THURSDAY, JANUARY 15, 2015 technology Pentagon learns perils of social media exposure

WASHINGTON: If so-called “cyber jihadists” want to and effective way for the US military to communicate institution that prides itself on its vast security and to its internal networks, something the military has launch another social media attack on America’s mili- with its own personnel and families about everything image of unrivalled global power. devoted vast resources to defending, analysts say. tary, they will have plenty of targets: the US Army alone from on-base social events to power outages. The hackers posted what officials said appeared to “It’s really not that difficult to gain access to some- lists more than 2,000 links to feeds on Facebook, “We are certainly looking at our systems and will be authentic, but unclassified, rosters of current and one else’s social media or e-mail account,” said Michael Twitter, YouTube and other accounts. refine them as needed,” said Warren. Although a review retired top brass, including some private email address- Smith, principal and chief operating officer of Kronos In the wake of Monday’s breach of US Central of the incident was under way, he said, there had been es. They also posted messages, including: “American Advisory, a private intelligence group focused on coun- Command’s Twitter and YouTube feeds by apparent no specific department-wide instructions issued since soldiers, we are coming, watch your back.” terterrorism. Smith said such incidents occurred often sympathizers of the Islamic State militant group, US Monday to strengthen security across social media. Unlike most high-profile accounts, the Twitter feeds at Twitter. officials updated passwords and some distributed tip- The Twitter and YouTube breach is far different than used by Central Command were not “verified,” which In 2013 hackers took control of the Associated Press sheets to help bolster online security. the one in 2008, when malware believed to have been would have added another layer of security and Twitter account and sent a false tweet about explosions But they showed no sign of shifting a social media crafted by a foreign intelligence service infiltrated required harder-to-break government email accounts in the White House that briefly sent US financial mar- strategy that has seen thousands of Facebook, Twitter Central Command’s internal computer systems. That to be set up, officials told Reuters. kets reeling. and other accounts blossom as the world’s most pow- attack was a dramatic illustration of the risks to military Still, it is unclear such steps would have prevented “Hacking a Twitter is about the equivalent of spray- erful military establishes an Internet presence that and defense-related networks critical to US security, the hack, which is being investigated by the FBI and the painting a subway car,” a former senior U.S. intelligence matches the global reach of its forces. and triggered a massive expansion of cyber-defense military. A source familiar with the inquiries said investi- official said. That large online profile carries unique risks for the efforts. gators were examining whether cyber attackers sent Senator Dan Coats, a member of the Senate Select military. “It’s their public face,” said Ben FitzGerald at the “phishing” messages that tricked Central Command Committee on Intelligence, said the incident highlight- Center for a New American Security think tank. “WATCH YOUR BACK” personnel into revealing shared logins and password ed cyber security risks. But he said the solution was bet- “So someone sitting in Baghdad isn’t going to nec- Monday’s hack also did not lead to any theft or dis- information. ter cooperation between the public and private sectors, essarily pick up the nuance that this is a non-military closure of classified information, officials said. But it President Barack Obama said Tuesday’s hack and not retrenchment from social media. network and not a significant hack. So they’re looking delivered a highly symbolic blow by compromising the others show “how much more work we need to do, “If the US military - or State Department, White silly and they’re looking weak.” social media accounts of the military command over- both public and private sector, to strengthen our cyber House, members of Congress - stayed off Twitter, The US Department of Defense has “thousands and seeing sensitive operations in Iraq and Syria during a security.” YouTube and other social media sites because of the thousands” of social media accounts, said Colonel Steve time of conflict. Still, hacking into Central Command’s Twitter feed is vulnerabilities inherent in those services, then the ter- Warren, a Pentagon spokesman. They are seen as a fast It was a reminder of the perils of social media for an far easier - and entirely different - than gaining access rorists win,” Coats said. — Reuters

Facebook ‘likes’ reveal your true personality

MIAMI: A computer program that analyzes researchers said. your Facebook “likes” may be a better The “myPersonality” app also allowed judge of your personality than your closest these users to invite friends and family to friends and family, according to a research. judge the users’ psychological traits by tak- The study in the Proceedings of the ing a short, 10-item personality test. National Academy of Sciences was led by More than 17,000 of the original group researchers at the University of Cambridge were judged by one family member or and Stanford University. friend for the analysis, and more than Through data analysis, computers can 14,000 were judged by two. be a better judge of people’s personalities The study showed that a computer and psychological traits, the authors said. could predict a user’s personality better “In the future, computers could be able to than a co-worker based on just 10 infer our psychological traits and react Facebook “likes,” or those “thumbs-up” indi- accordingly, leading to the emergence of cations that users click on when they see a emotionally-intelligent and socially skilled page or a group with which they agree. machines,” said lead author Wu Youyou, The computer was better than a friend from Cambridge’s Psychometrics Center. or roommate at predicting personality The findings also raise concerns about traits given just 70 Facebook likes; a parent privacy, leading the study authors to call or sibling with 150; and a spouse after 300. for policies that give users full control of The average Facebook user has “liked” their digital footprint. 