london

0

By Eric Auchard FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Tens of millions of vehicles sold by Volkswagen AG over the past 20 years, and some current models, are vulnerable to theft because keyless entry systems can be hacked using cheap technical devices, according to European researchers. Computer security experts at the University of Birmingham have published a paper outlining how they were able to clone VW remote keyless entry controls by eavesdropping nearby when drivers press their key fobs to open or lock up their cars. Vehicles vulnerable to this attack include most Audi, VW, Seat and Skoda models sold since 1995 and many of the approximately 100 million VW Group vehicles on the road since then, the researchers said.

0

Vodafone UK said on Saturday hackers had accessed the accounts of 1,827 of its customers this week, the second cyber attack on a British telecoms company this month. The attackers had potentially gained access to the victims' bank sort codes and the last four numbers of their bank accounts, along with their names and mobile telephone numbers, a Vodafone spokesman said. “This incident was driven by criminals using email addresses and passwords acquired from an unknown source external to Vodafone,” he added in a statement.

0

Vodafone UK said on Saturday hackers had accessed the accounts of 1,827 of its customers this week, the second cyber attack on a British telecoms company this month. The attackers had potentially gained access to the victims' bank sort codes and the last four numbers of their bank accounts, along with their names and mobile telephone numbers, a Vodafone spokesman said. “This incident was driven by criminals using email addresses and passwords acquired from an unknown source external to Vodafone,” he added in a statement.

0

British broadband provider TalkTalk said on Saturday it did not believe the authors of a cyber attack against it this week would be able to steal money from its customers. The firm said on Friday it had received a ransom demand from an unidentified party claiming responsibility for the cyber attack that may have led to the theft of personal data from its more than 4 million customers. “It is a smaller attack than we had originally thought,” Chief Executive Dido Harding told Sky News.

0

(Reuters) – A BT Group Plc executive has called for the United States to require its telecommunications companies to allow access to their networks at regulated prices, similar to rules in place in the United Kingdom, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. Bas Burger, president of the British company's Americas unit, told the newspaper that a lack of regulation has hampered competition in the United States, where AT&T Inc and Verizon Communications Inc control about 80 percent of the telephone and broadband lines used by homes and businesses. Burger said BT Group must charge customers more because it has to pay large fees to the U.S. rivals to carry data over these wires.

0

By Teppei Kasai TOKYO (Reuters) – The Apple Watch launched globally on Friday with a small queue of Japanese tech-addicts lining up in Tokyo for Apple Inc's first wearable gadget, but there was no sign of the excitement usually attached to the company's product rollouts. Buyers can take the smartwatch home from a handful of upscale boutiques and department stores, including The Corner in Berlin, Maxfield in Los Angeles and Dover Street Market in Tokyo and London, which Apple courted to help position the watch as a fashion item. About 50 people lined up to buy the watch at electronic store Bic Camera in Tokyo's Ginza district, while at the nearby Apple Store it was like any other Friday, according to Reuters reporters at the shops. “I buy one or two Apple products every time they release something new,” Chiu Long, a 40-year-old IT worker from Taiwan, told Reuters while queuing up at Bic Camera.

0

By Astrid Wendlandt and Pauline Askin PARIS/SYDNEY (Reuters) – Consumers flocked to Apple Inc's stores around the world on Friday to get the first close-up look at the tech giant's smartwatch, which the company expects will be its next runaway hit. The Apple Watch, CEO Tim Cook's first new major product and the company's first foray into the personal luxury goods market, was available for pre-order online and to try out in stores — but not to take home. On April 24, consumers will be able to buy it online or by appointment in shops including trendy fashion boutiques in Paris, London and Tokyo, part of Apple's strategy of positioning the wearable computer as a must-have accessory. Testing Apple's mastery of consumer trends, the watch is an untried concept for the California-based company.

0

Britain and the United States will increase cooperation on cyber security, Prime Minister David Cameron said, setting up “cyber cells” to share intelligence and conduct simulated attacks to test the defences of organisations such as banks. Cameron is on a two-day visit to Washington focused on the economy and security, and is due to have a second meeting with President Barack Obama on Friday at the White House. The cooperation between Britain's GCHQ eavesdropping agency and the U.S. National Security Agency will include joint war games, with the first exercise later this year to involve the Bank of England and commercial banks in both the City of London and Wall Street, the BBC reported.

0

By Nadia Damouni and Jennifer Saba NEW YORK (Reuters) – At least two top-10 Yahoo Inc shareholders are so unhappy with Chief Executive Marissa Mayer's turnaround efforts that they are making a direct plea to AOL Inc CEO Tim Armstrong to explore a merger and run the combined company. Their move follows an activist campaign by hedge fund Starboard Value LP, which is pushing Yahoo to consider a deal with AOL and unlock Yahoo's valuable stakes in Asian Web companies. …