Denti, jammer e a letto! Per punire i figli, un padre oscura smartphone e wi-fi del vicinato

Storia davvero incredibile in Aquitania, in Francia, dove un intero villaggio, Messanges, è stato tagliato fuori dai servizi di telefonia cellulare e di Internet per colpa di un genitore preoccupato per le ore che i suoi figli adolescenti trascorrevano, di notte, navigando sullo smartphone. Il solerte papà ha pensato bene di acquistare online un jammer, un dispositivo di disturbo, che veniva attivato quando per i ragazzi arrivava l'ora di andare a letto. Risultato: tutta Messanges si è vista bloccare le frequenze del 4G. Potenzialmente un jammer è in grado di disturbare anche i router Wi-Fi su 2.4 e 5.8 GHz.

La notizia è stata anticipata da Radio France Bleu Gascogne, l'emittente pubblica regionale, che ha ripreso un comunicato, tecnico ma molto divertito, della ANFR, Agence Nationale des Fréquences, l'ente che sorveglia le violazioni delle normative sullo spettro elettromagnetico. L'agenzia pubblica addirittura la fotografia dell'apparecchio sequestrato al proprietario, che secondo la legge francese rischia una sanzione penale fino a sei mesi di reclusione e un'ammenda fino a 30 mila euro, oltre alla multa di 450 euro che l'ANFR può applicare per coprire le spese di intervento [via Paolo Romani]. 

Etiopia, il governo usa sofware italiano per spiare le opposizioni anche all'estero

Torna a far parlare di sé HackingTeam, la società italiana specializzata in software di sorveglianza, questa volta in relazione a un rapporto di Human Rights Watch sulle attività di spionaggio interno e esterno (rivolto cioè alla diaspora degli oppositori al governo) condotte dalle autorità dell'Etiopia. Nella corrispondenza del 25 marzo Martha van der Wolf della VOA scrive: 

Felix Horne is the Horn of Africa researcher with the international human rights organization. He says the Ethiopian government has unlimited access to records of phone calls and emails of Ethiopians at home and abroad:
“Inside Ethiopia, its control of its Chinese developed telecom system results in having unfettered access to phone records and metadata of all phone calls in the country," he said. "Outside the country, they are using western-made technology to target the activities of very specific members of the diaspora. These technologies are being provided by a company in Italy, called HackingTeam and a company in Germany called Gamma.”

La notizia è stata trasmessa nel fine settimana nella abituale trasmissione VOA Radiogram, che utilizza in onde corte modalità radiotelex concepite per la comunità editoriale, riuscendo a trasmettere lunghi testi, grafici e persino fotografie a bassa risoluzione.

Per il comunicato relativo alla pubblicazione del rapporto di HRW cliccate qui. Ci sono molte notizie anche sull'uso della radio, sul jamming delle trasmissioni, sulla censura.

Jamming satellitare: guerra aperta tra Iran e Europa, che spegne IRIB su Eutelsat

La guerra delle interferenze che aveva caratterizzato gli anni della Guerra fredda, epoca in cui tutte le nazioni dell'allora blocco sovietico disponevano di potenti impianti in grado di diffondere un rumore elettronico, il cosiddetto "jamming" sulle stesse frequenze a onde corte usate dalle emittenti occidentali, non ha mai visto un vero e proprio armistizio. Nazioni come Cina e Iran hanno sempre continuato a disturbare le emissioni "scomode", a carattere giornalistico, politico ma anche religioso. Oggi però che molte di quelle emittenti non trasmettono più sulle onde corte, preferendo Internet o il satellite, il conflitto ha fatto un salto di qualità. E anche le contromisure. 

Da mesi i maggiori broadcaster internazionali, con in testa la Voice of America, accusano nazioni come l'Iran di disturbare scientemente le emissioni radio satellitari agendo sulle frequenze (in GHz) degli "uplink", i collegamenti terra-satellite che vengono poi ridistribuiti dai "downlink" dei ripetitori orbitanti. All'inizio del 2012 era stata depositata una petizione in seno all'ITU, un appello firmato da British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Deutsche Welle (DW), Audiovisuel Extérieur de la France (AEF), Radio Netherlands Worldwide (RNW) and the U.S. Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG). Quest'ultimo ha reiterato le sue richieste, precisando che ancora una volta gli iraniani erano intervenuti per bloccare alla fonte le trasmissioni satellitari di Radio Farda e Free Europe/Liberty. Già a febbraio l'ITU aveva reagito esortando i proprietari degli impianti di jamming al rispetto delle normative internazionali, che vietano espressamente i disturbi alle comunicazioni via satellite.

Oggi per la prima volta l'occidente reagisce. In seguito alle richieste dell'UE di inasprire le sanzioni contro il regime iraniano, Eutelsat, d'accordo con il regolatore francese, il CSA, ha deciso di spegnere il transponder di Hot Bird che ripeteva i programmi televisivi e radiofonici dell'IRIB (una emittente che diffonde anche programmi radiofonici in lingua italiana, utilizzando onde corte, il Web e il satellite). Gli iraniani non sono rimasti con le antenne in mano. Una petizione "per salvare la libertà di espressione in Europa" (non in Iran), è apparsa oltre che sul sito di Voce dell'Iran "Radio Italia" anche su Facebook. Andrea Borgnino annuncia che la questione verrà affrontata venerdì in diretta alle 11.30 da Radio 3, nel programma Radio3Mondo.

ZImbabwe, la polizia sequestra le radio a onde corte

Malgrado l'annunciata intenzione di riformare la regolamentazione dei media, la presidenza di Mugabe in Zimbabwe non sembra avere intenzione di allentare la morsa sulle emittenti che attraverso le onde medie e corte cercano di portare nella ex Rhodesia una voce alternativa alla radiotelevisione di Stato. Radio Voice of the People denuncia l'attività della polizia che sta confiscando le radio a onde corte che vengono distribuite gratuitamente nelle aree rurali dalle organizzazioni non governative. Nel mirino, oltre alle trasmissioni di Radio VOP, ci sono anche SW Radio Africa e Studio 7, trasmessa dalla Voice of America. Quest'ultima avverte esplicitamente sul suo sito che ad Harare le trasmissioni sui 909 kHz dal Botswana sono disturbate dal jamming governativo.

