Google, the service so great it became a verb, can now add security risk to its roster of unintended results. The search site played inadvertent host to remotely accessed Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition ( SCADA ) systems in a Black Hat conference demo led by FusionX’s Tom Parker. The security company CTO walked attendees through the steps required to gain control of worldwide utility infrastructure — power plants, for one — but stopped short of actually engaging the vulnerable networks. Using a string of code, unique to a Programmable Logic Controller (the computers behind amusement park rides and assembly lines) Parker was able to pull up a water treatment facility’s RTU pump, and even found its disaster-welcoming “1234″ password — all through a Google search. Shaking your head in disbelief? We agree, but Parker reassured the crowd these types of outside attacks require a substantial amount of effort and coordination, and “would be extremely challenging to pull off.” Panic attack worn off yet? Good, now redirect those fears to the imminent day of robot-helmed reckoning . Google search opens SCADA systems to doomsday scenarios originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Aug 2011 05:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Oregon Democrat David Wu has made his resignation from the House official, reports Roll Call . Wu—who announced his attention to step down after he was accused of having an “unwanted” sexual encounter with the teen daughter of a campaign donor—is the fourth member of Congress this year to…
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Bloody Massacres in Syria Militia member shots at protesters اطلاق رصاص على المتظاهرين في حماة Robert Fisk on Osama Bin Laden’s Next Target, the Iraq War, and Lebanon (2002-1) KetyDC says: RT @ juhui67 : @ tweets4peace # Syrian # Hama #Homs We are with you! #RamadanMassacre Where is #UN #EU @ icrc_english
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Error en el mortal kombat shaolin monks Let’s Play Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks (co-op) Part 12 Algunos Secretos de Mortal Kombat Shaolin Monks NikolaiV1981 says: @ NamPhanMMA I’ve seen all but Shaolin Soccer. Great movies!!
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Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman says former Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan needs to answer the phone-hacking allegations by Heather Mills Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman said on Thursday that former Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan “has got to answer” questions about phone hacking at the paper during the period he was editor. Harman told Sky News: “Morgan … said he heard a ‘heart-breaking’ phone message, which clearly gives rise to the assumption that he’d heard a tape-recorded message.” Morgan wrote in the Mail on Sunday five years ago that he had once been played a message left by Sir Paul McCartney on the mobile phone of his then-girlfriend Heather Mills, in which the former Beatle sounded “lonely, miserable and desperate”. Harman said: “It is not good enough for him to say – or for someone to say on his behalf – ‘I always complied with the law and the Press Complaints Commission code of conduct’. He’s got to answer now we’ve got these allegations from Heather Mills.” Mills claimed on Wednesday that a senior journalist at one of the Mirror Group titles told her in 2001 they had hacked into her mobile phone messages. She told the BBC the unidentified journalist read out parts of a message left by her then-boyfriend Sir Paul McCartney to her and, when challenged, admitted it had been obtained by listening to her phone messages. The reporter in question is not thought to have worked for the Daily Mirror, which was edited by Morgan from 1995 to 2004. Its parent company, Trinity Mirror, also owns two other national titles, the Sunday Mirror and the People. In a 2006 Mail on Sunday article, Morgan seems to be referring to a similar phone message to the one Mills claimed had been hacked by the senior Mirror Group journalist. Mills said the message read out to her had been left by McCartney while she was in India, following a row the couple had back in London. According to Mills, the journalist rang her and “started quoting verbatim the messages from my machine”. She said she challenged the journalist, saying: “You’ve obviously hacked my phone and if you do anything with this story … I’ll go to the police.” Mills said he responded: “OK, OK, yeah, we did hear it on your voice messages, I won’t run it.” Trinity Mirror said: “Trinity Mirror’s position is clear: all our journalists work within the criminal law and the PCC code of conduct.” Morgan issued a statement through CNN, for whom he records a chat show, Tonight with Piers Morgan, late on Wednesday reiterating he had no knowledge of phone hacking at the Mirror. He added: “Heather Mills has made unsubstantiated claims about a conversation she may or may not have had with a senior executive from a Trinity Mirror newspaper in 2001. The BBC has confirmed to me that this executive was not employed by the Daily Mirror. “I have no knowledge of any conversation any executive from other newspapers at Trinity Mirror may or may not have had with Heather Mills. “What I can say and have knowledge of is that Sir Paul McCartney asserted that Heather Mills illegally intercepted his telephones, and leaked confidential material to the media. This is well documented, and was stated in their divorce case.” Phone hacking Newspapers & magazines National newspapers Newspapers Piers Morgan Harriet Harman Paul McCartney Trinity Mirror James Robinson guardian.co.uk
