Security in the north, where armed groups still operated, has deteriorated
Written By Andy Greenberg (Wired)
One year after the first revelations of Edward Snowden, cryptography has shifted from an obscure branch of computer science to an almost mainstream notion: It’s possible, user privacy groups and a growing industry of crypto-focused companies tell us, to encrypt everything from emails to IMs to a gif of a motorcycle jumping over a plane.
But it’s also possible to go a step closer toward true privacy online. Mere encryption hides the content of messages, but not who’s communicating. Use cryptographic anonymity tools to hide your identity, on the other hand, and network eavesdroppers may not even know where to find your communications, let alone snoop on them. “Hide in the network,” security guru Bruce Schneier made his first tip for evading the NSA. “The less obvious you are, the safer you are.”
Though it’s hardly the sole means of achieving online anonymity, the software known as Tor has become the most vouchsafed and developer-friendly method for using the Internet incognito. The free and open source program triple-encrypts your traffic and bounces it through computers around the globe, making tracing it vastly more difficult. Most Tor users know the program as a way to anonymously browse the Web. But it’s much more. In fact, Tor’s software runs in the background of your operating system and creates a proxy connection that links with the Tor network. A growing number of apps and even operating systems provide the option to route data over that connection, allowing you to obscure your identity for practically any kind of online service.
Some users are even experimenting with using Tor in almost all their communications. “It’s like being a vegetarian or a vegan,” says Runa Sandvik, a privacy activist and former developer for Tor. “You don’t eat certain types of food, and for me I choose to use Tor only. I like the idea that when I log onto a website, it doesn’t know where I’m located, and it can’t track me.”
Here’s how you can use the growing array of anonymity tools to protect more of your life online.
Web Browsing
The core application distributed for free by the non-profit Tor Project is the Tor Browser, a hardened, security-focused version of Firefox that pushes all of your Web traffic through Tor’s anonymizing network. Given the three encrypted jumps that traffic takes between computers around the world, it may be the closest thing to true anonymity on the Web. It’s also rather slow. But the Tor browser is getting faster, says Micah Lee, a privacy-focused technologist who has worked with the Electronic Frontier Foundation—one of the organizations that funds the Tor Project—and First Look Media. For the past month or so, he’s tried to use it as his main browser and only switch back to traditional browsers occasionally, mostly for flash sites and others that require plugins.
After about a week, he says, the switch was hardly noticeable. “It may not be entirely necessary, but I haven’t found it that inconvenient either,” Lee says. “And it does have real privacy benefits. Everyone gets tracked everywhere they go on the Web. You can opt of out of that.”
Email
The simplest way to anonymously send email is to use a webmail service in the Tor Browser. Of course, that requires signing up for a new webmail account without revealing any personal information, a difficult task given that Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo! Mail all require a phone number.
Runa Sandvik suggests Guerrilla Mail, a temporary, disposable email service. Guerrilla Mail lets you set up a new, random email address with only a click. Using it in the Tor Browser ensures that no one, not even Guerrilla Mail, can connect your IP address with that ephemeral email address.
Encrypting messages with webmail can be tough, however. It often requires the user to copy and paste messages into text windows and then use PGP to scramble and unscramble them. To avoid that problem, Lee instead suggests a different email setup, using a privacy-focused email host like Riseup.net, the Mozilla email app Thunderbird, the encryption plugin Enigmail, and another plugin called TorBirdy that routes its messages through Tor.
Instant Messaging
Adium and Pidgin, the most popular Mac and Windows instant messaging clients that support the encryption protocol OTR, also support Tor. (See how to enable Tor in Adium here and in Pidgin here.) But the Tor Project is working to create an IM program specifically designed to be more secure and anonymous. That Tor IM client, based on a program called Instant Bird, was slated for release in March but is behind schedule. Expect an early version in mid-July.
Large File Transfers
Google Drive and Dropbox don’t promise much in the way of privacy. So Lee created Onionshare, open-source software that lets anyone directly send big files via Tor. When you use it to share a file, the program creates what’s known as a Tor Hidden Service—a temporary, anonymous website—hosted on your computer. Give the recipient of the file the .onion address for that site, and they can securely and anonymously download it through their Tor Browser.
