NEWS : TECH (NFPC)

Hackers Cyberattacking Israeli Government Sites

As violence between Israel and Palestinian militants continues to escalate, new fronts of digital warfare are being declared in cyberspace.

Reuters' Steven Scheer reports that Israeli government websites have been bombarded by more than 44 million hacking attempts since Israel began its air strikes last week. Defense-related websites have been the biggest targets, while 10 million attempts have been made on Israeli President Shimon Peres's website, 7 million on the Foreign Ministry and 3 million on the prime minister's website.

PHOTOS: Top 10 Social Networking Sites

"The war is taking place on three fronts. The first is physical, the second is on the world of social networks and the third is cyber," said Carmela Avner, Israel's chief information officer, according to Reuters.

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Israeli Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz said that one hacking attempt succeeded in taking down one site, which he declined to name, but it was back online within 10 minutes.

According to a ministry spokesman, most cyberattacks have come from within Israeli and Palestinian territories, but some have come from around the world.

On Friday, international hacking collective Anonymous published a list of Israeli websites it had taken down or defaced. Though all sites have returned to normal, many had their homepages temporarily replaced with pro-Palestinian and pro-Hamas messages.

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Anonymous started their #OpIsrael campaign in solidarity with Palestine after Israel "crossed a line in the sand" by threatening to sever all Internet and telecommunications in and out of Gaza.

However, both sides in the conflict have embraced social media as a means to spread their message and document the turmoil. The Israeli Defense Force is quite active on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram while Palestinian militants are primarily active on Twitter.

via Reuters

Credit: Kobi Gideon/Xinhua Press/Corbis

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Coming Soon: Free Wi-Fi for Facebook Check-In?

Laptop coffee-shop squatters, rejoice! Your days of repeatedly asking the barista for Wi-Fi passwords may soon be over. No need to awkwardly avoid eye contact as you shamble up to the counter to buy the cheapest refill possible just so you can re-up your time limit. Your next Wi-Fi refill could come compliments of Facebook.

BLOG: Top 10 Social Networking Sites

That's right, the social network Goliath is testing a new Wi-Fi hot spot service for local businesses that grants users free Internet access if they do a Facebook check-in. Businesses would provide the access via a Facebook router that directs customers to the business' Facebook page once users check in.

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"We are currently running a small test with a few local businesses of a Wi-Fi router that is designed to offer a quick and easy way to access free Wi-Fi after checking in on Facebook," the company confirmed to Inside Facebook. "When you access Facebook Wi-Fi by checking in, you are directed to your local business’s Facebook Page".

Developer Tom Waddington is credited with discovering the test when he found a new entry called "social wifi" in the "Like sources" section of the Insights API.

While businesses would still provide the Internet access, Facebook would provide a router. Page owners would be able to monitor how many new 'Likes' the page received from those who used the Wi-Fi service. Visitors who don't want to jump through the Facebook hoop could still access the network via a password from the business.

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Rumored to be the product of a hackathon project, Facebook Wi-Fi only exists as a limited test run and likely won't be popping up at your local coffee shop anytime soon. Until then, laptop squatters, you'll just have to dig deeper in your couch for all that loose change for refills.

via CNET

Credit: Turba/Corbis

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Sex Ed Hooks Up With The Internet

Why gym teachers and football coaches are routinely tapped to helm the great ship of pubescent awkwardness known as Sex Education certainly is one of God's own private mysteries. Anyone who ever remembers watching their bewhistled P.E. teacher clumsily draw fallopian tubes on a chalkboard knows that maybe a face-to-face setting might not always be the best way to teach the birds and the bees.

But rejoice blushing middle schoolers, a new study may have delivered your salvation. Researchers from the University of Toronto and Yale recently conducted a randomized and controlled trial that found Internet-based sex education effectively improved students' knowledge and attitudes toward sex.

PHOTOS: Top 10 Social Networking Sites

The study included 138 ninth graders from 69 different schools in Colombia, a country where 60 percent of young people are sexually active by the age of 18 and only 55 percent of young women reported using a condom during their first sexual experience. 

