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Google Study Finds Security Question Offer Little Protection

May 22, 2015 By Lee Raulin Leave a Comment

security questionsA study recently published by Google suggests that security questions are actually no good at protecting user accounts, quite the contrary. While the easier answers can be very easily guessed even by an amateur hacker, the complicated ones are very difficult to remember.

Google conducted an extensive study during which hundreds of millions of questions and answers were analyzed. The conclusion was that “secret questions are neither secure nor reliable enough to be used as a standalone account recovery mechanism.”

Apparently, people who use security questions to help them recover their accounts are faced with one of two undesired outcomes. Either the private information can be easily exposed – when the question is too easy to answer – or users are unable regain access to their own accounts – when the answer is so complicated that not even they can remember it.

Google offered plenty of statistics to support their findings. For instance, pizza is one of the likely answers to the facile “What is your favorite food?” question, as it was chosen by about 20 percent of the subjects in the study. Results don’t show much promise when it comes to other similar questions.

For instance, if an attacker is persistent enough and tries at least ten times, there is a very high chance he will guess the correct answer in most situations. Your first teacher’s name will be guessed 24 percent of the time, while your father’s middle name can be exposed in 21 percent of the cases. The matter gets even more complicated when the answer is public knowledge, such as your city of birth.

Google then tried to solve the dilemma by determining if security questions are more effective when coupled together. If two easy questions were to be used instead of a single one, the exposure risk would decrease dramatically, and attackers would be able to breach the accounts in only 1 percent of the cases. However, the procedure would get so complicated that not even the users themselves would be able to successfully recover their accounts.

The study showed that the recall rate of a single simple answer is relatively high, as almost 80 percent of Google users remember their answers without much trouble. The same thong does not apply when they are asked to answer two different questions. Google suggests that user recall rate in case of multiple questions is just over 50 percent, which pretty much renders security questions useless.

So, if it’s easy, then it’s easy for everyone. If things get complicated, then you might find yourself locked out of your own account. Security questions will probably become a thing of the past soon, as there are more effective ways of protecting data currently available. Take, for instance, a fingerprint scanner. Or simply add a pin. It may not be much, but it’s way easier to remember.

Image Source: Perimeter USA

Filed Under: Technology

NSA Planned to Infect Smartphones via Google and Samsung App Stores

May 21, 2015 By Dustin Smith Leave a Comment

nsa smartphone surveillanceTop-secret documents were leaked to the press recently, suggesting that the NSA was planning to infect smartphones with spyware by hijacking the Google and Samsung app stores. According to the information, there were five countries involved in the project, including the United States.

The National Security Agency and its counterparts from Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand were all part of a surveillance program dating a few years back. The intelligence agencies from all five nations, collectively codenamed the “Five Eyes” alliance, were to be placed under the oversight of a special unit called the Network Tradecraft Advancement Team.

The document was obtained by the press courtesy of the infamous NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. For the time being, however, it is unknown what became of the hijacking program.

The NSA plan did not involve only collecting data from the infected devices, but also using them for surveillance operations. According to the documents, the spyware should have also enabled the agency to use manipulation techniques on certain targets, by sending them “selective misinformation.”

The project was well under way at the time the documents were made. The Five Eyes were already engaged in several workshops in Canada and Australia, still trying to figure out the tactics before actually starting the program.

As far as it is known, the first stage of the NSA surveillance agenda involved infiltrating the Samsung and Google app stores. From there, the spyware was supposed to hijack phone users’ internet connections that would have allowed the agency to send malicious software to designated devices.

The technique is not an NSA invention, and it is widely known among computer programmers as a “man-in-the-middle” attack. A hacker would have been placed between the app servers and smartphones, allowing him to control any data sent between the two – hence, the man in the middle.

According to Citizen Lab human rights group, the move would have been a rather irresponsible decision on behalf of the NSA, as the security breach would have exposed hundreds of millions of smartphone users to attacks from basically any country. Eventually, the program could have backfired in a really ugly way for the agency.

The NSA did not respond in any way to the allegations. As for Google and Samsung, both companies said they refrain from making any comments for the time being.

