Martyn Williams
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Trump extends Obama executive order on cyberattacks
U.S. President Donald Trump is extending by one year special powers introduced by former President Barack Obama that allow the government to issue sanctions against people and organizations engaged in significant cyberattacks and cybercrime against the U.S.Executive Order 13694 was introduced on April 1, 2015, and was due to expire on Saturday, but the president sent a letter to Congress on Wednesday evening informing it of his plans to keep it active."Significant malicious cyber-enabled activities originating from, or directed by persons located, in whole or in substantial part, outside the United States, continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States," Trump wrote in the letter. "Therefore, I have determined that it is necessary to continue the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13694 with respect to significant malicious cyber-enabled activities."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Cornell has a radio for the whole world with software filtering
Researchers at Cornell University have developed a new type of radio-on-a-chip that could mean cheaper, more flexible wireless systems. Smartphone makers could, for example, use the technology to make a single model of each phone that works anywhere in the world.Single-chip radios have become a popular choice for communications hardware in the last decade because most characteristics of the radio are determined through software, not discrete hardware components. For this reason, they are often referred to as software-defined radios.But software can only do so much. In many transceiver devices -- ones that transmit and receive -- an array of filters is needed to protect the sensitive receiver circuity from signals being transmitted. Those signals can be up to a billion times more powerful that the ones being received, so without the filters, the radio would be overwhelmed and useless.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Inside the Russian hack of Yahoo: How they did it
One mistaken click. That's all it took for hackers aligned with the Russian state security service to gain access to Yahoo's network and potentially the email messages and private information of as many as 500 million people.The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation has been investigating the intrusion for two years, but it was only in late 2016 that the full scale of the hack became apparent. On Wednesday, the FBI indicted four people for the attack, two of whom are Russian spies.Here's how the FBI says they did it:The hack began with a spear-phishing email sent in early 2014 to a Yahoo company employee. It's unclear how many employees were targeted and how many emails were sent, but it only takes one person to click on a link, and it happened.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Inside the Russian hack of Yahoo: How they did it
One mistaken click. That's all it took for hackers aligned with the Russian state security service to gain access to Yahoo's network and potentially the email messages and private information of as many as 500 million people.The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation has been investigating the intrusion for two years, but it was only in late 2016 that the full scale of the hack became apparent. On Wednesday, the FBI indicted four people for the attack, two of whom are Russian spies.Here's how the FBI says they did it:The hack began with a spear-phishing email sent in early 2014 to a Yahoo company employee. It's unclear how many employees were targeted and how many emails were sent, but it only takes one person to click on a link, and it happened.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Inside the Russian hack of Yahoo: How they did it
One mistaken click. That's all it took for hackers aligned with the Russian state security service to gain access to Yahoo's network and potentially the email messages and private information of as many as 500 million people.The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation has been investigating the intrusion for two years, but it was only in late 2016 that the full scale of the hack became apparent. On Wednesday, the FBI indicted four people for the attack, two of whom are Russian spies.Here's how the FBI says they did it:The hack began with a spear-phishing email sent in early 2014 to a Yahoo company employee. It's unclear how many employees were targeted and how many emails were sent, but it only takes one person to click on a link, and it happened.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Inside the Russian hack of Yahoo: How they did it
One mistaken click. That's all it took for hackers aligned with the Russian state security service to gain access to Yahoo's network and potentially the email messages and private information of as many as 500 million people.The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation has been investigating the intrusion for two years, but it was only in late 2016 that the full scale of the hack became apparent. On Wednesday, the FBI indicted four people for the attack, two of whom are Russian spies.Here's how the FBI says they did it:The hack began with a spear-phishing email sent in early 2014 to a Yahoo company employee. It's unclear how many employees were targeted and how many emails were sent, but it only takes one person to click on a link, and it happened.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Four charged, including Russian gov’t agents, for massive Yahoo hack
The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation has charged four people, including two Russian state intelligence agents, for their involvement in a massive hack of Yahoo that affected half a billion accounts.In September, Yahoo said hackers had managed to steal personal data on more than 500 million users during an attack in late 2014. The stolen data included names, email addresses, telephone numbers and hashed passwords. Blame for the attack was put on a "state-sponsored" group.On Wednesday, the FBI said that group was the Russian Federal Security Service, the FSB, and it identified agents Dmitry Dokuchaev and Igor Sushchin as leaders of the attack.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Four charged, including Russian gov’t agents, for massive Yahoo hack
