Ignoring Sabah claim causes new tension

The diplomatic lightweights and political dimwits in the Manila government all talked about forging a new regime of peace in Mindanao. What they got, for their pains, was a potentially explosive situation involving a long-standing claim to Sabah and strained ties with yet another neighboring country.

Here's the evidence of Leased Payment from Malaysian Government to the Heirs of the Sultanate of Sulu that is being leaked on the internet.

In what seemed like ages ago, the Aquino administration sealed a deal in Tokyo with the secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front for President Noynoy’s version of greatly expanded autonomy for (and abject appeasement to) Muslim Mindanao. No one, it seems, thought about what Aquino called the “dormant” claim of the Philippine government to Sabah, which has been kept alive by the heirs of the old Sultanate of Sulu.

Now, the failure of the Manila government to factor the Sabah claim into the negotiations with the MILF has blown up in Aquino’s face. Thus, when a small force of armed men in the employ of the Sultan’s family crossed over from Tawi-tawi in the Philippines to a town in Sabah in Malaysia (which, ironically, acted as a broker in the Aquino-MILF talks), Aquino and his entire administration were caught, well, noynoying once again.

Up to today, a week since the Sultan’s men landed in Sabah, the Manila government still hasn’t come up with a response, coherent or not, to what has gotten Malaysian authorities panicking. While Kuala Lumpur has decided to deploy its security forces to isolate the Sultan’s armed men, Aquino has failed to even make a categorical statement on the matter—so badly was its lack of preparation for the plan of the Sultanate to re-occupy its old territory.

(Right up to last week, the Sultan’s heirs had been complaining to Malaysian authorities that the Manila-MILF deal would carve up its territories in Sulu and other Philippine areas that former part of the pact. Why the sultanate was protesting to Kuala Lumpur about losing lands in the Philippines shows the extent of its confidence that Manila will heed its complaints.)

Now, no one in the Aquino administration—which only weeks ago was so confident that its had brought lasting peace to the blood-stained Moro lands after the President visited the Maguindanao main camp of the MILF —seems to know how to deal with a problem that Manila never anticipated. And Aquino can’t seem to decide whether to back the Sultanate (thereby angering Malaysia) or renouncing all previous claims, dormant or otherwise, to Sabah (thus incurring the ire of the Sultan’s heirs and endangering its peace pact with the MILF).

Dormant, you say? Well, most volcanoes are dormant, too—until they erupt. - source

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P-Noy smells sabotage of peace talks

MANILA, Philippines - The standoff in Sabah has infuriated President Aquino, who suspects that the incident is meant to sabotage his administration’s peace initiatives with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), reliable sources said yesterday.

The highly placed sources said Malacañang believes Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III is not acting on his own in highlighting his family’s claim over Sabah.

Kiram, the sources noted, is ailing and is undergoing dialysis.

Among those being eyed by administration officials as instigators of Kiram are Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) chieftain Nur Misuari, former national security adviser Norberto Gonzales and even the President’s uncle, former Tarlac congressman Jose “Peping” Cojuangco and his wife Margarita, who is running for senator under the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA).

Up to 300 followers of Kiram are holed up in Lahad Datu, Sabah and have been surrounded by Malaysian forces. Kiram has said his followers would not leave because “Sabah is our home.”

Malaysia continues to pay rent to the Sulu sultanate for North Borneo, which Kiram’s clan claims as ancestral land. The Philippine claim to Sabah has not been resolved with finality. The other day, Malacañang described the claim as “dormant.”

The sources told The STAR that the President was furious over the Sabah incident, as it came on the heels of progress achieved in the government’s peace initiative with the MILF.

A framework peace agreement was signed last year by the Aquino administration with the MILF, which broke away from Misuari’s MNLF when it was negotiating peace with the government.

The sources said the Sulu sultanate’s action in Sabah may also be linked to the recent attacks by an MNLF faction identified with Misuari on Abu Sayyaf strongholds in Jolo, Sulu, ostensibly to secure the release of mostly foreign hostages.

Sources earlier said Misuari did not want to be rendered irrelevant by any peace deal that may be forged with the MILF.

Misuari, who is running as an independent candidate for governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao in the May elections, points out that the government has not fully implemented the peace treaty signed with the MNLF in 1996.

The sources told The STAR that the standoff in Sabah is seen as a way of derailing the peace process with the MILF.

In the 2007 midterm elections, Kiram ran under the Partido Demokratiko Sosyalista ng Pilipinas headed by Gonzales, who reportedly introduced the Sulu sultan to then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Kiram became part of the Arroyo administration’s Team Unity senatorial slate, which was endorsed by the MNLF.

Misuari insists that Sabah is part of the Philippines. This is indicated in the 1996 peace treaty with the MNLF. This is not the case in the framework agreement with the MILF.

A military official earlier said Kiram’s Royal Sultanate Army began recruiting members over a decade ago.

“In the following years, they never gave the Philippine government any problem until this standoff in Sabah…until they went to Lahad Datu and declared they have the right to stay in Sabah,” the official, who asked not to be named, said.

The official noted that even the reported armed encounter between the MNLF and Abu Sayyaf in Sulu looked like an acoustic war, with no cadavers being found despite reports of casualties on both sides.

The Cojuangcos are reportedly close to both Misuari and Kiram, and are against the officer-in-charge of the ARMM, Mujiv Hataman.

