cyber
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UN claims North Korea hacks stole $2 billion to fund its nuclear program
United Nations experts say they are formally investigating at least 35 instances of cyberattacks by North Korea in 17 countries, believed to be carried out in a bid to fund its nuclear program. According to a report seen by Associated Press, North Korea has acquired as much as $2 billion from increasingly sophisticated cyber activities against financial institutions and cryptocurrency exchanges.
The high-tech war on Tibetan communication
Each year, March 10th in Tibet brings more police onto the streets, closer online censorship of terms like "Free Tibet" and "Dalai Lama" and a spate of cyberattacks. "Every March 10th, almost all major Tibetan organizations in Dharamsala are targeted with Distributed Denial of Service and other cyber attacks," said Tenzin Dalha, a researcher at the Tibet Policy Institute, part of the Central Tibetan Administration. Four years ago, that happened to the Voice of Tibet (VOT), a nonprofit media outlet run out of the Indian hill town of Dharamsala, bringing its website down for several days. The reason for the crackdown is that the date commemorates March 10th, 1959. On that day, rumors spread in the Tibetan capital Lhasa about the impending arrest of Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, by the Chinese, who had invaded the territory in 1950. Tibetans rallied to support their spiritual leader and the mass protests led to a violent crackdown. The Dalai Lama and his entourage escaped to India, where he and the Tibetan government-in-exile remain. When VOT started in 1996, it was one of the few channels of communication between Tibetans and their government-in-exile across the border, as all newspapers, television and other print materials were heavily censored. Using shortwave radio, it transmitted its news service across the border into Chinese-occupied Tibet, both in Tibetan and Mandarin Chinese.
Germany confronts Russia over election hacking
Speaking with reporters at a conference in Potsdam, Hans-Georg Maassen, president of the BfV agency (Germany's domestic intelligence group) renewed claims that Russian hackers were behind the attack on his country's parliament. He also warned the other nation against attempting to weaponize the "large amounts of data" stolen in that breach in the upcoming national elections come September.
German Intel chief: Russia is trying to 'destabilize' the country
America's recent elections weren't the only event that Russia has been accused of meddling in. On Thursday, President Dr Hans-Georg Maaßen of the Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz (BfV), Germany's internal intelligence service, issued a brutally frank press release laying out the BfV's accusations against Russia.
MIT's digital lookout in the crows nest of cyber warfare
"Think about the system as a virtual analyst," says Kaylan Veermachaneni, co-creator of MIT's latest artificial intelligence. He's a research scientist at the university's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence lab that, along with Ignacio Arnaldo, built an AI that acts as a lookout for the age of cyber warfare. AI2 (Short for Artificial Intelligence Squared) is a system designed to spot a hacking attack better than humans and existing software. They claim that the program can detect 85 percent of malicious attacks, although that figure is set to rise the more it learns. We can already imagine Sony's IT gurus beating a path to Massachusetts with a suitcase stuffed full of unmarked bills.
The USAF's new 'cyber weapon' hunts network vulnerabilities
The US Air Force's Space Command recently announced that its latest cyber weapon, dubbed the Cyberspace Vulnerability Assessment/Hunter (CVA/H), has come online and is "fully operational". The CVA/H is designed to perform threat assessment and compliance within the Air Force's command network. Basically, it tracks down and fixes potentially exploitable network security flaws that may hamper USAF missions.
Teen arrested for breaking an entire school district's internet
A teenager from Idaho has landed themselves in hot water after arranging a takedown of their school district's internet access. KTVB News reports that the 17-year-old student paid a third party to conduct a distributed denial of service attack that forced the entire West Ada school district offline. The act disrupted more than 50 schools, bringing everything from payroll to standardized tests grinding to a halt. Unfortunate students undertaking the Idaho Standard Achievement test were required to go through the process multiple times because the system kept losing their work and results.
Report: FBI forming new cyber intelligence research unit, focus on digital surveillance
According to a report filed by technology site CNET, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is forming a new cyber intelligence and research unit dubbed the Domestic Communications Assistance Center (DCAC). The briefing states that the DCAC's purpose will be "to invent technology that will let police more readily eavesdrop on Internet and wireless communications" (initially focusing on VoIP services, social networks, and wireless communication mediums) . Via a prepared statement, the FBI explained that the unit's modus operandi will be to "assist federal, state and local law enforcement with electronic surveillance capabilities." Congress has appropriated over $54 million for "lawful electronic surveillance" in fiscal year 2012; the DCAC has been earmarked just north of $8 million from that pie. The Bureau's full statement is after the break.
