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26th February 2013 Archive

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  • DHS bigwig 'adamantly opposed' to degree fetishism

    RSA 2013 'Security experts don't need college degrees'

    HR and in-house recruitment types should get rid of the myopic idea that to work in IT you must have been to university, says a Department of Homeland Security honcho. Many "corporate and government jobs actually require a college degree or equivalent work experience," DHS deputy undersecretary for cybersecurity Mark …

    Jobs 26 Feb 00:57

  • Boffin shows pics of germs grown on SPOTTY STUDENTS' MOBES

    PICS Feeding the bacteria on your phone, what could go wrong?

    Dr Simon Park, a senior lecturer in molecular biology at the University of Surrey, has unleashed untold horror on the world in the form of photos of germ colonies on mobile phones. And not just any germs: he's cultured the things that live on undergraduate students' faces. Park justifies his activities as teaching science, …

    Science 26 Feb 00:59

  • India launch puts Canadian microsats into orbit

    An asteroid-hunter in a suitcase

    With India’s successful PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) lift-off on February 26, Canada is now boasting the deployment of the world’s first dedicated asteroid-hunting satellite. Actually, its NEOSSat – Near-Earth Object Surveillance satellite – microsatellite will also be surveying space junk from its 100-minute, 800 km …

    Science 26 Feb 01:29

  • Climate scientists link global warming to extreme weather

    Blame giant, increasingly lazy atmospheric waves

    There has been a healthy debate in the scientific community about the linkage, if any, between the recent spate of extreme weather events and the ongoing increase in global temperatures. Now a group of researchers reports they've uncovered an atmospheric mechanism that lends credence to the argument that, yes, global warming is …

    Science 26 Feb 01:50

  • Ruby 2.0.0 adds syntax sparkle, boosts performance

    First major stable release in five years

    The Ruby community announced the first stable release of Ruby 2.0 on Sunday, exactly 20 years to the day since Ruby creator Yukihiro "Matz" Matsumoto first conceived of the language on February 24, 1993. Ruby 2.0.0-p0, as the release is formally known, represents the first major revision of the language since Ruby 1.9 was …

    Developer 26 Feb 01:55

  • McAfee dumps signatures and proclaims an (almost) end to botnets

    RSA 2013 Claims first truly integrated security package

    Signature-based malware identification has been around since the dawn of the computer security industry, but McAfee has said it's dumping the system – or rather, adapting it – in an upgraded security suite which will (it claims) virtually eliminate susceptibility to botnets. McAfee's malware signature database has grown to …

    Security 26 Feb 02:08

  • BBC World Service in a jam as China blocks broadcasts

    Beeb strongly condemns disruption

    The BBC has claimed China is blocking shortwave radio broadcasts of its World Service, in what could be retaliation for its attempts to cover the recent hacking allegations against the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). In a no-nonsense statement, the Beeb said it “strongly condemns” the behaviour, “which is designed to disrupt …

    Government 26 Feb 04:03

  • North Korean citizens told: Socialist haircuts are a thing... go get some

    Government proclaims: All your hairs R belong to us

    The North Korean government has issued haircut guidance for its citizens and chosen 28 hairstyles it deems "appropriate" for members of the single-party state. According to the WantChina Times, photos of the 28 haircuts recommended by the totalitarian regime (pictured below) have been issued to salons around the country. The …

    Bootnotes 26 Feb 06:04

  • Japanese gov builds APT database to study targeted attack info

    Hopes to understand attackers' MO, share info with US

    The Japanese government will respond to the increasing threats from targeted cyber attacks by building a centralised advanced persistent threat (APT) database designed to aggregate threat intelligence so it can be shared with domestic security organisations and foreign governments. The ¥800m project is being built in co- …

    Security 26 Feb 06:09

  • Who'll do a Red Hat on open-source storage?

    Storagebod Buy-and-build units just need a brand and a package

    Are we heading for a Linux moment in the storage world where an open-source "product" truly breaks out and causes the major vendors a headache? I’ve had this conversation a few times recently with both vendors and end users - and the general feeling is that we are pretty close to it. What is needed is for someone to do a Red …

    Storage 26 Feb 07:03

  • No mobile signal? Blame hippies and their eco-friendly walls

    MWC 2013 Cosy rooms equal less connectivity - new study

    Mobile networks are losing as much as 88 per cent of their bandwidth thanks to energy-efficient walls and windows, we're told. The insulation seals in the heat and keep out the coverage, according to a company flogging a solution. The Spectrum Research Group compiled the figures at the behest of SpiderCloud, which hopes that …

    MWC 26 Feb 07:32

  • Welcome to our Wi-Fi: Devicescape reinvents landing page

    Coffee shop déjà vu for a post-web world

    Wi-Fi leeching tech Devicescape has reinvented the Wi-Fi landing page, popping a notification into the Android menu to alert those users for whom the internet is no longer the web. Devicescape calls the technique PopWiFi, and hopes to sell* the service to businesses already giving away Wi-Fi to customers who currently might …

    Mobile 26 Feb 08:04

  • Concerned about sophisticated storage solutions?

