LeakedSource and its database of hacked accounts is gone

A website that sold access to a database of more than 3 billion hacked accounts has suddenly vanished. LeakedSource had built a business on collecting and packaging information exposed through various data breaches. It gathered compromised account details and made it searchable so users could see which of their email addresses, phone numbers and passwords were vulnerable. The site was controversial, however, because anyone could pay for advanced search capabilities. LeakedSource said its mission was to educate people who might be affected, and pressure companies to disclose breaches. Critics argued, however, that it gave hackers the means to access innocent people’s accounts.

The circumstances surrounding the site’s disappearance are murky. A user going by “LTD” wrote in an online forum on Thursday: “LeakedSource is down forever and won’t be coming back. Owner raided early this morning. Wasn’t arrested, but all SSDs got taken, and LeakedSource servers got subpoena’d and placed under federal investigation. If somehow he recovers from this and launches LeakedSource again, then I’ll be wrong. But I am not wrong.” Such reports are currently unconfirmed, however.

LeakedSource has always maintained that the information in its database was already publicly accessible. “All we do is combine it in one easy to use location,” a spokesperson told Wired recently. Some suspect the team was encouraging the community to come forward with new data dumps, however. Troy Hunt, a security researcher that runs a similar service called Have I Been Pwned, writes on his blog: “There was a constant flow of data that wasn’t appearing anywhere else in the usual trading circles before first coming to air via their service. Speculation was rife that there was incentivisation occurring not just to provide data that had already been obtained, but to actively seek out new targets.”

Another point of controversy: the team decrypted passwords it had obtained through data dumps. Making your actual password searchable, rather than a scrambled set of characters, was obviously attractive to users. If one of your accounts was compromised, it meant you could see exactly which password was affected and change any accounts using the same character string. The practice meant the database was more valuable to hackers too, however. LeakedSource was arguably doing the heavy lifting, making it a cinch for hackers to set up a script and gain access to some of their victim’s other accounts.

LeakedSource was also valuable as a journalistic tool. In its relatively short life span (the site first gained traction in late 2015), the site provided access and context to data breaches at AdultFriendFinder, Myspace, Twitter and the Russian internet giant Rambler.ru.

The site’s closure, should it be permanent, will likely provoke a discussion around the ethics of hack disclosures. LeakedSource isn’t the only site where you can check to see if your personal information has been compromised. Have I Been Pwned, for instance, lets you easily check if you email address or username was ever exposed in a hack. Its creator, Hunt, takes a vastly different approach to LeakedSource though. The site “never makes any sensitive personally identifiable data available to anyone, not even the legitimate owners of the data.” Less valuable perhaps, but it stops sensitive data from falling into the wrong hands.

Source: Troy Hunt

Apple joins Amazon, Google and Facebook in AI research group

Apple published its first paper on AI last month and now the company is set to join five others in a newly-formed research group. The Partnership on AI announced today that Apple would become its sixth founding member, adding to a lineup that already touts Amazon, Facebook, Google, IBM and Microsoft. The group was first formed last September as a means of supporting research, establishing ethical guidelines and promoting both transparency and privacy when it comes to AI studies.

In today’s announcement, the Partnership on AI explained that Apple has already been working with the group before it was made official last fall, but now the company is a full member alongside those other tech titans. Part of today’s news was also that the group selected its board of trustees that will oversee the initiative. In addition to each member company having a seat on the board, the Partnership on AI also included six independent members from other artificial intelligence organizations, universities and the ACLU. The board is scheduled to meet for the first in early February and we expect to bear more details shortly after.

Apple pledged to share some of its AI work in early December before publishing the aforementioned paper a few days later. The typically secretive company showed signs of opening up in the name of improving research efforts around machine learning. That was the latest in a string of recent AI-related moves for Apple as it acquired Seattle-based machine-learning company Turi back in August. In October, it hired Carnegie Mellon computer science professor Russ Salakhutdinov to lead its artificial intelligence research.

Via: Bloomberg

Source: Partnership on AI

Nokia’s voice assistant is for engineers, not ordering Ubers

Amazon, Microsoft, Google and Apple are all developing their voice assistants to be the perfect companions for our busy lives, helping us control our smart homes, buy things, summon Ubers, play funky music and find out what show that guy from that film is in. Nokia’s newly announced voice assistant, on the other hand, is strictly business — we’re talking the Nokia that specializes in network technologies here, not the Nokia brand of devices licensee HMD Global puts out. The Multi-purpose Intuitive Knowledge Assistant, or MIKA for short, is a voice assistant built specifically for telecoms engineers, quickly surfacing the information they need to fix network faults and such.

As Nokia so succinctly puts it, MIKA “will provide voice-dictated automated assistance to reduce time spent searching information resources, enabling operators to focus on key business tasks without being distracted by the complexities of multi-technology network environments.” In human-speak, MIKA will talk engineers through reconnecting the interlacing nodes with the transponder array to reconfigure spectrum when they’re a bit rusty in that procedure (yes, I made all that up). MIKA will also be able to recommend a course of action by remembering how familiar issues have been resolved in the past, since Nokia has some experience with network infrastructure.

Problems will hopefully arise less often thanks to another new Nokia technology, too. Also powered by the company’s AVA cloud platform — the grunt that puts MIKA on computers, smartphones and other devices — the Predictive Repair service can apparently foresee network faults up to two weeks in advance with 95 percent accuracy, further lightening the load on engineers.

There have been rumblings that Nokia was cooking up an AI helper, registering a trademark for one “Viki” bot earlier this year. There’s every chance the company is still developing a consumer-facing, less-specialized digital assistant under that name, but MIKA will still be Nokia’s first as it’s now available for telecoms providers to try out. It’s unlikely you or I will ever see it in action first-hand, of course, but when your 4G connection unexpectedly dies later this year, MIKA may well be on the case.

Source: Nokia

The best bluetooth keyboard

By Kimber Streams

This post was done in partnership with The Wirecutter, a buyer’s guide to the best technology. When readers choose to buy The Wirecutter’s independently chosen editorial picks, it may earn affiliate commissions that support its work. Read the full article here.

After testing 25 keyboards over the past two years, we found that the Logitech K380 Multi-Device Bluetooth Keyboard is the best for most people. It’s the first to meet all the requirements of a great multiuse Bluetooth keyboard—comfortable, compact, and versatile—for less than $50.

Who this is for

A Bluetooth keyboard is a great option if you need a keyboard that can connect to any type of device—desktop, laptop, tablet, phone, television—or if you want wireless but hate the USB dongle that comes with traditional wireless keyboards.

How we picked and tested

A great Bluetooth keyboard should be easy to use. It should pair easily with all your devices, and switching between devices ought to be simple, too. For more on determining what you should look for in a Bluetooth keyboard, see our full guide.

We tested 25 keyboards over the past two years by using each for at least a day of heavy work involving lots and lots (and lots!) of typing. After that, we spent much more time—up to several months—using each of our picks. This process gave us a feel for comfort, key placement, ergonomics, and build quality. We also asked a panel of four typists (of varying hand size, technique, and skill) to use each of the finalists for ordinary computing, as well as for the 10FastFingers typing test.

Our pick

The Logitech K380 Multi-Device Bluetooth Keyboard is the best choice for most people. Photo: Kimber Streams

The Logitech K380 Multi-Device Bluetooth Keyboard is the first to meet all our requirements for a great Bluetooth keyboard for less than $50. The comfortable, compact, and inexpensive K380 can switch between up to three paired devices and has battery life that (Logitech claims) you can measure in years.

The Logitech K380 isn’t too large or heavy to slip in a bag and take with you. It’s comfortable to use for long typing sessions, and though its slight slope isn’t ergonomically great for your wrists—flat would be ideal—the angle is not as steep as that of most keyboards.

The round keys are springy and satisfying to type on. Each key is slightly concave—except for the keys in the top and bottom rows, which are convex—so they’re more comfortable than flat slabs. We think the Logitech K380 is comfortable and responsive enough for most people’s typing needs; if you type a lot you should consider the K810 or K811 instead.

The biggest advantage the K380 has over most Bluetooth keyboards is its lengthy battery life. The K380 runs on two included AAA batteries, and Logitech told us it will last for about two years of heavy use, defined as eight hours of use a day, five days a week. We haven’t been able to test the limits of that claim, but the keyboard is still going strong after more than a year of daily work and entertainment.

The Logitech K380 doesn’t have different layouts for Windows and Mac—the keyboard recognizes which operating system it’s connected to and remaps its keys accordingly.

