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Thursday, December 29, 2011

A chink in the armor of WPA/WPA2 WiFi security



A chink in the armor of WPA/WPA2 WiFi security

posted Dec 29th 2011 1:01pm by 
filed under: security hackswireless hacks
Looks like your WiFi might not be quite as secure as you thought it was. A paper recently published by [Stefan Viehböc] details a security flaw in the supposedly robust WPA/WPA2 WiFi security protocol. It’s not actually that protocol which is the culprit, but an in-built feature called Wi-Fi Protected Setup. This is an additional security protocol that allows you to easily setup network devices like printers without the need to give them the WPA passphrase. [Stephan's] proof-of-concept allows him to get the WPS pin in 4-10 hours using brute force. Once an attacker has that pin, they can immediately get the WPA passphrase with it. This works even if the passphrase is frequently changed.
Apparently, most WiFi access points not only offer WPS, but have it enabled by default. To further muck up the situation, some hardware settings dashboards offer a disable switch that doesn’t actually do anything!
It looks like [Stephan] wasn’t the only one working on this exploit. [Craig] wrote in to let us know he’s already released software to exploit the hole.

China push to put astronaut on the moon

China push to put astronaut on the moon




China push to put astronaut on the moon [Link]

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

10 hot careers for 2012 - and beyond


10 hot careers for 2012 - and beyond

December 27, 2011: 2:13 PM ET

Hiring overall probably won't pick up much next year, but there are pockets of prosperity even in this job market. Here's where the most opportunities are now.

By Anne Fisher, contributor

FORTUNE -- Strange but true: Despite the fact that unemployment is stuck at around 9%, which translates to about 15 million Americans out of work, nearly 3 million job openings in the U.S. are going unfilled, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Why? The biggest reason is a mismatch between the qualifications employers are looking for and the skills job hunters have.
So which skills are most in demand? Here are 10 of the hottest:

1. Information technology. When career site Indeed.com recently analyzed millions of job postings on its web site, researchers found that the fastest-growing category of keywords — including HTML5, Android, mobile app, and social media — were in IT, and a new survey by tech job site Dice.com bears that out: About 65% of hiring managers said they hope to add tech staff in the first half of 2012. Roughly a quarter of those (27%) said they want to expand their IT headcount by more than 20%.
Openings for software developers who specialize in applications will rise by more than one-third (34%) by 2018, says Best Jobs for the 21st Century, a new book by job market analyst Laurence Shatkin, while companies will hire 20% more computer systems analysts. Rising pay in these fields reflects the surge in demand: The Bureau of Labor Statistics says that developers of systems software, for instance, earn an average of $94,180 per year.

2. Health care professionals. Partly due to the aging of the U.S. population, health care has been hot for a while now, and the trend shows no sign of slowing. Shatkin's research says the U.S. will need 103,900 more registered nurses every year (average salary: $64,690) well into the next decade, along with 7,860 new physical therapists per annum (average pay: $76,310). Demand for dental hygienists is up too, with a projected 36.1% growth in job openings between now and 2018 (average pay: $68,250).

3. Health care management and support staff. Don't have the training or experience to work directly with patients? No worries. "People often overlook the fact that businesspeople run health care companies," says Justin Hirsch, president of recruiting firm JobPlex. "With all the change happening in the system now, there is churn as well as growth. We're constantly seeing new openings in general management, finance, marketing, human resources, you name it."

4. Engineers. Note to college students who want their pick of job offers when they graduate: Consider majoring in engineering. A whopping 88% of employers in a new poll by the Society for Human Resource Management bemoaned the difficulty of finding enough engineers to hire. Civil engineers are in demand too: Shatkin's analysis of BLS data shows a 24.3% spike ahead in jobs for people who design roads, bridges, and other infrastructure projects (average annual pay: $77,560).

5. Industrial skills. Think U.S. manufacturing is moribund? Think again. More than two-thirds (68%) of employers in the SHRM survey pointed to a shortage of qualified new hires to replace people retiring from the skilled trades: electricians, carpenters, welders. Moreover, says Justin Hirsch, "We're seeing an increase in industrial hiring in logistics, supply-chain management, and plant management." As more companies go global, demand for expertise in logistics -- the art and science of moving stuff efficiently from one place to another -- will continue to heat up.
See also: Will you get a raise in 2012?

