FBI 'could hire hackers on cannabis'

22 May 2014 Last updated at 11:20 By Leo Kelion Technology desk editor

The FBI has reportedly said it is "grappling with the question" of whether to hire cybersecurity experts who use cannabis.

The US agency's current policy prohibits anyone working for it who has used cannabis in the past three years.

However, its director James Comey has acknowledged that this is complicating its efforts to recruit hacking experts, according to the Wall Street Journal.

It said he made the announcement at a conference in New York.

"I have to hire a great workforce to compete with those cybercriminals, and some of those kids want to smoke weed on the way to the interview," the newspaper quoted him as saying at the White Collar Crime Institute's annual meeting.

It added that when one attendee asked how a cannabis-using friend interested in working for the bureau should now act, Mr Comey replied: "He should go ahead and apply."

A spokeswoman for the FBI confirmed Mr Comey had discussed cannabis in unscripted remarks during a question and answer session after his speech at the conference.

However, during a committee hearing at the Senate on Wednesday the FBI director subsequently said he had been trying to be "philosophic and funny" when he made the comments.

"I don't want young people to use marijuana. It's against the law," he added.

"I did not say that I'm going to change that ban. I said I have to grapple with the change in my workforce."

Random tests

Unlike the FBI, the UK's National Cyber Crime Unit (NCCU)'s vetting policy does not make specific reference to cannabis, but does have a wider anti-drugs rule.

"Whilst previous drug taking is not necessarily a barrier to employment provided people are open about it, applicants are told not to apply if they have taken illegal drugs in the preceding 12 months," said a spokeswoman for the National Crime Agency, of which the NCCU is a division.

"Before joining all new entrants have to undertake a drugs screening test before appointment is confirmed.

"Once employed, individuals are subject to NCA policies including random and intelligence-led 'with cause' substance testing. Certain high-risk posts require individuals to take more regular testing as a role requirement."

One expert thought it was sensible to review such anti-drugs policies.

"The sort of hackers that you want to hire tend to be young, the young tend to have bad habits such as smoking marijuana, and over time you'd expect them to do this less," Dr Richard Clayton, from the University of Cambridge's Computer Laboratory, told the BBC.

"But equally, I believe the FBI and the National Cyber Crime Unit have more problem recruiting people because of the salaries they pay, which compare poorly with the salaries available in the private industry."

Criminal hires

The UK's Defence Secretary Philip Hammond told BBC Two's Newsnight programme in November that the NCCU might hire convicted hackers despite a current ban against recruits with a criminal record.

"The conviction would be examined in terms of how long ago it was, how serious it was, what sort of sentence had followed. So I can't rule it out," he said.

But Dr Clayton said he was concerned how this might be implemented.

"We like to send out the message that hacking is very bad and that if you get caught it can ruin your life," he said.

"But it's a problem if you then say, 'If you get caught we might let you serve a few months in jail and then give you a nice cushy job.'

"Perhaps we might want to have some sort of 'we won't hire you until your conviction is at least five years old' sort of policy."

23.36 | 0 komentar | Read More

Concern over drivers on social media

By Ben Mundy Newsbeat reporter

22 May 2014 Last updated at 05:42

Police have told Newsbeat they are increasingly concerned about people using social media when driving.

The head of roads policing in England and Wales, Chief Constable Suzette Davenport, says people are increasingly posting updates, taking photos and video calling behind the wheel.

More than 6,000 16 to 24-year-olds were killed or seriously injured in 2012.

A recent RAC survey also found that 20% of 17 to 19-year-olds admitted using Facebook or Twitter while driving.

"I'm increasingly concerned because young people are absolutely glued to their mobile technology," said Chief Constable Suzette Davenport.

"Whether that's social networking or texting, people cannot afford to be doing that when they are driving."

Witnesses say that Imogen was his by a driver who was distracted by a mobile phone

Imogen Cauthery, 27, sustained serious injuries after being hit by a car as a child.

Witnesses say the driver was distracted by a mobile phone.

