This week the New York Times published their online investigation into the seamy world of the professional slander industry. (Alternate URL.) At first glance, the websites appear amateurish. They have names like BadGirlReports.date, BustedCheaters.com and WorstHomeWrecker.com. Photos are badly cropped. Grammar and spelling are afterthoughts. They are clunky and text-heavy, as if they're intended to be read by machines, not humans. But do not underestimate their power... One woman in Ohio was the subject of so many negative posts that Bing declared in bold at the top of her search results that she "is a liar and a cheater" — the same way it states that Barack Obama was the 44th president of the United States. For roughly 500 of the 6,000 people we searched for, Google suggested adding the phrase "cheater" to a search of their names. The unverified claims are on obscure, ridiculous-looking sites, but search engines give them a veneer of credibility. Posts from Cheaterboard.com appear in Google results alongside Facebook pages and LinkedIn profiles.... That would be bad enough for people whose reputations have been savaged. But the problem is all the worse because it's so hard to fix. And that is largely because of the secret, symbiotic relationship between those facilitating slander and those getting paid to remove it. Who, exactly? The Times spoke to: Cyrus Sullivan, the Portland-based owner of one site who also runs a reputation-management service "to help people get 'undesirable information' about themselves removed from their search engine results. The 'gold package' cost $699.99. For those customers, Mr. Sullivan would alter the computer code underlying the offending posts, instructing search engines to ignore them...." 247Removal's owner Heidi Glosser, who "charges $750 or more per post removal, which adds up to thousands of dollars for most of her clients. To get posts removed, she said, she often pays an 'administrative fee' to the gripe site's webmaster. We asked her whether this was extortion. 'I can't really give you a direct answer,' she said." She appeared to have links to... Web developer Vikram Parmar, who seemed to be running several sites that produced slander while also simultaneously running sites that made money by removing that slander. But finally, the Times reminded their readers that "in certain circumstances, Google will remove harmful content from individuals' search results, including links to 'sites with exploitative removal practices.' If a site charges to remove posts, you can ask Google not to list it. "Google didn't advertise this policy widely, and few victims of online slander seem aware that it's an option. That's in part because when you Google ways to clean up your search results, Google's solution is buried under ads for reputation-management services..."

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Last week came the news that Dan Kaminsky, security researcher (and popular speaker at security conferences), had passed away at the age of 42. In a half hour the DEF CON security convention will hold a special online memorial for Dan Kaminsky on Discord. But interestingly, Kaminsky was also one of ICANN's "Trusted Community Representatives," part of a small community involved in a ceremonial root key generation, backup and signing process. (Since 2010 Kaminsky was one of the seven "Recovery Key Share Holders" entrusted with a fragment of a cryptographic key and reporting in for its annual inventory.) So who will take Dan's place? Slashdot contacted ICANN's vice president of IANA Services, Kim Davies. His response? We maintain an open invitation for volunteers who believe they are qualified, and review those volunteers when a vacancy arises. The selection process is documented, but in essence means we try to maintain a balance of skills and geographic location so that in the aggregate the TCRs are diverse. The selection is not in chronological order, and will not necessarily result in selecting someone who most matches Dan's attributes. Ultimately the replacement will be a volunteer that the evaluation panel feels best contrasts and complements the attributes of the remaining TCRs. Davies also shared this remembrance of Dan Kaminsky: He played a critical role in the evolution of the DNS by bringing attention to the practical cache poisoning vulnerability he discovered. He was a greater collaborator who worked closely with us to rapidly address the issue in critical infrastructure, and then worked to promote technologies like DNSSEC that can mitigate it effectively in the long term. He really provided a significant catalyst that resulted in DNSSEC being put into widespread production in 2010. His service as a Trusted Community Representative was just a part of his commitment to these issues, and while his work on the DNS is perhaps his most famous contribution, he has an amazing resume of accomplishments throughout his career. Personally I found him a delight to work with and we are deeply mourning the loss. Of course, there's another way to follow in Dan's footsteps. Long-time Slashdot reader destinyland writes: Jeff Moss, founder of DEF CON and Black Hat, has proposed nominating Kaminsky for the Internet Hall of Fame, or even creating a Kaminsky award to honor "the core ideals" of the security researcher. But there's another complementary direction to go in... Black Hat board member Matt Devost tweeted last weekend that, "No one that knew Dan Kaminsky well is talking about DNS today. They are talking about kindness, boundless energy and positivity, spontaneous adventures, and how hard he worked to lift others up. Want to emulate one of the greatest hackers of all time? Let that be your guide." And last week a self-described hacker named Dr. Russ even tweeted, "In an effort to honor Dan Kaminsky's character and legacy, we should all make a random act of Kaminsky weekly. Make it a point to be kind and helpful to someone, friend or stranger. Legit helpful and kind, take it over the finish line. Be the persistent guide he was. Then do it again." I propose we call that "pulling a Kaminsky." Presumably in the way later generations in William Gibson's Count Zero talked of "pulling a Wilson...."

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