The US accuses China of cyber-spying on six Americann companies.

A US grand jury has indicted five Chinese individuals with cyber espionage charges for allegedly targeting six American companies and stealing trade secrets, the US Justice department said, publicly accusing China of cyber spying for the first time.

The hackers targeted US companies in the nuclear power, metals and solar products industries to steal inflammations useful to competitors in China.

The companies targeted include Alcoa Inc, United States Corp, Allegheny Technologies Inc, Westinghouse Electric Co and US subsidiaries of Solar World AG.
The move "indicates that DOJ has 'smoking keyboards' and (is) willing to bring the evidence to a court of law and be more transparent," said Frank Cilluffo, head of the Homeland Security Policy Institute at the George Washington University

Autodesk steps into the hardware business: It’s making a 3D printer

Autodesk is no longer focusing exclusively on software for designing real places and things — it’s jumping into hardware business.

Chief executive Carl Bass announced Autodesk’s plans to build its first 3D printer, along with a new Spark platform for connecting hardware and software, in a blog post today. Designed with businesses in mind, the device will cost several thousand dollars when it becomes available in the second half of this year, according to the post.

But the goal might not be what you think : “We don’t necessarily expect to be in the top three 3D printing manufacturers,” an Autodesk spokesman said in an interview with VentureBeat. “There are great companies out there, and we want to see a lot more great companies come into the market.”

Suspected Boko Haram Gunmen Kidnap 8 More Girls in Nigeria

Suspected Boko Haram gunmen kidnapped eight girls form a village near one of their strongholds in northeast Nigeria overnight, police and residents said on Tuesday.  The abduction of the girls, aged from 12 yo 15, follows the kidnapping of more than 250 other schoolgirls by the Islamist militant group last month. "They were many, and all of them carried guns. They came in two vehicules painted in army color. They started shooting in our village" Musa by telephone from the village in the hilly Gwoza aera, Boko Haeam's main base. The police source, who could not be named, said the girls were taken away on trucks, along with looted livestock and food.