The Linkielist

Linking ideas with the world

U.K. orders Apple to let it spy on users’ encrypted Data in Secret Order – guess they didn’t learn from the Chinese hack of the US telco system then

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Security officials in the United Kingdom have demanded that Apple create a back door allowing them to retrieve all the content any Apple user worldwide has uploaded to the cloud, people familiar with the matter told The Washington Post. The British government’s undisclosed order, issued last month, requires blanket capability to view fully encrypted material, Read more about U.K. orders Apple to let it spy on users’ encrypted Data in Secret Order – guess they didn’t learn from the Chinese hack of the US telco system then[…]

Stellantis Introduces Pop-Up Ads in Vehicles, Bombarding your Jeep, Dodge, Chrysler display every time you stop

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Car technology is supposed to make driving safer, smoother, and more enjoyable. But Stellantis, the parent company of Jeep, Dodge, Chrysler, and Ram, seems to have taken a different approach—one that prioritizes ad revenue over user experience. In a move that has left drivers both frustrated and bewildered, Stellantis has introduced full-screen pop-up ads on Read more about Stellantis Introduces Pop-Up Ads in Vehicles, Bombarding your Jeep, Dodge, Chrysler display every time you stop[…]

Buy now, pay later installment payments increase retail spending, study finds

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…]Buy now, pay later (BNPL) is an increasingly popular payment method, allowing customers to spread payment into interest-free installments over a few weeks or months. Worldwide BNPL spending was $316 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow to $450 billion by 2027. With major retailers such as Walmart and H&M partnering with BNPL providers Read more about Buy now, pay later installment payments increase retail spending, study finds[…]

NASA Demonstrates Software ‘Brains’ Shared Across Satellite Swarms

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] Distributed Spacecraft Autonomy (DSA), allows individual spacecraft to make independent decisions while collaborating with each other to achieve common goals – all without human input. NASA researchers have achieved multiple firsts in tests of such swarm technology as part of the agency’s DSA project. Managed at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, Read more about NASA Demonstrates Software ‘Brains’ Shared Across Satellite Swarms[…]

Unions Sue to Block Elon Musk’s Access to Americans’ Tax and Benefits Records

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A coalition of labor organizations representing federal workers and retirees has sued the Department of the Treasury to block it from giving the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, controlled by Elon Musk, access to the federal government’s sensitive payment systems. After forcing out a security official who opposed the move, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Read more about Unions Sue to Block Elon Musk’s Access to Americans’ Tax and Benefits Records[…]

Apple chips can be hacked to leak secrets from Gmail, iCloud, and more in a browser

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Apple-designed chips powering Macs, iPhones, and iPads contain two newly discovered vulnerabilities that leak credit card information, locations, and other sensitive data from the Chrome and Safari browsers as they visit sites such as iCloud Calendar, Google Maps, and Proton Mail. The vulnerabilities, affecting the CPUs in later generations of Apple A- and M-series chip Read more about Apple chips can be hacked to leak secrets from Gmail, iCloud, and more in a browser[…]

AI-assisted works can get finally copyright with enough human creativity, says US copyright office

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Artists can copyright works they made with the help of artificial intelligence, according to a new report by the U.S. Copyright Office that could further clear the way for the use of AI tools in Hollywood, the music industry and other creative fields. The nation’s copyright office, which sits in the Library of Congress and Read more about AI-assisted works can get finally copyright with enough human creativity, says US copyright office[…]

Astronomers Call for Global Ban on Space Advertising Before It’s Too Late

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In a statement adopted in October 2024, the American Astronomical Society declared that humankind’s scientific understanding of the universe is under threat from space activities, including the proliferation of satellite constellations, space debris, and radio- and electromagnetic interference. Of note is the potential for a space-based eyesore: giant billboards hanging out in low Earth orbit. Read more about Astronomers Call for Global Ban on Space Advertising Before It’s Too Late[…]

WhatsApp says journalists and civil society members were targets of Israeli spyware

