Month: April 2024

UK becomes first country to ban default bad passwords on IoT devices

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] On Monday, the United Kingdom became the first country in the world to ban default guessable usernames and passwords from these IoT devices. Unique passwords installed by default are still permitted. The Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022 (PSTI) introduces new minimum-security standards for manufacturers, and demands that these companies are open with Read more about UK becomes first country to ban default bad passwords on IoT devices[…]

Russia arrests in absentia former world chess champion Garry Kasparov on foreign agent and terrorist charges

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Russia has arrested Garry Kasparov and charged him in connection with foreign agent and terrorist charges – much to the former chess champion’s amusement. The city court in Syktyvkar, the largest city in Russia‘s northwestern Komi region, announced it had arrested the grandmaster in absentia alongside former Russian parliament member Gennady Gudkov, Ivan Tyutrin co-founder Read more about Russia arrests in absentia former world chess champion Garry Kasparov on foreign agent and terrorist charges[…]

Apple’s ‘incredibly private’ Safari not so private in Europe, allows

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Apple’s grudging accommodation of European antitrust rules by allowing third-party app stores on iPhones has left users of its Safari browser exposed to potential web activity tracking. Developers Talal Haj Bakry and Tommy Mysk looked into the way Apple implemented the installation process for third-party software marketplaces on iOS with Safari, and concluded Cupertino’s approach Read more about Apple’s ‘incredibly private’ Safari not so private in Europe, allows[…]

People Are Slowly Realizing Their Auto Insurance Rates Are Skyrocketing Because Their Car Is Covertly Spying On Them

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Last month the New York Times’ Kashmir Hill published a major story on how GM collects driver behavior data then sells access (through LexisNexis) to insurance companies, which will then jack up your rates. The absolute bare minimum you could could expect from the auto industry here is that they’re doing this in a way that’s clear to car Read more about People Are Slowly Realizing Their Auto Insurance Rates Are Skyrocketing Because Their Car Is Covertly Spying On Them[…]

Ring Spy Doorbell customers get measly $5.6 million in refunds in privacy settlement

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In a 2023 complaint, the FTC accused the doorbell camera and home security provider of allowing its employees and contractors to access customers’ private videos. Ring allegedly used such footage to train algorithms without consent, among other purposes. Ring was also charged with failing to implement key security protections, which enabled hackers to take control Read more about Ring Spy Doorbell customers get measly $5.6 million in refunds in privacy settlement[…]

China releases most detailed Moon atlas ever made

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has released the highest-resolution geological maps of the Moon yet. The Geologic Atlas of the Lunar Globe, which took more than 100 researchers over a decade to compile, reveals a total of 12,341 craters, 81 basins and 17 rock types, along with other basic geological information about the Read more about China releases most detailed Moon atlas ever made[…]

clean windows 11 start menu

Windows 11: how to clean up after – junkless install; stop links to Edge; start menu searches and ads

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Microsoft has gone long with Windows 11 now that Windows 10 support stops. You can’t install it without a Microsoft account and loads of tie-ins. All links open the privacy slurping Edge browser. The start menu is a sea of adverts. Thankfully you can get around all that. This App Stops Windows 11 From Opening Read more about Windows 11: how to clean up after – junkless install; stop links to Edge; start menu searches and ads[…]

‘ArcaneDoor’ Cyberspies Hacked Cisco Firewalls to Access Government Networks

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] Cisco is now revealing that its firewalls served as beachheads for sophisticated hackers penetrating multiple government networks around the world. On Wednesday, Cisco warned that its so-called Adaptive Security Appliances—devices that integrate a firewall and VPN with other security features—had been targeted by state-sponsored spies who exploited two zero-day vulnerabilities in the networking giant’s Read more about ‘ArcaneDoor’ Cyberspies Hacked Cisco Firewalls to Access Government Networks[…]

Ukrainian Fighter Jets “Using iPads” To Control Western Weapons

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The Ukrainian Air Force is using iPads, or similar tablets in the cockpits of its Soviet-era jets to enable rapid integration of modern Western air-to-ground weapons […] This has been confirmed by Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Dr. William LaPlante. While many questions remain about the tablet and how it exactly works, there’s Read more about Ukrainian Fighter Jets “Using iPads” To Control Western Weapons[…]

a spanner and screwdriver in the shape of a skull and crossbones flag

EU’s new right-to-repair rules force companies to repair out-of-warranty devices

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Devices sold in Europe already offer minimum two-year warranties, but the new rules impose additional requirements. If a device is repaired under warranty, the customer must be given a choice between a replacement or a repair. If they choose the latter, the warranty is to be extended by a year. Once it expires, companies are Read more about EU’s new right-to-repair rules force companies to repair out-of-warranty devices[…]

When You Need To Post A Lengthy Legal Disclaimer With Your Parody Song, You Know Copyright Is Broken

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In a world where copyright law has run amok, even creating a silly parody song now requires a massive legal disclaimer to avoid getting sued. That’s the absurd reality we live in, as highlighted by the brilliant musical parody project “There I Ruined It.” Musician Dustin Ballard creates hilarious videos, some of which reimagine popular Read more about When You Need To Post A Lengthy Legal Disclaimer With Your Parody Song, You Know Copyright Is Broken[…]

Europol asks tech firms, governments to unencrypt your private messages

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In a joint declaration of European police chiefs published over the weekend, Europol said it needs lawful access to private messages, and said tech companies need to be able to scan them (ostensibly impossible with E2EE implemented) to protect users. Without such access, cops fear they won’t be able to prevent “the most heinous of Read more about Europol asks tech firms, governments to unencrypt your private messages[…]

