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Amid rising concerns that Chinese-made giant cargo cranes found at U.S. ports could be a security concern are new reports that communications devices have been found within the mammoth cranes. A report in the Wall Street Journal, citing congressional aides and documents, said cellular modems have been found that could be remotely accessed. The finding is potentially serious, because ZPMC, a China-based manufacturer, has made about 80 percent of the cranes that unload ships at U.S. ports. China “is looking for every opportunity to collect valuable intelligence and position themselves to exploit vulnerabilities by systematically burrowing into America’s critical infrastructure,...

Rudy Giuliani assisted federal investigators in unlocking several electronic devices that had been seized from him by the FBI -- a move that could speed a decision from Southern District of New York prosecutors whether to charge the former New York City mayor and presidential candidate over his lobbying efforts in Ukraine, his attorney and sources familiar with the case told ABC News. The FBI seized more than a dozen devices from Giuliani's home and office during a search last April. A court-appointed special master has been reviewing the contents but had been slowed by the inability to access all...

A polymer that self-destructs? While once a fictional idea, new polymers now exist that are rugged enough to ferry packages or sensors into hostile territory and vaporize immediately upon a military mission's completion. The material has been made into a rigid-winged glider and a nylon-like parachute fabric for airborne delivery across distances of a hundred miles or more. It could also be used someday in building materials or environmental sensors. The researchers will present their results today at the American Chemical Society (ACS) Fall 2019 National Meeting & Exposition. "This is not the kind of thing that slowly degrades over...

Researchers disclosed a bevy of Bluetooth vulnerabilities Tuesday that threaten billions of devices from Android and Apple smartphones to millions of printers, smart TVs and IoT devices that us the short-range wireless protocol. Worse, according to researchers at IoT security firm Armis that found the attack vector, the so-called “BlueBorne” attacks can jump from one nearby Bluetooth device to another wirelessly. It estimates that there are 5.3 billion devices at risk. “If exploited, the vulnerabilities could enable an attacker to take over devices, spread malware, or establish a ‘man-in-the-middle’ to gain access to critical data and networks without user interaction,”...

The Modern Tendency to Get Lost in Our Devices Msgr. Charles Pope • November 1, 2016 • Some years ago it was popular to say of television, “It’s not the medium, it’s the message.” This was in answer to critics who claimed that watching it “rotted the brain.” The retort was that there was nothing wrong with the medium (television) per se, but with the message (vapid sitcoms, etc.). Television could be used to great ends if the message was right.While television can be used to broadcast good material, there is significant evidence that watching it is in fact...

It was a memorable moment in Pixar’s 2004 classic “The Incredibles,” one that seemed wildly futuristic at the time: Mr. Incredible picks up a wafer-thin tablet computer, and it scans his face to verify his identity before divulging his secret mission. Thirteen years later, many slim phones and tablets unlock with the press of a thumb—and just this sort of mobile facial scanning is on the way. Forget fiddling with passwords or even fingerprints; forget multiple layers of sign-in; forget credit cards and, eventually, even physical keys to our homes and cars. A handful of laptops and mobile devices can...

Anyone who has a portable device — including smartphones, tablets, laptops, smartwatches and fitness trackers — is obviously familiar with a lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery because most (if not all) of these devices are powered by this kind of battery. We’ve been okay with the rechargeable for a while, but as lithium-ion batteries are now close to reaching their maximum storage capacity (in other words, battery life can’t be extended any more), and with the horror stories about phone batteries that explode or burn, the search is on for an alternative battery that can meet our demands better and safer. So...

The United Kingdom has followed the United States in preventing passengers on flights from some countries in the Middle East and Africa from carrying devices such as laptops and tablets in the cabin. The restrictions affect 14 airlines, six of which are based in the U.K. As in the U.S., the ban covers any electronic devices larger than a typical smartphone.

On Thursday, December 1, a vital Supreme Court order is set to go into effect that dramatically expands the surveillance power of federal agents.The impending alteration to Rule 41 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure softens the legal requirements for obtaining search and seizure warrants that grant the government remote access to individual’s computers and phones. In the past, law enforcement was required to obtain a warrant from a judge within the jurisdiction where the proposed search was going take place.Under this new system, however, if an individual is using technology to conceal their location, the warrant is considered valid regardless of jurisdiction. A single authorization will...

Federal law enforcement officials said Friday that the new emails uncovered in the closed investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server were discovered after the F.B.I. seized electronic devices belonging to Huma Abedin, an aide to Mrs. Clinton, and her husband, Anthony Weiner. The F.B.I. told Congress that it had uncovered new emails related to the closed investigation into whether Mrs. Clinton or her aides had mishandled classified information, potentially reigniting an issue that has weighed on the presidential campaign and offering a lifeline to Donald J. Trump less than two weeks before the election.