For people who type all day

The Windows (bottom) and Mac (top) versions of the Easy-Switch. Photo: Kimber Streams

If you spend all day typing, you should upgrade to one of Logitech’s Bluetooth Easy-Switch Keyboards: the K811 for Mac or the K810 for Windows. Both are more comfortable than the K380, with smooth, well-spaced square keys; an adjustable backlight; and correct layouts for Mac and Windows, respectively. Our upgrade picks also have rechargeable batteries and, like the K380, let you switch between three paired devices with the press of a button. We recommend the K380 for most people because it’s so much less expensive—the street prices of the K810 and K811 usually run between $60 and $100.

Budget pick

Our budget pick looks and feels cheap but works well enough. Photo: Kimber Streams

If you’re on a budget, we recommend the Anker Ultra Compact Bluetooth Keyboard. This Anker model costs half as much as the Logitech K380 and feels like it—if at all possible, save up the extra $20 or so and get the K380 instead. The Anker can’t switch between devices and isn’t as pleasant to type on as our pick. But all the keys are in their rightful place, and the Anker doesn’t miss key presses, so it does the job.

A keyboard with a number pad: Logitech K780

The Logitech K780 is similar to our top pick, the K380, but with a number pad. Photo: Kimber Streams

We’ve spent years looking for a great Bluetooth keyboard with a built-in number pad, and we’ve finally found one worth recommending: Logitech’s K780 Multi-Device Wireless Keyboard. The K780 is very similar to the K380—it has round keys, it can pair with and switch between up to three devices, it promises an estimated two years of battery life—but it offers the addition of a number pad and a built-in stand for smartphones and tablets. For better or worse, the K780 also shares some of the K380’s flaws, namely a lack of backlighting and the availability of only a single layout.

Portable pick

The Logitech Keys-To-Go comes in Mac (top) and Windows (bottom) versions. Photo: Kimber Streams

If you need something even more portable than our above picks, we recommend the Logitech Keys-To-Go (for Mac or Windows). It’s especially thin and light—about as thick as a binder cover—and it has nearly full-size keys. Because the Keys-To-Go is covered in a membrane, its keys are spill-resistant and don’t have keycaps that can pop off when you shove it in a bag, but it has a weird texture and mushy feedback.

A fully split ergonomic pick

The fully split, ergonomic Kinesis Freestyle2 Blue comes in macOS and PC layouts. Photo: Kimber Streams

If you want a fully split, ergonomic keyboard that connects via Bluetooth, we recommend the Kinesis Freestyle2 Blue (macOS or PC) combined with the Freestyle2 VIP3 Accessory. (The VIP3 add-on is required to tent the keyboard ergonomically). It’s available in layouts for both macOS and Windows, and either version can pair with up to three devices.

This guide may have been updated by The Wirecutter. To see the current recommendation, please go here.

Note from The Wirecutter: When readers choose to buy our independently chosen editorial picks, we may earn affiliate commissions that support our work.

‘Flappy Bird’ creator returns with another infuriating game

While game companies are spending millions developing and marketing addictive mobile games, every once in a while an indie hit appears out of nowhere and captures the public’s imagination. In 2013, that game was Flappy Bird, a notoriously difficult endless runner-style game that thrust its Vietnamese creator, Dong Nguyen, into an unwanted spotlight.

Nguyen ended up pulling the game from Apple and Google’s app stores a few months later (despite making a ton of money), because it had become an “addictive product” that was causing him and its players issues. It also allowed him to focus on making more games. With seven titles now behind him, including Swing Copters, Nguyen is back with a new game called Ninja Spinki Challenges!! — and it’s every bit as difficult as you’d expect.

Staying true to the familiar 8-bit art style found in his other games, Ninja Spinki Challenges!! is comprised of six mini-games that require a good mix of dexterity and fast reactions to complete. Some require you to swipe horizontally to evade fast-moving foes (in one case a bouncing kitty head) or eliminate them with carefully thrown shurikens. A timer counts down as you play, so you’ll know exactly how long you have survive during each challenge. Like with Flappy Bird, your index finger does all of the work and will rarely leave the screen.

Instead of going it alone, Venturebeat reports that Nguyen (who runs his Gears. studio from Vietnam) was asked to create a new IP by Japanese game maker Obokaidem. Together, they’ve found a mechanic that starts easy but cranks up the difficulty considerably each time a round is completed. While you’ll unlock endless versions of each level (that focus on racking up points instead of relying on a timer) the first time you complete them, it’s the later challenges that bring back that sense of joy and frustration you came to love in Flappy Bird.

Instead of charging for the game, Nguyen is utilizing a model that served him very well for his first breakout hit: ads. This includes a ‘Continue’ button that will restart a level where the timer stopped, but only after you’ve sat through a video ad. Ninja Spinki Challenges!! is available on iOS via the App Store and Android through Google Play.

