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Operation Cleaver report ties Iranian hackers to attacks on major companies

Back in 2013, US officials accused Iranian hackers of breaking into the Navy’s computers. Now, US cyber security firm Cylance says it has evidence to prove that the same team has infiltrated not just the Navy, but also various top companies across the globe within the past two years. An 86-page report published by the firm says the state-sponsored group has hacked more than 50 aerospace companies, airlines, petrol and energy firms, universities and hospitals, among other entities. Among them, ten are reportedly based in the US, while others are based in China, England, France, Germany, India, Israel, Mexico and South Korea. The report didn’t name any of them, but a Reuters source listed these corporations in particular: California power company Calpine Corp, Saudi Arabia’s petroleum and gas company Aramco, Mexican-state-owned Petroleos Mexicanos or Pemex, Qatar Airlines and Korean Air. According to Cylance, the campaign it’s dubbed as Operation Cleaver has concentrated mostly on gathering data from these various agencies. But the firm admits it’s uncovered but a small portion of the breaches thus far, so the campaign could be much larger in scope. Iranian spokesperson Hamid Babaei, however, has denounced Cylance’s report as a “baseless and unfounded allegation fabricated to tarnish the Iranian government image, particularly aimed at hampering current nuclear talks.” If you’re wondering what Iran’s motives are exactly for doing something like this, Cylance suspects it’s revenge. It could be part of the country’s efforts to get back at the US and Israel for (reportedly) developing the Stuxnet worm that infected Iran’s nuclear program years ago. Whatever the real reason is, the firm’s researchers are worried that the stolen data could be used to compromise people’s — say, airline passengers — safety. Hence, they’ve chosen to reveal what they’ve learned to “minimize additional real-world impact and prevent further victimization.” [Image credit: scyther5/Getty] Filed under: Misc Comments Via: Recode Source: Cylance

New Bluetooth devices will connect directly to the internet

For all the talk of an Internet of Things , many Bluetooth devices aren’t very internet-savvy; they usually have to rely on WiFi (or another gadget entirely) to hop online. That’s going to change very shortly with the advent of Bluetooth’s new 4.2 spec . If a sensor, smart light bulb or other low-power device supports the new technology, it can connect directly to the internet (through a router or other access point, at least) without needing a go-between. That’s potentially huge for home automation — you could control all your appliances and light fixture from anywhere in the world without requiring special hubs. There’s a lot more going on besides this, of course. Privacy is now much more important; Bluetooth 4.2 makes it harder to track a device without your permission, so a store with iBeacons (as an example) can’t follow you around unless you’ve installed an app. The new wireless tech is also up to 2.5 times faster, and it should be both more power-efficient and reliable. The gotcha with all these updates? You’ll have to wait. The Bluetooth 4.2 standard is ready now (internet access is due within a month), but device makers will still have to implement it before you can see any benefit. You probably won’t get to use 4.2-capable devices until sometime in 2015 as a result, but there are enough heavy-hitting features that your patience may pay off. Filed under: Household , Peripherals , Networking , Internet , Mobile Comments Source: Bluetooth SIG

It turns out the world’s oldest ‘computer’ dates back to 205 BC

The device regarded the world’s first computer (analog, of course) could have been used even earlier than researchers thought. Inspection of a dial from the 2, 000-year-old Antikythera Mechanism and an examination of Babylonian eclipse records revealed the device’s origin to be 205 BC, 50-100 years before previous findings indicate. The new date offers a clue as to how Greeks predicted eclipses and planetary position, too. Until now, scientists thought the system was based on trigonometry, but that method didn’t exist yet, so instead, the mechanism relied on Babylonian arithmetic. Using a process of elimination, a pair of researchers compared records and recovered pieces of the dial that aided with eclipse prediction in order to arrive at the new calculation. The hunt continues for the rest of the Antikythera Mechanism, as a team is hoping to continue its search of the shipwreck where fragments have been found this spring. [Photo credit: Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP/Getty Images] Filed under: Misc , Science Comments Via: Phys.org Source: New York Times

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It turns out the world’s oldest ‘computer’ dates back to 205 BC

Seller of StealthGenie spyware app gets fined $500,000

A US District Judge in Virginia has ordered the man responsible for selling and distributing StealthGenie , an application used to spy on people, to pay a $500, 000 fine and hand over the software’s source code to the authorities. Hammad Akbar, who is originally from Denmark, last week pleaded guilty to the charges of a “sale of an interception device and the advertising of a known interception device, ” in what the Department of Justice is calling the first-ever criminal conviction of its kind . Akbar admitted that StealthGenie could take on many spying tasks once installed on an iOS, Android or BlackBerry smartphone, such as providing access to email, text messages and pictures, as well as intercepting any incoming and outgoing phone calls. “Make no mistake: selling spyware is a federal crime, and the Criminal Division will make a federal case out if it. Today’s guilty plea by a creator of the StealthGenie spyware is another demonstration of our commitment to prosecuting those who would invade personal privacy, ” an Assistant Attorney General involved with the case stated. As expected, the FBI was deeply involved in the takedown of StealthGenie. “This illegal spyware provides individuals with an option to track a person’s every move without their knowledge, ” a spokesperson for the bureau added. “As technology evolves, the FBI will continue to evolve to protect consumers from those who sell illegal spyware.” The moral of the story, people, is don’t make apps to creep on others — unless you’re willing to deal with the Department of Justice, FBI and pay quite a hefty fine. Filed under: Internet , Software Comments Via: ZDNet Source: Department of Justice

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Seller of StealthGenie spyware app gets fined $500,000