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How can this be? Sony’s new handheld console already passed through the FCC and was even leaked on a UK Blockbuster flyer that stated an October release date. Yet apparently these clues count for nothing, because Bloomberg reports Kazuo Hirai has saying that the Vita won’t launch in the US and Europe until early next year — with only Japan getting the device before Christmas. Why would Sony be content to miss out on all that festive trade? We have no idea. Sony Playstation Vita handheld will miss Christmas in US and Europe originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Aug 2011 05:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Extravagant spending has raised expectations at Anfield that a return to Champions League football can be attained Guardian writers’ prediction 4th (This is not Andy Hunter’s prediction, but the average of our writers’ tips) Last season’s position 6th Odds to win the league 10-1 The voice of reason is often muted at Liverpool pre-season by improbable title predictions (except when the club stares into the financial abyss and asks Roy Hodgson to steady the ship) and this summer’s extravagant spending has fuelled a revival. Praise be then for John W Henry, the man who has so far sanctioned over £100m of investment in Kenny Dalglish’s squad since January yet did his manager another, cheaper favour this week by confirming common sense prevails at the top at Anfield. “It’s too early for us to talk about winning the league,” Liverpool’s principal owner said, while backing Manchester United as favourites to retain their title. ” Our main goal is to qualify for the Champions League . If we don’t, it would be a major disappointment.” A reasonable ambition from someone behind the biggest spending spree in Liverpool’s history – even taking into account the £50m banked for Fernando Torres and no doubt with a copy of Moneyball burning in the bin – but it will require sustained improvement and further additions to distinguish Dalglish’s team from a crowded market. Henry’s vision was portrayed as an ultimatum to Dalglish, as though he leapt from the stands during the 3-3 draw with Valerenga on Monday and slapped Liverpool’s manager about the face with a glove. Liverpool officials and management are acutely aware of the need to reclaim a place among the European elite after two seasons on the margins, and have bought realistically – if not in terms of transfer fees then certainly transfer targets – to get there. They also discovered the cost of the club’s recent regression along the way. Liverpool’s obvious need to strengthen led them to Phil Jones, Gaël Clichy and Ashley Young this summer, with interest developing further in the then Blackburn Rovers and Arsenal defenders than Aston Villa’s former spark. Each player provided a pertinent reminder of Liverpool’s position by choosing the champions, FA Cup winners and the Champions League football on offer at Old Trafford and Manchester City instead. Pre-season, in which experimental teams have conceded a total of 15 goals in five friendlies, has merely reinforced where Liverpool’s main weakness lies. Interest in the Newcastle United left-back José Enrique and a central defender, possibly Scott Dann of Birmingham City, is expected to develop before the season opens. Handicapped in direct competition with certain rivals, Liverpool demolished the field to ensure they landed Jordan Henderson for £16m from Sunderland (who insist the fee can rise to £20m) and Stewart Downing for £20m from Aston Villa. The imagination on both deals has been fired more by the sums involved than the player concerned – though one or two former Liverpool managers would argue it is about time the club paid the going-rate – but the two midfielders, plus Charlie Adam for an initial £7m rising to £8.5m, unquestionably improve the balance of the squad, the supply to Andy Carroll and the options available to Dalglish. They are also unlikely to complain about finding it hard to settle on Merseyside. Adam is arguably Liverpool’s most intriguing capture of the summer given the contrast in his influence at Rangers and Blackpool where, unlike at Ibrox, it was maximised by the team and in particular the underrated David Vaughan. He may not prove to be a Xabi Alonso in tartan but he offers a passing range Liverpool have lacked since the Spain international was sold to Real Madrid, plus invaluable accuracy from set pieces. Providing he takes them. Shoulders shrugged when Downing signed yet Liverpool have required a consistent, natural wide player for several years. Along with Adam, he ensures there can be few excuses for Carroll not developing into the centre-forward Dalglish believes he can be but who, due to injury and with the exception of a rampaging display against Manchester City last season, Anfield has yet to see. The summer recruits so far suggest a concentration on Carroll’s strengths when, of course, it is the outstanding Luis Suárez who holds the key to where Liverpool finish this season. Four goals since his £22.8m arrival from Ajax in January does not begin to describe the impact of a striker who reminded Liverpool that, despite the revulsion over Torres wanting to leave, the club goes on and can go upwards. His performances during Uruguay’s triumphant Copa América campaign last month, when Suárez was named player of the tournament, underlined that he possesses a ruthless winning mentality to match his talent. Again, another recent deficiency in Liverpool’s armour has been addressed. Expensive deadwood has still to be cleared and Liverpool’s Champions League prospects are not only shaped by the revival Dalglish oversaw in the second half of last season, the emergence of young talent such as John Flanagan and the largesse of Fenway Sports Group, but what may or may not happen at the Emirates, White Hart Lane and Stamford Bridge this month. Dalglish was irked at Danny Murphy’s suggestion last season that he had inherited a team playing without pressure and that the situation would be radically different this term. The Liverpool manager may not have appreciated the slight or where it was coming from, but Murphy was right. Liverpool Premier League 2011-12 Premier League Andy Hunter guardian.co.uk
