Author: Robin Edgar

Organisational Structures | Technology and Science | Military, IT and Lifestyle consultancy | Social, Broadcast & Cross Media | Flying aircraft

CNAME DNS-based tracking defies your browser privacy defenses

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Boffins based in Belgium have found that a DNS-based technique for bypassing defenses against online tracking has become increasingly common and represents a growing threat to both privacy and security. In a research paper to be presented in July at the 21st Privacy Enhancing Technologies Symposium (PETS 2021), KU Leuven-affiliated researchers Yana Dimova, Gunes Acar, Read more about CNAME DNS-based tracking defies your browser privacy defenses[…]

WhatsApp: Users Who Don’t Accept Privacy Terms Can’t Read or send Texts

Posted on by Robin Edgar

After causing a huge virtual meltdown with the announcement of its new privacy policy, and then postponing the implementation of said policy due to online fury, WhatsApp has spent the last few weeks trying not to stir up trouble. However, it has just revealed what will happen to users who do not accept its new Read more about WhatsApp: Users Who Don’t Accept Privacy Terms Can’t Read or send Texts[…]

Why You Should Switch From LastPass to Bitward’s Password Manager

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Whether you’re looking to make a change in your password management just because, or you’re a LastPass user annoyed with the service’s recent changes to its free tier, switching to the much-loved (and free) Bitwarden service is a good choice. Bitwarden is now the best free password manager for most people—since it works across all Read more about Why You Should Switch From LastPass to Bitward’s Password Manager[…]

Aussie shakedown: Facebook ‘Endangered Public Safety’ by Blocking News During Pandemic According to Australia- after forcing FB to pay for news on the site

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Facebook has endangered public safety by blocking news on the platform in Australia during the covid-19 pandemic, according to Australia’s Treasurer Josh Frydenberg a high-ranking official in the country’s ruling Liberal Party. Frydenberg appeared on the local TV program “Today,” on Friday morning, Australia time, and insisted the government was not going to tolerate Facebook’s Read more about Aussie shakedown: Facebook ‘Endangered Public Safety’ by Blocking News During Pandemic According to Australia- after forcing FB to pay for news on the site[…]

Australia facepalms as Facebook blocks bookstores, sport, health services instead of just news

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Facebook is being flayed in Australia after its ban on sharing of links to news publications caught plenty of websites that have nothing to do with news. The Social Network™ announced its ban with a blog post and the sudden erasure of all posts on certain Facebook pages. Links to news outlets big and small Read more about Australia facepalms as Facebook blocks bookstores, sport, health services instead of just news[…]

Uber Drivers Entitled to Paid Vacation and Minimum Wage According to UK Supreme Court

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Uber drivers in the UK should be classified as workers and entitled to both paid vacation time and the minimum wage, according to a ruling Friday by Britain’s Supreme Court. But Uber’s London office is already disputing the scope and relevance of the ruling for its British drivers, insisting that its own rules have changed Read more about Uber Drivers Entitled to Paid Vacation and Minimum Wage According to UK Supreme Court[…]

The Apparent Hackers Behind Kia’s Ransomware Attack Are Demanding Millions in Bitcoin

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Kia seems to be in quite a predicament. As we reported earlier today, the automaker’s online services appear to have been severed from the outside world, with customers unable to start their cars remotely via Kia’s apps or even log into the company’s financing website to pay their bills. All signs pointed to a potential Read more about The Apparent Hackers Behind Kia’s Ransomware Attack Are Demanding Millions in Bitcoin[…]

Citibank accidentally wired $500m back to lenders in user-interface super-gaffe – and judge says it can’t be undone

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A judge has ruled that Citibank can’t claw back more than $500m (£360m) it mistakenly paid out after outsourced staff and a senior manager made a nearly billion-dollar (£700m) user-interface blunder.The error occurred on August 11 last year, when Citibank was supposed to wire $7.8m (£5.6m) in interest payments to lenders who are propping up Read more about Citibank accidentally wired $500m back to lenders in user-interface super-gaffe – and judge says it can’t be undone[…]

‘Spy pixels in emails have become endemic’

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The use of “invisible” tracking tech in emails is now “endemic”, according to a messaging service that analysed its traffic at the BBC’s request.Hey’s review indicated that two-thirds of emails sent to its users’ personal accounts contained a “spy pixel”, even after excluding for spam.Its makers said that many of the largest brands used email Read more about ‘Spy pixels in emails have become endemic’[…]

‘Roaring Kitty’ GameStop investor hit with lawsuit by American idiot

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Keith Gill, known as ‘Roaring Kitty’ on YouTube, allegedly duped retail investors into buying inflated stocks while hiding his sophisticated financial background.Mr Gill has downplayed his impact and rebutted claims he violated any laws.Separately, he will testify on Thursday to Congress about the “Reddit rally”.”The idea that I used social media to promote GameStop stock Read more about ‘Roaring Kitty’ GameStop investor hit with lawsuit by American idiot[…]

France has been suffering A Very ‘Solar Winds’-Like Cyberattack since 2017

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As the U.S. continues to chart the damage from the sweeping “SolarWinds” hack, France has announced that it too has suffered a large supply chain cyberattack. The news comes via a recently released technical report published by the Agence Nationale de la sécurité des systèmes d’information—or simply ANSSI—the French government’s chief cybersecurity agency. Like the Read more about France has been suffering A Very ‘Solar Winds’-Like Cyberattack since 2017[…]

