Author: Robin Edgar

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

Something good from the war: Russia Says Its Businesses Can Use Patents From Anyone In ‘Unfriendly’ Countries

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Russia has effectively legalized patent theft from anyone affiliated with countries “unfriendly” to it, declaring that unauthorized use will not be compensated. The Washington Post reports: The decree, issued this week, illustrates the economic war waged around Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as the West levies sanctions and pulls away from Russia’s huge oil and gas Read more about Something good from the war: Russia Says Its Businesses Can Use Patents From Anyone In ‘Unfriendly’ Countries[…]

Android will soon let you archive apps to save space

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[…] Google announced today it’s working on a new feature it estimates will reduce the space some apps take up by approximately 60 percent. Best of all, your personal data won’t be affected. The feature is called app archiving and will arrive later this year. Rather than uninstalling an app completely, it instead temporarily removes Read more about Android will soon let you archive apps to save space[…]

HBO hit with class action lawsuit for allegedly sharing subscriber data with Facebook

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HBO is facing a class action lawsuit over allegations that it gave subscribers’ viewing history to Facebook without proper permission, Variety has reported. The suit accuses HBO of providing Facebook with customer lists, allowing the social network to match viewing habits with their profiles. It further alleges that HBO knows Facebook can combine the data Read more about HBO hit with class action lawsuit for allegedly sharing subscriber data with Facebook[…]

Italy slaps creepy webscraping facial recognition firm Clearview AI with €20 million fine

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Italy’s data privacy watchdog said it will fine the controversial facial recognition firm Clearview AI for breaching EU law. An investigation by Garante, Italy’s data protection authority, found that the company’s database of 10 billion images of faces includes those of Italians and residents in Italy. The New York City-based firm is being fined €20 Read more about Italy slaps creepy webscraping facial recognition firm Clearview AI with €20 million fine[…]

The new silent majority: People who don’t tweet – and are political independents

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Most people you meet in everyday life — at work, in the neighborhood — are decent and normal. Even nice. But hit Twitter or watch the news, and you’d think we were all nuts and nasty. Why it matters: The rising power and prominence of the nation’s loudest, meanest voices obscures what most of us Read more about The new silent majority: People who don’t tweet – and are political independents[…]

Changing touchscreen friction and rendering of virtual shapes through change in surface temperature

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In this work, we show a large modulation of finger friction by locally changing surface temperature. Experiments showed that finger friction can be increased by ~50% with a surface temperature increase from 23° to 42°C, which was attributed to the temperature dependence of the viscoelasticity and the moisture level of human skin. Rendering virtual features, Read more about Changing touchscreen friction and rendering of virtual shapes through change in surface temperature[…]

Samsung Galaxy Source Code Stolen in Data Breach, might show they slow down specific apps

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Samsung confirmed on Monday that a cybersecurity attack exposed sensitive internal data including source code for Galaxy smartphones. The group claiming responsibility for the attack, Lapsus$, is the same hacking outfit that breached Nvidia last week and leaked employee credentials and proprietary information onto the internet. In the Samsung hack, the group purportedly posted a Read more about Samsung Galaxy Source Code Stolen in Data Breach, might show they slow down specific apps[…]

Ice Cream Machine Repairers Sue McDonald’s for $900 Million

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For years, the tiny startup Kytch worked to invent and sell a device designed to fix McDonald’s notoriously broken ice cream machines, only to watch the fast food Goliath crush their business like the hopes of so many would-be McFlurry customers. Now Kytch is instead seeking to serve out cold revenge—nearly a billion dollars worth Read more about Ice Cream Machine Repairers Sue McDonald’s for $900 Million[…]

Ukraine state media leaks details of 120,000 Russians soldier on website

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Ukrainian news website Ukrainska Pravda says the nation’s Centre for Defence Strategies think tank has obtained the personal details of 120,000 Russian servicemen fighting in Ukraine. The publication has now shared this data freely on its website. The Register and others have been unable to fully verify the accuracy of the data from the leak. Read more about Ukraine state media leaks details of 120,000 Russians soldier on website[…]

Hackers hacked by Nvidia Demand NVIDIA Open Source Their Drivers Or They Leak More Data

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Hackers that infiltrated NVIDIA systems are now threatening to release more confidential information unless the company commits to open sourcing their drivers. It is unclear what the stolen data contains, but the group confirmed that there are 250GB of hardware related data in their possession. Furthermore, the group confirmed they have evaluated NVIDIA position, which Read more about Hackers hacked by Nvidia Demand NVIDIA Open Source Their Drivers Or They Leak More Data[…]

These Two Mictic Bluetooth Bracelets Put an Entire Orchestra of Virtual Instruments in Your Hands (IOS only :'( )

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[…] the Mictic One are two Bkuetooth bracelets equipped with movement sensors. The bracelets connect to a mobile device (only iOS at the moment, but the Android version is under development). From the Mictic application, we can select different musical instruments and control the sound they produce by moving our hands and arms. Think of Read more about These Two Mictic Bluetooth Bracelets Put an Entire Orchestra of Virtual Instruments in Your Hands (IOS only :'( )[…]

NSA report: This is how you should be securing your network

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The National Security Agency (NSA) has released a new report that gives all organizations the most current advice on how to protect their IT network infrastructures from cyberattacks. NSA’s report ‘Cybersecurity Technical Report (CTR): Network Infrastructure Security Guidance‘ is available freely for all network admins and CIOs to bolster their networks from state-sponsored and criminal Read more about NSA report: This is how you should be securing your network[…]

