Author: Robin Edgar

Organisational Structures | Technology and Science | Military, IT and Lifestyle consultancy | Social, Broadcast & Cross Media | Flying aircraft

Study finds GAEN Google Apple contact tracing apps allow user + contact location tracking. NL stops use of tracking app.

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A study describes the data transmitted to backend servers by the Google/Apple based contact tracing (GAEN) apps in use in Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, and Denmark and finds that the health authority client apps are generally well-behaved from a privacy point of view, although the Irish, Polish, Danish, and Latvian apps could be improved in Read more about Study finds GAEN Google Apple contact tracing apps allow user + contact location tracking. NL stops use of tracking app.[…]

Google used ‘double-Irish’ to shift $75.4bn in profits out of Ireland

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Google shifted more than $75.4 billion (€63 billion) in profits out of the Republic using the controversial “double-Irish” tax arrangement in 2019, the last year in which it used the loophole. The technology giant availed of the tax arrangement to move the money out of Google Ireland Holdings Unlimited Company via interim dividends and other Read more about Google used ‘double-Irish’ to shift $75.4bn in profits out of Ireland[…]

Parker Solar Probe Captures View of Venus’s Orbital Dust Ring

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A band of dust that follows Venus along its entire orbital path has finally been viewed in full, thanks to a series of fortuitous maneuvers involving NASA’s Parker Solar Probe. Astronomers suspected it was there, but now we know it’s real: a band of particles distributed along Venus’s orbital path around the Sun. […] A Read more about Parker Solar Probe Captures View of Venus’s Orbital Dust Ring[…]

WordPress may automatically disable Google FLoC on websites

Posted on by Robin Edgar

WordPress announced today that they are treating Google’s new FLoC tracking technology as a security concern and may block it by default on WordPress sites. For some time, browsers have begun to increasingly block third-party browser cookies [1, 2, 3] used by advertisers for interest-based advertising. In response, Google introduced a new ad tracking technology Read more about WordPress may automatically disable Google FLoC on websites[…]

NASA / JPL honours open source devs with a badge on their github if their code made it to Mars

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] we have worked with JPL to place a new Mars 2020 Helicopter Mission badge on the GitHub profile of every developer who contributed to the specific versions of any open source projects and libraries used by Ingenuity. You can check out the full list of projects like SciPy, Linux, and F Prime (F’) that Read more about NASA / JPL honours open source devs with a badge on their github if their code made it to Mars[…]

Songwriters Are Getting Short-Changed by Music Streaming, Study Shows

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Ever since the music industry began its streaming-fueled recovery around five years ago, the songwriting and publishing communities have been protesting not only the uneven payment structure of streaming — which sees recorded-music rights holders being paid three times what publishing is paid — but also the imbalanced power and payment structures of the music industry. Read more about Songwriters Are Getting Short-Changed by Music Streaming, Study Shows[…]

Posted in Art

This Artist Uses Drones To Create Gigantic Long-Exposure Light Paintings in the Sky

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] artist Frodo Álvarez has come up with a different approach, using just a handful of pre-programmed drones to create towering long-exposure light paintings. Typically these types of images are created by someone standing in front of a camera with its shutter open for a prolonged period and either waving an LED light wand around, Read more about This Artist Uses Drones To Create Gigantic Long-Exposure Light Paintings in the Sky[…]

Posted in Art

Snapchat suit defines free speech – US school decides they can hold an iron grip on their students comms any time any place

Posted on by Robin Edgar

At the center of the case is Brandi Levy, who in ninth grade let loose on the platform after learning she didn’t make the varsity cheerleading squad. Compared to the sort of stuff teens get caught pulling on social media now, Levy’s Snap was relatively benign: just a photo of her and a friend flipping Read more about Snapchat suit defines free speech – US school decides they can hold an iron grip on their students comms any time any place[…]

Pentagon doesn’t really explain odd transfer of 175 million IP addresses to obscure company starting 5 minutes before Trump left office

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The US Department of Defense puzzled Internet experts by apparently transferring control of tens of millions of dormant IP addresses to an obscure Florida company just before President Donald Trump left the White House, but the Pentagon has finally offered a partial explanation for why it happened. The Defense Department says it still owns the Read more about Pentagon doesn’t really explain odd transfer of 175 million IP addresses to obscure company starting 5 minutes before Trump left office[…]

The Postal Service is running a running a ‘covert operations program’ that monitors Americans’ social media posts

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The law enforcement arm of the U.S. Postal Service has been quietly running a program that tracks and collects Americans’ social media posts, including those about planned protests, according to a document obtained by Yahoo News. The details of the surveillance effort, known as iCOP, or Internet Covert Operations Program, have not previously been made Read more about The Postal Service is running a running a ‘covert operations program’ that monitors Americans’ social media posts[…]

Signal maker exploits Cellebrite – authoritarian govt phone spying software – to create false reports on phones scanned by them and then forever after

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Cellebrite makes software to automate physically extracting and indexing data from mobile devices. They exist within the grey – where enterprise branding joins together with the larcenous to be called “digital intelligence.” Their customer list has included authoritarian regimes in Belarus, Russia, Venezuela, and China; death squads in Bangladesh; military juntas in Myanmar; and those Read more about Signal maker exploits Cellebrite – authoritarian govt phone spying software – to create false reports on phones scanned by them and then forever after[…]

