Over the last several days, reports emerged showing that the Facebook app for iOS would activate the iPhone camera in the background. Now, Facebook says that it has rolled out a fix for this problem to the App Store.
The post Facebook fixes bug that caused iOS app to use the camera in the background appeared first on 9to5Mac.
(METRO) -- Many people have wondered if their apps are secretly spying on them.
So paranoid 21st-century folk may not be entirely happy to hear about a ‘bug’ which turns on their phone’s camera whilst they’re using the Facebook app.
The glitch affects iPhone owners, who said their camera suddenly switched itself on while they were scrolling through their feed, watching videos or looking at photos.
The post Facebook app quietly turning on people's cameras appeared first on WND.
Enlarge (credit: Ryan Adams / Flickr)
The US Federal Trade Commission has sued an IT provider for failing to detect 20 hacking intrusions over a 22-month period, allowing the hacker to access the data for 1 million consumers. The provider only discovered the breach when the hacker maxed out the provider’s storage system.
Utah-based InfoTrax Systems was first breached in May 2014, when a hacker exploited vulnerabilities in the company’s network that gave remote control over its server, FTC lawyers alleged in a complaint. According to the complaint, the hacker used that control to access the system undetected 17 times over the next 21 months. Then on March 2, 2016, the intruder accessed personal information for about 1 million consumers. The data included full names, social security numbers, physical addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, and usernames and passwords for accounts on the InfoTrax service.
The intruder accessed the site later that day and again on March 6, stealing 4,100 usernames, passwords stored in clear-text, and hundreds of names, addresses, social security numbers, and data for payment cards.
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(STUDY FINDS) -- EVANSTON, Ill. — Personalities may seem like they come in a vast spectrum of shapes and sizes, but a recent study suggests there are actually just four distinct personality types. Researchers at Northwestern University whittled down the four types to: average, reserved, self-centered, and role model.
These four personality types, the study finds, are based on five character traits: extraversion, neuroticism, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. Of course, the study challenges personality traits and types previously established. Personality type as a concept is still considered controversial in psychology, due to the difficulty of obtaining objective proof. Previous attempts to classify them produced results that weren’t replicable.
“People have tried to classify personality types since Hippocrates’ time, but previous scientific literature has found that to be nonsense,” says co-author William Revelle, professor of psychology at the university, in a statement. “Now, these data show there are higher densities of certain personality types.”
The post Psychologists identify 4 distinct personality types appeared first on WND.
A man who pleaded guilty to possession of sickening images of children as young as 5 years old posing naked and engaging in sexual activity had his conviction overturned thanks to an appeals court sympathetic to his transgender identity.
When Australian police busted then-18-year-old Vetea Joseph Bunton in 2016, they found a cache of 15 pictures on the man's cell phone.
The photos were of children between the ages of 5 and 16, posing naked or engaging in sexual activity with adults or other youths.
Bunton pleaded guilty to possession of the images, but quickly challenged his sentence, in part over the claim that he only downloaded the photos while struggling with his gender identity.
An appeals court decided in September to overturn his conviction, though the court's reasoning was not published until earlier this month.
The three-judge panel on the Supreme Court of Queensland considered Bunton's transgender status to be an important factor.
"The applicant acquired the images, according to the psychologist report, out of curiosity and at a time when she was struggling with issues concerning her transgender identity and sexual identity," Justice Philip Morrison wrote in explaining the decision.
Bunton started downloaded the pictures when he was around 14, but claims to have stopped viewing child pornography before turning 18.
He failed to explain, however, why he kept the sickening material into his adulthood.
Another factor considered by Morrison in overturning the conviction revolved around the low number of images -- a shocking decision considering that even possessing one piece of child porn is a heinous crime.
"There were only 15 images, 11 of which did not fall into category 4, the category applicable to images where sexual intercourse or oral penetration was depicted," the ruling reads.
Despite the fact that there were only 15 images, the original sentencing judge slammed Bunton for the "serious nature of the offence."
The original judge decided to record a conviction against Bunton because of the heinous nature of his crime.
He specifically argued that the crime's seriousness overwhelms other factors like age, criminal history and any potential social implications.
Thanks to a lenient appeals court, Bunton can now go on with his life safe in the knowledge that a child porn conviction won't be following him around.
Unfortunately for Australians, it looks like their own court system just threw exploited children under the bus for the sake of progressivism.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
The post Man's child-porn conviction overturned thanks to his 'transgender identity' appeared first on WND.
BATON ROUGE- Documents the WBRZ Investigative Unit uncovered in federal court show disgraced deputy Dennis Perkins was considered a "high risk" hire back in 2002, when a polygraph test was administered to him prior to being employed at the Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office. At that time, then-deputy Jason Ard vouched for Perkins, calling him "of good character" and saying Perkins would make an excellent employee.
The WBRZ Investigative Unit found Perkins, who is now accused of 60 counts of child pornography and two counts of child rape, confessed to stealing prior to being hired at the Livingston Sheriff's Office.
Perkins used to work at the Walker Police Department. Those administering the polygraph test noted, "Mr. Perkins is a High Risk... Mr. Perkins has admitted to stealing merchandise from a store while shopping that valued less than $100. He also admitted that he has stole [sic] property from his employer. Mr. Perkins admitted to stealing property off the job that only happened once."
The document shows then-deputy Jason Ard served as a character witness for Perkins when he got hired at LPSO. The document says, "Deputy Ard stated that the applicant was of good character and knows him to be quite proficient in his duties as a police officer. Deputy Ard further stated that he feels the applicant would make LPSO an excellent employee."
Dennis Perkins' wife Cynthia, a school teacher, is also accused of child rape and at least 60 counts of child pornography. At a court hearing Monday, Cynthia was held without bond. Dennis Perkins is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday.
Last week, the WBRZ Investigative Unit uncovered information about a woman who filed a restraining order against Perkins in 2011. That restraining order was received by the Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office and served by their own deputies.
However, spokeswoman Lori Steele said in text messages, "How can LPSO investigate something we have no knowledge of?"
The WBRZ Investigative Unit requested another interview with Ard Monday. Steele said, "This is an AG's investigation. That investigation is still ongoing. Sheriff has no further comment at this time..."
But, in a statement issued later in the day following numerous requests from WBRZ, the sheriff's office said there was a prior complaint made by an officer on another force involving Perkins and a juvenile girl in 2014.
“Sheriff Ard was contacted by a BRPD officer in that time frame. The officer wanted to discuss an affair involving that officer’s wife and what he described as ‘tickling’ of his minor daughter; but not sexual misconduct or molestation of a juvenile. That officer did not want a formal investigation or to file a formal complaint with our office. Sheriff has since been made aware that the State Police did look into this same complaint. He understands that State Police did look into the matter, but did not find any criminal conduct.”
Following Perkins arrest, Ard said that he condemned his alleged actions. Ard also called him a "friend and family member."
Authored by William Suberg via CoinTelegraph.com,
A Bitcoin mining company owned by Russia’s internet ombudsman is planning to open a new facility and corner 20% of the international market.
Based on the fact that on average one block of bitcoin is mined every ten minutes, 4320 blocks can be mined per month. The block reward is 12.5 Bitcoin. Based on the current value of bitcoin $ 9.4 thousand, the total income from mining can be $ 507.6 million per month, that is, 20% is $ 101.5 million.
image courtesy of CoinTelegraph
As local financial news outlet RBC reported on Oct. 29, Russian Mining Company (RMC) plans to repurpose a metal factory in the country’s northern province of Karelia.
“In the Irkutsk region, the electricity tariff is lower than in Karelia, but it’s easier to get to Nadvoitsy,” he noted.
“When choosing a place, a stable climate, seismic stability and the interest of the regional administration played a role.”
Closed due to US sanctions in 2018, the ex-Rusal facility could soon host a Bitcoin (BTC) mining farm so large it could account for one-fifth of global output.
“Our idea consists of converting the factory and selling its computer power as a service, that is to say, offering IT services,” the ombudsman, CEO Dmitry Marinichev, told RBC.
Marinichev steered RBC through a $43 million initial coin offering (ICO) in 2017, a sale that remains Russia’s largest.
Despite his links to the Russian government, Marinichev has come out critical of some policy, particularly aspects involving the internet.
The Kremlin’s attempt to block instant messaging service Telegram, for example, earned scorn. Efforts have so far been in vain, as Telegram still remains accessible, while efforts could soon shift to the release of the company’s own digital currency.
“It is impossible to block it by blacklisting IP-addresses. That way, the battle will go on endlessly, even if you consider that Telegram’s client part is open-source software whose inner workings can be analysed and comprehended,” he said in an interview in May last year.
