Hackers peep into secret agency’s meeting; FBI confirms

WASHINGTON: Hacker group Anonymous, in an embarrassment for law enforcement, released a recording of a conference call between the FBI and Scotland Yard discussing operations against the hacking collective.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation confirmed the authenticity of the nearly 17-minute recording posted on YouTube and other sites and said it was “intended for law enforcement officers only and was illegally obtained.”

“A criminal investigation is under way to identify and hold accountable those responsible,” the FBI said in a statement.

The release of the audio recording was one in a series of attacks Friday by the shadowy loose-knit group of international hackers.

Members of Anonymous also attacked the website of the Greek justice ministry in a protest against the country’s tough fiscal reforms and a site operated by the Boston Police Department.

In addition, members of the hacker group claimed to have briefly knocked Citibank offline and defaced the website of the law firm that defended a US Marine charged in connection with the 2005 killing of 24 Iraqi civilians.

Anonymous, in a statement on the website of the law firm of Puckett and Faraj, also claimed to have published online three gigabytes of private email messages of attorneys Neal Puckett and Haytham Faraj.

Puckett served as a lawyer for Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich, who faced a court martial last month in connection with the killings in the Iraqi town of Haditha.

Wuterich, 31, admitted one count of negligent dereliction of duty but manslaughter charges were dropped as part of a plea deal with prosecutors and he is not serving any jail time.

Along with the FBI-Scotland Yard recording, Anonymous posted online the email invitation from an FBI agent setting up the call for January 17.

The email invites members of European law enforcement agencies to take part in a call “to discuss the on-going investigations related to Anonymous, Lulzsec, Antisec, and other associated splinter groups.”

The email was sent to law enforcement officials in Britain, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and Sweden but the only people who identify themselves on the call are from the FBI and Scotland Yard.

The email includes the number to be called along with the access code.

In a message on Twitter, Anonymous posted links to the recording and said the FBI “might be curious how we’re able to continuously read their internal comms for some time now.”

According to the FBI, no agency computer systems were breached in connection with the incident.

Graham Cluley of computer security firm Sophos said the hackers were apparently able to access the call “because they have compromised a police investigator’s email account.”

“No doubt the police authorities will be appalled to realize that the very people that they are trying to apprehend, could have been tuning in to their internal conversations,” Cluley said in a blog post.

During the call, the British and American participants discuss some of the targets of their operations including Jake Davis and Ryan Cleary, two British teenagers who were arrested last year over hacking.

Other names mentioned during the call are bleeped out.

Davis is charged with hacking into websites, including that of Britain’s Serious Organised Crime Agency, which was out of service for several hours on June 20 after apparently being targeted.

Cleary was detained in connection with a month-long global rampage last year by the Anonymous splinter group Lulz Security.

At one point in the call, a British participant thanks his American counterpart for helping out with an examination of Cleary’s hard drive.

Later, a British participant mentions a hacker from West Midlands who goes by the handle “tehwongz.”

“He’s a 15-year-old who’s basically just doing this all for attention and a bit of an idiot,” he said, going on to describe him as “a pain in the bum.”

Last month, Anonymous briefly knocked the FBI and Justice Department websites offline in retaliation for the US shutdown of file-sharing site Megaupload.

In late 2010, Anonymous attacked the websites of Amazon, Visa, MasterCard, PayPal and others in retaliation for their decisions to stop working with Julian Assange’s anti-secrecy site WikiLeaks. AGENCIES

NASA to hire space taxis

But NASA is well aware that American astronauts can’t keep hitching a ride on Russian spacecraft for the rest of the ISS s projected 9 year lifespan. In a draft solicitation issued by the government on Monday, NASA announced that the agency will be accepting bids from private companies to act as extraterrestrial taxis.

NASA is offering $1.6 billion in federal funding to help the company or companies develop a complete system, from mission control to launch structures to the vehicles themselves. Currently NASA funding helps support four privately-owned companies: Boeing, SpaceX, Sierra Nevada Corp, and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos  company, Blue Origin.

At the moment, the Russian spaceflight program is a glaring single point of failure for the ISS, as highlighted last month when a cargo ship failed to reach orbit in a launch accident. Such incidents cause NASA s commercial spaceflight development director Phil McAlister to worry “Every year we do not have a commercial crew capability, the station is at risk.”

Google begins Amazon River Street View project

Google is expanding its Street View service into some of the world s most remote places. It will photograph the Amazon and Rio Negro Rivers of northwest Brazil in partnership with charity Foundation for a Sustainable Amazon (FAS). Google will train local people to collect images, and will leave behind equipment so work continues long-term.

