Today’s Tech Sightings:
Black Hat Keynote Speaker: Dream of Internet Freedom Is Dying
As the annual Black Hat security conference kicked off in Las Vegas, Jennifer Granick, Director of Civil Liberties at the Stanford Center for Internet and Society, warned that overregulation, censorship and bad laws are killing the dream of a free and open Internet.
A participant at the Black Hat 2015 conference has described a way to hack Globalstar satellite transmissions used to track truck fleets and hikers and alter sent messages. The vulnerability could have disastrous repercussions for pilots, shipping lines and all who use the system to monitor remote assets.
A new study from the Pew Research Center found that teens are communicating with each other with text messaging in online games and social networks more frequently than in person. Six in ten said they met at least one new friend online; one-third followed that with a face-to-face meeting. The study found that the lines are blurring between the real and virtual worlds as kids effortlessly straddle both.
Adriel Sumathipala’s grandfather died of a heart attack before Sumanthipala was born. Once the 16-year-old tinkerer learned that his family is at risk for heart disease, he started following a healthier lifestyle. But he was frustrated with the lack of an affordable way to monitor his progress. So he created a low-cost, on-site heart disease test with the help of his biology teacher and an inkjet printer.
Looks like Facebook is still messing around with personality types, albeit in a more roundabout way. A new study published in Personality and Individual Differences found that answering Facebook’s question reveals patterns about users and their goals – seeking attention, staying informed, looking to speak out or communicate. Eventually, a clear personality type emerges.
New research from security firm Imperva found that a “man-in-the-cloud” attack can enable hackers to surreptitiously steal cloud-based files and inject malware. The attack exploits a vulnerability in the design of file synchronization offerings on Google, Box, Microsoft, and Dropbox.
Fake iPhones are part of a big counterfeit-electronics business. And it isn’t just happening in China, where authorities recently seized more than 40,000 counterfeit iPhones. So how do you know if your iPhone is a fake? Writer Wayne Rash offers some tips.
Devices running Google’s Android operating system may be popular, but they do have their challenges. Writer Ryan Whitwam offers a list of do’s and don’ts for Android users to help them make better – and safer – use of their phones.
