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Epic Games just gave a perk for folks to turn on 2FA; every other big company should, too

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Let’s talk a bit about security.

Most internet users around the world are pretty crap at it, but there are basic tools that companies have, and users can enable, to make their accounts, and lives, a little bit more hacker-proof.

One of these — two-factor authentication — just got a big boost from Epic Games, the maker of what is currently The Most Popular Game In The World: Fortnite.

Epic is already getting a ton of great press for what amounts to very little effort.

The company is giving users a new emote (the victory dance you’ve seen emulated in airports, playgrounds and parks by kids and tweens around the world) to anyone who turns on two-factor authentication. It’s one small (dance) step for Epic, but one giant leap for securing their users’ accounts.

The thing is any big company could do this (looking at you Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet and any other company with a huge user base).

Apparently the perk of not getting hacked isn’t enough for most users, but if you give anyone the equivalent of a free dance, they’ll likely flock to turn on the feature.

It’s not that two-factor authentication is a panacea for all security woes, but it does make life harder for hackers. Two-factor authentication works on codes, basically tokens, that are either sent via text or through an over-the-air authenticator (OTA). Text messaging is a pretty crap way to secure things, because the codes can be intercepted, but OTAs — like Google Authenticator or Authy — are sent via https (pretty much bulletproof, but requiring an app to use).

So using SMS-based two-factor authentication is better than nothing, but it’s not Fort Knox (however, these days, even Fort Knox probably isn’t Fort Knox when it comes to security).

Still, anything that makes things harder for crimes of opportunity can help ease the security burden for companies large and small, and the consumers and customers that love them (or at least are forced to pay and use them).

I’m not sure what form the perk could or should take. Maybe it’s the promise of a free e-book or a free download or an opportunity to have a live chat with the celebrity, influencer or athlete of a user’s choice. Whatever it is, there’re clearly something that businesses could do to encourage greater adoption.

Self-preservation isn’t cutting it. Maybe an emote will do the trick.

Digital Trends

via TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com

August 23, 2018 at 08:11PM

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What is this weird Twitter army of Amazon drones cheerfully defending warehouse work?

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Here is a strange little online community to puzzle at. Amazon has developed an unnerving, Stepford-like presence on Twitter in the form of several accounts of definitely real on-the-floor workers who regurgitate talking points and assure the world that all is right in the company’s infamously punishing warehouse jobs.

I found 15 accounts (please don’t abuse them — they get enough of that already). All with “Amazon smiles” as their backgrounds and several with animals as profile pictures. All have the same bio structure: “(Job titles) @(warehouse shorthand location). (Duration) Amazonian. (2- or 3-item list of things they like.)” All have “FC Ambassador” in their name. All have links to an Amazon warehouse tour service.

And all ceaselessly communicate upbeat messages about how great it is to work at an Amazon warehouse and assuring everyone that they are not being forced to do this. The messages all seem cut from the same cloth, frequently along the same exact patterns:

The workers say that they don’t receive compensation for being ambassadors. They also claim to be warehouse employees in the ordinary sense. If so, they’re putting their numbers at risk by taking the time out to bang out long tweets hourly on how great they’re doing.

Their most frequent topics of conversation are how they get bathroom breaks, the pleasant temperature of the warehouses, the excellent benefits and suitable wages, friendly management, and how the job isn’t monotonous or tiring at all. FC Ambassador Carol, for example, is downright elated to be a picker, and is clearly a Bezos admirer.

You can practically hear the smile on her face.

I have a friend who worked as a picker for a while, admittedly some years back. He said it was some of the most mind-numbing yet physically demanding work he’s ever done. I understand that some folks may just be happy to have a job with full pay and benefits — I’d never begrudge anyone that, I’ve sure felt that — but the unanimous and highly specific positivity on display in these ambassador accounts really seems like something else.

