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IT weather forecast: Hurricanes with a chance of dead satellites

NOAA is working to fix a broken weather satellite -- the one that watches the Atlantic Ocean -- even as it gears up for what's expected to be an above-normal year for hurricanes.

U.S. power companies under frequent cyberattack

A survey of U.S. utilities shows many are facing frequent cyberattacks that could threaten a highly interdependent power grid supplying more than 300 million people, according to a congressional report.

WikiLeaks' donations barely enough to keep the servers running

Donations to WikiLeaks since January have only been enough to cover expenditures in essential infrastructure, such as servers, according to a transparency report.

In hunt for life, NASA rover makes second drill on Mars

NASA's rover Curiosity has drilled into a rock on Mars for just the second time during its mission.s

Amazon Web Services gets FedRAMP certification for US government cloud use

Amazon Web Services has finally received certification under the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program, which the company said will lower the cost of implementing its cloud services among government organizations and agencies in the U.S.

Google, Microsoft and Yahoo are secret backers behind European Privacy Association

Google, Microsoft and Yahoo have been confirmed as the secret backers behind the European Privacy Association (EPA) which was accused of a lack of transparency by an independent watchdog on Thursday.

German online copyright law to take effect in August

A German online copyright law that will give publishers the exclusive right to the commercial use of their publications on the Internet will come into effect on Aug. 1.

Megaupload can appeal evidence ruling in NZ Supreme Court

New Zealand's Supreme Court on Thursday granted Megaupload leave to appeal a ruling that denied it access to evidence the U.S. government holds.

NASA's planet-hunting telescope is spinning out of control

NASA's Kepler space telescope, launched in 2009 to search for Earth-like planets, is now spinning uncontrollably in space.

Pirate Bay co-founder Peter Sunde to run for EU parliament

Pirate Bay co-founder Peter Sunde is planning to run for the European Parliament in 2014.

U.S. agencies can't track savings from data center closings

The U.S. government's effort to close 1,253 of its data centers is falling short of its goal, and agencies haven't been able to track projected cost savings for the initiative, a government auditor told lawmakers.

China still safe for IT outsourcing, despite US security concerns, says vendor

China's reputation for security may have been marred by recent U.S. accusations of state-sponsored hacking but the nation is still a safe place as a tech subcontractor for foreign businesses, according to one of China's largest IT outsourcing vendors.

N.Y. AG wants Apple, Samsung and others to help deter cellphone theft

The New York State attorney general has sent letters to the chief executives of Apple, Microsoft, Google and Samsung asking them for help in combating cellphone theft and hinting he may pursue legal action if they don't cooperate.

Smartphones driving violent crime across U.S.

On Feb. 27 in the middle of the afternoon, a 16-year-old girl was walking through San Francisco's Mission district when she was ordered at gun point to hand over her cellphone. The robbery was one of 10 serious crimes in the city that day, and they all involved cellphones. Three were stolen at gun point, three at knife point and four through brute force.

Houston, we have a leak. Space station losing ammonia

NASA ground engineers and astronauts aboard the International Space Station are working together to fix an ammonia leak on the station.

Payment card processors hacked in $45 million fraud

A vast debit card fraud scheme that allegedly netted US$45 million has been linked to the hacking of credit card processors in the U.S. and India.

Obama plays up military use of 3D printing

3D printing has been attracting more attention in recent months as a tool to create gadgets, toys and miniature works of art. Now President Barack Obama thinks it can also play a role in strengthening the military and America's sagging manufacturing industry.

Obama administration pushes open data in executive order

U.S. President Barack Obama has signed an executive order requiring that government data be made available in open, machine-readable formats, expanding open-access requirements from earlier in his administration.

The U.S. military's supply chain risk called 'frightening'

The U.S. military's reliance on foreign-made products, including telecommunications equipment and semiconductors, is putting the nation's security at risk by exposing agencies to faulty parts and to the possibility that producing nations will stop selling vital items, according to a new report from the Alliance for American Manufacturing.

Breached dam data poses no threat to public, Army says

A spokesman for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers today downplayed the significance of a recent incident of unauthorized access to a database containing potentially sensitive information on thousands of high hazard dams across the country.