Motorola XOOM Camera Kit Available for $19.99, Support Coming Through Update
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Nikon Image Authentication
Researchers crack Nikon image authentication system
Posted on 28 April 2011.
Credibility of photographic evidence may be extremely important in a variety of situations. Courts, news agencies and insurance companies may accept digitally signed photographs as valid evidence. If such evidence is forged, consequences can be severe. The most famous fakes include cases of fraud committed by enthusiast photographers, photo journalists, editors, political parties, and even the US Army.ElcomSoft researched Nikon’s Image Authentication System, a secure suite validating if an image has been altered since capture, and discovered a major vulnerability in the manner the secure image signing key is being handled. In turn, this allowed the company to extract the original signing key from a Nikon camera.
The vulnerability, when exploited, makes it possible to produce manipulated images with a fully valid authentication signature. ElcomSoft was able to successfully extract the original image signing key and produce a set of forged images that successfully pass validation with Nikon Image Authentication Software.
When designing a digital security system, it is essential to equally and properly implement all parts of the system. The entire system is only as secure as its weakest link. In the case of Nikon’s Image Authentication System, the company has not done at least one thing right.
The ultimate vulnerability lies in the way the image signing key is being handled. As the signing cryptographic key is handled inappropriately, it can be extracted from the camera. After obtaining the signing key, one can use it to sign any picture, whether or not it’s been altered, edited, or even computer-generated. The signed image will then successfully pass as a valid, genuine piece when verified by Nikon Image Authentication Software.
The vulnerability exists in all current Nikon cameras supporting Nikon Image Authentication, including Nikon D3X, D3, D700, D300S, D300, D2Xs, D2X, D2Hs, and D200 digital SLRs.
ElcomSoft has notified CERT and Nikon about the issue, and prepared a set of digitally manipulated images passing as originals when verified with Nikon’s secure authentication software. Nikon has provided no response nor expressed any interest in the existence of the issue
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Swiss Virtual Globe..
OpenWebGlobe: Open Source Virtual Globe using WebGL
It looks amazing and it is an open source project (MIT License). It is already very promising for a pre alpha version!
Way too Cool - Android Translates Image of Text
Google Docs gets an Android app, lets you capture text with your phone's camera
Google's had a mobile-friendly version of Google Docs available for some time now, but it's now finally gone the extra step and released a dedicated Android app. That will of course let you access and edit your documents on your smartphone, but the real standout feature is the ability to capture text with your phone's camera and have it instantly made editable thanks to some optical character recognition. Google notes that won't work with handwriting or some fonts, but it promises it will get better over time. Hit up Android Market to try it out for yourself.
>> Way cool... hope the Army IT group adds this quickly to their emerging move to handheld com..
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Lightroom gets its Lens Adjusted...
Adobe updates Lightroom, Camera RAW, revamps support
Adobe has updated Lightroom to version 3.4 and Camera RAW to version 6.4, bringing RAW file support for 13 recent and popular camera models along with more than 25 new lens profiles for automatic distortion and chromatic aberration correction. Both programs also address issues reported by customers of previous releases, and Adobe has decided to integrate the Get Satisfaction community and support techologies into Photoshop.com, allowing users to post feedback and requests across all of Adobe's Digital Imaging product line....Army going Wireless.. someday?
Army tests comprehensive plan for wireless services
Approach addresses security, apps issues for soldier smart phones
It’s been no secret that the Army has plans to issue smart phones to its soldiers. The service is also the lead agency in an effort to greatly increase wireless services, either through smart phones or tablet computers, across the Defense Department.Speaking April 14 at a conference hosted by the Association for Federal Information Resource Management in Washington, D.C., a DOD official highlighted some of the aspects of the Army’s wireless efforts being managed through Army Knowledge Online, which runs the primary portal that allows Army personnel to access information from military networks.
Related Stories
In 2008, the Army wanted to expand AKO and looked at mobile applications as one solution, said Air Force Lt. Col. Anmy Torres, director of Secure Go Mobile at the Defense Information Systems Agency. Her group represents all mobile customers in the portal.
AKO examined how to put mobility into the portal with commercial applications. The service has already approved and certified Windows Mobile 6.5 and 7.0 applications for use, said Torres, who is the only Air Force officer on the AKO staff. Users also wanted iPads and other types of devices, she said. The Army is negotiating with the other services for the broader use of wireless devices and applications.