Zim Police On Radio Sets Raid Spree

29/10/2010

Harare, October 29, 2010 – Police in Mashonaland East have launched a blitz confiscating Short Wave radio sets parcelled out to villagers by non-governmental organisations campaigning for the freeing of the airwaves. Information obtained by Radio VOP on Thursday indicated that the police had been raiding homesteads starting with Murehwa centre in search of the “offending” SW radio sets, in what civil society organisations view as part of a Zanu (PF) strategy to stop rural folk from accessing alternative media sources other than the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC).

Due to ZBC’s partisan reporting in favour of President Robert Mugabe and Zanu (PF), Non-governmental organisations have been doling out free SW radios to enable villagers to tune into foreign-based radio stations which beam into the country such as Radio VOP, SW Radio Africa and and the Washington-based Studio Seven run by the Voice of America.

An official with ZimRights told Radio VOP that police officers in the company of members of the dreaded Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) are going around Murehwa District threatening villagers in possession of the NGO donated sets before proceeding to confiscate them. “Three men from Chitowa village fell victim to this police raid early this week and they have been able to identify the police details as Constables Sibanda and Basopo,” said the source. In a statement to Radio VOP confirming the police actions, ZimRights in Harare said police claimed the distribution of the radio sets were done “behind their backs and without their knowledge.”

“Consequently, they (police) question the motive of the organisations in giving the radios behind their back,” said ZimRights. “They argue that the radios are propaganda driving tools meant to discredit the government. The police claimed that with the radios, the people cannot access official Zimbabwe radio stations. They also cited ZIMRA (Zimbabwe Revenue Authority) complaints about evasion of tax during the importation of the radios,” it added. National police spokesman, Wayne Bvudzijena said he was not aware of the incidents but promised to investigate.

ZimRights said it was demanding an immediate stop to the victimisation of rural people as well as the violation of their right to access to information and freedom of expression. “Police should practice what they are mandated to do instead of pursuing political agendas, an undesirable characteristic of state security,” said ZimRights. Despite media reforms being top of the agenda of the government of national unity, Zanu (PF) is refusing to free the airwaves.

Cuba, le onde radio "tenute a distanza" dal regime

Yoani Sánchez, famosa blogger cubana di GeneracionY, si occupa in un suo recente post di ascolto, anzi non-ascolto delle trasmissioni radiofoniche dall'estero. Il suo breve articolo parte dall'amaro ritratto di una radiolina ricevuta come regalo di compleanno e tenuta a far polvere sullo scaffale perché "se la accendo sento solo rumore". Yoani afferma che a Cuba è in atto una vera e propria guerra delle frequenze dichiarata dal governo a chiunque cerchi di arrivare sull'isola con un programma radiofonico non gradito. "Speravo di ascoltare Deutsche Welle per tenermi in allenamento col tedesco," scrive ancora la blogger dissidente, ma non c'è nulla da fare: dall'altoparlante escono solo confusi suoni locali e il jamming contro Radio Martí. Per riuscire a sentire qualcosa bisogna cercare la posizione migliore. C'è chi si sdraia sul pavimento per riuscire a sintonizzarsi, conclude la reporter anti-regime. Negli Stati Uniti segnalano che le onde medie sono affollate di ripetitori che servono soltanto a coprire le stazioni che di sera possono arrivare dalla Florida e qualunque ascoltatore nel mondo può verificare, sulle onde corte, la presenza dei jammer cubani sulle frequenze utilizzate dai contras "ufficiosi" (un caso molto noto è quello dei programmi di Radio Republica). Sicuramente fuori dai grandi agglomerati urbani è possibile ascoltare qualcosa anche a Cuba, ma fa impressione vedere che venti anni dopo la caduta del muro di Berlino, una semplice trasmissione radio possa essere considerata una attività sovversiva, illegale o comunque non gradita alle pubbliche autorità.

The radio I got for my last birthday rests on a bookshelf, covered in dust. Because if I turn it on I can barely hear a thing. Not even the national broadcasts can be heard well in this area full of government ministries and the antennas they use to block the shortwave broadcasts that come into the country. I had the illusion I would be able to listen to Deutsche Welle to keep my German language alive, but instead of the hoped-for “Guten Tag” all that comes out of the speaker is a buzzing noise.

We live in the midst of a real war of radio frequencies on this Island. On one side we have the broadcasts of the station called Radio Martí — banned, but very popular among my compatriots, they are transmitted from the United States — and on the other side the buzzing they use to silence it. The radio receivers sold in the official stores have had the module that allows you to hear these transmissions removed, and the police are in the habit of searching the roofs for the devices that help to better capture these signals.

Meanwhile, inside their houses, people look for the place — it could be a corner, near a window, or stuck to the ceiling — where the radio manages to ignore the annoying beeping of the interference. It is common to see someone lying on the floor while they locate the exact point where local programming is overshadowed by what comes from abroad. It doesn’t matter what they’re sending from the other shore, whether it’s a boring musical program, the news in English, or a weather report from somewhere else in the world. What matters is that it is a balm for the ears, that it sounds different, that it is something other than that mix of slogans and prose without freedom that is transmitted daily on Cuban radio.

Hacking o jamming, è sempre guerra fredda per RFE

Durante la guerra fredda le trasmissioni di Radio Free Europe venivano disturbate dai jammer sovietici. Nella moderna "cyber" guerra fredda, sono i siti Web di RFE a essere entrati nel mirino degli hacker. Il 28 aprile un comunicato stampa di RFE racconta di un attacco DOS che ha compromesso l'accessibilità di quasi tutte le home page di otto dei siti che fanno riferimento a RFE/RL. E' curioso che il giornale scozzese Sunday Herald legga tra le righe di una notizia comunque importante, una relazione tra l'attacco via Internet e una presunta messa fuori uso delle trasmissioni di RFE. In ogni caso, l'episodio mi sembra molto indicativo. Molti anni sono passati dallo scontro tra civiltà che si combatteva sulle onde corte, molti muri sono crollati nel frattempo. Ma occidente e oriente non hanno superato tutte le divisioni anche se oggi sono soprattutto i siti Web a ricordarcelo.

