Month: April 2020

Disney Plus’ butt cover-up hides a much bigger problem – corporations feel free to put out revisionist histories

Posted on by Robin Edgar

There’s a scene in Touchstone Pictures’ 1984 movie Splash where a young Tom Hanks watches a beautiful naked mermaid run off into the ocean from which she came. In the original version, the camera follows Hanks’ gaze, showing a brief glimpse of a naked butt. Splash received a PG rating because of the shot (and Read more about Disney Plus’ butt cover-up hides a much bigger problem – corporations feel free to put out revisionist histories[…]

For the First Time, a Robot Repaired a Satellite in Orbit

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Space.com calls it “the first commercial satellite servicing mission.” But more specifically, it’s being called “the first in-orbit rendezvous and docking of two commercial satellites” in a statement from Northrop Grumman Space Systems, which also notes their “subsequent repositioning of the two-spacecraft stack.” And it was all done using robotics floating 36,000km (22,369 miles) above Read more about For the First Time, a Robot Repaired a Satellite in Orbit[…]

Sale of .Org Registry Stalled for a few weeks After California AG Steps In

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has delayed a decision on whether to allow the sale of the organization that controls .org registrations to a band of private equity ghouls after the California attorney general’s office issued a warning Domain names with .org suffix are used by countless nonprofits, in part because Read more about Sale of .Org Registry Stalled for a few weeks After California AG Steps In[…]

Buyer beware—that 2TB-6TB “NAS” drive you’ve been eyeing might be SMR – and won’t work in your NAS

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Storage vendors, including but reportedly not limited to Western Digital, have quietly begun shipping SMR (Shingled Magnetic Recording) disks in place of earlier CMR (Conventional Magnetic Recording) disks. SMR is a technology that allows vendors to eke out higher storage densities, netting more TB capacity on the same number of platters—or fewer platters, for the Read more about Buyer beware—that 2TB-6TB “NAS” drive you’ve been eyeing might be SMR – and won’t work in your NAS[…]

Security lapse exposed creepy Clearview AI source code

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Since it exploded onto the scene in January after a newspaper exposé, Clearview AI quickly became one of the most elusive, secretive and reviled companies in the tech startup scene. The controversial facial recognition startup allows its law enforcement users to take a picture of a person, upload it and match it against its alleged Read more about Security lapse exposed creepy Clearview AI source code[…]

Samsung ‘s TV Boxes Can Now Be Easily Upcycled Into Cat Houses

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Taking a cue from anyone under 10 years old who can come up with endless imaginative uses for an empty cardboard box, Samsung is now making it easy for anyone to recycle or upcycle its TV packaging into other useful household items like magazine racks and fancy cat houses. As competition between flat screen TV Read more about Samsung ‘s TV Boxes Can Now Be Easily Upcycled Into Cat Houses[…]

That critical VMware vuln allowed anyone on your network to create new admin users, no creds needed

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A critical vulnerability in VMware’s vCenter management product allowed any old bod on the same network to remotely create an admin-level user, research by Guardicore Labs has revealed. The astonishing vuln (CVE-2020-3952), details of which were quite spare when VMWare issued a patch last week, was rated by VMware itself as CVSS v3 10.0, the Read more about That critical VMware vuln allowed anyone on your network to create new admin users, no creds needed[…]

ESO Telescope Sees Star Dance Around Supermassive Black Hole, Proves Einstein’s Theory of Relativity

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Observations made with ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) have revealed for the first time that a star orbiting the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way moves just as predicted by Einstein’s general theory of relativity. Its orbit is shaped like a rosette and not like an ellipse as predicted by Newton’s Read more about ESO Telescope Sees Star Dance Around Supermassive Black Hole, Proves Einstein’s Theory of Relativity[…]

India says ‘Zoom is a not a safe platform’ and bans government users

Posted on by Robin Edgar

India has effectively banned videoconferencing service Zoom for government users and repeated warnings that consumers need to be careful when using the tool. The nation’s Cyber Coordination Centre has issued advice (PDF) titled “Advisory on Secure use of Zoom meeting platform by private individuals (not for use by government offices/officials for official purpose)”. The document Read more about India says ‘Zoom is a not a safe platform’ and bans government users[…]

The secret behind “unkillable” Android backdoor called xHelper has been revealed

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In February, a researcher detailed a widely circulating Android backdoor that’s so pernicious that it survives factory resets, a trait that makes the malware impossible to remove without taking unusual measures. The analysis found that the unusual persistence was the result of rogue folders containing a trojan installer, neither of which was removed by a Read more about The secret behind “unkillable” Android backdoor called xHelper has been revealed[…]

ICANN’s founding CEO and chair accuse biz of abandoning principles in push for billion-dollar .org sale

Posted on by Robin Edgar

ICANN has been accused by its founding CEO and original chair of abandoning the organization’s core principles and accepting commitments it knows it cannot enforce in order to push through the sale of the .org registry later this week. In a furious letter [PDF] from Mike Roberts and Esther Dyson to the attorney generals of Read more about ICANN’s founding CEO and chair accuse biz of abandoning principles in push for billion-dollar .org sale[…]

Linksys forces password reset for Smart Wi-Fi accounts after router DNS hack pointed users at COVID-19 malware

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Router biz Linksys has reset all its customers’ Smart Wi-Fi account passwords after cybercrims accessed a bunch and redirected hapless users to COVID-19 themed malware. The mass reset took place after all user accounts were locked on 2 April, following infosec firm Bitdefender revealing that malicious persons were pwning Linksys devices through cred-stuffing attacks. Hackers Read more about Linksys forces password reset for Smart Wi-Fi accounts after router DNS hack pointed users at COVID-19 malware[…]

60,000 Eastern Europeans to be flown in to pick fruit and veg – turns out they weren’t stealing jobs then, brexit!