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Nearly 100 journalists and other members of civil society using WhatsApp, the popular messaging app owned by Meta, were targeted by spyware owned by Paragon Solutions, an Israeli maker of hacking software, the company alleged on Friday. The journalists and other civil society members were being alerted of a possible breach of their devices, with Read more about WhatsApp says journalists and civil society members were targets of Israeli spyware[…]

US healthcare provider data breach impacts 1 million patients

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Community Health Center (CHC), a leading Connecticut healthcare provider, is notifying over 1 million patients of a data breach that impacted their personal and health data. The non-profit organization provides primary medical, dental, and mental health services to more than 145,000 active patients. CHC said in a Thursday filing with Maine’s attorney general that unknown Read more about US healthcare provider data breach impacts 1 million patients[…]

Boom! The XB-1 Demonstrator Jet Has Gone Supersonic

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Boom Supersonic’s XB-1 demonstrator has broken the sound barrier, marking a major milestone in the effort that hopes to lead to a larger 55-seat supersonic airliner design known as Overture. Overall, the program could have significant implications not only for commercial aviation but also for the military. Boom Supersonic’s XB-1 demonstrator eases past the sound Read more about Boom! The XB-1 Demonstrator Jet Has Gone Supersonic[…]

Pebble Founder Is Bringing the Smartwatch Back as Google Open-Sources Its Software

Posted on by Robin Edgar

There’s some good news to share for Pebble fans: The no-frills smartwatch is making a comeback. The Verge spoke to Pebble founder Eric Migicovsky today, who says he was able to convince Google to open-source the smartwatch’s operating system. Migicovsky is in the early stages of prototyping a new watch and spinning up a company Read more about Pebble Founder Is Bringing the Smartwatch Back as Google Open-Sources Its Software[…]

Phone Metadata Suddenly Not So ‘Harmless’ When It’s The FBI’s Data Being Harvested

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] While trying to fend off attacks on Section 215 collections (most of which are governed [in the loosest sense of the word] by the Third Party Doctrine), the NSA and its domestic-facing remora, the FBI, insisted collecting and storing massive amounts of phone metadata was no more a constitutional violation than it was a Read more about Phone Metadata Suddenly Not So ‘Harmless’ When It’s The FBI’s Data Being Harvested[…]

Trump Disbands Cybersecurity Board Investigating Worst Hack in US History: Massive Chinese Phone System Invasion

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] We’re still nowhere near understanding just how bad the Chinese hack of our phone system was. The incident that was only discovered last fall involved the Chinese hacking group Salt Typhoon, which used the US’s CALEA phone wiretapping system as a backdoor to gain incredible, unprecedented access to much of the US’s phone system Read more about Trump Disbands Cybersecurity Board Investigating Worst Hack in US History: Massive Chinese Phone System Invasion[…]

Circle to Search now offers one-tap actions for phone numbers, emails and URLs

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] As a reminder, Circle to Search is an AI-powered feature Google released at the start of last year. You can access it by long-pressing your phone’s home button and then circling something with your finger. At its most basic, the feature is a way to use Google Search from anywhere on your phone, with Read more about Circle to Search now offers one-tap actions for phone numbers, emails and URLs[…]

Subaru Security Flaws Exposed Its System for Tracking, remote controlling Millions of Cars

Posted on by Robin Edgar

About a year ago, security researcher Sam Curry bought his mother a Subaru, on the condition that, at some point in the near future, she let him hack it. It took Curry until last November, when he was home for Thanksgiving, to begin examining the 2023 Impreza’s internet-connected features and start looking for ways to Read more about Subaru Security Flaws Exposed Its System for Tracking, remote controlling Millions of Cars[…]

Magic packet Backdoor found on Juniper VPN routers

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Someone has been quietly backdooring selected Juniper routers around the world in key sectors including semiconductor, energy, and manufacturing, since at least mid-2023. The devices were infected with what appears to be a variant of cd00r, a publicly available “invisible backdoor” designed to operate stealthily on a victim’s machine by monitoring network traffic for specific Read more about Magic packet Backdoor found on Juniper VPN routers[…]