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The semester-long course, designed by Profamilia, a local nonprofit affiliated with Planned Parenthood, covered topics such as sexual rights and freedoms, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and contraception. Students could access online tutorials from school or personal computers and could email questions to remote tutors.

"The sensitive nature of this issue can create discomfort and lead students to avoid engaging with the material or participating at all," states the study's paper, written by Alberto Chong, Marco Gonzalez-Navarro, Dean Karlan and Martin Valdivia. "The anonymity and privacy which are possible with computer-based learning may actually be better suited to teaching adolescents about sexual health."

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Six months after it ended, researchers found the "course showed itself effective in improving students' knowledge and attitude indicators in the short and medium term, and led to a reduction in self-reported STIs among the sexually active at baseline."

Student were given condom vouchers six months after the course ended. Researchers found that "treated students" -- those who participated in the course -- redeemed their vouchers at a rate 10 percent higher than those in the control group.

Researchers also found "strong indication that effects of the course were reinforced when treated individuals had larger percentages of their friend networks in treatment classrooms."

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Anything that improves sexual health knowledge and awareness, I'm all for. However, I'm a bit wary of face-to-face interaction being replaced entirely with online telecommunication, especially when it comes to education. A subject such as sex is already taboo enough. Is retreating behind an online veil of privacy really the best way to promote an open and honest dialogue?

I'm not sure. I could argue both sides of that debate, which makes it an interesting question. However, as a former educator, I've witnessed too many teachers and mentors take the easy way out by sticking a kid in front of a computer screen -- to the point where logging in really meant tuning out.

Besides, everyone needs to witness a jittery football coach unroll a condom on a banana at least once in their life.

Credit: Fabio Cardoso/Corbis

via Coexist

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Techie Ways To Weather 'Frankenstorm' Sandy

As Hurricane Sandy -- aka Frankenstorm -- winds up to wallop the East Coast, many people are bracing for absolute chaos. With wide-spread blackouts, flooding and wind damage all on the menu, millions of people are being advised to take caution and be vigilant.

Compliments of Fast Company, here are a few ways Sandy has disrupted and prompted the world of tech to help people weather the storm.

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So people can monitor Sandy, Google has created an interactive crisis map, complete with weather updates, evacuation routes and other useful information for those stuck in the storm.

Unfortunately Google had to cancel an event in New York where the company was expected to launch a new 10-inch tablet alongside the Nexus 4 smartphone. Facebook also had to cancel an open engineering day, plus a Gifts event at FAO Schwartz.

However, both the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times have lifted their online paywalls during the storm so that anyone can use their websites to stay informed. Typically, online digital and print subscribers can view extended online content.

ABC's Johanna Stern put together a useful list of apps that help people stay on top of the storm's developments. The list includes Apple's Dark Sky, a $3.99 app that monitors the storm in HD and gives users minute by minute information. Also on the list are disaster information apps from FEMA and the Red Cross.

Finally, for an arty, filtered perspective of Hurricane Sandy, check out Instacane, as well as MTA's Flicker stream.

BLOG: 'Fankenstorm' Sandy Lashes East Coast

If you're like me -- bunkered down and waiting for the you-know-what to hit the fan -- good luck. If you're out of harms way, feel free to send a care package. 

via Fast Company

Credit: Google Crisis Map

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Drone Missile Kills Electronics, Not People

As modern warfare continues to be fought behind key boards and monitors, last week Boeing successfully tested a missile capable of making screens go blank. Boeing says their Counter-electronics High-powered Advanced Missile Project known as CHAMP may one day change modern warfare by knocking out electronic targets with little or no collateral damage.

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Here's how Boeing described the event:

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CHAMP approached its first target and fired a burst of High Power Microwaves at a two story building built on the test range. Inside rows of personal computers and electrical systems were turned on to gauge the effects of the powerful radio waves.

