White House may find more data breaches following security ‘sprint’

When investigators discovered that the US Office of Personnel Management had suffered a massive data breach, the White House kicked off a 30-day cybersecurity “sprint” in hopes of boosting its defenses and checking for vulnerabilities. Well, that mad dash is over — and the government might not like what it found. Chief Information Officer Tony Scott tells Reuters that there’s a “realistic chance” that the feds will have word of more intrusions when they share details on July 20th. That kind of discovery won’t be completely surprising given how much the US has come under attack, but it could make the OPM breach just one piece of a much larger puzzle.

As for preventing future disasters? That’s a tougher call. Scott isn’t yet saying how well each branch fared during the sprint, but he notes that “some will get there, and some won’t.” In other words, it’s likely that numerous institutions will need to revamp their security policies, whether they’re learning how to protect against hacks or limit the damage if and when someone gets in. That’s not comforting if your information is stored at one of those behind-the-times institutions, but it beats finding out after a future incident.

[Image credit: AP Photo/Susan Walsh]

Filed under: Internet

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Source: Reuters

Interconnected rats’ brains create organic computer

Nicolelis first studied connected brains with three macaque monkeys who were assigned the task of operating the arm on a virtual monkey. Each animal sat in a separate room but their brains were hooked up to one another so they could exchange information based on their respective views — each monkey faced a computer sceen. Through a series of experiments and combinations (the researchers tried pairing two monkeys or grouping all three together), the animals were able to collectively move the arm to an assigned target. For each successful task, they were rewarded with juice. Over time and practice, the animals achieved greater coordination and synchronicity.

The researcher then explored the idea of a “superbrain” and experimented with a pack of rats. They worked in pairs, so when one set solved a problem, their brain activity was relayed to the other pair through electrical stimulation. On receiving the electrical clues to solve the problem, the second pair found it easier to complete the task. The interconnected group of rodents learned to recognize brain activity patterns to complete the tasks and they synchronized their activities when given a particular stimulus. In one particular test, they received electrical stimulation that was linked to an increase or decrease in the air temperature and pressure. Based on those cues, the group was able to predict the chance of rain with 41 percent accuracy. The demo concluded that the rats achieved better and faster results than they would individually.

One of Nicolelis’ most fascinating observations was that the rodents figured out a way to divide their workload among the group so one wasn’t bogged down with more work than the other. The demo serves a tool to study social behaviors among animals, but it also reveals the potential of organic computers for human brains. The scientist believes this computing device could eventually help stroke and epilepsy patients. For now his team is working on finding a noninvasive way to create a human Brainet.

[Image credit: Katie Zhuang, Laboratory of Dr. Miguel Nicolelis, Duke University]

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Source: Business Insider

Acoustic sensor could help stop human smuggling

A number of smugglers sneak living, breathing humans illegally into a country by hiding them inside trucks, train compartments or shipping containers. It’s not easy to detect people behind metal, especially if they keep really, really still, but Franklin Felber from San Diego scientific consulting company Starmark believes he’s found a possible solution. Felber has developed an acoustic sensor sensitive enough to detect a person’s breathing from behind metal walls, after testing off-the-shelf options that didn’t quite work. His $10,000 per unit system uses a hammer-like acoustic transducer, which bangs repeatedly against a thin metal plate designed to be attached to one of the container’s walls.

Here’s an illustration of the system:

The incessant hammer-on-plate sounds resonate at a certain frequency and can pass through metal. This signal then bounces back to an acoustic receiver, which can differentiate between sounds reflected by stationary objects and reflections from ones that move. As we said earlier, it can detect even minute movements, such as the rise and fall of a person’s chest while breathing.

Felber claims this technique can inspect two containers per minute, though it’s unclear if that rate is fast enough when dealing with thousands of ’em on a cargo ship or a dock. Plus, for the system to work as intended, the thin plate has to be securely attached to the wall and there shouldn’t be anything that can distort its signal — inclement weather, for instance. The system obviously still needs some work, but that’s always the case with new technologies anyway.

[Image credit: Getty Images]

Filed under: Science

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Via: MIT Technology Review

Source: Cornell University Library

Disney is closing its first virtual reality attraction

Disney World broke ground in virtual reality when it launched its DisneyQuest “interactive theme park” back in 1998. To say that times have changed would be an understatement, though — DQ is using primitive VR technology that makes even Google Cardboard look like a quantum leap. Appropriately, the company now plans to close DisneyQuest in 2016 and replace it with an NBA-themed attraction. The exact reasons for the shutdown aren’t clear, but it’s likely a combination of the less-than-impressive technology with mounting support costs. At one point this spring, most of the attractions weren’t working — it’s hard to imagine Disney pouring lots of money into hardware that’s more likely to make you yawn than gasp in awe. You might feel nostalgic if you have fond memories of visiting DisneyQuest as a kid, but it’s hard to mourn the loss when you can have a much nicer experience at home.

[Image credit: Dave Pape, Wikimedia Commons]

Filed under: Displays, Wearables

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Via: Road to VR

Source: Orlando Sentinel

Disney is closing its first virtual reality attraction

Disney World broke ground in virtual reality when it launched its DisneyQuest “interactive theme park” back in 1998. To say that times have changed would be an understatement, though — DQ is using primitive VR technology that makes even Google Cardboard look like a quantum leap. Appropriately, the company now plans to close DisneyQuest in 2016 and replace it with an NBA-themed attraction. The exact reasons for the shutdown aren’t clear, but it’s likely a combination of the less-than-impressive technology with mounting support costs. At one point this spring, most of the attractions weren’t working — it’s hard to imagine Disney pouring lots of money into hardware that’s more likely to make you yawn than gasp in awe. You might feel nostalgic if you have fond memories of visiting DisneyQuest as a kid, but it’s hard to mourn the loss when you can have a much nicer experience at home.

[Image credit: Dave Pape, Wikimedia Commons]

Filed under: Displays, Wearables

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Via: Road to VR

Source: Orlando Sentinel