Author Archives: Michael Froomkin

Kazakhstan Trials Major Attack on Internet Freedom

Posted on December 7, 2020 by Michael Froomkin

According to an article in ZDNet the government of Kazakstan is requiring all internet users in the capital to install government-issued certificates on their phones and computers. This will allow the government to eavesdrop on all otherwise secured https web communications by routinizing so-called man-in-the-middle attacks.

Starting today, December 6, 2020, Kazakh internet service providers (ISPs) such as Beeline, Tele2, and Kcell are redirecting Nur-Sultan-based users to web pages showing instructions on how to install the government’s certificate. Earlier this morning, Nur-Sultan residents also received SMS messages informing them of the new rules.

Kazakhstan users have told ZDNet today that they are not able to access sites like Google, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Netflix without installing the government’s root certificate.

This is the Kazakh government’s third attempt at forcing citizens to install root certificates on their devices after a first attempt in December 2015 and a second attempt in July 2019.

Both previous attempts failed after browser makers blacklisted the government’s certificates.

Posted in Cryptography, Internet, Politics: International | Comments Off on Kazakhstan Trials Major Attack on Internet Freedom

Nothing to See Here, Right?

Posted on November 29, 2020 by Michael Froomkin

That’s the New York times weekly chart with data as of Nov. 23.  I guess we’ll get a bigger one in a couple of days.  Some scientists — elitist alarmists in the grip of community delusion, no doubt — are predicting things will get worse before they get better.

Looks fairly dramatic to me, but of course I’m not a scientist.

The increase in cases has not been matched, yet, by as great an increase in deaths, although that number is also rising quickly.

I suspect this is because deaths lag cases by several weeks, and because treatment has improved. In addition, perhaps, a smaller fraction of the new cases are in the most vulnerable (e.g. elderly) population compared to the earlier peaks. But if the lag claim is correct, then expect the weekly deaths number to go up for some time before it goes down.

 

Posted in COVID-19 | Comments Off on Nothing to See Here, Right?

Draft of Virtual Law School, 2.0 Now at SSRN

Posted on November 25, 2020 by Michael Froomkin

I recently uploaded a draft of my paper The Virtual Law School, 2.0 to SSRN. (It will need a little updating in light of the development of vaccines for COVID.) Here’s the abstract and table of contents:

Just over twenty years ago I gave a talk to the AALS called The Virtual Law School? Or, How the Internet Will De-skill the Professoriate, and Turn Your Law School Into a Conference Center. I came to the subject because I had been working on Internet law, learning about virtual worlds and e-commerce, and about the power of one-to-many communications. It seemed to me that a lot of what I had learned applied to education in general and to legal education in particular.

It didn’t happen. Or at least, it has not happened yet. In this essay I want to revisit my predictions from twenty years ago in order to see why so little has changed (so far). The massive convulsion now being forced on law teaching due to the social distancing required to prevent COVID-19 transmission presents an occasion in which we are all forced to rethink how we deliver law teaching. After discussing why my predictions failed to manifest before 2020, I will argue that unless this pandemic is brought under control quickly, the market for legal education may force some radical changes on us—whether we like it or not, and that in the main my earlier predictions were not wrong, just premature.

    1.  That Was Then (Virtual Law School 1.0)
    2.  Why We Do Not Have Serious Virtual Law Schools (Yet)
      1. ABA Rules
      2. Bad Software
      3. Concerns About Bad Pedagogy and Lost Opportunities for Skills Training and Networking
      4. Reputational and Branding Concerns
      5. Bad Economics
    3. Law Teaching in a Time of COVID
      1. The Old is New Again
      2. Spring’s Scrambling: Opening the Door to Online Learning
        1. ABA (and ICE) Actions
        2. Law School Actions
        3. Student and Other Reactions
      3. The Longer Term: Teaching in the ‘New Normal’
        1. COVID-19 Scenarios
        2. What the Scenarios Mean for the Virtual Law School
    4. Conclusion: Winners and Losers, 2.0

This a true draft, not a finished product, and I would very much welcome any comments readers might have.

Posted in Writings | 17 Comments

Full Text of Decision by Judge Brann in PA Voting Case

Posted on November 22, 2020 by Michael Froomkin

Looking for the full text of Donald J. Trump For President v. Boockvar, the case in which U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Brann very thoroughly rejects claims that the Pennsylvania Presidential vote result should be set aside? Well, look no further.

It shouldn’t be relevant, but in case you care Judge Brann is a former Pennsylvania GOP party official and Federalist Society member, albeit one nominated to the bench by President Obama.

Posted in 2020 Election, Law: Elections, Trump | 2 Comments

Gotta Love It

Posted on November 19, 2020 by Michael Froomkin

Those federal judges on the Southern District of Texas have a sense of humor — and a couple of them can really belt it out:

Posted in Completely Different, Law: Everything Else | 1 Comment

Your Smart Doorbell Could Get You Killed

Posted on November 19, 2020 by Michael Froomkin

These things are DANGEROUS.

Amazon Ring Doorbell Hacked in Florida Swatting Incident:

In a Florida suburb Friday afternoon, local law enforcement received a call from a man confessing to hoarding explosives and killing his wife after seeing her cheat on him. Seemingly distraught, he gave them a play-by-play of the chaos unraveling. However, the crime didn’t happen. The call was made by someone who hacked into his Ring surveillance camera.

…

When authorities arrived at Courtney’s home, they found her unharmed and couldn’t decipher who the incognito caller was. Then the Ring camera started calling them names. It had been hacked and then used in a version of a swatting prank …

No one was hurt this time, but SWATting incidents can result in fatalities.

Posted in Florida, Law: Criminal Law, Sufficiently Advanced Technology | Comments Off on Your Smart Doorbell Could Get You Killed