As Cointelegraph reported, competition in Bitcoin mining has heated up once again in 2019. Despite the mixed performance of Bitcoin itself, hash rate - or the combined computing power dedicated to mining - continues to hit all-time highs.
Bitmain, one of the industry’s major mining participants, last week announced it would look to make its new facility in Texas the most powerful worldwide in the coming years.
Competitor Canaan Creative meanwhile filed for a $400 million initial public offering, or IPO, this week.
Over 26 million Californians are under red flag warnings as residents of heavily populated Southern California brace for a record-strong Santa Ana wind event slated to begin Tuesday night and last through at least Thursday morning.
The notice comes as fire crews battle at least 11 blazes throughout the state.
In the northern part of the state, a critical wildfire danger exists in the North Bay region where the Kincade Fire is has burned over 75,000 acres and was just 15% contained as of 11 a.m. on Tuesday. Battling the blaze are over 4,500 fire personnel across 86 crews, 27 helicopters, 549 fire engines, 66 bulldozers and 42 water tankers. 124 structures have been destroyed in the fire.
BREAKING VIDEO: The #KincadeFire seen from Middletown, California; the fire has scorched over 74,000 acres and is 15% contained pic.twitter.com/ZFQJlQscKn
— News Breaking LIVE (@NewsBreaking) October 29, 2019
Critical weather conditions (dry and windy) will be a threat to parts of California again on Tuesday. @NWSSPC @NWSSacramento @NWSBayArea @NWSLosAngeles @NWSSanDiego @NWSEureka @NWSHanford @NWSMedford pic.twitter.com/ljbeMtDv9U
— NWS Western Region (@NWSWestern) October 28, 2019
747 Global SuperTanker makes a drop over the Kincade Fire. #KincadeFire @kron4news pic.twitter.com/iBkqugBcx9
— Chuck Clifford (@chuckclifford) October 29, 2019
To the south, the Getty Fire is raging west of Interstate 405 in Los Angeles, forcing wealthy residents seek shelter at a makeshift evacuation center at the Westwood Recreation Center. The 656-acre fire which was sparked when a branch fell on power lines (operated by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power) is just 5% contained.
At least 16 schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District are now closed due to fire conditions.
According to CNN and NOAA the current threats include:
• A "remarkable and dangerous" Santa Ana winds event in Southern California — perhaps the strongest this season — is expected to bring gusts of 60-70 mph in the valleys and up to 80 mph in the mountains from late Tuesday night into Wednesday, the National Weather
The worsening conditions come as firefighters across the state battle at least 11 wildfires that have combined to leave thousands of people under evacuation orders.
In western Los Angeles, where the Getty Fire has charred more than 650 acres since Monday, the expected winds mean roughly 20,000 people under evacuation orders there "will not be returning to their homes this evening," Mayor Eric Garcetti said.
"Stay away until we lift that order," Garcetti said in a news conference Tuesday morning. -CNN
@LianaBrackett Here was my view coming home from pdx today. #KincadeFire pic.twitter.com/OEAjpjXXqZ
— cynpalmer (@cyn_palmer) October 29, 2019
India’s second (and largest) nuclear power unit stopped operating on 19th October 2019. It is suspected that the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant was hit by a cyberattack and the authorities were already alerted of the threat months in advance. Even as cybersecurity experts are investigating the case, the authorities were quick to dismiss any occurrence of a spyware infiltrating their systems. The power plant project built in collaboration with Russia has been a target of foreign players since its inception.
Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant hit by Cyberattack
The second 1,000 MW nuclear power unit at Kudankulam, owned by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) stopped power generation on Saturday 19th October, said Power System Operation Corporation Ltd (POSOCO). The atomic power plant stopped generation about 12.30 a.m. on Saturday owing to “SG level low”, the company added. The expected date of the unit’s revival is not known. The NPCIL has two 1,000 MW nuclear power plants at Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP) built with Russian equipment.
Official statement from Kudankulam Power Plant Project on Cyberattack
While cybersecurity experts are investigating the breach, the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tamil Nadu has denied being the victim of a cyber attack and denied any incident of a spy virus having infected the systems at the plant. The statement asserted that since “Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant Project (KKNPP) and other Indian Power Plants Control Systems are stand alone and not connected to outside cyber network and Internet, any cyberattack on the Nuclear Power Plant Control Systems is not possible.” This however, is a false assertion which was exposed when Israeli intelligence targeted Iranian Nuclear facility (which also was not connected to Internet) with Stuxnet.
