Month: July 2018

Could electrically stimulating criminals’ brains prevent crime?

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A new study by a team of international researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and Nanyang Technological University suggests that electrically stimulating the prefrontal cortex can reduce the desire to carry out violent antisocial acts by over 50 percent. The research, while undeniably compelling, raises a whole host of confronting ethical questions, not just over Read more about Could electrically stimulating criminals’ brains prevent crime?[…]

This Sand Printer Seems Perfect for Beach Wedding Proposals

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Wedding proposals are just one of the many minefields you have to navigate on social media platforms, and Ivan Miranda isn’t making things any easier. He’s designed and built an autonomous printer that can draw messages in sand, so now’s probably a good time to brace yourself for an endless barrage of “will you marry Read more about This Sand Printer Seems Perfect for Beach Wedding Proposals[…]

Europe is reading smartphones and using the data as a weapon to deport refugees

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Across the continent, migrants are being confronted by a booming mobile forensics industry that specialises in extracting a smartphone’s messages, location history, and even WhatsApp data. That information can potentially be turned against the phone owners themselves. In 2017 both Germany and Denmark expanded laws that enabled immigration officials to extract data from asylum seekers’ Read more about Europe is reading smartphones and using the data as a weapon to deport refugees[…]

Google allows outside app developers to read people’s Gmails

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Google promised a year ago to provide more privacy to Gmail users, but The Wall Street Journal reports that hundreds of app makers have access to millions of inboxes belonging to Gmail users. The outside app companies receive access to messages from Gmail users who signed up for things like price-comparison services or automated travel-itinerary Read more about Google allows outside app developers to read people’s Gmails[…]

Dear Samsung mobe owners: It may leak your private pics to randoms

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Samsung’s Messages app bundled with the South Korean giant’s latest smartphones and tablets may silently send people’s private photos to random contacts, it is claimed. An unlucky bunch of Sammy phone fans – including owners of Galaxy S9, S9+ and Note 8 gadgets – have complained on Reddit and the official support forums that the Read more about Dear Samsung mobe owners: It may leak your private pics to randoms[…]

Newer Diameter Telephony Protocol (4G / LTE) Just As Vulnerable As SS7

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Security researchers say the Diameter protocol used with today’s 4G (LTE) telephony and data transfer standard is vulnerable to the same types of vulnerabilities as the older SS7 standard used with older telephony standards such as 3G, 2G, and earlier. Both Diameter and SS7 (Signaling System No. 7) have the same role in a telephony Read more about Newer Diameter Telephony Protocol (4G / LTE) Just As Vulnerable As SS7[…]

China brings Star Wars to life with ‘laser AK-47’ that can set fire to targets a kilometre away

Posted on by Robin Edgar

China has developed a new portable laser weapon that can zap a target from nearly a kilometre away, according to researchers involved in the project. The ZKZM-500 laser assault rifle is classified as being “non-lethal” but produces an energy beam that cannot be seen by the naked eye but can pass through windows and cause Read more about China brings Star Wars to life with ‘laser AK-47’ that can set fire to targets a kilometre away[…]

ProtonMail / ProtonVPN DDoS Attacks Are a Case Study of What Happens When You Mock Attackers

Posted on by Robin Edgar

For the past two days, secure email provider ProtonMail has been fighting off DDoS attacks that have visibly affected the company’s services, causing short but frequent outages at regular intervals. “The attacks went on for several hours, although the outages were far more brief, usually several minutes at a time with the longest outage on Read more about ProtonMail / ProtonVPN DDoS Attacks Are a Case Study of What Happens When You Mock Attackers[…]

Every Android Device Since 2012 Impacted by RAMpage Vulnerability

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Almost all Android devices released since 2012 are vulnerable to a new vulnerability named RAMpage, an international team of academics has revealed today. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2018-9442, is a variation of the Rowhammer attack. Rowhammer is a hardware bug in modern memory cards. A few years back researchers discovered that when someone would send Read more about Every Android Device Since 2012 Impacted by RAMpage Vulnerability[…]

This popular Facebook app publicly exposed your data for years

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Nametests.com, the website behind the quizzes, recently fixed a flaw that publicly exposed information of their more than 120 million monthly users — even after they deleted the app. At my request, Facebook donated $8,000 to the Freedom of the Press Foundation as part of their Data Abuse Bounty Program. […] While loading a test, the website Read more about This popular Facebook app publicly exposed your data for years[…]

All-Radio 4.27 Portable Can’t Be Removed? Then Your PC is Severely Infected

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Starting yesterday, there have been numerous reports of people’s Windows computers being infected with something called “All-Radio 4.27 Portable”. After researching this, it has been determined that seeing this program is a symptom of a much bigger problem on your computer. All-Radio 4.27 Portable If your computer is suddenly displaying the above program, then your Read more about All-Radio 4.27 Portable Can’t Be Removed? Then Your PC is Severely Infected[…]

Adidas Reports Data Breach of a few million customers

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Adidas AG ADDYY 2.03% said Thursday that a “few million” customers shopping on its U.S. website may have had their data exposed to an unauthorized party. Neither the specific number of users affected nor the time frame of the potential breach were immediately disclosed, but the German sportswear maker said it became aware of the Read more about Adidas Reports Data Breach of a few million customers[…]

The International Space Station’s has a New AI-Powered Bot: CIMON

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Once aboard, CIMON—short for Crew Interactive MObile companioN—will assist the crew with its many activities. The point of this pilot project is to see if an artificially intelligent bot can improve crew efficiency and morale during longer missions, including a possible mission to Mars. What’s more, activities and tasks performed by ISS crew members are Read more about The International Space Station’s has a New AI-Powered Bot: CIMON[…]

Why you should not use Google Cloud – it just turns your project off with no warning and no customer support!

Posted on by Robin Edgar

We have a project running in production on Google Cloud (GCP) that is used to monitor hundreds of wind turbines and scores of solar plants scattered across 8 countries. We have control centers with wall-to-wall screens with dashboards full of metrics that are monitored 24/7. Asset Managers use this system to monitor the health of Read more about Why you should not use Google Cloud – it just turns your project off with no warning and no customer support![…]

Over 10,000 troops from nine nations ready to meet global challenges in Joint Expeditionary Force led by UK

Posted on by Robin Edgar

With the UK at the forefront as the framework nation, the JEF can now deploy over 10,000 personnel from across the nine nations. Speaking at the event at Lancaster House today Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said: Our commitment today sends a clear message to our allies and adversaries alike – our nations will stand together Read more about Over 10,000 troops from nine nations ready to meet global challenges in Joint Expeditionary Force led by UK[…]