Technology Mania

Friday, December 30, 2016

Russian security service has hit Ukrainian state institutions with 6,500 hack attacks

Image Credit: Venture Beat

30 Dec 2016 , 09:21

Hackers have targeted Ukrainian state institutions about 6,500 times in the past two months, including incidents that showed Russian security services were waging a cyberwar against the country, President Petro Poroshenko said on Thursday. In December, Ukraine suffered attacks on its finance and defense ministries and the State Treasury that allocates cash to government institutions. A suspected hack also wiped out part of Kiev’s power grid, causing a blackout in part of the capital.

“Acts of terrorism and sabotage on critical infrastructure facilities remain possible today,” Poroshenko said during a meeting of the National Security and Defence Council, according to a statement released by Poroshenko’s office. The statement said the president stressed that “the investigation of a number of incidents indicated the complicity directly or indirectly of Russian security services waging a cyberwar against our country”.

Relations between Kiev and Moscow collapsed in 2014 following Russia’s annexation of Crimea and support for pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, where fighting continues despite a ceasefire agreement. Among the 6,500 attacks Poroshenko said the country had been hit by, the attack on the State Treasury halted its systems for several days, meaning state workers and pensioners had been unable to receive their salaries or payments on time.

Cyber security firm CrowdStrike said last week a hacking group linked to the Russian government likely used a malware implant on Android devices to track and target Ukrainian artillery units from late 2014 through 2016. Its findings are the latest to support a growing view among Western security officials and cyber security researchers that Russian President Vladimir Putin has increasingly relied on hacking to exert influence and attack geopolitical foes.

Russia has repeatedly denied hacking accusations. Poroshenko’s comments come as the Obama administration plans to announce retaliatory measures against Russia for hacking into U.S. political institutions and individuals and leaking information in an effort to help Donald Trump win the presidency. Trump has dismissed the assessments of the U.S. intelligence community.

In December 2015, Ukrainian regional power company Prykarpattyaoblenergo reported an outage, saying the area affected included the regional capital Ivano-Frankivsk. Ukraine’s state security service blamed Russia. Experts widely described that incident as the first known power outage caused by a cyber attack. The U.S. cyber firm iSight Partners identified the perpetrator as a Russian hacking group known as “Sandworm”. As a result of the cyber attacks, Ukraine’s security council agreed measures to protect state institutions, the statement said. It did not disclose what the measures were.

Reuters

Apple’s brand new AirPods are suffering from battery drain issues

By tech2 News Staff / 29 Dec 2016 , 14:21

Apple’s Rs 15,000 AirPods have just barely started shipping out and there are already complaints of battery drain issues with the case that comes bundled with each set.

The AirPods are wireless earphones that Apple introduced as part of its plan to unceremoniously dump the 3.5mm headphone jack. The AirPods are wireless and thus, require charging. You’re expected to simply pop them into their charging case whenever they run out of juice.

Apple promised that the AirPods would hold 4-5 hours of charge on their own and that the charging case would hold an additional 24 hours of charge.

The problem, that some users are reporting, is that the charging case is losing power even when not in use. Users are reporting overnight drops in capacity of between 15 and 50 percent even when the device is on standby and the AirPods are fully charged.

This should not happen.

Those with faulty AirPods have reported that Apple issued them replacements for free.

However, as Mac Rumours is quick to note, the underlying issue remains unaddressed. In its teardown of the AirPods, iFixit noted that the soldering on the chips wasn’t of very good quality, indicative “of poor quality control or a rushed manufacturing process”.

The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus’ so-called touch disease is also said to be a result of the shoddy soldering process employed by Apple’s suppliers.

This information doesn’t lend us any confidence with regards to the long term survivability of Apple’s AirPods.

Apple CEO Tim Cook terms AirPods as ‘runaway success’ without any figures

By tech2 News Staff / 29 Dec 2016 , 13:34

Apple CEO, Tim Cook raised some interesting questions by terming ‘Apple AirPods’ as ‘a runaway success’. The statement was in response to the interview given to CNBC Now during yesterday as Cook walked into the New York Stock Exchange. He detailed that the company is “making them just as fast as we can” citing tremendous demand from consumers.

