Philippines hunts new suspects in new ‘sextortion’ ring

 General
Aug 232014
 
Philippines hunts new suspects in new 'sextortion' ring

Philippine police arrested eight suspects and are hunting more in connection with an Internet extortion racket that has victimised hundreds of people in Hong Kong, Singapore and Macau, an official said Saturday. This is the second large-scale arrest of suspects allegedly for “sextortion” — using the Internet to lure foreigners into sending them compromising material which they can use for blackmail, said Jhoanna Fabro, spokeswoman of the national police anti-cybercrime division. The eight suspects were arrested and five minors taken into custody following a raid on Thursday in towns just outside Manila, she said. But Fabro warned that an undetermined number may have escaped before the raid. “There are other targets but we weren’t able to get them,” she told AFP. About 400 people from Hong Kong, Singapore and Macau were targeted by the group and the arrests were made due to complaints from victims, Fabro said. The suspects operated from towns in Bulacan province, about 30 kilometres (17 miles) from Manila. They used social media websites such as Facebook to meet people overseas and then used video call services such as Skype to engage in “cybersex,” the police said. “Unknown to the victim, these acts were recorded. Once the suspect captured sufficiently lewd video footages, he/she would stop the call instantly. Immediately, the victim would receive messages… from the suspect, threatening the victim that his lewd acts were video recorded with a video link to prove it,” the cybercrime division said in a statement. The suspect would then demand Read More …

Google Street View takes fans behind the scenes of Emmy-nominated shows

 Entertainment
Aug 232014
 
Google Street View takes fans behind the scenes of Emmy-nominated shows

Highclere Castle©AFP/Jack Sharp (Relaxnews) – Fans of Emmy-nominated TV series like “Downton Abbey,” “Breaking Bad” and “House of Cards” can get psyched for the awards show Monday by making virtual visits to filming locations and TV sets via Google Maps. Fans of the period drama “Downton Abbey,” for instance, can parachute into West Berkshire, England and take a virtual tour of Highclere Castle where the series is filmed. Images capture different sides of the set location: under a melancholy British sky, and a spurt of summer sunshine. While Freddy’s BBQ Rib Joint may be fictional, the storefront of Frank Underwood’s favorite restaurant in “House of Cards” is real, and exists on a derelict street in Baltimore. Thanks to the hit series “Breaking Bad,” a fast food restaurant in Albuquerque, New Mexico that serves burritos, burgers and enchiladas has become a pilgrimage site for fans. If you, like many diehard fans, are planning a pilgrimage to the restaurant that played Los Pollos Hermanos in the series — a fried chicken restaurant that served as a front for a crystal meth empire — get a preview of the area with Google Street View. And “Game of Thrones” fans may recognize the scenery of Ait-Ben-Haddou in Marrakech as the setting of Yunkai, or Yellow City, conquered by the Mother of Dragons, Daenerys Targaryen. For the collection of images and footage visit http://bit.ly/1l0d9a3. vs/cm

Singapore, Australia to boost intelligence sharing on jihadist

 News
Aug 232014
 
Singapore, Australia to boost intelligence sharing on jihadist

Demonstrators at a rally supporting Kurdistan hold placards protesting against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in front of the White House on August 16, 2014 in Washington, DC. Jihadists carried out a “massacre” in the northern Iraqi village of Kocho, killing dozens of people, most of them members of the Yazidi religious minority, officials said. AFP/Mandel NGAN SINGAPORE—Australia and Singapore vowed Friday to enhance intelligence sharing in the face of growing fears about the threat posed by jihadist citizens returning home after fighting in Syria and Iraq. Ministers from both countries warned of the rising risk posed by the returning fighters who are radicalized and have developed sophisticated skills to carry out terror attacks. “In this context of counter-terrorism and counter radicalization… we felt that we could exchange more information because these threats if they materialize will affect all citizens of all races and all religions,” Singapore Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen said at a joint press conference with Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop. Senior Australian government officials led by Bishop are in Singapore for bilateral meetings. Bishop said Canberra is “also in discussions with our counterparts in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines as this is not an issue that is isolated”. “If these foreign fighters as they are called, come back to Australia, come back to our region, then they pose a threat,” she said. “They are hardened, experienced extremists who have undertaken in a number of instances, terrorist activities overseas,” she added. Australia’s assistant Defense Read More …

