Linking ideas with the world
‘DiskFiltration,’ a covert channel which facilitates the leakage of data from an air-gapped compute via acoustic signals emitted from its hard disk drive (HDD). Our method is unique in that, unlike other acoustic covert channels, it doesn’t require the presence of speakers or audio hardware in the air-gapped computer. A malware installed on a compromised Read more about DiskFiltration: sending data using Covert Hard Drive Noise[…]
Facebook, Google, eBay, and others own vast swaths of Web activity and have unprecedented power over us, inspiring an effort to re-decentralize the Web.[…] Berners-Lee’s new project, underway at his MIT lab, is called Solid (“social linked data”), a way for you to own your own data while making it available to the applications that Read more about How the father of the World Wide Web is trying to decentralise it.[…]
secureboot is a part of the uefi firmware, when enabled, it only lets stuff run that’s signed by a cert in db, and whose hash is not in dbx (revoked). As you probably also know, there are devices where secure boot can NOT be disabled by the user (Windows RT, HoloLens, Windows Phone, maybe Surface Read more about MS Secureboot has a golden key – which has been hacked.[…]
In 2014, San Francisco tech startup Skully raised hype and money to build a Tony Stark-style digitally augmented motorcycle helmet. Almost $2.5 million later, the company’s shutting down. Now a lawsuit from within the company gives us some hints as to why: founders allegedly blew the R&D money on lap dances and fast cars. Source: Read more about Failed HUD Helmet Maker Skully Spent Funding On Strippers And Exotic Cars: Lawsuit[…]
Hello! Stratux is a homebuilt ADS-B In receiver for pilots. It’s easy to assemble from inexpensive, off-the-shelf hardware, and probably already works with your electronic flight bag (EFB) of choice. Even better, if you’re so inclined, the software is open-source and hackable so you can build the system that’s right for you. Source: Stratux by Read more about Stratux: DIY ADS-B aircraft receiver on Raspberry Pi[…]
The hack can be used by thieves to wirelessly unlock as many as 100 million VW cars, each at the press of a button. Almost every vehicle the Volkswagen group has sold for the past 20 years – including cars badged under the Audi and Skoda brands – is potentially vulnerable, say the researchers. The Read more about Thieves can wirelessly unlock up to 100 million Volkswagens (and other brands by VW), each at the press of a button[…]
the plan’s not in action yet but has been agreed in principle. It’s hoped the scheme will be up and running in about six months, by which time you’ll only be able to buy trackable SIMs when you visit. The good news is that if your phone roams, you’ll be exempt. And with roaming plans Read more about Thailand plans to track non-citizens with their mobile phones[…]
This article introduces social norm theory to understand online aggression in a social-political online setting, challenging the popular assumption that online anonymity is one of the principle factors that promotes aggression. We underpin this social norm view by analyzing a major social media platform concerned with public affairs over a period of three years entailing Read more about It turns out that anonymity decreases online posting agression![…]
Yuri van Gelder, Dutch gymnast, went out for a few to celebrate making the final. Apparently he got carried away and had some alcohol (shock! horror!) and came home at some time in the morning. So the Dutch team have sent him home, without allowing him to participate in the final. His behaviour sounds slightly Read more about Dutch Olympians not allowed to drink? Are they reformed religious fanatics?[…]
When the world’s population passed seven billion people in 2011 we humans weighed, in total, 350 million tonnes. That weight is rising rapidly as our numbers are still growing and we are getting heavier. Back in 2011 each of us weighed, on average, just under eight stone. Around two billion of us were children then, Read more about Meat Eaters mapped[…]
Ars investigates legal advice for hotspot operators—most are ill-informed; the rest invented. […] According to the experts we consulted, anyone attempting to follow the recommendations could in practice be creating data protection liabilities that they’re ill-equipped to discharge. Others may be put off altogether by dire warnings about legal risks that simply don’t exist. Source: Read more about Public Wi-Fi hotspots and you: Busting the many legal myths in the UK[…]
“We believe that online voting, especially online voting in large scale, introduces great risk into the election system by threatening voters’ expectations of confidentiality, accountability and security of their votes and provides an avenue for malicious actors to manipulate the voting results,” Neil Jenkins, an official in the Office of Cybersecurity and Communications at the Read more about More than 30 states offer online voting, but experts warn it isn’t secure[…]
The web interface contains a number of critical vulnerabilities that can be abused by unauthenticated attackers. These consist of monitoring backdoors left in the PHP files that are supposed to be used by NUUO’s engineers, hardcoded credentials, poorly sanitised input and a buffer overflow which can be abused to achieve code execution on NUUO’s devices Read more about 7(!) remote vulnerabilities (RCE, bof) in Nuuo NVR and NETGEAR Surveillance products[…]
If you want to downgrade back to an earlier version, you used to have 30 days time to consider it. Now they’re only giving you 10 days. Source: Microsoft verkort bedenktijd Windows 10-upgrade They REALLY REALLY want you to run their spyware for them!
