Month: September 2022

Air pollution cancer breakthrough rewrites how to think about cancer activation

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Researchers say they have cracked how air pollution leads to cancer, in a discovery that completely transforms our understanding of how tumours arise. The team at the Francis Crick Institute in London showed that rather than causing damage, air pollution was waking up old damaged cells. One of the world’s leading experts, Prof Charles Swanton, Read more about Air pollution cancer breakthrough rewrites how to think about cancer activation[…]

How to Easily Make Your Own Pyramid Salt Crystals

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] What is pyramid salt? Pyramid salt crystals are made of the same stuff as regular salt. But these crystals look different because they formed in a different way. In nature, these elusive crystals grow on the surface of quiet, undisturbed pools of salt water that evaporate under the hot sun. Pyramid salt is more Read more about How to Easily Make Your Own Pyramid Salt Crystals[…]

 The TAK Ecosystem: Open SourceMilitary Coordination

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In recent years you’ve probably seen a couple of photos of tablets and smartphones strapped to the armor of soldiers, especially US Special Forces. The primary app loaded on most of those devices is ATAK or Android Tactical Assault Kit. It allows the soldier to view and share geospatial information, like friendly and enemy positions, Read more about  The TAK Ecosystem: Open SourceMilitary Coordination[…]

Dump these routers, says Cisco, because we won’t patch them

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Cisco patched three security vulnerabilities in its products this week, and said it will leave unpatched a VPN-hijacking flaw that affects four small business routers. Those small-biz routers – the RV110W Wireless-N VPN Firewall, RV130 VPN Router, RV130W Wireless-N Multifunction VPN Router, and RV215W Wireless-N VPN Router – have reached their end-of-life (EoL) and the Read more about Dump these routers, says Cisco, because we won’t patch them[…]

Roombas don’t work if an iRobot server is down

Posted on by Robin Edgar

That floor won’t clean itself… well, quite literally it won’t, especially if the vacuum robot you bought to clean the floor won’t hop off its dock when the servers are down Users started reporting issues with their Roomba app around midday Friday. The status page for iRobot, the maker of Roomba, identified there were outages Read more about Roombas don’t work if an iRobot server is down[…]

Cory Doctorow Launches New Fight against Copyrights, Creative Chokepoints, and Big Tech’s ‘Chokepoint Capitalism’

Posted on by Robin Edgar

“Creators aren’t getting paid,” says Cory Doctorow. “That’s because powerful corporations have figured out how to create chokepoints — that let them snatch up more of the value generated by creative work before it reaches creative workers.” But he’s doing something about it. Doctorow’s teamed up with Melbourne-based law professor Rebecca Giblin, the director of Read more about Cory Doctorow Launches New Fight against Copyrights, Creative Chokepoints, and Big Tech’s ‘Chokepoint Capitalism’[…]

A Dad Took Photos of His Naked Toddler for the Doctor. Google Flagged Him as a Criminal, destroyed his digital life with no recourse

Posted on by Robin Edgar

It was a Friday night in February 2021. His wife called an advice nurse at their health care provider to schedule an emergency consultation for the next morning, by video because it was a Saturday and there was a pandemic going on. The nurse said to send photos so the doctor could review them in Read more about A Dad Took Photos of His Naked Toddler for the Doctor. Google Flagged Him as a Criminal, destroyed his digital life with no recourse[…]

Have you patched your Zimbra server – actively exploited hacks

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In a security alert updated on Monday, the US government’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) warned that cybercriminals are actively exploiting five vulnerabilities in the Zimbra Collaboration Suite (ZCS) to break into both government and private-sector networks. The agencies have provided fresh detection signatures to Read more about Have you patched your Zimbra server – actively exploited hacks[…]

Oracle facing class action over ‘brokering’ personal data of 5 billion people

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Oracle is the subject of a class-action suit alleging the software giant created a network containing personal information of hundreds of millions of people and sold the data to third parties. The case [PDF] is being brought by Johnny Ryan, formerly a policy officer at Brave, maker of the privacy-centric browser, and now part of Read more about Oracle facing class action over ‘brokering’ personal data of 5 billion people[…]

Smartphone gyroscopes and LED threaten air-gapped systems

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] A pair of preprint papers from Mordechai Guri, head of R&D at Ben-Gurion University’s Cyber Security Research Labs, detail new methods for transmitting data ultrasonically to smartphone gyroscopes and sending Morse code signals via LEDs on network interface cards (NICs). Dubbed Gairoscope and EtherLED respectively, the two exploits are the latest in a long Read more about Smartphone gyroscopes and LED threaten air-gapped systems[…]

Hackers Use Deepfakes of Binance Exec to Scam Crypto Projects

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Binance Chief Communications Officer Patrick Hillmann wrote in a blog post last week that internet scammers had been using deepfake technology to copy his image during video meetings. He started to catch on to this trend when he received messages from the leadership of various crypto projects thanking him for meetings he never attended. Hillmann Read more about Hackers Use Deepfakes of Binance Exec to Scam Crypto Projects[…]

