Today’s Tech Sightings:
Russia Plans National OS to Escape Android, iOS Dependence
Russia’s Minister of Communication Nikolai Nikiforov announced that the country will develop a national operating system based on open source mobile operating system Sailfish. The intent is to slash dependence by half on the Android and iOS mobile operating systems by 2025.
Digital Rights Groups Say Facebook’s Free Internet.org Threatens Online Equality
Facebook’s Internet.org seeks to provide free Internet connectivity around the world. But more than 60 global digital organizations wrote to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to express concern that Internet. org’s marketing has been misleading. The groups said Internet.org is billed as providing free online access, when it only provides access to limited services approved by Facebook and local Internet service providers.
URL-Spoofing Bug in Apple’s Safari Could Enable Phishing Attacks
The days when Apple products seemed impervious to hackers are over. Security researcher David Leo discovered the latest versions of Safari for Mac OS X and iOS are vulnerable to a flaw that allows hackers to redirect the browser to a spoofed URL and steal financial information.
Sneaky Security System Fools Hackers With Fake Passwords
Researchers at Indiana’s Purdue University have developed a system called ErsatzPasswords that makes it harder for hackers to steal usable passwords from a leaked database. Hackers will still be able to break in, but the passwords they get their hands on will be fake.
Trojanized, Info-Stealing PuTTY Version Lurking Online
Symantec researchers have found a malicious version of open source Secure Shell client PuTTY, which is popular among admins and developers looking to encrypt connections to remote servers. The malicious version can steal the credentials needed to connect to the servers, but is not broadly distributed at this time. It can be downloaded if users access a compromised site or search for the original software with a search engine.
Bitcoin Gains Mainstream Support With NYSE Index Launch Today
Boosting the legitimacy of digital currency Bitcoin, the New York Stock Exchange is launching Tuesday a Bitcoin index on the NYSE Global Index that lets interested traders track performance on the Coinbase bitcoin exchange. The index will be calculated daily to four decimals, and it will be temporarily available publicly on the NYSE website.
It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s a Flying Car!
Flying cars are coming – maybe. A host of companies already are racing to produce a flying vehicle, and some predict 2017 will see the industry turn a corner. But getting the prototype off the ground is running into numerous hurdles, from testing meant to prove that the cars are fit to fly, to regulation and certification requirements that could take a very long time to process.
