The Linkielist

Linking ideas with the world

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[…]

D.E.A. Secretly Collected Bulk Records of Money-Counter Purchases

Posted on by Robin Edgar

WASHINGTON — The Drug Enforcement Administration secretly collected data in bulk about Americans’ purchases of money-counting machines — and took steps to hide the effort from defendants and courts — before quietly shuttering the program in 2013 amid the uproar over the disclosures by the National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, an inspector general report Read more about D.E.A. Secretly Collected Bulk Records of Money-Counter Purchases[…]

Bezos’ Investigator Gavin de Becker Finds the Saudis Obtained the Amazon Chief’s Private Data (for the dick pic extortion thing a few weeks ago)

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In January, the National Enquirer published a special edition that revealed an intimate relationship Bezos was having. He asked me to learn who provided his private texts to the Enquirer, and why. My office quickly identified the person whom the Enquirer had paid as a source: a man named Michael Sanchez, the now-estranged brother of Read more about Bezos’ Investigator Gavin de Becker Finds the Saudis Obtained the Amazon Chief’s Private Data (for the dick pic extortion thing a few weeks ago)[…]

A New Age of Warfare: How Internet Mercenaries Do Battle for Authoritarian Governments

Posted on by Robin Edgar

NSO and a competitor, the Emirati firm DarkMatter, exemplify the proliferation of privatized spying. A monthslong examination by The New York Times, based on interviews with current and former hackers for governments and private companies and others as well as a review of documents, uncovered secret skirmishes in this burgeoning world of digital combat. A Read more about A New Age of Warfare: How Internet Mercenaries Do Battle for Authoritarian Governments[…]

Paywalls block scientific progress. Research should be open to everyone – how copyright enriches the big boys and kills the little ones all over again

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Academic and scientific research needs to be accessible to all. The world’s most pressing problems like clean water or food security deserve to have as many people as possible solving their complexities. Yet our current academic research system has no interest in harnessing our collective intelligence. Scientific progress is currently thwarted by one thing: paywalls. Read more about Paywalls block scientific progress. Research should be open to everyone – how copyright enriches the big boys and kills the little ones all over again[…]

Toyota Security Breach Exposes Personal Info of 3.1 Million Clients, could be part of Vietnam attack

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The personal information of roughly 3.1 million Toyota customers may have been leaked following a security breach of multiple Toyota and Lexus sales subsidiaries, as detailed in a breach notification issued by the car maker today. As detailed in a press release published on Toyota’a global newsroom, unauthorized access was detected on the computing systems of Tokyo Sales Read more about Toyota Security Breach Exposes Personal Info of 3.1 Million Clients, could be part of Vietnam attack[…]

The hidden backdoor in Intel processors is a fascinating debug port (you have to pwner to use it anyway)

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Researchers at the Black Hat Asia conference this week disclosed a previously unknown way to tap into the inner workings of Intel’s chip hardware. The duo of Mark Ermolov and Maxim Goryachy from Positive Technologies explained how a secret Chipzilla system known as Visualization of Internal Signals Architecture (VISA) allows folks to peek inside the Read more about The hidden backdoor in Intel processors is a fascinating debug port (you have to pwner to use it anyway)[…]

Tesla Model 3 records data unknown to you, sends it to Tesla without your knowledge and keeps a whole load of other data  too.

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Many other cars download and store data from users, particularly information from paired cellphones, such as contact information. The practice is widespread enough that the US Federal Trade Commission has issued advisories to drivers warning them about pairing devices to rental cars, and urging them to learn how to wipe their cars’ systems clean before Read more about Tesla Model 3 records data unknown to you, sends it to Tesla without your knowledge and keeps a whole load of other data  too.[…]

Scientists find genetic mutation that makes woman feel no pain

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Doctors have identified a new mutation in a woman who is barely able to feel pain or stress after a surgeon who was baffled by her recovery from an operation referred her for genetic testing. Jo Cameron, 71, has a mutation in a previously unknown gene which scientists believe must play a major role in Read more about Scientists find genetic mutation that makes woman feel no pain[…]

Cop watchers to probe UK police sharing data on witnesses’ migration status with Home Office

Posted on by Robin Edgar

UK cops’ sharing of data with the Home Office will be probed by oversight bodies following a super-complaint from civil rights groups, it was confirmed today. At the heart of the issue is the way that victims’ and witnesses’ data collected by the police are shared with central government immigration teams. Liberty and Southall Black Read more about Cop watchers to probe UK police sharing data on witnesses’ migration status with Home Office[…]