Margarita “Tingting” Cojuangco was supposed to run for vice governor of the ARMM, with Pax Mangudadatu as governor. Mangudadatu was governor of Sultan Kudarat from 1998 to 2007. But the President decided to synchronize the ARMM elections with the midterm polls in May.

Tingting Cojuangco reportedly wants to be part of the transition commission for the framework peace agreement with the MILF, but reliable sources said the President does not want it. - source

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Stateless in Sabah

Here's the evidence of Leased Payment from Malaysian Government to the Heirs of the Sultanate of Sulu that is being leaked on the internet.

A look at how the Malaysian government is clamping down on foreign migration.

The Malaysian state of Sabah on Borneo Island has long been known as a land of promise.

Its proximity to Indonesia and the southern Philippines and its rich natural resources, have combined to make Sabah a magnet for migrants in the region.

Today, some estimate that nearly half of Sabah's population is made up of foreigners who are fleeing conflict or seeking employment.

Sabah also has a large population of stateless children. Born in Malaysia to migrant parents, they are neither recognised by Malaysia, nor the country their parents originated from.

Over the years Malaysia has carried out several major evictions of undocumented migrants and stateless people.

Now, the Malaysian government has started a new major crackdown with thousands being arrested and deported across Sabah.

However, critics say the policy is short-sighted and will not stop the influx of foreign migrants arriving on Malaysia's shores. - Aljazeera

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Sabah To Whom It Belongs?

What’s happening in Sabah? A hundred fully armed Filipinos are holed up in a remote coastal town since last Wednesday in order to press the claim of the Sultanate of Sulu and Sabah that Sabah belongs to the family of Sultan Muhammad Fuad Abdulla Kiram, the 35th De Jure Reigning Sultan. The Sultan is also head of the Sultanate & head of Islam in the Royal Hashemite Sultanate of Sulu and of Sabah. So we ask, are these people crazy or are they trying to recover what the Sultan of Sulu legitimately owns?

Here's the evidence of Leased Payment from Malaysian Government to the Heirs of the Sultanate of Sulu that is being leaked on the internet.

I’m glad that the Aquino regime is very cautious regarding the disturbing moves happening in Sabah these days. After all, it recently signed a framework agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), but as we already wrote before because they apparently left out the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) because they just don’t like Nur Misuari.

But since we are talking peace with the MILF, we must do the same for the MNLF despite Nur Misuari who during the 2nd MNLF Peace Summit on May 24, 2008 in Davao City, he, before the presence of the Sultan of Sulu and Sabah, Muhammad Fuad A. Kiram I, held a sword and vowed to work for the return of Sabah to the Royal Sultanate of Sulu by peaceful means. So the question goes back to the hundred armed men in Sabah: are they trying to recover Malaysia through peaceful means? That they are armed to the teeth makes us suspicious of their moves.

But if there is anything that the Aquino regime should avoid at all cost it is opening two fronts that could trigger a war with one of our ASEAN neighbors. It’s bad enough that we are having territorial problems with China in Scarborough shoal, which they are claiming as theirs from their past history maps. Let’s just hope this issue in Sabah can be diffused peacefully. With that said, we must also go back to history on whether the claim of the Sultan of Sulu and of Sabah is legitimate or not.

Some history books tell us that pre-Spanish Philippines were mostly inhabited by Muslims. This maybe true to most of Mindanao, but not to Cebu. If you recall, when Ferdinand Magellan’s Armada de Moluccas anchored off to what is now downtown Cebu City in 1521, he was greeted by Rajah Humabon. Ask yourselves, what country uses Rajah or Maharajah? Muslim kings are called Datus… but it was a Rajah that greeted the Spaniards because Cebu and the Visayas was part of the Sri-Vishaya Empire, which means our Cebuano ancestors had a Hindu, not a Muslim past.

If at all we’ve never found any peace in Mindanao, it is due to the fact that there are just so many unresolved issues that no one dared or cared to fix. While the Spaniards colonized much of the Philippine Archipelago, they really didn’t do well in Southern Mindanao, except in Zamboanga City.

Back in Jan. 22, 1878, Sabah then under Sultan Jamalal Ahlam Kiram of Sulu and Sabah were leased to a British company represented by Gustavus Baron de Overbeck of Hong Kong and Alfred Dent, Esquire of London for a princely sum (at that time) of $5,000 annually. Today Sabah under Malaysia pumps nearly one million barrels of oil per day in Sabah, which is estimated at $75 million per day. This does not include the other things that Sabah produces like timber, forest and agriculture products.

According to reports I’ve read, Malaysia pays the heirs of the Sultan of Sulu an annual rent of $1,500, which is far lower than what they got from the British… and peanuts if you consider the income Malaysia gets from Sabah’s oil fields. No wonder, Sultan Kiram I minced no words when he insisted that “The continued occupation of Sabah by Malaysia is illegal and it must end.” So the big question we ought to ask is whether we should help Sultan Kiram I recover Sabah from Malaysia. If it is ours, then we must.

What’s more interesting for us in the Philippines is that, then Sultan Muhammad Esmail Kiram who ruled as Sultan of Sulu and Sabah in 1947-1973, wrote and signed on Jan. 22, 1958 an “Instrument of Cessation” declaring the lease to the British Company since Jan. 22, 1878 as “terminated”. There’s more! On April 24, 1962, Sultan Esmail Kiram signed an instrument recognizing, admitting and accepting the ultimate sovereignty, title and dominion of the Republic of the Philippines over their North Borneo Territory without prejudice to the proprietary rights of the heirs of the Sultan Kiram.