    Live today Cloud storage woes and wins

    The storage architecture you will need for a private cloud deployment will probably be very different to what you have today. So what level of performance, and what attributes does it need to have? And how do you migrate from what you have now into what you have next? What will you need to spend, and what are the common mistakes …

    Storage 26 Feb 08:38

  • Stealthy upstart PernixData mutters incantation... turns flash into SAN

    That's some tri... hey, is that all?

    PernixData has opened its kimono, a little - but really we know little more than that it will provide flash storage facilities to virtual machines. The now not-so-stealthy startup talks of a flash tier of storage between a network storage array. This is its Flash Virtualisation Platform (FVP), a software-only data storage tier …

    Storage 26 Feb 09:03

  • Ericsson and SAP Megazord has no need for your PUNY human phonecalls

    MWC 2013 Duo sets sights on the machines

    Ericsson has signed a deal with SAP to collaborate on bringing about the rise of the machines, with ongoing help from Gemalto, by combining into an unstoppable Megazord capable of communicating with 50 billion acolytes. The combination of Ericsson and SAP, announced today, will see SAP's software managing embedded applications …

    MWC 26 Feb 09:28

  • Xyratex thrusts a Lustre cluster knuckleduster at Intel's bluster

    Storage biz gobbles HPC wizardry from Oracle

    Storage biz Xyratex is polishing its high-performance computing credentials by acquiring the Lustre trademark, logo, website and associated intellectual property from Oracle. Xyratex said it will support Lustre's community-oriented development. Lustre is an open-source cluster file system popular in supercomputer land. Once …

    Storage 26 Feb 10:04

  • Nexus 1 put in orbit to prove 'in space, no one can hear you scream'

    WARP-DRIVE-fitted shrieking mobe strapped to publicity-sat

    Surrey-based space boffins have put a Google Nexus 1 into orbit to see how an Android phone copes with the rigours of space - and whether they can hear it scream. The handset hasn't been switched on yet. It's being carried in STRaND-1: a 4.3kg microsatellite that was itself carried into space by an Indian rocket, ISRO PSLV-C20 …

    Science 26 Feb 10:38

  • Fujitsu to get oldsters out the house and thoroughly caned

    MWC 2013 Grandpa can't use a smartphone? Here's a GPS-backed solution

    Fujitsu exhibited a prototype of its GPS-enabled walking stick yesterday at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The futuristic stick is aimed at getting older people out of the house, but would be equally at home slung over the arm of an Apple hipster while their iPod Nikes are in the wash. The user can configure their route …

    MWC 26 Feb 11:03

  • Intel throws open chip ovens to Altera - but who's next: Apple?

    Quit twiddling those thumbs, you've got FPGAs to bake

    Intel has agreed to start manufacturing programmable chips for Altera in its first outside large-scale manufacturing deal, which could lead to contracts with firms like Apple. The world's top chipmaker had already started offering space in its manufacturing plants to smaller firms like Tabula and Achronix Semiconductor, but …

    Business 26 Feb 11:23

  • US insurer punts 'bestiality' to wide-eyed kiddies, gasp 'mums'

    Video Girl flirts with pig in 'disgusting' roadside-assistance romp

    US insurance outfit Geico has incurred the wrath of campaigning group One Million Moms for punting a "disgusting bestiality" agenda at wide-eyed kiddies. In an advert for the Geico's mobile phone roadside assistance app, the company's porcine mascot Maxwell "and a young female are in a parked car on a lover's lane", as One …

    Bootnotes 26 Feb 11:43

  • Four firms pitch hi-def DRM for Flash cards

    Next-generation Secure Memory, anyone?