The Army also is leading efforts to use commercial devices in DOD. One challenge is securing wireless devices. The service has been meeting since 2010 to mitigate security risks. The AKO can lock down BlackBerrys that have been lost or stolen and the goal is to now apply similar requirements for other handhelds, Torres said.
To support additional mobility, Army Go Mobile had to make changes to its back end by modifying its servers. One of the challenges facing the effort was the need for the system to identify specific mobile devices and applications. Because of security concerns, it was necessary to ensure that devices could not be compromised.
One of the AKO’s needs is to identify a device in the right price range that it can widely issue to personnel while ensuring security and integrity. Creating the back end for the system was the easy part, Torres said. The challenge is integrating in all the other tools, applications and devices within budget limitations.
The Army’s Go Mobile effort is now undergoing a limited deployment. AKO has teams trying to break into the system’s software container, an application that is encrypted and smart-card accessed on a soldier’s smart phone or tablet computer, Torres said. When a container is open, all other applications are locked down. When the container is closed, the device’s civilian applications can be used. If the device is compromised, it will not work because no container data is stored in the device.
Part of the limited deployment is a risk assessment effort. Security gaps exist in the Android and iPhone devices now in use, Torres said. The Army also is leading DOD with its testing and deployment of these devices, she added. The AKO helped DISA develop the Army’s Android standard, which will soon be ready for release.
Besides the Army, Torres said the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is working with other organizations in DOD to use iPads to replace the bulky notebooks officials use in classified meetings. DARPA removed the Bluetooth device in the iPad, which prevents them from transmitting data, but left the tablets otherwise unmodified.
Army Apps... Kicking Butt with Andorid ... someday?
First Look: Inside the Army’s App Store for War
from Danger Room by Spencer Ackerman
If all of the bureaucratic and security hurdles can be overcome, the Army will soon launch its version of an app store, where soldiers can download Army-relevant software to their work computers and — with a little luck — mobile phones. This is what its homepage will look like.
Called Army Marketplace, it’ll start off featuring the few dozen applications that soldiers created last year during the Apps for the Army contest. Those early efforts ran the gamut from workout guides to digitized manuals for standard Army tasks. So far, there are 17 apps for Android phones and another 16 for iPhones.
But the Army Marketplace will do more than sell existing apps. It’ll help generate ideas for new ones, says Lt. Col. Gregory Motes, chief of the Army’s new Mobile Applications Branch. Imagine that a soldier wants an app instructing how to call for artillery fire, and the app doesn’t exist yet. The soldier would post a description of what she needs on a Marketplace forum, attracting discussion from fellow soldiers and potential designers.
If other troops can’t home-brew a solution, the Army would open a bidding or contracting process from would-be vendors who’ve expressed interest on the thread. Ideally, the app would be available on Marketplace not long thereafter, with a nominal purchase price, a la the App Store or Android Market.
“It’d use an agile software-development process, to close with the vendor and try to quickly turn these apps around,” Motes tells Danger Room. “The current process of software creation [in the Army] is a very long and arduous process. That’s how we do things. But app development needs to be done quickly.”
You’ll have to be a member of the Department of Defense community to see the store and access its wares. It’ll be hosted on a secure DOD server and require a username and password from intranets like Army Knowledge Online. Eventually, Marketplace will become an app of its own, loadable onto the forthcoming Army-issued smartphone so users aren’t tied to a website. Marketplace isn’t meant for the general public — which creates problems for how it interacts with smartphones. (More on that in a moment.)
Army Marketplace’s designers are also working on personalized user pages to facilitate the app exchange. On them, customers announce their needed apps, propose new ones, and exchange criticism. On the right hand side of that inside page are auto-generated lists of “Top Ideas” and “Top Projects” that others have generated. (That’s a screenshot of a personalized page, above.)
Army brass like Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the vice chief of staff often seen thumbing like mad on his iPhone 4, view apps as a game-changing approach to pushing information down to the lowest ranks and exponentially increasing the Army’s ability to learn and adapt. So the service has set up new shops — like Motes’ parent organization, called Connecting Soldiers to Digital Applications — inside the Army’s Training and Doctrine Command, to help generate an ecosystem of military-friendly applications.
Eventually, the Army will host apps that track the location of friendly forces or map out wartime terrain or translate foreign languages. Software writers and defense companies have already created all of those. On top of that, the Army will launch its second Apps for the Army contest later this year as a way to generate both more apps and a constituency for them inside the service.