It’s no secret, after all, that Amazon has an image problem when it comes to labor. Reports have for years described grueling labor at these “fulfillment centers,” where footsore workers must meet ever-increasing daily goals, their time rigidly structured and room for advancement cramped. Just recently Gizmodo’s Brian Menegus has had a couple great stories on current — not past — labor conditions at the company, and of course there have been dozens of such stories detailing exploitation or generally poor conditions over the last few years. And not just here in the U.S., either.

Certainly Amazon may have improved those conditions. And certainly they would want to get the message out. But these accounts are equally certainly not the grassroots advocacy they seem to be. (There’s already a parody account, naturally, or perhaps one of the ambassadors slipped the leash.)

I’ve asked Amazon for more details on what this program really consists of, and how it comes to pass that warehouse workers are being not paid to monitor Twitter, regularly rebutting critics with clearly canned stats and the kind of forced humor one would imagine they would indulge in if their overalls hid a shock collar. I’ll update this post if I hear back.

Digital Trends

via TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com

August 23, 2018 at 07:39PM

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Jaguar’s greatest sports car is getting an all-electric makeover

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In 2017, Jaguar got everyone talking when it unveiled the E-Type Zero concept, a classic sports car with a modern electric powertrain. The car got even more exposure when it showed up at the Royal Wedding. Now, Jaguar says it will build a limited run of production models, with deliveries set to begin in 2020. Cue jokes about old British cars and their notoriously shoddy electrical systems.

The original E-Type Zero was a one-off prototype based on a 1968 Series 1.5 E-Type Roadster. To mark the production announcement, Jaguar will display an updated version at The Quail: A Motorsports Gathering, one of the many events that comprise Monterey Car Week.

Jaguar hasn’t finalized specifications for the production model, but the concept uses a 220-kilowatt (295-horsepower) electric motor mounted where the transmission would normally go. A new prop shaft allows the motor to mate with the stock E-Type rear differential. A 40-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack sits under the hood. Jaguar claims it has the same dimensions, and similar weight, to the inline-six engine that previously resided there.

The E-Type Zero concept can achieve 170 miles of range, according to Jaguar. That is more than a current-generation Nissan Leaf. Recharging takes six to seven hours. Jaguar previously said the E-Type Zero could do 0 to 62 mph in 5.5 seconds, which the automaker claimed as 1 second quicker than the stock, gasoline-powered version.

Purists may question the idea of modifying a classic car in this way, but it makes perfect sense for Jaguar. The E-Type Zero was developed using components from the British automaker’s I-Pace electric crossover (Jaguar also got some help from Croatian supercar maker Rimac). At the same time, converting E-Types to electric power makes good use of Jaguar’s Classic Works restoration division, which has already worked its magic on the E-Type in the form of meticulous restorations of original cars and recreation of the famous Lightweight E-Type race car.

Jaguar won’t discuss pricing, but it is taking reservations from E-Type owners looking to have their cars converted to electric power. The electric conversions will be fully reversible “to preserve the authenticity of the base vehicle,” a Jaguar statement said. More importantly for collectors, that helps preserve value should the owner decide to sell. The automotive industry may be moving toward an electric future, but collectors will always value originality above all else.

• Riding along in Audi’s e-tron, the electric SUV born to slay Teslas
• Audi RS3 gets an 1,180-horsepower electric makeover with Formula E racing tech

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August 23, 2018 at 06:38PM

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Baywatch’s Alexandra Daddario helps Autotrader search pups like pickups

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What do Baywatch star Alexandra Daddario and car-shopping website Autotrader have in common? A serious love for shelter dogs, apparently.

As part of this year’s National Dog Day (August 26), the actress and tech company have partnered with Adopt-a-Pet.com to create Dogtrader.com, a limited-time website designed to help dog lovers adopt the perfect pup in their area, much like they’d search out a new set of wheels.

At least for Daddario, who has had an adopted dog for over six years, the partnership is less unlikely than it might seem.

“These are two structural, sort of large choices in your life — getting a pet, getting a car — and this website makes it really easy,” she says, “It’s really built like Autotrader.com in that it makes it easy to choose the breed of the dog, location, the type of dog you want, and then it shows you all the dogs in your area.”