RFE/RL Websites Hit By Mass Cyberattack

Several websites run by RFE/RL's broadcast services have been hit by an unprecedented cyberattack, making them inaccessible to the outside world.
The attack, which started on April 26, intially targeted the website of RFE/RL's Belarus Service, but quickly spread to other sites. Within hours, eight RFE/RL websites (Belarus, Kosovo, Azerbaijan, Tatar-Bashkir, Radio Farda, South Slavic, Russian, and Tajik) were knocked out or otherwise affected.
The "denial-of-service" (DOS) attack was intended to make the targeted website unavailable to its users, according to RFE/RL's Director of Technology Luke Springer. "The way this is normally done is by flooding the target website with fake requests to communicate, thereby using up all [the website's] free sources and rendering the site useless to all the legitimate users," Springer said.
RFE/RL has taken countermeasures and restored full service to most of its Internet sites. The primary target, the Belarus Service, is still affected.
RFE/RL has been hit before by denial-of-service attacks, but this attack was unprecedented in its scale, as RFE/RL websites received up to 50,000 fake hits every second.
Springer says this more sophisticated assault is known as a "distributed denial-of-service" attack, in which "the attacker has made use of other machines, distributed its intentions out to other machines, and then all of these machines attack at the same time."
DOS attacks are difficult to protect against, and the software required to carry them out is available on the Internet.

Other Sites Attacked

RFE/RL Belarus Service Director Alyaksandr Lukashuk said he began getting e-mails from frustrated web visitors about two hours after the attack began on April 26. He noted that the problems began on an important date in Belarus -- the 22nd anniversary of the Chornobyl nuclear catastrophe.
Lukashuk said that a large Internet audience was relying on RFE/RL's Belarus Service to report live on a rally of thousands of people, organized by the Belarusian opposition. The demonstrators were protesting the plight of uncompensated Chornobyl victims and a government decision to build a new nuclear power station.
Other Belarusian websites were also hit, including the Minsk-based nongovernmental organization Charter 97. Since the attacks, many other independent websites in Belarus have carried content from RFE/RL's Belarus Service.
RFE/RL President Jeffrey Gedmin said he is deeply concerned by the attacks. "If free and independent media existed in these countries where we're working and broadcasting, we would have no reason to exist," Gedmin said. "The Belarusians, the Iranians -- they all have basically the same objective. They see free information -- flowing information of ideas and so forth -- as the oxygen of civil society. They'll do anything they can to cut it off. If it means jamming, if it means cyberattacks, that's what they'll do."
Cyberattacks have become more common in recent years, sometimes targeting government institutions or large corporations.
In May 2007, Estonian websites were hit by a wave of cyberattacks. Estonia accused Russia of launching the attacks after Tallinn relocated a monument honoring Soviet troops, sparking anger in Russia and among Estonia's ethnic-Russian population. Moscow denied any involvement.

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Russia’s state hackers target Radio Free Europe in Prague
‘Tsunami’ of attacks interrupts station’s broadcasts

RUSSIA'S STATE-LICENSED hacker forces have opened a new front in the east-west cyber war with an unprecedented mass cyber-attack on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the American-financed radio station broadcasting from Prague to Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
The attack began last weekend with a "tsunami" of bogus connection requests, which blocked some of the radio station's internet websites and caused many others to crash. In turn, this frontal cyber-attack also affected the radio's broadcast services to some 20 countries in the region. When RFE took electronic counter-measures the cyber-attacks intensified.
Significantly, Prague sources point out, RFE/RL's broadcasts to Belorussia, Russia, Iran, Bosnia and Kosovo were the target services quickly rendered inaccessible. A further tranche of disabled services include Azerbaijan and Tadjikistan, which have friendly links with the West but, in the eyes of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's policy-makers, belong to Russia's sphere of influence.
Cyber-assaults and hacker raids are virtual arms, but, in effect, they are real offensive weapons. Cyber-attacks can harm or even paralyse a country and are therefore the equivalents of physical military attacks. Nato's defensive treaty, drawn up in 1949, does not deal with this new-fangled weapon as there was no internet and very few computers at the time.
During the cold war there had been many Soviet attempts to jam the signals of RFE/RL, funded by Washington "to promote democratic values and institutions by disseminating factual information and ideas" in the communist empire. The present cyber attack on it is merely a continuation of this old cold war by more up-to-date means. How this virtual reality cyber-weapon was being used by the Russian hackers in last week's attack on the radio station is of considerable interest. At the height of the attack RFE/RL's websites received up to 50,000 fake requests for information, "hits" in cyber-language, every second. Cyberspace experts call this "denial-of-service attack" or DOS. According to Luke Springer, RFE/RL's head of technology, the attack initially targeted the radio station's Belorussian service, perhaps because of the radio's marking of the anniversary of the 1987 Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Belorussia. However, the attack quickly spread to other news sites.
"Within hours eight websites - Russian, Belorussian, Iranian, Kosovar, Serbo-Croat, Tartar-Bashkir and Tadjik - were knocked out or made unavailable," he said. "The way this is usually done is by flooding the target website with fake requests to communicate, thereby using up the website's resources and rendering it useless to all legitimate users."
Simple really. Only in this case the hackers targeted, with the use of a massive network of interconnected computers, a great number of RFE/RL computers and then, in a co-ordinated move, simultaneously attacked all the websites. The broadcaster's operating computers crashed. The Russian cyber-warriors' actions reveal the extraordinary vulnerability of institutions and even states to hacker penetration by a hostile power. Last week's massed hacker attack appears to define the stratagem of the cyber cold war. Its reach is surprising.
Well outside the rationale of the latest Russo-American cyber-swordfight, Russian hackers recently launched an attack on the website of Cheltenham town hall in the genteel Gloucestershire spa town. This inexplicable attack seemed to indicate that Russia's secret hackers are intent on a worldwide demonstration of their cyber-prowess.
Last year, the Kremlin's cyber warriors debilitated Estonia's entire banking and state computer system following Moscow's angry protests over the former Soviet republic's decision to remove the Soviet war memorial from the centre of Tallinn.
According to Reporters Sans Frontiéres, an independent organisation fighting for media freedom, the hackers who had attacked Estonia used the very same "distributed denial-of-service" type of hacker penetration as the one that debilitated RFE/RL last week.
The Russian hacker attack on Estonia rang alarm bellsin the capitals of former Soviet satellite states. Earlier this spring alien hackers briefly "occupied" the website of the High Court of Cassation in Bucharest.
Other Romanian public service websites, including that of the Romanian Railways, have also come under hacker attack.
Meanwhile, China's hackers are more than able to match Russia's capability to penetrate foreign computer networks, manipulate digital information and disrupt communications. Chinese cyber-spies have hacked into the computers of a number of leading British companies, including Rolls-Royce, and into the government computer networks of the US, France, Germany, South Korea and Taiwan.
Virtual reality raids appear to be the weapon of choice in the East-West cyber cold war.