6. Life sciences and biotech. Medical innovators ranging in size from Big Pharma down to biotech startups are on a hiring binge: Shatkin sees a 40% jump in job openings for research scientists between now and 2018 (average salary: $76,700). As with health care companies in general, these employers will also need managers and support staff (see No. 3).

7. Salespeople. Selling has historically been the closest thing there is to a recession-proof career, and this economic downturn is no exception. Since they're the ones bringing the dough in the door, salespeople are often the first to be hired and last to get laid off. Almost three-quarters (72%) of employers in the SHRM survey said they can't get enough salespeople now.

8. Accounting and finance. Demand for accountants and finance mavens (particularly forensic accountants and compliance specialists) has been climbing steadily for the past several years, and U.S. colleges are still not turning out enough grads in these fields to fill the available openings. The SHRM survey found that more than half (54%) of employers would hire more accountants and finance experts if they could find them.

9. Discount retailers. "Not to mention any specific company names -- everyone knows who they are, anyway -- but the big national discount store companies have flourished during this recession," notes Justin Hirsch. "And most of them are hiring managers as well as in-store personnel."

10. Private equity firms. Recruiters report that private equity firms are actively seeking management talent for their portfolio companies "across all industries and all functional areas," says Hirsch. "They're poaching already-employed, seasoned managers from big companies -- people who can step into either a turnaround situation or a pre-IPO company and make it work. These are challenging jobs, and could be a real feather in a manager's cap if he or she can bring it off successfully."

Do unemployed executives have a shot? "With the right network, yes," Hirsch says. "It's about having great business acumen, especially a knack for coping with ambiguity, and being known for that. It helps to have the right connections."

Originally at: http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2011/12/27/10-hot-careers-for-2012-and-beyond/

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Google's iPad Killer Ready in 6 Months, Says Eric Schmidt



Google's iPad Killer Ready in 6 Months, Says Eric Schmidt

Published December 26, 2011
| Laptopmag.com
Soon Google could show tablet makers like ASUS, HTC, Lenovo, and Motorola how a real Android tablet is made. During an interview with an Italian newspaper this week, Eric Schmidt, Google’s Executive Chairman, mentioned plans “to market a tablet of the highest quality”.
The idea sounds similar to Google’s Nexus line of smartphones.
Google typically helms the designs of those devices, and the final products are usually treated as the ideal pairing of hardware with Android software.
Though the often-talkative Schmidt says little else along the lines of confirmed plans, he does give the tablet a six month window.
The rest of the article finds Schmidt waxing on the nature of capitalism and the spirit of competition between Apple and Google, as well as American tech makers taking on new products from manufacturers in Europe and Asia.
Copyright © 2011 LaptopMag.com. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/12/26/googles-ipad-killer-ready-in-6-months-says-eric-schmidt/#ixzz1hlwMIg4S

Watch out for the icebergs... cruise recreating Titanic's fateful voyage is sold out






Watch out for the icebergs... 

