Daily Archives: April 28, 2014

Hacker hijacks baby monitor

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By Amy Wagner

25310628_BG1Heather Schreck was asleep around midnight in her Hebron home when a voice startled her.

“All of a sudden, I heard what sounded like a man’s voice but I was asleep so I wasn’t sure,” Heather said.

Disoriented and confused, Heather picked up her cell phone to check the camera in her 10-month-old daughter Emma’s room. The camera was moving, but she wasn’t moving it.

“About the time I saw it moving, I also heard a voice again start screaming at my daughter. He was screaming, ‘Wake up baby. Wake up baby.’ Then just screaming at her trying to wake her up.”

That’s when Heather’s husband, Adam, ran into Emma’s room. Adam said the camera then turned from his petrified daughter to point directly at him.

“Then it screamed at me,” Adam said. “Some bad things, some obscenities. So I unplugged the camera.”

But the Schrecks were only beginning to plug into the truth of what had just happened.

“Someone had hacked in from outside,” Heather said.

So how many other times had someone hacked into their camera and watched their baby through their Foscam IP Camera.

“You do kind of feel violated in a way,” Adam said.

Read more at Fox 19

Scam Emails About Phony Court Cases Carry Computer Virus

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In January, the federal judiciary learned of an email scam, in which emails purporting to come from federal and state courts are infecting recipients with computer viruses.

According to the Security Operations Center of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, the emails are instructing recipients to report to a hearing on a specified day and time. The emails also instruct recipients to review an attached document for detailed case information. When the attachments or links in the email are opened, a malicious program is launched that infects the recipient’s computer. Several state courts have reported similar schemes, and also are warning the public about potential viruses.

Unless you are actively involved in a case in federal court and have consented to receive court notifications electronically, you generally will not be served with court documents electronically.

If you receive an email and are not involved in a court case or have not given your email to a court, do not open it. Contact the court in question. If your virus scanner checks emails, ensure that it is set up properly to detect viruses in emails.

Senate approves Friedland’s nomination to 9th Circuit Court of Appeals

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freidland-connorThe U.S. Senate voted Monday to approve the nomination of San Francisco lawyer Michelle Friedland to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. With Friedland’s confirmation on a 51-40 vote, the highest federal court to serve California will be fully staffed for the first time in decades.

Friedland is a Stanford Law School grad who works with Munger, Tolles & Olson. Her expertise is in antitrust and higher education litigation, but she also worked pro bono on the legal challenge to California’s anti-gay marriage measure Proposition 8.

University of Richmond Law School professor Carl Tobias calls Friedland “extremely well qualified” — so much so that retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor showed up at her confirmation hearing. Friedland clerked for the nation’s first female justice when she was on the high court.

It’s been a long time since the nation’s busiest appeals court has been fully staffed. How long? Tobias says “maybe as far back as the Reagan administration.” At times, as many as a third of the seats were vacant due to partisan battles between the White House and the Senate. Tobias says the 9th became one of the slowest appeals courts in the country, with a case load that overwhelmed the judges.

Read more at KPCC

Roundabout work scheduled in Wickenburg on US 93 tomorrow night

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The Arizona Department of Transportation will restripe the south roundabout in Wickenburg on US 93 tomorrow night, April 29. Work hours will be from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Northbound US 93 traffic will be directed to use the north roundabout to Tegner Street for access into Wickenburg. Southbound US 93 traffic will be directed onto Tegner Street to eastbound US 60 and through the work zone with flaggers.

Clearly marked detour signage will be in place to direct traffic around the work zone. ADOT advises drivers to proceed through the work zone with caution, slow down, and be alert for construction equipment and personnel.

Bridge work on SR 260 starts tomorrow east of Payson

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PRESCOTT – The Arizona Department of Transportation will begin a bridge rehabilitation project on Tuesday, April 29 along a 10-mile stretch of State Route 260 (mileposts 267-277), approximately 17 miles east of Payson.

This $2.9 million project consists of reconstructing the existing bridge approaches of eight structures on the eastbound and westbound roadways. Work also includes milling and replacing the existing pavement at the bridge approaches, guardrail reconstruction and the replacement of existing pavement markings.

Work will begin tomorrow, April 29 at 6 a.m. in two locations, and will be in place for the next three months. Drivers can expect the eastbound lanes, at both locations, to be closed and traffic switched over to one of the westbound lanes creating a two-way roadway. Work hours are 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The first will be at the Tonto Creek Bridge (mileposts 267-268) near Kohl’s Ranch Road and the second will start at the Christopher Creek Campground (mileposts 272 -277) and work eastbound for five miles.

Delays are possible and drivers need to allow extra travel time to reach their destinations. The closures and detour will be in effect for the next three months.

The work zone will be clearly marked by temporary barricades and signage. ADOT advises drivers to proceed through the work zone with caution, comply with the reduced speed limit, and be alert for construction equipment and personnel.