The Linkielist

Linking ideas with the world

Scientists Find The First-Ever Animal That Doesn’t Need Oxygen to Survive

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Scientists have just discovered that a jellyfish-like parasite doesn’t have a mitochondrial genome – the first multicellular organism known to have this absence. That means it doesn’t breathe; in fact, it lives its life completely free of oxygen dependency. This discovery isn’t just changing our understanding of how life can work here on Earth – Read more about Scientists Find The First-Ever Animal That Doesn’t Need Oxygen to Survive[…]

After blowing $100m to snoop on Americans’ phone call logs for four years, what did the NSA get? Just one lead

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The controversial surveillance program that gave the NSA access to the phone call records of millions of Americans has cost US taxpayers $100m – and resulted in just one useful lead over four years. That’s the upshot of a report [PDF] from the US government’s freshly revived Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB). The Read more about After blowing $100m to snoop on Americans’ phone call logs for four years, what did the NSA get? Just one lead[…]

Wi-Fi of more than a billion PCs, phones, gadgets can be snooped on. But you’re using HTTPS, SSH, VPNs… right?

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A billion-plus computers, phones, and other devices are said to suffer a chip-level security vulnerability that can be exploited by nearby miscreants to snoop on victims’ encrypted Wi-Fi traffic. The flaw [PDF] was branded KrØØk by the bods at Euro infosec outfit ESET who discovered it. The design blunder is otherwise known as CVE-2019-15126, and Read more about Wi-Fi of more than a billion PCs, phones, gadgets can be snooped on. But you’re using HTTPS, SSH, VPNs… right?[…]

Dutch package post will raise prices during gift season and Black Friday

Posted on by Robin Edgar

PostNL will raise prices during SinterKlaas, Christmas and Black Friday. They claim that the package post infrastructure is not sufficient to cope with this raise in demand at those periods and so someone – the webshops, the consumers – have to pay for this spike. PostNL increased turnover with 32m to 471m in the last Read more about Dutch package post will raise prices during gift season and Black Friday[…]

Facebook’s privacy tools are riddled with missing data

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Facebook wants you to think it’s consistently increasing transparency about how the company stores and uses your data. But the company still isn’t revealing everything to its users, according to an investigation by Privacy International. The obvious holes in Facebook’s privacy data exports paint a picture of a company that aims to placate users’ concerns Read more about Facebook’s privacy tools are riddled with missing data[…]

Turkey’s Killer Drone Swarm Poses Syria Air Challenge to Putin

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The retaliation for the killing last week of 33 Turkish soldiers by Syrian forces involved an unprecedented number of drones in coordinated action, said the senior official in Turkey with direct knowledge of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Syria policy. It was the first time a country had commanded the air space over such a large Read more about Turkey’s Killer Drone Swarm Poses Syria Air Challenge to Putin[…]

US Gov wants to spy on all drones all the time: they must be constantly connected to the internet to give Feds real-time location data

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Drone enthusiasts are up in arms over rules proposed by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that would require their flying gizmos to provide real-time location data to the government via an internet connection. The requirement, for drones weighing 0.55lb (0.25kg) or more, would ground an estimated 80 per cent of gadgets in the United Read more about US Gov wants to spy on all drones all the time: they must be constantly connected to the internet to give Feds real-time location data[…]

Project Svalbard, Have I Been Pwned will not be sold after all

Posted on by Robin Edgar

This is going to be a lengthy blog post so let me use this opening paragraph as a summary of where Project Svalbard is at: Have I Been Pwned is no longer being sold and I will continue running it independently. After 11 months of a very intensive process culminating in many months of exclusivity Read more about Project Svalbard, Have I Been Pwned will not be sold after all[…]

Watch Elon Musk’s Mars ferry prototype explode on the pad during liquid nitrogen test

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The Starship SN1 prototype was undergoing pressure testing at the Musketeers’ factory at Boca Chica in Texas, USA, by filling its tanks with liquid nitrogen. The base of the rocket appears to have ruptured, sending the structure crashing to the ground, which you can see here: SpaceX supremo Elon Musk himself seemed sanguine about the Read more about Watch Elon Musk’s Mars ferry prototype explode on the pad during liquid nitrogen test[…]

Chinese security firm says CIA hacked Chinese targets for the past 11 years

Posted on by Robin Edgar

China’s largest cyber-security vendor has published today a report accusing the CIA of hacking Chinese companies and government agencies for more than 11 years. The report, authored by Qihoo 360, claims the CIA hacked targets in China’s aviation industry, scientific research institutions, petroleum industry, Internet companies, and government agencies. CIA hacking operations took place between Read more about Chinese security firm says CIA hacked Chinese targets for the past 11 years[…]

This wearable device camouflages its wearer from thermal cameras no matter the weather

Posted on by Robin Edgar

  Researchers at the University of California San Diego developed a wearable technology that can hide its wearer from heat-detecting sensors such as night vision goggles, even when the ambient temperature changes–a feat that current state of the art technology cannot match. The technology can adapt to temperature changes in just a few minutes, while Read more about This wearable device camouflages its wearer from thermal cameras no matter the weather[…]

Scientists Found Breathable Oxygen in Another Galaxy for the First Time

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Astronomers have spotted molecular oxygen in a galaxy far far away, marking the first time that this important element has ever been detected outside of the Milky Way. This momentous “first detection of extragalactic molecular oxygen,” as it is described in a recent study in The Astrophysical Journal, has big implications for understanding the crucial Read more about Scientists Found Breathable Oxygen in Another Galaxy for the First Time[…]

