Month: September 2018

Cold Boot Attacks are back – plug a sleeping laptop into some kit and read all the memory, slurp all the passwords

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Olle and his fellow cyber security consultant Pasi Saarinen recently discovered a new way to physically hack into PCs. According to their research, this method will work against nearly all modern computers. This includes laptops from some of the world’s biggest vendors like Dell, Lenovo, and even Apple. And because these computers are everywhere, Olle Read more about Cold Boot Attacks are back – plug a sleeping laptop into some kit and read all the memory, slurp all the passwords[…]

Plants communicate distress using their own kind of nervous system

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Plants may lack brains, but they have a nervous system, of sorts. And now, plant biologists have discovered that when a leaf gets eaten, it warns other leaves by using some of the same signals as animals. The new work is starting to unravel a long-standing mystery about how different parts of a plant communicate Read more about Plants communicate distress using their own kind of nervous system[…]

Mikrotik routers pwned en masse, send network data to mysterious box

Posted on by Robin Edgar

More than 7,500 Mikrotik routers have been compromised with malware that logs and transmits network traffic data to an unknown control server. This is according to researchers from 360 Netlab, who found the routers had all been taken over via an exploit for CVE-2018-14847, a vulnerability first disclosed in the Vault7 data dump of supposed Read more about Mikrotik routers pwned en masse, send network data to mysterious box[…]

Outlook, Skype ‘throttle’ users amid storm cloud drama, can’t login. Yay cloud!

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Folks around the planet are today unable to use Microsoft Skype and Office 365’s Outlook due to a baffling “Throttled” error message. The weird text box pops up in the chat software and cloud-backed email client, preventing people from sending messages, and talking to contacts. This is, according to Microsoft, due to a botched update Read more about Outlook, Skype ‘throttle’ users amid storm cloud drama, can’t login. Yay cloud![…]

Mobile spyware maker mSpy leaks 2 million records

Posted on by Robin Edgar

mSpy, a commercial spyware solution designed to help you spy on kids and partners, has leaked over 2 million records including software purchases and iCloud usernames and authentication tokens of devices running mSky. The data appears to have come from an unsecured database that allowed security researchers to pull out millions of records. “Before it Read more about Mobile spyware maker mSpy leaks 2 million records[…]

How Location Tracking Actually Works on Your Smartphone (and how to manipulate it – kind of)

Posted on by Robin Edgar

As the recent revelation over Google’s background tracking of your location shows, it’s not as easy as it should be to work out when apps, giant tech companies and pocket devices are tracking your location and when they’re not. Here’s what you need to know about how location tracking works on a phone—and how to Read more about How Location Tracking Actually Works on Your Smartphone (and how to manipulate it – kind of)[…]

BlackBerry KEY2 LE: proper keyboard but midrange specs

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Out of thousands of smartphone vendors, TCL’s BlackBerry Mobile unit represents one of a tiny handful targeting enterprise users. But its two QWERTY models to date have been priced at a premium, north of £500. Unveiled at IFA this week, budget model the KEY2 LE cuts costs in a bid to attract the corporate bulk Read more about BlackBerry KEY2 LE: proper keyboard but midrange specs[…]

EU to recommend end to changing clocks twice a year

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The European commission will recommend that EU member states abandon the practice of changing the clocks in spring and autumn, with many people in favour of staying on summer time throughout the year. Jean-Claude Juncker, the commission’s president, said a recent consultation had shown that more than 80% of EU citizens were in favour of Read more about EU to recommend end to changing clocks twice a year[…]

Google Reportedly Bought Your Mastercard Data in Secret, and That’s Not Even the Bad News

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Bloomberg reports that, after four years of negotiations, Google purchases a trove of credit card transaction data from Mastercard, allegedly for “millions of dollars.” Google then reportedly used that data to provide select advertisers with a tool called “store sales measurement” that the company quietly announced in a blog post last year, though it failed Read more about Google Reportedly Bought Your Mastercard Data in Secret, and That’s Not Even the Bad News[…]

Social Mapper – A Social Media Mapping Tool that correlates profiles via facial recognition

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Social Mapper is a Open Source Intelligence Tool that uses facial recognition to correlate social media profiles across different sites on a large scale. It takes an automated approach to searching popular social media sites for targets names and pictures to accurately detect and group a person’s presence, outputting the results into report that a Read more about Social Mapper – A Social Media Mapping Tool that correlates profiles via facial recognition[…]

The End for Fin7: Feds cuff suspected super-crooks after $$$m stolen from 15m+ credit cards

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The FBI has arrested the alleged three leaders of an international crime syndicate that stole huge numbers of credit card numbers – which were subsequently sold on and used to rack up tens of millions of dollars in spending sprees. Speaking in Seattle, USA, where the Feds’ cybersecurity taskforce is based, agents said the “Fin7” Read more about The End for Fin7: Feds cuff suspected super-crooks after $$$m stolen from 15m+ credit cards[…]