A new ransomlock variant, which mainly affects the US, tricks users into calling a toll-free number to reactivate their Windows computer. […] Victims of this threat can unlock their computer using the code: 8716098676542789 Source: New ransomware mimics Microsoft activation window | Symantec Connect Community It also turns out that calling the support number on Read more about New ransomware mimics Microsoft activation window[…]
The thermostat in question has a large LCD display, runs the operating system Linux, and has an SD card that allows users to load custom settings or wallpapers. The researchers found that the thermostat didn’t really check what kind of files it was running and executing. In theory, this would allow a malicious hacker to Read more about White hat Hackers Make the First-Ever Ransomware for Smart Thermostats[…]
A recent extension of UK copyright for industrially manufactured artistic works represents “a direct assault on the 3D printing revolution,” says Pirate Party founder Rick Falkvinge. The UK government last month extended copyright for designs from 25 years to the life of the designer plus 70 years. In practice, this is likely to mean a Read more about UK copyright extension on designed objects is “direct assault” on 3D printing. Also, how much money was UK gov paid to extend it 70+ years?[…]
New research suggests that it is possible to create a new form of light by binding light to a single electron, combining the properties of both. […] by using theoretical physics to model the behaviour of light and a recently-discovered class of materials known as topological insulators, Imperial researchers have found that it could interact Read more about Scientists discover light could exist in a previously unknown form[…]
The Kickstarter project allready has $1.5m of the $50k goal invested. At the time most people didn’t ‘get’ the Palm Foleo – this has always been a bit of a problem for Palm: they were always too far ahead of the curve, allowing companies like Apple to steal their brilliant ideas and polish them up Read more about The Superbook: Turn your smartphone into a laptop for $99 by Andromium Inc.: The Palm Foleo resurrected![…]
The New Zealand government has announced a “world-first” project to make the nation predator free by 2050. The prime minister, John Key, said on Monday it would undertake a radical pest extermination programme – which if successful would be a global first – aiming to wipe out the introduced species of rats, stoats and possums Read more about No more rats: New Zealand to exterminate all introduced predators[…]
Shapeways. In a statement, it said that some email addresses, usernames, and shipping addresses were exposed, but that the hackers didn’t get a full run of their servers and no 3D printing plans were stolen. “The intruders did not access credit card information because Shapeways does not store such information on their systems,” said a Read more about 3D print biz Shapeways hacked, home and email addresses swiped[…]
The sheep are just four of 13 clones that Sinclair shepherds, but they’re the most famous because of their relation to Dolly, the sheep that made headlines two decades ago as the first successfully cloned mammal. ” ‘Sister clones’ probably best describes them,” Sinclair says. “They actually come from the exactly the same batch of Read more about ‘Sister Clones’ Of Dolly The Sheep Are Alive And Kicking[…]
Hong Kong bitcoin exchange Bitfinex reported yesterday that hackers had stolen 119,756 bitcoin, which is worth as much as $72 million dollars (with some reports going even higher). News of the hack sent bitcoin tumbling 23 percent, with its current value hovering around $556. Bitfinex confirmed that no other digital currency except bitcoin was targeted Read more about Hackers Steal $72 Million in Bitcoin From Hong Kong Exchange Bitfinex[…]
A little-known web standard that lets site owners tell how much battery life a mobile device has left has been found to enable tracking online, a year after privacy researchers warned that it had the potential to do just that. The battery status API was introduced in HTML5, the fifth version of the code used Read more about Your battery status is being used to track you online[…]
While most of the media attention focused on the role of ISPs, there is an even more controversial proposal that has been largely overlooked. According to the report, pirated content should be banned on the operating system level. “Other players that possess the potential ability to limit piracy are the companies that own the major Read more about Report: Operating Systems Should Actively Block Pirated Downloads – TorrentFreak[…]