The Linkielist

Linking ideas with the world

Script kiddie Hackers publish personal data on thousands of US police officers and federal agents and have more in the pipeline

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A hacker group has breached several FBI-affiliated websites and uploaded their contents to the web, including dozens of files containing the personal information of thousands of federal agents and law enforcement officers, TechCrunch has learned. The hackers breached three sites associated with the FBI National Academy Association, a coalition of different chapters across the U.S. Read more about Script kiddie Hackers publish personal data on thousands of US police officers and federal agents and have more in the pipeline[…]

AI predicts hospital readmission rates from clinical notes

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Electronic health records store valuable information about hospital patients, but they’re often sparse and unstructured, making them difficult for potentially labor- and time-saving AI systems to parse. Fortunately, researchers at New York University and Princeton have developed a framework that evaluates clinical notes (i.e., descriptions of symptoms, reasons for diagnoses, and radiology results) and autonomously Read more about AI predicts hospital readmission rates from clinical notes[…]

Sonos finally blasted in complaint to UK privacy watchdog – lets hope they do something with it

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Sonos stands accused of seeking to obtain “excessive” amounts of personal data without valid consent in a complaint filed with the UK’s data watchdog. The complaint, lodged by tech lawyer George Gardiner in a personal capacity, challenges the Sonos privacy policy’s compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation and the UK’s implementation of that law. Read more about Sonos finally blasted in complaint to UK privacy watchdog – lets hope they do something with it[…]

Two out of three hotels accidentally leak guests’ personal data to third parties

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Two out of three hotel websites inadvertently leak guests’ booking details and personal data to third-party sites, including advertisers and analytics companies, according to research released by Symantec Corp on Wednesday. The study, which looked at more than 1,500 hotel websites in 54 countries that ranged from two-star to five-star properties, comes several months after Read more about Two out of three hotels accidentally leak guests’ personal data to third parties[…]

Increase Your Privacy in Windows 10 With ‘O&O ShutUp10’

Posted on by Robin Edgar

You might not even know what options you can tweak (or turn off) in your operating system, which is where the cleverly named O&O ShutUp10 application comes in to play. It’s a simple application that makes it incredibly easy to tweak various aspects of Windows 10 that are normally buried or otherwise inaccessible to regular people. Read more about Increase Your Privacy in Windows 10 With ‘O&O ShutUp10’[…]

Assange Charges Finally Reveal Why Chelsea Manning Is Sitting in Jail

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Charges announced by the Justice Department on Thursday against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange provide fresh insight into why federal prosecutors sought to question whistleblower Chelsea Manning last month before a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia. Manning, convicted in 2013 of leaking classified U.S. government documents to WikiLeaks, was jailed in early Read more about Assange Charges Finally Reveal Why Chelsea Manning Is Sitting in Jail[…]

EU Tells Internet Archive That Much Of Its Site Is ‘Terrorist Content’, shows how it will censor the internet with no recourse

Posted on by Robin Edgar

We’ve been trying to explain for the past few months just how absolutely insane the new EU Terrorist Content Regulation will be for the internet. Among many other bad provisions, the big one is that it would require content removal within one hour as long as any “competent authority” within the EU sends a notice Read more about EU Tells Internet Archive That Much Of Its Site Is ‘Terrorist Content’, shows how it will censor the internet with no recourse[…]

Serious flaws found in WPA3’s wifi Handshake

Posted on by Robin Edgar

because WPA2 is more than 14 years old, the Wi-Fi Alliance recently announced the new and more secure WPA3 protocol. One of the main advantages of WPA3 is that, thanks to its underlying Dragonfly handshake, it’s near impossible to crack the password of a network. Unfortunately, we found that even with WPA3, an attacker within Read more about Serious flaws found in WPA3’s wifi Handshake[…]

A Team At Amazon Is Listening To Recordings Captured By Alexa

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Seven people, described as having worked in Amazon’s voice review program, told Bloomberg that they sometimes listen to as many as 1,000 recordings per shift, and that the recordings are associated with the customer’s first name, their device’s serial number, and an account number. Among other clips, these employees and contractors said they’ve reviewed recordings Read more about A Team At Amazon Is Listening To Recordings Captured By Alexa[…]

Does Google meet its users’ expectations around consumer privacy? This news industry research says no

Posted on by Robin Edgar

While the ethics around data collection and consumer privacy have been questioned for years, it wasn’t until Facebook’s Cambridge Analytics scandal that people began to realize how frequently their personal data is shared, transferred, and monetized without their permission. Cambridge Analytica was by no means an isolated case. Last summer, an AP investigation found that Read more about Does Google meet its users’ expectations around consumer privacy? This news industry research says no[…]

Google and other tech giants are quietly buying up the most important part of the internet

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In February, the company announced its intention to move forward with the development of the Curie cable, a new undersea line stretching from California to Chile. It will be the first private intercontinental cable ever built by a major non-telecom company. And if you step back and just look at intracontinental cables, Google has fully financed Read more about Google and other tech giants are quietly buying up the most important part of the internet[…]

Toyota to give royalty-free access to hybrid-vehicle patents

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The pledge by one of the world’s biggest automakers to share its closely guarded patents, the second time it has opened up a technology, is aimed at driving industry uptake of hybrids and fending off the challenge of all-battery electric vehicles(EVs). Toyota said it would grant licenses on nearly 24,000 patents on technologies used in Read more about Toyota to give royalty-free access to hybrid-vehicle patents[…]

Unidentified satellites reveal the need for better space tracking

Posted on by Robin Edgar

On the afternoon of December 3rd, 2018, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket took off from the southern coast of California, lofting the largest haul of individual satellites the vehicle had ever transported. At the time, it seemed like the mission was a slam dunk, with all 64 satellites deploying into space as designed. But nearly Read more about Unidentified satellites reveal the need for better space tracking[…]

