Month: October 2022

Suspected Kremlin hack on Liz Truss’s mobile sparks security clampdown

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Spy chiefs have ordered ministers to stop using their personal phones to conduct government business following a suspected Kremlin hack on Liz Truss’s mobile. A Whitehall source said all ministers involved in national security would be expected to attend fresh training with the security services this week ‘to ensure everyone is aware how this material Read more about Suspected Kremlin hack on Liz Truss’s mobile sparks security clampdown[…]

Pebble smartwatches gain Pixel 7 support in ‘one last update’ – they’re only 10 years old, hardware still works fine, but being dumped

Posted on by Robin Edgar

It’s been nearly a decade since the Pebble smartwatch started shipping to backers of its wildly successful initial Kickstarter campaign, but there’s still life in the ol’ dog yet. The wearables are now compatible with Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro, as well as 64-bit-only Android devices that will arrive later. As noted by Ars Read more about Pebble smartwatches gain Pixel 7 support in ‘one last update’ – they’re only 10 years old, hardware still works fine, but being dumped[…]

Light-analyzing ‘lab on a chip’ opens door to widespread use of portable spectrometers

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The study, published today in Science, was led by Finland’s Aalto University and resulted in a powerful, ultra-tiny spectrometer that fits on a microchip and is operated using artificial intelligence. The research involved a comparatively new class of super-thin materials known as two-dimensional semiconductors, and the upshot is a proof of concept for a spectrometer Read more about Light-analyzing ‘lab on a chip’ opens door to widespread use of portable spectrometers[…]

Iran’s Secret Manual for Controlling Protesters’ Mobile Phones

Posted on by Robin Edgar

As furious anti-government protests swept Iran, the authorities retaliated with both brute force and digital repression. Iranian mobile and internet users reported rolling network blackouts, mobile app restrictions, and other disruptions. Many expressed fears that the government can track their activities through their indispensable and ubiquitous smartphones. Iran’s tight grip on the country’s connection to the Read more about Iran’s Secret Manual for Controlling Protesters’ Mobile Phones[…]

Meta fined measly $24.6m over political ad non disclosure and disinformation

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Despite warnings of Chinese and Russian mischief and manipulation ahead of the US midterm elections, it seems American companies and citizens are perfectly capable of denting democracy on their own. A Washington judge fined Meta $24.6 million this week after ruling that Facebook intentionally broke [PDF] the state’s campaign finance transparency laws 822 times. This Read more about Meta fined measly $24.6m over political ad non disclosure and disinformation[…]

Space rock slams into Mars and reveals buried ice close to equator

Posted on by Robin Edgar

last December when the lander detected a massive quake on Mars. Now, scientists know what caused the red planet to rumble. A meteoroid slammed into Mars 2,174 miles (3,500 kilometers) away from the lander and created a fresh impact crater on the Martian surface. The ground literally moved beneath InSight on December 24, 2021, when Read more about Space rock slams into Mars and reveals buried ice close to equator[…]

Anti-Cheat Software Continues To Be The New DRM In Pissing Off Legit Customers

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] if you’ve been paying attention over the last couple of years, anti-cheat software is quickly becoming the new DRM. Access to root layers of the computer complaints, complaints about performance effects, complaints about how the software tracks customer behavior, and now finally we have the good old “software isn’t letting me play my game” Read more about Anti-Cheat Software Continues To Be The New DRM In Pissing Off Legit Customers[…]

China’s Man-Made South China Sea Islands Like You’ve Never Seen Them Before

Posted on by Robin Edgar

New, highly detailed images of the artificial islands China has built in the South China Sea have emerged. They show the intricacies of the radar installations, airfields, and naval gun emplacements, among buildings and other structures, located there. Captured by photographer Ezra Acayan flying in an aircraft near the man-made fortresses in the Spratly Islands, Read more about China’s Man-Made South China Sea Islands Like You’ve Never Seen Them Before[…]

Did PayPal Just Reintroduce Its $2,500 ‘Misinformation’ / ‘I disagree with you’ / ‘I find this offensive’ Fine, Hoping We Wouldn’t Notice?