Ring doorbells to change privacy settings after study showed it shared personal information with Facebook and Google

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Ring, the Amazon-owned maker of smart-home doorbells and web-enabled security cameras, is changing its privacy settings two weeks after a study showed the company shares customers’ personal information with Facebook, Google and other parties without users’ consent. The change will let Ring users block the company from sharing most, but not all, of their data. Read more about Ring doorbells to change privacy settings after study showed it shared personal information with Facebook and Google[…]

Facebook Cuts Off Some Mobile tracking Ad Data With Advertising Partners, should have done this long long ago

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Facebook is tightening its rules around the use of raw, device-level data used for measuring ad campaigns that Facebook shares with an elite group of advertising technology partners. As first spotted by AdAge, the company recently tweaked the terms of service that apply to its “advanced mobile measurement partner” program, which advertisers tap into to track the Read more about Facebook Cuts Off Some Mobile tracking Ad Data With Advertising Partners, should have done this long long ago[…]

Your banks’ APIs are a major target for credential stuffing attacks

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Automating connections from 3rd party providers makes it easy to access your financial data because people re-use their logins and these logins have been repeatedly leaked online. New data from security and content delivery company Akamai shows that one in every five attempts to gain unauthorized access to user accounts is now done through application Read more about Your banks’ APIs are a major target for credential stuffing attacks[…]

Apple has blocked Clearview AI’s iPhone app for violating its rules

Posted on by Robin Edgar

An iPhone app built by controversial facial recognition startup Clearview AI has been blocked by Apple, effectively banning the app from use. Apple confirmed to TechCrunch that the startup “violated” the terms of its enterprise developer program. The app allows its users — which the company claims it serves only law enforcement officers — to Read more about Apple has blocked Clearview AI’s iPhone app for violating its rules[…]

Clearview AI, Creepy Facial Recognition Company That Stole Your Pictures from Social Media, Says Entire Client List Was Stolen by Hackers

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A facial-recognition company that contracts with powerful law-enforcement agencies just reported that an intruder stole its entire client list, according to a notification the company sent to its customers. In the notification, which The Daily Beast reviewed, the startup Clearview AI disclosed to its customers that an intruder “gained unauthorized access” to its list of Read more about Clearview AI, Creepy Facial Recognition Company That Stole Your Pictures from Social Media, Says Entire Client List Was Stolen by Hackers[…]

SpaceX’s Starship SN1 prototype appears to burst during pressure test

Posted on by Robin Edgar

SpaceX’s new Starship prototype appeared to burst during a pressure test late Friday (Feb. 28), rupturing under the glare of flood lights and mist at the company’s south Texas facility. The Starship SN1 prototype, which SpaceX moved to a launchpad near its Boca Chica, Texas, assembly site earlier this week, blew apart during a liquid Read more about SpaceX’s Starship SN1 prototype appears to burst during pressure test[…]

Two private satellites just docked in space in historic first for orbital servicing

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In a historic first for satellite operations, a commercial spacecraft “helper” has docked with a working communications satellite to provide life-extension services. The companies involved in the meetup  — Northrop Grumman and Intelsat — hailed the operation, which took place Tuesday (Feb. 25), as the beginning of a new era that will see robotic spacecraft Read more about Two private satellites just docked in space in historic first for orbital servicing[…]

World Chess Champion Plays Recklessly Online Using a Pseudonym

Posted on by Robin Edgar

World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen has been sneaking onto online chess sites using stupid pseudonyms and taunting his opponents by using pointless maneuvers with names like “the Bongcloud.” One YouTube commenter calls it “a revolution in the history of chess.” Slate documents the antics in an article titled “DrDrunkenstein’s Reign of Terror.” “DrDrunkenstein” is one Read more about World Chess Champion Plays Recklessly Online Using a Pseudonym[…]

Your car records a lot of things you don’t know about – including you.

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Tesla chief executive Elon Musk calls this function Sentry Mode. I also call it Chaperone Mode and Snitch Mode. I’ve been writing recently about how we don’t drive cars, we drive computers. But this experience opened my eyes. I love that my car recorded a hit-and-run on my behalf. Yet I’m scared we’re not ready Read more about Your car records a lot of things you don’t know about – including you.[…]

Powerful antibiotic discovered using machine learning for first time

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A powerful antibiotic that kills some of the most dangerous drug-resistant bacteria in the world has been discovered using artificial intelligence. The drug works in a different way to existing antibacterials and is the first of its kind to be found by setting AI loose on vast digital libraries of pharmaceutical compounds. […] “I think Read more about Powerful antibiotic discovered using machine learning for first time[…]

People Are Killing Puppy Clones That Don’t Come Out ‘Perfect’ – wait you can clone your puppy?!

Posted on by Robin Edgar

This is a hugely holier than thou article written by a strident anti-abortionist, but it’s quite interesting in that a) you can clone your puppy commercially and b) it’s absolutely not a perfected science. You have five days after your pet dies to extract its genetic material for cloning, according to the Seoul-based Sooam Biotech Read more about People Are Killing Puppy Clones That Don’t Come Out ‘Perfect’ – wait you can clone your puppy?![…]

All that Samsung users found on UK website after weird Find my Mobile push notification was… other people’s details

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In the early hours of this morning, a very large number of Samsung devices around the world received a push notification from the vendor’s Find my Mobile app. That notification simply read “1/1”. […] A handful of Reg staffers also received the notification, which caused surprise and concern at Vulture Central – not least because Read more about All that Samsung users found on UK website after weird Find my Mobile push notification was… other people’s details[…]