UK offers JLR landmark £1.5B loan to safeguard suppliers after cyberattack – which we still don’t know what happened. 

Posted on by

The UK government is stepping in with financial support for Jaguar Land Rover, providing it with a hefty loan as it continues to battle the fallout from a cyberattack.

A government-backed loan to the tune of £1.5 billion ($2 billion) will be made available to the carmaker to support its recovery and the companies in its extensive supply chain struggling as JLR brings its invoicing systems back online.

Business secretary Peter Kyle said: “This cyberattack was not only an assault on an iconic British brand, but on our world-leading automotive sector and the men and women whose livelihoods depend on it.

“Following our decisive action, this loan guarantee will help support the supply chain and protect skilled jobs in the West Midlands, Merseyside, and throughout the UK.

“We’re backing our automotive sector for the long term through our modern Industrial Strategy and the landmark trade deals we’ve signed to boost exports, as part of our Plan for Change.”

[…]

JLR’s production plants have remained closed since August 31, and the impact on its suppliers – and local communities – is said to be severe.

Workers and their families fear for their jobs after seeing suppliers, many of which rely on their big JLR contracts, already initiate redundancy proceedings.

Then there are the smaller businesses that serve local communities. With JLR’s main production plants being based in Solihull and Halewood – employing roughly 9,000 and 3,000 workers respectively – businesses such as sandwich shops and cafes have seen a significant loss in revenue.

When these businesses lose out, so do their suppliers, such as bakers and butchers, meaning the impact of JLR’s attack extends far beyond what is typical for such cases.

[…]

It is estimated that the impact of the cyberattack threatens around 120,000 jobs at JLR and companies across its supply chain.

David Bailey, professor of business economics at the University of Birmingham, said JLR could be hemorrhaging between £5-10 million ($6-13 million) for every day that production remains halted.

He estimated that JLR could ultimately lose out on £2.2 billion ($2.9 billion) in revenue and £150 million ($202 million) in profit.

[…]

Source: UK offers JLR landmark £1.5B loan to safeguard suppliers • The Register

The Internet Reacts To Electronic Arts’ $55 Billion Acquisition

Posted on by

After reports sprouted up last week that Electronic Arts, the publisher behind The Sims, BioWare’s catalog, and most of your favorite sports games, was being acquired for over $50 billion in a joint venture between Saudi Arabia’s Private Investor Fund, Silver Lake, and the Jared Kushner-owned Affinity Partners, the company has officially confirmed the deal. If approved, the acquisition would be one of the most expensive in the history of the video game industry and would make Electronic Arts a privately held company. Given the questionable ownership, the internet is not taking the news well.

The Saudi Arabian government’s attempts at sportswashing away the stink of its dire human rights laws, as evidenced by its investments in various facets of the video game industry, are well-documented at this point.

[…]

Given Saudi Arabia’s treatment of queer people, a fair bit of concern has been extended specifically to The Sims and to BioWare, the developer of Mass Effect and Dragon Age, all of which have been trailblazers for queer representation in video games. EA CEO Andrew Wilson has stated in an email statement to staff that the company’s “values and [its] commitment to players and fans around the world remain unchanged,” but considering that both the Saudi Arabian government and Jared Kushner, the owner of Affinity Partners and Donald Trump’s son-in-law, now own the publisher, that’s not exactly convincing.

[…]

The Saudi government’s influence on the games it has money in has thus far resulted in some bizarre shit, such as soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo showing up in the latest Fatal Fury, though developer SNK has insisted the company’s sale to PIF would not affect its games. Beyond that, the Saudi Arabian government has been hosting events with industry figureheads like Hideo Kojima. The nation’s monetary investment in video games has been extensive, but buying one of the biggest companies in the space, whose games are played by millions every year, is almost certainly the farthest-reaching move it’s made thus far. We don’t know what impact this will have on EA, its studios, and its IP in the future, but in this moment, things look bleak.

Source: The Internet Reacts To Electronic Arts’ $55 Billion Acquisition

So yes, maybe EA will have more money to make more games, but they will be right wing nutcase / religious games, heavily censored. Considering that the gaming industry is larger than Hollywood and the shared experiences from gaming shape our culture, this is a pretty iron grip on what it is that we see, experience and how we experience it. Gaming tells us who are the goodies and the baddies and now this is under control of some very dubious people.

Israeli military company now owns many popular VPN products

Posted on by

Social media users are calling for the mass cancellation of ExpressVPN subscriptions after it was revealed that a cybersecurity firm with Israeli ties owns the popular privacy service.

In 2021, The Times of Israel reported that Kape Technologies, a British-Israeli digital security company, acquired ExpressVPN, one of the world’s largest virtual private network (VPN) providers, for nearly $1bn.

[…]

Kape Technologies, based in London and founded in 2010, has previously acquired VPN services, including CyberGhost, ZenMate, and Private Internet Access.

People across social media have urged users to delete the app, citing concerns over surveillance, military ties, and ethical complicity.

[…]

Source: Outcry over ExpressVPN ownership: What the Israeli connection means for user privacy | Middle East Eye

Seemingly safe to use at the time of writing: NordVPN, Surfshark, Mullvad (please do your own research!)

New digital ID will be mandatory to work in the UK. Ausweiss bitte!

Posted on by

Digital ID will be mandatory in order to work in the UK, as part of plans to tackle illegal migration.

Sir Keir Starmer said the new digital ID scheme would make it tougher to work in the UK illegally and offer “countless benefits” to citizens, while his senior minister Darren Jones said it could be “the bedrock of the modern state”.

However, opposition parties argued the proposals would not stop people crossing the Channel in small boats.

The prime minister set out his plans in a broader speech to a gathering of world leaders, in which he said it had been “too easy” for people to work illegally in the UK because the centre-left had been “squeamish” about saying things that were “clearly true”.

[…]

Another Labour prime minister, Sir Tony Blair, tried to introduce compulsory ID cards but the idea was scrapped by the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition in 2010.

However, Sir Keir has recently said he believes the debate has “moved on in the last 20 years” as “we all carry a lot more digital ID now than we did”.

Labour believes its new proposal has public support, although more than a million people have signed a petition against the idea.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said the plan would “do nothing to stop the boats” but would “end up being used against law-abiding citizens while crooks walk free”.

She also expressed concern about the security of the data saying it would be a risk to put the information “in one database”.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said his party would “fight tooth and nail” against the scheme which would “add to our tax bills and bureaucracy, whilst doing next to nothing to tackle channel crossings”.

Some campaign groups have also objected to the plan, with Liberty arguing it raised “huge concerns” about mass surveillance, while Big Brother Watch said it would make the country “less free”.

[…]

The new digital ID will be held on people’s phones, in a similar way to contactless payment cards or the NHS app.

It is expected to include a person’s name, date of birth, nationality or residency status and a photo.

The consultation will also consider whether additional information such as an address should be included.

[…]

The government said the roll-out would eventually make it simpler to apply for services like driving licences, childcare and welfare – as well as streamlining access to tax records.

[…]

Emlyn Jenkins, 23, is against digital IDs, describing the plan as “fascistic and horrible”.

“How will people who are homeless be affected if they don’t have access to a smartphone or they don’t have access to consistent internet?” she asked.

