According to multiple Internet monitoring services, Syrian authorities have cut off access to the Internet. The news comes as an uprising has shaken the country for months, with an opposition trying to get together to face president and dictator Bashar al Assad. In the capital city Damascus, mobile services and land lines are affected as [...]
“A group of Internet hackers appeared before an Ankara court on Monday on charges of terrorism, the first time alleged cyber criminals have been put on trial in Turkey, local media reported. The 10 members of the ‘Redhack’ group are accused of belonging to an armed terrorist organization, illegally obtaining confidential documents and personal information, [...]
Update: It turns out that a PR agency or some other individual gone rogue was dead wrong on this. The announcement that crossed the wire is said to be not true at all, as per ICOA’s CEO. Google today announced that it has acquired Rhode Island-based ICOA, Inc. in a deal worth $400 million, as [...]
“A new strain of malware is thrashing corporate databases in the Middle East, claiming the vast majority of its victims in Iran. Narilam is ‘causing chaos’ by targeting and modifying corporate databases, according to Symantec. The worm spreads through removable drives and network shares.” Source:New table-munching worm ravages Iranian biz databases • The Register Via [...]
Seven House Republicans have called for Twitter to take down the accounts of “US-designated terrorist groups.” Led by Texas Congressman Ted Poe (R-TX), the lawmakers sent the request in a letter to the FBI back in September, and earlier this week said that recent events have vindicated their actions. “Allowing foreign terrorist organizations like Hamas [...]
Despite warnings to the contrary, Cyberdyne, SkyNet and Demon Seed are technological terrors that currently exist. No matter, as we’ve now got someone leading the fightback — Skype co-founder Jaan Tallinn. He’s part of a team of scientists, engineers and philosophers at Cambridge University’s newly-minted Centre for the Study of Existential Risk. Aping the plot [...]
“Yet the app wasn’t built just by Mojang; it was developed by the mobile computer vision company 13th Lab. The app uses your iOS device’s camera to track your surroundings before projecting creations onto the landscape. Not only can you see the results on your screen, but you can change their size as you please, [...]
“In the spring of 2010, a sheik in the government of Qatar began talks with the U.S. consulting company Booz Allen Hamilton about developing a plan to build a cyber-operations center. He feared Iran’s growing ability to attack its regional foes in cyberspace and wanted Qatar to have the means to respond.” Source:As cyberwarfare heats [...]
“Users are getting infected with ransomware thanks to criminals managing to hack the DNS records of Go Daddy hosted websites. That’s not welcome news for the world’s largest domain name registrar, especially so soon after the recent denial of service attack. “ Source:Hacked Go Daddy sites infecting users with ransomware | Naked Security Via OODA [...]
“A student attacked the PayPal website as part of a concerted effort by the Anonymous ‘hacktivists’ that cost the company £3.5m, a court has heard.” Source: BBC News – Anonymous hackers ‘cost PayPal £3.5m’ Via OODA Loop
It's been a year of major growth for Instagram — the launch of an Android app helped its userbase expand significantly, and that massive userbase made Thanksgiving the biggest day ever for the photo-sharing service. According to the Instagram blog, users shared more than 10 million photos with Thanksgiving-related terms in the captions, with a [...]
As usual, Apple thought Friday night on a holiday weekend was the perfect time to push some more paper through in its ongoing patent lawsuit against Samsung. According to Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents, after Samsung asked to add the latest iPads, iPhones and iPod touches to its list of claims and the court approved [...]
Apple (AAPL) may get away with charging a premium for its devices in the developed world, but in emerging markets that sort of thing just won’t fly. In those markets, consumers are much more likely to flock to the variety of low-cost Android smartphones hitting the shelves, which is giving Google (GOOG) a big boost [...]
“Occidental Petroleum Corp, the fourth-largest U.S. oil company said on Friday it faced an attack on its email system a few years ago, at a time when the energy industry emerged as a prime hacking target.” Source:Occidental Petroleum says faced cyber attack on email in 2009-10 | Reuters Via OODA Loop
“The group that claimed to launch large, sustained cyber attacks against the websites of several major U.S. financial institutions told ABC News it is not acting on behalf of and is not supported by the Iranian government, contrary to recent news reports.” Source:US Bank Cyber Attackers Deny Iran Connection – ABC News Via OODA Loop
“That didn’t take long. Windows 8 was officially released a week ago and hackers have already found a security flaw in it. But that’s not even the worst news. These guys have not told Microsoft about the flaw. Instead, they’re selling it to others, reports Computerworld.” Source:Hackers Find A Windows 8 Bug – Business Insider [...]
“ccording to a survey of 56 corporate and governmental organizations conducted by the Ponemon Institute, the average amount they paid for all the costs associated with cyberattacks was $8.9 million during the past year. That’s up 6% from the previous year’s study. And for the first time, Ponemon expanded the survey to other countries, including [...]
“Multiple NBC sites, including its mobile landing page, the Saturday Night Live site, and the NBC Sports Rotoworld page have been hacked into. Several pages now have black starry backgrounds, including banners readings ‘hacked by pyknic.’ The banner also includes scrolling text reading, ‘Remember, remember the fifth of November.’ It goes on to say, ‘The [...]
“The websites of PayPal, Symantec and several other companies have been hacked. The Anonymous hacker collective has claimed responsibility for the cyberattacks, claiming on Twitter the hacks are part of a ‘November 5th protest.’” Source: PayPal, Symantec and Others Hacked by Anonymous Via OODA Loop
“A multinational police operation brought down 30 alleged cyber terrorists from seven different countries, including Colombia.” Source: Colombia authorities bring down ‘cyber terrorist ring’ – Colombia news | Colombia Reports Via OODA Loop
“The e-mail seems preposterous on its face, but the fact it appeared to come from a legal executive at the company — and at a time that Coca-Cola was pushing energy-saving measures — led Etchells to open it and click on a link that purported to lead to a message from the chief executive officer, [...]
“A security flaw accessible via Google’s UK motor insurance aggregator Google Compare has potentially exposed vast numbers of drivers to identity theft. The vulnerability, the existence of which has been verified by The Register, made it possible for comprehensive personal details – including names, addresses, phone numbers and job – to be harvested at will.” [...]
“Tao Wan now works at IBM, but said he was once an angry young man, a veteran of the hacking scene that burgeoned in China in the late 1990s. Wan channeled his youthful frustrations through the famed Green Army hacker group, of which he was a member before leaving to found the China Eagle Union. [...]
“A U.S. commission has confirmed what many experts already believed: China has become ‘the most threatening actor in cyberspace,’ due to a persistent bombardment of U.S. military systems and defense contractors. The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission is scheduled to release next month its annual report mandated by Congress. A draft of the report [...]
“Stuxnet, a sophisticated computer virus created by the United States and Israel, to spy on and attack Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities in Natanz also infected Chevron ’s network in 2010, shortly after it escaped from its intended target. Chevron found Stuxnet in its systems after the malware was first reported in July 2010, said Mark [...]
