Author: Robin Edgar

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

Sierra Nevada Corporation resurrects plans for crewed Dream Chaser spaceplane, inflatable space station

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) has unveiled plans for an enormous inflatable space station tended by cargo and crew carrying versions of its Dream Chaser spaceplane. “There is no scalable space travel industry without a spaceplane,” said SNC chair and owner Eren Ozmen. That’s handy, because with the retirement of the Space Shuttle, the Dream Chaser Read more about Sierra Nevada Corporation resurrects plans for crewed Dream Chaser spaceplane, inflatable space station[…]

Tesla customers say they’ve been double-charged for their cars

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Finding an extra $10 charge on your groceries is enough to make most people angry, but what if you paid twice for a a $56,000 car? Tesla buyers have been reporting that they’ve been double-charged on cars for recent purchases and have had trouble contacting the company and getting their money back, according to a Read more about Tesla customers say they’ve been double-charged for their cars[…]

Virgin Galactic’s VSS Imagine is its shiny, next-gen spaceship

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Virgin Galactic took to YouTube to reveal, briefly, its first SpaceShip III, which will start ground tests and “glide flights” later this year. It’s an eye-catching vessel, channeling that Star Wars: The Phantom Menace Naboo starship look in a wonderful way. It’s finished with a mirror-like material that’s meant to reflect its surroundings, whether that’s Read more about Virgin Galactic’s VSS Imagine is its shiny, next-gen spaceship[…]

Scientists Implant and Then Reverse False Memories in People

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now, for the first time ever, scientists have evidence showing they can reverse false memories, according to a study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “The same way that you can suggest false memories, you can reverse them by giving people a different framing,” the lead researcher of the paper, Read more about Scientists Implant and Then Reverse False Memories in People[…]

Another successful flight for SpaceX’s Starship apart from the landing-in-one-piece thing

Posted on by Robin Edgar

SpaceX continued its rich tradition of destroying Starship prototypes with SN11 succumbing to an explosive end during a high-altitude flight test. Originally planned for 29 March, the test flight from the company’s facility in Boca Chica, Texas, had been postponed until this morning because a Federal Aviation Administrator (FAA) had been unable reach the site Read more about Another successful flight for SpaceX’s Starship apart from the landing-in-one-piece thing[…]

Wi-Fi devices set to become object sensors by 2024 under planned 802.11bf standard – no, they haven’t thought of security and privacy

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In three years or so, the Wi-Fi specification is scheduled to get an upgrade that will turn wireless devices into sensors capable of gathering data about the people and objects bathed in their signals. “When 802.11bf will be finalized and introduced as an IEEE standard in September 2024, Wi-Fi will cease to be a communication-only Read more about Wi-Fi devices set to become object sensors by 2024 under planned 802.11bf standard – no, they haven’t thought of security and privacy[…]

Android, iOS beam telemetry to Google, Apple even when you tell them not to

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In a recent released research paper, titled “Mobile Handset Privacy: Measuring The Data iOS and Android Send to Apple And Google” [PDF], Douglas Leith, chairman of computer systems in the school of computer science and statistics at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, documents how iPhones and Android devices phone home regardless of the wishes of their Read more about Android, iOS beam telemetry to Google, Apple even when you tell them not to[…]

Wi-Fi slinger Ubiquiti hints at source code leak after claim of ‘catastrophic’ cloud intrusion emerges

Posted on by Robin Edgar

News that Ubiquiti’s cloud servers had been breached emerged on January 11, 2021, when the company emailed customers the text found in this support forum post. That missive stated: “We recently became aware of unauthorized access to certain of our information technology systems hosted by a third-party cloud provider.” That announcement continued, “We have no Read more about Wi-Fi slinger Ubiquiti hints at source code leak after claim of ‘catastrophic’ cloud intrusion emerges[…]

Trustify CEO gets eight years for lying to investors, spending millions on homes, private jets, sports tickets

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A tech CEO who lied to investors to get funding and then blew millions of it on maintaining a luxury lifestyle, which included private jets and top seats at sporting events, has been sentenced to just over eight years in prison. Daniel Boice, 41, set up what he claimed would be the “Uber of private Read more about Trustify CEO gets eight years for lying to investors, spending millions on homes, private jets, sports tickets[…]

Privacy Laws Giving Big Internet Companies A Convenient Excuse To Avoid Academic Scrutiny – or not? A Balanced argument

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For years we’ve talked about how the fact that no one really understands privacy, leads to very bad attempts at regulating privacy in ways that do more harm than good. They often don’t do anything that actually protects privacy — and instead screw up lots of other important things, from competition to free speech. In Read more about Privacy Laws Giving Big Internet Companies A Convenient Excuse To Avoid Academic Scrutiny – or not? A Balanced argument[…]

OpenSSL fixes high-severity flaw that allows hackers to crash huge amount servers globally

Posted on by Robin Edgar

OpenSSL, the most widely used software library for implementing website and email encryption, has patched a high-severity vulnerability that makes it easy for hackers to completely shut down huge numbers of servers. […] On Thursday, OpenSSL maintainers disclosed and patched a vulnerability that causes servers to crash when they receive a maliciously crafted request from Read more about OpenSSL fixes high-severity flaw that allows hackers to crash huge amount servers globally[…]

One of America’s $135.8 Million Fighter F-35 Jets Shot Itself

Posted on by Robin Edgar

An F-35B Joint Strike Fighter shot itself in the skies above Arizona earlier this month, doing at least $2.5 million in damage. The pilot was unharmed and successfully landed the jet. The Pentagon isn’t quite sure how or why the jet shot itself and the incident is still under investigation. As first reported by Military.com, Read more about One of America’s $135.8 Million Fighter F-35 Jets Shot Itself[…]

Apple Webkit exploited to hack your idevice whilst browsing. Update now!