Jamming, il rumore che riduce al silenzio

Un libro con allegato CD-ROM (da scaricare gratuitamente dalla rete o da ordinare per 20 euro) e un sito Web per spiegare che cosa significa, per una stazione radio, essere interferita da un'altra stazione radio un po' particolare. Un jammer, un impianto che trasmette rumore elettronico o un altro programma con il preciso obiettivo di impedire l'ascolto di qualcos'altro. La denuncia viene dai responsabili norvegesi di Voice of Tibet, che ieri hanno lanciato una campagna di sensibilizzazione contro la Cina e la implacabile repressione di tutte le voci critiche nei confronti di questo strano regime. Le autorità cinesi sembrano aver ordinato a un miliardo e oltre di connazionali di arricchirsi e tacere. Niente Internet, niente satelliti, niente giornali e niente onde corte libere da interferenze per i dissidenti e le minoranze (ma come si fa a non essere minoranza se la maggioranza è a nove zeri, dico io) sottoposti all'amministrazione di Pechino. Nata nel 1995 come fondazione no profit, Voice of Tibet ha cominciato a trasmettere nel 1996, dalla stazione religiosa FEBA delle isole Seychelles (nel frattempo FEBA ha cessato di trasmettere da quella location). Nello stesso anno Pechino ha fatto partire i suo jammer, arrivando a ricattare FEBA minacciandola di cominciare a disturbare tutte le sue trasmissioni per l'Asia.
Personalmente non sono mai molto d'accordo coi boicottaggi, quasi sempre inutili, iniqui e capaci solo di ricadere su spalle del tutto innocenti e già abbastanza vessate. Ma non mi può far certo piacere l'idea che le prossime Olimpiadi possano servire da vetrina a chi accende gli interruttori di "Firedrake" (così è stato battezzato dagli appassionati di onde corte il programma di musica tradizionale no stop con cui la Cina sommerge i il debole segnale della Voice of Tibet). In qualche modo la comunità internazionale deve far sentire il proprio appoggio a chi non solo deve tacere ma è anche costretto a non ascoltare.
Per tutte le informazioni e gli ordini realtivi al libro intitolato "Silenced - China's Great Wall of Censorship" e per ascoltare l'impressionante archivio di esempi audio di jamming accumulato dagli autori del volume, Oystein Alme e Morten vågen, andate sul sito Diantai.org.
Diantai, come "stazione radio" in cinese.

Exile Tibet radio claims China steps up jamming of news broadcasts

The Associated Press
Wednesday, April 2, 2008

OSLO, Norway: The exile radio network Voice of Tibet on Wednesday accused Beijing of stepping up jamming of its shortwave news broadcasts into the Himalayan province during a crackdown on anti-Chinese demonstrations in Tibet and ahead of the 2008 Olympics in China.
"There has been enormous focus on journalists not getting free access to Tibet. ThSe other side of the coin is that information from the outside is not getting into Tibet," said Oystein Alme, a Norwegian who runs the nonprofit foundation's business office in Oslo.
Most of the Voice of Tibet's 13 staff work at its main editorial office in Dharamsala, India, with Alme handling administration and funding in Oslo. The network started broadcasting in 1996, and has daily evening newscasts about Tibet in the Tibetan language and Mandarin Chinese.
"They started jamming us nearly 13 years ago," Alme told The Associated Press. "Now they have been stepping it up in connection with the demonstrations."
Tibetans have been protesting and rioting in the longest challenge to China's rule in the Himalayan region since 1989. The crackdown by Chinese authorities has focused international attention on the country's human-rights record in the run-up to the Beijing Games in August.
The protests started out peacefully among monks on March 10 — the anniversary of a failed 1959 uprising against Chinese rule — but they turned violent four days later. The province has been all but closed to independent news media. Chinese officials say 22 people have died in the protests, while Tibetan exiles say nearly 140 people were killed.
Alme said the Chinese use ground stations in Tibet to transmit two or more additional signals on the frequency used by the Voice of Tibet to make the broadcasts incomprehensible.
"The Chinese jamming transmissions contain a mixture of dragon dance music, drums and noise, and affects listening also in India, Nepal and Europe," said Alme. The Chinese are "denying Tibetans access to uncensored news and information from the outside world."
Alme said Chinese jamming violated international treaties giving the network exclusive rights to its registered frequency.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry in Beijing had no immediate comment on the allegation.
China's Communist government maintains strict controls over the media. Domestic news outlets are entirely state-run and Beijing limits access to foreign news broadcasts and Web sites.
International organizations, including Reporters Without Borders and the World Association of Newspapers, also have protested China's crackdown on information to and from Tibet, particularly considering its promised of press freedoms when it was awarded the 2008 Olympics.
"The Chinese government is trampling on the promises it made linked to the Olympics and preparing the ground to crack down on the Tibetan revolt in the absence of witnesses," said a recent statement from Reporters Without Borders, which also protested Chinese jamming of the Voice of Tibet, the Voice of America and Radio Free Asia.
During pro-democracy protests in Myanmar late last year, the Oslo-based Democratic Voice of Burma was a crucial source of information about what was happening in that country after the military dictatorship cut off most information during a brutal crackdown. The independent Burma radio managed to smuggle out pictures and information through the Internet and by mobile phones.
"It is very different for us," said Alme about Tibet. "We don't have any information. The grip on the Tibet is much stronger."
Alme refused to say where Voice of Tibet transmitters are based or who funds it, fearing Chinese efforts to force them to withdraw support.

Cina e jamming, Thales respinge le accuse

Thales, importante società costruttrice di trasmettitori in onde corte, ha dovuto smentire ufficialmente le accuse lanciate dieci giorni fa dal filosofo francese Bernard Henri-Levy, che aveva esortato al boicottaggio dei giochi olimpici e delle aziende come Thales "presso cui i cinesi hanno acquistato speciali antenne paraboliche che disturbano le trasmissioni della BBC".
Lasciamo perdere i tecnicismi, è chiaro che Henri-Levy non ci capisce molto. Però Thales è anche uno dei nomi più coinvolti nel DRM, in un certo senso i disturbi ci sono. Ecco i testi del comunicato diffuso da Reuters e dell'editoriale del filosofo. La smentita compare oggi anche sulla home page Web del gruppo Thales.

