Drone landing drags White House security into the modern era
The US government just got a real-world lesson about the security risks posed by easily accessible drones. Officials report that they recovered a quadcopter on the White House’s grounds in the early morning on January 26th, with no clear indication as to who flew it or why. A spokesperson notes that the drone was never a threat to President Barack Obama (who was visiting India) or his family, but that’s not the point. The greater concern is that the Secret Service was apparently unaware of the drone until it was already on their turf. A more sinister pilot could have been using it to conduct espionage, deliver explosives or just to annoy the daylights out of White House staff.
At the least, the incident underscores the problems that the Secret Service has had in protecting the White House as of late. There have been a number of embarrassing breaches in recent months, and the drone flight suggests that attempts to reform the Secret Service’s procedures didn’t go far enough. Also, it’s clear that existing legal deterrents, such as the FAA’s attempts to control drone use or Washington’s blanket ban on overhead flights, aren’t really effective in circumstances like this. It’s ridiculously easy to buy and fly an unmanned aircraft these days — unless the White House develops a better defense against drones, it will only take a bit of cash and curiosity to create a giant headache for security forces.
[Image credit: US Embassy Jakarta, Flickr]
Filed under: Robots
Source: Bloomberg
Turkish court will ban Facebook if it doesn’t censor blasphemous content
Every six months, Facebook reveals how many times a nation requests that the site block content that’s considered illegal. In the first half of 2014, for instance, India lobbied for nearly 5,000 deletions, putting it well ahead of second-placed Turkey. Those positions may switch around, however, now that a Turkish court has ruled that unless the social network blocks a raft of pages that have been deemed as blasphemous, it’ll ban Facebook outright.
The court may see itself protecting the rights (and safety) of its citizens in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo attack, but the move is also the latest in a series of heavy-handed attempts at censorship. The country has previously blocked YouTube and Twitter for periods of time — with the latter currently being threatened again unless it deletes the account of a paper that’s revealing information the powers that be would prefer remained secret. Combine that with the recent arrests of more than 20 journalists and it’s clear that Turkey has more than a few questions to answer about its approach towards free speech.
Filed under: Internet, Facebook
Via: The Verge
Source: Reuters
Plex discontinues Plex Pass app and consolidates into Plex for Android
Plex pushed out an update or sorts to both the Plex for Plex Pass on Android as well as Plex for Android. The Plex for Plex Pass app was the free app that gave Plex Pass subscribers early access to upcoming features and changes to the app prior to the users of the traditional app. […]
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Deal: Xiaomi MiBand for $15 with free shipping today
Xiaomi is making headlines with it’s high-quality, low-priced devices and today its first foray into the smart wearables market, the MiBand, can be had for just $14.99 with free shipping.
We’ve written about the Xiaomi MiBand before, which sells for roughly $13 in China and that Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun claimed there just hadn’t been the right product on the market for people before they released it.
If you’re unfamiliar with it, the band works with phones running Android 4.4 and above, and the product page clams it has limited functionality with iOS.
The Mi Band is waterproof, can track various health metrics, vibrate when you have calls or notifications, can last 30 days on a single charge and can even act as an alarm clock. The one for $15 comes with a black band, but other colors bands are available for purchase separately.
It sells for roughly $25 on Amazon, so you’re getting a bit of a deal today, especially since it has free shipping coming from China or Hong Kong.
Head on over to Banggood for more details. If you do buy one, make sure you get the companion app as well.
Banggood via Slickdeals
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Flaw in Marriott app puts company back in the news and not in a good way
Marriott has recently been in the tech news lately due to plans to block customers’ personal Wi-Fi hotspots when visiting one of the company’s properties. That move earned them a lot of negative press and pressure from the likes of the FCC and eventually caused them to reverse their course. Now it has been discovered that Marriott’s app for Android may have exposed customer data, including credit card information, to possible attack and pilfering ever since its launch in 2011. The flaw was discovered by Randy Westergren, a senior software developer with XDA-Developers, who also found a major hole in Verizon’s mobile app.
According to Westergren, the flaw involved the system the app would use to check for upcoming reservations. This was being completed without any authentication. Without that additional protection, Westergren could craft a request and switch in any membership ID number. The Marriott servers would then return the reservation information for that customer, including name, reservation number and some details about the reservation. That data was sufficient to then login to the Marriott web site where an attacker could obtain even more detailed information like addresses, contact information and the last four digits of credit cards.
Even worse, Westergren figured out that Marriott would not detect and stop scripts that were feeding potential IDs against the server, so an attacker could just start with any arbitrary number and collect the data from positive hits.
