Author: Robin Edgar

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

Thomson Reuters leaked at least 3TB of sensitive data – yes, open elasticsearch instances

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The Cybernews research team found that Thomson Reuters left at least three of its databases accessible for anyone to look at. One of the open instances, the 3TB public-facing ElasticSearch database, contains a trove of sensitive, up-to-date information from across the company’s platforms. The company recognized the issue and fixed it immediately. Thomson Reuters provides Read more about Thomson Reuters leaked at least 3TB of sensitive data – yes, open elasticsearch instances[…]

Scientists discover material that can be made like a plastic but conducts like a metal

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Scientists with the University of Chicago have discovered a way to create a material that can be made like a plastic, but conducts electricity more like a metal. The research, published Oct. 26 in Nature, shows how to make a kind of material in which the molecular fragments are jumbled and disordered, but can still Read more about Scientists discover material that can be made like a plastic but conducts like a metal[…]

Australia’s Medibank says data of 4 mln customers accessed by hacker

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Medibank Private Ltd (MPL.AX), Australia’s biggest health insurer, said on Wednesday a cyber hack had compromised data of all of its of its nearly 4 million customers, as it warned of a A$25 million to A$35 million ($16 million to $22.3 million) hit to first-half earnings. It said on Wednesday that all personal and significant Read more about Australia’s Medibank says data of 4 mln customers accessed by hacker[…]

Swarming bees generate so much electricity they may potentially change the weather

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] The finding, which researchers made by measuring the electrical fields around honeybee (apis mellifera) hives, reveals that bees can produce as much atmospheric electricity as a thunderstorm. This can play an important role in steering dust to shape unpredictable weather patterns; and their impact may even need to be included in future climate models. Read more about Swarming bees generate so much electricity they may potentially change the weather[…]

A California project would store solar energy to use when the sun goes down in water batteries

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The San Diego County Water Authority has an unusual plan to use the city’s scenic San Vicente Reservoir to store solar power so it’s available after sunset. The project, and others like it, could help unlock America’s clean energy future. Perhaps a decade from now, if all goes smoothly, large underground pipes will connect this Read more about A California project would store solar energy to use when the sun goes down in water batteries[…]

Crooks use POS malware to steal 167,000 credit card numbers from shops with open VNC + RDP ports

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Cybercriminals have used two strains of point-of-sale (POS) malware to steal the details of more than 167,000 credit cards from payment terminals. The backend command-and-control (C2) server that operates the MajikPOS and Treasure Hunter malware remains active, according to Group-IB’s Nikolay Shelekhov and Said Khamchiev, and “the number of victims keeps growing,” they said this Read more about Crooks use POS malware to steal 167,000 credit card numbers from shops with open VNC + RDP ports[…]

Lenovo reveals rollable growing laptop and smartphone screens

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Lenovo has staged its annual Tech World gabfest and teased devices with rollable OLED screens that shrink or expand as applications demand. The company emitted the video below to show off its rollables. We’ve embedded and set the vid to start at the moment the rollable phone is demoed. The rollable laptop demo starts at Read more about Lenovo reveals rollable growing laptop and smartphone screens[…]

Google’s Privacy Settings Finally Won’t Break It’s Apps Anymore, require using My Ad Center

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] It used to be that the only way to prevent Google from using your data for targeted ads was turning off personalized ads across your whole account, or disabling specific kinds of data using a couple of settings, including Web & App Activity and YouTube History. Those two settings control whether Google collects certain Read more about Google’s Privacy Settings Finally Won’t Break It’s Apps Anymore, require using My Ad Center[…]

Texas sues Google for allegedly capturing biometric data of millions without consent

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Texas has filed a lawsuit against Alphabet’s (GOOGL.O) Google for allegedly collecting biometric data of millions of Texans without obtaining proper consent, the attorney general’s office said in a statement on Thursday. The complaint says that companies operating in Texas have been barred for more than a decade from collecting people’s faces, voices or other Read more about Texas sues Google for allegedly capturing biometric data of millions without consent[…]

Advocate Aurora Health leaks 3 million patient’s data to big tech through webtracker installation

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A hospital network in Wisconsin and Illinois fears visitor tracking code on its websites may have transmitted personal information on as many as 3 million patients to Meta, Google, and other third parties. Advocate Aurora Health (AAH) reported the potential breach to the US government’s Health and Human Services. As well as millions of patients, Read more about Advocate Aurora Health leaks 3 million patient’s data to big tech through webtracker installation[…]

India fines Google ₹1,337.76 crore ($162 million) for Android monopoly abuse

Posted on by Robin Edgar

India’s Competition Commission has announced it will fine Google ₹1,337.76 crore (₹13,377,600,000 or $161.5 million) for abusing its dominant position in multiple markets in the Android Mobile device ecosystem and ordered the company to open the Android ecosystem to competition […] The Commission found Google was dominant in all five markets and worked to preserve Read more about India fines Google ₹1,337.76 crore ($162 million) for Android monopoly abuse[…]

Ring Cameras Are Being Used To Control and Surveil Overworked Delivery Workers

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Networked doorbell surveillance cameras like Amazon’s Ring are everywhere, and have changed the nature of delivery work by letting customers take on the role of bosses to monitor, control, and discipline workers, according to a recent report (PDF) by the Data & Society tech research institute. “The growing popularity of Ring and other networked doorbell Read more about Ring Cameras Are Being Used To Control and Surveil Overworked Delivery Workers[…]

TikTok joins Uber, Facebook in Monitoring The Physical Location Of Specific American Citizens

