Tuesday, March 9th, 2010
Moms New Stuff
Tuesday, January 12th, 2010
A New Approach to China
Like many other well-known organizations, we face cyber attacks of varying degrees on a regular basis. In mid-December, we detected a highly sophisticated and targeted attack on our corporate infrastructure originating from China that resulted in the theft of intellectual property from Google. However, it soon became clear that what at first appeared to be solely a security incident–albeit a significant one–was something quite different.
First, this attack was not just on Google. As part of our investigation we have discovered that at least twenty other large companies from a wide range of businesses–including the Internet, finance, technology, media and chemical sectors–have been similarly targeted. We are currently in the process of notifying those companies, and we are also working with the relevant U.S. authorities.
Second, we have evidence to suggest that a primary goal of the attackers was accessing the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists. Based on our investigation to date we believe their attack did not achieve that objective. Only two Gmail accounts appear to have been accessed, and that activity was limited to account information (such as the date the account was created) and subject line, rather than the content of emails themselves.
Third, as part of this investigation but independent of the attack on Google, we have discovered that the accounts of dozens of U.S.-, China- and Europe-based Gmail users who are advocates of human rights in China appear to have been routinely accessed by third parties. These accounts have not been accessed through any security breach at Google, but most likely via phishing scams or malware placed on the users’ computers.
We have already used information gained from this attack to make infrastructure and architectural improvements that enhance security for Google and for our users. In terms of individual users, we would advise people to deploy reputable anti-virus and anti-spyware programs on their computers, to install patches for their operating systems and to update their web browsers. Always be cautious when clicking on links appearing in instant messages and emails, or when asked to share personal information like passwords online. You can read more here about our cyber-security recommendations. People wanting to learn more about these kinds of attacks can read this U.S. government report (PDF), Nart Villeneuve’s blog and this presentation on the GhostNet spying incident.
We have taken the unusual step of sharing information about these attacks with a broad audience not just because of the security and human rights implications of what we have unearthed, but also because this information goes to the heart of a much bigger global debate about freedom of speech. In the last two decades, China’s economic reform programs and its citizens’ entrepreneurial flair have lifted hundreds of millions of Chinese people out of poverty. Indeed, this great nation is at the heart of much economic progress and development in the world today.
We launched Google.cn in January 2006 in the belief that the benefits of increased access to information for people in China and a more open Internet outweighed our discomfort in agreeing to censor some results. At the time we made clear that “we will carefully monitor conditions in China, including new laws and other restrictions on our services. If we determine that we are unable to achieve the objectives outlined we will not hesitate to reconsider our approach to China.”
These attacks and the surveillance they have uncovered–combined with the attempts over the past year to further limit free speech on the web–have led us to conclude that we should review the feasibility of our business operations in China. We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn, and so over the next few weeks we will be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which we could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at all. We recognize that this may well mean having to shut down Google.cn, and potentially our offices in China.
The decision to review our business operations in China has been incredibly hard, and we know that it will have potentially far-reaching consequences. We want to make clear that this move was driven by our executives in the United States, without the knowledge or involvement of our employees in China who have worked incredibly hard to make Google.cn the success it is today. We are committed to working responsibly to resolve the very difficult issues raised.
Posted by David Drummond, SVP, Corporate Development and Chief Legal Officer
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009
FL Extends Its RTT Lead
Eduwonk uncovers how FL is getting tough and specific about collective bargaining agreements in its push for RTT funds. Here’s my take on what Secretary Duncan ought to say in order to jump start such good behavior elsewhere.
Wednesday, May 20th, 2009
Roger McNamee Invests in the Stimulist, News Site for the Obama Generation
MSNBC anchor Carlos Watson noticed during the presidential campaigns and election of President Obama last year that a new generation of media consumers had emerged. The “Change Generation,” Watson calls it (wonder where he got that name from), is educated, edgy and curious about the world and news, and in contrast to the yuppies from 20 years ago, doesn’t find news solely in the New York Times or on CNN. This generation cares about pop culture, social activism, fresh opinions and of course, change. So Watson has created a news and opinion site, called The Stimulist, which launched last week, that caters to the this generation, and found a high-profile lead investor to boot, Elevation Partner’s Roger McNamee. Yup, the same McNamee who recently stepped down from Forbes Media’s board.
The Stimulist breaks slightly from the format of most news sites and blogs by limiting its content to only six features per day. Taking inspiration from the news briefing that President Obama gets each morning from his staff, Watson’s site features “The Daily Six: Six Things You Should Know Today.”
These include: News We Like, a roundup of hot topics in the news; Kind of a Big Deal, a daily profile of a rising star (for instance, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg was profiled); Idea To Consider; a thought-provoking piece intended to start conversations (Yesterday’s was “Resolved: Marijuana Will Be Legalized”); Good Sh*t, a recommendation of a fresh, “cool” place to go or something to do; Flashback, a historical anecdote that will shine extra light on a current event (“The Five Most Shocking Justice Appointments” was featured earlier this week); and The C Note, Watson’s place to share his original opinions and thoughts.
Watson says all content is original but the stories link to other news sources. He maintains that though there are a limited amount of daily articles on the site, the Stimulist will be alluring to readers because it is simple, easy to read and people won’t get lost on the site. The Stimulist is being positioned as an ideal read for a coffee or lunch break from work. A tremendous amount of thought went into the design and aesthetics of the site, Watson says, with the idea that the “change” generation would appreciate a streamlined site that isn’t overwhelming.
The Stimulist’s competitors are the Huffington Post and Tina Brown’s The Daily Beast, which is a daily mashup of cultural and general news. Both, however, are aggregators of news from elsewhere and thus have much more daily content than The Stimulist. But Watson says sometimes less is more. The site itself is lean, but the startup already has six staff members (which seems like a lot to produce only six posts a day).
Watson is careful to make the distinction that this site is geared towards the change generation, which he estimates in the twenty-something to forty-something age demographic. But last week, an 80-year-old gentlemen wrote Watson, saying that he’s as much a part of this generation as a 25-year-old. So maybe it is more of a state of mind. But do you have to be an Obama supporter to qualify?
Although Watson hopes to become the “first and favorite” source of news for this generation (regardless of age), I think that The Stimulist is more similar to a daily digital magazine catered to a web audience with short-attention spans. It’s a great place for readers to stop off and take a quick read of current perspectives and leave feeling a little bit more educated for the day. But can it become a daily habit for enough readers to make it last? The rule of thumb in online news is that traffic rises with the number of stories posted per day because not everyone is interested in each story. The more stories there are to choose from, the more readers who show up. Watson thinks he can buck this trend.
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