Thales denies selling radio jamming kit to China
Mon Mar 31, 2008

PARIS (Reuters) - French defence electronics firm Thales denied accusations by human rights campaigners it sold equipment to China that has helped Beijing scramble radio broadcasts.
French philosopher Bernard Henri-Levy said in articles published in the past week that equipment sold by Thales was used to block foreign radio broadcasts into China, "particularly into areas such as Tibet".
Media rights campaign group Reporters Without Borders has also said antennae manufactured by Thales is allowing China to interfere with radio broadcasts.
Thales said a former subsidiary had indeed sold "standard short-wave radio broadcasting equipment to China" in 2002 but the equipment was designed for legal civil purposes.
"The equipment has been exclusively designed for general public radio broadcasting, and is identical with equipment installed in numerous countries worldwide," Thales said in a statement. No other similar kit was sold to China, it said.
Levy is among a number of high-profile campaigners urging the West to boycott the Olympic Games this year amid criticism of Beijing's response to recent anti-China protests in Tibet.
"It's not too late to use the threat of boycotting the Olympics as a weapon," Levy wrote in Britain's Sunday Telegraph.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has not ruled out refusing to attend the Olympics opening ceremony in Beijing, after accepting an invitation from President Hu Jintao in October, but most European leaders have taken a wait-and-see position.

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20/03/2008 N°1853 Le Point
Le bloc-notes de Bernard-Henri Lévy -

Le Tibet, la Chine et l'arme du boycott

Bernard-Henri Lévy


Les Jeux olympiques, nous disait-on, auront pour effet mécanique d'ouvrir la Chine au monde et, donc, à la démocratie-les Chinois, sachant qu'ils seront observés, scrutés comme ils ne l'ont jamais été, auront à coeur d'offrir une image décente d'eux-mêmes et de leur régime.
La vérité oblige à dire que c'est très exactement l'inverse qui s'est, pour le moment, produit.
On a expulsé des villes les pauvres et les improductifs.
Accéléré la destruction des hutong , les quartiers populaires du centre de Pékin.
On a, de la sorte, multiplié le nombre des sans-abri qui, s'entassant dans des bidonvilles sans que soit engagée de vraie politique de relogement, ont accentué le phénomène de misère urbaine, d'insalubrité, contre lequel on prétendait lutter.
On a emprisonné, souvent sans procès, des milliers de possibles dissidents.
On a, aux termes de l'article 306 du Code pénal de 1997 permettant d'incarcérer n'importe quel avocat suspecté de « manipuler ou de détruire des preuves », arrêté, kidnappé, mis hors d'état de nuire, les plus courageux de leurs défenseurs.
On a fait le ménage dans la presse.
Acheté au français Thales des antennes paraboliques permettant de renforcer la grande muraille des ondes qui brouille les émissions en chinois des radios anglosaxonnes.
Les émeutes se sont multipliées dans les campagnes, sans que la presse locale s'en fasse l'écho.
Le rythme des exécutions capitales ne semble pas avoir faibli-sans que cela choque outre mesure une presse internationale qui, elle, est pourtant libre d'écrire ce que bon lui semble.
On ne pratique pas moins qu'avant le trafic d'organes prélevés sur les corps des suppliciés.
Il ne reste, dans l'ensemble du pays, pas moins de camps de travail répertoriés par la Laogai Research Foundation.
Bref l'effet « ravalement de façade » n'a eu, soit aucune portée, soit pour unique résultat concret d'intensifier, au contraire, les violations des droits de l'homme.
Et voilà qu'au Tibet s'est déclenchée la répression la plus brutale que la « Région autonome » ait connue depuis celle que mena, il y a dix-huit ans, quelques mois après Tiananmen, l'actuel président chinois, Hu Jinto, qui gagna là sa réputation d'homme de fer et ses galons dans le Parti.
Quelles sont les circonstances exactes de cette répression nouvelle ?
Et quel crédit faut-il accorder à la logorrhée officielle sur le « sécessionnisme » tibétain et la volonté de ses chefs spirituels d'utiliser la caisse de résonance de la période préolympique pour faire entendre, enfin, leur voix ?
A la limite, peu importe.
Car ce qui importe c'est que, comme il y a dix-huit ans, on a froidement tiré sur la foule.
Ce qui importe c'est que la capitale, Lhassa, est, à l'heure où j'écris, transformée en zone de guerre, quadrillée par des forces de police et des blindés, coupée du monde.
Et ce qui importe c'est que les Chinois ont montré, en la circonstance, leur indifférence souveraine aux états d'âme d'un Occident qu'ils méprisent-ce qui importe c'est qu'instruits de notre pusillanimité au plus fort des massacres du Darfour et des violences en Birmanie, ils ont compris, ou cru comprendre, que nous ne bougerions pas davantage s'ils mettaient le Tibet à feu et à sang.
Face à un tel cynisme, je persiste à penser qu'il est encore temps de tenir le langage de fermeté qu'ils nous pensent trop lâches-ou, peut-être, trop dépendants d'eux-pour oser articuler.
Je persiste à dire qu'il n'est pas trop tard pour utiliser l'arme des Jeux afin d'exiger d'eux, au minimum , qu'ils arrêtent de tuer et appliquent à la lettre-en matière, notamment, de respect des libertés-les dispositions de la Constitution sur l'autonomie régionale tibétaine.
Pékin ne cédera pas ? les boycotts, d'une manière générale, ne marchent jamais ? Allons, cher Robert Badinter. On ne sait jamais tant qu'on n'a pas essayé. Nous n'avons rien à perdre si nous essayons-et les peuples chinois et tibétain ont, eux, tant à gagner !
On ne mélange pas sport et politique ? On ne prive pas le monde de cette grande réjouissance que sont les Jeux ? D'accord, amis sportifs. Mais ne renversons pas les rôles. Ce sont les Chinois qui gâchent la fête. Ce sont eux qui bafouent les principes de l'olympisme. Ce sont eux qui font que la flamme qui, dans les jours prochains, sera hissée sur l'Everest passera littéralement sur les corps d'hommes de prière et de paix assassinés. Et c'est à cause d'eux, enfin, c'est à cause des bouchers de Tiananmen et, maintenant, du Tibet, qu'en août prochain, quand vous disputerez vos médailles à des athlètes anabolisés, transfusés, transformés en quasi-robots, vous aurez à courir, lutter, défiler, dans des stades tachés de sang.
Il est encore temps de sauver, et le sport, et l'honneur, et des vies.
Il est encore temps, en prenant le risque, comme vient de le faire Barack Obama, d'évoquer la possibilité, juste la possibilité, du boycott, de dire à la fois oui à l'idéal olympique et non aux Jeux de la honte.
Il est minuit moins cinq, là aussi.

