Security experts have revealed details about a group of Chinese hackers who are suspected of launching intelligence-gathering attacks against the U.S. government.
The hackers, believed to be based in the Chinese province of Guangdong, are thought to have stolen U.S. military secrets, including aviation specifications and flight-planning software.
The U.S. government has coined the term "Titan Rain" to describe the hackers.
"From the Redstone Arsenal, home to the Army Aviation and Missile Command, the attackers grabbed specs for the aviation mission-planning system for Army helicopters, as well as Falconview 3.2, the flight-planning software used by the Army and Air Force," Alan Paller, the director of the SANS Institute, said on Tuesday.
The team is thought to consist of 20 hackers. Paller said that the Chinese government is the most likely recipient of the information they intercepted.
"Of course, it's the government. Governments will pay anything for control of other governments' computers. All governments will pay anything. It's so much better than tapping a phone," Paller said at an event at the British Department of Trade and Industry.
Titan Rain first came to public attention this summer, when the Washington Post reported that Web sites in China were being used to target computer networks in the Defense Department and other U.S. agencies.
Time magazine later reported that Titan Rain had been counter-hacked by a U.S. security expert called Shawn Carpenter.
The ongoing attacks were particularly effective on the night of Nov. 1, 2004, said Paller, who outlined his version of how the hackers first scanned, then broke into, U.S. government computers:
• At 10:23 p.m. PST, the Titan Rain hackers exploited vulnerabilities at the U.S. Army Information Systems Engineering Command at Fort Huachuca, Ariz.
• At 1:19 a.m., they exploited the same hole in computers at the Defense Information Systems Agency in Arlington, Va.
• At 3:25 a.m., they hit the Naval Ocean Systems Center, a Defense Department installation in San Diego, Calif.
• At 4:46 a.m., they struck the U.S. Army Space and Strategic Defense installation in Huntsville, Ala.
The United Kingdom is also under intelligence-gathering cyberattack from the Far East, according to National Infrastructure Security Co-ordination Centre. The government body cannot name the countries concerned as this may "ruin diplomatic efforts to halt the attacks," NISCC director Roger Cummings said Tuesday.
Today's Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for May 30, #1441
Wordle has been really tough lately. Here's the Wordle answer for May 30.
Gael Cooper
CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of "Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the '70s and '80s," as well as "The Totally Sweet '90s." She's been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She's Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she'll be first in line.
ExpertiseBreaking news, entertainment, lifestyle, travel, food, shopping and deals, product reviews, money and finance, video games, pets, history, books, technology history, and generational studiesCredentials
Co-author of two Gen X pop-culture encyclopedia for Penguin Books. Won "Headline Writer of the Year" award for 2017, 2014 and 2013 from the American Copy Editors Society. Won first place in headline writing from the 2013 Society for Features Journalism.
Looking for the most recent Wordle answer? Click here for today's Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.
Before we show you today's Wordle answer, we'll give you some hints. If you don't want a spoiler, look away now.
Wordle hint No. 1: Repeats
Today's Wordle answer has one repeated letter.
Wordle hint No. 2: Vowels
There are two vowels in today's Wordle answer, but one is the repeated letter, so you'll see that one twice.
Wordle hint No. 3: First letter
Today's Wordle answer begins with a vowel.
Wordle hint No. 4: And that letter is…
Today's Wordle answer begins with I.
Wordle hint No. 5: Meaning
Today's Wordle answer can refer to a group of words that mean something different than their literal meanings as separate words. An example might be, "it's raining cats and dogs."
TODAY'S WORDLE ANSWER
Today's Wordle answer is IDIOM.
Yesterday's Wordle answer
Yesterday's Wordle answer, May 29, No. 1440 was QUASH.
Today's Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for May 31, #1442
After a tough run of Wordle puzzles, this one's a bit easier. Here are hints -- and the answer -- for today's Wordle No. 1,442 for May 31.
Gael Cooper
CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of "Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the '70s and '80s," as well as "The Totally Sweet '90s." She's been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She's Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she'll be first in line.
ExpertiseBreaking news, entertainment, lifestyle, travel, food, shopping and deals, product reviews, money and finance, video games, pets, history, books, technology history, and generational studiesCredentials
Co-author of two Gen X pop-culture encyclopedia for Penguin Books. Won "Headline Writer of the Year" award for 2017, 2014 and 2013 from the American Copy Editors Society. Won first place in headline writing from the 2013 Society for Features Journalism.
Looking for the most recent Wordle answer? Click here for today's Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.
Secret Characters in Elden Ring Nightreign: How to Unlock the Revenant and Duchess
You can choose from six Nightfarer classes when you begin your Nightreign adventure, but the Duchess and Revenant are hidden behind some easy steps.
