Virgin has announced an October launch for its Lobster 700TV handset, which can receive video and radio over the Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) network.

BT has been trying to generate interest in broadcasting video to mobile phones over DAB for a few years now, but the logistics of designing a compatible handset and negotiating for content have put off most network operators; until now.

DAB is a technology well-suited to integration into a phone: it was designed for low power consumption and for use on mobile devices, and while it does need an external antenna, the use of the headset wire makes the experience the same as using an FM radio on a normal handset.

Read More : The Register - BT and Virgin announce broadcast TV over DAB

Anti-virus company F-Secure has posted details of a Windows virus which can use a Symbian handset to transport itself between systems. The Mobler worm infects a Windows system, hides the Windows folder and sets about copying itself into different directories and on to any removable media available.

It also creates a Symbian installation file which, if executed by an unwary user, installs a copy of the virus onto any removable media on the handset. Once there it depends on a curious user to execute it when attached to another computer.

In many ways this is a blast from the past in terms of virus design: when a virus would copy itself into an application and rely on that application being moved between systems. Indeed; on systems which have floppy drives Mobler will repeatedly attempt to copy itself onto a disk even if there isn’t one present, the sounds of which should present a clue that something is amiss. In these days when infection can follow opening a dodgy e-mail or just visiting the wrong web site, it’s harking back to simpler times to require the user to actually execute the infection themselves.

But apparently F-Secure received a copy of Mobler from an infected customer, so normal warnings apply: keep anti-virus software up to date, don’t open dodgy e-mails and, additionally, don’t run applications which suddenly appear on your removable media.

Source : The Register - Symbian phones targeted as carriers for Windows worm

“The European Commission has opened a public consultation on the use of surveillance technology in civil society.

At the initiative’s heart is the desire to work with industry to create more and better surveillance systems that it can use to monitor the public in order to prevent terrorist attacks.

The EC Directorate-General for Justice, Freedom and Security said in a statement it would publish a green paper*, inviting consultation on “what role the Union could play in order to foster detection technologies in the service of the security of its citizens”.

The green paper was drawn up from the results of a conference of “major European business” and the public sector last November, called the Public-Private Security Dialogue: Detection Technologies and Associated Technologies in the Fight against Terrorism……”

Read more at : The Register - Tell the EC about surveillance

On September 2, 2006 a revised version of the NSA Central Security Service policy 1-23 was noticed to contain the following allowances which clearly breach the freedoms of American Citizens…

(S/SI) Foreign communications of, or concerning, United States persons that are intercepted by the United States Signals Intelligence System may be retained in their original form or as transcribed only:

(a) if processed so as to eliminate any reference to United States persons;

(b) if necessary to the maintenance of technical data bases. Retention for this purpose is permitted for a period sufficient to allow a thorough exploitation and to permit access to data that are, or are reasonably believed likely to become, relevant to a current or future intelligent requirement. Sufficient duration may vary with the nature of the exploitation. In the context of a cryptanalytic effort, sufficient duration may consist of a period of time during which encrypted material is subject to, or of use in, cryptanalysis. In the case of international commercial communications that may contain the identity of United States persons and that are not enciphered or otherwise thought to contain secret meaning, sufficient duration is one year unless the Deputy Director for Operations, National Security Agency, determines in writing that retention for a longer period is required to respond   to authorized foreign intelligence or counterintelligence requirements;

D. (C) Signals Intelligence: Search and Development.

The United States Signals Intelligence System may conduct search and development activities with respect to signals throughout the radio spectrum under thefollowing limitations:

1. Collection. Signals may be collected only for the purpose of identifying those signals that:

(a) may contain information related to the production of foreign intelligence or counterintelligence;

(b) are enciphered or appear to contain secret meaning;

(c) are necessary to ensure efficient signals intelligence collection or to avoid the collection of unwanted signals; or

(d) reveal vulnerability of United States communications security.

Yesterday BT announced that they are to begin rolling out the successor to the current System X digital telephone system. 21st Century Network, or 21CN, is an Internet Protocol based system that is believed to be the future of UK telecoms. BT have disclosed that they are to run a trial in Cardiff, whereby 10% of users are expected to be using the new 21CN system by March 2007, with the rest of the city migrating to 21CN by 2008. IP based telephony, as a national infrastruture, has been under much scrutiny and its applications under varied opinions. However, offering more features than the current control method and the reduced costs in maintaining such a network, BT plans to convert the rest of its network to 21CN should the trials go well.

