Cloudflare launches DNS resolver app to boost mobile internet privacy

12 Nov 2018

Image: © maria_savenko/Stock.adobe.com

A nifty new app from Cloudflare allows users to make their mobile browsing a more private experience.

The world of privacy and data protection is a minefield, and nobody knows this better than Irish Data Protection Commissioner Helen Dixon. She spoke to Siliconrepublic.com recently about the collision of social norms and technology.

On a similar note, new research from the UK Children’s Commission raised some valid concerns about the ever-increasing digital footprints of very young children.

Meanwhile, in China, a start-up claimed to have created a gait analysis system that can identify people from CCTV footage, even with their faces obscured.

Finally, from the world of enterprise software, new research from ThousandEyes showed just how well the top three cloud computing platforms perform.

Continue reading for your weekly enterprise news fix.

Cloudflare wants to improve mobile internet privacy – fast

A few months after launching its privacy-focused DNS service, 1.1.1.1, Cloudflare has launched a mobile version to both iOS and Android users. In using the app, Cloudflare handles all of the domain name system (DNS) information.

By directing this data through 1.1.1.1, it makes it harder for internet service providers to know what sites you are visiting. It is also useful to circumvent censorship or potential hijacking. The service is fast, which will please users who are irked by slow loading times in certain areas. While there are similar apps out there, Cloudflare claims its service is the fastest.

Microsoft president calls for cooperation in global cybersecurity fight

Speaking at this year’s Web Summit in Lisbon, Microsoft president Brad Smith highlighted the need for global collaboration on cybersecurity as technology continues to evolve. “The tools that we’ve created – the tools, oftentimes, that you’ve created – have been turned by others into weapons.”

Describing 2017 as a “wake-up call” regarding nation state attacks, Smith added: “In a world where everything is connected, everything can be disrupted.” He described IT teams as “first responders” in this new age of persistent cyberthreats.

GitHub passes a major milestone

Major source code management and developer collaboration platform GitHub last week celebrated the creation of 100m repositories by its users. When the company was founded a decade ago, it only had 33,000 repositories. Close to a third of the repositories were made within the past year, highlighting the explosive growth of the firm.

The repositories are used by 31m developers to coordinate a vast array of open source and collaborative programming efforts. The top open source projects on GitHub this year include Kubernetes, TensorFlow and VS Code.

Chinese school principal fired for crypto-mining on the clock

The principal of a Chinese secondary school was fired after he stole electricity from the school to mine cryptocurrency, according to the South China Morning Post. Lei Hua deployed eight machines in the school for about a year to mine Ethereum, racking up a $2,120 bill.

The school is located in the province of Hunan. A student had reported the high electricity consumption to Lei himself, who initially blamed it on overuse of heaters and air conditioning units. The deputy principal was also involved, after obtaining a mining machine with Lei’s help.

Game server DDoS attacker hands in guilty plea

An infamous cybercriminal dubbed ‘DerpTrolling’ has been unmasked as Utah resident Austin Thompson, who targeted online gaming firms including Sony Online Entertainment between December 2013 and January 2014.

Thompson forced servers and other equipment offline for hours at a time, causing $95,000 in damages, according to Infosecurity magazine. He pleaded guilty in a California courtroom last week and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, along with a $250,000 fine.

Ellen Tannam was a journalist with Silicon Republic, covering all manner of business and tech subjects

editorial@siliconrepublic.com