Arianwen Fox-James, 20, says she can see some practical benefits but is uncomfortable with the idea of a “centralised hub of all the data”.

[…]

data safety. “Every time these things get launched they get hacked,” she says. “Everyone hacks everything.”

Source: New digital ID will be mandatory to work in the UK

Another point: to fight migrants “taking jobs”  (hint: they are not) they are going to make it more difficult for those who don’t have jobs by making them incur costs and difficulties to get a government issued ID somehow and for temporary employers to check the validity of these IDs. So that will probably actually raise the amount of illegal work being done.

Chinese hackers breach US software and law firms amid trade fight

Posted on by

A team of suspected Chinese hackers has infiltrated US software developers and law firms in a sophisticated campaign to collect intelligence that could help Beijing in its ongoing trade fight with Washington, cybersecurity firm Mandiant said Wednesday.

The hackers have been rampant in recent weeks, hitting the cloud-computing firms that numerous American companies rely on to store key data, Mandiant, which is owned by Google, said. In a sign of how important China’s hacking army is in the race for tech supremacy, the hackers have also stolen US tech firms’ proprietary software and used it to find new vulnerabilities to burrow deeper into networks, according to Mandiant.

The FBI is investigating the intrusions and US officials are still trying to understand the full scope of the hacks, sources told CNN.

It’s a fresh five-alarm fire for the FBI’s cyber experts, who at any given time are investigating multiple sophisticated Chinese cyber-espionage campaigns aimed at US government and corporate secrets.

In some cases, the hackers have lurked undetected in the US corporate networks for over a year, quietly collecting intelligence, Mandiant said.

The disclosure comes after the Trump administration escalated America’s trade war with China this spring by slapping unprecedented tariffs on Chinese exports to the United States. The tit-for-tat tariffs set off a scramble in both governments to understand each other’s positions.

[…]

Source: Chinese hackers breach US software and law firms amid trade fight, experts say | CNN Politics

Scientists develop ‘glue gun’ that 3D prints bone grafts directly onto fractures

Posted on by

Researchers have modified a standard glue gun to 3D print a bone-like material directly onto fractures, paving the way for its use in operating rooms.

The device, which has so far been tested in rabbits, would be particularly useful for fixing irregularly shaped fractures during surgery, the researchers say.

[…]

Typically, large fractures or other defects in bones require bone grafting and the use of a metal fastener, such as a pin or plate, to support the broken bone as it heals. But because the shape of these implants is not specific to a given patient’s fracture, this can result in poor alignment and compromised stability of the bone.

Previous studies have shown that 3D printing bespoke bone grafts for individual patients can be done, but these required considerable time and effort to make, preventing them from being used on the fly during surgery.

Now, in a study published Friday (Sept. 5) in the journal Device, Lee and colleagues detailed their new method of 3D printing a bone substitute directly onto a fracture using a glue gun.

Source: Scientists develop ‘glue gun’ that 3D prints bone grafts directly onto fractures | Live Science

When Fisker EV collapsed, its customers became the car company to keep it running

Posted on by

In June 2024, seven months after Fleming’s purchase, Fisker collapsed into bankruptcy, having only delivered 11,000 vehicles.

Early adopters were left with cars plagued by battery failures, glitchy software, inconsistent key fobs, and door handles that did not always open. With the company gone, there was no way to fix any issues. Regulators logged dozens of complaints as replacement parts vanished. Passionate owners who spent top dollar on high-end trims saw their cars reduced to expensive driveway ornaments.

Rather than accept defeat, thousands of Ocean owners have organized into their own makeshift car company. The Fisker Owners Association (FOA) is a nonprofit that’s launched third-party apps, built a global parts supply chain, and came together around a future for their orphaned vehicles. It’s part car club, part tech startup, part survival mission. Fleming now serves as the organization’s president.

[…]

So far, 4,055 Ocean owners have signed up, paying $550 a year in dues that the group estimates will raise around $3 million annually, about 0.1 percent of Fisker’s peak valuation. Only verified Ocean owners can become full members, but anyone can donate.

The grassroots effort has precedent — DeLorean diehards and Saab enthusiasts have kept their favorite brands alive after factory closures. But those efforts focused on preserving aging vehicles. FOA is attempting something different: real-time software updates and hardware improvements for a connected, two-year-old EV fleet.

[…]

The organization has spawned three separate companies. Tsunami Automotive handles parts in North America while Tidal Wave covers Europe, scavenging insurance auctions and contracting with tooling manufacturers to reproduce components. UnderCurrent Automotive, run by former Google and Apple engineers, focuses on software solutions.

UnderCurrent’s first product is OceanLink Pro, a third-party mobile app now used by over 1,200 members that restores basic EV features, such as remote battery monitoring and climate control. A companion device called OceanLink Pulse adds wireless CarPlay and Android Auto, with plans for future upgrades including keyless entry.

“Those are things you would have expected to be in a $70,000 luxury car,” Bagley says. “But, you know, we’re happy to provide what the billion-dollar automaker apparently couldn’t.”

[…]

Source: When this EV maker collapsed, its customers became the car company | The Verge

For this kind of stuff to work, you need right to repair laws. You need the IP of the company to release so that software engineers can interface with the existing software.

Mesh-Mapper – Drone Remote ID mapping and mesh alerts

Posted on by

Project Overview

The FAA’s Remote ID requirement, which became mandatory for most drones in September 2023, means every compliant drone now broadcasts its location, pilot position, and identification data via WiFi or Bluetooth. While this regulation was designed for safety and accountability (or to violate pilot privacy 😊), it also creates an unprecedented opportunity for personal airspace awareness.

This project harnesses that data stream to create a comprehensive detection and tracking system that puts you in control of knowing what’s flying overhead. Built around the powerful dual-core Xiao ESP32 S3 microcontroller, the system captures Remote ID transmissions on both WiFi and Bluetooth simultaneously, feeding the data into a sophisticated Python Flask web application that provides real-time visualization and logging.

But here’s where it gets really interesting: the system also integrates with Meshtastic networks, allowing multiple detection nodes to share information across a mesh network. This means you can deploy several ESP32 nodes across your property or neighborhood and have them all contribute to a unified picture of drone activity in your area.

Why This Project Matters

Remote ID represents a fundamental shift in airspace transparency. For the first time, civilian drones are required to broadcast their identity and location continuously. This creates opportunities for:

  • Privacy Protection: Know when drones are operating near your property and who is operating them
  • Personal Security: Monitor activity around sensitive locations like your home or business
  • Community Awareness: Share drone activity information with neighbors through mesh networks
  • Research: Understand drone traffic patterns and airspace usage in your area
  • Education: Learn about wireless protocols and modern airspace management
The key difference between this system and commercial drone detection 
solutions is that it puts the power of airspace awareness directly in your 
hands, using affordable hardware and open-source software.