Mobile Devices
Anonymity tools for phones and tablets are far behind the desktop but catching up fast. The Guardian Project created an app called Orbot that runs Tor on Android. Web browsing, email and IM on the phone can all be set to use Orbot’s implementation of Tor as a proxy.
Apple users don’t yet have anything that compares. But a 99-cent app called Onion Browser in the iOS app store offers anonymous web access from iPhones and iPads. An audit by Tor developers in April revealed and helped fix some of the program’s vulnerabilities. But Sandvik suggests that prudent users should still wait for more testing. In fact, she argues that the most sensitive users should stick with better-tested desktop Tor implementations. “If I were in a situation where I needed anonymity, mobile is not a platform I’d rely on,” she says.
Everything Else
Even if you run Tor to anonymize every individual Internet application you use, your computer might still be leaking identifying info online. The NSA has even used unencrypted Windows error messages sent to Microsoft to finger users and track their identities. And an attacker can compromise a web page you visit and use it to deliver an exploit that breaks out of your browser and sends an unprotected message revealing your location.
So for the truly paranoid, Lee and Sandvik recommend using entire operating systems designed to send every scrap of information they communicate over Tor. The most popular Tor OS is Tails, or The Amnesiac Incognito Live System. Tails can boot from a USB stick or DVD so no trace of the session remains on the machine, and anonymizes all information. Snowden associates have said the NSA whistleblower is himself a fan of the software.
For the even more paranoid, there is a lesser-known Tor-enabled OS called Whonix. Whonix creates multiple “virtual machines” on the user’s computer—software versions of full computer operating systems that are designed to be indistinguishable from a full computer. Any attacker trying to compromise the user’s computer will be confined to that virtual machine.
That virtualization trick underlines an important point for would-be anonymous Internet users, Lee says: If your computer gets hacked, the game is over. Creating a virtual sandbox around your online communications is one way to keep the rest of your system protected.
“Tor is awesome and can make you anonymous. But if your endpoint gets compromised, your anonymity is compromised too,” he says. “If you really need to be anonymous, you also need to be really secure."
The Nigerian government’s 'Safe School Initiative' has received a boost of N3.2 billion.
The sum is made of two parts of N1.6 billion released by the federal government and another N1.6 billion donated by the private sector.
Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala made the disclosure on Tuesday after a meeting of stakeholders of the initiative with President Jonathan in Abuja.
The Safe School Initiative is expected to accommodate children displaced from their schools due to the present insurgency rocking the country. The over 200 girls who were kidnapped in Chibok two months ago are to benefit from these funds.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said, “We are intent on trying to make sure that our children in the states have an environment in which they can come back to school and not have their education truncated.”
Special Envoy to the UN Secretary General for Global Education, Gordon Brown said the reconstruction of the secondary school in Chibok is paramount to the United Nations.
“I am here to say that we wish as an international community to do everything we can to back up the efforts of President Goodluck Jonathan and the governors of the states to make sure these girls are returned to their families and at the same time to make sure, that every parent feels that they can send their children to school knowing that they will be safe in the future.”
Yobe and Borno governors said they are committed to making the initiative a huge success.
Ibrahim Geidam, Yobe state governor, said, “I promise to give him all the necessary cooperation to ensure that the programme succeeds.”
Kashim Shettima, Borno state governor, said, “Times like this calls for sobriety, for maturity, for unity of purpose. At the appropriate time we are going to play politics, but this is not time to play politics with the lives of the people.”
The federal government and the international community are bent on encouraging displaced students back to school.
The suspected ringleader of the September 2012 raid on a US diplomatic post in the Libyan city of Benghazi, which left four Americans dead, has been captured, the Pentagon says.
Ahmed Abu Khattala was taken into custody in a secret US military raid in Libya on 15 June.
He is now being held in a secure location outside the country, a Pentagon spokesman confirmed.
US Ambassador Chris Stevens and three others were killed in the attack.
"There were no civilian casualties related to this operation, and all US personnel involved in the operation have safely departed Libya," Pentagon press secretary Rear Adm John Kirby wrote in a statement.