On Sept. 12, 1962, the Philippines, then under President Diosdado Macapagal with Vice-President Emmanuel Pelaez formally accepted this instrument giving Philippine sovereignty to Sabah. But on Aug. 31, 1963, Malaysia was granted Independence by the British. So for all intents and purposes… we got Sabah first before Malaysia could be independent. So why is the Philippines ignoring this fact? That Malaysia pays its annual “rent” to the Sultan is proof that the Sultan’s claim is legitimate. There’s more on this.

-The Philippine Star

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History catches up with Sabah

FOR SEVERAL DAYS NOW, Manila’s broadsheets have been bannering the confrontation between followers of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III and Malaysian authorities in a small town in Sabah.

Here's the evidence of Leased Payment from Malaysian Government to the Heirs of the Sultanate of Sulu that is being leaked on the internet.

Reports have it that some 300 armed followers of the Sultan of Sulu had traveled from Sulu in the southern Philippines to the town of Lahad Datu in Sabah to “reclaim their homeland.” The followers of the Sultan have refused to leave, claiming they have a right to be in a place that was historically theirs to begin with.

“Why should we leave our own home? In fact they (the Malaysians) are paying rent [to us],” the Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Kiram as saying. The Inquirer story may be read here

For decades, the dispute over Sabah has alternately simmered or blown up, depending on the mood of whoever is in charge in Kuala Lumpur or Manila. Former President Marcos tried to raise an army of infiltrators to destabilize Sabah, but that caper ended in bloodshed with the Jabidah Massacre, resulting in even more bloodshed with the ensuing Moro rebellion. Presidents after Marcos either ignored the issue or delegated it to that process of systematically gathering dust called diplomacy. More recently, President Benigno S. Aquino III said the country’s claim over Sabah was just “dormant.”

While a lot of Filipinos know that North Borneo (now known as Sabah) has always been a point of dispute between the Philippines and Malaysia, few really know the roots of the dispute. Even fewer still know that the Sultan of Sulu, Jamalul Kiram III, has been receiving a yearly amount from the government of Malaysia in exchange for Sabah, or at least the use of it, depending on how one interprets the contract signed more than a hundred and thirty years ago.

Long before there was a Manila, or even a Philippines, the Sultanate of Sulu was one of the most powerful and influential governments in the region, with diplomatic and trade ties going as far as China. In the 1700s, the Sultan of Brunei was faced with a rebellion in Borneo, and sought the assistance of the Sultan of Sulu. In response, the Sultan of Sulu sent Tausug warriors to quell the rebellion. As a token of his appreciation for the assistance rendered, the Sultan of Brunei gave what is now known as Sabah to the Sultan of Sulu.

Fast forward to 1878 – the Sultan of Sulu signs an agreement with a private firm called the British North Borneo Company under Alfred Dent and Baron von Overbeck to allow the company the use of Sabah. This is where the difficulty arises. The British version of the contract says that the Sultan agrees to “grant and cede” North Borneo for the sum of $5,000 a year. The Tausug version of the contract says that the land was only being leased to the British North Borneo Company. Key to the dispute is the translation of the Malay word Padjak in the contract, which has been translated variously as lease, pawn, or even mortgage, depending on who does the translating and when the translation was done. Language, after all, also evolves over the years. If you take a stroll down Jolo these days, you will see a lot of pawnshops with the sign “Padjak.”

Sultan Jamalul Kiram (center) during the American occupation

Since 1878, the Sultan of Sulu and his heirs have been receiving this yearly payment (with an occasional break because of wars, changes in government, Â and other similar inconveniences), first, from the British North Borneo Company, and then after 1963, from the Malaysian Federation, which assumed jurisdiction over the contract from the by then defunct British North Borneo Company. These days, the annual payments given by the Malaysian Embassy in Manila to the Sultan of Sulu reportedly amount to P74-77,000, or roughly more than $1,800. Malaysia prefers to call the annual payments “cession payments,” in which case the payments would appear to be a perpetual fee for the ceding of Sabah to Malaysia. Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, for his part, has called the payments “rental,” meaning ownership of Sabah still rests with the Sultanate of Sulu, now of course a part of the Philippines.

But while ancient history may appear to be on Manila’s side, contemporary history is not.

When one visits Sabah, one easily comes across thousands of Filipino migrants, mostly Tausugs from Sulu and Tawi-Tawi. Sabah, after all, is just a skip and a hop away from Tawi-Tawi, and many Tausugs find more in common with the people of Sabah than the people in Manila. Long before modern governments started drawing lines on maps and calling them borders, Tausugs were travelling to and from North Borneo and laying their roots there. To them, Sabah was just “that next island over there.” In the port of Sandakan, Tausugs practically have the run of the town, and you can approach most anyone and try to converse with them in Filipino. While Malaysia tries hard to control the inflow of Tausugs through the immigration center in Sandakan, most Tausugs just take a fast motorboat or kumpit from the most southern parts of Tawi-Tawi. After all, you could already see the lights of Sabah from some islands in Tawi-Tawi.

