army

Onion's Twitter account hacked by Syrian Electronic Army

When it comes to parody news site the Onion, it's hard to tell if anything it publishes is real. So, after the site's Twitter feed had several tweets on Monday saying "The Syrian Electronic Army Was Here" and other similar messages, few people batted an eyelash.

However, both the Syrian Electronic Army and the Onion have confirmed that indeed the site's Twitter account was hacked, according to The New York Times.

Besides announcing that "The Syrian Electronic Army Was Here," the hacking group, which supports Syrian President Bashar Assad, also tweeted a message … Read more

Auralux is harder than it looks

Auralux (iOS|Android) on its surface is a beautiful and simple strategy game, but it quickly gets very challenging as you progress through levels. Your job is to conquer suns, and ultimately two AI-controlled teams using a single type of unit.

There have been other similar strategy games for mobile devices, but none that kept the gameplay so incredibly simple. When you start out, you have one sun that is producing an army per second, as does each other team. But before you rush to attack another team, you'll want to conquer gray, uninhabited suns by sending your armies. … Read more

'Syrian Electronic Army' hacks a BBC Twitter account

The Twitter account of the BBC weather service was hacked today, and hacker group the Syrian Electronic Army -- which supports Syrian President Bashar Assad -- is taking credit.

The BBC confirmed to Reuters that its account was hacked. The @bbcweather account was posting strange messages today, ranging in content but often mentioning Syria and Middle Eastern politics.

"Long Live #Syria Al-Assad #SEA," read one tweet. The group also claimed to have hacked @BBCarabicOnline and @Bbcradioulster as well. The BBC tweeted that the issue has been resolved.

The Syrian Electronic Army has claimed hacks before, including one on … Read more

The 404 1,231: Where time is brain (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Check out our interview with B.O.B. and Big Boi for their new game, "Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel."

- Mico headphones let your brainwaves choose the music.

- Google Images adds filters for animated GIFs.

- Detroit doctors link garbled texting as first sign of a stroke.… Read more

Chinese Army linked to hacks of U.S. companies, agencies

An "overwhelming percentage" of cyberattacks on U.S. corporations, government agencies, and organizations originate from a 12-story office tower on the outskirts of Shanghai that's connected to the People's Liberation Army, according to an extensive New York Times report.

The newspaper cites a 60-page report by U.S. security firm Mandiant that traces the activities of a sophisticated Chinese hacking group -- known in some circles as "Comment Crew" or "Shanghai Group" -- to the headquarters of People's Liberation Army Unit 61398. The report notes that a body of digital forensic … Read more

Charge your smartphone, become a cyberspy

There's just never enough battery life on your smartphone, is there?

You need it for so many things, like informing yourself, informing others and informing some mythical creature that you're about to kill it.

This might be especially true if, say, you happen to be in a U.S. Army garrison in South Korea.

Everyone in South Korea is on smartphones nonstop. It's de rigueur.

Now, efficiency is very important to the Army. Which means it's always tempting to charge a smartphone by plugging it into a computer.

The small drawback at a U.S. Army … Read more

Utility ring opens bottles, combs your eyebrows

People like to hide pointy things inside of other things. The classic Swiss Army knife is a great example of this. So is the TaskOne multi-tool case for the iPhone. Now, all those pointy things can be found in a fashionable ring.

The Man Ring from Etsy seller boonerings takes that Swiss Army knife philosophy, shrinks it down, and hides it in a ring made from aerospace-grade titanium and brass rivets.

The ring's tools include a straight blade, a serrated blade, a saw blade, a bottle opener, and a comb. That's a nifty assortment of tools all crammed into a small space, but I have to wonder about the functionality. It would take you years to cut down a small tree and you'd look pretty silly trying it.… Read more

Raytheon's new missile factory ready to fly

Raytheon, one of the world's largest military contractors, opened the doors today to its newest missile factory, a state-of-the-art facility that will produce weapons for the United States and its allies.

According to Raytheon, the Huntsville, Ala. plant, located at the U.S. Army's Redstone Arsenal, will produce Standard Missile-3 and Standard Missile-6 interceptors. The first SM-6s should be delivered in early 2013, while the SM-3s should be ready a quarter later.

The facility is said to be among the most advanced missile production plants in the world, utilizing laser-guided transport vehicles for moving missile components around.

Nerdy aprons let you be barefoot and geeky in the kitchen

Geeks know there's more to life than video game marathons and "Star Trek" reruns. Sometimes, you need to step into the kitchen and make cookies with your "Star Wars" cookie cutters.

It's important to be properly outfitted when you're role-playing as a chef. You may want to pick up one of Etsy seller Darling Army's geek aprons as a personal force field for your body before you start flinging flour about.… Read more