Month: November 2019

Lithium Sulfur Battery Project Aims To Double The Range Of Electric Airplanes – good to see another new type of battery apparently maturing, but is it as green as alu-air?

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Today’s Tesla Model 3’s lithium-ion battery pack has an estimated 168 Wh/kg. And important as this energy-per-weight ratio is for electric cars, it’s more important still for electric aircraft. Now comes Oxis Energy, of Abingdon, UK, with a battery based on lithium-sulfur chemistry that it says can greatly increase the ratio, and do so in a Read more about Lithium Sulfur Battery Project Aims To Double The Range Of Electric Airplanes – good to see another new type of battery apparently maturing, but is it as green as alu-air?[…]

Google Reportedly Amassed Private Health Data on Millions of People Without Their Knowledge – a repeat of October 2019 and 2017 in the UK

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that the tech giant partnered with Ascension, a non-profit and Catholic health systems company, on the program code-named “Project Nightingale.” According to the Journal, Google began its initiative with Ascension last year, and it involves everything from diagnoses, lab results, birth dates, patient names, and other personal health data—all Read more about Google Reportedly Amassed Private Health Data on Millions of People Without Their Knowledge – a repeat of October 2019 and 2017 in the UK[…]

EU beurocracy, One man’s mistake, missing backups and complete reboot: What we can figure out about Europe’s Galileo satellites going dark

Posted on by Robin Edgar

While one key official has sought to blame a single individual for the system going dark, insiders warn that organizational chaos, excessive secrecy and some unusual self-regulation is as much to blame. Combined with those problems, a battle between European organizations over the satellite system, and a delayed independent report into the July cock-up, means Read more about EU beurocracy, One man’s mistake, missing backups and complete reboot: What we can figure out about Europe’s Galileo satellites going dark[…]

Sure, we made your Wi-Fi routers phone home with telemetry, says Ubiquiti. What of it?

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Ubiquiti Networks is fending off customer complaints after emitting a firmware update that caused its UniFi wireless routers to quietly phone HQ with telemetry. It all kicked off when the US-based manufacturer confirmed that a software update released this month programmed the devices to establish secure connections back to Ubiquiti servers and report information on Read more about Sure, we made your Wi-Fi routers phone home with telemetry, says Ubiquiti. What of it?[…]

Amazon Ring doorbells exposed home Wi-Fi passwords over cleartext

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Security researchers have discovered a vulnerability in Ring doorbells that exposed the passwords for the Wi-Fi networks to which they were connected. Bitdefender said the Amazon-owned doorbell was sending owners’ Wi-Fi passwords in cleartext as the doorbell joins the local network, allowing nearby hackers to intercept the Wi-Fi password and gain access to the network Read more about Amazon Ring doorbells exposed home Wi-Fi passwords over cleartext[…]

DHS expects to have detailed biometrics on 260 million people by 2022 – and will keep them in the cloud, where they will never be stolen or hacked *cough*

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) expects to have face, fingerprint, and iris scans of at least 259 million people in its biometrics database by 2022, according to a recent presentation from the agency’s Office of Procurement Operations reviewed by Quartz. That’s about 40 million more than the agency’s 2017 projections, which estimated 220 Read more about DHS expects to have detailed biometrics on 260 million people by 2022 – and will keep them in the cloud, where they will never be stolen or hacked *cough*[…]

House plants have little effect on indoor air quality, study concludes

Posted on by Robin Edgar

New research from a duo of environmental engineers at Drexel University is suggesting the decades-old claim that house plants improve indoor air quality is entirely wrong. Evaluating 30 years of studies, the research concludes it would take hundreds of plants in a small space to even come close to the air purifying effects of simply Read more about House plants have little effect on indoor air quality, study concludes[…]

This Trippy T-Shirt Makes You Invisible to AI

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In modern cities, we’re constantly surveilled through CCTV cameras in both public and private spaces, and by companies trying to sell us shit based on everything we do. We are always being watched. But what if a simple T-shirt could make you invisible to commercial AIs trying to spot humans? A team of researchers from Read more about This Trippy T-Shirt Makes You Invisible to AI[…]

The ‘Three-Body Problem’ Has Perplexed Astronomers Since Newton Formulated It. A.I. Just Cracked It in Under a Second.

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The mind-bending calculations required to predict how three heavenly bodies orbit each other have baffled physicists since the time of Sir Isaac Newton. Now artificial intelligence (A.I.) has shown that it can solve the problem in a fraction of the time required by previous approaches. Newton was the first to formulate the problem in the Read more about The ‘Three-Body Problem’ Has Perplexed Astronomers Since Newton Formulated It. A.I. Just Cracked It in Under a Second.[…]

T-Mobile says it owns exclusive rights to the color magenta and the letter T. German court agrees.

