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AP Technology NewsBrief at 3:05 a.m. EDT(Associated Press Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Kids and hackers, oh my! DefCon adds kids trackLAS VEGAS (AP) _ Fewer things seem out of place at the rough-hewn DefCon hacker convention than a swarm of kids. For 18 years, hackers _ and the computer security experts who track them _ have gathered at DefCon, one of the largest and longest-running conferences of its kind, to share information about breaching and securing computers and other devices. Expert: Rural US websites easy target for hackersLITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) _ The digital trove of credit card numbers and emails stolen by the group known as Anonymous came from towns across rural America _ places like Gassville, Ark. and Tishomingo County, Miss., where officers don't usually have to worry about international hackers. That may have made them an easy score. Your smartphone: a new frontier for hackersLAS VEGAS (AP) _ Hackers are out to stymie your smartphone. Last week, security researchers uncovered yet another strain of malicious software aimed at smartphones that run Google's popular Android operating system. The application not only logs details about incoming and outgoing phone calls, it also records those calls. FAA probing News Corp.'s use of dronesLOS ANGELES (AP) _ With the newsgathering techniques of its sister publications in Britain under fire, News Corp. is facing a probe into the use of drones by its U.S.-based digital publication, The Daily. Federal Administration Aviation spokeswoman Laura Brown says her agency is investigating whether The Daily's use of "unmanned aerial systems" violates FAA regulations. Verizon workers hit picket lines from Mass. to Va.NEW YORK (AP) _ Striking Verizon landline workers say they laid the foundation for the company's booming wireless business and shouldn't be expected to give up contract benefits just because they work on a less profitable side of the business. But management says the company has to change to stay competitive and the 45,000 landline workers can't expect to be paid the way they were when the phone company was a monopoly. Google, Microsoft goes public with patent spatNEW YORK (AP) _ Tech heavyweights Microsoft and Google are acting like a couple of feuding starlets in a public online spat over _ wait for it _ patents. It's not the first time Microsoft and Google have gone at each other's throats, nor is it likely the last. Video rentals top sales for first time since 2000LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Americans spent more money renting home movies than buying them in the second quarter, marking only the second time that's happened in the DVD era. The big switch in consumer behavior shows the rising popularity of cheap alternatives like Netflix and Redbox and suggests people are pinching pennies in this economy. Rental revenue rose 11 percent from a year ago to $2.06 billion, while sales of discs and digital purchases fell 15 percent to $1.93 billion in the three months through June, according to a report released Friday by The Digital Entertainment Group, an industry consortium of studios and electronics makers. Insulin pumps, monitors vulnerable to hackingLAS VEGAS (AP) _ Even the human bloodstream isn't safe from computer hackers. A security researcher who is diabetic has identified flaws that could allow an attacker to remotely control insulin pumps and alter the readouts of blood-sugar monitors. As a result, diabetics could get too much or too little insulin, a hormone they need for proper metabolism. RIAA names Cary Sherman chairman, chief executiveWASHINGTON (AP) _ Cary Sherman has been named chairman and CEO of the music industry's trade group, the Recording Industry Association of America. Sherman, 63, takes the role on Sept. 1 and succeeds Mitch Bainwol, 52, who has resigned to become chief executive of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. Sherman, who joined the RIAA as general counsel in 1997, has served as president of the organization since 2001. Las Vegas man accused of mass spamming on FacebookSAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ A Las Vegas man accused of sending more than 27 million spam messages to Facebook users faces federal fraud and computer tampering charges that could send him to prison for more than 40 years, according to a grand jury indictment. Sanford Wallace, the self-proclaimed "Spam King," pleaded not guilty during an initial court appearance Thursday after being indicted July 6 on six counts of electronic mail fraud, three counts of intentional damage to a protected computer and two counts of criminal contempt. (c) 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |