Can you trust Chinese computer equipment?: Via ITworld.

China may not only be breaking into Google's network, but giving people deliberately bugged technology gear. Can we trust any technology that comes from China?

As you surely know, Google has accused China of hacking into its systems and is considering pulling out of China altogether. The U.S. government is taking this seriously, and Google has partnered with the NSA (National Security Agency) to get to the bottom of this. What you may not know is that the United Kingdom's MI5 -- Americans can think of this as a combination of the FBI and CIA -- has reported that the Chinese government has been giving UK executives electronics with built-in security holes.

According to the Sunday Times, "A leaked MI5 document says that undercover intelligence officers from the People's Liberation Army and the Ministry of Public Security have also approached UK businessmen at trade fairs and exhibitions with the offer of 'gifts' and 'lavish hospitality.' The gifts -- cameras and memory sticks -- have been found to contain electronic Trojan bugs which provide the Chinese with remote access to users' computers." [ Read more ... ]

YouTube Embedding and Copyright: "

There seems to be a considerable amount of interest in, and confusion about, the copyright law consequences of embedding a YouTube video in your blog. In fact, the Blog Herald just ran a story suggesting that bloggers could be on the hook for copyright infringement if they embed a video that turns out to be infringing.

Well, the news really isn't that dire. In fact, I'd say bloggers are generally pretty safe on this score, at least until someone notifies them that an embedded video is infringing.

First, it's important to understand what an embedded YouTube video is -- it's a link. Just a link. Nothing but a link. In fact, here's the entire html code needed to embed EFF's Corruptibles video into a blog (with the carets replaced by brackets, so that your browser will display the raw code): [ Read more ... ]

New Copyright Alliance Formed In D.C.: "jombeewoof alerted us to a story that went past unnoticed last weekend. A new industry-backed 'Copyright Alliance' was formed in the city of Washington, DC. Tasked with the nebulous goal of 'promoting the value of copyright as an agent for creativity, jobs, and growth', the ultimate goal of the organization is to strengthen copyright laws overall. 'Backed by organizations like the MPAA, NBC, News Corp., Disney, Time Warner, the Business Software Alliance, Microsoft, ASCAP, the NBA, and others, the Copyright Alliance has already secured initial support from several members of Congress ... [ Read more ... ]