Month: May 2021

NSA spied on European politicians through Danish telecommunications hub

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Denmark’s foreign secret service allowed the US National Security Agency to tap into a crucial internet and telecommunications hub in Denmark and spy on the communications of European politicians, a joint investigation by some of Europe’s biggest news agencies revealed on Sunday. The covert spying operation, called Operation Dunhammer, took place between 2012 and 2014, based Read more about NSA spied on European politicians through Danish telecommunications hub[…]

Many Need For Speed Games Are About To Be Erased From Reality

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] Today, via Reddit (while most the English-speaking world is on a holiday), it’s been announced that Need For Speed: Carbon, Need For Speed: Undercover, Need For Speed: Shift, Shift 2: Unleashed and Need For Speed: The Run will be “retired”. Which I suppose is an apposite word, given they’ll be limping off the tracks Read more about Many Need For Speed Games Are About To Be Erased From Reality[…]

Google reportedly made it harder to find Android privacy settings

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Google’s approach to Android privacy is coming under fire following revelations from Arizona’s antitrust lawsuit over phone tracking. As Insider reports, freshly unredacted documents in the case suggest Google made Android privacy settings harder to find. When Google tested OS releases that surfaced privacy features, the company reportedly saw greater use of those features as Read more about Google reportedly made it harder to find Android privacy settings[…]

Dark Energy Survey releases most precise look at the universe’s evolution

Posted on by Robin Edgar

New results from the Dark Energy Survey use the largest ever sample of galaxies over an enormous piece of the sky to produce the most precise measurements of the universe’s composition and growth to date. Scientists measured that the way matter is distributed throughout the universe is consistent with predictions in the standard cosmological model, Read more about Dark Energy Survey releases most precise look at the universe’s evolution[…]

WhatsApp Won’t Limit Functionality if You Refuse Privacy Policy – for now. But it will pester you about it.

Posted on by Robin Edgar

WhatsApp initially threatened to revoke core functions for users that refused to accept its controversial new privacy policy, only to walk back the severity of those consequences earlier this month amid international backlash, and now, it’s doing away with them altogether (for the time being, at least). In a reversal, the company clarified on Friday Read more about WhatsApp Won’t Limit Functionality if You Refuse Privacy Policy – for now. But it will pester you about it.[…]

Israel’s operation against Hamas was the world’s first AI war

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Having relied heavily on machine learning, the Israeli military is calling Operation Guardian of the Walls the first artificial-intelligence war. “For the first time, artificial intelligence was a key component and power multiplier in fighting the enemy,” an IDF Intelligence Corps senior officer said. “This is a first-of-its-kind campaign for the IDF. We implemented new Read more about Israel’s operation against Hamas was the world’s first AI war[…]

EU starts protectionist measures, increasing prices of Chinese E-Commerce imports

Posted on by Robin Edgar

At Amazon in Spain, France and Italy, Chinese sellers already make up more than half of the largest merchants in the marketplace, says market research firm Marketplace Pulse. The Thuiswinkel Markt Monitor shows that we in the Netherlands spent 1.1 billion euros on products from abroad in 2019. Chinese online stores, such as AliExpress, are Read more about EU starts protectionist measures, increasing prices of Chinese E-Commerce imports[…]

Creepy Social Media Face Stealing firm Clearview hit with complaints in France, Austria, Italy, Greece and the UK

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Data rights groups have filed complaints in the UK, France, Austria, Greece and Italy against Clearview AI, claiming its scraped and searchable database of biometric profiles breaches both the EU and UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The facial recognition company, which is based in the US, claims to have “the largest known database of Read more about Creepy Social Media Face Stealing firm Clearview hit with complaints in France, Austria, Italy, Greece and the UK[…]

Boeing KC-46A’s Vision System Can’t Reliably Show The End Of The Refueling Boom. Boom doesn’t work much anyway.