227 pages, said the study. Co-author TOKYO: A computer monitor shows a feeling of dog during the a mock presentation of Anicall wearable device at the first Wearable Device The study used a sample of 86,220 vol- Michal Kosinski, a researcher at Stanford, Technology Expo. The device will be on sale in March. — AP unteers on Facebook who completed a said machines can sift though lots of data 100-item personality questionnaire using and not get bogged down in a few partic- an app called “myPersonality.” They also ularly memorable moments from a per- gave researchers access to their Facebook son’s life. Apple granted patent “likes.” The subjects’ self-reported personal- “Big Data and machine-learning pro- ity scores showed where they stood in vide accuracy that the human mind has a terms of openness, conscientiousness, hard time achieving, as humans tend to extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroti- give too much weight to one or two exam- for wearable cameras cism-the five major personality traits. ples, or lapse into non-rational ways of Researchers found that a person’s psycho- thinking,” he said. Previous research from logical profile could also be revealed by the University of Cambridge has shown NEW YORK: Apple Inc has been granted a patent JMP Securities analyst Alex Gauna, however, have endorsed the cameras. which pages they “liked.” For instance, lik- that Facebook “likes” could predict a range for a wearable camera that could possibly chal- said it was premature to assume that Apple Intellectual property blog Patently Apple ing “Salvador Dali” or “meditation” would of psychological and demographic charac- lenge action cameras made by GoPro Inc. would soon launch a wearable camera. reported earlier in the day that Apple’s patent, suggest a high degree of openness, the teristics. — AFP The patent, which cites specific weaknesses in “It does not seem to me that launching an which was filed by the company in 2012, incor- GoPro’s cameras, includes details about a camera action camera accessory is the most logical prod- porates some intellectual property from Eastman system that can be mounted on bike helmets or uct extension for Apple to pursue right now,” Kodak Co that the company acquired in scuba masks, Apple said in an application filed Gauna said. November 2013. With Tuesday’s decline, GoPro Smarten up your home with the US Patents and Trademark Office. Apple declined to comment, while GoPro was shares are now down 51 percent since their high (http://1.usa.gov/1wbah95) not immediately available for comment. “I think of $98.47 last October. Still, the stock is up 73 per- Shares of GoPro, whose cameras can be that it will have about the same impact on GoPro cent since its IPO last June. with Apple HomeKit mounted on helmets, surf boards, bikes and dog as the iPhone has had on camera makers and “We look at it as a buying opportunity at JMP, harnesses, fell as much as 15 percent. that impact is that there are fewer cameras sold because what we saw out of the Consumer LAS VEGAS: Apple didn’t attend last week’s its voice assistant. Of course, if mak- Apple’s newly patented camera system can but the number isn’t zero,” Wedbush Securities Electronics Show at Las Vegas last week is that gadget show but its presence was felt. Many ers of smart-home products enable multiple also be used under water to take pictures and analyst Michael Pachter said. Videos shot with GoPro remains the undisputed leader in the companies have designed “smart” home systems - and some of them plan to - con- record sounds, according to the application. GoPro’s cameras have created a buzz on the action capture device category,” Gauna said. products that integrate with Apple’s sumers won’t have to worry about which A potential entry by the iPhone maker into Internet, attracting millions of views on YouTube. GoPro shares were down 11.8 percent at $50.10, HomeKit, an emerging technology for con- device works with what.) the action camera market could also put pressure Olympic gold medal winning snow boarder while Apple was up 1.37 percent at $110.76 in trolling lights and appliances through a OK. Now you’ll need a HomeKit-capable on privately held Polaroid Corp, which makes the Shaun White and 11-time world champion surfer late-afternnon trading on the Nasdaq on mobile app. There are other efforts to unify product; those will start coming out in a few small and colorful Cube cameras. Kelly Slater are among well-known athletes who Tuesday. — Reuters smart-home devices, but many of them rely months. HomeKit-enabled products certi- on individual partnerships. That approach is fied by Apple will carry a HomeKit logo. slower than simply having everyone use a The easiest way to start is with a common set of tools - in this case, HomeKit. HomeKit power plug, such as ones that iHome, iDevices and Grid Connect soon SO WHAT IS HOMEKIT? plan to sell for $40 to $80 each. Your appli- Think of HomeKit as a way to unify ance hooks into that plug, which then goes smart-home products from different manu- into a regular electric outlet. The HomeKit facturers. Currently, if Acme Co. makes a power plug has a HomeKit-certified chipset light switch, you need to download Acme’s with a wireless connection to get instruc- app to control it remotely. Buy a garage tions from the app. door opener from Widget Inc., and you need Insteon, a maker of more than 200 to use Widget’s app. With HomeKit, compa- automated products including thermo- nies can integrate their