As reported by The Verge, the interesting thing to note here is that Cook did not give away any hard factual data to back up his claim and for now we will have to take his word. However, on digging further, we were greeted with a ‘6 weeks’ estimate time for shippment on the AirPods product page.

According to reports by MacRumors the AirPods are showing the same shipping estimate since the first day. The product will not be available till mid-February in the Apple Pickup stores.

This comes right after the reports that some customers are finding the charging case of AirPods malfunctioning after some usage. According to previous reports, the delay in the launch of AirPods was caused because of Technical issues and difficulty in manufacturing.

According to the details, one of the issues was an audio sync problem between the individual pods and the iPhone. But the shipping delay is not an important parameter because we don’t know the number of initial AirPods shipped and the manufacturing capacity of the production facilities that are making the AirPods.

Samsung likely to launch Galaxy A series smartphones during CES 2017 as new renders surface

Image Credit: Winfuture.de

By tech2 News Staff / 29 Dec 2016 , 12:47

Samsung is all set to launch latest smartphones from its Galaxy A series. The smartphone company is working on trying to rebuild trust after the forgettable Samsung Galaxy Note 7 fiasco earlier this year. The company is hoping to bank on the good reception of the Galaxy A series till the time Samsung Galaxy S8 is ready for the market as reported by winfuture.de.

The report includes latest renders of the smartphones that include Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017) and Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017).

The render leak comes right after Samsung Malaysia tweeted out hints about the A series being waterproof. The company is expected to launch Samsung Galaxy A3, Samsung Galaxy A5 and Samsung Galaxy A7. According to the reports, A7 is likely to pack 5.7 inches, Full HD Super AMOLED display panel with an effective resolution of 1080×1920 while A5 comes with 5.5-inch display with the same panel and resolution.

A7 will further pack 16MP camera sensors on the front as well as on the back with f/1.9 aperture. The device will be powered by an octa-core Exynos 7880 processor along with 3GB RAM and 32GB internal storage with a microSD card slot.

Galaxy A5 is reported to pack an octa-core Exynos 7880 processor along with 2GB RAM and 16GB internal storage along with a microSD card slot. A5 will follow A7 with 16MP camera sensor on the front as well as back. Samsung Galaxy A3 is expected to come with a 4.7 inch an HD Super AMOLED display panel, Exynos 7870 processor, 2GB RAM and 16GB internal storage along with expandable microSD slot.

CES 2017: Xiaomi to showcase new Yi 4K+ action camera with 60fps support

By tech2 News Staff / 29 Dec 2016 , 12:36

If you remember Xiaomi, along with partner company Yi, launched Go-Pro like action cameras in the past. Yi Technology has confirmed that will be making an appearance at the upcoming CES where it will showcase its new action camera called the Yi 4K+. The company has also said that the new camera will have the capability shoot 4K videod at 60 frames per second.

Successor to the Yi 4K, the new camera is expected to be almost similar in terms of hardware. The Yi 4K came with a 2.19-inch 640×360 resolution LCD touchscreen with Gorilla Glass Retina. It came with a 12MP Sony sensor, a wide angle lens, f/2.8 aperture for photos, two hours of battery life, Wi-Fi stream support, dual microphones, 5GHz Wi-Fi support and EIS. Priced at $250 (Rs 17,00 approx) it had the capability to record 4K videos at 30 frames per second.

There aren’t a lot of cameras in the market today that can shoot 4K at 60 fps, so the Yi 4K+ is something to lookout for.

The company is also planning to launch a drone as it shared some information around the upcoming product. Called the Erida drone, the company says that it will be the fastest three-rotor drone on the market with speeds of up to 75 mph. The company also mentioned that initial tests allowed the drone to fly for up to 40 minutes. The Erida drone will be showcased along with the new action camera at CES 2017 in January.

