21249340
submission
jhernik writes:
Google executives are being sued by PayPal for using trade secrets to build the new Google Wallet service
PayPal, eBay’s payment service, has sued Google over its new Google Wallet service, accusing the search engine of poaching trade secrets for use in its mobile payment service.
The suit, filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court just hours after Google unveiled its Wallet payments sheme, alleges that two key executives who created the near-field communication (NFC) service used company secrets about mobile payments to fashion its own service.
Unveiled at a press event in New York, Google Wallet lets consumers pay for products by tapping their Android-based smartphones against a special sale terminal.
20977972
submission
jhernik writes:
The GSMA has condemned a European report that calls for a ban of mobile phones as “unbalanced unscientific”
The ongoing debate over the supposed dangers posed by mobile phone usage and wireless signals has exploded once again. An influential European committee has called for a ban on mobile phones and Wi-Fi networks in schools – but industry body the GSM Association (GSMA) has denounced the report as an “unbalanced political assessment, not a scientific report.”
The Council of Europe’s Committee on the Environment, Agriculture and Local and Regional Affairs published a report earlier this month on the potential dangers of electromagnetic fields. The report recommended that European governments take precautionary steps to ban mobile phone and Wi-Fi usage in schools.
20031288
submission
jhernik writes:
With Motorola’s Xoom and Asus’ Transformer due to bring Android 3.0 tablets to the UK, where are the apps?
As tablets based on the new Honeycomb version of Android appear, critics have questioned Google’s moves to enforce a standard Android platform, and said there may be as few as 20 “real” apps for the devices.
Motorola’s Xoom tablet is due to appear in the UK next week, along with the Eee Transformer, but their ability to compete with the recently-launched Apple iPad 2 may be hurt by the shortage of tablet-optimised Android apps. Meanwhile, reports that Google wants to standardise Android hardware are causing alarm.
19967734
submission
jhernik writes:
Twitter’s lawyers are trying to block US authorities from accessing personal data as part of a WikiLeaks probe
Lawyers on Friday asked a US judge to overturn a ruling from earlier this month, forcing Twitter to hand over account details to the US Department of Justice, in a case related to the US federal government’s ongoing investigation of Wikileaks.
The appeal (PDF) seeks to overturn a ruling that would give the US government access to Twitter account details for three users who had contact with Wikileaks. The government also wants Twitter to provide information on Wikileaks founder Julian Assange and on Bradley Manning, a US Army private charged with providing data to Wikileaks.
19895140
submission
jhernik writes:
Personal details left on used mobile phones make it easier for ID thieves to access sensitive data
More than half of second-hand mobile phones still contain personal information of the previous owner, posing a risk of identity fraud, CPP has warned.
The study found 247 pieces of personal data stored on handsets and SIM cards purchased from eBay and second-hand electronics shops. The information ranged from credit card numbers to bank account details, photographs, email address and login details to social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.
According to data security firm CPP, 81 percent of previous owners claim they have wiped personal data from their mobile phones and SIM cards before selling them. However, deleting the information manually is “a process that security experts acknowledge leaves the data intact and retrievable”.
19854606
submission
jhernik writes:
A British hacker who pilfered billions of Zynga’s virtual poker chips faces years behind bars
A 29-year-old gambler from Paignton, Devon, has been sentenced to two years in jail after hacking into an online gambling site and stealing billions of poker chips.
Ashley Mitchell admitted to hacking into the servers of American gaming company Zynga Corporation in 2009 and making off with $12 million (£7.5 million) worth of gambling chips.
Exeter Crown Court’s judge Philip Wassall said the hacker had deliberately “exploited” security weaknesses he had found in Zynga’s website.
“People rely on computer systems,” said Wassall, “Anyone who has managed to get into these systems for their own ends should expect a stiff sentence.”
Gambling addiction
Mitchell was handed a two-year prison sentence for computer misuse and money laundering. In 2009, he broke into Zynga’s main servers and stole the account details of two staff members, before transferring four billion virtual chips to his own account.
19265252
submission
jhernik writes:
Cyber-war stories from the defence industry may be a distraction, pundits told the RSA conference
nternational cyber threat initiatives are in danger of becoming overblown, the US government’s security chief told the RSA Conference in San Francisco.
