http://www.techdirt.com/ Easily digestible tech news.... http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130519/18102623141/so-its-come-to-this-seven-high-school-students-arrested-throwing-water-balloons.shtml#c1323 Wed, 22 May 2013 11:44:03 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130519/18102623141/so-its-come-to-this-seven-high-school-students-arrested-throwing-water-balloons.shtml#c1323 Stupidest adolescent navel-gazing comment thread here in a long long time. I don't think anyone commenting has actually been hit with a water balloon. Hint: they hurt. A LOT. Yes that's assault.

Still traumatized by high school, eh Nancyboy? You must have been a regular crime victim in school. Assaults (wedgies); kidnappings (stuffed in gym locker) robbery (lunch money). You may wish to consider that your opinion of what constitutes assault can all be traced back to the fact that you are a douchenozzle.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/18265123163/reporters-find-exposed-personal-data-via-google-threatened-with-cfaa-charges.shtml#c147 Wed, 22 May 2013 11:43:52 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/18265123163/reporters-find-exposed-personal-data-via-google-threatened-with-cfaa-charges.shtml#c147 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/18265123163/reporters-find-exposed-personal-data-via-google-threatened-with-cfaa-charges.shtml#c140 Wed, 22 May 2013 11:43:10 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/18265123163/reporters-find-exposed-personal-data-via-google-threatened-with-cfaa-charges.shtml#c140
2nd point: "firms' lawyer claims" is all I see of the "threat", and yet Mike implies charges are imminent. So far this is just another of his panics.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130502/18364622931/ma-teen-arrested-held-without-bail-posting-supposed-terrorist-threat-facebook.shtml#c1224 Wed, 22 May 2013 11:43:03 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130502/18364622931/ma-teen-arrested-held-without-bail-posting-supposed-terrorist-threat-facebook.shtml#c1224 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130519/18102623141/so-its-come-to-this-seven-high-school-students-arrested-throwing-water-balloons.shtml#c1307 Wed, 22 May 2013 11:42:47 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130519/18102623141/so-its-come-to-this-seven-high-school-students-arrested-throwing-water-balloons.shtml#c1307
Where's that zero tolerance policy? Oh it's not "on the internet" so it's OK lol]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/18265123163/reporters-find-exposed-personal-data-via-google-threatened-with-cfaa-charges.shtml#c118 Wed, 22 May 2013 11:42:34 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/18265123163/reporters-find-exposed-personal-data-via-google-threatened-with-cfaa-charges.shtml#c118
Just this morning in a cursory review of a prospective audit client's online presence, I did a Google search and discovered over 1,000 PDFs of customer invoices they blocked via robots.txt file but since Google now includes URLs of robots blocked files and slaps a "description not available due to robots instruction" that shit is wide open to anyone on the web, no hacking needed.

Companies need to be held accountable for their massive security failings and Google needs to be held accountable as well, even though that shit should have been completely blocked and behind a secure firewall.

The fact that this situation involved a couple reporters gives me little comfort in the notion that asshat companies might eventually be held accountable for causing such massive failings.

We need a comprehensive overhaul of the system, one NOT determined by congress or lobbyists. One that severely penalizes the asshats that cause the problem and rewards the ones who expose it.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/18265123163/reporters-find-exposed-personal-data-via-google-threatened-with-cfaa-charges.shtml#c94 Wed, 22 May 2013 11:40:56 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/18265123163/reporters-find-exposed-personal-data-via-google-threatened-with-cfaa-charges.shtml#c94
Vcare seems to be one the crying foul, not Google.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/01382223168/new-york-times-tells-startup-it-cant-even-mention-ny-times.shtml#c383 Wed, 22 May 2013 11:40:44 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/01382223168/new-york-times-tells-startup-it-cant-even-mention-ny-times.shtml#c383
Right.... of course they would be okay with something *similar*..

As to the NYT's themselves they have no legal leg whatsoever to stand on in this matter there have been numerous precedents of demo's of other persons works to explain what the 'new' thing can do better and more efficiently..

