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Submission + - IDF Hackers Test Readiness In Israel for Cyberattacks (al-monitor.com)

Submitted by cold fjord
cold fjord writes: Al-Monitor reports, "Lt. Col. M., 39, is in charge of the [cyber] defense ... the “blue team,” .... Capt. A. heads the “red team” in the cybersecurity lineup, whose task is to simulate attacks ... Together, the two teams maintain IDF preparedness in the face of any potential cyber threat. ... We have the edge not only in terms of technological level, but also in terms of motivation: We are protecting human lives, and our soldiers are thus far more motivated than civilian security specialists. ... Lt. Col. M. is therefore not really concerned about the reports that the American National Security Agency (NSA) has found a way around the [Internet-level] encryption protocols of most of the civilian computer systems worldwide — which draw on the information leaked by former NSA employee Edward Snowden. “Our job is to monitor the goings-on and keep track of the technological developments, and we need to know what the threats and risks in cyberspace are. In any event, to protect strategic assets, encryption systems that we develop ourselves in-house ... are customarily used.” ... while the IDF realized the importance of cyber warfare long ago, it is only recently that it has recognized the need to prepare for any scenario and regularly conduct quality assurance tests of the system. "

Submission + - 7 IT Mistakes That Will Get You Fired

Submitted by snydeq
snydeq writes: Dan Tynan offers seven true tales of IT pros who screwed up big and got fired quick. 'There are lots of reasons for instant termination. Failure to fulfill your obligation to protect your employer's digital assets or abusing your vast powers for your own nefarious ends are two sure ways to end up on the unemployment line. You could be fired for opening your mouth at the wrong time or not opening your mouth at the right one. Spying on the boss, lying to your superiors, or being directly responsible for the loss of millions of dollars in downtime through your own negligence are all excellent ways to end up on the chopping block.' Got any you would like to share?

Submission + - Does creating new online accounts to replace old ones prevent online tracking?

Submitted by rjnagle
rjnagle writes: I'm concerned about the implications of storing personal data on FB, Gmail and other social media sites. I'm less worried about individual data than the accumulating mass of data which potentially be used against me (for targeted marketing, credit reporting and who knows what else?) One solution I'm considering is just to abandon individual accounts and start clean and new gmail/facebook accounts. So while Google/Doubleclick might possess lots of data about me from 2001-2012, from this point on, they only have a clean slate. Would this kind of solution address my privacy concerns? (assuming I remove cookies, change IP address before doing so etc). Or are an individual's profile by now so unique that simply creating a new gmail or Facebook account would fail to prevent these data collection agencies from figuring out who I am? Insights and tips are appreciated.

Submission + - Unlocked Firefox OS ZTE Open is Now Available on eBay for for $80

Submitted by SmartAboutThings
SmartAboutThings writes: We’ve been hearing quite a lot lately about the Firefox OS, but there are actually only a few Firefox OS phones launched on the market. ZTE Open is one of them and is actually the first Firefox OS phone for consumers. Even if Firefox OS has support from carriers all over the world, it’s pretty hard to sell devices in more locations across the world. To remedy that, ZTE is going to sell the Firefox OS Open phone on eBay for eighty dollars, which is actually ten dollars less than the launch price. A real great thing is that the handset will be off-contract and unlocked which means you will be able to use it on all mobile networks. ZTE didn’t mention when exactly the device will go on sale on eBay, the company just mentioning “soon”.

Submission + - NSA Lays Off SysAdmins To Reduce Security Risk (techweekeurope.co.uk)

Submitted by judgecorp
judgecorp writes: The NSA is taking an interesting route to reducing the risk of information leaking: It is laying off 90 percent of its systems administrators. The agency was already planning to automate the tasks carried out by a thousand admins — but has accelerated them sharply to reduce the number of people who, like Snowden, have access to classified material and the temptation to leak it.

Submission + - Ask Slashdot: Viable Alternative to Lavabit 1

Submitted by rizole
rizole writes: As we learnt earlier today, Lavabit, an encrypted email provider, was shut down by it's owner. Pointing a finger that the US Government he writes:

I would _strongly_ recommend against anyone trusting their private data to a company with physical ties to the United States.

What alternative email provider would you recommend Edward Snowden now gets an account with?

Submission + - How one software developer lived entirely on Android (networkworld.com)

Submitted by colinneagle
colinneagle writes: Bryan Lunduke took on another challenge recently, trying to conduct all of his daily work-related tasks (from writing to designing a comic to software development) exclusively on Android platforms. Surprisingly, it worked out pretty well.

The writing and design processes were pretty easy — Photoshop Touch and Google Drive on a Nexus 7 tablet. For software development, it got a little more tricky, involving a remote desktop, a virtual private server, and a mouse-and-keyboard connected to the Nexus. While he admits that using a remote desktop maybe considered cutting corners, he still gets to program on a mobile device, and that was the point in the first place.

Submission + - Ad Networks Lay Path to Million-Strong Browser Botnet (itworld.com)

Submitted by jfruh
jfruh writes: Every day, millions of computers run unvetted, sketchy code in the form of the JavaScript that ad networks send to publishers. Usually, that code just puts an advertiser's banner ad on a web page. But since ad networks and publishers almost never check the code for malicious properties, it can become an attack vector as well. A recent presentation at the Black Hat conference showed how ad networks could be used as unwitting middlemen to create huge, cheap botnets.

