Apple and FBI deny involvement in device data leak – so where did it come from?
Apple and the FBI have both denied any involvement in the alleged hacking attack which AntiSec, an offshoot of Anonymous, disclosed on Tuesday. Read more
Last month Mark Thompson, the BBC’s director-general, pointed the finger at the Iranian authorities for allegedly intimidating employees at its Persian service.
Now the corporation’s chief is taking things a step further by accusing Iran of masterminding a “sophisticated cyber-attack” that involved jamming satellite feeds in an effort to wreak havoc with broadcasts into the country. Read more
Anonymous in revenge attack for MegaUpload shutdown
Anonymous, the amorphous hacktivist collective, has claimed its “largest attack ever” on 10 music industry and government websites in retaliation for Thursday’s shutdown of MegaUpload. Read more
Facebook names alleged Koobface gang
Facebook has taken the unusual step of making public the names and personal details of five men it believes to be behind the Koobface computer worm that attacked hundreds of thousands of computers through the social network’s profiles.
The alleged gang appear to be living in St Petersburg and were tracked by Facebook and a team of researchers over three years. Read more
Warning over mobile phone hijacking
Karsten Nohl, the celebrity mobile cryptography expert, has been at it again. Two years ago he caused a stir by showing that the secret code that protects GSM mobile handsets was easy to crack, leaving phone calls open to interception by third parties.
This year, he is due to show that handsets can also be hijacked to make unauthorised calls and send text messages, running up huge bills without their owners’ knowledge. GSM networks, which are vulnerable to this flaw, are used by around 80 per cent of the world’s mobile users. Read more
FBI working with NSA, CIA on cyber threats
The FBI must work more closely with the major US intelligence agencies in order to combat threats in cyberspace, its director said on Thursday, likening the government response to that against terrorism. Read more
Tech news from around the web:
Sony has revealed that a third party had this month tried to sign into 93,000 accounts on its PlayStation and other networks, Reuters reports. The company said it had frozen the accounts and informed the affected customers, adding that it believed only a few of the accounts were actually accessed.
Traffic to Google+, the online search company’s social network, has fallen since the massive peak in interest seen when it was opened to everyone late last month, according to Mashable. Quoting research from analysts Chitika, Mashable says traffic to the site has fallen 60% since its public launch. Read more
Tech news from around the web:
Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile stores in the US are poised to take pre-orders for Apple’s iPhone 5 starting this week with the handset arriving in the first week of October, according to BGR. US mobile group Sprint will be carrying the iPhone 5 at launch. 9to5Mac, meanwhile, reports that Apple has begun iOS5 and iCloud training at its retail stores to coincide with the iPhone5′s unveiling. Read more
FCC probing San Francisco wireless shutdown
The US Federal Communications Commission said on Monday it was investigating a controversial decision by a San Francisco regional transit authority to shut down wireless phone transmissions last week. Read more
Square card readers could enrich criminals, expert says
The Square personal commerce system, which allows iPhone and iPad users to accept credit cards, could also make it easy for people to convert stolen credit card information into cash, security researchers said on Thursday. Read more
| About this blog | Blog guide |
Richard Waters has headed the FT's San Francisco bureau since 2002 and covers Google and Microsoft, among other things. A former New York bureau chief for the FT, he is intrigued by Silicon Valley's unique financial and business culture, and is looking forward to covering his second Tech Bust.
Chris Nuttall has been online and messing around with computers for more than 20 years and since 2004 has reported from the FT's San Francisco bureau on semiconductors, video games, consumer electronics and all things interwebby.
Maija Palmer has been writing about technology for the FT since 1999 and is fascinated by cybercrime, privacy and all the other issues of the information society. Based in London, she covers European tech companies and hopes that they won't all get acquired by American rivals.
Robin Kwong is the FT's technology, media and telecoms page editor in London. Formerly he was the Taipei correspondent and wrote about the companies that manufacture the vast majority of the world's computers and gadgets. He is interested in the intricacies of the technology supply chain and how China is increasingly changing the tech landscape.
Tim Bradshaw is the FT's digital media correspondent, and has just moved from London to join our team in San Francisco. He has covered start-ups such as Twitter and Spotify, as well as the online ambitions of more established media companies, such as the BBC iPlayer. He also covers the advertising, marketing and video-game industries. Tim has been writing about technology, business and finance since 2003.
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