Month: June 2021

Meringue-like material could make aircraft as quiet as a hairdryer

Posted on by Robin Edgar

An incredibly light new material that can reduce aircraft engine noise and improve passenger comfort has been developed at the University of Bath. The graphene oxide-polyvinyl alcohol aerogel weighs just 2.1kg per cubic metre, making it the lightest sound insulation ever manufactured. It could be used as insulation within aircraft engines to reduce noise by Read more about Meringue-like material could make aircraft as quiet as a hairdryer[…]

In Brazil, Criminals Steal Phones to Empty Victims’ Bank Account

Posted on by Robin Edgar

São Paulo pickpockets are increasingly stealing people’s smartphones not to pawn off the device, but rather to gain access to their bank account. That’s according to a report from Brazilian newspaper Folha de S.Paulo this week. As first spotted by 9to5 Mac, the report claims this kind of theft has been going on since the Read more about In Brazil, Criminals Steal Phones to Empty Victims’ Bank Account[…]

China has an inhabited space station: Shenzhou-12 delivers first crew to Tianhe module

Posted on by Robin Edgar

China has launched three astronauts into orbit to begin occupation of the country’s new space station. The three men – Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo – are to spend three months aboard the Tianhe module some 380km (236 miles) above the Earth. It will be China’s longest crewed space mission to date and Read more about China has an inhabited space station: Shenzhou-12 delivers first crew to Tianhe module[…]

‘GTA Online’ will shut down on PS3 and Xbox 360 on December 16th

Posted on by Robin Edgar

It’s almost the end of the line for those who’ve been causing havoc in Los Santos with their friends on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Rockstar Games says it will shut down the Grand Theft Auto Online servers for those consoles on December 16th, bringing an end to the multiplayer mode as well as website Read more about ‘GTA Online’ will shut down on PS3 and Xbox 360 on December 16th[…]

FB, Uni of Michigans latest AI doesn’t just detect deep fakes, it knows where they came from

Posted on by Robin Edgar

On Wednesday, Facebook and Michigan State University debuted a novel method of not just detecting deep fakes but discovering which generative model produced it by reverse engineering the image itself. Beyond telling you if an image is a deep fake or not, many current detection systems can tell whether the image was generated in a Read more about FB, Uni of Michigans latest AI doesn’t just detect deep fakes, it knows where they came from[…]

Android, Apple Mobile Ecosystems Face UK Antitrust Probe Amid Competition Fears

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Google and Apple Inc. face a sweeping probe into the “duopoly” power of their mobile ecosystems, in the U.K. antitrust watchdog’s latest attack on Silicon Valley. The increasingly tech-focused Competition and Markets Authority opened a 12-month market study into broad aspects of the iOS and Android systems, saying it feared the companies’ dominance is stifling Read more about Android, Apple Mobile Ecosystems Face UK Antitrust Probe Amid Competition Fears[…]

Southwest Airlines cancels 500 flights after computer glitch grounds fleet – for 2nd time in 24 hours

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Southwest Airlines (LUV.N) said on Tuesday it canceled about 500 flights and delayed hundreds of others after it was forced to temporarily halt operations over a computer issue — the second time in 24 hours it had been forced to stop flights. The Federal Aviation Administration said it had issued a temporary nationwide groundstop at Read more about Southwest Airlines cancels 500 flights after computer glitch grounds fleet – for 2nd time in 24 hours[…]

Amazon is blocking Google’s FLoC

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Most of Amazon’s properties including Amazon.com, WholeFoods.com and Zappos.com are preventing Google’s tracking system FLoC — or Federated Learning of Cohorts — from gathering valuable data reflecting the products people research in Amazon’s vast e-commerce universe, according to website code analyzed by Digiday and three technology experts who helped Digiday review the code. Amazon declined to comment on this story. As Google’s system Read more about Amazon is blocking Google’s FLoC[…]

Open-source projects glibc and gnulib look to sever copyright ties with Free Software Foundation