Posted on by Robin Edgar

iOS 14.4.2 and iPadOS 14.4.2 Released March 26, 2021 WebKit Available for: iPhone 6s and later, iPad Pro (all models), iPad Air 2 and later, iPad 5th generation and later, iPad mini 4 and later, and iPod touch (7th generation) Impact: Processing maliciously crafted web content may lead to universal cross site scripting. Apple is Read more about Apple Webkit exploited to hack your idevice whilst browsing. Update now![…]

GM, Ford, Tesla, Nio, Nissan, Toyota, VW, Subaru, Fiat – electric car companies shutdown due to global chip shortage

Posted on by Robin Edgar

New York (CNN Business)A computer chip shortage has shut down the Louisville, Kentucky, Ford plant this week, the latest shutdown because of an industry-wide problem that is expected to spread to many other auto plants in the coming months.The Louisville plant employs 3,800 hourly workers, who will receive about 75% of their normal pay during Read more about GM, Ford, Tesla, Nio, Nissan, Toyota, VW, Subaru, Fiat – electric car companies shutdown due to global chip shortage[…]

Data Broker Looking To Sell Global Real-Time Vehicle Location Data To Government Agencies, Including The Military

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] utting a couple of middle men between the app data and the purchase of data helps agencies steer clear of Constitutional issues related to the Supreme Court’s Carpenter decision, which introduced a warrant mandate for engaging in proxy tracking of people via cell service providers. But phones aren’t the only objects that generate a Read more about Data Broker Looking To Sell Global Real-Time Vehicle Location Data To Government Agencies, Including The Military[…]

Clothes retailer Fatface: Someone’s broken in and accessed your personal data, including partial card payment details… Don’t tell anyone

Posted on by Robin Edgar

British clothes retailer Fatface has infuriated some customers by telling them “an unauthorised third party” gained access to systems holding their data earlier this year, and then asking them to keep news of the blunder to themselves. Several people wrote into The Register to let us know about the personal data leak, with reader Terry Read more about Clothes retailer Fatface: Someone’s broken in and accessed your personal data, including partial card payment details… Don’t tell anyone[…]

Guns.Com Got Hacked – personal data available on forum

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Watch out, firearm lovers. The subtly-named guns.com, a place where Americans can go to pick out whatever stylish boomstick they like and have it shipped straight to their neck of the woods, seems to have a pretty awful data breach on its hands. Back in January, a hacker temporarily disabled the company’s website, interfering with Read more about Guns.Com Got Hacked – personal data available on forum[…]

Big Tech CEOs Waffle on Banning the 12 Major Anti-Vaxxers that cause 73% of misinformation

Posted on by Robin Edgar

After a report from the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) and Anti-Vax Watch found that a huge percentage of misinformation and conspiracy theories about vaccines can be traced back to just a dozen people, the CEOs of Facebook, Google, and Twitter told Congress they weren’t sure they would ban them. The CCDH/Anti-Vax Watch report Read more about Big Tech CEOs Waffle on Banning the 12 Major Anti-Vaxxers that cause 73% of misinformation[…]

Venus Flytraps Have Magnetic Fields Like the Human Brain

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[…] a group of mavericks out of Switzerland have detected a magnetic signal in a plant. Using a highly sensitive magnetometer, an interdisciplinary team of researchers have measured signals from a Venus flytrap of up to .5 picotesla. To make matters even more mind-blowing, this signal is roughly equivalent to the biomagnetic field strength of Read more about Venus Flytraps Have Magnetic Fields Like the Human Brain[…]

Scientists discover how humans develop larger brains than other apes

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[…] The study, published in the journal Cell, compared ‘brain organoids’ – 3-D tissues grown from stem cells which model early brain development—that were grown from human, gorilla and chimpanzee stem cells. Similar to actual brains, the human brain organoids grew a lot larger than the organoids from other apes. […] During the early stages Read more about Scientists discover how humans develop larger brains than other apes[…]

Rabble Rousing Mob who can’t Read Seek Removal of Richard Stallman and Entire FSF Board

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Richard Stallman’s return to the Free Software Foundation’s board of directors has drawn condemnation from many people in the free software community. An open letter signed by hundreds of people today called for Stallman to be removed again and for the FSF’s entire board to resign. Letter signers include Neil McGovern, GNOME Foundation executive director Read more about Rabble Rousing Mob who can’t Read Seek Removal of Richard Stallman and Entire FSF Board[…]

A Crash Course On Sniffing & Inserting commands into Bluetooth Low Energy

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) is everywhere these days. If you fire up a scanner on your phone and walk around the neighborhood, we’d be willing to bet you’d pick up dozens if not hundreds of devices. By extension, from fitness bands to light bulbs, it’s equally likely that you’re going to want to talk to Read more about A Crash Course On Sniffing & Inserting commands into Bluetooth Low Energy[…]