EU proposes new cybercrime rules

7 February 2013 Last updated at 06:23 ET

Over 40,000 firms, including energy providers, banks and hospitals could be required to report cyber-break-ins under new rules proposed by the EU.

It is part of a move to intensify global efforts to fight cybercrime.

Digital agenda commissioner Neelie Kroes said that Europe needed to improve how it dealt with cybersecurity.

But firms are concerned that reporting online attacks and security breaches might damage their reputations.

Many breaches

The EU is keen that member states share information about attacks and shore up their cyber-defences.

Under the proposals, each country would have to appoint a Computer Emergency Response Team and create an authority to whom companies would report breaches.

These new bodies would decide whether to make the breaches public and whether to fine companies.

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Announcing the changes, Ms Kroes said: "Europe needs resilient networks and systems and failing to act would would impose significant costs on consumers, businesses and society."

According to the EU, only one in four European companies has a regularly-reviewed, formal ICT security policy. Even among ICT companies, the figure is only one in two, it said.

A recent study by accountants PwC suggested that three quarters of UK small businesses, and 93% of large ones, had recently suffered a cybersecurity breach.

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Kids app 'translates' grown-up paper

7 February 2013 Last updated at 08:44 ET

An augmented-reality app that "translates" grown-up newspapers for children has been developed in Japan.

The Tokyo Shimbun, one of the country's biggest daily titles, has worked with advertising firm Dentsu to create the AR News software.

It allows children to hold a smartphone over the newspaper to see a child-friendly version of the text.

In a promotional video, Dentsu said the app could "create a future for the old media newspaper".

"Newspapers were not made for children," the clip said.

"If newspapers became readable to children, they will contribute to family communication and child's education."

'Educational tool'

The demo video shows a father laying a newspaper out on a table as the child holds his smartphone over the page. Cartoon characters appear on the screen, explaining stories and drawing attention to important words.

"Difficult articles and social problems, economy and politics became interesting subjects for children," Dentsu said.

"The newspapers became a media read by both parent and child. And also an educational tool for children."

Paul Bradshaw, university lecturer and blogger on new technology in journalism, told the BBC he was impressed with the idea.

"What it's really about is something that's been talked about for a long time, about content being presented in different ways depending on who the user is," he said.

"It means two versions of the content - a grown-up one and the kids one. That has enormous potential. It also tackles a big gap in young readership.

"Are kids going to be interested in the same subjects as adults, even when treated differently? That's a nut to crack."

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Dead Space cheat dents in-game fees

7 February 2013 Last updated at 09:23 ET By Leo Kelion Technology reporter

Exploits in the bestselling video game Dead Space 3 are allowing users to obtain in-game items for free.

The "cheats" could prove costly to the title's publisher, Electronic Arts (EA), which has introduced a system that charges users cash for extra equipment in the sequel.

The move has proved controversial with some, since the title already costs about £40.

EA has the ability to issue an update to remove the workarounds.

However, a spokesman said the firm had no comment on the issue.

Dead Space 3 is an action-horror third-person shooter set on a frozen planet.

Part of its challenge is locating scarce in-game resources needed to create ammunition and medical packs in order to tackle the title's monsters.

In previous games in the franchise, the user needed to find credits in order to buy upgrades. However, the new game introduces real-money micro-transactions as a way of allowing players to add equipment faster than would otherwise be possible.

Ethical dilemma

The bugs were first reported by the news site Game Front, which subsequently posted a video online showing how they worked.

One involves the player's character walking into a specific building, picking up an item, walking out - and then returning to find a new item has appeared. This can be repeated an unlimited number of times.

The other requires the user to go to a different destination, to pick up an item and then to select save and quit before returning to the game.

Within hours of the discoveries, news of the exploits spread to other gaming sites and social media networks.

Several users commented that they did not believe using the cheats was unethical because Dead Space 3 had already been priced as a "premium title".