    Panasonic, Samsung, Sony and Toshiba have begun licensing their new DRM technology for memory cards to anyone who feels the world needs yet another copy protection technology for HD content. They hope many content providers do indeed want a new DRM system, specifically one that secures content but doesn’t prevent content …

    Tablets 26 Feb 12:11

  • HP shareholders bay for blood in $19 BEELLION writedown aftermath

    Updated Calls to boot two board veterans and auditor next month

    Hewlett-Packard investors are rearing up against Meg Whitman’s board, demanding senior heads roll over several multi-billion-dollar failed acquisitions, including HP's 2011 $11bn buy of Brit software company Autonomy - which it wrote down to the tune of $8.8bn late last year. The Autonomy writedown at the tail-end of 2012 was …

    Business 26 Feb 12:14

  • Apple to cough up $100m after kids rinse parents' credit cards on apps

    Compensation offered for virtual fruit spending sprees

    Parents whose credit cards took a hammering after their kids went on iTunes spending sprees are in line for some compensation from Apple - in a lawsuit settlement that could cost the fruity biz $100m. Parents were horrified to receive huge bills from their iTunes accounts for items such as virtual vegetables for iPad games. A …

    Applications 26 Feb 12:24

  • Black hat greed reducing software vulnerability report rate

    RSA 2013 Zero-day market temptation: Cash out or collaborate?

    HP has kicked off the round of reports that accompany each RSA conference with its analysis of security vulnerabilities, and has revealed that although the overall trend is positive, the growing market for zero-day flaws is reducing the number of the most serious problems that are disclosed. The long-term trend looks pretty …

    Security 26 Feb 12:45

  • Trekkies detect Spock's Vulcan homeworld ORBITING PLUTO

    Bid to name space rock completely illogical

    Trekkies have seized a poll in which the public voted on names for two of Pluto's moons - ensuring a winning moniker is Vulcan. With William Shatner on the case, it was perhaps a foregone conclusion that Vulcan would be the clear winner in the contest, with 174,062 votes. Runner-up mythical hound Cerberus (aka Fluffy in Harry …

    Science 26 Feb 13:24

  • Review: Sony Vaio Duo 11 Ultrabook

    Canny convertible computing - or too clever by half?

    The other day, a friend sent me a Picasa link to photos he'd taken at a recent vintage motorcycle show. It was a wide ranging display of classic engineering imagination put to work to power a rider on two wheels. Similarly, it’s those variations on a theme that Windows 8 has spurred among mainstream computer makers, as they all …

    Laptops 26 Feb 13:29

  • Wi-Fi hotspots, phone masts: Prepare to be assimilated by O2's Borg

    MWC 2013 Finally, the tech to make mobes work properly is here

    Telefonica, owner of the O2 brand in the UK, has been showing off technology to integrate mobile phone networks with Wi-Fi. The idea is to let handsets, tablets, and anything else, use Wi-Fi hotspots just like cellular base stations, with all the security, reliability, and billing which that involves. The problem is that …

    MWC 26 Feb 13:48

  • Engine Yard plugs multiple IaaS players into back end

    PaaS lets your app skip between clouds

    Platform-as-a-service Engine Yard has expanded its technical capabilities so developers can rapidly switch their apps between multiple infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) clouds. The announcement telegraphs a shift away from cloud king Amazon Web Services by allowing customers to select the underlying IaaS cloud they want their …

    Cloud 26 Feb 14:04

  • So a health boss, a GM veep and Qualcomm's big cheese walk into a bar

    MWC 2013 What happened next is strictly on the record

    The GSMA, which represents the world's mobile networks, tries to get people from outside the industry to give speeches at its annual Mobile World Congress shindig - preferably ones unlikely to upset anyone. This had led to an odd mix of folk from inside and outside the mobile world sharing a stage at the conference, held in …

    MWC 26 Feb 14:39

  • That Firefox OS mobe: The sorta phone left behind after a mugging

    MWC 2013 Why do they bother? asks our man in Barcelona in his conference sketch

    Mobile World Congress - the mobile networks' annual shindig - was getting unwieldy when 10,000 attendees and exhibitors hobbled between yachts in Cannes harbour, so it was moved to Barcelona. Last year, 70,000 attended MWC in the Spanish city, so it was moved to a new venue with twice the floor space and moving walkways between …

    MWC 26 Feb 15:17

  • Cloudera sends in the auditors – for Hadoop

    Giving enterprises what they want: auditing, backup, and rolling upgrades

    Techies need tools to manage cranky Hadoop clusters, and business managers need to manage and report on access data stored in Hadoop to appease cranky auditors. And so, as part of an update to its CHD4 stack on Tuesday at the Strata conference in San Francisco, Cloudera is previewing a new data visualization and auditing tool …

    Cloud 26 Feb 15:30

  • Look out! PEAK WIND is COMING, warns top Harvard physicist

    Last out of the windpower future turn out the lights … Oh

    The realistic limits on wind power are probably much lower than scientists have suggested, according to new research, so much so that the ability of wind turbines to have any serious impact on energy policy may well be in doubt. Even if money were no object, the human race would hit Peak Wind output at a much lower level than …