Seconds later the PC monitors went dark and cheers erupted in the conference room. CHAMP had successfully knocked out the computer and electrical systems in the target building. Even the television cameras set up to record the test were knocked off line without collateral damage.

In one hour, seven test-range targets were hit and all electronics inside the buildings were degraded and defeated.

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"This technology marks a new era in modern-day warfare," said Keith Coleman, CHAMP program manager for Boeing Phantom Works. "In the near future, this technology may be used to render an enemy's electronic and data systems useless even before the first troops or aircraft arrive."

So, uh, al Qaeda, you know those Sexy Tanja videos you like to make and watch in your free time? Heads up.

via io9

Credit: Boeing

 

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Stop Mooching My Wi-Fi

I confess, I am a Wi-Fi moocher, albeit of the polite and pay-you-back variety. Yes, I appropriate my neighbors network, but I have their permission and their password...as long as I chip in a few bucks every month towards their bill.

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So far, their Wi-Fi network name is just, well, their last name. A simple, run-of-the-mill name -- certainly not one to turn any heads. However, as the BBC, (compliments of Reddit) pointed out, more people are putting their creativity to use and coming up with broadband names that are sure to make their neighbors do a few double takes, if not spit takes.

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Here's a few examples: 

Anti-Theft: "Go Away Don't Steal My Broadband ," "Stop Mooching Our Internet," "Covet not thy neighbor's wi-fi," "Thou shall not steal!"

Not-so-polite suggestions: "StopHavingSoMuchSex," "Stop slamming the door!!!," "Stop wearing heals!," "Stop running," "Your Music in annoying!," "Shut The Barking Dog Up No 7"

Friendly Neighbors: "Free Wifi For Neighbors," "Hola Neighborinos," "I like my neighbors"

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I think you get the picture. So have you come across any unique Wi-Fi names -- either of your own creation or from neighbors -- that you'd like to share? Leave 'em in the comments below.

via BBC

Credit: Corbis Images

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Felix Baumgartner Also Shattered YouTube Record

Were you one of the millions of people across the globe who tuned in to watch the live YouTube stream of daredevil Felix Baumgartner's historic leap from the edge of space? If so, you also helped break a record.

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At its peak, there were more than 8 million concurrent live streams of the stunt, YouTube confirmed Sunday in a blog post.

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"We congratulate Felix Baumgartner and the entire Red Bull Stratos team for their successful mission, and for creating a live stream with the most concurrent views ever on YouTube," the blog post stated.

According to All Thing D, the previous record for a YouTube livestream was set during the London Olympics when 500,000 people tuned in. Baumgartner shattered that record before he even stepped out his launch pod, as 7.1 million people tuned in as he made his ascent.

But something tells me the YouTube record will remain a bit overshadowed. In case you need a refresher, here are the other records Baumgartner broke: highest jump from a platform (128,100 feet), longest freefall distance (119,846 feet) and maximum vertical velocity (833.9 mph or Mach 1.24).

PHOTOS: When Felix Jumped, The World Jumped With Him

That last record makes Baumgartner the first human to break the sound barrier outside of an aircraft. If you missed the live stream of the supersonic freefall or just want to relive the glory, check out the video below.

 

via Mashable

Credit: Red Bull Stratos

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Smart Bra Detects Breast Cancer Earlier

Breast cancer is leading cause of cancer-related deaths among females in both developed and developing nations. It's also the most frequently diagnosed cancer, but early detection is vital -- there is 5-year survival rates at approximately 80 percent, if detected it's in the early stages.

Helping to make early detection even earlier is First Warning Systems, a Nevada-based company that's developed a BSE (breast self-exam) bra with sensors integrated into the cups. The sensors detect slight variations in breast surface temperature that could indicate tumor growth.

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These variations in temperature are caused by the growth of blood vessels that develop in the breast to supply cancerous tissue with blood. The company explains that a distinct heat signature is given off by these blood vessels, allowing a tumor to be detected years before it is visible on a mammogram or MRI.

