Day: August 9, 2020

Trump says TikTok will be banned if not sold by Sept. 15, demands cut of sale fee because he made the deal possible. Extortion much?

Posted on by Robin Edgar

President Trump said Monday that TikTok will be shut down in the U.S. if it hasn’t been bought by Microsoft or another company by Sept. 15, and argued — without elaborating — that the U.S. Treasury should get “a very substantial portion” of the sale fee. Why it matters: Trump appears to have backed off Read more about Trump says TikTok will be banned if not sold by Sept. 15, demands cut of sale fee because he made the deal possible. Extortion much?[…]

Leaky AWS S3 buckets are so common, they’re being found by the thousands now – with lots of buried secrets

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Misconfigured AWS S3 storage buckets exposing massive amounts of data to the internet are like an unexploded bomb just waiting to go off, say experts. The team at Truffle Security said its automated search tools were able to stumble across some 4,000 open Amazon-hosted S3 buckets that included data companies would not want public – Read more about Leaky AWS S3 buckets are so common, they’re being found by the thousands now – with lots of buried secrets[…]

Windows 10: HOSTS file blocking telemetry is now flagged as a risk

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Starting at the end of July, Microsoft has begun detecting HOSTS files that block Windows 10 telemetry servers as a ‘Severe’ security risk. The HOSTS file is a text file located at C:\Windows\system32\driver\etc\HOSTS and can only be edited by a program with Administrator privileges. […] Microsoft now detects HOSTS files that block Windows telemetry Since Read more about Windows 10: HOSTS file blocking telemetry is now flagged as a risk[…]

Hacker leaks passwords for 900+ enterprise Pulse VPN servers

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A hacker has published today a list of plaintext usernames and passwords, along with IP addresses for more than 900 Pulse Secure VPN enterprise servers. ZDNet, which obtained a copy of this list with the help of threat intelligence firm KELA, verified its authenticity with multiple sources in the cyber-security community. According to a review, Read more about Hacker leaks passwords for 900+ enterprise Pulse VPN servers[…]

400 faults found in Qualcomm chips powering your mobile phone with big implications

Posted on by Robin Edgar

With over 3 billion users globally, smartphones are an integral, almost inseparable part of our day-to-day lives. As the mobile market continues to grow, vendors race to provide new features, new capabilities and better technological innovations in their latest devices. To support this relentless drive for innovation, vendors often rely on third parties to provide Read more about 400 faults found in Qualcomm chips powering your mobile phone with big implications[…]

New York unveils landmark antitrust bill that makes it easier to sue tech giants

Posted on by Robin Edgar

New York state is introducing a bill that would make it easier to sue big tech companies for alleged abuses of their monopoly powers. New York is America’s financial center and one of its most important tech hubs. If successfully passed, the law could serve as a model for future legislation across the country. It Read more about New York unveils landmark antitrust bill that makes it easier to sue tech giants[…]

Our Solar System’s Magnetic Sheild (Heliosphere) is Shaped like a croissant

Posted on by Robin Edgar

All the planets of our solar system are encased in a magnetic bubble, carved out in space by the Sun’s constantly outflowing material, the solar wind. Outside this bubble is the interstellar medium — the ionized gas and magnetic field that fills the space between stellar systems in our galaxy. One question scientists have tried Read more about Our Solar System’s Magnetic Sheild (Heliosphere) is Shaped like a croissant[…]

Lawmakers Ask California DMV How It Makes $50 Million a Year Selling Drivers’ Data

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A group of nearly a dozen lawmakers led by member of Congress Anna Eshoo wrote to the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) on Wednesday looking for answers on how and why the organization sells the personal data of residents. The letter comes after Motherboard revealed last year that the DMV was making $50 million Read more about Lawmakers Ask California DMV How It Makes $50 Million a Year Selling Drivers’ Data[…]

Germany plans to dim lights at night to save insects

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In a draft law seen by AFP, the country’s environment ministry has drawn up a number of new measures to protect insects, ranging from partially outlawing spotlights to increased protection of natural habitats. “Insects play an important role in the ecosystem…but in Germany, their numbers and their diversity has severely declined in recent years,” reads Read more about Germany plans to dim lights at night to save insects[…]

Hackers are defacing loads of high profile Reddit channels with pro-Trump messages

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A massive hack has hit Reddit today after tens of Reddit channels have been hacked and defaced to show messages in support of Donald Trump’s reelection campaign. The hacks are still ongoing at the time of writing, but we were told Reddit’s security team is aware of the issue and has already begun restoring defaced Read more about Hackers are defacing loads of high profile Reddit channels with pro-Trump messages[…]

Private equity wants to own your DNA – Blackstone buys Ancestry at $250,- per person

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The nation’s largest private equity firm is interested in buying your DNA data. The going rate: $261 per person. That appears to be what Blackstone, the $63 billion private equity giant, is willing to pay for genetic data controlled by one of the major companies gathering it from millions of customers. Earlier this week, Blackstone Read more about Private equity wants to own your DNA – Blackstone buys Ancestry at $250,- per person[…]

Facebook Relaxed Fact-Checking Standards on Conservative Pages: Report

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In an attempt to correct the perception of a small but very vocal minority that claims Facebook’s silencing conservative voices on its platforms, the company’s reportedly swung too far in the opposite direction and essentially gave a free pass to conservative pages to spew their bullshit online. According to leaked documents reviewed by NBC, Facebook Read more about Facebook Relaxed Fact-Checking Standards on Conservative Pages: Report[…]

Whoops, our bad, we just may have ‘accidentally’ left Google Home devices recording your every word, sound, sorry

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Your Google Home speaker may have been quietly recording sounds around your house without your permission or authorization, it was revealed this week. The Chocolate Factory admitted it had accidentally turned on a feature that allowed its voice-controlled AI-based assistant to activate and snoop on its surroundings. Normally, the device only starts actively listening in Read more about Whoops, our bad, we just may have ‘accidentally’ left Google Home devices recording your every word, sound, sorry[…]