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The GNU C Library (glibc) and GNU Portability Library (gnulib) are laying the groundwork to divorce themselves from the troubled Free Software Foundation by removing the requirement for copyright assignment. This move follows in the footsteps of the same shift by the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) on 2 June. Like many projects under the GNU Read more about Open-source projects glibc and gnulib look to sever copyright ties with Free Software Foundation[…]

Ukraine police collar six Clop ransomware gang suspects in joint raids with South Korean cops

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Ukrainian police have arrested six people, alleged to be members of the notorious Clop* ransomware gang, seizing cash, cars – and a number of Apple Mac laptops and desktops. “It was established that six defendants carried out attacks of malicious software such as ‘ransomware’ on the servers of American and [South] Korean companies,” alleged Ukraine’s Read more about Ukraine police collar six Clop ransomware gang suspects in joint raids with South Korean cops[…]

Alibaba suffers billion-item data leak including usernames and mobile numbers

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Alibaba’s Chinese shopping operation Taobao has suffered a data breach of over a billion data points including usernames and mobile phone numbers. The info was lifted from the site by a crawler developed by an affiliate marketer. Chinese outlet 163.com reported the case last week and today it was picked up by the Wall Street Read more about Alibaba suffers billion-item data leak including usernames and mobile numbers[…]

Finding next-gen space tech: DASA launches the Space to Innovate Campaign

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[..] To promote space resilience and operational effectiveness, the Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) is pleased to announce that we have teamed up with the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) Space Programme to launch the Space to Innovate Campaign. […] The first challenge drop, called the “Alpha challenge drop” in the Space to Innovate Read more about Finding next-gen space tech: DASA launches the Space to Innovate Campaign[…]

Tracking China’s Sudden Airpower Expansion Along Its Western Border

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] China’s heavy investment in airpower-related facilities in the region is already being leveraged by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF), as evidenced by an unprecedented level of activity along the Sino-Indian border as of late. This is in addition to massive growth in ground-based air defenses, as well as the construction of Read more about Tracking China’s Sudden Airpower Expansion Along Its Western Border[…]

Use of PFAS in cosmetics ‘widespread,’ new study finds – not a good thing

Posted on by Robin Edgar

According to the study, 56% of foundations and eye products, 48% of lip products and 47% of mascaras tested were found to contain high levels of fluorine, which is an indicator of PFAS use in the product. . Credit: University of Notre Dame Many cosmetics sold in the United States and Canada likely contain high levels Read more about Use of PFAS in cosmetics ‘widespread,’ new study finds – not a good thing[…]

Scientists Create Enzyme That Can Destroy Plastic Within Days, Not Years

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] it looks like researchers have developed the perfect thing to combat this problem. They’ve developed a cocktail of plastic-eating enzymes which can actually degrade plastic in a matter of days — something that normally takes hundreds of years to degrade. The enzyme cocktail includes PETase and MHETase. These are produced by a type of Read more about Scientists Create Enzyme That Can Destroy Plastic Within Days, Not Years[…]

House introduces five antitrust bills targeting Apple, Google, Facebook and Amazon

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Lawmakers in the House have introduced five new bills that would place significant limits on major tech companies, including Apple, Google, Facebook and Amazon.The proposed legislation is part of a broader effort to step up antitrust enforcement against tech giants.The bills would place new limits on the companies’ ability to acquire new business and change Read more about House introduces five antitrust bills targeting Apple, Google, Facebook and Amazon[…]

New Quantum Microscope Can See Tiny Structures in Living Cells

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A team of researchers in Germany and Australia recently used a new microscopy technique to image nano-scale biological structures at a previously unmanageable resolution, without destroying the living cell. The technique, which employs laser light many millions of times brighter than the Sun, has implications for biomedical and navigation technologies. The quantum optical microscope is Read more about New Quantum Microscope Can See Tiny Structures in Living Cells[…]

