The folks down at the Federal Trade Commission are busy helping all of us these days, whether they’re weighing in on patent disputes or forcing firms to help cover your child’s lack of parental supervision . Today, the FTC charged several companies and individuals with participation in an elaborate shell game from 2010 that was really just a $275 million dollar credit card scam. According to a separate, ongoing lawsuit filed by the Commission, a company called I Works did the stealing, but wouldn’t have been able to take $26 million of the total without the aid of the defendants in this new lawsuit. The unfortunates in question are alleged to have served as the conduit through which all that stolen cash flowed. By providing I Works access to payment networks and multiple accounts, the scheme kept the volume of traffic through those accounts low enough to stay off Visa and MasterCard’s credit monitoring radar. So, while they didn’t actually steal money, they provided the means to do so, and were paid from the illegal proceeds. Several of the accused have already settled up with the FTC, which resulted in a $1 million judgment against them. The remaining defendants face a much stiffer penalty should they lose in court, as the Commission seeks all of the $26 million they helped steal, plus legal fees. Should you be among the victims, I wouldn’t hold your breath waiting for restitution — the folks who settled were only able to pay $328, 607.78, so the rest of the judgment has been suspended. Still, we salute the effort, Uncle Sam. May this serve as a reminder for all of us to be careful with the plastic until technology delivers us a more secure way to pay. Credit card theft takes many forms . Filed under: Misc Comments Via: Federal Trade Commission Source: FTC legal complaint (PDF)
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FTC busts up $275 million credit card scam, sues the folks behind it
mikejuk writes The constant war to jailbreak and patch iOS has taken another step in favor of the jailbreakers. Georgia Tech researchers have found a way to jailbreak the current version of iOS. What the Georgia Tech team has discovered is a way to break in by a multi-step attack. After analysing the patches put in place to stop previous attacks, the team worked out a sequence that would jailbreak any modern iPhone. The team stresses the importance of patching all of the threats, and not just closing one vulnerability and assuming that it renders others unusable as an attack method. It is claimed that the hack works with any iOS 7.1.2 using device including the iPhone 5s.It is worth noting that the The Device Freedom Prize for an open source jailbreak of iOS7 is still unclaimed and stands at just over $30, 000. The details are to be revealed at the forthcoming Black Hat USA (August 6 & 7 Las Vegas) in a session titled Exploiting Unpatched iOS Vulnerabilities for Fun and Profit: Read more of this story at Slashdot. 
Although tequila dates back only a few hundred years, people have long used the heart of the agave plant to make delicious, alcoholic beverages. Read more… 
Starting with version 14, the product we all know and love as “XBMC, ” will become “Kodi, ” a new name with new art and branding that the developers say more appropriately fits the media center’s promise, as opposed to its long-established roots. Read more… 
schwit1 (797399) writes with news that NASA scientists have tested the EmDrive, which claims to use quantum vacuum plasma for propulsion. Theoretically improbable, but perhaps possible after all. If it does work, it would eliminate the need for expendable fuel (just add electricity). From the article:Either the results are completely wrong, or NASA has confirmed a major breakthrough in space propulsion. A working microwave thruster would radically cut the cost of satellites and space stations and extend their working life, drive deep-space missions, and take astronauts to Mars in weeks rather than months. … [According to the researchers] “Test results indicate that the RF resonant cavity thruster design, which is unique as an electric propulsion device, is producing a force that is not attributable to any classical electromagnetic phenomenon and therefore is potentially demonstrating an interaction with the quantum vacuum virtual plasma.” Skepticism is certainly warranted: NASA researchers were only able to produce about 1/1000th of the force the Chinese researchers reported. But they were careful to avoid false sensor readings, so something is going on. The paper declined to comment on what that could be, leaving the physics of the system an open problem. Read more of this story at Slashdot. 
These days, almost everything you watch on TV and in theaters is shot digitally. But because Hollywood still needs film sometimes, the the biggest motion picture companies in the world are banding together to keep the lights on in Kodak’s Rochester motion picture film plant. Read more…