Bolt-on costs

The rise of micro-transactions in video games can be traced to Asia, where they were introduced as part of efforts to combat piracy.

Rather than charge users to buy software, publishers opted for a "freemium" model, in which the basic product was given away but premium add-on services or features involved payment.

It has since become a common feature in the wider smartphone market.

Console titles have long offered the ability to buy additional downloadable content (DLC) such as extra levels, characters or clothes. However, it is relatively rare for them to charge money for items intrinsic to a character's progress through core content.

Dead Space's developer, Visceral, has stressed players do not need to buy items in Dead Space 3 in order to finish it - but gamers have been concerned about what the innovation signalled.

"People are wondering why do you have to pay more in order to get a weapon that is in the main game anyway," said Keza MacDonald, games editor of the IGN news site.

"The way EA is presenting it is that if you want the weapons earlier then you can buy them. But it's a slippery slope because if most games start adopting this as a tactic you're effectively devaluing the money gamers have had to lay out in the first place."

Legal questions

Cheats have long been a feature of video games.

Magazines such as Zap Attack used to publish pages of tricks in the 1980s to help gamers boost ammunition or health points. Websites offering walkthroughs and other cheat sheets now continue that tradition.

However, one solicitor told the BBC that the practice became "legally grey" once micro-transactions were involved.

"If you go into a baker's to buy a bun and they give you the wrong change and you walk away knowing you have been given more change than you handed over in the first place, that's theft," Sara Ludlam, an intellectual property expert at Lupton, Fawcett, Lee & Priestley told the BBC.

"So, arguably if you go into this game knowing you are supposed to be paying for these weapons and you notice a glitch allows you to accumulate them without paying, that's theft as well.

"But it is arguable because it's a new area."

There is no suggestion that EA would pursue such a case.

Game Front has also made clear that it believed the "farming" of resources within Dead Space 3 should not be equated with in-game purchases.

"Game Front is committed to providing its audience with walkthroughs, easter eggs and cheats for popular video games," said its managing editor Mark Burnham.

"This video was an example of Game Front providing that service, and did not present an ethical dilemma.

"The strategy described in our video merely allows players to efficiently gather resources freely available in the game; the only way to instantly gain resources in the game is to purchase them through the micro-transactions feature."

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Online subscribers surge at NY Times

7 February 2013 Last updated at 14:01 ET

Profits at the New York Times have tripled, as a surge in online subscriptions more than offset weak demand for advertising space.

The US newspaper, which introduced a paywall on its website almost two years ago, said online subscribers rose 13% over the last three months.

Subscriptions beat advertising revenues for the first time in its history.

Net income in the last quarter of 2012 at the highbrow newspaper was $177m (£112m), up from $59m a year ago.

The results were also flattered by a $164m windfall from its sale of jobs search engine Indeed.com late last year, and the fact that the 2012 quarter contained an additional week.

The strong quarter helped push the newspaper group, which also owns the International Herald Tribune, back into a full-year profit for 2012 of $133m, compared with a 2011 loss of $40m.

Continue reading the main story

"For the first time in our history, annual circulation revenues surpassed those from advertising," said chief executive Mark Thompson, who joined the company in August, having previously been director general of the BBC since 2004.

"By contrast, the advertising environment remained challenging in the fourth quarter."

Advertising revenues were down 8% from a year earlier, adjusting for the additional week in the 2012 quarter, with both print and online advertising suffering.

The New York Times is not the only one to suffer from a fall-off in advertising. Time Warner and Gannett, owner of popular tabloid USA Today, reported the same problem in their quarterly results released this week.

Markets focused on the 16% rise in subscriptions revenues. Subscriptions made up 48% of the company's total revenues in 2012, compared with 45% for advertising.

The newspaper's share price jumped 15% in morning trading on Wall Street, before later falling back to be up just 4.5% by mid-afternoon.