My commitment to four-legged friends everywhere is very real, which is why I’m celebrating National Dog Day with @autotrader_com and spreading the word that they’ve launched Dogtrader.com! This is where dog lovers like me can go to search for local pups and help get them out of shelters and into loving FUR-ever homes. You can also check out great tips like the best cars for dog lovers, must-have car accessories for pet parents and tips for traveling with your pet from the experts at Autotrader. Check out Dogtrader.com for yourself and you can see that @alexdaddariolevon gave it two paws up. #NationalDogDay #AdoptDontShop #AutotraderDogDay #AD

A post shared by alexandra daddario (@alexandradaddario) on Aug 22, 2018 at 9:54am PDT

For the few days it is live — Dogtrader went up on August 21st and will continue through National Dog Day (August 26) — the site will have plenty of pets to choose from. Partner site Adopt-a-Pet.com is the biggest non-profit pet adoption site in North America, and helps over 18,000 shelters, humane societies, SPCAs, and pet adoption and rescue groups advertise their pets for free. In fact, Daddario used the site to find her own dog Levon, who she named for rock and roll icon Levon Helm.

For a first-time dog owner, as she was at the time, the ability to find an animal that suited her particular needs in terms of size and activity level without visiting a ton of shelters was a huge plus.

“I went on Adopt-a-Pet.com and I found him online, and then it showed me which rescue shelter he was in,” she says, “I went to go see him and it was a perfect match. You know, whether finding a car or finding a dog, you want to find something that matches your lifestyle.”

In addition to helping would-be owners find a new four legged friend, Autotrader has also compiled a list of the best cars for dog lovers, including the Ford Escape, Honda Fit, and Toyota Corolla hatchback. The site has also compiled a series of other helpful articles for new pet owners, including a list of aftermarket accessories, and a series of tips to keep your pets friendly on the journey to the dog park or on your next weekend getaway.

As far as Daddario is concerned, everything that the auto sales giant is doing to raise awareness for the tens of thousands of shelters across the United States is amazing.

“I love the idea that a big company like this is trying to bring attention to dog adoption,” she says, “I think ‘Adopt don’t shop’ is an important thing to think about when getting a dog.”

Daddario will be shooting a film called Can You Keep A Secret, based on the best-selling novel by Sophie Kinsella, in upstate New York this Fall, and will likely be spending time between takes at the dog park with Levon.

• Start the week with this amusing video of a dog stealing a GoPro
• Hot dog? There’s finally a wearable that protects your pooch from heat stroke
• The best hiking gear for dogs

Digital Trends

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August 23, 2018 at 06:38PM

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These Are Your Four Favorite Sound Bars

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Digital Trends

via Gizmodo https://gizmodo.com

August 23, 2018 at 06:18PM

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How That Fake DNC 'Hack' Got Shut Down so Quickly

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The Democrats are on edge for good reason. They have a little experience with this.

What appeared to be an attempt by hackers to phish Democratic officials and obtain access to the party’s voter file this week turned out to be nothing more than a covert security exercise in Michigan. And while the party line now is that the incident shows how tight security really is—the FBI being called before anyone was tricked into giving up their password—the real credit belongs to a San Francisco-based company that, like the Democratic National Committee itself, was oblivious to what was really going on until less than 24 hours ago.

It’s been one hell of a busy week at Lookout, the mobile security firm that first detected the fraudulent site that was trying to capture login credentials to VoteBuilder, the platform Democrats use to track potential voters. Work at the firm has basically shut down as its security pros are spending most of their time fielding questions from reporters.

“We’ve been on the phone since Monday. We haven’t been able to do much else,” said Clinton Karr, a company spokesperson.