Image Source: IB Times

Filed Under: Technology

Google Apologizes for Offensive Words Pointing Out to the White House

May 20, 2015 By Karla Connors Leave a Comment

nigga houseGoogle apologized for the algorithm that suggested the White House as a Google Maps result after typing a combination of racially offensive words. The announcement was made after several people complained that typing the N-word in the Google Maps search box would most likely lead to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

For instance, Bomani Buckhalter reported that searching “N***** house” in Google’s mapping service would point out to the White House, and most of his friends were aware of the fact. Same thing occurred after combining the N-word with other syntagmas – “N***** king” returned the same result, which many people found offensive towards president Obama and black people in general.

Google claims the results are unintended and the company is working hard to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. “Some inappropriate results are surfacing in Google Maps that should not be, and we apologize for any offense this may have caused,” a spokesman for the company said.

Apparently, the tech giant is taking matters very seriously, as the Google Maps editing feature has been temporarily disabled to prevent internet trolls from pulling any pranks through the app. Google product manager Pavithra Kanakarajan reassured users that the moderation system will return shortly, after the required corrections are made.

It will probably take a while before Google finishes refurnishing the search algorithms and the map editing system, and the service will most likely become fully available again around May 27, along with the new Google Maps patch that the company announced.

The N-word conundrum is only a latest unfortunate event on a long list of incidents that put Google under suspicion for deliberately trolling other people. And it was Google Maps that caught the attention each time. For instance, about a month ago someone found out that the White House has been tagged as NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden’s home.

Moreover, several weeks later an Android figurine was discovered urinating on what very much resembled an Apple logo in Pakistan. Google apologized each time the information went public, and claimed that it had no earlier knowledge. But coincidences suspiciously seem to add up to something.

Image Source: African America

Filed Under: Technology

Chinese Hackers Behind Penn State Cyberattacks

May 16, 2015 By Robert Benson Leave a Comment

chinese hackersAfter Pennsylvania State University revealed on Friday that it had been the victim of “highly sophisticated” cyberattacks, college officials announced they also found who is responsible for the attack. According to recent reports, Chinese hackers have been sniffing around Penn State servers for more than two years.

Penn State’s College of Engineering is one of the most productive research units in the United States, and at this point it is difficult to assess the damage done by the cyberattacks. The college’s engineers are working with important companies operating in the US on a large number of tech projects, most of them designed for commercial use.

“This was an advanced attack against our College of Engineering by very sophisticated threat actors,” said Eric Barron, president of Penn State University. “This is an incredibly serious situation.”

The attacks left more than 18,000 username and passwords exposed, and Barron publicly apologized after announcing the incident on Friday. The good news is that no credit card data was accessed, at least according to the preliminary investigation.

The bad news, however, is that the hackers probably never had any intention to steal credit card information. Investigators suggest that at least one of the cyberattacks came from China, and now authorities fear that many of Penn State’s research projects have been exposed.

“Well-funded and highly skilled cyber criminals have attacked on a wide range of businesses and government agencies, likely in search of sensitive information and intellectual property,” Barron said in another statement, indicating that most likely the same thing happened with the university.

Cyberespionage is becoming an increasingly common weapon in modern information warfare, and hackers often target universities and private laboratories instead of going for governmental agencies. The servers of non-federal institutions are much easier to break and often the information they reveal is quite rewarding.

Other top American engineering schools – such as Carnegie Mellon, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Johns Hopkins – have also been the victims of Chinese cyberattacks in the past. The problem is that universities often have to deal with this kind of threats on their own, occasionally resorting to the help of a third party security firm. The federal authorities do little to safeguard the college servers, at least until it’s too late.

According to Barron, Penn State alone has to deal with about 22 million cyberattacks each day, but their security system is not 100 percent secure. In case of the latest attacks, Barron argues they had to deal with the “highest level of sophistication”. Although the FBI warned the University last year that it may be the target of a cyberattack, the hackers still couldn’t be repelled effectively.

The attacks went so deep that Penn State had to shut down its servers for several days while security experts cleaned the systems. In the meantime, all engineering projects have been put on halt. Those involved in any research with the University should visit security.psu.edu to learn more about the current situation.