In fact, when we visited Sandakan by ferry several years ago, we saw boats towing large rafts of timber from Tawi-Tawi to Sabah. Obviously, this trading activity was not going through customs.

As well, there are many Kampongs in Sabah that are populated by Tausugs, many of whom are either war or economic refugees. Kampong is the Malay word for community, much like the Philippine barangay.

Take note that we have been using the word Tausug to describe the migrants from Jolo and Tawi-Tawi; Tausug for many of them is not just the name of the tribe, but their political and cultural identity as well. Their association with this identity is much stronger than their association with the country they came from. Interestingly and alarmingly, we came across many who indignantly refused to be called Filipinos, and preferred to just be called “Tausug.” For them, the Philippines is a distant, even unfriendly memory.

But what was most striking was this: Many of the Tausugs we encountered detested the idea of the Philippine government reclaiming Sabah. Refugees from war and poverty, many of these Tausugs see little benefit in a Sabah under the Philippine flag; in fact, for them, it is a worrying proposition, not unlike jumping from the cliched frying pan into an even bigger fire.

The author backpacking through Sabah

One Tausug we encountered outside a mall in Kota Kinabalu bristled at the idea of the Philippines staking a claim on Sabah. “Sisirain lang nila ang Sabah. Okay na nga ang Sabah ngayon, guguluhin lang nila,” he said. [They will just destroy Sabah. Sabah is doing fine right now, they will just mess it up.]

It is hard to blame them for the cynicism. After all, they took great risks and fled their own troubled country in droves for a better life, only to have that same country reach out and stake a claim on what to them is already a virtual paradise where one can finally live and work in peace. That, to them, may be the ultimate irony, the ultimate tragedy. - source

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Occupy Sabah

It may look silly, but the “vacation” in Lahad Datu of the “Royal Sultanate Army” of Sulu should inspire the Philippine government to pursue a final settlement of the country’s claim to Sabah.

Here's the evidence of Leased Payment from Malaysian Government to the Heirs of the Sultanate of Sulu that is being leaked on the internet.  

Most Filipinos are probably unaware that there is a sultanate with a royal army in the country, whose principal realm is one of the most impoverished, underdeveloped and violence-torn provinces.

Malaysia, however, recognizes the Sulu sultanate enough to continue paying rent for much of Sabah to the current sultan, Jamalul Kiram III, whose clan has held ancestral claim to North Borneo for several centuries.

In the 17th century, Sultan Bolkiah of Brunei, whose realm included Sabah (then known as North Borneo) as well as Sulu and even Manila, ceded large swaths of Borneo to the Sulu sultan. The British East India Company forged a deal with the Sultan of Sulu to set up a trading post in the eastern part of Sabah in 1761. Within that century, the Sulu sultanate ceded its territories to Spanish colonizers. In 1848, a part of North Borneo belonging to the Sultan of Brunei was ceded to Britain.

The Philippine claim is anchored on the ancestral heritage of the Sulu sultanate.

Malaysia has largely shrugged off the claim. The people of Sabah went along with Malaya, Sarawak and Singapore to form the Federation of Malaysia in 1963.

Since then, the people of Sabah have considered themselves Malaysians. But there has been no official move from the Philippines to drop its claim.

This is probably because of the rent that the Sulu sultanate continues to receive from Malaysia.

This is also probably because no Philippine president wants to be known as the one who formally dropped the country’s claim to an island rich in natural resources and home to a World Heritage Site. Sabah is the second largest of the 13 states in the Malaysian federation.

But the Philippines also does not want to ruin its healthy ties with Malaysia. Both countries are founding members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and Malaysia plays a key role in the ongoing peace initiative with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

This role in the peace process is reportedly being eyed by administration officials as one of the reasons for the Sulu sultanate’s current activities in Sabah, with the not-so-invisible hand of Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) chieftain Nur Misuari seen in the incident.

Misuari and the MNLF, whose peace agreement with the government is recognized by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, reportedly fear being marginalized if a peace deal is signed by the Aquino administration with the MILF.

There are, however, ongoing efforts to bring the MNLF into the peace process with the MILF, with representatives of the two groups meeting overseas last year. So Misuari’s perceived role in the Sabah incident is reportedly puzzling, if not infuriating, P-Noy’s administration.

When Sultan Kiram ran for senator under the Arroyo administration’s Team Unity in 2007, he was reportedly told to shut up on his sultanate’s claim to Sabah.

This time it looks like Kiram sees no need to zip his mouth. He not only is talking about his heritage, but has also told his followers, holed up in Lahad Datu in their version of “Occupy Sabah,” to stay put.

Some administration officials may find the standoff bizarre, but it may eventually force P-Noy to at least lay the groundwork for a final settlement of the Philippines’ claim to Sabah. - source

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How to Disabled Java from the Browser

Below are instructions for disabling Java from whatever Web browser you may use to surf the Web. These instructions were originally posted as a how-to in response to this piece: Zero-Day Java Exploit Debuts in Crimeware.

Update, Jan 10, 10:35 a.m. ET: The latest version of Java 7 (Update 10) includes a feature that makes it simpler to unplug Java from the browser. Oracle has posted instructions on how to use this feature on Windows here. Also, KrebsOnSecurity just published a comprehensive Q&A that seeks to answer some of the most frequently asked questions about the scope of this vulnerability, and steps that users can take to protect themselves.

