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

Body Illusion Helps Unlock Memories

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A new study suggests that briefly changing the way people see their own bodies can make it easier to recall autobiographical memories, including some from early childhood.

Published in Scientific Reports, part of the Nature journal group, the research is the first to show that adults can access early memories more effectively after temporarily viewing themselves with a childlike version of their own face.

How the “Enfacement Illusion” Reconnects Mind and Body

Neuroscientists at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) in Cambridge led the study, which involved 50 adult volunteers. The experiment used what is known as an “enfacement illusion,” a technique that helps people feel as though another face they see on a screen is actually their own reflection.

Each participant watched a live video of their own face that was digitally modified with an image filter to resemble how they might have looked as a child. As participants moved their heads, the on-screen image mirrored their movements, creating the sensation that the childlike face was truly theirs. A control group experienced the same setup but viewed their unaltered adult faces.

After completing the illusion, participants were asked to take part in an autobiographical memory interview designed to prompt recollections from both their early life and the previous year.

A Clear Boost in Childhood Memory Recall

Researchers measured how much detail participants included when describing their episodic autobiographical memories. These are the kinds of memories that allow a person to mentally relive past experiences and “travel back in time” within their own mind.

The findings revealed that people who saw the younger version of themselves remembered significantly more detailed events from childhood than those who saw their regular adult face. The results provide the first evidence that subtle changes in bodily self-perception can influence how deeply we access distant memories.

[…]

“All the events that we remember are not just experiences of the external world, but are also experiences of our body, which is always present.

“We discovered that temporary changes to the bodily self, specifically, embodying a childlike version of one’s own face, can significantly enhance access to childhood memories. This might be because the brain encodes bodily information as part of the details of an event. Reintroducing similar bodily cues may help us retrieve those memories, even decades later.”

Reimagining the Self to Revisit the Past

Senior author Professor Jane Aspell, head of the Self & Body Lab at Anglia Ruskin University, added: “When our childhood memories were formed, we had a different body. So we wondered: if we could help people experience aspects of that body again, could we help them recall their memories from that time?

“Our findings suggest that the bodily self and autobiographical memory are linked, as temporary changes to bodily experience can facilitate access to remote autobiographical memories.

[…]

Journal Reference:

  1. Utkarsh Gupta, Peter Bright, Alex Clarke, Waheeb Zafar, Pilar Recarte-Perez, Jane E. Aspell. Illusory ownership of one’s younger face facilitates access to childhood episodic autobiographical memories. Scientific Reports, 2025; 15 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-17963-6

Source: Scientists find mind trick that unlocks lost memories | ScienceDaily

Cavities could be prevented by a gel that restores tooth enamel

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[…] developed a gel containing a modified version of a protein that they manipulated to act like amelogenin, a protein that helps guide the growth of our enamel when we are infants.

Experiments that involved pasting the gel onto human teeth under a microscope in solutions containing calcium and phosphate – the primary building blocks of enamel – show that it creates a thin and robust layer that stays on teeth for a few weeks, even during brushing.

The gel fills holes and cracks, creating a scaffold that uses the calcium and phosphate to promote the organised growth of new crystals in the enamel below the gel layer, even when so much was gone that the underlying dentine below was exposed.

“The gel was able to grow crystals epitaxially, which means it’s in the same crystallographic orientation as existing enamel,” says Mata.

That orientation means that the new growth – which reached up to 10 micrometres thick – is integrated into the underlying natural tissue, rebuilding the structure and properties of enamel. “The growth actually happens within a week,” says Mata. The process also worked when using donated saliva, which also naturally contains calcium and phosphate, rather than just in the solution the team used that comprised these chemicals.

 

Electron microscopy images of a tooth with demineralised enamel showing eroded crystals (left) and a similar demineralised tooth after a 2-week gel treatment showing epitaxially regenerated enamel crystals (right)

Electron microscopy images of a tooth with demineralised enamel showing eroded crystals (left) and a similar demineralised tooth after two weeks of treatment with the gel, showing epitaxially regenerated enamel crystals (right)

Professor Alvaro Mata, University of Nottingham

 

A similar approach was reported in 2019, but that produced thinner coatings, and the recovery of the architecture of inner layers of enamel was only partial.

Clinical trials in people are set for early next year. Mata has also launched a company called Mintech-Bio and hopes to have a first product out towards the end of 2026, which he sees dentists using.

 

Journal reference:

Nature Communications DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-64982-y

Source: Cavities could be prevented by a gel that restores tooth enamel | New Scientist

Ukraine First To Demo Open Source Security Platform To Help Secure Power Grid

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[A massive power outage in April left tens of millions across Spain, Portugal, and parts of France without electricity for hours due to cascading grid failures, exposing how fragile and interconnected Europe’s energy infrastructure is. The incident, though not a cyberattack, reignited concerns about the vulnerability of aging, fragmented, and insecure operational technology systems that could be easily exploited in future cyber or ransomware attacks.] This headache is one the European Commission is focused on. It is funding several projects looking at making electric grids more resilient, such as the eFort framework being developed by cybersecurity researchers at the independent non-profit Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) and the Delft University of Technology (TU Delft).

TNO’s SOARCA tool is the first ever open source security orchestration, automation and response (SOAR) platform designed to protect power plants by automating the orchestration of the response to physical attacks, as well as cyberattacks, on substations and the network, and the first country to demo it will be the Ukraine this year. At the moment, SOAR systems only exist for dedicated IT environments. The researchers’ design includes a SOAR system in each layer of the power station: the substation, the control room, the enterprise layer, the cloud, or the security operations centre (SOC), so that the SOC and the control room work together to detect anomalies in the network, whether it’s an attacker exploiting a vulnerability, a malicious device being plugged into a substation, or a physical attack like a missile hitting a substation. The idea is to be able to isolate potential problems and prevent lateral movement from one device to another or privilege escalation, so an attacker cannot go through the network to the central IT management system of the electricity grid. […]

The SOARCA tool is underpinned by CACAO Playbooks, an open source specification developed by the OASIS Open standards body and its members (which include lots of tech giants and US government agencies) to create standardized predefined, automated workflows that can detect intrusions and changes made by malicious actors, and then carry out a series of steps to protect the network and mitigate the attack. Experts largely agree the problem facing critical infrastructure is only worsening as years pass, and the more random Windows implementations that are added into the network, the wider the attack surface is. […] TNO’s Wolthuis said the energy industry is likely to be pushed soon to take action by regulators, particularly once the Network Code on Cybersecurity (NCCS), which lays out rules requiring cybersecurity risk assessments in the electricity sector, is formalized.

Source: Ukraine First To Demo Open Source Security Platform To Help Secure Power Grid

Music festivals to collect data with RFID wristbands. Also, randomly, fascinating information about data Flitsmeister collects.

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This summer, Dutch music festivals will use RFID wristbands to collect visitor data. The technology has been around for a while, but the innovation lies in its application. The wristbands are anonymous by default, but users can activate them to participate in loyalty programs or unlock on-site experiences.Visitor privacy is paramount; overly invasive tracking is avoided.

This is according to Michael Guntenaar, Managing Director at Superstruct Digital Services, in the Emerce TV video ‘Data is the new headliner at dance festivals’. Superstruct is a network of approximately 80 large festivals (focused on experience and brand identity) spread across Europe and Australia. ID&T, known for events such as Sensation, Mysteryland, and Defqon.1, joined Superstruct in September 2021. Tula Daans, Data Analyst Brand Partnerships at ID&T, also joined on behalf of ID&T.

Festivals use various data sources, primarily ticket data (age, location, gender/gender identity), but also marketing data (social media), consumption data (food and drinks), and post-event surveys.

For brand partnerships, surveys are sent to visitors after the event to gauge whether they saw brands, what they thought of them, and thus gain insight into brand perception. Deliberately, no detailed feedback is requested during the festival to avoid disturbing the visitor experience, says Guntenaar.

The Netherlands is a global leader in data collection. Defqon.1 is mentioned as a breeding ground for experiments with data and technology, due to its technically advanced team and highly engaged target group.

[…]

In a second video, ‘Real-time mobility info in a complex data landscape’, Jorn de Vries, managing director at Flitsmeister, talks about mobility data and the challenges and opportunities within this market. The market for mobility data, which ranges from traffic flows to speed camera notifications, is busy with players like Garmin, Google, Waze, and TomTom.

Nevertheless, Flitsmeister still sees room for growth, because mobility is timeless and brings challenges, such as the desire to get from A to B quickly, efficiently, green, and cheaply. Innovation is essential to maintain a place in this market, says De Vries.

Flitsmeister has a large online community of almost 3 million monthly active users. This community has grown significantly over the years, even after introducing paid propositions. What distinguishes Flitsmeister from global players such as Google and Waze, according to De Vries, is their local embeddedness, with marketing and content that aligns with the language and use cases of users in the Benelux. They also collaborate with governments through partnerships, allowing them to offer specific local services, such as warnings for emergency services. Technically, competitors might be able to do this, says De Vries, but it probably isn’t a high priority because it’s local; Flitsmeister, however, believes that you have to dare to go all the way to properly serve a market, even if this requires investments that are only relevant for the Netherlands. Another example of local embeddedness is their presence on almost every radio station.

The Flitsmeister app now consists of eight main uses. In addition to the well-known speed cameras and track control, it includes warnings for emergency services (ambulance, fire brigade, Rijkswaterstaat vehicles) who are informed early when such a vehicle approaches with blue lights. The app also provides traffic jam information and warnings for incidents, stationary vehicles, and roadworks. Flitsmeister tries to give warnings for the start of traffic jams earlier than the flashing signs above the road, because they are not bound by the gantries where these signs are located.

Navigation is an added feature. In addition, there is paid parking at the end of the journey. Flitsmeister also has links with so-called smart traffic lights, where they receive data about the status of the light and share data with the intersection to optimize it. This can, for example, lead to a green light if you approach an intersection at night and there is no other traffic. More than 1500 smart intersections in the Netherlands are already equipped. Flitsmeister also receives data from matrix signs, including red crosses, arrows, and adjusted maximum speeds.

Privacy is a crucial topic when bringing consumers and data together. Flitsmeister has seen privacy from the start as a Unique Selling Point (USP) if handled correctly. Especially in countries like Germany, this is more active than in the Benelux, and privacy-friendly companies have a plus in the eyes of the consumer. Large players such as Google and Waze have the same legal playing field as Flitsmeister, but differ in what they want, can, and do.

Flitsmeister does collect live GPS data that provides a lot of insight into traffic movements. They are working with Rijkswaterstaat and their parent company Bmobile on pilots, including on the A9, where they combine loop data in the asphalt with their real-time data. This provides a more accurate and cost-efficient picture than road loops alone, which are expensive to maintain and measure limitedly. This combination allows them to provide relevant information, even between the road loops, leading to more accurate and cost-efficient traffic information.

Flitsmeister also works with data that detects real-time situations and provides early advice. They are doing pilots with ‘trigger based rerouting’, where users are proactively rerouted if a reported incident on their route is likely to affect their travel time, even if the travel time has not yet changed at that moment. The challenge here is that people must be receptive to this and understand the rationale behind the rerouting.

Although there is a lot of talk about connected vehicle data, Flitsmeister’s focus is more on strengthening the relationship with the driver than with the vehicle itself. Jorn de Vries believes that the driver will ultimately lead, as the need for mobility comes from the individual and the vehicle facilitates this.

The video Data is the new headliner at dance festivals can be watched for free. The collection Customer data: trends, innovation and future will be supplemented in the coming months and can be viewed for free after registration.

Source: Kagi Translate |(Emerce TV): music festivals want to collect data with RFID wristbands

Symbolic Strength More Important Than Facts When It Comes To Misinformation

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Why do some people endorse claims that can easily be disproved? It’s one thing to believe false information, but another to actively stick with something that’s obviously wrong.

Our new research, published in the Journal of Social Psychology, suggests that some people consider it a “win” to lean in to known falsehoods.

We are social psychologists who study political psychology and how people reason about reality. During the pandemic, we surveyed 5,535 people across eight countries to investigate why people believed COVID-19 misinformation, like false claims that 5G networks cause the virus.

The strongest predictor of whether someone believed in COVID-19-related misinformation and risks related to the vaccine was whether they viewed COVID-19 prevention efforts in terms of symbolic strength and weakness. In other words, this group focused on whether an action would make them appear to fend off or “give in” to untoward influence.

This factor outweighed how people felt about COVID-19 in general, their thinking style and even their political beliefs.

Our survey measured it on a scale of how much people agreed with sentences including “Following coronavirus prevention guidelines means you have backed down” and “Continuous coronavirus coverage in the media is a sign we are losing.” Our interpretation is that people who responded positively to these statements would feel they “win” by endorsing misinformation – doing so can show “the enemy” that it will not gain any ground over people’s views.

When meaning is symbolic, not factual

Rather than consider issues in light of actual facts, we suggest people with this mindset prioritize being independent from outside influence. It means you can justify espousing pretty much anything – the easier a statement is to disprove, the more of a power move it is to say it, as it symbolizes how far you’re willing to go.

When people think symbolically this way, the literal issue – here, fighting COVID-19 – is secondary to a psychological war over people’s minds. In the minds of those who think they’re engaged in them, psychological wars are waged over opinions and attitudes, and are won via control of belief and messaging. The U.S. government at various times has used the concept of psychological war to try to limit the influence of foreign powers, pushing people to think that literal battles are less important than psychological independence.

By that same token, vaccination, masking or other COVID-19 prevention efforts could be seen as a symbolic risk that could “weaken” one psychologically even if they provide literal physical benefits. If this seems like an extreme stance, it is – the majority of participants in our studies did not hold this mindset. But those who did were especially likely to also believe in misinformation.

In an additional study we ran that focused on attitudes around cryptocurrency, we measured whether people saw crypto investment in terms of signaling independence from traditional finance. These participants, who, like those in our COVID-19 study, prioritized a symbolic show of strength, were more likely to believe in other kinds of misinformation and conspiracies, too, such as that the government is concealing evidence of alien contact.

In all of our studies, this mindset was also strongly associated with authoritarian attitudes, including beliefs that some groups should dominate others and support for autocratic government. These links help explain why strongman leaders often use misinformation symbolically to impress and control a population.

Why people endorse misinformation

Our findings highlight the limits of countering misinformation directly, because for some people, literal truth is not the point.

For example, President Donald Trump incorrectly claimed in August 2025 that crime in Washington D.C. was at an all-time high, generating countless fact-checks of his premise and think pieces about his dissociation from reality.

But we believe that to someone with a symbolic mindset, debunkers merely demonstrate that they’re the ones reacting, and are therefore weak. The correct information is easily available, but is irrelevant to someone who prioritizes a symbolic show of strength. What matters is signaling one isn’t listening and won’t be swayed.

In fact, for symbolic thinkers, nearly any statement should be justifiable. The more outlandish or easily disproved something is, the more powerful one might seem when standing by it. Being an edgelord – a contrarian online provocateur – or outright lying can, in their own odd way, appear “authentic.”

Some people may also view their favorite dissembler’s claims as provocative trolling, but, given the link between this mindset and authoritarianism, they want those far-fetched claims acted on anyway. The deployment of National Guard troops to Washington, for example, can be the desired end goal, even if the offered justification is a transparent farce.

Is this really 5-D chess?

It is possible that symbolic, but not exactly true, beliefs have some downstream benefit, such as serving as negotiation tactics, loyalty tests, or a fake-it-till-you-make-it long game that somehow, eventually, becomes a reality. Political theorist Murray Edelman, known for his work on political symbolism, noted that politicians often prefer scoring symbolic points over delivering results – it’s easier. Leaders can offer symbolism when they have little tangible to provide.

Randy Stein is Associate Professor of Marketing, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona and Abraham Rutchick is Professor of Psychology, California State University, Northridge. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Source: Symbolic Strength More Important Than Facts When It Comes To Misinformation | Techdirt

Linux finally cracks 3% on Steam – 50% more users in 1 year. Maybe people are getting really really pissed at Microsoft.

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In isolation, the numbers aren’t all that impressive. Linux usage is at 3.05 percent, up 0.37 percentage points from last month. However, it’s a significant uptick compared to the October 2024 results, which showed Linux usage at exactly two percent, up a mere 0.13 percentage points. It’s also up about 0.4 percentage points from the August survey numbers.

Yes, only a bit over one percentage point in a year – but compared to the total user numbers, that’s roughly a 50 percent jump. Adding half again to your market share in a year isn’t bad going. Keep this up and soon, you’re talking real mon— oh, wait, free software. Never mind.

Coupled with this is another bit of analysis of the Steam-on-Linux market from Linux gaming site Boiling Steam, which reported that by the end of October 2025, Windows games’ compatibility on Linux is at an all-time high. It buries the lede a little, but it gets there eventually:

the amount of games that refuse to launch is … getting very close to just 10%. This means that close to 90% of Windows games manage to launch on Linux.

Now, to be fair, just because a game launches doesn’t mean it runs well enough to play – it might start but still be unplayable for all sorts of reasons: being unusably slow, suffering from stutter or lag, showing graphics corruption, or constantly crashing. We’ve also read that some multiplayer games use anti-cheat measures that run at a low level and talk directly to the Windows OS – something emulation probably can’t fix in the foreseeable future. Even so, though, being able to run is a good start. It can be the point where a vendor starts troubleshooting what’s wrong, as opposed to telling customers something simply isn’t compatible.

This can’t simply be attributed to the Steam Deck. The Register reported on that way back in 2021, so it’s no longer new and shiny. There is other, newer SteamOS gadgetry, though. In January, Lenovo announced the first handheld officially licensed to ship with Valve’s SteamOS, the Lenovo Legion Go S. However, that officially went on sale back in May, so it’s a little too early to judge its impact.

It’s almost as if something happened earlier in October to make loads of people try out Linux. What an enduring mystery for the ages

Source: Linux finally cracks 3% on Steam • The Register

Or maybe something to do with: No account? No Windows 11 for you, says Microsoft

Manufacturer Remotely Bricks Smart Vacuum After Its Owner Blocked It From Collecting Data

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“An engineer got curious about how his iLife A11 smart vacuum worked and monitored the network traffic coming from the device,” writes Tom’s Hardware.

“That’s when he noticed it was constantly sending logs and telemetry data to the manufacturer — something he hadn’t consented to.” The user, Harishankar, decided to block the telemetry servers’ IP addresses on his network, while keeping the firmware and OTA servers open. While his smart gadget worked for a while, it just refused to turn on soon after… He sent it to the service center multiple times, wherein the technicians would turn it on and see nothing wrong with the vacuum. When they returned it to him, it would work for a few days and then fail to boot again… [H]e decided to disassemble the thing to determine what killed it and to see if he could get it working again…

[He discovered] a GD32F103 microcontroller to manage its plethora of sensors, including Lidar, gyroscopes, and encoders. He created PCB connectors and wrote Python scripts to control them with a computer, presumably to test each piece individually and identify what went wrong. From there, he built a Raspberry Pi joystick to manually drive the vacuum, proving that there was nothing wrong with the hardware. From this, he looked at its software and operating system, and that’s where he discovered the dark truth: his smart vacuum was a security nightmare and a black hole for his personal data.

First of all, it’s Android Debug Bridge, which gives him full root access to the vacuum, wasn’t protected by any kind of password or encryption. The manufacturer added a makeshift security protocol by omitting a crucial file, which caused it to disconnect soon after booting, but Harishankar easily bypassed it. He then discovered that it used Google Cartographer to build a live 3D map of his home. This isn’t unusual, by far. After all, it’s a smart vacuum, and it needs that data to navigate around his home. However, the concerning thing is that it was sending off all this data to the manufacturer’s server. It makes sense for the device to send this data to the manufacturer, as its onboard SoC is nowhere near powerful enough to process all that data. However, it seems that iLife did not clear this with its customers.

Furthermore, the engineer made one disturbing discovery — deep in the logs of his non-functioning smart vacuum, he found a command with a timestamp that matched exactly the time the gadget stopped working. This was clearly a kill command, and after he reversed it and rebooted the appliance, it roared back to life.

Source: Manufacturer Remotely Bricks Smart Vacuum After Its Owner Blocked It From Collecting Data

Innovative paint cools homes and harvests fresh water from air

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Researchers at the University of Sydney and commercial start-up Dewpoint Innovations have created a nano-engineered polymer coating that not only reflects up to 97% of the sun’s rays, but also passively collects water. In tests, it was able to keep indoors up to 6 °C (~11 °F) cooler than the air outside.

That temperature differential results in water vapor condensing on the surface – like the fogging on a cold mirror – producing a steady trickle of droplets.

In trials on the roof of the Sydney Nanoscience Hub, the coating captured dew more than 30% of the year, generating as much as 390 mL of water per square meter (roughly 13 fluid ounces per 10.8 square feet) daily. This might not sound like a lot, but a 12-sq-m (about 129-sq-ft) section of treated roof could produce around 4.7 L (around 1.25 US gallons) of water per day under optimal conditions.

Most houses have a lot more roof than that. “Over an average residential roof,” reads the Dewpoint website, “you can expect enough water per day to cover your basic water needs.” That’s in addition, mind you, to the rainwater you’d be collecting as well, since you do need to have a typical rainwater collection system installed to capture the dew. In Sydney for example, assuming an average annual rainfall around 1 m (3.3 ft), The Tank Factory tells us we could expect to collect somewhere around 6 times more rainwater than condensation – but that equation would certainly look very different in drier areas.

[…]

The team has recently finished up a six-month outdoor trial, with panels featuring the polymer paint-like coating set up on the roof of the Sydney Nanoscience Hub building. During this period, minute-by-minute data was collected on the coating’s cooling and water collection abilities, and found that dew could be collected over 32% of the year, suggesting water could be harvested from the air during periods without rain. What’s more, the coating withstood the challenging test of the harsh Australian sun, and showed no signs of degradation over the six months.

Painted tiles being tested on the roof of the Sydney Nanoscience Hub
Painted tiles being tested on the roof of the Sydney Nanoscience Hub
University of Sydney

Most commercial white paints – especially those designed for exterior walls and roofs – use titanium dioxide as the primary pigment, which reflects UV light. However, while this novel coating may look like white paint on the surface, it gets its sun-shielding power through structure. The porous coating is made of polyvinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropene (PVDF-HFP), so reflects the sun through microscopic pores. Those tiny air pockets scatter sunlight in all directions without glare and without the need of UV-absorbing chemicals that can degrade over time. The result is a self-cooling, weather-resistant film that was able to sustain its high performance throughout the lengthy testing phase.

[…]

Source: Innovative paint cools homes and harvests fresh water from air

Epic Games Goes down ahead of Fortnite Simpsons season, takes down all login services too

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After a 5 hour scheduled downtime on just Fortnite for the launch of the Simpson collaboration on the 1st of November, the whole ecosystem went crashing down. Without login services, many of the games just cannot be played. This together with the IBM, Azure, AWS and Cloudflare crashes shows just how vulnerable you are when you are dependent on megalithic giants…
Nov 2, 2025
Various Fortnite Functionality Issues
Resolved – This incident has been resolved.
Nov 2, 03:20 UTC
Update – We are continuing to investigate this issue.
Nov 1, 21:08 UTC
Investigating – We’re investigating reports of players loading into matches without equipped Outfits, as well as other functionality issues like Locker loadouts, Party invites, and Friends Lists not working correctly.
We’re working to fix this ASAP and will let you know when we have.
Nov 1, 21:07 UTC
Fortnite Login Issues
Resolved – This incident has been resolved.
Nov 2, 03:20 UTC
Investigating – We’re investigating Fortnite login issues on all platforms. We’ll follow up here with an update once the issue is resolved.
Nov 1, 20:45 UTC
Fall Guys Login Issues
Resolved – This incident has been resolved.
Nov 2, 03:20 UTC
Investigating – We’re investigating Fall Guys login issues on all platforms.

We’ll follow up here with an update once the issue is resolved.
Nov 1, 21:35 UTC

Epic Games Store Login Issues
Resolved – This incident has been resolved.
Nov 2, 03:19 UTC
Investigating – We are currently investigating this issue.
Nov 1, 22:02 UTC
Rocket League Login Issues
Resolved – This incident has been resolved.
Nov 2, 03:19 UTC
Investigating – We’re investigating Rocket League login issues on all platforms.

We’ll follow up here with an update once the issue is resolved.
Nov 1, 21:27 UTC

Nov 1, 2025
Fortnite: Downtime for v38.00 Update
Completed – The scheduled maintenance has been completed.
Nov 1, 20:43 UTC
In progress – Scheduled maintenance is currently in progress. We will provide updates as necessary.
Nov 1, 15:30 UTC
Scheduled – ⏰ Following the Welcome, Our Alien Overlords live event in Fortnite (Saturday, November 1st at 11 AM ET), Fortnite will go into downtime at 11:30 AM ET (3:30 PM UTC). The v38.00 update and the new Fortnite Season will release later the same day.
Oct 31, 15:07 UTC

Source: Epic Games Public Status

Porsche Files Patent App for Tunnel Mode, and It Sounds Like the Best Car Gimmick Yet

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[…] The feature is exactly what it sounds like: It detects when you’re about to enter a tunnel, rolls down the windows, and downshifts while opening up the valves on the active exhaust. The whole idea is to let that heavenly flat-six sing as loud as it can while you and your passengers experience sore cheeks from all the smiling.

According to the patent application, which was first spotted by CarBuzz, there would actually be a second option for tunnel mode in convertibles. With the feature engaged, it would sense when a tunnel is coming up and prompt the driver to pull over so the roof can be lowered. Supposedly, it would also turn the heat on to counteract the cool breeze to make sure nothing stops you from hearing that howl at full tilt.

The patent filing makes a curious mention of Tunnel Mode for EVs. In that case, it sounds like a fake exhaust sound would be projected through the exterior speakers to make it seem like you’re in a gas car. Now, that’s kind of sad, but I’m not here to judge.

Tunnel Mode would supposedly tighten up the car’s steering while making the chassis behavior “sportier” for more enjoyable drives. That sounds nifty, considering everything returns to normal once you’re through the tunnel. You can be cruising with the steering and suspension in their comfort settings until you reach the sound tube, and after you’ve exited, the car’s camera system will relay the info so it’ll return to your previous configuration.

