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IBM Sees Influx In Zero-day Exploits

August 26, 2008 by 7 Comments


IBM’s X-Force security team has released a mid-year report(PDF) stating that the number of zero-day exploits is growing at an alarming rate. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, a zero-day exploit is a program that is created and implemented within 24 hours of the disclosure of a security flaw. These exploits usually affect users before they even know the vulnerability exists and long before a patch is made available. The researchers also found that many of these exploits were targeted at browser plug-ins, which most users utilize on a daily basis.

[Kris Lamb], X-Force operations manager, is blaming the problem on a lack of a unified process for disclosing vulnerabilities. He also claims that the long-held practice of publishing example code of vulnerabilities should be frowned upon.

[via Liquidmatrix]

Large Hadron Collider User Manual Online

August 26, 2008 by 15 Comments


If you’ve got a few hours (or weeks) of spare time, you could learn how to run the Large Hadron Collider, located at CERN in Switzerland. CERN published the full technical details of the collider and detectors online, and anyone with some curiosity and patience can read all 1,589 pages. Tell us if you got through all of it, and if you’re planning to make your own particle accelerator.

[via MetaFilter]

James Powderly Released

August 25, 2008 by 10 Comments


Graffiti Research Lab’s [James Powderly] along with 9 other Tibet supporters were deported from China during the Olympic’s closing ceremonies. Detained on the 19th, the activists were to serve a 10 day sentence, but the Chinese government buckled under international pressure and deported them early. This brings the total number of deported activists to 53 since the start of the games.

Graffiti Research Lab is well known for its laser tagging research.

VIA’s EPIA Pico-ITX Based Robots

August 23, 2008 by 5 Comments

VIA, the Taiwan-based supplier of chipsets and low power processors, showed off its latest creations at the Taipei International Robot Show. The Lynxmotion Johnny 5 kit, based on the robot from the animated film Short Circuit, is powered by the compact VIA EPIA P700 board, and aimed at beginner robotic hobbyists. VIA claimed that its use of the latest board allows for much easier software development. VIA also showcased the Mini-ITX powered Vecna Battlefield Extraction-Assist Robot (or BEAR), a cuddly-looking robot with potential uses in military and rescue operations.

[via Engadget]

FEMA Phone System Hacked

August 21, 2008 by 15 Comments


Over the weekend, a hacker broke into FEMA’s new PBX voicemail system, made over 400 overseas phone calls to Asia and the Middle East, and ran up a $12,000 bill. The low tech hack took advantage of a “hole” that was not covered when a contractor upgraded the voicemail system. FEMA is currently conducting its own internal investigation, but FEMA spokesman [Tom Olshanski] did not have any information about the contractor responsible or what specific hole was the cause of the breach. Ironically, Homeland Security, of which FEMA is a part, had issued a warning in 2003 about the very same vulnerability.

[photo: silas216]

Micro Battery Assembled By Virus

August 20, 2008 by 6 Comments


MIT researchers have used a viral assembly method to create a battery at half the size of a human cell. They’ve successfully developed the anode and electrolyte, leaving only the cathode unfinished. each electrode is only 4 micrometers in diameter.

The construction process involves taking a rubbery base and creating a pattern of tiny posts through lithography. Then they add different layers of polymers that act as an electrolyte. Finally the virus preferentially self-assembles on top of the polymer creating the anode. Pictured above is a test plate. The battery itself is too small to be seen.

[via BoingBoing]