hacker

The 404 110: Where it's not a virus, it's a worm

Mess with the best, die like the rest! We don't hack the planet, but we do spout off about the MediaDefender's hack (code name: IRONY), pedagogical foursomes, John Wayne as a weapon, and Korean child star Ju-On's surprise appearance in Denver. We also bust out the old squawk box for some much needed Disney sing-alongs. EPISODE 110 Download today's podcast

Hackers attack Russian nuclear power Web sites

In what Russian officials say was a coordinated effort, hackers knocked Web sites for nuclear power plants offline temporarily last week amid false reports of an accident at a plant, according to Russian news agency RIA Novosti.

Several Internet forums had false reports of radioactive emissions from the Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant near St. Petersburg at the same time as some official Web sites that provide real-time information about radiation incidents were attacked, said a spokesman for the Rosatom state nuclear corporation.

"This was a planned action by hackers, which has brought down almost all sites providing access to … Read more

Hacker confab 'Last HOPE' to track attendees with RFID

People attending the Last HOPE hacker conference in New York City this July will be getting more than just an agenda and badge when they check in.

The badges will have electronic tracking devices, using radio frequency identification technology, that will be tracking their movements throughout the three-day event.

Conference attendees can then participate in games created around the tracking system, such as by trying to protect their privacy, finding vulnerabilities in the system, and employing data mining techniques to learn more about other participants.

Large monitors at the show will display in real-time the activities of the badge carriers … Read more

Attack on epilepsy Web site prompts migraines, near seizures

Someone posted hundreds of flashing images and links to more pulsating images on the Epilepsy Foundation site, triggering severe migraines and near seizures for some visitors recently, the Associated Press reports.

The recent attack was likely designed to cause seizures given that it is common knowledge that exposure to flickering images, such as those in video games and cartoons, can bring on such problems in people with photosensitive epilepsy, the foundation said.

Hackers exploited a security hole in the site's publishing software that allowed them to make numerous posts quickly in the support forum. Since the attack, policies have … Read more

Antivirus holes, browser spies are highlights at Microsoft's BlueHat hacker sessions

The ease with which holes in antivirus software can be discovered and the insidiousness of invisible scripts that can track your Web surfing were two of the notable talks at the BlueHat hacker sessions Microsoft held Friday on its Redmond, Wash., campus, according to a veteran attendee.

The invitation-only event, held every six months for the past three years, brings top security researchers to the home of the biggest software company in the world where they discuss the latest and greatest exploits and issues in the world of computer security.

"You actually have 'the developer' who does something who … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 710: Operation MAHEM

OK, the Internet, that was pretty cool. But molten jets of metal hurled through space to destructive effect? I mean, is someone keeping an eye on these DARPA guys or what? In other news today, a DirecTV-DISH conspiracy of awesome proportion, Android coming to T-Mobile this year, and Samsung fanboys prove they are the fanboyest of them all.

--Molly Listen now: Download today's podcast

Episode 710

Hacker testifies News Corp unit hired him http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080424/tc_nm/echostar_newscorp_dc_1

T-Mobile confirms Android phone by year’s end http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200804231045DOWJONESDJONLINE000770_FORTUNE5.htm… Read more

Has Microsoft become too corporate for its own good?

I found this article on O'Reilly's (Microsoft-sponsored) Port 25 page fascinating. For all Microsoft's attempts to own the budding minds of students, it may well be that Microsoft has become too corporate, too sterile to be of interest to the creative mind:

Even back in my day, you could go to a "Windows lab" and work with Visual Studio or go to a "UNIX lab" and use vi and gcc. And you know what? All the fun was in the UNIX lab. And not just for me. There was just a difference in the attitudes and ethic across the two lab environments. People in the Windows lab were trying to get their project in before it was 11:59 PM, while people in the UNIX lab were goofing off, playing with code, and... trying to get their project in before it was 11:59 PM.

What is it about UNIX, vi, emacs, gcc, perl, and INSERT-HERE that makes it fun to play with, while Visual Studio just makes you want to... well, work?

In the enterprise, this alleged Microsoft attribute might be considered a Very Good Thing. But is it? Do enterprises really want automatons that punch in and code to spec? Or do they want innovation that changes the game?… Read more

Echo Boom hackers: Shame

On Thursday morning, at this year's RSA conference in San Francisco, Chris Boyd of Facetime and I will present a talk "How to Adapt to the Echo Generation's Social Media Hacking Game." The following is a preview of that talk, presented in three parts. On Tuesday we learned who the Echo Generation are. Wednesday we saw how they use online social media for hacks. Today, we'll see how Chris uses features of social networks and Web 2.0 to shut these kids down.

Known as the Sherlock Holmes of France, famed criminologist Edmond Locard once … Read more

FBI: Lieberman campaign, not hackers, caused 2006 Web site crash

You may recall that during the heat of the 2006 primary race that prompted then-Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman to go Independent, the Connecticut politician's Web site, as a colleague of mine so eloquently noted, dropped dead.

At the time, conspiracy theories abounded. There was twittering that liberal bloggers who backed Lieberman's antiwar Democratic rival, Ned Lamont (who went on to win the primary, by the way) were responsible for the site's inaccessibility, and Lieberman's own campaign maintained that a denial-of-service attack had occurred.

Now, nearly two years later, we finally know whom to blame: the Lieberman … Read more