Area 51 doesn't exist officially, but newly declassified images show an exciting glimpse into its secretive past: An A12 aircraft (shown under radar testing here), stealthy forerunner to the amazing BlackBird, crashed out in the desert and had to be completely covered up so no data leaked. It was a success, until now.
1. Over the weekend it emerged that the International Monetary Fund's website was hacked, suffering what's described as a substantial breach over several months. Though the website is still online, and no "user" data is there to be stolen, there's one rumor that the hack has been traced to an unspecified foreign government, and that private emails and confidential data (presumably relating to international politics and finance) have been taken.
2. The Apple world is brimming with rumors right now, and the latest suggest an unlocked iPhone 4 is coming to the U.S. this week (presumably to keep sales figures buoyant until the iPhone 5 arrives). Meanwhile a highly plausible rumor suggests the iPhone 5 is in final testing phase, and is being carried around by field testers--prior to starting mass production in time for a September release. Verizon CDMA testers are in the mix, suggesting a simultaneous launch or a world phone.
3. Anonymous may have been prevented from using its Facebook and Twitter accounts to promote Operation India, one of its latest round of hacktivist plans to protest a violent crushing of anti-corruption protests. The relevant Twitter account has been suspended, and the Facebook page redirects to the news feed. Other Anonymous digital properties remain online, so if this is an official take-down, it seems to be highly targeted.
4. Yet another high profile hack has stolen private user data--including passwords. This time gaming house Codemasters is the victim, and though it's now shut its servers, it thinks "tens of thousands" of accounts for members of its games website were hacked. No credit card data was accessible by the hackers, but names, addresses, phone numbers and personal data like birthdays were stolen. It seems to be open season for hackers at the moment.
5. Is Facebook topping-out in the U.S. and Canada? That's one conclusion from the latest stats that show the U.S. shed 6 million users throughout May and Canada dropped over 1.5 million. It's the first time the U.S. has lost user numbers during the last year, and added to smaller losses in the U.K., Norway, and Russia it suggests Facebook's approaching maximum penetration in some places, although it is still growing in others, such as Mexico and Brazil.
Chat about this news with Kit Eaton on Twitter and Fast Company too.