CPJ Internet Channel

Defending Free Expression Online

Africa


CPJ Internet Channel | USA

So your Twitter account is hacked? Reset, tweet, pray.

By Frank Smyth and Kamal Singh Masuta/CPJ Staff

More than a quarter million Twitter accounts have been hacked worldwide, the social media company disclosed in February, but Tuesday's attack on The Associated Press's verified account, @AP, had unusual effect. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 143 points after someone hijacked the AP's account to falsely tweet that two explosions at the White House had wounded President Barack Obama. The market recovered, but the hacking--just the latest in a series of attacks on news organizations--sent shudders through a profession that's grown accustomed to breaking its news on Twitter.

Continue reading »
April 24, 2013 3:07 PM ET | | Comments (0)
Tags: Associated Press, Hacking, Internet, Twitter
CPJ Internet Channel | USA

In Internet freedom fight, why the ITU matters (for now)

By Danny O'Brien/CPJ Internet Advocacy Coordinator
Hamdoun Toure, ITU secretary general, speaks at the group's conference in Dubai. (AP/Kamran Jebreili)

For most of its almost-150-year history, the meetings of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations' communications standards body, have been rather predictable affairs.

Continue reading »
December 14, 2012 12:39 PM ET | | Comments (7)
Tags: International Telecommunication Union, Internet
CPJ Internet Channel

Dear CPJ: Some malware from your 'friend'

By Danny O'Brien/CPJ Internet Advocacy Coordinator
An analyst looks at malware code in a lab. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart)

We talk a lot about hacking attacks against individual journalists here, but what typifies an attempt to access a reporter's computer? Joel Simon, CPJ's executive director, received an email last week that reflects some characteristics of a malware attack against a journalist or activist. There was nothing particularly notable about the targeting. (Like many reporters, CPJ receives such attempts occasionally). The attack failed at the first fence, and my casual investigation into the source was inconclusive. There are no shocking answers or big headlines to draw from this attack. But it does illustrate a contemporary reality: Opportunistic assailants regularly shower journalists with software attacks.

Continue reading »
August 30, 2012 4:32 PM ET |
Tags: Article 19, Blogger, Cyberattack, Cybercrime, Hacked, Internet, Social Media, World Press Freedom Committee
CPJ Internet Channel | Bahrain, China, UK

For journalists, danger lurking in your email

By Danny O'Brien/CPJ Internet Advocacy Coordinator
A protester in Jidhafs, Bahrain. (AP/Hasan Jamali)

This week, Morgan Marquis-Boire and Bill Marczak of the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab provided a disturbing look into the likely use of a commercial surveillance program, FinFisher, to remotely invade and control the computers of Bahraini activists. After the software installs itself onto unsuspecting users' computer, it can record and relay emails, screenshots, and Skype audio conversations. It was deployed against Bahraini users after being concealed in seemingly innocent emails.

Continue reading »
July 27, 2012 7:47 AM ET |
Tags: Al-Jazeera, Bill Marczak, Citizen Lab, Email, Finfisher, Gamma International, Internet, Malware, Melissa Chan, Morgan Marquis-Boire
CPJ Internet Channel | USA

Face-blurring comes into focus for journalists

By Danny O'Brien/CPJ Internet Advocacy Coordinator
From YouTube's demonstration page

This week, YouTube announced a feature that should catch the eye of video journalists and bloggers working in dangerous conditions. After uploading a video to YouTube, you can now deploy a "blur faces" post-production tool that, in theory, should disguise the visual identity of everyone on the screen. The Hindu newspaper has an excellent how-to guide for their readers.

Continue reading »
July 20, 2012 5:24 PM ET |
Tags: Face-blurring, Google, Internet, Journalist Security, YouTube
CPJ Internet Channel | Ethiopia

High-tech censorship on the rise in East Africa

By Danny O’Brien/CPJ Internet Advocacy Coordinator

Ethiopia has always been a country at the cutting edge of Internet censorship in Africa. In the wake of violence after the 2005 elections, when other states were only beginning to recognize the potential for online reporters to bypass traditional pressures, Meles Zenawi's regime was already blocking major news sites and blog hosts such as blogspot.com. Some sites and Web addresses have been blocked for their reporting ever since, including exiled media like Addis Neger Online and Awramba Times.

