NSA planned to use the Play Store to implant spyware on target smartphones
It’s no (longer a) secret that the NSA has planted its feelers deep into the very foundation of the Internet. Allegedly, the US spy agency has even obtained access to Google’s data centers, though it’s not clear whether this happened with Google’s cooperation.
When it can’t legally force its way onto private systems, the NSA does its best to sneak in – case in point, a pilot program called Irritant Horn, that saw the NSA and its allies attempt to hijack the connection between a target smartphone and the Play Store (then called Android Market).
The information about Irritant Horn comes from documents provided by Edward Snowden to The Intercept and CBC. The program, which appears to have been in its early stages in 2011-2012, had NSA analysts use a type of man-in-the-middle attack to implant spyware on Android devices connecting to the Android Market or Samsung’s apps store. Basically, besides the requested app, the targets were served malicious software that allowed spooks to eavesdrop on everything that happened on the device. The NSA even explored using the capability to modify the target device, for propaganda or disinformation purposes.
It’s not clear what came to be of this program, though it’s very likely that NSA is still actively working on finding and exploiting this, or similar, vulnerabilities.
The Intercept/CBC report also mentions a seemingly unrelated exploit discovered by NSA in UC Browser, an Android browser with more than 100 million downloads. UC Browser, according to the NSA document, “leaked” information about user activities and sent it back to servers in China (UC Browser is owned by Chinese tech giant Alibaba). According to analysis by Citizen Lab, a Canadian research group, UC Browser leaked “users’ search queries, SIM card numbers and unique device IDs;” Citizen Lab alerted Alibaba about the vulnerability, which has reportedly been fixed in an update to UC Browser from earlier this month. Alibaba claims that the leak was not intentional, though the edited NSA document leaves room for interpretation.
This is the latest in a series of controversial reports that questions the NSA’s active exploitation of weaknesses in the computer systems of American companies. Some argue that the NSA should privately disclose vulnerabilities in order to protect the interests of US citizens, while others think the end justifies the means.
For more details, check out The Intercept.
Despite Popular Kickstarter, Pebble Seeks $5 Million Loan ‘To Stay Afloat’ [iOS Blog]
Popular smartwatch maker Pebble appears to be in some financial trouble, according to a few sources “close to the company,” as reported by TechCrunch. The company is having trouble maintaining its growth, turning to a bank in its home base of Silicon Valley for not only a $5 million loan but a $5 million line of credit. According to those same sources, banks in the Valley have been turning down Pebble’s financial support requests repeatedly.
The smartwatch company’s rocky monetary troubles come a few weeks after a well-publicized Kickstarter campaign, which reached its $500,000 goal in under 20 minutes of going live. The project’s final funding amount – which received numerous stretch goals along the way – saw 78,471 backers pledge $20,338,986 for the new slimmer design and color display smartwatch.
The company actually received around $18 million from the Kickstarter campaign, after fees, and currently staffs about 150 people with more being hired in new positions. Despite all of this success, and an infusion of forward momentum thanks directly to Apple’s Apple Watch-focused “Spring Forward” event, the logistics of running the company have forced CEO Eric Migicovsky and fellow company heads to seek venture capitalist funding “in order to stay afloat.”
TechCrunch‘s source also noted that numerous employees were unhappy with the company’s direction “as it turns to face competitors from Apple, Android, and outside.” This is perhaps alluding to the company’s nonchalant attitude towards poking fun at Apple on its own website and Migicovsky’s somewhat apathetic responses to Apple’s impending entrance into the smartwatch market.
With Pebble facing such troubles just a few weeks after the Apple Watch launch, two events that may yet still be unrelated, it’ll be interesting to see how Apple’s competitors in the smartwatch market maneuver themselves to stay successful in an ever-growing and crowded field. Still, some employees are happy with Pebble and see a good future for the still-fairly-young company. “We’re a young company. The outlook for Pebble is very positive,” said a current employee who preferred to remain anonymous when speaking with TechCrunch. “It’s been a remarkable journey thus far.”
