The Linkielist

Linking ideas with the world

Skype, Signal, Slack, other apps inherit Electron vuln

Electron is a node.js and Chromium framework that lets developers use Web technologies (JavaScript, HTML and CSS) to build desktop apps. It’s widely-used: Skype, Slack, Signal, a Basecamp implementation and a desktop WordPress app all count themselves as adopters. Slack users should update to version 3.0.3 or better, and the latest version of Skype for Read more about Skype, Signal, Slack, other apps inherit Electron vuln[…]

Intel patches for Spectre cause reboots, Intel tells people to stop installing them and also please help test for them

As we start the week, I want to provide an update on the reboot issues we reported Jan. 11. We have now identified the root cause for Broadwell and Haswell platforms, and made good progress in developing a solution to address it. Over the weekend, we began rolling out an early version of the updated Read more about Intel patches for Spectre cause reboots, Intel tells people to stop installing them and also please help test for them[…]

Amazon.com: Dr.meter Wifi Endoscope, 2.0 Megapixels HD Digital Inspection Camera with 5 Meters(16.4ft) Cable and 8 LEDs in the Camera Handheld Borescope Supports Windows iOS and Android System: Camera & Photo

Amazon.com: Dr.meter Wifi Endoscope, 2.0 Megapixels HD Digital Inspection Camera with 5 Meters(16.4ft) Cable and 8 LEDs in the Camera Handheld Borescope Supports Windows iOS and Android System: Camera & Photo Source: Amazon.com: Dr.meter Wifi Endoscope, 2.0 Megapixels HD Digital Inspection Camera with 5 Meters(16.4ft) Cable and 8 LEDs in the Camera Handheld Borescope Supports Read more about Amazon.com: Dr.meter Wifi Endoscope, 2.0 Megapixels HD Digital Inspection Camera with 5 Meters(16.4ft) Cable and 8 LEDs in the Camera Handheld Borescope Supports Windows iOS and Android System: Camera & Photo[…]

Revealing True Emotions Through Micro-Expressions: A Machine Learning Approach

Micro-expressions–involuntary, fleeting facial movements that reveal true emotions–hold valuable information for scenarios ranging from security interviews and interrogations to media analysis. They occur on various regions of the face, last only a fraction of a second, and are universal across cultures. In contrast to macro-expressions like big smiles and frowns, micro-expressions are extremely subtle and Read more about Revealing True Emotions Through Micro-Expressions: A Machine Learning Approach[…]

Facebook open sources Detectron, object detection framework in caffe2

Today, Facebook AI Research (FAIR) open sourced Detectron — our state-of-the-art platform for object detection research. The Detectron project was started in July 2016 with the goal of creating a fast and flexible object detection system built on Caffe2, which was then in early alpha development. Over the last year and a half, the codebase Read more about Facebook open sources Detectron, object detection framework in caffe2[…]

Active learning machine learns to create new quantum experiments

We present an autonomous learning model which learns to design such complex experiments, without relying on previous knowledge or often flawed intuition. Our system not only learns how to design desired experiments more efficiently than the best previous approaches, but in the process also discovers nontrivial experimental techniques. Our work demonstrates that learning machines can Read more about Active learning machine learns to create new quantum experiments[…]

Breakthrough study shows how plants sense the world

Plants lack eyes and ears, but they can still see, hear, smell and respond to environmental cues and dangers—especially to virulent pathogens. They do this with the aid of hundreds of membrane proteins that can sense microbes or other stresses. Only a small portion of these sensing proteins have been studied through classical genetics, and Read more about Breakthrough study shows how plants sense the world[…]

American Reich restarts dodgy spying program – just as classified surveillance abuse memo emerges

The US Senate reauthorized a controversial NSA spying program on Thursday – and then, because it’s 2018 and nothing matters any more, embarked on a partisan battle over a confidential memo that outlines Uncle Sam’s alleged abuse of surveillance powers. Despite numerous appeals, press conferences, competing legislation and speeches outlining abuse of the program, on Read more about American Reich restarts dodgy spying program – just as classified surveillance abuse memo emerges[…]

Security Breaches Don’t Affect Stock Price. Or don’t they?

Abstract: This report assesses the impact disclosure of data breaches has on the total returns and volatility of the affected companies’ stock, with a focus on the results relative to the performance of the firms’ peer industries, as represented through selected indices rather than the market as a whole. Financial performance is considered over a Read more about Security Breaches Don’t Affect Stock Price. Or don’t they?[…]

Real-world intercontinental quantum communications enabled by the Micius satellite

A joint China-Austria team has performed quantum key distribution between the quantum-science satellite Micius and multiple ground stations located in Xinglong (near Beijing), Nanshan (near Urumqi), and Graz (near Vienna). Such experiments demonstrate the secure satellite-to-ground exchange of cryptographic keys during the passage of the satellite Micius over a ground station. Using Micius as a Read more about Real-world intercontinental quantum communications enabled by the Micius satellite[…]

Information engine operates with nearly perfect efficiency

Physicists have experimentally demonstrated an information engine—a device that converts information into work—with an efficiency that exceeds the conventional second law of thermodynamics. Instead, the engine’s efficiency is bounded by a recently proposed generalized second law of thermodynamics, and it is the first information engine to approach this new bound. The results demonstrate both the Read more about Information engine operates with nearly perfect efficiency[…]