Your guide to be a Selfie Expert

29 Dec 2016 , 12:35

Pouts, sneers and tongue-in-cheek or tongue-out expressions – this is the time for some experimentation and self-indulgence as pictures speak a thousand words. In a selfie-obsessed culture and world of virtual communities, it has become almost mandatory to have a few selfie tricks up your sleeve.

While posing might look unnatural, there are some angles and tilts that give out the cool vibe you never knew you had. Here are some ways we can help you explore some steps to that perfect selfie:

Your Signature Pose is good, but experimenting with something new enhances the delightful selfie-taking adventure

Your standard knee-up or chin down profile look might make you feel and look great, so when you are unsure of any other pose, click a selfie with your signature pose. But, if you are off for a vacation, you may want to take a selfie while snorkeling, trekking or having fun on the beach while being safe. When it’s your new haircut, trendy new outfit, spectacled look or those dazzling pair of danglers, just engage yourself in a picture with the newbie. You are sure to love this new you!

Sometimes natural is the best

It’s not as much your concealer, highlighter and blusher that makes you look perfect in a selfie as much as your confidence, and that oh-so-infectious smile! Just look your most natural, composed and beautiful self and capture yourself with élan! Many devices now come with beautification features, choose one which exhibits your natural beauty, then you would have a beautiful and natural-looking selfie without make-up!

Express yourself in the most fun way!

Whether you choose to smile, pout, make silly faces, try some props (like using a pillow under your head when trying a lying-down selfie) or show the cheerful, lively self that you are – just let loose, be yourself, and express better with panache. Sometimes just a hand high on your waist and pushing your elbow a little behind you or crossing your legs makes you look so much better – making you feel more confident and look like you are not trying too hard.

Adjust the lighting

When the room is artificially backlit, your poses would end up looking unnatural and your clothes may not look the way they really are. To fix this problem, either have some natural light or artificial light in front of you and accentuate your curves with a hand on your waist or choose a Smartphone device with a bigger aperture, a higher pixel size and a good algorithm to deal with dim or over-bright lighting. When taking an outdoor selfie, all you need to do is block the sun with your head and your face will have the apt lighting with a natural glow.

Stability is the Key

While you hold the phone camera right above your head for the artsy selfie, stability is one key aspect that you wouldn’t want to miss. After all, who would want a blurred or a shaky selfie after all the efforts you have put into it? Just use the gesture shutter and timer function. Then taking best selfie shots in a click while holding the camera stable will seem like a piece of cake. You will have enough time and free hand to get ready for your ideal pose!

Filter and Choose

There’s nothing wrong in editing your best selfie and experimenting with the uber-cool filters, creating a fun collage or making yourself look vintage. A host of plug-ins and filters are available on present-day Smartphones that help you be your most creative self with watermarking features that allow you to imprint photos with time, date, temperature, et al.

A good phone for those perfect selfies

A Smartphone with bigger RAM for faster and effective performance to make sure you can get a perfect selfie in just one snap, and bigger ROM for more storage space is what you need for those adorable selfies. OPPO F1s upgraded version is one such selfie expert that comes with 4 GB RAM and a 64 GB ROM expandable up to 128 GB (that means you can click 10,000 more selfies than the original version and store them all)is available now.

The upgraded F1s inherits the 16MP front camera with a unique Beautifyfunction which could provide you beautiful and natural-looking selfies. Its 1/3.1-inchcustomizedsensorwithuniquepatternofpixelarrangement, together with the Screen Flash feature and advanced algorithm, could help you deal with all the light conditions easily, even in low light. The plug-in filters and watermarks give you endless possibility and fun for selfie-taking.

Now, OPPO also offers a Grey version variant of upgraded F1s. Together with the metal body, it provides you premium looking and hand feel, making you look as unique and perfect as the selfies you click with it.

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So are you ready for a premium selfie experience with these hacks?

This is a partnered post.

United States set to announce its retaliatory measures against Russia for hacking

29 Dec 2016 , 11:27

The Obama administration plans to announce on Thursday a series of retaliatory measures against Russia for hacking into U.S. political institutions and individuals and leaking information in an effort to help President-elect Donald Trump and other Republican candidates, two U.S. officials said on Wednesday.