Pictures will be stitched together so users can explore 360-degree panoramics of the area. FAS approached Google two years ago with the plan to digitize high-quality images from the Amazon basin to demonstrate the effects of poor global sustainability efforts and widespread deforestation on the landscape. FAS project leader Gabriel Ribenboim said: “It is very important to show the world not only the environment and the way of life of the traditional population, but to sensitize the world to the challenges of climate change, deforestation and combating poverty.”

For Google, the project represents the biggest challenge for their Street View equipment, which was first designed to work over well-maintained, modern roads. Google s engineers will use the Street View “trike”, originally developed to reach off road areas – such as Stone Henge and Kew Gardens.

Swiss bank freezes the accounts of Wikileaks’ founder

In a latest setback to Wikileaks founder, Julian Assange, the PostFinance bank of Switzerland has frozen his accounts.

The whistle-blowing website said the freeze includes a defence fund and personal assets worth 31,000 euros.

Wikileaks published hundreds of secret US diplomatic cables, angering the US government and triggering moves by several companies including PayPal and Amazon to end their services.

Meanwhile, a warrant for Mr Assange’s arrest has reached the UK authorities. Swedish prosecutors want to question Mr. Assange in connection with allegations of rape, which he denies.

He is believed to be hiding somewhere in south-east England. Once the police have located him, he would be expected to appear at a magistrate’s court within 24 hours, pending extradition to Sweden.

Black Friday 2010 Ads

The Black Friday 2010 ads are starting to come out and it seems like there are going to be top sales for big discounts this year!

With the economy still down and unemployment still rampant, it’s no doubt that many people will be trying to take advantage of the HUGE discounts that Black Friday brings with it.

Some of the biggest retailers are already releasing their Black Friday ads 2010 and it seems like this year will be no exception to the savings.

It is reported that Amazon will already start some Black Friday sales on their site as soon as the first week of November.

Many are hoping to get top gadgets such as iPhones, iPads, mp3 players, gaming consoles, phones and cameras with the big Black Friday 2010 sales events!

The Pre-Thanksgiving and Black Friday deals were unveiled today and some stores are even going to an all-out 4 day sales event. We will update you as more information comes on where to get the best Black Friday 2010 savings and discounts! We will also let you know when the new Black Friday 2010 ads come out to inform you of their vital Black Friday 2010 savings information.

Rescuers hunt for 1300 missing in China landslides

BEIJING: Rescuers armed with little more than shovels searched on Monday for hundreds of people after a torrent of mud engulfed a northwestern Chinese town, tearing down homes, filling the streets with sludge and killing at least 127.

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Rescuers hunt for 1300 missing in China landslides

British man walks entire Amazon river in 2 yrs

MARUDA: After 859 days, thousands of miles and 50,000 mosquito bites, Ed Stafford intends to be the first man known to have walked the entire length of the Amazon river when the waves of the Atlantic Ocean lap his feet in northern Brazil on Monday.

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British man walks entire Amazon river in 2 yrs

Part of Karakoram Road to be closed at 6pm today

HUNZA: The portion of Karakoram Highway that lies between Hunza and Gilgit, would be blocked from 6pm today, Geo News quoted DC Hunza as saying Thursday.

US gives Pakistan $288m under security fund

KARACHI: The United States has released $288 million to Pakistan for some of the costs incurred last year in military operations against Taliban militants, a U.S. embassy statement said.

The funds are part of the Coalition Support Fund (CSF), a U.S. programme to reimburse countries that have incurred costs supporting counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations.

Pakistan, a vital ally for the United States as it struggles to stabilise Afghanistan and end the global threat posed by al Qaeda and its allies, has been heavily burdened by the cost of battling Taliban insurgents along its Afghan border.

“This is in addition to the more than $1.2 billion in reimbursements already transferred to Pakistan this year by the U.S. government under the Coalition Support Fund (CSF),” the statement, released late on Wednesday, said.

The U.S. released $656 million earlier this month.

The central bank said on Thursday that it had not received the money yet.

The United States has reimbursed Pakistan $7.4 billion under the CSF programme since 2001, the embassy said in a statement, adding that it has provided more than $11 billion to Pakistan in security assistance and CSF reimbursements, the statement said.

Nuclear-armed Pakistan says the war on militancy had cost it $35 billion in the last eight years.

12 dead, dozens missing after Peru ferry sinks

LIMA: At least 12 people have drowned after a ferry sank in the Amazon River near Peru”s border with Colombia, but officials warned the toll would likely rise when recovery efforts restart at dawn Thursday.

The ship Camila carrying more than 140 passengers from the river port city of Iquitos in northwest Peru sank early Wednesday morning, and the toll rose steadily through the day as bodies were recovered from the boat and river.

“The death toll rose from five to 12, but tomorrow there could be more deaths (recorded) because there are still many missing,” Robert Falcon, head of the region”s civil defense force, told reporters.

The Peruvian Navy has joined Coast Guard operations in the search for at least 30 people who remain missing, according to local media reports.

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