Tyler GrahamWriter
Tyler is a writer under CNET's home energy and utilities category. He came to CNET straight out of college, where he graduated from Seton Hall with a bachelor's degree in journalism. For the past seven months, Tyler has attended a White House press conference, participated in energy product testing at CNET's testing labs in Louisville, Kentucky, and written one of CNET Energy's top-performing news articles, on federal solar policy. Not bad for a newbie.
When Tyler's not asking questions or doing research for his next assignment, you can find him in his home state of New Jersey, kicking back with a bagel and watching an action flick or playing a new video game.
You can reach him at tgraham@cnet.com.
ExpertiseCommunity solar, state solar policy, solar cost and accessibility, renewable energy, electric vehicles, video games, home internet for gaming.
The Revenant leads her teammates -- and a host of spirit allies -- into the battle.
Bandai Namco/Screenshot by CNET
Elden Ring Nightreign's Nightfarer class design allows new players and Souls veterans alike to hop into its speedy, round-based roguelike action RPG gameplay. Key character archetypes have been boiled down into Nightfarer classes with different passive and active skills that can help you round out a strong and efficient three-player squad -- but you don't have a full roster of Nightfarers available to you when you start the game.
Creating a strong team composition is just as important as speedrunning bosses and collecting runes, flasks and other upgrades during the three-day expeditions. You'll want to mix-and-match damage dealers, tanks and supporting roles while also ensuring you have melee, ranged and elemental damage options.
As the first wave of players come to grips with Nightreign's speed-based roguelike expeditions on May 30, they might gravitate toward more forgiving Nightfarer options, such as Wylder, Guardian and Ironeye. The six Nightfarers available to you when you first start Nightreign aren't the only player classes in the game -- you're missing the ever-deadly Duchess and the spirit-summoning doll known as the Revenant.
Here's how to unlock the two secret Nightfarer classes in Elden Ring Nightreign.
If you receive this relic after an expedition, you'll be able to unlock the first secret Nightfarer.
Screenshot by David Lumb/CNET
How to unlock the Duchess
The first Nightfarer you'll have a chance to unlock is the Duchess. Once you finish your first Tricephalos expedition, you'll be rewarded with a special green relic -- the Old Pocketwatch. You don't actually have to defeat Gladius in order to obtain the relic, but you do have to complete a full run in order to claim your rewards.
This relic imparts decent buffs on any Nightfarer that you're running with a dexterity-based build, but it also doubles as the key item that unlocks the first secret Elden Ring Nightreign class.
Once the Old Pocketwatch is in your possession, approach the Priestess in the Roundtable Hold. Her normal dialogue options give some background on what the Nightfarers are doing here and why the fight against the Nightlord is so important. Now, she'll ask about your new relic, and present you with a choice of whether or not to hand it over to her.
Even if you've slotted the Old Pocketwatch relic into your build, you have nothing to fear by handing it over to the Priestess. You'll retain the relic and it you can still equip it on any of your playable Nightfarers.
When the Priestess is handed the relic, a short cutscene plays where she drops her shroud and reveals that she has been the Duchess all along. She vows to stop standing on the sidelines and join the fight, and with that you'll unlock Nightreign's seventh playable Nightfarer.
The Duchess wears a Dark Souls Firekeeper mask, but her overall aesthetic is much more Bloodborne-y.
Screenshot by Tyler Graham/CNET
What is the Duchess' role in a team?
The Duchess is a dexterous attacker who can flit in and out of battle to keep up the pressure. She doesn't have high poise, defense or health, but she can hold an enemy's attention and easily evade their attacks. The Duchess greatly benefits from weapons like fists, daggers and curved swords, though any weapons with powerful lunge attacks will feel right at home in this Nightfarer's arsenal.
The Duchess' passive ability lets her expend less stamina when attacking and dodging, allowing her to stay in the battle longer before taking a tactical reprieve. Her class ability, Restage, rewinds time and inflicts additional damage against enemies who have been wounded in the past few seconds. Her ultimate ability, Finale, shrouds the Duchess and any nearby teammates from enemies during a fight, allowing the team to heal up and prepare attacks with long wind up times. The effects of Finale instantly wear off on any person who attacks an enemy (or gets hit by a stray attack themselves).
After you unlock the Duchess, a new item will be available in the Jar Bazaar.
Screenshot by David Lumb/CNET
How to unlock the Revenant
You'll need another key item in order to unlock the Revenant, the eighth and final playable Nightfarer. However, this item becomes available as soon as you unlock the Duchess -- it's nestled down toward the bottom of the Jar Bazaar.
The Besmirched Frame will cost you 1,500 Murk and, just like the Old Pocketwatch, it's a relic you can use in your Nightfarers' builds. The Old Pocketwatch gives you an insight into the type of Nightfarer it's connected to, boosting dexterity-related stats. The Besmirched Frame is a great relic for any Nightfarer with an affinity for magic, and that's no coincidence.
Once you've obtained this item, a Lost Phantom will spawn in the east hallway of the Roundtable Hold. This NPC will be denoted by a girl's portrait on your map -- there will be an exclamation point icon by the portrait's head.
