UK

Researchers: Attacks on U.S., Korea sites came from U.K.

The denial-of-service attacks launched on Web sites in South Korea and the United States earlier this month appear to have come from a master server in the United Kingdom, according to security researchers in Vietnam.

The master server controls all of the eight command and control servers involved in the series of distributed denial-of-service attacks that started on the July 4 weekend, security firm Bkis said in a blog posting on its Web site on Monday. Bkis said it gained control of two of the servers.

The Vietnamese firm estimated the number of compromised PCs involved in the attacks to … Read more

U.K. cybersecurity office to have attack role

The U.K. government plans to form a cybersecurity agency, with functions including cyberattack capability.

The Office of Cyber Security (OCS), dedicated to protecting Britain's IT infrastructure, will be created with a model proposed--and in part practiced by--the U.S. The U.K. government said Thursday that the OCS will have charge of a cross-government program, while a multi-agency Cyber Security Operations Centre (CSOC) will coordinate the protection of critical IT systems.

The OCS will also act as a conduit for information security collaboration between government and industry experts. Robert Hannigan, the prime minister's security adviser, said the … Read more

The U.K.'s confusion over Microsoft and open-source cost savings

The U.K. government claims that it may save 75 million pounds ($119 million) over the next five years by harnessing itself firmly to Microsoft. That may be true, but the cost savings come from what the U.K. would have paid Microsoft, and they don't take into account what it could have saved by shopping around.

More ironic, however, than such ironic "cost savings" is its nomenclature: Angela Eagle, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, suggests the Microsoft purchase "reinforces the Government's commitment to its Open Source Action Plan." Huh??? Buying lots of non-open-source … Read more

Google builds Street View trikes to map U.K. footpaths

To advance its Street View service this summer, Google is poised to unleash the unstoppable power of human legs.

Traditionally, the average road car finds it problematic to traverse the terrain of the British footpath. But bicycles do not. So this summer, Google will deploy bikes mounted with its 360-degree Street View cameras to map areas of Britain inaccessible by its fleet of Street View cars.

The so-called Google Trike, which the company describes as "a mechanical masterpiece comprising 3 bicycle wheels, a mounted Street View camera and a very athletic cyclist in customized Google apparel," will arrive … Read more

U.K. police swamped by surveillance TV data

The police cannot deal with the amount of information generated by surveillance cameras, according to the U.K.'s Association of Chief Police Officers.

Ian Readhead, director of information for the ACPO Criminal Records Office, said this week that police are overwhelmed by the volume of such data and that one of his major concerns is that police don't have the capability to track a car in real time using the Automatic Number Plate Recognition System, which is part of the surveillance cameras' functions.

"The problem is the amount of data," said Readhead, speaking at a data … Read more

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EC acts against Britain over data protection

The European Commission has launched infringement proceedings against the UK, claiming the country is not sufficiently complying with European data-protection laws.

The action was initiated on Tuesday, following complaints over BT's trials--carried out in 2006 and 2007 without user consent--of technology from the behavioral advertising company Phorm. The technology allows an Internet service provider such as BT to monitor its customers' surfing habits, so that it can deliver targeted advertising to each user.

In June, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), which has responsibility for enforcing UK data-protection laws, said it would not launch an investigation into the BT trials. … Read more

Google Street View gives UK police a mean idea

Google Street View seems to have caused a little friction in the United Kingdom, as the British whisper loudly to defend their sense of privacy.

However, one group of people seems to have stared at the Street View camera cars, smiled, and been inspired.

Yes, the police took one look at the 360-degree cameras perched on top of innocent little cars and said to themselves: "We can do that."

Which is why residents of Greater Manchester will be delighted to hear that two Smart Cars, with cameras soaring skywards from their roofs will be patrolling their neighborhoods in … Read more

Angry mob turns back Google Street View car

You might be forgiven for thinking this is Mob Week in Britain.

Protesters have twittered to organize themselves into groups that storm banks and protest the G20 Summit. But things have gone way beyond that.

A poor, innocent Google Street View driver was merely doing his duty in the village of Broughton, Buckinghamshire, England. Broughton is a posh village, a little on the snooty side.

But when Paul Jacobs spotted the Googlie snooper rolling down his street, the village became positively snotty. He rushed around to other people's homes to tell them to come outside and help him thwart … Read more