[…]

Source: Porsche Files Patent App for Tunnel Mode, and It Sounds Like the Best Car Gimmick Yet

Suspected Chinese snoops use 2017 unpatched Windows flaw to spy on EU politicians

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Cyber spies linked to the Chinese government exploited a Windows shortcut vulnerability disclosed in March – but that Microsoft hasn’t fixed yet – to target European diplomats in an effort to steal defense and national security details.

Security firm Arctic Wolf attributed the espionage campaign to UNC6384 (aka Mustang Panda, Twill Typhoon), and in research published Thursday detailed how the suspected PRC spies used social engineering and the Windows flaw to deploy PlugX malware against personnel attending diplomatic conferences in September and October.

“This campaign demonstrates UNC6384’s capability for rapid vulnerability adoption within six months of public disclosure, advanced social engineering leveraging detailed knowledge of diplomatic calendars and event themes, and operational expansion from traditional Southeast Asia targeting to European diplomatic entities,” the Arctic Wolf Labs threat research team said.

[…]

Zero Day Initiative threat hunter Peter Girnus discovered and reported this flaw to Microsoft in March, and said it had been abused as a zero-day as far back as 2017, with 11 state-sponsored groups from North Korea, Iran, Russia, and China abusing ZDI-CAN-25373 for cyber espionage and data theft purposes.

Blame ZDI-CAN-25373

The attacks begin with phishing emails using very specific themed lures around European defense and security cooperation and cross-border infrastructure development. Those emails delivered a weaponized LNK file which exploited ZDI-CAN-25373 (aka CVE-2025-9491), a Windows shortcut vulnerability, to let the attackers secretly execute commands by adding whitespace padding within the LNK file’s COMMAND_LINE_ARGUMENTS structure.

The malicious files, such as one named Agenda_Meeting 26 Sep Brussels.lnk, use diplomatic conference themes as lures along with a decoy PDF document, in this case displaying a real European Commission meeting agenda on facilitating the free movement of goods at border crossing points between the EU and Western Balkan countries.

The LNK file, when executed, invokes PowerShell to decode and extract a tar (tape archive) archive containing three files to enable the attack chain via DLL side-loading, a malware delivery technique favored by several Chinese government crews, including Salt Typhoon.

DLL sideloading exploits the Windows DLL search order by tricking an application into loading a malicious DLL instead of the legitimate one.

The three files include a legitimate, but expired, Canon printer assistant utility with a valid digital signature issued by Symantec. Although the certificate expired in April 2018, Windows trusts binaries whose signatures include a valid timestamp, so this allows the attackers to bypass security tools and deliver malware using DLL sideloading.

The malicious DLL functions as a loader to decrypt and execute the third file in the archive, cnmplog.dat, which contains the encrypted PlugX payload.

PlugX, which has been around since at least 2008, is a Remote Access Trojan (RAT) that gives attackers all the remote access capabilities including command execution, keylogging, file uploading and downloading, persistent access, and system reconnaissance.

“This three-stage execution flow completes the deployment of PlugX malware running stealthily within a legitimate signed process, significantly reducing the likelihood of detection by endpoint security solutions,” the researchers wrote.

[…]

Source: Suspected Chinese snoops weaponize unpatched Windows flaw • The Register

‘Keep Android Open’ Campaign Pushes Back on Google’s Restrictions on installing your own software

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A “Keep Android Open” campaign is pushing back on new rules from Google that will reportedly block users from sideloading apps on Android phones.

It’s unclear who’s running the campaign, but a blog post on the free Android app store F-Droid is directing users to visit the campaign’s website, which urges the public to lobby government regulators to intervene and stop the upcoming restrictions.

“Developers should have the right to create and distribute software without submitting to unnecessary corporate surveillance,” reads an open letter posted to the site.

In August, Google announced upcoming rules aimed at reducing the risk of malware infecting Android devices. It will require that all app installs on certified Android devices only occur if the developer has been verified by Google. For individual developers, this includes submitting an official ID, address, phone number, and paying a $25 fee.

Source: ‘Keep Android Open’ Campaign Pushes Back on Google’s Sideloading Restrictions | PCMag

Austria’s Ministry of Economy goes toward digital sovereignty, embraces Nextcloud

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How do you modernize digital collaboration in government without losing control over your data?
Austria’s Federal Ministry for Economy, Energy and Tourism (BMWET) faced this challenge in 2024 – and decided to take a clear, pragmatic step toward digital sovereignty. Within just four months between Proof of Concept and rollout, the ministry went live with a secure Nextcloud environment, operated on its own infrastructure in Austria and designed to meet strict transparency and compliance requirements.

Why the ministry decided to act

The BMWET faced the challenge of modernizing its collaboration tools at a time when questions around data protection, compliance, and technological dependency were becoming increasingly relevant.
A risk analysis showed that relying entirely on cloud services from non-European providers would introduce significant legal and security uncertainties. Especially regarding the protection of sensitive information under GDPR and the upcoming NIS2 directive.

[…]

At the time of the project, BMWET was already in the process of adopting Microsoft 365 and Teams. Reversing that path wasn’t realistic. Instead, the ministry implemented a hybrid architecture: Nextcloud handles internal collaboration and secure data management, while Teams remains available for external meetings.

In collaboration with Nextcloud partner Sendent, Outlook integration ensured seamless email and calendar workflows, enabling employees to continue working with familiar tools while ensuring sensitive information stays within Austrian infrastructure.

A fast and well-coordinated rollout

From proof of concept to full deployment, the process took only a few months – an unusually fast timeline for a public sector ICT project. Working closely with Nextcloud and implementation partner Atos Austria, BMWET rolled out the new platform across 1,200 employees.

[…]

Source: Austria’s Ministry of Economy takes decisive steps toward digital sovereignty – Nextcloud

Samsung Electronics Unveils Tri-Fold Phone: Two Hinges, Tablet Screen

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[…] The unveiled Tri-Fold Phone differed from typical foldable phones in that it had two hinges, joints, in the folding section. Its screen ratio was significantly longer horizontally than vertically, resembling a ‘small tablet PC.’ Compared to conventional foldable phones, it featured three external screens aligned side by side. However, the device could not be touched or tested directly; it was only visible through a glass display case.