Guerra di onde sulla Corea del Nord

Per una volta non sono i missili o i bombardieri a essere utilizzati per cercare di cambiare le cose e la testa della gente. Gli USA ricorrono ancora alle care, vecchie, sdrucite onde corte per trasmettere verso la Corea del Nord i discorsi dei candidati e le discussioni della campagna per le elezioni presidenziali della Corea del Sud, con l'intenzione di far capire che cosa sia un dibattito democratico. In questo caso l'emittente è Open Radio for North Korea, creata nel 2005, che dichiara una frequenza di 9930 kHz.

US-Funded Radio to Air SKorea Speeches

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A U.S.-funded radio station was to begin broadcasting speeches and debates of leading South Korean presidential candidates into North Korea on Monday.
Open Radio for North Korea said it would transmit a recently taped speech by pro-government liberal candidate Chung Dong-young for four days starting Monday evening.
The station said in a statement that it would then broadcast a speech by front-runner Lee Myung-bak of the main opposition Grand National Park. Lee was once a regular target of North Korea, but Pyongyang has recently shifted its denunciations to independent candidate Lee Hoi-chang.
Both Lees have criticized the liberal government of outgoing President Roh Moo-hyun for being too soft on North Korea. Polls show them ahead of Chung in the Dec. 19 election.
The Seoul-based radio station also plans to air speeches of other presidential candidates to the tightly run communist state by using short-wave radio.
The radio programs "can make North Koreans have an interest in the South's election ... and North Koreans can learn how a policy decision is made in a democratic society," the broadcaster said.
Pyongyang has condemned outside radio broadcasts as part of a U.S. psychological campaign aimed at toppling the communist regime — a charge Washington denies.
North Koreans are officially banned from listening to outside news, so it was not clear how many people would be able to listen to the broadcasts. Radios in North Korea are fixed so only state programs can be heard.
Listening to radio broadcasts criticizing the regime is a severe offense that has previously landed people in the country's notorious prisons, although the North has apparently eased punishment in recent years, according to defectors.
A growing number of North Koreans, however, are listening to foreign news and communicating with the outside world, mostly using cell phones through Chinese communication networks, according to defectors who resettled in South Korea

Secondo il McClatchy Washington Bureau, sito dell'editore del Miami Herald e altri quotidiani, la ORNK, insieme a Free North Korea Radio e Radio Free Chosun, riceve 200 mila dollari annui dal National Endowment for Democracy una organizzazione non governativa no profit che viene però finanziata e supervisionata dal Congresso USA. Tra le attività del NED, dicono i detrattori, c'è anche il finanziamento sotterraneo di partiti politici esteri, con l'evidente scopo di influenzare sulle elezioni. Ma come ho avuto modo di dire in altre circostanze, almeno non si spara.
D'altro canto la Corea del Nord non si tira indietro quando si tratta di cercare di disturbare la ricezione delle onde corte, attività assai poco incoraggiata in una nazione dove ascoltare le radio straniere può portare in galera. Il Daily NK, centrale informativa Web sulle notizie riguardanti PyongYang, cita uno studio del North Asia Broadcasting Institute secondo cui della decina di stazioni americane, coreane e giapponesi che cercano di farsi sentire, molte se non tutte vengono regolarmente disturbate dai jammer.
E' guerra anche questa, intendiamoci, e può non essere condivisa sul piano politico. Ma è sempre meglio del cannone.

North Korea Jams Overseas Private Radio Broadcasts

By Namgung Min
[2007-11-05 01:39 ]

A study revealed that North Korea has been jamming private radio broadcasts from South Korea dedicated to listeners in North Korea.
Northeast Asian Broadcasting Institute, a private radio broadcasting agency, disclosed in the 10th issue of its monthly “Northeast Asian Broadcasting Study” that North Korea has been jamming most of the South Korean radio programs targeting North Korean listeners with the exception of “Global Korean Network” of Korean Broadcasting System (KBS), South Korea’s premier public broadcaster.
The list of radio stations which broadcast programs dedicated to North Korean people is as follows: Radio Free Asia, Voice of America, KBS’s Global Korean Network, Free North Korea, Open Radio for North Korea, Far East Broadcasting Company, North Korea Mission Radio, Shiokaze of Japan and Radio Free Chosun.
The Institute conducted its research by evaluating the shortwave radio reception of broadcasts dedicated to North Korean listeners from October 1st to the 7th. The study showed that almost all radio broadcasts targeting both North Korean listeners (i.e., VOA and RFA) and South Korean listeners (i.e., Central Chosun broadcasting station and Pyongyang Broadcast station) were experiencing radio signal jamming.
Global Korean Network of the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) was the only program broadcasted without interference. It is a radio program aired on media-wave, so its frequency remains relatively unsusceptible to jamming. Moreover, recently the program greatly curtailed its contents specifically targeting North Korean people. Therefore, the institute argued that the North Korean authorities might have considered the program insignificant and so ignored it.
Since the North Korean authorities continue to jam overseas private radio broadcasts dedicated to North Korean people, it is important to come up with some countermeasures against the interference.
The number of North Koreans who listen to foreign radio broadcasts has been increasing particularly among the young people. Many defectors said that it was KBS Liberty Radio that came in sounded clearest. They said they have also heard of the radio programs VOA and Far East Broadcasting Company.
A defector, Kim Sung Chul, said, “Since 2000, the number of North Korean people who try to watch foreign films and listen to South Korean radio programs has greatly increased.” He added, “People use electrical wiring or antennas to receive a signal. It is hard for the North Korean authorities to stop the people from listening to radio even if they try to jam foreign radio broadcasts.”
Ha Tae Kyung, the head of Open Radio for North Korea said, “We need to use more radio frequencies to avoid North Korea’s jamming interference. However, many private radio stations dedicated to North Korean listeners have financial difficulties. We really need support from the South Korean government.”