Opinion: Russia is now reaching endgame in Ukraine

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Thesis: pretty soon Russia will stop their war. They have linked up the landmass to the Crimea, control access to the Black Sea and that was their goal all along. They don’t have enough soldiers to take over and administer the Ukraine. The police forces in the Ukraine will never align with a Russian puppet Read more about Opinion: Russia is now reaching endgame in Ukraine[…]

BitConnect boss accused of $2.4bn fraud has disappeared

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Satish Kumbhani, who is accused of scamming people out of $2.4bn in a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme, has disappeared while evading an American watchdog, a court was told this week. The BitConnect founder fled his home nation of India and went to ground in another country as the US Securities and Exchange Commission sought to serve Read more about BitConnect boss accused of $2.4bn fraud has disappeared[…]

UK Online Safety Bill to require more data to use social media – eg send them your passport

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The country’s forthcoming Online Safety Bill will require citizens to hand over even more personal data to largely foreign-headquartered social media platforms, government minister Nadine Dorries has declared. “The vast majority of social networks used in the UK do not require people to share any personal details about themselves – they are able to identify Read more about UK Online Safety Bill to require more data to use social media – eg send them your passport[…]

Samsung Screwed Up Encryption on 100M Phones

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Samsung shipped an estimated 100 million smartphones with botched encryption, including models ranging from the 2017 Galaxy S8 on up to last year’s Galaxy S21. Researchers at Tel Aviv University found what they called “severe” cryptographic design flaws that could have let attackers siphon the devices’ hardware-based cryptographic keys: keys that unlock the treasure trove Read more about Samsung Screwed Up Encryption on 100M Phones[…]

EU Data Watchdog Calls for Total Ban of Pegasus Spyware

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Israeli authorities say it should be probed and U.S. authorities are calling for it to be sanctioned, but EU officials have a different idea for how to handle Pegasus spyware: just ban that shit entirely. That’s the main takeaway from a new memo released by EPDS, the Union’s dedicated data watchdog on Tuesday, noting that Read more about EU Data Watchdog Calls for Total Ban of Pegasus Spyware[…]

100 Billion Face Photos? Clearview AI tells investors it’s On Track to Identify ‘Almost Everyone in the World’

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tThe Washington Post reports: Clearview AI is telling investors it is on track to have 100 billion facial photos in its database within a year, enough to ensure “almost everyone in the world will be identifiable,” according to a financial presentation from December obtained by The Washington Post. Those images — equivalent to 14 photos Read more about 100 Billion Face Photos? Clearview AI tells investors it’s On Track to Identify ‘Almost Everyone in the World’[…]

It’s Back: Senators Want ‘EARN IT’ Bill To Scan All Online Messages by private companies – also misusing children as an excuse

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A group of lawmakers have re-introduced the EARN IT Act, an incredibly unpopular bill from 2020 that “would pave the way for a massive new surveillance system, run by private companies, that would roll back some of the most important privacy and security features in technology used by people around the globe,” writes Joe Mullin Read more about It’s Back: Senators Want ‘EARN IT’ Bill To Scan All Online Messages by private companies – also misusing children as an excuse[…]

Revealed: UK Gov’t Plans Publicity Blitz to Undermine Chat Privacy, encryption. Of course they use children. And Fear.

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The UK government is set to launch a multi-pronged publicity attack on end-to-end encryption, Rolling Stone has learned. One key objective: mobilizing public opinion against Facebook’s decision to encrypt its Messenger app. The Home Office has hired the M&C Saatchi advertising agency — a spin-off of Saatchi and Saatchi, which made the “Labour Isn’t Working” Read more about Revealed: UK Gov’t Plans Publicity Blitz to Undermine Chat Privacy, encryption. Of course they use children. And Fear.[…]

PwC’s HSE hack post-incident report should be a textbook for leaders

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Ireland’s Health Services Executive has published a fresh summary of the devastating ransomware attack that hit the country’s healthcare sector in the summer of 2021 — on the back of a detailed public post-incident report by consultancy PwC. The HSE is Ireland’s largest public sector employer, with 130,000+ staff manning 70,000+ IT devices across 4,000 Read more about PwC’s HSE hack post-incident report should be a textbook for leaders[…]

Is Microsoft Stealing People’s Bookmarks, passwords, ID / passport numbers without consent?

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received email from two people who told me that Microsoft Edge enabled synching without warning or consent, which means that Microsoft sucked up all of their bookmarks. Of course they can turn synching off, but it’s too late. Has this happened to anyone else, or was this user error of some sort? If this is Read more about Is Microsoft Stealing People’s Bookmarks, passwords, ID / passport numbers without consent?[…]

Penguin Random House Demands Removal Of Maus From Digital Library Because The Book Is Popular Again after ban in the US

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We’ve said it over and over again, if libraries did not exist today, there is no way publishers would allow them to come into existence. We know this, in part, because of their attempts to stop libraries from lending ebooks, and to price ebooks at ridiculous markups to discourage libraries, and their outright claims that Read more about Penguin Random House Demands Removal Of Maus From Digital Library Because The Book Is Popular Again after ban in the US[…]

Yet Another Israeli Malware Manufacturer Found Selling To Human Rights Abusers, Targeting iPhones

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[…] Candiru — another Israeli firm with a long list of questionable customers, including Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Singapore. Now there’s another name to add to the list of NSO-alikes. And (perhaps not oddly enough) this company also calls Israel home. Reuters was the first to report on this NSO’s competitor’s ability Read more about Yet Another Israeli Malware Manufacturer Found Selling To Human Rights Abusers, Targeting iPhones[…]