Via: Venturebeat

Source: Ninja Spinki Challenges (App Store), (Google Play)

NASA studies astronaut twins to observe the rigors of space

When you spend nearly a year straight in space, you can expect NASA will want to conduct a good bit of research on you when you return to Earth. The space agency has been doing just that with astronaut Scott Kelly who was in orbit for 340 days. There’s no one better to compare Kelly to than his twin brother and fellow astronaut Mark. NASA collected blood and other biological samples to look for any changes a long spaceflight may cause in the human body.

In total, Scott Kelly has spent 522 days in orbit. That’s a few more than his identical twin brother who has been in space for 54 days. Scientists reported the preliminary results of the study comparing the two this week in Galveston, Texas. What they’ve found so far is that DNA methylation decreased during Scott’s flight and increased in Mark over the same period of time. The process is the addition of a chemical marker that can affect gene expression. However, it is reversible. Researchers also observed that levels for both returned to pre-flight numbers after Scott landed. For now, the scientists aren’t sure this means or what caused it.

The team of researchers also found variations in the gene-expression signatures of the two brothers. Similar changes happen all the time here on Earth in response to environmental changes — like a change in eating habits or sleep schedule, for example. The data showed changes in Scott were larger than normal which could be caused by a diet of freeze-dried food and the challenge of trying to sleep while floating during orbit.

Researchers must now determine which of the changes are a result of prolonged space flight and which are simply natural variations over time. What’s more, because of the small sample size, findings from the Kelly brothers may not be indicative of others.

“The greatest importance of the study is to show that we can do it,” explained Johns Hopkins University geneticist Andrew Feinbergi. “I don’t think people realized it would be so easy to do genomics on astronauts in space.” Researchers say this type of genetic testing could be used to prescribe a course of medications for astronauts during long flights — like a trip to Mars.

Source: Nature

‘A Normal Lost Phone’ is a game set entirely inside a smartphone

“A Normal Lost Phone.” That’s precisely what you think after launching this curious new indie game. The text messages, calendar app and music player — everything is made to look and feel like a smartphone. You’re free to poke around, but with no credit or internet connection your options seem limited. That is, until you start reading the texts. You’ll quickly discover who the owner is and begin to piece together their life, including their relationships and inner demons. I’ll say no more — any further details would give away the story — but it’s a brilliant blend of writing and puzzles.

The game was created by Accidental Queens, a studio founded by three women in Tourcoing, France. The team started with a game jam prototype that anyone could play for free in their browser. The reception was so strong (it won the Best Indie Game award at Game Connection Europe 2016) that they decided to pitch a full version on the crowdfunding site Ulule. With an extra €11,227 (roughly $12,000) in the bank, Accidental Queens were able to build a larger game with more puzzles, apps and story. It’s available now on iOS, Android, PC, Mac and Linux — but ignore those last three, because the smartphone experience is definitely the way to go.

Source: A Normal Lost Phone

No, Apple Isn’t Working on a Vape

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Thursday published an Apple patent application for a “sublimator/vaporizer” invention, leading to sensational headlines suggesting Apple might release a vape or enter the vaping industry. In actuality—and this could go without saying—the invention is completely unrelated.

The patent instead relates to a semiconductor device fabrication process Apple uses to create chips for its devices. The application describes a canister that can be used to vaporize or sublimate a substance, which in Apple’s case would be for delivering substances to a substrate during the deposition or etching process.

The patent’s assigned inventor Tetsuya Ishikawa, a senior manager at Apple in the nanotechnology field, lists photolithography as one of his skills on his LinkedIn profile. He also holds several other patents related to semiconductor fabrication. So, in the end, it is pretty safe to say, no, Apple is not working on a vape.

Tag: patent
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Apple and Amazon Adopt Opposing Strategies as Smart Home War Heats Up

Apple has been in the smart home market for over two years, having introduced its HomeKit framework in the fall of 2014 alongside iOS 8, but HomeKit has been slow to get off the ground because of the company’s strict requirements.

Amazon, meanwhile, entered the smart home market somewhat later with its Alexa-enabled Echo in-home speaker officially launching in the summer of 2015, but Amazon’s Echo already supports a wider range of products.

The difference between the two? Open and closed development, as explored by Reuters in a new article that details the different approaches that Amazon and Apple have taken when developing their smart home offerings.