On the 28th, Samsung Electronics unveils the physical model of the 'Tri-Fold Phone, right' at the APEC K-Tech showcase. /Courtesy of Park Ji-min
On the 28th, Samsung Electronics unveils the physical model of the ‘Tri-Fold Phone, right’ at the APEC K-Tech showcase. /Courtesy of Park Ji-min

The Tri-Fold Phone, which Samsung Electronics announced would be released within the year, was designed with a structure allowing the screen to be folded twice. The external screen features a display measuring approximately 6.5 inches, similar to the Galaxy Fold series, while the fully unfolded screen measures approximately 10 inches, comparable to a tablet. Considering the complex hinge structure and additional display components, the launch price is estimated to be over 3 million Korean won.

[…]

Source: Samsung Electronics Unveils Tri-Fold Phone: Two Hinges, Tablet Screen

Clearview AI faces criminal heat for ignoring EU data fines – wait: these creeps still exist?

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Privacy advocates at Noyb filed a criminal complaint against Clearview AI for scraping social media users’ faces without consent to train its AI algorithms.

Austria-based Noyb (None of Your Business) is targeting the US company and its executives, arguing that if successful, individuals who authorized the data collection could face criminal penalties, including imprisonment.

The complaint focuses largely on Clearview’s apparent disregard for fines from France, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, and the UK. Aside from the UK — where Clearview recently lost its appeal of a $10 million fine from the Information Commissioner’s Office — the company has yet to pay other fines totaling more than $100 million, Noyb claims.

“EU data protection authorities did not come up with a way to enforce its fines and bans against the US company, allowing Clearview AI to effectively dodge the law,” said Noyb in its announcement today.

Max Schrems, privacy lawyer and founder of Noyb, said: “Clearview AI seems to simply ignore EU fundamental rights and just spits in the face of EU authorities.”

The criminal complaint, filed with Austrian public prosecutors, hinges on Article 84 of the GDPR, which allows EU member states to seek proportionate punishments for data protection violations, including through criminal proceedings.

Clearview AI claims it has collected more than 60 billion images to help law enforcement agencies improve facial recognition tech.

Scraping data is not inherently illegal, however, Clearview’s sweeping collection of social media photos for commercial gain has repeatedly violated GDPR regulations across Europe.

Austria ruled the company’s practices illegal in 2023, though it imposed no fine.

Noyb is using a provision in Austria’s own implementation of the GDPR that allows criminal proceedings to be brought against managers of organizations that flout data protection laws.

“We even run cross-border criminal procedures for stolen bikes, so we hope that the public prosecutor also takes action when the personal data of billions of people was stolen – as has been confirmed by multiple authorities,” said Schrems.

Source: Clearview AI faces criminal heat for ignoring EU data fines • The Register

Physicists Built a Pixel So Small, Full HD Could Fit on a Bread Crumb

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[…] In a recent Science Advances paper, researchers report the creation of the smallest pixel ever, using optical antennas that convert radiation into focused energy bits. The pixel measures just 300 by 300 nanometers—around 17 times smaller than a conventional OLED pixel, but with a similar brightness.

To put the size into context, a display with an area of just one square millimeter could fit a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels using the new technology. The tiny pixel also glows on its own, making it potentially revolutionary for the next generation of smart, portable devices.

[…]

the team identified a way to effectively block these unwanted structures, called filaments, from potentially destroying the pixel.  Specifically, they fabricated a thin, insulating layer with a tiny circular opening at its center and layered it over a gold optical antenna.

Smallest Pixel Diagram
A conceptual illustration of the nanoscale OLED. © Hecht et al., 2025.

The arrangement proved surprisingly effective in preventing filaments from forming. The optical antenna additionally helped focus electromagnetic energy and amplify the brightness, according to the paper. As a result, “even the first nanopixels were stable for two weeks under ambient conditions,” said Bert Hecht, study senior author and a physicist at the University of Würzburg, in the release.

That said, the system is still a prototype, with about 1% efficiency. However, the researchers noted that because the current paper eliminates one of the biggest challenges of scaling down pixels, the next steps should be slightly easier.

“With this technology, displays and projectors could become so small in the future that they can be integrated almost invisibly into devices worn on the body—from eyeglass frames to contact lenses,” the researchers added.

Source: Physicists Built a Pixel So Small, Full HD Could Fit on a Bread Crumb

‘Change course now’: humanity has missed 1.5C climate target, says UN head

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[…]Humanity has failed to limit global heating to 1.5C and must change course immediately, the secretary general of the UN has warned.

In his only interview before next month’s Cop30 climate summit, António Guterres acknowledged it is now “inevitable” that humanity will overshoot the target in the Paris climate agreement, with “devastating consequences” for the world.

He urged the leaders who will gather in the Brazilian rainforest city of Belém to realise that the longer they delay cutting emissions, the greater the danger of passing catastrophic “tipping points” in the Amazon, the Arctic and the oceans.

“Let’s recognise our failure,” he told the Guardian and Amazon-based news organisation Sumaúma. “The truth is that we have failed to avoid an overshooting above 1.5C in the next few years. And that going above 1.5C has devastating consequences. Some of these devastating consequences are tipping points, be it in the Amazon, be it in Greenland, or western Antarctica or the coral reefs.

He said the priority at Cop30 was to shift direction: “It is absolutely indispensable to change course in order to make sure that the overshoot is as short as possible and as low in intensity as possible to avoid tipping points like the Amazon. We don’t want to see the Amazon as a savannah. But that is a real risk if we don’t change course and if we don’t make a dramatic decrease of emissions as soon as possible.”

The planet’s past 10 years have been the hottest in recorded history. Despite growing scientific alarm at the speed of global temperature increases caused by the burning of fossil fuels – oil, coal and gas – the secretary general said government commitments have come up short.

Fewer than a third of the world’s nations (62 out of 197) have sent in their climate action plans, known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs) under the Paris agreement. The US under Donald Trump has abandoned the process. Europe has promised but so far failed to deliver. China, the world’s biggest emitter, has been accused of undercommitting.

António Guterres speaking at a Cop29 podium
António Guterres giving his speech at Cop29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, in November 2024. Photograph: Anatoly Maltsev/EPA

Guterres said the lack of NDC ambition means the Paris goal of 1.5C will be breached, at least temporarily: “From those [NDCs] received until now, there is an expectation of a reduction of emissions of 10%. We would need 60% [to stay within 1.5C]. So overshooting is now inevitable.”

He did not give up on the target though, and said it may still be possible to temporarily overshoot and then bring temperatures down in time to return to 1.5C by the end of the century, but this would require a change of direction at and beyond Cop30.

[…]

Source: ‘Change course now’: humanity has missed 1.5C climate target, says UN head | Climate crisis | The Guardian

China’s New Influencer Law Says Only Degree-Holders Can Discuss Professional Topics. Idiots say this limits freedom of ideas

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China’s new influencer law, which took effect on October 25, requires anyone creating content on sensitive topics, such as medicine, law, education, or finance, to hold official qualifications in those fields.