Proprio dal sito del Neabi ho estratto la schedule delle trasmissioni occidentali rivolte verso l'isolata nazione asiatica:

B07 Schedule of Broadcast to the North Korea
2007. 10. 28 until 2008. 3. 29
All Times UTC, Frequency is kHz.

* Voice of America - Korean Service
1200-1500 5890, 7235, 9555
(1300-1400 648)
1900-2100 6060, 7110, 7135

* Radio Free Asia - Korean Service
1500-1700 5860, 7210, 9385
1700-1900 5860, 9385
2100-2200 5835, 7460, 9385

* Free North Korea Radio
1000-1100 9730
2030-2130 9645

* Open Radio for North Korea
1100-1200 9930(Mon-Fri)

* Radio Free Chosun
1330-1400 9950

* CMI / Voice of Wilderness
(before. North Korea Mission Radio)
1300-1330 9940
2000-2030 9795

* Furusato no Kaze / Nihon no Kaze
1600-1630 9780(Japanese)
1700-1730 9820(Korean)

* JSR Shiokaze(Sea Breeze)
1400-1430 5985
2030-2100 5965

Firedrake, anatomia di un jammer

Avvincente come una spystory il racconto di come SatDirectory ha individuato l'origine del "Drago di fuoco" (Firedrake), nome convenzionale delle trasmissioni di radiodisturbo (jamming) che i cinesi irradiano per impedire l'ascolto di Sound of Hope, voce ufficiosa el movimento Falun Gong. SatDirectory e il confratello Mediaexplorer, sono due siti Web australiani creati da un gruppo che sorveglia le comunicazioni radiotelevisive satellitari nell'area dell'Asia Pacifico. Le due testate telematiche commercializzano straordinari cataloghi e rassegne multimediali su DVD basati su questa attività di sorvegliamento dei transponder, con materiale video esclusivo Vale davvero la pena visitare la loro libreria online o cliccare qui per ordinare il DVD di Mediaexplorer.

Tornando a Firedrake, oggi mi sono letto d'un fiato il contributo che l'ultimo numero di DXLD di Glenn Hauser pubblica da Mark Fahey di SatDirectory. Come dicevo all'inizio Sound of Hope è l'organizzazione mediatica del movimento dissidente cinese Falun Gong. Da diverso tempo l'emittente, che è disponibile anche via Internet, utilizza facilities taiwanesi per trasmettere verso la Cina, sulle onde corte, notizie e propaganda fortemente contraria al Partito comunista cinese e all'ordine costituito. Evidentemente certe verità sono scomode e il governo reagisce come hanno sempre fatto i governi autoritari dall'invenzione della radio in poi: cercano di impedirne la ricezione. Nei lunghi anni della guerra fredda i sovietici utilizzavano potenti trasmettitori e generatori di rumore nelle frequenze audio. La Cina preferisce un approccio più soft e sommerge le trasmissioni di Sound of Hope con una musichetta tradizionale senza neanche un accenno di annuncio parlato. La potenza usata dev'essere notevole perché il Drago di fuoco arriva dappertutto grazie alla propagazione. Ascoltarlo sulle onde corte è facile: basta andare sulle frequenze della schedule di Sound of Hope. Ma gli australiani hanno capito che il feed della musichetta doveva viaggiare via satellite, perché diffonderlo in altro modo sarebbe stato troppo complicato (e anche perché China National Radio ha riorganizzato completamente - con una bella prova di forza e efficienza - la modalità di distribuzione satellitare dei suoi innumerevoli programmi proprio perché Falun Gong in passato era riuscita a sovrapporsi ai vecchi feed, facendo in modo che i cinesi ricevessero i loro comunicati sovversivi sulle frequenze ufficiali cinesi). Dopo un paziente monitoraggio, ecco spuntare l'audio di Firedrake trasmesso dalla nuova rete di feeder: occupa il canale stereo destro di uno dei pochi canali radio monofonici distribuiti oggi dal satellite Chinasat 6B. SatDirectory promette di inviare su richiesta un CD con l'intera registrazione dei 60 minuti del "programma" di Firedrake.
Le attività di trasmissione e disturbo di SoH sono seguite con apprensione dall'intera comunità dei radioamatori perché molte delle frequenze utilizzate dalla stazione - e quindi interferite dal jammer musicale - ricadono nelle porzioni di banda condivise o assegnate in esclusiva al servizio HAM Radio, con pessime conseguenze sulla possibilità di stabilire dei contatti radio fruttuosi. L'organizzazione sovranazionale IARU, che riunisce le associazioni radioamatoriali nei diversi Paesi, ha pubblicato un interessante documento sulla partita a rimpiattino giocata con i responsabili di Sound of Hope.

Firedrake - The source of China's Radio Jammer found on Chinasat 6B

Some countries fear a free flow of information through the media and often go to extraordinary lengths to ensure they maintain control over the distribution of news and information in their nation. While some governments are kept busy building media firewalls or other barriers to stop outside information being received by their citizens, other groups are just as determined to allow their views to be heard behind these barriers. Information can be diluted or restricted by many different methods. Some information is controlled via a relatively "light" non-technical approach, other "heavy" techniques use various technologies to jam or completely stop the flow of the information considered subversive.
An example of a 'light" approach to control a media outlet may be the ridiculing of Al-Jazeera by senior members of the USA government. The anti Al-Jazeera campaign in the USA has led many in that nation to consider the broadcaster as an evil mouthpiece for Islamic terrorists and not ideal viewing by patriotic Americans. Meanwhile outside of the USA some view the station as un-biased and a shining example of a balanced media organisation. A "heavier" approach may include national restrictions and censorship of the Internet and jamming of radio and television transmissions that do not align to a particular belief. Two groups that definitely don't see eye-to-eye when it comes to beliefs is the government of the Peoples Republic of China and the followers of Falun Gong. Both parties have been accused of being players in a constant war to control the delivery of information, and interestingly part of the war is being played out over satellites.

Falun Gong - Satellite Hackers?

