MONDAY, MAY 30, 2011
TECHNOLOGY
Phishing attacks on eBay fall by half MOSCOW: Kaspersky Lab announces the publication of its spam report for April 2011. Compared to the previous month the amount of spam in email traffic increased by 1.2 percentage points and averaged 80.8%. In the second half of April the average figure exceeded 83.6%, suggesting the share of unsolicited mail will continue to grow in the coming month. Phishers losing interest in eBay In April, phishers seemed to lose interest in eBay with almost half as many of its users being attacked compared to the previous month. The subsequent drop of 4.2 percentage points saw eBay fall two places to 4th in the Top 10 rating of organizations most often targeted in phishing attacks. PayPal was the undisputed leader of
April’s rating. However, the intensity of the attacks on this e-pay system has eased off slightly, with a drop of 6 percentage points compared to March. Facebook and Santander moved up to 2nd and 3rd respectively, though the number of attacks on these organizations only increased slightly compared with March.
gifts, while the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton was accompanied with offers for souvenirs that included exact replicas of Kate’s engagement ring. Fortunately, the surge in malicious spam exploiting the “wedding of the year” theme that was predicted by antivirus vendors didn’t materialize.
Spam in the spotlight As is usual at this time of year, spammers exploited Easter to attract more attention to their mass mailings. The sheer variety of Easter-themed spam messages was striking - from special weight loss offers to tablets for enhancing sexual potency. Mother’s Day, which is celebrated in many countries in early May, was reflected in numerous adverts for flowers and
Sources of spam In April, India and Brazil remained the most popular sources of spam, accounting for 12.76% and 7.15% of the total volume of spam respectively. Russia continued its slide down the rating of most popular spam sources, being overtaken by South Korea whose contribution to global spam almost doubled compared with March’s figure.
Malware in mail traffic Of particular interest in April was the appearance of Packed.Win32.Katusha.n and TrojanDownloader.Win32.FraudLoad.hxv in the rating of malicious programs blocked by mail antivirus. Both malicious programs are linked to fake AV: the former is used to pack them while the latter downloads them to users’ computers. In April, malicious files were found in 3.65% of all emails, an increase of 0.43 percentage points compared with the previous month. The USA, Russia and the UK continued to occupy the top three places in the list of countries where malware was detected most frequently in mail traffic. There was an increase of 1.93 percentage points recorded in the USA, but the figure
for Russia decreased by 2.9 percentage points compared to March. Spam rage The first ever case of spam driving someone mad was reported in the USA in April. New York resident Jeremy Clancy, 28, was so angry with the amount of spam he was receiving in his mail box and on his social network pages that he decided to hunt down his tormentors. Over the period of a week he tracked down 23 people whom he suspected of distributing unsolicited correspondence and in the evenings cut the Internet cables at their houses. On his eighth outing he was apprehended by the police. It was later disclosed that Clancy was suffering from a mental disorder.
Taiwan show to feature Apple tablet challengers World’s second-largest computer show
HAMPSHIRE: The Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor jet flies during an air display at the Farnborough International Airshow in Hampshire on July 20, 2010. US defense contractor Lockheed Martin confirmed late May 28, 2011 that it had detected “a significant and tenacious” attack on its information systems network. “Lockheed Martin detected a significant and tenacious attack on its information systems network,” said a company statement. The company’s information security team detected the attack almost immediately and took what is described as “aggressive actions” to protect all systems and data, the statement added. — AFP
Lockheed says thwarted ‘tenacious’ cyber attack WASHINGTON: Lockheed Martin Corp., the US government’s top information technology provider, said on Saturday it had thwarted “a significant and tenacious attack” on its information systems network a week ago but was still working to restore employee access. No customer, program or employee personal data was compromised thanks to “almost immediate” protective action taken after the attack was detected May 21, Jennifer Whitlow, a company spokeswoman, said in an emailed statement. She said the company, the world’s biggest aerospace company and the Pentagon’s No. 1 supplier by sales, was working around the clock to restore employee access to the targeted network while maintaining the highest security level. The U.S. Defense Department said in statement late Saturday night that it was working with Lockheed to determine the scope of the attack. The incident’s impact on the department is “minimal and we don’t expect any adverse effect,” Air Force Lieutenant Colonel April Cunningham said by email. She declined to specify the nature of the impact, saying that as a matter of policy, the department does not not comment on operational matters. The Department of Homeland Security, or DHS, said that it and the Defense Department had offered to help curb the risk from the incident. Lockheed is the maker of the F-16, F-22 and F-35 fighter jets as well as warships and other multibillion-dollar arms systems sold worldwide. There was no word on where the attack may have originated. Military contractors’ systems contain technical specifications on weapons under development as well as those currently in use. The U.S. government has offered to help Lockheed analyze “available data in order to provide recommendations to mitigate further risk,” Chris Ortman, a DHS official, said in an e-mailed reply to a query from Reuters. A person with direct knowledge told Reuters on Friday that unknown attackers had broken into sensitive networks of Lockheed and several other US military contractors. Boeing Co and Northrop Grumman, the Pentagon’s No. 2 and No. 3 suppliers respectively, declined to discuss matters involving corporate security. US officials may investigate a cyber
