Author: Robin Edgar

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

Millions of research papers at risk of disappearing from the Internet

Posted on by Robin Edgar

More than one-quarter of scholarly articles are not being properly archived and preserved, a study of more than seven million digital publications suggests. The findings, published in the Journal of Librarianship and Scholarly Communication on 24 January1, indicate that systems to preserve papers online have failed to keep pace with the growth of research output. Read more about Millions of research papers at risk of disappearing from the Internet[…]

Want to Steal a Tesla? set up a guest wifi with a fake site, steal the password and make your own key

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Security researchers report they uncovered a design flaw that let them hijack a Tesla using a Flipper Zero, a controversial $169 hacking tool. Partners Tommy Mysk and Talal Haj Bakry of Mysk Inc. said the attack is as simple as swiping a Tesla owner’s login information, opening the Tesla app, and driving away. The victim Read more about Want to Steal a Tesla? set up a guest wifi with a fake site, steal the password and make your own key[…]

EU fines Apple nearly $2B over in-app music purchases

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Apple’s anti-steering provisions that prevent music streaming apps from directing users outside the App Store for paid services were smacked down in the European Union today and earned the iGiant a fine of more than €1.8 billion ($1.95 billion). The European Commission said Apple’s policies “amount to unfair trading conditions” and “are neither necessary nor Read more about EU fines Apple nearly $2B over in-app music purchases[…]

Satellites Step Up After Red Sea Internet Cables Get Severed

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] Earlier this week, four out of 15 communication cables were cut, disrupting network traffic that flows through the Red Sea. The damaged cables affected 25% of traffic between Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, according to Hong Kong telecoms company HGC Global Communications. The cause of the damage is still unknown, and the company Read more about Satellites Step Up After Red Sea Internet Cables Get Severed[…]

VMware sandbox escape bugs are so critical, patches are released for end-of-life products – also, remove all your USB products now

Posted on by Robin Edgar

VMware is urging customers to patch critical vulnerabilities that make it possible for hackers to break out of sandbox and hypervisor protections in all versions, including out-of-support ones, of VMware ESXi, Workstation, Fusion, and Cloud Foundation products. A constellation of four vulnerabilities—two carrying severity ratings of 9.3 out of a possible 10—are serious because they Read more about VMware sandbox escape bugs are so critical, patches are released for end-of-life products – also, remove all your USB products now[…]

Biden executive order aims to stop a few countries from buying Americans’ personal data – a watered down EU GDPR

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] President Joe Biden will issue an executive order that aims to limit the mass-sale of Americans’ personal data to “countries of concern,” including Russia and China. The order specifically targets the bulk sale of geolocation, genomic, financial, biometric, health and other personally identifying information. During a briefing with reporters, a senior administration official said Read more about Biden executive order aims to stop a few countries from buying Americans’ personal data – a watered down EU GDPR[…]

AI outperforms humans in standardized tests of creative potential

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] Divergent thinking is characterized by the ability to generate a unique solution to a question that does not have one expected solution, such as “What is the best way to avoid talking about politics with my parents?” In the study, GPT-4 provided more original and elaborate answers than the human participants […] The three Read more about AI outperforms humans in standardized tests of creative potential[…]

Investigators seek push notification metadata in 130 cases – this is scarier than you think

Posted on by Robin Edgar

More than 130 petitions seeking access to push notification metadata have been filed in US courts, according to a Washington Post investigation – a finding that underscores the lack of privacy protection available to users of mobile devices. The poor state of mobile device privacy has provided US state and federal investigators with valuable information Read more about Investigators seek push notification metadata in 130 cases – this is scarier than you think[…]

baby throwing a tantrum

Apple reverses hissy fit decision to remove Home Screen web apps in EU

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Apple has reversed its decision to limit the functionality of Home Screen web apps in Europe following an outcry from the developer community and the prospect of further investigation. “We have received requests to continue to offer support for Home Screen web apps in iOS, therefore we will continue to offer the existing Home Screen Read more about Apple reverses hissy fit decision to remove Home Screen web apps in EU[…]

