Ransomware Discovered

New Simplocker Ransomware Discovered for Android Devices

Latest Hacking News  


A New variant of the Android Ransomware known as ‘SimpLocker’ has been spotted by Security researchers. The Ransomware encrypts files stored on the SD memory cards of Android devices has been updated to target English-speaking users with FBI-themed alerts.
Infected users recieve a message in English that masquerades as an alert from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation about illegal pornographic content being found on the device. The victims are instructed to pay a so-called fine of $300 through a payment service called MoneyPak.
The previous list of file types encrypted by the old version of the malware included mostly images and documents. The new version also encrypts archive files with the .zip, .7z and .rar extensions.
The malware installer poses as a Flash video player application and requests administrator privileges. This makes the new Simplocker much harder to remove once installed.
The good news is that Simplocker’s authors still haven’t improved their encryption implementation, which relies on a hardcoded key which can therefore be undone. The new variant uses a different key than the original versions, but users are still able to recover their files without paying.

Galaxy S4 Smartphone Burns Under Pillow

Girl’s Galaxy S4 Smartphone Burns Under Her Pillow as She Sleeps

Charging our devices as we sleep feels like a harmless routine. For one young Samsung smartphone owner, however, that habit almost turned heated. 

Last week, a 13-year-old North Texas girl plugged her Samsung Galaxy S4 in for its nightly juice-up before hitting the sack, only to be awoken by the smell of something burning hours later. When she got up and searched around for the source of the stench, she realized that she had wedged her charging phone under her pillow. And not only was the backside of the pillow scorched, but the phone was fried into an unrecognizable slab of plastic and melted components.

The event, according to FOX 4, left the family a bit surprised.

“We have a reasonable expectation that the products we buy are going to be safe,” the girl’s father said. He told FOX that he suspects that the phone overheated, causing the battery to swell and start a fire.

(FOX 4)

The battery in the Galaxy phone was an aftermarket replacement, something a Samsung representative told FOX could have been part of the problem. The other issue, according to Samsung, was that the phone was being smothered by a pillow, restricting airflow while charging. This is something the manufacturer warns against in the device’s instruction materials.

Despite these miscues by the young Galaxy owner, Samsung told FOX and Yahoo Tech that the company will replace the phone, the pillow, and the mattress involved in the accident.

“Samsung takes product quality and customer safety very seriously,” a representative said.

“We have offered the customer a new device, and we are working to retrieve the product so that we can investigate what happened. We strongly advise all customers follow the guidelines of CTIA for care and handling wireless batteries. Additionally, our user manuals warn customers that phones must have adequate ventilation and airflow and should not be covered with material such as bedding.”

But our Texas family should hope for better service than the reddit user who recently posted a similar story has received. The owner alleges that his Galaxy S4 was also fried while charging, even though the charger and battery that came with it were in use. Now, despite being told by Samsung that the broken unit would be replaced, a month later, the redditor claims to be still waiting.

Remote control contraceptive

'Remote control' contraceptive chip available 'by 2018'

 

The chip would need replacing every 16 years (chip pictured is not the one described in the article)

A contraceptive computer chip that can be controlled by remote control has been developed in Massachusetts.

The chip is implanted under a woman's skin, releasing a small dose of levonorgestrel, a hormone.
This will happen every day for 16 years, but can be stopped at any time by using a wireless remote control.
The project has been backed by Bill Gates, and will be submitted for pre-clinical testing in the US next year - and possibly go on sale by 2018.
The device measures 20mm x 20mm x 7mm and will be "competitively priced", its creators said.
Convenience factor Tiny reservoirs of the hormone are stored on a 1.5cm-wide microchip within the device.
A small electric charge melts an ultra-thin seal around the levonorgestrel, releasing the 30 microgram dose into the body.
There are other types of contraceptive implant available, the researchers noted, but all require a trip to a clinic and an outpatient procedure in order to be deactivated.

“Start Quote

Someone across the room cannot re-programme your implant”

Dr Robert Farra

"The ability to turn the device on and off provides a certain convenience factor for those who are planning their family," said Dr Robert Farra from MIT.

The next challenge for the team is to ensure the absolute security of the device to prevent activation or deactivation by another person without the woman's knowledge.
"Communication with the implant has to occur at skin contact level distance," said Dr Farra.
"Someone across the room cannot re-programme your implant.
"Then we have secure encryption. That prevents someone from trying to interpret or intervene between the communications."
Huge range The same technology could be used to administer other drugs.
Simon Karger, head of the surgical and interventional business at Cambridge Consultants, said that implanted technology like this faces a range of challenges and risks.
But he added that overall "the value to the patient of these types of implant can be huge and we foresee a future in which a huge range of conditions are treated through smart implanted systems".

Implanted devices could help people who forget to take medication at the correct time

The innovation comes at a time when governments and organisations around the world have agreed to try to bring family planning to around 120 million more women by 2020.
This challenge opens the door to this kind of implant technology being used in areas where access to traditional contraceptives is limited - a bigger priority, argued Gavin Corley, a biomedical engineer.
"That's a humanitarian application as opposed to satisfying a first-world need," he told the BBC.