EU delays decision over continuous spying on all your devices *cough* scanning encrypted messages for kiddie porn

European Union officials have delayed talks over proposed legislation that could lead to messaging services having to scan photos and links to detect possible child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Were the proposal to become law, it may require the likes of WhatsApp, Messenger and Signal to scan all images that users upload — which would Read more about EU delays decision over continuous spying on all your devices *cough* scanning encrypted messages for kiddie porn[…]

We finally know why some people seem immune to catching covid-19

Deliberately exposing people to the coronavirus behind covid-19 in a so-called challenge study has helped us understand why some people seem to be immune to catching the infection. As part of the first such covid-19 study, carried out in 2021, a group of international researchers looked at 16 people with no known health conditions who Read more about We finally know why some people seem immune to catching covid-19[…]

FedEx’s Secretive Police Force Is Helping Cops Build An AI Car Surveillance Network

[…] Forbes has learned the shipping and business services company is using AI tools made by Flock Safety, a $4 billion car surveillance startup, to monitor its distribution and cargo facilities across the United States. As part of the deal, FedEx is providing its Flock surveillance feeds to law enforcement, an arrangement that Flock has Read more about FedEx’s Secretive Police Force Is Helping Cops Build An AI Car Surveillance Network[…]

microplastics detected in human penis

Seven types of microplastics found in the human penises, raises questions about sexual function

The proliferation of microplastics (MPs) represents a burgeoning environmental and health crisis. Measuring less than 5 mm in diameter, MPs have infiltrated atmospheric, freshwater, and terrestrial ecosystems, penetrating commonplace consumables like seafood, sea salt, and bottled beverages. Their size and surface area render them susceptible to chemical interactions with physiological fluids and tissues, raising bioaccumulation Read more about Seven types of microplastics found in the human penises, raises questions about sexual function[…]

Microsoft fixes hack-me-via-Wi-Fi Windows security hole

[…] CVE-2024-30078, a Wi-Fi driver remote code execution hole rated 8.8 in severity. It’s not publicly disclosed, not yet under attack, and exploitation is “less likely,” according to Redmond. “An unauthenticated attacker could send a malicious networking packet to an adjacent system that is employing a Wi-Fi networking adapter, which could enable remote code execution,” Read more about Microsoft fixes hack-me-via-Wi-Fi Windows security hole[…]

Mathematicians find odd shapes that roll like a wheel in any dimension

Mathematicians have reinvented the wheel with the discovery of shapes that can roll smoothly when sandwiched between two surfaces, even in four, five or any higher number of spatial dimensions. The finding answers a question that researchers have been puzzling over for decades. Such objects are known as shapes of constant width, and the most Read more about Mathematicians find odd shapes that roll like a wheel in any dimension[…]

ASUS Releases Firmware Update for Critical Remote Authentication Bypass Affecting Seven Routers

A report from BleepingComputer notes that ASUS “has released a new firmware update that addresses a vulnerability impacting seven router models that allow remote attackers to log in to devices.” But there’s more bad news: Taiwan’s CERT has also informed the public about CVE-2024-3912 in a post yesterday, which is a critical (9.8) arbitrary firmware Read more about ASUS Releases Firmware Update for Critical Remote Authentication Bypass Affecting Seven Routers[…]

Arm Memory Tag Extensions broken by speculative execution

In 2018, chip designer Arm introduced a hardware security feature called Memory Tagging Extensions (MTE) as a defense against memory safety bugs. But it may not be as effective as first hoped. Implemented and supported last year in Google’s Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro phones and previously in Linux, MTE aims to help detect Read more about Arm Memory Tag Extensions broken by speculative execution[…]

Signal, MEPs urge EU Council to drop law that puts a spy on everyone’s devices

On Thursday, the EU Council is scheduled to vote on a legislative proposal that would attempt to protect children online by disallowing confidential communication. The vote had been set for Wednesday but got pushed back [PDF]. Known to detractors as Chat Control, the proposal seeks to prevent the online dissemination of child sexual abuse material Read more about Signal, MEPs urge EU Council to drop law that puts a spy on everyone’s devices[…]

Astronomers detect sudden awakening of black hole 1m times mass of sun

The mysterious brightening of a galaxy far, far away has been traced to the heart of the star system and the sudden awakening of a giant black hole 1m times more massive than the sun. Decades of observations found nothing remarkable about the distant galaxy in the constellation of Virgo, but that changed at the Read more about Astronomers detect sudden awakening of black hole 1m times mass of sun[…]

Wi-Fi Routers are like an trackers available to everyone

Apple and the satellite-based broadband service Starlink each recently took steps to address new research into the potential security and privacy implications of how their services geo-locate devices. Researchers from the University of Maryland say they relied on publicly available data from Apple to track the location of billions of devices globally — including non-Apple Read more about Wi-Fi Routers are like an trackers available to everyone[…]

US / EU NATO Expenditure – is the balance really so lopsided?

