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Dmitry Protests Running
Tom writes "the US-wide protests against Adobe and Dmitri Sklyarov's arrest in LA last week are running at full speed. eastcoast protests have already posted pictures - here from New York and here from Saint Paul.
More protests are running right now, or scheduled for later today. meanwhile, Adobe has pulled a "we did nothing wrong" press release from their webpage that they put up earlier today. and EFF is meeting with adobe representatives, expected end of talks: around noon PST." Imagine if IBM had arrested the people who cloned BIOS. What an amazing change the world has gone through in just a few short years. Way to go Adobe. In the future the bigger company will just arrest the smaller company's CEOs for competing. That can't be legal. Worst of all, our taxes are footing the bill.
Update: 07/23 7PM EDT by C :In response to Sklyarov's arrest, an online pettition has been started. If you would like to let others know your stance on the arrest and the DMCA issues in general, then feel free to add your name to the already grouing list.
But if we in the same situation today... even if Compaq developed an independent BIOS through (then) legal backward engineering the Compaq engineers would be locked up. What would be of the PC today if that had happened?
Backward engineering was a genuine approach before, obviously you couldn't develop new products from secretly obtained information either through poaching IBM engineers or stealing manuals. However you could take a product, measure it's inputs, outputs and functionality then independently develop a product based upon those readings, thanks to the DCMA this is no more however. Hence less competition.
If this isn't stopped, companies will soon be able to argue that posession of a screwdriver is illegal because it could be used to open (and crack) a proprietary device. This country is fscked.
That's not the press release. You can read the press release at http://www.lethe.com/dmca.htm
Actually, there were two stories mentioning the protests on the front page. Maybe the fact that the EFF wanted the protests to be put on hold might of affected turnout.
Duh...
Hetz (Heunique)
The same way that Abortion, Gun-Control, Salmon, Education, Roads, and Drunk-Driving Laws are.
Get a group togeather, form a non-profit and send out nasty letters to anyone that will listen. Bitch and moan loud enough and people will listen.
In the late 1970s in the US, there was little enforcment of drunk-driving laws. It's because of a grass-roots effort by MADD that things happened.
In the early 1980s people (including my Mother) bitched and whined loud enough in Eugene OR that the U.S. Department of Defense didn't place a radio tower in the town. Yes...some hippies in Eugene stopped the DoD during the Cold War, if they can do that...don't tell me that you can't DMCA a campaign issue.
I've not followed the case outside of the headlines I've seen here, but I'm going to comment on the "taxes footing the bill".
The reason our (Americans) taxes are footing the bill is because it's a Federal Issue, not a local or state government issue. And also remeber that as a Corporation, Adobe is also paying taxes...and thus they are also footing the bill.
If you don't want your Federal Taxes going to things like the FBI...you have a number of alternatives.
1. Don't pay your taxes.
2. Move somewhere that doesn't subscribe to DMCA or whatever idiotic agreement Adobe is using to justify this to the Federal Government.
3. Vote in Local and Federal Elections
4. Don't support the companies that do this kind of thing.
IBM would have pressed charges. Thats why they took the clean room approach.
The important difference is that with current legislation 'Merkins aren't even allowed to do a clean-room implementation if the original is stored in ROT-13...
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Here in Chicago I got email today about the noon protest(s), which the EFF had announced in previous days was "on hold." Alas I got busy putting together a couple of new machines ande didn't see the email until the protests were over, so while I was all set last Friday to take a couple of hours off around noon-time and join the protests, I ended up missing them altogether as a direct result of the EFF's notice to hold off. I am understandably quite annoyed.
... they almost certainly expected this outcry when they had Dmitry arrested, and this action to diminish any protests was almost certainly calculated for just that effect. What is annoying is the EFF's role in taking that bait hook, line, and sinker.
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The EFF's conduct (disclaimer: I am a paying member of the EFF) in this aspect of the entire issue was unhelpful, to say the least. Which is probably exactly what Adobe intended by scheduling the talks for today, while Dmitry rots in an undisclosed jail somewhere.
Adobe's attourney-goons and PR droids aren't stupid
The appropriate approach would have been to continue the call for protests and have the protests go on while negotiating. This is typically what is done by other groups, Unions, etc. Caving before-the-fact and calling off protests just to get the other side to the negotiating table is not how one goes about strengthening one's hand, or one's cause
The Future of Human Evolution: Autonomy
I could only count about 5-8 in the NY shots. Oh boy ...
