Month: March 2016

Methodist Hospital in Henderson, Kentucky, initiated an "internal state of emergency" after discovering a Locky crypto-ransomware infection of its network. (credit: Methodist Hospital)

A month after a Los Angeles hospital was crippled by crypto-ransomware, another hospital is in an "internal state of emergency" for the same reason. Brian Krebs reports that Methodist Hospital in Henderson, Kentucky, shut down its desktop computers and Web-based systems in an effort to fight the spread of the Locky crypto-ransomware on the hospital's network.

Yesterday, the hospital's IT staff posted a scrolling message at the top of Methodist's website, announcing that "Methodist Hospital is currently working in an Internal State of Emergency due to a Computer Virus that has limited our use of electronic web-based services. We are currently working to resolve this issue, until then we will have limited access to web-based services and electronic communications." As of this morning, the message has been taken down from the site.

Methodist Hospital's information systems director told Krebs that the Locky malware, which came in as an attachment to a spam e-mail, attempted to spread across the network after it had infected the computer it was triggered on. Locky has been known to use malicious scripts in Microsoft Office documents as a means of infecting victims' computers. The malware succeeded in infecting several other systems, prompting the hospital staff to shut down all the hospital's computers. Each PC is brought back online individually after being scanned for telltale signs of Locky while off the network.

(credit: Verizon)

Verizon is set to complete a sale of its wireline phone, Internet, and TV networks in California, Florida, and Texas to Frontier Communications. The $10.54 billion transaction, announced in February 2015, has received all the necessary regulatory approvals and is scheduled to be finalized March 31.

“We’re buying those assets, we’re bringing them in and actually cutting them into our network so they’ll be ready to go day one, April 1," Frontier VP Chris Gellos said in an interview with Channel Partners last week. Frontier has about 2.4 million Internet customers today, and it will get another 2.2 million or so with the purchase from Verizon.

When it approved the sale last September, the Federal Communications Commission concluded that "Frontier is more likely to accelerate broadband service in the transaction market areas than Verizon would be absent the transaction." The FCC approval said that Frontier plans to "expand fiber-based infrastructure within its network, upgrade network hardware, expand transport capacity in its middle mile and data backbone network in order to expand broadband, increase speeds available to customers, and improve the network for voice services."

The third phase after tock finally has a name.

It looks like the Kaby Lake processor isn't a one-off. Intel's latest 10-K filing (spotted at Motley Fool) discloses that the two-phase "tick-tock" development model that the company has been using since 2007 is being replaced with a three-phase model: Process, Architecture, Optimization.

Under tick-tock, development was split into "ticks," where an existing processor design would be migrated to a new manufacturing process, and "tocks," where a new processor design would be released onto an existing process. The process has been used since Intel first introduced its "Core" branded processors, and the model has created a familiar pattern. Each tock introduces new features and improved architectural performance, and each tick has improved power consumption and/or clock speeds.

However, the process has come under increasing pressure. It took Intel a long time to ramp up production on the 14nm manufacturing process used by the Broadwell (tick) and Skylake (tock) processors, with Broadwell in particular suffering from an extremely long and drawn-out roll out and availability. Broadwell was delayed, with its initial late 2013 release pushed back to September 2014. The Broadwell line-up was incomplete—Intel didn't create a full range of desktop processors—and even with the delays, nine months passed between when the first mobile parts were released and the limited selection of desktop processors came out. A couple of months later, Skylake hit the market.

Screenshot from Cellebrite home page. (credit: Cellebrite)

The mobile forensics firm Cellebrite of Israel is reportedly assisting the Federal Bureau of Investigation in unlocking a seized iPhone that has become the center of a legal dispute between the bureau and Apple, the Israeli paper Yedioth Ahronoth reported Wednesday.

The revelation comes two days after the US government tentatively withdrew its demands that Apple write code and assist the authorities to unlock a seized iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino County shooters. The FBI told a federal judge Monday that an "outside party demonstrated to the FBI a possible method for unlocking (Syed) Farook's iPhone." A federal magistrate then tentatively stayed her order demanding that Apple assist the authorities in unlocking the phone.

That same day, according to public records, the FBI committed to a $15,278 "action obligation" with Cellebrite. An "action obligation" is the lowest amount the government has agreed to pay. No other details of the contract were available, and the Justice Department declined comment. Cellebrite, however, has reportedly assisted US authorities in accessing an iPhone.

(credit: Newegg)

An Indiana archery company that sued a prominent live action role-play (LARP) website will drop its claims that the website's owner infringed two patents on foam arrows.

John Jackson, founder of Global Archery, told Ars that he decided to drop his patent case against Larping.org owner Jordan Gwyther after analyzing a patent on the German-made iDV arrows that Gwyther sells.

The lawsuit isn't over, however—Jackson also sued Gwyther for allegedly infringing his trademark, for buying Google ads keyed to it, and for false advertising.

If you missed out on the lowest-yet official price for the Xbox One during last year's Black Friday and holiday sales, Microsoft has an even better deal going on now as part of its Spring Sale.

All Xbox One bundles have been reduced by $50 at major retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, Target, and Gamestop. But if you buy through the Microsoft Store before March 31, you'll be also get a free copy of Assassin's Creed Unity, Watch Dogs, or The Crew in addition to any other bundled games.

While this price drop is officially a "limited time, while supplies last" type of deal, it could presage a more permanent reduction for Microsoft's console, which is selling slowly relative to its main competition. Back in 2014, many retailers temporarily lowered the price of the Xbox One by $50 well before Microsoft officially lowered the price by pulling Kinect out of the bundle.