Archive for November, 2013
Ubiquity Eyes Turning Sears Auto Centers into Data Centers
November 16th, 2013Via: Data Center Knowledge: One of America’s retail pioneers may build a brand for the new economy, housing servers where it once changed your oil. Ubiquity Critical Environments, the data center unit of Sears Holdings, is considering a concept to convert some of its Sears Auto Center stores into data centers. It is working with […]
TSA SPOT Program: Billion Dollar Magic 8 Ball
November 16th, 2013Via: GAO: Available evidence does not support whether behavioral indicators, which are used in the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) Screening of Passengers by Observation Techniques (SPOT) program, can be used to identify persons who may pose a risk to aviation security. GAO reviewed four meta-analyses (reviews that analyze other studies and synthesize their findings) that […]
U.S. Military May Have 10 Robots Per Soldier by 2023
November 16th, 2013Via: Computerworld: American soldiers patrolling dangerous streets will soon be accompanied by autonomous robots programmed to scan the area with thermal imaging and send live images back to the command center. Likewise, squads of infantrymen hiking through mountains will be helped by a wagon train of robots carrying extra water, ammo and protective gear.
Amazon Will Build and Manage Cloud Infrastructure in CIA Facility
November 16th, 2013Via: Networkworld: Amazon Web Services recently won a reported $600 million contract to build the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) a cloud. But that cloud will not look like any other cloud on the planet. Given the sensitive nature of building an IT operation for one of the United States’ most secretive organizations, details about […]
The Weaponized Internet
November 16th, 2013Via: Wired: The internet backbone — the infrastructure of networks upon which internet traffic travels — went from being a passive infrastructure for communication to an active weapon for attacks. According to revelations about the QUANTUM program, the NSA can “shoot” (their words) an exploit at any target it desires as his or her traffic […]
Sentenced to Die Behind Bars for What?
November 16th, 2013Profits. Via: ACLU: For 3,278 people, it was nonviolent offenses like stealing a $159 jacket or serving as a middleman in the sale of $10 of marijuana. An estimated 65% of them are Black. Many of them were struggling with mental illness, drug dependency or financial desperation when they committed their crimes. None of them […]
Qubit Survives Record 39 Minutes at Room Temperature
November 16th, 2013Via: CBC: A Canadian-led team of researchers has created a key component of a quantum computer that can survive at room temperature for a whopping 39 minutes, blowing away previous records of just seconds. The discovery means it might be possible to store quantum bits of data, known as “qubits,” even at room temperature, for […]
CIA Collecting Data on International Money Transfers
November 14th, 2013Via: New York Times: The Central Intelligence Agency is secretly collecting bulk records of international money transfers handled by companies like Western Union — including transactions into and out of the United States — under the same law that the National Security Agency uses for its huge database of Americans’ phone records, according to current […]
Obamacare Wreck
November 14th, 2013Wow. Via: Reuters: President Barack Obama on Thursday tried to ease the biggest crisis of his presidency, acknowledging missteps with his signature healthcare law and announcing a plan to help those seeing their current health plans canceled because of it. Obama, trying to limit the political damage to his presidency and fellow Democrats, said health […]
Americans’ Personal Data Shared with CIA, IRS, Others in Security Probe
November 14th, 2013Via: McClatchy: U.S. agencies collected and shared the personal information of thousands of Americans in an attempt to root out untrustworthy federal workers that ended up scrutinizing people who had no direct ties to the U.S. government and simply had purchased certain books. Federal officials gathered the information from the customer records of two men […]