While you can build this project using off-the-shelf ESP32 development boards, I’ve designed custom PCBs specifically optimized for Remote ID detection integration with Meshtastic that are that are available on my Tindie store. Thank you PCBway for the awesome boards! The combination of their top tier quality, competitive pricing, fast turnaround times, and stellar customer service makes PCBWay the go-to choice for professional PCB fabrication, whether you’re prototyping innovative mesh detection systems or scaling up for full production runs.

https://www.pcbway.com/

Step 1: Hardware Preparation

If using custom MeshDetect boards from Tindie:

  • Boards come pre-assembled, flashed, and tested
  • Includes Stock 915mhz and 2.4ghz antennas
  • USB-C programming interface ready to use

If building with standard ESP32 S3:

  • Xiao ESP32 S3 development board recommended
  • USB-C cable for connection and power
  • Optional upgraded3 2.4GHz antenna for better range
  • Optional Heltec Lora V3 for Mesthastic Integration

Step 2: Firmware Installation

To install the firmware onto your device, follow these steps:

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/colonelpanichacks/drone-mesh-mapper

Open the project in PlatformIO: You can use the PlatformIO IDE (in VS Code) or the PlatformIO CLI.

2.Select the correct environment:

This project uses the remotied_mesh_dualcore sketch, which enables both BLE and Wi-Fi functionality.Make sure the platformio.ini environment is set to remoteid_mesh_dualcore.

3. Connect you device via usb and flash

Upload the firmware:

  • In the IDE, select the remoteid_mesh_dualcore environment and click the “Upload” button.

3. Sofware Installation

Install Python dependencies:

  • flask>=2.0.0
  • flask-socketio>=5.0.0
  • requests>=2.25.0
  • urllib3>=1.26.0
  • pyserial>=3.5

Run the detection system:

python mapper.py

The web interface automatically opens at http://localhost:5000

Step 4: Device Configuration

1. Connect ESP32 via USB-C

2. Select the correct serial port in the web interface

3. Click “Connect” to start receiving data

4. Configure device aliases and settings as needed

How It Works

The ESP32 S3’s dual-core architecture allows simultaneous monitoring of both WiFi and Bluetooth Remote ID transmissions:
  • Core 0 handles WiFi monitoring in promiscuous mode, capturing Remote ID data embedded in beacon frames and processing Neighbor Awareness Networking transmissions on channel 6 by default.
  • Core 1 continuously scans for Bluetooth LE advertisements containing Remote ID data, supporting both BT 4.0 and 5.0 protocols with optimized low-power scanning.
  • Both cores feed detected Remote ID data into a unified JSON output stream via USB serial at 115200 baud. The firmware is based on Cemaxacuter’s excellent Remote ID detection work, enhanced with dual-core operation.
  • The Python Flask web application receives this data and provides real-time visualization on an interactive map, automatic logging to CSV and KML files, FAA database integration for aircraft registration lookups, support for up to 3 ESP32 devices simultaneously, live data streaming via WebSocket, and comprehensive export functions.
Meshtastic Integration: Distributed Detection

One of the most exciting features is Meshtastic integration. The ESP32 firmware can send compact detection messages over UART to a connected Meshtastic device. This enables:

  • Distributed Monitoring: Multiple detection nodes sharing data across your property or neighborhood
  • Extended Range: Mesh networking extends effective coverage area beyond single-device limitations
  • Redundancy: Multiple nodes provide backup coverage if one device fails
  • Low-Power Operation: Meshtastic’s LoRa radios enable remote deployment without constant power
  • Community Networks: Integration with existing Meshtastic mesh networks for broader awareness
  • Messages sent over the mesh network use a compact format optimized for LoRa bandwidth constraints:

Features in Action

Real-Time Detection and Mapping

The web interface provides a Google Maps-style view with drone markers showing current aircraft positions, pilot markers indicating operator locations, color-coded flight paths derived from device MAC addresses, signal strength indicators showing detection quality, and automatic cleanup removing stale data after 5 minutes.

Data Export and Analysis

The system continuously generates multiple data formats including timestamped CSV logs perfect for spreadsheet analysis, Google Earth compatible KML files with flight path visualization featuring individual drone paths color-coded by device and timestamped waypoints, and JSON API providing real-time data access for custom integrations with RESTful endpoints and WebSocket streams.

FAA Database Integration

One of the most powerful features is automatic FAA registration lookup that queries the FAA database using detected Remote ID information, caches results to minimize API calls and improve performance, enriches detection data with aircraft registration details, and includes configurable rate limiting to respect API guidelines.

Multi-Device Coordination

The system supports up to three ESP32 devices simultaneously with automatic device discovery and connection, individual device health monitoring, load balancing across multiple receivers, and unified data view combining all devices.

Performance and Optimization

Reception Range

Testing has shown effective detection ranges of 5 Km in urban environments, 10-15 kilometers in open areas with good antennas, overlapping coverage that eliminates dead zones when using multiple devices, and significant improvement with external antennas compared to built-in antennas.

System Resources

The Python application is optimized for continuous operation with efficient memory management for large datasets, automatic log rotation to prevent disk space issues, WebSocket connection pooling for multiple clients, and configurable data retention policies.

For remote deployments, Meshtastic integration enables off-grid operation, webhook retry logic ensures reliable alert delivery, local data storage prevents data loss during network outages, and bandwidth optimization handles limited connections.

Privacy and Security Considerations

This system puts powerful airspace monitoring capabilities in individual hands, but it’s important to use it responsibly. The detection data contains location information about both drones and their operators, so implement appropriate data retention policies and be aware of local privacy regulations.

For network security, remember that the Flask development server is not production-ready, so consider a reverse proxy for production use and implement authentication for sensitive deployments. Use HTTPS for webhook communications and monitor for unauthorized access attempts.

The system enables you to know what’s flying over your property while respecting the legitimate privacy expectations of drone operators. It’s about transparency and awareness, not surveillance.

Conclusion

This Remote ID detection system represents a significant step forward in personal airspace awareness. The combination of dual-core ESP32 processing, comprehensive web-based interface, Meshtastic mesh integration, and professional data export features creates a platform that’s both accessible to makers and powerful enough for serious privacy protection applications.

The availability of custom-designed PCBs on Tindie removes the barrier of hardware design, while the open-source firmware and software ensure complete customizability. Whether you’re building a single-node setup for personal property monitoring or deploying a mesh network for neighborhood-wide awareness, this system provides the foundation for comprehensive drone detection and tracking.

As more drones come online with Remote ID compliance, having your own detection system becomes increasingly valuable for maintaining privacy and situational awareness of your local airspace

Resources and Links

Mesh Mapper Github : https://github.com/colonelpanichacks/drone-mesh-mapper

Mesh Detect Github (all firmware for Mesh Detect boards: https://github.com/colonelpanichacks/mesh-detect

Mesh Detect SMA mount clip SMA mount clip for the Mesh Destect board by OrdoOuroboros https://www.printables.com/model/1294183-mesh-detect-board-sma-mount

Build Your Own

Ready to start monitoring your local airspace? The combination of affordable hardware, open-source software, and comprehensive documentation makes this project accessible to makers of all skill levels. Start with a single ESP32 device to learn the system, then expand to multiple nodes and Meshtastic integration as your privacy protection needs grow.

The future of airspace monitoring is distributed, affordable, and puts control back in the hands of individuals and communities. Join the movement building these next-generation detection systems!

