Hackers compromised RT.com to replace the word 'Russian' with 'Nazi'

Russia's news website RT.com was recently compromised, and hackers have changes multiple articles with the word 'Russian' to 'Nazi'. Currently there's tension going between the country and Ukraine as Russia decides to move its troops towards the border and planning many military exercises.

The hack was reported at about 11 pm EST, which lead to changed in many news headlines such as 'Thousands rally again 'illegitimate govt', raise Nazi flags in eastern Ukraine' and 'up to 143,000 Nazis requested asylum in Russia in two weeks'.

After some time, RT.com was able to revert the headlines and made an announcement about the hack via Twitter. The reason RT.com became involved in this controversy is that their media reports were being heavily criticized for being allegedly bias and was funded entirely by Russia.

Continue reading: Hackers compromised RT.com to replace the word 'Russian' with 'Nazi' (full post)

Struggling retailer Sears now dealing with a reported cyber breach

Michael Hatamoto | Hacking, Security & Privacy | Mar 2, 2014 7:11 PM CST

Struggling retailer Sears is the latest company to suffer a security data breach that is now being investigated by the U.S. Secret Service, according to unnamed resources.

Details regarding the reported attack haven't been released, including time of the breach or how many customers could have been affected.

"There have been rumors and reports throughout the retail industry of security incidents at various retailers and we are actively reviewing our systems to determine if we have been a victim of a breach," said Howard Riefs, Sears spokesperson, in a statement. "We have found no information based on our review of our systems to date indicating a breach."

Continue reading: Struggling retailer Sears now dealing with a reported cyber breach (full post)

Security firm blames Russian government for making Uroburos malware

Michael Hatamoto | Hacking, Security & Privacy | Mar 2, 2014 5:37 PM CST

Security experts like to point fingers at various sources of cyberattacks and malware creation, and quite a bit of attention is focused on Russia and Eastern Europe. The most recent example comes as German security firm G Data Security blames the Russian government for creating the "Uroburos" malware.

G Data Security blog author "MN" believes the Russian government was behind the malware due to its sophistication - Uroburos is a rootkit that has a driver and encrypted virtual file system, with the rootkit hijacking infected machines while running commands anonymously.

"According to all indications we gathered from the malware analyses and the research, we are sure of the fact that attacks carried out with Uroburos are not targeting John Doe but high profile enterprises, nation states, intelligence agencies and similar targets," the company's blog reads.

Continue reading: Security firm blames Russian government for making Uroburos malware (full post)

Chinese government continues to plague U.S. with cyberattacks

Michael Hatamoto | Hacking, Security & Privacy | Mar 2, 2014 1:35 PM CST

During his RSA Conference 2014 keynote last week, FireEye COO Kevin Mandia again said the Chinese government is a "nation-state sponsoring intrusions into businesses in the U.S.," continuing an increasingly popular tactic used by governments.

China is notorious for using cyberattacks to try and gain trade secrets and private information which can then be used in China. In addition to rogue hacker groups, the Chinese government has been accused of secretly paying hackers to conduct cyber surveillance of networks and servers.

Of note, the Chinese government's Unit 61398, part of the national military, has launched more than 1,000 organized cyberattacks against select Western targets, according to security firm Mandiant. Following a break in the attacks, it appears the Chinese government is again attacking US government, military, banks, and other critical infrastructure on a near-daily basis.

Continue reading: Chinese government continues to plague U.S. with cyberattacks (full post)

Will Mac OS X Snow Leopard be the next big target for cybercriminals?

Michael Hatamoto | Hacking, Security & Privacy | Mar 2, 2014 11:45 AM CST

After deciding not to release a security update in six months, it looks like Apple might not bother keeping its OS X Snow Leopard users secure, according to recent reports.

The OS is only four years old, so Apple trying to retire it so seen is a bit of a surprise, though Apple might want to avoid the need of continually supporting older OSes, which Microsoft has routinely done in the past.

If Apple is truly turning its back on Snow Leopard, that means the company also is leaving behind 19 percent of current Mac users - and cybercriminals, licking their chops over the upcoming Microsoft Windows XP end of support next month - could shift attention towards Snow Leopard. Apple has done a good job of keeping its products secure, but there is still belief that Apple products are fully secure, and this overconfidence could plague home users and businesses.

Continue reading: Will Mac OS X Snow Leopard be the next big target for cybercriminals? (full post)

A woman was assaulted and robbbed at a bar for wearing Google Glass

A woman in San Francisco made a complaint that she was assaulted by some Google Glass haters at Molotov bar. The situation escalated to a point where she was verbally and physically assaulted, then robbed.