” Cyber war is a terrible metaphor,” said the US government’s cybersecurity czar Howard Schmidt. Don’t make it something it’s not.” Internet attacks from hackers, spies and terrorist groups deserves serious attention, he said, but this should not be “to the extent of mass hysteria”.
Cyber-war hype is a distraction
Other thinkers seemed agreed on this. Bruce Schneier, security chief at the BT Group, said that this mass hysteria is being stoked up by government initiatives creating the impression of a “cyber arms race”. He does not believe that a cyber war is raging but that heavy-handed responses to issues such as the Stuxnet attacks are creating that impression.
18929096
submission
jhernik writes:
An HTML scripting bug impacting all supported versions of Windows is receiving Microsoft’s attention
Microsoft issued an advisory on a Windows security vulnerability today after exploit code for the bug went public.
The bug, which lies in the MIME Encapsulation of Aggregate HTML (MHTML) protocol handler, can be exploited to cause data leakage. Though proof-of-concept code for the vulnerability has already gone public, the company said it is unaware of any attempts to exploit the bug.
Fault Lies In MHTML Execution
“The impact of an attack on the vulnerability would be similar to that of server-side cross-site-scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities,” blogged Angela Gunn, security response communications manager for Microsoft Trustworthy Computing. “For instance, an attacker could construct an HTML link designed to trigger a malicious script and somehow convince the targeted user to click it.”
18087994
submission
jhernik writes:
Scotland Yard has confirmed it has been investigating Anonymous since before the WikiLeaks wars broke out
The Metropolitan police has been investigating Internet vigilante group Anonymous, since well before its current online reprisals against companies not supporting WikiLeaks.
“Earlier this year, the Metropolitan police service received a number of allegations of denial of service cyber attacks againat several companies by a group calling itself Anonymous,” a police spokesman told eWEEK Europe UK. “We are investigating these criminal allegations and our investigation is ongoing.”
“The Metropolitan police service is monitoring the situation in relation to recent and ongoing denial of service attacks, and will investigate where appropriate,” the spokesman added
17528010
submission
jhernik writes:
Fearing their computers may be prone to viruses, many web-users download fake anti-virus software, only to find later that their bank details have been hacked.
According to the latest research by GetSafeOnline.org, the UK’s national internet security initiative, a rising nunber of organised criminal gangs are tricking security-conscious intenet-users into purchasing anti-virus software to access their bank details.
Posing as legitimate IT helpdesks, these fraudsters target internet users concerned about protecting their computers. By offering free virus checks, they normally tell consumers that their machines are infected and offer fake security software protection – usually costing around £30 – which is actually malicious software in disguise.
17260410
submission
jhernik writes:
Detectives will be trained to track down criminals on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter
The police are to receive training on how to use Facebook and Twitter to catch people committing serious crimes. The National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) will overhaul its training modules to include sessions on the social networking sites for detectives.
Detective Training
“This programme is a vital part of the career pathway for detectives and the new training covers sensitive areas of policing where limited guidance existed previously,” said deputy chief constable Nick Gargan, acting head of the NPIA, in a statement to the Press Association.
“These improvements are exactly what detectives need to tackle the challenges and complexities of modern policing effectively,” he added. “The changes underline the importance to having a national agency to provide guidance and train detectives to a single high standard so they can work on investigations in any part of the country and give their colleagues and the public the best quality service in fighting crime.”Link to Original Source
15115532
submission
jhernik writes:
Vodafone has reversed its decision to install its own branded apps and bookmarks via a software update to its HTC Desire users
Vodafone has backed down in the face of angry opposition from Google Android customers, who last week received a software update thinking it contained Android 2.2, but instead found it contained Vodafone’s branded 360 service.
The Vodafone 360 service was launched in October last year. Essentially, Vodafone 360 is a user interface that puts social networking on the front screen of the phone, and arranges the users’ contacts so you can reach any person with a phone call, IM, text or other call — or send a location message to meet up.
However it also installs irremovable Vodafone-branded apps and bookmarks, including links to dating sites.
