US plans 'regulated' Bitcoin exchange

23 January 2015 Last updated at 12:28

The Winklevoss twins, who clashed with Mark Zuckerberg over Facebook, are seeking approval for a Bitcoin exchange overseen by US regulators.

The pair plan to have the exchange, called Gemini, trading later this year, reports the New York Times.

Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss are known to have invested millions in the virtual currency.

Currently the value of each bitcoin is approaching $200 (£133) - far below the $1,200-high it hit in November 2013.

Lost money

Development work on software underpinning the exchange is being carried out at the Bitcoin start-up founded by the Winklevoss twins. In addition, they have been lobbying New York financial regulators to drum up support for the idea and have signed up banks to handle deposits and transfers.

Work on the exchange began after New York's financial services watchdog last year encouraged virtual currency entrepreneurs operating in the state to apply for formal recognition. This, said the watchdog, was the first step towards full regulation of such exchanges.

The twins won a $65m payout from Mark Zuckerberg after accusing him of stealing their idea for a college-based social network.

Bitcoin is a virtual currency built around a complicated cryptographic protocol and a global network of computers that oversees and verifies which coins have been spent by whom.

Exchanges, through which virtual money can be traded for real cash or to other owners, have been one of the weak points in the whole Bitcoin ecosystem. Some have gone bust leaving traders out of pocket, many have been robbed of all their deposits and now more and more nations are seeking to impose strict controls on how they operate.

The value of each bitcoin has fluctuated widely over the last few years but has been on a steady downward path since late 2013 even though many more online stores and companies accept them in exchange for goods and services.

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Peers try to revive 'snooping law'

23 January 2015 Last updated at 18:30

UK net firms have criticised attempts to revive a "snoopers' charter" by adding it into draft legislation currently before the House of Lords.

Amendments to the Counter Terrorism and Security Bill would, if passed, make ISPs log more of what people do online.

It would also make the logged data more easily accessible to law enforcement and security services.

The 18-page addition was "ill-judged" and "regrettable" said the ISP Association (Ispa).

The Open Rights Group, which campaigns on issues of digital freedom, said the amendment was an "abuse of procedure".

Action needed

The amendment to the Counter Terrorism Bill has been proposed by a group that includes a former Conservative defence secretary, a former Metropolitan police commissioner, a former Labour defence minister and a Liberal Democrat peer.

The amendment comes as the UK intelligence services seek more powers to gather and analyse data which they say is needed to thwart attacks such as those seen earlier this month in Paris.

Ispa said the clauses inserted in the Counter Terror Bill were lifted from an earlier draft Communications Bill that a joint Lords and Commons committee scrutinised in 2012. It said that Committee called for more consultation with experts and industry before the proposals could become part of any draft legislation.

The industry group said the committee had "substantial concerns" about the collection of data on web browsing habits and how access to this stored information would be controlled.

"We urge Parliament to reject this attempt to insert complex legislation into an existing Bill at the last minute," said Ispa in a statement.

The Open Rights Group also criticised the amendment saying in a statement: "The Lords cannot have time to properly consider the bill, and would deny the Commons the opportunity to consider the clauses as well."

The amended Counter Terrorism Bill is due to be debated in the House of Lords on Monday.

Lord Carlile, a spokesman for the group behind the amendment, told the Guardian newspaper that action was needed now and that it had re-worded the amendment to remove parts that were found to be unacceptable.

The increased powers to inspect gathered data would be confined to the police and intelligence services, he said.

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Twitter battles Instagram links

It's either a helpful tip for people with a big following or the latest blow in the battle between two social networks.

Twitter has sent some high profile users a message, suggesting they stop posting photos from Instagram.

As reported by Mashable, the alert suggested posting photos directly to Twitter would ensure "your fans always see them".

Instagram photos have not been viewable within tweets since 2012.

The in-app alert featured a fake "superstar" account showing a link from Instagram and a photo posted directly to Twitter, appearing within the tweet itself.

Instagram's move to stop allowing its posts to be seen within tweets in December 2012 was seen as an attempt to drive more traffic to its own app.

At around the same time, Twitter began offering filters and photo editing features of its own.

The latest move by Twitter could suggest an attempt to draw celebrities away from its Facebook-owned rival.

Many celebrities choose to share photos from Instagram on Twitter, meaning users must click a link to see them.

Instagram announced in December 2014 that it now has 300 million active monthly users compared to Twitter's most recent count of 284m.