Continue reading »
June 29, 2012 12:04 PM ET | | Comments (5)
Tags: Addis Neger Online, Awramba Times, Censored, De Birhan, Encryption, Facebook, Internet, Meles Zenawi, Tor. Skype, VOIP
CPJ Internet Channel

What to do if Google warns of state-sponsored attack

By Danny O’Brien/CPJ Internet Advocacy Coordinator

(Google)

Some journalists continue to receive the warning from Google about state-sponsored attacks that we mentioned last week. The message appears on top of logged-in services like Gmail. Occasionally it will disappear for a few hours and then reappear, but there is no way to remove it.

Continue reading »
June 22, 2012 12:55 PM ET | | Comments (1)
Tags: Blogger, Cyberattack, Cybercrime, Google, Internet, Journalist Security, Skype
CPJ Internet Channel | Thailand

Computer crime laws belie Thai claim to modern society

By Danny O’Brien/CPJ Internet Advocacy Coordinator

At online discussion sites all over the world, comments are posted on the Web as soon as they are written. People argue, inform, express anger, and voice fears. Some say things in the heat of the moment that they might go on to regret. Others are elliptical and obscure. The enabling of such conversations is an important modern method of discovering and re-telling the news, and encourages previously uninvolved readers of the news to help gather and disseminate it--especially in times when traditional media is censored or afraid.

Continue reading »
May 31, 2012 5:19 PM ET |
Tags: Blogger, Chiranuch Premchaiporn, Computer Crime Act, Internet, Lèse Majesté, Legal Action, Prachatai, Social Media, Thai Netizen Network
CPJ Internet Channel | Belarus, Burma, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Uzbekistan

Most censored nations each distort the Net in own way

By Danny O'Brien/CPJ Internet Advocacy Coordinator
Iran has invested in technology with the explicit intent of restricting Internet access. (Reuters/Caren Firouz)

One big reason for the Internet's success is its role as a universal standard, interoperable across the world. The data packets that leave your computer in Botswana are the same as those which arrive in Barbados. The same is increasingly true of modern mobile networks. Standards are converging: You can use your phone, access an app, or send a text, wherever you are.

Continue reading »
May 2, 2012 4:00 PM ET | | Comments (2)
Tags: Blogger, Censored, Internet, Most Censored 2012
CPJ Internet Channel | China, UK, USA

Can selective blocking pre-empt wider censorship?

By Danny O'Brien/CPJ Internet Advocacy Coordinator
A screen shot showing part of a Twitter blog post in which the company announced it could now censor messages on a country-by-country basis. (AP/Twitter)

Last week, Twitter provoked a fierce debate online when it announced a new capability--and related policy--to hide tweets on a country-specific basis. By building this feature into its website's basic code, Twitter said it hoped to offer a more tailored response to legal demands to remove tweets globally. The company will inform users if any tweet they see has been obscured, and provide a record of all demands to remove content with the U.S.-based site chillingeffects.org.

Continue reading »
February 3, 2012 5:14 PM ET |
Tags: Blogger, Censored, Google, Internet, Social Media, Twitter
Main Index | Americas »
Subscribe
About this Blog

The CPJ Internet Channel examines the battle for free expression online.

Recent Tags
Associated Press Hacking Twitter Censored Harassed Social Media State Administration of Press Publication Radio Film and Television Weibo Alcatel-Lucent France Telecom-Orange Global Network Initiative Millicom Nokia Siemens Networks Telefonica Telenor TeliaSonera Vodafone Aye Aye Win Bertil Lintner Cyberattack
Active Discussions
Most Emailed
51 Internet cases in 2013
CPJ Internet News
Blogroll
Blog Archives