ORLANDO, Fla. - The Waterford Lakes Town Center has reopened on Tuesday afternoon after four suspicious devices were reported, prompting an evacuation of the mall, officials said. The devices, two of which were described by deputies as backpack-like packages with wires protruding from them, were discovered Tuesday morning, prompting officials to evacuate more than 20 businesses at the Orlando shopping plaza, including a day care. They were later deemed safe.

The DSi shatters and fragments, which is more effective at maiming and disabling a target. On the other hand, the N97 remains whole, for greater penetration through tough surfaces. Both, however, are fun to look at. Far from an honest ballistics test, the shoot(ing), staged by French gaming magazine Amusement, was just an opportunity to snap a few stunning photos. Which is fine! And which they did! So, where's the video? Update: Yeah, you guys are right—the black one is an N97, not a PSP. Still though!

Travellers to Europe face being treated like drug smugglers as security chiefs are expected to recommend new intrusive security measures. French anti-terror chiefs are expected to propose the new measures, such as full body X-rays or handing in all electronic devices, after a terrorist tried to kill a Saudi prince with a bomb he had inserted into his body. Al Qaeda's latest ploy was first pioneered by Abdullah Hassan al Asiri, who blew himself apart in Jeddah in late August in an attack on Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, the Saudi anti-terrorism chief. The 23-year-old terrorist blew himself into 70 pieces...

A provision in the Democrats' proposal to partially fund health care reform would tax medical devices and replacement parts like pacemakers, hearing aids and porcelain teeth, worrying critics who say the higher costs will be passed on to consumers. Tucked into the Democrats' proposal to partially fund health care reform is a provision to tax medical appliances -- including some manufactured replacement parts for your body. Under pressure, the Senate recently exempted medical items that cost under $100 -- such as tampons and condoms. But the tax, expected to raise about $40 billion over the next decade, is still in...

As if evidence of the state’s fiscal straits wasn’t stark enough, consider Assembly Bill 91, which would create pilot project in Alameda, Los Angeles, Sacramento and Tulare counties where persons convicted of drunk driving would be required to install an interlock device on their vehicles. New Mexico, Texas, Washington, among other states, use the devices which the bill’s author, Assemblyman Mike Feuer, a Los Angeles Democrat, says can reduce DUI recidivism by as much as 95 percent. The length of time the device would stay on a vehicle varies depending on the number of offenses. A first offense would require...

One family is under investigation and another family has been arrested for leaving a child unattendeed in a hot car. In the first case, a 22-month-old was left in a car seat for three hours before she died. Ocoee police are still investigating the death. As for the other family, the parents were lucky, their 3-year-old daughter is doing OK, but her French mother and father are behind bars, charged with child abuse. Many other children do not make it, dying inside these extremely hot cars. News 13's Karent Castillo turned on a faucet in a kitchen sink. At its...

OTTAWA (CP) - At least 76 radioactive devices - several of which could be used in a terrorist attack - have gone missing in Canada over the last five years, newly compiled figures show. They're stolen from cars, disappear from construction sites, fall off trucks and generally go astray at an alarming pace. The Canadian Press has compiled a database showing the rate at which these widely used devices vanish, often for days, sometimes without a trace. It chronicles dozens of thefts and mishaps involving hazardous equipment employed daily in tasks ranging from oil-well measurements to pioneering medical research. Thirty-five...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 7, 2006 – DoD is spending almost $3.5 billion this year to defeat improvised explosive devices, and the effort’s leader today said he expects the same level of funding in fiscal 2007. Retired Army Gen. Montgomery C. Meigs said the Joint IED Defeat Organization is using an all-encompassing approach to counter the threat of IEDs, terrorists’ main weapon in attacks against coalition forces and civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan. In Iraq alone, IEDs have killed almost 1,000 servicemembers. There is no “silver bullet” solution to the leading cause of death for coalition troops, Meigs told media during a...

MooBella has put Linux to work making ice cream, in a vending machine that Wallace and Gromit would be proud of. The MooBella vending machine uses Linux 2.4 and a Red Hat filesystem to make 96 varieties of ice cream, on demand, in about 45 seconds per precisely-measured serving. MooBella showed off its Linux-powered ice cream machine at a DEMO event in Colorado today. Once the customer's selection has been made, a quantity of base mix is precisely measured and pumped, aerated, flavored, and sprayed onto a flat rotating surface, where it is flash frozen. The product is then scraped...

SANTA ANA – The traditional police practice of rounding up the usual suspects will take a 21st-century twist under a new program announced Friday that combines satellite monitoring of 40 Orange County parolees with computerized crime reports. State parole officers using GPS devices will track the daily movements of high-risk sex offenders paroled in Orange County and compare their travels with the locations of crimes committed in the sheriff's jurisdiction. If the parolee comes within 500 feet of a crime reported that same day, the individual's parole officer and the sheriff's investigations unit will be alerted. The two-year pilot program...