Imogen suffers epilepsy, learning difficulties and memory impairment as a result of the accident.

She agreed to tell Newsbeat her story and help with our report on the issue of driver distractions.

"I was on my way to the swimming pool with my mum, sister and best friend Jeannette," she said.

"A car came round the corner, on his phone, and I was hit.

"A passing doctor gave me CPR at the scene and I was taken to hospital where they froze my brain.

"I was in a coma for ten days and much to everyone's surprise I woke.

"It's really upsetting being back here at the scene of the crash.

"This is the place my world turned upside down.

"Some guy fancied taking his licence for granted and he ruined my life."

As part of Imogen's report, she spoke with drivers who admitted using social media while driving.

James Dawson, 28, drives for a living

"If I'm completely honest I would say most people probably do it and I have done in the past - used my smartphone when driving," revealed one man who didn't want to give his name.

When Imogen asked him why, he replied: "The thirst for knowledge which has been created by all these forms of media and devices."

James Dawson, 28, also spoke to Imogen.

"I have never done it, but I think a lot of people do," he explained.

"You see people looking down at their phone and it's really annoying because it is quite dangerous."

Imogen revisited the park she used to play in with friends as a child.

"I have been unable to do that ever since though because of all my conditions," she said.

"My brain is seriously scarred, I take three medications and I had brain surgery again last year.

"I've got really bad memory and that's probably what affects my lifestyle the most - not recognising people can be so humiliating.

"From doing this report for Newsbeat I've been appalled, while I've been here I've seen three drivers on their phone.

"I've met someone who has admitted doing it and it makes me feel so angry."

Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube

23.36 | 0 komentar | Read More

Facebook brings autoplay ads to UK

21 May 2014 Last updated at 12:23 By Kevin Rawlinson Technology reporter

Facebook is introducing automatically playing video adverts to the UK.

The social network initially trialled the features in the US and the first ads are expected to play in Britain within weeks.

They will run without sound unless clicked on and, on mobile devices, will load only over wi-fi.

Facebook will hope to continue its recent success in increasing ad revenues, having seen a significant rise in the past 12 months.

The company said on Wednesday that it would be introducing the ads with a "limited group of advertisers" in the selected countries, including the UK, Australia and France.

It is also unveiling the feature, called Premium Video Ads, in Brazil, Canada, Germany and Japan. But Facebook did not reveal the companies that would be advertising.

Tentative

Facebook said the introduction would be tentative and, while the first ad could appear in June, most would not run until later as it attempted to control quality.

"We'll roll out Premium Video Ads slowly and monitor how people interact with them," said Facebook in a statement.

"This limited introduction allows us to concentrate our efforts on a smaller number of advertisers with high-quality campaigns."

Each video advert will be 15 seconds long and will start playing without sound as it appears on the screen.

The ads will stop playing if users scroll past them. But, if people tap or click on the video, it will expand into a full-screen view and sound will start, Facebook said.

Facebook's figures for the first quarter of 2014 showed it made $2.27bn (£1.34bn) from advertising, an 82% increase on the same quarter last year.

And it said that mobile ads, which have generated very little return until recently, represented about 59% of the company's total advertising revenue for the quarter.

That was up from about 30% of advertising revenue in the first quarter of 2013.

Jeremy Arditi, UK managing director of online video ad tech company Ebuzzing, said it was a good move for Facebook.

But he said: "Most online video ads annoy people and interrupt their browsing experience," adding that industry estimates indicated that "around 60% of online video ads don't get seen".

He pointed out that there was an element of risk to brands, which could conceivably end up appearing next to inappropriate content posted by other users.

23.36 | 0 komentar | Read More

'Pet replacement' app criticised

21 May 2014 Last updated at 18:17 By Kevin Rawlinson Technology Reporter

Battersea Dogs and Cats Home has warned that an app allowing people to find a new pet based entirely on looks risks reducing animals to disposable items.

PetMatch runs image-recognition technology to match pictures of animals, selected by prospective owners, to an "adoption database".

It has been suggested the app can help owners find replacements for dead pets.