The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) says the goal is to fight misinformation and protect the public from false or harmful advice. But, the move has also raised concerns about censorship and freedom of expression.

Under the new rules, influencers who talk about regulated topics must show proof of their expertise, such as a degree, professional license, or certificate. Platforms like Douyin (China’s version of TikTok), Bilibili, and Weibo must verify creators’ credentials and make sure their content includes proper citations and disclaimers.

For example, influencers must clearly state when information comes from studies or when a video includes AI-generated material. Platforms are also required to educate users about their responsibilities when sharing content online.

The CAC has gone even further by banning advertising for medical products, supplements, and health foods to prevent hidden promotions disguised as “educational” videos.

However, critics warn that the law could harm creativity and limit freedom of speech. By controlling who can talk about certain topics, they argue, China might not only block misinformation but also restrict independent voices and critical debate.

Many worry that “expertise” will be defined too narrowly, giving authorities more power to silence people who question official narratives or offer alternative views.

Others, however, welcomed the move, saying that the new law would allow for well-informed content on important and sensitive topics. Many argued that only professionals in their field should be able to speak about and discuss said topic to prevent misinformation.

The rise of influencer culture has changed how people get information. Influencers are valued for being relatable and authentic, and being able to connect with audiences in ways traditional experts cannot. However, when these creators share misleading or inaccurate information, the effects can be serious, supporters of the new law argue.

Source: China’s New Influencer Law Says Only Degree-Holders Can Discuss Professional Topics China’s New Influencer Law Says Only Degree-Holders Can Discuss Professional Topics

Unfortunately, having people doing “research” by watching one Youtube video and then telling people that vaccines don’t work, or that 5G space bats cause covid and people want to inject chips into you has proven to be an absolute disaster, which prolonged a global pandemic and killed a lot of people.

These people should be jailed and it is a crying shame that a country like China is taking the lead in this, and not the EU.

Python Foundation rejects $1.5M grant with no-DEI strings

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[…]The programming non-profit’s deputy executive director Loren Crary said in a blog post today that the National Science Foundation (NSF) had offered $1.5 million to address structural vulnerabilities in Python and the Python Package Index (PyPI), but the Foundation quickly became dispirited with the terms of the grant it would have to follow.

“These terms included affirming the statement that we ‘do not, and will not during the term of this financial assistance award, operate any programs that advance or promote DEI [diversity, equity, and inclusion], or discriminatory equity ideology in violation of Federal anti-discrimination laws,'” Crary noted. “This restriction would apply not only to the security work directly funded by the grant, but to any and all activity of the PSF as a whole.”

To make matters worse, the terms included a provision that if the PSF was found to have violated that anti-DEI diktat, the NSF reserved the right to claw back any previously disbursed funds, Crary explained.

“This would create a situation where money we’d already spent could be taken back, which would be an enormous, open-ended financial risk,” the PSF director added.

The PSF’s mission statement enshrines a commitment to supporting and growing “a diverse and international community of Python programmers,” and the Foundation ultimately decided it wasn’t willing to compromise on that position, even for what would have been a solid financial boost for the organization.

“The PSF is a relatively small organization, operating with an annual budget of around $5 million per year, with a staff of just 14,” Crary added, noting that the $1.5 million would have been the largest grant the Foundation had ever received – but it wasn’t worth it if the conditions were undermining the PSF’s mission.

The PSF board voted unanimously to withdraw its grant application.

The non-profit would’ve used the funding to help prevent supply chain attacks; create a new automated, proactive review process for new PyPI packages; and make the project’s work easily transferable to other open-source package managers. […]

Source: Python Foundation rejects $1.5M grant with no-DEI strings • The Register

AI generates surge in expense receipt fraud

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[…] Software provider AppZen said fake AI receipts accounted for about 14 per cent of fraudulent documents submitted in September, compared with none last year. Fintech group Ramp said its new software flagged more than $1mn in fraudulent invoices within 90 days.
About 30 per cent of US and UK financial professionals surveyed by expense management platform Medius reported they had seen a rise in falsified receipts following the launch of OpenAI’s GPT-4o last year.
An AI-generated receipt
An AI-generated receipt © AppZen
“These receipts have become so good, we tell our customers, ‘do not trust your eyes’,” said Chris Juneau, senior vice-president and head of product marketing for SAP Concur, one of the world’s leading expense platforms, which processes more than 80mn compliance checks monthly using AI.
Several platforms attributed a significant jump in the number of AI-generated receipts after OpenAI launched GPT-4o’s improved image generation model in March.
[…]

Source: ‘Do not trust your eyes’: AI generates surge in expense fraud

Qualcomm announces AI chips to compete with AMD and Nvidia

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[…]Qualcomm said that both the AI200, which will go on sale in 2026, and the AI250, planned for 2027, can come in a system that fills up a full, liquid-cooled server rack.

Qualcomm is matching Nvidia and AMD

, which offer their graphics processing units, or GPUs, in full-rack systems that allow as many as 72 chips to act as one computer. AI labs need that computing power to run the most advanced models.

Qualcomm’s data center chips are based on the AI parts in Qualcomm’s smartphone chips called Hexagon neural processing units, or NPUs.

[…]

Qualcomm said its chips are focusing on inference, or running AI models, instead of training, which is how labs such as OpenAI create new AI capabilities by processing terabytes of data.

The chipmaker said that its rack-scale systems would ultimately cost less to operate for customers such as cloud service providers, and that a rack uses 160 kilowatts, which is comparable to the high power draw from some Nvidia GPU racks.

Malladi said Qualcomm would also sell its AI chips and other parts separately, especially for clients such as hyperscalers that prefer to design their own racks.

[…]

The company declined to comment, the price of the chips, cards or rack, and how many NPUs could be installed in a single rack.

[…]

Qualcomm said its AI chips have advantages over other accelerators in terms of power consumption, cost of ownership, and a new approach to the way memory is handled. It said its AI cards support 768 gigabytes of memory, which is higher than offerings from Nvidia and AMD.

[…]

Source: Qualcomm announces AI chips to compete with AMD and Nvidia

In stunning display of (in)stability, PayPal / Paxos stablecoin accidentally mints $300 Trillion(!) and then revokes it

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Paxos Trust Company, the blockchain infrastructure partner for PayPal’s stablecoin, has publicly admitted to a catastrophic “technical error” that led to the accidental creation of $300 trillion worth of PayPal USD (PYUSD) tokens. The mistake, which was identified and rectified within minutes, temporarily created a theoretical sum exceeding the entire global money supply. This incident immediately triggers intense scrutiny from financial regulators, including the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), and casts a shadow over the operational integrity of the burgeoning stablecoin market. For PayPal, the error represents a significant reputational blow, challenging the perception of its carefully managed entry into digital assets.

