Month: January 2018

Enlarge (credit: Chris Potter)

Early last year, a piece Mac malware came to light that left researchers puzzled. They knew that malware dubbed Fruitfly captured screenshots and webcam images and had been installed on hundreds of computers in the US and elsewhere, possibly for more than a decade. Still, the researchers didn't know who did it or why.

An indictment filed Wednesday in federal court in Ohio may answer some of those questions. It alleges Fruitfly was the creation of an Ohio man who used it for more than 13 years to steal millions of images from infected computers, as he took detailed notes of what he observed. Prosecutors also said defendant Phillip R. Durachinsky used the malware to surreptitiously turn on cameras and microphones, take and download screenshots, log keystrokes, and steal tax and medical records, photographs, Internet searches, and bank transactions. In some cases, Fruitfly alerted Durachinsky when victims typed words associated with porn. The suspect, in addition to allegedly targeting individuals, also allegedly infected computers belonging to police departments, schools, companies and the federal government, including the US Department of Energy.

Creepware

The indictment, filed in US District Court for the Northern District of Ohio's Eastern Division, went on to say that Durachinsky developed a control panel that allowed him to manipulate infected computers and view live images from several machines simultaneously. The indictment also said he produced visual depictions of one or more minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct and that the depiction was transported across state lines. He allegedly developed a version of Fruitfly that was capable of infecting Windows computers as well. Prosecutors are asking the court for an order requiring Durachinsky to forfeit any property he derived from 13-year campaign, an indication that he may have sold the images and data he acquired to others.

Enlarge (credit: Zechariah Judy)

In the early 2000s, a deadly gut infection began to surge. After decades of lurking in intestines and hospitals—more opportunistic nuisance than lethal threat—the bacterium Clostridium difficile abruptly exploded, spreading rapidly and causing more severe diarrheal disease than ever before. By 2011, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that C. diff infected nearly half a million people in the US that year, killing approximately 29,000.

Two strains led the deadly reign: RT027 and RT078 (named based on the genetic code of their ribosomes, or “ribotype”). But scientists could only speculate as to why this duo was suddenly so menacing. At least one of them turned up with resistance to a class of antibiotics called fluoroquinolones, which contains ciprofloxacin among other common antibiotics. This fact led some researchers to suggest that the bacteria’s rise may have been linked to development of that drug resistance.

But scientists had identified fluoroquinolone resistance in C. diff back in mid-80s. Why would it suddenly matter? There was another, cryptic factor at play, it seemed.

Enlarge / New York City has extensive knowledge of the risks posed by climate-driven sea-level rise. (credit: Patrick Cashin, MTA)

Today, the city of New York joined a number of California cities in suing a group of major oil companies for the costs of climate change. The suit claims that these companies—by ignoring their own scientific experts and promoting the continued expansion of fossil fuel use—have created a public and private nuisance in addition to trespassing on city property. It seeks not only damages for past harms the city has suffered, but wants the oil companies to pay the cost of all the adaptation programs that it has had to start or plan.

In making the announcement, city officials announced they're putting their money where their lawsuit is. Over the next five years, New York City will divest its pension funds, which currently hold just under $200 billion dollars, from fossil fuel companies.

Creating a nuisance

New York City isn't the first to file suit against the oil companies. A number of California cities and counties, including San Francisco and Oakland, did so last year. Those suits targeted the same five companies named in the one announced today: Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, BP, and Royal Dutch Shell. These are the five largest companies, and the suit estimates that they are collectively responsible for over 10 percent of the total greenhouse gasses that have accumulated in the atmosphere since the Industrial Revolution.