Researchers pocket record $400K at Pwn2Own hacking contest's first day

Computerworld - Researchers on Wednesday cracked Microsoft's Internet Explorer 11 (IE11), Mozilla's Firefox and Adobe's Flash and Reader at the Pwn2Own hacking contest, earning $400,000 in prizes, a one-day record for the challenge.

Pwn2Own continues today, when other teams and individual researchers will take their turns trying to break Apple's Safari and Google's Chrome.

A team from Vupen, a French vulnerability research firm and seller of zero-day flaws to governments and law enforcement agencies, ended Wednesday $300,000 richer, having hacked Adobe Flash, Adobe Reader, Firefox and IE11 for a one-day foursome, another record.

Firefox was victimized a total of three times in just over six hours, once by Vupen and then two other times by researchers Mariusz Mlynski and Jüri Aedla, with each winner picking up $50,000 for their exploit.

Although Pwn2Own was originally going to offer cash prizes only to the first who hacked each target, the contest organizer, Hewlett-Packard's Zero Day Initiative (ZDI), changed the ground rules on the fly, saying early Wednesday that it would pay for all vulnerabilities used by the contestants.

With that move, ZDI, a bug bounty program that's part of HP's TippingPoint division, said it and co-sponsor Google -- the latter pitched in 25% of the prize money -- would end up paying more than $1 million if all 15 entrants, another record, were successful.

Wednesday's efforts were impressive in their own right, with each scheduled target falling to researchers within five minutes. Contestants come to Pwn2Own with zero-day vulnerabilities and exploits in their pockets, and do not find the bugs and craft attack code on-site.

"All the exploits were unique in their own way," said Brian Gorenc, manager of vulnerability research for ZDI, in an interview after the conclusion of Pwn2Own's first day. Gorenc declined to single out the most impressive or elegant exploit. "It was fascinating seeing the different ways that researchers are bypassing sandboxes and the ways they chained multiple vulnerabilities."

A "sandbox" is an anti-exploit technology deployed by some software -- Internet Explorer, Flash and Reader all rely on sandboxes -- that is designed to isolate an application so that if attackers do find a vulnerability in the code, they must circumvent, or "escape" the sandbox, to execute their malicious code on the machine. Sandbox escapes typically require chained exploits of two or more vulnerabilities.

The day's total of $400,000 nearly matched last year's Pwn2Own two-day payout of $480,000.

Vupen kicked off the day by hacking Adobe Reader, winning $75,000 for the feat.

"We've pwnd Adobe Reader XI with a heap overflow + PDF sandbox escape (without relying on a kernel flaw). Exploit reported to Adobe!," Vupen said on its Twitter account.

Next up was IE11 on a notebook running Windows 8.1, Microsoft's most-current operating system. "We've pwnd IE11 on Win 8.1 using a use-after-free combined to an object confusion in the broker to bypass IE sandbox," Vupen announced on Twitter after grabbing $100,000 for the hack.

"Use-after-free" is a term for a type of memory management bug, while "broker" is the label for the part of the sandbox that acts as the supervisor for all protected processes. A flaw in a broker, as Vupen demonstrated, can have catastrophic effects, letting a hacker escape the sandbox and execute attack code.

Vupen also exploited Adobe Flash and Firefox, Mozilla's open-source browser, winning prizes of $75,000 and $50,000, respectively.

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First Generation Program Added to Forum Standards Toolbox

IFSA-Butler's First Generation Scholars program has been added to the Forum on Education Abroad's standards toolbox. The toolbox showcases innovations in study abroad and best practices in the field of international education.

The Forum on Education Abroad is a professional organization devoted to the field of study abroad. It was founded in 2003 and has members throughout the U.S. and around the world.

The First Generation Scholars program was created in 2012 and is designed to provide scholarships and additional support for first generation college students who are studying abroad.

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CPRescue Lands Contract with the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to Provide CPR and First Aid Training

    SAN JOSE, CA, July 28, 2013 /24-7PressRelease/ -- CPRescue announced today that it has signed a new contract with the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). In this new 2-year agreement, CPRescue is to provide CPR and first aid training to the employees of the DMV, at their multiple locations throughout the state. This is the first contract CPRescue has landed with the California DMV. CPRescue has been providing CPR, first aid and AED training services for several California state agency's since 2005.

CPRescue will provide the MEDIC First Aid Adult CPR, first aid and AED training program. This first aid training course prepares DMV employees to act and assist responsibly in case of an emergency such as a heart attack, a major accident, natural disaster, or a violent act in the workplace. Each DMV trainee will be instructed on how to perform CPR, use an AED, deal with choking and bleeding emergencies. Several additional first aid skills are also covered such as, how to treat burns, seizures, amputations, diabetic emergencies, strokes, snake and spider bites, just to name a few.

