Month: December 2020

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’[…]

Pornhub removes all unverified videos from its platform after Mastercard and Visa drop them

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Last week, infamous porn-hosting site Pornhub made a big change by cutting off “unverified” uploads. Now, the company is taking things a step further and has removed all content that wasn’t uploaded by either a “content partner” or a verified user. Overnight, Pornhub has removed millions of uploaded videos — and, according to Vice, the Read more about Pornhub removes all unverified videos from its platform after Mastercard and Visa drop them[…]

Jailbreak app store Cydia files its own antitrust lawsuit against Apple

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Cydia, the original app store for jailbroken iPhones, has joined a wave of companies and regulators in targeting Apple over antitrust concerns. In a lawsuit it filed on Thursday, it accused Apple of “anti-competitive acquisition and maintenance of an illegal monopoly over iOS app distribution.” Were that not the case, Cydia argues, users would “be Read more about Jailbreak app store Cydia files its own antitrust lawsuit against Apple[…]

France fines Google $120M and Amazon $42M for dropping tracking cookies without consent

Posted on by Robin Edgar

France’s data protection agency, the CNIL, has slapped Google and Amazon with fines for dropping tracking cookies without consent. Google has been hit with a total of €100 million ($120 million) for dropping cookies on Google.fr and Amazon €35 million (~$42 million) for doing so on the Amazon .fr domain under the penalty notices issued Read more about France fines Google $120M and Amazon $42M for dropping tracking cookies without consent[…]

Astronomers Just Found Cosmic ‘Superhighways’ For Fast Travel Through The Solar System

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Invisible structures generated by gravitational interactions in the Solar System have created a “space superhighway” network, astronomers have discovered. These channels enable the fast travel of objects through space, and could be harnessed for our own space exploration purposes, as well as the study of comets and asteroids. By applying analyses to both observational and Read more about Astronomers Just Found Cosmic ‘Superhighways’ For Fast Travel Through The Solar System[…]

Spotify resets passwords after a security bug exposed users’ private account information – for 6 months

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Spotify said it has reset an undisclosed number of user passwords after blaming a software vulnerability in its systems for exposing private account information to its business partners. In a data breach notification filed with the California attorney general’s office, the music streaming giant said the data exposed “may have included email address, your preferred Read more about Spotify resets passwords after a security bug exposed users’ private account information – for 6 months[…]

‘Save Europe from Software Patents’, Urges Nonprofit FFII – DE is trying for 3rd time using underhanded sneaky tactics

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Long-time Slashdot reader zoobab shares this update about the long-standing Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure, a Munich-based non-profit opposing ratification of a “Unified Patent Court” by Germany: The FFII is crowdfunding a constitutional complaint in Germany against the third attempt to impose software patents in Europe, calling on all software companies, independent software developers Read more about ‘Save Europe from Software Patents’, Urges Nonprofit FFII – DE is trying for 3rd time using underhanded sneaky tactics[…]

Russia Breached Update Server Used by 300,000 Organizations, Including the NSA

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Sunday Reuters reported that “a sophisticated hacking group” backed by “a foreign government” has stolen information from America’s Treasury Department, and also from “a U.S. agency responsible for deciding policy around the internet and telecommunications.” The Washington Post has since attributed the breach to “Russian government hackers,” and discovered it’s “part of a global espionage Read more about Russia Breached Update Server Used by 300,000 Organizations, Including the NSA[…]

World+dog share in collective panic attack as Google slides off the face of the internet

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Google services such as YouTube and Gmail started the week with an almighty bang as the Chocolate Factory’s cloud came crashing to the ground. Despite an insistence from the company’s various health dashboards that all was fine and dandy, it most definitely was not. Those seeking distraction in video form were treated to YouTube’s “Something Read more about World+dog share in collective panic attack as Google slides off the face of the internet[…]

TSA Oversight Says Agency’s Suspicionless Surveillance Program Is Worthless And The TSA Can’t Prove It Isn’t

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The TSA’s “Quiet Skies” program continues to suffer under scrutiny. When details first leaked out about the TSA’s suspicionless surveillance program, even the air marshals tasked with tailing non-terrorists all over the nation seemed concerned. Marshals questioned the “legality and validity” of the program that sent them after people no government agency had conclusively tied Read more about TSA Oversight Says Agency’s Suspicionless Surveillance Program Is Worthless And The TSA Can’t Prove It Isn’t[…]

EU agency in charge of COVID-19 vaccine approval hacked, vaccine documents stolen

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The European Medicines Agency (EMA), the EU regulatory body in charge of approving COVID-19 vaccines, said today it was the victim of a cyber-attack. In a short two-paragraph statement posted on its website today, the agency discloses the security breach but said it couldn’t disclose any details about the intrusion due to an ongoing investigation. EMA is Read more about EU agency in charge of COVID-19 vaccine approval hacked, vaccine documents stolen[…]

Facebook crushed rivals to maintain an illegal monopoly, the entire United States yells in Zuckerberg’s face

