MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2014 technology

Encrypted goes to war with snoopers

WASHINGTON: It’s a fully encrypted used PGP () standard, phone that could be carried by executives, smartphone which aims to foil snooping and former Apple cryptographic expert government officials, activists or ordinary governments, industry rivals and hackers. Jon Callas. Last year, Silent Circle halted its people. It’s also a sleek, attractive device that fits encrypted email service to avoid becom- “It’s sexy, it’s thin, it’s sleek, but it also in your pocket and can impress friends ing a target after the US government sub- solves a problem,” Janke said. “You can still and colleagues, according to its makers. poenaed the records of a similar service go to Google and browse the web, but The Blackphone is set to be released next called Lavabit. Google doesn’t know who you are. It’s a month by the secure communications “We destroyed all that data,” said Janke, high-end smartphone. The user doesn’t firm Silent Circle and the small Spanish- while adding that the company never have to know how to use or how to spell based manufacturer Geeksphone, amid a faced a subpoena. Silent Circle customers encryption.” As an added assurance to cus- fever pitch of concern over revelations include major global corporations, human tomers, the Blackphone venture is incor- about vast US surveillance of data and rights activists and even the Tibetan gov- porated in Switzerland with a Swiss data telephony. ernment in exile. Because of its work, he center and has “minimal data retention.” But Silent Circle chief executive Mike said, “almost all of the major smartphone “All we have is the user name you give Janke said his company was working on manufacturers came to us” to collaborate us and a 10-digit phone number,” he said. the handset even before last year’s revela- on a more secure smartphone. Even if the company faced a court order in tions about the wide-ranging US National Janke said Silent Circle chose to form a Switzerland, it could only hand over the Security Agency programs, leaked by for- joint venture for Blackphone with the user name. Authorities seeking more mer contractor Edward Snowden. “We did small Spanish company which recently information would need to subpoena a this because there was a problem that began making smartphones using the separate payment processing firm “and was not being solved: secure communica- Firefox . The larger firms, try to match that to our users,” Janke said. tions,” Janke said in an interview in the said Janke, “want to own your soul. These Janke said there is interest in the device Silent Circle offices overlooking the companies are in the business of monetiz- worldwide, and that Blackphone has “ver- NATIONAL HARBOR: Mike Janke, CEO & Co-Founder of Silent Circle holds a typi- Potomac River just outside Washington. ing data.” bal pre-orders” from four international cal smartphone similar in styling to a new encrypted smartphone called, “The Silent Circle was formed in 2011 and in Silent Circle developed a modified or telecom carriers and 30 enterprise cus- Blackphone.” — AFP 2013 launched apps and other services “forked” version of Android called PrivatOS tomers. cern that the Blackphone would be asso- said, adding that “brute force” attacks to which allow smartphone and PC users to for the phone, which is set to be unveiled Interest in Blackphone, Janke said, sug- ciated with the US government. break encryption are rare because they send encrypted messages and videos. at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on gests “several million” will be sold within “We decided to distribute this our- are time-consuming, and that spy agen- The Blackphone is an extension of that February 24. 12 months, and some 10 million total over selves,” he said. Customers worldwide are cies generally use other means like insert- effort, says Janke, a former Navy SEAL the coming four years. He did not disclose interested “because it’s not just the NSA- ing viruses in emails or hardware that can who co-founded the firm with other ex- ‘It’s sexy, it’s thin’ where the Blackphone would be made, there are 72 countries that have some intercept messages. Because of this, Janke SEALs and Silicon Valley cryptographic The company declined to release but said there would be “neutral” partners NSA-like capabilities and they’re all spying is careful not to promise too much. He experts. detailed specifications or pricing ahead of making components and a tightly con- on us and on each other. If you’re living in said Blackphone is not a “hardened” “We offer completely encrypted, peer- the unveiling, but Janke said it will be sold trolled assembly process to ensure no Kenya or Germany or Argentina, you have device like some designed for military use. to-peer communications. We have around the world at prices lower than the backdoors are inserted. the same threats.” Even though some “There is no such thing as a completely encrypted video, encrypted text and iPhone 5S or Samsung Galaxy S4. But he Janke said the US State Department reports suggest the NSA has found ways secure phone,” he said. “Nothing is going secure VoIP (Voice-over-Internet-Protocol) maintained it would be comparable in wanted to buy some of the phones and to intercept encrypted communications, to protect you from your own behavior. calls,” Janke said. The founders include Phil terms of performance to those flagship distribute them to human rights groups Janke said his systems will be effective. But out of the box, this phone does a lot Zimmermann, who created the widely devices. It is designed as a user-friendly but that the company refused, out of con- “We know that encryption works,” he of things to protect your privacy.” — AFP Flying car spreads its wings in Slovakia ‘Prettiest and best-designed airborne automobile’ BRATISLAVA: Mankind’s primordial dream of flight is taking off with a new twist as a Slovak prototype of a flying car spreads its wings. Inspired by the dreamy books about flying by French authors Jules Verne and Antoine de Saint Exupery, Slovak designer and engineer Stefan Klein has been honing his flying machine since the