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NTP Flaw in Linux, Mac, and BSD OS distros can be used to compromise encryption

Hackers could have manipulated the NTP Protocol flaws to damage encryption, jam bitcoin trades

Eight security vulnerabilities have been discovered by Cisco researchers in the Network Time Protocol (NTP) used by Linux, Mac, and BSD OS distributions. Network Time Protocol (NTP) is a networking protocol for clock synchronization between computer systems over packet-switched, variable-latency data networks. In operation since before 1985, NTP is one of the oldest Internet protocols in current use. NTP was originally designed by David L. Mills of the University of Delaware, who still oversees its development.

http://www.techworm.net/2015/10/ntp-flaw-linux-mac-bsd-os-distros-compromise-encryption.html

NTP Flaw in Linux, Mac, and BSD OS distros can be used to compromise encryption Hackers could have manipulated the NTP Protocol flaws to damage encryption, jam bitcoin trades

Russia: new nuclear tech titan

According to recently published research from the World Nuclear Association (WNA), Russia is now a global leader in fast neutron reactor technology, with exports of nuclear goods and services described as "a major Russian policy and economic objective".

The report highlights the dramatic efficiency increase in Russian nuclear generation since the mid-'90s and concludes that Russia is moving steadily forward with plans to develop new reactor technology and expand the role of nuclear energy both at home and abroad. Having signed deals with a number of countries, including Finland, Egypt and Jordan, over 20 plants are confirmed or planned for export construction, and global demand is tipped to rise; Russia is fast shaping up to be the new titan in world nuclear technology.

Russian expertise

State-owned Rosatom says that Russia's nuclear industry amounts to over 400 companies and more than 255,000 employees working across the fuel cycle, power generation and R&D sectors, 34 operating power facilities with an installed capacity of 25.2GW, and the only nuclear-powered icebreaker fleet in the world.

"Rosatom has one highly significant advantage - its the only company in the world which can provide the industry's complete range of products."
A succession of initiatives from Vladimir Putin has helped establish the continued development of this industry as a top national priority, both as a means to ensure future domestic energy security and as a key economic sector in its own right, with international projects forming a big focus area for growth. All of the thousands of reactor-years of experience gained since Obninsk - including the safety lessons learnt in the wake of the disaster at Chernobyl - have been effectively packaged to create a unique selling point for Russian expertise on foreign markets. While many critics felt that Fukushima would finally herald the demise of nuclear power, it seems that quite the reverse has turned out to be true. With its appeal now fast growing, particularly in Asia, Russia has been wooing prospective clients with a range of tempting incentives.

http://www.power-technology.com/features/featurerussia-new-nuclear-tech-titan-4647211/

Russia: new nuclear tech titan Sixty-one years on from giving the world its first-ever nuclear power plant, Russia is once again at the forefront of atomic energy. Dr Gareth Evans finds out how the country is shaping up to be the new titan in world nuclear technology.

Dead Star Demolishes Planet – Offering A Glimpse Into How The Earth Could End Its Days

Astronomers have made the first direct discovery of a white dwarf star being orbited by a disintegrating minor planet that will ultimately collide into it. The observation, made by the Kepler space telescope, offers a glimpse into what could happen to the Earth in a few billion years as the Sun, like most stars, becomes a white dwarf.

The study, published in Nature, also adds to a growing number of studies reporting that dwarf stars can have atmospheres polluted with heavy elements – in some cases the constituents of water. Knowing that planets can be the source of such contamination gives weight to a hypothesis that says water on Earth was deposited by rocky bodies from distant regions in our solar system.

Strange Pollution

Most stars, including our Sun, will become white dwarfs as they die – before going out as a black dwarf or supernova – when they have exhausted their nuclear fuel. Our standard model for white dwarfs would predict white dwarfs to have no elements heavier than helium in the atmosphere, but a growing number of measurements of white dwarf atmospheres show the presence of heavier elements such as oxygen, magnesium, silicon and iron. This is surprising because the star’s strong surface gravity is expected to cause heavy elements to sink quickly to the centre – leaving simple atmospheres of hydrogen and helium.

One explanation for this atmospheric pollution is that rocky bodies with similar properties to those in our solar system collide with a white dwarf and replenish its atmosphere with new heavy elements, including water. However, until now, there was no direct evidence that such rocky bodies exist or could fall onto a white dwarf.

http://www.iflscience.com/space/dead-star-demolishes-planet-offering-glimpse-how-earth-could-end-its-days

Dead Star Demolishes Planet – Offering A Glimpse Into How The Earth Could End Its Days Astronomers have made the first direct discovery of a white dwarf star being orbited by a disintegrating minor planet that will ultimately collide into it. The observation, made by the Kepler space telescope, offers a glimpse into what could happen to the Earth in a few billion years as the Sun, lik…