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Kids 'writing malicious hack code'

7 February 2013 Last updated at 19:01 ET By Dave Lee Technology reporter, BBC News

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AVG's Tony Anscombe says children hacking games is still "theft"

Children as young as 11 years old are writing malicious computer code to hack accounts on gaming sites and social networks, experts have said.

A report from antivirus company AVG detailed evidence of programs written to "steal" virtual currency.

In one case, researchers were able to reverse-engineer "amateur" code to reveal data about the identity of one child in Canada.

The company said children must be educated on coding "rights and wrongs".

"As more schools are educating people for programming in this early stage, before they are adults and understand the impact of what they're doing, this will continue to grow." said Yuval Ben-Itzhak, chief technology officer at AVG.

The researchers found that many instances of malware targeting games popular with children shared the same characteristics.

Most were written using basic coding languages such as Visual Basic and C#, and were written in a way that contain quite literal schoolboy errors that professional hackers were unlikely to make - many exposing the original source of the code.

Stealing data

The team examined closely one particular instance of code that masqueraded as a cheat program for gamers playing Runescape, an online title that has over 200 million signed-up players.

The program, Runescape Gold Hack, promised to give the gamer free virtual currency to use in the game - but it in fact was being used to steal log-in details from unsuspecting users.

"When the researchers looked at the source code we found interesting information," explained Mr Ben-Itzhak to the BBC.

"We found that the malware was trying to steal the data from people and send it to a specific email address.

"The malware author included in that code the exact email address and password and additional information - more experienced hackers would never put these type of details in malware."

That email address belonged, Mr Ben-Itzhak said, to an 11-year-old boy in Canada.

Enough information was discoverable, thanks to the malware's source code, that researchers were even able to find out which town the boy lived in - and that his parents had recently treated him to a new iPhone.

Continue reading the main story

It is not enough to just use computer programs"

End Quote Linda Sandvik Code Club

Many schools around the world are changing education programmes in schools to teach children to code, rather than simply to use, computers.

In the UK, several after-school clubs have been set up - and initiatives to get kids into programming have been backed by the likes of Google and Microsoft.

Coding benefits

Mr Ben-Itzhak said that, as the ability level of children increased, more needed to be done to educate them on how best to use their new skills.

"We cannot tell how many kids around the world are [writing malicious programs], but we believe there are more cases like this.

"You teach your children that you can't take a toy without paying - so I think this type of a message needs to get to the kids when they're writing software too."

Linda Sandvik is the co-founder of Code Club, an initiative that teaches children aged nine and up how to code.

She told the BBC that the benefits from teaching children to code far outweighed any of the risks that were outlined in the AVG report.

"We teach English, maths and science to all students because they are fundamental to understanding society," she said.

"The same is true of digital technology. When we gain literacy, we not only learn to read, but also to write. It is not enough to just use computer programs."

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LinkedIn results beat hopes again

7 February 2013 Last updated at 19:25 ET

Business-focused social networking website LinkedIn's quarterly profits were double expectations, sending shares up 10% in after hours' trading.

Profits for the fourth quarter were $40.2m (£25.5m), twice the amount expected by watchers of the company.

The rise came as increasing numbers of job seekers and recruiters signed up to get connected taking the numbers registered to more than 200 million.

Linkedin also said its future prospects were bright.

Turnover was also higher than expected, rising 81% to $304m from the same period a year ago.

The site's international markets performed strongly, more than doubling in the past year to bring sales of $114.6m.

International earnings are now 38% of the total business.

The figures mean the company, which listed on the stock market in May 2011, has beaten earnings forecasts for seven consecutive quarters.

LinkedIn was founded by former employees of the payment processing system PayPal in 2002.

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UK 'lags behind' on DNA forensics

8 February 2013 Last updated at 03:13 ET By Paul Rincon Science editor, BBC News website

Cross-border co-operation on terrorism and crime will be compromised unless the UK updates the technology it uses for DNA profiling, experts have warned.

The country where the technique was developed now lags behind almost all European countries, which use newer processes to handle crime samples.