cruise recreating Titanic's fateful 

voyage is sold out


For some, it might sound too much like tempting fate – and for others, it smacks of "disaster voyeurism". But for more than 2,000 Titanic enthusiasts, the chance to mark the centenary of the maritime disaster by sailing on a large cruise ship to commemorate the sinking on the very spot of the tragedy is proving difficult to resist.
A British company has almost sold out two cruises for people to mark the anniversary on 15 April by following the route of the Titanic to where it struck an iceberg. The booming demand for Titanic-related travel has led to another travel company offering the chance to explore the wreckage of the ill-fated vessel in a Russian-built submarine next summer at a cost of $59,000 (£37,000) per person. Places for that voyage are already "very limited".
The tourism boon is part of a general revival of the fascination with the Belfast-built steamship which will see special festivals take place on both sides of the Atlantic as well as the screening of a 3D version of James Cameron's Oscar-winning film and a big-budget ITV drama by the Downton Abbey writer Julian Fellowes.
Such is the interest in places on the MS Balmoral, the vessel retracing the journey of the maiden voyage of the Titanic, that a waiting list for cancellations has closed.
Some of those who have booked berths costing up to £5,995 are having costumes made to recreate the appearance of the original passengers, while there have also been requests from musicians to audition for places on the string quartet that played as the flagship of the White Star Line fleet began to list.
Miles Morgan, managing director of Titanic Memorial Cruises, the Bristol-based company organising the events, said places on the cruise from Southampton had sold out weeks after going on sale, with the second cruise likely to sell out by next month and interest in the commemorative journey remaining intense. He said: "We have been approached by news crews all over the world who want to film our recreation of the fateful voyage. We could probably have filled the entire vessel just with journalists wanting to be there. The interest has come from all over the globe – we've had people from 24 different countries booking.
"I think that is testimony to the fact that the name of the Titanic has become one of those words that is recognised in any language around the globe. There are so many stories associated with the ship, from its own tragic history to the stories of those that lost their lives, that people remain deeply fascinated by it."
The culmination of restaging the Titanic's voyage – which will see the Balmoral, a chartered vessel belonging to the cruise line Fred Olsen, sail to the point off Newfoundland, Canada, where the ship collided with an iceberg – will be a memorial service at 2.20am on 15 April – the moment when what was then the world's largest passenger ship sank.
A second vessel chartered by the cruise company to carry 694 people will also meet at the site of the sinking after sailing from New York en route to Southampton. And plans are being made for the wireless radio station at Cape Race in Newfoundland, which received the Titanic's SOS in morse code, to repeat the message.
Among those on board the Balmoral will be relatives of victims and survivors of the Titanic, including Philip Littlejohn, the grandson of Alexander Littlejohn, who was a steward in the first-class section of the vessel and survived by rowing away one of the 16 lifeboats on board. The small number of lifeboats meant that barely a third of the ship's complement of passengers and crew could ever have been saved.
The attention to detail for the recreated Titanic voyage means that passengers will dine on the same menus offered to the 1,514 people who died and the 710 who survived when the ship struck an iceberg at 11.40pm. Among the items from the 11-course first-class dinner to be offered will be oysters, roast squab and sautéed chicken Lyonnaise.
Mr Morgan, who pointed out that the engineering and safety rules of modern ships mean that icebergs now pose no danger to the cruise, said it was wrong to criticise the commemoration as "voyeuristic". He said: "I take my lead from those people who are coming on board who lost relatives in the disaster or whose family members survived. They have all said that they could not think of any better way to mark the memory of those who were lost than being at the site of the sinking to pay their respects."
The voyages: Then & now
RMS Titanic
Day 1: Departs Southampton.
Day 3: Sails through calm waters.
Day 4: Passengers in first class enjoy 13 courses including oysters, roast duckling, foie gras.
Day 5: Seven iceberg warnings. Hits iceberg at 11.40pm.
Day 6: Sinks at 2.20am.
Memorial cruise
Day 1: Departs Southampton.
Days 3 and 4: Gym, spa, history talks.
Day 5: No collisions scheduled.
Day 6: Memorial service at 2.20am.
Day 7: Arrive at Halifax, Canada, and visit Fairview Lawn Cemetery, where victims are interred.
Day 8: Arrive in New York – the Titanic's intended destination.

