Watchdog investigations

Microsoft Corp's failure to fix known problems with its cloud software facilitated the massive SolarWinds hack that compromised at least nine federal government agencies, according to security experts and the office of U.S. Senator Ron Wyden. A vulnerability first publicly revealed by researchers in 2017 allows hackers to fake the identity of authorized employees to gain access to customers' cloud services. The technique was one of many used in the SolarWinds hack. Wyden, who has faulted tech companies on security and privacy issues as a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, blasted Microsoft for not doing more to prevent forged identities or warn customers about it. "The federal government spends billions on Microsoft software," Wyden told Reuters ahead of a SolarWinds hearing on Friday in the House of Representatives. "It should be cautious about spending any more before we find out why the company didn't warn the government about the hacking technique that the … [Read more...] about Microsoft failed to shore up defenses that could have limited SolarWinds hack: US senator

Welcome to Edition 3.34 of the Rocket Report! I apologize for the unplanned hiatus last week. The Rocket Report's Houston-based author lacked power until Wednesday night amidst a massive winter storm and had no reliable Internet until Friday afternoon. We still had no hot water at our house, but at least we're no longer freezing. We're back just in time to spew all manner of spicy launch news this week. As always, Ars welcomes reader submissions , and if you don't want to miss an issue, please subscribe using the box below (the form will not appear on AMP-enabled versions of the site). Each report will include information on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets as well as a quick look ahead at the next three launches on the calendar. KSLV-2 rocket on track for 2022 launch . As part of its budget for 2021 space activities, South Korea will spend $553 million for satellites, rockets, and other equipment. SpaceNews reports this funding will keep the country's development of … [Read more...] about Rocket Report: Cornwall says “LOL, no” to space tourism, Korean rocket on track

Paramount Plus is the subscription streaming-video service set to replace CBS All Access , costing $10 a month ad-free when it launches Thursday in the US and 18 Latin American countries. Paramount Plus will include live news and sports as well as on-demand shows and movies, including originals -- all of which leaning into parent company ViacomCBS ' brands like CBS , MTV , BET , Comedy Central , Nickelodeon and Paramount Network, plus movies from the Paramount Pictures studio. But Paramount Plus won't have the one show most associated with the Paramount name: Yellowstone . The first three seasons of the cowboy drama are streaming exclusively on rival service Peacock . Down the line, Paramount Plus will have exclusive Yellowstone spinoffs, though, like a prequel Y:1883 expected later this year. Paramount Plus will have a library of more than 30,000 episodes and 2,500 movies, plus 36 original series debuts this year. Among those originals will be a … [Read more...] about Paramount Plus: Everything to know about CBS All Access’ revamp

A Berlin resident has been found guilty of threatening to bomb a hospital and attempting to blackmail the UK's National Health Service (NHS) for £10 million in Bitcoin (BTC). Security 30,000 Macs infected with new Silver Sparrow malware Cyber security 101: Protect your privacy from hackers, spies, and the government The best antivirus software and apps The best VPNs for business and home use The best security keys for two-factor authentication Phishing tricks crooks use to make you open malware email attachments (ZDNet YouTube) Emil Apreda, previously only identified as Emil A. due to German law, is a 33-year-old Italian and resident of Berlin, Germany, with a background in computing. On Friday, the presiding judge in the District Criminal Court of Berlin convicted Apreda and sentenced him to three years in prison. Apreda was accused of sending emails to the NHS between April and June 2020, in which he threatened to detonate a bomb in an … [Read more...] about Berlin resident jailed for threatening to bomb NHS hospital unless Bitcoin ransom was paid

With a massive digital population, the Indian market is just too important for the likes of Facebook. The Ministry of Electronics & IT in a press statement revealed some numbers that prove Facebook is the most dominant social media company in India with the largest user base. The five most popular social media platforms in India are WhatsApp, YouTube , Facebook, Instagram and Twitter . Not to forget, Facebook owns WhatsApp and Instagram, making it the largest and most influential platform. The ministry in its statement said that WhatsApp has 53 crore users in India while YouTube ranks second with 44.8 crore users. Facebook and Instagram have 41 crore and 21 crore users respectively while Twitter merely has 1.75 crore users. If you are still wondering why Facebook wants to cross-share platform analytics among WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram by updating privacy policies, it totally makes business sense. If these numbers are to be considered, then every Indian may … [Read more...] about The numbers that prove India is too ‘important’ for Facebook