Posted on by Robin Edgar

KC-46A’s Remote Vision System (RVS), which the boom operators use to connect the boom with receiving aircraft. It’s a critical system on the Pegasus and fundamental to its ability to operate as a tanker for receptacle-equipped aircraft from the U.S. military and its allies. It’s also a new kind of technology for Air Force refueling Read more about Boeing KC-46A’s Vision System Can’t Reliably Show The End Of The Refueling Boom. Boom doesn’t work much anyway.[…]

Flaris’s New LAR-01 May Be World’s Fastest Single-Engine Business Jet, can land on grass fields – at only $1.5m

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The Flaris LAR-01 has a number of striking stats, including being a ton lighter (literally) than its competitors, along with an unusually short-field landing capability, and detachable wings. But its most impressive number is the 250-knot true air speed, […] Garmin G600 avionics and Flaris Flight Assistance System flight computer, as well as the landing Read more about Flaris’s New LAR-01 May Be World’s Fastest Single-Engine Business Jet, can land on grass fields – at only $1.5m[…]

Norway fines Tesla for reducing battery capacities and charging speeds

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A court in Norway has found Tesla guilty after it was sued by owners who complained of reduced battery capacities and charging speeds. It has been ordered to pay 136,000 kroner ($16,000) each to buyers of certain Model S owners, a judgement that could run into the hundreds of millions of dollars, according to Nettavisen Read more about Norway fines Tesla for reducing battery capacities and charging speeds[…]

Indonesia’s national health insurance scheme leaks at least a million citizens’ records

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Indonesia’s government has admitted to leaks of personal data from the agency that runs its national health insurance scheme On May 20th Kominfo, Indonesia’s Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, acknowledged it was aware of a post on notorious stolen-data-mart Raidforums offering to sell a million records leaked from the Badan Penyelenggara Jaminan Sosial (BPJS), Read more about Indonesia’s national health insurance scheme leaks at least a million citizens’ records[…]

Mobile app developers’ misconfiguration of third party services leave personal data of over 100 million exposed – Check Point Research

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] Check Point Research (CPR) recently discovered that in the last few months, many application developers put their data and users’ data at risk. By not following best practices when configuring and integrating 3rd party cloud services into applications, millions of users’ private data was exposed. In some cases, this type of misuse only affects Read more about Mobile app developers’ misconfiguration of third party services leave personal data of over 100 million exposed – Check Point Research[…]

The New Sonos One SL Reminds Us That Smart Devices Have a Shelf Life, forces you to spying S2 update

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] if you’re thinking of buying a new One SL, you ought to keep in mind that it’ll only work with the newer Sonos S2 app. This won’t be a problem for every Sonos owner, especially if you bought all your Sonos devices in the past year or two. It might be an issue, however, Read more about The New Sonos One SL Reminds Us That Smart Devices Have a Shelf Life, forces you to spying S2 update[…]

Parents outraged after Florida high school edits girls’ yearbook pictures to make clothes more conservative

Posted on by Robin Edgar

According to Action News Jax, Bartram Trail High School altered 80 different yearbook photos – all of them of girls. In many of them, crudely photoshopped rectangles in the colour of the girls’ clothing can be seen covering up their chests. Many of those students have expressed outrage. “I felt confident that day and I Read more about Parents outraged after Florida high school edits girls’ yearbook pictures to make clothes more conservative[…]

Redditors Launch A ‘Rescue Mission’ For Embattled Sci-Hub, With The Ultimate Aim Of Building A Decentralized Version

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Techdirt has just written about belated news that the FBI gained access two years ago to the Apple account of Alexandra Elbakyan, the founder of Sci-Hub. This is part of a continuing attempt to stop the widespread sharing of academic papers, mostly paid for by the public, and currently trapped behind expensive paywalls. You might Read more about Redditors Launch A ‘Rescue Mission’ For Embattled Sci-Hub, With The Ultimate Aim Of Building A Decentralized Version[…]

Belarus accused of ‘abhorrent action’ after Ryanair flight diverted midair with MiG 29 to arrest blogger