early 1990s. “I got the idea to start working on a vehicle of the future at university, but honestly, who hasn’t dreamt of flying while being stuck in the traffic?” Klein said. “Flying’s in my blood-my grandfather and my father flew ultra-light air- craft and I got my pilot’s license before I was old enough to drive a car,” said Klein, who has designed cars for BMW, Volkswagen and Audi CARACAS: A person touches a cell phone app called Pocket Police in Caracas on and now teaches at the Bratislava-based Saturday. A free app for certain smartphones that works as a “panic button” in emer- Academy of Fine Arts and Design. gencies has been launched in Venezuela, one of the world’s most violent countries, a His elegant blue-and-white vehicle for two lawmaker said Saturday. — AFP is six metres (20 feet) long so it fits neatly in a parking space or a garage and tanks up at any filling station. But once it reaches an airport it Venezuela creates can unfold its wings within seconds becoming a plane. Dubbed “the world’s prettiest and BRATISLAVA: Slovak engineer Stefan Klein posing with his car models in Bratislava, Slovakia. best-designed airborne automobile so far” by Inspired by the dreamy books of French authors Jules Verne and Antoine de Saint Exupery phone ‘panic button’ US aviation magazine Flying and Inhabitat.com about flying, Slovak designer and engineer Stefan Klein has been honing his flying machine design, an innovation website, the Aeromobil on wheels since the early 1990s. —AFP CARACAS: A free app for certain smart- It could also help police in kidnapping also has the distinction of originating in flight. Once airborne, the it can reach a top craft,” SFUL president Federation Milan Ciba phones that works as a “panic button” in and murder cases, he said, since the Slovakia, the world’s largest per-capita car pro- speed of 200km/h (124 mph) and travel as far said. “Pilot/drivers will need to have both a dri- emergencies has launched in Venezuela, information “can help provide details on ducer. as 700 km (430 miles), consuming 15 litres (4 ver’s and pilot’s licence with at least 25 flying one of the world’s most violent countries, the last location of the person.” The appli- “So far there have been about twenty gallons) of petrol per hour. hours,” he added. An enthusiastic pilot himself, a lawmaker said Saturday. The “pocket cation, which was developed by Sanchez attempts to manufacture a flying car around “A combination of a car and a plane will Klein remains down to earth when looking to police” app “allows people to notify their along with a team of computer experts the globe,” the president of the Slovak Ultra always lose against the competition when we the future. “I don’t expect Aeromobil to go into families in real-time of emergencies, from two Venezuela universities-is only Light Aviation Federation, Milan Ciba, said. start comparing energy consumption,” Jan mass production, it will always be an alterna- without collapsing the Venezuelan secu- available on Blackberry devices currently. “Among them, Aeromobil appears very Lesinsky from the Slovak University of tive means of transport,” Klein said. rity system,” explained Ricardo Sanchez, a Sanchez said he hopes to make improve- viable,” he said. Technology told AFP. But would-be users “It can, however, be very interesting for member of the National Assembly’s ments based on suggestions from the could glide by long lines and security checks countries with vast areas lacking infrastructure Domestic Policy Committee. “You can Venezuela science and technology min- ‘Make their lives easier’ at airports, saving time on medium-distance like Russia, China or Australia,” he added. add up to three contacts, with emails istry and local municipalities. Other models include the US-based journeys. Klein and his team are currently Flying cars will most likely take off among and phone numbers, who will receive Venezuela’s homicide rate according to Terrafugia’s “Transition” flying car expected to working on the next generation of Aeromobil pilots licensed for ultra-light aircraft, says Ciba. the message with your geo-referenced NGOs is 79 per 100,000 people, the high- be launched on the market within a year, while that will go into production in a few months “It would make their lives so much easier-they location in case of an emergency,” he est in the world-though the government the helicopter-type Dutch PAL-V gyrocopter and hopefully receive Slovak Ultra Light would be able to park their car/aircraft at said. According to the lawmaker, sending figure is lower, at 39 per 100,000. In 2013, could go on sale in this year. Klein’s dream Aircraft Certification (SFUL). home, drive to the airport, take off, land and the message-a text or email-just requires the Venezuelan Violence Monitor NGO took to the skies in September when he pilot- “Would-be users would have to follow the drive to their destination without switching touching a button on screen. counted more than 24,000 deaths. — AFP ed the Aeromobil during its first wobbly test legislation already in place for ultra light air- vehicles,” he muses. — AFP Soaring electricity prices Toy train town takes back zap struggling Spaniards grid in German power shift FRANKFURT: The southern German town of Goeppingen, set in networks bears the risk of becoming inefficient,” he said. MADRID: Struggling Spaniards are rebelling against high elec- brainchild of the scheme. “It was a success thanks to the people the Alpine foothills, is a magnet for tourists and famous for Nevertheless, since 2007, some 80 new local utilities have tricity prices, which have soared by 42 percent since an econom- who raised their voice to day ‘I want to pay less for electricity’,” being the home of toy train maker Maerklin. For activists in the been set up to supply electricity, gas, water, and heat, according ic crisis erupted in 2008. Buckling under a 26-percent unemploy- the organization said, congratulating participants. German “Rekommunalisierung” movement that wants to take to their business lobby, the VKU, which represents 1,400 such ment rate after five years of stop-start recession, many Spaniards local electricity networks away from the big utilities