- sigs are for wimps.
There was a court case, wasn't there? Civil, not criminal, though. Because at some point IIRC a judge ruled that Phoenix had pursued appropriate reverse-engineering practices. That is the relevant case law upon which "clean room" reverse engineering is based. The only thing missing at the time was the media attention.
It's interesting how corporations are "people" in some regards but not in others. Shouldn't the FBI be going after Elcomsoft the company, not just a programmer that works for them? If Elcomsoft was bankrupt, their creditors would only be able to seize the company, not individual employees' property; shouldn't employees be protected from criminal prosecution in the same way? Of course, this only makes sense if there are real ways to punish whole corporations; the current system of a slap-on-the-wrist fine for an essentially immortal corporation is insufficient.
P.S. Mirror the photos, please, it's going to be a long day for those web servers :)
Your right to not believe: Americans United for Separation of Church and
You missed one. Look at the end users of the devices in question (e-book readers). My mother doesn't care about most of this stuff, but when I told her about this:
E-Book Users: Not only can you not use your books (often purchased for more than the cost of their paper counterparts) wherever and however you want, someone got arrested for trying to help you do that.
When I told her about the software, my mother wanted to know where/how to buy/use it.
Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
Adobe comments on government action under DMCA
Adobe's goal in the Elcomsoft case is to help protect the copyrighted works of authors, artists, developers and publishers. Adobe reported this suspected eBook authors' copyright violation to the U.S. Attorney's office. Based on the information gathered in the investigation (see affidavit ), the U.S. Government chose to take legal action to stop the sale of the for-profit security cracking code, and unilaterally decided to arrest Dmitry Sklyarov.
Elcomsoft found a security weakness and made no effort to communicate what it found to Adobe. Instead, the company distributed a software product for profit that can be used to compromise copyrighted works in the United States, violating U.S. law. Adobe took every measure likely to be successful to get Elcomsoft to cease and desist. Adobe's legal department sent letters to Elcomsoft, their ISP and their credit card clearing house used to offer these products for sale. Adobe forwarded the case to the U.S. Attorney's office only after Elcomsoft failed to respond and/or cease and desist. Our goal has been to stop the sale of the program in the U.S.
Contrary to some reports, the issue is not that Adobe alerted the U.S. government about an expert exposing security weaknesses. In fact, Adobe encourages its customers and the software community, including White Hat security experts, to provide feedback on the performance of its software in order to make improvements. Adobe's concern is that a "digital lock pick" is being distributed to enable others to compromise the copyrighted works of authors, artists, developers and publishers, which is why Adobe alerted the U.S. Attorney's office.
Corporate
Q: How are your customers, the publishing community, responding to this?
A: The Electronic Frontier Foundation considers themselves a leading civil liberties organization that works to protect right in the digital world. We are in constant communication with our customers who are also concerned about issues of privacy and protection of digital property. There is strong support from the publishing community, as evidenced by the statement from the American Association of Publishers. While the laws to enforce the protection of digital media are in their infancy, we believe they are based on the same principles as traditional media--protect the copyrights of authors, artists, developers and publishers while balancing the right to fair use.
Q: What's going on with the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)?
A: We are engaged in discussions with the EFF to work together to address this situation. We believe a mutual frank discussion of how best to resolve the current issues will benefit Adobe and EFF.
Q: As a result of this case, what is Adobe doing to strengthen the security of its products?
A: Security is an ongoing effort at Adobe. The company is committed to strengthening the security of its products by using sophisticated, industry-standard levels of software encryption and working with the software community, including White Hat security experts, to incorporate features to advance the quality of the product.
Legal questions
Q: Elcomsoft claims that eBooks in Adobe PDF are insecure and that the encryption is weak, including ROT-13 which is notorious for its lack of security. Are those claims true?
A: Adobe has never sold ROT-13 as a security product. Adobe incorporates sophisticated, industry-standard levels of software encryption to make our products difficult to compromise. However, no software is 100% secure from a determined, illegal attack. When used legally and in its intended fashion, the Acrobat eBook Reader secures eBooks purchased by locking the eBook to the hardware from which it was purchased. The Elcomsoft software circumvents the security afforded by our software to protect copyrighted works.
