IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 26 August
26-08-2010
by Sylvia Leatham
CAO website under attack again | A-grade student sells notes on eBay
The Irish Times reports that the Central Applications Office (CAO) was forced to shut down its website on Wednesday after an early-morning cyber attack resulted in new passwords being issued to 22,000 third-level applicants. Those attempting to access Cao.ie were unable to check their details for more than four hours after the site was targeted for the second time this week. An interactive part of the site which allows users to renew their passwords was taken offline by the CAO at 9.30am and another section where application details can be checked was closed at 11am. The site was not fully functional again until shortly after 3pm. It is not known if the latest cyber assault is related to Monday's denial-of-service attack. In a statement, the CAO reassured applicants that their data was secure.
Meanwhile, the paper reports that an A-grade student is selling his Leaving Certificate notes online at eBay.ie, to help finance his third-level education. Cillian Fahy, who attended Gort Community College, Galway, recently attained seven A grades in the Leaving Certificate with 580 points. He is auctioning notes in mathematics, English, Irish, music, French and history, as well as some books. The notes start at EUR40 each.
The Irish Independent says that IT experts are now being used regularly by Gardai in their efforts to track down missing persons. Specially trained staff from the Garda analysis service are deployed routinely to examine data relating to missing persons to establish if there could be links between cases. The strength of the missing persons bureau has also been boosted with two new staff following a recommendation from the Garda Inspectorate.
The Financial Times reports that Google has moved into direct competition with internet telephony firm Skype, unveiling a feature that will enable Gmail users to call landlines and mobiles from their e-mail inbox. In a price comparison chart published by Google that showed rates from Google and the "leading internet telephony provider", Google offered cheaper calls to landlines and mobile phones in the UK, Mexico and France. Google already offered Gmail users free voice and video calls to other Gmail users, and the company rolled out Google Voice, a call management programme, earlier this year. "It might cloud the impending [Skype] IPO a bit," said Ray Valdes, web analyst at Gartner.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Apple is holding a music-themed event next week, prompting speculation it may update its iPod line and possibly unveil a new Apple TV product. Apple has traditionally held a September event to update its iPod products and iTunes media store. The event comes as Apple discusses deals with major TV companies that would allow it to rent episodes of television shows for as little as USD0.99. Apple currently makes a media hub, called Apple TV, that lets users watch TV shows and movies on their televisions. Apple is working on a new device that will simplify the streaming of media to a television set, according to sources. An Apple spokesman declined to comment further on the event.
The paper also says that Elevation Partners is continuing to invest in big-name venture-backed internet businesses, this time putting a deal together for online radio service Pandora Media. The technology and media investor -- which counts U2 front man Bono as a managing director -- signed a letter of intent to buy a stake in Pandora in a secondary sale from existing shareholders, a source confirmed. The size of the deal and current valuation of Pandora are not immediately available.
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