Today’s Tech Sightings:
Europol: Dozens Arrested in European Cyber Crime Sweep
The European Union’s justice agency says it has arrested dozens of suspects in an international identity theft sting that involved millions of euros stolen; suspects allegedly stole victims’ usernames, passwords to steal money from bank accounts.
Secret Cell Towers in London Fool Phones Into Giving Up Private Call Data
A report reveals evidence that fake cell towers are being used in London, with the ability to eavesdrop on calls and collect additional communications data. IMSI catchers, they are called, fool phones into connecting with them, and are apparently used by the police and governments to monitor crime.
UK Students Develop ‘Facial Recognition’ Cane for the Blind, Visually Impaired
Students figured out how they could make their revolutionary cane the most helpful for the visually impaired. The new “smart” cane, dubbed XploR, leverages smartphone technology to help the user detect and recognize familiar faces more than 30 feet away. It also has GPS to help the user navigate.
Mystery Glitch Sparks Space Station Alert
The engines of a Soyuz spacecraft which is docked at the International Space Station experienced a glitch when the engine unexpectedly started during testing of the system, which has caused its position in orbit to shift. The crew was not in danger.
Facebook Messenger Gets Its First Game
Facebook’s chat application now has its first official game called Doodle Draw. The Draw Something-like game is easy: just pick a word, attempt to draw something that resembles that word and send it to a friend to have them guess what it is.
How (and Why) Apple’s Obsessed With Our Health
Apple announced it will offer new metrics for its expansive health-data monitoring system, Healthkit – a tracker designed to nudge users towards healthy behaviors. From a happy mood and focused mind, to hydration and ultra-violet light exposure.
Kaspersky Finds New Nation-State Attack—In Its Own Network
In a case of the watchers watching the watchers who are watching them, researchers at Kaspersky Lab in Russia have discovered another new nation-state attack attributed to members of the infamous Stuxnet and Duqu gang. But this time the perpetrators were hiding inside the security firm’s own networks.
Marriott, Netflix Team Up for In-room Streaming, No Paid Internet Required
Instead of cable for TV programming, hotel chains like Marriott are boosting access to Netflix. Marriott rolls out their plan to provide their guests the ability to tap into their Netflix accounts directly from the televisions in their rooms. Nearly all of its 300 U.S. hotels should be on board by the end of 2016.