The London rescue centre stressed that people should also research the animal's temperament before adopting.

The centre's head of dog rehoming, Rob Young, told the BBC: "We would not approve of using this as a method of choosing a new pet, largely because you should not be looking to rehome an animal on looks alone."

The developers of the app pointed out that users were still able to carry out further checks before they took an animal home.

'Disposable items'

Users either upload pictures of their ideal pet to the app or use a pre-loaded image. The app then uses image recognition technology to find matches among a database of animals that are up for adoption.

Mr Young said that it would be possible to find identical matches but warned prospective pet owners to be careful.

He said: "There is a good chance they will behave very differently. They all have their own needs. We work to make sure that each animal gets sent to a home that suits their needs."

Mr Young added: "[Use of the app] points towards dogs and cats becoming disposable items. Getting a direct replacement is not the way we would want people to look at it."

The developers, California-based Superfish, said their algorithms allowed the app to analyse pictures with "no human involvement".

The company, which has been backed by five different venture capital firms to the tune of $19.3m (£11.4m), said PetMatch was a "faster, more intuitive way to bring you closer to finding exactly what you're looking for".

Continue reading the main story

You should not be looking to rehome and animal on looks alone"

End Quote Rob Young Battersea Dogs and Cats Home

It added that the app helped users get in contact with pet-adoption agencies, once they had found the pet they are looking for.

But Mr Young said that, while he understood why some people would find the app useful, he would advise people using it to "find a dog or cat that looks identical to their old one" to proceed with caution.

"[Owners] become incredibly attached to their pets. I own two terriers and I would probably look to get another if one passed away," he said.

Superfish's head of communications Alisa MacDonnell said that using the app was "just the beginning of the conversation" and said users needed to meet an animal before adopting it.

She added: We just helping animals find homes, that's our main mission."

23.36 | 0 komentar | Read More

China's JD.com to debut on Nasdaq

22 May 2014 Last updated at 02:17

Chinese online retailer JD.com has raised $1.8bn (£1.1bn) in its US share sale, valuing the company at more than $25bn according to underwriters Bank of America and UBS Investment Bank.

Shares are due to start trading on the Nasdaq on Thursday under the symbol 'JD' at the price of $19 per share.

JD.com is China's second largest e-commerce firm after Alibaba.

The IPO will be closely watched as a measure of Wall Street's appetite for Chinese internet firms.

The e-commerce industry in China is attracting a lot of interest, due to increasing affluence in the world's second largest economy as well as rising access to the internet.

According to research firm eMarketer, China's business to consumer e-commerce sales may surpass $180bn this year.

Investors

In its IPO prospectus, JD.com said it had a 17.5% market share based on transaction volume, as of the third quarter of last year. The figures are based on calculations by iResearch, a research firm.

Asia's biggest internet company, Tencent Holdings, bought a 15% stake in JD.com in March this year, in an attempt to grab a larger share of China's online shopping market.

Under the deal, JD.com will take full control of Tencent's e-commerce business, which includes subsidiaries such as QQ Wanggou and Paipai.

The purchase signals heightened efforts by Tencent to take on rival Alibaba.

JD.com's list of investors include Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, with a 5% stake.

The e-commerce firm plans to use proceeds from the IPO to expand its infrastructure needs with the building of new warehouses and establishing more delivery stations. It also wants to build a fund for potential investments in and acquisitions of complementary businesses, assets and technologies.

US investors will be watching how JD.com shares perform on Nasdaq, hoping for clues as to how Wall Street will receive rival Alibaba, which filed for an IPO earlier this month.

Analysts are expecting Alibaba to raise more than $15bn.

23.36 | 0 komentar | Read More

'Computers affect ability to learn'

22 May 2014 Last updated at 06:21

A teaching union in Northern Ireland is calling for urgent action over the impact of modern technology on children's ability to learn at school.

The Association of Teacher and Lecturers (ATL) is concerned at how long children spend on computers and digital gadgets outside school.

It said some pupils were unable to concentrate or socialise properly.

