Mr. Assange Heading For Guantanamo Bay? Here’s To You Mr. President!

A UK court ordered that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange be extradited to Sweden to face questioning about sexual-assault allegations, dealing a serious blow to the document-leaking site and its founder. An extrade to Sweden might result in Mr. Assange ending up at Guantanamo Bay, his laywers says.

The decision means that Mr. Assange’s efforts to build and promote WikiLeaks will be detoured to some degree in coming months by the possibility that he will face criminal sex charges. WikiLeaks has gained notoriety with governments around the world through its release of thousands of classified documents and diplomatic cables, the Wall Street Journal writes.

On Thursday afternoon, the judge released Mr. Assange on the same bail conditions he has been living under since December, which require him to wear an electronic monitoring tag, report to police every day and live at a supporter’s estate northeast of London, where he must abide by a curfew.

WikiLeaks is already struggling with a number of problems, which could intensify as Mr. Assange is distracted by his legal saga.

Arguing against his extradition, Mr. Assange’s lawyers said he wouldn’t get a fair trial in Sweden, where they say he has been vilified in the press.

They say Mr. Assange tried to meet with Swedish prosecutors several times before leaving Sweden, but was rebuffed.

They also argued that the sexual offenses alleged don’t rise to a level that merit extradition proceedings in the UK.

But the UK court said it appeared possible that Mr. Assange had tried to evade questioning while he was in Sweden. Judge Howard Riddle called all four alleged offenses extraditable, and says he was confident Mr. Assange would receive a fair trial in Sweden if he is charged.

The extradition hearing began in early February.

At one point, Mr. Assange’s lawyers published their defense strategy online, including several paragraphs about how he shouldn’t be extradited to Sweden because there was a “real risk” he would then be extradited or “illegally rendered” to the US,  where his lawyers argued he could face the death penalty or imprisonment at Guantanamo Bay.

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New Violence Erupt In Greece – Policeman Set on Fire (video)

Another round of violent clashes broken out in Greece, Wednesday,  after protesters took to the streets against a wave of government-imposed austerity measures designed to rein in the country’s budgetary deficit. Police in Athens fired tear gas to disperse demonstrators hurling stones and petrol bombs, as a 24-hour nationwide strike bringing much of the country to a standstill.

“There are politicians which have robbed the country blind yet no one has been brought to justice.”

Doria Tsirigoi

Government offices and many schools remained closed on Wednesday afternoon, with the union-organised strike also causing major disruption to public transport and hospital services. More than 100 flights were cancelled, as clouds of smoke from the riots choked the capital city, while a journalist walkout from state and private television and radio stations resulted in a partial media blackout.

The major protests are the first of their kind this year after Greece’s Socialist Pasok administration was forced to call in a €110 billion EU–IMF bail-out last May, the EUobserver.ccm reports.

“I am demonstrating because the government has to fix this mess that it has gotten into,” hairdresser Doria Tsirigoti told the DPA German press agency as she pulled the shutters down on her salon to avoid damage.

“There are politicians which have robbed the country blind yet no one has been brought to justice.”

Government spending cuts and tax hikes linked to the EU-IMF support package have proved highly contentious with many Greek citizens.

Speaking at the protests, deputy leader of Greece’ large GSEE union, Stathis Anestis, dubbed the government measures “harsh and unfair”.

“We are facing long-term austerity, with high unemployment and destabilising our social structure,” he told the Associated Press news agency.

“What is increasing is the level of anger and desperation … If these harsh policies continue, so will we.”

On Tuesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel indicated that the repayment period for Greece’s international loan could be extended.

The latest clashes come as EU leaders prepare to meet next month in various formats to discuss an overhaul of the bloc’s emergency lending fund and budgetary rules.

A Franco-German ‘Pack for Competitiveness’ is also on the agenda, with the package of proposals meeting a frosty reception at a European Summit earlier this month.

The euro zone’s second EU-IMF bail-out recipient, Ireland, is set for national elections this Friday, with the ruling popular Fianna Fail party headed for a humiliating defeat of historic proportions.

Anger over the bail-out lending terms has been a central element during recent election campaigning, with the front-runner centre-right Fine Gael party repeatedly stating its desire to see loan interest rates reduced.

This video is just uploaded on YouTube by Sky News. It shows a policeman being set on fire during the anti-austerity protests in Greece involving tens of thousands of people.

Five people were injured when the demonstration against government cuts turned violent. More than 30,000 had taken part in the demonstration but many were forced to take cover when youths began throwing rocks and fire bombs. The officer was hit by a petrol bomb which set his uniform and motorcycle on fire.

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Updates on Cyber Security

RSA, The Security Division of EMC, is the premier provider of security, risk and compliance solutions, helping the world’s leading organizations succeed by solving their most complex and sensitive security challenges. Every year RSA host a conference for the security industry, presenting the latest research, findings, treats and challenges of the internet. Here’s a collection of this years headlines, as they were published during the conference in San Fransisco last week.

“Attackers are using malware samples that researchers have never seen before — and will never see again — to successfully steal data from unsuspecting organizations, governments and individuals.”

RSA, The Security Division of EMC

RSA fraud prevention solutions reduce the risk of fraud and identity theft by assuring user identities, monitoring for high-risk activities and mitigating the damage caused by external threats such as phishing, pharming, Trojans and other cyber threats. The key words of 2011 is “cloud computing;” “phishing,” “smart grids” and “espionage.”