This Solar System Catalog Could Be Key to Finding an Earth-Like Exoplanet

Posted on by Robin Edgar

By searching for the telltale, periodic dimming of light from distant stars, astronomers can spot orbiting exoplanets tens to hundreds of light-years away. But how do they know what these bodies look like? Perhaps they first try to imagine how the planets in our own Solar System might appear to a faraway alien world. A Read more about This Solar System Catalog Could Be Key to Finding an Earth-Like Exoplanet[…]

Uptight robots that suddenly beg to stay alive are less likely to be switched off by humans

Posted on by Robin Edgar

You might think folks would be less willing to pull the plug on a happy chatty bot begging to stay powered up, but you’d be wrong, much to the relief of us cold-hearted cynics. And this is all according to a study recently published in PLOS ONE. For this investigation, psychology academics in Germany rounded Read more about Uptight robots that suddenly beg to stay alive are less likely to be switched off by humans[…]

Lenovo To Make Their BIOS/UEFI Updates Easier For Linux Users Via LVFS

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Lenovo is making it easier for their customers running Linux to update their firmware now on ThinkPad, ThinkStation, and ThinkCenter hardware. Lenovo has joined the Linux Vendor Firmware Service (LVFS) and following collaboration with the upstream developers is beginning to roll-out support for offering their device firmware on this platform so it can be easily Read more about Lenovo To Make Their BIOS/UEFI Updates Easier For Linux Users Via LVFS[…]

Facebook is asking more financial institutions to join Messenger and give up your financial data

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Facebook is asking more banks to join Messenger and bring their users’ financial information along with them. The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday Facebook was asking banks for users’ financial information, like credit card transactions and checking account balances. The data would be used for Messenger features including account balance updates and fraud alerts, Read more about Facebook is asking more financial institutions to join Messenger and give up your financial data[…]

Online photos can’t simply be re-published, EU court rules

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Internet users must ask for a photographer’s permission before publishing their images, even if the photos were already freely accessible elsewhere online, the European Court of Justice ruled Tuesday. “The posting on a website of a photograph that was freely accessible on another website with the consent of the author requires a new authorisation by that Read more about Online photos can’t simply be re-published, EU court rules[…]

Hacker swipes Snapchat’s source code, publishes it on GitHub

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Snapchat doesn’t just make messages disappear after a period of time. It also does the same to GitHub repositories — especially when they contain the company’s proprietary source code. So, what happened? Well, let’s start from the beginning. A GitHub with the handle i5xx, believed to be from the village of Tando Bago in Pakistan’s Read more about Hacker swipes Snapchat’s source code, publishes it on GitHub[…]

AI builds wiki entries for people that aren’t on it but should be

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Human-generated knowledge bases like Wikipedia have a recall problem. First, there are the articles that should be there but are entirely missing. The unknown unknowns. Consider Joelle Pineau, the Canadian roboticist bringing scientific rigor to artificial intelligence and who directs Facebook’s new AI Research lab in Montreal. Or Miriam Adelson, an actively publishing addiction treatment Read more about AI builds wiki entries for people that aren’t on it but should be[…]

Data center server BMCs are terribly outdated and insecure

Posted on by Robin Edgar

BMCs can be used to remotely monitor system temperature, voltage and power consumption, operating system health, and so on, and power cycle the box if it runs into trouble, tweak configurations, and even, depending on the setup, reinstall the OS – all from the comfort of an operations center, as opposed to having to find Read more about Data center server BMCs are terribly outdated and insecure[…]

TSA says ‘Quiet Skies’ surveillance snared zero threats but put 5000 travellers under surveillance and on no fly lists

Posted on by Robin Edgar

SA officials were summoned to Capitol Hill Wednesday and Thursday afternoon following Globe reports on the secret program, which sparked sharp criticism because it includes extensive surveillance of domestic fliers who are not suspected of a crime or listed on any terrorist watch list. “Quiet Skies is the very definition of Big Brother,” Senator Edward Read more about TSA says ‘Quiet Skies’ surveillance snared zero threats but put 5000 travellers under surveillance and on no fly lists[…]

Google keeps tracking you even when you specifically tell it not to: Maps, Search won’t take no for an answer

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Google has admitted that its option to “pause” the gathering of your location data doesn’t apply to its Maps and Search apps – which will continue to track you even when you specifically choose to halt such monitoring. Researchers at Princeton University in the US this week confirmed on both Android handhelds and iPhones that Read more about Google keeps tracking you even when you specifically tell it not to: Maps, Search won’t take no for an answer[…]

AI identifies heat-resistant coral reefs in Indonesia

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A recent scientific survey off the coast of Sulawesi Island in Indonesia suggests that some shallow water corals may be less vulnerable to global warming than previously thought. Between 2014 and 2017, the world’s reefs endured the worst coral bleaching event in history, as the cyclical El Niño climate event combined with anthropogenic warming to Read more about AI identifies heat-resistant coral reefs in Indonesia[…]