But plans to destroy millions of stored DNA samples could increase police workloads when the UK upgrades.

A select committee is hearing evidence on the state of UK forensic science.

The EU has recommended that member states adopt a standard set of 12 genetic markers - or loci - called the European Standard Set (ESS).

The large number of profiles held in different European databases that could potentially be compared necessitated standardisation, and an increase in the number of markers used to match them.

One purpose of the ESS was to reduce the potential for chance, or adventitious, matches between unrelated individuals. If investigators are comparing profiles generated using different sets of markers, there might not be enough of them in common to exclude such adventitious matches.

The timeline for implementation has now passed. Information obtained by the BBC shows that of 15 European countries for which data is available, the UK is one of four that has not upgraded to the recommended marker set.

Using EU recommended markers	Not using recommended markers
Data collected in April 2012
Germany, Spain, Greece (Hellenic Police), Slovenia, Italy (Carabinieri, National Police), Cyprus, Lithuania, Portugal (Policia Cientifica), Austria, The Netherlands, Montenegro	UK, Ireland, Serbia, France

Experts also say that the "chemistry" that underlies DNA testing kits used by UK forensic science labs is now more than a decade old and that newer, more sensitive systems can obtain results from even low quality samples - improving success rates. Some argue that such information can potentially make or break a case.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

When you start to combine and compare very large data-sets within and between countries, seven markers might not be enough"

End Quote Prof Peter Schneider University of Cologne

Data compiled by kit manufacturer Promega shows that 20 European countries are using so-called "next generation" systems (the list includes technologies manufactured by Promega and by rival companies).

"[The] UK is currently locked into outdated technology that is more than 10 years old. This means that cases will not be analysed using best practice methods," said Prof Peter Gill, an expert in forensic DNA, from the University of Oslo, Norway.

In his evidence to the inquiry, Prof Gill added: "Cross-border comparisons with other countries will be compromised since the systems in use will no longer be entirely comparable."

Peter Schneider, who leads the European Forensic Genetics Network (Euroforgen), also stressed the urgency of upgrading to new systems.

The professor, who is based at the Institute of Legal Medicine at the University of Cologne, Germany, told BBC News: "When you start to combine and compare very large data-sets within and between countries, seven markers might not be enough to exclude adventitious matches."

Continue reading the main story

DNA

• DNA's double helix is like a long twisted ladder
• The rungs of the ladder are made of pairs of four molecules called nucleotides
• Our genetic code is made of 3 billion pairs

Prof Sir Alec Jeffreys, who - with Prof Gill and Dave Werrett - pioneered the technique of DNA fingerprinting, has previously argued that the "consequences of even one false match leading to a conviction that was subsequently overturned could be severe for the DNA database and its public acceptability".

A Home Office spokesperson told BBC News: "The single DNA test kits currently used in the UK mean matches can be reported immediately, allowing crimes to be solved and prolific offenders brought to justice more quickly. Techniques already used in serious cases are as sensitive, if not more sensitive, than those being proposed.

"While we recognise this new profiling technology has benefits, its introduction needs to be handled carefully to ensure it does not compromise the integrity of our existing forensic DNA techniques."

Sample disposal

UK experts fear that proposals to destroy so-called "second swab" DNA samples could slow down investigations if and when the UK moves over to new markers and chemistries. Currently, when a DNA sample is obtained from a suspect, a first swab is used to generate a profile in the NDNAD and a second sample is placed into storage.

Problems could arise when there was a partial match between a crime scene stain processed using the new markers and an old profile in the database generated using six or 10 markers.

Up until now, it would have been possible to re-process the DNA from the second swab, allowing investigators to confirm or deny a match using a comparison based on all the new loci. But soon, that will no longer be an option.

Dr Chris Maguire, from the Northumbria University Centre for Forensic Sciences (NUCFS), said: "If you change your system to one of the new European standard marker sets, and you have a crime stain with a match in [the old system] and you want to upgrade it - what do you do?

