Kate Middleton Photos: What if it were a gun?

The Kate Middleton's photo scandal has taken new turn with regard to the safety of the royalties. 

The Chateau DAutet, where pictures of a topless Kate Middleton were snapped by a paparazzo, is clearly visible from a public road. Picture: Google Maps

The question being asked now is 'What if the paparazzo had a gun instead of a camera and fired?'

Well the place from where the alleged scandalous photos have been taken, which is clearly visible from the road was not guarded and protected or even police patrolled. Anyone with a sniper rifle could have shot at the royalties and vanished.

Isn't it hair raising?

Read more: Herald Sun

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Microsoft urges death of Windows gadgets

Just two weeks before researchers are to disclose bugs in Windows "gadgets" at Black Hat, Microsoft acknowledged unspecified security vulnerabilities in the small pieces of software supported by Vista and Windows 7.

To deal with the vulnerabilities, Microsoft has provided a way to cripple all gadgets and disable the "sidebar" engine that runs them.

"The purpose of this advisory is to notify customers that Microsoft is aware of vulnerabilities in insecure Gadgets affecting the Windows Sidebar on supported versions of Windows Vista and Windows 7," Microsoft said in a security warning issued Tuesday.

This was not the first time that Microsoft has reacted to security problems in gadgets. More than four years ago, Microsoft updated Vista with a tool that let the company automatically -- and remotely -- disable suspicious or malicious gadgets.

Read details: Computer World

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Karzai: U.S. has endangered security pact

 Afghanistan's president said Saturday the United States had put the two countries' security pact at risk with a unilateral air strike that killed 18 civilians, and a Taliban suicide bomber killed four French soldiers responding to a tip-off about a bomb hidden under a bridge.

The violence and the dispute highlight the muddled nature of the international mission in Afghanistan as NATO coalition countries try to shift to a training role in a country still very much at war.

The majority of NATO and U.S. forces are scheduled to leave the country by the end of 2014, but the exit is looking far from neat at the beginning of the hot summer months, when fighting typically surges.

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Apple’s MobileMe Phishing Scam: Security Threat Via Email Spreading

[ via Chip Hazard ] 21 Dec

Looks like social engineers are all set to say “Merry Christmas”. According to latest reports, Apple’s MobileMe has been the latest victim of their phishing attacks.

The trick they (scammers, social engineers, whatever you want to call them) have chosen is quite old in the book. They send an email, trick you into revealing your login credentials, and hope you will fall for it. Though the trick seems somewhat hilarious, it works quite well then you can imagine. 

The worse part of the trick is that no amount of security (firewalls, anti-virus software, etc) can save you as the success or failure of the scam depends on you. Perhaps it is better to say that you are the weakest link in the security chain; if you fall, the whole security system proves worthless.

Read more at Chip Hazard

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Carrier IQ Denies Wiretap Claims

[ via Information Week ]

Carrier IQ, a "mobile service intelligence" provider, has responded to ongoing questions about exactly what types of information its handset monitoring software records, and denied allegations that its software runs afoul of wiretapping regulations.

The Company says:

"While a few individuals have identified that there is a great deal of information available to the Carrier IQ software inside the handset, our software does not record, store, or transmit the contents of SMS messages, email, photographs, audio, or video. For example, we understand whether an SMS was sent accurately, but do not record or transmit the content of the SMS. We know which applications are draining your battery, but do not capture the screen."

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Carrier IQ Issue: US Senate also Jumps in

[ Information Week ] 2 Dec

The Carrier IQ news earlier released has moved the US Senate on the issue.

Information Week reports that Carrier IQ has received a letter from the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Senator Al Franken drafted the letter as he is chairman of the Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law.

Senator Franken has asked Carrier IQ to respond to a series of questions, and then ever so politely ended the letter with "I appreciate your prompt attention to this matter." Translated into English that means "you need to drop whatever you are doing and respond to this letter or face a Senatorial subpoena."

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Controversial Tracker CarrierIQ Found on iPhone

[ POPSCI ] 

News regarding Carrier IQ, a third-party service loaded on certain smartphones that's capable of tracking users and even recording keystrokes, has been spreading rapidly in the past few days, though the original discovery happened back in March. 

The world is still learning more about what the service specifically does, but the latest news is that references to Carrier IQ were found in Apple's iOS, the operating system used by the iPhone and iPad. 

Read full story if you need to know more.

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Android Smartphones Have Big Security Hole [Video]

Mashable 1 Dec

If Google was just starting to forget about the Android malware threats from earlier this year, now it has another security headache: Researchers at North Carolina State University just discovered a new vulnerability in some of the most popular Android phones being sold today.

The security flaw is specific to a certain implementation of the Android operating system, the researchers say, so it doesn’t necessarily affect all Android phones. 

Watch Video for details

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Scotland Yard to use drones during Olympics 2012 for Surveillance

Full Story: The independent 25 Nov

Unmanned drones equipped with surveillance cameras will be flown across the skies of London during next year's Olympic Games, reports The Independent. And that Scotland Yard ready to use radio controlled 'eyes in the sky' to boost surveillance.

Next year's Olympics will be the largest security operation the Met has ever had to run, as tens of thousands of athletes and millions of spectators flock to the games in Stratford.

Read full story for more details

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Beware of Android Security Bugs

Fill Story: Information Week 21 Nov 

There have been concerns about Android being a malware magnet, Information Week's  Laurianne McLaughlin reports quoting McAfee. Maybe you've seen the big scary numbers, too, like Juniper's claim that the ranks of mobile malware have risen 472% since July.

Looking ahead, Amazon also plans an Android Kindle phone in 2012--though InformationWeek's Thomas Claburn fears it could flop if Amazon makes a me-too design choice.

Read full story for more details

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Europe may withdraw "naked" airport scanners over cancer fears

Full Story: Mail Online 

Although the infamous "Naked Airport Scanners" have raised many an eyebrow since their installation in USA and Europe, there have never been fears of cancer concern before. But these are likely to be withdrawn after EU chiefs warned that they could pose a health risk due to the radiation they emit.

Civil Aviation Authority said radiation from scanning equals to 2 minutes radiation received on a Transatlantic flight

The £80,000 security scanners, introduced to detect suspicious items hidden on passengers, have already been criticized as an invasion of privacy due to the apparent ‘naked’ image that they produce of travelers. But the new information from the European Commission raises fears that the radiation from the machines could cause long-term health damage such as cancer, reports Mail Online.

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Security researcher fired for pointing out serious security flaw in iOS

Full Story: Chip Hazard / Wahaab JB

Security Researcher Charlie Miller has released a video showing an exploit in Apple’s iOS software that allows to hide malicious code inside the app which is undetectable to App store screeners. Through that hidden code embedded, the app can run unsigned code, reports Chip Hazard quoting Forbes.

Shortly after the news broke, Apple revoked Miller’s developer account for breaching the developer agreement. The email read :-

This letter serves as notice of termination of the iOS Developer Program License Agreement…between you and Apple. Effective immediately.

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