Cache Of Stolen Financial Data Found By Security Lab

RSA FraudAction Research Lab reported on Friday that it had uncovered a large cache of credit card numbers and online bank account logins and passwords that have been accumulated over the past two-and-a-half years. The researchers say that a technically sophisticated trojan horse program, the Sinowal Trojan, likely originating in Russia is responsible. “Only rarely do we come across crimeware that has been continually stealing and collecting personal information and payment card data, and compromising bank accounts as far back as 2006. And in addition to its longevity, Sinowal has also been evolving at a dramatic pace – its rate of attacks spiked upwards from March through September of this year.” according to the researchers.

New York Times article.
BBC News article.

Robotic Fish Form Hunting Party

Researchers at the University of Washington are developing fish like robots that have the capability of working autonomously but share information with each other to form a Hunting Party. “There’s no human directly telling them what to do,” explains Kristi Morgansen, UW assistant professor of aeronautics and astronautics. She adds that, “They have a program on board and they’re getting various sensor information, either from their on-board sensors or stuff that’s transmitted over a wireless channel.”


RoboFish from James Eagan on Vimeo.

The "Robofish" have fish like fins rather than propellers to make them more maneuverable and less likely to get caught in kelp, rope, or fishing lines. “Fish are much more maneuverable in small spaces than things that we’ve been able to build in engineering with propellers."

I'm fascinated by these little guys! The video is impressive and the swarming, or shall I say "schooling" abilities are rather intriguing.

ScineCentral.com

Fab Four Coming To Rockband!

You can't legally buy their music digitally but today Apple Corps Ltd. - the company founded by the Beatles in 1968 and Viacom Inc.'s MTV Networks will announce that they have signed a deal that will see the Beatles' songs coming to the popular Rock Band franchise. "It is a bit of a coup since [MTV] has been able to license it and Apple [Inc.] still couldn't get the music," said Josh Martin, analyst at the Boston-based Yankee Group. It's uncertain whether MTV Networks will give the band it's own addition, similar to Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, or if the music will be downloadable for current Rock Band games. The move is being seen as a bit of a cue as Apple Inc. has been working hard to get the Band's music included in the iTunes music store. Globe and Mail article.

iPhone Recession Proof?

According to the Globe and Mail 255,000 iPhones were sold in Canada between its launch on July 11th and the end of September, and there appears to be no slowing down in sales irregardless of how the economy is performing. “We've seen time and time again that if people want something bad enough, they're willing to put themselves in debt or save less in order to buy it,” said consumer research analyst Josh Martin of Boston-based Yankee Group. “It would be interesting to see if consumers are cutting out other things so they can afford to have their iPhone.” Martin added. They certainly have a lot of appeal and I've definitely noticed more of them in the wild, we'll have to keep an eye on the Christmas season sales numbers...

Azure - Microsoft's Operating System For The Cloud

Microsoft unveiled plans on Monday for a new cloud computing operating system dubbed Azure. Microsoft's Ray Ozzie made the announcement in front of 6500 software developers attending the annual Microsoft Developers Conference in Los Angeles. “Every time there is a major platform shift in our industry, it has turned into new opportunities for my apps and my business.” said Ozzie. Not everyone was as optimistic as Mr. Ozzie however, “Today’s announcement of Azure is the same Microsoft, keeping developers locked into their proprietary solutions, and failing to grasp the true power of cloud computing,“ said Mark Benioff, the chief executive of Salesforce.com. Whatever your take on the OS is, it will be interesting to see who follows. NY Times story.

Cellphones And Internet Essencial Even In Tough Times

A study conducted last week in Canada and the US by Toronto research firm Solutions Research Group says that North Americans see their cell phones and internet service essential utilities, like water or electricity. "People were saying, 'It's not going to happen - you would have to pry it out of my hands,' that kind of language," said Kaan Yigit head of the research firm. The company has ranked in order the items consumers will be cutting back on in order of most likely to least likely and it shakes out like this:

Ranking consumer targets for cuts:

1. Big-ticket events (eg. concerts, sports)

2. Movie-going

3. DVD buying

4. Magazine subscription renewals/newsstand

5. Cable/satellite TV extras

6. Video game buying

7. Home phone

8. Mobile/wireless phone

9. DVD Rentals

10. Home Internet

Solutions Research Group

Globe and Mail article.

Microsoft Ups Reward For Information About Missing Teen

15-year-old Brandon Crisp of Barrie, Ontario has been missing since a fight with his parents on October 13th over his obsessive Xbox use. The run away has been the subject of a large ground search by authorities and civilians for two weeks but few clues to his whereabouts have been turned up. As a result Microsoft has doubled the reward money for information leading to his location to $50,000. According to the Globe and Mail "Sergeant Dave Goodbrand says people from Miami to British Columbia have offered assistance, including search and rescue expert Terry Grant, host of Canadian reality show Mantracker, who flew in to help." Let's hope the child is located and this family can put their fears to rest!

Wired's Geek-o'-Lantern Contest

Having been born in October I've always loved Halloween, and traditionally it's been my task to carve the family pumpkin. From humble beginnings of jagged teeth and triangle eyes, I've really tried to step it up a notch or two as I've garnered some experience. I've done some good ones ,and some not so good ones, but I'll have to bow to the greatness that is present in the submissions to Wired's "Show Us Your Wired Geek-o-Lanterns". You've got to check out Yoda, The Deathstar, Venom, and Frankenstien for all of their intricate beauty, but perhaps my favorite is Cannibal! It's not all that geeky but it certainly looks like Jack-o-Lantern that I might be able to re-create.

Gmail Labs Roll Out Canned Responses

The Official Gmail Blog has posted about a new feature in the Labs called "canned responses". Turning the feature on allows you to save pieces of text as canned responses that can easily be sent in reply to common questions. To take things one step further, combine canned responses with the already available "filters" option "Gmail already lets you create filters based on a combination of keywords, sender, recipients, and more in your incoming messages. Turn on Canned Responses in Labs, and you can set a filter to grab one of your saved responses, create an automated reply, and hit the Send button for you." This duo of features seem like a great solution anyone who receives a relatively high volume of mail. The canned response does not include text from the originator's e-mail but it's a time saver and it's free.

Skipping Work? Don't Let The World Know

There's a lesson to be learned in this story... According to the Register an Australian call centre employee was tripped up by his social networking updates. Kyle Doyle apparently has a contract with his employer stating that he does not require a medical certificate for 1 day leaves of absence if he has stated that the leave was for medical reasons. The Register has published an interesting e-mail exchange between Kyle and his employer where each states their position and Kyle is eventually done in by his Facebook status on the day in question. "Kyle Doyle: is not going to work, f#$% it i'm still trashed. SICKIE WOO!" (expletive removed). Perhaps Facebook should talk to Google about licensing Goggles or allow updates to be e-mailed in so that Kyle can use his G-mail account next time.