Hackers could create havoc with global air traffic

LAS VEGAS — Air traffic control software used around the world could be exploited by hackers to unleash squadrons of ghost planes to befuddle those entrusted to keep the skies safe, a security researcher said Friday. Cyprus-based Andrei Costin demonstrated his findings at a Black Hat gathering of cyber defenders in Las Vegas. “This is for information only,” Costin said as he outlined how someone with modest tech skills and about $2,000 worth of electronics could vex air traffic controllers or even stalk celebrities traveling in private jets. “Everything you do is at your own risk.”  Costin’s target was an ADS-B system in place for aircraft to communicate with one another and with air traffic control systems at airports.The system, which has been rolled out internationally in recent years in a multi-billion dollar upgrade, was designed to better track aircraft so airport traffic can flow more efficiently. A perilous flaw is that the system is not designed to verify who is actually sending a message, meaning that those with malicious intent can impersonate aircraft either as pranks or to cause mayhem, according to Costin. “There is no provision to make sure a message is genuine,” he said.“It is basically an inviting opportunity for any attacker with medium technical knowledge.” Air traffic controllers...

Read More........→December 16, 2012

Samsung to launch a Facebook-like Social network next year

Are you fed of with facebook , twitter or Google ? If yes then it can be a good News for you all. After Google and Microsoft’s venture into social networking space, now Samsung seems to be working on a social networking service. A recent report from The Korean Times, states that Samsung Electronics is expected to launch a Facebook-like social networking site by early next year.The new social network according to the reports would be accessible on a wide range of devices, including laptops, cameras, televisions etc. To allow users to access the social networking service from any device and at any time, Samsung also plans to integrate the service with Amazon’s cloud computing platform. When asked about the rumors of the upcoming social network, Samsung claimed that the company is just launching an update for Family Story – a social networking service focused on photo sharing, and storing families’ special moments, accessible on a limited number of Samsung smartphones and Web-connected televisions, since February 2012. “By the end of the year, we will have a polished and finished version of Family Story that will be offered first to Samsung device users for free. The new service will become available in the first quarter of next year at the earliest. The eventual goal is to expand our social media service across...

Read More........→November 16, 2012

Google opens year-long Web Lab exhibition at the Science Museum

A SERIES OF ‘INTERACTIVE CHROME EXPERIMENTS’ HAVE TAKEN UP RESIDENCE IN A BASEMENT GALLERY AT THE SCIENCE MUSEUM. Google hopes that the exhibition will “bring the extraordinary workings of the internet to life and inspire the next generation of computer scientists and enthusiasts. “ Visitors to the Science Museum will be able to play with five demonstrations, while online participants will be able to visit chromeweblab.com and interact with the same installations. The Science Museum claims the exhibition will be its first that is truly 24-hour, as online users will continue to be able to operate the exhibits overnight when the museum is closed. The five experiments are Universal Orchestra, an internet-powered eight-piece robotic orchestra; Sketchbots, where custom-built robots take photographs of users and then sketch them in sand; Data Tracer, which maps where the world’s online information is physically stored; Teleporter, which uses web-enabled periscopes to view pre-determined locations around the world; and Lab Tag Explorer, which shows where exhibition visotrs, both online and in the gallery, are from and what they have in common. Each Web Lab experiment uses a modern web technology to explore a particular idea in computer science, but Google is not explaining the different techniques...

Read More........→September 23, 2012

Google deploying planes over cities for 3D maps

A three-dimensional view of the Cliff House in San Francisco on Google Earth. -AP Deccan Chronicle, Reuters, San Francisco: Google is deploying a fleet of small, camera-equipped airplanes above several cities, the Internet search company's latest step in its ambitious and sometimes controversial plan to create a digital map of the world. Google plans to release the first three-dimensional maps for several cities by the end of the year, the company said at a news conference at its San Francisco offices on Wednesday. Google declined to name the cities, but it showed a demonstration of a 3D map of San Francisco, in which a user can navigate around an aerial view of the city. "We're trying to create the illusion that you're just flying over the city, almost as if you were in your own personal helicopter," said Peter Birch, a product manager for Google Earth. Google's head of engineering for its maps product, Brian McClendon, said the company was using a fleet of airplanes owned and operated by contractors and flying exclusively for Google. Asked about potential privacy implications, McClendon said the privacy issues were similar to all aerial imagery and that the type of 45-degree-angle pictures that the planes take have been used for a long time. Google has used airplanes to collect aerial photos in the past, such as following...

Read More........→August 17, 2012

Google Maps to feature canals and rivers

Google has embarked on a project to map towpaths in England and Wales, as part of a plan to get more people on to rivers and canals. Later this year, Google Maps will be updated to enable users to plan journeys that include bridges, locks and the 2,000 miles of canal and river paths across England and Wales. The project is being launched today with the Canal and River Trust, which begins its stewardship of the nation's waterways next month. It takes over from British Waterways and the Waterways Trustin England and Wales to become responsible for the nation's third largest collection of listed structures, as well hundreds of important wildlife habitats. Tony Hales, the chairman of the trust, said: "We are delighted that these exciting partners have come on board as we launch. This is a huge vote of confidence in the Canal and River Trust and recognition of the important role it will play as the guardian of one of the nation's environmental treasures." Ed Parsons, a geospatial technologist at Google UK, said of the project: "Canal towpaths offer green routes through our towns and cities, and by working with the Canal and River Trust we're adding towpaths to Google Maps and encouraging people to discover their local waterway."Source: Sam Daily Time...

Read More........→July 21, 2012