Tag Archive for: movie

Hackers Blast Violent Gaza Message at a Popular Israeli Movie Theater


On Jan. 23, Turkish hacktivists projected political messages about the war in Gaza onto digital signage in an Israeli movie theater.

The group, called MeshSec, targeted Lev Cinemas in Tel Aviv, one of the most frequented theaters in the country.

In imperfect Hebrew, the message read: “Stupid Jews, you are all terrorist killers. You are cowards. You will take responsibility for the hundreds of innocent children who died in Gaza. We will not give you peace, even in your movie theaters, until your massacres are over. We will destroy you all. We will limit your access to the Internet and banking services. God is with us.”

The attack is just the latest case of psychologically oriented hacktivism invading Israeli public spaces since Oct. 7.

How a Popular Movie Theater Got Hacked

Hacking into digital billboards, it turns out, isn’t so unlike hacking into any other corporate IT resource.

“Basically how it works is that there’s a computer, or a management panel that runs any content you put on-screen — it could be a billboard, screens outside of a theater, anything like this,” explains Gil Messing, chief of staff at Check Point Software. “The hackers are scanning the Internet to find any kind of exposed Internet connections, and default or no password protection, for things like this that they find interesting.

“Once they’re inside the management panel, they can change the actual content on the panel to show whatever they want. It’s kind of like changing a picture on a webpage,” he adds.

The simplicity of the attack was equaled by the simplicity of the fix. As the Lev Cinemas CEO told Israeli news outlet YNet: “There is an external system that updates our screens and trailers. The hackers got into this system, and put up their messages — and within a few minutes we got on it, took it down, and the event was over.”

Psychological Warfare in Israel’s Streets

Amid the myriad DDoS, wipers, espionage, and more peppering Israel’s various public and private industries in recent months, some hacktivist outfits have focused on spreading political messaging to civilians in the streets.

Consider: Lev Cinemas Tel Aviv is located on the upper floors of the Dizengoff center mall, located at the heart of the…

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Biden Got Freaked Out About AI and National Security After Watching the Newest ‘Mission: Impossible’ Movie


President Joe Biden’s latest push to manage the rapid proliferation of artificial intelligence and its impact on national security was in part inspired by a viewing of the latest installment of the “Mission: Impossible” movie franchise, which features Tom Cruise (“Top Gun: Maverick”) going up against a rogue AI, according to a White House official.

Speaking to The Associated Press, deputy White House chief of staff Bruce Reed recalled that while Biden has grown concerned over the use of AI to generate fake images of himself or clone a user’s voice, it was a screening of “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One” at Camp David that particularly alarmed the president.

In the film, Cruise and his Impossible Mission Force team race against time to contain “the Entity,” a Russian-made AI that turns on its creators and sinks a next-generation submarine, killing all on board, within the first few minutes of the movie.

“If he hadn’t already been concerned about what could go wrong with AI before that movie, he saw plenty more to worry about,” Reed, who watched the movie alongside Biden, told AP.

Those concerns culminated for Biden in an Oct. 30 executive order on AI designed to shape how private companies can develop (and profit off of) new technologies without risking national security. Specifically, AI developers must allow the U.S. government to evaluate safety data and ensure that new tools don’t jeopardize public safety.

“One thing is clear: To realize the promise of AI and avoid the risk, we need to govern this technology,” Biden told reporters at the White House ahead of his signing, calling the order the “most significant action any government anywhere in the world has ever taken on AI safety, security and trust.”

That Biden was spurred to action by a Tom Cruise joint shouldn’t necessarily come as a surprise. In fact, he wasn’t the first president to enact a major change to U.S. government policy as the result of a screening at Camp David.

According to “Dark Territory: The Secret History of Cyber War,” President Ronald Reagan took in a screening of the techno-thriller “WarGames” at Camp David when the film hit theaters in…

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People are just realising easy Wi-Fi hack means they’ll never endure a buffering movie again


EXPERTS have revealed a Wi-Fi hack that means households relying on streaming apps won’t have to suffer through buffering movies.

It’s easy and free, but it does require a little forethought.

Streaming apps like Netflix and Prime TV let subscribers download content for watching on-the-go

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Streaming apps like Netflix and Prime TV let subscribers download content for watching on-the-goCredit: Alamy

According to lecturer James Jin Kang and Paul Haskell-Dowland, associate dean of computing and security at Edith Cowen University, planning your internet usage is the simplest way to avoid buffer.

It’s a tip the pair recommended during the first UK Covid-19 lockdown, when much of the world went online.

So, the trick will become increasingly more useful over the winter months.

This is when members of your household and the neighbours are more likely slink off inside for internet-based entertainment to escape the gloomy weather.

“If multiple people are streaming video at your home, which often requires ten times the daytime demand, a limited internet connection will soon be fully used,” the pair wrote in The Conversation in 2020.

Bandwidth is the maximum amount of data that can be transmitted over an internet connection within a given period.

It is shared by all internet users in a particular area.

And it gets eaten up quickly when more people in the area are at home using Wi-Fi.

To watch a movie pain-free during heightened bandwidth activity, the experts say households should think ahead.

“Try to plan your and family members’ online activities around peak times,” they wrote.

“Outside your home, connectivity is likely to be on a ‘best effort’ plan, which shares a fixed bandwidth with other users.

“In other words, your mobile internet bandwidth is shared with others in your area when they access the internet at the same time.

“A shared bandwidth results in slower individual speeds.

“You can’t control how many people access the internet, but you can manage your own internet activity by downloading large files or content overnight, or outside of peak hours (when there is less traffic).”

Streaming apps like Netflix and Prime TV let subscribers download content for watching on-the-go.

But the feature can also be used to download a movie or the next few episodes of a series…

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Billions of iPhone and Android owners warned over ‘cursed movie’ – one click steals your money and puts you in danger


IT’S almost time for the Oscars and cyber criminals are hoping to cash in on unsuspecting movie fans.

Security experts at Kaspersky are warning that one of the most popular Oscar-nominated movies is being used to steal people’s data and even money.

Security experts are warning about a fake movie scamCredit: Getty

Scammers are said to be creating fake websites that offer victims a fake chance to stream nominated movies for free.

The aim is to steal personal and banking information from victims and sell this on the dark web.

Kaspersky experts have found several websites that aim to do just that.

They ask for “small subscription fees” and promise access to movies but will actually just steal your bank information.

The experts warn that victims then become vulnerable to unauthorized transactions.

Movies being offered by scammers include Everything Everywhere All at Once and Avatar 2.

If an offer to stream a movie seems too good to be true it probably is.

Olga Svistunova, a security expert at Kaspersky, said: “The Oscars 2023 is lucrative for cybercriminals who intensify their malicious activity every year.

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“It’s crucial to be extra cautious during this event and double-check the authenticity of any website offering free streaming of movies.

“Don’t fall for fake websites or giveaway scams that trick users into giving away their personal information.

“Always use reputable streaming services and double-check website authenticity.”

Kaspersky advises checking the authenticity of websites before you enter any personal data.

You should also be wary of sites that promise early viewings of movies before they’re released.

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