Posted on by Robin Edgar

“On October 8th, PayPal updated its terms of service agreement to include a clause enabling it to withdraw $2,500 from users’ bank accounts simply for posting anything the company deems as misinformation or offensive,” reports Grit Daily. “Unsurprisingly, the backlash was instant and massive,” causing the company to backtrack on the policy and claim the Read more about Did PayPal Just Reintroduce Its $2,500 ‘Misinformation’ / ‘I disagree with you’ / ‘I find this offensive’ Fine, Hoping We Wouldn’t Notice?[…]

NASA’s Lucy Spacecraft Captures Images of Earth and Moon in 1 frame

Posted on by Robin Edgar

NASA’s Lucy spacecraft captured this image (which has been cropped) of the Earth on Oct 15, 2022, as a part of an instrument calibration sequence at a distance of 380,000 miles (620,000 km). The upper left of the image includes a view of Hadar, Ethiopia, home to the 3.2 million-year-old human ancestor fossil for which the Read more about NASA’s Lucy Spacecraft Captures Images of Earth and Moon in 1 frame[…]

Revolutionary technique to generate hydrogen more efficiently from water

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A team of researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) have made a serendipitous scientific discovery that could potentially revolutionize the way water is broken down to release hydrogen gas—an element crucial to many industrial processes. The team, led by Associate Professor Xue Jun Min, Dr. Wang Xiaopeng and Dr. Vincent Lee Wee Siang Read more about Revolutionary technique to generate hydrogen more efficiently from water[…]

Thomson Reuters leaked at least 3TB of sensitive data – yes, open elasticsearch instances

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The Cybernews research team found that Thomson Reuters left at least three of its databases accessible for anyone to look at. One of the open instances, the 3TB public-facing ElasticSearch database, contains a trove of sensitive, up-to-date information from across the company’s platforms. The company recognized the issue and fixed it immediately. Thomson Reuters provides Read more about Thomson Reuters leaked at least 3TB of sensitive data – yes, open elasticsearch instances[…]

Scientists discover material that can be made like a plastic but conducts like a metal

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Scientists with the University of Chicago have discovered a way to create a material that can be made like a plastic, but conducts electricity more like a metal. The research, published Oct. 26 in Nature, shows how to make a kind of material in which the molecular fragments are jumbled and disordered, but can still Read more about Scientists discover material that can be made like a plastic but conducts like a metal[…]

Australia’s Medibank says data of 4 mln customers accessed by hacker

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Medibank Private Ltd (MPL.AX), Australia’s biggest health insurer, said on Wednesday a cyber hack had compromised data of all of its of its nearly 4 million customers, as it warned of a A$25 million to A$35 million ($16 million to $22.3 million) hit to first-half earnings. It said on Wednesday that all personal and significant Read more about Australia’s Medibank says data of 4 mln customers accessed by hacker[…]

Swarming bees generate so much electricity they may potentially change the weather

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] The finding, which researchers made by measuring the electrical fields around honeybee (apis mellifera) hives, reveals that bees can produce as much atmospheric electricity as a thunderstorm. This can play an important role in steering dust to shape unpredictable weather patterns; and their impact may even need to be included in future climate models. Read more about Swarming bees generate so much electricity they may potentially change the weather[…]

A California project would store solar energy to use when the sun goes down in water batteries

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The San Diego County Water Authority has an unusual plan to use the city’s scenic San Vicente Reservoir to store solar power so it’s available after sunset. The project, and others like it, could help unlock America’s clean energy future. Perhaps a decade from now, if all goes smoothly, large underground pipes will connect this Read more about A California project would store solar energy to use when the sun goes down in water batteries[…]

Crooks use POS malware to steal 167,000 credit card numbers from shops with open VNC + RDP ports

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Cybercriminals have used two strains of point-of-sale (POS) malware to steal the details of more than 167,000 credit cards from payment terminals. The backend command-and-control (C2) server that operates the MajikPOS and Treasure Hunter malware remains active, according to Group-IB’s Nikolay Shelekhov and Said Khamchiev, and “the number of victims keeps growing,” they said this Read more about Crooks use POS malware to steal 167,000 credit card numbers from shops with open VNC + RDP ports[…]