He refused to give further details about the US raid, only to say it happened "near Benghazi" and on Sunday afternoon US east coast time.
Ahmed Abu Khattala
•Native of Benghazi in eastern Libya
•Construction worker by trade
•Spent several years in Col Muammar Gaddafi's notorious Abu Salim prison in Tripoli
•Formed his own small militia during the anti-Gaddafi uprising
•Denies any links to al-Qaeda but has expressed admiration for it
•Also denies any role in the attack on the US embassy in 2012, but eyewitnesses report him being there
•US state department says he is a senior leader in Islamist group Ansar al-Sharia
After the announcement, President Barack Obama praised the courage and professionalism of the military, law enforcement and intelligence personnel who tracked and captured Mr Abu Khattala, whom the US describes as a "key figure" in the attack.
"When Americans are attacked, no matter how long it takes we will find those responsible and we will bring them to justice," he said.
President Obama: "When Americans are attacked, no matter how long it takes, we will find those responsible and we will bring them to justice''
The FBI Director, James Comey, said his organisation would not stop searching until the other suspects were found.
"We never ever give up and we will work and work until justice is done. And I think this is a down payment on that statement."
Mr Abu Khattala has been charged in a federal court in Washington DC with killing a person in the course of an attack on a federal facility, providing material support to terrorists, and a firearms count, court records show.
He is currently being held on a US ship, Reuters reports. Some Republicans, including Senators Lindsay Graham and John McCain, have argued he should be sent to the US military prison in Guantanamo Bay. But US officials rejected that move.
"We have not added a single person to the GTMO population since President Obama took office, and we have had substantial success delivering swift justice to terrorists through our federal court system," National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said in a statement.
Hillary Clinton, who was secretary of state at the time and been criticised by Republicans over the embassy's security arrangements, said questioning Khatalla could shed some light on what happened and why.
On 11 September 2012, gunmen stormed the US consulate in Benghazi and set it on fire.
In addition to Mr Stevens, information technology specialist Sean Smith and security workers and ex-Navy Seals Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty were killed.
The White House initially said the attack stemmed from anti-American protests over a crude video produced in the US that was deemed insulting to Islam.
Analysis
Rana Jawad, BBC News, Libya
This is the second raid of its kind to be carried out by American special forces on Libyan territory.
Ahmed Abu Khattala is an Islamist militia commander who heads the Benghazi-based Ansar Al Sharia group. A source close to the hard-line Islamist group told the BBC they knew he was captured two days ago but were not aware the Americans were going to take him.
He claims Abu Khattala's capture was carried out by forces led by the renegade Gen Khalifa Hefter in Benghazi. This could not be independently confirmed.
Gen Hefter has been leading a paramilitary operation in Benghazi against Islamist militias for a month. On 15 June his spokesman claimed they had captured three senior Islamist figures in the city. In October, an American-led operation captured the alleged al-Qaeda operative Abu Anas al-Libi from his home in Tripoli. He is now on trial in New York.
Government investigators soon determined it was an organised attack planned by local militias.
In subsequent years, the incident has become a political lightning rod, with Republicans accusing Mr Obama's administration of covering up the involvement of militant groups in the days after the attack in order to assist Mr Obama's 2012 re-election campaign.
In May, the Republican-led House of Representatives voted to establish what is believed to be the eighth inquiry on Benghazi.
Previous independent, cross-party and Republican-led inquiries have blamed the state department for inadequate security at the embassy.
The Federal Government has introduced machine-readable cards at the country’s five international airports for passengers.
The airport are in Lagos, Kano, Enugu, Abuja and Port-Harcourt.
It said the measure was intended to create a database for the movement of persons across borders in the face of challenges.
The Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Immigration Services (NIS), David Paradang, said at the launch of the cards at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, last weekend, that the cards would ensure accurate data on movement, boost security profiling, and ensure easy facilitation of passengers at the airports.
He said it took the organisation some time with its partners to design the cards, which would ensure Nigeria joins other global players in deploying new technology for passenger facilitation at airports.
