A bill has been presented to the Canadian House of Commons that apes the wiretapping rights found in the American Patriot Act. Bill C-285, according to analysts, could sour businesses like Research in Motion, who depend on having a locked-down wireless infrastructure. The purpose for The Modernization of Investigative Techniques Act reads: The purpose of…
Sonavation Pumps out Super-Tiny Mobile Fingerprint Sensor
We only see biometric fingerprint scanners in mobile here and there, but this new one from Sonavation called the SonicSlide STS3000 is apparently the thinnest of them all. This sucker actually uses ultrasound to scan, which apparently cuts down on interference traditionally plaguing semiconductor-based fingerprint scanners. Some of the technical specs include: Industry Leading Accuracy…
Mobile Browsers Stump Hackers
CanSecWest has wrapped up, and although there was plenty of action in the Pwn2Own contest for their desktop browser bracket, there was nary a peep from the mobile section – BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, Android and iPhone all emerged unscathed. It’s a little crazy when you consider these talented programmers could bust their way into all…
UK: research says lot of people put sensitive info on their mobiles, and then don’t protect the device!
The BBC is reporting that Security firm Credant has done some research, and found out that many users store data on mobile that easily be used for ID theft if those devices were stolen! For example, apparently only 60% of users have a password running on their devices. If we consider the fact that…
Hackers offered $10,000 to Crack Mobile OSes
Running concurrently with their desktop browser hacking challenge (where one clever programmer broke down Safari in 10 seconds), the Pwn2Own contest at CanSecWest will also be testing the security of mobile operating systems. If they can break through any of the five big platforms (Android, BlackBerry, iPhone, Symbian and Windows Mobile), reps from those companies…
Lawyers Warming up to iPhone
BlackBerry has tended to be device of choice for suits, lawyers included, but apparently that’s changing. A few firms, notably Chapman and Cutler who have been sporting Apple products since 1992, have over half of their staff using iPhones. Corporate network access through web-based utilities is more than satisfactory with the iPhone’s ample Safari browser,…
Virus firms says protect your smartphone from viruses
There’s an interesting piece on mobilemarketingmagazine.co.uk, where the CTO of a company called UMU Mobile makes a statement about people needing to be more vigilant about the security on their Mobile devices. Peter Harrison says that since the advent of mobile devices are more capable, we are at risk of a virus causing major damage…
Rogers Implementing EIR (Equipment Identity Register) Theft Deterrent System
Anyone in retail will know how commonplace theft is these days. Five-finger discounts are sometimes hard to combat, especially in the electronics industry. With that in mind, Rogers is going to begin use immediately of an EIR, or Equipment Identity Register. This register will log reports of stolen devices and stop them from being used.…
Sidekick Tops Stolen Phones
The T-Mobile Sidekick has topped Boston’s list of stolen gadgets, accounting for 14% of all robberies in the area – more than 300 cases in 2008 alone. While it’s not surprising that the Sidekick is a popular target, most steal-worthy toys are top sellers, like the iPhone; the Sidekick, however, has never broken the top…
Visa in Hot Water Over SMS Alert Service
Sounds as though Visa has encountered a little bit of trouble today. Word is they’re being sued by a small US business for infringing a patent which covers the use of SMS messages used to alert spenders of transactions. Charge Notification Services Corporation (CNSC) out of Miami, Florida has taken exception to the service that…