Daily Archives: January 13, 2024

Ancient cities discovered in the Amazon are the largest yet found

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Aerial surveys have revealed the largest pre-colonial cities in the Amazon yet discovered, linked by an extensive network of roads.

“The settlements are much bigger than others in the Amazon,” says Stéphen Rostain at the French National Center for Scientific Research in Paris. “They are comparable with Maya sites.”

What’s more, at between 3000 and 1500 years old, these cities are also older than other pre-Columbian ones discovered in the Amazon. Why the people who built them disappeared isn’t clear.

It is often assumed that the Amazon rainforest was largely untouched by humans before the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus reached the Americas in the 15th century. In fact, the first Europeans reported seeing many farms and towns in the region.

These reports, long dismissed, have in recent decades been backed up by discoveries of ancient earthworks and extensive dark soils created by farmers. One estimate puts the pre-Columbian population of the Amazon as high as 8 million.

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In 2015, Rostain’s team did an aerial survey with lidar, a laser scanning technique that can create a detailed 3D map of the surface beneath most vegetation, revealing features not normally visible to us. The findings, which have only now been published, show that the settlements were far more extensive than anyone realised.

The survey revealed more than 6000 raised earthen platforms within an area of 300 square kilometres. These are where wooden buildings once stood – excavations have revealed post holes and fireplaces on these structures.

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The survey also revealed a network of straight roads created by digging out soil and piling it on the sides. The longest extends for at least 25 kilometres, but might continue beyond the area that was surveyed.

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“This is the largest complex with large settlements so far found in Amazonia,” says Charles Clement at the National Institute of Amazonian Research in Manaus, Brazil.

What’s more, it was found in a region of the Amazon that other researchers had concluded was sparsely inhabitated during pre-Columbian times, says Clement.

 

Journal reference:

Science DOI: 10.1126/science.adi6317

Source: Ancient cities discovered in the Amazon are the largest yet found | New Scientist

eBay Sent Critics a Bloody Pig Mask and more. Now It’s Paying a $3 Million Fine

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eBay agreed to pay out a $3 million fine—the maximum criminal penalty—over a twisted scandal that saw top executives and other employees stalking a couple in Massachusetts who published a newsletter that criticized the company. The harassment campaign included online threats, sending employees to surveil the couple’s home, and mailing them disturbing objects—including live spiders and cockroaches, a bloody pig mask, and a book on recovering from the death of a spouse.

The Justice Department charged eBay with obstruction of justice, witness tampering, stalking through interstate travel, and stalking through online communication. eBay’s former security director James Baugh and former director of global resiliency David Harville are both serving jail time for their roles in the scheme.

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The criminal activity seems to have started at the top of the company. In 2019, Ina Steiner published an article on the couple’s newsletter EcommerceBytes discussing a lawsuit eBay brought against Amazon. Half an hour later, eBay’s then-CEO Devin Wenig sent another executive a message saying: “If you are ever going to take her down…now is the time,” according to court documents. The message was forwarded to Baugh, who responded that Steiner was a “biased troll who needs to get BURNED DOWN.”

Wenig, who resigned later that year, denied any knowledge of the criminal activity and wasn’t charged with a crime. The Steiners are currently suing Wenig for his role in the campaign to “intimidate, threaten to kill, torture, terrorize, stalk and silence them.”

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A total of seven eBay employees and contractors have been convicted for their involvement in stalking and harassing the Steiners, according to the Department of Justice. In addition to Baugh and Harville, the list includes Stephanie Popp and Philip Cooke, who were both sentenced to jail time in 2022. Stephanie Stockwell and Veronica Zea were each sentenced to one year of home confinement that same year. Brian Gilbert pleaded guilty and is currently awaiting sentencing.

Source: eBay Sent Critics a Bloody Pig Mask. Now It’s Paying a $3 Million Fine

Drivers would prefer to buy a low-tech car than one that shares their data

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According to a survey of 2,000 Americans conducted by Kaspersky in November and published this week, 72 percent of drivers are uncomfortable with automakers sharing their data with advertisers, insurance companies, subscription services, and other third-party outfits. Specifically, 37.3 percent of those polled are “very uncomfortable” with this data sharing, and 34.5 percent are “somewhat uncomfortable.”