You could soon be manufacturing your own drugs—thanks to 3D printing

Forget those long lines at the pharmacy: Someday soon, you might be making your own medicines at home. That’s because researchers have tailored a 3D printer to synthesize pharmaceuticals and other chemicals from simple, widely available starting compounds fed into a series of water bottle–size reactors. The work, they say, could digitize chemistry, allowing users Read more about You could soon be manufacturing your own drugs—thanks to 3D printing[…]

Why People Dislike Really Smart Leaders

Intelligence makes for better leaders—from undergraduates to executives to presidents—according to multiple studies. It certainly makes sense that handling a market shift or legislative logjam requires cognitive oomph. But new research on leadership suggests that, at a certain point, having a higher IQ stops helping and starts hurting. […] The researchers looked at 379 male Read more about Why People Dislike Really Smart Leaders[…]

Someone is touting a mobile, PC spyware platform called Dark Caracal to governments

Dark Caracal [PDF] appears to be controlled from the Lebanon General Directorate of General Security in Beirut – an intelligence agency – and has slurped hundreds of gigabytes of information from devices. It shares its backend infrastructure with another state-sponsored surveillance campaign, Operation Manul, which the EFF claims was operated by the Kazakhstan government last Read more about Someone is touting a mobile, PC spyware platform called Dark Caracal to governments[…]

New AI System Predicts How Long Patients Will Live With Startling Accuracy

By using an artificially intelligent algorithm to predict patient mortality, a research team from Stanford University is hoping to improve the timing of end-of-life care for critically ill patients. After parsing through 2 million records, the researchers identified 200,000 patients suitable for the project. The researchers were “agnostic” to disease type, disease stage, severity of Read more about New AI System Predicts How Long Patients Will Live With Startling Accuracy[…]

The Man from Earth Sequel ‘Pirated’ on The Pirate Bay – By Its Creators

More than a decade ago, Hollywood was struggling to get to grips with the file-sharing phenomenon. Sharing via BitTorrent was painted as a disease that could kill the movie industry, if it was allowed to take hold. Tough action was the only way to defeat it, the suits concluded. In 2007, however, a most unusual Read more about The Man from Earth Sequel ‘Pirated’ on The Pirate Bay – By Its Creators[…]

Crypto-cash exchange BitConnect pulls plug amid Bitcoin bloodbath

Amid a cryptocurrency price correction that has seen the price of Bitcoin drop by half from its mid-December peak, UK-based cyber-cash lending and exchange biz BitConnect said it is shutting down. The firm, dogged by accusations that it is a Ponzi scheme, cited bad press, regulatory orders, and cyber attacks for its market exit this Read more about Crypto-cash exchange BitConnect pulls plug amid Bitcoin bloodbath[…]

Computer program that tries to determine if you reoffend is racist, wrong and been in use since 2000.

One widely used criminal risk assessment tool, Correctional Offender Management Profiling for Alternative Sanctions (COMPAS; Northpointe, which rebranded itself to “equivant” in January 2017), has been used to assess more than 1 million offenders since it was developed in 1998. The recidivism prediction component of COMPAS—the recidivism risk scale—has been in use since 2000. This Read more about Computer program that tries to determine if you reoffend is racist, wrong and been in use since 2000.[…]

Lenovo inherited a switch authentication bypass

Lenovo has patched an ancient vulnerability in switches that it acquired along with IBM’s hardware businesses and which Big Blue itself acquired when it slurped parts of Nortel. The bug, which Lenovo refers to as “HP backdoor”, for reasons it has not explained, has been in present in ENOS (Enterprise network operating system) since at Read more about Lenovo inherited a switch authentication bypass[…]

Asus Bezel-Free Kit uses illusion to hide bezels in multimonitor setups

The concept is simple. Thin lenses are placed along the seams where screens meet; they contain optical micro-structures that refract light, bending it inward to hide the bezels underneath. […] The kit’s optical obfuscation is designed to work at a specific angle. We selected 130° because it offered the best balance of comfort and immersion Read more about Asus Bezel-Free Kit uses illusion to hide bezels in multimonitor setups[…]

OnePlus suspends credit card transactions after fraud

Over the weekend, members of the OnePlus community reported cases of unknown credit card transactions occurring on their credit cards post purchase from oneplus.net. We immediately began to investigate as a matter of urgency, and will keep you updated. […] As a precaution, we are temporarily disabling credit card payments at oneplus.net. PayPal is still Read more about OnePlus suspends credit card transactions after fraud[…]

Skygofree: Serious offensive Android malware, since 2014

At the beginning of October 2017, we discovered new Android spyware with several features previously unseen in the wild. In the course of further research, we found a number of related samples that point to a long-term development process. We believe the initial versions of this malware were created at least three years ago – Read more about Skygofree: Serious offensive Android malware, since 2014[…]

Hospital injects $60,000 into crims’ coffers to cure malware infection

The crooks had infected the network of Hancock Health, in Indiana, with the Samsam software nasty, which scrambled files and demanded payment to recover the documents. The criminals broke in around 9.30pm on January 11 after finding a box with an exploitable Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) server, and inject their ransomware into connected computers. Medical Read more about Hospital injects $60,000 into crims’ coffers to cure malware infection[…]

300 Dutch customers fell for fake popular website ring. Perps picked up and given a few months of prison time.

BCC and MediaMarkt are large electronics stores in NL. Ziggo is a large internet ISP. By linking to fake pages through marktplaats.nl (the Dutch ebay / Craigslist equivalent) people were able to shop for products on the fake sites, which were never delivered. Using a chat interface, the crims tried to gain access to the Read more about 300 Dutch customers fell for fake popular website ring. Perps picked up and given a few months of prison time.[…]