In three clinical trials involving 650 participants of all ages, the bra had an accuracy rate of over 90 percent and offered far greater an accuracy level than a traditional mammogram.

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Sensor data from the non-invasive monitoring system is wirelessly transferred to a computer or mobile device and can be uploaded to the Internet for analysis.

First Warning Systems has been granted a number of patents and plans to put the BSE bra on the market next year in Europe and, pending FDA approval, the United States in 2014. Cost details have yet to be determined.

via Gizmag

Credit: First Warning Systems

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Internet Pirates: Your Days Are Numbered

Lend me thine ears ye scurvy pirates pillaging the World Wide Web, a vigilant armada will soon be on thy trail. By year's end, the nation's major Internet service providers will launch a six-strikes-an-you're-out initiative that may put a damper on your plundering days of wide-spread downloading.

The "Copyright Alert System" strategy (CAS), backed by the Obama administration, Hollywood and major record labels, aims to disrupt and potentially terminate Internet access for those who continually infringe upon copyright laws.

The program, which monitors peer-to-peer file-sharing services, includes participation by AT&T, Cablevision Systems, Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Verizon.

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First offenders will receive an email alert from their Internet service provider saying their account may have been misused for online piracy. After a second offense, the alert could contain an educational message about online copyright laws.

After the third and fourth strikes, users could receive a pop-up notice "asking the subscriber to acknowledge receipt of the alert."

After four alerts, the warnings stop and the real punishments come to the surface...kind of.

The CAS program calls these "mitigation measures," which could include "temporary reductions of Internet speeds, redirection to a landing page until the subscriber contacts the ISP to discuss the matter or reviews and responds to some educational information about copyright, or other measures (as specified in published policies) that the ISP may deem necessary to help resolve the matter."

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Gigi Sohn, president of digital rights group Public Knowledge, and an adviser to the Center for Copyright Information, the group behind the program, told Wired that offenders won't be penalized each time an infringement is detected.

"Each strike is not one infringement," Sohn said. "Each strike is dozens or scores or hundreds of infringements."

Considering that, after the first infringement is detected, strikes will only be counted every seven days and that there's a grace period between each alert, this dragnet sounds like it has some pretty big holes for occasional pirates to easily slip through.

Forgive my skepticism, but '600-strikes and you're out' seems like a long leash, not to mention a very passive-aggressive way to project authority.

via Wired

Credit: Images.com/Corbis

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Disney Patents Augmented-Reality Food

In the not-so-distant future, we'll be able to have our cake and eat it too. Disney recently outlined patent plans for augmented-reality cakes and other food products. This means the ability to watch interactive videos projected onto the icing just before guests dig in. Though Disney's plans are still on the drawing board, two methods are outlined for bringing this tech to life.

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The first involves a small projector incorporated into a cake topper equipped to store and display digital images across the cake's surface. Imagine a montage of photos or video clips from the birthday boy or girl's favorite Disney movie and you get the picture. Developers also suggest adding motion-tracking sensors so users could interact with the images. For example, users could wave a wand over the cake to make images of flowers bloom.

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However, for an even more mind-blowing experience that may make you think twice about eating the cake, Disney plans to role out the big guns: a computer connected to an overhead projector with depth sensors and motion trackers.

The added equipment may make the birthday cake look more like a science experiment, but the added sensors allow for added interactive elements on cakes that don't have flat surfaces. Entire digital worlds could then be mapped over the cake's rugged surface where waterfalls, snow-capped mountains and flowing volcanoes could be brought to life. Anyone could manipulate the landscape by using certain props to trigger stimuli. For example, a tree placed onto a field could cause a digital forest to grow.

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Disney envisions the augmented reality tech turning the surface of cakes into digital coloring books or story books where narratives are advanced by remote-controlled figurines. The patent mostly describes concepts using cakes, but explains that the tech could be applied to almost any other food.

Augmented reality shepherd's pie, anyone?

via Gizmag

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