There’s just one small problem. The government hasn’t certified any single mobile device as secure enough to receive data from its networks. If all goes according to plan, the Army will unveil Marketplace in August, at theLandWarNet convention. That’ll mean whatever applications are currently available could be easily sent to a soldier’s work computer — which doesn’t really help, given the whole idea is to allow mobile access to the corpus of Army information.
The Army’s now testing Google’s Android OS to power its first smartphone prototype. That’s made by MITRE, the federally funded defense consultancy. Other defense companies use Android’s open architecture as the backbone of their own mobile devices that they’d like to sell the Army, such as Raytheon’s RATS and General Dynamics’ GD300. But the Army isn’t near close to settling on an operating system or a mobile device for its ultimate goal of requiring soldiers to carry a smartphone just as they carry a rifle.
And no Android phone has so much as started going through the process of having the National Institute of Standards and Technology certify it as secure-enough to host government data. The iPhone has started the process, Motes says, but is still months away from finishing it.
That’s why government BlackBerries can process someone’s official mail and do practically nothing else a civilian smartphone does. As of now, “we don’t have a solution for authenticating applications or secure websites,” Motes says.
How long until a phone receives certification? “An optimist might say 12 months,” Motes assesses, but being pragmatic, it’s further down the road.”
Until then, Marketplace will be a good place to download web apps and dream up apps of the future. It won’t be useful for loading up your phone with Army apps.
But it’s possible, Motes says, that “commanders can take risks” if they can convince the Army there’s a pressing need in a “tactical environment” for skipping certification. Welcome to the laborious process of getting the Army prepared for the day when every soldier is required to carry a secured smartphone.
That’s not the only challenge. Congress’ inability to pass a budget for months set back the apps program. A LandWarNet debut for Marketplace remains the goal, Motes says, and “if they don’t announce at LandWarNet, then it’s just a big sigh.” Another headache is securing the apps themselves, a process of going through code “line by line” looking for potential security flaws, which “is gonna drive us crazy.”
But at least Motes is convinced that at the end of this process is an agile website and mobile portal that will connect soldiers to apps that will let them do their jobs better. It’s a lot more functional and intuitive than the laughable attempt at a placeholder homepage for the Apps for the Army results, called Storefront, currently hosted at storefront.mil/army:
Motes sums up Storefront in one word: “Busted.” Now to see if Marketplace will fix it.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Nielsen: Android Runs On 37% Of All US Smartphones And 50% Of All New Smartphones Sold
NielsenWire has released yet another one of their bar and pie chart-filled smartphone surveys for the US this morning, and it’s just more good news for Android. Here’s a quick breakdown of some of the key stats Nielsen compiled:
- Android now represents 37% of all US smartphones
- 50% of smartphones sold in the month of March were Android phones
- 31% of consumers said their next purchase will be an Android phone, compared to 26% one year ago. Android now leads iOS here as well (iOS accounts for 30%, down from 33%)
- 20% of consumers don’t
Hardened Android from Casio
Casio G’z0ne Also Announced, Headed to Verizon April 28 for $199
VERIZON WIRELESS AND CASIO INTRODUCE THE CASIO G’ZONE COMMANDOFirst Ruggedized Android Smartphone for Verizon WirelessBASKING RIDGE, N.J. – Verizon Wireless and Casio today announced a new addition to the rugged wireless category and a new Android-powered smartphone in the marketplace, the CASIO G’zOne Commando™. Deployment ready, the Commando is a mobile office with high security features for secure corporate email; Wi-Fi for high-speed Web access; XT9 and T9 trace input for efficient typing; and snap-out menu for customized access to high-use applications.
Designed to withstand the most extreme conditions, the CASIO G’zOne Commando easily transitions from work to play with advanced G’zGEAR software. As the ultimate outdoor tool in a mobile device, G’zGEAR operates in eight modes to enhance the active, adventure-driven lifestyle. With the help of its Triple Sensor technology utilizing direction, acceleration and temperature, G’zGEAR enables adventurers to perform at their peak.
The Casio Commando is ideal for the business environment, especially for fields such as construction, transportation, manufacturing, utilities and healthcare. Workers in hazardous environments, such as construction sites, warehouses and factory floors, need a smartphone that has the capability to download blueprints, files and pictures; update project plans; access field force management, inventory access and corporate applications; and capture signatures.
