[Supa_Fly1]

Duff man speaks.


^ At least now reading the interview with BB and his P'9983 we can invision the voice and personality that goes with those words.

[bungaboy]

FWIW . . . Cement is one component of concrete. Foundations are not made from cement. Foundations are made using Concrete.

Carry on.

[BanffMoose]

FWIW . . . Cement is one component of concrete. Foundations are not made from cement. Foundations are made using Concrete.

Carry on.

Noted.

[Shanerredflag]

Nice thoughts Banffmoose, I agree wholeheartedly with separating from the pack and proving it's security and ability to keep cars safe. I think they kind of have taken that step (whether intentional or not) by not being included in the lawsuit.
With respect to Harmon , they are a direct competitor aren't they? Their system chose to link the vehicle CANbus to their solution...big mistake me thinks. The acquisition of a possible solution may or may not play out...too early to tell IMO. Who knows...for under 200mm it could be a dodge (no pun) for legal reasons to prove they are attempting to mitigate current and future intrusion issues concerning their system??

Anyway...great discussion and those are just my thoughts. Cheers.

Classically Posted.

[Shanerredflag]

Duff man speaks.


^ At least now reading the interview with BB and his P'9983 we can invision the voice and personality that goes with those words.

Enjoyed that...thx.

Classically Posted.

[Shanerredflag]

Oh...and yes....yes I did order the new Passport. .

Classically Posted.

[chrysaurora]

BanffMoose - excellent, thoughtful post and very good analogy.

[bungaboy]

Oh...and yes....yes I did order the new Passport. .

Classically Posted.

So did I!

[3MIKE]

FWIW . . . Cement is one component of concrete. Foundations are not made from cement. Foundations are made using Concrete.

Carry on.

You just stated a hard fact.

[bungaboy]

You just stated a hard fact.

Yup. Real strength numbers at 7 and 28 days too! LoL

[Glenn Biddle]

FWIW . . . Cement is one component of concrete. Foundations are not made from cement. Foundations are made using Concrete.

Carry on.

Well if we're going to be picky we better say Concrete and Steele. You wouldn't put in a foundation without rebar.

Posted via CB10

[BanffMoose]

With respect to Harmon , they are a direct competitor aren't they? Their system chose to link the vehicle CANbus to their solution...big mistake me thinks. The acquisition of a possible solution may or may not play out...too early to tell IMO. Who knows...for under 200mm it could be a dodge (no pun) for legal reasons to prove they are attempting to mitigate current and future intrusion issues concerning their system??

I did a little scratching at the surface of Harman's relationship with QNX. It's definitely not a competitor relationship. It seemed more complementary in nature. I haven't scratched deep enough to see when QNX entered the automotive telematics market, but it seems to pre-date 2002. Interesting to note an excerpt of the following press release from 2002 (emphasis mine). Seems QNX was already there, and Harman helped solidify QNX's presence in telematics.

Harman International Chooses QNX Neutrino RTOS for In-Car Telematics Products

9/26/2002 - QNX Software Systems announced that Harman International Industries has chosen the QNX� Neutrino� realtime operating system (RTOS) and the QNX Momentics� development suite to build radio navigation systems for automakers such as Audi, BMW, DaimlerChrysler and Porsche. Harman based its decision on QNX's reputation of providing reliable and scalable RTOS technology as well as QNX's new comprehensive integrated development environment (IDE) based on the Eclipse platform.

Harman's highly sophisticated in-car radio navigation systems provide telematics, navigation, telephone, TV, DVD, games, superb audio, and Internet access. Working with Harman, QNX Software Systems will provide core operating systems software, integrated development tools, and support for key automotive specific components such as MOST (Media Oriented System Transport), IDB 1394, Bluetooth, and speech recognition, among others.