breach at a company’s request. DHS, the lead agency for securing federal civilian networks, can deploy a team to analyze infected systems, develop mitigation strategies, advise on efforts to restore service and make recommendations for improving overall network security. Several top cybersecurity experts with extensive government dealings said they were in the dark about the origin of the attack. “I think it tells us that DHS doesn’t know much about what’s going on either,” said Anup Ghosh, a former senior scientist at the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency who worked on securing military networks. Ghosh, who now runs Invincea, a software security company, said there had been a string of intrusions against defense contractors, security companies and US government labs, including the U.S. Energy Department’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, since the start of this year. These attacks typically were carried out through so-called “spear-phish” inducements to click on a certain link to web sites or through emailed attachments carrying malicious code. Once so compromised, a computer can surreptitiously download other code that can log a victim’s key strokes, giving an attacker a path to potentially wide network access. “Defense industrials is where our military technology secrets are,” Ghosh said in an email interview. “What’s happening here is nothing short of theft of a nation.” The person with direct knowledge told Reuters on Friday that an intrusion at Lockheed was related to a recent breach of “SecurID” token authentication technology from EMC Corp’s EMC.N RSA security division. Cyber intruders were reported in 2009 to have broken into computers holding data on Lockheed’s projected $380 billionplus F-35 fighter program, the Pentagon’s costliest arms purchase. A series of once-secret US diplomatic cables released by the WikiLeaks website suggests that China has jumped ahead of the United States when it comes to cyber espionage. More than 100 foreign intelligence organizations are trying to break into U.S. networks, Deputy U.S. Secretary of Defense William Lynn wrote in the journal Foreign Affairs last fall. Some already have the capacity to disrupt US information infrastructure, he wrote. — Reuters
TAIPEI: Computer manufacturers of all sizes and descriptions have been pushing to get a piece of the ever-expanding tablet market created by the launch of Apple’s iPad in April 2010. The obsession with tablet computing will be on full display Tuesday as Computex, the world’s second-largest computer show, begins its annual five-day run in Taipei. The prominence of tablets underscores a dramatic shift under way in the personal computer industr y — and keenly felt in Taiwan, which is home to some of the world’s biggest PC manufacturers — as many consumers opt to buy a tablet rather than a new PC. Computex will feature more than 50 tablet models, said organizer Taipei Computer Association, with big names including Lenovo Group Ltd. and Toshiba Corp. having their products displayed. Researchers have predicted slower growth in PC sales this year because of the rising consumer interest in tablets. Gar tner Research recently cut its sales growth forecast for global PC sales in 2011 from 15.9 percent to 10.5 percent. According to IHS iSuppli, world PC shipments declined 0.3 percent year-on-year to 8.1 million units in the first quarter of 2011, with sales by No. 3-ranked Acer plunging 20 percent. Many analysts say it may take two or three years before mobile device software from Google Inc. and Microsoft Corp. can catch up with iPads, which have thousands of applications for consumers to choose from. That may mean a hard time for many PC makers in the short term. Research company CDC says Apple Inc. had a 73 percent share of the tablet market in the last quarter of 2010. South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co. was a distant second with 17 percent. It said 2010 tablet sales totaled 18 million units. CDC expects Apple to account for 70-80 percent of 2011 tablet sales that it predicts will reach 50 million units. Besides tablets, Computex will also feature corporate and home ser vers and other cloud-based computing equipment and services, a sector Taiwanese firms have recently entered to make up for shortfalls in PC sales. The world’s top contract laptop
TAIPEI: Models show off products during a press conference held in Taipei on May 24 ahead of Computex, Asia’s largest IT trade fair. The question of how to get 3D technology into every living room and a tablet computer into every hand is set to dominate Asia’s largest IT fair which opens in Taiwan next week. —AFP manufacturer, Taiwan-based Quanta Computer Co., is among those producing servers for global firms such as Google. Cloud computing involves running applications in web browsers. The cloud allows users to store and retrieve data over the Internet whenever it is needed, instead of saving it on their own computers. At least 10 of the tablet models to be shown at Computex are powered by Intel Corp.’s new Atom chip, the US technology giant’s first microprocessor designed for tablets. Intel has moved into the fast growing market now dominated by chips using designs by UKbased ARM Holdings. The new Atom “delivers improved video playback, fast Internet browsing and longer batter y life,” Navin Shenoy, general manager of Intel’s Asia-Pacific region, said in an emailed statement. There is “a tremendous amount of experimentation going on in the industry,” Shenoy said. Tablets, which are more popular in mature markets, will not replace PCs, he said, noting the strong PC demand in Asia and emerging markets. Taiwanese high-tech firms are also entering the mobile device market pressured by Apple, whose market