Source: Mesh-Mapper – Drone Remote ID mapping and mesh alerts – Hackster.io

Detecting Surveillance Cameras With The ESP32 from Colonel.Panic

Posted on by

These days, surveillance cameras are all around us, and they’re smarter than ever. In particular, many of them are running advanced algorithms to recognize faces and scan license plates, compiling ever-greater databases on the movements and lives of individuals. Flock You is a project that aims to, at the very least, catalogue this part of the surveillance state, by detecting these cameras out in the wild.

The system is most specifically set up to detect surveillance cameras from Flock Safety, though it’s worth noting a wide range of companies produce plate-reading cameras and associated surveillance systems these days. The device uses an ESP32 microcontroller to detect these devices, relying on the in-built wireless hardware to do the job. The project can be built on a Oui-Spy device from Colonel Panic, or just by using a standard Xiao ESP32 S3 if so desired. By looking at Wi-Fi probe requests and beacon frames, as well as Bluetooth advertisements, it’s possible for the device to pick up telltale transmissions from a range of these cameras, with various pattern-matching techniques and MAC addresses used to filter results in this regard. When the device finds a camera, it sounds a buzzer notifying the user of this fact.

Meanwhile, if you’re interested in just how prevalent plate-reading cameras really are, you might also find deflock.me interesting. It’s a map of ALPR camera locations all over the world,  and you can submit your own findings if so desired. The techniques used by in the Flock You project are based on learnings from the DeFlock project. Meanwhile, if you want to join the surveillance state on your own terms, you can always build your own license plate reader instead!

Source: Detecting Surveillance Cameras With The ESP32 | Hackaday

VITURE Launches ‘Luma Ultra’ AR Glasses with Sony Micro-OLED Panels

Posted on by

VITURE has now launched Luma Ultra AR glasses, which pack in Sony’s latest micro-OLED to go along with spatial gesture tracking thanks to onboard sensor array.

Priced at $600, and now shipping worldwide, Viture Luma Ultra is targeting prosumers, enterprise and business professionals looking for a personal, on-the-go workspace.

Notably, these aren’t standalone devices, instead relying on PC, console and mobile tethering for compute, which means they integrate as external (albeit very personal) monitors.

Image courtesy VITURE

Luma Ultra is said to include a 52-degree field of view (FOV), Sony’s latest micro-OLED panels with a resolution up to 1200p and 1,250 nits peak brightness. Two depth sensing cameras are onboard in addition to a single RGB camera for spatial 6DOF tracking and hand gesture input.

Unlike some AR glasses, which rely on slimming waveguide optics, Luma Ultra uses what’s called a ‘birdbath’ optic system, which uses a curved, semi-transparent mirror to project the digital image into the user’s eyes. It’s typically cheaper and easier to manufacture, and can also reach higher brightness at the expense of more bulk and weight.

Image courtesy VITURE

The device also includes an electrochromic film for tint control, myopia adjustments up to -4.0 diopters, and support for 64 ± 6mm interpupillary distance (IPD).

SEE ALSO
Hands-on: ‘Marvel’s Deadpool VR’ Nails the Vibe, But Needs Work on Feel

In reality, the company also launched a slate of AR glasses alongside it, which are targeted at consuming traditional media, positioning Viture Luma Ultra the company’s flagship device.

Check out the full lineup and spec below:

Image courtesy VITURE

Viture Luma ($400), Luma Pro ($500) and Luma Ultra ($600) are all estimated to ship within two weeks of ordering, with the next device, Luma Beast ($550) slated to ship sometime in November.

None of the devices above (besides Luma Ultra) include spatial tracking due to the lack of depth sensors, however Luma Beast is said to come with the same micro-OLED displays as Luma Ultra at a slightly larger 58-degree FOV and an auto-adjusting electrochromic film for tint control.

This follows the news of Viture’s latest funding round, which brought the San Francisco-based XR glasses company $100 million in Series B financing. which the company says will aid in global expansion of its consumer XR glasses. Viture says the funding will aid in global expansion of its consumer XR glasses.

Source: VITURE Launches ‘Luma Ultra’ AR Glasses with Sony Micro-OLED Panels

Windows MR Headsets Revived By Free ‘Oasis’ SteamVR Driver

Posted on by

A lone Microsoft employee released an unofficial SteamVR driver for Windows MR headsets, called Oasis, re-enabling their use on Windows 11.

The Oasis driver arrives just under one year after Microsoft started rolling out Windows 11 24H2, which completely removed support for Windows MR. This meant Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Samsung PC VR headset owners could no longer use their headset at all, not even on Steam, since Windows MR had its own runtime and only supported SteamVR through a shim.

Matthieu Bucchianeri’s Oasis solves this problem, for free. Oasis is a native SteamVR driver for Windows MR headsets, adding direct SteamVR support. No other software is required, except for SteamVR itself.

[…]

The Oasis driver includes full support for headset tracking, controller tracking, haptics, buttons, triggers, sticks, and battery state, as well as basic monoscopic camera passthrough. It also relays the IPD value from Reverb and Samsung Odyssey headsets, and even the eye tracking from HP Reverb G2 Omnicept Edition.

The only headset feature that isn’t supported is Bluetooth. Instead, you’ll need to use your PC’s Bluetooth, such as a USB or PCI-E Bluetooth adapter.

UploadVR’s Don Hopper has tested and confirmed that Oasis works with his HP Reverb G2, turning what had become a paperweight into a fully functional PC VR headset again.

Oasis Driver for Windows Mixed Reality is available for free on Steam. Make sure to read the full installation and setup instructions on GitHub, as you’ll need to pair your controllers via Bluetooth and “unlock” both the headset and controllers before use.

[…]

Source: Windows MR Headsets Revived By Free ‘Oasis’ SteamVR Driver

Austrian armed forces ditch Microsoft for open-source LibreOffice to safeguard data sovereignty. Someone woke up 10 years too late.

Posted on by

Austria’s military has completed a major IT overhaul, replacing Microsoft Office with the open-source LibreOffice suite across all its desktop systems. The change, finalized this month, affects approximately 16,000 workstations in the Austrian Armed Forces.

This move will substantially reduce Austria’s software bill. At $33.75 per user per month, a Microsoft 365 E3 subscription for 16,000 workstations costs approximately $6,480,000 per year, compared to LibreOffice’s zero cost.

Also: 4 reasons why LibreOffice downloads are way up (hint: you’ll relate)

But this move isn’t about saving money. The real motivation is to gain digital sovereignty and control over critical data. As Michael Hillebrand of Directorate 6 information and communications technology (ICT) and Cyber Defense, explained: “It was very important for us to show that we are doing this primarily to strengthen our digital sovereignty, to maintain our independence in terms of ICT infrastructure and to ensure that data is only processed in-house.”

Austria has plenty of company

This concern is not unique to Austria. Many EU governments are dumping Microsoft to protect their data. The German state of Schleswig-Holstein is replacing all Microsoft software with Linux and LibreOffice in government offices.

Austria’s move comes shortly after Danish officials said they’d be leaving Microsoft behind for the same reasons. The French city of Lyon is also moving to Linux and LibreOffice from Windows and Office to protect its citizens’ data.

Recently, digital sovereignty has become a contentious issue for countries outside the US that have been relying on American companies. Many European governments no longer trust their data or software to US-based companies under President Donald Trump.