China warplane in ‘dangerous’ intercept with US jet—Pentagon

 News
Aug 232014
 
China warplane in ‘dangerous’ intercept with US jet—Pentagon

This handout photo provided by the Office of the Defense Secretary (OSD), taken Aug. 19, 2014, shows a Chinese fighter jet that the Obama administration said Friday conducted a “dangerous intercept” of a U.S. Navy surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft off the coast of China in international airspace. AP WASHINGTON—A Chinese fighter jet flew perilously close to a US military aircraft this week in a “very dangerous” incident in international air space east of Hainan Island, the Pentagon said Friday. The episode raised tensions and underlined the growing rivalry between the United States and China, with Beijing building up its military and asserting its territorial claims across the Pacific. “On August 19, an armed Chinese fighter jet conducted a dangerous intercept of a US Navy P-8 Poseidon patrol aircraft that was on a routine mission,” spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby told a news conference. The close call occurred about 135 miles (220 kilometers) east of China’s Hainan, he said. “We have registered our strong concerns to the Chinese about the unsafe and unprofessional intercept, which posed a risk to the safety and the well-being of the air crew and was inconsistent with customary international law,” Kirby added. The move also threatened to jeopardize longstanding US efforts to bolster relations with China’s military, he said, at a time when officials have touted progress in forging a dialogue with Beijing’s top brass. The armed Chinese warplane came close to the surveillance aircraft three times, flying underneath the American plane, at the P-8′s nose Read More …

Jeepney may serve as Pope Francis’ Popemobile during PHL visit

 News
Aug 232014
 
Jeepney may serve as Pope Francis’ Popemobile during PHL visit

Pope Francis’ visit to the Philippines this coming January may take on a stronger Filipino flavor as organizers consider ferrying him around in a jeepney. Former Ambassador to the Holy See Henrietta de Villa, a member of the preparatory committee, said this is one of the options they are considering. “Nothing is fixed yet… I’m not actually the one in charge of this but I think there are suggestions for a jeepney that is open on top,” De Villa said, according to an article posted Saturday on the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines news site. Pope Francis is scheduled to visit the Philippines Jan. 15 to 19. He is expected to visit areas devastated by super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) in November 2013. The jeepney is a modified jeep used for public transport in the Philippines. Many jeepneys use modified diesel engines and custom-built bodies. In 1995, a modified Asian utility vehicle (AUV) was used as the Popemobile for the papal visit of now Saint John Paul II. De Villa said the idea of a jeepney being the next Popemobile stemmed from Pope Francis’ visit to South Korea, where he rode a locally built vehicle. “So maybe it would be better for him to use jeepney here,” she said. But she added the pope has so far not made any request as far as vehicles are concerned, though “all arrangements will still be finalized” this November. If Vatican protocol officials approve a jeepney as the next Popemobile by November, de Read More …

PH to pull out peace troops in Golan Heights, Liberia

 News
Aug 232014
 
PH to pull out peace troops in Golan Heights, Liberia

By Frances Mangosing |INQUIRER.net 1:45 pm | Saturday, August 23rd, 2014 MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines will pull out its troops serving as United Nations peacekeepers in Golan Heights and Liberia due to health and security threats, the Department of National Defense said on Saturday. “To ensure the safety and security of the Philippine military troops deployed to conflict-affected areas, the country’s contingents in the Golan Heights and Liberia are scheduled to be repatriated within the year,” the DND said in a statement. The “volatile security environment” in the Middle East and North African region led the Philippines “to prioritize the safety and security of its troops.” The Philippines will also withdraw its troops in Liberia due to “the rising health risk” posed by the Ebola virus outbreak. There are currently 331 Army soldiers serving as UN peacekeepers in Golan Heights and 115 Navy soldiers in Liberia. “The 331-strong Filipino contingent serving as part of the United Nations Disengagement Force (UNDOF) in the Golan Heights will be repatriated at the end of their tour of duty in October,” the DND said. “Meanwhile, in light of the rising health risk posed by the outbreak of Ebola virus in Africa, the Filipino troops deployed to the UN Mission in Liberia will also be repatriated as soon as possible,” it also said. The 157 all-Air Force team in Haiti, meanwhile, will not be covered by the repatriation. The Armed Forces of the Philippines deploys military personnel to Liberia, Golan Heights and Haiti as part Read More …

Gov't warns US retailers about hacking software

 Economy
Aug 222014
 
Gov't warns US retailers about hacking software

WASHINGTON — The Homeland Security Department is warning that more than 1,000 retailers could have a new malicious software program lurking in their cash registers that allows computer hackers to steal financial data about their customers. The department on Friday warned businesses of all sizes they should scan their cash register systems for the “Backoff” malicious software first discovered last October. The government earlier this summer issued a more detailed warning explaining what the malicious program is doing and how retailers’ information technology departments could deal with it. The government says the Backoff program itself is not unique, but its wide deployment by hackers and its repeated updates over the last six months make it a serious threat for consumers and businesses.

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