stop using hdmi

HDMI Forum blocks AMD open sourcing drivers due to 2.1

Posted on by Robin Edgar

As spotted by Linux benchmarking outfit Phoronix, AMD is having problems releasing certain versions of open-source drivers it’s developed for its GPUs – because, according to the Ryzen processor designer, the HDMI Forum won’t allow the code to be released as open source. Specifically, we’re talking about AMD’s FOSS drivers for HDMI 2.1 here. For Read more about HDMI Forum blocks AMD open sourcing drivers due to 2.1[…]

Coinbase pulls rug. Crypto holder trading is disabled and all assets shown $0 to users. Bitcoin is shooting up currently at $61k highly volatile and history repeats itself. PTSD from GME buy button disable is real. Not your wallet, not your money.

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Coinbase is pulling the rug right now. Check their sub and witness the fire. Update: They are now excusing it all with this error. Update 2: I argue it is fully artificial override since when loading the webpage it does momentarily flicker your true asset value and it gets then updated to zero when page Read more about Coinbase pulls rug. Crypto holder trading is disabled and all assets shown $0 to users. Bitcoin is shooting up currently at $61k highly volatile and history repeats itself. PTSD from GME buy button disable is real. Not your wallet, not your money.[…]

Scammers Are Now Scanning Faces To Defeat Age verification Biometric Security Measures

Posted on by Robin Edgar

For quite some time now we’ve been pointing out the many harms of age verification technologies, and how they’re a disaster for privacy. In particular, we’ve noted that if you have someone collecting biometric information on people, that data itself becomes a massive risk since it will be targeted. And, remember, a year and a Read more about Scammers Are Now Scanning Faces To Defeat Age verification Biometric Security Measures[…]

apple and google as monopoly characters holding big bags of cash in front of a store

EU to hit Apple with first ever fine in €500mn music streaming penalty

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Brussels is to impose its first ever fine on tech giant Apple for allegedly breaking EU law over access to its music streaming services, according to five people with direct knowledge of the long-running investigation. The fine, which is in the region of €500mn and is expected to be announced early next month, is the Read more about EU to hit Apple with first ever fine in €500mn music streaming penalty[…]

You can now mark up your Google Docs with handwritten notes on Android devices

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Google Docs is getting an annotation feature that will let you mark up your documents just like you might with a pen and paper. With today’s update, announced at MWC 2024, Google Docs users on Android devices can use a finger or stylus to write notes, highlight text and circle words to their heart’s desire. Read more about You can now mark up your Google Docs with handwritten notes on Android devices[…]

Reggaeton Be Gone – use a Raspberry Pi to jam bluetooth speakers when reggaeton music comes on

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] Consider this scenario: Your wall-to-wall neighbor loves to blast Reggaeton music at full volume through a Bluetooth speaker every morning at 9 am. You have two options: A. Knock on their door and politely ask them to lower the volume. B. Build an AI device that can handle the situation more creatively. Reggaeton Be Read more about Reggaeton Be Gone – use a Raspberry Pi to jam bluetooth speakers when reggaeton music comes on[…]

yuzu nintendo switch emulator on android

Nintendo files lawsuit against creators of Yuzu emulator

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] The 41-page lawsuit was filed against Tropic Haze, the company that makes Yuzu. (Nintendo also specifically references a person aliased as Bunnei, who leads development on Yuzu.) Yuzu is a free emulator that was released in 2018 months after the Nintendo Switch originally launched. The same folks who made Citra, a Nintendo 3DS emulator, Read more about Nintendo files lawsuit against creators of Yuzu emulator[…]