Two years after that press release comes this one, when Harman buys QNX: (again an excerpt, with emphasis mine)

QNX Joins Harman International Family

OTTAWA & WASHINGTON, October 27, 2004 - QNX Software Systems today announced it has accepted an offer of purchase from Harman International Industries, Incorporated (NYSE: HAR). As the newest subsidiary in Harman International’s family of premium brands, including Harman Kardon, JBL, and Becker, QNX will now be well-positioned to accelerate its growth toward becoming the preferred operating system for advanced embedded applications.

Of key value to Harman International is the QNX� Neutrino� realtime operating system (RTOS), the company’s flagship product. QNX Neutrino is widely held as the world’s most advanced operating system and is ideally suited for the next generation of complex computing devices in many markets. Both QNX and Harman see an expanding role for the RTOS and, within the automotive market in particular, share a vision for establishing QNX Neutrino as the de facto standard for the industry. By bringing QNX under the Harman umbrella, both companies will be able to contribute to this process, speeding the pace of innovation in the industry.

The agreement comes at a time when sophisticated software systems are becoming the cornerstone of a steadily increasing number of integrated devices, ranging from infotainment systems to smart phones to networking gear. Maintaining leadership in operating system technology requires a continued commitment to innovation, strategic partnerships, industry standards, and intensive customer support. With Harman as a parent company, QNX will continue its leadership in all of these critical areas, pushing the industry forward as a whole and ensuring that its entire customer base benefits from its new resources and influence.

Under the terms of the agreement, QNX will operate as a separate division led by its existing management team, including co-founder and CEO Dan Dodge. All of QNX’s offices and operations will stay in place and continue to be dedicated to serving and growing QNX’s target markets, including automotive, networking, medical instrumentation, and industrial control. As is the established practice in other Harman International subsidiaries, QNX will continue to provide advanced software and engineering services to all of its existing customers, including Harman’s competitors.

"My vision for QNX remains steadfast. We will remain the top brand for OS reliability, the proving ground for innovation, and a fiercely customer-centric organization," said Dan Dodge, CEO of QNX. "Together with Harman, we will continue our leadership, setting new standards for performance and reliability that will benefit embedded developers, OEMs, and consumers across all industries."

"With its deep experience in the automotive, networking, medical, and general embedded markets, QNX brings a rich portfolio of technology and expertise to the Harman family, creating new synergies and market opportunities," said Bernard Girod, CEO of Harman International Inc. "We are excited to contribute to QNX’s ongoing growth and success, at a time when the need - and demand - for its operating system technology is accelerating worldwide, from North America to Europe to the Pacific Rim."

I recall that at the time Research In Motion (BlackBerry) bought QNX from Harman, one of the reasons Harman (or QNX) cited for the sale, was because QNX felt it's ability to grow market share in automotive was hampered by being owned by Harman. Harman's competitors didn't appreciate the fact they were licensing an OS owned by Harman.


Now, a two year look back at an IHS press release:

Linux to Take the Lead in Automotive Infotainment Operating System Market | IHS Online Pressroom (dated Nov. 15, 2013):

Global sales of the Linux OS in automotive will rise to 53.7 million units in 2020, up from less than 1 million in 2013, according to IHS Automotive, driven by Polk. The fast growth will allow Linux to overtake its chief rivals Microsoft and QNX from BlackBerry, as presented in the attached figure.

Battle of the OSs
QNX is at present the market leader in the automotive infotainment OS market with 53 percent share of units in 2013. However, the OS will cede share to Linux in the coming years because of stronger competitors and uncertainty surrounding its parent firm, BlackBerry. QNX has better safety certification than other infotainment OSs, which opens additional auto opportunities that are not counted in this market forecast.

Microsoft is currently at its zenith for market share, accounting for 27 percent of shipments in 2013, with its portion then steadily decreasing to about 18 percent in 2020. Despite the market share decline, Microsoft’s unit sales will increase through the forecast period, due to the overall rapid growth of the infotainment OS platform market.