Apple maintains strict control over its HomeKit platform, with a heavy focus on security and simplicity. Manufacturers who want to create a HomeKit product are required to use special HomeKit chips priced up to $2, along with specific WiFi and Bluetooth chips.

Bluetooth-enabled HomeKit products from Elgato
HomeKit devices have to be made in factories certified by Apple, and then have to be sent to Cupertino for rigorous testing, a process that can take three to five months and must be conducted in secret.

Amazon’s process for smart home products that work with Alexa is much simpler, taking a matter of days to complete. Smart home companies simply need to write code and send it for Amazon to review — that’s it. No special chips, no secure factories, and no specific oversight. Companies can send a product to a third-party lab for testing to earn a specific “Works with Alexa” label, a process that is completed “within 10 days.”

Amazon’s Alexa-enabled Echo
As Reuters points out, while HomeKit doesn’t work with as many products, it supports Bluetooth, is much more secure, and has a quicker setup process. Security, which Amazon can’t promise, is a key differentiator between the two companies and a factor that could ultimately entice more consumers in the long run. A non-hackable smart home product like a door lock or a camera provides more peace of mind than quick compatibility.

Amazon acknowledges that unlike Apple, it can’t guarantee the security of third-party devices. A company spokeswoman did note that sensitive commands like unlocking doors have an extra layer of security such as a voice-controlled PIN.

Reuters spoke with several HomeKit manufacturers, and all were satisfied with Apple’s approach. “It makes for a better user experience,” said Incipio senior engineer Ahmed Abdallah, speaking about HomeKit’s ability to work offline. “They found issues with our product before we released it that we didn’t find in our testing,” said Nanoleaf CEO Gimmy Chu.

Amazon’s simpler certification process has led to over 250 smart home products being certified to work with Alexa, while Apple has certified approximately 100 devices. Alexa-enabled devices have also been selling rapidly, with an estimated 10 million sales over the holiday season, while Apple’s HomeKit sales are less clear.

Apple spokeswoman Trudy Muller said the company is leading the industry by being the first to integrate home automation into a major platform with iOS 10. “The number of HomeKit-compatible accessories continues to grow rapidly with many exciting solutions announced just this month,” she said.

Apple is rumored to be ramping up its smart home efforts through a smart home hub that’s similar to the Amazon Echo, with built-in Siri capabilities, a speaker, and a microphone, allowing it to be used for controlling smart home accessories.

For more detail on the lengths that Apple goes to in order to ensure that its HomeKit products are secure, make sure to read the full analysis over at Reuters.

Tags: HomeKit, Amazon Echo
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Swedish hybrid smartwatch says no to charging, yes to gorgeous classic designs

Why it matters to you

Hybrid smartwatches are becoming more popular, due to matching traditional watch style with high-tech features

Hybrid smartwatches, those combining traditional watch designs with smart functionality, are the ideal midway point for anyone wanting more style than a fitness band, without going all futuristic with a full-on smartwatch. Swedish watch brand Kronaby is the latest to blend the two worlds together with four new connected watch models, the Apex, Sekel, Nord, and Carat.

Kronaby’s watches all have stainless steel bodies, in either 43mm or 38mm sizes, with a sapphire crystal covered, domed face that has been engineered to minimize distortion. Each model is water resistant up to 100 meters, and has either a 22mm or 18mm strap in leather, mesh, or stainless steel, depending on your style preference. At first glance, you’d never imagine these are anything other than a traditional watch.

More: Fossil’s fashion-first smartwatches are doing what no tech company could

However, each Kronaby model connects to your Android or iOS phone, where each button on the watch corresponds to a particular function, which can be assigned in the app. If all this makes you worry about owning another gadget that needs to be charged, don’t; because Kronaby says the battery inside its watches will last two years before it needs to be changed. Two years. We can live with that.

What smart features do the Kronaby watches have? They track steps, have a smart alarm to make you up in the mornings, move alerts, music controls, and options for activating a geo-tag to remind you where you parked the car. Notifications can be delivered to the watches, and can be identified by different vibration patterns, plus there’s an emergency message feature for GPS tracking.

The Kronaby range is a watch first, therefore each model has its own style — the Apex is sportier, the Nord minimalist, the Sekel a classic, and the Carat more classy — plus there’s a choice of strap for each. The prices range from 395 euros to 595 euros, or around $425 to $636 depending on the model and strap type, and are up for pre-order through Kronaby’s website now. Shipping is expected to begin at the end of March, but at the moment, it appears the company won’t deliver to the U.S., only to the U.K. and Europe.