More than a month before the unit stopped operating, the National Cyber Security Coordinator Office was notified of an intrusion of their systems by cyber threat intelligence analyst, Pukhraj Singh. The alert was generated on investigation by cybersecurity firm Kaspersky into spy tools dubbed DTrack.
Seeing KKNPP's press release, I would like to add that I notified Lt Gen Rajesh Pant (National Cyber Security Coordinator) on Sep 4. Follow-up emails were exchanged, acknowledging the issue. I would solicit no further enquiries on the matter, requesting privacy. https://t.co/SMdABbJcvQ
— Pukhraj Singh (@RungRage) October 29, 2019
DTrack data dump of the power plant also revealed statically encoded login credentials among other things:
Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant DTrack data collection
Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant DTrack data collection
Login credentials
Local IP, MAC, OS install information (including registered org) via registry
Browser history
Connectivity to local IP
Compspec, ipconfig, netstat info
> net use \\\\10.38.1.35\\C$ su.controller5kk /user:KKNPP\\administrator
Kaspersky Global Research and Analysis Team have discovered a previously unknown spy tool, which had been spotted in Indian financial institutions and research centers. Called Dtrack, this spyware reportedly was created by the Lazarus group and is being used to upload and download files to victims’ systems, record key strokes and conduct other actions typical of a malicious remote administration tool (RAT).
In 2018, Kaspersky researchers discovered ATMDtrack – malware created to infiltrate Indian ATMs and steal customer card data. Following further investigation using the Kaspersky Attribution Engine and other tools, the researchers found more than 180 new malware samples that had code sequence similarities with the ATMDtrack, but at the same time were not aimed at ATMs. Instead, its list of functions defined it as spy tools, now known as Dtrack. Moreover, not only did the two strains share similarities with each other, but also with the 2013 DarkSeoul campaign, which was attributed to Lazarus – an infamous advanced persistence threat actor responsible for multiple cyberespionage and cyber sabotage operations.
Dtrack can be used as a RAT, giving threat actors complete control over infected devices. Criminals can then perform different operations, such as uploading and downloading files and executing key processes.
In a breach of national security, INS Vikrant, India’s first Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) was hit by an espionage attack where a hard disk and a multi function control (MFC) processor were stolen from the ship docked at the Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL) https://t.co/UZNMUJmO59
— Sabena Siddiqi (@sabena_siddiqi) October 28, 2019
Entities targeted by threat actors using Dtrack RAT often have weak network security policies and password standards, while also failing to track traffic across the organization. If successfully implemented, the spyware is able to list all available files and running processes, key logging, browser history and host IP addresses, including information about available networks and active connections.
The newly discovered malware is active and based on Kaspersky telemetry, is still used in cyberattacks.
“Lazarus is a rather unusual nation state sponsored group. On one hand, as many other similar groups do, it focuses on conducting cyberespionage or sabotage operations. Yet on the other hand, it has also been found to influence attacks that are clearly aimed at stealing money. The latter is quite unique for such a high profile threat actor because generally, other actors do not have financial motivations in their operations,” said Konstantin Zykov security researcher, Kaspersky Global Research and Analysis Team.
“The vast amount of Dtrack samples we found demonstrate how Lazarus is one of the most active APT groups, constantly developing and evolving threats in a bid to affect large-scale industries. Their successful execution of Dtrack RAT proves that even when a threat seems to disappear, it can be resurrected in a different guise to attack new targets.
A scientist with the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was on Tuesday found murdered in his apartment in #Hyderabad.https://t.co/JQ5G7naiK9
— GreatGameIndia (@GreatGameIndia) October 2, 2019
In 2012, the then Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh in a starting disclosure claimed that foreign intelligence agencies were involved in the sabotage of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant Project (KNPP), a bedrock of India-Russia alliance. Manmohan Singh was referring to the anti-nuclear protests in Kudankulam, which he claimed were orchestrated by American-backed NGOs.
After repeated denials for over a year from fishermen and farmers who were opposing the protest against the KNPP that they were being funded from overseas, the police in the southern Indian town opened a case against a “suspicious money transfer” from London.
The police said T. Ambika, wife of anti-KNPP activist Kumar alias Thavasi Kumar, received around $55,000 in her account with Canara Bank’s Kudankulam Banch from a particualar Anand based in the United Kingdom. Officials from the bank let the police know about the deposit in the account. The police then started an enquiry about the money being sent from a foreign destination to one associated with the ongoing anti-KNPP struggle.