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Startup insurance provider Lemonade is trying to make the best of a sour situation after T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom claimed it owns the exclusive rights to the color magenta. New York-based Lemonade is a 3-year-old company that lives completely online and mostly focuses on homeowners and renter’s insurance. The company uses a similar color to magenta — Read more about T-Mobile says it owns exclusive rights to the color magenta and the letter T. German court agrees.[…]

Facebook says 100 developers may have improperly accessed user data, like Cambridge Analytica did

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Facebook on Tuesday disclosed that as many as 100 software developers may have improperly accessed user data, including the names and profile pictures of people in specific groups on the social network. The company recently discovered that some apps retained access to this type of user data despite making changes to its service in April Read more about Facebook says 100 developers may have improperly accessed user data, like Cambridge Analytica did[…]

Boeing whistleblower raises doubts over 787 oxygen system

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A Boeing whistleblower has claimed that passengers on its 787 Dreamliner could be left without oxygen if the cabin were to suffer a sudden decompression. John Barnett says tests suggest up to a quarter of the oxygen systems could be faulty and might not work when needed. He also claimed faulty parts were deliberately fitted Read more about Boeing whistleblower raises doubts over 787 oxygen system[…]

Hottest October ever: Earth just experienced its hottest October ever

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Last month was the hottest ever October on record globally, according to data released Friday by the Copernicus Climate Change Service, an organization that tracks global temperatures. The month, which was reportedly 1.24 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the average October from 1981-2010, narrowly beat October 2015 for the top spot. According to Copernicus, most of Europe, Read more about Hottest October ever: Earth just experienced its hottest October ever[…]

A network of ‘camgirl’ sites exposed millions of users and sex workers data

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A number of popular “camgirl” sites have exposed millions of sex workers and users after the company running the sites left the back-end database unprotected. The sites, run by Barcelona-based VTS Media, include amateur.tv, webcampornoxxx.net, and placercams.com. Most of the sites’ users are based in Spain and Europe, but we found evidence of users across Read more about A network of ‘camgirl’ sites exposed millions of users and sex workers data[…]

NL ISP Ziggo doesn’t have to share customer details of downloaders

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Dutch Filmworks demanded the subscriber data linked to 377 IP adresses they determined illegally downloaded a movie. The judge said no, due to a complete lack of transparency by DFW on how their decision tree works and the amount of money they want to fine the suspects. Source: Ziggo hoeft geen klantgegevens downloaders te delen Read more about NL ISP Ziggo doesn’t have to share customer details of downloaders[…]

Thousands of Scientists Declare a Climate Emergency

Posted on by Robin Edgar

It only Tuesday, but more than 11,000 scientists around the world have come together to declare a climate emergency. Their paper, published Tuesday in the journal Bioscience, lays out the science behind this emergency and solutions for how we can deal with it. Scientists aren’t the first people to make this declaration. A tribal nation in the Read more about Thousands of Scientists Declare a Climate Emergency[…]

How to Automatically Delete some of Your Google Data

Posted on by Robin Edgar

How to auto-delete your Google data This process is almost identical on both mobile and web. We’ll focus on the latter, but the former is easy to figure out, too: Go to your Google activity dashboard (you’ll need to sign in to your Google account first). Click “Activity controls” from the left-hand sidebar. Scroll down Read more about How to Automatically Delete some of Your Google Data[…]

Tech and mobile companies want to monetise your data … but are scared of GDPR  – good, that means GDPR works!

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The vast majority of technology, media and telecom (TMT) companies want to monetise customer data, but are concerned about regulations such as Europe’s GDPR, according to research from law firm Simmons & Simmons. The outfit surveyed 350 global business leaders in the TMT sector to understand their approach to data commercialisation. It found that 78 Read more about Tech and mobile companies want to monetise your data … but are scared of GDPR  – good, that means GDPR works![…]

Use a laser to command voice assistants such as lexa, google assistant, siri

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Light Commands is a vulnerability of MEMS microphones that allows attackers to remotely inject inaudible and invisible commands into voice assistants, such as Google assistant, Amazon Alexa, Facebook Portal, and Apple Siri using light. In our paper we demonstrate this effect, successfully using light to inject malicious commands into several voice controlled devices such as Read more about Use a laser to command voice assistants such as lexa, google assistant, siri[…]

Android bug lets hackers plant malware via NFC beaming

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Google patched last month an Android bug that can let hackers spread malware to a nearby phone via a little-known Android OS feature called NFC beaming. NFC beaming works via an internal Android OS service known as Android Beam. This service allows an Android device to send data such as images, files, videos, or even Read more about Android bug lets hackers plant malware via NFC beaming[…]

Best Buy’s Insignia ‘smart’ home gear will become very dumb this Wednesday – showing you why ‘cloud’ products are not a great plan

Posted on by Robin Edgar

US mega-retailer Best Buy will switch off the “smart” portion of its Insignia-branded smart home gadgets this coming Wednesday, rendering them just plain old dumb gear. Folks who’ve bought these soon-to-be-internet-less Internet-of-Things gizmos can apply for some money back in the form of a gift card, though a full refund is off the cards, literally. Read more about Best Buy’s Insignia ‘smart’ home gear will become very dumb this Wednesday – showing you why ‘cloud’ products are not a great plan[…]

Microsoft finds workers are more productive with a 4-day workweek

Posted on by Robin Edgar

a recent experiment by Microsoft Japan suggests with a 4-day workweek we may be more productive if we work less. In particular, it shows that a shorter workweek can actually impact productivity positively. In August this year, Microsoft Japan ran an experiment where for one month they had a 3 day weekend, taken Friday off. Read more about Microsoft finds workers are more productive with a 4-day workweek[…]

Facebook, Mozilla, and Cloudflare announce new TLS Delegated Credentials standard

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The new standard will work as an extension to TLS, a cryptographic protocol that underpins the more widely-known HTTPS protocol, used for loading websites inside browsers via an encrypted connection. The TLS Delegate Credentials extension was specifically developed for large website setups, such as Facebook, or for website using content delivery networks (CDNs), such as Read more about Facebook, Mozilla, and Cloudflare announce new TLS Delegated Credentials standard[…]