Last week brought us a host of news stories, including a handful of highlights. As usual, we have collected the most interesting security news and are bringing it to you in a single post.<\/p>\n
NSA rats on IT companies <\/b> An OS tailored for smart watches <\/b> How Microsoft charged FBI <\/b>
\nTo begin here is a small, yet sensational<\/a>,<\/span> news story. During last week\u2019s Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) meeting, NSA\u2019s principal consultant, Rajesh De, confirmed that industry giants, including Facebook, Google, and Yahoo!, were aware of a bulk collection of user data by the US intelligence service. News of these actions wasn\u2019t completely unexpected, but getting an official confirmation is a different story. What makes this most suspicious is the fact that the aforementioned companies previously blatantly rejected any accusations of having any alleged involvement in massive intelligence collections of citizen data. Some companies (we won\u2019t publicly blame anyone, for the sake of Apple\u2019s fandom\u2019s feelings) even stated that they have \u2018never heard of Prism\u2019. We\u2019ll see how they try to put an end to the \u2018nasty accusations\u2019 this time around.<\/p>\n
\nThe newly announced operational system developed by Google, for increasingly popular smart watches and other types of \u2018wearable devices\u2019, was dubbed Android Wear. The announcement<\/a> was published Tuesday on the company\u2019s corporate blog, coinciding with Motorola and LG\u2019s new smart watch announcements. The OS is predictably based on Android, but, unlike its predecessor, is intended to be used more for voice than for touch (just like Google Glass). The OS is capable of managing any Bluetooth-enabled peripherals, even the garage gates. The horizon of opportunities for hackers is therefor\u2026 well, unbelievable.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cIf you cannot win \u2013 then command\u201d, the saying goes. \u201cIf you cannot command \u2013 then at least earn\u201d, Microsoft added. According to the Syrian digital army<\/a>, the famous global corporation earned over $100 for each case of personal data exposure that was performed by demand of the FBI. The hackers confirmed that at least during September 2012, the FBI spent over $145K on these activities. Last year, one case of user data exposure cost $100, but in 2013 this price grew two-fold. As far as the legitimacy of these activities is concerned, Microsoft claims the FBI wasn\u2019t charged for a piece of the action, but for time spent on carrying out a legitimate request. Time is money you see.<\/p>\n