Month: January 2021

ODoH: Cloudflare and Apple design a new privacy-friendly internet protocol for DNS

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Engineers at Cloudflare and Apple say they’ve developed a new internet protocol that will shore up one of the biggest holes in internet privacy that many don’t know even exists. Dubbed Oblivious DNS-over-HTTPS, or ODoH for short, the new protocol makes it far more difficult for internet providers to know which websites you visit. But Read more about ODoH: Cloudflare and Apple design a new privacy-friendly internet protocol for DNS[…]

Light Commands: Hacking Voice Assistants with Lasers / Light Commands: Laser-Based Audio Injection Attacks on Voice-Controllable

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Our laser-based injection attack Light Commands shows how microphones can respond to light as if it was sound. By simply modulating the amplitude of laser light, we can inject fully inaudible and invisible commands into microphones of smart speakers, phones, and tablets, across large distances and through glass windows. In this talk, we will show: Read more about Light Commands: Hacking Voice Assistants with Lasers / Light Commands: Laser-Based Audio Injection Attacks on Voice-Controllable[…]

Turn a Touch Interface Touchless with Intel RealSense TCS

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Today, Intel announced Intel® RealSense™ Touchless Control Software (TCS), a simple solution for converting a touch-based kiosk or digital sign into a safer, touchless one while maintaining a familiar and intuitive user experience. With the pandemic affecting people worldwide, pay and check-in stations, automated teller machines and ordering kiosks could use the Intel RealSense software Read more about Turn a Touch Interface Touchless with Intel RealSense TCS[…]

Content Moderation Case Study: SoundCloud Combats Piracy By Giving Universal Music The Power To Remove Uploads (2014)

Posted on by Robin Edgar

n most cases, allegedly infringing content is removed at the request of rights holders following the normal DMCA takedown process. A DMCA notice is issued and the site responds by removing the content and — in some cases — allowing the uploader to challenge the takedown. SoundCloud has positioned itself as a host of user-created Read more about Content Moderation Case Study: SoundCloud Combats Piracy By Giving Universal Music The Power To Remove Uploads (2014)[…]

Whatsapp locks you in – you can’t export all your chats. And now it will share everything with Facebook

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Yes, you can back up your database and if you’re rooted, you can find a key to it, but that will give you the chat in database form. You won’t get your pictures and videos etc. You can download them seperately though. Yes, you can export a single chat / chatgroup, but doing that for Read more about Whatsapp locks you in – you can’t export all your chats. And now it will share everything with Facebook[…]

WhatsApp Has Shared Your Data With Facebook since 2016, actually.

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Since Facebook acquired WhatsApp in 2014, users have wondered and worried about how much data would flow between the two platforms. Many of them experienced a rude awakening this week, as a new in-app notification raises awareness about a step WhatsApp actually took to share more with Facebook back in 2016. On Monday, WhatsApp updated Read more about WhatsApp Has Shared Your Data With Facebook since 2016, actually.[…]

Boeing Reaches $2.5 Billion Settlement of U.S. Probe Into 737 MAX Crashes, has to admit a lot of wrongdoing

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Boeing Co. will pay $2.5 billion to resolve a Justice Department criminal investigation and admit employees deceived aviation regulators about safety issues that led to two deadly crashes of the 737 MAX, authorities said. The settlement, which was filed Thursday in Dallas federal court, would lift a legal cloud that has hung over the aerospace Read more about Boeing Reaches $2.5 Billion Settlement of U.S. Probe Into 737 MAX Crashes, has to admit a lot of wrongdoing[…]

DARPA Announces Subterranean Challenge Finals: mapping out underground tunnels, caves, evil lairs by robot

Posted on by Robin Edgar

After three years of development, DARPA Subterranean (SubT) Challenge teams will get the chance to compete in the Final Event being held at the Louisville Mega Cavern in Louisville, Kentucky on September 21-23, 2021. The DARPA SubT Challenge aims to develop innovative technologies that can rapidly map, navigate, and search complex underground environments such as Read more about DARPA Announces Subterranean Challenge Finals: mapping out underground tunnels, caves, evil lairs by robot[…]

‘DALL-E’ AI generates an image out of anything you describe

Posted on by Robin Edgar

with DALL-E (a portmanteau of “Wall-E” and “Dali”), an AI app that can create an image out of nearly any description. For example, if you ask for “a cat made of sushi” or a “high quality illustration of a giraffe turtle chimera,” it will deliver those things, often with startlingly good quality (and sometimes not).DALL-E Read more about ‘DALL-E’ AI generates an image out of anything you describe[…]

If you’re a WhatsApp user, you’ll have to share your personal data with Facebook from next month – and no, you can’t opt out this time

Posted on by Robin Edgar

WhatsApp users must agree to share their personal information with Facebook if they want to continue using the messaging service from next month, according to new terms and conditions. “As part of the Facebook Companies, WhatsApp receives information from, and shares information with, the other Facebook Companies,” its privacy policy, updated this week, stated. “We Read more about If you’re a WhatsApp user, you’ll have to share your personal data with Facebook from next month – and no, you can’t opt out this time[…]

These Repair Bulletins for Tesla’s Quality Problems Are Downright Embarrassing—and Serious

Posted on by Robin Edgar

t’s no secret that Tesla tends to ship cars to customers with questionable fit and finish. Sometimes components don’t fit the way they should, so fake wood from Home Depot is used to ensure they do. Other times, glass roofs simply detach while driving down the highway. This time, however, it’s not a random Facebook Read more about These Repair Bulletins for Tesla’s Quality Problems Are Downright Embarrassing—and Serious[…]

