Papal Swiss Guard keep cool heads with 3-D helmets
VATICAN CITY: The Vatican’s Swiss Guard, the colourfully dressed mini-army that helps protect the pope, will have cooler heads now they have swapped their ancient metal helmets for ones made by 3-D printers. The new helmets, made of a thermoplastic, were distributed to the corps on Tuesday, the 513th anniversary of their foundation as a mercenary force in 1506, the Vatican said. They are nearly identical in appearance to the previous version but bear the coat of arms of Pope Julius II, who first used the corps for his personal protection. One of the main advantages of the new helmets is that they will not heat up like the metal ones, meaning the guards will sweat less, said spokesman Urs Breitenmoser. News site Swissinfo.ch said the old helmets, made in Austria, weighed two kilograms (4.4 pounds), while the new ones, made in Switzerland, weigh 570 grams (1.2 pounds). The Swiss Guard wear the ceremonial uniforms of yellow, red and blue stripes at official papal services such as Masses and visits by heads of state. The force, which numbers about 110 men, normally dress in plain clothes and more simple blue caped uniforms with berets. (Reuters)
Hacker uses Nest camera to broadcast ‘fake’ nuke alert
San Francisco: Nest urged owners of its security cameras Tuesday to use enhanced authentication to thwart hackers, after one terrified a family with a hoax nuclear missile attack. A couple living in a California town near San Francisco told local media they experienced “sheer terror” over the weekend when a Nest security camera atop their family’s television issued a realistic-sounding warning of missiles heading to the United States from North Korea. The couple and their frightened child eventually figured out they had been targeted by a hacker who got control of speakers built into the camera, which is equipped for two-way conversations. Nest, which is owned by Google-parent Alphabet, told AFP that incidents of commandeered camera control in recent months were the result of hackers using passwords stolen from other online venues. “Nest was not breached,” Google said in a statement. “These recent reports are based on customers using compromised passwords – exposed through breaches on other websites.” Reported incidents involving Nest cameras in the US in the past three months include a hacker threatening to snatch a baby and a seemingly well-intended hacker telling someone that his data was exposed. Nest camera users were urged to prevent such invasions by implementing two-factor verification, meaning that a second step such as entering a code sent via text message is needed along with a password to get into an account. Nest sifts through stolen data dumped online by hackers to check whether email addresses and passwords match those used for accounts at the smart home device company. Account holders are prompted to change passwords when matches are found, but the massive amount of stolen data posted online by hackers can make the process slow. People can check online at sites such as www.haveibeenpwned.com to see whether their email addresses have been found in troves of stolen data. (AFP)
Drunk passenger tries to hijack Russian plane
Washington D.C: A Moscow bound airplane made an emergency landing in western Siberia after a drunk man made an attempt to hijack the aircraft on Tuesday. CNN cited Russian media as stating that the passenger who attempted to hijack the Aeroflot Boeing 737-8LJ has been arrested. The airlines divulged that all the passengers and crew members on the flight de-boarded safely in the western Siberian town of Khanty-Mansiys. According to preliminary information, the passenger was intoxicated, reported news agency TASS quoting a local law enforcement source. Russia National Anti-Terrorist Committee spokesperson stated that the flight was rerouted after a demand by one of the passengers. Aeroflot revealed that it has dispatched a reserve aircraft to the town to enable passengers to continue on to Moscow. (ANI)