F-35 AI-Enabled Drone Controller Capability Successfully Demonstrated

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Lockheed Martin says the stealthy F-35 Joint Strike Fighter now has a firmly demonstrated ability to act as an in-flight ‘quarterback’ for advanced drones like the U.S. Air Force’s future Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) with the help of artificial intelligence-enabled systems. The company states that its testing has also shown a touchscreen tablet-like device is Read more about F-35 AI-Enabled Drone Controller Capability Successfully Demonstrated[…]

The EU’s AI Act – a very quick primer on what and why

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Have you ever been in a group project where one person decided to take a shortcut, and suddenly, everyone ended up under stricter rules? That’s essentially what the EU is saying to tech companies with the AI Act: “Because some of you couldn’t resist being creepy, we now have to regulate everything.” This legislation isn’t Read more about The EU’s AI Act – a very quick primer on what and why[…]

Inheritance, “cronyism and corruption” or monopoly power grows billionaire wealth in 2024 in second-largest annual increase since records began

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The wealth of the world’s billionaires grew by $2tn (£1.64tn) last year, three times faster than in 2023, amounting to $5.7bn (£4.7bn) a day, according to a report by Oxfam. The latest inequality report from the charity reveals that the world is now on track to have five trillionaires within a decade, a change from Read more about Inheritance, “cronyism and corruption” or monopoly power grows billionaire wealth in 2024 in second-largest annual increase since records began[…]

Bluesky 2024 Moderation Report shows 17x more user content reports with 10x user growth fed by Brazilians serial complainers

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] In 2024, Bluesky grew from 2.89M users to 25.94M users. In addition to users hosted on Bluesky’s infrastructure, there are over 4,000 users running their own infrastructure (Personal Data Servers), self-hosting their content, posts, and data. To meet the demands caused by user growth, we’ve increased our moderation team to roughly 100 moderators and Read more about Bluesky 2024 Moderation Report shows 17x more user content reports with 10x user growth fed by Brazilians serial complainers[…]

ChatGPT crawler flaw opens door to DDoS, prompt injection

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In a write-up shared this month via Microsoft’s GitHub, Benjamin Flesch, a security researcher in Germany, explains how a single HTTP request to the ChatGPT API can be used to flood a targeted website with network requests from the ChatGPT crawler, specifically ChatGPT-User. This flood of connections may or may not be enough to knock Read more about ChatGPT crawler flaw opens door to DDoS, prompt injection[…]

Robotic exoskeleton can train expert pianists to play faster

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A robotic hand exoskeleton can help expert pianists learn to play even faster by moving their fingers for them. Robotic exoskeletons have long been used to rehabilitate people who can no longer use their hands due to an injury or medical condition, but using them to improve the abilities of able-bodied people has been less Read more about Robotic exoskeleton can train expert pianists to play faster[…]

As Zuckerberg Goes Around Whining About Biden, He Made Sure To First Get His New Approach Approved By Trump

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Remember how Zuckerberg was “done with politics”? Remember how he promised that he was going to stop doing what politicians demanded he do? Now it turns out that he not only did his big set of moderation changes to please Trump, but did so only after he was told by the incoming administration to act. Read more about As Zuckerberg Goes Around Whining About Biden, He Made Sure To First Get His New Approach Approved By Trump[…]

NY Post: Fact Checking Is Now Censorship

Posted on by Robin Edgar

This was inevitable, ever since Donald Trump and the MAGA world freaked out when social media’s attempts to fact-check the President were deemed “censorship.” The reaction was both swift and entirely predictable. After all, how dare anyone question Dear Leader’s proclamations, even if they are demonstrably false? It wasn’t long before we started to see Read more about NY Post: Fact Checking Is Now Censorship[…]