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Bank’s £3.2bn provision for compensating customers missold payment protection insurance hit bottom line Lloyds Banking Group insisted on Thursday it had “credible” bidders for the 632 branches it has up for sale as it confirmed that a £3.2bn provision for compensating customers who were missold payment protection insurance drove the bank into the red the first half. As the loss of £3.3bn was announced, chief executive Antonio Horta-Osorio, who took the helm on 1 March, said Lloyds remained in talks with the independent commission on banking (ICB) to try to avoid being forced to sell even more branches when the final report by the commission is published on 12 September. “We have had a good and engaging process with [the ICB],” said Horta-Osorio, whose bank is 41% owned by the taxpayer. “It is a useful and productive dialogue.” The costs associated with the branch sale, which has been demanded by the EU in return for £20bn of state aid, were £47m in the first half. The sale comprises about 4.6% of the UK current account market although the ICB, chaired by Sir John Vickers, has indicated even more branches could be sold to bolster competition on the high street. Lloyds is the dominating force since its rescue takeover of HBOS during the 2008 banking crisis. Horta-Osorio, who has code-named the disposal programme Verde, insisted the 632 branch sales would be enough to bolster competition as the operation is same size of the Halifax business it bought during the crisis. “The Verde business will have strong brands, a branch network of a similar size to that of the Halifax and a full product range including savings, loans, credit cards and mortgages as well as current accounts. We believe that Verde will be a strong competitor in UK retail banking,” he said. He hopes to find a buyer by the end of the year but has not ruled out flotation if a buyer cannot be found. He said bidders could ask for the number of mortgages that are being included in the sale to change to make it easier to complete a sale. The City has been concerned that National Australia Bank, regarded as the most credible bidder, does not appear to have submitted an indicative offer and neither has Virgin Money. In the red, as expected Horta-Osorio announced 15,000 job cuts in June when he used a strategy day to pledge an extra £1.5bn of annual savings in 2014, on top of £2bn of savings achieved through integration. The bank will have to spend £2.3bn to achieve the cost cuts, which include pulling out of half of the 30 countries where Lloyds has operations by 2014. The loss of £3.3bn was expected by the City because of the previously announced £3.2bn provision for PPI . With that stripped out, and using the “combined business basis” of accounting, the bank has been using since the HBOS deal, the profits were £1.1bn, down on the £1.6bn of profit announced a year ago when the bank had heralded a return to the black. It is prohibited from paying dividends by the EU until next year. The shares were up 1.5% in early trading at 40p but quickly reversed early gains to slump 7% and become one the largest fallers in the FTSE 100 by 9am. The figures showed a 17% fall in the impairment charge to £5.4bn even though there was a deterioration in its loans in Ireland. The impairment charge was higher than analysts had been expecting and the bank warned there was “material downside risks” to the size of the charge. “These include, in the UK, fragile consumer and business confidence, potential interest rate and inflation rises and reduced consumer spending. A ‘double-dip’ scenario – a second, shallower recession following closely the one from which the economy is just emerging – also remains a downside risk,” the bank said. Some 64.1% of the Irish portfolio is now impaired, meaning the borrower has missed at least one repayment, after a further 11% of the £27.6bn loan book became impaired. The impairment charge for Ireland pushed the international business to report a £2.1bn loss. Horta-Osorio admitted he was continuing to “closely monitor and control our exposures” to certain European countries. The direct exposure to national and local governments of Spain, Italy, Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Belgium was £189m. However, he stressed that the tensions in the money markets should not affect the bank’s own funding needs as it weens itself off the government support that has kept it afloat since the crisis. In the first half, £75bn of government funding was replaced, leaving only £37bn of government support left to refinance. Lloyds Banking Group Banking European debt crisis European banks Global economy Economics Payment protection insurance Insurance Jill Treanor guardian.co.uk