The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation has charged four people, including two Russian state intelligence agents, for their involvement in a massive hack of Yahoo that affected half a billion accounts.In September, Yahoo said hackers had managed to steal personal data on more than 500 million users during an attack in late 2014. The stolen data included names, email addresses, telephone numbers and hashed passwords. Blame for the attack was put on a "state-sponsored" group.On Wednesday, the FBI said that group was the Russian Federal Security Service, the FSB, and it identified agents Dmitry Dokuchaev and Igor Sushchin as leaders of the attack.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Say goodbye to the camera bump with this smartphone concept
Engineers at Germany's Fraunhofer Institute have developed a smartphone camera module that's thin enough to be squeezed inside a smartphone, removing the need for a "camera bump" without compromising on quality.On most modern smartphones, the camera necessitates a bump on the back of the phone. That's because the focal length of the lenses and camera assembly cannot be made any thinner.The concept from Fraunhofer does things differently.It uses four image sensors rotated 90 degrees so they point out of the side of the phone. A set of tiny mirrors in front of the sensors reflects the image from the front or rear of the phone.The basic concept would have worked with a single mirror, said Jacques Duparré, a senior scientist at Fraunhofer's Microoptical Imaging Systems lab in Jena, Germany.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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This tiny chip could revolutionize smartphone and IOT security
Engineers at South Korea's SK Telecom have developed a tiny chip that could help secure communications on a myriad of portable electronics and IOT devices.The chip is just 5 millimeters square -- smaller than a fingernail -- and is capable of generating mathematically provable random numbers. Such numbers are the basis for highly-secure encryption systems and producing them in such a small package hasn't been possible until now.The chip, on show at this week's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, could be in sample production as early as March this year and will cost a few dollars once in commercial production, said Sean Kwak, director at SK Telecom's quantum technology lab.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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This tiny chip could revolutionize smartphone and IOT security
Engineers at South Korea's SK Telecom have developed a tiny chip that could help secure communications on a myriad of portable electronics and IOT devices.The chip is just 5 millimeters square -- smaller than a fingernail -- and is capable of generating mathematically provable random numbers. Such numbers are the basis for highly-secure encryption systems and producing them in such a small package hasn't been possible until now.The chip, on show at this week's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, could be in sample production as early as March this year and will cost a few dollars once in commercial production, said Sean Kwak, director at SK Telecom's quantum technology lab.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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SK Telecom pushes for interoperable quantum crypto systems
SK Telecom and Nokia have developed a prototype quantum cryptography system that combines the South Korean company's quantum key server with an encryption device from Nokia.The system, shown Monday at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, was put together to demonstrate interoperability between the two vendors and comes as SK Telecom kicks off a push to get telecom carriers and equipment vendors working together on next-generation quantum-secured networks.Quantum cryptography involves the transmission of encryption keys across fiber optic networks. It relies on the principles of quantum mechanics to detect if an eavesdropper has viewed a key en route.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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SK Telecom pushes for interoperable quantum crypto systems
SK Telecom and Nokia have developed a prototype quantum cryptography system that combines the South Korean company's quantum key server with an encryption device from Nokia.The system, shown Monday at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, was put together to demonstrate interoperability between the two vendors and comes as SK Telecom kicks off a push to get telecom carriers and equipment vendors working together on next-generation quantum-secured networks.Quantum cryptography involves the transmission of encryption keys across fiber optic networks. It relies on the principles of quantum mechanics to detect if an eavesdropper has viewed a key en route.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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SK Telecom pushes for interoperable quantum crypto systems
SK Telecom and Nokia have developed a prototype quantum cryptography system that combines the South Korean company's quantum key server with an encryption device from Nokia.The system, shown Monday at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, was put together to demonstrate interoperability between the two vendors and comes as SK Telecom kicks off a push to get telecom carriers and equipment vendors working together on next-generation quantum-secured networks.Quantum cryptography involves the transmission of encryption keys across fiber optic networks. It relies on the principles of quantum mechanics to detect if an eavesdropper has viewed a key en route.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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NTT DoCoMo demos VR control of robots over 5G