However, only 28 percent of the total respondents say they have any idea what kind of data their car is collecting. Spoiler alert: It’s potentially all the data. An earlier Mozilla Foundation investigation, which assessed the privacy policies and practices of 25 automakers, gave every single one a failing grade.

In Moz’s September Privacy Not Included report, the org warned that car manufacturers aren’t only potentially collecting and selling things like location history, driving habits and in-car browser histories. Some connected cars may also track drivers’ sexual activity, immigration status, race, facial expressions, weight, health, and even genetic information, if that information becomes available.

Back to the Kaspersky survey: 87 percent said automakers should be required to delete their data upon request. Depending on where you live, and thus the privacy law you’re under, the manufacturers may be obligated to do so.

Oddly, while motorists are worried about their cars sharing their data with third parties, they don’t seem that concerned about their vehicles snooping on them in the first place.

Less than half (41.8 percent) of respondents said they are worried about their vehicle’s sensors, infotainment system, cameras, microphones, and other connected apps and services might be collecting their personal data. And 80 percent of respondents pair their phone with their car anyway, allowing data and details of activities to be exchanged between apps and the vehicle and potentially its manufacturer.

This echoes another survey published this week that found many drivers are willing to trade their personal data and privacy for driver personalization — things like seat, mirror, and entertainment preferences (43 percent) — and better insurance rates (67 percent).

The study also surveyed 2,000 American drivers to come up with these numbers and found that while most drivers (68 percent) don’t mind automakers collecting their personal data, only five percent believe this surveillance should be unrestricted, and 63 percent said it should be on an opt-in basis.

Perhaps it’s time for vehicle makers to take note

Source: Surveyed drivers prefer low-tech cars over data-sharing ones • The Register

Also, we want buttons back too please.

Apple knew AirDrop users could be identified and tracked as early as 2019. Still not fixed.

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a shadowy spy looking at people using airdrop on a subway stationSecurity researchers warned Apple as early as 2019 about vulnerabilities in its AirDrop wireless sharing function that Chinese authorities claim they recently used to track down users of the feature, the researchers told CNN, in a case that experts say has sweeping implications for global privacy.

The Chinese government’s actions targeting a tool that Apple customers around the world use to share photos and documents — and Apple’s apparent inaction to address the flaws — revive longstanding concerns by US lawmakers and privacy advocates about Apple’s relationship with China and about authoritarian regimes’ ability to twist US tech products to their own ends.

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A Chinese tech firm, Beijing-based Wangshendongjian Technology, was able to compromise AirDrop to identify users on the Beijing subway accused of sharing “inappropriate information,” judicial authorities in Beijing said this week.

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A group of Germany-based researchers at the Technical University of Darmstadt, who first discovered the flaws in 2019, told CNN Thursday they had confirmation Apple received their original report at the time but that the company appears not to have acted on the findings. The same group published a proposed fix for the issue in 2021, but Apple appears not to have implemented it, the researchers said.

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Chinese authorities claim they exploited the vulnerabilities by collecting some of the basic identifying information that must be transferred between two Apple devices when they use AirDrop — data including device names, email addresses and phone numbers.

Ordinarily, this information is scrambled for privacy reasons. But, according to a separate 2021 analysis of the Darmstadt research by the UK-based cybersecurity firm Sophos, Apple appeared not to have taken the extra precaution of adding bogus data to the mix to further randomize the results — a process known as “salting.”

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One reason Chinese officials may have wanted their exploit known, said Ismail, is that it could scare dissidents away from using AirDrop.

And now that the Beijing authorities have announced it exploited the vulnerability, Apple may face retaliation from Chinese authorities if the tech firm tries to fix the issue, multiple experts said.

China is the largest foreign market for Apple’s products, with sales there representing about a fifth of the company’s total revenue in 2022

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Source: Apple knew AirDrop users could be identified and tracked as early as 2019, researchers say | CNN Business