Original post:

For Windows users:

Mozilla Firefox: From the main menu select Add-ons, and then disable any plugins with the word “Java” in them. Restart the browser.

Google Chrome: Click the wrench icon in the upper right corner of the browser window, then select Settings. In the search results box to the right in the next screen, type “Java”. A box labeled “Content settings” should be highlighted. Click that, and then scroll down to the Plug-ins section. Click the “Disable individual plug-ins” link, find Java in the list, and click the disable link next to it.

Internet Explorer:

Apparently, getting Java unplugged from Internet Explorer is not straightforward. The U.S. Computer Emergency Response Team (USCERT) lists the following steps, which may or may not completely remove Java from IE:

In the Windows Control panel, open the Java item. Select the “Java” tab and click the “View” button. Uncheck “enabled” for any JRE version listed. Note that this method may not work on Vista or newer systems. As an alternative, you may use one of the following techniques:

Click the start key and type “regedit” in the search box. Double-click the regedit program file when it appears.

- Change the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\JavaSoft\Java Plug-in\\UseJava2IExplorer registry value to 0, where is any version of Java on your system. 10.6.2, for example.

If you are running a 32-bit version of Java on a 64-bit platform, you should set the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\JavaSoft\Java Plug-in\\UseJava2IExplorer registry value to 0.

- Run javacpl.exe as administrator, click the “Advanced” tab, select “Microsoft Internet Explorer” in the “Default Java for browsers” section, and press the space bar to uncheck it. This will properly set the above registry value, despite the option being greyed out.

US-CERT has some additional suggestions for removing Java from IE if the above steps do not do the trick. See their advisory for more details.

For Mac users:

Safari: Click Preferences, and then the Security tab (uncheck “Enable Java”).

Google Chrome: Open Preferences, and then type “Java” in the search box. Scroll down to the Plug-ins section, and click the link that says “Disable individual plug-ins.” If you have Java installed, you should see a “disable” link underneath its listing.

Firefox: Click Tools, Add-ons, and disable the Java plugin(s). - source

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50% of all website exploited due to Java's vulnerable

Oracle Corp. said Monday it has released a fix for the flaw in its Java software that raised an alarm from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security last week. Even after the patch was issued, the federal agency continued to recommend that users disable Java in their Web browsers.

"This and previous Java vulnerabilities have been widely targeted by attackers, and new Java vulnerabilities are likely to be discovered," DHS said Monday in an updated alert published on the website of its Computer Emergency Readiness Team. "To defend against this and future Java vulnerabilities, consider disabling Java in Web browsers until adequate updates are available."

The alert follows on the department's warning late Thursday. Java allows programs to run within websites and powers some advertising networks. Users who disable Java may not be able to see portions of websites that display real-time data such as stock prices, graphical menus, weather updates and ads.

Vulnerability in the latest version, Java 7, was "being actively exploited," the department said.

Java 7 was released in 2011. Oracle said installing its "Update 11" will fix the problem.

Security experts said that special code to take advantage of the weakness is being sold on the black market through so-called "Web exploit packs" to Internet abusers who can use it to steal credit card data, personal information or cause other harm.

The packs, sold for upwards of $1,500 apiece, make complex hacker codes available to relative amateurs. This particular flaw even enables hackers to compromise legitimate websites by taking over ad networks. The result: users are redirected to malicious sites where damaging software can be loaded onto their computers.

The sale of the packs means malware exploiting the security gap is "going to be spread across the Internet very quickly," said Liam O'Murchu, a researcher with Symantec Corp. "If you have the opportunity to turn it off, you should."

Oracle said it released two patches — to address the flaw highlighted by the government, as well as another flaw that the government said was "different but equally severe."

As well, the patches set Java's default security level to "high" so that users will automatically be shown a prompt and given a chance to decline malicious software before it loads onto their computers.

Disabling Java completely in browsers has a similar effect, however. When websites appear without crucial functions, users can click a button to turn Java back on.

Making users aware when Java programs are about to be installed gives users a 50/50 chance of avoiding malware, said Kurt Baumgartner, a senior security researcher with Kaspersky Lab.

Many programmers are avoiding Java altogether, and its use in Web browsers is on the decline, he said.

Kaspersky Lab estimated that last year 50 percent of all website exploitations were due to vulnerabilities in Java. Adobe's Acrobat Reader accounted for another 28 percent of vulnerabilities. - source

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New Java exploit sells for $5000 at black web

For Oracle, it's deja vu all over again.

Just days after it released a patch for a serious security flaw discovered last week in its Java programming language, the software is making headlines again because another previously unpublicized flaw in the program threatens the security of millions of PCs that may still have the application running on it.

Oracle released a fix Sunday for a Java flaw so serious that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security recommended that computer users disable the software unless using it was "absolutely necessary."

That advice was repeated Monday by the department's Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) even after the patch was made available to users.

Vulnerablity for sale

Now it's being reported that an enterprising Black Hat is peddling a new Zero Day vulnerability for the latest version of Java (version 7, update 11) to up to two buyers for $5000 each.

Both weaponized and source code versions of the vulnerability were being offered by the seller, according to security blogger Brian Krebs, who discovered the offer on an exclusive cybercrime forum.

Since Krebs discovered the offer, he said, it has been removed from the crime forum, suggesting the seller found his buyers for the exploit.