dominance — extending to the second generation iPad2 — has cut into their PC sales and dented the profits of some. Taiwan’s top two PC vendors, Acer Inc. and AsusTek Computer Inc., are among those using Computex to display a range of touch-screen tablet computers. Their tablets run on the Android operating system that Google distributes free to allow quick Web browsing or film viewing, or on Microsoft mobile software that mostly targets the commercial market. Acer and AsusTek have promoted their tablets — Iconia Tab and Transformer among others — as having expandable memory slots, hoping to lure consumers with more storage needs. The iPads don’t have built-in USB ports. In addition, the companies say their sleek devices can become full-fledged laptops when plugging them into a keyboard docking station for easy typing. In terms of tablet prices, Apple’s big orders give it a huge edge, while South Korean Samsung Electronics is able to bring costs down by making key components in house — an advantage denied local makers, said Simon Yang, an analyst with
Mix it: YouTube and Co as DJ jukebox
BRISBANE: In this photo released by Hill and Knowlton, a New York-based international public relations company, owner Immo Stroeher and his daughter and co-owner Cordula pose for a photo on the deck of Toranor PlanetSolar yacht after it arrived on its first Australian stopover at Riverside Centre Pontoon in Brisbane yesterday. — AP
Google’s Street View starts mapping India NEW DELHI: Internet giant Google launched its ambitious “Street View” project in India to provide detailed panoramic images of life in a country of 1.2 billion people. The 360-degree photographic mapping service, which is already in operation in more than 25 countries, will begin gathering data in the southern city of Bangalore, a technology hub where many Internet firms are based. Google said in a statement that infor-
mation collected by special cameras mounted on cars and tricycles would allow users around the world to access streetlevel imagery and explore the city. “It will be as good as walking down the street from the comfort of your desktop or mobile device,” the firm said. It did not give further details about its plans to expand the project across the vast nation, where cities and villages are often a chaotic jumble of traffic jams, buffalo carts and slums.
Taipei-based Topology Research Institute. So far, the Taiwanese company with the best success in selling mobile devices is HTC Corp. The company manufactured the first handset based on the Android operating system in 2008. It has since marketed a wide range of smartphones to meet different tastes, and has recently introduced a movie viewing program called “HTC Watch.” HTC’s sales jumped to 9.7 million handsets in the first quarter, up from 3.3 million a year earlier. HTC’s first tablet, the 7-inch Flyer, sold well in pre-orders in Taiwan this month, vendors say. Its 16 gigabyte Wi-Fi version is priced at $499, the same as the 9.7-inch iPad. But HTC says its smaller-size device has an advantage, because it is lighter, and more manageable than the iPad. By contrast, Acer and AsusTek have pursued a low-price strategy. Their Iconia Tab and Transformer models — despite having larger 10.1-inch screens — are priced at $450 to $500. “Taiwanese companies are yet to become serious rivals to Apple,” said Yang. “They either price their tablets too high or sell them at a loss in order to become competitive.” — AP
Street View has proved hugely popular in other countries since its launch in the United States in 2007, but had also run into trouble with several governments concerned about privacy issues. “ We have got permission from the police, and are in touch with state and central governments,” said a Google spokeswoman. “We want to map all of Bangalore, but anyone can complain if they are unhappy about coverage.” Google earlier this month said it would
appeal against a Swiss ruling ordering it to ensure that all people and cars pictured on Street View were unrecognisable. France’s data privacy regulator imposed a record fine of 100,000 euros ($142,000) on Google in March for collecting private information while compiling photographs for the service. Google has also agreed to delete private emails and passwords mistakenly picked up from wireless networks in Britain by its Street View cars. —AFP
BERLIN: It’s a late night kind of problem. The loudspeakers are blaring, the dancing crowd is out and sweating, and even the people with two left feet are swaying along. And then: no “Bad Romance” from Lady Gaga, no “Highway to Hell” from AC/DC in the CD or MP3 collection. The well-prepared DJ may have brought along a PC with both an internet connection and a line out to the stereo set. Then it’s easy to pull music off internet video portals to keep the party going. YouTube, MyVideo, and Clipfish all feature troves of music to make even the biggest fans jealous. Throw in a projector and you can beam an MTV atmosphere straight into the party space. And unlike streaming services like Simfy, you don’t even need to register. One thing that’s needed beforehand is the right cable. It should have a 3.5 mm stereo mini-jack on one end and two cinch plugs on the other. It’s available for a few dollars in electronics stores. That should be sufficient for noisy party spaces. “The current generation of laptops produces sound quality that’s not hard to live with,” says hi-fi expert Reinhard Paprotka from Stereoplay magazine. Higher sound quality requires a special type of sound card called an audio interface, connected to the computer via USB. These are available from 50 dollars. Unlike an old-school turntable, there’s no need for the DJ to actually stand at the computer. You simply set up a playlist for the computer to work through. That’s especially helpful early on as the guests are arriving. Yet even the online portals have holes in their collections. After all, the music labels aren’t willing to put all of their videos online. “The content providers can decide for themselves whether they want to show their videos or not,” says a spokesman from YouTube’s corporate parent, Google.—dpa