Basically the NYT is suffering from Butthurtitis and the NYT lawyers need to get their heads out of theirs]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130519/18102623141/so-its-come-to-this-seven-high-school-students-arrested-throwing-water-balloons.shtml#c1294 Wed, 22 May 2013 11:40:21 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130519/18102623141/so-its-come-to-this-seven-high-school-students-arrested-throwing-water-balloons.shtml#c1294 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/18265123163/reporters-find-exposed-personal-data-via-google-threatened-with-cfaa-charges.shtml#c90 Wed, 22 May 2013 11:40:17 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/18265123163/reporters-find-exposed-personal-data-via-google-threatened-with-cfaa-charges.shtml#c90 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/18265123163/reporters-find-exposed-personal-data-via-google-threatened-with-cfaa-charges.shtml#c68 Wed, 22 May 2013 11:38:25 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/18265123163/reporters-find-exposed-personal-data-via-google-threatened-with-cfaa-charges.shtml#c68
So here's the situation as I (and likely everyone else, except the asshats who are trying to cover up their gross negligence and extreme incompetence) sees it:

1. Company collects data
2. Company is required NOT to hold on to data
3. Company holds on to data in violation of #2
4. Company further shows how retarded they are by making it publicly accessilbe
5. Someone finds publicly accessible documents (that shouldn't exist in the first place) and lets the retards know
6. Retards sue, crying "Hacking! Hacking!"

What an amazing strategy!

Anyone else just wondering how long it's going to be before someone figures this out for what it really is?]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/06034223155/quack-professor-releases-dumbest-violent-video-game-theory-ever.shtml#c461 Wed, 22 May 2013 11:37:47 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/06034223155/quack-professor-releases-dumbest-violent-video-game-theory-ever.shtml#c461 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/01382223168/new-york-times-tells-startup-it-cant-even-mention-ny-times.shtml#c365 Wed, 22 May 2013 11:37:23 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/01382223168/new-york-times-tells-startup-it-cant-even-mention-ny-times.shtml#c365 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/18265123163/reporters-find-exposed-personal-data-via-google-threatened-with-cfaa-charges.shtml#c55 Wed, 22 May 2013 11:37:03 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/18265123163/reporters-find-exposed-personal-data-via-google-threatened-with-cfaa-charges.shtml#c55
For right now, I'm going to hold off judgement on the possible actions against the reporters, but shouldn't there be an extra line to this article? Something along the lines of "TerraCom and YourTel are under investigation for gross negligence."]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/01382223168/new-york-times-tells-startup-it-cant-even-mention-ny-times.shtml#c357 Wed, 22 May 2013 11:36:54 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/01382223168/new-york-times-tells-startup-it-cant-even-mention-ny-times.shtml#c357 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130515/11032823096/how-low-can-drones-go.shtml#c732 Wed, 22 May 2013 11:35:55 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130515/11032823096/how-low-can-drones-go.shtml#c732 > the sky commons that belongs to everyone,
> as a famous 1946 US Supreme Court decision
> laid down

Yes, most states have set minimum altitude limits for aircraft, which allow for normal aviation, but also protect the rights of private property owners.

Basically, anything below the statutory altitude becomes a trespass. It's why paparazzi and news helicopters in Los Angeles have to stay way up there when covering everything from celebrity weddings to Lindsay Lohan's latest trek to the courthouse. They can zoom in with their cameras all they like, but the aircraft has to remain above 3000 feet (if I recall the number correctly).

I can't imagine that the State of Washington doesn't have some similar law, which would clearly make this drone flyer a trespasser. Even if they don't, the homeowner is certainly free to knock the thing out of the air with a baseball bat...]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130515/11032823096/how-low-can-drones-go.shtml#c726 Wed, 22 May 2013 11:35:37 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130515/11032823096/how-low-can-drones-go.shtml#c726

http://www.legis.state.tx.us/tlodocs/83R/billtext/html/HB00912I.htm]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/18265123163/reporters-find-exposed-personal-data-via-google-threatened-with-cfaa-charges.shtml#c50 Wed, 22 May 2013 11:32:39 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/18265123163/reporters-find-exposed-personal-data-via-google-threatened-with-cfaa-charges.shtml#c50
Because if the telcos did not claim the reporters hacked the information, then they are tacitly admitting they posted the personal info of 100+k people openly online. And that's a pretty big oops.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/16402423161/first-hand-account-judicial-smackdown-prenda-minnesota.shtml#c1189 Wed, 22 May 2013 11:32:20 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/16402423161/first-hand-account-judicial-smackdown-prenda-minnesota.shtml#c1189 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/01382223168/new-york-times-tells-startup-it-cant-even-mention-ny-times.shtml#c343 Wed, 22 May 2013 11:30:24 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/01382223168/new-york-times-tells-startup-it-cant-even-mention-ny-times.shtml#c343