Risk and reward: Nefilim ransomware gang mainly targets fewer, richer companies and that strategy is paying off, warns Trend Micro

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The Nefilim ransomware gang might not be the best known or most prolific online extortion crew but their penchant for attacking small numbers of $1bn+ turnover firms is paying off, according to some latest research. The crew has made comparatively fewer headlines next to better-known criminals such as Darkside, perpetrators of the infamous US Colonial Read more about Risk and reward: Nefilim ransomware gang mainly targets fewer, richer companies and that strategy is paying off, warns Trend Micro[…]

DOJ Vows to Hunt Down Whoever Let the Public Know How Little Billionaires Pay in Taxes

Posted on by Robin Edgar

This week, ProPublica released a massive scoop—a treasure trove of financial records showing how some of the U.S.’s wealthiest billionaires scamper off with virtually no tax burden. And the U.S. government knows exactly what to do in response: find whoever released those embarrassing records and incarcerate the shit out of them. Priorities, people! ProPublica obtained Read more about DOJ Vows to Hunt Down Whoever Let the Public Know How Little Billionaires Pay in Taxes[…]

Crypto Miners Overrun Docker Hub’s Autobuild, so they have to close free version

Posted on by Robin Edgar

This week, Docker announced some changes to Docker Hub Autobuilds — the primary one of interest being that autobuilds would no longer be available to free tier users — and much of the internet let out a collective groan to the tune of “this is why we can’t have nice things!” *sigh* A story as Read more about Crypto Miners Overrun Docker Hub’s Autobuild, so they have to close free version[…]

Apple and Microsoft Say They Had No Idea Trump-Era DOJ Requested Data on Political Rivals

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Apple didn’t know the Department of Justice was requesting metadata of Democratic lawmakers when it complied with a subpoena during a Trump-era leak investigation, CNBC reports. And it wasn’t the only tech giant tapped in these probes: Microsoft confirmed Friday it received a similar subpoena for a congressional staffer’s personal email account. Both companies were under Read more about Apple and Microsoft Say They Had No Idea Trump-Era DOJ Requested Data on Political Rivals[…]

Facebook AI Can Now Copy Text Style in Images Using Just a Single Word

Posted on by Robin Edgar

We’re introducing TextStyleBrush, an AI research project that can copy the style of text in a photo using just a single word. With this AI model, you can edit and replace text in images. Unlike most AI systems that can do this for well-defined, specialized tasks, TextStyleBrush is the first self-supervised AI model that replaces Read more about Facebook AI Can Now Copy Text Style in Images Using Just a Single Word[…]

The Elephant Ethogram – Google Translate for Animals

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The Elephant Ethogram is a uniquely detailed catalogue, or library, of the behavior and communication of African savanna elephants (Loxodonta africana). It is based on decades of ElephantVoices behavioral studies, photographs, and audio and video recordings, the referenced research of other elephant biologists, as well as professional and amateur footage made available to ElephantVoices. You can read more Read more about The Elephant Ethogram – Google Translate for Animals[…]

Internal data + games source code from breach CD Projekt Cyberpunk 2077 circulating online

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Internal company data leaked during a February security breach is now being circulated on the internet, Polish video games maker CD Projekt (CDR.WA) said in a statement published on Thursday. The attack, which compromised some of its internal systems including the source code to its much-hyped game Cyberpunk 2077, dealt another blow to the Warsaw-based Read more about Internal data + games source code from breach CD Projekt Cyberpunk 2077 circulating online[…]

Volkswagen says a vendor’s security lapse exposed 3.3 million drivers’ details

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Volkswagen says more than 3.3 million customers had their information exposed after one of its vendors left a cache of customer data unsecured on the internet. The car maker said in a letter that the vendor, used by Volkswagen, its subsidiary Audi and authorized dealers in the U.S. and Canada, left the customer data spanning Read more about Volkswagen says a vendor’s security lapse exposed 3.3 million drivers’ details[…]