It is also a reminder of Twitter's growth as a multimedia platform.

Multiple photos can be posted within tweets and YouTube links appear as embedded video.

Twitter would prefer all celebrities to post photos directly within tweets.

Twitter is also planning to allow users to post video from within its app alongside its short-form video sharing app Vine.

With many celebrities attracting a big following across social media, Twitter is clearly attempting to position itself as the first choice for their photos.

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China blocks virtual network use

26 January 2015 Last updated at 11:15

China has blocked several popular services that let citizens skirt state censorship systems.

Three providers of Virtual Private Network (VPN) systems reported that updates to China's firewall had hindered people using their services.

The providers affected are Astrill, StrongVPN and Golden Frog.

Many Chinese people use VPNs to visit websites outside the country that they would not be able to reach without the aid of such tools.

Sites blocked in China include services operated by web giants such as Google, Facebook and Twitter.

China operates a very sophisticated net censorship system that both limits the places people can go online and what they can search for and discuss.

A VPN works by setting up a dedicated, encrypted link between a person's computer and the website or service they want to use and makes spying on the data flowing across the connection difficult.

Chinese state media said the blocks had been imposed "for safety". Reuters reported that a cybersecurity expert at a state-backed think tank said the upgrades to the nation's firewall had been carried out to preserve China's "cyberspace sovereignty".

The renewed attempt to stifle use of VPNs comes as the ruling Communist party seeks to clamp down on corruption by top officials, Prof Xiao Qiang from Berkeley's School of Information told AP.

The clampdown was "a very clearly related fact with the amount of political rumours and information related to China's high politics showing up in websites outside of China,'' he said.

The services that have been hit are almost exclusively used by individuals and are often accessed via mobile phones. China has not put any restrictions on the use of VPNs inside large corporations.

Sunday Yokubaitis, president of the Golden Frog VPN service, told Reuters: "This week's attack on VPNs that affected us and other VPN providers is more sophisticated than what we've seen in the past."

Despite this, Golden Frog said access to some of its servers was still unimpeded.

StrongVPN said via its blog that it was "working diligently" to restore access to servers it had in China. In addition, it said customers should attempt to connect at non-peak hours to limit the load on its network.

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Emergency patch fixes Flash flaw

23 January 2015 Last updated at 11:04

Adobe has released an emergency patch for a flaw in its Flash software that was being widely exploited by thieves.

The patch stops the flaw being exploited on some versions of Windows, Apple and Linux operating systems.

In addition, it is investigating reports that another previously unknown flaw is being used in a popular cybercrime kit sold online.

The kit is favoured by gangs who use malicious programs that demand a ransom after it encrypts important files.

Top target

Adobe's Flash player is used on many websites to show video and other multimedia content.

Although the flaw was present on older versions of Flash used on different operating systems, analysis suggests that it was being most widely abused through the Internet Explorer browser on Windows machines.

On these devices it was being used to get round separate security measures introduced by Microsoft that tried to stop malware working out where in a computer's memory it could find useful data.

The other new flaw Adobe is investigating has appeared in the Angler exploit kit that many cyber-thieves have adopted. Security researchers said this flaw was being widely used in booby-trapped adverts to compromise vulnerable computers.

Once the malware lands on a machine it then tries different tactics to help its creators cash in. It can scramble files and demand a ransom; seek out banking details or hijack ads on webpages as people browse.

Adobe said it hoped to produce a patch for this other flaw next week as the latest emergency patch did not fix it.

A report by networking giant Cisco said Angler was the most widely used exploit kit during 2014. It attributed its popularity to its use of a wide range of vulnerabilities found in Flash, Java, Internet Explorer and other Microsoft programs.

Figures gathered by security firm Trustwave suggest that three of the top four exploits abused by cybercrime groups take advantage of flaws in Adobe's Flash, Acrobat and Reader programs.

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Reporter jailed for stolen data links

22 January 2015 Last updated at 23:55

A journalist with connections to the hacking collective Anonymous has been sentenced to five years in jail after posting online links to stolen data.

Barrett Brown originally faced charges punishable by more than 100 years in prison, but the sentence was reduced after he pleaded guilty last year.

He said he broke the law to reveal details of illegal government activity.

The case drew criticism from advocates of free speech and media rights organisations.

One of Mr Brown's supporters is Glenn Greenwald, a journalist who publicised the National Security Agency (NSA) spying programme revealed by whistle-blower Edward Snowden.

