Todays & Tomorrows Technology

Samsung have been demonstrating their latest AMOLED concept, an e-passport that embeds a 2-inch QVGA resolution flexible display into an identity card. Intended to show a 360-degree view of the card-holder, rather than just a full-on headshot, the e-passport uses an AMOLED display so frugal it can be powered wireless via an RFID reader.

Usually the display is blank (hence the need for a normal picture, as not everywhere will have an RFID reader) but when held close to the scanner it powers up and automatically shows the video. Apparently the AMOLED itself, as well as being flexible, has a 10,000:1 contrast ratio and can display 260k colors.

Of course, as well as showing more detail regarding the legitimate card-holder, it also makes the whole thing more difficult to counterfeit. There’s still no word on when - or even if – this concept will go into production, but you can bet there are security-obsessed government departments all over the world looking on with great interest.

Security researchers are claiming to have found a way to run non-approved code on iPhones that have not been jailbroken. Charles Miller, a principal analyst at Independent Security Evaluators, and Vincenzo Iozzo, a student at the University of Milan in Italy, have discovered “more than one” technique for loading an application into a factory iPhone as a non-executable chunk of data, which then flicks over to an executable and could potentially be used to monitor the smartphone, listen in on calls or harvest user data.

“If you want to attack iPhones, you have to be able to run code to do whatever it is you want to do. Maybe that is grabbing credentials, maybe it is listening into phone calls, maybe it is turning on the microphone. Who knows? But this all requires that you be able to run code” Charles Miller

Unlike jailbreaking an iPhone, which usually requires physical access to the handset, this new system will work remotely. Apple’s security software – which was bolstered for the launch of the App Store, to prevent copied or pirated apps from being used – usually prevents such exploits, but Miller and Iozzo found several loopholes.

The attack will be demonstrated at the Black Hat Conference in Las Vegas next month. At present it works with iPhone OS 2.0, which is the version Miller and Iozzo developed it on; they’re unclear whether Apple will have addressed the exploit in iPhone OS 3.0, which is set for release on June 17th.

D-Link have announced two new network webcams which promise plug-and-play remote viewing using the company’s online streaming portal. The D-Link Network Camera DCS-1100 launches today, while the DCS-1130 – with WiFi draft-n – arrives later in the month.

Both cameras can be accessed from any browser by going to D-Link’s mydlink.com portal. However they can also be used to stream live video to cellphones, with sound from the integrated microphone and remote control of 16x digital zoom and motion detection.

Setting up the cameras is reportedly as straightforward as entering its unique ID code into the web account. Streams can be shared, though at present only Internet Explorer is supported; D-Link claim other browsers will be added shortly.

The D-Link DCS-1100 is available now, with an MRSP of $179.99. Meanwhile the DCS-1130 is expected to ship at the end of June 2009 with an MRSP of $219.99.