Submission + - Talent For Tech Is Different Than Skill

Submitted by snydeq
snydeq writes: Taming technology is sometimes more art than science, but the difference can sometimes be hard to discern, writes Deep End's Paul Venezia. 'You've probably come across colleagues who were extremely skilled at their jobs — system administrators who can bend a zsh shell to their every whim, or developers who can write lengthy functions that compile without a whimper the first time. You've probably also come across colleagues who were extremely talented — who could instantly visualize a new infrastructure addition and sketch it out to extreme detail on a whiteboard while they assembled it in their head, for example, or who could devise a new, elegant UI without breaking a sweat. The truly gifted among us exhibit both of those traits, but most fall into one category or another. There is a difference between skill and talent. Such is true in many vocations, of course, but IT can present a stark contrast between the two.'

Submission + - Remember the CS Past or Be Condemned to Repeat It? 1

Submitted by theodp
theodp writes: In the movie Groundhog Day, a weatherman finds himself living the same day over and over again. It's a tale that software-designers-of-a-certain-age can relate to. Like Philip Greenspun, who wrote in 1999, "One of the most painful things in our culture is to watch other people repeat earlier mistakes. We're not fond of Bill Gates, but it still hurts to see Microsoft struggle with problems that IBM solved in the 1960s." Or Dave Winer, who recently observed, 'We marvel that the runtime environment of the web browser can do things that we had working 25 years ago on the Mac.' And then there's Scott Locklin, who argues in a new essay that one of the problems with modern computer technology is that programmers don’t learn from the great masters. "There is such a thing as a Beethoven or Mozart of software design," Locklin writes. "Modern programmers seem more familiar with Lady Gaga. It’s not just a matter of taste and an appreciation for genius. It’s a matter of forgetting important things." Hey, maybe it's hard to learn from computer history when people don't acknowledge the existence someone old enough to have lived it, as panelists reportedly did at an event held by Mark Zuckerberg's FWD.us last Friday!

Submission + - What Your Metadata Tells The NSA (And Everyone Else) (itworld.com)

Submitted by jfruh
jfruh writes: "Metadata" has been the buzzword of the moment since Edward Snowden's leaks revealed the extent of NSA spying on Americans and others. It's the "meta" part, says the government, that ensures that the spooks can look for bad guys without really invading our privacy. So: what does the metadata that we all generate by the gigabyte actually say? And what have private companies been doing with it for years?

Submission + - ASCAP petitions FCC to deny Pandora's purchase of Radio Station

Submitted by chipperdog
chipperdog writes: NorthPine.com reports: "ASCAP is firing back against Pandora Radio's attempt to get lower music royalty rates by buying a terrestrial radio station, "Hits 102.7" (KXMZ Box Elder-Rapid City). In a petition to deny, ASCAP alleges "Pandora has failed to fully disclose its ownership, and to adequately demonstrate that it complies with the Commission’s foreign ownership rules." ASCAP also alleges that Pandora has no intention of operating KXMZ to serve the public interest, but is rather only interested in obtaining lower royalty rates. Pandora reached a deal to buy KXMZ from Connoisseur Media for $600,000 earlier this year and is already running the station through a local marketing agreement.
Android

Submission + - Android Hackers Honing Skills in Russia (csoonline.com)

Submitted by
MikeatWired
MikeatWired writes: "The malware business growing around Google Android — now the leading smartphone operating system — is still in its infancy. Today, many of the apps built to steal money from Android users originate from Russia and China, so criminal gangs there have become cyber-trailblazers. Sophos and Symantec on Wednesday released their latest Android malware discoveries written in Russian. While the language narrows the number of potential victims, the social-engineering tactics used to get Android users to install the malware is universal. The gang tracked by Sophos is using fake antivirus scanners, while Symantec is tracking cybercriminals using mobile websites to offer bogus versions of popular games. Sophos says the criminals are like other entrepreneurs launching startups. They're starting in Russia, but have far greater ambitions. 'I don't think we can say that they're necessarily using it as a testing ground — think of it more as a local business that as it grows may gain multinational ambitions,' Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos, said in an email interview on Wednesday. The cyber scam tracked by Sophos was reported this week by GFI Lab, which discovered links to the bogus antivirus software on Twitter. Sophos dug deeper and found that the .ru domains pointed to the same Internet protocol address hosted in Ukraine."
Games

Submission + - Top Five Reasons Sonic The Hedgehog Will Never Beat Mario (modojo.com)

Submitted by
buffdaily247
buffdaily247 writes: "Playing video games in the 90s meant choosing a side in the vicious war between Sega and Nintendo; that is, unless you were a Neo Geo snob. Not only did this extend to consoles, but also both publishers' mascots, Sega with its speedy Sonic the Hedgehog, and Nintendo with its portly plumber, Mario. Thing is, the winner wasn't so clear cut in those days, especially with each character starring in critically acclaimed adventures. There was no denying the quality of Sonic 1-3, along with the mind-blowing Sonic & Knuckles. Meanwhile, Mario held his own with Super Mario World, Super Mario 64 and Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. You could literally make a case to why one character was better than the other and come out the victor."

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Thus spake the master programmer: "After three days without programming, life becomes meaningless." -- Geoffrey James, "The Tao of Programming"

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