apps into a single stats and light bulbs, also plans to sell a software platform that you control from hub to make all of its existing and future your iPhone or iPad. (One note of caution: products compatible with HomeKit. The Companies aren’t required to make rival HomeKit-compatible hub will sell for $150. products work with their apps; although By contrast, it sells a $40 hub that lets you many say they will, it’s best to check before control Insteon devices through an app, you buy.) but it won’t work with HomeKit products from other companies. WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL? Meanwhile, a garage-door opener from HomeKit’s strength is its ability to group Chamberlain and door locks from Schlage products into “rooms,” “zones” and “scenes.” will be enabled for HomeKit from the start, With one tap, you can turn off every with no need for an intermediary power HomeKit product in a room, such as lights plug. Elgato’s Eve home-monitoring system and stereos. You can also do that with a will have sensors to measure air quality, The most affordable Lumia devices to date group of rooms, or zone. You can even use temperature, humidity, air pressure, energy the Siri voice assistant to control your home. and water consumption. Other products to Saying “I feel hot” might prompt Siri to turn come will likely include wireless speakers, Lumia 435 and Lumia 532 on the air conditioner and lower the shade lamps and security cameras. As you start for you. adding more HomeKit plugs and HomeKit- DUBAI: Microsoft Corp. announced today the “When we launched the first Lumia devices cloud storage. Tap a “party” scene and the stereo and enabled products, you can define zones and 435 and Lumia 532 smart- over three years ago, we said we were commit- • Easily manage work and personal corre- disco lights could turn on while your regular scenes to tap into HomeKit’s power. phones, the most affordable Lumias to date. ted to bringing devices to as many people and spondence on the fly, with Microsoft Outlook lamps dim. Setting up a “bedtime” scene If you have a third-generation Apple TV Offering the latest 8.1 capabili- price points as possible,” said Jon French, Vice straight out of the box. might involve leaving just the nightlight on, streaming device (released in 2012), you can ties at an incredible price, both Lumia 435 and President Middle East, Devices. • Capture photos quickly and easily with while locking the front door and lowering use Siri to control your home from else- Lumia 532 deliver experiences that “With the Lumia 435 and Lumia 532, we have Lumia Camera right out of the box, and take, the heat downstairs. where. Otherwise, you need to tap on the help people do more on the go. With many peo- realized our goal of creating the most affordable edit and share great selfies with the front-facing Sure, you can already control a set of app and use Siri only when you’re on your ple looking to upgrade from a feature phone to Lumia devices to date, opening up the opportu- camera and Lumia Selfie app. lights and appliances by attaching them to home wireless network. a smartphone for the first time, Lumia 435 and nity to reach those people who are buying a • Stay up-to-date with the best new features a power strip with an on-off switch, but your Lumia 532 provide a balance of features and smartphone for the very first time. through regular Windows updates too. options are limited to all on or all off. With THE PROMISE power, while also bringing .1 Lumia 435 and Lumia 532 deliver competitive Lumia 435 and Lumia 532 will begin rolling HomeKit, you have the option of creating For users of Apple devices, HomeKit will experiences to new price points. hardware alongside innovative software that will out to key markets in January. Both devices will multiple combinations to match whatever be an easy way to automate your home. Lumia 435 is the first 400 series Lumia and continue to receive the very latest updates and be available in bright green, bright orange, ambiance you prefer. Apple says it will review products to ensure the most affordable Lumia yet. With core smart- enhancements, keeping users up-to-date with white and black, and will be available in single they are easy to use and meet its privacy phone features, the best Windows Phone experi- the best new features.” and dual SIM variants, with the latter SIM setup WHAT DO YOU NEED? and security guidelines. What will be ences and access to the latest apps, it opens up With the latest Lumia, users will be able to: also coming equipped with Smart Dual SIM to The first requirement is an iPhone or an tougher is outfitting your home with the the Lumia Windows Phone experience to even • Switch effortlessly between voice and video easily manage calls and texts to either number iPad with iOS 8. (Sorry, Android and necessary equipment, especially at $40 or more people. Lumia 532 is a powerful quad core calls with built-in integration and a front- in use. Windows users, you’ll need a different sys- more per plug. smartphone that builds on the success of the facing camera. Pricing will vary by market and operator, but tem. Google is starting to enable similar But as you replace lights and appliances Lumia 530. With a premium layered design, • Read, review, edit and share on the go with is estimated to be around 69 EUR before taxes functionality through its Nest smart thermo- you can start building a smart home, or just Glance screen, front facing camera and more the full suite coming pre- and subsidies for Lumia 435 and around 79 EUR stat and smoke detector and Microsoft is buy HomeKit plugs for the essential things memory, Lumia 532 enables people to achieve installed. before taxes and subsidies for Lumia 532. Middle trying to enable smart-home controls using you want automated. — AP their goals with the best of Microsoft’s experi- • Keep photos, videos and Office documents East pricing and availability will be announced in ences. safely backed up with 30GB of free1 OneDrive due course.