"To my mind, this should dispel any illusions that people may harbor about the safety and security of having Java installed on an end-user PC without taking careful steps to isolate the program," Krebs wrote.

This latest Java exploit is worse than the last one because no one knows what it is, according to Bogdan Botezatu, senior e-threat analyst with anti-virus software maker Bitdefender.

In the flaw patched Sunday, he explained, the exploit code was identified by security researchers in some popular malware kits. With the latest flaw, it's only known to the seller.

"The current method of exploitation will likely remain unknown for a bigger timeframe, which will also increase the attackers' windows of opportunity," Botezatu said in an email.

Earlier this week, Botezatu noted in a blog that despite the patch pushed by Oracle on Sunday, cyber criminals continued to exploit the vulnerability on unpatched machines to install ransomware on them.

Oracle's security moves

In addition to addressing the Zero Day vulnerability in Sunday's patch, Oracle also boosted Java's security setting to "high" by default. "That means that right now the user has to authorize the execution of Java applets that are not signed with a valid certificate," explained Jaimie Blasco, manager of AlienVault Labs, in an email.

While that move is a great step toward making Java more secure on a browser, Blasco noted, it is far from a panacea for Java's problems.

"In the past, we have seen that the attackers were able to steal a valid certificate to sign malicious code so it won't surprise me if we see this technique being used," he said.

Because Java appears to be riddled with vulnerabilities, Bitdefender's Botezatu recommends Oracle identify the core components of the software and rewrite it from scratch.

No doubt, more than a little rewriting of the software will be done when Oracle releases the next version of Java scheduled for September. - source

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PLDT completes network upgrade end 2012

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) announced Tuesday, September 11, that it finished its P67-billion (USD$1.6 billion) network modernization program ahead of schedule, and that customers should already be feeling the benefits of better service.

“The group’s investments have produced a network that is unrivaled in terms of coverage, capacity, and resiliency,” PLDT President and CEO Napoleon L. Nazareno said in a statement released on September 11.

The two-year network modernization program began in early 2011 and the target completion date was end-2012. Finishing early means customers already feel the effects of the program, namely better quality and more reliable service.

The program - which involves expanding cell sites, laying new fiber optic cables and even completing an undersea international cable system - will more than triple voice and data capacity.

“What was already the most extensive and advanced network in the country has been further super-charged with our access network providing the widest coverage via the expansion of LTE sites and a transport network that rides on over 48,000 kilometers (kms) of fiber assets with an additional 6,000 kms of Fiber-to-the-Home rolled out,” said Nazareno.

“We are close to covering the whole of Metro Manila with the more reliable and faster fiber connection and gaining momentum in servicing the rest of the country,” he added.

Nazareno explained that 3G coverage now reaches the majority of the population, while even faster Long-Term Evolution (LTE) technologies are being piloted in a growing number of areas.

Even back-end IT services and platforms for customer relations management, billing and business operations have been revamped.

PLDT also undertook a core network upgrade that added an international undersea cable system that more than doubled the group's international bandwidth capacity.

“No other provider comes close to the network that we have now, not just in terms of capacity but more importantly, in terms of resiliency and efficiency,” stressed Nazareno.

He added that the group is prepared for the "data explosion" that is expected in the future.

Mobile data traffic worldwide is expected to see a tenfold jump by 2016, according to a 2011 study by Swedish telecom giant Ericsson. The predictions have been felt in Philippine telecommunication firms' bottomlines. PLDT alone saw mobile internet revenues nearly double, with 97% growth in the first 6 months of the year, compared to the same period in 2011.

Where Globe stands

Rival Globe Telecom expects its own $790-million network modernization program to be finished by the first quarter of 2013.

Already, the program is close to 50% complete. Upgrades have been completed in several areas including, South Luzon, Caloocan, Valenzuela, Malabon, Navotas, Apayao, Sulu, Tawi Tawi, Zamboanga, Sibugay, Sorsogon and Basilan.

Within Metro Manila, Quezon City is expected to be completed by this September, with the Ortigas Business District following in October, and Makati in November.

Globe President Ernest Cu has stressed that their network modernization is unique because it involves building a new network and not just rebuilding an old network.

“Others mask modernization with simply a business-as-usual change-out of old equipment. At Globe, our transformation is very different because it is indeed building a brand new network,” he said.

While the fiber assets are not as vast as PLDT's, Globe is installing 12,000 kilometers of fiber optic cable, which will serve as the main backbone for providing faster mobile internet.

Globe said it is unrolling 3 times the number of 3G base stations to increase its coverage area and provide better service.

The upgrades are expected to address customer complaints about slow mobile Internet that can be felt on the overloaded older networks.

“In the Philippines, as we have said many times before in the past, the networks were actually built for text traffic and not for mobile internet. SMS networks are characterized by very thin backhaul capabilities. Very fast mobile internet almost requires purely fiber optics in terms of backhaul because of the tremendous amounts of data traveling from the base station all the way to the core and out on the internet,” explained Cu.

The CEO stressed that the new network will have “more capacity, lead to quicker, clearer and better quality call and text experience.”

Cu said Globe was also ahead of schedule and had been updating and installing more than 100 sites a week since this April.

“We are moving progressively forward and at a faster clip. We are ahead of schedule so it’s very likely that we’ll accomplish the total change-out by the first quarter of 2013. Today, there are already marked improvement in cities that are 100% complete,” said the Globe CEO.- source

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Pinoy netizens ‘go black’ on Facebook to protest Cybercrime Law

Filipino netizens are turning their Facebook profile photos into black as a sign of protest against the controversial Cybercrime bill.

A group called Philippine Internet Freedom Association is currently encouraging more people to switch to the "black" profile photo to support mounting protests against the Cybercrime law.

For weeks, the debate has moved away from the political and "industry expert" circles to the citizens who are now taking action against what is perceived to be a draconian law covering the Internet.

As part of a personal protest, some people also carry Facebook status messages that shows a "black bar" that is followed by "[STATUS BLOCKED] (RA NO 10175)."

Senator Francis Escudero is set to file amendments to the bill on Tuesday, as he earlier admitted he made a mistake of signing this law.

Earlier, Senator Teofisto Guingona who is among the more vocal opponents of the Cybercrime bill, says that the law, signed by President Benigno Aquino III on September 12, violates the Constitution.

Senator Guingona hit on the law's vague provisions, including one on online libel, which can supress the citizen's right to freedom of speech and expression.

Hacktivists, dubbed Anonymous Philippines, had been defacing government websites to protest the Cybercrime law, that is to take effect on October 3.

Among the government websites that were hit include the National Telecommunications Commission, the Philippine Information Agency, the Food Development Center, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, and the Metropolitcan Waterworks and Sewerage System.

One of the controversial provisions of the law will throw anyone in jail for 12 years if they're found posting defamatory comments on social networks, which is a tougher penalty versus an existing libel law that applies to "traditional media."

According to this Interaskyon story, there will be more government websites that will be attacked due to mounting opposition to the Cybercrime law. - source

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Gov't websites hacked in anti-cybercrime law protest

Hackers crippled government and private websites Wednesday to protest the Cybercrime Prevention Act, which has faced criticism both legally and online since the announcement of its approval.

The front pages of the websites of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) have been replaced with black screens showing a written message from a group dubbed "Anonymous Philippines."

"The Philippine Government has just passed a bill that effectively ends the Freedom of Expression in the Philippines," the message read.

"The Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 is the most notorious act ever witnessed in the cyber-history of the Philippines," it read further.

The BSP has regained control of its website as of posting time, but the websites of the MWSS and those for government-led campaigns Pilipinas Anti-Piracy Team and Department of Health: Smoke-Free Philippines, remain breached.

Websites of business group American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Inc. and University of the Philippines-based think tank Institute for Development and Econometric Analysis were also hit.

The hackers pushed for a revision of the anti-cybercrime law, which they said is "cunningly designed" to make its application seem limited only to extensive Internet users.

"[B]ut some part (sic) of the bill basically says it can imprison anyone who commits libel either by written messages, comments, blogs, or posts in sites such as Facebook, Twitter, or any other comment-spaces of other social media in the Internet," the message read.

The adoption of "antiquated libel laws" for online enforcement "seems to have retarded [the Philippines'] march with the rest of the world with respect to giving full force to the people's freedom of expression," it added.

The hackers' protest comes amid a spate of criticisms from freedom of expression advocates following news of the anti-cybercrime law's Sept. 12 approval.

Petitions vs. Cybercrime Prevention Act filed

At least three petitions hitting the new law's constitutionality have been lodged with the Supreme Court.

The latest petition filed Wednesday by a group led by lawyers Jose Jesus Disini, Jr. and Rowena Disini hit the new law for "violating the fundamental rights" enshrined in the 1987 Constitution.

The petition sought a temporary restraining order on the implementation of particular sections of the new law.

The provision criminalizing libel "not only on the internet, but also on 'any other similar means which may be devised in the future,'" violates free speech, the petitioners said.

They added: "The real time data collection of traffic data violates the right to privacy and the right against unreasonable searches and seizure."

Sections on penalties in the Cybercrime Act also violate the double jeopardy and equal protections clauses of the Constitution, the group said.

They meanwhile noted that the Justice department's power to block access to computer data "violates due process and is an undue delegation of legislative authority."

Earlier, businessman Louis Biraogo and party-list Alab ng Mamamahayag filed separate petitions against the anti-cybercrime law before the high tribunal. - source

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Philippines Cybercrime law: Yay or nay?

The newly approved law aimed at combating cybercrimes has been met with mixed reactions from the public and private sectors.

The Cybercrime Prevention Act is a boon for local firms, particularly in the information technology sector, business groups said.

Other groups meanwhile warned that the new law threatens Filipinos' freedom of expression as well as freedom of information.

But what does the anti-cybercrime law mean for the ordinary Filipino netizen?

Most if not all of the offenses in the law are already crimes punishable under the Revised Penal Code.

Commenting on the new law, Information and Communications Techonology Association of the Philippines (ITAP) President Dondi Mapa said: "It's not a matter of identifying new crimes but only recognizing that existing crimes now happen in a new environment."

The anti-cybercrime act itself notes under its declaration of policy that it is the state's mechanism to adopt "sufficient powers to effectively prevent and combat such offenses by facilitating their detection, investigation, and prosecution."

The law categorizes cybercrimes into three: (1) offenses against the confidentiality, integrity and availability of computer data and systems; (2) computer-related; or (3) content-related offenses.

