Goldman Sachs to invest $9.6M in NYC jail program

oldman Sachs will invest almost $10 million in a city jail program that will produce profits for the investment firm if recidivism rates drop, marking the first U.S. effort of its kind to enlist private investors in financing public social programs, officials said Thursday. Known as social impact bonds or pay-for-success contracts, such initiatives began [...]

What a drag, Israeli firm grows “highless” marijuana

They grow in a secret location in northern Israel. A tall fence, security cameras and an armed guard protect them from criminals. A hint of their sweet-scented blossom carries in the air: rows and rows of cannabis plants, as far as the eye can see. It is here, at a medical marijuana plantation atop the [...]

The mysterious Mr. Williams

(POLITICO)   The Times has a terrific A1 story on a mysterious Queens man who has been a profligate donor to both parties, was recently appointed to an advisory committee by NY GOP chairman Ed Cox, and yet no one can figure out the source of his income: According to documents at the New York Department [...]

Stratfor settles class-action over Anon megahack with freebies

ShareThis Stratfor settles class-action over Anon megahack with freebies 29 Jun 2012 Stratfor has agreed to forgo $ 1.75m in income to settle a class action lawsuit arising from a high-profile hack by hacktivist group Anonymous against the global intelligence firm’s systems last December. Anonymous-affiliated hackers broke into Stratfor’s systems in the run-up to Christmas [...]

Journalist training undercover as security guard for London Olympics with private security firm G4S

ShareThis Journalist training undercover as security guard for London Olympics with private security firm G4S –Drones to patrol London skies; 200,000 casket linings delivered from US 22 Jun 2012 (BCfm.org.uk) Exclusive interview with investigative journalist Lee Hazledean who is training undercover as a security guard for the London Olympics with private security firm G4S. Lee [...]

Flame, Stuxnet Super Cyber Weapons Linked: Researchers

Researchers say they have uncovered “proof” linking the authors of the Flame cyber espionage program to Stuxnet, the most powerful offensive cyber weapon ever developed — both of which are believed to have targeted Iran. Analysts at the Russia-based cyber security firm Kaspersky Labs, which was the first to uncover Flame and had previously analyzed [...]

The most common password?

The number one way hackers get into protected systems isn’t through a fancy technical exploit. It’s by guessing the password. That’s not too hard when the most common password used on business systems is “Password1.” There’s a technical reason for Password1′s popularity: It’s got an upper-case letter, a number and nine characters. That satisfies the [...]

Oil Firm Shell’s Profits Double to Pounds 18bn

ShareThis Occupy Shell: Oil Firm Shell’s Profits Double to £18bn 02 Feb 2012 Royal Dutch Shell has reported a profits of £18.1bn ($ 28.6bn) for 2011, a jump of 54% on a year ago. The improvement for the Anglo-Dutch company came as high oil prices outweighed poor margins in its refining business and despite a [...]

Guantanamo commander: Contractors read inmate lawyers’ mail

ShareThis Guantánamo commander: Contractors read inmate lawyers’ mail –It was unclear Tuesday what contracting firm precisely had the job of sifting through the mail, nor the value of the contract. 17 Jan 2012 In unprecedented war court testimony, the prison camps’ commander on Tuesday defended a three-tier system of classifying lawyers’ mail to alleged terrorists [...]

Stratfor hack list includes hundreds of UK military users

ShareThis Stratfor hack list includes hundreds of UK military users 09 Jan 2012 Anonymous’s hack of the US global intelligence firm Stratfor yielded the details of hundreds of UK military officials, according to analysis of the breach. The ‘LulzXmas’ Stratfor hack took place on Christmas Eve last year. The US Cyber Consequences Unit, a Washington-based [...]