California 'mystery missile' ignites debate: Friend, foe, or faux? - Christian Science Monitor

A mysterious missile launch from California or an optical illusion?

Skip to next paragraph

That's a question the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD) is trying to resolve – and the blogosphere is hotly debating – after CBS News in Los Angeles aired what appeared to be a rocket launch from the Pacific Ocean just north of Santa Catalina Island, taken at sunset Nov. 8.

The "mystery missile" video, shot from a helicopter operated by local CBS affiliate KCBS, shows what appears to be an arcing plume of engine exhaust rising into the sky west of Los Angeles. Speculation about its source ranges from an airliner, whose contrail is giving the illusion of rocketry, or a missile itself.

About the only thing unambiguous about the event is that the go-to agencies either with jurisdiction over launches or with fingers poised over launch buttons – the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the Defense Department – said, in effect, "It wasn't us."

Despite the official uncertainty behind the vapor trail, NORAD and the US Northern Command, which oversees the defense of the continental US, Alaska, and Hawaii, issued a statement aimed at reassuring the country that the event represents no threat.

"We can confirm that there is no threat to our nation, and from all indications this was not a launch by a foreign military," they said. "We will provide more information as it becomes available."

Coastal southern California is no stranger to rocket launches. The US Air Force launches military and commercial rockets from Vandenberg Air Force base north of Santa Barbara; NASA occasionally launches sounding rockets from San Nicholas Island, some 80 miles west of Los Angeles. Nor is it stranger to spectacular sunsets and odd aircraft contrails.

At contrailscience.com, a Santa Monica-based private pilot who operates the cite has posted several sunset contrails that look similar to the vapor trail the CBS news crew recorded.

David Wright, co-director of the global security program at the Union of Concerned Scientists in Cambridge, Mass., notes that his initial speculation about what happened leaned toward the rocket-launch explanation, given NASA's launches from San Nicholas Island.

The CBS report suggested the plume was rising from some 35 miles offshore, but Dr. Wright adds that evening lighting and atmospheric moisture could have conspired to make a launch contrail look larger and closer than it actually is.

But after reviewing photos on contrailscience.com, he adds, he's reconsidering a jet contrail as an explanation – one he tended to dismiss early on.

Page: 1 | 2

View the original article here

Microsoft Security Patches Plug 11 Vulnerabilities - eWeek

A month after breaking its record for the largest Patch Tuesday update in history, Microsoft released a much smaller round of fixes Nov. 9 with just three security bulletins.

The bulletins cover a total of 11 vulnerabilities across Microsoft Office and Forefront Unified Access Gateway (UAG). Just one of the bulletins is rated "Critical" ? MS10-087, which addresses five vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office. Among those five is a rich text format stack buffer overflow vulnerability Microsoft considers likely to be exploited.

?The bulletin is rated Critical for Office 2007 and Office 2010 due to a preview pane vector in Outlook that could trigger the vulnerability when a customer views a specially crafted malicious RTF (Rich Text Format) file,? explained Jerry Bryant, group manager of response communications for Microsoft Security Response Center, in a blog post. ?The update also addresses an Office vector for the vulnerability described in Security Advisory 2269637, which has been referred to as 'DLL Preloading' and 'Binary planting'.?

A second bulletin affecting Microsoft Office deals with two vulnerabilities in PowerPoint that could allow remote code execution if a user opens a malicious PowerPoint file, according to Microsoft. The bulletin is rated "Important" because user interaction is required to open the malicious file, Bryant blogged.

The final bulletin, also rated Important, plugs four vulnerabilities in UAG, which is part of Microsoft Forefront. The most significant of these bugs could allow elevation of privilege if a user clicks on a malicious link on a Website, Bryant noted, adding the update is only being offered through the Microsoft Download Center at the moment.

Josh Abraham, security researcher from Rapid7, said the critical bulletin should be at the top of enterprise patch lists this month.

"Based on the huge amount of patches from last month, some customers might be up to speed while others are still struggling to catch up ? this would depend on the unique customer and the strength of their vulnerability management program,? Abraham said. ?Another thing that is interesting is that Microsoft has been breaking their own records with the number of bulletins they are releasing in a given month. To help everyone overall, a better approach would be to keep a semi-constant rate of patches every month so that system administrators are not over burdened during specific months."

He added that administrators should also remain vigilant for attacks targeting the recently disclosed zero-day in Internet Explorer as well. That vulnerability has not been patched.

So far, Microsoft said, none of the vulnerabilities addressed in today?s update have been targeted by attackers.

View the original article here

Cuomo and Paterson's United Front - New York Times

They have been friends, members of New York’s political aristocracy and rivals — sometimes bitter rivals — for the state’s highest office. But on Tuesday, the departing governor, David A. Paterson, and his successor, Andrew M. Cuomo, presented themselves as partners.

Meeting at Mr. Paterson’s office in Manhattan, the two emerged for a mild-mannered news conference, during which they cracked jokes, told tales and discussed the challenges ahead.

Mr. Paterson led off with a story about the time the two men and their families went rafting together in the Adirondacks; he wondered aloud whether Mr. Cuomo had ever imagined that they would both ultimately serve as governor. He also praised Mr. Cuomo for his campaign warnings to New Yorkers that the state would continue to face tough economic challenges in the years ahead.

“Rarely has a statewide candidate for governor or senator or anything such as that been so honest and so pragmatic about the future,” Mr. Paterson said.

Mr. Cuomo repeatedly called Mr. Paterson a friend and thanked him for his service amid one of the worst economic crises to face the state.

“I thanked him on a personal level, for his hospitality and his courtesy and his professionalism all through this transition,” Mr. Cuomo told reporters.

He also joked that Mr. Paterson had agreed to find $8 billion or so in extra savings to help balance next year’s budget, one of the hardest tasks Mr. Cuomo faces in the months ahead.

“That really exceeded the friendship to the tune of $9 billion,” Mr. Cuomo said, drawing laughs.

It was a far cry from the tension and jockeying between the two men and their allies this year, when Mr. Paterson planned to run for election in his own right and Mr. Cuomo was widely expected to challenge him in a primary. Mr. Paterson ultimately abandoned his bid, leaving a clear path for Mr. Cuomo to win the Democratic nomination and, ultimately, the election.

Mr. Paterson professed no hard feelings.

“I feel very assured being replaced by someone I think is going to do an excellent job,” Mr. Paterson said. “If he had walked in with a baseball bat, I might’ve thought a little differently. I’m really good with all of it. Really, what I’m thinking about is the privilege it was to serve this state.”

Mr. Cuomo chimed in: “I don’t see myself as replacing Governor Paterson. In public service, you serve at a moment in time.”

View the original article here