Approach this phantom and interact with the girl. You'll be warped to the plateau where you fought the Margit the Fell Omen in Nightreign's tutorial, but this time a unique boss will be waiting for you.
Taking on the Night Idol is much easier once you defeat her summons, but you'll still have to avoid some of the spells she slings.
Screenshot by Tyler Graham/CNET
The Night Idol is an easy boss fight, but there are a couple of enemies you'll have to micromanage. She has three spirit summons she fields against you: Helen, an agile page who will quickly press the attack; Frederick, a bulky cook who swings slowly but delivers devastating blows; and Sebastian, a massive skeleton who can't move but has deadly melee attacks and magic beams.
Focusing on these spirit summons is imperative, because they don't come back once they're defeated. You can beat this boss with any Nightfarer, but I found it was easiest with Ironeye. You can use your bow to zone out the summons, peppering them with arrows until they fall, and then move in on the Night Idol boss using your action skills.
Once the Night Idol is defeated, you'll be transported back to the Roundtable Hold and informed that you've unlocked the Revenant, the last of the Nightfarers missing from the roster.
The Revenant is a doll, like Ranni the Witch. She commands spirits to enact her will.
Screenshot by Tyler Graham/CNET
What is the Revenant's role in a team?
The Revenant is one of the more magically inclined player classes in Elden Ring Nightreign, which means that she's a high risk, high reward character to use. The Revenant has a high focus point (or mana) pool and can take advantage of sorceries and incantations alike, though her stat spread favors spells from Seals and Dragon Communions. What this character lacks in defense, though, she makes up for in utility that allows her to shift focus away from herself and her teammates.
The Revenant's passive ability has a chance to spawn spirit summons of non-boss enemies that she deals final blows to. This combines well with her class ability, Summon Spirit, which allows her to call Helen, Frederick or Sebastian (the same summons from the Lost Girl boss fight) to the battlefield. The Revenant's summons add an element of chaos to Nightreign's battles, and often pull enemy aggression away from players. It's much easier to get in the thick of the fight and mete out some damage when there's a small army marching on a boss.
When the fight is turning against her, the Revenant's powerful ultimate ability makes herself and her allies briefly immortal. The Immortal March ability applies to other players as well as the Revenant's spirit summons, making it a real Swiss army knife of an ability -- if you really want to squeeze the most value out of it, you can activate it when your teammates are knocked down to instantly revive them. If you've got a spirit summon active, it'll use its own ultimate ability, but it can't swing a fight nearly as well as picking up your fallen squadmates.
The Revenant is fragile, but she provides more effective health to her tankier teammates -- and levels the playing field by bringing more allies into the fight.
Now that you have a full stable of Nightfarers, it'll be easier than ever to take the fight to the Nightlord. If you're still having trouble with Elden Ring Nightreign's first set of expeditions, follow these beginner tips and make sure you're utilizing all of the advantages from the game's meta-progression systems.
Elden Ring Nightreign launched on May 30 for PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X, Series S and Xbox One consoles for $40. Owning the original Elden Ring is not required to play this game.
Today's NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Saturday, May 31
Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for May 31.
Gael Cooper
CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of "Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the '70s and '80s," as well as "The Totally Sweet '90s." She's been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She's Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she'll be first in line.
ExpertiseBreaking news, entertainment, lifestyle, travel, food, shopping and deals, product reviews, money and finance, video games, pets, history, books, technology history, and generational studiesCredentials
Co-author of two Gen X pop-culture encyclopedia for Penguin Books. Won "Headline Writer of the Year" award for 2017, 2014 and 2013 from the American Copy Editors Society. Won first place in headline writing from the 2013 Society for Features Journalism.
Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today's Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.
Today's NYT Mini Crossword has a couple of fun ocean-related clues and answers. It's the extra-long Saturday version, of course. Need some help with today's Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.
The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times' games collection. If you're looking for today's Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET's NYT puzzle hints page.
7A clue: Sea creature with the scientific name Monodon monoceros ("one tooth, one horn") Answer: NARWHAL
8A clue: Like some soccer shots Answer: ONGOAL
9A clue: Strict in tone Answer: STERN
10A clue: Place for a "For Sale" sign Answer: YARD
Mini down clues and answers
1D clue: $#!&, e.g. Answer: BADWORD
2D clue: Harry Potter, Annie or Bruce Wayne Answer: ORPHAN
3D clue: ___ and error Answer: TRIAL
4D clue: Dog trainer's "Walk next to me!" Answer: HEEL
5D clue: Hot dog alternative Answer: BURGER
6D clue: Relative of a stingray Answer: MANTA
7D clue: All up in one's business Answer: NOSY
How to play more Mini Crosswords
The New York Times Games section offers a large number of online games but only some of them are free for all to play. You can play the current day's Mini Crossword free but you'll need a subscription to the Times Games section to play older puzzles from the archives.
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