So far, I haven't seen updated studies on Linux's market share in automotive Infotainment OS, but we know they're there and probably growing. But IHS' analysis of QNX and MicroSoft seems correct so far (at least anecdotally to me.) QNX's release of the Car 2 Platform was followed by many press releases from a who's who of automotive after market OEMs supporting Car 2. So Car 2 may have given QNX the life-line that IHS acknowledged could happen.

I don't follow the automotive industry other than by way of QNX. But it seems BlackBerry's instability is partially to blame for the rise of Linux, Harman's probable purchase of Red Bend Software, and a whole host of other issues that we've discussed ad nauseam in this thread. So, hopefully automotive hacks continue and BlackBerry has tools/services to sell the industry. Who knows, maybe the Jeep hack may convince Harman to strenghten ties to BlackBerry/QNX again. In the meantime a shout out to Toyota for holding Car Play and Android auto at bay for the moment. (http://www.autonews.com/article/2015...avigation-deal)

Sorry to be a broken record. I'll shut up now.

[Shanerredflag]

Nice read Mr Moose. ...well, Microsoft is out (at least for now) , we know QNX has grown to take aprox 60% of the market and BlackBerry's future is allot more secure than it was... fingers crossed the next two years continue on the same path.

Classically Posted.

[BACK-2-BLACK]

.
more from Moron Stanley....

Morgan Stanley Rating Update on BlackBerry Limited (NASDAQ:BBRY)
Eric Thomas/ August 6, 2015

Major Brokerage house, Morgan Stanley upgrades its ratings on BlackBerry Limited (NASDAQ:BBRY). In the research report, Morgan Stanley maintains the target price to $7 per share on the shares. According to the information available, the shares are now rated Equal-weight by the analysts at the agency. Previously, the analysts had a Underweight rating on the shares. The rating by the firm was issued on July 28, 2015.

BlackBerry Limited (NASDAQ:BBRY) shares are expected to touch $9.54 in the short term. This short term price target has been shared by 19 analysts. However, the standard deviation of short term price estimate has been valued at 2.11. The target price could hit $14 on the higher end and $6 on the lower end.

BlackBerry Limited (NASDAQ:BBRY) is a hold, according to the average broker rating of 2.86. The number of analysts in this rating is 22. Research Analysts at Zacks has the shares a rating of 3, which implies that the firms recommendation is Neutral on the company.

BlackBerry Limited (NASDAQ:BBRY) rose 0.13% or 0.01 points on Wednesday and made its way into the gainers of the day. After trading began at $7.61 the stock was seen hitting $7.81 as a peak level and $7.59 as the lowest level. The stock ended up at $7.61. The daily volume was measured at 4,014,869 shares. The 52-week high of the share price is $12.63 and the 52-week low is $7.1501. The company has a market cap of $4,031 million.

BlackBerry Limited has dropped 22.35% during the last 3-month period . Year-to-Date the stock performance stands at -30.69%. BlackBerry Limited has lost 4.87% in the last five trading days and dropped 4.76% in the last 4 weeks.

BlackBerry Limited, formerly Research In Motion Limited, is a designer, manufacturer and marketer of wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market. Through the development of integrated hardware, software and services, it provides platforms and solutions for seamless access to information, including e-mail, voice, instant messaging, short message service (SMS), Internet and intranet-based applications and browsing. The Companys technology also enables an array of third party developers and manufacturers to enhance their products and services through software development kits, wireless connectivity to data and third-party support programs. In September 2014, the Company acquired Movirtu, provider of virtual identity solutions for mobile operators that allows multiple numbers to be active on single device.

[BACK-2-BLACK]

.

'Assume that you're always under attack'

'Assume that you're always under attack'
Firms lax in protecting their data


By Christina Pellegrini, Financial Post

Enticing people to buy a BlackBerry pager to send and receive emails away from their desk was a tough sell when Jeff Holleran joined Research In Motion Ltd. in late 2001. Fourteen years later, he's facing maybe an even tougher task: getting mobile users to secure all their information - and foot the bill to do it.

