Author: Robin Edgar

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

Backdoored Firmware Lets China State Hackers Control Routers With ‘Magic Packets’

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Hackers backed by the Chinese government are planting malware into routers that provides long-lasting and undetectable backdoor access to the networks of multinational companies in the US and Japan, governments in both countries said Wednesday. The hacking group, tracked under names including BlackTech, Palmerworm, Temp.Overboard, Circuit Panda, and Radio Panda, has been operating since at Read more about Backdoored Firmware Lets China State Hackers Control Routers With ‘Magic Packets’[…]

Essential Tips for Achieving Audit Readiness

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In the world of business, “audit readiness” is not just another buzzword—it’s a critical aspect of maintaining financial integrity and ensuring smooth operations. Whether you’re a seasoned entrepreneur or a small business owner, understanding what audit readiness entails can make the difference between success and financial turmoil. In this article, we’ll delve into the ins Read more about Essential Tips for Achieving Audit Readiness[…]

Philips Hue / Signify Ecosystem: ‘Collapsing Into Stupidity’

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The Philips Hue ecosystem of home automation devices is “collapsing into stupidity,” writes Rachel Kroll, veteran sysadmin and former production engineer at Facebook. “Unfortunately, the idiot C-suite phenomenon has happened here too, and they have been slowly walking down the road to full-on enshittification.” From her blog post: I figured something was up a few Read more about Philips Hue / Signify Ecosystem: ‘Collapsing Into Stupidity’[…]

World’s 1st drug to regrow teeth enters clinical trials

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The ability to regrow your own teeth could be just around the corner. A team of scientists, led by a Japanese pharmaceutical startup, are getting set to start human trials on a new drug that has successfully grown new teeth in animal test subjects. Toregem Biopharma is slated to begin clinical trials in July of Read more about World’s 1st drug to regrow teeth enters clinical trials[…]

Chip firm Rivos countersues Apple, alleges illegal contracts and unecessary court cases

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A chip startup and several of its employees are being sued by Apple for theft of trade secrets and breach of contract and filed a countersuit. Rivos was sued [PDF] by Apple early last year over claims it lured away a gaggle of Apple employees working on the system-on-chip (SoC) designs like those in its Read more about Chip firm Rivos countersues Apple, alleges illegal contracts and unecessary court cases[…]

FTC and 17 states finally go after Amazon monopoly in new antitrust lawsuit

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The FTC – and 17 state attorneys general – have come out swinging at Amazon with a lawsuit accusing the ecommerce giant of being a monopolist. Amazon, the FTC alleges, engages in anticompetitive conduct in two markets: online ecommerce and also the market for marketplace services used by sellers. The tactics used by Amazon to Read more about FTC and 17 states finally go after Amazon monopoly in new antitrust lawsuit[…]

Philips Hue will force users to upload their data to Hue cloud – changing their TOS after you bought the product for not needing an account

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Today’s story is about Philips Hue by Signify. They will soon start forcing accounts on all users and upload user data to their cloud. For now, Signify says you’ll still be able to control your Hue lights locally as you’re currently used to, but we don’t know if this may change in the future. The Read more about Philips Hue will force users to upload their data to Hue cloud – changing their TOS after you bought the product for not needing an account[…]

AOG Technics forged certifications for Jet Engine Parts to at least 4 major airlines, leading to groundings

Posted on by Robin Edgar

American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines are among a growing list of air carriers that have grounded aircraft in the wake of a fake jet engine parts scandal that has rocked the aviation industry. Multiple have already replaced the uncertified parts and returned their planes to service, but close to 100 planes may still Read more about AOG Technics forged certifications for Jet Engine Parts to at least 4 major airlines, leading to groundings[…]

Cursed AI | Ken Loach’s 1977 film ‘Star Wars Episode IV – No Hope’

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Ken Loach’s 1977 film ‘Star Wars Episode IV – No Hope’. George Lucas was unhappy with Loach’s depressing subject matter combined with there being no actual space scenes (with all the action taking place on a UK council estate). He immediately halted filming, recast many parts (Carrie Fisher replacing Kathy Burke for example), did extensive Read more about Cursed AI | Ken Loach’s 1977 film ‘Star Wars Episode IV – No Hope’[…]

Funky AI-generated spiraling medieval village captivates social media

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[…]a Reddit user named “Ugleh” posted an AI-generated image of a spiral-shaped medieval village that rapidly gained attention on social media for its remarkable geometric qualities. Follow-up posts garnered even more praise, including a tweet with over 145,000 likes. Ugleh created the images using Stable Diffusion and a guidance technique called ControlNet. [….] In June, Read more about Funky AI-generated spiraling medieval village captivates social media[…]

Troy Hunt scours the dark web for your stolen data – a look at HaveIBeenPwned: a 1 man operation

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] Have I Been Pwned started life as a hobby project. In fact, Troy wasn’t working in the cybersecurity industry until a chance encounter tweaked his curiosity. […] Hackers had stolen the email addresses and passwords of 152 million of Adobe’s customers in November 2013 — including, as it turned out, Troy’s. Only, he wasn’t Read more about Troy Hunt scours the dark web for your stolen data – a look at HaveIBeenPwned: a 1 man operation[…]

T-Mobile US exposes some customer data, but don’t say breach

Posted on by Robin Edgar

T-Mobile US has had another bad week on the infosec front – this time stemming from a system glitch that exposed customer account data, followed by allegations of another breach the carrier denied. According to customers who complained of the issue on Reddit and X, the T-Mobile app was displaying other customers’ data instead of Read more about T-Mobile US exposes some customer data, but don’t say breach[…]

