BGR Daily Breaking Stories

Daily Headlines FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2014

How hackers hacked Sony As data continues to pour out from the massive data heist suffered by Sony recently, much of the recent media coverage has included speculation regarding how the attackers might have gained access to Sony’s internal network and stolen all of that data. Confidential documents, emails and internal memos were all taken in the attack, and even studio materials like unreleased scripts and full-length movies were stolen. It’s easy to imagine a room full of shady hackers surrounded by high-tech gear working tirelessly to penetrate Sony’s cyber defenses, having used a wide range of complex digital tools that are practically unrecognizable to most of us. But an investigation has revealed that the reality is far less dramatic. In fact, it turns out the hackers used a shockingly simple method to gain access to Sony’s private network.  MORE → Verizon says it’ll still charge Netflix interconnection fees no matter what the FCC decides Verizon earlier this week told the FCC in a filing that it’ll still charge Netflix interconnection fees, Ars Technica reports, no matter what the Commission decides in the future when it comes to net neutrality.  MORE → New app lets you take awesome interactive 3D photos with your iPhone – and it’s free 3D photography is a very cool area of tech that is getting increasingly popular, but there’s a pretty sizable barrier right now. In order to capture 3D imagery, you need to buy dedicated 3D scanning hardware that is often quite expensive, and most people don’t want to be bothered with it. That will continue to be the case for some time when it comes to complex 3D imaging, but a new app from Swiss software company Dacuda adds very cool 3D imaging capabilities to your iPhone. And the best part is that a beta version of the company’s new app is available today, and it’s completely free to download.  MORE → Is the party over for BlackBerry? Even though BlackBerry was able to eke a small profit this quarter, perhaps the optimism surrounding CEO John Chen may be a bit misguided, as the company continues to struggle with declining revenue.  MORE → The Waterloo miracle? BlackBerry ekes out tiny profit in Q3 2015 One year ago, BlackBerry was in truly retched shape. Now, though, it looks like the company has stopped the bleeding. BlackBerry on Friday reported its fiscal Q3 2015 earnings and the company posted a profit of $0.01 per share, which significantly beat the consensus estimate of a loss of $0.16 per share and was a vast improvement over the disastrous loss of $0.67 per share that the company posted a year ago.  MORE → Sony hack might have been just a rehearsal for more complex cyber attacks The cyber attack targeting Sony Pictures might have been just a rehearsal for a certain hacker group from North Korea, Reuters reports, as the country’s elite army of hackers might be working on more complex operations against more important targets in rival states. Though not confirmed to be responsible for the massive Sony hack, North Korea is currently the main suspect, according to recent reports.  MORE → Ingenious digital wristband records what you’re watching when you fall asleep on the couch We’ve all wanted to watch a show or movie late at night and missed the end of it because we were just so exhausted and fell asleep… but it doesn’t have to be that way for long. 3ders informs us that there’s a new 3D printed digital wristband that’s able to tell when you’ve fallen asleep and then instruct your DVR to start recording whatever you’re watching.  MORE → We finally have details on the next Minecraft game – and it’s nothing like the original From the first alpha all the way up to its most recent update, Minecraft has never stopped growing. To this very day, Mojang is still consistently improving upon and adding to what has become one of the biggest games of the decade, but people still want to know what’s next. We finally have an answer… sort of.  MORE → Meet the man who tracks down and shames the Internet’s worst trolls Trolls are a staple of Internet culture but recently some Internet users have taken to exposing some of the very worst offenders who do things that go beyond run-of-the-mill online cruelty, such as sending out rape threats. Technology Review has written a lengthy profile of Swedish journalist Robert Aschberg, who tracks down some of the most vile trolls on the web and then publicly shames them by reading back things they wrote online.  MORE → Forget the Xbox One, this is how Microsoft plans to reinvent gaming hardware next year The Xbox One is definitely one of the most important products in Microsoft’s lineup, but the company might also be interested in offering gamers a different kind of gameplay experience in the near future.  MORE →

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