According to a survey commissioned last summer by BlackBerry Ltd., seven out of 10 people in charge of risk and compliance deemed mobile devices to be their company's biggest cybersecurity threat, yet only 30 per cent of the 780 respondents felt they were adequately protected. What's worse, by now, those security mechanisms that made the 30 per cent feel at ease are likely outdated.

Companies in Canada are already as much as 18 months behind their U.S. counterparts in adoption, said Roi Ross, director of business mobility products at Telus Corp., one of the hundreds of software resellers. But it's not just a thrifty mindset keeping organizations on the sidelines: It's that mobile security is so hard that it seems some are opting to kick the can down the road instead of addressing the elephant in the room.

Richard Tam, chief administrative officer at Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital, located in a suburb north of Toronto, said the increasing mobility of patient data and care is generally being avoided. "A lot of people are trying not to deal with it," said Tam, because "once you open up mobile health, you have to deal with all the issues." And many hospitals administrators in North America are choosing to keep that door closed.

"It's not like you can just drop the software in and it works," Ross said. It takes time to test, select, configure and install, and then train employees to use it. Also, "some people are hoping to see some shakeout, or consolidation, in the industry" before choosing their provider. And, so, the gap lives on. The market has already faced pricing pressure and consolidation. VMware Inc. acquired AirWatch LLC in 2014. IBM Corp. bought Fibrelink Communications Corp. in 2013. Citrix Systems Inc., purchased Zenprise Inc., in 2012. More marriages are expected. Holleran estimates 80 providers are left jostling for business, promising to thwart intruders who try to smash a virtual window or climb in one that's been left wide open.

But just as the C-suite was warming up to the idea of fortifying phones and tablets, the industry has taken a noticeable shift from blanketing entire devices in bubble wrap to safeguarding corporate data irrespective of where they are being stored, as files travel in and out of an organization and back in again. This new focus, called Mobile Application Management, or MAM, is a response to the proliferation of the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy, which, for all its costs savings, is exposing firms to new liabilities.

"We've moved past the base of MDM (Mobile Device Management). In fact, we see it as just table stakes," said Holleran, now vice-president of corporate strategy at BlackBerry. "That's just what you have to bring to the table to play in this space. You have to do interesting things that help companies out."

Further muddying the waters in this space is that some statistics and reports suggest securing cellphones should rank much lower on the IT to-do list.


For example, according to a weekly analysis conducted from July to December by Verizon Enterprises Solutions, an average of 0.03 per cent of the phones connected to its U.S. wireless network were "infected with 'highergrade' malicious code," per findings from its eighth annual Data Breach Investigations Report.

"Is this something that we should be paying a lot of attention to and paying a lot of time on? Statistics say no," David Ostertag, global investigation manager for the investigative response unit at Verizon, said in June. "This is an area where we can take our resources and apply them somewhere else. We just don't see the mobile device in breaches."

But just because you can't see them doesn't mean data leakage or breaches haven't taken place, Holleran warned. "You only read about the ones that people are forced to disclose," he said.

That's because the threat is coming from seemingly innocuous sources, not just savvy hackers.

It's the employee who gives a phone to their kid before erasing company data. It's a forgotten confidential file on a USB stick. It's a former sales rep who takes your clients and their order activity over to a rival. It's the hazard posed by downloading many third-party apps that can be gateways into a device and beyond.

IT decision makers have to shake the feeling that the only reason an intruder wants to breach a phone or a tablet is to steal a file sitting on the device, said Christy Wyatt, chief executive at software provider Good Technology Corp. Data retrieved on mobile devices can also help hackers launch an attack from another medium and do so with little trace, making it tougher to detect and defend against.

"You have to assume that you're always under attack and you can't assume that the thing that's vulnerable is the surface people are attacking first," Wyatt, who grew up in B.C.'s Okanagan Valley and went to school in Nova Scotia, cautioned. "There isn't an employee that doesn't have something that could be used against you. That's really the big vulnerability and people are not yet acknowledging it."