I'm getting sick and tired of all the "libertarians" who just use "stop whining" on their opponents all the time to make their opponents look like spoilt brats. (Yes, OT I know.) There should be some kind of law like Godwin's Law against that ;) j/k
Female Prison Rape in NY
Amen. I would've attended the Austin protest (a mere 4 blocks from where I was sitting when it was going on) had I know it was happening!
-Renard
(Revving up Adobe PR machine...)
These are the key points that will be developed in the FAQ below:
Adobe's goal in the Elcomsoft case is to help protect the copyrighted works of authors, artists, developers and publishers. Adobe reported this suspected eBook authors' copyright violation to the U.S. Attorney's office. Based on the information gathered in the investigation (see affidavit ), the U.S. Government chose to take legal action to stop the sale of the for-profit security cracking code, and unilaterally decided to arrest Dmitry Sklyarov.
Elcomsoft found a security weakness and made no effort to communicate what it found to Adobe. Instead, the company distributed a software product for profit that can be used to compromise copyrighted works in the United States, violating U.S. law. Adobe took every measure likely to be successful to get Elcomsoft to cease and desist. Adobe's legal department sent letters to Elcomsoft, their ISP and their credit card clearing house used to offer these products for sale. Adobe forwarded the case to the U.S. Attorney's office only after Elcomsoft failed to respond and/or cease and desist. Our goal has been to stop the sale of the program in the U.S.
Contrary to some reports, the issue is not that Adobe alerted the U.S. government about an expert exposing security weaknesses. In fact, Adobe encourages its customers and the software community, including White Hat security experts, to provide feedback on the performance of its software in order to make improvements. Adobe's concern is that a "digital lock pick" is being distributed to enable others to compromise the copyrighted works of authors, artists, developers and publishers, which is why Adobe alerted the U.S. Attorney's office.
Corporate
Q: How are your customers, the publishing community, responding to this?
A: The Electronic Frontier Foundation considers themselves a leading civil liberties organization that works to protect right in the digital world. We are in constant communication with our customers who are also concerned about issues of privacy and protection of digital property. There is strong support from the publishing community, as evidenced by the statement from the American Association of Publishers. While the laws to enforce the protection of digital media are in their infancy, we believe they are based on the same principles as traditional media--protect the copyrights of authors, artists, developers and publishers while balancing the right to fair use.
Q: What's going on with the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)?
A: We are engaged in discussions with the EFF to work together to address this situation. We believe a mutual frank discussion of how best to resolve the current issues will benefit Adobe and EFF.
Q: As a result of this case, what is Adobe doing to strengthen the security of its products?
Dmitry Protests Running
My first thought: "What does this Dmitry guy have against running?"
I had to read the blurb to fully understand that. Come on, headline common sense. It should tell you clearly what the story is about. If I had a red pen, I'd circle the word "running" and scrawl "WC?"
I'll stop bitching offtopic now.
-jKarma: T-rexcellent.
IBM would have pressed charges. Thats why they took the clean room approach.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
1. For the Computer User "Anyone who is a frequent computer user probably hears about how one program or another has a security problem. You're usually directed with instructions of where to download the fix or patch. Even a couple of years ago, the security experts that would find the problems would often be thanked publicly or even be given a check. Now, however, it gets you arrested. Dmitry Sklyarov gave a talk on the security flaws in Adobe's encrypted pdf system, and Adobe reacted by having the FBI arrest him on criminal charges."
2. For Adobe's Customers: "Adobe charges you thousands of dollars for encrypted pdf solutions. If there was a security problem in this solution, how would you like it handled? Ideally, it would be a proactive admission of the problem, and the innovation and release of a solution. However, the DMCA makes it possible and legal for Adobe to handle it differently: sue to keep it quiet. When companies use this strategy, as Adobe has in the arrest of Dmitry Sklaryov, a student who gave a talk on faulty security mechanisms, it means that you cannot be confident that your secure solution is actually secure, and you cannot be confident that other people out there don't already have the means to break your security."
3. For the corporate president: "Relying on the DMCA invites you to lose your competitive edge. If you are in the technology sphere, you rely on innovative solutions. You sell your solutions using phrases such as 'time-tested', 'robust', and 'secure'. The DMCA invites you to protect your products not through innovation, but through lawsuits and intimidation. When you protect through lawsuit, you are not protecting through evolution. You may win in the short run, but you erode your long-term viability. When you act as Adobe just has in arresting a foreign programmer who pointed out flaws in their product, you have succeeded in silencing and penalizing the voice of potentially useful information, but you haven't improved your product."