They fear their data could be read or that Microsoft could kill their services on Trump’s behalf. While Microsoft chairman and general counsel Brad Smith dismissed such concerns and promised that the company would stand behind its EU customers against political pressure, others don’t trust Microsoft.

Their concerns will only be inflamed now that The Guardian reports that Microsoft has cut off Israel’s access to Azure, which the nation had been using to store data for a Palestinian surveillance system. While some people may support this decision, it also serves as a sharp warning that US companies can and will cut IT resources from their customers for political reasons.

In Austria’s case, the government started to worry that such moves were forthcoming when, in 2020, the military identified the risks of dependency on external cloud services, particularly those from the US. Austria wasn’t the only one. The German Interior Ministry warned in 2019 that Germany had become overly dependent on Microsoft software.

[…]

Source: This European military just ditched Microsoft for open-source LibreOffice – here’s why | ZDNET

It’s incredible that only some EU countries are waking up now, with Trump at the helm. The problem has always been there, despite GDPR arrangements. The US government has always had backdoor access to data stored in US cloud companies servers. None of these companies can guarantee that the data will be kept in EU clusters and even if they could, the US government installs secret backdoors in systems without the companies managements knowledge.

So by paying the US companies, not only are EU governments and militaries funding a dependancy on US software but also giving them all the knowledge and secrets they have on a platter. And for some reason, EU governments have been too stupid too see this.

Quantum random number generator combines small size and high speed

Posted on by

Researchers have developed a chip-based quantum random number generator that provides high-speed, high-quality operation on a miniaturized platform. This advance could help move quantum random number generators closer to being built directly into everyday devices, where they could strengthen security without sacrificing speed.

True randomness is essential for secure online banking, private messaging, and protecting from hackers, and the rising need for stronger digital protection is driving fast-growing demand for high-quality random numbers generated at high speeds.

“The quantum properties of light make it possible to produce numbers that are truly random, unlike the numbers generated by computer algorithms, which only imitate randomness,” said research team leader Raymond Smith from Toshiba’s Cambridge Research Laboratory in the United Kingdom. “However, making this technology practical for real-world use requires the that create these to be as small as possible so they can fit inside other systems.”

In the journal Optica Quantum, the researchers describe a new quantum design that can recover the quantum signal even when it’s buried in noise, which has been challenging to accomplish with chip-integrated devices. The new device can generate unpredictable random numbers at a rate of 3 gigabits per second, fast enough to support the security needs of large-scale data centers.

“A major application of random number generators is in protecting sensitive data and communications using encryption keys,” said Smith. “Our technology can generate those keys at high speed and with strong security guarantees. High-speed random numbers are also critical for scientific simulations and and for ensuring fairness in applications like online gaming or digital lotteries.”

[…]

Source: Quantum random number generator combines small size and high speed

Viral pay to record calls for AI app Neon takes itself down after exposing users’ phone numbers, call recordings, and transcripts to world + dog

Posted on by

A viral app called Neon, which offers to record your phone calls and pay you for the audio so it can sell that data to AI companies, has rapidly risen to the ranks of the top-five free iPhone apps since its launch last week.

The app already has thousands of users and was downloaded 75,000 times yesterday alone, according to app intelligence provider Appfigures. Neon pitches itself as a way for users to make money by providing call recordings that help train, improve, and test AI models.

But Neon has gone offline, at least for now, after a security flaw allowed anyone to access the phone numbers, call recordings, and transcripts of any other user, TechCrunch can now report.

TechCrunch discovered the security flaw during a short test of the app on Thursday. We alerted the app’s founder, Alex Kiam (who previously did not respond to a request for comment about the app), to the flaw soon after our discovery.

Kiam told TechCrunch later Thursday that he took down the app’s servers and began notifying users about pausing the app, but fell short of informing his users about the security lapse.

 The Neon app stopped functioning soon after we contacted Kiam.

[…]

Source: Viral call-recording app Neon goes dark after exposing users’ phone numbers, call recordings, and transcripts | TechCrunch

Shark bite resistant wetsuits actually work

Posted on by

Shark bites on humans are rare but can have substantial consequences for local coastal communities and businesses, often prompting pressure to implement effective mitigation measures. Wetsuits that incorporate bite-resistant materials have emerged as a new mitigation strategy that aims to reduce fatalities from shark bites, by reducing the severity of injuries inflicted from bites (e.g. lacerations, punctures, tissue and blood loss)

[…]

Key results

All bite-resistant materials reduced the proportional area of bites in substantial and critical damage categories, the categories associated with haemorrhaging and major vascular injury. However, there were limited to no differences in substantial and critical damage categories across the bite-resistant materials. Shark length also influenced the proportion of damage from tiger shark bites, but not from white shark bites.

Conclusions

Although internal and crushing injuries might still occur, bite-resistant materials offer an improved level of protection that can reduce severe wounds and blood loss, and should be considered as part of the toolbox and measures available to reduce shark-bite risk and resulting injuries.

Source: CSIRO PUBLISHING | Wildlife Research

EU becomes a little more fascist and starts collecting fingerprints at the border

Posted on by

The new Entry/Exit System (EES) will start operations on 12 October 2025. European countries using the EES will introduce the system gradually at their external borders. This means that data collection will be gradually introduced at border crossing points with full implementation by 10 April 2026.

Source: What is the EES?

You need to provide your personal data each time you reach the external borders of the European countries using the EES. For more information – see What does progressive start of the EES mean? 
The EES collects, records and stores: 

  • data listed in your travel document(s) (e.g. full name, date of birth, etc.)
  • date and place of each entry and exit 
  • facial image and fingerprints (called ‘biometric data’)
  • whether you were refused entry.

On the basis of the collected biometric data, biometric templates will be created and stored in the shared Biometric Matching Service (see footnote).

If you hold a short-stay visa to enter the Schengen area, your fingerprints will already be stored in the Visa Information System (VIS) and will not be stored again in the EES.

Depending on your particular situation, the system also collects your personal information from:

[…]

If you refuse to provide your biometric data, you will be denied entry into the territory of the European countries using the EES.

Who can access your personal data?

  • Border, visa and immigration authorities in the European countries using the EES for the purpose of verifying your identity and understanding whether you should be allowed to enter or stay on the territory.
  • Law enforcement authorities of the countries using the EES and Europol for law enforcement purposes. 
  • Under strict conditions, your data may be transferred to another country (inside or outside the EU) or international organisation (listed in Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2017/2226 – a UN organisation, the International Organisation for Migration, or the International Committee of the Red Cross) for return (Article 41(1) and (2), and Article 42) and/or law enforcement purposes (Article 41(6)).
  • Transport carriers will only be able to verify whether short-stay visa holders have already used the number of entries authorised by their visa and will not be able to access any further personal data.

[…]

Your data cannot be transferred to third parties – whether public or private entities – except in certain cases. See Who can access your personal data. 

[…]

So lots of data collected, and loads of people who can access this data – exceptions are absolutely everywhere. And for what? To satisfy far right fantasies about migration running rampant.

EU Data Act – get hold of your own data, but govt gets it too?

