Amazon accused of handing out its users’ personal data

Eric Springer is not happy, mostly because he believes that Amazon let a nefarious type get at his account. In a blog over at Medium, Springer revealed that he was the victim of a “social engineering” hack that exposed his details to an unnamed third party. With just a rough idea of Springer’s location and his email address, the attacker tricked a customer services rep to give up almost all of his personal information. The attacker was subsequently able to use this data to trick Springer’s bank into sending out a copy of his credit card.

Rather than attacking computers, a “social engineering” hack goes after the most fallible element in a system: its operators. Let’s say, for instance, that you know the birthday, postal and email addresses of someone you really, really hate. You could use this information to contact a service provider that they use and pretend to be them, explaining away any missing data by saying you’d been knocked on the head. If the customer services agent believes your story, then they’d give you further pieces of information or, in the worst case, let you avoid standard security procedures altogether.

Springer, understandably, vents his anger at Amazon, which he says failed to understand that he was at risk of impersonation. That failure led to his account being compromised a second time just “a couple of months” later. The attacker attempted to get the customer services agent to hand over Springer’s credit card data, which, he believes, they may finally have been able to do. This isn’t an isolated incident, either, since a commenter to Springer’s story was able to spoof their own account with similar levels of success.

It’s quite a big charge to level against the mega-retailer, and one that could do some extensive damage to its reputation. We contacted the company to learn if it had any official response to the accusations leveled toward it by Springer. Unfortunately, it has not yet responded to us at the time of publication although we are very sure that Amazon will want to be heard on this topic. Those with long memories will recall that this isn’t the first time that the firm has been slammed — journalist Mat Honan lost access to his Amazon account after attackers impersonated him in 2012.

[Image Credit: Getty]

Source: Medium

The After Math: Up, up and away

We’ve seen a number of historic announcements regarding the future of autonomous flight this week. Amazon promised 30-minute deliveries via its fleet of flying horses. DHL tried its best to demonstrate its delivery drone (but was itself bested by the weather). The University of Oslo set a world record by picking up boulders with a team of drones. And Arizona’s building an exo-atmospheric balloon port because people are clearly willing to travel into space if it means getting out of that state.

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin sent its rocket to space… again

As Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos continue their battle to develop re-usable rocket technology first, the Amazon man’s company has news to announce tonight. Its video shows its New Shepard rocket — that previously flew to suborbital altitude of 100km — doing it all over again. According to Blue Origin, instead of just being the first rocket to cross the Karman Line and then land vertically back on the Earth, it’s now the first one to have done it twice. There are still arguments that what Blue Origin is doing is easier than SpaceX’s attempts (not actually going into low-Earth orbit and it’s moving slower), but it’s still an amazing achievement.

Can a used rocket fly? Video + a few technical details at https://t.co/8JUKBLg8fi https://t.co/JWpi3yGDWq

— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) January 23, 2016

Blue Origin believes its tech will scale well as it works on bigger rockets, saying “New Shepard is the smallest booster we will ever build,” and that it will just get easier from here. Up next are full engine tests of the larger BE-4, and more trips to space and back for New Shepard. According to the team, the rocket’s landing protocol has also been adjusted, so it no longer tries to land dead-center on the pad, prioritizing its angle over location. Is that a shot at SpaceX and its failed barge landing attempts? That depends on your perspective, but now we’ve got more sweet rocket videos to watch.

Source: Blue Origin

Amazon Echo can tell you movie times and NFL scores

Amazon keeps making its Echo speaker better and better. The device, powered by the retailer’s Alexa voice recognition technology, is now getting an update that allows it to give more info about movies, like which are playing at theaters near you and when, as well as other practical details. Your only job is to say audio commands such as “Alexa, what action movies are playing Friday night?” or “Alexa, tell me more about Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”

Additionally, with Super Bowl 50 only a couple weeks away, the handy virtual assistant has also gained some football knowledge. Aside from being able to get the NFL game scores (including live), you can also ask Alexa for predictions. If these features haven’t hit your Echo yet, don’t worry — they should arrive momentarily.

[TA Deals] Learn everything about Amazon Web Services with this bundle (87% off)

Most people aren’t aware of Amazon Web Services, but the company’s cloud computing platform powers are vast number of business around the world. So why am I telling you this? Because understanding Amazon Web Services and its different uses can be a valuable skill, one that would be able to help make your résumé pop out. Lucky for you, Talk Android Deals has a bundle packed with three courses that will help you prepare for and pass the various Amazon Web Services exams. The bundle specifically focuses on what will help you become an AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate, AWS Certified Developer, and AWS Certified SysOps Administrator Associate.

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All 4 catch-up streaming comes to Amazon’s Fire TV

When you’ve gone about revamping and rebranding your streaming service like Channel 4 did this year, the next step is to get your app on as many platforms as possible. Just before Christmas, All 4 made its way to the PlayStation 4, joining the apps already available for other games consoles, mobiles, tablets, computers and various smart TVs and set-top boxes (including Google’s Chromecast). Today the service expands to yet another device, with All 4 launching on Amazon’s newest Fire TV and support for the older version and Fire TV Stick also announced as “coming soon.”

All 4 was something of a missing piece in the Fire TV app selection, but with BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub and Demand 5 already on board, all five major UK broadcasters are now up to date. To jog your memory, All 4 is an evolution of the 4oD service you may’ve used in the past, combining live TV with catch-up, shorts and other content from the broadcaster’s various channels. Like the recently released PS4 app, however, the Fire TV version only offers access to the on-demand catalogue. Still, if you’re feeling a bit delicate on New Year’s Day, you can now sooth the pain with a couple of classic Inbetweeners episodes.

Source: Amazon