Apple Watch Bands Now Available in Select Apple Stores
At least one Apple Store in the United States appears to be now stocking standalone Apple Watch bands per the photo below submitted by MacRumors reader Alireza. The photo was allegedly taken at an Apple Store in Miami and appears to show both the Sport Band and Classic Buckle on the shelves.
Google Maps gets even more detailed traffic features
Google has updated Maps with more specific traffic alerts just in time to help you dodge Memorial Day traffic nightmares. The app can already route you around closures and other problems using crowdsourced traffic data, but now it’ll give you an explanation for why a detour is recommended with a dismiss-able card. For instance, it’ll let you know whether it’s recommending a route because it’s the fastest option, or because it helps you avoid an incident. Moreover, it’ll now give you a heads up on traffic conditions as soon as you enter your destination, telling you if its smooth sailing ahead or a cluster-you-know-what.
In the same blog post, Google also revealed trends from Memorial Day 2014. It noted that you were most likely to search for a beach or cemetery — not a surprising development on a holiday that honors people who died serving their country. Popular destinations included Carmel, CA, Long Island, NY and Santa Barbara, CA. The new app still isn’t available, but Mountain View said it would arrive before the weekend.
Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Google
Source: Google
‘Vidity’ 4K movies you can download are coming later this year
At CES the long-brewing alliance to push Hollywood movies you can legally download, store and play across different devices finally surfaced, and now its system has a brand name: Vidity. As we learned in January, this is the doing of the Secure Content Storage Association — a team up behind movie studios (Fox, Warner Bros.) and storage manufacturers (Western Digital, Sandisk) to create a system where users can download movies in the highest possible quality like 4K Ultra HD and HDR. Samsung was the first to announce its Ultra HD TVs with the M-Go app will use the spec, but other big names like Vudu, Kaleidescape, LG, Universal, Comcast and Sprint are on board too. So far 4K movies have generally been all about streaming, but now between Ultra HD Blu-ray and Vidity there are a couple of new options coming.
With the spec and brand name locked down, Vidity GM David Huerta tells us compatible products and services should roll out later this year. Other than just top-quality audio and video, the main feature of Vidity is that it’s intended to work across devices, from TVs to PCs to phones and tablets. The concept of it works a lot like the digital distribution schemes we’ve seen for videogames, with the ability to copy or move the files and still play them elsewhere.
Of course, it seems doubtful that anything Hollywood is behind will be quite as easy as piracy, and we’re still waiting to see if all of the studios will be involved. If viewers can experience more control and convenience plus high quality playback and access to hit movies, Vidity will be a major step forward and fit in nicely next to discs and streaming. Currently, simple things like downloading a purchase pre-release or just keeping a copy to play anywhere aren’t possible or easy to move across different device, but this could change that. We could even see movie distribution on items like USB sticks or hard drives, but it will probably just be downloads to start.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Source: Vidity
Rockstar owner sues the BBC over upcoming GTA drama
When the BBC announced it was making a docudrama about Rockstar Games and the Grand Theft Auto franchise, we assumed it had the blessing of the games’ creators. Not so. As IGN reports, Rockstar Games, via its parent company Take-Two Interactive, has filed a lawsuit against the broadcaster over trademark infringement. In a statement, the company says Rockstar Games “has had no involvement” with the project and that it’s attempted “multiple times” to resolve the matter with the BBC. The show is being developed under the working title “Game Changer,” and it’s safe to assume Rockstar, its pivotal employees and the franchise itself will be named in the show. Daniel Radcliffe has already been cast as Rockstar co-founder Sam Houser, alongside Bill Paxton as Jack Thompson, a former attorney that famously campaigned against the game franchise. If the one-off TV drama is to go ahead as planned, it’s vital that the BBC settles this legal dispute quickly.