Late Wednesday, the DNC revealed that the attack it had announced earlier in the day was not an attack at all, but a security test performed without its knowledge. Gizmodo confirmed Thursday that the test was carried out by Michigan Democrats who are trying, wisely, to keep staff members on their toes in the face of ongoing digital threats from foreign adversaries. With the help of an outside firm, state party officials created a fake login page on a remote site that could be used to trick campaign staffers into surrendering logins, granting access to the platform used by Democratic candidates at every level—for fundraising activities, to create call lists, to develop canvassing strategies, and more.

What the Michigan Democrats didn’t foresee is the possibility of the fake site being detected by outside security professionals, who would in turn report it to the DNC, which had not been looped in on the exercise. That’s exactly what happened. By the time anyone in Michigan knew what was going on, newspapers nationwide were reporting a federal law enforcement investigation into an alleged attack on the Democratic Party.

Oops.

That the phishing attempt turned out to be fake doesn’t take away from the fact that Lookout, a security firm most consumers have never heard of, not only detected the website but had it shut down in roughly 24 hours. Had the attempt been real, the company would have been recognized for most likely saving the Democrats from a lot of familiar pain.

The system Lookout credits with detecting the fake phishing site was developed based on the research of Jeremy Richards, that company’s principle security intelligence engineer. Roughly a year ago, Richards began researching ways to detect phishing kits as they were launched online. The application responsible for detecting malicious-looking activity targeting the DNC doesn’t yet have a fancy name. It is simply called Phishing AI.

Richards’ background is in reverse engineering threats and he previously focused on examining signatures in network traffic caused by the execution of malware. In his work, Richards discovered a lot of overlap between malware command and control servers and phishing infrastructure, which on occasion could even be found on the same domain.

“I started to learn how phishers deploy and where they deploy,” he said. “I started watching what kind of signals are created, what kind of signals are generated during that process.”

Around August 2017, Richards began coding an application able to detect the deployment of phishing kits online, creating models that could identify and classifying phishing sites in real time as they come online. In most instances, phishing sites are detected only after they’ve served their purpose—after a link has been sent out to dupe someone into coughing up a piece of sensitive information. Then they disappear. By the time a phishing site is logged, it’s usually too late. These are what Lookout calls “sacrificial lamb-based solutions.”

“We’re seeing thousands of phishing sites a day,” Richards said. “And that’s because they have to cycle so quickly to avoid being blocked by traditional means.”

The ways by which Lookout’s AI detects phishing sites is something of a secret. Not only is the application a proprietary product, disclosing too much about how it works would only give bad actors the key to defeat it.

The game Richards plays is cat and mouse. “It’s a game you’re familiar with coming from a malware protection standpoint. It’s not unfamiliar to me,” he says. “The phishing kits when they first came out were typically poorly written, bad copies, written in PHP, and they would either store credentials that were harvested or email them out. And while there’s still plenty of that—thousands per every day, in fact—it definitely trends now toward more sophisticated campaigns.”

For example, phishing attacks today often use one-time links, which make them far more difficult to track. “There’s also been a trend toward encrypting the HTML in the browser and having javascript decrypt it at run-time,” he says. “There’s definitely a lot of work on the phishers side to do obfuscation. And we’ve seen a lot of success in tackling that by analyzing the techniques from multiple angles.”

The messages carrying the phishing links, too, are becoming more sophisticated, relying less on a traditional email, which people have become naturally suspicious of, to carry malicious links. Attackers have expanded significantly into SMS and social media, and are displaying a preference for targeting personal email over corporate. There’s far more reconnaissance involved today, which helps phishers craft unique messages for finely targeted attacks.

Lookout has even seen messages carrying malicious links that tell parents their sons or daughters have been in an accident, using their real names. “The kits have gotten more advanced, they can detect when they’re being analyzed, and the reconnaissance has dramatically improved because of how much our lives are online these days,” says Richards.

When Lookout’s application first launched eight months ago, it was focused on detecting threats that imitated roughly a dozen brands, mostly big ones: Microsoft, Google, and so on. Today, it’s trained to monitor for more than 40. But with all that, it’s still the phishing sites Lookout doesn’t immediately recognize that prove the most interesting. The DNC’s voter file program, for instance, was an unknown. That’s the only reason it bubbled to the top.