While next-generation 5G cellular will bring faster downloads for consumers, the new networking technology is poised to bring big benefits to business users enabling new uses for cellular networks.At this week's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Japan's NTT DoCoMo is demonstrating one such use: remote control of robots via a wireless virtual reality system.In one corner of the company's booth was a simulated factory floor with three robots. The area was surrounded by four depth-sensing 3D cameras that together provide enough video for an immersive, all-around virtual reality image.That 3D video, totaling roughly 700Mbps of data, was sent across a 5G radio link to a receiver where it was processed and fed to a VR headset. The radio link was running across a few meters on the crowded expo floor but it was hitting a top speed of around 15Gbps -- that's many times faster than is possible with the fastest of today's 4G networks.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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NTT DoCoMo demos VR control of robots over 5G
While next-generation 5G cellular will bring faster downloads for consumers, the new networking technology is poised to bring big benefits to business users enabling new uses for cellular networks.At this week's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Japan's NTT DoCoMo is demonstrating one such use: remote control of robots via a wireless virtual reality system.In one corner of the company's booth was a simulated factory floor with three robots. The area was surrounded by four depth-sensing 3D cameras that together provide enough video for an immersive, all-around virtual reality image.That 3D video, totaling roughly 700Mbps of data, was sent across a 5G radio link to a receiver where it was processed and fed to a VR headset. The radio link was running across a few meters on the crowded expo floor but it was hitting a top speed of around 15Gbps -- that's many times faster than is possible with the fastest of today's 4G networks.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Sony’s Xperia XZ Premium has a 4K HDR screen, super slow-mo
Sony's Xperia XZ Premium shines, quite literally. The first thing you notice about the new phone is the mirror-finish that surrounds the device giving it a sparkly appearance that seems destined to require lots of polishing. But the innovation in the phone is found below the surface. Its primary features are both firsts on a smartphone: a 4K HDR display and super slow-motion video. The 4K screen is 5.5-inches across, which means it's small enough that the 4K resolution shouldn't make too much of a difference. On a large screen like a television, the extra resolution is immediately noticeable but on a small screen it's much more difficult for the human eye to discern the extra resolution.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Akyumen’s Hawk smartphone packs a projector
Over the past decade there have been several attempts to cram video projectors into smartphones. All ultimately failed, but a Silicon Valley startup reckons it has the recipe right and is hoping for a warm response from consumers when its phone debuts later this year. The Akyumen Hawk is a 5.5-inch Android handset that packs a low-profile projector into the upper half of the phone. The 35-lumen projector has enough power to display an image over a distance of about a meter in a normally lit room and at up to 100 inches in a more dimly lit room. Akyumen says the secret to its phone is a proprietary projector that stays cool even after hours of use. And indeed, during a demonstration in Barcelona on Sunday, the phone was only slightly warm despite the projector being used for at least 20 minutes.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Sophos CEO sounds the alarm on enterprise ransomware attacks
Ransomware is increasingly becoming a problem for companies, and the CEO of a leading computer security company says he fears 2017 could see entire companies shut down until they pay up, or risk losing all their data.Ransomware works by infiltrating a computer with malware and then encrypting all the files on the disk. The user is presented with a limited time offer: Lose all your data or send money with the promise your data will be unlocked. The fee typically varies from a few tens of dollars to hundreds of dollars and often has to be transmitted in Bitcoin.The problem began on a fairly small scale, targeting individual users, but has been growing. Last year, a hospital in Los Angeles admitted to paying $17,000 to get its system unlocked, and a report in October said ransomware cases were on course to quadruple in 2016 over the previous year.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Sophos CEO sounds the alarm on enterprise ransomware attacks
Ransomware is increasingly becoming a problem for companies, and the CEO of a leading computer security company says he fears 2017 could see entire companies shut down until they pay up, or risk losing all their data.Ransomware works by infiltrating a computer with malware and then encrypting all the files on the disk. The user is presented with a limited time offer: Lose all your data or send money with the promise your data will be unlocked. The fee typically varies from a few tens of dollars to hundreds of dollars and often has to be transmitted in Bitcoin.The problem began on a fairly small scale, targeting individual users, but has been growing. Last year, a hospital in Los Angeles admitted to paying $17,000 to get its system unlocked, and a report in October said ransomware cases were on course to quadruple in 2016 over the previous year.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here