‘Laugh then Think’: Strange Research Honored at 33rd Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Since 1999, Slashdot has been covering the annual Ig Nobel prize ceremonies — which honor real scientific research into strange or surprising subjects. “Each winner (or winning team) has done something that makes people LAUGH, then THINK,” explains the ceremony web page, promising that “a gaggle of genuine, genuinely bemused Nobel laureates handed the Ig Read more about ‘Laugh then Think’: Strange Research Honored at 33rd Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony[…]

E-Paper News Feed Illustrates The Headlines With AI-Generated Images

Posted on by Robin Edgar

It’s hard to read the headlines today without feeling like the world couldn’t possibly get much worse. And then tomorrow rolls around, and a fresh set of headlines puts the lie to that thought. On a macro level, there’s not much that you can do about that, but on a personal level, illustrating your news Read more about E-Paper News Feed Illustrates The Headlines With AI-Generated Images[…]

EU reinstates $400 million fine on Intel for blocking sales of competing chips

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The European Commission has imposed a €376.36 million ($400 million) fine on Intel for blocking the sales of devices powered by its competitors’ x86 CPUs. This brings one part of the company’s long-running antitrust court battle with the European authority to a close. If you’ll recall, the Commission slapped the chipmaker with a record-breaking €1.06 Read more about EU reinstates $400 million fine on Intel for blocking sales of competing chips[…]

Parker Probe’s path through solar blast yields unparalleled space weather insights

Posted on by Robin Edgar

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has racked up an impressive list of superlatives in its first five years of operations: It’s the closest spacecraft to the sun, the fastest human-made object and the first mission to ever “touch the sun.”   Now, Parker has one more feather to add to its sun-kissed cap: It’s the first Read more about Parker Probe’s path through solar blast yields unparalleled space weather insights[…]

Solar Sails Could Reach Mars in Just 26 Days

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A recent study submitted to Acta Astronautica explores the potential for using aerographite solar sails for traveling to Mars and interstellar space, which could dramatically reduce both the time and fuel required for such missions. This study comes while ongoing research into the use of solar sails is being conducted by a plethora of organizations Read more about Solar Sails Could Reach Mars in Just 26 Days[…]

After Seven Years, Sample Collected From Asteroid Finally Returns to Earth

Posted on by Robin Edgar

OSIRIS-REx weighs 4,650 pounds (or 2,110 kg). On September 8th of 2016, NASA first launched the spacecraft on its 3.8-billion mile mission to land on an asteroid and retrieve a sample. That sample has just returned. Throughout Sunday morning, NASA tweeted historic updates from the sample’s landing site in Utah. “We’ve spotted the #OSIRISREx capsule Read more about After Seven Years, Sample Collected From Asteroid Finally Returns to Earth[…]

Amazon Will Stick Ads on Prime Video Unless You Pay Up MOAR – wasn’t the model to pay to not have ads in the first place?

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Amazon has always handled its streaming video slate a little differently than the competition. Other companies have slyly introduced a cheaper ad-free option while slowly raising prices on non-ad-based subscription tiers, Prime Video is taking a different tack. The streaming service plans to hold ad-free watching hostage, and it’s demanding a $3 ransom starting early Read more about Amazon Will Stick Ads on Prime Video Unless You Pay Up MOAR – wasn’t the model to pay to not have ads in the first place?[…]

Dutch privacy watchdog SDBN sues twitter for collecting and selling data via Mohub (wordfeud, duolingo, etc) without notifying users

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The Dutch Data Protection Foundation (SDBN) wants to enforce a mass claim for 11 million people through the courts against social media company X, the former Twitter. Between 2013 and 2021, that company owned the advertising platform MoPub, which, according to the privacy foundation, illegally traded in data from users of more than 30,000 free Read more about Dutch privacy watchdog SDBN sues twitter for collecting and selling data via Mohub (wordfeud, duolingo, etc) without notifying users[…]

Google Pays $10 Billion a Year To Maintain Monopoly, US Says

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Alphabet’s Google pays more than $10 billion a year to maintain its position as the default search engine on web browsers and mobile devices, stifling competition, the US Justice Department said Tuesday at the start of a high-stakes antitrust trial in Washington. From a report: “This case is about the future of the internet and Read more about Google Pays $10 Billion a Year To Maintain Monopoly, US Says[…]

Hackers Claim It Only Took a 10-Minute Phone Call To Shut Down MGM Resorts – stock down 6% already

Posted on by Robin Edgar

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Engadget: The ALPHV/BlackCat ransomware group claimed responsibility for the MGM Resorts cyber outage on Tuesday, according to a post by malware archive vx-underground. The group claims to have used common social engineering tactics, or gaining trust from employees to get inside information, to try and get a ransom Read more about Hackers Claim It Only Took a 10-Minute Phone Call To Shut Down MGM Resorts – stock down 6% already[…]

These Live Translation Earbuds Are $157

Posted on by Robin Edgar

These Mymanu CLIK S are a pair of bluetooth earbuds that pair with an app on your phone to offer live translations of over 37 languages, including Spanish, German, French, Japanese, Arabic, Chinese, Finnish, Thai, Korean, and Japanese. The earbuds cost $157, and the app is included. Obviously, these earbuds can be ideal for international Read more about These Live Translation Earbuds Are $157[…]