Today in the News:
– Cybercriminals ‘drained ATMs’ in $45m world bank heist
– US government orders removal of Defcad 3D-gun designs
– AT&T cuts price on Facebook phone to 99 cents
A gang of cybercriminals stole $45m by hacking into a database of prepaid debit cards and draining cash machines around the world, US prosecutors say. Seven people have been charged in New York over the heist, which allegedly stretched across 26 countries. US Attorney Loretta Lynch called it the second-biggest robbery in New York history — behind only the 1978 Lufthansa heist made famous in the film “GoodFellas,” where thieves stole $5 million in cash and jewelry from JFK Airport. Likely based abroad, the crew accessed MasterCard debit-card information from two banks — Bank of Muscat, based in Oman, and Rakbank, of the United Arab Emirates — and created new accounts for the debit cards with unlimited withdrawal limits. Can I have one of these please?
The US government has demanded designs for a 3D-printed gun be taken offline. The order to remove the blueprints for the plastic gun comes after they were downloaded more than 100,000 times. The US State Department wrote to the gun’s designer, Defense Distributed, suggesting publishing them online may breach arms-control regulations. Although the files have been removed from the company’s Defcad site, it is not clear whether this will stop people accessing the blueprints. Unlike conventional weapons, the printed gun – called the Liberator by its creators – is made out of plastic on a printer.
The Facebook smartphone built by HTC is clearly a mobile loser after AT&T decided to discount the phone to 99 cents just weeks after it launched. The HTC First never won praise for its hardware, but Facebook designed the software, called Home, and promoted the device as the ultimate in mobile social networking. Sales figures for the First phone have not been revealed, but most estimates peg the number sold in the thousands — when it was going for $99. Facebook thinks this is a good move by AT&T and has highlighted the new price on our Facebook Mobile page. I definitely must NOT have this phone.
Today in the News:
– Cybercriminals ‘drained ATMs’ in $45m world bank heist
– US government orders removal of Defcad 3D-gun designs
– AT&T cuts price on Facebook phone to 99 cents
A gang of cybercriminals stole $45m by hacking into a database of prepaid debit cards and draining cash machines around the world, US prosecutors say. Seven people have been charged in New York over the heist, which allegedly stretched across 26 countries. US Attorney Loretta Lynch called it the second-biggest robbery in New York history — behind only the 1978 Lufthansa heist made famous in the film “GoodFellas,” where thieves stole $5 million in cash and jewelry from JFK Airport. Likely based abroad, the crew accessed MasterCard debit-card information from two banks — Bank of Muscat, based in Oman, and Rakbank, of the United Arab Emirates — and created new accounts for the debit cards with unlimited withdrawal limits. Can I have one of these please?
The US government has demanded designs for a 3D-printed gun be taken offline. The order to remove the blueprints for the plastic gun comes after they were downloaded more than 100,000 times. The US State Department wrote to the gun’s designer, Defense Distributed, suggesting publishing them online may breach arms-control regulations. Although the files have been removed from the company’s Defcad site, it is not clear whether this will stop people accessing the blueprints. Unlike conventional weapons, the printed gun – called the Liberator by its creators – is made out of plastic on a printer.
The Facebook smartphone built by HTC is clearly a mobile loser after AT&T decided to discount the phone to 99 cents just weeks after it launched. The HTC First never won praise for its hardware, but Facebook designed the software, called Home, and promoted the device as the ultimate in mobile social networking. Sales figures for the First phone have not been revealed, but most estimates peg the number sold in the thousands — when it was going for $99. Facebook thinks this is a good move by AT&T and has highlighted the new price on our Facebook Mobile page. I definitely must NOT have this phone.