MS unhappy about hacking bounty

Microsoft has voiced disapproval of a scheme being run by security intelligence company, iDefense Labs, which is offering a $10 000 reward to any hacker who finds flaws in Microsoft`s products, saying it is not the best way to secure software products.

Microsoft says responsible disclosure, which means making sure an update is available from software vendors the same day the vulnerability is first broadly known, is the best way to protect the end-user. However, eWeek says flaw-finding has generated big business and publicity for iDefense, which last year alone, publicly disclosed 150 vulnerabilities in a wide range of computer products, including 11 in software from Microsoft.

The hacking challenge is part of VeriSign-owned iDefense`s controversial Vulnerability Contributor Programme, which offers financial incentives to anonymous researchers who agree to give up exclusive rights to advance notification of unpublished vulnerabilities or exploit code.

The US military has developed a computer game to teach its troops how to use and decipher Iraqi body language, reports BBC News.

The purpose is to teach soldiers that using the wrong gestures can potentially cause offence and escalate already tense situations. In the game, users must build trust with local people through verbal communication and gestures.

The training tool, known as Tactical Iraqi, teaches US troops how to demonstrate sincerity and openness using gestures as well as teaching Arabic language skills.

A panel of experts from China`s Ministry of Public Security has approved a biometric face recognition system developed by an electronic engineering professor at the Beijing-based Tsinghua University, reports China View.

According to the report, the system excels at capturing moving facial images and features a multi-camera technology to lower the error for mismatching. The report says the new system will expand the use of such technology beyond police work in China and will soon be used for security at airports, post offices, customs entrances and even residential communities.

Facial recognition systems are computer-based security systems that are able to automatically detect and identify human faces. They work by measuring nodal points, such as the distance between the eyes, and then comparing them to the nodal points from a database of pictures in order to find a match.