Pizza Hut’s eye-tracking menu knows what you want before you do

When scanning a menu, are you justifying that Dame Blanche sundae in your mind rather than actually choosing a dessert? Pizza Hut wants to help you skip your super-ego middleman and just let your id order that triple-cheese bacon pepperoni pie directly. It’s ” Subconscious Menu ” uses Tobii’s eye-tracking tech to figure out which of 20 different ingredients you’re looking at on a screen (see the video below). It then takes all of three seconds to identify the pizza you really want based on which you looked at the longest. Pizza Hut says its Subconscious Menu is still in trials, but after testing to a 98 percent success rate, it may eventually appear in restaurants. [Image credit: Lexis Agency/Pizza Hut] Filed under: Cameras Comments Via: Telegraph Source: Tobii (YouTube)

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Pizza Hut’s eye-tracking menu knows what you want before you do

Unreleased Sony movies leak online following studio hack

There may now be some strong evidence that the Sony Pictures hackers came across a treasure trove of sensitive info when they broke into the movie studio’s networks. High-quality screener copies of Annie , Fury , Mr. Turner and Still Alice have reached torrent file sites well before you can get any of them at home — and, outside of Fury , before you can even see them in theaters. While there’s no direct evidence that the Sony Pictures attackers (the “Guardians of Peace”) are responsible, a tipster claiming to be the “boss of G.O.P.” has emailed many media outlets claiming that the group seeded the bootleg videos. That may be supported by the names of the torrents themselves, which start with “2014 Sony Movie” in a seeming attempt to highlight the source. If the GOP did pirate the movies, that suggests that there are far worse things to come. We’ve obtained a copy of the alleged email, and it claims that “under 100 terabytes” of data is going to reach the web in the near future. Suffice it to say that Sony doesn’t want to see that happen — it could reveal the personal information for legions of workers, not to mention production plans. If there’s any truth to the threats, the company could be dealing with the repercussions of the data breach for a long, long while. Filed under: Home Entertainment , Internet , HD , Sony Comments Source: TorrentFreak

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Unreleased Sony movies leak online following studio hack

James Cameron’s ‘Avatar’ sequels will stick to 48 frames per second

There was talk for a while that James Cameron would shoot the Avatar sequels at a brisk 60 frames per second, which is no mean feat when people aren’t yet sure about 48FPS movies . However, it now looks like the famed director is scaling back those ambitions. He tells Empire that he was considering 60FPS to accommodate home viewers (since it’s better-suited to TVs), but that he’s ultimately sticking with ‘just’ 48FPS; he’s plugging into a “more mature” system where the slower speed makes sense. The sci-fi sagas won’t push the boundaries of moviemaking technology quite as far as you might have expected, then, but the chances are that they’ll still be visual extravaganzas. Filed under: Home Entertainment , HD Comments Via: Comingsoon.net Source: Empire

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James Cameron’s ‘Avatar’ sequels will stick to 48 frames per second

Windows 10 will play your .MKV and .FLAC files all on its own

High-end audio enthusiasts love FLAC since it promises to preserve everything just as it was heard in the studio. Unfortunately, it isn’t the most widely-supported of formats, but it appears as if it’s going to get a warm embrace in Windows 10 . Gabriel Aul of Microsoft’s Windows Insider program tweeted out a screenshot (above) showing FLAC support in Windows Media Player, later adding that the OS is offering platform-level support – so any compatible app will now be able to play the files without a plug-in. Given that Microsoft also recently let slip that it’ll support the .MKV container in its next-gen OS, it’s clear that Redmond is reaching out to the inner AV geek in all of us. Filed under: Desktops , Software , Microsoft Comments Via: The Digital Lifestyle Source: Gabriel Aul (Twitter) , (2)

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Windows 10 will play your .MKV and .FLAC files all on its own

The first trailer for ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ is coming to iTunes tomorrow

After angering fans earlier this week, Lucasfilm has confirmed the first teaser trailer for the new Star Wars movie will be available online this Friday. The studio previously announced that an 88-second teaser would be shown in just 30 theaters nationwide on November 28th in the lead-up to a general release in December. However, it’s now saying that it will also be available through Apple’s iTunes Trailer site. It’s not clear if the iTunes launch was always intended, or if it’s a reaction to the many fans that were upset they would be unable to catch a timely glimpse of the new movie. Star Wars: The Force Awakens is scheduled for release December 2015. Comments Via: CNET Source: Star Wars (Twitter)

There are now 3 billion internet users, but mostly in rich countries

The UN’s International Telecommunication’s Union ( ITU ) has revealed that over 3 billion people are now connected to the internet, an increase of 6.6 percent over last year. The good news is that such access can have a huge impact “for those who are the poorest and most disenfranchised, including women, youth and those with disabilities, ” according to the report. However, the bad news is that much of that coverage doesn’t apply to people who need it the most. Of the 4.3 billion people still not connected to the internet, 90 percent live in developing countries, with two-thirds of users in first-world countries. So how to get more people online in the poorest countries? The ITU pointed out that nations setting ambitious information tech targets have the greatest internet user growth, so it figures that developing countries need to set similar targets. It also noted that people in rural areas were least likely to be connected, especially in poor nations — a statistic that’s related as much to a lack of connectivity as the lack of means to pay for it. To tackle that issue, the ITU recently unveiled a plan to connect as many as 1.5 billion more users to the internet in 5 years, in part by opening up more wireless spectrum currently used for TV broadcast. It hopes doing that will also lower access costs — a tall job, given that poor rural users often get by on a dollar a day or less. Filed under: Wireless , Mobile Comments Via: ZDNet Source: ITU

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There are now 3 billion internet users, but mostly in rich countries