9 unheralded technology innovations
Because some of these achievements are so widespread, they are also easy to overlook. Not anymore. We're giving nine of these unheralded technology innovations their due here. Information comes directly from the people responsible for these advancements.
1. Server-side scripting
It all started with a TV show in Boston. In 1994, Fred DuFresne was working on an interactive website for the local station WCVB-TV. DuFrense created a technique called server-side scripting, which was a stark departure from the common programming techniques of the day. Essentially, it "programs" a server to carry out commands such as showing you a video or a Flash animation.
Before server-side scripting, programmers had to write complex HTML commands. Today, it is used on everything from Facebook pages to foodie blogs. "With SSS, the level of training required to create dynamic pages was drastically reduced. No formal training in computer science was required to create a simple PHP page. There is no linking to object libraries, no compiling source code to object code," DuFresne says. Read more...
Hackers claim attack on UK Home Office website
Britain's Home Office confirmed Sunday that its website was attacked overnight after hackers claimed responsibility for shutting it down.
The hackers also claim they attacked the Justice Ministry website and warned of further attacks every Saturday on U.K. government websites.
The alleged hackers — who claim ties to Anonymous, the hacker collective — said on Twitter they launched Saturday's denial-of-service attacks and brought down the websites to protest "proposed draconian surveillance measures," Britain's extradition policies and "derogation of civil liberties." Read more...
Symantec expects Anonymous to publish more stolen source code
Symantec today confirmed that the pcAnywhere source code published on the Web Monday by hackers who tried to extort $50,000 from the company was legitimate.
A company spokesman also said that Symantec expects that the rest of the source code stolen from its network in 2006 will also be made public.
Symantec's acknowledgement followed the appearance late Monday of a 1.3GB file on various file-sharing websites, including Pirate Bay, that claimed to be the source code of the pcAnywhere remote-access software.
Download activity for the BitTorrent file has been moderately brisk: As of mid-morning Tuesday, Pirate Bay identified 376 "seeders," the term for a computer that has a complete copy of the file -- and about 200 "leechers," or computers that have downloaded only part of the complete torrent. Read more...
Zurich lawsuit against Sony highlights cyber insurance shortcomings
A brewing legal dispute between Sony and one of its insurers over data breach liability claims highlights the challenges that companies can sometimes face in getting insurance companies to cover expenses arising from cybersecurity incidents.
Zurich American Insurance Company asked the Supreme Court of New York last week to absolve it of any responsibility for defending or indemnifying Sony against claims arising from the recent data breaches at the company.
The data breaches at Sony's PlayStation Network, Sony Entertainment Online and Sony Pictures resulted in account data on close to 100 million individuals becoming exposed and over 12 million credit and debit cards being compromised.
The breaches have so far resulted in at least 55 putative class action lawsuits being filed against Sony in the U.S and another three lawsuits filed against it in Canada. Sony expects to spend close to $180 million in the next one year alone on breach-related costs. Read more...