Posted on by

[…] The Regulation on harmonised rules on fair access to and use of data — also known as the Data Act — entered into force on 11 January 2024 and into application on 12 September 2025. The Act is a key pillar of the European data strategy and it will make a significant contribution to the Digital Decade‘s objective of advancing digital transformation. The Data Act explained provides more in depth explanations.

The Data Act is designed to empower users — both consumers and businesses — by giving them greater control over the data generated by their connected devices, such as cars, smart TVs, and industrial machinery.

[…]

he new rules aim to facilitate the seamless transfer of valuable data between data holders and data users while upholding its confidentiality. This will encourage more actors, regardless of their size, to participate in the data economy. The Commission will also develop model contract clauses in order to help market participants draft and negotiate fair data-sharing contracts.

[…]

Public sector access and use of data

Rules enabling public sector bodies to access and use data held by the private sector for specific public interest purposes. For instance, public sector bodies will be able to request data necessary to help them respond quickly and securely to a public emergency, with minimal burden on businesses.

[…]

New rules setting the framework for customers to effectively switch between different providers of data-processing services to unlock the EU cloud market. This will also contribute to an overall framework for efficient data interoperability.

[…]

Users of connected products may choose to share this data with third parties. This will enable aftermarket (e.g. repair) service providers to enhance and innovate their services, fostering fair competition with similar services provided by manufacturers.

[…]

Source: Data Act | Shaping Europe’s digital future

Following the general provisions (Chapter I) which set out the scope of the regulation and define key terms, the Data Act is structured into six main chapters:

Chapter II on business-to-business and business-to-consumer data sharing in the context of IoT: users of IoT objects can access, use and port data that they co-generate through their use of a connected product.

Chapter III on business-to-business data sharing: this clarifies the data-sharing conditions wherever a business is obliged by law, including through the Data Act, to share data with another business.

Chapter IV on unfair contractual terms: these provisions protect all businesses, in particular SMEs, against unfair contractual terms imposed on them.

Chapter V on business-to-government data sharing: public sector bodies will be able to make more evidence-based decisions in certain situations of exceptional need through measures to access certain data held by the private sector.

Chapter VI on switching between data processing services: providers of cloud and edge computing services must meet minimum requirements to facilitate interoperability and enable switching.

Chapter VII on unlawful third country government access to data: non-personal data stored in the EU is protected against unlawful foreign government access requests.

Chapter VIII on interoperability: participants in data spaces must fulfil criteria to allow data to flow within and between data spaces. An EU repository will lay down relevant standards and specifications for cloud interoperability.

Chapter IX on enforcement: Member States must designate one or more competent authority(ies) to monitor and enforce the Data Act. Where more than one authority is designated, a ‘data coordinator’ must be appointed to act as the single point of contact at the national level.

[…]

Chapter V of the Data Act on business-to-government data sharing differentiates between two scenarios:

  • In order to respond to a public emergency, a public sector body should request non-personal data. However, if this is insufficient to respond to the situation, personal data may be requested. Where possible, this data should be anonymised by the data holder.    

  • In non-emergency situations, public sector bodies may only request non-personal data.

[…]

The Data Act will also entirely remove switching charges, including charges for data egress (i.e. charges for data transit), from 12 January 2027. This means that providers won’t be able to charge their customers for the operations that are necessary to facilitate switching or for data egress. However, as a transitional measure during the first 3 years after the Data Act’s entry into force (from 11 January 2024 to 12 January 2027), providers may still charge their customers for the costs incurred in relation to switching and data egress.

Source: Data Act explained

This is all great stuff, but the wording where public sector bodies can request personal data for unexplained emergencies (so… does a peaceful protest constitute an emergency, for example?) is pretty scary. Especially within the context of Chat Control Blanket Surveillance that the Danish presidency is keen to push through.

LaLiga’s Anti-Piracy Tactics Disrupt Major Sites in Spain. Again. Allowing company dragnets with no recourse, warning or anything is insanely stupid.

Posted on by

LaLiga, Spain’s top football league, is facing a firestorm of criticism after boasting about a staggering 142% increase in anti-piracy takedown notices in early 2025 while simultaneously causing extensive collateral damage across the internet.

As the 2025/2026 season began on August 15, LaLiga ramped up its enforcement strategy, triggering widespread outages for entirely lawful websites, services, and platforms.

These disruptions are tied to a controversial anti-piracy scheme operated in partnership with telecom giant Telefónica.

The initiative, which enjoys judicial backing in Spain, allows LaLiga to instruct major internet service providers, including Movistar, Vodafone, Orange, and DIGI, to block IP addresses suspected of hosting unauthorized streams.

The fallout is that entire chunks of the internet go dark for Spanish users, often during match broadcasts.

LaLiga doesn’t target specific infringing content. Instead, it flags entire IP ranges, many of which are shared by thousands of unrelated domains.

When one site is accused of hosting pirated material, everyone else sharing that IP address gets swept up in the block.

The result is a digital dragnet that has ensnared companies as diverse as Amazon, Cloudflare, GitHub, Twitch, and even Google Fonts.

TorrentFreak has documented repeated weekly blocks of platforms like Vercel since early 2025, while Catalonia’s own .cat domain registry has also reported service disruptions.

The issue became so disruptive that iXsystems, the team behind TrueNAS, a widely used open-source NAS operating system, was forced to shift its distribution model entirely. After its CDN IPs were repeatedly blocked in Spain, making critical security updates inaccessible to users, the developers resorted to distributing their software via BitTorrent.

[…]

LaLiga, meanwhile, continues to tout its enforcement record. A self-published report revealed that over 26 million takedown notices were sent in the first half of 2025 alone, more than doubling the total from all of 2024.

Source: LaLiga’s Anti-Piracy Tactics Disrupt Major Sites in Spain

Related: Massive expansion of Italy’s Piracy Shield underway despite growing criticism of its flaws and EU illegality

As site blocks pile up, European Commission issues subtle slapdown to Italy’s Piracy Shield

Why Italy’s Piracy Shield destroys huge internet companies and small businesses with no recourse (unless you are rich) and can lay out the entire internet in Italy to… protect against football streaming?!

Italy is losing its mind because of copyright: it just made its awful Piracy Shield even worse

Italy’s Piracy Shield Blocks Innocent Web Sites, Makes It Hard For Them To Appeal so ISPs are ignoring the law because it’s stupid

EU prepares to give new rights to live streaming sites, to the detriment of the Internet and its users

LaLiga Piracy Blocks Randomly Take Down huge innocent segments of internet with no recourse or warning, slammed as “Unaccountable Internet Censorship”

Now the copyright industry wants to apply deep, automated blocking to the Internet’s core routers

OpenAI plugs ShadowLeak bug in ChatGPT which allowed anybody access to everybodys gmail emails and any other integrations

Posted on by

ChatGPT’s research assistant sprung a leak – since patched – that let attackers steal Gmail secrets with just a single carefully crafted email.

Deep Research, a tool unveiled by OpenAI in February, enables users to ask ChatGPT to browse the internet or their personal email inbox and generate a detailed report on its findings. The tool can be integrated with apps like Gmail and GitHub, allowing people to do deep dives into their own documents and messages without ever leaving the chat window.