According to Westergren, he reported his findings to Marriott’s security team and the following day the vulnerability had been patched. It is not clear whether the vulnerability existed on other platforms. Marriott launched the app on Android, iOS and Blackberry in 2011. Marriott has not issued a statement regarding the vulnerability.
source: Forbes
Come comment on this article: Flaw in Marriott app puts company back in the news and not in a good way
Apple to Shut Down Old TestFlight Beta Testing Website in February [iOS Blog]
Apple today began notifying developers about the upcoming closure of the old TestFlight beta testing service accessible through TestFlightApp.com, reports The Next Web. The impending February 26 shutdown of the standalone website arrives nearly one year after Apple’s acquisition of TestFlight through its purchase of Burstly and subsequent integration of the service into iTunes Connect.
TestFlight on iTunes Connect and the legacy website were operated as independent services over the past year, enabling developers to test significant changes to their apps. Apple now encourages TestFlightApp users to export current testers so that they can be imported to the iTunes Connect version, and has posted a help document to help developers transition between the services. The new version of TestFlight is available for iOS 8 and later. 
AT&T is acquiring Nextel Mexico for almost $2 billion
![AT&T logo [aa] (4)](https://i0.wp.com/cdn02.androidauthority.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/ATT-logo-aa-4.jpg?resize=640%2C390){kind=logo}
In an announcement earlier today, AT&T has reached an agreement with NII Holdings to purchase Nextel Mexico for $1.875 billion. Nextel Mexico’s network currently covers roughly 76 million people. Thanks to the wide coverage offered by Nextel Mexico, AT&T is one step closer to creating the first-ever North American Mobile Service area, which will cover over 400 million subscribers between the US and Mexico. The deal will likely close sometime around mid-2015.
The carrier explains:
Combining Nextel Mexico with Iusacell will allow AT&T to more quickly improve and expand its mobile Internet service to the benefit of millions of Mexicans, particularly those who live outside major metropolitan areas, than it could otherwise do without the transaction.
This news follows AT&T’s recent purchase of Mexico-based mobile carrier Iusacell for $2.5 billion. AT&T has already begun rolling out benefits and promotions to residents of Mexico, including unlimited calling to the country through the carrier’s World Connect program. Mexico is the most-called country from AT&T’s network, so it makes sense that the carrier would want to expand to the country.
It’s time to embrace the change with Windows 10, not dismiss it before it arrives
In the week that was Microsoft was the talk of the town. From Windows 10 through the enormous Surface Hub and the HoloLens, the Redmond event left the tech world – and arguably even further beyond – talking about Microsoft. Satya Nadella himself said that Microsoft wants people to love Windows. And a lot of work is going into making that a reality.
Just as Windows 8 was a big departure from Windows 7, Windows 10 is bringing about change, also. The thing about change is that it’s a necessary evil. To continue to grow and develop, change is inevitable. But change frightens and frustrates, we become creatures of habit set in our ways. But it’s going to happen, so we should embrace it. Not write it off before it’s officially even here.
Original version of TestFlight app testing service shutting down in February
TestFlight has announced that the original, web-based version of their app testing service will close in February. Developers are receiving emails from the service, encouraging them to switch over to Apple’s new version of TestFlight. Apple purchased Burstly, the company behind the testing service, almost a year ago, and the new version of TestFlight is now the official method for testing apps on iOS 8.
The old version of the service will cease operations as of Feb. 26, 2015, according to TestFlight:
The services offered at TestFlightApp.com will no longer be available after February 26, 2015. To prepare for the TestFlightapp.com closure, developers and team leaders are recommended to transfer their testers to the all-new TestFlight Beta Testing in iTunes Connect.
TestFlight has posted instructions on how to transfer testers over to TestFlight Beta Testing in iTunes Connect.
Source: TestFlight, The Next Web
Xiaomi to launch their own “cash for clunkers”: trade in your iPhone for a Mi Note
Got a device with specs two years old? Specifically, are those devices the iPhone 5s and iPhone 6? Good news if you live in China, Xiaomi is working on starting up a trade-in system that will allow you to pitch your lemons Apples for shiny, new Mi Notes or Mi Note Pros.
If all goes according to plan, Xiaomi would like to take your iPhone 5s and replace it with a Mi Note. If you have an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus, you can receive a Mi Note Pro. Xiaomi is claiming that they’ll take any functioning iPhone 5s/6/6P in any condition for this trade-in program.
Further reading: Xiaomi announces the Mi Note and Mi Note Pro
No word on whether this will stretch beyond the Chinese borders or what they plan to do about the retail price discrepancy between the companies’ devices.
Source: GSM Arena via Weibo (in Chinese)
Come comment on this article: Xiaomi to launch their own “cash for clunkers”: trade in your iPhone for a Mi Note
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