and put companies.There could be many more to come. battle to pay their electricity bills, the third highest in the Distribution tariff them back in public hands, picturesque Goeppingen now has European Union after Cyprus and Ireland. In the two-part process that determines how much another reason to be proud. Bottom-up The increase in prices is “hair-raising”, said Cote Romero, coor- Spaniards must pay to power their homes, the state sets a tariff Last spring, the town of 60,000 paid 23 million euros ($32 Some 8,000 out of 14,000 land concession contracts, mostly dinator of Platform for a New Energy Model, which unites 270 for energy distribution and companies bid for the right to sell million) to buy back its power network from utility EnBW , in the granted on a 15 or 20 year basis to private interests in the 1990s, groups including protesters against economic inequality, leftists, and distribute it. “It is a speculative auction in which half of the biggest remunicipalisation in the southern state of Baden are up for renewal between 2010 and 2015. In a backlash unions, cooperatives and ecological organisations. Some 1.5 mil- players are financial players,” said Romero, whose platform lob- Wuerttemberg to date. “We wanted to make our essential sup- against Germany’s liberalised energy market, where power pro- lion homes were left without electricity in 2012 for failing to pay bies in Spain and before the European Commission. In a ply line free from speculation and to keep the local infrastruc- duction and distribution are in the hands of a few large German bills, she said, leaving families with no hot water or cooking facil- December auction to set the electricity tariff for the first quarter ture in our ownership for a long time,” mayor Guido Till, who has and international groups, activists around the country are trying ities. “But without getting to that dramatic point, there are many of 2014, the price soared, threatening to push bills up by 11 per- ruled Goeppingen for nine years, told Reuters from his town hall. to claw back network assets into the public sector and are doing families severely rationing their energy consumption,” said cent. “We will keep more jobs in Goeppingen than EnBW would this with highly visible campaigns. Romero. By the end of 2012, 17.9 percent of Spanish house- The outcry was such that Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s con- have secured in the long term,” Till, 59, said. Prices have also The movement is part of a Europe-wide trend of creeping holds-more than three million-were unable to adequately warm servative government intervened to cancel the result, fixing an come down as a result of the move. The mayor, a former Social renationalization of the utilities industry. their homes, according to the National Statistics Institute. The increase of 2.3 percent for the quarter while it seeks a new pric- Democrat who now thinks the party is too left wing, enjoys With energy production more and more localised via count- Spanish Red Cross said in a report Friday that of the families it ing mechanism. Secretary of State for Energy Alberto Nadal said cross party support and this was reflected in the move to take less solar panels and thousands of windmills dotting the had helped, 38 percent were without electricity, “a problem of the Spanish electricity market needed more transparency and the town’s power grid into local ownership. Goeppingen’s deci- German landscape, remunicipalisation enthusiasts want power the first magnitude”. competition. Nevertheless, he blamed high prices on the previ- sion also reflects the mood in Germany, where opinion polls grids to have the same local flavor. “A bottom-up energy shift is Roman Catholic agency Caritas said its aid to families suffer- ous Socialist government’s rapid and subsidised introduction of show two thirds of voters back green energy policies and would to everyone’s benefit,” reads a Friends of the Earth Germany ing from “energy poverty” had multiplied by more than 300 per- renewable energies based on expensive technologies. also prefer power networks to be managed by local suppliers. (BUND) brochure. cent over the past two years. A family with two children paid an As a result, he said, by the end of 2012, the Spanish electrici- EnBW said it had accepted Goeppingen’s decision and suc- But not all municipalities are motivated by environmental or average 844.80 euros ($1,140) for electricity in 2013, up from ty deficit the gap between the cost of the energy supplied and cessfully handed over the network to its new owners. But it said ideological concerns. Local power transport networks yield 590.20 euros in 2008, according to Industry Ministry data. the regulated price paid by consumers-amounted to 26 billion the fragmentation of German network ownership would not steady fees for their public owners, while the local management Almost half a million consumers joined forces in October to euros, for which consumers paid 2.7 billion euros a year in inter- necessarily help the expansion of renewable energy. gives their services a measure of proximity to boot. make the first collective purchase of electricity in Spain to try to est and capital. Greenpeace Spain’s energy spokesman Jose Luis The president of the German Federal Cartel Office, Andreas Mayor Till said his approach was based on economics rather negotiate a lower price. Thanks to an online company, Garcia, said that argument was false. “It is a campaign by the big Mundt, has also spoken critically about buying back grids. “It is than ideology. As a private concern, his city’s grid would have to HolaLuz.com, which says it distributes green energy, they man- electricity companies to discredit and then eliminate renewable important that these local companies do not shun the competi- make a profit for investors, but as a public operation he can run aged to save an average of 49 euros a year, and up to 180 euros energies because of the competition they represent,” Garcia tive market. We also believe that too much fragmentation of it with a modest margin and keep tariffs low, he said. — Reuters in some cases, said the Consumers and Users’ Organization, the said. — AFP