture showing a 

paraplegic patient (L) wearing an interface

 helmet being prepared for a test at

Brazilian scientist Miguel Nicolelis' lab

in Sao Paulo,Brazil.

Critics have also questioned the practicality of his research and accused him of hogging an unfair share of the Brazilian government's research budget. Nicolelis rejects that criticism.

"The funding is the same with or without the World Cup. We've received $14 million from the Brazilian government over the last two years. That's approximately four or five times less than what the United States government invests in a mechanical arm," he said.

"I don't see anything wrong with demonstrating a technology for the whole world that has a humanitarian objective and was paid for by civil society," he added.

More than 65,000 people will be in Sao Paulo's Corinthians Arena to watch the BRA-Santos Dumont's first steps in public before Brazil play Croatia in the opening match. Around a billion are expected to watch on TV.

Ireland is to close a tax loophole used by Apple

BBC News, 15 October 2013

Apple has been criticised for its tax arrangements

Related Stories

• Apple's Tim Cook defends tax claim
• Apple tax: The Irish connection - Senate
• Apple 'among US's big tax avoiders'

Ireland plans to shut a tax arrangement used by Apple to shelter $40bn (£25bn) from taxation.

Apple, and other firms, have been able to funnel profits into Irish subsidiaries or "ghost companies" that had no declared tax residency anywhere in the world.

On Tuesday, the Irish government said it planned to make it illegal for a company to have no tax domicile.

But firms would be able to nominate any country as their tax residence.

That includes countries such as Bermuda which offer zero tax rates.

Because of that, tax experts say that the change announced on Tuesday will not make much difference to the amount of tax paid by Apple.

Google and Microsoft have Irish subsidiaries that legally channel money to Bermuda where they pay zero tax.

But Ireland's Finance Minister Michael Noon said his country was committed to reform.

"Let me be crystal clear. Ireland wants to be part of the solution to this global tax challenge, not part of the problem," he said.

Back in May, a US Senate committee said Apple had used "a complex web of offshore entities" to avoid paying billions of dollars in US income taxes.

Google, Microsoft and Apple say they follow tax rules in every country where they operate.

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Brazil announces secure email to counter US spying

Google – AFP, 14 October 2013

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff in Brasilia on October 8, 2013 (AFP/File,

 Evaristo Sa)

Brasilia — Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff announced Sunday that her government was creating a secure email system to try and shield official communications from spying by the United States and other countries.

"We need more security on our messages to prevent possible espionage," Rousseff said on Twitter, ordering the Federal Data Processing Service, or SERPRO, to implement a safe email system throughout the federal government.

The agency, which falls under Brazil's Finance Ministry, develops secure systems for online tax returns and also creates new passports.

The move came after Rousseff publicly condemned spying against Brazilian government agencies attributed to the United States and Canada.

"This is the first step toward extending the privacy and inviolability of official posts," Rousseff said.

After bringing her complaints against US intelligence agencies to the United Nations General Assembly last month and canceling a state visit to Washington, Rousseff announced that the country will host an international conference on Internet governance in April.

In recent months, Brazilian media outlets have published documents showing that the US National Security Agency's spied on Rousseff's official communications, her close associates and state-controlled oil giant Petrobras.

The information was revealed by Edward Snowden, a 30-year-old former NSA contractor who has sought refuge in Russia and is wanted by the United States after revealing details of the agency's massive snooping activities.

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