He said the number of international migrants and security threats have increased over the years, hence, the need for the cards.
Paradang added that with the development, Nigeria had responded to emerging trends, adding that for the cards to remain relevant, NIS has to look for experts who are proficient in French and Spanish languages.
He said: “The need to accurate data of foreigners coming into the country and those going out, easy analysis of data, easy facilitation and sharing of data among sister agency.”
He said the cards would also make simultaneous scanning of passengers possible, and could attract tourists and business organisations into the country.
Paradang said: “The machine readable cards are completely different in general from what we used to have before. It was quite a long list, scan them and make facilitation very difficult. The key issue about the current cards is to have facilitation matched with security and the machine readable passports are working with the machine readable cards .
“It makes it faster for people to move through the airport processes and it can generate information that would be used and shared with all security agencies. “Facilitation and security now marry very seamlessly and the question of procurement is not an issue at all because we as immigration service are very key in attracting tourism and investment into this country. We want as many people as possible to choose Nigeria and that would make our airport faster in processing passengers and in getting the right information faster. More people will like to come to Nigeria.”
He noted that all NIS staff have been adequately trained on the new system, maintaining that the migration to the latest technology began as early as 2007.
Commenting on the cards, the Assistant Comptroller-General, NIS, Zone A, Lagos, Mr. Nuhu Ibrahim, said the cards were designed to complement operations at borders and enhance security.
He explained that the service would continue to take advantage of new technology in order to boost security points across the country.
A bomb blast yesterday rocked a viewing centre in Nayinawa ward of Damaturu, Yobe State capital, where followers of FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014 were watching Brazil and Mexico match, killing seven while 40 others were injured.
A resident of the area told LEADERSHIP last night that the incident occurred around 8:40pm during the first half of the match, although details of the attack were sketchy as at the time of filing this report.
The state police command was yet to confirm the incident, but efforts made to reach the state police commissioner, Patrick Egbuniwe, for his comment proved abortive.
Leadership Newspaper
The Federal Government’s back-door talks to rescue the 217 abducted Chibok girls still in Boko Haram’s custody, may have suffered a setback.
The government is demanding an unconditional release of the girls, promising to fulfill the demands of Boko Haram leaders after.
But the facilitators of the talks are seeking a truce which will result in the simultaneous swapping of the girls with some insurgents in detention.
The facilitators/mediators, some of whom are clerics and Northern leaders, are afraid of the consequences of the government reneging on any “deal”.
They think that they may be exposed to danger.
Also yesterday, it was gathered that ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo is yet to get a Presidential go-ahead for talks with Boko Haram contacts.
President Goodluck Jonathan only gave a verbal approval to him.
Obasanjo wanted a situation where he would sit down with the President and get a firm commitment on offers from the government to the insurgents.
The ex-President may, however, wait for a while because the government was uncomfortable with his comments that the President did not believe the girls were abducted in the first place.
The rescue bid for the girls has been slowed down by some unresolved issues.
It was gathered that there was a major challenge on: agreeing on terms for the release of the girls; and establishing trust that each party will keep to the bargain.
Two sources, who spoke in confidence on the negotiation, the resolution of the two issues is crucial to freedom for the girls.
One of the sources said: “We seem to have a little setback. I think the fear of people who are negotiating is whether the government will honour its own part of the talks.
“The government is demanding unconditional release of the girls whereas the negotiators are seeking simultaneous swapping of some insurgents with the girls.
“The government is saying the insurgents should release the girls and it will unfold its package. There is also a suspicion in government that the insurgents may not live up to their pledge.
“Some of these clerics and Northern leaders are scared that they might be endangered if the government does not make concrete offers to the insurgents.
“The facilitators want to collect the girls and hand over the insurgents at the same time.”
Asked of the attitude of the insurgents, the source, who is believed to be respected by Boko Haram leadership, said: “They have been listening to some of their contacts out of sheer mutual respect but if the government does not act, they do not mind keeping the girls for five years.
“They are prepared to keep the girls. If there are terms acceptable to both parties and firm commitment, anybody can secure the release of the girls.”
Another source said the Federal Government does not have much confidence in Obasanjo’s initiative.