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment
Source: IGN
DrumPants 2.0 is open source, still turns your pants into drums
That crazy DrumPants wearable tech we first saw in ’07 — the same one that raised 75 grand on KickStarter and was featured on Shark Tank in 2014 — is back. Its creators have now turned to Indiegogo to fund the mass production of DrumPants version 2.0, which they claim is faster and stronger than its predecessor. Plus, it’s now open source. The wearable, for those who’ve only just heard of it, isn’t actually a pair of pants with drums (sorry to disappoint). It’s a set of accessories comprised of two elongated drum pads and two foot pedals you can use to play different kinds of instruments, along with a knob that lets you choose between samples and musical scales. You can wear them over your clothes, or under, like the jamming dude in the GIF above.
The system connects wirelessly to its accompanying app for iPhone, iPad and Mac through MIDI over Bluetooth if you want to make music. But the sensors can also function as controllers and actually have loads of other potential applications. In the video above, you can see them being used to control other apps, a VR game and a light show. They’re even shown as a way for someone with brain injury to communicate. The whole set is Arduino-compatible, so you can use it with your own projects if the campaign reaches its $35,000 goal. Its developers promise to release all of DrumPants’ designs, schematics and firmware if and when that happens, though you’ll of course have to shell out at least $159 to get a kit of your own.
Filed under: Misc
Via: The Creators Project
Source: Indiegogo
iHeartRadio gets an update with some minor UI tweaks
The iHeartRadio application on Android has just received a new update which brings a minor UI change with the addition of a colored status bar. There are no other notable changes with the app, so you won’t find anything else new onboard here.
iHeartRadio is a free to use service which will come across as a decent alternative for many other paid services out there. If you’re new to the app, make sure you head over to the link below and download the app.
Are you an existing user of iHeartRadio? What do you make of this new update?
Come comment on this article: iHeartRadio gets an update with some minor UI tweaks
Top government agencies tried to sneak in spyware into users’ devices via the Play Store
New top secret documents leaked from the NSA has revealed how governments from the United States, UK, Canada and Australia have been trying to intercept user data through the Google Play Store and even Samsung’s dedicated app hub for Android.
Known as Op. Irritant Horn, the plan was to sneak spyware into the Play Store, contact devices and intercept data, all in the background without the user being aware. These operations were said to be underway back in 2011 and 2012.
Luckily, the new Play Store protocols ensure that no spyware makes its way through, so current users can use the Play Store without worry. It is said that the UC Browser app was also prone to such surveillance by the government agencies.
This revelation goes to show what the government agencies are willing to do in order to get hold of precious user info. This is a massive privacy scare, but it’s good to know that no such thing is happening right now.
You can find the complete document here.
Source: The Intercept
Via: Android Central
Come comment on this article: Top government agencies tried to sneak in spyware into users’ devices via the Play Store
Google Maps offers up new traffic alerts just in time for the Memorial Day weekend craze
Those of us here in the U.S. are excited for a three day weekend as we celebrate Memorial Day. However, the one downer is traffic. Since this weekend is kind of like the unofficial start of the summer, a lot of people travel to visit family and friends which results in a lot of congestion on the roads.
Finding your way is the easy part if you use Google Maps, but finding the best route with the shortest delay is no easy task. Google Maps already helps with traffic alerts, but a new update might makes things a little easier.
Google Maps will now provide you with the quickest route and an explanation of traffic conditions when you input your destination. Now if you’re on a long trip, those traffic conditions could change from good to worse. You will now get a heads up of any upcoming congestion along with how long you might be stuck in a jam. If it’s not a pretty picture, Maps will offer you alternate routes with an explanation as to why they are recommended.
Google also shared what the top six trending searches were from last year’s Memorial Day. I don’t think there are any surprises here….
source: Google
Come comment on this article: Google Maps offers up new traffic alerts just in time for the Memorial Day weekend craze
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