According to a secret Intelligence Bureau document in possession of GreatGameIndia the protests were spear-headed by Ohio State University funded, SP Udaykumar, and a host of Western-funded NGOs. The larger conspiracy was unraveled when a German national provided Udaykumar a scanned map of all nuclear plant and uranium mining locations in India. The map included contact details of 50 Indian anti-nuclear activists revealing an intricate Network aimed to ‘take-down’ India’s nuclear program through NGO activism.
An enquiry of Udaykumar had revealed a deep and growing connection with US and German entities. In July 2010, Udaykumar received an unsolicited contract from the Kirwan Institute for Study of Race and Ethnicity at the Ohio State University, USA as a Consultant on “Group, Race, Class and Democracy issues through NGOs”. He was paid $21,120 upto June 2011 in a US bank account in his name and was contracted to earn another $17,600 upto April 2012 for fortnightly reports. These reports were significant in the fact that they were very brief lists of three general articles or books purported to have been read in the past fortnight, none relating to anti-nuclear activism, his main interest.
As a result, Udaykumar’s contact in Germany, one Sonntag Rainer Hermann (German national) was deported from Chennai on February 27, 2012. Hermann’s laptop contained a scanned map of India with 16 nuclear plants (existing or proposed) and five uranium mine locations marked prominently. The map also included contact details of 50 Indian anti-nuclear activists hand-written on small slips of paper along with a Blackberry PIN graph. The map was sent via email to five prominent anti-nuclear activists, including Udaykumar.
Map acquired from a German spy by the Intelligence Bureau with 16 nuclear plants (existing or proposed) and five uranium mine locations marked prominently.
Sustained analysis revealed that the name slips on the map were hand-written in order to avoid possible detection by text search algorithms said to be installed at e-gateways.
Based on the above enquiry, network analysis of all anti-nuclear NGO activity in India revealed the existence of
One ‘Super Network’ (prominently driven by Greenpeace and renowned activists) and
Five ‘Territorial Networks’ based out of
Tamil Nadu (Idinthakarai, District Tirunelveli),
Kerala (Trivandrum),
Andhra Pradesh (Hyderabad),
Gujarat (Ahmedabad),
Meghalaya (Shillong)
The map clearly indicated the involvement of an organized agency and/or a highly professional, well-funded entity, which expends considerable effort in masking its origins.
BREAUX BRIDGE, La. (KLFY)- The city of Breaux Bridge recently received a little over $5 million to restore the historic downtown bridge.
“We exist because of the bridge. The bridge is part of our name. Breaux Bridge is named after Fermin Breaux. It’s a little more significant than other communities that simply have a bridge,” Mayor Ricky Calais said.
Two years ago, the DOTD granted the city $1.5 million dollars to refurbish the 70-year-old downtown bridge.
Breaux Bridge planned to make minimal improvements like repainting and power-washing the bridge.
After the initial money was granted, the DOTD realized they would need to do more than just touch up the bridge.
“Breaux Bridge is on the list of historic bridges, so any work done to the bridge had to return it to it’s original condition,” the mayor said.
Photo credit: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds, AFP/Getty-Images.
Former Trump 2016 campaign aide George Papadopoulos, recently released after serving 12 days in prison for lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russia, has filed campaign paperwork to run for Congress in the California House district now vacant after Democratic Rep. Katie Hill’s resignation.
According to Roll Call, Papadopoulos filed a statement of candidacy with the FEC on Tuesday. However, if Papadopoulos follows through and launches an official campaign, he faces long odds of success in California’s 25th district,
First off, Papadopoulos will have to navigate an already crowded GOP primary. After Hill’s abrupt resignation following revelations of her intimate relationship with a campaign aide, former Congressman Steve Knight, who Hill defeated in 2018, announced he’s considering a run for the seat again. In addition, two other established Republicans, Navy veteran Mike Garcia and Lancaster City Council member Angela Underwood-Jacobs, have already launched campaigns and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Even if Papadopoulos were to become the Republican candidate, winning back the district would be difficult. California’s 25th district in suburban northern Los Angeles, a one-time Republican enclave, has been rapidly trending blue of late — in 2016, Hillary Clinton won it by seven percentage points over Donald Trump. And in 2018, Hill defeated incumbent Republican Steve Knight by nine points.
