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Submission + - Hackers Paying Attention to Microsoft EMET Bypasses (threatpost.com)

Submitted by msm1267
msm1267 writes: Exploits bypassing Microsoft’s Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit, or EMET, are quickly becoming a parlor game for security researchers. With increasing frequency, white hats are poking holes in EMET, and to its credit, Microsoft has been quick to not only address those issues but challenge and reward researchers who successfully submit bypasses to its bounty program.

The tide may be turning, however, if the latest Internet Explorer zero day is any indication. An exploit used as part of the Operation SnowMan espionage campaign against U.S. military targets contained a feature that checked whether an EMET library was running on the compromised host, and if so, the attack would not execute.

That’s not the same as an in-the-wild exploit for EMET, but that may not be too far down the road, especially when you take into consideration two important factors: Microsoft continues to market EMET as an effective and temporary zero-day mitigation until a patch is released; and the impending end-of-life of Windows XP in three days could spark a surge in EMET installations as a stopgap.

Submission + - Researchers Discover Einstein's 'Lost' Model Of the Universe

Submitted by Hugh Pickens DOT Com
Hugh Pickens DOT Com writes: Dick Ahlstrom reports that Irish researchers have discovered a previously unknown model of the universe written in 1931 by physicist Albert Einstein that had been misfiled and effectively “lost” until its discovery last August while researchers been searching through a collection of Einstein’s papers put online by the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. “I was looking through drafts, but then slowly realised it was a draft of something very different,” says Dr O’Raifeartaigh. “I nearly fell off my chair. It was hidden in perfect plain sight. This particular manuscript was misfiled as a draft of something else.” In his paper, radically different from his previously known models of the universe, Einstein speculated the expanding universe could remain unchanged and in a “ steady state” because new matter was being continuously created from space. “It is what Einstein is attempting to do that would surprise most historians, because nobody had known this idea. It was later proposed by Fred Hoyle in 1948 and became controversial in the 1950s, the steady state model of the cosmos,” says O’Raifeartaigh. Hoyle argued that space could be expanding eternally and keeping a roughly constant density. It could do this by continually adding new matter, with elementary particles spontaneously popping up from space. Particles would then coalesce to form galaxies and stars, and these would appear at just the right rate to take up the extra room created by the expansion of space. Hoyle’s Universe was always infinite, so its size did not change as it expanded. It was in a ‘steady state’. “This finding confirms that Hoyle was not a crank,” says Simon Mitton. “If only Hoyle had known, he would certainly have used it to punch his opponents." Although Hoyle’s model was eventually ruled out by astronomical observations, it was at least mathematically consistent, tweaking the equations of Einstein’s general theory of relativity to provide a possible mechanism for the spontaneous generation of matter. The fact that Einstein experimented with the steady-state concept demonstrates Einstein's continued resistance to the idea of a Big Bang, which he at first found “abominable”, even though other theoreticians had shown it to be a natural consequence of his general theory of relativity.

Submission + - Ask Slashdot: Does your employer perform HTTPS MITM attacks on employees? 1

Submitted by Matt.Battey
Matt.Battey writes: I was recently on-site with a client and in the execution of my duties there, I needed to access web sites like Google Maps and my company's VPN. The VPN connection was rejected (which tends to be common, even though it's an HTTPS based VPN service). However, when I went to Google Maps I received a certificate error. It turns out that the client is intercepting all HTTPS traffic on the way out the door and re-issuing an internally generated certificate for the site. My client's employees don't notice because their computers all have the internal CA pushed out via Windows Group Policy & log-on scripts.

In essence, my client performs a Man-In-The-Middle attack on all of their employees, interrupting HTTPS communications via a network coordinated reverse-proxy with false certificate generation. My assumption is that the client logs all HTTPS traffic this way, capturing banking records, passwords, and similar data on their employees.

My question: How common is it for employers to perform MITM attacks on their own employees?

Comment Re:I had something similar as a kid (Score 1) 231

by ripvlan (#46408179) Attached to: Teaching Calculus To 5-Year-Olds

Yes - Calculus can be taught visually, that's how my father taught it to me. I was a wiz at geometry, I can bisect lines and draw tangents in my mind.