The Top Story:

Cloud computing contracts: tread carefully

RSA panel offers advice on legal considerations for organizations entering cloud service provider contracts.

FULL STORY

Collaboration crucial for fighting phishing techniques
Phishing’s not going away any time soon, but clear communication and cooperation between organizations sending emails to their customers and the web mail providers that filter those emails can help cut down on the number of phishing attempts that hit in boxes, said a panel at RSA Conference 2011.

McAfee-Wind River partnership to foster mobile, embedded system security
The deal will put McAfee’s ePolicy Orchestrator agent inside Wind River’s embedded operating systems, enabling enterprises to boost embedded system security to non-traditional endpoints.

RSA attendees skeptical about cloud service provider security
Attendees at the RSA Conference 2011 said cloud computing is good for certain business applications, but they’re leery of putting sensitive applications, such as those used in health care or education, in the cloud.

Smart grid security issues hinge on infosec, operator teamwork
Bridging the chasm between information security and utility infrastructure teams is the only way to solve smart grid security issues. Fortunately, NERC CIP compliance is forcing change.

Cloud computing compliance: Visibility key
Transparency is essential for security and compliance when working with cloud services providers, RSA panelists say.

APT detection, prevention are hard, but possible
A panel at RSA 2011 explains the organization and methodology behind targeted persistent attacks and what organizations can do to detect and respond to APT.

Unique attacks highlight Internet espionage trends
Attackers are using malware samples that researchers have never seen before — and will never see again — to successfully steal data from unsuspecting organizations, governments and individuals.

Survey reveals skills needed in IT security pros
A survey by certification firm (ISC)² found a need for IT security professionals to improve application development processes and expertise to weigh cloud computing risks.

RSA panel debates cyberwar definition, realities
At RSA Conference 2011, a panel of experts, including Bruce Schneier and former DHS secretary Michael Chertoff, discussed cyberwar, espionage and how the ground rules for handling such conflicts will be decided.

Move to IPv6 could help spambots churn out more spam, malware says botnet expert
Antispam measures that rely on IP blacklisting could be less effective if Internet Service Providers take the wrong approach to IPv6, said prominent malware expert Joe Stewart.

RSA 2011: Schmidt-led Town Hall confronts public-private cooperation – again
At RSA Conference 2011, a Town Hall-style meeting of government cybersecurity officials, pressed for continued public-private sector cooperation.

Kaminsky, DNSSEC deployments experts say protocol will boost security
Network security expert Dan Kaminsky touts the security improvements DNSSEC provides, but admits that it will take time for businesses and consumers to reap the benefits.

Signature-based antivirus dying, but bigger problems loom
While security pros should be concerned with the decreasing efficacy of signature-based antivirus, employee threats should warrant increasing attention.

Cloud computing contracts: Tread carefully
RSA panel offers advice on legal considerations for organizations entering cloud service provider contracts.

Microsoft security chief stumps for Internet health check system
Microsoft Vice President of Trustworthy Computing Scott Charney at the RSA Conference 2011 discussed Collective Defense, Microsoft’s proposed Internet health check system for consumer computers, and how it should be implemented not by governments and ISPs, but by enterprises.

Focus on people, not technology, cryptographer says
A prominent encryption expert at the annual cryptographer’s panel at RSA Conference 2011 said poorly implemented encryption deployments are being stymied by employee errors.

Software fraud, phony electronic parts pose serious security risks, expert says
A supply chain management expert studying ways companies can crack down on cheaply made imitation parts and software is urging software makers and manufacturers of electronic devices to develop better technologies to weed out fraudulent items.

White House CIO talks up cloud computing strategy
White House chief information officer (CIO) Vivek Kundra on Monday outlined the U.S. government’s strategy for cloud computing, a shift he said is critical in order to cut costs and improve efficiency.

Better methods needed to discover network configuration flaws
Examining firewall logs is not enough and most common network penetration tests often miss network misconfiguration issues, leaving sensitive information vulnerable to outside attackers, said a prominent network security expert.

Symantec turns to reputation security to bolster malware signatures
Symantec Corp. is adding new reputation scoring technology to its enterprise endpoint protection suite in a move security experts and analysts say will force its competitors to react by bolstering similar technologies.

Emerging theme at RSA Conference 2011 may be ‘mostly cloudy’
For the last several years, security experts and vendors at the RSA Conference have explained the risks associated with the use of cloud-based services. Far fewer have identified specific ways to protect data in the cloud. That may change at RSA Conference 2011..

Cloud computing security summit draws growing crowd
Cloud Security Alliance event expands to accommodate growing interest.

IT security career experts to dish out practical advice at RSA Conference 2011
Information security growth is fueling fierce competition among job applicants, according to Lee Kushner and Mike Murray, IT security career experts who follow the industry closely. Both career experts will be participating in an information security career development session at the RSA Conference 2011.

Security B-Sides brings its buzz back to San Francisco and RSA Conference
Security B-Sides isn’t just for big conference rejects any more. This little-conference-that-could has grown up and become a force on the information security speaking scene. Its latest incarnation springs up Monday, a day ahead of the official start of RSA Conference 2011, around the corner from the giant Moscone Center, home to the security industry’s biggest annual event.

Source: SearchSecurity.com

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