Another mistake is that people often treat mobile like an extension of a personal computer or laptop. "I had someone in Washington, D.C., ask me what should we learn from the PC world and my answer was absolutely nothing. You should throw it all away," she said. "They're thinking it's the PC on a smaller screen, but mobile is a whole new world. All the things that worked then are not going to work here."

[Mr BBRY]

Looks like security is at the forefront on this morning's news....

Masque attack: Hackers using a major iOS security flaw to steal data

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/hacker...115014403.html

Each one of these incidents puts us one step closer to a widespread awareness of the importance of security. I sleep well knowing I have my money in a company that places strong emphasis on this. Hang tight everyone, BBRY will have its day... or new era! Have a great day, gang!

[farmwersteve]

Yup. Real strength numbers at 7 and 28 days too! LoL

70% of its strength at 28days

BTW, my silver passport arrives today.
Thanks employee pricing program!

Posted via CB10

[BACK-2-BLACK]

.


OT: the race is on....


http://www.streetinsider.com/dr/news.php?id=10788512

IBM (IBM) to Acquire Merge Healthcare (MRGE) in $1B Deal

August 6, 2015 9:20 AM

IBM (NYSE: IBM) announced that Watson will gain the ability to "see" by bringing together Watson's advanced image analytics and cognitive capabilities with data and images obtained from Merge Healthcare Incorporated's (NASDAQ: MRGE) medical imaging management platform. IBM plans to acquire Merge, a leading provider of medical image handling and processing, interoperability and clinical systems designed to advance healthcare quality and efficiency, in an effort to unlock the value of medical images to help physicians make better patient care decisions.

Merge's technology platforms are used at more than 7,500 U.S. healthcare sites, as well as most of the world's leading clinical research institutes and pharmaceutical firms to manage a growing body of medical images. The vision is that these organizations could use the Watson Health Cloud to surface new insights from a consolidated, patient-centric view of current and historical images, electronic health records, data from wearable devices and other related medical data, in a HIPAA-enabled environment.

Under terms of the transaction, Merge shareholders would receive $7.13 per share in cash, for a total transaction value of $1 billion. The closing of the transaction is subject to regulatory review, Merge shareholder approval, and other customary closing conditions, and is anticipated to occur later this year. It is IBM's third major health-related acquisition – and the largest – since launching its Watson Health unit in April, following Phytel (population health) and Explorys (cloud based healthcare intelligence).

"As a proven leader in delivering healthcare solutions for over 20 years, Merge is a tremendous addition to the Watson Health platform. Healthcare will be one of IBM's biggest growth areas over the next 10 years, which is why we are making a major investment to drive industry transformation and to facilitate a higher quality of care," said John Kelly, senior vice president, IBM Research and Solutions Portfolio. "Watson's powerful cognitive and analytic capabilities, coupled with those from Merge and our other major strategic acquisitions, position IBM to partner with healthcare providers, research institutions, biomedical companies, insurers and other organizations committed to changing the very nature of health and healthcare in the 21st century. Giving Watson 'eyes' on medical images unlocks entirely new possibilities for the industry."

Teaching Watson to "See" Medical Images

The planned acquisition bolsters IBM's strategy to add rich image analytics with deep learning to the Watson Health platform – in effect, advancing Watson beyond natural language and giving it the ability to "see." Medical images are by far the largest and fastest-growing data source in the healthcare industry and perhaps the world – IBM researchers estimate that they account for at least 90% of all medical data today – but they also present challenges that need to be addressed:

