Word-whore. I write 'em. I talk 'em. Information, politics, media, and the cybers. I drink. I use bad words. All publication is a political act. All communication is propaganda. All art is pornography. All business is personal. All hail Eris! Vive les poissons rouges sauvages!
It was a week for extended radio conversations about the darker side of the internet, it seems.
Not only did I speak about Anonymous on ABC 774 Melbourne, on Friday night I spoke about that ill-defined phenomenon known as the “dark web†on ABC 891 Adelaide with evening presenter Deb Tribe. And here is that conversation.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (12.5MB)
This audio is ©2015 Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
This evening I did one of my now (ir)regular spots on ABC 774 Melbourne, and since I’d been at Ruxcon over the weekend, that conference was an obvious topic.
Presenter Lindy Burns and I started off talking about the origins of the word “hacker”, and that led into a brief history of cybercrime, before we got into the so-called “dark web” and Silk Road… and even the risks of smart TVs.
Here’s the entire 23-minute conversation exactly as it aired — and as Ms Burns herself freely admits, it strayed well away from our planned topics.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (14.1MB)
The audio is ©2015 Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
I did two radio interviews about Bitcoin last week, but unfortunately only one survives. This one, the poorer of the two.
The first one, on Monday 17 February for ABC 666 Canberra, was sharp, and I pulled off what I remember as being good impromptu explanations. But I stuffed up the recording. This second one, for ABC Sunshine Coast on Wednesday 19 February, was done after I’d followed the bottle of Sangiovese Barbera with a couple pints of cider after a long day of work. It’s less focussed.
This conversation with presenter Mary-Lou Stephens includes the word “cryptolibertarian”. It’s all a bit much. I even squeeze in a mention of Honest Beef.
The audio is also presented here without an introduction or a back-announce, because that’s how it was posted on SoundCloud.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (4.4MB)
The audio is of course ©2014 Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
This evening I had a lovely conversation on ABC Local Radio in Sydney and around NSW on the takedown of the Silk Road internet marketplace and the Tor anonymity software that made such anonymity possible.
The presenter was the redoubtable Dom Knight. Given that we last spoke in April, we had a lot to catch up on. Here’s the full audio.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (14.4MB)
The audio is of course ©2013 Australian Broadcasting Corporation, archived here because it isn’t being archived anywhere else.
My week Monday 30 September to Sunday 6 October 2013 was dominated by my trip to Newcastle for the inaugural DiG Festival and Conference. Both the city and the event were well worth it.
I’ll be writing about the DiG Festival for Crikey today, so watch out for that, but I’m sure I’ll have more to say later.[Update 2000 AEDT: And here it is.] I’ll also be writing about Newcastle, because I have many thoughts.
I also wrote a 1000-word piece that’ll appear in a printed magazine that CSO will be handing out at some events between now and the end of the year.
None, but there’ll be a new Corrupted Nerds in the coming few days.
None.
Monday is a public holiday in NSW, but not in Victoria, so I’ll be writing my story on the DiG Festival and Conference for Crikey and, perhaps, a piece that I’ve kept on the back burner for Technology Spectator.
I’m keeping Tuesday empty for some personal reasons.
On Wednesday I’ll head to Sydney for a lunchtime media briefing by Unisys, and I may stay overnight because on Thursday there’s the annual conference of the Australian Information Security Association (AISA). [Update 8 October 2013: Confirmed, I’ll be attending the AISA Conference and staying in Sydney until Friday.]
Friday and the weekend are currently unplanned.
[Photo: Newcastle City Hall, photographed at around 0730 AEST on 3 October 2013.]
On Tuesday morning I did another radio spot, this time about two web-related issues: the 20th birthday of the World Wide Web, and the so-called “dark web” and the denial of service attack against The Silk Road.
The presenter was Bern Young, who I’ve spoken to before on the Drive program, but it seems she’s doing the Breakfast shift now.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (2.7MB)
The audio is of course ©2013 Australian Broadcasting Corporation, archived here because it isn’t being archived anywhere else.