Tech Tok: Cold War on internet targets US airports
The 80s’ and 90s’ kids will remember the Cold War, when all eyes were on what the United States and the erstwhile Soviet union were up to while trying to outsmart each other. The same Cold War, it appears, has moved onto the internet to leverage technology and is now targeting airports in the US.
According to agency reports, an apparently coordinated denial-of-service attack organized by pro-Russia hackers rendered websites of some major US airports unreachable on Monday, though officials said flights were not affected.
The attacks, in which participants flood targets with junk data, were allegedly orchestrated by a shadowy group that calls itself Killnet. Reports say that on the eve of the attacks, the group published a target list on its Telegram channel. While highly visible and aimed at maximum psychological impact, DDoS attacks are mostly a noisy nuisance, different from hacking that involves breaking into networks and can do serious damage.
At Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International airport, the external website was down, while there was no impact on operations. The Chicago Department of Aviation said in a statement that websites for O’Hare International and Midway airports went offline on Monday but no airport operations were affected. Last week, the same group of hackers claimed responsibility for denial-of-service attacks on State government websites in several US states, it is said.
After Project Lakhta, when the Russian government allegedly interfered in the US Presidential election with goals of harming the Hillary Clinton campaign, and increasing social and political discord in the US, this is another ‘Cold War’ spin-off that has hit headlines in recent times. What comes next?
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Samsung Galaxy S23 to offer bigger battery than S22
Samsung may launch its next-generation flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S23, with big battery support and a 6.1 inch screen.
The vanilla-coloured Galaxy S23 might offer a 3,900mAh battery, a sizeable upgrade over its predecessor Galaxy S22, which had a 3,700mAh battery, GSMArena reported.
The screen might feature 6.1-inch with Full HD resolution, the report said, adding that device would reportedly feature 25W charging and was expected to come in a new design and chipsets.
A report recently said Samsung Galaxy S23 series will not come with an under-display camera (UDC) technology, which also means that users may have to wait until the Galaxy S24 for the UDC technology. The Galaxy S23 series is expected to come with an upgraded 12MP selfie camera. Both the Galaxy S23 and the Galaxy S23 are likely to use the same 10 MP resolution for the telephoto camera as the S22 and S22 .
Portronics launches two afforbale soundbars with premium look
Domestic consumer electronics brand Portronics has launched two affordable soundbars, the Portronics ‘Sound Slick IV’ and ‘Sound Slick V’, which are priced at Rs.5,499 and Rs.3,499 respectively.
“The Sound Slick Soundbars, with a peak output of 120 Watts, will turn watching television into a surround-sound theatrical experience,” the company said, adding that the soundbars weigh about 1.85 kg, making it easy to carry them anywhere.
Additionally, the new soundbars are designed with a scratch-resistant sand-grain finish for a premium feel to enhance the look.
Sound Slick IV comes with the high-quality surround sound with stereo speakers (30W each) and thumping bass with a built-in discrete 60W subwoofer. Both the soundbars comes with multiple connectivity options for the TV. Using the optical input the device can connect wirelessly with a smartphone or laptop over Bluetooth 5.0 or the aux port.
The remote can be used to play/pause music, change volume, or switch to its built-in pre-set EQ modes.
– Dennis Marcus Mathew with agency inputs