Compromised Amazon Ring Devices Combined With Swatting

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Late last year, it was discovered that yet another set of IoT devices were being turned against their owners by malicious people. It would be a stretch to call these losers “hackers,” considering all they did was utilize credentials harvested from multiple security breaches to take control of poorly secured cameras made by Ring. Password Read more about Compromised Amazon Ring Devices Combined With Swatting[…]

Singapore police can access now data from the country’s contract tracing app

Posted on by Robin Edgar

With a nearly 80 percent uptake among the country’s population, Singapore’s TraceTogether app is one of the best examples of what a successful centralized contact tracing effort can look like as countries across the world struggle to contain the coronavirus pandemic. To date, more than 4.2 million people in Singapore have download the app or Read more about Singapore police can access now data from the country’s contract tracing app[…]

Uber wasted $100 million on useless digital ad campaigns

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] the estimated $100 million Uber apparently straight-up squandered on incredibly obvious, third-party digital advertising scams… something that is garnering mainstream coverage in the first days of 2021, despite coming to light back in February of last damn year. Twitter / @nandoodles You Google Played yourself — Former Sleeping Giants alum and co-founder of Check Read more about Uber wasted $100 million on useless digital ad campaigns[…]

Scientists turn CO2 into jet fuel

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Researchers may have found a way to reduce the environmental impact of air travel in situations when electric aircraft and alternative fuels aren’t practical. Wired reports that Oxford University scientists have successfully turned CO2 into jet fuel, raising the possibility of conventionally-powered aircraft with net zero emissions. The technique effectively reverses the process of burning Read more about Scientists turn CO2 into jet fuel[…]

Zyxel products have a hardcoded root user you can access from internet

Posted on by Robin Edgar

TL;DR: If you have a Zyxel USG, ATP, VPN, ZyWALL or USG FLEX you should update to the latest firmware version today. You can find the full list of affected devices here and the Zyxel advisory here. Zyxel is a popular brand for firewalls that are marketed towards small and medium businesses. Their Unified Security Read more about Zyxel products have a hardcoded root user you can access from internet[…]

Julian Assange will NOT be extradited to the US over WikiLeaks hacking and spy charges, rules British judge

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Accused hacker and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange should not be extradited to the US to stand trial, Westminster Magistrates’ Court has ruled. District Judge Vanessa Baraitser told Assange this morning that there was no legal obstacle to his being sent to the US, where he faces multiple criminal charges under America’s Espionage Act and Computer Read more about Julian Assange will NOT be extradited to the US over WikiLeaks hacking and spy charges, rules British judge[…]

Microsoft says SolarWinds hackers viewed source code

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The hackers who carried out a sophisticated cyberattack on US government agencies and on private companies were able to access Microsoft’s source code, the company said Thursday. A Microsoft investigation turned up “unusual activity with a small number of internal accounts” and also revealed that “one account had been used to view source code in Read more about Microsoft says SolarWinds hackers viewed source code[…]

T-Mobile data breach exposed phone numbers, call records for 200k customers

Posted on by Robin Edgar

T-Mobile has announced a data breach exposing customers’ proprietary network information (CPNI), including phone numbers and call records. Starting yesterday, T-Mobile began texting customers that a “security incident” exposed their account’s information. According to T-Mobile, its security team recently discovered “malicious, unauthorized access” to their systems. After bringing in a cybersecurity firm to perform an Read more about T-Mobile data breach exposed phone numbers, call records for 200k customers[…]

Access To Big Data Turns Farm Machine Makers Into Tech Firms

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The combine harvester, a staple of farmers’ fields since the late 1800s, does much more these days than just vacuum up corn, soybeans and other crops. It also beams back reams of data to its manufacturer. GPS records the combine’s precise path through the field. Sensors tally the number of crops gathered per acre and Read more about Access To Big Data Turns Farm Machine Makers Into Tech Firms[…]

Apple Told This Developer That His App ‘Promoted’ Drugs – after 6 years in the store

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In Apple’s world, an app can be inappropriate one day, but acceptable the next. That’s what the developer of Amphetamine—an app designed to keep Macs from going to sleep, which is useful in situations such as when a file is downloading or when a specific app is running—learned recently when Apple got in touch with Read more about Apple Told This Developer That His App ‘Promoted’ Drugs – after 6 years in the store[…]

Pentagon Puts F-35 Full-Rate Production Decision On Hold

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In a setback for the Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighter program, the U.S. Department of Defense has formally decreed that a decision on full-rate production of the jet is on indefinite hold. The Milestone C decision on whether or not to ramp up the manufacture of Joint Strike Fighters had been due in or before Read more about Pentagon Puts F-35 Full-Rate Production Decision On Hold[…]

Japanese Researchers Are Working to Create Wooden Satellites

Posted on by Robin Edgar

You might think metal satellites burn up on re-entry, but as it turns out, it’s not that simple. “We are very concerned with the fact that all the satellites which re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere burn and create tiny alumina particles which will float in the upper atmosphere for many years,” Takao Doi, an astronaut and Read more about Japanese Researchers Are Working to Create Wooden Satellites[…]

Ticketmaster To Pay $10 million After Illegally Hacking Rival’s System

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation, have agreed to pay out $10 million dollars to a competitor after admitting to hiring a former employee to hack into the rival company’s computer network. According to a statement issued by the Justice Department on Wednesday, the five criminal counts facing Ticketmaster stemmed from a plot to Read more about Ticketmaster To Pay $10 million After Illegally Hacking Rival’s System[…]