Day: December 17, 2020

Secret Agents Implicated In The Poisoning Of Opposition Leader Alexey Navalny Identified Thanks To Russia’s Black Market In Everybody’s Personal Data

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Back in August, the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned on a flight to Moscow. Despite initial doubts — and the usual denials by the Russian government that Vladimir Putin was involved — everyone assumed it had been carried out by the country’s FSB, successor to the KGB. Remarkable work by the open source Read more about Secret Agents Implicated In The Poisoning Of Opposition Leader Alexey Navalny Identified Thanks To Russia’s Black Market In Everybody’s Personal Data[…]

Artificial intelligence classifies supernova explosions with unprecedented accuracy

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Artificial intelligence is classifying real supernova explosions without the traditional use of spectra, thanks to a team of astronomers at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian. The complete data sets and resulting classifications are publicly available for open use. By training a machine learning model to categorize supernovae based on their visible characteristics, Read more about Artificial intelligence classifies supernova explosions with unprecedented accuracy[…]

Are we working more than ever? – Our World in Data

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Working hours for the average worker have decreased dramatically over the last 150 years. Why should we care? The evidence presented here comes from decades of work from economic historians and other researchers. Of course, the data is not perfect — as we explain in a forthcoming post, measuring working hours with accuracy is difficult, Read more about Are we working more than ever? – Our World in Data[…]

Hackers used SolarWinds’ dominance against it in sprawling spy campaign

Posted on by Robin Edgar

There was not a database or an IT deployment model out there to which his Austin, Texas-based company did not provide some level of monitoring or management, he told analysts on the Oct. 27 call. “We don’t think anyone else in the market is really even close in terms of the breadth of coverage we Read more about Hackers used SolarWinds’ dominance against it in sprawling spy campaign[…]

SolarWinds’ shares drop 22 per cent. But what’s this? $286m in stock sales just before hack announced?

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Two Silicon Valley VC firms, Silver Lake and Thoma Bravo, sold hundreds of millions of dollars in SolarWinds shares just days before the software biz emerged at the center of a massive hacking campaign. Silver Lake and Thoma Bravo deny anything untoward. The two firms owned 70 per cent of SolarWinds, which produces networking monitoring Read more about SolarWinds’ shares drop 22 per cent. But what’s this? $286m in stock sales just before hack announced?[…]

Air Force Flies AI Copilot on U-2 Spy Plane in first. Very Star Wars referenced

Posted on by Robin Edgar

For Star Wars fans, an X-Wing fighter isn’t complete without R2-D2. Whether you need to fire up converters, increase power, or fix a broken stabilizer, that trusty droid, full of lively beeps and squeaks, is the ultimate copilot. Teaming artificial intelligence (AI) with pilots is no longer just a matter for science fiction or blockbuster Read more about Air Force Flies AI Copilot on U-2 Spy Plane in first. Very Star Wars referenced[…]

Lunar Samples Land on Earth, Completing China’s Most Challenging ‘Space Adventure’

Posted on by Robin Edgar

For the first time in 44 years, a spacecraft has brought lunar samples to Earth. With the Chang’e 5 mission complete, China now joins a very exclusive club, reinforcing the country’s role as a major player in space exploration. China is now only the third country to collect samples from the Moon and bring them Read more about Lunar Samples Land on Earth, Completing China’s Most Challenging ‘Space Adventure’[…]