Both officials declined to specify what actions President Barack Obama has approved, but said targeted economic sanctions, indictments, leaking information to embarrass Russian officials or oligarchs, and restrictions on Russian diplomats in the United States are among steps that have been discussed.

One decision that has been made, they said, speaking on the condition of anonymity, is to avoid any moves that exceed the Russian election hacking and risk an escalating cyber conflict that could spiral out of control. One example of an excessive step might be interfering with Russian internet messaging.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Central Intelligence Agency and Office of Director of National Intelligence agree that Russia was behind hacks into Democratic Party organizations and operatives ahead of the Nov. 8 presidential election. There is also agreement, according to U.S. officials, that Russia sought to intervene in the election to help Trump, a Republican, defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Russia has repeatedly denied hacking accusations. Trump has dismissed the assessments of the U.S. intelligence community. Obama, in an interview earlier this month with NPR, said, “We need to take action and we will” against Russia for interfering in the U.S. election. Trump seemed to suggest the United States should not impose sanctions on Russia.

“I think we ought to get on with our lives,” Trump told reporters in Florida on Wednesday when asked about remarks by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who said Russia and President Vladimir Putin should expect tough sanctions for the cyber attacks. Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, promised retaliation on Wednesday against Washington in the event of new economic sanctions.

Jim Lewis, a cyber security expert with the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, said further sanctions may be an effective U.S. tool in part because they would be difficult for Trump to roll back and because Russia “hates” dealing with them. “For the rest of the world, it’s like having ‘scumball’ stamped on your forehead,” Lewis said.

How to respond to the growing problem of cyber attacks carried out or sponsored by foreign powers has bedeviled Obama, whose eight years in office witnessed a torrent of major hacks against the U.S. government and private organizations that were attributed to China, North Korea, Iran and Russia.

In past cases, administration officials have decided to publicly blame North Korea and indict members of China’s military for hacking because they decided the net benefit of public shaming – and increased awareness brought to cyber security – outweighed potential risks.

But determining an appropriate response to Russia’s actions has proven more complicated in part because Russia’s cyber capabilities are more advanced and due to fears about disrupting other geopolitical issues, such as the civil war in Syria. Obama may choose to invoke an April 2015 executive order that empowered him to levy sanctions in response to cyber attacks perpetrated by foreign groups targeting infrastructure, such as transportation, or done for economic purposes.

One option, said a U.S. government official who has participated in discussions on possible retaliation, would be leaking material on Russian officials or actions that the United States already has obtained in a way that would “parallel what the Russians did, but be impossible to prove.”

The official compared that option to Russian military and civilian intelligence agencies providing hacked material to the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks and trying – unsuccessfully, the official said – to cover their tracks.

Another option would be further economic sanctions against Russia. Washington has already sanctioned Russia over the past two years to punish Moscow for its role in annexing Crimea. But former U.S. officials say the existing measures leave Washington plenty of room to slap new, tougher sanction on Russia in response to cyber intrusions.

The Ukraine sanctions were “narrowly tailored” to hurt specific sectors of Russian industry, such as the energy sector, without causing the nation’s economy to tank, said Juan Zarate, a former assistant secretary of the Treasury for terrorist financing and financial crimes.

The United States took a more measured approach, in part, to reserve tougher measures in case the situation worsened, said Zarate, chairman of the Financial Integrity Network, a private consulting firm that advises on financial threats.

The United States is still unlikely to impose blanket embargoes against Russia because of the danger it could harm the economies of Western Europe, said Peter Harrell, a former senior State Department official who worked on sanctions policy. Instead, the United States may target specific Russian intelligence officials or military divisions believed to be involved in the cyber intrusions. “The Russian defense sector would be fair game,” Harrell said.

Looming over any action the Obama administration takes against Russia is whether Trump will seek to reverse course once he takes office on Jan. 20. In addition to casting doubt on the conclusions of the U.S. intelligence community about the hacks, Trump has repeatedly praised Putin and nominated people seen as friendly toward Moscow to senior administration posts.

Reuters