    Science 26 Feb 16:04

  • Inside Intel's deal to let FPGA biz Altera use its 22nm TriGate fabs

    Analysis As Achronix loses its Chipzilla exclusivity

    A little over two years ago, upstart FPGA maker Achronix Semiconductor scored a big win over its rivals, Altera and Xilinx: it talked Intel into letting it use its cutting-edge chip factories to etch field-programmable gate array (FPGA) chips using Chipzilla's 22-nanometer TriGate process. And now Altera has done some fast …

    Business 26 Feb 16:43

  • Google+ goes single sign-in, exec roasts Zuck's 'frictionless sharing'

    Promises not to 'spray' Web2.0rhea all over stream

    Google+, which is the ad giant's "network thingy", can now be used to sign into third-party apps, the company confirmed today. It works a lot like Facebook Connect. Google said that developers building apps for Android, iOS or the web can now allow users to sign in via Google+. "It’s simple, it’s secure, and it prohibits …

    Networks 26 Feb 18:04

  • Google Chrome feature helps you silence noisy tabs

    Canary in the browser-mine for audio popups and errant videos

    Google has helped lower the blood pressure of internet users across the world with an experimental Chrome feature that makes it easy to identify which of your open tabs is blaring out noise. The feature, which is available in Chromium and the bleeding edge "this might crash horribly" Canary build of Chrome, puts a little …

    Applications 26 Feb 18:19

  • Symantec reports early Stuxnet variant first went live in 2005

    RSA 2013 'Very different' code caused gas attack on nuclear program

    A new report from Symantec claims that Stuxnet is not a recent piece of malware, but was in action trying to cripple Iran's nuclear program way back in 2005. "We now have evidence that Stuxnet actually had its command and control servers alive in 2005, that's five full years than anyone previously thought," said Francis …

    Security 26 Feb 19:12

  • Microsoft finally ships Internet Explorer 10 for Windows 7

    Last chance to block it before auto updates start

    Following a protracted development process, Microsoft has at last shipped the release version of Internet Explorer 10 for Windows 7, with the new browser due to begin rolling out to customers via Windows Update within the next few weeks. In the meantime, customers who can't wait for the automatic update to arrive can download …

    Applications 26 Feb 20:43

  • Mobile data prices rise as capacity crunch bites – ACCC

    Regulator also watches NBN migration practices

    The capacity crunch in Australia’s mobile airwaves has brought a response from carriers, with the ACCC reporting that real prices for mobile broadband services reversed their long-standing trend and rose in 2011-2012. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission yesterday delivered its annual “state of the nation” report …

    Broadband 26 Feb 21:10

  • Malaysian hackers deface 30+ sites hosted by Melbourne company

    Serversinseconds.com.au and UberGlobal embroiled in hack

    A group of hackers identifying themselves as Johor Hacking Crew have defaced 30+ sites hosted by Melbourne company ServersInSeconds.com.au. There appears to be no motive for the attack other than the fact the hackers spotted a vulnerability and decided to exploit it to dish out a lesson in security. That lesson was delivered …

    Security 26 Feb 21:14

  • Intel takes on all Hadoop disties to rule big data munching

    'We do software now. Get used to it.'

    Look out Cloudera, MapR Technologies, EMC, Hortonworks, and IBM: Intel is the new elephant in the room. Intel has been dabbling for the past two years with its own distribution of the Hadoop stack, and starting in the second quarter it will begin selling services for its own variant of the Hadoop big data muncher. Intel is not …

    Cloud 26 Feb 21:29

  • Stop saying 'Cyber Pearl Harbor,' RSA boss pleads

    RSA 2013 Some people aren't getting the message, however

    Art Coviello, executive president of RSA, used the opening keynote of the RSA conference to criticize the habits of some in the industry for spreading fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) as a marketing tool. "I absolutely hate the term 'Cyber Pearl Harbor'," he said. "I just think it's a poor metaphor to describe the state we …

    Security 26 Feb 21:48

  • Attacker exposes ABC forum contributors

    Updated 50k IDs and credentials published

    In punishment for running a story about Dutch ultra-nationalist Geert Wilders, Australia’s national broadcaster, the ABC, has been attacked, and forum and moderator credentials published. The information has been posted to the Anonymous-branded “Pastebin lookalike” Anonpaste.me, and is reported here at Cyberwars. The attacker …

    Security 26 Feb 22:32