Month: May 2019

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  Those rows of dots would display in-game text as finger-readable braille dots.

Last year, Microsoft released its highly customizable Adaptive Controller as a way to further engage with gamers facing a variety of "limited mobility" disabilities. But a newly surfaced patent first filed in 2017 shows that the company was also looking into a braille-compatible controller aimed at visually impaired gamers.

Microsoft's patent for a "braille chording accessory for a game controller" describes a device that would attach to the back of what looks in diagrams to be a standard Xbox One controller, adding "a plurality of paddles arranged as a braille cell on the housing, and a control circuit to translate a touch force applied to at least a portion of the plurality of paddles into individual braille characters."

As described and shown, the device would contain a 3×3 grid of standardized braille dots that rise and fall to represent letters and numbers by touch. Thus, the accessory would "output a braille representation of any game text or any game audio occurring during the course of game play," the patent suggests.

Enlarge / This dramatic staredown moment from Vader Immortal, as captured from live Oculus Quest hardware. While this captured image is a bit fuzzy, Vader's animation and presentation within the VR experience is quite satisfying. (credit: Lucasfilm)

I could start my review of Vader Immortal: Episode One, the first lengthy Star Wars experience for consumer-grade VR headsets, in a number of ways. Controls? Comfort? Visuals? Story? Droids?

But after I finished my first run of the 45-minute experience, premiering exclusively on Oculus Quest on May 21 for $9.99, I knew where to begin: the moment Darth Vader became my life-sized lightsaber combat ally.

There I was, my eyes locked onto the tall Star Wars icon's mask as it loomed above me. He ordered me to turn a key. (I wasn't in a position to argue.) Doing so loosed a mystic energy, along with a slew of mysterious, sword-wielding guards, in response to which Vader shouted, "We must protect the prisoner!"

Enlarge / An infographic from Advanced Intelligence showing the hacking group Fxmsp's breach-selling business model. (credit: AdvIntel)

In a report published today, researchers at the threat-research company Advanced Intelligence (AdvIntel) revealed that a collective of Russian and English-speaking hackers are actively marketing the spoils of data breaches at three US-based antivirus software vendors. The collective, calling itself “Fxmsp,” is selling both source code and network access to the companies for $300,000, providing samples that show strong evidence of the validity of their claims.

Yelisey Boguslavskiy, Director of Research at AdvIntel, told Ars that his company notified “the potential victim entities” of the breach through partner organizations; it also provided the details to US law enforcement. In March, Fxmsp offered the data “through a private conversation,” Boguslavskiy said. “However, they claimed that their proxy sellers will announce the sale on forums.”

Fxmsp has a well-known reputation in the security community for selling access to breaches, focusing on large, global companies and government organizations. The group was singled out in a 2018 FireEye report on Internet crime for selling access to corporate networks worldwide, including a global breach of a luxury hotel group—potentially tied to the Marriott/Starwood breach revealed last November. AdvIntel’s researchers say the group has sold “verifiable corporate breaches,” pulling in profits approaching $1 million. Over the past two years, Fxmsp has worked to create a network of proxy resellers to promote and sell access to the group’s collection of breaches through criminal marketplaces.