ChatGPT forecasts the future better when asked to tell stories from the future

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] In a paper titled, “ChatGPT Can Predict the Future When It Tells Stories Set in the Future About the Past,” Pham and Cunningham give away the final scene – that AI model prognostication can be effective in certain circumstances. Asking the chatbot for tales about future events rather than asking for direct predictions proved Read more about ChatGPT forecasts the future better when asked to tell stories from the future[…]

The Crescendo Multi-Turn LLM Jailbreak Attack

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In this paper, we introduce a novel jailbreak attack called Crescendo. Unlike existing jailbreak methods, Crescendo is a multi-turn jailbreak that interacts with the model in a seemingly benign manner. It begins with a general prompt or question about the task at hand and then gradually escalates the dialogue by referencing the model’s replies, progressively Read more about The Crescendo Multi-Turn LLM Jailbreak Attack[…]

World Check Database (quite probably filled with miscreants) was given to a 3rd party, taken from there and is now for sale online

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The World-Check database used by businesses to verify the trustworthiness of users has fallen into the hands of cybercriminals. The Register was contacted by a member of the GhostR group on Thursday, claiming responsibility for the theft. The authenticity of the claims was later verified by a spokesperson for the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), Read more about World Check Database (quite probably filled with miscreants) was given to a 3rd party, taken from there and is now for sale online[…]

Sony Shuts Down LittleBigPlanet 3 Servers, destroying Fan Creations – don’t trust the cloud

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Sony has indefinitely decommissioned the PlayStation 4 servers for puzzle platformer LittleBigPlanet 3, the company announced in an update to one of its support pages. The permanent shutdown comes just months after the servers were temporarily taken offline due to ongoing issues. Fans now fear potentially hundreds of thousands of player creations not saved locally Read more about Sony Shuts Down LittleBigPlanet 3 Servers, destroying Fan Creations – don’t trust the cloud[…]

AI Is Now Dogfighting With Fighter Pilots In The Air

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Last year, the uniquely modified F-16 test jet known as the X-62A, flying in a fully autonomous mode, took part in a first-of-its-kind dogfight against a crewed F-16, the U.S. military has announced. This breakthrough test flight, during which a pilot was in the X-62A’s cockpit as a failsafe, was the culmination of a series Read more about AI Is Now Dogfighting With Fighter Pilots In The Air[…]

EDPS warns of EU plans to spy on personal chat messages

Posted on by Robin Edgar

This week, during the presentation of the 2023 annual review ( pdf ) , the European privacy supervisor EDPS again warned about European plans to monitor chat messages from European citizens. According to the watchdog, this leads to ‘irreversible surveillance’. At the beginning of 2022, the European Commission came up with a proposal to inspect Read more about EDPS warns of EU plans to spy on personal chat messages[…]

CSS allows HTML emails to change their content after they have been forwarded

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] The email your manager received and forwarded to you was something completely innocent, such as a potential customer asking a few questions. All that email was supposed to achieve was being forwarded to you. However, the moment the email appeared in your inbox, it changed. The innocent pretext disappeared and the real phishing email Read more about CSS allows HTML emails to change their content after they have been forwarded[…]

We never agreed to only buy HP ink, say printer owners

Posted on by Robin Edgar

HP “sought to take advantage of customers’ sunk costs,” printer owners claimed this week in a class action lawsuit against the hardware giant. Lawyers representing the aggrieved were responding [PDF] in an Illinois court to an earlier HP Inc motion to dismiss a January lawsuit. Among other things, the plaintiffs’ filing stated that the printer Read more about We never agreed to only buy HP ink, say printer owners[…]

Ubisoft is deleting The Crew from players’ libraries, reminding us we own nothing

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Ubisoft’s online-only racing game The Crew stopped being operable on April 1. Some users are reporting, however, that things have gone a bit further. They say that the company actually reached into Ubisoft Connect accounts and revoked the license to access the game, according to reports by Game Rant and others. Some of these users Read more about Ubisoft is deleting The Crew from players’ libraries, reminding us we own nothing[…]

US Hospital Websites Almost All Give your Data to 3rd parties, but Many just don’t tell you about it

Posted on by Robin Edgar

 In this cross-sectional analysis of a nationally representative sample of 100 nonfederal acute care hospitals, 96.0% of hospital websites transmitted user information to third parties, whereas 71.0% of websites included a publicly accessible privacy policy. Of 71 privacy policies, 40 (56.3%) disclosed specific third-party companies receiving user information. […] Of 100 hospital websites, 96 […] Read more about US Hospital Websites Almost All Give your Data to 3rd parties, but Many just don’t tell you about it[…]

How private equity has used copyright to cannibalise the past at the expense of the future

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Walled Culture has been warning about the financialisation and securitisation of music for two years now. Those obscure but important developments mean that the owners of copyrights are increasingly detached from the creative production process. They regard music as just another asset, like gold, petroleum or property, to be exploited to the maximum. A Guest Read more about How private equity has used copyright to cannibalise the past at the expense of the future[…]

Intel CPUs still vulnerable to Spectre attack

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] We’re told mitigations put in place at the software and silicon level by the x86 giant to thwart Spectre-style exploitation of its processors’ speculative execution can be bypassed, allowing malware or rogue users on a vulnerable machine to steal sensitive information – such as passwords and keys – out of kernel memory and other Read more about Intel CPUs still vulnerable to Spectre attack[…]