Here is a taste of some of the sort of things we chatted about this month - our version of the Chatham House Rule applies, so nobody is directly identified, in order to promote open communication, even on controversial, sensitive or potentially illegal topics.
This is not a substitute for coming along to the meetings in person: - remember that everyone is welcome, no matter your age or experience or skills (or lack of them), from both sides of the legal fence.
- Mathematical card trick - similarities to the binary tree searching used by RFID tag readers
- Evil Big Brother Government secret database copy of Communications Traffic Data logfiles, in addition to those retained by ISPs and telcos. This can only be for illegal or immoral "phishing" and snooping in secret, without even the weak safeguards of Data Protection Act section 29 orders.
Some techniques to avoid or complicate such snooping:
- Tor Exit relay nodes - embarrassingly low number of active Tor Exit nodes in the UK - please set up one yourself:
- GSM Gateways for price tariff arbitrage and hard to trace phone calls and SMS text messages.
- Open Blue Box Project
- Confusing mobile phone billing systems with multiple number portability transfers, and references to Ofcom investigations.
- House of Commons Home Affairs Committee - report into A Surveillance Society - embargoed advance copy
- Mobile phone clamshell style Ultraviolet anti-bacterial and ant-virus sterlisation lamp - vital for fingerprint scanners, keyboards, phones etc when the next infectious disease epidemic hits.
Also useful for making life more difficult by degrading forensic DNA samples.
Available from online office supply merchants e.g. Astroplast Nano-UV disinfectant light scanner - £20 - £30 each.
- Apple Laser Printing - literally
- Phorm secret illegal technical trial by British Telecom
- Geocaching web travel bugs
- Gary McKinnon appeal to the House of Lords on Monday 15th June, 11:00am, Committee Room 1, Palace of Westminster - free entry - but limited space for the public.
Possible legal fireworks with a call to prosecute the former US prosecutors, for contempt of court, perjury and attempting to pervert the course of justice. This might also include Ed Gibson, the former FBI special agent and Legal Attache at the US Embassy in London, now Chief Security Advisor for Microsoft UK.
- Mobile Phone extended keyboard:
- Erlang versus "Muddleware".
- Path Intelligence tracking of mobile phones in a shopping centre via TMSI and sometimes IMSI. - surely this is illegal under the Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006 ?
- BrumCon - crypto talk - where was the party ?
- Wikileaks.org - why trust a supposedly "anonymous whistleblower" website now their SSL Digital Certificate has expired , not just their PGP key