Cybersecurity outfit Radware this week disclosed a critical flaw in the feature, dubbed “ShadowLeak,” warning that it could allow attackers to siphon data from inboxes with no user interaction whatsoever. Researchers showed that simply sending a maliciously crafted email to a Deep Research user was enough to get the agent to exfiltrate sensitive data when it later summarized that inbox.

The attack relies on hiding instructions inside the HTML of an email using white-on-white text, CSS tricks, or metadata, which a human recipient would never notice. When Deep Research later crawls the mailbox, it dutifully follows the attacker’s hidden orders and sends the contents of messages, or other requested data, to a server controlled by the attacker.

Radware stressed that this isn’t just a prompt injection on the user’s machine. The malicious request is executed from OpenAI’s own infrastructure, making it effectively invisible to corporate security tooling.

That server-side element is what makes ShadowLeak particularly nasty. There’s no dodgy link for a user to click, and no suspicious outbound connection from the victim’s laptop. The entire operation happens in the cloud, and the only trace is a benign-looking query from the user to ChatGPT asking it to “summarize today’s emails”. […] The researchers argue that the risk isn’t limited to Gmail either. Any integration that lets ChatGPT hoover up private documents could be vulnerable to the same trick if input sanitization isn’t watertight.

[…]

Radware said it reported the ShadowLeak bug to OpenAI on June 18 and the company released a fix on September 3. The Register asked OpenAI what specific changes were made to mitigate this vulnerability and whether it had seen any evidence that the vulnerability had been exploited in the wild before disclosure, but did not receive a response.

Radware is urging organizations to treat AI agents as privileged users and to lock down what they can access. HTML sanitization, stricter control over which tools agents can use, and better logging of every action taken in the cloud are all on its list of recommendations. ®

Source: OpenAI plugs ShadowLeak bug in ChatGPT • The Register

Entra ID bug granted easy access to every tenant

Posted on by

A security researcher claims to have found a flaw that could have handed him the keys to almost every Entra ID tenant worldwide.

Dirk-jan Mollema reported the finding to the Microsoft Security Research Center (MSRC) in July. The issue was fixed and confirmed as mitigated, and a CVE was raised on September 4.

It is, however, an alarming vulnerability involving flawed token validation that can result in cross-tenant access. “If you are an Entra ID admin,” wrote Mollema, “that means complete access to your tenant.”

There are two main elements in the vulnerability. The first, according to Mollema, is undocumented impersonation tokens called “Actor tokens” that Microsoft uses for service-to-service communication. There was a flaw in the legacy Azure Active Directory Graph API that did not properly validate the originating tenant, allowing the tokens to be used for cross-tenant access.

“Effectively,” wrote Mollema, “this means that with a token I requested in my lab tenant I could authenticate as any user, including Global Admins, in any other tenant.”

The tokens allowed full access to the Azure AD Graph API in any tenant. Any hope that a log might save the day was also dashed – “requesting Actor tokens does not generate logs.”

“Even if it did, they would be generated in my tenant instead of in the victim tenant, which means there is no record of the existence of these tokens.”

The upshot of the flaw was a possible compromise for any service that uses Entra ID for authentication, such as SharePoint Online or Exchange Online. Mollema noted that access to resources hosted in Azure was also possible.

[…]

Source: Entra ID bug could have granted access to every tenant • The Register

Samsung confirms its $1,800+ fridges will start showing you ads

Posted on by

Samsung started rolling out an update to its refrigerators that brought ads to the display, whether you like it or not. The whole situation is rather surreal but not entirely unsurprising. There were some doubts that the changelog wasn’t real or that it belonged to a different product. Now, Samsung has confirmed to us that ads are indeed coming to its refrigerators.

We had reached out to Samsung for a statement, and this is what a Samsung spokesperson said:

Samsung is committed to innovation and enhancing every day value for our home appliance customers. As part of our ongoing efforts to strengthen that value, we are conducting a pilot program to offer promotions and curated advertisements on certain Samsung Family Hub refrigerator models in the U.S. market.
As a part of this pilot program, Family Hub refrigerators in the U.S. will receive an over-the-network (OTN) software update with Terms of Service (T&C) and Privacy Notice (PN). Advertising will appear on certain Family Hub refrigerator Cover Screens. The Cover Screen appears when a Family Hub screen is idle. Ad design format may change depending on Family Hub personalization options for the Cover Screen, and advertising will not appear when Cover Screen displays Art Mode or picture albums.
Advertisements can be dismissed on the Cover Screens where ads are shown, meaning that specific ads will not appear again during the campaign period.

As the statement notes, this is a pilot program for certain Samsung Family Hub refrigerator models sold in the US. As part of the program, these refrigerators will display “promotions and curated advertisements” on certain Cover Screens when the Family Hub screen (i.e., the door display) is idle.

The company notes that ads can be dismissed, and dismissed ads will not appear again. The ad design format will also change depending on the Cover Screen’s personalization options. Ads will not appear when the Cover Screen displays photos or art.

From the changelog, we know that ads will be displayed on the Cover Screen for the Weather, Color, and Daily Board themes, whereas the Cover Screen for the Art and Gallery themes will not display advertisements, in line with the company’s statement.

It’s still unclear which exact refrigerators are getting the ad infestation, but Samsung’s current Family Hub-equipped lineup in the US starts at $1,800 and goes all the way up to $3,500. It doesn’t seem like users can entirely turn off ads

Source: Samsung confirms its $1,800+ fridges will start showing you ads

Yay the good old US where this is legal. I am not sure this would go in the EU but then again, I am not sure what EU law would stop this either. Apparently you don’t own what you bought and you can’t stop “new features” if you don’t want them.

The “Debate Me Bro” Grift: How Trolls Weaponized The Marketplace Of Ideas

Posted on by

[… lots of random stuff about some influencer nobody heard of until the US fascists made him a thing to deflect from Gaza, Ukraine, Trump and Epstein…] The “debate me bro” playbook is simple and effective: demand that serious people engage with your conspiracy theories or extremist talking points. If they decline, cry “censorship!” and claim they’re “afraid of the truth.” If they accept, turn the interaction into a performance designed to generate viral clips and false legitimacy. It’s a heads-I-win-tails-you-lose proposition that has nothing to do with genuine intellectual discourse.

The fundamental issue with “debate me bro” culture isn’t just that it’s obnoxious, it’s that it creates a false equivalence between good-faith expertise and bad-faith trolling. When you agree to debate someone pushing long-debunked conspiracy theories or openly hateful ideologies, you’re implicitly suggesting that their position deserves equal consideration alongside established facts and expert analysis.

This is exactly backwards from how the actual “marketplace of ideas” is supposed to work. Ideas don’t deserve platforms simply because someone is willing to argue for them loudly. They earn legitimacy through evidence, peer review, and sustained engagement with reality. Many of the ideas promoted in these viral “debates” have already been thoroughly debunked and rejected by that marketplace—but the “debate me bro” format resurrects them as if they’re still worth serious consideration.

Perhaps most insidiously, these aren’t actually debates at all. They’re performances designed to generate specific emotional reactions for viral distribution. Participants aren’t trying to persuade anyone or genuinely engage with opposing viewpoints. They’re trying to create moments that will get clipped, shared, and monetized across social media.

