A hacker going by the handle Casi dumped information from the United Nations Web site yesterday that contained many vulnerabilities that other hackers could use to get inside the UN’s database to cause some real damage.

I guess the question here is why did Casi hack the UN? Well, he tells us himself:

I fuck actually system… I fighting for Internet Freedom, equiality & rights for all. You’re FREEDOM my brothers & my sisters ! <3

What does it mean? I don’t know, but it must have been a pretty good reason to expose almost every weakness currently in the UN’s database.

Similarly, the reason behind listing the vulnerabilities is just as cryptic:

I give vulnerabilities because it’s fucking asshole ! We are FREEDOm !

We are clearly dealing with a criminal mastermind here, or maybe not according to Aaron Titus, Chief Privacy Officer for Identity Finder. Speaking to Fox News’ New York affiliate, he said that the breach was a “very simple attack” and that the UN “could have prevented this very easily and should have prevented it.”

So it seems that the UN just has bad cyber security. It must be embarrassing for the them to be hacked by such a basic SQL injection attack.

Passwords were not exposed, but the real danger lies in what other hackers can do with the information. Identity Finder has reached out to the UN to alert them of the potential danger, but the organization has not replied.

With all these hacks, it’s just a matter of time until every governmental organization’s Web site is laid bare for the world to see. I personally can’t wait to see the database for the White House’s Web site. It must be so scandalous, probably full of photos of the President’s pet.

It’s possible the surveillance will act as a deterrent.  Any Sudanese politicians or military leaders who might otherwise try to suppress or wipe out the opposition are probably a little less likely to do so if they know their actions will become global public knowledge.

Or, in the event violence does break out, Reuters reported earlier today, "The Satellite Sentinel Project, which begins on Wednesday, is meant to provide an ‘early warning system’ for human rights and security violations before the January 9 referendum on whether to divide Sudan into north and south."

Google’s contribution to the project is supposed to be an online platform through which the all of the information will be shared.  Meanwhile, Harvard will help research events, while the original satellite photos will come courtesy of the UN’s UNOSAT program.

Not On Our Watch, which counts Don Cheadle, George Clooney, Matt Damon, and Brad Pitt among its members, is helping with the cost of the whole undertaking.

According to Reuters, Clooney said in a statement, "We want to let potential perpetrators of genocide and other war crimes know that we’re watching, the world is watching."

Cerf explained on the Official Google Blog,"[L]ast week the UN Committee on Science and Technology announced that only governments would be able to sit on a working group set up to examine improvements to the IGF – one of the Internet’s most important discussion forums."

Then Cerf, who’s considered a father of the Internet, continued, "This move has been condemned by the Internet Governance Caucus, the Internet Society (ISOC), the International Chamber of Commerce and numerous other organizations – who have published a joint letter (PDF) and launched an online petition to mobilize opposition."

Finally, Cerf wrote, "Today, I have signed that petition on Google’s behalf because we don’t believe governments should be allowed to grant themselves a monopoly on Internet governance.  The current bottoms-up, open approach works – protecting users from vested interests and enabling rapid innovation.  Let’s fight to keep it that way."

That call to action is sure to motivate many, many people to follow Cerf’s/Google’s lead.  And the petition’s already collected over 1,000 signatures.

It should be interesting to see where this goes.  The recent WikiLeaks problems have caused many politicians to suggest that governments keep a closer eye on the Web.

Videos of the speech have been uploaded to YouTube:

This was the first time the President has addressed the UN as the 44th President of the United states. His entire speech is available at WhiteHouse.gov here.

The topic is currently in the top ten on Google’s Hot Trends list, but number 2, second to only John Phillips, is "qaddafi". You can also find footage of Muammar al-Gaddafi’s speech at the UN General Assembly popping up online.

Google claimed in an email to Inner City Press that after reviewing the site, it could no longer be included in Google News. The search advertising company alluded to “user complaints,” but offered no specifics.

Inner City Press believes the action came as a delayed reaction to its questioning of Google’s Michael T. Jones in late 2007 at a United Nations Development Program press conference. The question concerned whether or not “if Google was a member of the UN Global Compact, through which corporations sign up to principles of human rights including non-censorship.”