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Air Charter Service has told the BBC that the first flight will land on Thursday in Stansted carrying 150 Romanian farm workers. The firm told the BBC that the plane is the first of up to six set to operate between mid-April and the end of June. Government department Defra said it was encouraging people Read more about 60,000 Eastern Europeans to be flown in to pick fruit and veg – turns out they weren’t stealing jobs then, brexit![…]

Over 500,000 Zoom accounts sold on hacker forums, some being given away for free

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Over 500,000 Zoom accounts are being sold on the dark web and hacker forums for less than a penny each, and in some cases, given away for free. These credentials are gathered through credential stuffing attacks where threat actors attempt to login to Zoom using accounts leaked in older data breaches. The successful logins are Read more about Over 500,000 Zoom accounts sold on hacker forums, some being given away for free[…]

Medical Device ‘Jailbreak’ Could Help Solve the Dangerous Shortage of Ventilators

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Security researcher Trammell Hudson analyzed the AirSense 10 — the world’s most widely used CPAP — and made a startling discovery. Although its manufacturer says the AirSense 10 would require “significant rework to function as a ventilator,” many ventilator functions were already built into the device firmware. Its manufacturer, ResMed, says the $700 device solely Read more about Medical Device ‘Jailbreak’ Could Help Solve the Dangerous Shortage of Ventilators[…]

Apple: We respect your privacy so much we’ve revealed a little about what we can track when you use Maps

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Apple has released a set of “Mobility Trends Reports” – a trove of anonymised and aggregated data that describes how people have moved around the world in the three months from 13 January to 13 April. The data measures walking, driving and public transport use. And as you’d expect and as depicted in the image Read more about Apple: We respect your privacy so much we’ve revealed a little about what we can track when you use Maps[…]

‘Crime against humanity’: Trump (the man who mismanaged Corona most in!) condemned for WHO funding freeze

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Leading health experts have labelled Donald Trump’s decision to cut funding to the World Health Organization (WHO) as a “crime against humanity” and a “damnable” act that will cost lives. The move also drew a rebuke from the head of the United Nations, who said the WHO was “absolutely critical to the world’s efforts to Read more about ‘Crime against humanity’: Trump (the man who mismanaged Corona most in!) condemned for WHO funding freeze[…]

Foreign Spies Target Zoom, U.S. Intel Officials Say

Posted on by Robin Edgar

As much of the world works from home, an explosion of video conference calls has provided a playground not just for Zoombombers, phishermen and cybercriminals, but also for spies. Everyone from top business executives to government officials and scientists are using conferencing apps to stay in touch during the new coronavirus lockdowns and U.S. counterintelligence Read more about Foreign Spies Target Zoom, U.S. Intel Officials Say[…]

Redox-Flow Cell Stores Renewable Energy as Hydrogen

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The solution, some propose, is to store energy chemically—in the form of hydrogen fuel—rather than electrically. This involves using devices called electrolyzers that make use of renewable energy to split water into hydrogen and oxygen gas. “Hydrogen is a very good carrier for this type of work,” says Wei Wang, who is the chief scientist Read more about Redox-Flow Cell Stores Renewable Energy as Hydrogen[…]

ICANN suffers split-personality disorder as deadline for .org sale decision draws close

Posted on by Robin Edgar

With just seven days left until it has to make a decision on the $1.13bn sale of the .org registry to a private equity firm, DNS overseer ICANN appears in chaos. In a series of communications from senior executives, ICANN has embarked on a public negotiation with potential buyer Ethos Capital over the sale of Read more about ICANN suffers split-personality disorder as deadline for .org sale decision draws close[…]

Amazon hiring 75,000 more workers as demand rises due to coronavirus, after hiring 100k more last month

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Amazon is hiring an additional 75,000 workers at its facilities, on top of the 100,000 new positions it created last month, the company said Monday. In March, the company said it would hire additional warehouse and delivery workers across the country amid a surge in online shopping during the coronavirus outbreak. Since then, Amazon said Read more about Amazon hiring 75,000 more workers as demand rises due to coronavirus, after hiring 100k more last month[…]

Suspicious senate stock sale spurt spurs scrutiny scheme: This website tracks which shares US senators are unloading mid-pandemic

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In the wake of reports last month that four US senators sold stocks shortly after a classified briefing on January 24 about the risk posed by the novel coronavirus, Timothy Carambat, a mechanical and software engineer, created a website to make stock sales by every senator more visible. In an email to The Register, Carambat, Read more about Suspicious senate stock sale spurt spurs scrutiny scheme: This website tracks which shares US senators are unloading mid-pandemic[…]

Twitter Obliterates Its Users’ Privacy Choices

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The EFF’s staff technologist — also an engineer on Privacy Badger and HTTPS Everywhere, writes: Twitter greeted its users with a confusing notification this week. “The control you have over what information Twitter shares with its business partners has changed,” it said. The changes will “help Twitter continue operating as a free service,” it assured. Read more about Twitter Obliterates Its Users’ Privacy Choices[…]

Mozilla installs Scheduled Telemetry Task on Windows with Firefox 75 – if you had put telemetry on

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Observant Firefox users on Windows who have updated the web browser to Firefox 75 may have noticed that the upgrade brought along with it a new scheduled tasks. The scheduled task is also added if Firefox 75 is installed on a Windows device. The task’s name is Firefox Default Browser Agent and it is set Read more about Mozilla installs Scheduled Telemetry Task on Windows with Firefox 75 – if you had put telemetry on[…]