Sarah Slocum was flaunting her Google Glass to her friends while she was around the bar, when a few people didn't like seeing the wearable tech in their face. Slocum, who is a tech blogger said, "OMG so you'll never believe this but... I got verbally and physically assaulted and robbed last night in the city, had things thrown at me because some *** Google Glass haters."

It was assumed that they hated the device as it was a privacy hazard. "I think everybody was just upset that she would be recording outside of a bar this late with obvious embarrassing behavior going on," said Brian Lester who was one of the patrons of at the bar who told the local CBS News. "And just rather insulted that someone thinks it's okay to record them the entire time they're in public."

Continue reading: A woman was assaulted and robbbed at a bar for wearing Google Glass (full post)

Dailymotion ready to invade US, thrown down with YouTube

Michael Hatamoto | Internet & Websites | Mar 1, 2014 11:44 AM CST

Online video site Dailymotion has set its sights on the U.S. video market, and wants to steal YouTube market share by launching original content to woo viewers.

In the first mini-series, Super chef Mario Batali will host fives episodes in which he speaks with musicians he is a personal fan of. Each episode will be 22 minutes in length and is a major gamble on Dailymotion's part, though was the brainchild of analytics that indicate many viewers enjoy music and cooking videos.

"It's our particular goal to package and distribute our own original IP that captivates and engages our existing community of over 127M global viewers season after season," said Roland Hamilton, Dailymotion US Managing Director, in a press statement. "We believe having original and exclusive content is a great way to differentiate so we're looking for interesting projects - passion projects from extraordinary people that deserved to get made, much like Mario's 'Feedback Kitchen'."

Continue reading: Dailymotion ready to invade US, thrown down with YouTube (full post)

Japanese researchers testing 'Earclip-type wearable PC' prototype

Researchers in Japan have made an 'Earclip-type Wearable PC' which can be controlled by blinking or the 'click' of a tongue. Currently the prototype is being tested.

The wireless device weighs 17 grams and is equipped with Bluetooth, GPS, Compass, Gyro-sensor, barometer, speaker and a microphone. What's being said by many commentators is that this device could be the 'next big thing' in wearable technology. The device uses a microchip and has data storage. The design of the Earclip PC was inspired from a traditional 'ikebana' flower setup. Kazuhiro Taniguchi of Hiroshima City University said,"We have made this with the basic idea that people will wear it in the same way they wear earrings."

This works by using tiny movements in a person's ear, which can differentiated by the way a user moves his/her eyes and mouth. The developers are hoping that they will have an end product by Christmas 2015, and have the ability to wireless connect with an iPod or any other gadget which would allow the user to navigate through software programs using facial expressions such as sticking your tongue out or clenching your teeth.

Continue reading: Japanese researchers testing 'Earclip-type wearable PC' prototype (full post)

Dark Souls 2 to be released on PC via Steam

Roshan Ashraf Shaikh | Gaming | Mar 1, 2014 9:20 AM CST

Dark Souls 2 will be available for PC via Steam on April 25th. Earlier Amazon listed the release date for May 31st, but an advertisement of Dark Souls 2 'Collectors Edition' which contains an art book, a cloth game map, game, official t-shirt and 'Black Armour Weapon Set' DLC confirmed that the game will be released on April 25th.

It is said that the game will have 4 times more resolution than the console version of the game, but will come with a cap of 60 FPS. Meanwhile, the PS3 and Xbox 360 version pre-orders are on, and the console versions will be released on March 11 in North America, and March 14 in Europe.

Contrary to the advertisement, Namco Bandai given a Twitter response that it has not announced a release date yet, and that will present more information about the PC version 'soon'. Though the advertisement seems genuine, Namco Bandai didn't deny the official release date for PC either.

Continue reading: Dark Souls 2 to be released on PC via Steam (full post)

Next-gen Wolfenstein game is 1080p at 60FPS on both Xbox One, PS4

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Mar 1, 2014 7:25 AM CST

Bethesda has confirmed that Wolfenstein: The New Order will be running at 1080p, but also at a silky smooth 60FPS on both the next-gen consoles. Bethesda announced the news through a statement to GamingBolt, in a response to reports that the PS4 version of the game would be the higher fidelity version.

But, that was wrong, as both the Xbox One and PS4 will be running at 1080p at 60FPS. Bethesda put it simply: "The Xbox One version of Wolfenstein will run at 1080p/60fps". This is some good news for Microsoft's struggling next-gen console, which seems to be second-best to the PS4 when it comes to gaming horsepower.

Thief runs at 900p on the Xbox One, versus 1080p on the PS4, and Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes runs at 1080p on the PS4, versus the piddly 720p on the Xbox One.

Continue reading: Next-gen Wolfenstein game is 1080p at 60FPS on both Xbox One, PS4 (full post)