Lenovo reveals rollable growing laptop and smartphone screens

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Lenovo has staged its annual Tech World gabfest and teased devices with rollable OLED screens that shrink or expand as applications demand. The company emitted the video below to show off its rollables. We’ve embedded and set the vid to start at the moment the rollable phone is demoed. The rollable laptop demo starts at Read more about Lenovo reveals rollable growing laptop and smartphone screens[…]

Google’s Privacy Settings Finally Won’t Break It’s Apps Anymore, require using My Ad Center

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] It used to be that the only way to prevent Google from using your data for targeted ads was turning off personalized ads across your whole account, or disabling specific kinds of data using a couple of settings, including Web & App Activity and YouTube History. Those two settings control whether Google collects certain Read more about Google’s Privacy Settings Finally Won’t Break It’s Apps Anymore, require using My Ad Center[…]

Texas sues Google for allegedly capturing biometric data of millions without consent

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Texas has filed a lawsuit against Alphabet’s (GOOGL.O) Google for allegedly collecting biometric data of millions of Texans without obtaining proper consent, the attorney general’s office said in a statement on Thursday. The complaint says that companies operating in Texas have been barred for more than a decade from collecting people’s faces, voices or other Read more about Texas sues Google for allegedly capturing biometric data of millions without consent[…]

Advocate Aurora Health leaks 3 million patient’s data to big tech through webtracker installation

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A hospital network in Wisconsin and Illinois fears visitor tracking code on its websites may have transmitted personal information on as many as 3 million patients to Meta, Google, and other third parties. Advocate Aurora Health (AAH) reported the potential breach to the US government’s Health and Human Services. As well as millions of patients, Read more about Advocate Aurora Health leaks 3 million patient’s data to big tech through webtracker installation[…]

India fines Google ₹1,337.76 crore ($162 million) for Android monopoly abuse

Posted on by Robin Edgar

India’s Competition Commission has announced it will fine Google ₹1,337.76 crore (₹13,377,600,000 or $161.5 million) for abusing its dominant position in multiple markets in the Android Mobile device ecosystem and ordered the company to open the Android ecosystem to competition […] The Commission found Google was dominant in all five markets and worked to preserve Read more about India fines Google ₹1,337.76 crore ($162 million) for Android monopoly abuse[…]

Ring Cameras Are Being Used To Control and Surveil Overworked Delivery Workers

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Networked doorbell surveillance cameras like Amazon’s Ring are everywhere, and have changed the nature of delivery work by letting customers take on the role of bosses to monitor, control, and discipline workers, according to a recent report (PDF) by the Data & Society tech research institute. “The growing popularity of Ring and other networked doorbell Read more about Ring Cameras Are Being Used To Control and Surveil Overworked Delivery Workers[…]

TikTok joins Uber, Facebook in Monitoring The Physical Location Of Specific American Citizens

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The team behind the monitoring project — ByteDance’s Internal Audit and Risk Control department — is led by Beijing-based executive Song Ye, who reports to ByteDance cofounder and CEO Rubo Liang. The team primarily conducts investigations into potential misconduct by current and former ByteDance employees. But in at least two cases, the Internal Audit team Read more about TikTok joins Uber, Facebook in Monitoring The Physical Location Of Specific American Citizens[…]

iOS 16 VPN Tunnels Leak Data, Even When Lockdown Mode Is Enabled

Posted on by Robin Edgar

AmiMoJo shares a report from MacRumors: iOS 16 continues to leak data outside an active VPN tunnel, even when Lockdown mode is enabled, security researchers have discovered. Speaking to MacRumors, security researchers Tommy Mysk and Talal Haj Bakry explained that iOS 16’s approach to VPN traffic is the same whether Lockdown mode is enabled or Read more about iOS 16 VPN Tunnels Leak Data, Even When Lockdown Mode Is Enabled[…]