Image Source: Tech in Asia

Filed Under: National News, Technology

Facebook and LinkedIn Teams Up to Push Women in Technology Studies

February 15, 2015 By Ben Beckstrom

Facebook and LinkedIn Teams Up to Push Women in Technology Studies

Facebook and LinkedIn is aiming to boost the declining numbers of women that opt to study computer science and engineering with collaborative initiatives that will eventually fill in thousands of lucrative men dominated Silicon Valley jobs.

Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer of Facebook, and Jeffrey Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn, stated that they are launching support and mentoring programs at several colleges to entice in general more women in studying technology, and thus become future employees.

15% of Facebook’s employee population that are working specifically in technology related jobs and 31% of these employees are women. At LinkedIn, 17% of tech employees are women and 39% of overall employees are women as well.

Telle Whitney, Anita Borg Institute’s president and CEO, an initiative partner, stated that diversity will bring greater technology innovation.

Filed Under: Business & Economy, Technology Tagged With: Facebook, LinkedIn

Tesla Road Trip Set to Face Headwinds from Competition

February 15, 2015 By Adam Martin

Tesla Road Trip Set to Face Headwinds from CompetitionTesla Motors to embark on a road trip this coming weekend by launching their “Double Black Dual Motor Tour” that would reach 10 cities all over the US.

The tour’s aim is to showcase what the battery-carmaker from California focuses on unprecedented acceleration and exhilarating performance of the company’s two new versions the Model S, its luxury sedan high-line.

The tour comes as Tesla faces some mounting problems, which includes a significant slump compared to previous high-flying stock prices, program delays, and fierce resistance in setting up a network nationwide in particular factory-owned dealerships.

New threats from General Motors can be a big factor, which can beat Tesla in the market when it comes to affordability and battery life. Worldwide, Tesla had already delivered a total of 31,623 units last year, 10% higher compared to 2013 sales.

Filed Under: Business & Economy, Technology Tagged With: Tesla Motors

Corning’s Project Phire to Further Improve Gorilla Glass

February 14, 2015 By Jesse Skelton

Corning’s Project Phire to Further Improve Gorilla Glass

Gorilla Glass, probably the biggest manufacturer of glass used in smartphones, may soon be taking their product to a whole new level.

Project Phire is Corning’s newest attempt in producing a new material that can be used for smartphones and tablets. CNET reported that the new product will combine the toughness of the Gorilla added with sapphire like scratch-resistant properties.

CNET also stated in a report that Corning is also planning to have the new material ready later this year, and even if sapphire did suffer some setbacks, the big question is which material will be used for up-coming smartphone and tablet models.

Filed Under: Science, Technology Tagged With: Corning, Gorilla Glass

Almost Half Billion Powerball Draw on Wednesday Causes Much Excitement

February 12, 2015 By Jesse Skelton

Almost Half Billion Powerball Draw on Wednesday Causes Much ExcitementLotto fans are getting pretty excited and praying for luck as the Powerball expected jackpot is anticipated to reach almost half a Billion dollars. This is why Powerball players are anticipating the coming draw this Wednesday with much excitement.

The jackpot prize rose because there was no winner last Saturday, and is expected to reach up to $450M, which is considered to be one of the largest. The lottery is played throughout 43 states in the U.S. Virgin Islands and the District of Columbia. Each playing ticket costs $2 and prize cash outs can be collected over a duration of 29 years.

Filed Under: Business & Economy, National News, Technology Tagged With: Powerball Draw

Uber Implements Panic Button for Users after India Ban Threat

February 12, 2015 By Melanie Quintal

Uber Implements Panic Button for Users after India Ban ThreatDue to recent India safety complaints, Uber, a dial-a-car company, is giving users of their service a panic button. Aimed to contact the police, this is after reports started circulating that suggests the banning of the said service in Maharashtra.

The company stated in a recent blog post that users will be offered an option that will give them the ability to connect with police by just pressing a panic button if the need arises. Uber stated that the new feature will be up and ready by February 11 for users.

The panic button is just one of the many new precautions being implemented by Uber due to a recent accusation regarding an Uber driver raping a passenger that led New Delhi authorities to implement a temporary ban.

Filed Under: Business & Economy, Technology Tagged With: Uber

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