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Liberty says Gibson torture inquiry will be ‘waste of time and money’ because it lacks credibility and transparency Lawyers and human rights groups are to boycott the inquiry into the UK’s alleged role in torture and rendition since the 9/11 terror attacks because they say it lacks credibility and transparency and arrangements for it are “secretive, unfair and deeply flawed”. Key sessions will be held in secret and the cabinet secretary will have the final say over what information is made public. Those who alleged they were subject to torture and rendition will not be able to question MI5 or MI6 officers, nor will foreign intelligence agencies be questioned. The decision not to participate, reported by the Guardian last month , was confirmed in a joint letter to the solicitor for the inquiry , which will be run by the retired judge Sir Peter Gibson. Ten groups including Liberty , Reprieve and Amnesty International said they did not intend to submit any evidence or attend any further meetings with the inquiry team. They said the inquiry’s protocol and terms of reference showed it would not have the “credibility or transparency” to ensure “the truth about allegations that UK authorities were involved in the mistreatment of detainees held abroad” was brought to light. The human rights groups said the inquiry would not comply with the government’s international obligations to investigate torture. Lawyers representing former detainees have also complained about the nature of the inquiry, which was initially welcomed when it was announced by David Cameron last year. Former detainees and their lawyers will not be able to question intelligence officials and all evidence from current or former members of the security and intelligence agencies, below the level of head, will be heard in private. The inquiry will not start until the end of a current police investigation. The human rights groups say in their letter: “We are particularly disappointed that the issue of what material may be disclosed to the public will not be determined independently of government and, further, that there will be no meaningful participation of the former and current detainees and other interested third parties. “As you know, we were keen to assist the inquiry in the vital work of establishing the truth about allegations that UK authorities were involved in the mistreatment of detainees held abroad. Our strong view, however, is that the process currently proposed does not have the credibility or transparency to achieve this.” A second letter, written jointly by Imran Khan and other lawyers representing former Guantánamo Bay detainees, said: “We consider it impossible to advise those whom we represent that the structure and protocols now confirmed for the Gibson inquiry can achieve what are essential ingredients for a public inquiry into grave state crimes,” Detainees would not even know “if the individuals being questioned are the right ones”. The lack of input for detainees, “simply serves to demonstrate that there is no comprehension on the part of the government of the gravity of the crimes which representatives of the state may have committed”, they said. “We had hoped as lawyers to assist in a transparent exercise of vital importance. It is a matter of profound regret that our assessment is that the inquiry does not provide the means by which this can be realised. “In the absence of there being any alteration to the protocols, our advice is compelled to be that it is inappropriate for our clients to submit evidence.” Several high-profile human rights lawyers signed the letter, including Louise Christian, Irene Nembhard, Gareth Peirce, Tayab Ali and Imran Khan. Amnesty’s UK policy advisor, Tara Lyle, said: “This is a desperately needed inquiry into extremely serious allegations but the arrangements for it are secretive, unfair and deeply flawed. We need an inquiry that is as open and effective as possible, not this semi-secret process that lacks scope and ambition. “Those that suffered terrible abuse are set to be let down by this inquiry, while the general public is likely to be denied the opportunity to learn what went wrong during this dark chapter in our history.” Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, said: “If this inquiry proceeds without the participation of the victims it will be nothing more than a waste of time and public money. Until a credible, independent process is established this shameful chapter of the war on terror continues.” Sir Malcolm Rifkind, the former foreign secretary who chairs the intelligence and security committee appointed by the prime minister, denied the inquiry was secretive and said the campaigners were being unrealistic. He told BBC Radio 4′s Today programme: “I cannot recollect an inquiry that’s been proposed to be so open as we’re having in this particular case. When was the last time the head of MI5 and the head of MI6 – the prime minister has made quite clear – can be summoned to this inquiry and be required to give evidence?” There had to be “some element of trust” when the authorities were dealing with top secret information, he said. A statement from the inquiry said the decision by solicitors and human rights groups was regrettable and said it was hoped they would reconsider. “The inquiry will go ahead,” the statement said. “It will examine the relevant documentation held by government. It will hear the key government witnesses. The inquiry offers the detainees and anyone else with evidence relevant to its terms of reference the only opportunity for them to give evidence to an independent inquiry. “The detainees and the NGOs have alleged the involvement or awareness of the UK government and its security and intelligence services in relation to the mistreatment and rendition of detainees held by other countries. The inquiry would welcome such evidence.” Torture Human rights Global terrorism Terrorism policy UK security and terrorism CIA rendition Guantánamo Bay Amnesty International James Meikle guardian.co.uk
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