Update: They released the unofficial version of the DC Code under a CC-0 License. Josh Tauberer has the backstory. Copyright exists to incentivize people to create new works. The federal government is not allowed to copyright things, because they don’t need the added incentive, and it would be bad if they started charging for access […]
Archives for 2013
Security Lessons from the Big DDoS Attacks
March 29, 2013 by
Last week saw news of new Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. These may be the largest DDoS attacks ever, peaking at about 300 Gbps (that is, 300 billion bits per second) of traffic aimed at the target but, notwithstanding some of the breathless news coverage, these attacks are not vastly larger than anything before. […]
How the DMCA Chills Research
March 29, 2013 by
I have a new piece in Slate, on how the DMCA chills security research. In the piece, I tell three stories of DMCA threats against Alex Halderman and me, and talk about how Congress can fix the problem. “The Chilling Effects of the DMCA: The outdated copyright law doesn’t just hurt consumers—it cripples researchers.” “These […]
The New Freedom to Tinker Movement
March 21, 2013 by
When I started this blog back in 2002, I named it “Freedom to Tinker.” On the masthead, below the words Freedom to Tinker, was the subhead “… is your freedom to understand, discuss, repair, and modify the technological devices you own.” I believed at the time, as I still do, that this freedom is more […]
How the DMCA Serves as a Barrier to Accessibility
March 20, 2013 by
My op-ed on the DMCA’s barriers to accessibility just went live at Slate’s Future Tense. Here’s an excerpt: [A]mong the DMCA’s many flaws is a significant one of which most people aren’t aware: For more than a decade, the act has imposed a barrier to access for people with disabilities. It hinders access to books, […]