The impact of digital technology is the focus of the union's annual regional conference in Belfast on Thursday.

Mark Langhammer of the ATL said: "We're hearing reports of very young children who are arriving into school quite unable to concentrate or to socialise properly because they're spending so much time on digital games or social media.

"We'd like the Department of Education to issue guidance to all parents on the maximum amount of time which young children should spend on these devices, and on how kids can use digital technology safely and sensibly."

Screen time

He said the ATL will be requesting an early meeting with the education minister to urge action.

"We readily appreciate that digital technology can have huge benefits for children," he said.

"But there seems to be a real lack of awareness about its potential dangers, and we think the Department of Education needs to take action to make parents much more aware of the issues."

Emma Quinn, who teaches primary four and five, said the impact of hours spent on screens was evident in school.

"There's a complete lack of motivation among many of my pupils - these gadgets are really destroying their ability to learn," she said.

"They're so used to the instant buzz which you can get with these games and gadgets that they find it really hard to focus on anything which isn't exciting."

She said at least half of her class of seven to nine-year-olds use games intended for older teenagers and adults.

"We're finding that, for many children, when they begin school, it's the first time they've been told what they can't do - as opposed to simply being left to do what they like," she said.

"Their response is to really act up and to be aggressive - because they're not used to any controls, and because these games have given them the idea that violence is the answer to every problem."

23.36 | 0 komentar | Read More

Blizzard sues Starcraft cheat-makers

22 May 2014 Last updated at 09:32 By Leo Kelion Technology desk editor

Activision Blizzard is trying to sue hackers who have created cheats for its Starcraft II video game.

The publisher says the software undermines online multiplayer battles and could cause players to lose interest in the title.

It has filed papers with a California court calling for the unidentified programmers to be made to compensate it for copyright infringement.

One industry watcher described the move as "aggressive".

"The only reason that cheats like this exist is because there is demand for them," said Ed Barton, a video games analyst at the consultancy Ovum.

"But the competitive scene for Starcraft is very important, especially in Korea, and Blizzard needs to preserve the fantasy of the core experience."

News of the legal action was first reported by the Torrentfreak news site, which noted that the ValiantChaos MapHack cheats at the centre of the case remained available online if gamers paid a "donation" of $62.50 (£37).

The creators have promoted the hack on Blizzard's own forums as well as other sites.

Professional players

The science fiction real-time strategy game Starcraft II was released on 27 July 2010, and has subsequently been followed up with expansion packs,

Blizzard's last annual report noted that the Heart of the Swarm add-on was 2013's best-selling PC game at US stores, and the company is still working on a final extension called Legacy of the Void.

Its court filing talks of wanting "to protect the sanctity of the Starcraft II gaming experience" and notes that its terms and conditions explicitly prohibit the use of "hacks, mods or any other unauthorised third-party software" designed to allow a player to boost their ranking and access new weapons and abilities.

"The competitive aspect of Starcraft II's multiplayer environment is one of the driving forces behind sales of the game," it states.

"In fact, the Starcraft game are played as a competitive sport around the world, with professional or semi-professional players competing for national and international titles.

"Additionally, the ability to play the game against skilled human opponents keeps the player experience fresh and interesting, thus ensuring that players return to the game frequently."

The firm adds that it wishes the court to shut down the hacks and make their creators hand over the profits they had made.

Legal precedents

The case has echoes of Nintendo's court battles against the Games Genie - a cartridge that allowed players to enter codes to cheat at Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) titles in the early 1990s.

Nintendo also alleged copyright infringement but lost the case after the judge ruled that consumers had the right to "experiment with the product" after paying a fair price for a game. Nintendo's rival Sega later gave its backing to the product and helped fund its marketing campaign.

However, Blizzard has been more successful in this area following 1998's introduction of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which criminalised software designed to bypass digital locks.

In 2010 the firm won a copyright infringement case against MDY Industries, which had sold a software "bot" that automatically played the early levels of World of Warcraft for players.

"The law in this area is relatively new as these forms of online games are only a decade old," Jas Purewal, editor of the Gamer Law news site told the BBC.