2007 is seeing a massive reorganisation of the domestic radio and television services delivered by satellite links in China. Over recent years the Chinese have been exposed to an embarrassing series of hijacks of these satellite links. The hijacks have seen the official evening news from Beijing being replaced by Falun Gong programming. For many years the AsiaSat, Sinosat and Apstar platforms have been used to distribute media across mainland China. As a result of the hijackings the services are now shifting on mass to two new satellites, Chinasat 6B and Sinosat 3. The new satellites have been built with systems that are designed to prevent the hacking of the services. Chinasat 6B also plays another important role in the war of control of the Falun Gong, it is the source delivering the dreaded Firedrake Jammer to Chinese Radio Jamming transmitter sites.

Firedrake Jammer

The Falun Gong's shortwave radio station The Sound of Hope is the main method of reaching their supporters in mainland China. Sound of Hope programs allege persecution and torture by the Peoples Republic of China, and as you might expect, the Chinese go to incredible efforts to ensure the station is basically impossible to listen to by jamming the station. The Chinese Firedrake Jammer is a powerful transmitter that sits on top of the same frequency as the Sound of Hope. Firedrake covers the Falun Gong programming with loud Chinese Classical Music featuring gongs, flutes and drums. The Firedrake music is so intense that it usually completely dominates the frequency with the Falun Gong program underneath it becoming unintelligible. Shortwave Radio Enthusiasts and Ham Radio operators have been watching China's Firedrake with interest. They believe that the primary Firedrake transmitter location is on Hainan Island off the coast of Southern China, however it is believed that there may be other transmitter sites also in use. It has also been noted that the Firedrake audio is a one hour loop with no announcements. This got us thinking at Satdirectory; how does the Firedrake programming get to the transmitter site? Is it delivered by a tape or CD on repeat or is it like most other Chinese radio, delivered by a satellite link to the transmitter?
Well, a search with our 3 meter dish has found Firedrake! The audio is transmitted on Chinasat 6B within the China National Radio (CNR) satellite feed circuits. Many of the China National Radio feeds are in stereo, however one channel that is solely mono is the CNR 8 - The Voice of the Minorities broadcast which features programs in the Kazakh, Korean, Mongolian, Tibetan and Uighur languages. The CNR 8 audio feed to the Chinese transmitter sites can be found on the left audio channel of a feed circuit labelled "Lzh8Rdjy". On the right audio channel of this feed is the feed for the Firedrake transmitters. Following our discovery we tuned up a shortwave receiver to 17780 kHz which at the time also had the jammer running. The audio from the satellite feed and the shortwave radio were synchronised with no delay. This confirmed that the Firedrake shortwave transmitter site was also being fed by the same satellite feed, otherwise we would have expected a delay of a second or so due to the satellite uplink and downlink path delay when compared to the shortwave broadcast.
Satdirectory can confirm that the Firedrake audio program in exactly 60 minutes (down to the second actually) and we have made a full studio quality copy of the broadcast which can be made available on CD for study and academic use on request.

................................................................

Tuning & Resources

China National Radio and the Firedrake audio feeds are available via Chinasat 6B.
Firedrake - Right Audio Lzh8Rdjy Circuit
Satellite : Chinasat 6B
Orbit Location : 115.5 East
Frequency : 4175
Polarity : Vertical
Symbol Rate : 5990
FEC: 1/2

Da risentire: BBC R4 su switchover e jamming

"Wildly optimistic". L'intervento del professor Richard Rudin nel corso della trasmissione You and Yours, che BBC Radio 4 ha dedicato al problema dello switchover della radio analogica, è un balsamo per le orecchie. "Pazzescamente ottimista", secondo il docente di giornalismo (ed esperto cronista radiofonico) alla John Moores University di Liverpool, sono le valutazioni di Ofcom sulla penetrazione della radio digitale nel Regno Unito. Pensare di riproporre fra quattro o cinque anni l'eventualità dello spegnimento per onde medie e FM analogici è quanto mai azzardato, secondo Rudin.
Molto bello il programma di Radio 4, che ho registrato e caricato qui. Non si dovrebbe, ma You and Yours è andato in onda qualche giorno fa e tra poco non sarà più disponibile neppure nella sezione Listen Again del sito della stazione. Sono 24 minuti di interviste a personaggi che si esprimono a favore o con molto scetticismo nei confronti della scomparsa delle modulazioni analogiche. Non capita tutti i giorni di ascoltare tanti pareri che si richiamano in modo esplicito ai dubbi espressi qui su Radiopassioni. Il problema dei ricevitori che ancora non ci sono, unito a quello della sostituzione di milioni di apparecchi analogici. E perfino il problema del digitale che - davvero - non ammette dubbi. O il segnale arriva, o non si sente niente, non c'è spazio alle vie di mezzo ondulatorie e gracchianti alle quali le onde medie ci hanno abituato, consentendoci se non altro di ricevere, allungando un po' le orecchie, un segnale debole e lontano (magari per ascoltare un messaggio importante in una situazioen di emergenza, non per puro divertimento). Alta qualità audio? Verissimo. Ma quando le cose vanno male non ci sono fischi e rumori, ma un eloquente silenzio.
Lo stesso silenzio che i regimi dell'Est Europa avrebbero voluto imporre alle trasmissioni radio occidentali. A quei tempi, l'unico modo per bloccare la propaganda anticomunista era l'interferenza. Per quasi quarant'anni tutto il blocco sovietico, la Cina e altre nazioni orientali dichiararono la guerra radiofonica del jamming: potenti trasmettitori sintonizzati sulle stesse frequenze di Voice of America e Radio Liberty che inondavano di rumore a larga banda lo spettro. Il risultato era devastante, perché spesso il rumore arrivava fin qui, disturbando l'ascolto nelle nazioni occidentali. Nel quadro di una altra trasmissione di BBC Radio 4, It's your story, Roger Bolton ha intervistato i tecnici dell'una e dell'altra parte chiedendo loro come è andata a finire dopo che tutti quegli impianti sono diventati inutili. Ma lo sono diventati davvero? Oggi il jamming viene ancora utilizzato dalla Cina per disturbare le trasmissioni rivolte verso il Tibet, dalla Corea del Nord, dall'Iran, forse dalla Libia. Per non sbagliare, ho registrato anche la storia del jamming. Per un approfondimento ecco questo file PDF ricavato dal sito di Rimantas Pleikys, un DXer lituano che è stato ministro delle telecomunicazioni nel suo paese e oggi gestisce l'impianto commerciale di Radio Baltic Waves (sul sito ci sono le istruzioni per ordinare il libro di Pleikys sul jamming).