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FCC investigates Hawaii's false missile alert
It's not just state officials who are investigating Hawaii's false alarm over a (thankfully non-existent) missile attack. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has confirmed that the regulator's investigation into the error is "well underway." While Pai shied away from making many definitive statements early on, he said that early findings suggested Hawaii didn't have "reasonable safeguards or process controls" to prevent a mistaken alert.
No, your Instagram account wasn't hacked earlier today
A host of Instagram users were logged out of the app earlier today, causing varying degrees of panic that their accounts had been hacked. Fret not! It turns out that no one was hacked, but rather a bug was the culprit. Users reported being logged out of the app with the error message that their password had been changed. Yes, cue panic. Instagram says that the app "experienced a bug" that triggered the action and inaccurate error notification. If you were affected by the glitch, you should be able to log back in, but it make take a bit longer than usual to do so. Instagram also confirmed that no passwords were actually changed as a result of the hiccup. Whew.[Image credit: Shutterstock]
Man on vacation confused for a Russian spy, almost restarts cold war
Threats of Russian espionage can come from the unlikeliest of sources, as Jim Mimlitz, owner of Navionics Research, a small integrator firm, knows only too well. Curran Gardner Public Water District, just outside of Springfield, Illinois, employed Mimlitz's firm to set up its Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition system (SCADA), and the spy games began when Mimlitz went on vacation in Russia. While there, he logged into the SCADA system to check some data, then logged off and went back to enjoying Red Square and the finest vodka mother Russia has to offer. However, five months later a Curran Gardner water pump fails, and an IT contractor eyeballing the logs spots the Russian-based IP address. Fearing stolen credentials, he passes the info up the chain of command to the Environmental Protection Agency (as it governs the water district) without bothering to contact Mimlitz, whose name was in the logs next to the IP address. The EPA then passed along the paranoia to a joint state and federal terrorism intelligence center, which issued a report stating that SCADA had been hacked. Oh boy. A media frenzy followed bringing all the brouhaha to Mimlitz's attention. After speaking with the FBI, the massive oversight was identified, papers were shuffled, and everyone went about their day. So, next time you delete all your company's e-mail, or restart the wrong server, remember: at least you didn't almost start World War III. Tap the source link for the full story. [Image courtesy Northackton]
Sega announces Happy Tree Friends game for XBLA, PC
The absurdly adorable animal cast of Happy Tree Friends is set to appear in a new digitally distributed PC and Xbox Live Arcade game, Happy Tree Friends: False Alarm. Of course, as fans of the internet series and television show are well aware, said appearance would likely be cut short by all manner of sharp and obscenely violent implements. Developed by Stainless Games and published by Sega, the cute critter-sploitation splatterfest is scheduled for a Fall 2007 release. Billed as an action-puzzle game, False Alarm will largely feature a "physics-based reactive environment" and "accidental mayhem." Players control one of three characters, namely Flippy (a bear), Lumpy (a moose) and Handy (an amputee beaver carpenter... it says here). Kenn Navarro, creator of the deeply demented property, notes that "Sega is a perfect partner for us because of their rich tradition of creating compelling, character-based games, and true to form they're developing a truly original game that we think our fans will love." Of course, said tradition is generally devoid of chainsaws mutilating cuddly creatures, so a Sonic the Hedgehog cameo seems unlikely. [Via Sega press release]