DARPA setting up a $130 million 'virtual firing range' to help battle cyber attacks
The US government is serious about online security, just ask any one of its cyber commandos. Adding to its arsenal for battling the big bad hackers, Reuters reports that DARPA is working on a National Cyber Range, which would act a standalone internet simulation engine where digital warriors can be trained and experimental ideas tested out. Lockheed Martin and Johns Hopkins University are competing to provide the final system, with one of them expected to soon get the go-ahead for a one-year trial, which, if all goes well, will be followed by DARPA unleashing its techies upon the virtual firing range in earnest next year. The cost of the project is said to run somewhere near $130 million, which might have sounded a bit expensive before the recent spate of successful hacking attacks on high profile private companies, but now seems like a rational expenditure to ensure the nuclear missile codes and the people crazy enough to use them are kept at a safe distance from one another. DARPA has a pair of other cleverly titled cybersecurity schemes up its sleeve, called CRASH and CINDER, but you'll have to hit the source link to learn more about them.
Free for All: Why you shouldn't be worried while playing Second Life
Recently I've taken a great interest in Second Life. For the record, I've been interested in the game -- er, world -- for the past seven years. More specifically, my seventh "birthday" is coming up on May 26th, 2011, meaning that I have been exploring, building, discussing and watching Second Life for a long, long time. I truly enjoy wandering into groups of other players who seem to think that my fairly basic avatar means that I am either new or ignorant about the game. I love telling them that I have been playing a long time, probably longer than they have. I'm actually proud of it. Still, in spite of my history with the game, I do miss major developments. I am not consumed with the politics and goings on at Linden Lab (maker of Second Life). So when I heard about the changes that were being made concerning adult content, I sort of tuned it out and continued to play off and on. I typically disliked -- no, hated is a better word -- the adult content I came across in Second Life, so I simply avoided it. If there is one thing I am asked about Second Life, it's "aren't there orgies going on all the time?" Seriously. I get asked about orgies more than anything. I wanted to go over the official rules to reassure those curious and wary potential players that they will not be shot in the face with a sex toy -- unless they want to be. Click past the cut and let's discuss.
Sony's latest Cyber-shots boast 3D sweep panorama, background defocusing
It's getting to be that time of the year again -- time for Sony to expand / refresh its Cyber-shot lineup. Say hello to the 14.1 megapixel T99 and the 12.2 megapixel WX5 and TX9. All three feature BIONZ processors and 32MB internal memory (no word on external options). The T99's your underwater-capable option, capable of shooting sweep panorama shots submerged as well as 720p 30fps HD video -- or if you want something of an upgrade, the TX9 is also snorkeling-friendly, but itself can tout Full HD 1080i video recording, a Sweep Multi Angle for "3D-style" imagine, and the 3D sweep panorama with which the NEX series was just graced. Another neat trick of the Tx9 is its "background defocus" that gives you the DSLR-like effect of sharp foreground images with a blurry background (c.f. most of our headlining phone review images). If you're willing to sacrifice water resistance for a 5x optical zoom and Sony G lens (the previous two feature 4x and Carl Zeiss) while still retaining TX9's cool 3D tricks, you're gonna want the WX5. At this point, they carry no price tag, but you've got a bit to wait anyway: the trio will all debut in mid-September. Update: Akihabara News is reporting these cameras also support TransferJet. Additionally, AV Watch has listed some expected prices for Japan, so without further ado: the WX5 for 35,000 yen (about $400), the TX9 for 45,000 yen ($512), and the T99 for a more budget-friendly 29,000 yen ($330). %Gallery-97122%
U.S. Air Force gets 3,000 new 'cyberspace officers'
The U.S. Air Force already made a sizable push in November of last year by establishing a new cyberspace operations division with no less than 27,000 officers, and it looks like it's now further bolstered their ranks by promoting some 3,000 communications officers to the rank of "cyberspace officer." That new title also comes complete with the impressive-looking badge pictured above, not to mention a full 115 days of additional training that promises to "raise the bar on technical competency." Hax0rs, beware.