Brown, a 33-year-old US journalist, became an advocate for Anonymous and was often interviewed about the group.

He was arrested after posting a link to data hacked from defence intelligence firm Stratfor.

In April he pleaded guilty to three charges, including obstruction of a police search, making internet threats and a charge related to his involvement in the sharing of the Stratfor data.

But according to the AFP news agency, in a statement written before Thursday's hearing in Dallas, Texas, Mr Brown launched a staunch rebuttal of the case.

He said: "The government exposed me to decades of prison time for copying and pasting a link to a publicly available file that other journalists were also linking to without being prosecuted."

His defence was backed by the media rights groups who said he was being prosecuted for his journalistic work.

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Apple's Tim Cook salary up over 40%

23 January 2015 Last updated at 15:37

The base salary of Apple chief executive Tim Cook was increased by almost 43% in February last year, according to the technology giant.

Mr Cook's salary rose to $2m (£1.3m) from $1.4m, and his total remuneration more than doubled to $9.2m in 2014.

The base salaries for other executives were also increased by over 14% to $1m, the company said in its annual report.

Apple's New York-listed shares had hit a record high last year, while almost 40m iPhones were sold.

The increase to Mr Cook's salary was the first since November 2011. He became chief executive in August that year following the death of Steve Jobs.

In the report, Apple said the increases were given after reviewing data provided by its independent compensation consultant about the arrangements of its competitors.

The executive team's bonuses were also increased to a maximum of 400% of the member's salary.

Windfall for Ahrendts

In November, Apple was worth more than $700bn after its stock hit a record high of $119.75. The stock was trading at $112.29 in New York on Friday, valuing the company at $658bn.

Angela Ahrendts, the former Burberry chief executive who joined Apple last year in the newly created role of senior vice-president, retail and online stores, was awarded a bumper package worth just over $73m (£48.6m).

The total included share options worth $37m to compensate for those she lost by leaving Burberry, along with $33m given as a "golden hello".

Ahrendts' base salary was $1m, and she was also paid a $1.6m cash bonus and a hiring bonus of $500,000.

Total compensation for Luca Maestri, Apple's chief financial officer, topped $14m - also exceeding Mr Cook by a substantial margin.

However, Mr Cook was awarded a pay package worth $378m when he took the top job - mostly comprised of share options that he will receive in 2016 and 2021.

Meanwhile, Apple said that Millard "Mickey" Drexler, who has been a director on its board since 1999, will step down in March.

The former boss of Gap and chief executive of J Crew was a close ally of Mr Jobs and was credited with Apple's push into opening its own retail stores.

Drexler's replacement has not yet been announced.

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Malaysia Airlines website hacked

26 January 2015 Last updated at 07:51

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WATCH: BBC's Dave Lee explains how the attack was carried out

Hackers claiming to be from the "Lizard Squad - Official Cyber Caliphate" group have attacked the official website of Malaysia Airlines.

The national carrier's homepage currently shows a photograph of a lizard in a top hat and tuxedo.

Malaysia Airlines confirmed its site was compromised but said customers' bookings and data were not affected.

The airline is still recovering from two disasters; the disappearance of MH370 and shooting down of MH17.

On Monday morning, the main page of its website was replaced by the words "404 - Plane Not Found" and "Hacked by Lizard Squad".

"404 Page not found" is the common error message displayed when a website cannot be loaded.

Initially the words "ISIS will prevail" appeared in the browser tab for the page, but that has since disappeared.

It is not clear why Malaysia Airlines has become the target of a cyber attack nor what connection the hack has to Islamic State, the militant group sometimes referred to as ISIS which has declared an Islamic caliphate in parts of Syria and Iraq.

Lizard Squad claimed on Twitter that it would release data from Malaysia Airlines, but did not specify what information it might have.

'Not been hacked'

Malaysia Airlines confirmed in a statement that its "Domain Name System (DNS) has been compromised where users are re-directed to a hacker website".

But it said its own web servers were intact and the website itself had not been hacked into.

It said "this temporary glitch does not affect [customer] bookings" and user data "remains secured". It added that it would take 22 hours to restore the website.

In March last year, flight MH370 disappeared from radar and is believed to have crashed 1,800km (1,100 miles) off Australia's west coast. A few months later MH17 was shot down over Ukraine, killing everyone on board.

