The Linkielist

Linking ideas with the world

Millions of Americans’ medical images and data are available on the Internet

Medical images and health data belonging to millions of Americans, including X-rays, MRIs, and CT scans, are sitting unprotected on the Internet and available to anyone with basic computer expertise. The records cover more than 5 million patients in the United States and millions more around the world. In some cases, a snoop could use Read more about Millions of Americans’ medical images and data are available on the Internet[…]

Logging into NL gov costs in incredible 14 cents per time!

Logius is absolutely minting it, considering that almost every interaction with the government, locality, insurance company is done through DigiID. Unbelievably, this price is down from EUR 3,50 in 2006, but up from last years’ 12 cents per login. So now we know why government IT projects cost such an inane amount of money – Read more about Logging into NL gov costs in incredible 14 cents per time![…]

Period Tracker Apps: Maya And MIA Fem Are telling Facebook when you last had sex and more

Period tracker apps are sending deeply personal information about women’s health and sexual practices to Facebook, new research has found. UK-based advocacy group Privacy International, sharing its findings exclusively with BuzzFeed News, discovered period-tracking apps including MIA Fem and Maya sent women’s use of contraception, the timings of their monthly periods, symptoms like swelling and Read more about Period Tracker Apps: Maya And MIA Fem Are telling Facebook when you last had sex and more[…]

New prosthetic legs let amputees feel their foot and knee in real-time

There’s been a lot of research into how to give robots and prosthesis wearers a sense of touch, but it has focused largely on the hands. Now, researchers led by ETH Zurich want to restore sensory feedback for leg amputees, too. In a paper published in Nature Medicine today, the team describes how they modified Read more about New prosthetic legs let amputees feel their foot and knee in real-time[…]

UK Government Plans to Collect ‘Targeted and Personalized’ Data on Internet Users to Prepare For Brexit: Report

The UK government is planning to collect “targeted and personalized information,” on anyone who visits the government’s various websites, according to a new report from BuzzFeed News. Politicians in the UK are being told that it’s a “top priority” and that the information is needed to prepare for Brexit, the UK’s departure from the European Read more about UK Government Plans to Collect ‘Targeted and Personalized’ Data on Internet Users to Prepare For Brexit: Report[…]

Facebook: Remember how we promised we weren’t tracking your location? Psych! Can’t believe you fell for that

For years the antisocial media giant has claimed it doesn’t track your location, insisting to suspicious reporters and privacy advocates that its addicts “have full control over their data,” and that it does not gather or sell that data unless those users agree to it. No one believed it. So, when it (and Google) were Read more about Facebook: Remember how we promised we weren’t tracking your location? Psych! Can’t believe you fell for that[…]

Objects can now change colors like a chameleon with spray on programmable ink

team from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) has brought us closer to this chameleon reality, by way of a new system that uses reprogrammable ink to let objects change colors when exposed to ultraviolet (UV) and visible light sources. Dubbed “PhotoChromeleon,” the system uses a mix of photochromic dyes that can be Read more about Objects can now change colors like a chameleon with spray on programmable ink[…]

No Bones about It: People Recognize Objects by Visualizing Their “Skeletons”

Humans effortlessly know that a tree is a tree and a dog is a dog no matter the size, color or angle at which they’re viewed. In fact, identifying such visual elements is one of the earliest tasks children learn. But researchers have struggled to determine how the brain does this simple evaluation. As deep-learning Read more about No Bones about It: People Recognize Objects by Visualizing Their “Skeletons”[…]

Report: Massive Fraud Network Uncovered, Targeting Groupon & Online Ticket Vendors

vpnMentor’s research team, led by Noam Rotem and Ran Locar, recently exposed a massive criminal operation that has been defrauding Groupon and other major online ticket vendors at least since 2016. As part of a larger web mapping research project, we discovered a cache of 17 million emails on an unsecured database. Our initial research Read more about Report: Massive Fraud Network Uncovered, Targeting Groupon & Online Ticket Vendors[…]

Weakness in Intel chips DDIO lets researchers steal encrypted SSH keystrokes through side channel attacks

In late 2011, Intel introduced a performance enhancement to its line of server processors that allowed network cards and other peripherals to connect directly to a CPU’s last-level cache, rather than following the standard (and significantly longer) path through the server’s main memory. By avoiding system memory, Intel’s DDIO—short for Data-Direct I/O—increased input/output bandwidth and Read more about Weakness in Intel chips DDIO lets researchers steal encrypted SSH keystrokes through side channel attacks[…]

D-Link, Comba network gear leave passwords open for potentially whole world to see

DSL modems and Wi-Fi routers from D-Link and Comba have been found to be leaving owners’ passwords out in the open. Simon Kenin, a security researcher with Trustwave SpiderLabs, took credit for the discovery of five bugs that leave user credentials accessible to attackers. For D-Link gear, two bugs were discovered in the firmware for Read more about D-Link, Comba network gear leave passwords open for potentially whole world to see[…]

Combating prison recidivism with plants

A study out of Texas State University attempted to determine the number of available horticultural community service opportunities for individuals completing community service hours per their probation or parole requirements, and whether that brand of community service generates a calculable offset against the common nature of repeat offenses for an inmate population once released. […] Read more about Combating prison recidivism with plants[…]