"You've got to go and find the individual and ask them for another sample, instead of just going to the second swab, re-processing it and confirming it."

Dr Sue Pope, from Principal Forensic Services, agreed: "The effect will be that upgrading to the ESS system will require taking another sample, with obvious costs," she explained.

Court ruling

The issues were brought to light by a legal case in which the European Court of Human Rights ruled that holding DNA samples from individuals who have been arrested but are later acquitted or have charges dropped against them is a violation of the right to privacy - an outcome that was backed by civil liberties campaigners.

The UK's new Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 allows DNA samples to be stored for a maximum of six months before they are destroyed. But some forensic scientists say this is too restrictive.

A Home Office document from January 2011, shows that there were also cost-savings to be made by no longer maintaining the samples in freezers - and some six million are now to be disposed of.

The destruction of the swabs is also likely to hamper a forensic technique that has been successfully applied in the UK, known as familial searching, said Dr Maguire. This involves searching for close, though not exact, matches in the DNA database, in the knowledge that such hits could represent family members of a suspect.

Using the second swabs to test for additional markers on the Y (male) chromosome, can help narrow a large pool of close matches - potentially thousands of profiles - to a more manageable number.

A Home Office spokesperson said: "For too long we failed to collect the DNA of prisoners while still retaining information about people who were arrested but never charged. We are now taking steps to ensure that we no longer retain the DNA and fingerprints of innocent people.

"Through the Protection of Freedoms Act we are protecting the privacy and human rights of the public while keeping them safe from crime by ensuring the right people are on DNA databases."

The House of Commons science and technology committee is conducting an inquiry into the impact of closing the Forensic Science Service (FSS) which analysed crime scene evidence in England and Wales. The FSS was shut down by the government in March last year, with the intention that private providers would expand to fill the gap.

Paul.Rincon-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk

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Apple sued by activist shareholder

8 February 2013 Last updated at 03:57 ET

An activist shareholder is suing computer giant Apple, demanding that it share out more of its $137bn (£87bn) cash pile to its investors.

Apple's cash pile has grown to that size from $98bn last March.

US hedge fund manager, David Einhorn, who is behind the unusual move, told the television channel CNBC that Apple had a "Depression-era" mentality, which gave it a tendency to hoard cash and play safe.

Apple called the move "misguided".

The complaint was filed at a court in New York.

Apple has a number of fights on its hands already. Although it is strong in both smartphones and tablet computers, competition is hotting up and its share price is falling.

The firm's shares are now 35% below the record high they reached in September 2012.

Mr Einhorn, who owns Green Light Capital, told CNBC: "It has sort of a mentality of a depression. In other words, people who have gone through traumas... and Apple has gone through a couple of traumas in its history, they sometimes feel like they can never have enough cash."

History

He has also been speaking to the Reuters news agency, which he told he had had meetings with Apple's senior management on the subject of sharing out the cash pile.

Mr Einhorn said he had recently contacted Apple's chief executive, Tim Cook after failing to interest the company's chief financial officer, Peter Oppenheimer, in the matter.

Mr Einhorn's proposals for releasing funds to shareholders involve "preferred" stock - which pays a fixed dividend over time.

Apple is planning to eliminate these at its shareholder meeting later this month.

Preferred shares rank higher than ordinary shares when it comes to paying out a company's assets.

Mr Einhorn has a history of activism.

In 2011, he urged Microsoft Corp to get rid of its chief executive Steve Ballmer, accusing him of being "stuck in the past".

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Ex-US President Bush emails hacked

8 February 2013 Last updated at 05:08 ET

A computer hacker has stolen personal emails and photographs belonging to former US President George H W Bush and his family, US media report.

One photograph posted on the internet showed the 88-year-old Republican politician in bed in hospital, where he was recently treated for bronchitis.

The stolen emails are reported to include addresses and personal details of several members of the Bush family.

A spokesman for Mr Bush confirmed that an investigation was under way.

