FutureVigil (r) » deep-packet inspection

Virtual Reality Computer Models Accurately Predict Results of Real Battles

Jeffrey Newman — Sun, 09 May 2010 16:58:41 +0000

New computer modeling based on human behaviors in the past have resulted in the ability of military analysts to predict the probable outcome of particular battles. The research is being done at The University of Maryland and is expected to enhance the battlefield decision making processes in a major way.

THE HACK ATTACK ON GOOGLE-WE SEE THE FUTURE

Jeffrey Newman — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 08:36:55 +0000

The hackers which penetrated Google’s defenses recently demonstrated a level of sophistication which paints a frightening picture of just how vulnerable the internet is. The hackers used a combination of encryption, stealth programing and found an unknown hole in internet Explorer. A dozen or more pieces of malware and numerous lawyers of encryption allowed the hackers to bore deeply into company networks and hide their presence as stealthy aliens. The hackers stole intellectual property and gained access to the Gmail accounts of human rights activists and the attacks originated from China. The attacks which targeted 34 companies in the technology, financial and defense sectors was dubbed “Operation Aurora” as this was the name the hackers used for their mission and the name was on the computer of one of the hackers. The initial piece of code was shell code encrypted three times and then was activatedt to penetrate. One malicious code opened a remote backdoor to the computer established by an encrypted secret shannel hiding as an SSL connection to avoid detection. This allowed ongoing access to a computer which afforded the hackers entry to other parts of the network in order to search for login credentials and other data.

A Job for Predictive Analytics; increased cost for Prescription Drugs

Jeffrey Newman — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 01:36:43 +0000

The steady and significant increases in the price of medicines, which has no indication of slowing, cries out for an extrapolation of costs going forward. Statheads come forth. Between October 2008 and September 2009, the brand-named medications most commonly used by Medicare beneficiaries rose an average of 9.3 percent. Interestingly, this was a period when there was no inflation and when consumer prices actually dropped. Those drugs that spiked their prices the most included Seroquel (to treat psychosis) 16.1%; Aricept(for dimentia), 17.2% increase; Ambien (for insomnia) 18.8% increase and Flomax (prostate) a 19.7% increase. If you analyze the drug industry answers to why such stark (and obscene) increases in prices of these and other medications, they say that it costs more to make drugs now. 18% per year more? BS! Of course the startling increases affect those on fixed incomes and those who are disabled and those who won’t get cost of living increases. Here’s where the statheads come in. The use of predictive analysis tools that have been developed including machine learning would allow us to predict with a high degree of probability the cost of most drugs separately as they will increase for the next five, ten and twenty years based on historical figures. This information, it seems to me, would be quite valuable in the hands of economists who can also predict the percentage of the population who will and will not be able to afford their medications. There are public databases of information with all information needed to determine the trend. Anyone game?

SOCIAL MEDIA TO PREVENT MURDERS AND SUICIDES?

Jeffrey Newman — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 20:49:57 +0000

This tidbit of creative thinking was found on the site of Jonathan Nguyen, who works in PR andcrises management. He saw a news story about George Sodini, who murdered three and wounded nine others in a Pennsylvania gym before killing himself. Sodini had talked about his plans on his blog, as have many others. Now, there are social media monitoring tools such as Radian6 which can read and listen to conversations on the web, including the blogosphere via an heuristic analysis engine. It is used sometimes to protect brands from disparagement and to guage sentiment on products. The questions raised is whether it could be modified to watch for potential homicidal or suicidal acts? Outstanding lateral thinking Jonathan! Present uses of social media are rudimentary and limited.

IS THERE A WAY TO STYMIE IRAN’S DEEP-PACKET SPYING?

Jeffrey Newman — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 14:56:00 +0000

Yesterday’s Wall Street Journal reported a disturbing story on it’s front page about how the Iranian government is not just blocking web access, it is engaged in “deep-packet inspection” of it’s citizens computers using technology developed by Siemans, AG and Nokia. Deep-Packet inspection is a form of data-mining in which equipment is installed to examine on-line data including emails and internet phone calls as well as messages on social network sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Each digitized packet is taken apart and examined for keywords. There is nothing new about content filtering. Such filters are being used to stop spam, viruses and pornography. However, Iran’s use to find those it believes pose a potential harm to the government is new.

It remains to be seen whether the use of this technology results in the death or imprisonment of those who oppose the present governmental leadership. In the meantime, is there any known technology that can technologically stymie the deep-packet inspection, which could be downloaded by individuals inside Iran in order to protect them? It seems logical that if we can create such intrusive mechanisms, we can create an antidote. If one or more exists, we should spread the word asap.