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Java

Submission + - New Java Exploit on Sale for $5,000 (ibtimes.co.uk)

Submitted by
DavidGilbert99
DavidGilbert99 writes: "Another day, another Java zero-day vulnerability is uncovered. Any it's already been exploited with the exploit put up for sale by the administrator of an exclusive underground forum for the paltry sum of $5,000.

Coming just days after Oracle patched the last zero-day vulnerability, it signifies the scope of the problem facing Oracle and unless something happens and soon, they could be facing a huge catastrophe."
China

Submission + - Audit Reveals Developer Outsourced His Job To China (net-security.org)

Submitted by
Orome1
Orome1 writes: "Log analysis can reveal a lot of security mistakes and fails, but a lot of security sins, too. Take for example the incident recently shared by Verizon's Risk Team: called in by a critical infrastructure company to investigate what seemed to be a breach of its networks by the hands of Chinese-based hackers, they ended up discovering a complex scam perpetrated by one of the company's most respected employees. The employee, Bob, spent less that one fifth of his six-figure salary for a Chinese firm to do his job for him. Authentication was no problem, he physically FedExed his RSA token to China so that the third-party contractor could log-in under his credentials during the workday. It would appear that he was working an average 9 to 5 work day."
Displays

Submission + - Touchscreen Laptops, Whether You Like Them Or Not (cnet.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: With CES all wrapped up, an article at CNET discusses a definite trend in the laptops on display from various manufacturers this year: touchscreens. Intel and Microsoft are leading the way, and attempting to grab the industry's reins as well: 'just to make sure the touch message was crystal clear, Intel issued an edict to PC partners during its CES keynote: all next-generation ultrabooks based on its "Haswell" chip must be touch.' With tablets and detachable/convertible computers computers coming into the mainstream, it seems the manufacturers have something to gain by condensing their production options. The article says, 'What does that mean to consumers? Your next laptop will likely be touch, whether you like it or not.'
Patents

USPTO Asks For Input On Software Patents 209

Posted by Soulskill from the first-step-is-admitting-you-have-a-problem dept.
New submitter MouseTheLuckyDog writes "The patent office is reviewing its policy on software patents and is asking for feedback (PDF). Groklaw reports that the USPTO will be hosting a pair of roundtable sessions in February, during which the public will have the ability to attend and put forth their viewpoints. From the article: 'It's obvious the USPTO realizes there is serious unhappiness among software developers, and they'd like to improve things. Software developers are the folks most immediately and directly affected by the software patents the USPTO issues, and it's getting to the point that no one can code anything without potentially getting sued. I don't wish to be cynical, though, as that's a useless thing. So maybe we should look at it as an opportunity to at least be heard. It's progress that they even thought about having a dialogue with developers, if you look at it that way.' If you can make it to Silicon Valley on February 12 or New York City on February 27, go and make your voice heard."
China

Submission + - China's 2nd Stealth Fighter Takes Flight: Is it For Sale? (thediplomat.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: China's 2nd stealth jet, the J-21 or designated as the F-60, took flight recently. The jet is China's second 5th generation fighter, of a similar style to America's F-22 or F-35. While little is know of the plane there are many questions that are being asked. Could the plane be for export? Can it compete with America's best stealth fighters that have some serious mechanical and cost issues? If China can sell the plane at a cheaper price and actually make it work correctly, it could have a winner on its hands
Patents

Submission + - Cisco CEO Blasts Patent Trolls and Patent Abuse (techdirt.com)

Submitted by AlphaWolf_HK
AlphaWolf_HK writes: At the recent Gartner Symposium Expo, Cisco CEO John Chambers had a few words to say about patent trolls: "It is a mess; There are patent trolls everywhere," said Chambers, noting that patent problems impose huge costs on every company. He didn't stop there though, he also suggested that companies stop suing their peers. Speaking to the audience, he said for "his peers" in the room, "you shouldn't be suing your peers." He also adds that patent litigation slows down innovation. He recommends throwing out the whole patent system, and starting from the beginning. Cisco's official stance (outside of John Chambers) is that we are really in need of patent reform, with specific ideas at eliminating patent trolls and patent shopping.

Also of interest, is Cisco's ongoing patent war with Tivo, (who many argue is also a patent abuser) by fighting Tivo's patents with their own patents, a la Samsung vs Apple.
The Military

Submission + - Targeting the President's DNA 2

Submitted by
Hugh Pickens writes
Hugh Pickens writes writes: "The Atlantic reports that experts in genetics and microbiology are convinced we may be only a few years away from the development of advanced, genetic bio-weapons able to target a single human being based on their DNA. The authors paint a scenario of the development of a virus that causes only mild flu in the general population but when the virus crosses paths with cells containing a very specific DNA sequence, the sequence would act as a molecular key to unlock secondary functions that would trigger a fast-acting neuro-destructive disease that produces memory loss and, eventually, death. The requisite equipment including gene sequencers, micro-array scanners, and mass spectrometers now cost over $1 million but on eBay, it can be had for as little as $10,000. According to Ronald Kessler, the author of the 2009 book In the President’s Secret Service, Navy stewards gather bedsheets, drinking glasses, and other objects the president has touched—they are later sanitized or destroyed—in an effort to keep would-be malefactors from obtaining his genetic material. However no amount of Secret Service vigilance can ever fully secure the president’s DNA, because an entire genetic blueprint can now be produced from the information within just a single cell. How to protect the President? The authors propose open-sourcing the president’s genetic information to a select group of security-cleared researchers who could follow in the footsteps of the computer sciences, where “red-team exercises,” are extremely common practices so a similar testing environment could be developed for biological war games. "Advances in biotechnology are radically changing the scientific landscape. We are entering a world where imagination is the only brake on biology," write the authors. "In light of this coming synbio revolution, a wider-ranging relationship between scientists and security organizations—one defined by open exchange, continual collaboration, and crowd-sourced defenses—may prove the only way to protect the president.""
IOS

Submission + - iOS6 allows "Meeting Hijacking" via Exchange Server (technet.com)

Submitted by dcsmith
dcsmith writes: Meeting hijacking is the intentional or unintentional changing of the ownership of a meeting (in this case, in MS Exchange). The new owner can modify or delete the meeting in ways that an attendee or invitee should not be able to.

Apparently the latest update to iOS6 increases the likelihood that an iPad/iPod user can hijack a meeting to which they have been invited.

With the recent release of iOS6, we have noticed a marked increase in support calls due to meetings having the owner of the meeting changed (sometimes called “meeting hijacking”).

Among Microsoft's recommended work arounds;

Block iOS 6 devices — Exchange server comes with the Allow/Block/Quarantine functionality that enables admins to block any device or user.

Tell users not to upgrade to iOS 6 or to downgrade their devices – This solution may work as a temporary fix until Apple provides a fix but many users may have already made the decision to update.
Programming

Submission + - Adapteva Parallella computer even more open as funding campaign nears its end (kickstarter.com) 2

Submitted by LoneTech
LoneTech writes: The Parallella massively multicore computer has been previously mentioned on slashdot, but as the kickstarter campaign nears its end more details have come to light. In particular, the glue logic and CPU are provided by a Zynq FPGA (a reprogrammable logic chip) with gratis development tools — already used in the prototype, but that board costs three or four times as much without the multiprocessor attachment. For the main feature, the Epiphany multiprocessor, much documentation is already public and the development tools are free software (yes, as in libre). Another distinguishing feature is its footprint — not much larger than a credit card, the entire board draws only 5W.

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