By performing and completing this safety training program, CPRescue will assist the Department of Motor Vehicles in fulfilling their OSHA safety training requirement 29 CFR-1910.151. This safety standard requires all businesses to provide safety training for their employees, "In the absence of an infirmary... persons shall be adequately trained to render first aid..."

The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is the state agency that registers motor vehicles and boats and issues driver's licenses in the U.S. state of California. The DMV is part of the California Business, Transportation and Housing Agency. It is headquartered in Sacramento and operates local offices in nearly every part of the state.

Established in San Jose in 1997, CPRescue quickly became a leader as a CPR, first aid and AED training vendor, who provides onsite safety training to Corporations, Healthcare Providers (AHA BLS CPR), many in the Hospitality Industry and for licensed Childcare Providers (EMSA approved). Since then they have expanded their service areas to include all of Northern and Southern California. CPRescue is a Certified Small Business (Lic# 0030191). For additional information, please visit their website at www.cprescue.com, email at info@cprescue.com or call them at 1-888-313-2444.

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CPRescue Signs a New 2-Year Contract Extension with the California Department of Transportation (DOT) to Continue Providing CPR and First Aid Training

    SACRAMENTO, CA, July 17, 2013 /24-7PressRelease/ -- CPRescue announced its continuing relationship with the California Department of Transportation (DOT) by signing a new 2-year CPR and first aid training agreement. For the past 8 years, CPRescue has been providing the MEDIC First Aid Adult CPR and first aid training program for the Department of Transportation's training division, at their Sacramento location.

This first aid training prepares their staff to act and assist responsibly in case of a heart attack, a major accident, natural disaster, or a violent act in the workplace. Each trainee is introduced on how to perform CPR, use an AED, deal with choking and bleeding emergencies. Several additional first aid skills are also covered such as, how to treat burns, cuts, seizures, amputations, diabetic emergencies, strokes, snake and spider bites, just to name a few.

By completing this safety training, CPRescue helped the Department of Transportation fulfill the OSHA safety requirement 29 CFR-1910.151. This safety standard requires all businesses to provide safety training for their employees, "In the absence of an infirmary... persons shall be adequately trained to render first aid..."

CPRescue looks to continue and expand its relationship with the State of California, providing CPR and first aid training services to several of its Departmental Agency's.

Established in 1997 in San Jose, CPRescue quickly became a leader as a CPR, first aid and AED training vendor for Corporations, Healthcare Providers (AHA BLS CPR), Hospitality Industry and for licensed Childcare Providers (EMSA approved). CPRescue provides onsite training classes, and is a Certified Small Business (Lic# 0030191). For additional information, please visit their website at www.cprescue.com, email at info@cprescue.com or call them at 1-888-313-2444.

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President Duffy and First Lady visit Upper Iowa University alumni in Sumner

President Bill Duffy and wife Sharon visited with Hillcrest Home, Sumner, residents and UIU alumni (from left) Cal Harms '48, Emma (Burkhart) Hough '26, Lorraine Creager '66, Sharon and Bill Duffy, Betty C. Hoth '64, Becky (Harms) Read '74, Almira Pease '31, and Lugene Treloar '71.

FAYETTE, Iowa (June 21, 2013) – Stories of campus and respected UIU professors filled the conference room at Hillcrest Home care center in Sumner, Iowa, this week. Seven Upper Iowa University School of Education alumni enjoyed fellowship and cupcakes as they reminisced and shared personal stories of their college years and their teaching years with President Bill Duffy and First Lady Sharon Duffy.

"We were honored to share the afternoon with these Upper Iowa alumni," said UIU President William R. Duffy II, Ed.D, Ed.S. "These people are the roots of our institution and have such a valuable history to share. They are the reason Upper Iowa University continues to be successful. For decades, these esteemed School of Education graduates imparted their knowledge in their classrooms and made a positive impact in many young lives. Sharon and I were overjoyed to spend time with them. Their stories will be a welcome addition to our UIU archive project."

Upper Iowa University is in the process of gathering alumni stories and memorabilia for the University archives on the Fayette campus.

Among the Hillcrest Home group was Upper Iowa's oldest living alumna, Emma (Burkhart) Hough '26, who is 108-years-old. A double-major in English and biology, Hough was active on campus and one year was the women's tennis tournament champion. With her new honor, she was selected to coach the team while still in college. Upon graduation, Hough was hired as a physical education teacher and head girls basketball coach in her hometown of Sumner. She also taught school in Ironwood and Manistee, Mich., before retiring in 1969. She and her husband, Charles, lived in New York City during the summers to attend Columbia University's master's program. A full article regarding Hough's adventures at Upper Iowa and beyond can be read on the University's blog, Peacock Tales, at http://uiupeacocktales.tumblr.com/.