The source said the government would prefer a collective intervention by past Heads of State, as floated last Thursday by President Goodluck Jonathan, than Obasanjo’s singular plan.
It was gathered that Obasanjo’s comments, which alleged that the President did not believe that the girls were abducted made the Presidency to be “cautious” on his initiative.
The source added: “I think there is a problem between Obasanjo and the President. When the two leaders met at the burial of ex-Governor Michael Otedola, Obasanjo told Jonathan what he intended doing and the President said it was a good idea.
“They both agreed to discuss the details later, if Obasanjo is really going into it. The President gave some security insights into the abduction, including the alleged involvement of some people opposed to his administration and some foreign elements.
“But it was shocking to the government when Obasanjo came out and said Jonathan doubted the abduction of the girls. The comments angered the President and some forces in government.
“This is why the President and Obasanjo have not sat down to discuss the modalities of the latter’s initiative. Sensing this, Obasanjo was also absent at last Thursday’s parley on the Chibok girls with past leaders.
“By declaring that not all the girls can return home safely, Obasanjo is not only divulging security matter, he is also doubting his own mission. Do you expect the government to have faith in his initiative?”
It was gathered that Obasanjo refused to resume talks with Boko Haram contacts because he was yet to secure a firm commitment from the President that whatever terms agreed upon would be accepted by the Federal Government.
A third source added: “Obasanjo said he won’t move an inch forward on the talks with Boko Haram again until he gets the consent and commitment on whatever is arrived at from the Federal Government.
“Baba said he cannot act on newspapers reports on the government’s commitment. He does not want to discuss with the insurgents and fail to meet their terms.”
HUNDREDS of suspected Boko Haram militants have been arrested in Abia State.
They were arrested by soldiers attached to the 144 battalion of the Nigerian Army, Asa, Ukwa West Local Government Area, Abia State, on Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway, on Sunday
The suspects, aged between 16 and 24, were being conveyed in 33 buses when they were stopped at the road between Aro-Ngwa and Imo Gate, on the expressway.
Some of the buses conveying more persons were said to have sped off and escaped arrest.
Although they were suspected to be Boko Haram militants, there was yet no evidence to establish a link between them and the insurgents, who have been unleashing violence on several northern states since 2009.
The suspects reportedly claimed to have come from different parts of the North and were searching for jobs.
Briefing the media on Monday, at the headquarters of the 144 Battalion, Asa, where the suspects were being detained, commander of the battalion, Lieutenant-Colonel Rasheed Omolori, said two buses escaped with their occupants.
He said the incident had been reported to the Defence Headquarters in Abuja.
He did not give any further details.
Also at the briefing were the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr Charles Ajunwa and the state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Dr Eze Chikamnayo.
Chikamnayo said the sheer size of the movement made it suspicious, adding that none of the suspects could identify their destination.
He also wondered how such “a long convoy” was not intercepted before it reached Abia State.
“The army and other security agencies in the state were actively investigating the suspects,” he said.
Tribune Newspaper
THERE was panic in Chibok Local Government Area of Borno State, where over 200 female students of Government Girls’ Secondary School were abducted by Islamic militants, Boko Haram, following a letter purportedly written to the people of Chibok by the sect members, informing them of their plans to attack the local government again.
A top local government official in Chibok town, who did not want his name published, revealed this to newsmen in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, on Monday.
According to him, when the letter purportedly written by the sect was presented to the police, residents were assured of maximum protection.
“Yet, the police are also complaining of shortage of fuel for their vehicles, as petrol was not being sold in the local government for fear that the insurgents may use it to burn houses,” he said.
According to the source, the local government had also assured the security operatives that they would buy fuel and keep it with them for their use.
It was also gathered that the council had asked the security agents to ask for reinforcement, as the number of security operatives in the area might not be sufficient to face the insurgents.
“Whenever Boko Haram tells you that they are coming, they never fail to come. Our fears now is that, we don’t know when and how they are going to come, but our people are in great fear.
“We are calling for prayers, as well as on government to provide adequate security in Chibok,” he said.
