Medical devices vulnerable to hackers
Thousands of critical medical systems, such as MRI machines, are available for hackers to access online, according to researchers.
Some 68,000 medical systems from a large unnamed US health group have been exposed, they said.
Security researchers Scott Erven and Mark Collao presented their findings at hacker conference Derbycon.
They also revealed that they had created fake medical devices which attracted thousands of hackers.
Interfaces connected to medical systems were available via search engine Shodan, the researchers told conference-goers.
The researchers used Shodan - a search engine specifically for internet-connected devices - to look for exposed software from a range of health treatment providers, such as radiology and paediatric clinics, as well as one large healthcare organisation.
They told tech news website the Register that they ended up with "thousands of mis-configurations and direct attack vectors".
Hospitals whose networking equipment and administrative computers were exposed online risked attacks and the exposure of patient data, they said.
Such information would allow attackers to build up details on health organizations, including exact information about where medical devices were housed, they added.
Then it would be a case of "crafting an email and sending it to the guy who has access to that device with a payload that will run on the machine", Mr Collao said.
Presenting their findings at hacking conference Derbycon, the researchers said they had reported dozens of vulnerabilities to big-name medical device manufacturers over the last year.
The pair also ran an experiment to illustrate how hackers were already targeting medical devices.
For six months, they ran fake MRI and defibrillator machines in the form of software which mimicked the real devices.
The two fake machines attracted tens of thousands of login attempts and some 299 attempts to download malware, the researchers said.
The fact that their "honeypot" devices attracted so much interest suggests that medical devices are a target for hackers, said security researcher Ken Munro.
He emphasised the need to make the real-life versions more secure.
"Medical devices should not be available on the public internet. They should be behind multiple layers of protection," he said.
"Based on their research, we can see that hackers will have a go at devices that are clearly critical medical systems. That is scary, if unsurprising.
"What is even scarier is that the research shows that some medical devices have already been compromised."
Source-BBC
Jack Warner banned for life from football activities
Former Fifa vice-president Jack Warner has been banned from football for life.
The 72-year-old Trinidadian is the former head of Caribbean and North and Central American football (Concacaf), but quit Fifa in 2011.
He is fighting extradition to the US on corruption charges and denies accepting millions of dollars in bribes.
Warner committed "many and various acts of misconduct continuously and repeatedly" said the football world governing body's ethics committee.
Fifa's ruling follows its own investigation into the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, which began looking at Warner's activities in January 2015.
On Tuesday, Fifa said Warner had been found guilty of violating the organization's code of ethics several times.
A statement read: "In his positions as a football official, he was a key player in schemes involving the offer, acceptance, and receipt of undisclosed and illegal payments, as well as other money-making schemes."
Source-BBC
Jah Cure arrested in T&T
Jah Cure is the latest Jamaican artiste to face legal troubles in Trinidad and Tobago.
Yesterday, the singer appeared in court in the country's capital, Port of Spain, to answer charges of accepting money to perform there and not showing up.
The 36-year-old singer (real name Siccature Alcock) was arrested by marshals of the Port of Spain High Court shortly after completing his performance at the O2 Park in Chaguaramas on Sunday night.
According to the Trinidad and Tobago Guardian newspaper, after lengthy discussions between Jah Cure's lawyer Mario Merritt and attorneys for the local promoter whom he owes over TT$83,000 in performance fees, the artiste was allowed to go free.
The newspaper said Jah Cure paid US$6000 in cash to the court and agreed to pay the remainder Monday evening.
In July, deejay Busy Signal was arrested by police before performing in Port of Spain. A promoter sought emergency court intervention for him not honouring a concert date which left the promoter US$37,000 in debt.
Busy Signal negotiated an agreement with the authorities and was allowed to leave the country.
Source-Jamaica Observer
US Coast Guard seized $41M in drugs in Caribbean Sea
The United States Coast Guard says it seized about $41 million worth of cocaine and marijuana during two recent operations in the Caribbean Sea.
On Tuesday morning, officials will offload about 1,100 kilograms of cocaine and 4,420 pounds of marijuana at the Coast Guard Station Miami Beach.
The drugs were seized during operations to stop the flow of illegal drugs from South America.
In one case, a Coast Guard aircraft located a suspicious go-fast boat near the Dominican Republic on September 20. The agency's cutter Richard Dixon responded and seized the vessel after suspects tossed four packages into the water. Multiple packages were also found on board. The Coast Guard recovered 49 bales of marijuana.
The suspected smugglers have been transferred to US authorities for prosecution.
Source-AP
Tropical depression 11 forms in Atlantic
An eleventh tropical depression has formed in the Atlantic but the Meteorological (Met) Service of the Bahamas says the system is no threat to the territory at this time.
According to a release from the Met Service this morning, the tropical depression remains poorly organized with maximum sustained winds near 55 kilometres per hour with higher gusts.
Some strengthening is possible during the next couple of days, and the cyclone could become a tropical storm by Friday, it added.
JOAQUIN is moving westward with no change in strength, at 5am the center of Tropical of Tropical Storm JOAQUIN was located near latitude 26.6°North and longitude 70.6°West or about 385 miles northeast of the central Bahamas.
JOAQUIN is moving toward the West moving toward the west near 5mph and this general motion is expected to continue through Wednesday. A decrease in forward speed and a turn toward the the west-northwest are forecast Wednesday night.
Maximum sustained winds are near 40mph with higher gusts. Slow strengthening is forecast during the next 48 hours.
