Hackers Use Mirai Botnet 14 To Shut Down The Internet Of An Entire Country

Experts have been arguing about how hackers are conspiring to bring down the entire Internet infrastructure and plunge the world into ‘cyber darkness.’ Such a scenario has been actually predicted by a security researcher, Bruce Schneier. In fact, Schneier says that some unknown entity is already working on bringing down the whole Internet.
This was proved when a cyber attack against Dyn DNS provider, which brought down the Internet to the entire Mid-West and the Eastern United States on 21st and 22nd October and now hackers have managed to bring down the Internet services to the African country of Liberia.
An unprecedented cyber attack has knocked entire Liberia’s internet offline, as hackers targeted the nation’s infrastructure using the same Mirai botnets that shut down hundreds of the world’s most popular websites at the end of last month.

The attack, which is the same used to shut off sites including Twitter, Netflix, eBay and Reddit, fuels fears that cyber criminals are practicing ways to sabotage the US’ internet when the country heads to the polls on November 8.
Hackers used Botnet 14, a Mirai botnet, knocked an entire Liberian Internet offline. Though the task for the hackers was easy considering that Liberia has a population of about 4.5 million and only 10 percent of these have Internet access which is provided by two Internet service providers using a single optic fiber cable.

Security researcher Kevin Beaumont made a post on Medium detailing the Liberia hack attack and Mirai Botnet 14. He says that DDoS attack against the Liberian ISPs was one of the largest ever recorded. The attacks were launched in short bursts of few minutes, over the course of a week.

For those who missed it, Mirai botnet 14 starting communicating to us yesterday, along with continuing to hit Liberia. pic.twitter.com/Oq0uQNs4MT

— Kevin Beaumont (@GossiTheDog) November 3, 2016

Here is all you should know about Mirai botnets and how they operate

Beaumont has called the botnet Shadows Kill as warns security researchers before going in for the kill. “Over the past week we’ve seen continued short duration attacks on infrastructure in the nation of Liberia,” says K Beaumont “The attacks are extremely worrying because they suggest a Mirai operator who has enough capacity to seriously impact systems in a nation state.”
No one has yet claimed responsibility for the Liberia attack or the one against Dyn, but they are very similar in nature, according to experts.
“Given the volume of traffic, it appears to be owned by the actor which attacked Dyn,” said Beaumont.
The source code, or instructions for how to use, the Mirai botnet was released online earlier this year and is free to use for anyone with the technical understanding.  It remains to be seen what will be the next Mirai botnet ahead of the November 8 Presidential Elections and the busy holiday season.

            

Is Apple Working On An iPhone That Bends?

It looks like Apple is working on an iPhone that can bend in the middle. According to tech site Patently Apple, Apple has managed to get the patent for the bendable and foldable mobile screen technology that the Cupertino giant has been exploring since 2013.
The site explains that this new patent shows “a perspective view of an illustrative electronic device such as a future iPhone that bends along a flexible portion such as a flexible seam associated with a hinge.”
All the technical details are included in the patent such as how a bendable screen would work, but it seems like it is basically a new technology that would be centred on conductive carbon nanotube structures that are flexible and resistant to strong pressure and cracks.

From the patent:
Conductive carbon nanotube paths can form signal paths that are flexible and resistant to cracking. The carbon nanotube structures may be incorporated into signal cables such as flexible printed circuit cables, rigid printed circuit boards, printed circuits that include rigid portions with flexible tails (sometimes referred to as “rigid flex”), portions of display structures, portions of touch sensors such as capacitive touch sensor arrays for displays or track pads, camera structures, antenna structures, housing structures, internal device structures, electrical components, substrates, brackets, housing walls, other structures, or combinations of these structures.

While patents are filed all the time, it is not necessary that every patent is converted into a finished commercial product or even a prototype. Whether or not, we will be able to a foldable iPhone from Apple, only time will tell.

Panasonic Shows Off An “Invisible TV” That Becomes Transparent When Turned Off

Just when people started to claim that with the arrival of 4K displays, there won’t be any prominent advancement in the field of television, big players like Samsung, Panasonic, and LG, started teasing pathbreaking technologies like foldable and transparent displays.