Considering Google’s acceptance of Chinese censorship conditions in exchange for operating its search servers in the country, that little hardball came as a surprise. Jones could not answer the question.

The answer is no, Google is not nor has ever been a member. A Fox News report gave Google’s explanation:

Google spokesman Gabriel Stricker told FOXNews.com that “Google generally does not sign petitions or join coalitions but prefers to support public-engagement and advocacy efforts through the work of Google.org and by leveraging our products, such as Google Earth.”

This quickly takes a turn for the conspiratorial. Inner City Press, long accredited by the UN as well as by US federal agencies, dropped this little bombshell:

In fact, UNDP sources describe communications from the UN system to Google executives, asking that Inner City Press be de-listed from Google News, and that a well-read blog, UNDP-Watch, be striken from that data base.

Recently a whistleblower in UNDP’s legal department had his office computer impounded and was told, you have visited InnerCityPress.com multiple times. While the interrogation reflected contempt for the freedom to read and freedom of the press, the issue goes far beyond the corporate culture at UNDP, to that of Google.

The Government Accountability Project also criticized Google for delisting Inner City Press.

“Google’s reference to ‘user complaints’ is disturbing,” said Bea Edwards, International Director. “We can’t help wondering who is complaining about Inner City Press. Considering their continuing coverage of U.N. whistleblower issues, it

Figuratively speaking, anyway – Brown’s still in the UK, as far as we know.  Also, Google wasn’t the sole recipient of his request; Vodafone, Wal-Mart, Goldman Sachs, and about 15 other companies were named, as well, according to Larry Elliott and Sarah Boseley.

With those details out of the way, we can move on to one last clarification: Brown was asking for aid on behalf of the world’s poor, not himself or his government.  In 2000, the U.N. set seven development goals that it intended to have met by 2015, and things aren’t going too well.

If anything could repair the timeline, it’s probably that group of major corporations.  Still, Google has always had rather strict rules about unsolicited proposals, and shareholders everywhere would probably get upset if too much money got diverted from for-profit purposes.

On the other hand, it would be interesting to see Google add the British Prime Minister to its list of allies.  With a hat tip to Sean P. Aune, we’ll be sure to watch for future developments.

A little over a week ago, the U.N.’s World Food Program began a contest on YouTube.  Before that, Cisco, Google, and the U.N. launched a website to track (and hopefully decrease) global poverty.  You might expect Eric Schmidt to stand up at the Bali conference and command all 190 countries to turn off their lights and cars.

That shouldn’t be the case, though.  Google.org’s Michael Terrell simply writes, “[W]e are participating in the Bali conference. . . .  Over the coming days, we’ll share our reflections and the stories of those who are there.  You can also check out the live webcast of the conference.”

Still, it’s impressive – and interesting – to see Google in such a setting.  The corporation’s environmental efforts have gone far beyond what anyone might have expected, so it could have a reasonable amount of influence there.

The United Nations Climate Change Conference is scheduled to run through December 14th.

“[P]roduce the funniest, strangest or edgiest 30 or 60 second video about hunger,” challenges the Hunger Bytes channel.  “This is your chance to be controversial, provocative and shocking – whatever it takes – to make a video that will grab the attention of the on-line community and get them thinking about world hunger.”

Although no official connection has been made clear, this effort is likely related to the MDG Monitor site Google, Cisco, and the U.N. unveiled earlier this month.  A line might also be drawn to the Beatbullying channel launched on YouTube – it seems that all sorts of well-meaning projects can be connected to Mountain View.

Unfortunately, “well-meaning” is not a synonym for “extremely successful,” and it remains to be seen if this latest contest’s grand prize can generate many entries.  “The video that gets the most views by World Hunger Day – October 16, 2008 – will win a trip for two to visit the frontline in the war against hunger,” according to the Hunger Bytes channel.  “We will send you to a WFP hunger relief project so you can see for yourself that Hunger Bytes!”

In any event, the Hunger Bytes contest will hopefully accomplish some good.

In regards to that project, UNEP program officer Michael Wilson told Reuters that