Blog Heap of Links for the day 30 May 2012

Two Cambridge experts have discovered a "back door" in a computer chip used in military systems and aircraft such as the Boeing 787 that could allow the chip to be taken over via the internet…. will heighten concerns about the risks of cyber-attacks on sensitive installations… [after] discovery this week of the 'Flamer' virus which has been attacking computer systems in Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia….

Social security numbers and other personal data for 123,000 Thrift Savings Plan account holders were stolen from a contractor’s computer last year. Names, addresses, and financial account and routing numbers of some accounts were also compromised…. targeted a computer operated by contractor Serco Inc., which provides record-keeping services for 4.5 million federal employees, service members and beneficiaries with TSP accounts….

… remarkable 19th century sepia-tinted pictures show the American West… as it was charted for the first time… photos, by Timothy O'Sullivan… first ever taken of the rocky and barren landscape….

A convoy of self-driving cars took to a public motorway in Spain in normal traffic, a world first, according to Swedish car maker Volvo… professional driver took the lead in a truck, and was followed by four self-driven Volvo vehicles… [Emphasis added. Not exactly self-driving. More like electronically coupled. Oh well. Progress, or a sort.]

NASA has reached an agreement with the Google X Lunar Prize competition to prevent the next wave of moon visitors from ruining historic lunar sites. …guidelines would also protect existing scientific experiments… guests vying for $30 million in prize money…. [We just need a President who will send troops up there to guard whatever we need guarded!]

…biggest collapse of a law firm in U.S. history. …Dewey & Leboeuf LLP filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday night… Negative economic conditions, along with the firm's partnership compensation arrangements, created a situation where its cash flow was insufficient to cover capital expenses and full compensation expectations… [Emphasis added.]

…16-foot-long space rock, discovered on Memorial Day, passed by early Tuesday at a distance of 8,950 miles… sixth closest asteroid approach… Monday, another asteroid, measuring 69 feet across, flew by at a distance of 32,000 miles….

Hope4Heroes Uploaded by vbrett on Oct 1, 2009

As the country heads into the Memorial Day weekend, there are still almost 1.5 million U.S soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines deployed in war zones or combat missions worldwide, and the 3,000th coalition service member, a U.S. sailor, has died in Afghanistan.