Key features:
Lifestyle features:
- Android™ 2.2
- Meets Military Standards 810G for Immersion, Rain, Shock and Dust Resistant, Vibration, Salt Fog, Humidity, Solar Radiation, Altitude, Low and High Temperature Storage
- 5-megapixel camera with auto-focus, still photo, video capture, LED light
- High-security encryption for corporate email
- Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n connectivity
- Stereo Bluetooth™
- VZ Navigator® for GPS and audible turn-by-turn directions
- Mobile Hotspot capable-share 3G connection with up to five Wi-Fi-enabled devices
o Earth Compass – Functions as a standard compass, the GPS shows the distance and direction to several domestic and international landmarks, including Yosemite National Park and Mt. Everest.
- G’zGear operates in eight modes
o Walking Counter – Measures steps, distance and energy consumption, and total steps for the day, week or month. It also provides virtual treks for famous North American trails and roads including Mt. Kilimanjaro, Annapurna Circuit, Torres Del Paine Circuit, John Muir Trail and Transcontinental
o Adventure Training – Takes training to a new level by allowing users to run with virtual opponents, like world-record holders, wild animals, or their own best personal performance stored in the training history.
o Trip Memory – Plots and records outdoor activities along with location information to share with friends and family on Twitter™ and Facebook®.
o Tides – Showcases the tidal graph for the day; time of tide ebb and flow; and current, past and future sea tide levels. GPS displays the nearest location map.
o Thermometer – Displays current temperature in both Celsius and Fahrenheit with numeric and graphic thermometer readings and compares the current temperature across multiple locations.
o Sun / Moon – Checks the time of the next sunrise, sunset, moonrise and moonset, and tracks the moon phases for your current location.
o Star Gazer – Utilizes GPS to display the stars and constellation names based on the current season and time.
Pricing and availability:
For more information on the CASIO G’zOne Commando or for other Verizon Wireless products and services, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go towww.verizonwireless.com. Customers can visit www.CasioGzOne.com to experience the CASIO G’zOne Commando.
- The CASIO G’zOne Commando will be available online at www.verizonwireless.com on April 28 for $199.99 with a new two-year customer agreement. CASIO G’zOne Commando customers will need to subscribe to a data plan. Unlimited data plans are available to customers starting at $29.99 monthly access.
- Business customers who want to purchase the device can contact their Business Sales Representatives at 1-800-VZW-4BIZ.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Android Army
The Army's first smartphone? Android, of course
This news comes just about when (according to the timeline set forth by Sarah Connor in "The Terminator" franchise) the world-dominating, human-exterminating computer network Skynet becomes self aware.
I'm sure that's just a coincidence. Wired's Danger Room blog reports, "A prototype device running Android called the Joint Battle Command-Platform (JBC-P Handheld), developed by tech nonprofit MITRE, is undergoing tests."
This platform will allow soldiers to quickly and (hopefully) securely share geotagged notes about obstacles they encounter on the ground. It will also support mapping, critical messaging and other support functions.
The Army announcement explained that the JBC-P Handheld is an "Android-based smartphone framework and suite of applications for tactical operations. ... Applications will be secure and interoperable with existing mission command systems so information flows seamlessly across all echelons of the force."
Third-party developers will be building apps and services for this Army smartphone. In July, the Army will release a development kit for the platform.
The Army wants applications that share data and resources across the platform, to avoid the "stovepiping" problems that have plagued so many military and government information technology projects.
Systems integration is key: It could allow soldiers on the ground to fine-tune targeting for missiles and other munitions, as well as request specific aerial drone or satellite reconnaissance. It might also borrow from supply-chain software to manage requests for equipment and supplies. And it could support or enhance field medical treatment, as well as all kinds of in-field training.
Rather than sign up for thousands of pricey two-year wireless carrier contracts, the JBC-P Handhelds will communicate over several existing military radio networks.
Rather than sign up for thousands of pricey two-year wireless carrier contracts, the JBC-P Handhelds will communicate over several existing military radio networks.
When connected to the radio, the prototype device weighs about 2 pounds. That's considerably heavier than the current heftiest smartphone, the HTC ThunderBolt (6.23 ounces). Still, Wired notes that it's "way lighter than the Nett Warrior suite of sensors, computers, radios and mapping functions -- the Army's program of record for doing much of what a smartphone already does."
Battery technology and power management have been big problems for commercial smartphones. Bright displays (often necessary in full daylight) and GPS are notorious energy vampires that leave many smartphone owners hunting for outlets on a daily basis.