"Nonetheless, there have been a number of victories in this area and overall the odds are stacked against hackers and against cheaters once a games company is determined to take legal action."

23.36 | 0 komentar | Read More

Anger over eBay hack delays

22 May 2014 Last updated at 12:19 By Jane Wakefield Technology reporter

Online marketplace eBay is facing questions over its handling of a hack attack that exposed millions of passwords and other data.

A promised feature obliging members to reset passwords when they next logged in has not yet been made available.

Instead the auction site has added a notice to its homepage, simply recommending users update passwords "as a first step".

Security experts said its reaction raised "serious questions".

"We know that customers are concerned, and want us to fix this issue straight away, and we are working hard to do just that," eBay told the BBC.

"Our first priority is and always has been to protect our users' information and ensure we correctly deal with the technical challenges such a situation brings, and that is why as a first step we have requested all users change their passwords.

"Other steps, including email notification, will follow, and we will ensure all eBay users have changed their passwords over the coming days."

Many of its users were angry about how slowly the firm had dealt with the problem.

"Just wondering why I'm hearing this from BBC before eBay," said one reader of the BBC website.

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Alan Woodward, an independent security consultant, was also unimpressed.

"It shouldn't take this long to have something in place that forces users to change their passwords, and it should have let people know what was happening - it doesn't take much time to send an email out for goodness sake,"

It built a picture of a firm with "serious questions" to answer, he told the BBC.

The Californian-based company, which has 128 million active users, revealed that a database had been hacked between late February and early March.

The attackers had accessed a database containing encrypted passwords and other data after obtaining a small number of employee log-in credentials, the firm disclosed.

The other data included:

• email addresses
• physical addresses
• phone numbers
• dates of birth

Data for its money-transfer service, PayPal, was stored separately and had not been compromised, the firm said.

Encryption question?

There has been widespread criticism from the security industry, with many asking why phone numbers, addresses and dates of birth stored on the database were not encrypted.

"We provide different levels of security based on different types of information we're storing and all financial information across all of our business is encrypted," eBay told the BBC.

"We also have no indication of increased fraudulent activity on our site or that the encryption on passwords has been broken.

Illia Kolochenko, chief executive of security firm High-Tech Bridge, thinks it is highly likely that the encrypted passwords have been broken.

"Over 80% of encrypted hashes [used on web applications] can be brute-forced within 48 hours," he said.

Big tech firms needed to give serious thought to how to prevent their staff accounts being compromised in the way eBay's had been, said Paul Ayers, vice-president at security firm Vormetric.

"A common theme of many of these breaches is that they involve cybercriminals actively seeking to compromise insider accounts - focusing most heavily on privileged users like IT administrators - in order to infiltrate systems and steal data using their credentials," he said.

Prof Woodward said that if reports that the database had been accessed just using staff member's stolen username and passwords were correct, then it suggested "eBay is not valuing our personal information as much as it should do".

"The crown jewels of a firm should be protected by two-factor authentication," he said.

Two-factor authentication requires more than just a password, such as sending a Pin code to a smartphone.

23.36 | 0 komentar | Read More

Facebook announces listening feature

22 May 2014 Last updated at 12:22

Facebook is to release a new feature on its mobile app that "listens" to your music and TV shows.

If the song or show is recognised by the app, users can publish the information on their profile or to selected friends.

The service hopes to take advantage of the "second screen" trend, which sees fans of TV shows in particular sharing their experiences on social networks.

However, some users have privacy concerns.

The feature, which will be available in a few weeks' time, uses the microphones inside users' smartphones to detect nearby music or TV shows.

As the user begins writing a status update, a small animated icon will appear at the top of the app.

If the app detects the appropriate audio signals and finds a match from its database, the user can then share what he or she is watching or listening to.

Facebook says the feature can be turned off at any time, the audio recording is not stored anywhere and the device cannot identify background noise or conversations.

"If you share music, your friends can see a 30-second preview of the song. For TV shows, the story in News Feed will highlight the specific season and episode you're watching," Facebook said in a statement.