Keep watch on 2600uk as we will be producing a small article covering the technology, features and implimentations of the new 21CN system in the near future.

A hacker who broke into the systems of T-Mobile USA and lifted the personal details of around 400 people, including a US Secret Service agent, has escaped imprisonment. Nicholas Lee Jacobsen, 23, was sentenced to one year of home detention and a fine of $10,000 in compensation to T-Mobile over the 2004 attack.

Even though Jacobsen was left able to access personal data held by Special Agent Peter Cavicchia on a sidekick mobile device, the Secret Service is ruling out the possibility that any investigations might have been compromised.

Source : The Register - T-Mobile hacker escapes imprisonment

Brumcon VI is go!
7th October 2006, entry from 11am, talks start 12 noon.

Thistle Birmingham Edgbaston
225 Hagley Road,
Edgbaston,
Birmingham.
B16 9RY

Call For Speakers
If you’re interested in speaking at BrumCon 06 then please contact MinusQ
at brumcon6 at brum2600.net with details of your proposed talk. The length
of the talk will depend on the number of speakers, but generally should
be between 30-60 minutes. If you feel that you need more than an hour,
talk to MinusQ and he’ll arrange something for you :)

Topics of particular interest: Hacking/Security related talks
Phreaking/Telephony related talks Wireless (Bluetooth, GSM, 802.11,
Radio, Satellite) communications.

Full details are here: http://www.brum2600.net/brumcon6/

Ever get annoyed when looking at photos and you just can’t remember where it was taken? Well soon that will be a thing of the past. It’s almost September, the second month of the year when Sony changes its product range. This September sees the release of the GPS-CS1, a 9cm GPS receiver. The idea behind the CS1 is to allow photographers to overlay their images onto the Google maps framework. It does this by synchronising the GPS log file with the timestamp found in your photo’s EXIF metadata.

Updating every 15 seconds, the CS1 records your position via GPS to a plain text log file. Using this data, the photograph’s timestamp and the bundled Picture Motion Browser web software, you can view the exact location where you took the picture, along with a thumbnail of the image itself. Example here: http://www.sony.jp/products/Consumer/Peripheral/GPS/GPS-CS1K/TryMapView/try.html (Internet Explorer Only)

Sony has guaranteed that the unit will work with all Sony cameras released after August, perhaps as the software will start to come in the box. However, providing your camera supports the EXIF 2.1 metadata standard, there is no reason that the software wouldn’t work with your camera.

Sony GPS-CS1 Specification

Of course there are certain privacy issues that come into play when dealing with GPS, and the CS1 is no exception. Get hold of one and you have a full history of where the owners been. Drop one in a bag and you have a relatively cheap surveillance device - perfect for stalking that desired girl or unfaithful partner. The software works with Google maps, meaning the data is being sent over the Internet and available for snoopers to get a hold of and if Google logs, then its trivial for the government to find out where you’ve been and at what time.

The BBC are reporting on the latest advancement in technology - A 110Ghz silicon transistor. By adding flourine to the silicon transisitors, researchers at the University of Southampton managed to greatly improve the speed at which the common transistor is capable of running, making the result a new world record. From the article:

“It just takes a standard technology and adds one extra step……This is a really cheap method.”

The new process is said to be very cheap and easy to impliment, meaning that we should see the new technology in the not too distant future. Ideal implications are in the mobile computing world, with mobile phones and PDA’s at the forefront.

“Complete circuits usually operate at about a tenth of the speed of the component transistors meaning the new devices could allow engineers to build chips that operate at a speed of about 11GHz.”

More Information: BBC News - Speedy silicon sets world record

Irish telecoms regulator, ComReg, recently came under fire from one of the countries biggest cinema groups after it decided that cinemas wishing to implement mobile phone blocking technology would have to acquire the consent of the network operators. Talking on the issue, director of the Irish Cellular Industry Association (ICIA), Tommy McCabe said:

“The use of interceptors would generate significantly greater concerns for users, venues and operators - particularly where public safety is concerned.”

Adding that the issue of mobile phone use in cinemas is one of behavioural rather than regulatory, and should be addressed through education. Further pointing out that nearly all phones have a built in silent mode option that would enable patrons to stay in contact without ruining the experience for others.