TalkTalk turns StalkStalk to build malware blocker

It's less TalkTalk, more StalkStalk: the UK's second largest ISP has quietly begun following its customers around the web and scanning what they look at for a new anti-malware system it is developing.

Without telling customers, the firm has switched on the compulsory first part of the system, which is harvesting lists of the URLs every one of them visits. It often then follows them to the sites to scan for threats.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/07/26/talktalk_stalkstalk/

http://www.ispreview.co.uk/story/20...ustomers-online-activity-without-consent.html

 

It's interesting how, AT THE TIME, of Huawei being given the contract to install a newer UK communications network ... the talk was ... how the Chinese would be surreptitiously spying, and even capable of launching cyber attacks against UK using hidden backdoors in the technology. The talk certainly took some eye's off the ball!

But - Same Old Same Old - contracting out the profiling dirty work to 3rd parties to get around privacy laws there to protect the citizen. I guess that's why the British company (Marconi) that also bid for the contract didn't get the job. . Huawei are accountable to only the Chinese Gov. So we'll never know what spying technology the UK government requested to be built within the network.

Just hope the Chinese don't have the last laugh in this politician idiocy.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't Cameron and Clegg both committed to rolling back much of the ability of the ISPs to do this kind of thing? They seem very good on these issues. (I'm in the USA)

 

But Euro member states are required to retain minimum ISP information, under EU law here. So Cameron and Clegg talking is one thing, but reducing the data retention is not gonna happen. The EU laws are still a basic invasion of privacy, as they are.

* to trace and identify the source of a communication;
* to trace and identify the destination of a communication;
* to identify the date, time and duration of a communication;
* to identify the type of communication;
* to identify the communication device;
* to identify the location of mobile communication equipment.


Individual nation states within the EU can pretty much only determine the time data can be stored - which is between 6 months and 2 years. Although UK put in place snooping laws a month or two after 9/11 - under a unique Anti-Terror law, and then a revision in 2005 - this law overrides EVERYTHING else in place - for UK citizens. It's literally no-holds-barred - for individual cases deemed to be a threat to the nation. So it will be interesting to see if the Prevention of Terrorism Act is ever revised under Cameron and Clegg. Doubtful.

This, with TalkTalk, is a continuation of the last governments 'Interception_Modernisation_Programme' - by the looks of it. ISP's 'experiment' with techniques to gather information, like Phorm did with BT a while back here - very similar to this with TalkTalk. And as soon as it's exposed, it is scrapped. These ISP's never ask the customer if they are prepared to take part in the trials. It's very secretive.

Just business as usual under Cameron and Clegg when it comes to ISP data retention - it looks like. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss ... as The Who song goes ...

Although ... I did read the other day the new government is reducing funding to the crappy speed cameras. Maybe they will axe them altogether. I might forgive them snooping my ISP data if they scrap speed cameras for good!

 

Thanks for the heads up and info/links everybody

Charles Dunstone chairman of the TalkTalk group, did recently say that, he would resist and not cooperate with requests for ISP data records of his customers, from government etc. I tried to find the article again, without success so far

*

We'll see if it's true, sooner or later What legal redress would anyone have if "somehow" data was retained and used against someone at some time ?

IP's to "possibly" block - 62.24.222.131 - 62.24.222.132 -

*

Phorm

 

Would using OpenDNS protect me from from this sort of snooping or should i be using Peerblock to block TalkTalk IP addresses?


thank

Martin

 

TalkTalk won`t snoop on you....unless you are a customer of theirs and then they will track where you`ve been, apparently the new system being trialled is built into their own network and collects the addresses of where you have visited.

With no personally identifiable information being passed other than the address - allegedly.

That`s what I can figure out....but the arguments are still going on

 

Unfortunately I am one of their customers now after Pipex was bought by tiscali and now they have been bought by talk talk.

It looks like from the info on slashdot that opal telecommunications is the server they use. This is present in peerblock business ip addresss list.

Looks like opendns isnt working since i am still getting opal telecoms in peerblock.

I would like someone with more technical knowledge to suggest what I can do.

Martin

 

I'm going to try experimenting putting some or all the IP's into my HOSTS file. Not sure if it'll break anything, but even if it does it's very easy to change it back

Opal Telecom IP ranges = 62.24.128.0 - 62.24.255.255

Found this in their DNS records ? - 132.222.24.62 = NTT COMWARE Gotanda Bldg.2-1-1Nishi-gotanda Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, 141-0031 Japan

http://www.nttcom.co.jp/english

*

Huawei

SCDMA = https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/TD-SCDMA

 

In peerblock I got opal Telecommunications hitting the block list at 89.240.216.123

Different to the IP addresses you are suggesting

MArtin

 

That is some creepy stuff in the TalkTalk forum. lol

Just boggles the mind ... the ridiculously blatant invasion of privacy.