In the field, military smartphones would require far more power than commercial models, and they'd have to operate for much longer periods. It'll be interesting to see what battery and charging options (including possibly solar and hand-crank) are supplied with these new Army phones.
Also, military smartphones must be far more rugged than commercial models, able to withstand sand, dust, water, temperature extremes, impact, concussion and more. Microphones that don't get destroyed by loud blasts will be crucial, as will noise filtering for incoming and outgoing audio (something most commercial smartphones generally do poorly).
The Army did not specify whether the phones will come with unlimited text messaging. I hope a remote wipe service comes standard.
iPhone/Android Tracking You? I wonder Why?
Jobs: Claims about iOS tracking are 'false'
updated 10:55 am EDT, Mon April 25, 2011
Android simultaneously guilty, says CEO
The iPhone doesn't track a person's location, but Android phones do, claims Apple CEO Steve Jobs. An email sent by a MacRumors reader asks the executive to "explain the necessity of the passive location-tracking tool" in iOS devices. "It’s kind of unnerving knowing that my exact location is being recorded at all times. Maybe you could shed some light on this for me before I switch to a Droid. They don’t track me," the reader goes on.
"Oh yes they do," reads Jobs' response. "We don’t track anyone. The info circulating around is false."
A problem in Jobs' statement is that iOS 4 is now known to be saving imprecise location data to a local file on iPhones and 3G iPads. The data is moreover saved on a person's computer and ported between devices via iTunes. Jobs may, however, be referring to a more active form of tracking revealed by analyst Samy Kamkar, who recently noted that Android is not only transmitting expected location data but also a hardware identifier and the location and quality of nearby Wi-Fi hotspots.
Google has denied that its phones are archiving location data without consent. "Any location data that is sent back to Google location servers is anonymized and is not tied or traceable to a specific user," the company says. It may however be theoretically possible for a third party to access the data and use it to identify a person
A problem in Jobs' statement is that iOS 4 is now known to be saving imprecise location data to a local file on iPhones and 3G iPads. The data is moreover saved on a person's computer and ported between devices via iTunes. Jobs may, however, be referring to a more active form of tracking revealed by analyst Samy Kamkar, who recently noted that Android is not only transmitting expected location data but also a hardware identifier and the location and quality of nearby Wi-Fi hotspots.
Google has denied that its phones are archiving location data without consent. "Any location data that is sent back to Google location servers is anonymized and is not tied or traceable to a specific user," the company says. It may however be theoretically possible for a third party to access the data and use it to identify a person
Read more: http://www.electronista.com/articles/11/04/25/android.simultaneously.guilty.says.ceo/#ixzz1KYQaDZlU
PlaceIQ’s Location-Aware Advertising Can Target You Block By Block
It used to be that all a marketer needed to know was your zipcode, and they could infer your income range and a whole host of other demographic data about you. But with everyone now using mobile phones that can be targeted down to exact GPS coordinates at different times of the day, areas bounded by zipcodes seem vast in comparison. Imagine if instead marketers could break up the world into 100 million different tiles, each one about the size of a city block, and infer everything from what types of people are likely to be found in that tile at any given time. That’s basically what mobile advertising data startup PlaceIQ is setting out to do.
Mobile advertising inventory still goes largely unfilled because the relevance and targeting isn’t that good. PlaceIQ sifts through tons of data about locations to give marketers a mini-zipcode-like profile of each block. The data comes from both open sources and commercial data sets, including place data, retail data, government data, event data, photo data, social data, and, crime data. This goes well beyond Facebook, Twitter, and Foursquare, but the company says it doesn’t use any personally identifiable information. Rather, it is making assumptions based on the contextual cues of a person’s location and time of day.
It takes all of these various hyper-local data sources and maps it onto its 100 million map tiles. Then it normalizes the data and can guess what type of person is likely to be at that location at that time (a student, tourist, shopper, financial or tech worker, etc). It can also spit out information such as retail sales volume, events, foot traffic by time, and social media activity. And once people start responding to ads, it can fold in ad conversion dat aas well. The goal to give marketers the ability to target different mobile ads to students out drinking at night and financial employees working during the day.
Backed with $1 million in angel money from IA Ventures, Howard Lindzon’s Social Leverage and hedge fund manager Jim Pallota, PlaceIQ launched late last week. It is working with partners such as Where (which was justbought by eBay), Navteq, Admeld, and ad agencies such as Havas / Mobext, Integer, and Communefx.
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