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20 Nov 2011 11:20

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Tech, U.S.: Report: Illinois industrial water pump damaged by … Russian hackers?!

  • Because that’s not weird or anything. On November 8, an industrial water pump in a rural Illinois town went down. Reportedly, the culprit was a Russian hacker who had gained access to the pump via compromised details from the software firm that produced the water pump’s remote-control software. The hack damaged the water pump, making it the first confirmed (but not claimed) cyber attack on an industrial system in U.S. history. The hack harkens back to last year’s Stuxnet attack on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. Stuxnet, a piece of malware reportedly created by the U.S. and Israel with the expressed purpose of damaging the country’s budding nuclear program, reportedly gave the Iranian nuclear program a huge setback. Excuse us, we’re gonna hide out in a bunker to protect ourselves from the fallout from the forthcoming cyberwar. source

20 Nov 2011 09:51

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World: Libya won’t hand Gaddafi’s son over to the International Criminal Court

  • what Despite the fact that the new Libyan government has yet to put together a justice system of its own, the country says it plans to try Saif al-Islam Gaddafi within its borders, rather than sending him to the International Criminal Court.
  • why “The ICC is just a secondary court, and the people of Libya will not allow Seif al-Islam to be tried outside,” claimed information minister Mahmoud Shammam. Gaddafi’s son is wanted by the ICC for crimes against humanity. source

20 Nov 2011 08:40

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U.S.: Pepper-sprayed UC Davis protester: It still burns, two days later

  • Don’t worry about it, I’m going to spray these kids down.
  • Lt. John Pike (according to a pepper-sprayed protester at UC Davis) • Speaking to fellow officers before the infamous pepper-spray incident on Friday. According to the protester, who spoke at length anonymously to Boing Boing, the pepper spray he used was military grade, and it still hurts, two days later. “It’s supposed to be used at a minimum of 15 feet,” the protester told Xeni Jardin. “But he sprayed us at point blank range.” Highly recommend you read Boing Boing’s photo-heavy account of the incident, which is very informative. source