Meta will start collecting much more “anonymized” data about Quest headset usage

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Meta will soon begin “collecting anonymized data” from users of its Quest headsets, a move that could see the company aggregating information about hand, body, and eye tracking; camera information; “information about your physical environment”; and information about “the virtual reality events you attend.” In an email sent to Quest users Monday, Meta notes that Read more about Meta will start collecting much more “anonymized” data about Quest headset usage[…]

$500 drone calculates its position with camera, Google Maps

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] A team of drone enthusiasts have built a sub-$500 drone that uses a camera and Google Maps to provide itself with GPS co-ordinates, removing the need for a GPS satellite signal. And all of this was done in 24 hours during the El Segundo Defense Tech Hackathon. […] The drone uses a camera mounted Read more about $500 drone calculates its position with camera, Google Maps[…]

Vietnam to collect biometrics – even DNA – for new ID cards. Centralised databases never leak.

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The Vietnamese government will begin collecting biometric information from its citizens for identification purposes beginning in July this year. Prime minister Pham Minh Chinh instructed the nation’s Ministry of Public Security to collect the data in the form of iris scans, voice samples and actual DNA, in accordance with amendments to Vietnam’s Law on Citizen Read more about Vietnam to collect biometrics – even DNA – for new ID cards. Centralised databases never leak.[…]

‘No one understands outsourcing the management of .nl domains to Amazon’

Posted on by Robin Edgar

At the beginning of February, SIDN was in the news after announcing that it wanted to outsource part of its services to Amazon Web Services, the American web giant. According to SIDN, the reason for the outsourcing was that implementation on its own servers had become too expensive and too labor-intensive. Van Eeten: ‘SIDN has Read more about ‘No one understands outsourcing the management of .nl domains to Amazon’[…]

Wyze says camera breach let 13,000 customers briefly see into other people’s homes

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Last week, co-founder David Crosby said that “so far” the company had identified 14 people who were able to briefly see into a stranger’s property because they were shown an image from someone else’s Wyze camera. Now we’re being told that number of affected customers has ballooned to 13,000. The revelation came from an email Read more about Wyze says camera breach let 13,000 customers briefly see into other people’s homes[…]

Chinese and US researchers show new side channel can reproduce fingerprints by listening to swiping sounds on screen

Posted on by Robin Edgar

An interesting new attack on biometric security has been outlined by a group of researchers from China and the US. PrintListener: Uncovering the Vulnerability of Fingerprint Authentication via the Finger Friction Sound [PDF] proposes a side-channel attack on the sophisticated Automatic Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS). The attack leverages the sound characteristics of a user’s finger Read more about Chinese and US researchers show new side channel can reproduce fingerprints by listening to swiping sounds on screen[…]

Four-day week made permanent for most UK firms in world’s biggest trial

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Of the 61 organisations that took part in a six-month UK pilot in 2022, 54 (89%) are still operating the policy a year later, and 31 (51%) have made the change permanent. More than half (55%) of project managers and CEOs said a four-day week – in which staff worked 100% of their output in Read more about Four-day week made permanent for most UK firms in world’s biggest trial[…]

Varda Space, Rocket Lab nail first-of-its-kind spacecraft landing in Utah, bring back space grown drugs

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A spacecraft containing pharmaceutical drugs that were grown on orbit has finally returned to Earth today after more than eight months in space. Varda Space Industries’ in-space manufacturing capsule, called Winnebago-1, landed in the Utah desert at around 4:40 p.m. EST. Inside the capsule are crystals of the drug ritonavir, which is used to treat Read more about Varda Space, Rocket Lab nail first-of-its-kind spacecraft landing in Utah, bring back space grown drugs[…]

Universal Antivenom for Snake Bites Might Soon Be a Reality

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] a team of scientists says they’ve created a lab-made antibody geared to counteract toxic bites from a wide variety of snakes. In early tests with mice, the uber-antivenom appeared to work as intended. Snake antivenom is typically derived from the antibodies of horses or other animals that produce a strong immune response to snake Read more about Universal Antivenom for Snake Bites Might Soon Be a Reality[…]