34518405
submission
PatPending writes:
Anytime, anywhere: co-workers, strangers, and others are using their smart phones to secretly take your photograph, record your conversations, and record videos to potentially be used against you. What can one do to protect one's right to privacy in the face of technology? (Aside from never leaving your mom's basement.)
34319567
submission
PatPending writes:
FTA:
The technology was originally developed to track missiles. Now, SportVU systems hang from the catwalks of 10 NBA arenas, tiny webcams that silently track each player as they shoot, pass, and run across the court, recording each and every move.
Their system captures the X/Y coordinates of all the players and refs--along with the X/Y/Z (3-D) coordinates of the ball--25 times every second (or 72,000 times a game). Algorithms take into account all sorts of variables to keep the system accurate, from the lines on the court to the reflections of flashing billboards. Another layer of software at a central server puts this raw data together into something meaningful. Information as specific as player ball touches and dribbles can be calculated within 60 seconds of being spotted by SportVU cams. Stats can generate these values in simple, automated reports.
On one hand, deeper data seems inevitable--and no one is disagreeing that SportVU has incredible potential with deep data--on the other, with no teams all that interested in sharing how they’re potentially innovating with that data, it’s making his job no easier. “I know for a fact some of those teams are using it quite a bit. They don’t tell me exactly what they’re doing with it. Some teams are fairly open and they ask for our help. Others are very secretive,” Kopp says. “Because, for a while, it is all about how you’re using it. Once they figure out something they think is meaningful, they don’t want anyone to get a whiff of it.”
34166887
submission
PatPending writes:
FTA:
Frustrated by their inability to stop sophisticated hacking attacks or use the law to punish their assailants, an increasing number of U.S. companies are taking retaliatory action.
Known in the cyber security industry as "active defense" or "strike-back" technology, the reprisals range from modest steps to distract and delay a hacker to more controversial measures. Security experts say they even know of some cases where companies have taken action that could violate laws in the United States or other countries, such as hiring contractors to hack the assailant's own systems.
Other security experts say a more aggressive posture is unlikely to have a significant impact in the near term in the overall fight against cybercriminals and Internet espionage. Veteran government and private officials warn that much of the activity is too risky to make sense, citing the chances for escalation and collateral damage.
31723737
submission
PatPending writes:
FTA: "Internet users are being asked to read random property numbers snapped by Google's Street View cameras, as part of new security checks.
The tests weed out "bots" by ensuring that users are human. But Google has been accused of exploiting the data submitted in by the public for commercial gain — by adding the information to its own mapping system.
Campaign groups said that the use of pictures of real house numbers presents “serious” security issues, and accused the internet company of being “underhand and crude”."
31103469
submission
PatPending writes:
Summary: Adobe just released a critical Flash Player security update. Good news: it includes a new automatic updater for Windows. Bad news: Adobe’s download page pushes a misleading “system optimizer” designed to scare users into paying for unneeded repairs.
A video of the entire process (approximately 10 minutes) is here.
This year alone, three Flash Player security updates have been issued by Adobe: one on February 15, one on March 5, and one on March 28.
30762983
submission
PatPending writes:
Oh, no: please disregard my prior submission due to this UPDATE: "Update: Shortly after this article was published we learned that the order in question has been vacated.
It turns out that the order was drafted by a defense attorney and Judge Schumacher apparently signed it by mistake, assuming all parties agreed on it. This is bad news for the defendants and means that the mass-BitTorrent lawsuits in Florida state courts are very much alive for now."
30762829
submission
PatPending writes:
FTA: "Miami Judge Marc Schumacher has issued a landmark order in which he protects accused BitTorrent downloaders from mass-lawsuits filed by copyright holders. One of the main arguments of the judge is that these “fishing expeditions” violate BitTorrent users’ right to anonymous speech, which is protected by the constitution. The order effectively kills all BitTorrent lawsuits in Florida state courts."
30156057
submission
PatPending writes:
From the article: "Combine the realities of multimedia file size and a blazing fast connection that allows transfer of said files at unprecedented speeds, and you have a recipe for potentially expensive disaster. One careless download of a 1080p high-definition movie from the iTunes Store over 4G could eat up your entire monthly plan and then some. In fact, if you could achieve download speeds at the theoretical maximum 72Mbps of LTE, you could blow through a 5GB plan in just under 10 minutes, and Verizon's largest 10GB tier in about 20. Real-world speeds of course are actually going to be somewhat lower, but we're still talking about the potential to obliterate your entire expensive monthly data plan in much less than a single day."
29976499
submission
PatPending writes:
FTA: "The RetroShare network allows people to create a private and encrypted file-sharing network. Users add friends by exchanging PGP certificates with people they trust. All the communication is encrypted using OpenSSL and files that are downloaded from strangers always go through a trusted friend.
In other words, it’s a true Darknet and virtually impossible to monitor by outsiders.
RetroShare founder DrBob told us that while the software has been around since 2006, all of a sudden there’s been a surge in downloads. “The interest in RetroShare has massively shot up over the last two months,” he said."
29845231
submission
PatPending writes:
LYON, France — Interpol has arrested 25 suspected members of the Anonymous hackers group in a swoop covering more than a dozen cities in Europe and Latin America, the global police body said Tuesday.
29840809
submission
PatPending writes:
From the "here we go again department:" Google has found itself on a collision course with European regulators after a provisional finding that its new privacy policy breaches European law.
Despite a fresh request from regulators to postpone the March 1 adoption of the new policy, the US search company gave no sign of backing down on Tuesday and reiterated its defense of its new approach to handling user data.
29819285
submission
PatPending writes:
A new effort under way at the world's largest museum and research institution could eventually mean more of its 137 million objects will be publicly available, even if just via 3D digital models. The only problem? They need more companies that, like RedEye On Demand, have the resources to help bring the efforts to fruition.
29818361
submission
PatPending writes:
This year at the CanSecWest security conference, Google will once again sponsor rewards for Google Chrome exploits. This complements and extends their Chromium Security Rewards program by recognizing that developing a fully functional exploit is significantly more work than finding and reporting a potential security bug.
29575665
submission
PatPending writes:
The Google X offices are working on a wearable computing device that is Android-based and will include a display positioned a few inches from the wearer's eyes. It will include 3G or 4G connection, motion sensor, GPS, and a relatively low-resolution camera.
"According to several Google employees familiar with the project who asked not to be named, the glasses will go on sale to the public by the end of the year. These people said they are expected “to cost around the price of current smartphones,” or $250 to $600."
19111554
submission
PatPending writes:
Manufacturers of smart phones shipped more devices than manufacturers of personal computers (sans tablet PCs) in the fourth quarter of 2010, according to research, making mobile devices as the computing platform of choice earlier than many industry-watchers had expected.
The growth in smart phones will continue to surge, analysts said, as the high-end models improve and the middle tier gets more affordable.