China Launches Own Global Positioning System



China Launches Own Global Positioning System

BEIJING—China has begun operating a homegrown satellite navigation service that is designed to provide an alternative to the U.S. Global Positioning System and, according to defense experts, could help the Chinese military to identify, track and strike U.S. ships in the region in the event of armed conflict.
Associated Press
An orbiter is launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in China's Sichuan Province, in January 2010. It was the third orbiter that China has launched for its independent satellite navigation and positioning network.
The Beidou Navigation Satellite System started providing initial positioning, navigation and timing services to China and its "surrounding areas" on Tuesday, Ran Chengqi, a spokesman for the system, told a news conference.
He said China had so far launched 10 satellites for the Beidou system, including one this month, and planned to put six more in orbit in 2012 to enhance the system's accuracy and expand its service to cover most of the Asia Pacific region.
The system isn't as believed to be as accurate as the U.S. GPS. Nonetheless, China has made significant advances in the field thanks to a spate of satellite launches since 2009, according to a paper by Eric Hagt and Matthew Durnin published in the Journal of Strategic Studies in October.
"Although China still has a long way to go before it has continuous real-time tactical coverage, even of a regional maritime environment, it now has frequent and dependable coverage of stationary targets and at least a basic ability to identify, track and target vessels at sea," they wrote.
"Based purely on capabilities, with a space-based reconnaissance system as the backbone, China is clearly acquiring greater ability not only to defend against intruding aircraft carriers but to project force as well."
China's Ministry of Defense didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Beidou—which means Big Dipper in Mandarin—is run by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp., one of the main state-owned contractors for the Chinese space program, which is largely controlled by the Chinese military.
Imaginechina
Visitors look at a model of the Beidou navigation system in Shanghai in May.
China began building Beidou in 2000 with the goal of creating its own global system—called Compass—with 35 satellites, by 2020. The only other operational global system apart from GPS is Russia's Glonass, although the European Union's Galileo system is due to be completed by 2020.
Beidou, like GPS, will provide free civilian services that can be used in conjunction with commercially developed applications for use by drivers in private cars, monitor commercial trucks and ships and assist in natural disasters. It has the added advantage of supporting SMS messages, according to Mr. Ran.
He didn't mention potential military applications at the news conference, a transcript of which was provided by the information office of China's State Council, or Cabinet.
But the system will also give the Chinese military an alternative to GPS, which was developed by the Pentagon and is still controlled by the U.S. government. The U.S. could, in theory, disable or deny access to the system by others in the event of a conflict, although it says it never has done so in the past.
Military experts see Beidou as part of China's efforts over the last 15 years to develop capabilities designed to deny or hinder U.S. naval access to waters around its shores in case Washington tries to intervene in a conflict—over Taiwan, for example, which Beijing sees as a rebel province.
The South China Sea is another potential flashpoint as tensions have been rising this year between China and neighboring countries that also claim territorial waters there. Beijing has repeatedly accused the U.S. of meddling in the issue and has warned it to cease surveillance operations in the area.
This year, China confirmed for the first time that it was developing an antiship ballistic missile that the Pentagon says may already be basically operational and eventually capable of hitting a moving aircraft carrier up to 1,700 miles, or 2,700 kilometers, from China's shores.
Beidou could be used in conjunction with other satellites, drones and related technology to help track U.S. ships, position its own submarines and other vessels, and guide antiship ballistic missiles towards their targets, according to military experts.
It also gives China a significant tactical advantage over neighbors with whom it has territorial disputes, including India, which is developing its own regional satellite navigation system but doesn't expect to complete it for several years.
China still lags behind the U.S in terms of how long, and how accurately, it can monitor any part of the globe from space: GPS, which was launched for civilian use in 1995, now consists of 30 satellites and can be accurate to within less than 10 meters, or 33 feet, although the U.S. military has access to more precise readings.
Mr. Ran said Beidou was accurate to within 25 meters and would reduce that to 10 meters by the end of next year. The Chinese military may also have access to more accurate data, but because China has fewer satellites, it cannot monitor the same spot for as long as the U.S.
China's plans to develop a satellite positioning system are thought to date back to 1983 when Ronald Reagan announced plans to build space-based missile-defense systems in what became known as his "Star Wars" speech.
Beijing's plans gained momentum after its military leaders noted the importance of GPS for U.S. forces during the first Gulf War in 1991. Five years later, Chinese military commanders were frustrated when they couldn't locate two carrier groups that the U.S. deployed near Taiwan after China fired missiles into the sea off the island's coast in a failed attempt to influence the outcome of an election there, according to several defense analysts.
China launched the first two satellites of an experimental system called Beidou-1 in 2000 and made it available to civilians in 2004, but the service wasn't popular as its associated devices used to access the system—called terminals—were relatively large and much more expensive than GPS ones.
The system has been used, however, to coordinate the movement of Chinese troops, to help border guards patrol in remote areas, and to track fishing vessels in the South China Sea, according to Chinese state media.
In 2007, China launched the first satellite of its second-generation system, called Beidou-2, which is thought to use cheaper terminals and, unlike its predecessor, doesn't require a ground station.
Mr. Ran said Beidou was now being used by more than 100,000 clients in China and had been used to help track government vehicles in the southern province of Guangdong, and to assist disaster-relief work after an earthquake in the western province of Sichuan in 2008.
He said it was compatible with the world's other major global satellite navigation systems, and encouraged Chinese and foreign enterprises to help develop terminals that could use the Chinese network.
A preliminary version of the system's Interface Control Document, which allows foreign and Chinese entities access to its basic technical data, was made available on the system's website, beidou.gov.cn, from Tuesday, he said.


Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203479104577123600791556284.html#ixzz1hlt38xmO