Abduction: Committee to submit report to Jonathan this week
The report on the abduction of over 200 girls in Chibok will be submitted to President Goodluck Jonathan by the fact-finding committee, this week.
This was made known on Monday by the coordinator of National Information Centre (NIC), Mr Mike Omeri, while addressing newsmen in Abuja.
Omeri, however, appealed to Nigerians and international communities for more understanding and patience towards the effort of the government to rescue the girls.
In another development, Omeri revealed that Nigerian troops had apprehended seven terrorists who infiltrated Maiduguri, Borno State capital, to carry out terrorist missions.
He said in the course of interrogation, the terrorists said they were asked to carry out some bombings and sabotage activities in furtherance of directives of the leadership of the terrorist group.
The National Orientation Agency (NOA) boss, however, said further investigations, patrol and surveillance had been stepped up by the troops.
Speaking on the kidnap of a construction worker in Plateau, Omeri said the victim, who had since been released, is a Lebanese national as against media reportage, labelling him a Briton.
He said that the Lebanese was abducted by some armed bandits in Lantang, Plateau State, on Sunday night, but was freed through the efforts of security forces in Angwan Bala in Wase Local Government Area of the state.
Tribune Newspaper
The United States Congressional Delegation representatives have called on the Nigerian government to establish a National Victim Funds to cater for victims of terrorism.
“Today we call upon the government of Nigeria to establish a National Victim Fund for all the victims who are suffering at the hands of Boko Haram,” delegation co-chair Sheila Jackson Lee told reporters in the capital Abuja.
They made this call during a press conference at the Unity Fountain in Abuja as part of global efforts to drum up support for the rescue of the teenage girls kidnapped on April 14 from their school in the north-eastern town of Chibok.
The delegation also reaffirmed the commitment of the United States government to ensure that the over 200 abducted Chibok girls are rescued alive.
With a mission of intervention, prevention and pressure on the international community, the congressional representatives said they will not give up until the abducted girls are brought back.
Jackson-Lee, further expressed optimism that their voices will be heard at the highest level of the Nigerian government. Despite noting that time is said to be running out in bringing back the girls, Jackson-Lee said the US military will explore all options available.
“It is time for economic empowerment and jobs, to … give the young people of the north and all around Nigeria the opportunity for jobs and education,” she said.
Leader of the delegation, Steve Stockman, said the US Congress realised that “the best thing that could happen is if we have a fund set up for those that lost their lives and for the families that remain here on this earth.”
Another member of the delegation, Frederica Wilson said their mission in the country was to put pressure on the international community, including the US and Nigerian governments, to help bring back the girls, who range in age from 16 to 18.
“Everyone around us has a responsibility to find these young girls. And we cannot afford to give up until we find all (the) young women who were kidnapped from a school which is supposed to be a safe place,” she said.
Two of the girls who escaped from their captors attended the news conference but were not allowed to speak.
Source:
Channels TV
More than 50 people have died today in a violent religious and ethnic conflict that engulfed Taraba State today. A military source who spoke to our reporter added that many more people sustained serious injuries.
Our source disclosed that the ethno-religious fight broke out in Wukari and Ibi towns in Taraba State. “In addition to those who died, over 100 people are badly injured and receiving medical attention in several hospitals in the state,” said the military source.
According to the military officer, “The fight started in Wukari and we were drafted there. While we were there, we received a report that the fight had escalated to Ibi town. Some soldiers were then drafted there and they are carrying out patrols now, but I and a troop of soldiers remain in Wukari.”
The soldier, who disclosed that the fight broke out between Hausa-Fulani Muslims and Jukun Christians, revealed that he and other soldiers had counted more than 50 corpses on both sides of the combatants in addition to more than 100 injured victims.
The military source reported that the warring sides had destroyed and burnt numerous houses and business premises. He stated that hundreds of displaced people had fled the area for safety. He also reported that the combatants used sophisticated weapons in carrying out their attacks. “If we had not arrived in full force to contain the situation, many more people would have died because of the caliber of weapons used in this war,” he said. He assured that the soldiers deployed to the two affected towns would be equal to the task of maintaining peace.
Source:
SR
