February 11, 2023

Mashable: Snowflake helped Tor users thwart Russian censorship. Now the VPN is branching out as Snowstorm.

Mashable: Snowflake helped Tor users thwart Russian censorship. Now the VPN is branching out as Snowstorm.. “For years, Tor has been a thorn in the side of censorious rulers looking to stop its citizens from freely accessing the internet, but the Russian and Iranian governments have learned its weaknesses and succeeded in blocking direct access to the Tor network at certain times. But unlike other services blocked by these governments, Tor has been deployed alongside the traffic-channeling tool Snowflake, enabling its network to function amid efforts at censorship.”

Security & Legal Issues 0
February 3, 2023

Microsoft: Iran unit behind Charlie Hebdo hack-and-leak op (Associated Press)

Associated Press: Microsoft: Iran unit behind Charlie Hebdo hack-and-leak op. “After the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo launched a cartoon contest to mock Iran’s ruling cleric, a state-backed Iranian cyber unit struck back with a hack-and-leak campaign that was designed to provoke fear with the claimed pilfering of a big subscriber database, Microsoft security researchers say. The FBI blames the same Iranian cyber operators, Emennet Pasargad, for an influence operation that sought to interfere in the 2020 U.S. presidential election, the tech giant said in a blog published Friday.”

Security & Legal Issues 0
January 22, 2023

WIRED: Tech Workers Fight for Iran Protesters as Big Tech Plays It Safe

WIRED: Tech Workers Fight for Iran Protesters as Big Tech Plays It Safe. “Google’s Iran response has frustrated some employees, rights groups, and US lawmakers. They want the company to deepen its support, including by opening up cloud computing and software development tools to people inside Iran to help protesters communicate securely and circumvent government internet firewalls.”

Around the Search & Social Media World 0
December 20, 2022

The Conversation: How Gen Z is using social media in Iran’s Women, Life, Freedom movement

The Conversation: How Gen Z is using social media in Iran’s Women, Life, Freedom movement. “In the first three months of the protests, demonstrations have taken place in almost all of Iran’s 31 provinces. People in 160 cities and 143 universities have taken part in demonstrations against the mandatory hijab laws. Many Iranians living abroad have also taken part in protests. These protests are part of a long history of women’s rights movements in Iran. But what makes this movement different is how young women are tapping into social media to elevate their own agency and challenge the country’s patriarchal laws.”

Research & Opinion 0
December 6, 2022

WIRED: Iran’s Protests Reveal What’s Lost If Twitter Crumbles

WIRED: Iran’s Protests Reveal What’s Lost If Twitter Crumbles. “Twitter—and social media in general—has been awash in videos appearing to show protesters being attacked by police forces, the bodies of those killed, and people’s injuries. For more than a decade, the social network, now owned by Elon Musk, has been used as a way to document protests and human rights abuses around the world. However, as Musk’s chaotic takeover unravels and key safety teams have been cut, the Iranian protests put fresh light on Twitter’s importance as a platform for information sharing and chronicling events globally.”

Security & Legal Issues 0
December 6, 2022

Iran: State-Backed Hacking of Activists, Journalists, Politicians (Human Rights Watch)

Human Rights Watch: Iran: State-Backed Hacking of Activists, Journalists, Politicians. “Hackers backed by the Iranian government have targeted two Human Rights Watch staff members and at least 18 other high-profile activists, journalists, researchers, academics, diplomats, and politicians working on Middle East issues in an ongoing social engineering and credential phishing campaign, Human Rights Watch said today.”

Security & Legal Issues 0
December 2, 2022

Iran International: Google Maps Gives Tehran Streets Pre-Revolution Names

Iran International: Google Maps Gives Tehran Streets Pre-Revolution Names. “Although individual users cannot change city, town, village and street names on the maps, names can be altered using Google’s feedback feature of the maps if a large group of users report the names are wrong and suggest alternative. Google maps may have become a new battleground where the opposition demanding regime change and the authorities and their supporters fight over street and even city names.”

Around the Search & Social Media World 0
November 15, 2022

NBC News: False claim about Iran protester executions goes viral with help from celebrities and politicians

NBC News: False claim about Iran protester executions goes viral with help from celebrities and politicians . “An image that has circulated widely on social media falsely states that 15,000 protesters have been sentenced to death. That claim is not true, but has been amplified by major public figures including the actresses Viola Davis and Sophie Turner and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Representatives for Davis did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Representatives for Turner declined to comment.”

Around the Search & Social Media World 0
October 13, 2022

Iran International: Iranians Protest Song Receives 95,000 Submissions For Grammy Award

Iran International: Iranians Protest Song Receives 95,000 Submissions For Grammy Award. “The song ‘Baraye…’ — which means ‘For the Sake Of’ in Persian — received 95,000, or over 83 percent, of the 115,000 total submissions for the award following a campaign on TikTok urged users to nominate the song, which is the de-facto manifesto of the protests.”

Around the Search & Social Media World 0
October 7, 2022

Institute for the Study of War: Russia’s use of Iranian-made drones is not generating asymmetric effects the way the Ukrainian use of US-provided HIMARS systems has done and is unlikely to affect the course of the war significantly.

Institute for the Study of War: Russia’s use of Iranian-made drones is not generating asymmetric effects the way the Ukrainian use of US-provided HIMARS systems has done and is unlikely to affect the course of the war significantly. . “The deputy chief of the Main Operational Department of the Ukrainian General Staff, Brigadier General Oleksiy Hromov, stated on October 6 that Russian forces have used a total of 86 Iranian Shahed-136 drones against Ukraine, 60% of which Ukrainian forces have already destroyed.”

Ukraine 0
October 6, 2022

CNN: The battle of narratives on Iran is being fought on social media

CNN: The battle of narratives on Iran is being fought on social media. “As anti-government protests enter their third week in Iran, the Islamic Republic has imposed a near total blackout of independent information coming out of the country. A fierce battle to control the narrative is now being fought online, where supporters and opponents of the government alike are taking to social media to tell their version of the truth and, in some cases, go beyond the truth.”

Security & Legal Issues 0

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