Apple new M1 chip specific Malware Has Arrived

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Now that Apple has officially begun the transition to Apple Silicon, so has malware. Security researcher Patrick Wardle published a blog detailing that he’d found a malicious program dubbed GoSearch22, a Safari browser extension that’s been reworked for Apple’s M1 processor. (The extension is a variant of the Pirrit adware family, which is notorious on Read more about Apple new M1 chip specific Malware Has Arrived[…]

FortressIQ just comes out and says it: To really understand business processes, feed your staff’s screen activity to an AI

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In a sign that interest in process mining is heating up, vendor FortressIQ is launching an analytics platform with a novel approach to understanding how users really work – it “videos” their on-screen activity for later analysis. According to the San Francisco-based biz, its Process Intelligence platform will allow organisations to be better prepared for Read more about FortressIQ just comes out and says it: To really understand business processes, feed your staff’s screen activity to an AI[…]

Kia’s Network Is Down, Finance Sites to Owner Apps, Nobody Will Say Why – yay connected cars

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Like it or not, connected cars have become a staple of every day life for millions of Americans. The ability to interact with our cars from afar past the key fob has become something we expect to work, but that all relies on the underpinnings of critical IT infrastructure. And when something isn’t working as Read more about Kia’s Network Is Down, Finance Sites to Owner Apps, Nobody Will Say Why – yay connected cars[…]

Astrophysicists re-imagine world map, designing a less distorted, ‘radically different’ way to see the world

Posted on by Robin Edgar

How do you flatten a sphere? For centuries, mapmakers have agonized over how to accurately display our round planet on anything other than a globe. Now, a fundamental re-imagining of how maps can work has resulted in the most accurate flat map ever made, from a trio of map experts: J. Richard Gott, an emeritus Read more about Astrophysicists re-imagine world map, designing a less distorted, ‘radically different’ way to see the world[…]

Supermicro hardware Hack: Yep did happen. How China Exploited a U.S. Tech Supplier Over Years

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In 2010, the U.S. Department of Defense found thousands of its computer servers sending military network data to China—the result of code hidden in chips that handled the machines’ startup process. In 2014, Intel Corp. discovered that an elite Chinese hacking group breached its network through a single server that downloaded malware from a supplier’s Read more about Supermicro hardware Hack: Yep did happen. How China Exploited a U.S. Tech Supplier Over Years[…]

Brazil’s Health Ministry’s Website Data Leak Exposed 243 Million Medical Records for More Than 6 Months

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Personal information of more than 243 million Brazilians was exposed for more than six months thanks to weakly encoded credentials stored in the source code of the Brazilian Ministry of Health’s website. The data leak exposed both living and deceased Brazilians’ medical records to possible unauthorized access. The incident was the second reported by Brazilian Read more about Brazil’s Health Ministry’s Website Data Leak Exposed 243 Million Medical Records for More Than 6 Months[…]

Cell Phone Location Privacy could be done easily

Posted on by Robin Edgar

We all know that our cell phones constantly give our location away to our mobile network operators; that’s how they work. A group of researchers has figured out a way to fix that. “Pretty Good Phone Privacy” (PGPP) protects both user identity and user location using the existing cellular networks. It protects users from fake Read more about Cell Phone Location Privacy could be done easily[…]

Swarm Announces Commercial Availability of Industry’s Lowest-Cost Global Satellite Data Service

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Swarm, developer of the world’s lowest-cost live satellite communications network, today announced that the Swarm network is now commercially live and available for customers to begin using. Swarm is the first low-cost satellite provider to offer commercial services to every point in the world, and companies in markets ranging from agriculture, to logistics to maritime Read more about Swarm Announces Commercial Availability of Industry’s Lowest-Cost Global Satellite Data Service[…]

China issues new anti-monopoly rules targeting its tech giants

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The new rules formalise an earlier anti-monopoly draft law released in November and clarify a series of monopolistic practices that regulators plan to crack down on. The guidelines are expected to put new pressure on the country’s leading internet services, including e-commerce sites such as Alibaba Group’s Taobao and Tmall marketplaces or JD.com. They will Read more about China issues new anti-monopoly rules targeting its tech giants[…]

China to launch public platform to track, crack down on polluters

Posted on by Robin Edgar

China will set up a new information platform to allow the public to track the emissions of polluting enterprises and help authorities prosecute those that break the rules or try to “evade supervision”, the environment ministry said. A total of 2.36 million companies, industrial facilities and institutions in China are legally obliged to obtain permits Read more about China to launch public platform to track, crack down on polluters[…]

I checked Apple’s new privacy ‘nutrition labels.’ Many were false.

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] Apple only lets you access iPhone apps through its own App Store, which it says keeps everything safe. It appeared to bolster that idea when it announced in 2020 that it would ask app makers to fill out what are essentially privacy nutrition labels. Just like packaged food has to disclose how much sugar Read more about I checked Apple’s new privacy ‘nutrition labels.’ Many were false.[…]

A Bug in Lenovo System Update Service is Driving Up CPU Usage and Prompting Fan Noise in Laptops and Desktops, Customers Say

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Since late January, most users running a pre-installed Lenovo image of Windows 10 has been bitten by a bug in Lenovo’s System Update Service (SUService.exe) causing it to constantly occupy a CPU thread. This was noticed by many ThinkPad and IdeaPad users as an unexpected increase in fan noise, but many desktop users might not Read more about A Bug in Lenovo System Update Service is Driving Up CPU Usage and Prompting Fan Noise in Laptops and Desktops, Customers Say[…]