Carbon Engineering receives $68m from energy companies to turn CO2 from air into fuel

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A technology that removes carbon dioxide from the air has received significant backing from major fossil fuel companies.British Columbia-based Carbon Engineering has shown that it can extract CO2 in a cost-effective way.It has now been boosted by $68m in new investment from Chevron, Occidental and coal giant BHP. […] The quest for technology for carbon Read more about Carbon Engineering receives $68m from energy companies to turn CO2 from air into fuel[…]

Android TV update puts home-screen ads on multi-thousand-dollar Sony Smart TVs, you can’t get rid of them for long either

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Google is trying out a new “Pilot Program” that puts a row of advertisements on the Android TV home screen. XDA Developers was the first to report on the new phenomenon, saying, “We’re currently seeing reports that it has shown up in Sony smart TVs, the Mi Box 3 from Xiaomi, NVIDIA Shield TV, and Read more about Android TV update puts home-screen ads on multi-thousand-dollar Sony Smart TVs, you can’t get rid of them for long either[…]

Marketplace Pulse study on Amazon products shows blistering sales figures in article, but titles it: Far from successful.

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Juozas Kaziukenas’ article “Amazon-Owned Brands Far From Successful” is based on a report he set up called “Amazon Private Label Brands“. This report is oddly disjointed, crossing statistics in and out, changing his metrics at random and finally coming out with a conclusion which is totally at variance with the content of the article. It’s Read more about Marketplace Pulse study on Amazon products shows blistering sales figures in article, but titles it: Far from successful.[…]

Satellite plane-tracking goes global

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The US firm Aireon says its new satellite surveillance network is now fully live and being trialled over the North Atlantic. The system employs a constellation of 66 spacecraft, which monitor the situational messages pumped out by aircraft transponders. These report a plane’s position, altitude, direction and speed every eight seconds. The two big navigation Read more about Satellite plane-tracking goes global[…]

Dutch  medical patient files moved to Google Cloud – MPs want to know if US intelligence agencies can view them

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Of course the US can look in, under CLOUD rules, because Google is an American company. The move of the files has been done without consent from the patients by Medical Research Data Management, a commercial company, because (they say), the hospitals have given permission. Also, hospitals don’t need to ask for patient permission, because Read more about Dutch  medical patient files moved to Google Cloud – MPs want to know if US intelligence agencies can view them[…]

540 Million Facebook User Records Exposed Online, Plus Passwords, Comments, and More

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Researchers at the cybersecurity firm UpGuard on Wednesday said they had discovered the existence of two datasets together containing the personal data of hundreds of millions of Facebook users. Both were left publicly accessible. In a blog post, UpGuard connected one of the leaky databases to a Mexico-based media company called Cultura Colectiva. The data Read more about 540 Million Facebook User Records Exposed Online, Plus Passwords, Comments, and More[…]

A patchy Apache a-patchin: HTTP server gets fix for worrying root access hole

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Apache HTTP Server has been given a patch to address a potentially serious elevation of privilege vulnerability. Designated CVE-2019-0211, the flaw allows a “worker” process to change its privileges when the host server resets itself, potentially allowing anyone with a local account to run commands with root clearance, essentially giving them complete control over the Read more about A patchy Apache a-patchin: HTTP server gets fix for worrying root access hole[…]

Linux Mint 19.2 ‘Tina’ is on the way, but the developers seem defeated and depressed

Posted on by Robin Edgar

I have been a bit critical of Linux Mint in the past, but the truth is, it is a great distribution that many people enjoy. While Mint is not my favorite desktop distro (that would be Fedora), I recognize its quality. Is it perfect? No, there is no such thing as a flawless Linux-based operating Read more about Linux Mint 19.2 ‘Tina’ is on the way, but the developers seem defeated and depressed[…]

Facebook Is Just Casually Asking Some New Users for Their Email Passwords [note – never give out your email password!!!!]

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Facebook has been prompting some users registering for the first time to hand over the passwords to their email accounts, the Daily Beast reported on Tuesday—a practice that blares right past questionable and into “beyond sketchy” territory, security consultant Jake Williams told the Beast. A Twitter account using the handle @originalesushi first posted an image Read more about Facebook Is Just Casually Asking Some New Users for Their Email Passwords [note – never give out your email password!!!!][…]

DOJ Warns Academy Over Proposed Oscar Rule Changes that exclude Netflix and other streamers

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The Justice Department has warned the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences that its potential rule changes limiting the eligibility of Netflix and other streaming services for the Oscars could raise antitrust concerns and violate competition law. According to a letter obtained by Variety, the chief of the DOJ’s Antitrust Division, Makan Delrahim, wrote Read more about DOJ Warns Academy Over Proposed Oscar Rule Changes that exclude Netflix and other streamers[…]

India’s Anti-Satellite Test Could Threaten the International Space Station

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Last week, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the country’s space agency had tested a new anti-satellite weapon by destroying a satellite already in orbit. Now, an announcement by NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine claims that India’s test could endanger other satellites and objects in orbit—including the International Space Station. India launched a missile at a Read more about India’s Anti-Satellite Test Could Threaten the International Space Station[…]

Former NSA spies hacked BBC host, Al Jazeera chairman for UAE

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A group of American hackers who once worked for U.S. intelligence agencies helped the United Arab Emirates spy on a BBC host, the chairman of Al Jazeera and other prominent Arab media figures during a tense 2017 confrontation pitting the UAE and its allies against the Gulf state of Qatar. The American operatives worked for Project Read more about Former NSA spies hacked BBC host, Al Jazeera chairman for UAE[…]