It was flagged as high probability phishing, but Lookout’s AI could not by itself tell who or what the site was trying to mimic. This required the developer’s attention. “We saw this domain start to evolve over time. We were able to watch it change from not a phishing kit, to a very poor phishing kit with broken images, to a very sophisticated look alike,” Richard says.

On Thursday, a California-based company called DigiDem confirmed that it had been hired by the Michigan Democratic Party to assist in conducting the test. “As part of that training, we ran tests on the Michigan state party campaign’s internal security measures which tripped an external alarm,” the group’s co-executive director, Alicia Rockmore, told Gizmodo. According to Lookout, DigiDem did a bang up job.

“From the perspective that they were trying to emulate a real phishing attack, they did really well,” said Richards. “Otherwise it would have been very obvious from the beginning.”

While the test was not authorized by the DNC, and sounding a false alarm so loudly is likely to lead to some harsh criticism, the kind of test the Michigan Democrats conducted should be happening more, not less. At a White House briefing not two weeks ago, the nation’s top national security officials cautioned that foreign influence operations and attempts to undermine the country’s election infrastructure are on the rise, not abating simply because there’s now daily news coverage of their efforts.

“Our adversaries are trying to undermine our country on a persistent and regular basis,” warned FBI Director Christopher Wray, “whether it’s election season or not.”

Digital Trends

via Gizmodo https://gizmodo.com

August 23, 2018 at 06:12PM

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Facebook poaches new CMO Antonio Lucio from HP

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Amidst Facebook’s biggest branding crisis, It’s just hired a veteran CMO formerly of Pepsi and Visa to boost the social network’s external image and cross-promote features inside its apps. Antonio Lucio today announced he’ll be leaving his role as HP’s CMO after three years to take that post at Facebook starting September 4th. He’s replacing Gary Briggs who in January said he’d be stepping down after five years to advise companies and work with the Democrats.

Lucio’s hispanic background and his efforts to champion inclusion will bring needed diversity to Facebook’s management, whose CEO, COO, CFO, CTO, and CFO are all white.

Lucio will report to Chief Product Officer Chris Cox and be part of Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg’s leadership team. Prior to HP, Lucio was Visa’s Chief Marketing and Communications officer for seven years, and had been at Pepsico leading innovation and beverage marketing for eight years before that.

“Facebook’s story is at an inflection point. We have never faced bigger challenges, and we have never had more opportunities to have a positive impact on the world — in our families, our friendships, our communities, and our democracy — by improving our products at their core, and then by telling the story outside that we all know to be true inside” Cox wrote on Facbook. “[Lucio] has been outspoken on the need to build authentic global brands with integrity and from places of principle, and also on the importance of building diverse teams at every level in the organization.”

Lucio is well versed in the flowery philosophical rhetoric common at Facebook. He describes himself on LinkedIn as someone “who’s mission in life is to build brands that stand the test of time. These brands are anchored in purpose; have a meaningful impact on people’s lives; are built through strong emotional connections; behave with integrity and are constantly reinventing themselves to deliver their purpose.”

Lucio’s public persona sees him frequently retweeting accolades for his female peers. He’s been named the #2 most influential CMO by Forbes, and has received awards from PR Week and Women In Marketing for pushing diversity. At HP, he helped launched the #MoreLikeMe campaign to increase the number of women in leadership roles, growing their percentage amongst top HP marketing jobs from 20 percent to 50 percent. He credits this with contributig to a 6 pecent year-over-year boost in HP’s brand preference scores. You can see him talk more about the initiative on Cheddar below:

Sandberg writes that “Antonio has a lot of experience leading marketing for major brands like HP and Visa – and he’s been recognized for both his talents and commitment to diversity.” She’ll benefit from the help repairing Facebook’s brand after a string of troubles ranging from Cambridge Analytica to election interference, slowing user growth to worries that too much Facebooking can hurt our well-being.

