mercoledì 21 settembre 2011

Computer virus Stuxnet a 'game changer,' DHS official tells Senate

Washington (CNN) -- A highly complex computer attack that may have been targeting Iran's nuclear power plants is posing a serious security threat to critical infrastructure worldwide, according to government and cyber-industry experts testifying Wednesday on Capitol Hill.


The computer worm known as Stuxnet was discovered this past July and specifically targets computers that run critical infrastructure such as the electric power grid, water treatment and oil and gas pipelines.


The head of the Cybersecurity Center at the Department of Homeland Security said Stuxnet is an incredibly large, complex threat with capabilities never seen before.


"This code can automatically enter a system, steal the formula for the product you are manufacturing, alter the ingredients being mixed in your product, and indicate to the operator and your anti-virus software that everything is functioning as expected," Sean McGurk told the Senate Homeland Security Committee.


McGurk called the development of Stuxnet a "game changer."


McGurk said there is not enough knowledge to identify what specifically was the target of the attack.


"To say it was specifically designed to target a particular facility is very difficult for anyone to say with assurance," said McGurk.


However, a study by the Symantec Corporation, a cybersecurity firm, indicated Iran's nuclear plants could be the intended target. "Stuxnet is a threat targeting a specific industrial control system likely in Iran, such as a gas pipeline or power plant," according to the report.


Symantec official Dean Turner told the lawmakers that "even if something like this is tied to one particular country or group of countries, the ability of it to have a global reach is enormous."


He said there were approximately 44,000 unique Stuxnet infections worldwide with 1,600 of them in the United States. Nearly 60 percent of the global infections were in Iran.


Who was behind the attack also remains a mystery. DHS's McGurk said the department's analysis of the code did not point to where it was developed. The Symantec study did not identify a source of the attack.


The sophistication of the malware makes it unlikely it could easily be duplicated by others.


"Stuxnet has such complexity requiring significant rescues to develop that few attackers will be capable of producing a similar threat," Turner said.


The discovery of Stuxnet was a wake up call to government and industry, agreed all those who testified. Michael Assante, the president of the National Board of Information Security Examiners said, "We're not only susceptible, but we're not very well prepared."


Enhanced cooperation between the federal government and private sector was cited as one key component to fending off cyber threats.


Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, lamented that critical cybersecurity legislation needed to combat cyber threats will have to wait until the new Congress convenes next year.

"I'm sorry to say it seems unlikely we can pass this bill in this lame-duck session, although we should. I've been disappointed that the administration and some other committees that have an interest in this issue have been slow to engage," said Lieberman.


 

The app that can read your mind: iPhone brainwave detector arrives

 

It's a device that would be more at home on the set of a Star Wars movie than the streets of Britain.


But an iPhone application has been developed that can read minds.


The XWave allows users to control on-screen objects with their minds as well as train their brains to control attention spans and relaxation levels.


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No-brainer: The XWave allows users to control on-screen objects with their minds as well as train their brains to control attention spans and relaxation levels


The device - that could confuse Luke Skywalker himself - is the latest in the field of emerging mind-controlled games and devices and works via a headset strapped around the user's forehead, plugging into the iPhone jack.


A state-of-the-art sensor within the device can then read the user's brainwaves through the skull, converting them into digital signals before displaying them in various colours on the iPhone screen.

State of the art: A sensor within the device can then read the user's brainwaves through the skull, converting them into digital signals before displaying them in various colours on the iPhone screen


And as the mind focuses on a particular task the graphics change, indicating the user's level of concentration or relaxation.


The high-tech sensor was developed by innovations giant PLX Devices using technology that has for years been used by doctors to treat epilepsy and seizures in patients.

Brain train: As the mind focuses on a particular task the graphics change, indicating the user's level of concentration or relaxation


But PLX Devices founder and CEO Paul Lowchareonkul said it was a matter of time before such contraptions entered the mainstream.


He said: 'The human brain is the most powerful, complex thing in the universe, and for the first time, we're able to harness its amazing power and connect it to everyday technology.


'With the development of 3rd party apps, the potential for innovation is limitless.'


Brain-training exercises include levitating an on-screen ball for a certain amount of time or changing a colour by relaxing the brain in a bid to maximise the brain's attention span.


And designers say it won't stop there.


Incredibly, another app, called XWave Tunes allow users to connect with each other through the type of music that most stimulates their brainwaves.


The company says it is working on other ways in which the futuristic technology can be applied such as playing games through the mind, controlling the lights at home and even choosing what music to listen to on an iPod depending on the user's mood.

martedì 20 settembre 2011

Wi-Fi Makes Trees Sick, Study Says

 

Software & ServicesOffice HardwareSecurityServers & StorageCell Phones & MobileOperating SystemsNetworking & VOIPVirtualization


Editorial note: A Dutch agency that looks into the health effects of electromagnetic radiation issued a statement that the results of the research described in this story were unconfirmed. "Based on the information now available [it] can not be concluded that the Wi-Fi radio signals leads to damage to trees or other plants," it said, according to a Google translation.

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Radiation from Wi-Fi networks is harmful to trees, causing significant variations in growth, as well as bleeding and fissures in the bark, according to a recent study in the Netherlands.


All deciduous trees in the Western world are affected, according to the study by Wageningen University. The city of Alphen aan den Rijn ordered the study five years ago after officials found unexplained abnormalities on trees that couldn't be ascribed to a virus or bacterial infection.


Additional testing found the disease to occur throughout the Western world. In the Netherlands, about 70 percent of all trees in urban areas show the same symptoms, compared with only 10 percent five years ago. Trees in densely forested areas are hardly affected.


Besides the electromagnetic fields created by mobile-phone networks and wireless LANs, ultrafine particles emitted by cars and trucks may also be to blame. These particles are so small they are able to enter the organisms.


The study exposed 20 ash trees to various radiation sources for a period of three months. Trees placed closest to the Wi-Fi radio demonstrated a "lead-like shine" on their leaves that was caused by the dying of the upper and lower epidermis of the leaves. This would eventually result in the death of parts of the leaves. The study also found that Wi-Fi radiation could inhibit the growth of corn cobs.


The researchers urged that further studies were needed to confirm the current results and determine long-term effects of wireless radiation on trees.