The depression is moving toward the west near 4 km/h and meteorologists predict a gradual turn toward the northwest by Tuesday morning. This general motion should continue through Wednesday, the release said.
British PM comes today, Japanese tomorrow
British Prime Minister David Cameron is scheduled to arrive in the island this afternoon for a one-day official visit during which he will engage in a flurry of State-planned activities in the nation’s capital, Kingston.
Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller will hold bilateral talks with Cameron at Jamaica House shortly after his arrival, following which a joint press statement will be issued. Simpson Miller will also host the British prime minister at a reception at Vale Royal later in the evening.
Tomorrow Prime Minister Cameron will participate in a wreath-laying ceremony at the cenotaph at the National Heroes Park, followed by a special joint sitting of the Houses of Parliament, where he will make a statement, after which he will depart the island.
Shortly after Cameron’s departure, Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe will arrive at the Norman Manley International Airport, and will inspect a guard of honour before leaving for National Heroes Park where he will also participate in a wreath-laying ceremony.
He, too, will have bilateral discussions with Prime Minister Simpson Miller at Jamaica House, where a joint statement will be issued to the press. Prime Minister Abe is also scheduled to tour the world-famous Bob Marley Museum.
He will depart on Thursday October 1. Political historian Troy Caine told the Jamaica Observer yesterday that Prime Minister Cameron's visit is of “supreme importance” to Jamaica at this time for its impact on foreign affairs, trade, and other socio-economic factors.
“It's always interesting and important when the prime minister of a First World country and member of the G8 visits Jamaica,” he remarked.
Caine said what he finds particularly interesting is that Cameron, who leads a conservative party, which would be the equivalent of the Jamaica Labour Party is coming to Jamaica as the guest of the Government which is formed by a socialist party, or the UK's centre-left Labour Party equivalent.
“We look forward to the trip,” he said. The most recent sitting UK prime minister to visit the island was Tony Blair in July 2001.
Source-Jamaica Observer
Obama and Putin's First Formal Meeting in Two Years Described as "Businesslike" Despite Tensions
President Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin met Monday for their first formal meeting in two years amid new tensions in recent weeks between the already-adversarial world leaders.
While the meeting was reportedly scheduled for only an hour, it dragged on more than 30 minutes longer than expected. Putin emerged, telling reporters that it was constructive and "businesslike," while Obama offered no immediate comments. A senior White House official told reporters after the meeting that it was "businesslike," "productive" and "focused," though the two leaders still fundamentally disagreed on the role Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would play in solving the conflict in the war-torn country.
While the world won’t likely be privy to all of details of their conversation at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City, the international community received a short preview in the leaders' dueling speeches earlier Monday. Obama generated shaking heads from the Russian delegation after blaming the country for helping to prop up the “butchery” by Assad against his people.
He also defended the heavy package of sanctions still being levied against Russia for its annexation of Crimea and involvement in the Ukraine conflict. As for Putin, he dismissed the United States’ program to train Syrian rebels as both illegal in nature and ineffective, claiming that the only military presence actually battling against ISIS are Assad’s forces.
Source-ABC
Fifa corruption: Jack Warner extradition proceedings approved
US extradition proceedings against Jack Warner, a former vice-president of football's world governing body Fifa, are to go ahead after being approved by Trinidad's attorney general.
The US wants to try Mr Warner, 72, a Trinidadian national, on corruption charges. He is accused of accepting millions of dollars in bribes.
He and 13 other current or former Fifa officials were indicted in May.
He denies the charges and is currently fighting the extradition attempt.
Last week, Switzerland approved the extradition of ex-Fifa Vice-President Eugenio Figueredo to the US.
Mr Figueredo, from Uruguay, was arrested in May while in Switzerland for a Fifa congress.
So far, only one arrested official - former Fifa Vice-President Jeffrey Webb, from the Cayman Islands - has agreed to be extradited.
After being extradited from Switzerland to the US, Mr Webb pleaded not guilty to accepting bribes worth millions of dollars in connection with the sale of marketing rights.
He was placed under house arrest on $10m (£6.4m) bail by a New York judge.
Source-BBC
Coca-Cola Says IRS Demanding $3.3B in Taxes
Coca-Cola Co. says it has received notice from the Internal Revenue Service that it owes about $3.3 billion in extra taxes, plus interest.
In a securities filing, the soft drink giant said Friday that it was fighting the huge bill.
Coke said the dispute relates to how it reports income from foreign licensing of manufacturing, distribution, sale, marketing and promotion of products in overseas markets.
The company said it had followed the methodology for the licenses outlined in a 1996 agreement with the IRS.
It said the IRS had given little warning of the claim before issuing it, and had already told Coca-Cola it was weighing going to court to collect the funds.
"The company firmly believes that the assessments are without merit and plans to pursue all administrative and judicial remedies necessary to resolve this matter," Coke said in the filing.
Skype Glitch Prevents Some Users From Making Calls
Skype, Microsoft Corp's online telephone and video service, said some users are unable to make calls on Monday because their settings show they and their contacts are off line, even when they are logged in.
In an updated blog post, Skype also said some messages to group chats are not being delivered and that users who are not already signed in may face difficulty while accessing their accounts.
Skype added that users could experience delays in seeing changes made to their accounts, such as credit balance and profile details.
Users also may face difficulty loading web pages on the Skype Community, the company said in a blog post. In an earlier post, Skype had said its instant messaging and Skype for Web services were not facing technical issues.