Oktatapus Hack Stole 10,000 Logins From 130 Different Orgs

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Researchers say that a mysterious “threat actor” (a fancy term for a hacker or hacker group) has managed to steal nearly 10,000 login credentials from the employees of 130 organizations, in the latest far-reaching supply chain attack on corporate America. Many of the victims are prominent software companies, including firms like Twilio, MailChimp, and Cloudflare, Read more about Oktatapus Hack Stole 10,000 Logins From 130 Different Orgs[…]

Google research AI image noise reduction is out of this world

Posted on by Robin Edgar

If you have great lighting, a good photographer can take decent photos even with the crappiest camera imaginable. In low light, though, all bets are off. Sure, some cameras can shoot haunting video lit only by the light of the moon, but for stills — and especially stills shot on a smartphone — digital noise Read more about Google research AI image noise reduction is out of this world[…]

Physicists invent intelligent quantum sensor of light wave properties

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] Typically, when you want to characterize a wave of light, you have to use different instruments to gather information, such as the intensity, wavelength and polarization state of the light. Those instruments are bulky and can occupy a significant area on an optical table,” said Dr. Fan Zhang, a corresponding author of the study Read more about Physicists invent intelligent quantum sensor of light wave properties[…]

Evusheld COVID Protection for Immunocompromised People

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] If you couldn’t get a COVID vaccine, or if you got it but are in the group of people who likely aren’t as well protected, you can get Evusheld for an extra layer of protection. What is Evusheld? Evusheld is considered “pre-exposure prophylaxis” for COVID, and is available for people who are moderately to Read more about Evusheld COVID Protection for Immunocompromised People[…]

The EU’s AI Act could have a chilling effect on open source efforts, experts warn

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The nonpartisan think tank Brookings this week published a piece decrying the bloc’s regulation of open source AI, arguing it would create legal liability for general-purpose AI systems while simultaneously undermining their development. Under the EU’s draft AI Act, open source developers would have to adhere to guidelines for risk management, data governance, technical documentation Read more about The EU’s AI Act could have a chilling effect on open source efforts, experts warn[…]

Hydrogen could be harvested from thin air in the desert

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] To avoid taking water from an already strained local supply, a team led by Gang Kevin Li, senior lecturer at the University of Melbourne, Australia, has built a system which extracts water from airborne vapor using a hygroscopic electrolyte, in this case sulfuric acid. The approach then uses solar-generated electricity to split the water Read more about Hydrogen could be harvested from thin air in the desert[…]

Korean nuclear fusion tokamak reactor achieves 100 million°C for 30 seconds

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A nuclear fusion reaction has lasted for 30 seconds at temperatures in excess of 100 million°C. While the duration and temperature alone aren’t records, the simultaneous achievement of heat and stability brings us a step closer to a viable fusion reactor – as long as the technique used can be scaled up. Most scientists agree Read more about Korean nuclear fusion tokamak reactor achieves 100 million°C for 30 seconds[…]

War profiteering Finland govt nationalises 1% of energy companies

Posted on by Robin Edgar

With Russia closing the gas pipelines to Europe as a catalyst and using the people of Finland as blackmail material the Finnish government is taking control of company payment structures and grabs 1% of any company that signs up to the possibility of taking a loan from the government at extortionate interest rates. It’s pretty Read more about War profiteering Finland govt nationalises 1% of energy companies[…]

Scientists Find a Simple Way to Produce Hydrogen From Water at Room Temperature

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Hydrogen fuel promises to be a clean and abundant source of energy in the future – as long as scientists can figure out ways to produce it practically and cheaply, and without fossil fuels. A new study provides us with another promising step in that direction, provided you can make use of existing supplies of Read more about Scientists Find a Simple Way to Produce Hydrogen From Water at Room Temperature[…]

Meta fined $402 million in EU over Instagram’s privacy settings for children

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Meta has been fined €405 million ($402 million) by the Irish Data Protection Commission for its handling of children’s privacy settings on Instagram, which violated Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). As Politico reports, it’s the second-largest fine to come out of Europe’s GDPR laws, and the third (and largest) fine levied against Meta by Read more about Meta fined $402 million in EU over Instagram’s privacy settings for children[…]

Samsung says customer data stolen in July data breach – again

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Electronics giant Samsung has confirmed a data breach affecting customers’ personal information. In a brief notice, Samsung said it discovered the security incident in late-July and that an “unauthorized third party acquired information from some of Samsung’s U.S. systems.” The company said it determined customer data was compromised on August 4. Samsung said Social Security Read more about Samsung says customer data stolen in July data breach – again[…]

Pharma Startup President Convicted in Fake Covid Testing Scheme

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Blood testing huckster and former Arrayit president Mark Schena has been convicted in a covid-19 and allergy test scheme that allegedly resulted in nearly $80 million worth of fraudulent claims. Schena, who was convicted on five separate charges, could potentially spend decades in prison, according to the Department of Justice The DOJ alleges Schena misled Read more about Pharma Startup President Convicted in Fake Covid Testing Scheme[…]

Scientists Turn Plastic Into Diamonds In Breakthrough

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] Since the 1970s, scientists believed that diamonds might actually rain down toward the mostly slushy planets’ rocky interiors—a diamond rain, if you will. In 2017, researchers in Germany and California found a way to replicate those planetary conditions, fabricating teeny tiny diamonds called nanodiamonds in the lab using polystyrene (aka Styrofoam). Five years later Read more about Scientists Turn Plastic Into Diamonds In Breakthrough[…]