Infi-Zeal's Blog

DDoS attack against Spamhaus was reportedly the largest in history A DDOS (distributed denial-of-service) attack of unprecedented scale that targeted an international spam-fighting organization last week ended up causing problems for Internet users around the world, experts say. The DDoS attack started more than a week ago and targeted the Spamhaus Project, an organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, and London that maintains databases of IP (Internet Protocol) addresses, domain names, and other Internet resources involved in spam, malware, and other abusive online activities. Spamhaus publishes the data in the form of block lists that are used by Internet and email service providers, corporations, universities and governments around the world to filter Internet traffic on their networks and servers. In order to keep its services and website online Spamhaus enlisted the help of a San Francisco-based company called CloudFlare that runs a global content delivery...

In Europe, strokes are the most common cause of physical disability among the elderly. This often result in paralysis of one side of the body, and many patients suffer much reduced physical mobility and are often unable to walk on their own. These are the hard facts the EU project CORBYS has taken seriously. Researchers in six countries are currently developing a robotic system designed to help stroke patients re-train their bodies. The concept is based on helping the patient by constructing a system consisting of powered orthosis to help patient in moving his/her legs and a mobile platform providing patient mobility. The CORBYS researchers are also working with the cognitive aspects. The aim is to enable the robot to interpret data from the patient and adapt the training programme to his or her capabilities and intention. This will bring rehabilitation robots to the next level. Back to walking normally It is vital to get stroke patients up on their feet as soon as pos...

Deciwatt, which is a part of the design company, Therefore in London, UK has developed a technology that will revolutionise the way light bulbs work. Called GravityLight, the project which was co-invented by Martin Riddiford and Jim Reeves, manufactures light bulbs that are powered by gravity. Wondering how it works? Well, as a part of this technique, a sack of sand is used to gradually pull a piece of rope through a dynamo mechanism that generated electricity, which ultimately powers the LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes). This is not it! The most startling fact of this technique is that a total of three-second pull on this rope can keep the LED bulb running for up to 30 minutes. Such applications are viable for countries that do not have a stable and reliable electricity access. The team of the project shares that this project will distribute light bulbs for free to billions of poor people who currently rely on biomass fuels like kerosene, which can be really hazardous to health....

Google has launched a new effort to warn its users that they could be the victims of cyberattacks from hostile governments. Account-holders working in international relations, development and other sensitive areas have received messages from the search giant informing them of recent efforts to spy on their online history. The move comes after the company started detecting 'tens of thousands' of new hacking attacks originating in the Middle East. Warning: Google has sent this message to a number of at-risk users Google is a tempting target for hackers, as it is not focussed solely on search but also offers its users services such as email, mapping and Chrome, one of the most popular web browsers. This week, according to the  New York Times , users thought to have been targeted saw a message attached to their accounts saying, 'Warning: We believe state-sponsored attackers may be attempting to compromise your account or computer.' This is not the first t...

Robots may be the handymen of future space missions, according to researchers at MIT. Instead of sending astronauts out to examine and repair broken satellites and spacecraft, robots may be dispatched as intelligent fix-it swarms, communicating with each other as they circle and inspect a target.  Although such a scenario is years down the road, researchers in MIT’s Space Systems Laboratory (SSL) are developing software that may eventually control such robotic inspectors in space. The group has been testing algorithms on robotic platforms called SPHERES, volleyball-sized droids built at MIT, which are now onboard the International Space Station (ISS). In the microgravity environment aboard the ISS, the robots hover in midair, much like they would in outer space. Researchers have been programming the robots to cooperate with each other as they explore and inspect their environment.  In the next few months, SPHERES (which stands for Synchronized Position Hold, Engag...

 It is possible for an adversary or a group of hackers to cripple India's power grids through a cyber-attack, although this is an unlikely reason for the recent power outages that crippled much of north, east and north-eastern India.  Since the first power trip up on Monday, there have been discussions within the security establishment about the possibility of entities trying to carry out a sophisticated cyber-attack to cripple the grids.  Officials who carried out an audit of critical information infrastructure admit it is "theoretically possible" to cripple India's power grids through a cyber-attack.  Despite such a possibility, the shutdown did not seem to have led to a crisis management procedure that aimed at ruling out or confirming a cyber-attack.  "Given the fact that our grids are vulnerable to a cyber-attack, those responsible for managing grids should have a proactive policy to rule out cyber-attack as part of their crisis management procedures,...

Canon begins selling a next-generation form of virtual reality technology known as  mixed reality (MR)  this month. The company suggests its version of MR is an enhanced, more grown-up version of the augmented reality provided by some smartphone apps and things like  Google’s Project Glass . In contrast to  augmented reality , which typically adds text or simple graphics to what the user sees, Canon’s MR adds computer-generated virtual objects to the real world in real time, at full scale, and in three dimensions. In a further contrast to consumer-oriented augmented-reality schemes, the technology is initially targeted at engineering groups involved in designing and building new products. Canon claims that not only will it cut down on prototyping, it will also speed up concurrent engineering by allowing those involved on the manufacturing side to get a faster look at what is coming down the new-product pipeline. The key technologies making this possible are...

South Korean police have arrested two hackers who stole personal data of 8.7 million customers of the nation's second-biggest mobile operator, the company said Sunday. KT said the hackers -- formally arrested on Sunday -- had stolen data such as customers' names, phone numbers and residential registration numbers for five months since February and sold the information to telemarketing firms. "The number of affected people account for nearly a half of about 17 million customers of ours," a KT spokesman told AFP, adding the company had alerted police on July 13 after detecting traces of hacking attacks. Yonhap news agency, citing police, said the duo -- including a former veteran programmer at a local IT company -- had earned at least 1 billion won (about $880,000) by selling the stolen data. Seven other people were also booked for buying the leaked data for telemarketing purposes, Yonhap said. "We deeply bow our head in apology for having your precious ...