Stuff in Space – see all satellites and space objects in 3D

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Stuff in Space is a realtime 3D map of objects in Earth orbit, visualized using WebGL. The website updates daily with orbit data from Space-Track.org and uses the excellent satellite.js Javascript library to calculate satellite positions. About the author Contact: info@stuffin.space See Stuff in Space on GitHub Source: Stuff in Space

NASA Generates Oxygen on Mars, Setting Stage for Crewed Missions

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] On April 20, the MOXIE device on Perseverance produced roughly 5 grams of oxygen. That’s a tiny step for NASA and its rover, but a potentially huge leap for humanity and our aspirations on Mars. This small amount of oxygen—extracted from the carbon dioxide-rich Martian atmosphere—is only enough to sustain an astronaut for about Read more about NASA Generates Oxygen on Mars, Setting Stage for Crewed Missions[…]

China behind another hack as U.S. cybersecurity issues mount

Posted on by Robin Edgar

China is behind a newly discovered series of hacks against key targets in the U.S. government, private companies and the country’s critical infrastructure, cybersecurity firm Mandiant said Wednesday. The hack works by breaking into Pulse Secure, a program that businesses often use to let workers remotely connect to their offices. The company announced Tuesday how Read more about China behind another hack as U.S. cybersecurity issues mount[…]

If you have a QNAP NAS, stop what you’re doing right now and install latest updates before Qlocker gets you

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Two file-scrambling nasties, Qlocker and eCh0raix, are said to be tearing through vulnerable QNAP storage equipment, encrypting data and demanding ransoms to restore the information. In response, QNAP said on Thursday users should do the following to avoid falling victim: Install the latest software updates for the Multimedia Console, Media Streaming Add-on, and Hybrid Backup Read more about If you have a QNAP NAS, stop what you’re doing right now and install latest updates before Qlocker gets you[…]

Samsung Electronics Expands its Galaxy Upcycling Program to Enable Consumers to Repurpose Galaxy Smartphones into Smart Home Devices

Posted on by Robin Edgar

With Galaxy Upcycling at Home, users can easily turn their old Galaxy devices² into smart home devices like a childcare monitor, a pet care solution and other tools that meet individual lifestyle needs. Make Any Home a Smart Home The Galaxy Upcycling at Home program provides enhanced sound and light-control features, by repurposing built-in sensors. Read more about Samsung Electronics Expands its Galaxy Upcycling Program to Enable Consumers to Repurpose Galaxy Smartphones into Smart Home Devices[…]

Man sues Apple for terminating Apple ID with $24K worth of content and no reason

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Apple has been hit with a lawsuit alleging that its media services terms and conditions, which permit the company to terminate an Apple ID, are “unlawful” and “unconscionable.” The complaint, filed on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, goes after an Apple services clause that states a user with Read more about Man sues Apple for terminating Apple ID with $24K worth of content and no reason[…]

Deere John: Researcher Warns Ag Giant’s Site Provides a Map to Customers, Equipment

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Web sites for customers of agricultural equipment maker John Deere contained vulnerabilities that could have allowed a remote attacker to harvest sensitive information on the company’s customers including their names, physical addresses and information on the Deere equipment they own and operate. The researcher known as “Sick Codes” (@sickcodes) published two advisories on Thursday warning Read more about Deere John: Researcher Warns Ag Giant’s Site Provides a Map to Customers, Equipment[…]

CEO of Turkish Crypto Platform Thodex Flees Country as Users Say They’re Locked Out

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Federal police in Turkey are investigating Thodex, a cryptocurrency trading platform that handles hundred of millions of dollars in trades every day, after users complained they’d been locked out of their accounts, according to new reports from Reuters and Turkey’s TRT World news service. CEO Faruk Fatih Ozer reportedly fled Turkey on Tuesday and 62 Read more about CEO of Turkish Crypto Platform Thodex Flees Country as Users Say They’re Locked Out[…]

Apple AirDrop Security Flaw Exposes iPhone Numbers, Emails: Researchers

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Apple’s AirDrop feature is a convenient way to share files between the company’s devices, but security researchers from Technische Universitat Darmstadt in Germany are warning that you might be sharing way more than just a file. According to the researchers, it’s possible for strangers to discover the phone number and email of any nearby AirDrop Read more about Apple AirDrop Security Flaw Exposes iPhone Numbers, Emails: Researchers[…]

Jaguar Land Rover to suspend output due to chip shortage

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is shutting its two main car factories temporarily due to a shortage of computer chips. The difficulties at Britain’s biggest carmaker echo similar problems at other manufacturers, including Ford, who have been hit by a global shortage of chips. JLR said there would be a “limited period” of closure at its Read more about Jaguar Land Rover to suspend output due to chip shortage[…]

Passwordstate password manager Hacked, Exposing Users’ Passwords for 28 Hours with automatic update

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Passwordstate, the enterprise password manager offered by Australian software developer Click Studios, was hacked earlier this week, exposing the passwords of an undisclosed number of its clients for approximately 28 hours. The hack was carried out through an upgrade feature for the password manager and potentially harvested the passwords of those who carried out upgrades. Read more about Passwordstate password manager Hacked, Exposing Users’ Passwords for 28 Hours with automatic update[…]

These Are Ingenuity’s First Color In-Flight Photos of Mars

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In recent days, NASA published three aerial photos taken by Ingenuity. These aren’t the first photos taken by the rover. It has previously sent back images of its shadows taken with its downward-facing navigation camera. And let’s not forget its watchful and proud surrogate parent, the Perseverance rover, which snaps magnificent photos of the helicopter Read more about These Are Ingenuity’s First Color In-Flight Photos of Mars[…]