“Purpose and impact have been at the center of every career decision that I have ever made” Lucio told TechCrunch in a statement. “Facebook is one of the world’s most impactful brands, at a pivotal moment in its history. I am honored to join the team and support its evolution.”

Digital Trends

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August 23, 2018 at 06:00PM

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AWS cuts the price of most of its Lightsail virtual private servers in half

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AWS Lightsail, which launched in 2016, is Amazon’s answer to the rise of Digital Ocean, OVH and other affordable virtual private server (VPS) players. Lightsail started out as a pretty basic service, but over the course of the last two years, AWS added features like block storage, Windows support and additional regions.

Today, the company announced that it is launching two new instance sizes and cutting the price of most Linux-based Lightsail instances in half. Windows instances are also getting cheaper, though the price cut there is closer to 30 percent for most instances.

The only Linux instance that isn’t getting a full 50 percent cut is the $5/month 512 MB instance, which will now cost $3.50. That’s not too bad either. Depending on your needs, 512 MB can be enough to run a few projects, so if you don’t need a full 1 GB, you can save a few dollars by going with Lightsail over Digital Ocean’s smallest $5/month 1 GB instance. Indeed, it’s probably no surprise that Lightsail’s 1 GB instance now also costs $5/month.

All instance types come with attached SSD storage, SSH access, a static IP address and all of the other features you’d expect from a VPS hosting service.

As usual, Windows instances cost a bit more (those Windows licenses aren’t free, after all) and now start at $8 per month for a 512 MB instances. The more usable 1 GB instance will set you back $12 per month.

As for the new instance sizes, the new 16 GB instance will feature 4 vCPUs, 320 GB of storage and a generous 6 TB of data transfer. The 32 GB instance doubles the vCPU and storage numbers and offers 7 TB of data transfer.

 

Digital Trends

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August 23, 2018 at 05:49PM

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Lyft is offering reduced and free rides on election day

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Lyft is going to offer half-priced and free rides to polling places around the country on Election Day (Nov. 6).

The ride-hailing giant said that it’s going to give out 50% of promotional codes to partners that encourage voter turnout. The company has linked up with Vote.org, Nonprofit Vote, TurboVote and others to help distribute the codes to anyone who needs them.

On the day of the election the company said it will also provide a product integration that will help voters find their polling places to make it even easier to cast their ballot.

This non-partisan effort to get people to the polls is only becoming more critical. Election officials in one county in Georgia have proposed closing 7 of 9 polling places, because they’re not sufficiently accessible for handicapped voters. Having Lyft available to help those voters who would be impacted by the closures (some of whom would have to walk three hours to get to the nearest open polls) could certainly be a boon.

As the company noted in its announcement, there’s a participation problem impacting elections in the U.S. Estimates from the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement indicate that roughly 15 million people didn’t vote in the 2016 election because they didn’t have transportation to get to the polls.

The last presidential election was decided by 80,000 votes in three states, so getting out the vote and getting people to the polls clearly matters.

For those underserved communities where the 50% discount on rides isn’t enough, the company will provide transportation free of cost through non-partisan, non-profit organizations like Voto Latino, local affiliates of the Urban League and the National Federation of the Blind.

Beyond just getting people to the polls, Lyft is providing ways for people to register to vote and learn about voting initiatives that are up for approval on election day. Through a partnerships with When We All Vote and National Voter Registration Day the company intends to remind passengers about voter registration deadlines; give drivers voter registration handouts and voter information at Hub locations; offer in-office voter registration for employees; and offer online voter information through the company’s partner organizations.

Voting access is a critical issue in making sure that every American’s voice is heard through the election process. According to studies from the Pew Research Center (cited by Lyft), 46% of nonvoters have incomes under $30,000 compared with 19% of likely voters. And 43% of people unlikely to cast ballots are Hispanic, African American or other minorities, which is double the percentage among likely voters.

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August 23, 2018 at 05:49PM

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The Hajj Is a Perfect Laboratory for Disease Warning Systems

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August 23, 2018 at 05:03PM