The new mini stream feature makes it simple to see what people are saying, even when they might not realize you’re listening
Not content to let Google+ hog the spotlight the day of its grand opening, Facebook caught many users off-guard last night as it rolled out a host of changes without much in the way or warning or direction. What’s evident is that Facebook and Google+ are pulling out all stops to win over social networkers of the world, though at least one of the changes to Facebook may have users scrambling to alter their privacy settings and friends lists.
The timing of Facebook’s move was not necessarily too surprising: Zuckerberg and company correctly view Google+ as a threat to their platform’s popularity, judging by the quantity and types of changes it has made since its rival’s platform was born. What better way to retain attention on the day of Google+’s coming-of-age celebration than by setting off noisy fireworks outside?
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When many people think of espionage, the image that readily comes to mind is of the furtive spy, clad in black, taking photographs of secret dossiers with a camera disguised as a cigarette lighter. It’s an image that seems quaint and dated, especially since the end of the Cold War. But the recent controversy surrounding Conservative MP Bob Dechert’s flirtatious email exchanges with a Chinese journalist remind Canadians that the threat of international espionage did not vanish with the fall of the Iron Curtain.
If anything, the threat to Canadian secrets has strengthened in recent years and is something the federal government is fighting on a daily basis.
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Researchers have uncovered a series of cyber-attacks
targeting government agencies and research institutions around the world. But unlike
recent high-profile incidents, China has not been blamed.
Attackers targeted 47 victims including space-related
government agencies, diplomatic missions, research institutions and companies
located in 61 countries, including Russia, India, Mongolia, Vietnam and the Commonwealth
of Independent States (former Soviet Union countries), Trend Micro researchers
wrote in a Sept. 22 blog. Trend Micro classified the attack as an advanced
persistent threat and said a total of 1,465 computers had been targeted,
including the ones belonging to the Russian Federal Space Agency.
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Ah yes, the fine print. Tricky territory, especially if you’re the owner of a relatively new General Motors vehicle equipped with OnStar. If so, you might want to get out your magnifying glass and have a gander at OnStar’s new terms and conditions policy. It seems they’ve modified the boundaries under which they can legally gather GPS data from your car.
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By Erin Ailworth, Globe Staff
American Superconductor Corp. in Devens today charged that a Chinese wind turbine maker hired a former American Superconductor employee to steal its technology.
In a regulatory filing, American Superconductor said it has filed suit in China and is in process of filing criminal complaints against Sinovel Wind Group Co., once American Superconductor’s largest customer. American Superconductor said it discovered the corporate espionage through an internal investigation and a criminal investigation by Austrian law enforcement authorities.
The former employee was arrested in Austria in July and charged with economic espionage, American Superconductor said. The company said the former employee stole software source code used to control wind turbines and passed it to Sinovel.
“We are taking legal action against Sinovel based on its contractual breaches and strong evidence of its criminal misconduct,’’ said American Superconductor chief executive Daniel McGahn said in a statement last night.
The complaints follow months of problems that American Superconductor has had with Sinovel.
Earlier this year, the Devens company cut its workforce by 30 percent, or 150 jobs, citing contract issues with Sinovel. The Chinese wind turbine maker refused to accept shipments for which it was contracted amid talk that it was shifting its business to another supplier.
American Superconductor said yesterday that it would be seeking monetary damages from Sinovel.