Here's what I didn't understand though....what does the area under the curve have to do with anything? The line on graph paper was a line - what value was the area? To me the line was continuous - it didn't end, it was a function - so how could the area have bounds?

When I was given min-max problems in College the area/vol was always something concrete (e.g. land size, a rectangle, or a water bottle). I had a difficult time with Calc in college because I just couldn't relate these "areas under the curve" to anything real. I could do the mechanics (integrate, derivatives etc) and understood acceleration/speed. It wasn't until I was older that some of these area/volumes started to make sense (What is "work?" :-D )

My suggestion - I can't be alone in this problem - is to relate these areas to things. Answer the question: why is the area equal/equivalent/describe X ?. I had to take it on faith - my Dad said so. Can this be shown or described and be shown to "be really the answer" -- Why is it that?! A bit more concrete evidence that this is true.

I may not be an abstract thinker in math. This is why I program computers ;-)

Submission + - A vast surveillance network runs across America, powered by repo men (betaboston.com)

Submitted by v3rgEz
v3rgEz writes: Even as some police departments curtail their sue of license plate scanning technology over privacy concerns, private companies have been amassing a much larger, almost completely unregulated database that pulls in billions of scans a year, marking the exact time and location of millions of vehicles across America. The database, which is often offered to law enforcement for free, is collected by repo and towing companies eager to tap easy revenue, while the database companies than resell that data, often for as little as $25 for a plate's complete recorded history.

Submission + - Is This The Rumored AWD Tesla Model S?

Submitted by cartechboy
cartechboy writes: Tesla is already on the record saying an all-wheel-drive version of the Model S electric car is coming, and soon. That car will share its drive system with the upcoming Model X crossover, based on the Model S platform. But now prototypes have been spotted with some mysterious testing equipment. Notably, two prototypes appear to ride slightly higher than a standard Model S. Tesla's said the all-wheel-drive system in the Model S will be "an efficiency-neutral option," which means it won't reduce the car's rated electric range. Or is this a Model X "mule," given its heavy roof rack? Or some kind of autonomous Model S prototype? Whatever the answer, Tesla's up to something...

Submission + - Meetup.com under DDOS after refusing to pay $300 ransom.

Submitted by realized
realized writes: Social media site Meetup.com is currently fighting off a DDOS attack after the company refused to pay a $300 ransom to not go through with the attack.

According to reports, the company's CEO, Scott Heiferman, got an email that said “A competitor asked me to perform a DDoS attack on your website. I can stop the attack for $300 USD. Let me know if you are interested in my offer”.

Before Heiferman finished reading the email the company started getting attacked.

The attack has been going on since last Thursday.

More information can be found on meetup’s official blog

Comment Re:Still should be hands free (Score 1) 142

by ripvlan (#46369597) Attached to: Using Handheld Phone GPS While Driving Is Legal In California

Handsfree does not lead to less-distraction. The very conversation, hands-free or not, is still a problem. How much of a problem? I don't understand yet.

Most states that I've traveled are hands-free. Although a few are anti-texting only. Fewer yet have no restrictions. I haven't seen any that restrict usage in all-forms (except for specific classes of drivers, such as young/new).

Personally - it's the pushing of "buttons" that causes me pain. Using Google maps on my iPhone is a PITA (finding the "start route" button generally is hard). When hands-free I use Siri and Apple maps (for good or bad) - or having to Unlock the damn thing to make a modification (Siri, stop route, "sorry Dave, I can't do that") I bring my Garmin GPS with me whenever possible as it has the best UI - purpose built for in-car use (actually - navigation in general). I only use my phone for looking around or finding something very specific [planning phase]... then plug it into my Garmin and go. Plus, I tend to find myself in No-signal zones a lot. And of course - Siri has failed me multiple times with bogus routes or wrong address locations (arggg, sorry - breathe, breathe, take a slow breath)

NY has a rule that the driver may not operate a hand-held phone (although observationally few adhere to the law). When I went to CA last week the airport announcement was that CA restricts using any device that was not *specifically designed* for hands-free operation (or in car use?). I just remember the Specifically Designed statement.

