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Today’s topics include a preview of a new Microsoft open-source “bridging” tool that can bring iOS apps to the Windows platform, a security issue with Android fingerprint sensors, the availability of the newest Pebble Time Steel smartwatch and why hackers are attacking fuel-tank monitoring systems.
At its Build 2015 conference in San Francisco in April, Microsoft announced a series of “bridging” technologies to enable developers to bring their existing iOS, Android, Web and desktop code and skill sets to the Windows Store.
Now the company has released an early version of its Windows Bridge for iOS and in turn has open-sourced the technology under the MIT license. The Windows Bridge for iOS, formerly known as “Project Islandwood,” is still a work-in-progress.
Microsoft delivered this early version on Aug. 6, but the final release will come later this fall. Microsoft hopes the open-source community will help shape the technology in the meantime.
Android users have a new security issue to worry about, this time involving fingerprint sensors that could allow hackers to copy a user’s fingerprint image and use it to make purchases or conduct a wide range of supposedly secure transactions.
Researchers at FireEye discovered the flaw, called a “fingerprint sensor spying attack,” which apparently gives hackers access to a vast number of user fingerprints on Android mobile phones made by Samsung, HTC and Huawei, according to an Aug. 6 report by The Consumerist.
The latest Pebble Time Steel smartwatch, which features a stainless steel body that’s available in three different colors, is now available for preorder starting at $249.99.
The Pebble Time Steel is a variant of the original Pebble Time smartwatch that was unveiled in June, which includes a stainless steel bezel and a non-metal body. Buyers can choose from a gunmetal black steel body with a black leather band, a gold metal body with a red-brown leather band or a brushed silver metal body with a gray leather band.
Attackers have begun targeting fuel-tank monitoring systems, which are known to be vulnerable to manipulation, researchers at security firm Trend Micro stated in a report released on Aug. 5.
The researchers used custom-created “honeypot” programs to emulate a common fuel-tank monitoring device used to track gasoline levels at retail gas stations and found dozens of attempts to access the six systems deployed in different locations across the globe, including the United States, Germany, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.