Marine plastic pollution hides a neurological toxin in our food

In the mid-1950s, domesticated cats in Minamata, Japan mysteriously began to convulse and fall into the bay. The people of Minamata took on similar symptoms shortly after, losing their ability to speak, move, and think. Chisso Corp., a Japanese chemical company, had dumped more than 600 tons of mercury into the bay between 1932 and Read more about Marine plastic pollution hides a neurological toxin in our food[…]

The Windows 10 Privacy Settings You Should Check Right Now

If you’re at all concerned about the privacy of your data, you don’t want to leave the default settings in place on your devices—and that includes anything that runs Windows 10. Microsoft’s operating system comes with a variety of controls and options you can modify to lock down the use of your data, from the Read more about The Windows 10 Privacy Settings You Should Check Right Now[…]

New York attorney general launches a multistate antitrust probe into Facebook

New York State Attorney General Letitia James announced Friday she is launching a multistate investigation into Facebook for possible antitrust violations. Facebook shares were down about 0.5% in Friday’s premarket, but did not seem to react to James’ announcement. Attorneys general of Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and the District of Columbia Read more about New York attorney general launches a multistate antitrust probe into Facebook[…]

New Data Science Cheat Sheet, by Maverick Lin

Below is an extract of a 10-page cheat sheet about data science, compiled by Maverick Lin. This cheatsheet is currently a reference in data science that covers basic concepts in probability, statistics, statistical learning, machine learning, deep learning, big data frameworks and SQL. The cheatsheet is loosely based off of The Data Science Design Manual by Steven Read more about New Data Science Cheat Sheet, by Maverick Lin[…]

Cops did hand over photos for King’s Cross facial-recog CCTV to 3rd parties after all – a property developer, between 2016-2018

London cops have admitted they gave photos of people to a property developer to use in a facial-recognition system in the heart of the UK capital. Back in July, Siân Berry, co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, asked London Mayor Sadiq Khan whether the Met Police had collaborated with any retailers or Read more about Cops did hand over photos for King’s Cross facial-recog CCTV to 3rd parties after all – a property developer, between 2016-2018[…]

Study shows how consumers rely on price and locality to determine quality of products

The study suggests that marketers can use this understanding of local identity versus global identity to shape consumers’ price perceptions and behavior. UTA and three other universities contributed to the study. “Consumers tend to use price to judge a product’s quality when their local identity is most important to them,” Janakiraman said. “When promoting high-priced Read more about Study shows how consumers rely on price and locality to determine quality of products[…]

Privatised RAF pilot training takes 7 years to produce combat-ready aviators, has a shortfall of 86% with RAF needs

The UK Armed Forces’ privatised pilot training system is taking nearly seven years to turn new recruits into frontline-ready aviators, according to the National Audit Office (NAO). The NAO investigation into the UK Military Flying Training System (UKMFTS) contract, which is let to a consortium backed in part by US arms multinational Lockheed Martin, thundered Read more about Privatised RAF pilot training takes 7 years to produce combat-ready aviators, has a shortfall of 86% with RAF needs[…]

Cheap GPS kiddie trackers have default password 123456 and send all information unencrypted

GPS trackers are designed to bring you greater peace of mind by helping you to locate your kids, your pets, and even your car. They can help keep the elderly or disabled safe by providing them with a simple SOS button to call for immediate help. Many devices are marketed for these purposes on common Read more about Cheap GPS kiddie trackers have default password 123456 and send all information unencrypted[…]

Tesla Malfunction Locks Out Owners Who Depended on App for Entry, Forces Them to Scramble for ‘Keys’

Some Tesla users who rely on the app to gain entry to their Model 3 were temporarily unable to get into their electric cars on Labor Day. The Next Web reported that a number of people tweeted out their frustrations on Monday when they were “locked out” of their car due to phone app issues. Read more about Tesla Malfunction Locks Out Owners Who Depended on App for Entry, Forces Them to Scramble for ‘Keys’[…]

Google has secret webpages that feed your personal data to advertisers, report to EU says

New evidence submitted for an investigation into Google’s collection of personal data in the European Union reportedly accuses the search giant of stealthy sending your personal user data to advertisers. The company allegedly relays this information to advertisers using hidden webpages, allowing it to circumvent EU privacy regulations. The evidence was submitted to Ireland’s Data Protection Commission, Read more about Google has secret webpages that feed your personal data to advertisers, report to EU says[…]

Online Depression Tests Are Collecting and Sharing Your Data

This week, Privacy International published a report—Your mental health for sale—which explored how mental health websites handle user data. The digital rights nonprofit looked at 136 mental health webpages across Google France, Google Germany and the UK version of Google, according to the report. They chose websites based on advertised links and featured page search Read more about Online Depression Tests Are Collecting and Sharing Your Data[…]

Human speech may have a universal transmission rate: 39 bits per second

Italians are some of the fastest speakers on the planet, chattering at up to nine syllables per second. Many Germans, on the other hand, are slow enunciators, delivering five to six syllables in the same amount of time. Yet in any given minute, Italians and Germans convey roughly the same amount of information, according to Read more about Human speech may have a universal transmission rate: 39 bits per second[…]