Earlier this year at CES, Panasonic showed off its futuristic television that became a transparent glass when turned off. Similar technology was showed off by Samsung at Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Last week Panasonic showed off an improved version of its older invisible TV at Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies in Japan.
Panasonic’s engineers have worked hard to make sure that the newer display looks as good as the other televisions in the market. While the previous screen was LED, the new screen has been upgraded to a new OLED display. This will let you see clearer and brighter images even against a bright background.
This screen is made from a thin mesh embedded in a glass panel. One can even slide the panel, just like a cabinet panel. The OLED displays put a fine plastic layer between two electrodes over a glass slab. So, when there’s no electric signal, the display looks transparent.
This futuristic technology is the latest sci-fi technology that has turned into a reality. Similar transparent displays have been a part of movies likes Avengers and Minority Report.
According to the company representatives, the consumers would have to wait for another 3 years before being able to buy this invisible TV
 

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE FREE WIFI OFFERED BY THE UGANDAN
                                                           GOVERNMENT

 Recently, the government through the National Information Technology Authority (NITA) announced that they will provide free WiFi hotspot (wireless internet) dubbed #MyUG in Kampala city using the existing Fiber National backbone Infrastructure. This news was welcomed with mix emotions especially the majority who were suspicious of this move by government to offer internet as a free public good. NITA-U has come out to clarify in an FAQ all the burning questions from the public and we have summarized the 10 most important things you must know about this new internet service.
1.    Location of service
The service will initially be available in Kampala CBD and some areas in Entebbe whoever, NITA says that additional residential areas will be covered using a phased approach.  They have also promised a detailed coverage hotspot location list that they will be share on their various social media platforms as we roll out the service.

2.    Time to use service

The #MyUG initiative is to make use of internet bandwidth that is not being utilized by Government offices after official working hours. This initiative is to utilize the internet bandwidth to provide a free service to the Public.

3.  Competing with the Telecos
NITA-U says that they are not competing with ISPs. The #MyUG initiative complements the provision of internet wireless access to the Public.

4.    Security concerns

According to NITA-U, they have implemented industry standard security controls and measures in order to provide a safe and secure service for the Government departments and ministries whose bandwidth will be used, as well as for users who log on to the service. NITA-U will monitor usage in the following ways;
a.  Login sessions will be monitored to flag suspicious usage patterns
b.  Access will be through a firewall that protects the end users against any internet threat

5.  Speeds to expect

The Public accessing the #MyUG service shall enjoy maximum speeds of up to 2mbps. They aim at providing a service that meets basic internet access needs and complements access provided by Commercial Internet Providers.

6.   Reliability
We intend to offer a reliable service of up to 99.7% availability.

7.   Capacity of the Backbone Infrastructure to support the Free Wi-Fi initiative
The National Backbone Infrastructure has two rings that offer bi-directional protection to traffic carried on the network thus providing redundancy and reliability. NITA-U also runs a Network Operations Center (NOC) that has 24/7 view of the entire network and can therefore immediately identify and mitigate any network issues.

8.   What plans are in place to enhance equitable access across the country?
NITA-U is extending the National Backbone Infrastructure to cover the entire country. Priority is being placed on Universities, Schools, Hospitals and Local Governments, which reach a large number of users accessing critical information and social service data off the internet.

9.    Why do I need to register my details?
Initially NITA has asked what seemed to look like some one was signing away their lives when they subscribe to the service. They have come out to assure the public that it is important to note that all information gathered will be treated as confidential. As per industry best practice, user registration is mandatory for authentication and for access to Government services.  The information gathered during registration and use of the service may be used internally to improve the #MyUG service as well as advise NITA-U on how to develop more services and rollout special offers to the Public.

10. Any other terms and conditions
Where as NITA-U gives more terms and conditions in the login page we shall give you some here. There will be a time limit of 30 minutes where one will be allowed to stay connected to the free WiFi hotspot, after this time elapses and one is not using the network, they will be disconnected and they will have to login again to resume using the service. As per now there is no download limitation (unlimited at 2mbps) but NITA has promised to implement precautions depending on user patterns.
For those wondering which kind of sites will be restricted to the public, these will include; Pornographic websites, sites blacklisted for malware, violence Inciting websites (Terrorist groups) and Bit torrent sites