The volume of medical images can be overwhelming to even the most sophisticated specialists – radiologists in some hospital emergency rooms are presented with as many as 100,000 images a day1.
Tools to help clinicians extract insights from medical images remain very limited, requiring most analysis to be done manually.
At a time when the most powerful insights come at the intersection of diverse data sets (medical records, lab tests, genomics, etc.), medical images remain largely disconnected from mainstream health information.
IBM plans to leverage the Watson Health Cloud to analyze and cross-reference medical images against a deep trove of lab results, electronic health records, genomic tests, clinical studies and other health-related data sources, already representing 315 billion data points and 90 million unique records. Merge's clients could compare new medical images with a patient's image history as well as populations of similar patients to detect changes and anomalies. Insights generated by Watson could then help healthcare providers in fields including radiology, cardiology, orthopedics and ophthalmology to pursue more personalized approaches to diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of patients.

Cutting-edge image analytics projects underway in IBM Research's global labs suggest additional areas where progress can be made. They include teaching Watson to filter clinical and diagnostic imaging information to help clinicians identify anomalies and form recommendations, which could help reduce physician viewing loads and increase physician effectiveness.

"As Watson evolves, we are tackling more complex and meaningful problems by constantly evaluating bigger and more challenging data sets," Kelly said. "Medical images are some of the most complicated data sets imaginable, and there is perhaps no more important area in which researchers can apply machine learning and cognitive computing. That's the real promise of cognitive computing and its artificial intelligence components – helping to make us healthier and to improve the quality of our lives."

Watson Health and Merge CapabilitiesWill Benefit Researchers, Clinicians and Individuals

IBM's Watson Health unit plans to bring together Merge's product and solution offerings with existing expertise in cognitive computing, population health, and cloud-based healthcare intelligence offerings to:

• Offer researchers insights to aid clinical trial design, monitoring and evaluation;
• Help clinicians to efficiently identify options for the diagnosis, treatment and monitoring a broad array of health conditions such as cancer, stroke and heart disease;
• Enable providers and payers to integrate and optimize patient engagement in alignment with meaningful use and value-based care guidelines; and
• Support researchers and healthcare professionals as they advance the emerging discipline of population health, which aims to optimize an individual's care by identifying trends in large numbers of people with similar health status.

"Merge is widely recognized for delivering market leading imaging workflow and electronic data capture solutions," said Justin Dearborn, chief executive officer, Merge. "Today's announcement is an exciting step forward for our employees and clients. Becoming a part of IBM will allow us to expand our global scale and deliver added value and insight to our clients through Watson's advanced analytic and cognitive computing capabilities."

"Combining Merge's leading medical imaging solutions with the world-class machine learning and analytics capabilities of IBM's Watson Health is the future of healthcare technology," said Michael W. Ferro, Jr., Merge's chairman. "Merge's leading technology and proven expertise represent a unique combination of assets that will deliver unparalleled value to Watson Health clients. Together, we will unlock unprecedented new opportunities to improve patient diagnostics and deliver enhanced care."

[laketrout73]

70% of its strength at 28days

BTW, my silver passport arrives today.
Thanks employee pricing program!

Posted via CB10

Out of curiosity, what is the employee price on the silver Passport?

Q10SQN100-1/10.3.2.2339 | Bell

[BACK-2-BLACK]

.

more on their market share increase in the UK....

BlackBerry Ltd Ups Its Market Share In U.K. Marginally

BlackBerry Ltd Ups Its Market Share In U.K. Marginally

Posted By: Aman JainPosted date: August 06, 2015 09:50:43 AM


BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) has been able to slightly up its market share in the UK, reports The Inquirer. The news surely calls for a celebration from the company as for some time we only have been hearing of the Canadian firm losing market share.

BlackBerry showing promising signs in the U.K.

For the second quarter, BlackBerry's market share was 1.2%, up from 1.1% in the second quarter of 2014. BlackBerry is surely gaining momentum in the U.K. as recently CEGS, a security arm of the U.K.’s GCHQ, announced that government employees may most likely use BlackBerry devices as the agency is satisfied with the security the BES platform offers.