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Belarusian authorities appear to have forced a Ryanair jet to perform an emergency landing in Minsk in order to arrest an opposition blogger wanted for organising last summer’s protests against leader Alexander Lukashenko. Roman Protasevich, a former editor of the influential Telegram channels Nexta and Nexta Live, was detained by police after his flight was Read more about Belarus accused of ‘abhorrent action’ after Ryanair flight diverted midair with MiG 29 to arrest blogger[…]

Air India breach compromised data for 4.5 million passengers also of other airlines

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The Times of India reports Air India has revealed that a breach compromised about 4.5 million passengers whose data was registered at system provider SITA between August 2011 and late February 2021. The intruders couldn’t obtain passwords, but they had access to names, contact info, tickets and frequent flyer info (including for Star Alliance). The Read more about Air India breach compromised data for 4.5 million passengers also of other airlines[…]

American insurance giant CNA reportedly pays $40m to ransomware crooks

Posted on by Robin Edgar

CNA Finaincial, the US insurance conglomerate, has apparently paid $40m to ransomware operators to gets its files back. In March the business revealed it had been hit by an extensive Phoenix Locker infection; this strain of malware was developed by Russian scam artists calling themselves Evil Corp, which may have links to Russian intelligence. All Read more about American insurance giant CNA reportedly pays $40m to ransomware crooks[…]

Virgin Galactic 3rd test flight to space successful

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Virgin Galactic’s rocket-powered plane, carrying two pilots, soared into the upper atmosphere on its third mission to reach space Saturday morning. The success cues up Virgin Galactic to begin launching paying customers within the next year as the company works to finish its testing campaign at its new headquarters in New Mexico. Spaceplane VSS Unity Read more about Virgin Galactic 3rd test flight to space successful[…]

The First Privately Owned F-16 Aggressor Jet Has Taken To The Sky

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In a follow-up to our big piece on Top Aces’ recently acquired fleet of second-hand F-16A/B ‘Netz’ fighters from Israel, the company has now taken one of these jets aloft for the first time. This also marks the first time a 4th generation fighter of any kind has been flown by a private adversary support Read more about The First Privately Owned F-16 Aggressor Jet Has Taken To The Sky[…]

Driving Simulator Lets a Player Feel a Car’s Motions by Short-Circuiting Their Sense of Balance

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] It turns out a process called galvanic vestibular stimulation—also known as GVS—can be used to alter a human’s sense of balance by electrically stimulating a nerve in the ear using electrodes. Researchers haven’t quite figured out the best uses of the technology—medical, military, and entertainment companies are all investigating it—but when used properly it Read more about Driving Simulator Lets a Player Feel a Car’s Motions by Short-Circuiting Their Sense of Balance[…]

Russian malware will often not install on computers with a Russian virtual keyboard installed

Posted on by Robin Edgar

 KrebsOnSecurity noted that virtually all ransomware strains have a built-in failsafe designed to cover the backsides of the malware purveyors: They simply will not install on a Microsoft Windows computer that already has one of many types of virtual keyboards installed — such as Russian or Ukrainian […] DarkSide and other Russian-language affiliate moneymaking programs Read more about Russian malware will often not install on computers with a Russian virtual keyboard installed[…]

Colonial Pipeline hackers Darkside received $90 million in bitcoin

Posted on by Robin Edgar

DarkSide, the hacker group behind the recent Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack, received a total of $90 million in bitcoin ransom payments before shutting down last week, according to new research. Colonial Pipeline was hit with a devastating cyberattack earlier this month that forced the company to shut down approximately 5,500 miles of pipeline in the Read more about Colonial Pipeline hackers Darkside received $90 million in bitcoin[…]

Just 100 Companies Create 90% of Plastic Waste

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Plastic producers have tried to make us think that individuals can solve pollution by improving our recycling and shopping habits. A new study makes it clear why that’s their tactic. Just 20 companies are responsible for more than half of the world’s trashed single-use plastic. The Plastic Waste Makers Index, published Tuesday by the Australian Read more about Just 100 Companies Create 90% of Plastic Waste[…]