Computing Center

Verizon Employees Accessed Obama's Mobile Record

Verizon Wireless has suspended several employees who accessed account information for a flip-phone formerly used by President-elect Barack Obama, the company said in a statement Thursday.

The phone used by Obama was not designed for e-mail or data services and had been inactive for several months, Verizon Wireless said. Recently, Obama has been frequently seen using a BlackBerry.

Black Friday will be Big Despite Bad Economy, Survey Says

Wednesday November 26, 2008

If you're planning to join the 3 a.m. line of bleary-eyed bargain-hunters on Black Friday, expect a lot of competition for those HDTV sets and gaming consoles.

A new Consumer Reports survey shows that 85 percent of Black Friday shoppers plan to purchase tech gear, up from 70 percent a year ago. The most popular items will be mobile phones, video game systems, flat-panel TVs, MP3 players, and home theater equipment.

Obama Will Inherit Cybersecurity Challenges

Wednesday November 26, 2008

As President Bush prepares to leave office, the task of upgrading the security of federal information systems to deal with new cyberthreats continues to be very much a work in progress.

Several key federal cybersecurity initiatives launched during the Bush administration -- some in direct response to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks -- are still years away. A few other initiatives are closer to completion but still don't do enough to protect federal networks and systems against increasingly sophisticated attacks from cybercriminals and nation states.

Teenager Pleads Guilty to Botnet, 'Swatting' Charges

Wednesday November 26, 2008

A Boston-area teenager has pleaded guilty to charges of hacking and placing fake emergency phone calls in hopes of summoning police tactical response teams to the homes of his victims.

The 16-year-old boy, who was not named by authorities because he is a juvenile, was known by his hacker name, Dshocker. In a plea-bargain agreement, he accepted an 11-month juvenile detention facility sentence and pleaded guilty to hacking and fraud charges stemming from his activities that stretched back to 2005, when he was about 13 years old.