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The team behind the monitoring project — ByteDance’s Internal Audit and Risk Control department — is led by Beijing-based executive Song Ye, who reports to ByteDance cofounder and CEO Rubo Liang. The team primarily conducts investigations into potential misconduct by current and former ByteDance employees. But in at least two cases, the Internal Audit team Read more about TikTok joins Uber, Facebook in Monitoring The Physical Location Of Specific American Citizens[…]

iOS 16 VPN Tunnels Leak Data, Even When Lockdown Mode Is Enabled

Posted on by Robin Edgar

AmiMoJo shares a report from MacRumors: iOS 16 continues to leak data outside an active VPN tunnel, even when Lockdown mode is enabled, security researchers have discovered. Speaking to MacRumors, security researchers Tommy Mysk and Talal Haj Bakry explained that iOS 16’s approach to VPN traffic is the same whether Lockdown mode is enabled or Read more about iOS 16 VPN Tunnels Leak Data, Even When Lockdown Mode Is Enabled[…]

Shein Owner Fined $1.9 Million For Failing To Notify 39 Million Users of Data Breach – Slashdot

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Zoetop, the firm that owns Shein and its sister brand Romwe, has been fined (PDF) $1.9 million by New York for failing to properly disclose a data breach from 2018. TechCrunch reports: A cybersecurity attack that originated in 2018 resulted in the theft of 39 million Shein account credentials, including those of more than 375,000 Read more about Shein Owner Fined $1.9 Million For Failing To Notify 39 Million Users of Data Breach – Slashdot[…]

Scientists grow human brain cells to play Pong

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Researchers have succeeded in growing brain cells in a lab and hooking them up to electronic connectors proving they can learn to play the seminal console game Pong. Led by Brett Kagan, chief scientific officer at Cortical Labs, the researchers showed that by integrating neurons into digital systems they could harness “the inherent adaptive computation Read more about Scientists grow human brain cells to play Pong[…]

Meta’s New $1499 Headset Will Track Your Eyes for Targeted Ads

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Earlier this week, Meta revealed the Meta Quest Pro, the company’s most premium virtual reality headset to date with a new processor and screen, dramatically redesigned body and controllers, and inward-facing cameras for eye and face tracking. “To celebrate the $1,500 headset, Meta made some fun new additions to its privacy policy, including one titled Read more about Meta’s New $1499 Headset Will Track Your Eyes for Targeted Ads[…]

AI recruitment software is ‘automated pseudoscience’ says Cambridge study

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Claims that AI-powered recruitment software can boost diversity of new hires at a workplace were debunked in a study published this week. Advocates of machine learning algorithms trained to analyze body language and predict the emotional intelligence of candidates believe the software provides a fairer way to assess workers if it doesn’t consider gender and Read more about AI recruitment software is ‘automated pseudoscience’ says Cambridge study[…]

Android Leaks Some Traffic Even When ‘Always-On VPN’ Is Enabled – Slashdot

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Mullvad VPN has discovered that Android leaks traffic every time the device connects to a WiFi network, even if the “Block connections without VPN,” or “Always-on VPN,” features is enabled. BleepingComputer reports: The data being leaked outside VPN tunnels includes source IP addresses, DNS lookups, HTTPS traffic, and likely also NTP traffic. This behavior is Read more about Android Leaks Some Traffic Even When ‘Always-On VPN’ Is Enabled – Slashdot[…]

Google Starts Testing Holographic Video Chats at Real Offices

Posted on by Robin Edgar

https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/google-starts-testing-holographic-video-chats-at-real-offices/ Google’s Project Starline, a holographic chat booth being installed in some early-access test offices this year. Google Project Starline, Google’s experimental technology using holographic light field displays to video chat with distant co-workers, is moving out of Google’s offices and into some real corporate locations for testing starting this year. Google’s Project Starline tech, Read more about Google Starts Testing Holographic Video Chats at Real Offices[…]

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Posted on by Robin Edgar

A dark web carding market named ‘BidenCash’ has released a massive dump of 1,221,551 credit cards to promote their marketplace, allowing anyone to download them for free to conduct financial fraud. Carding is the trafficking and use of credit cards stolen through point-of-sale malware, magecart attacks on websites, or information-stealing malware. BidenCash is a stolen cards marketplace launched Read more about Default title[…]

IKEA TRÅDFRI smart lighting hacked to blink and reset

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Researchers at the Synopsys Cybersecurity Research Center (CyRC) have discovered an availability vulnerability in the IKEA TRÅDFRI smart lighting system. An attacker sending a single malformed IEEE 802.15.4 (Zigbee) frame makes the TRÅDFRI bulb blink, and if they replay (i.e. resend) the same frame multiple times, the bulb performs a factory reset. This causes the Read more about IKEA TRÅDFRI smart lighting hacked to blink and reset[…]

AI’s Recommendations Can Shape Your Preferences

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Many of the things we watch, read, and buy enter our awareness through recommender systems on sites including YouTube, Twitter, and Amazon. […] Recommender systems might not only tailor to our most regrettable preferences, but actually shape what we like, making preferences even more regrettable. New research suggests a way to measure—and reduce—such manipulation. […] Read more about AI’s Recommendations Can Shape Your Preferences[…]

French appeals court slashes Apple’s paltry 1 week profit price fixing anti competition fine

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Instead of a week of profits, mere days of net income for Cook €1.1 billion fine levied against Apple by French authorities has been cut by two-thirds to just €372 million ($363 million) – an even more paltry sum for the world’s first company to surpass $3 trillion in market valuation. The three-comma invoice was Read more about French appeals court slashes Apple’s paltry 1 week profit price fixing anti competition fine[…]