A team of researchers at Penn State are subjecting an old, worn sheet of aluminum to a particle beam from the heart of a nuclear reactor in the hopes of cracking the mystery of Amelia Earhart’s disappearance. Source: https://www.livescience.com/amelia-earhart-nuclear-reactor-puzzle.html
Tag: Cracking
Britain is Cracking Down on the $3.7 Billion ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ Industry
Popular “buy now, pay later” shopping services like Klarna will face stricter regulation under proposals announced by the U.K. government Tuesday. From a report: The Treasury said buy now, pay later (BNPL) firms would come under the supervision of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which regulates financial services firms and markets in Britain. Such firms will be required to conduct affordability…
After SolarWinds Breach, Lawmakers Ask NSA for Help in Cracking Juniper Cold Case
As the U.S. investigation into the SolarWinds hacking campaign grinds on, lawmakers are demanding answers from the National Security Agency about another troubling supply chain breach that was disclosed five years ago. From a report: A group of lawmakers led by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., are asking the NSA what steps it took to secure defense networks following a years-old breach…
NASA “mole’s” attempts to dig into Mars failed. What’s next?
The mission team for NASA’s InSight lander called off its attempts to try to dig deeper into Mars with the heat probe known as “the mole.” Meanwhile, the rest of the mission gained an extension to December 2022. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/nasa-calls-halt-to-attempts-by-insight-mole-to-dig-into-mars…
The Zodiac Killer’s Cipher Has Been Solved After 51 Years
“It’s taken over 50 years, but the solution to the Zodiac Killer’s cipher has been found,” writes Slashdot reader quonset. CNN reports: Dubbed the “340 cipher,” the message was unraveled by a trio of code breakers — David Oranchak, a software developer in Virginia, Jarl Van Eycke, a Belgian computer programmer, and Sam Blake, an Australian mathematician. The Zodiac Killer is…
Your Computer Isn’t Yours
Security researcher Jeffrey Paul, writes in a blog post: On modern versions of macOS, you simply can’t power on your computer, launch a text editor or eBook reader, and write or read, without a log of your activity being transmitted and stored. It turns out that in the current version of the macOS, the OS sends to Apple a hash (unique…
Microsoft Says It Took Down 94% of TrickBot’s Command and Control Servers
TrickBot survived an initial takedown attempt, but Microsoft and its partners are countering TrickBot operators after every move, taking down any new infrastructure the group is attempting to bring up online. From a report: Last week, a coalition of cyber-security firms led by Microsoft orchestrated a global takedown against TrickBot, one of today’s largest malware botnets and cybercrime operations. Even if…
Open Technology Fund Sues Administration For $20M in Missing Funds
The Open Technology Fund (OTF) is suing the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) over roughly $20 million in congressionally appropriated funds it says the government is refusing to provide, Axios has learned. From the report: There’s bipartisan uproar from Congress over the funding that OTF says is being withheld. The USAGM, whose new CEO is seeking to replace OTF leaders…
US Tightening Restrictions on Huawei Access To Technology, Chips
The Trump administration announced on Monday it will further tighten restrictions on Huawei Technologies, aimed at cracking down on its access to commercially available chips. From a report: The U.S. Commerce Department actions will expand restrictions announced in May aimed at preventing the Chinese telecommunications giant from obtaining semiconductors without a special license — including chips made by foreign firms that…
5 years after New Horizons flyby, 10 cool things about Pluto
Here are 10 of the coolest, weirdest and most unexpected findings about the Pluto system scientists have learned thanks to the New Horizons spacecraft’s flyby of the distant world in 2015. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/new-horizons-flyby-10-cool-things-about-pluto…