Archive for the 'Technology' Category
FAA Warns of Ongoing GPS Issues in Southeastern U.S. Due to Defense Department ‘Tests’
January 21st, 2011Interestingly (instinctively?), Cryptogon readers have been buying Finding Your Way Without Map or Compass by Harold Gatty for years. This one gets a tick in the Social Engineering box because of how the machine gets people to internalize and rely on whiz bang technology that can then be withdrawn with the flip of a switch. […]
AIRprint Device Reads Fingerprints from Two Meters Away
January 20th, 2011Via: Technology Review: Over the years, fingerprinting has evolved from an inky mess to pressing fingers on sensor screens to even a few touch-free systems that work at a short distance. Now a company has developed a prototype of a device that can scan fingerprints from up to two meters away, an approach that could […]
Utah City May Use Blimp as Anti-Crime Spy in the Sky
January 19th, 2011Via: Reuters: A proposed unmanned floating airship surveillance system is being hailed by city officials in Ogden, Utah as one way to fight crime in its neighborhoods. “We believe it will be a deterrent to crime when it is out and about and will help us solve crimes more quickly when they do occur,” Ogden […]
Smartphones: Radio Firmware Vulnerability Allows Attackers to Take Control of iPhone or Android Devices
January 19th, 2011Via: InfoWorld: More than three years after the iPhone was first hacked, computer security experts think they’ve found a whole new way to break into mobile phones — one that could become a big headache for Apple, or for smartphone makers using Google’s Android software. In a presentation set for next week’s Black Hat conference […]
Not The Onion: NSA Turns to Smart Phones for Recruitment
January 19th, 2011Via: Defense Systems: Having a smart phone may give you an advantage if you’re looking for a job with the National Security Agency. The agency on Jan. 13 announced the launch of two new smartphone applications that are part of NSA’s largest hiring effort in recent years. The NSA Career Links Smartphone application—which is available […]
Mom Accused of Playing Game on Facebook While Baby Drowned
January 19th, 2011Via: Reuters: A Colorado mother who told police her 13-month-old son drowned in the bathtub while she was playing a game on Facebook was charged on Friday with child abuse resulting in death. Shannon Johnson, 34, was advised of the charge against her via a video hookup from the jail where she is being held […]
Better Install Firewalls on Chevy Volts; ‘Hugely Vulnerable 5000lb Pieces of Metal’
January 18th, 2011HAHA. One for your bulging What Could Possibly Go Wrong? file folder. Via: New Electronics: The Chevy Volt will be the first car of its type: not because it is a hybrid electric/petrol vehicle, but because GM plans to give each one the company sells its own IP address. The Volt will have no less […]
New York Times on Stuxnet: Israelis Tested it at Dimona, Developed with Help from Siemens, Worm Sends Fake Data to Plant Operators Indicating Normal Centrifuge Operations as the Machines Destroy Themselves
January 16th, 2011Via: New York Times: The Dimona complex in the Negev desert is famous as the heavily guarded heart of Israel’s never-acknowledged nuclear arms program, where neat rows of factories make atomic fuel for the arsenal. Over the past two years, according to intelligence and military experts familiar with its operations, Dimona has taken on a […]
Mitre/JASONs Advise Pentagon to Collect DNA and Complete Human Genome Sequences for All Military Personnel
January 14th, 201123andme.mil? Don’t laugh. Anne Wojcicki, co-founder of 23andMe, was one of the briefers on this. As you may or may not know, Wojcicki is married to Google’s Sergey Brin. I don’t know what’s more terrifying to consider: What the military is going to do with this, or what Google is going to do with this. […]
IBM’s Watson: How About, “We’re Fucked” for $100, Alex
January 14th, 2011Update: Watson Won Via: PC World: Wrapping up a three-day run on the Jeopardy game show, IBM’s Watson computer has beaten two former champions in a historic match of man versus machine. —End Update— Ah, don’t worry. Surely, the regime will use this for good. *sigh* Via: Boston Globe: IBM recently created a supercomputer named […]
