UPDATED 11:34 EDT / AUGUST 02 2013

Just Sim Case & Google: Terrorist Training Camp – SiliconANGLE News Roundup

SIMpatico!

 

In an update to our previous coverage of the story, a massive SIM card security hole has been fixed by all of the major wireless carriers, following reports that the bug could have allowed criminals to hack into hundreds of millions of cellphones.

While no phone is completely secure from attack, the old dependable SIM card was considered safe from most attacks.This particular hack took advantage of a previously undiscovered hole in SIM technology.

The individual who discovered the flaw was scheduled to publicly demonstrate the hack on Wednesday at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas. He instead announced that five wireless carriers had used the same method he employed to push out the necessary updates to correct the problem.

Physically replacing millions of SIM cards would have been a huge and costly undertaking for carriers. Using the same vulnerability they were patching as their method to solve the issue was a huge cost saver for the mobile industry.

Apple Bottoms

 

Last year’s sales figures for tablets are finally coming out, and the results are raising some concerns for Apple, who saw their market share drop an alarming forty-three percent.

Shipments of iPads and iPad Minis have declined fourteen percent over the last year. Samsung, Amazon, Lenovo and Acer, on the other hand, all grew by over two-hundred percent during the same time period.

The report also hinted at an interesting trend for the second half of last year, where nearly seventy percent of all tablets had a screen smaller than nine inches. For Apple, this downward trend could possibly be reversed with an update to its iPad Mini.

After months of denying the release of a high-definition Retina version, a rumor from the Wall Street Journal suggests that the company will release a Retina iPad Mini before Christmas this year. The timing of this news might not be coincidental. Many believe that Apple leaked the information, only eight days after the Nexus 7 announcement, in order to freeze the market. It’s believed that the rumor will slow the Nexus 7 launch to a crawl, as many customers will choose to wait for the next mini instead.

In other Apple news, the company’s latest acquisition has some analysts believing that the rumored iWatch is just around the corner. Apple acquired Passif Semiconductor Chipmaker, which produces chips that could be used in small, wearable devices.

Apple has also been aggressively hiring personnel from the medical sensor field, and they’re trademarking the iWatch name in several countries.

Trolololololol

 

In online gaming, a “troll” is a player who starts arguments or upsets people by ruining the gaming experience.

Microsoft wants you to protect Xbox Live with the help of team they’re calling Enforcement Unit Beta.

The Redmond, Washington-based office will use customers as their first line of defense against online trolls, by letting users give their opinions on whether or not a particular player is violating the code of conduct.

At first, individual account pages will only give out gamertags of the people you’re reporting, but given the Xbox One’s focus on user media, more information on annoying players will become available with time. Once a user flags a someone else’s page, a filter then passes the ticket off to Enforcement Unit Beta, who then reviews the misconduct.

So what’s in it for you to help flag accounts? Hopefully, a friendlier and less annoying Xbox Community.

Someone Should Pin Amazon

 

Yesterday, Amazon quietly launched their own image-heavy website where consumers can save, share and discover new products by browsing what others have saved.

Called “Amazon Collections” it rivals the already popular site “Pinterest”, by letting users create lists, or collections, and from there users can find and follow others who share the same interests. For Amazon Collections, adding an item to a collection is as easy as clicking the “Add to Collection” button below the product image on Amazon’s website.

For now, there doesn’t seem to be any way to collect items that aren’t in the Amazon product list, but considering that Amazon’s already gone so far to duplicate the look and feel of a competing service, it’s possible that the service will be made available soon.

The move comes at a time when Pinterest has been amping up their own e-commerce, with new tools like product pins, analytics, recommendations, and just today, price alerts. Since Pinterest has already captured the hearts of the masses, it’s a smart move for Amazon to jump on the bandwagon.

Full-Court WordPress

 

Just this morning, the blogging website, WordPress announced the release of the newest version of their software: 3.6, which features a new blog-centric theme and a completely revamped revision browser.

The new release promises a similar experience across all device types. Other additions include a better autosave and post lock, as well as native support for embedded media using a HTML5 media player.

WordPress also improved their integrations with Spotify, Rdio, and Soundcloud, so dropping external media players is now easier. New features aside, WordPress recommends upgrading to the latest version for the security enhancements alone.

With one in every five websites using the application, WordPress is a big target for hackers, and it would be wise to apply the update as soon as possible.

Fear-Based Governance

 

A misunderstanding of massive proportions has led six agents from America’s finest anti-terrorism unit to the home of an innocent family in Long Island.

Brought about by the innocent Googling of certain topics, red flags were raised, and a criminal profile was formed, instantly turning one of the family’s work computers into a tool for terror.

With a combination of research involving pressure cookers and backpacks a family employer took note of the web history and called the police. Once the call was in, a counterterrorism unit was dispatched, and three black SUV’s pulled up in front of the house. Six officers in plain-clothes emerged from the vehicles and spread out as they walked toward the house. After flashing their badges, they asked if they could come in and search the house, mentioning that they do this about a hundred times a week, and ninety-nine of those visits turn out to be false alarms.

It’s somewhat troubling to think that a simple misunderstanding, and information taken out of context could turn virtually anyone into a terrorist.

And that’s all the news for this week. If you want to keep up on these stories and more, be sure to join us every weekday morning at 8:30am Central on NewsDesk with Kristin Feledy.

photo credit: yum9me via photopin cc
photo credit: Major Nelson via photopin cc
photo credit: Eric M Martin via photopin cc

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