Privacy, Government, Surveillance, and You.

Regin was probably made by either the US, the UK or one of the Nordics (Regin was a character from Norse Mythology).

Apparently - at least according to an IT friend of mine - security companies like to claim that malware is state-made because it gets them publicity. I'd wait before passing judgement.

On the plus side, at least Symantec is still actually tracking malware and stuff every once in a while instead of finding new and creative ways to assume you a pirate and/or attempt to delete itself as a virus.

edited 24th Nov '14 11:40:50 AM by Pykrete

Speak for yourself. I removed Norton 360 from my main computer because it bluescreened me after an update.

Oh, their front-facing products are still crap. I was talking about their offices that appear to be doing their job and documenting actual threats.

I removed that garbage years ago because it preemptively deleted any executable I created in CS as a trojan.

edited 24th Nov '14 4:38:50 PM by Pykrete

Can people own drones, or anti-air weaponry yet?

For the most part, restrictions on privately owned drones are on where they can be flown, not who can fly them (not counting purely military hardware).

As for "anti-air", given that drones in general (especially commercially available ones that the public can acquire) are really sensitive to extra weight, they can't really be armored or otherwise hardened. If one gets close enough a shotgun will do the trick, and a hunting rifle used by an expert marksman is going to make a targeted drone have a rather short life that ends in violence.

If you are talking about ways to protect yourself from privately owned drones (it isnt clear from your wording if that is what you are asking about) then the law is very fragmented and incomplete. In most jurisdictions you wont be allowed to use a firearm, because of the public safety issues that involves. Most police departments will advise you against downing a drone at all, because they are afraid it will crash and hurt someone. There are some online guides to hacking drones, basically by jamming their radio communications, but I cant vouch for how accurate or practical those techniques might be. Off the top of my head, if you find yourself being stalked by a mysterious drone, flying at low altitude, the best counter measure might be ramming it with a small model airplane (a "drone interceptor" as it were).

edited 24th Nov '14 6:59:00 PM by demarquis

Of course, these are now being called "drones" now as well. As for the Law, I think they're still catching up on the whole.

edited 24th Nov '14 11:46:16 PM by Greenmantle

nm

edited 25th Nov '14 7:37:06 AM by speedyboris

That website isn't real. I was alerted by the Ted Cruz and Sarah Palin faces on the banner, and the "Which minority should lose the right to vote?" poll on the front page.

edited 25th Nov '14 7:38:08 AM by Achaemenid

Damn fake news sites. At least with The Onion, the articles are FUNNY.

Well duh, the only way to stop a bad guy with a drone is a good guy with a drone.

Define "bad guy".

I think he was taking the piss.

In the broadest sense of morally relativity? Probably anyone who does something that you don't believe is right.

At least, that's what I think Silas meant.

edited 25th Nov '14 9:27:55 AM by MarqFJA

Of course, but that is the problem, isn't it? When "bad guy" is a matter of personal definition, you've just opened the skies to a free-for-all.

How about starting with an example/a type of bad guy, then?

For example, stalkers/harassers.

Your neighbor who's flying a model airplane in his back yard is "stalking" you. Shoot it down!

edited 25th Nov '14 9:50:44 AM by Fighteer

That would be the logical solution. However, as demarquis said above:

Okay, so get out your own drone and ram it. Same thing. Chaos.

But if you want to avoid chaos, you'll have to get a court restriction or something.

Thing is, can you imagine the numerous complaints and requests that would arise from such a thing?

Achae is right, I was taking the piss with my comment. Though I fully expect that to be the actual reaction from some folks.

Most jurisdictions have laws against endangering someone with a flying device, so if a drone is close enough to possibly endanger someone, you might be allowed to bring it down. Of course, the owner of such a drone is perhaps somewhat unlikely to bring charges, since they were probably peeping on you (why else buzz you like that). So it's a case of, if you want to down a drone, you take your chances legally.

Also, most jurisdictions will make a distinction between recreational model airplanes and drones based on size and potential commercial applications. The use of small airplanes is less regulated. You could always claim they collided by accident.

Lee Rigby murder: Internet firms must do more on terror, says PM