This failure represents a stark vulnerability in the automated systems underpinning digital assets. While blockchain technology promises immutable and transparent transactions, Paxos is now confronting the reality that its risk management protocols were insufficient to prevent a near-infinite minting event. The company’s promise to be “much better than this” highlights the critical gap between theoretical blockchain security and the practical operational controls required for regulated financial services. This matters because it demonstrates that for institutional adoption to proceed, the infrastructure must be as foolproof as the legacy financial systems it seeks to augment or replace, not a source of existential, self-inflicted risk.

For fintech executives and digital asset custodians, this is a critical warning. The forward-looking insight is clear: the path to mainstream stablecoin adoption will be paved with relentless focus on operational controls and third-party audits. This event will force a sector-wide review of minting and burning mechanisms, likely leading to more conservative, multi-signature requirements and real-time monitoring mandates from regulators. The most trusted players will be those who can transparently demonstrate ironclad technical and procedural safeguards, turning this public failure into an industry-wide mandate for bulletproof operational excellence.

Source: Paxos Admits $300T PayPal Stablecoin Minting Error

Part of what is not mentioned, is that they revoked the value very quickly. The minting is one thing, but how trustworthy can any value store be when it the value can be revoked one-sidedly at any time by the press of a button?

Microsoft outages hit Azure, 365, Xbox, public transport services – not long after Amazon and just hours before quarterly earnings report

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A major Microsoft outage has caused services like 365 and Azure cloud platform to go dark hours before the company was set to report its quarterly earnings, CNBC reports.

According to Downdetector, which monitors internet outages, tens of thousands of disruptions appear to have spiked just before noon on Wednesday, Oct. 29. The website, server connection and domain are the most impacted. Xbox and even Minecraft are also affected by the outage, according to The Verge.

“We began experiencing Azure Front Door issues resulting in a loss of availability of some services. In addition, customers may experience issues accessing the Azure Portal,” Microsoft notes on its service’s status page. “Our investigation into the contributing factors and additional recovery workstreams continues.”

[…]

Source: Microsoft outages hit Azure, 365, Xbox. Are they still down? What we know

HSL’s website, application and Journey Planner do not work. The application informs that the service cannot be contacted. The website and the Journey Planner do not open at all.

Due to the disruption, for example, tickets cannot currently be purchased through the app.

Vilma Aho from HSL’s communications says that the problems are related to the Microsoft Azure cloud service’s wider telecommunications problem. According to Aho, a more specific reason is currently being investigated.

According to Aho, the disruption in the services started around six o’clock on Wednesday evening. He could not estimate at about half past seven how long it would take to fix the problem.

[…]

Source: HSL’s website and application do not work

A single DNS race condition brought AWS to its knees

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Amazon has published a detailed postmortem explaining how a critical fault in DynamoDB’s DNS management system cascaded into a day-long outage that disrupted major websites and services across multiple brands – with damage estimates potentially reaching hundreds of billions of dollars.

The incident began at 11:48 PM PDT on October 19 (7.48 UTC on October 20), when customers reported increased DynamoDB API error rates in the Northern Virginia US-EAST-1 Region. The root cause was a race condition in DynamoDB’s automated DNS management system that left an empty DNS record for the service’s regional endpoint.

The DNS management system comprises two independent components (for availability reasons): a DNS Planner that monitors load balancer health and creates DNS plans, and a DNS Enactor that applies changes via Amazon Route 53.

Amazon’s postmortem says the error rate was triggered by “a latent defect” within the service’s automated DNS management system.

The race condition occurred when one DNS Enactor experienced “unusually high delays” while the DNS Planner continued generating new plans. A second DNS Enactor began applying the newer plans and executed a clean-up process just as the first Enactor completed its delayed run. This clean-up deleted the older plan as stale, immediately removing all IP addresses for the regional endpoint and leaving the system in an inconsistent state that prevented further automated updates applied by any DNS Enactors.

Before manual intervention, systems connecting to DynamoDB experienced DNS failures, including customer traffic and internal AWS services. This impacted EC2 instance launches and network configuration, the postmortem says.

The DropletWorkflow Manager (DWFM), which maintains leases for physical servers hosting EC2 instances, depends on DynamoDB. When DNS failures caused DWFM state checks to fail, droplets – the EC2 servers – couldn’t establish new leases for instance state changes.

After DynamoDB recovered at 2.25 AM PDT (9:25 AM UTC), DWFM attempted to re-establish leases across the entire EC2 fleet. The massive scale meant the process took so long that leases began timing out before completion, causing DWFM to enter “congestive collapse” requiring manual intervention until 5:28 AM PDT (12:28 PM UTC).

Next, Network Manager began propagating a huge backlog of delayed network configurations, causing newly launched EC2 instances to experience network configuration delays.

These network propagation delays affected the Network Load Balancer (NLB) service. NLB’s health checking subsystem removed new EC2 instances that failed health checks due to network delays, only to restore them when subsequent checks succeeded.

With EC2 instance launches impaired, dependent services including Lambda, Elastic Container Service (ECS), Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS), and Fargate all experienced issues.

AWS has disabled the DynamoDB DNS Planner and DNS Enactor automation worldwide until safeguards can be put in place to prevent the race condition reoccurring.

In its apology, Amazon stated: “As we continue to work through the details of this event across all AWS services, we will look for additional ways to avoid impact from a similar event in the future, and how to further reduce time to recovery.”

[…]

Source: A single DNS race condition brought AWS to its knees • The Register

CBP will photograph non-citizens entering and exiting the US for its facial recognition database

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The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) submitted a new measure that allows it to photograph any non-US citizen who enters or exits the country for facial recognition purposes. According to a filing with the government’s Federal Register, CBP and the Department of Homeland Security are looking to crack down on threats of terrorism, fraudulent use of travel documents and anyone who overstays their authorized stay.

The filing detailed that CBP will “implement an integrated, automated entry and exit data system to match records, including biographic data and biometrics, of aliens entering and departing the United States.” The government agency already has the ability to request photos and fingerprints from anyone entering the country, but this new rule change would allow for requiring photos of anyone exiting as well. These photos would “create galleries of images associated with individuals, including photos taken by border agents, and from passports or other travel documents,” according to the filing, adding that these galleries would be compared to live photos at entry and exit points.

These new requirements are scheduled to go into effect on December 26, but CBP will need some time to implement a system to handle the extra demand. According to the filing, the agency said “a biometric entry-exit system can be fully implemented at all commercial airports and sea ports for both entry and exit within the next three to five years.”

Source: CBP will photograph non-citizens entering and exiting the US for its facial recognition database