The company hopes this new method of sharing user listening and watching habits will take advantage of the five billion status updates related to TV and music experiences that the social networking giant sees on a yearly basis.

However, automating part of the sharing process has left some users suspicious, with Nicole Simon commenting on TechCrunch that: "While the idea is nice and technology really interesting, I have no interest in Facebook 'observing' my audio and surrounding. Yes, it starts currently as opt-in, and only on occasion, but there is no trust from my side for even that."

Advertising and Shazam

The BBC understands that this new feature was not specifically designed to enhance Facebook's advertising. However, the company could push an advert to a user's phone based on their tracked listening habits.

This is in keeping with Facebook's current approach to advertising, which uses publicly provided information on users' profiles to push advertisements that are more relevant to each individual user.

The basic idea behind Facebook's feature is not a new one - since 2002 Shazam, which has recently seen a $3m investment from Sony Music Entertainment, has been providing a similar audio recognition service, with its website describing itself as "a mobile app that recognises music and TV around you".

Users of Shazam - all 450 million of them - can not only share their listening habits with other users of the app, but they can also push their updates to Facebook and Twitter.

The app also provides artist biographies, lyrics, videos, recommended tracks and concert tickets.

Facebook's much larger user base could pose a future threat to the comparatively smaller company.

23.36 | 0 komentar | Read More

Angry cabbies attack taxi app office

22 May 2014 Last updated at 16:27

The London office owned by taxi app firm Hailo has been vandalised as tensions mount in the capital over alternative cab services.

Black-cab drivers are angry that Hailo is opening up its service to private hire vehicles.

The word "Scabs" was scrawled on the wall of its London office and police were called after a fight broke out.

Discontent is growing across Europe between licensed taxi drivers and alternative private hire vehicles.

The app firm, co-founded by three London cabbies, had been exclusively for black cabs and allows people to hail a cab through their smartphone.

In an open letter to London taxi drivers, chairman Ron Zeghibe explained why the firm had applied for a private hire licence.

"There is no point burying our heads in the sand - people want a choice," he said.

"When we started, it was a straight fight between taxis and private hire. Now, it's not so simple. These are tough times that call for tough decisions - and that means doing what's right, not what's popular."

He was referring to services such as Uber, a San Francisco-based start-up that describes itself as a "pick-up" service.

It connects those needing a ride with a background-checked private driver, and takes a cut - typically 20% - of the fee.

It now operates in more than 100 cities across 30 countries.

Steve McNamara, head of the London Taxi Drivers' Association said that "feelings were running high".

Of the incident at the Hailo office he said: "Things turned a little bit nasty, punches were thrown and the police were called."

Beyond that, he said, drivers were deleting the app and "queuing up" to have the Hailo stickers removed from their cabs.

Tensions mount

Licensed taxi drivers around Europe are getting increasingly frustrated by the proliferation of new services such as Uber, which they say are not subject to the same regulation and licensing regime as them.

In the Italian city of Milan, taxis have been sitting idle for the past five days in protest at what they say is "unfair competition" from Uber. In Paris, the government is considering banning Uber drivers from using GPS-enabled apps and in Spain the National Taxi Federation has called for it to be banned saying it is putting 100,000 jobs at risk.

In London too, black-cab drivers are planning a protest on 11 June over the way Transport for London has handled Uber's arrival in the capital.

"Our beef is not with Uber but with the regulator which is not enforcing the law and kowtowing in the face of Uber's money," said Mr McNamara.

"The reason for the complete collapse of a normally strong and vigilant regulator can only be put down to the fact that TfL are intimidated by the money, power and influence being brought to bear by the enormous presence of Uber's backers Google and Goldman Sachs."

He said that the protest, likely to cause gridlock in central London had "united the taxi and minicab trades in London".

At the heart of the dispute is why Uber is classified as a minicab service when it uses a smartphone app to calculate fares. Black-cab drivers argue that the app is akin to a taximeter and it is illegal for such vehicles to be fitted with these.

23.36 | 0 komentar | Read More