Cyber Monday deals roundup: Core i7, HDTVs, SSDs, free Droid Eris
In Soviet Bulgaria, we don't have Cyber Mondays, but from what we've been told this is a pretty bargainous time of the year. HP starts us off with a pair of coupons on its dv8 Core i7 notebook, one of which drops the 18.4-inch laptop to just $899. There are also deep 50 percent discounts on its printers, but only the Photosmart Premium All-in-One remains after the two cheaper models sold out. Click the Logic Buy link below to get in on the action. Amazon has the older Modern Warfare at $29.95 and Uncharted 2 at $40 flat for the PS3, Garmin's nuvi 260W at a cent under $115 (or half price), and plenty of discounts on DVDs, gadgetry and even clothing. Best Buy keeps pace by offering the same price on the Garmin nav unit, as well as 10 percent discounts on Apple's iPod range. Walmart is kicking off a whole Cyber Week with a Sony Bravia 32-inch HDTV priced at $398 and a $249 Nintendo Wii Value Bundle, which includes Wii Sports, sporting peripherals, and a choice of free game. If you're more interested in computer components, Newegg's $30 mail-in rebate on the 120GB OCZ Agility SSD will net you the drive for $289, our favorite of a plethora of deals at the online store. And finally, Dell is offering the Droid Eris for free when taking out a new Verizon Wireless account, which is at least $30 cheaper than you can get it anywhere else. Time to get clicking! Read - Amazon Read - Best Buy Read - Dell Read - Logic Buy Read - Newegg Read - Walmart
A walking tour around the Roleplaying realms
Someone named wowgossip on livejournal (though I think her character -- I'm assuming she's a woman, though that might be wrong -- is named Mary Sue, like the lead of so much bad fan fiction) is conducting a pretty exhaustive tour of roleplaying on the servers, both good and bad. As is clearly stated, this is not a review -- it's more of a "state of the game" of Warcraft roleplaying, so the good, the bad, and even the ugly are included. She's already stopped by Argent Dawn, Blackwater Raiders, Earthen Ring, and Moon Guard, and Sisters of Elune.The sights range from the disgusting (you get offered to cyber by just being a lowbie and hanging around Elwynn, apparently), to the boring (there is some really, really bad vampire RP), to the fascinating (some of the character descriptions are very well written, and use some commonplace ingame gear to portray a character's backstory very well). There's no judging involved -- it's basically a (pretty) objective survey of what RP players are doing on RP servers lately. Even if you're not an RPer, it's an interesting read (though some of the images and situations are NSFW, depending on where you work).There's more info in a Q&A on the journal, including a plan to possibly do some group RPing, but just the idea of surveying what's out there is cool. There is so much happening on the realms (in terms of RPing and grouping and PvPing), and even here at WoW insider we can only document so much of it. Definitely cool to get another look inside what players are coming up with (no matter how weird or boring or wild) on the realms.
15 Minutes of Fame: Slow road to max level
15 Minutes of Fame is our look at World of Warcraft players of all shapes and sizes – both the renowned and the relatively anonymous. Tip us off to players you'd like to hear more about at 15minutesoffame (at) wowinsider (dot) com. How long does it take you to get to level 70? This week's 15 Minutes of Fame shines its spotlight on a young player who has drifted placidly along for one and a half years, up to the grand old stature of level 49. Molii of Argent Dawn has spent most of his WoW life roleplaying. As time has crept by, though, his perception of the game and its myriad goals and attractions have morphed, and Molii is hearing the siren song of raiding and the Arenas. Will he get serious about leveling? Where will he end up focusing his game time? We'll peek inside the motivations of an eighth-grade gamer to see where he might be headed next.
Add some class to your Wii's top panel
As useful as the Wii's hidden GameCube controller ports and memory card slots are, the console's flip-open panel is an eyesore when left ajar while accessing these backwards compatibility features, especially if you compare it to the system's otherwise sleek design. You have the option of removing the panel, of course, but the resulting black hood doesn't look right either. Cyber Gadget has come up with an elegant alternative with its replacement lid, allowing you to cover the ports/slots and protect them from dust without having to expose everything whenever you need to just plug in a GameCube pad. The new panel has shutters for each individual controller port which slide back, and both memory card slots have rubber caps that you can peel back without disturbing any of the console's other cavities. Cyber Gadget is selling its replacement panels only in Japan for 980 yen (approximately $8.70), but we're crossing our fingers that an import shop like Play Asia or NCSX will eventually have them for sale. You can see more photos of the product past the jump.
