News

So two days ago, we reported on a potential issue with some FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) ASICs from Microsemi/Actel; namely the ProASIC3. The issue was discovered by a group of researchers that were looking into a potential security risk with these programmable components. What they claimed to have found was a hidden backdoor that had its own key set which could allow for access into the chip for readback, re-programming and potentially wiping the instructions from the chip itself. You can read the original article here if you have not already

Someone accidentally let information slip about the next release of Microsoft’s cloud pushing operating system, Windows 8. According to many sources popping up today we should have already seen the links go live to the new preview. The problem is that none of this has happened. Originally when we heard the timing for the next consumer preview release it was around 4^th-6^th of June. This would put it in the first full week of June.

UPDATE 05/31/2012 16:39 EST
The links are live now

We have been following the Anti-Counterfeit Trade Agreement (ACTA) since it first leaked into the public eye. The agreement (as we have said) appears to be only about counterfeit physical goods, but anyone who really takes a look at the few leaked details (which have been kept pretty secret) will find that it is more about copyright law and protecting the IP of the software and entertainment industry (mostly the US portion of it) and restricting countries rights to enact and change their own laws outside of the agreement.

Well, we knew this would happen when we first heard about the case, but it seems that the lawyers defending MegaUpload have finally dropped the jurisdiction bomb on the US DoJ. The issue at hand is the same one that extended to the Pirate Bay when they were continually harassed by the content industry. If a corporation or individual does not commit the crime on US soil (or one of its protectorates) or have an agent that commits or assists in the commission of the crime they have no legal jurisdiction. In the case of MegaUpload they have no offices in the US and never have.