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| Chinese hack-attacks: Google, Yahoo, Adobe and who? Google says at least 20 other large companies have been targeted in cyber attacks, but none of them has come forwardYahoo and Adobe appear to be among the companies that suffered the sort of cyberattack that led Google to threaten to withdraw from China. In its original announcement, Google said that "at least 20 other large companies from a wide range of businesses – including the internet, finance, technology, media and chemical sectors – have been similarly targeted".However, Google did not name any names, and it did not actually say that the attacks were made by people acting on the behalf of the Chinese government.Most large companies "face cyber attacks of varying degrees on a regular basis," as Google said, but so far none of them seem to have come forward.Adobe said in a blog post that it was investigating a "coordinated attack against corporate network systems managed by Adobe and other companies", and the timing suggests it could well be related to the attacks on Google.Bloomberg reported that Yahoo "was targeted by a Chinese attack similar to the one that affected Google Inc, according to a person familiar with the matter", but this has not been confirmed. The company said: "Yahoo does not generally disclose that type of information, but we take security very seriously and we take appropriate action in the event of any kind of breach."The Washington Post, reporting a "vast espionage campaign", claimed that "at least 34 companies – including Yahoo, Symantec, Adobe, Northrop Grumman and Dow Chemical – were attacked, according to congressional and industry sources."The attacks seem to have been performed by "spear phishing" – that is, targeting company employees with infected email attachments. According to a widely-reported statement by Eli Jellenc, head of international cyber intelligence at Verisign-owned iDefense: "The attack bears significant resemblance to a July 2009 attack in which attackers launched targeted email campaigns against approximately 100 IT-focused companies."This type of attack has been part of the computer scene for several years, and Chinese involvement has often been suspected. It would be surprising if Google had not been attacked before. In this case, it's not the attack but the response that is unusual.GoogleChinaInternetHackingPrivacyPrivacy and the netJack Schofieldguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Brit Awards 2010: Pixie Lott and Lily Allen lead nominations in triumph for girl power Pixie Lott, who was discovered at 14 and juggled her fledgling career with her GCSE studies, leads the Brit Awards nominations in a shortlist dominated by female acts. telegraph.co.uk |
Police plan to use spy drones Arms manufacturer BAE Systems developing national strategy with consortium of government agenciesPolice in the UK are planning to use unmanned spy drones, controversially deployed in Afghanistan, for the "routine" monitoring of antisocial motorists, protesters, agricultural thieves and fly-tippers, in a significant expansion of covert state surveillance.The arms manufacturer BAE Systems, which produces a range of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for war zones, is adapting the military-style planes for a consortium of government agencies led by Kent police.Documents from the South Coast Partnership, a Home Office-backed project in which Kent police and others are developing a national drone plan with BAE, have been obtained by the Guardian under the Freedom of Information Act.They reveal the partnership intends to begin using the drones in time for the 2012 Olympics. They also indicate that police claims that the technology will be used for maritime surveillance fall well short of their intended use – which could span a range of police activity – and that officers have talked about selling the surveillance data to private companies. A prototype drone equipped with high-powered cameras and sensors is set to take to the skies for test flights later this year.The Civil Aviation Authority, which regulates UK airspace, has been told by BAE and Kent police that civilian UAVs would "greatly extend" the government's surveillance capacity and "revolutionise policing". The CAA is currently reluctant to license UAVs in normal airspace because of the risk of collisions with other aircraft, but adequate "sense and avoid" systems for drones are only a few years away.Five other police forces have signed up to the scheme, which is considered a pilot preceding the countrywide adoption of the technology for "surveillance, monitoring and evidence gathering". The partnership's stated mission is to introduce drones "into the routine work of the police, border authorities and other government agencies" across the UK.Concerned about the slow pace of progress of licensing issues, Kent police's assistant chief constable, Allyn Thomas, wrote to the CAA last March arguing that military drones would be useful "in the policing of major events, whether they be protests or the Olympics". He said interest in their use in the UK had "developed after the terrorist attack in Mumbai".Stressing that he was not seeking to interfere with the regulatory process, Thomas pointed out that there was "rather more urgency in the work since Mumbai and we have a clear deadline of the 2012 Olympics".BAE drones are programmed to take off and land on their own, stay airborne for up to 15 hours and reach heights of 20,000ft, making them invisible from the ground.Far more sophisticated than the remote-controlled rotor-blade robots that hover 50-metres above the ground – which police already use – BAE UAVs are programmed to undertake specific operations. They can, for example, deviate from a routine flightpath after encountering suspicious activity on the ground, or undertake numerous reconnaissance tasks simultaneously.The surveillance data is fed back to control rooms via monitoring equipment such as high-definition cameras, radar devices and infrared sensors.Previously, Kent police has said the drone scheme was intended for use over the