Tag: Kazakhstan

We heart the Earth and sky

This Valentine’s Day, we find so much to love in the many heart-shaped objects created by Mother Nature that can be found right here on Earth or all the way to the deepest reaches of the sky. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/heart-shaped-objects-in-nature-space-earth-valentines-day…

Bitcoin Miners in Nordic Region Get a Boost From Cheap Power

The Nordic region once again has become a lucrative place to mine crypto-currencies, thanks to a plunge in electricity prices. From a report: The wettest weather in at least 20 years boosted production from hydro-electric plants, leaving Sweden and Norway with some of the lowest power prices in the world. The resulting glut in the most important raw material for making…

Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Mozilla Ban Kazakhstan’s MitM HTTPS Certificate

Browser makers Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Mozilla, have banned a root certificate that was being used by the Kazakhstan government to intercept and decrypt HTTPS traffic for residents in the country’s capital, the city of Nur-Sultan (formerly Astana). From a report: The certificate had been in use since December 6, 2020, when Kazakh officials forced local internet service providers to block…

Tech Giants Will Block Kazakhstan’s Web Surveillance Efforts Again

Apple, Google, Microsoft and Mozilla have teamed up to block the Kazakhstan government’s attempts to force its citizens to install a “national security certificate” on every internet-capable device in the country. “That government-issued root certificate would allow authorities to keep tabs on people’s online traffic, essentially becoming a back door to access citizens’ data,” reports Engadget. From the report: In its…

What’s the birthstone for December?

If you were born December, you’ve got 2 birthstones, turquoise and zircon. Source: https://earthsky.org/human-world/december-birthstone-zircon-turquoise…

Kazakhstan’s Government Begins Intercepting HTTPS Traffic In Its Capital

ZDNet reports: Under the guise of a “cybersecurity exercise,” the Kazakhstan government is forcing citizens in its capital of Nur-Sultan (formerly Astana) to install a digital certificate on their devices if they want to access foreign internet services. Once installed, the certificate would allow the government to intercept all HTTPS traffic made from users’ devices via a technique called MitM (Man-in-the-Middle)….

Humans Have Been Living In Space For 20 Years Straight

Since 2000, there have always been humans living and working on the International Space Station — and the streak could just be getting started. National Geographic reports: On Halloween in the year 2000, a Russian Soyuz rocket launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and flew into the history books, carrying one U.S. astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts to the nascent…

Slowing the Coronavirus Is Speeding the Spread of Other Diseases

schwit1 shares a report from The New York Times: As poor countries around the world struggle to beat back the coronavirus, they are unintentionally contributing to fresh explosions of illness and death from other diseases — ones that are readily prevented by vaccines. This spring, after the World Health Organization and UNICEF warned that the pandemic could spread swiftly when children…