DAPULSE TECHNOLOGY

Hackers love to sell phone numbers, passports, and other personally identifiable information on the deep web, but last month one person was looking to make a quick buck off of a few military maintenance manuals.

On June 1st, Recorded Future’s Insikt Group discovered someone attempting to sell military documents on the deep and dark web. The person had recently registered an account on a hacking forum and published screenshots of what he had dug up. Through weeks of investigation, analysts were able to determine that the documents were authentic and the hacker had obtained them by gaining access to a Netgear router located at the Creech Air Force Base through a previously disclosed FTP vulnerability. In 2016, cybersecurity researchers found a similar vulnerability in Netgear routers with remote data access capabilities.

After successfully gaining access to the router, the hacker was able to infiltrate a captain’s computer and steal a cache of sensitive documents. This included maintenance books and a list of airmen assigned to the base’s Reaper maintenance unit. “While such course books are not classified materials on their own,” Recorded Future said, “in unfriendly hands, they could provide an adversary the ability to assess technical capabilities and weaknesses in one of the most technologically advanced aircrafts.”

The MQ-9 Reaper is a drone capable of operating both autonomously and remotely. It’s regarded as one of the most advanced and deadliest drones the United States has ever developed. The Pentagon, Department of Homeland Security, CIA, and NASA all currently use the drones.

The captain whose computer was hacked had just completed a cyber safety course in February and “should have been aware of the required actions to prevent unauthorized access,” Recorded Future said.

After the Reaper document leak, the hacker put another set of military documents up for sale that appeared to be from either a US Army official or the Pentagon. These included over a dozen training manuals and survival manuals along with tank platoon tactics.

While communicating with the hacker, he told Recorded Future that he frequently “entertains” himself by watching live streams of sensitive footage from airplanes and border surveillance cameras. “The actor was even bragging about accessing footage from a MQ-1 Predator flying over Choctawhatchee Bay in the Gulf of Mexico,” the group said. The hacker acted alone and had “moderate technical skills,” but was able to identify these security vulnerabilities throughout the course of a week, Recorded Future said.

The military has yet to determine the extent of the breaches, but will be investigating the attack. “ disturbing preview of what a more determined and organized group with superior technical and financial resources could achieve,” the group stated.

The post A hacker was caught selling a stolen Air Force drone manual for $200 on the dark web appeared first on DAPULSE.

Oculus  is launching a TV app for users to check out streaming video content on a big virtual screen on the Oculus Go headset.

The company highlighted Oculus TV at Facebook’s F8 developer conference as one of four new Oculus-built apps that would allow users to get the most out of the inexpensive headset. The app was supposed to launch by the end of May, but we’re finally getting to take a look at it.

Facebook wants a big selling point of the $199 Oculus Go to be that it’s the cheapest home theater you can buy. Oculus TV is a sizable step toward making all of the features related to conventional video viewing available easily. The app will be a free download for existing users of the headset and will come pre-installed on the device moving forward.

The app centers around a virtual living room with a giant 2D screen where users can select videos to watch. It’s a little unclear why this app exists outside of the Oculus Rooms social app, which also has a dedicated space for viewing videos, but the company is likely just looking to put extra emphasis on the device’s video-watching capabilities.

At launch the platform will have core support for Facebook Watch (naturally) as well as Red Bull TV and Pluto TV . This isn’t exactly an all-star launch lineup for the service, which users navigate similarly to an Apple TV interface, but the company is teasing new partners going forward, specifically teasing one with sports network ESPN.

The platform is going to rely on gaining interest from streaming networks, many of which have already built their own apps for virtual reality platforms. You’ll be able to launch these downloaded native apps from Hulu, Netflix and Showtime through the Oculus TV app, but that’s more of an organizational improvement than anything else.

Having a dedicated home for 2D video is probably a good call for Oculus, but users will only grow to enjoy it if Facebook can secure partners with content users care about.

The post Oculus launches its first app focused on watching television appeared first on DAPULSE.