Illegal access to computer systems, illegal interception of data, data or system interference, as well as misuse or computer systems or data belong in the first category.

Also in the same group is "cyber-squatting," which involves the acquisition of a domain name "in bad faith to profit, mislead, destroy reputation, and deprive others from registering the same."

In case of businesses, these may include the use of a domain name "similar, identical, or confusingly similar" to registered trademarks.

But businesses are not the only targets of "cyber-squatters," as the law also covers the use of personal names "identical or in any way similar with the name of a person other than the registrant."

Computer-related offenses, meanwhile, include the input, alteration or deletion of any computer data with the intent of forgery, fraud or identity theft.

On the other hand, cybersex, defined under the law as the willful engagement in online sexual activities, is included in content-related offenses.

Child pornography is another content-related offense in the law.

The anti-cybercrime act notes that punishment to child pornography committed through a computer system will be one degree higher than the sanctions in the Anti-Child Pornography Act.

Also named a content-related offense is the sending of unsolicited communication which advertise or sell products or services.

Under the new law, firms may only send electronic messages if recipients who grant prior consent or to existing subscribers or customers for service announcements.

Otherwise, the messages should allow recipients to "opt out." The source and intention of the message should also not be disguised.

Meanwhile, the law broadens the coverage of libel to include those "committed through a computer system or any other similar means which may be devised in the future."

This means that online statements against the reputation of an individual or an entity may give rise to libel suits, as if they were published or broadcast.

Among the crimes enumerated in the law, the provision on libel is most hit.

Media watchdog Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility said the inclusion of libel as an act punishable by imprisonment goes against a long-standing UN principle of decriminalizing libel.

"Libel as a criminal offense has been used by past administrations as well as local officials today to harass and intimidate journalists," it noted.

For his part, Senator Teofisto Guingona III called the law "a prior restraint on the principle of the freedom of expression and freedom of speech."

Although broadly welcoming the anti-cybercrime act, ITAP's Mapa meanwhile urged the government to be circumspect in drafting the new law's implementing rules.

"The implementation should be done with due process and without curtailing citizens' rights," Mapa said in a press briefing.

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'Bloody Monday': Hackers strike gov't websites anew

Hackers hit at least three more government websites early Monday as protests mount against the Cybercrime Prevention Act which is set to take effect Oct. 3.

The online portals of the National Telecommunications Commission, the Philippine Information Agency and the Food Development Center were defaced by hackers claiming to be members of the group "Anonymous Philippines."

The same group claimed responsibility in a spate of attacks Thursday that hit at least six websites, including those of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System.

The hackers, which used the name "PrivateX", replaced the front pages of the website with pink background that claim the websites to be "seized."

A white-on-black message meanwhile read: "This domain name associated with GOV.PH has been seized pursuant to an order issued by Anonymous Philippines."

"A federal grand jury has indicated several individuals and entities allegedly involved in the operation of this website/department/ office charging them with the following federal crimes: conspiracy, violations of human rights, corruption, copyright infringement, money laundering, piracy, misuse of devices, libel, plagiarism, and destruction of freedom of speech," the message read further.

Twitter users also floated the possibility that the attacks will continue throughout the day in an online "hacktivist" movement dubbed "Bloody Monday."

"Nagsimula na ang Anonymous Philippines! (Anonymous Philippines has started!) Turning government sites down. The battle is on! #BloodyMonday," Twitter user Savipra Gorospe said.

Others, however, worried that the online protests would only push the government to tighten regulations for the Internet.

"IMHO (in my humble opinion), these #BloodyMonday hacks just give the government more justification on #CybercrimeLaw The sentiment doesn't justify the means," Twitter user EJ Mangahas said.

In a press briefing last week, Palace urged hackers to channel protests through other means instead of crippling government websites.

"I think the better venue for them is to really show their protests in a proper forum rather than hacking government websites," reports quoted Palace Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda as saying.

"It won’t win them brownie points if that's what they are doing," he added.

Five petitions against the Cybercrime Prevention Act have so far been lodged with the Supreme Court. - source

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Zamboanga City plans upgrading telecom lines

Zamboanga City - The city government is talking with telecommunication firms for a multimillion-peso fiber-optic line project that would support call center operations.

Mayor Celso Lobregat said in a recent interview that this forms part of efforts for the city to become a call center hub in Mindanao. "Fiber- optic and tri-band connections are some of the basic requirements to accommodate calling centers. However, Zamboanga City is not yet connected with these high-tech communication lines and this is a major stumbling block for the city to lure call center companies to invest here," he said.

He said the plan to put up fiber-optic facilities came after G-Com Ltd. expressed its intention to put up an initial 150-seat call center in this city within the year. "We are now trying to negotiate with service providers such as the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., with its wireless provider, Smart Communication [Inc.], Bayan Telecommunications, Inc., and Globe Telecom and, based on our past exploratory talks, some of them are willing to install fiber optic facilities here," he said.

Mr. Lobregat said top executives of these firms are expected to be here during the 15th Mindanao Business Conference, which Zamboanga City will host from Aug. 30 to Sept. 2.

G-Com Ltd. established the first call center in Mindanao in Davao City.

G-Com Limited is affiliated with Cyber City Teleservices, Limited., which currently employs a total of about 3,000 agents in the former US military base, Clark Special Economic Zone in Angeles City, Pampanga in Central Luzon. - source

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