"We do not comment on matters under criminal investigation," Jim McGrath told the Houston Chronicle.

The hacker broke into email accounts of several members of the Bush family, news website the Smoking Gun reported.

The hacked emails are reported to include messages expressing serious concern about the health of the former president, including a personal note sent by President Barack Obama through an aide.

'Interesting mails'

Mr Bush was discharged from hospital on 14 January after a seven-week stay, during which he was treated for a bronchitis-related cough.

The purloined photos include pictures of his son, former President George W Bush.

One shows the younger Mr Bush posing beside a life-size cardboard cutout of himself with a moustache drawn on it; others are said to show paintings by him, including self-portraits.

The Smoking Gun said it had been in contact with the hacker, who goes by the alias Guccifer.

He said he had taken "a lot of stuff" including "interesting mails" about the former president's time in hospital, the website reported.

George H W Bush was the 41st US President, serving one term from 1989-93. He was defeated by Democrat Bill Clinton when he stood for re-election.

Before becoming president he was Ronald Reagan's vice-president from 1981-89. He also served as vice-president, CIA director, US ambassador to China and congressman from Texas.

His son George W Bush served as 43rd president from 2001-09.

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Row over ownership of 'space marine'

8 February 2013 Last updated at 06:53 ET

UK toymaker Games Workshop has been criticised for asserting a trademark claim to the phrase 'space marines'.

The claim emerged when it was used to get an American ebook about the futuristic soldiers taken off Amazon.

Science fiction writers have called the firm "absurd" for saying it has a trademark to the use of the term in fiction.

A UK media lawyer said more and more firms were using trademark law to protect their creations.

Generic term

The row started in December 2011 when US writer Maggie Hogarth found out that her novel called "Spots the Space Marine" had been removed from the Amazon ebook store following a complaint from Games Workshop.

In emails sent to Ms Hogarth this week, Games Workshop claims that its entry into digital publishing gives it a "common law trademark claim" over the phrase.

Ms Hogarth wrote a blogpost about the row and expressed her fear that if Games Workshop started actively pursuing its claim, science fiction could lose one of its "fundamental" ideas. Ms Hogarth said a lack of funds meant she was unable to defend herself against the claim. However, she is now in touch with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which campaigns on digital rights, about the case.

The blogpost received a huge amount of publicity and has provoked responses from best-selling SF authors Cory Doctorow, Charles Stross and John Scalzi. Many people sent messages to Games Workshop's Twitter account using the #spacemarines hashtag criticising the firm.

Continue reading the main story

If you have a registered trademark you can stop people using it in the course of trade for goods that are not yours or licensed or approved by you"

End Quote Susan Hall DWF

Mr Scalzi, who is currently president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, said it was "absurd" for the firm to claim ownership of the phrase and its use in literature. In a blogpost, Mr Scalzi said it was "pretty damn generic" long before Games Workshop began using it to describe its toy soldiers and in tabletop games,

A spokesman for Games Workshop said it had a "blanket policy" of not talking to the media and had no comment to make about the row or its trademark claim.

Media and intellectual property lawyer Susan Hall from DWF said Games Workshop might struggle to assert its trademark claim in America.

"In the US they'll come straight up against the First Amendment and that's one issue they'll have to overcome," she said.

Ms Hall said Games Workshop could launch a similar protection campaign in Europe as it had had a registered trademark for the term "space marine" since 1995. Its trademark claim covers the use of the word in connection with many aspects of tabletop gaming and video games, she said, but also extended to published works.

"If you have a registered trademark you can stop people using it in the course of trade for goods that are not yours or licensed or approved by you," she said. "It puts the person with the mark in a very strong position."

Many firms, she said, were registering trademarks to help them keep control of intellectual properties that were now out of copyright. There were dangers in this bid for control, said Ms Hall.

"You need strong IP laws," she said, "but you need to have the ability to rub up against those in a way that allows people to be creative and allows creative freedom."

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