Author: Robin Edgar

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

South Korea Is Giving Millions of Photos of all foreign travelers since 2019 to Facial Recognition Researchers

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The South Korean Ministry of Justice has provided more than 100 million photos of foreign nationals who travelled through the country’s airports to facial recognition companies without their consent, according to attorneys with the non-governmental organization Lawyers for a Democratic Society. While the use of facial recognition technology has become common for governments across the Read more about South Korea Is Giving Millions of Photos of all foreign travelers since 2019 to Facial Recognition Researchers[…]

Big tech fined 2% revenue if they force their own in-app payment system in S Korea

Posted on by Robin Edgar

South Korean has again imposed new regulations on app stores, this time with a regime that will see operators fined up to two per cent of revenue if they force their proprietary in-app payment systems on developers. “Considering that certain payment methods compulsory acts are serious illegal acts of app market operators, an enforcement ordinance Read more about Big tech fined 2% revenue if they force their own in-app payment system in S Korea[…]

Project Collects ‘Every’ NFT In One Giant 20TB Download

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Hours ago, a website appeared online with the express purpose of hosting a nearly 20TB torrent (that’s terabytes, folks, the big boys of digital data measurement) containing every NFT available through the Ethereum and Solana blockchains. The NFT Bay, whose name and overall design riff on iconic torrent database The Pirate Bay, is the work Read more about Project Collects ‘Every’ NFT In One Giant 20TB Download[…]

Canadian teen arrested for stealing $36.5m of cryptocurrency

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A Canadian teenager has been arrested for allegedly stealing $37 million worth of cryptocurrency ($46M Canadian) via a SIM swap scam, making it the largest virtual cash heist affecting a single person yet, according to police. Together with the FBI and the US Secret Service Electronic Crimes Task Force, Hamilton Police in the Canadian province Read more about Canadian teen arrested for stealing $36.5m of cryptocurrency[…]

Thousands of Firefox users accidentally commit login cookies on GitHub

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Thousands of Firefox cookie databases containing sensitive data are available on request from GitHub repositories, data potentially usable for hijacking authenticated sessions. These cookies.sqlite databases normally reside in the Firefox profiles folder. They’re used to store cookies between browsing sessions. And they’re findable by searching GitHub with specific query parameters, what’s known as a search Read more about Thousands of Firefox users accidentally commit login cookies on GitHub[…]

Warhammer 40K’s Imperium Is Genocidal – not a Good Thing, Maker Reminds Players

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Some Warhammer 40,000 players think the game’s fascist Imperium of Man faction is awesome, and actually has a few good ideas. It does not. To clarify this point—which more than one Warhammer 40K fan appears to have missed—maker Games Workshop put out a statement saying that you do not, under any circumstances, “gotta hand it Read more about Warhammer 40K’s Imperium Is Genocidal – not a Good Thing, Maker Reminds Players[…]

German state planning to switch 25,000 PCs to LibreOffice

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The north-German state of Schleswig-Holstein plans to switch to open source software, including LibreOffice, in its administration and schools. In doing so, the state wants to reduce its dependence on proprietary software, and eventually end it altogether. By the end of 2026, Microsoft Office is to be replaced by LibreOffice on all 25,000 computers used Read more about German state planning to switch 25,000 PCs to LibreOffice[…]

‘Gas station in space’: new plan to make rocket fuel from junk in Earth’s orbit

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[…] South Australian company Neumann Space has developed an “in-space electric propulsion system” that can be used in low Earth orbit to extend the missions of spacecraft, move satellites, or de-orbit them. Now Neumann is working on a plan with three other companies to turn space junk into fuel for that propulsion system. Japanese start-up Read more about ‘Gas station in space’: new plan to make rocket fuel from junk in Earth’s orbit[…]

Tesla drivers locked out of their cars by server error

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Some Tesla drivers who fancied going for a spin on Saturday were unable to do so after an update to the cars’ companion app produced server errors. Teslas don’t use conventional keys. Instead they require the presence of a fob, key card, or authenticated mobile phone app that links to the electric vehicles over Bluetooth. Read more about Tesla drivers locked out of their cars by server error[…]

How Facebook and Google Actually Fund the Creation of Misinformation

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MIT’s Technology Review shares data from a Facebook-run tool called CrowdTangle. It shows that by 2018 in the nation of Myanmar (population: 53 million), ” All the engagement had instead gone to fake news and clickbait websites. “In a country where Facebook is synonymous with the internet, the low-grade content overwhelmed other information sources.” [T]he Read more about How Facebook and Google Actually Fund the Creation of Misinformation[…]

Beijing issues fines for 43 Big Tech M&A deals

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China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) has fined tech giants 43 times – with Alibaba, Baidu and Tencent told to pay up for failing to declare deals deemed to violate anti-monopoly legislation. According to SAMR, more rigorous anti-monopoly law enforcement has seen businesses file more paperwork, sometimes about past transactions. SAMR’s own probes have Read more about Beijing issues fines for 43 Big Tech M&A deals[…]

Physicists reveal non-reciprocal flow around the quantum world

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A pair of theoretical physicists, from the University of Exeter (United Kingdom) and the University of Zaragoza (Spain), have developed a quantum theory explaining how to engineer non-reciprocal flows of quantum light and matter. The research may be important for the creation of quantum technologies which require the directional transfer of energy and information at Read more about Physicists reveal non-reciprocal flow around the quantum world[…]

Apple’s macOS Monterey memory leak blamed on custom cursors

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Sleuthing leads to suspected RAM-gobbling culpri Apple’s macOS Monterey, the iGiant’s latest desktop operating system release, turns out to have an insatiable appetite for memory if you use certain apps. Shortly after the OS update was released on October 25, Apple customers – at least those who avoided installation woes – began to notice that Read more about Apple’s macOS Monterey memory leak blamed on custom cursors[…]

Which governments censor the tech giants the most?