The visualisation of US vs EU spending on NATO going the rounds is pretty suspect: The Blue area contains not just the USA, but also Canada. The US defence budget is incorrect. It fails to take into account that the US is a global player with ambitions and commitments beyond NATO. It doesn’t show that Read more about US / EU NATO Expenditure – is the balance really so lopsided?[…]

ASUS promises to fix it’s broken support

ASUS has suddenly agreed “to overhaul its customer support and warranty systems,” writes the hardware review site Gamers Nexus — after a three–videoseries on its YouTube channel documented bad and “potentially illegal” handling of customer warranties for the channel’s 2.2 million viewers. The Verge highlights ASUS’s biggest change: If you’ve ever been denied a warranty Read more about ASUS promises to fix it’s broken support[…]

militaryu pilot on drugs

Light-activated speed drugs could keep sleep-deprived military pilots alert

[…] The AWARE program, a project of the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), aims to develop a new version of dextroamphetamine that can be activated or deactivated through exposure to near-infrared light. This would enable near-infrared light emitters in a helmet to selectively activate the stimulant in the brain’s prefrontal cortex, and then Read more about Light-activated speed drugs could keep sleep-deprived military pilots alert[…]

If Creepy Spyware Clearview AI scanned your face, you may get equity in the company

Controversial facial recognition company Clearview AI has agreed to an unusual settlement to a class action lawsuit, The New York Times reports. Rather than paying cash, the company would provide a 23 percent stake in its company to any Americans in its database. Without the settlement, Clearview could go bankrupt, according to court documents. If Read more about If Creepy Spyware Clearview AI scanned your face, you may get equity in the company[…]

Sonos draws more customer anger — this time for its privacy policy. Now they will sell your customer data, apparently

It’s been a rocky couple of months for Sonos — so much so that CEO Patrick Spence now has a canned autoreply for customers emailing him to vent about the redesigned app. But as the company works to right the ship, restore trust, and get the new Sonos Ace headphones off to a strong start, Read more about Sonos draws more customer anger — this time for its privacy policy. Now they will sell your customer data, apparently[…]

Mozilla caves to public and restores Firefox add-ons banned in Russia that circumvent Russian censorship

Mozilla has reinstated certain add-ons for Firefox that earlier this week had been banned in Russia by the Kremlin. The browser extensions, which are hosted on the Mozilla store, were made unavailable in the Land of Putin on or around June 8 after a request by the Russian government and its internet censorship agency, Roskomnadzor. Read more about Mozilla caves to public and restores Firefox add-ons banned in Russia that circumvent Russian censorship[…]

Mozilla Firefox Blocks Add-Ons which Circumvent Censorship in Russia

The Mozilla Foundation, the entity behind the web browser Firefox, is blocking various censorship circumvention add-ons for its browser, including ones specifically to help those in Russia bypass state censorship. The add-ons were blocked at the request of Russia’s federal censorship agency, Roskomnadzor — the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology, and Mass Read more about Mozilla Firefox Blocks Add-Ons which Circumvent Censorship in Russia[…]

We are losing vast swathes of our digital past, and copyright stops us saving it

It is hard to imagine the world without the Web. Collectively, we routinely access billions of Web pages without thinking about it. But we often take it for granted that the material we want to access will be there, both now and in the future. We all hit the dreaded “404 not found” error from Read more about We are losing vast swathes of our digital past, and copyright stops us saving it[…]

First-mover advantage found in the arts shows copyright isn’t necessary to protect innovative creativity

One of the arguments sometimes made in defence of copyright is that without it, creators would be unable to compete with the hordes of copycats that would spring up as soon as their works became popular. Copyright is needed, supporters say, to prevent less innovative creators from producing works that are closely based on new, Read more about First-mover advantage found in the arts shows copyright isn’t necessary to protect innovative creativity[…]

The world’s first tooth-regrowing drug has been approved for human trials

[…] medicine quite literally regrows teeth and was developed by a team of Japanese researchers, as reported by New Atlas. The research has been led by Katsu Takahashi, head of dentistry and oral surgery at Kitano Hospital. The intravenous drug deactivates the uterine sensitization-associated gene-1 (USAG-1) protein that suppresses tooth growth. Blocking USAG-1 from interacting Read more about The world’s first tooth-regrowing drug has been approved for human trials[…]

What’s Actually In Tattoo Ink? No One Really Knows

Nearly a third of U.S. adults have tattoos, so plenty of you listeners can probably rattle off the basic guidelines of tattoo safety: Make sure you go to a reputable tattoo artist who uses new, sterile needles. Stay out of the ocean while you’re healing so you don’t pick up a smidgen of flesh-eating bacteria. Read more about What’s Actually In Tattoo Ink? No One Really Knows[…]

Over 165 Snowflake customers didn’t use MFA, says Mandiant

An unknown financially motivated crime crew has swiped a “significant volume of records” from Snowflake customers’ databases using stolen credentials, according to Mandiant. “To date, Mandiant and Snowflake have notified approximately 165 potentially exposed organizations,” the Google-owned threat hunters wrote on Monday, and noted they track the perps as “UNC5537.” The crew behind the Snowflake Read more about Over 165 Snowflake customers didn’t use MFA, says Mandiant[…]

Finnish startup Flow claims it can 100x any CPU’s power with its companion chip

A Finnish startup called Flow Computing is making one of the wildest claims ever heard in silicon engineering: by adding its proprietary companion chip, any CPU can instantly double its performance, increasing to as much as 100x with software tweaks. If it works, it could help the industry keep up with the insatiable compute demand Read more about Finnish startup Flow claims it can 100x any CPU’s power with its companion chip[…]

China state hackers infected 20,000 govt and defence Fortinet VPNs, due to at least 2 month unfixed critical vulnerability

Hackers working for the Chinese government gained access to more than 20,000 VPN appliances sold by Fortinet using a critical vulnerability that the company failed to disclose for two weeks after fixing it, Netherlands government officials said. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2022-42475, is a heap-based buffer overflow that allows hackers to remotely execute malicious code. Read more about China state hackers infected 20,000 govt and defence Fortinet VPNs, due to at least 2 month unfixed critical vulnerability[…]