English Channel to monitor shipping and detect immigrants crossing from France. However, the documents suggest the maritime focus was, at least in part, a public relations strategy designed to minimise civil liberty concerns."There is potential for these [maritime] uses to be projected as a 'good news' story to the public rather than more 'big brother'," a minute from the one of the earliest meetings, in July 2007, states.Behind closed doors, the scope for UAVs has expanded significantly. Working with various policing organisations as well as the Serious and Organised Crime Agency, the Maritime and Fisheries Agency, HM Revenue and Customs and the UK Border Agency, BAE and Kent police have drawn up wider lists of potential uses.One document lists "[detecting] theft from cash machines, preventing theft of tractors and monitoring antisocial driving" as future tasks for police drones, while another states the aircraft could be used for road and railway monitoring, search and rescue, event security and covert urban surveillance.Under a section entitled "Other routine tasks (Local Councils) – surveillance", another document states the drones could be used to combat "fly-posting, fly-tipping, abandoned vehicles, abnormal loads, waste management".Senior officers have conceded there will be "large capital costs" involved in buying the drones, but argue this will be shared by various government agencies. They also say unmanned aircraft are no more intrusive than CCTV cameras and far cheaper to run than helicopters.Partnership officials have said the UAVs could raise revenue from private companies. At one strategy meeting it was proposed the aircraft could undertake commercial work during spare time to offset some of the running costs.There are two models of BAE drone under consideration, neither of which has been licensed to fly in non-segregated airspace by the CAA. The Herti (High Endurance Rapid Technology Insertion) is a five-metre long aircraft that the Ministry of Defence deployed in Afghanistan for tests in 2007 and 2009.CAA officials are sceptical that any Herti-type drone manufacturer can develop the technology to make them airworthy for the UK before 2015 at the earliest. However the South Coast Partnership has set its sights on another BAE prototype drone, the GA22 airship, developed by Lindstrand Technologies which would be subject to different regulations. BAE and Kent police believe the 22-metre long airship could be certified for civilian use by 2012.Military drones have been used extensively by the US to assist reconnaissance and airstrikes in Afghanistan and Iraq.But their use in war zones has been blamed for high civilian death tolls.SurveillancePoliceBAE SystemsPaul Lewisguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Hospital blood clot tests 'could save 10,000 lives a year' At least 10,000 lives a year should be saved by screening all hospital patients to prevent potentially fatal blood clots, an NHS advisory body recommends today.The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) is introducing guidelines to ensure those at risk are provided with blood-thinning drugs, compression stockings, or foot pumps to keep their blood circulating.Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) kills an estimated 25,000 people a year in England and Wales. The deaths, Nice claims, are preventable. The procedures will affect all 1.3 million hospital admissions in the UK each year.Patients undergoing joint replacement or cancer operations can be at increased risk of developing blood clots, as well as those who are confined to bed for long periods. Blood clots are dangerous if they form in the vein and travel to the lungs where they may lodge and trigger a pulmonary embolism, a blockage of the artery, that is often fatal.Tom Treasure, the cardio-thoracic surgeon who chaired the group that drew up the guidelines, described the condition as a "silent killer". He said: "Whether we will be able to prevent all of those 25,000 deaths or just some of them is uncertain … but up to 10,000 plus lives will be saved."Patients are to be encouraged to ask their doctors whether they are at risk and what to do about it.The medical checklist will include assessing patients according to weight, age and the type of operation. A few with rare, inherited conditions may be at greater risk of complications.The bill for the national screening and extra drugs will be £30m a year. It is expected, however, to generate an overall saving to the NHS. From April trusts that do not do risk assessments will have their income cut accordingly.A new generation of blood-thinning drugs are due soon. One of the most common is Heparin. Clinical trials with aspirin showed it produced too much bleeding to be beneficial.Paul Mainwaring, a patient who twice had DVTs, and served on the Nice group, said: "Any patient admitted to hospital should not be afraid to ask their doctors and nurses about reducing the risk of blood clots. It could help save their life."The advice follows suggestions from the chief medical officer, Sir Liam Donaldson, several years ago.The charity Lifeblood, which raises money to help reduce thrombosis, said: "Whilst the dangers associated of developing a DVT from long haul [airline] journeys are well-publicised, in fact this is a relatively rare occurrence affecting people on less than 1 in 10,000 flights. What is less well-known is the dramatically greater risk of DVT for people admitted to hospital. Without preventative measures, up to one in 10 of all admitted to hospital risk contracting DVT: a significantly greater risk compared with boarding an aircraft.Beverley Hunt, medical director of Lifeblood, added: "The simple measures outlined today by Nice are cost-effective, have been proven to significantly reduce hospital mortality, and can potentially save up to 25,000 avoidable hospital deaths a year."NHSHealthDrugsDeep vein thrombosisOwen Bowcottguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Women's prison in 'crisis' state Scotland's Chief Inspector of Prisons says the country's only women's prison is "in crisis" because of overcrowding. news.bbc.co.uk |