4.For the patriot: "Since the birth of our nation, 'Yankee Ingenuity' has been a phrase that has described the American spirit of our inventors, our tinkerers, our problem-solvers. There has always been an American right to take things apart to see how they work. Now, it is illegal. If someone wants to take apart a company's security protocol to see how it works, with no intention of selling or pirating the media it protects, that someone can be thrown in jail for five years and given a $500,000 fine. Last week, Adobe took advantage of this law and started to destroy a man's life. This anti-innovative spirit is far from what America used to be about, and America isn't what it once was. The man who was arrested is from Russia - and what he did is legal there."
5.For Adobe: "Adobe had a man arrested last week for committing crimes - investigating and talking about shoddy security implementations - that every security professional employed by Adobe would probably be guilty of if the law had existed 15 years ago."
6.For Vladimir Putin: "So you have a citizen, a student, doing PhD work in computer security, and a Russian company that creates software that protects the legal rights and responsibilities of Russian consumers. The product is designed to be used for a person's personal material and even has safeguards against using it for piracy purposes. The company does not sell or distribute pirated material. This citizen travelled to the United States to give an academic talk. The United States government, beholden to a US Corporation, then arrested your Russian citizen and is now holding him without bail."
tune
skkkoooonnnggggkkk ptui
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A crisis such as this one is an important test case for Slashdot as an organizing medium for the tech community. In this instance, Slashdot has completely failed. Even just reporting about the protests would not have been enough, you need to motivate people to take part in such a protest shortly before it. Show images, link to videos, post a permanent story on the front page -- that singals importance. You have to reach people's emotions to get them off their asses (and for that, you have to get off your own ass, Hemos). Do you think CmdrTaco and Hemos will understand that? Or will anyone who points out their failure simply be moderated down? Slashdot is a site with great political potential -- but in spite of years in the making, it has failed to realize its potential so far.
Visitors only have a limited viewtime per day. Do you really want to give that all to Slashdot, if it degenerates into a fake community site primarily giving you a highly filtered digest of CNN, ZDNet, Wired News and press releases? If this is not a test case -- an unjust arrest, an unconstitutional law, rallies all over the nation --, then what is?
You may want to check out some alternatives:
Others?
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Here's a write-up and pix, courtesy DC Indymedia.
A relevant email list for subsequent Washington, DC activities concerning Dmitry and the DMCA can be found here (might be temp. offline).
Sincerely,
Vergil
Vergil Bushnell
Insects and Grafitti Photos
The San Jose protest went well, although I can't speak for the protests in other cities.
I got there at 11, we were in a park not far from Adobe HQ, we stayed there until noon to attract attention, then we marched two blocks down to Adobe HQ and chanted stuff like "Free Dmitry" for another hour until the meeting with the EFF indoors ended. The EFF representatives waved to us and one of the contest leaders got a call from them saying our efforts helped.
Overall, it was rather fun, and the cops gave us no problems. One of them actually honked and waved to us.
There were several news reporters milling about asking people stuff. I'd say the entire thing was an overall success.
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Can you imagine a MOSIX cluster of these?
Can you imagine a MOSIX cluster of these?
I propose the (DFCA)Digital Freedom Continuence Act. "1. Congress Shall Pass no law restricting your ability to do anything digitally that you can do through handwritten, and or Analog means. 2. Congress shall not allow the granting of a patent for any device that would knowingly impinge upon your ability to do anything digitally that you could do via handwritten or Analog means. 3. It shall be unlawful to distribute technology which would knowingly violate the Free Speech and Fair use intentions of the Consitution of the United states of America. 4. It shall hence forth be understood that once "content" is purchased, it is the purchaser's right to do what ever they choose with that content, and shall have the right to do as they have always been able to do via handwritten, or analog means. 5. Congress Shall repeal the DMCA it does not serve the people of United States in any fair way shape or form. It abridges the freedoms that are set forth in the constitution. 6. Congress shall pass no law which prevents fair use of media, nor shall it support any initive which would do the same. 6a. it shall be illegal to develop technology or any other means which would prevent fair use of media."
