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FBI: Security researcher claimed to hack, control plane in flight
Remember the security researcher who was pulled from a United flight and had his equipment taken (before its frequent flier miles-paying bug hunt) for tweeting about hacking into the plane via its entertainment system? In an application for a search warrant, FBI agents said he previously told them he's gone further than that. APTN National News obtained the document, which contains claims that Chris Roberts told them he connected his laptop to a plane via an Ethernet cable, hacked into a thrust management computer and briefly controlled one of the engines, causing the plane to change course. As reported previously by Wired, he has warned of vulnerabilities in planes for years -- manufacturers deny they exist -- and the conversations were apparently intended to get these problems fixed.
Microsoft job posting hints at another Zune, or perhaps an internally-developed phone
We'd heard rumors that a new Zune was on the way, but here's a spot of evidence that something's actually up: Microsoft's adding a senior mechanical engineer to help build "the next generation of portable entertainment and communication devices." While the job listing in question is technically for Microsoft's Mobile Communications Business, which oversees Windows Phone, it's clear that some things have changed since the Entertainment & Devices shakeup: "We are the team that shipped the Zune HD," the post reads. It appears that there's a new group within Microsoft called the Portable Entertainment Group which isn't afraid to design its own hardware and includes the Zune team, though whether that hardware be Zune, phone or something more obscure still remains to be seen.
