White House: FBI is not asking Apple for a ‘backdoor’ to the iPhone

The White House said  it is not the aim of the government to compromise the security of Apple's iPhone, as it only wants the company to help in the case of one phone that was used by a terrorist in the San Bernardino, California attack on Dec. 2.Google, Mozilla and some other tech organizations and civil rights groups have meanwhile supported Apple's stand.An order by a judge in California on Tuesday triggered off a furious response from Apple CEO Tim Cook, who said the government wanted the company to provide a backdoor to its phones. Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California ordered Apple to provide assistance, including by providing signed software if required, to help the FBI try different passcodes on a locked iPhone 5c running iOS 9, without triggering off the auto-erasure feature in the phone after 10 failed attempts.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

What happens when Google Doc credentials are leaked on the Dark Web

A security company recently laid tempting bait online in order to see how hackers would react. The findings aren't surprising but show how quickly leaked data is used by shady characters.California-based Bitglass, which specializes in cloud-based security, created a fake digital identity for an employee of a non-existent bank.The details included credentials for a Google Drive account, complete with real credit card details, fake corporate data and personal data, according to Bitglass' report.The files were tagged with a tracker so Bitglass could obtain some technical data on systems that accessed it. They also created a fake banking site portal.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Hospital pays $17,000 ransom to get access back to its encrypted files

A Los Angeles hospital has paid US$17,000 to cyberattackers who crippled its network by encrypting its files, a payment that will likely rekindle a fierce debate over how to deal with a problem known as ransomware.Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center issued a statement saying that its systems were restored on Monday, 10 days after malware locked access to its systems.The hospital contacted law enforcement as well as computer experts, wrote Allen Stefanek, president and CEO of Hollywood Presbyterian, in a statement on Wednesday. But it is apparent those efforts did not help in recovering files.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG story roundup: Apple ordered to help unlock iPhone used by San Bernardino attacker

The following are links to stories written by IDG publications and the IDG News Service about the FBI's attempt to force Apple to help it to hack into the iPhone 5c that was used by Syed Rizwan Farook, one of the people said to have been involved in an  attack in San Bernardino, California, on Dec. 2. Why the FBI's request to Apple will affect civil rights for a generation Apple's fight with the FBI could go all the way to the US Supreme Court Tim Cook says Apple will oppose court order rather than hack customersTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

U.S. offers supercomputing help to manufacturers

Five of the top 12 high performance computing systems in the world are owned by U.S. national labs. But they are beyond reach, financially and technically, for many companies, even larger ones.That's according to U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) officials, who run the national labs. A new program aims to connect manufacturers with supercomputers and the expertise to use them.This program provides $3 million, initially, for 10 industry projects, the DOE announced Wednesday. Whether the program extends into future fiscal years may well depend on Congress.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Dell to bring new hyperscale rack architecture to mid-range customers

Dell is bringing the advantages of its enterprise-level hyperscale rack servers to a wider range of customers.At Mobile World Congress next week, Dell will show off its new DSS 9000 hyperscale rack architecture, a server technology that allows computing and storage resources to be decoupled. The new rack design, aimed at mid-sized to large businesses, is based on Intel's Rack Scale Architecture, which is meant to bring configuration flexibility and power efficiency to Web-scale tasks.The DSS 9000 will ship in the second half this year, Dell said.The hyperscale architecture is already available to Dell's largest customers through the company's DCS (Data Center Solutions and Services) division. The architectural blueprint will be made available to mid-range hyperscale customers through the recently formed DSS (Datacenter Scaleable Solutions) group.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: Researchers reach data rates 50,000 times faster than home Internet

Researchers from University College London claim to have reached a data rate of 1.125 terabits per second, the fastest data rate ever recorded between a single optical transmitter and a receiver, according to an article on the university's website.It's quick enough to download the entire high-definition Game of Thrones series in one second, the scientists claim.'Super-channels' A way of combining carriers into what the scientists call a "super-channel" is key to obtaining the speeds. Super-channels are used for sending bulk data between cities and continents, they explain.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: Researchers reach data rates 50,000 times faster than home Internet

Researchers from University College London claim to have reached a data rate of 1.125 terabits per second, the fastest data rate ever recorded between a single optical transmitter and a receiver, according to an article on the university's website.It's quick enough to download the entire high-definition Game of Thrones series in one second, the scientists claim.'Super-channels' A way of combining carriers into what the scientists call a "super-channel" is key to obtaining the speeds. Super-channels are used for sending bulk data between cities and continents, they explain.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Apple’s fight with the FBI could go all the way to the US Supreme Court

Apple may have taken on the fight of its life in standing up to the FBI, which is demanding that it help break into an iPhone used by one of the perpetrators in December's San Bernardino mass shooting. Apple has promised to fight a U.S. magistrate judge's order Tuesday requiring it to assist the FBI, and legal experts say the case could go all the way up to the Supreme Court. Apple needs to tread carefully, however. A divisive presidential election has further polarized the country around issues including how to respond to terrorists, and Apple needs to be careful the public doesn't turn against it.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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Faux phishing scheme shows how hacks unfold

Many CIOs have implemented software that dupes employees into clicking on links and attachments that simulate phishing scams, an increasingly common educational tool to warn workers about the dangers of suspicious email messages. Security software maker Bitglass has reversed the shenanigans by leaking faked Google Apps credentials on the Dark Web, a hacker's playground for trafficking in stolen data. Then it tracked the activity, watching the many ways in which hackers wreaked havoc with supposed stolen online identities. Rich Campagna, vice president of products and marketing at Bitglass,To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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