Power Corrupts,Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely, leaving one person(group)in charge is absolutely corrupt.
It's ignorant morons like you who have kneejerk reactions to everything without bothering to actually READ anything that junk up slashdot with useless comments.
Well, you and whatever jackass moderator that actually modded your comments up.
you are in the US.. a country in which corporations gained legal personhood BEFORE Blacks, poor Whites, and Natives
if adobe can't find a way to use the DCMA to quash the protests, they'll buy some new law that will give them a way..
The list goes on...
The biggest problem with the DMCA -- and the
problem which this whole issue highlights -- is
that it criminalizes what should be a civil issue.
It may be that there's some room for civil penalties when someone distributes a copyrighted
work w/o permission. It might (a stretch, but
might) even be workable to have fines and accountability for tools whose sole purpose are
to distribute copyrighted works w/o permission.
But throw somebody in JAIL because they did this?
No way.
Not to mention the sovereignty issues. Just once I wish that some of the people I know who constantly carp about the the United Nations would wake up and realize that we're far more in danger of disolving the sovereignty of other nations and giving up ours to monied interests than becoming slaves a shadowy UN conspiracy.
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Libertarianism is rich wolves and poor sheep playing gambler's ruin for dinner.
Seriously though, good luck with the protest.
I love the smell of Karma in the morning
they used photoshop or something. But I guess that's the point. for example (from the photos):
Q: Elcomsoft claims that eBooks in Adobe PDF are insecure and that the encryption is weak, including ROT-13 which is notorious for its lack of security. Are those claims true?
A: Adobe has never sold ROT-13 as a security product. Adobe incorporates sophisticated, industry-standard levels of software encryption to make our products difficult to compromise. However, no software is 100% secure from a determined, illegal attack. When used legally and in its intended fashion, the Acrobat eBook Reader secures eBooks purchased by locking the eBook to the hardware from which it was purchased. The Elcomsoft software circumvents the security afforded by our software to protect copyrighted works."
Parse this logic with me: When used LEGALLY, it's secure. Well, duh: it's ILLEGAL under the DMCA to attempt to circumvent security, so of course it's freakin' secure. "This alarm system works great, sir... as long as noone attempts to enter your house without first ringing the doorbell and being invited in."
Then theres: "the Acrobat eBook Reader secures eBooks purchased by locking the eBook to the hardware from which it was purchased"
Translation:
The Acrobat eBook Reader renders the concept of electronic books nearly worthless by attempting to tie content to a single piece of proprietary hardware.
Gee, I wonder why this e-book thing isn't taking off? I'm an AVID reader - I read hudreds of books every year - and I've never even considered buying one of these things.
It Is the Nature of Information to Transgress Artificial Boundaries
"We support nonprofit organizations that service disadvantaged youth, the homeless, people with disabilities, minorities, the elderly, and victims of abuse; provide disaster relief, medical and hospice care, and meal service; provide education and literacy programs; support human rights; support the arts; protect the environment; and support animal rights." http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/philanthropy
Maybe the EFF could apply to Adobe for financial assistance in getting Dmitri freed.
All the info here. And of course, visit the main page for information about all the other cities.
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"You know you want me, baby." --Crow
Teh jail is actually pretty nice, and they have a cafeteria, with pudding! I like pudding. But teh only computer is a lime green IMAC and it is SUCKS!!! Is only have 12.4GB of memory and a 64MB hard drive and is running MICORSOFT OFFICE 95. But is okay because IMAC allow Dmitry to post on Slasdot. Dmitry like Slashdot and many of his friends are there! Hooray for teh Slasdot!
But the jail is perfact? No!!! There is a large man and he is black and he is having a hard penis. In Russia there is stories of the men in the American jail who anal sodomize in teh butt and Dmitry not like that. So I want to get out of jail while still are are having "ass cherry." Ha! Ha that is funny.
So onec again thank you for teh supports and they rally and such! And hope that Dmitry get out of teh jail and return to cracking the ADOBE ROT13 ENCRYPTION ALGORITHM OF FUN. But this time I do it in Russia where no are evil DCMA law to put Dmitry in teh jaill.
Also I want to bomb Adobe.
So are thank you for the time! And keep the fight up!
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Please, I are begging you! To save Dmitry from teh jail!