Betty C. Hoth '64 shared stories of not only attending Upper Iowa, but welcoming many UIU student-teachers into her kindergarten classroom at Durant Elementary in Sumner, Iowa. She laughed as she recalled a UIU professor who would observe the student-teachers in the classroom. "He would sit right down on one of those little kindergarten chairs with the kids!" she said. "I guess he wanted to be right down with the kids to see what it was like to learn from the Upper Iowa student-teachers." Hoth says she keeps in contact with many of her former student-teachers, especially at Christmas time.

Hoth also said that one of the professors she enjoyed was Dick Clark, a 1953 UIU alumnus and history professor from 1959-1967. He served as a United States Senator from Iowa from 1973-1979 and later became an ambassador at large and United States Coordinator for Refugee Affairs. "He was a great teacher," Hoth recalled. "He has a brilliant mind."

Lorraine Creager '66 and Lugene Treloar '71 had similar stories to tell. After raising their families, both went back to school to earn their teaching degrees from Upper Iowa. Creager taught a number of years for the Tripoli Community School District, while Treloar taught in the Fredericksburg School District for 21 years.

President Duffy also visited with Cal Harms '48, Almira Pease '31 and Becky (Harms) Read '74.
A full gallery of the Presidential visit can be seen at www.flickr.com/photos/upperiowauniversity/.

Please contact the UIU Office of Advancement at 800-553-4150 (ext.3+2) or alumni@uiu.edu to schedule a presidential visit to a facility where Peacock Alumni call home.

President Bill Duffy poses with UIU's oldest living alumna Emma (Burkhart) Hough '26. She is 108-years-old.

President Bill Duffy and Cal Harms '48

President Duffy and Lorraine Creager '66

First Lady Sharon and President Duffy and Betty C. Hoth '64

About Upper Iowa University Founded in 1857, Upper Iowa University is a private, not-for-profit university providing undergraduate and graduate degree programs and leadership development opportunities to some 6,200 students—nationally and internationally—at its Fayette campus and learning centers worldwide. Upper Iowa University is a recognized innovator in offering accredited, quality programs through flexible, multiple delivery systems, including online and independent study. For more information, visit www.uiu.edu.

Contact:
Monica Bayer Heaton
Associate Vice President for Communication and Marketing
Phone 563-425-5773
Cell: 515-291-2070
heatonm@uiu.edu

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LMU Celebrates First McNair Scholars Cohort

Loyola Marymount University’s commitment to advancing student success was strengthened by a $1 million grant from the McNair Scholarships Program at the U.S. Department of Education. The program, aimed primarily at science and engineering students, will help LMU put students on the academic path to graduate degrees and doctorates.

“Our faculty and staff worked hard to bring McNair to LMU,” said Abbie Robinson-Armstrong, the university’s vice president for intercultural affairs. “The grant was the highest-scoring new grant that the program received. This program has played a role in shaping thousands of researchers over the years.” The final grant-writing team was led by Curtis Bennett, associate dean of Frank R. Seaver College of Science and Engineering and professor of mathematics.

The scholarship program is named after Ronald E. McNair, who earned his doctorate in physics at MIT and later became an astronaut. McNair was the second African-American to fly in space, aboard the Challenger in 1984. He died in the Challenger explosion in 1986. To commemorate McNair’s life and career, the Department of Education instituted the scholarship for low-income, first-generation students, and/or underrepresented students with a primary goal of preparing them for graduate-level education.

“Considering a post-baccalaureate degree was never something I or my family thought about until I was chosen to be a part of the McNair Scholars Program,” said Owen Dominguez, a junior electrical engineering major. “However, when my family and I were invited for an informational luncheon, we were very impressed with the program's goals and the supportive community from LMU.”

The McNair program at LMU will not be exclusively science and technology; students from the social sciences are also included. The 25 exceptionally accomplished students were chosen after a challenging selection process, said Ed Mosteig, associate professor of mathematics and who is the administrator the program and will provide specialized support for the students.

The heart of the program is mentorship; six highly recognized from five departments will work closely to prepare the students for the rigors of graduate work and to stay aware of opportunities as they arise.  “My McNair mentor and I are already exploring ideas to conduct research in Ethiopia after graduation,” said Mahalet Gebeyhu, a senior civil engineering major.

During a daylong celebration and orientation for McNair scholars and their families, Jeffrey Wilson, associate dean of Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts and a professor of philosophy, told of a student of his, who had been taught that “she could not reach that high” as a Ph.D. and a college teaching career. Wilson said that the McNair Scholars program reverses the effects of messages like that, and that these students could become scientists and academics, and possibly science advisers to the state of California, the U.S. government, the Organization of American States, the European Union, and the United Nations.  

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