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Submission + - HummingBad Malware infects 10_ Million Android Devices (techrepublic.com)

Submitted by wbr1
wbr1 writes: Reports are surfacing about a relatively new Android adware/malware called HummingBad. It apparently is mostly in China and India, but up to 288k devices in the US. http://www.techrepublic.com/ar...
It works by rooting and installing apps for ads and reporting to the chinese company behind it. In reading several sites, I have come across no solid info on the infection vector. It may be that this is overblown and coming in on preinstalled and (purposely) poorly secured inexpensive Chinese devices, but not really an active infection threat on mainstream devices. Does anyone know for sure?

Submission + - Bats Welcomed to Long Island

Submitted by HughPickens.com
HughPickens.com writes: Arielle Dollinger writes at the NYT that the town of North Hempstead on Long Island has approved the construction of bat houses in several parks to attract more bats to the area because despite their less-than-desirable reputation, bats possess a remarkable ability to control insects especially disease-carrying mosquitoes. “Bats can eat up to 1,000 mosquitoes per hour,” says Judi Bosworth. “That’s extraordinary. A pesticide couldn’t do that.” As mosquito season heats up, bringing with it the threat of the West Nile and Zika viruses, the bats make very welcome neighbors. Aedes albopictus, known as the Asian tiger mosquito, is found on Long Island and is capable of transmitting Zika in a laboratory setting and as of October, 490 cases of West Nile and 37 deaths resulting from it have been recorded in New York since 2000. The myths surrounding bats have long shaped public perception of the night creatures. “I grew up and I always heard, you know, these old wives’ tales, that bats will swoop down on your head and get tangled in your hair,” says Bosworth. “Bats really have been very maligned.”

Submission + - Judge rules No-Fly list unconstitutional

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: A federal judge ruled last week that the method by which the federal government places people on the no-fly list is inherently unconstitutional, and must either be changed, or cease.

Specifically, U.S. District Judge Anna Brown said the process doesn’t give Americans on the list an effective way to challenge their inclusion. The Oregonian reports: “In a 65-page opinion issued Tuesday Brown ordered the government to come up with a new way for the 13 plaintiffs to contest their inclusion on the list that prohibits them from flying in or through U.S. airspace. The government must provide notice to the plaintiffs that they are on the roster and give the reasons for their inclusion, Brown wrote. She also ordered that the government allow the plaintiffs to submit evidence to refute the government’s suspicions.

“The decision marks a big win for the plaintiffs, all U.S. citizens or permanent residents, and the American Civil Liberties Union, which argued the case on their behalf. The plaintiffs have all been denied boarding due to their placement on the list, they argue, despite never having been charged with a terrorism-related offense.”

Submission + - SCOTUS says warrant required for DUI blood test (ap.org)

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: The Supreme Court on Thursday placed new limits on state laws that make it a crime for motorists suspected of drunken driving to refuse alcohol tests.

The justices ruled that police must obtain a search warrant before requiring drivers to take blood alcohol tests, but not breath tests, which the court considers less intrusive.

Submission + - Why Are Hackers Increasingly Targeting The Healthcare Industry? (helpnetsecurity.com)

Submitted by Orome1
Orome1 writes: Cyber-attacks in the healthcare environment are on the rise, with recent research suggesting that critical healthcare systems could be vulnerable to attack. Cybercriminals have found medical data to be far more valuable than credit card fraud or other online scams. This is because medical information contains everything from a patient’s medical history to their medical prescriptions, and hackers are able to access this data via network-connected medical devices, now standard in hi-tech hospitals. This is opening up new possibilities for attackers to breach a hospital or a pharmaceutical company’s perimeter defences. If a device is connected to the internet and left vulnerable to attack, an attacker could remotely connect to it and use it as gateways for attacking network security.

Submission + - U.S. Financial Regulators See Bitcoin As Threat To Market Stability

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), a group of powerful U.S. regulators, has warned that Bitcoin and blockchain technologies could present a threat to financial stability and has advised that market structures should adapt in preparation for a reduced importance of conventional, centralized banking. The group highlighted in its annual report that distributed ledger systems would lead to uncertainty and risks which should be closely monitored by market participants and regulatory bodies. The report explained: ‘Market participants have limited experience working with distributed ledger systems, and it is possible that operational vulnerabilities associated with such systems may not become apparent until they are deployed at scale.’

Submission + - Appeals court slams record companies on DMCA in Vimeo case

Submitted by NewYorkCountryLawyer
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes: In the long-simmering appeal in Capitol Records v. Vimeo, the US Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit upheld Vimeo's positions on many points regarding the Digital Millenium Copyright Act. In its 55 page decision (PDF) the Court ruled that (a) the Copyright Office was dead wrong in concluding that pre-1972 sound recordings aren't covered by the DMCA, (b) the judge was wrong to think that Vimeo employees' merely viewing infringing videos was sufficient evidence of "red flag knowledge", and (c) a few sporadic instances of employees being cavalier about copyright law did not amount to a "policy of willful blindness" on the part of the company. The Court seemed to take particular pleasure in eviscerating the Copyright Office's rationales. Amicus curiae briefs in support of Vimeo had been submitted by a host of companies and organizations including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Computer & Communications Industry Association, Public Knowledge, Google, Yahoo!, Facebook, Microsoft, Pinterest, Tumblr, and Twitter.

Submission + - Student sues police for fine after refusing Breathalyzer

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: A Michigan high school student who was fined when she refused to take a Breathalyzer test — even though she was only a passenger in the vehicle — has filed a federal lawsuit claiming her constitutional right to be free from unreasonable searches was violated.

The law violates Guthrie’s Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches, her Detroit lawyer told NBC News. “Her rights were violated when she was forced to submit to Breathalyzer to prove her innocence,” attorney Mike Rataj said. “That is not how the criminal justice system works. This is a girl who has never been in trouble before and has no criminal history.”

It can be argued that a driver has made a deal with the state, which provides roads and regulates their safe use, and must submit. She however was merely a passenger, and thus any search of her body really does require a warrant, as per the Bill of Rights.

Submission + - The DOT wants to know where you are 1

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: What could go wrong? The DOT has proposed that all new cars be required to broadcast their location and speed.

They claim that this data could be used to provide drivers with a warning if their vehicle might be getting too close to another vehicle. It will also be necessary to make driverless cars more reliable.

I wonder what other uses this information could have.

Submission + - Senator wants all US cops to wear video cameras (arstechnica.com)

Submitted by mpicpp
mpicpp writes: Ferguson teen's shooting death may dramatically expand the surveillance society.

Claire McCaskill, the Democratic senator from Missouri, says police departments nationwide should require their officers to wear body cameras in order to qualify for the hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding they receive each year.

McCaskill's comments come in the wake of the Ferguson, Missouri, shooting death of Michael Brown and is one of a myriad of calls in the episode's aftermath for police officers to wear video cams.

"Everywhere I go, people now have cameras," McCaskill said Tuesday during a question-and-answer session with voters in her home state. "And police officers are now at a disadvantage because someone can tape the last part of an encounter and not tape the first part of the encounter. And it gives the impression that the police officer has overreacted when they haven't."

The lawmaker did not offer legislation to support her words.

McCaskill, however, is not alone in her thinking. Last week, an online petition asking the White House to require all police departments to wear lapel cameras hit 100,000 signatures. The Obama administration has promised to publicly address petitions reaching 100,000 signatures.

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