VT has an anti-texting law (after a spate of joggers being run down & killed by folks texting and driving). Although they are currently considering upgrading that to hands-free because the Police have said that they can't tell if people are texting or dialing their phone, or using some GPS app. It all looks the same to them so enforcement is complicated. People under a certain age (17?) already may not use a cell phone at anytime in any manner while driving.

And WI or MI has restrictions on where the GPS unit may be mounted (must be mounted on the dash - not on the glass, I assume to keep it low in the field of vision). I can't remember which state - I just know that it caused me to buy a dash-mount for my GPS.

My null position is that I assume every state has a hands-free rule. Keeping with the spirit that Distracted is distracted. But commanding my phone to do my bidding seems like a fair risk to take.

Comment Re:Still should be hands free (Score 1) 142

by ripvlan (#46369215) Attached to: Using Handheld Phone GPS While Driving Is Legal In California

So very inconsistent. I drove cross country a few years ago. My GPS came with a suction-cup window mount, and for a variety of reasons I also purchased a dash-mount. Good thing because one upper-mid-west state requires dash mount. They had a big sign as I crossed the border announcing that requirement along with their cell-phone rules. I think I Googled something like "GPS mounting laws" while prepping for my trip.

I now travel on business and bring the dash-mount with me everywhere I go because of that one restriction. Plus some rental car windshields are too short to use the suction-cup (angle too great) - such that the GPS hits the dash - or I have to place the suction-cup so high that it blocks my view.

Nobody stopped me in CA last week - I put the dashmount right in the middle of the dash above the radio.

Submission + - IE Vulnerability Exposing Banking Logins, Spreading Rapidly (itworld.com)

Submitted by jfruh
jfruh writes: A vulnerability in Internet Explorer 9 and 10 that allows attackers to target banking login info, first reported on February 13, is being exploited in the wild, and attacks are spreading rapidly. Sites compromised by the malware run the gamut from U.S. Veterans of Foreign Wars site, to a site frequented by French military contractors, to a Japanese dating site. Microsoft has released a "fix-it tool" but not a regular patch.

Submission + - Court Rules Off-The-Grid Living Is Illegal (offthegridnews.com)

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: Living off the grid is illegal in Cape Coral, Florida, according to a court ruling Thursday.

Special Magistrate Harold S. Eskin ruled that the city’s codes allow Robin Speronis to live without utility power but she is still required to hook her home to the city’s water system. Her alternative source of power must be approved by the city, Eskin said.

At the hearing, Eskin noted that city officials have not actually been in Speronis’s home to make that determination.

The International Property Maintenance Code is used in communities throughout the United States and Canada. The code states that properties are unsafe to live in if they do not have electricity and running water. Speronis has electricity and water. She gets running water by collecting rainwater and electricity from solar panels.

Submission + - Scientists demonstrate first contagious airborne WiFi virus (scienceblog.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Researchers at the University of Liverpool have shown for the first time that WiFi networks can be infected with a virus that can move through densely populated areas as efficiently as the common cold spreads between humans. The team designed and simulated an attack by a virus, called "Chameleon" that could not only spread quickly between homes and businesses, but avoided detection and identified the points at which WiFi access is least protected by encryption and passwords. The research appears in EURASIP Journal on Information Security.

Submission + - Federal wood burning rule prompts rural backlash (wsj.com)

Submitted by SonicSpike
SonicSpike writes: This is a follow-up to what was previously reported here on SlashDot: http://news.slashdot.org/story...

________________

A federal proposal to clean up the smoke wafting from wood-burning stoves has sparked a backlash from some rural residents, lawmakers and manufacturers who fear it could close the damper on one of the oldest ways of warming homes on cold winter days.

Proposed regulations from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency would significantly reduce the amount of particle pollution allowed from the smokestacks of new residential wood-powered heaters.

Wood-burning stoves are a staple in rural homes in many states, a cheap heating source for low-income residents and others wanting to lessen their reliance on gas or electric furnaces. Outdoor models often cost several thousand dollars, but indoor stoves can cost as little as a few hundred dollars and sometimes double as fashionable centerpieces in homes.

Some manufacturers contend the EPA's proposed standards are so stringent that the higher production costs would either force them out of business or raise prices so high that many consumers could no longer afford their products.

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