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Facebook illegally crushed its competition and continues to do so to this day to maintain its monopoly, according to a lawsuit filed on Wednesday by the attorneys general of no fewer than 46 US states plus Guam and DC. The lawsuit alleges that the social media giant “illegally acquired competitors in a predatory manner and Read more about Facebook crushed rivals to maintain an illegal monopoly, the entire United States yells in Zuckerberg’s face[…]

Proposed U.S. Law Could Slap Twitch Streamers With Felonies For Broadcasting Copyrighted Material

Posted on by Robin Edgar

According to Politico offshoot Protocol, the felony streaming proposal is the work of Republican senator Thom Tillis, who has backed similar proposals previously. It is more or less exactly what it sounds like: A proposal to turn unauthorized commercial streaming of copyrighted material—progressive policy publication The American Prospect specifically points to examples like “an album Read more about Proposed U.S. Law Could Slap Twitch Streamers With Felonies For Broadcasting Copyrighted Material[…]

SpaceX Starship blows up on landing, but Elon Musk says it’s the data that matters and that landed just fine

Posted on by Robin Edgar

SpaceX has conducted a test of the Starship it plans to use for flights to Mars, and while the experiment ended badly the flight was judged a success. Wednesday’s flight used just the Starship – the second stage of SpaceX’s planned heavy lifter. Previous flights had seen the craft ascend to around 500 feet. This Read more about SpaceX Starship blows up on landing, but Elon Musk says it’s the data that matters and that landed just fine[…]

Wall Street Begins Trading Water Futures as a Commodity

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Wall Street has begun trading water as a commodity, like gold or oil. The country’s first water market launched on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange this week with $1.1 billion in contracts tied to water prices in California, Bloomberg News reported. The market allows farmers, hedge funds, and municipalities to hedge bets on the future price Read more about Wall Street Begins Trading Water Futures as a Commodity[…]

Flexible color ePaper displays could soon adorn your clothes | Engadget

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Whenever the runways of Paris, London, Milan and New York open back up, designers might be showing off looks adorned with flexible color ePaper displays. E Ink has teamed up with Plastic Logic to make the first such panels based on its Advanced Color ePaper (ACeP) tech. The glass-free organic Thin Film Transistor (oTFT) displays Read more about Flexible color ePaper displays could soon adorn your clothes | Engadget[…]

NextMind’s brain-computer interface is ready for developers

Posted on by Robin Edgar

NextMind is the latest in a long line of companies trying to harness the brain as a means of controlling our digital world. At first, its take on things may seem familiar: Don a headset which places a sensor on the back of your head, and it’ll detect your brainwaves which can then be translated Read more about NextMind’s brain-computer interface is ready for developers[…]

BMW System Malfunction Takes Out Apple CarPlay, Tells Some Owners to Pay for It

Posted on by Robin Edgar

BMW’s much-loathed idea to charge owners a subscription fee for Apple CarPlay in its 2019 and 2020 models strikes again, one year after BMW reversed that decision after considerable blowback. Some owners of those cars reported that Apple CarPlay would not work over the weekend, and some were even prompted to pay for the feature, Read more about BMW System Malfunction Takes Out Apple CarPlay, Tells Some Owners to Pay for It[…]

Hackers are trying to disrupt the COVID-19 vaccine supply chain

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, we’ve seen hackers target efforts to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, but it now seems they’re shifting their attention to the supply chain that will distribute those vaccines to people across the world. IBM says it recently uncovered a highly coordinated global phishing campaign focused on the companies and Read more about Hackers are trying to disrupt the COVID-19 vaccine supply chain[…]

Japan sticks the landing: Asteroid sample recovered from Hayabusa2 probe

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Vids’n’pics Japanese and Australian astroboffins have successfully recovered samples taken from Asteroid Ryugu by the Hayabusa2 probe. Hayabusa2 has had quite a ride and has more adventures ahead of it. The probe launched in 2014 and spent three-and-a-half years travelling to near-Earth asteroid 162173 Ryugu, which has a diameter of about 1km and occasionally passes Read more about Japan sticks the landing: Asteroid sample recovered from Hayabusa2 probe[…]

Data of 243 million Brazilians exposed online via govt website source code

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The personal information of more than 243 million Brazilians, including alive and deceased, has been exposed online after web developers left the password for a crucial government database inside the source code of an official Brazilian Ministry of Health’s website for at least six months. The security snafu was discovered by reporters from Brazilian newspaper Estadao, Read more about Data of 243 million Brazilians exposed online via govt website source code[…]

Alphabet’s internet Loon balloon kept on station in the sky using AI that beat human-developed control code

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Loon, known for its giant billowing broadband-beaming balloons, says it has figured out how to use machine-learning algorithms to keep its lofty vehicles hovering in place autonomously in the stratosphere. The 15-metre-wide balloons relay internet connections between people’s homes and ground stations that could be thousands of kilometres apart. To form a steady network that Read more about Alphabet’s internet Loon balloon kept on station in the sky using AI that beat human-developed control code[…]