“BlackBerry mobile devices were the first to be considered secure enough for use by U.K. government employees,” the CESG said. The positive nod from the agency came close to the second quarter, so there are good chances that BlackBerry sales in the U.K. will be pushed further in the third and fourth quarters.

For BlackBerry the rise was very small, but Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)'s market share was 34.1%, up from 28.5% last year. However, this number was a drop from the first quarter when Apple held over 38% of the market. Apple's gain has come at the expense of Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)'s Android operating system, says The Inquirer, citing numbers from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech.

Apple’s gain, Google’s loss

Google’s Android held 53.2% of the market in the quarter, compared to 60.6% in the second quarter of 2014. "Apple iOS returned to growth across all of Europe’s 'big five' markets, recording its first year-on-year gain in France since February 2015," said Carolina Milanesi, chief of research at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech.

"In Europe, Android's performance was mixed, posting its strongest year-on-year share drop in Germany since the beginning of 2015,” said Dominic Sunnebo, business unit director at Kantar. Sunnebo noted that screen size was the push for Android buyers in the main European countries. Screen size has gained importance among buyers since the launch of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, but for iOS buyers, other factors are also important, such as “phone reliability and durability, as well as the quality of the materials,” said Sunnebo.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)'s Windows Phone performed well, bagging 11.3% of the smartphone market, up from 9.6% last year, Kantar found. The biggest surprise no doubt was BlackBerry, and its market share could move up further as it recently launched the Silver Edition Passport.

[BACK-2-BLACK]

Domain Movers: Orb.com, OpenWheel.com, MPCG.com & More Domains

Domain Movers: Orb.com, OpenWheel.com, MPCG.com & More Domains

August 6, 2015 by Jamie Zoch

Blackberry Limited registered the domain name ProtectedByBlackberry.com which may relate with the last domain registrations that I wrote about by Blackberry, AndroidSecured.com |.net that caused a lot of buzz

[BACK-2-BLACK]

.

US Officials Warn That Medical Devices Are Vulnerable to HackersPress Examiner

US Officials Warn That Medical Devices Are Vulnerable to Hackers


By Marcus Lassner -
August 5, 2015

On Friday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said in a statement that health care companies should stop using Hospira�s Symbiq medication infusion pump, which is a computerized pump built to deliver drugs to patients in care.

The Government Accountability Office, in a 2012 report, warned that medical devices were particularly susceptible and should be closely tracked. �The reality that devices have embedded computer systems that can be potentially accessed, can be infected with malware, and if those systems are connected to hospital systems, it really does create a set of vulnerabilities to our health care system that authorities are now warning about�. In a statement, the FDA �strongly� urged hospitals using Symbiq to transition to alternative systems �as soon as possible�. The FDA advised health care facilities to avoid purchasing the pumps from these third parties.

Those unnamed �recent cybersecurity concerns� surely refer to the near-constant stream of major hacking or security-breach stories dominating the news nowadays. In a YouTube video of their presentation at the BlackBerry Security Summit 2015, they showed just how simple it was to hack an infusion pump � using the built in Ethernet hack at the back of the pump, with the help of the device�s manual, which provided the fixed IP address that let Murphy break into it. To make matters worse, Murphy was even able to hack into the WiFi on the pump, so that he could control it remotely.

Rios told Wired that the communications modules used with the pumps allow updates to the machines� firmware. �You could basically log into this device with no user name and no password�.

In addition, the company said it is working with customers of its LifeCare pumps to mitigate cybersecurity risks (Finkle, Reuters, 7/31).

Disconnecting the device will require drug libraries to be updated manually.

In 2012, the FDA banned the import of Symbiq pumps made in Hospiras Costa Rica manufacturing facility, noting in a warning letter that the agency had found numerous uncorrected quality problems.

Hospira explained that this software is designed to provide Symbiq users with another layer of protection for the medical pumps while they remain available in the market for several more months.

