Month: October 2024

Internet Archive hacked, data breach impacts 31 million users

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Internet Archive’s “The Wayback Machine” has suffered a data breach after a threat actor compromised the website and stole a user authentication database containing 31 million unique records. News of the breach began circulating Wednesday afternoon after visitors to archive.org began seeing a JavaScript alert created by the hacker, stating that the Internet Archive was breached. Read more about Internet Archive hacked, data breach impacts 31 million users[…]

Scientists discover a secret to regulating our body clock, offering new approach to end jet lag, sleep quality

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Scientists from Duke-NUS Medical School and the University of California, Santa Cruz, have discovered the secret to regulating our internal clock. They identified that this regulator sits right at the tail end of Casein Kinase 1 delta (CK1δ), a protein which acts as a pace setter for our internal biological clock or the natural 24-hour Read more about Scientists discover a secret to regulating our body clock, offering new approach to end jet lag, sleep quality[…]

Supreme Court Snubs Martin Shkreli’s Last-Ditch Bid to Avoid $64 Million Fine over hiking unique life saving drug price from $13.50 to $750 a pill

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Martin Shkreli has been fighting a $64.6 million fine he acquired in 2022 for blocking affordable alternatives to Daraprim, a lifesaving antiparasitic drug. Shockingly, it turns out nobody on the Supreme Court cares to hear about it. No justices dissented on Monday when the court said it declined to hear an appeal by representatives of Read more about Supreme Court Snubs Martin Shkreli’s Last-Ditch Bid to Avoid $64 Million Fine over hiking unique life saving drug price from $13.50 to $750 a pill[…]

Epic judge orders Google to let rivals set up app stores

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A US court has ordered Google to refrain from a wide variety of business practices the web giant uses to bolster its Play Store, as a consequence of its December 2023 antitrust defeat against Epic Games. In that case, Epic argued that Google’s Play Store rules and contractual agreements with developers and partners violated the Read more about Epic judge orders Google to let rivals set up app stores[…]

23andMe is on the brink. What happens to all that genetic DNA data?

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] The one-and-done nature of Wiles’ experience is indicative of a core business problem with the once high-flying biotech company that is now teetering on the brink of collapse. Wiles and many of 23andMe’s 15 million other customers never returned. They paid once for a saliva kit, then moved on. Shares of 23andMe are now Read more about 23andMe is on the brink. What happens to all that genetic DNA data?[…]

Google’s AI enshittifies search summaries with ads

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Google is rolling out ads in AI Overviews, which means you’ll now start seeing products in some of the search engine’s AI-generated summaries. Let’s say you’re searching for ways to get a grass stain out of your pants. If you ask Google, its AI-generated response will offer some tips, along with suggestions for products to Read more about Google’s AI enshittifies search summaries with ads[…]

License Plate Readers Are Creating a US-Wide Database of Cars – and political affiliation, planned parenthood and more

Posted on by Robin Edgar

At 8:22 am on December 4 last year, a car traveling down a small residential road in Alabama used its license-plate-reading cameras to take photos of vehicles it passed. One image, which does not contain a vehicle or a license plate, shows a bright red “Trump” campaign sign placed in front of someone’s garage. In Read more about License Plate Readers Are Creating a US-Wide Database of Cars – and political affiliation, planned parenthood and more[…]

Insecure Robot Vacuums From Chinese Company Deebot Collect Photos and Audio to Train Their AI

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Ecovacs robot vacuums, which have been found to suffer from critical cybersecurity flaws, are collecting photos, videos and voice recordings — taken inside customers’ houses — to train the company’s AI models. The Chinese home robotics company, which sells a range of popular Deebot models in Australia, said its users are “willingly participating” in a Read more about Insecure Robot Vacuums From Chinese Company Deebot Collect Photos and Audio to Train Their AI[…]

Microsoft bricks Windows MR / VR In Windows 11 24H2

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Microsoft has removed Windows Mixed Reality from Windows 11. With Windows 11 24H2, the latest major version of Microsoft’s PC operating system, you can no longer use a Windows MR headset in any way – not even on Steam. This includes all the Windows MR headsets from Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Samsung, including Read more about Microsoft bricks Windows MR / VR In Windows 11 24H2[…]

Dutch oppose Hungary’s approach to EU child sexual abuse regulation – or total surveillance of every smart device

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The Netherlands’ government and opposition are both against the latest version of the controversial EU regulation aimed at detecting online child sexual abuse material (CSAM), according to an official position and an open letter published on Tuesday (1 October). The regulation, aimed at detecting online CSAM, has been criticised for potentially allowing the scanning of private messages Read more about Dutch oppose Hungary’s approach to EU child sexual abuse regulation – or total surveillance of every smart device[…]

Mazda’s $10 Subscription For Remote Start Sparks Backlash After Killing Open Source Option

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Mazda recently surprised customers by requiring them to sign up for a subscription in order to keep certain services. Now, notable right-to-repair advocate Louis Rossmann is calling out the brand. He points to several moves by Mazda as reasons for his anger toward them. However, it turns out that customers might still have a workaround. Read more about Mazda’s $10 Subscription For Remote Start Sparks Backlash After Killing Open Source Option[…]