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Note: these numbers do not take into account the amount of secret removal requests from governments, which are probably most in the US (also see https://www.linkielist.com/global-domination/us-judge-rules-twitter-cant-be-transparent-about-amount-of-surveillance-requests-processed-per-year-due-to-national-security-of-the-4th-reich/) In 2009, Google started recording the number of content removal requests it received from courts and government agencies all over the world, disclosing the figures on a six-month basis. Read more about Which governments censor the tech giants the most?[…]

EU’s Latest Internet Regulatory Madness: Destroying Internet Security With Its Digital Identity Framework

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The EU is at it again. Recently Mozilla put out a position paper highlighting the latest dangerous move by busybody EU regulators who seem to think that they can magically regulate the internet without (1) understanding it, or (2) bothering to talk to people who do understand it. The issue is the Digital Identity Framework, Read more about EU’s Latest Internet Regulatory Madness: Destroying Internet Security With Its Digital Identity Framework[…]

Why You Should Encrypt Your WhatsApp Backups in iCloud

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it’s also one of the few apps that offer end-to-end encryption by default. This means that no one other than you the other party can read your conversations. Even WhatsApp can’t read your conversations because it doesn’t have the key to un-encrypt your chats. This was all true, except for one scenario: WhatsApp chats backed Read more about Why You Should Encrypt Your WhatsApp Backups in iCloud[…]

Google Cloud partially fixes load balancer issues that killed Snapchat, spotify, etsy, discord and many many more

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Google Cloud suffered a brief outage, seemingly bringing down or disrupting a whole bunch of websites relying on its systems. If you’ve had trouble accessing Snapchat, Discord, Spotify, Etsy, retailers like Home Depot, and others today, this is likely why: a fault developed in Google Cloud’s networking infrastructure, resulting in websites throwing up 404 errors. Read more about Google Cloud partially fixes load balancer issues that killed Snapchat, spotify, etsy, discord and many many more[…]

Does Copyright Give Companies The Right To Search Your Home And Computer?

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One reason why copyright has become so important in the digital age is that it applies to the software that many of us use routinely on our smartphones, tablets and computers. In order to run those programs, you must have a license of some kind (unless the software is in the public domain, which rarely Read more about Does Copyright Give Companies The Right To Search Your Home And Computer?[…]

Microsoft blocks workaround that let Windows 11 users avoid its Edge browser – browser wars are on again

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Microsoft plans to update Windows 11 to block a workaround that has allowed users to open Start menu search results in a browser other than Edge. The loophole was popularized by EdgeDeflector, an app that allows you to bypass some of the built-in browser restrictions found in Windows 10 and 11. Before this week, companies Read more about Microsoft blocks workaround that let Windows 11 users avoid its Edge browser – browser wars are on again[…]

Portugal: Proposed law tries to sneak in biometric mass surveillance.

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Whilst the European Parliament has been fighting bravely for the rights of everyone in the EU to exist freely and with dignity in publicly accessible spaces, the government of Portugal is attempting to push their country in the opposite direction: one of digital authoritarianism. […] Eerily reminiscent of the failed attempts by the Serbian government Read more about Portugal: Proposed law tries to sneak in biometric mass surveillance.[…]

DDR4 memory protections are broken wide open by new Rowhammer technique

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Rowhammer exploits that allow unprivileged attackers to change or corrupt data stored in vulnerable memory chips are now possible on virtually all DDR4 modules due to a new approach that neuters defenses chip manufacturers added to make their wares more resistant to such attacks. Rowhammer attacks work by accessing—or hammering—physical rows inside vulnerable chips millions Read more about DDR4 memory protections are broken wide open by new Rowhammer technique[…]

High severity BIOS flaws affect numerous Intel processors

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Intel has disclosed two high-severity vulnerabilities that affect a wide range of Intel processor families, allowing threat actors and malware to gain higher privilege levels on the device. The flaws were discovered by SentinelOne and are tracked as CVE-2021-0157 and CVE-2021-0158, and both have a CVSS v3 score of 8.2 (high). The former concerns the Read more about High severity BIOS flaws affect numerous Intel processors[…]

ISS crew shelters from debris after Russia blows up old sat – US angry

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In a test of its missile technology, Russia destroyed an old space satellite on Monday, littering Earth’s orbit with fragments and forcing astronauts on the International Space Station to temporarily take shelter. The cloud of debris was generated when Cosmos 1408, a 2,200-kg defunct signals intelligence satellite launched in 1982, was blown up by a Read more about ISS crew shelters from debris after Russia blows up old sat – US angry[…]

Modders Have Fixed The GTA Trilogy’s Incredibly Ugly Rain

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The recently “remastered” GTA trilogy has some of the ugliest rain I’ve ever seen, and a handful of days later, modders have fixed it. No longer will you walk the streets of Vice City at night, only to be covered in the drippings of Spiderman’s leaky web-shooter. Finally, you can be free of that oddly Read more about Modders Have Fixed The GTA Trilogy’s Incredibly Ugly Rain[…]

Woman Allegedly Made $57,000 From Unofficial Demon Slayer Cakes

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A 34-year-old resident of Tokyo’s Shibuya has been arrested on suspicion of violating Japanese copyright law after selling unlicensed Demon Slayer cakes. According to Kyodo News, the women sold the cakes through Instagram, with customers submitting their desired images to be turned into frosting, cream, and sugar. The suspect is said to have charged between Read more about Woman Allegedly Made $57,000 From Unofficial Demon Slayer Cakes[…]