The hacker group Lizard Squad previously claimed to have disrupted Sony and Microsoft operations, with gamers unable to log on to XBox Live and PlayStation platforms over Christmas.

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Pinterest to 'unlock' data to help ads

26 January 2015 Last updated at 11:24

Social networking site Pinterest plans to unpack more of its user data to help advertisers produce more targeted ads.

The firm's head of operations said it would "focus on intent data" that would indicate what its users wanted to buy, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Pinterest currently offers ad products based on limited types of information, such as gender and location.

One analyst said the firm would struggle to increase revenues unless it facilitated more targeted advertising.

"Pinterest's marketing value lies more in the future than in the present," wrote Nate Elliott of Forrester Research.

He added that the network's users tended to post things that they were interested in acquiring - information that would be valuable to an advertiser.

"We're encouraging marketers to put limited resources into Pinterest right now. Once the site broadens its targeting capabilities, though, it'll be time to spend," he wrote in a blogpost published soon before the company's announcement.

This week, according to the report in the Wall Street Journal, Pinterest executive Don Faul has indicated a willingness to do so.

"The focus this year is on unlocking the potential of our intent data," he reportedly told a conference in New York on Thursday.

'Re-targeting'

He agreed that Pinterest was often used to bookmark things users wanted to purchase, saying it was not a "traditional user-generated content platform, it's a place where people are coming to discover new businesses, new brands and new products".

He told AdExchanger's Industry Preview conference: "Our users are expressing their future intent. It's not the shoes they bought last week, or where they went on vacation six months ago."

Mr Faul said that the plan was to make the data available this year. As it stands, Pinterest only allows advertisers to target their ads on a user's location, gender and the topics they are interested in.

The new products offered to advertisers will be based on a broader database and will enable them to delve deeper into Pinterest users' interactions with the site. But it will not include highly personal data, such as names and addresses.

According to the report, he also said the firm was considering allowing advertisers to combine their own data with that of Pinterest, allowing them to target their existing customers who use the site.

They could potentially "re-target" potential customers who visited their store but did not buy anything, he suggested.

The comments follow the launch of a beta version of Pinterest's first advertising product, called Promoted Pins early last year. The company claimed success last month and rolled out the product to all advertisers from 1 January this year.

In October last year, it was valued at $5bn (£3.33bn), but was still searching for ways to generate revenue from its large users' database.

A Pinterest spokesman said: "We currently allow advertisers to target people who have expressed interest in topic by searching or visiting a category feed, such as Home Decor.

"As part of our focus this year, we will be offering additional targeting options to advertisers. For example, in the future an advertiser could target 'outdoor enthusiasts', which is a group of users based on their interest on outdoor activities.

"We will not share individual user data with advertisers."

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TalkTalk forces porn filter choice

26 January 2015 Last updated at 12:45

TalkTalk says customers who have not yet chosen whether to activate net filters must opt out of its safety system if they wish to continue viewing adult material online.

The net provider will block access with pop-up boxes until decisions are made.

In a blog post, TalkTalk adds it will prompt customers to review their settings every year.

Sky announced last week that it would activate filters for inappropriate content by default.

BT and Virgin have yet to reveal any proposals for automatic filters.

Prime Minister David Cameron has previously called on ISPs to offer services with pre-activated filters in the interests of family safety.

TalkTalk customers are presented with information about the HomeSafe filter activation in their account settings pages.

TalkTalk says 95% of its 4.2m customers have already decided whether to activate the filters.

"We pre-tick the 'on' option, but it's the customer's choice," writes TalkTalk spokeswoman Alex Birtles on the firm's blog.

"Filters will only ever be applied if the customer has consented and they're able to change their mind or edit their level of protection at any point."

Those who have not yet visited the settings page will be confronted with a pop-up box if they try to access a web page that would be blocked by the filter, Ms Birtles adds.

'No silver bullet'

Like most filters, HomeSafe does not block material accessed via a web proxy or Virtual Private Network (VPN).

"There is no silver bullet when it comes to internet safety and we have always been clear that no solution can ever be 100%," said the firm on its website in a section for businesses who feel their sites have been unfairly blocked by the filter.

According to the website blocked.org, a project by the Open Rights Group (ORG), around 11% of the 100,000 top websites (according to Amazon-owned analytics firm Alexa) are currently blocked by default filters.

"Censorship should never be turned on by default," Jim Killock, executive director of ORG told the BBC last week.

"Filters block all kinds of websites, including some that provide useful advice to children and young people."

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