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Submission + - We Will See Malware Attacks on Internet-Connected Cars, Expert Warns (ibtimes.co.uk)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The threat to internet-connected cars is no different to that of web browsers — only with much more serious consequences, warns API and data security expert.

Never had the worlds of motoring and technology been closer than when car manufacturers used the Consumer Electronics Show to announce a whole range of smart car features tapping into the Internet of Things, but rampant development could see major security concerns overlooked.

Speaking to IBTimes UK, Mark O'Neill, vice president of innovation at software company Axway, said: "I think we are going to see more malicious attacks [on connected vehicles]. If someone finds a vulnerability in an internet-enabled car you could have the same situation that you have now for browsers."

Submission + - Majority of Mac OS users not getting security updates

Submitted by AmiMoJo
AmiMoJo writes: According to security company Sophos around 55% of home users and 18% of enterprise users have updated to Mavericks, the latest version of Mac OS (10.9). Unfortunately Apple appears to have stopped providing security updates for older versions. Indeed, they list Mavericks itself as a security update. This means that the majority of users are no longer getting critical security patches. Sophos recommends taking similar precautions to those recommended for people who cannot upgrade from Windows XP.

Submission + - Man Jailed for Gmail Invite to Ex-Girlfriend

Submitted by Hugh Pickens DOT Com
Hugh Pickens DOT Com writes: ABC News reports that a Massachusetts man has been jailed for sending his ex-girlfriend an email invitation to join Google+. But Thomas Gagnon, who has a restraining order against him, contends he didn't send it; Google did, without his knowledge or consent. When his ex-girlfriend received the invitation, according to the Salem News, she went to the police, complaining Gagnon had violated the restraining order by sending her the email. Police agreed and arrested him, the News reported. He was jailed then released on $500 bail. Gagnon’s attorney says his client has no idea how the woman he once planned to marry — popping the question with a $4,000 ring earlier this month — got such an invitation, suggesting that it's entirely possible Gagnon is telling the truth — that he did not intentionally or knowingly send the invitation. "If he didn't send it — if Google sent it without his permission and he was jailed for it — Google could be facing major liability." Shear pointed out a Google product forum from 2011 and 2012 titled "Prevent automatic email invitations to Google+?" that contains a number of angry complaints by Google+ users about the automatic invitation feature. In response these complaints, a Google Community Manager calling herself "Natalie" responded: "Thanks for your feedback. Right now the emails that go out alert people of your activity on Google+, and more importantly the sharing of content with them. We send them an email when they aren't yet on Google+ so they know that you are out there in the world [of] G+. They should only incur this email once." Shear noted: "Google is going through every one of your contacts and sending them an invitation, whether it's your doctor, your lawyer, your mistress, or your ex-fiancee who's got a restraining order against you." He called this, "a perfect example of what happens when a company oversteps its bounds."

Submission + - Ask Slashdot: Why don't companies validate emails? (reddit.com)

Submitted by SirDrinksAlot
SirDrinksAlot writes: Why don't all companies validate emails? It seems like a pretty basic piece of security, especially if credit cards are involved. So this is a pretty big pet peeve of mine. I have a fairly plain GMail address which get's a lot of misdirected or typoed email. It's something I generally just deal with or try to deal with it appropriately. I may be wearing out the "Report Spam" button. However recently somebody got a shiny new Kindle for Christmas and they created a new Kindle/Amazon account with my email address. Amazon didn't validate the email address and let this person create an account and start making purchases. I tried to report this to Amazon Support but they were unreceptive that this was some kind of problem. I explained it's my email address and somebody else made an Amazon account using it and there's NO validation. The very next day I receive an email from Amazon saying GMail made the mistake and I should talk to them. I'm not sure how GMail is going to fix Amazon's accounts. After talking to 4 people and a manager my issue is unresolved.
I've explained that I can go into Amazon and hit the password reset button and own this account. Worse of all what if this person has a credit card on the account? There's a lot of damage somebody can do with the account in that case. Yet after a lot of attempts to solve the problem Amazon still insists it's not their problem.
The email from Amazon.ca

Unfortunately, this is an issue that will need to be resolved by Google. We would normally be able to temporarily disable your account in order to sort out the email issues, as these issues can be caused by typos on another person's side. However, as this is not an email typo issue, we will not be able to resolve this issue ourselves. Samantha L

How would my fellow Slashdotters solve this issue? There must be some terms of service preventing me from resetting and closing the account. Since this is my email address does that mean it's my account and COULD just close it?

Submission + - Scientists to observe seismic energy from Seahawks' '12th man' quakes (washington.edu)

Submitted by vinces99
vinces99 writes: University of Washington seismologists this week installed two strong-motion seismometers at CenturyLink Field in Seattle to augment an existing station in recording shaking from “earthquakes” expected on Saturday during the NFC divisional game between the Seattle Seahawks and New Orleans Saints. The Pacific Northwest Seismic Network is preparing a special website at www.pnsn.org/seahawks for the game to display seismograms from all three seismic stations in near-real time, and seismologists will also be available to explain interesting signals. Seismologists also will highlight interesting signals in tweets (@PNSN1) and on Facebook (thePNSN).

Seahawks fans, collectively known as “the 12th man,” have a well-known reputation for generating noise and shaking in the stadium during games. Perhaps the best-known example occurred on Jan. 8, 2011, during a 67-yard touchdown run by the Seahawks Marshawn Lynch that helped Seattle defeat New Orleans in an NFC Wild Card game. Scientists hope to record similar shaking during Saturday’s game to better understand how the stadium responds to the activity, and to measure the energy transmitted to the ground within the stadium and within the surrounding neighborhood. “Because the fault ruptures that generate earthquake waves are almost always buried by miles of rocks, scientists aren’t sure about the action at the source that results in seismic shaking. In a way, the Seahawks’ 12th man provides us an opportunity to get inside the source that’s generating seismic waves,” said seismic network operations manager Paul Bodin, a UW research associate professor of Earth and space sciences.

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