Hospira says it will continue to work with the FDA to report any new information regarding cybersecurity threats, potential risks to patients and any additional steps that could be taken to protect them.

[BACK-2-BLACK]

.OT (kinda)

Rumours on other makers going the Android Platform route...

Concept Video Showcases Nintendo WiiPhone Running On Android | Androidheadlines.com

Concept Video Showcases Nintendo WiiPhone Running On Android
August 5, 2015 - Written By John Anon

Over the past few months there had been a ton of speculation about certain manufacturers bringing to market an android device. While that is all the norm in the android world, these years speculation has been that bit more interesting due to some of the manufacturers not being traditional (or at least current) android smartphone makers. The biggest of the rumors of late have surrounded the notion that BlackBerry are planning on releasing a BlackBerry android smartphone (or even two) and that Nokia are planning on releasing a Nokia branded android smartphone. Although, in Nokia�s case, this seems a lot further away than for BlackBerry.

Well, another manufacturer who has been seeing speculation grew about them, is Nintendo. Being a games company (and one of the most popular), the idea of them bringing a smartphone to the android ecosystem (or any Android Nintendo device) is one that naturally attracts a good deal of attention thanks to what is presumed to be an instant association with a high-focus on gaming smartphone. Well, if you have been hoping for a Nintendo android smartphone anytime soon, then you might want to check out this concept video put together by CURVED/labs.

The video showcases what a Nintendo android smartphone could possibly be like and it is quite an interesting proposition. While the specs being touted in the video are nothing to shout about, the pull out gaming controls will be something that is likely to be a feature many Nintendo fans would like to see in a real-life �WiiPhone�. In terms of these specs, the video makes a point of noting that the WiiPhone comes equipped with a 4.5-inch display, an 8-megapixel rear camera, a 5-megapixel front facing camera, 4G LTE, NFC and GPS. Additional features on offer, include wireless charging and a port so that DS games could be directly inserted and played. The device runs on Android and comes with an assumed Wii UI over the top. If you are interested in seeing what a Nintendo phone could possibly be like, then you can watch the video in full by hitting play below.

[BACK-2-BLACK]

.

Blackberry Announces Launch Of Android Secured Hub | Androidheadlines.com

Blackberry Announces Launch Of Android Secured Hub
August 5, 2015 - Written By Justin Diaz

Rumors of an Android-powered Blackberry device are nothing new, and there are numerous reasons why any Android enthusiast might suspect such a device exists or is at least in the works. One of those recent rumors began to spread when Blackberry appeared to register some domains for �Android Secured� which people took to mean had something to do with the upcoming Android smartphone they�d be launching. While the most recent rumors of the device revolve around image leaks, the appearance of these new domains fueled the rumors. Turns out though they had nothing to do with a Blackberry running on Android, but rather are the domains for Blackberry�s newly announced Android Secured Hub.

Today Blackberry has announced the launch of Android Secured Hub, a site focused on bringing individuals news and updates on the latest details having to do with Android security and management of Android devices. Blackberry is big name in the enterprise space, so it seems like the Android Secured Hub is mostly focused on being a place to go for all the details which those in the enterprise field using Android devices for work can go to to find useful information. It�s also going to be a great place to go for anybody that is just generally interested in everything that has to do with Blackberry�s security efforts with the Android platform.

If the name of the site didn�t give it away, Android Secured Hub will be a collective of the latest news stories, editorials, videos, and other information all pertaining to the world of Blackberry secured Android devices from various websites. Collections of stuff will be curated so visitors can probably expect the content to be the best of the best and handpicked specifically to showcase the most important information on the subject. Blackberry is also making it easy for individuals to share any content they wish with easy to access buttons to share with people�s favorite social sites right from the front page including Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook and more. If you need or want to stay on top of anything related to Blackberry security for Android, it seems this will be the place to watch.

[Christophe Piquemal]

http://www.valuewalk.com/2015/08/bla...uk-marginally/


A good sign I hope !

Posted via CB10