[…]

The most toxic evolution of this grift is Jubilee Media’s “Surrounded” series on YouTube (on which Kirk once appeared, because of course he did), which The New Yorker’s Brady Brickner-Wood aptly describes as an attempt to “anthropomorphize the internet, turning incendiary discourse into live-action role-play.” The format is simple: put one public figure in a room with 20 ideologically opposed people and let them duke it out in rapid-fire rounds designed for maximum conflict and viral potential.

As Brickner-Wood notes, these aren’t actual debates in the classical sense of trying to persuade, they’re spectacles designed to set up bad faith dipshits with the opportunity to dunk on others for social media clout.

“Surrounded” videos are a dizzying and bewildering watch, as gruelling as they are compelling. The participants who fare best seem to be familiar with the conventions of interscholastic debate, spouting off statistics and logic puzzles with the alacrity of an extemporaneous-speaking champion. To win an argument in such a condensed amount of time, debaters attempt to short-circuit their opponent’s claim as swiftly and harshly as possible, treating their few minutes of airtime as a domination game rather than, say, a path toward truth or understanding. The goal here is not to inform or educate, to listen or process, to build or intellectualize but to win, to own, to dunk on, to break the opponent’s brain, to spawn an argument of such devastating definitiveness that the matter can be considered, once and for all, closed. Wave the flag, run the clock out—next.

But Surrounded is just the most recent manifestation of a much older problem. We’ve seen multiple bad faith trolls, beyond just Kirk, turn the “debate me bro” model into large media empires. When people point out their bad faith nonsense, we’re told “what are you complaining about, they’re doing things the ‘right way’ by debating with those they disagree with.”

[…]

The format actively discourages the kind of thoughtful, nuanced discussion that might actually change minds—the kind actually designed for persuasion. Instead, it rewards the most inflammatory takes, the most emotionally manipulative tactics, and the most viral-ready soundbites. Anyone going into these situations with good faith gets steamrolled by participants who understand they’re playing a different game entirely.

When trolls demand debates, they’re not interested in having their minds changed or genuinely testing their ideas. They want one of two outcomes: either you decline and they get to claim victory by default, or you accept and they get to use your credibility to legitimize their nonsense while farming viral moments.

None of this means we should avoid authentically engaging with different viewpoints or challenging ideas. But there’s a crucial difference between good-faith intellectual engagement and feeding trolls who are just looking for their next viral moment.

[…]

When we praise bad-faith performers for “engaging” with their critics, we’re not celebrating democratic norms—we’re rewarding those who exploit them.

Source: The “Debate Me Bro” Grift: How Trolls Weaponized The Marketplace Of Ideas

Mercedes to bring back cabin buttons for current and future models

Posted on by

Mercedes-Benz will begin to integrate more physical controls into its digitally focused cabins, as “the data shows us physical buttons are better”, software boss Magnus Östberg has told Autocar.

This starts with the new GLC and CLA Shooting Brake EVs, which both get a host of rockers, rollers and buttons on a new-design steering wheel.

This wheel will be the standard for Mercedes’s models going forward, and the plan is also to fit it to all cars already on sale – starting later this year with the recently launched CLA saloon.

This, Östberg said, is the easiest and most cost-efficient way of adding physical controls to cars that are already on sale while still keeping Mercedes’ digital-first cabins.

Speaking to Autocar at the Munich motor show, he explained: “You can see a difference if you move from the CLA [saloon], which has a touchscreen and fewer hard buttons, to the [new] GLC, where we put back the rollers and buttons, because we see in the data that the rollers and these physical buttons are very important for certain age groups and certain populations.

“So having that balance between physical buttons and the touch is extremely important for us. We’re completely data-driven, seeing that what is actually something that is used high-frequency, the data shows us the physical buttons are better, and that’s why we put them back in.”

That data has come from software-defined vehicles: the CLA is Mercedes’ first SDV and the incoming GLC the second.

As well as being easier to tweak (as software can be updated over the air rather than needing to drag buyers into garages), SDVs also give car makers full access to drivers’ data and usage. “This is so important,” said Östberg, as it means decisions, such as bringing back some physical controls, can be data-driven.

Due to that data, he hinted that other wheel designs could be used depending on the market. For example, while Europeans like buttons, Asian drivers prefer more touchscreen and voice controls.

Östberg said Mercedes is also looking at adding more physical controls elsewhere in the cabin for future models – but this will most likely be kept to SUVs, as “in larger cars we have more freedom to package” and buyers of those cars “care more about buttons”.

[…]

Source: Mercedes to bring back cabin buttons for current and future models | Autocar

Come on BMW, please do the same!

Google confirms crims accessed portal to share data with cops

Posted on by

Google confirmed that miscreants created a fraudulent account in its Law Enforcement Request System (LERS) portal, which police and other government agencies use to ask for data about Google users.

“We have identified that a fraudulent account was created in our system for law enforcement requests and have disabled the account,” a Google spokesperson told The Register on Tuesday. “No requests were made with this fraudulent account, and no data was accessed.”

Google’s admission follows BreachForums posts by Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters – this is the gang allegedly made up of members from three other notorious cybercrime crews, Scattered Spider, ShinyHunters, and Lapsus$. Shortly after announcing their retirement from the ransomware biz, they indicated via screenshots that they had access to Google LERS, as well as the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), a federal system that provides background checks on would-be gun buyers to ensure they aren’t prohibited from owning a firearm. The FBI declined to comment on the extortionists’ claims.

[…]

Source: Google confirms crims accessed its law enforcement portal • The Register

Chart: How People Actually Use ChatGPT, According to Research

Posted on by

Sankey chart showing the most common reasons people use ChatGPT, based on an OpenAI study of 1.1 million messages

New Research Shows How People Actually Use ChatGPT

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

  • New research breaks down ChatGPT usage behavior based on over one million messages.
  • Over half of ChatGPT use cases are for learning and productivity.
  • 90% of users rely on the free version of ChatGPT.

What do people actually use ChatGPT for?

It’s a question that has lingered since the tool first went viral back in 2022. Now, a new research paper from OpenAI sheds light on user behavior by analyzing a sample of 1.1 million messages from active ChatGPT users between May 2024 to July 2025.

The findings, summarized in a helpful visualization by Made Visual Daily, show that ChatGPT’s core appeal is utility: helping users solve real-world problems, write better, and find information fast.

How People Use ChatGPT

[table omitted]

Over 55% of ChatGPT prompts fell into either learning or productivity-related tasks. Users often turn to the chatbot for help understanding concepts, writing emails, summarizing articles, or coding. A wide base of users are using the tool as a digital assistant, tutor, or research aide.

Meanwhile, niche categories like roleplaying and entertainment make up a smaller but meaningful slice. These uses include things like fictional storytelling, game design, and writing fan fiction. Their growth points to ChatGPT’s creative potential beyond functional tasks.

Why This Study Matters

This is the first large-scale analysis that classifies how ChatGPT is actually used, rather than relying on anecdotal evidence or surveys. It also reveals how people across professions—from marketers to software developers—are integrating AI into their daily workflows.

Another key insight? Most people still use the free version of ChatGPT. Only about 10% of the prompts analyzed came from paid users of GPT-4, suggesting that even the free-tier model is driving widespread productivity.

Source: Chart: How People Actually Use ChatGPT, According to Research