An anonymous reader quotes a report from Motherboard: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) finally acknowledged Wednesday that photos that were part of a facial recognition pilot program were hacked from a Customs and Border Control subcontractor and were leaked on the dark web last year. Among the data, which was collected by a company called Perceptics, was a trove of…
Tag: Motherboard
Samsung’s Fast, PCIe 4.0-ready 980 Pro SSD Can Future-Proof Your PC Build
Samsung has unveiled its next high-performance NVMe 2280-sized M.2 drive, the 980 Pro. So far, it comes in three capacities shipping this month: 250GB for $89.99, 500GB for $149.99, and 1TB for $229.99. A 2TB model will arrive later this year, but Samsung didn’t share a price. From a report: The standout feature of this drive is its compatibility with M.2…
Private Intel Firm Buys Location Data to Track People to their ‘Doorstep’
A threat intelligence firm called HYAS, a private company that tries to prevent or investigates hacks against its clients, is buying location data harvested from ordinary apps installed on peoples’ phones around the world, and using it to unmask hackers. The company is a business, not a law enforcement agency, and claims to be able to track people to their “doorstep.”…
Amazon Removes Job Listings For Intelligence Analyst To Track ‘Labor Organizing Threats’
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Motherboard: Amazon [was] looking to hire two intelligence analysts to track “labor organizing threats” within the company. The company recently posted two job listings for analysts that can keep an eye on sensitive and confidential topics “including labor organizing threats against the company.” Amazon is looking to hire an “Intelligence Analyst” and a “Sr…
Man Sues Patent Office For Deciding an AI Can’t Invent Things
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Motherboard: A computer scientist who created an artificial intelligence system capable of generating original inventions is suing the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) over its decision earlier this year to reject two patent applications which list the algorithmic system, known as DABUS, as the inventor. The lawsuit is the latest step in an…
‘Landlord Tech Watch’ Site Lets You Report Landlords Using Tech To Screw Over Tenants
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Motherboard: A group of activists have released Landlord Tech Watch, a site that allows anyone to report where this “landlord tech” is being used and plot it on a map — like a version of Nextdoor that turns the tables to hold property owners and real estate companies accountable. The project is the effort…
Secret Service Paid To Get Americans’ Location Data Without a Warrant, Documents Show
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Gizmodo: A newly released document shows the U.S. Secret Service went through a controversial social media surveillance company to purchase the location information on American’s movements, no warrant necessary. Babel Street is a shadowy organization that offers a product called Locate X that is reportedly used to gather anonymized location data from a host…
Theoretical Physicists Say 90% Chance of Societal Collapse Within Several Decades
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Motherboard: Two theoretical physicists specializing in complex systems conclude that global deforestation due to human activities is on track to trigger the “irreversible collapse” of human civilization within the next two to four decades. If we continue destroying and degrading the world’s forests, Earth will no longer be able to sustain a large human…
‘World’s Most Wanted Man’ Involveld In Bizarre Attempt To Buy Hacking Tools
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Motherboard: The fugitive executive of the embattled payment startup Wirecard was mentioned in a brazen and bizarre attempt to purchase hacking tools and surveillance technology from an Italian company in 2013, an investigation by Motherboard and the German weekly Der Spiegel found. Jan Marsalek, a 40-year-old Austrian who until recently was the chief operating…
Right to Repair Advocates Accuse Medical Device Manufacturers of Profiteering
A new Motherboard article interviews William, a ventilator refurbisher who’s repaired at least 70 broken ventilators that he’s bought on eBay and from other secondhand websites, then sold to U.S. hospitals and governments to help handle a spike in COVID-19 patients. He’s part of a grey-market supply chain that’s “essentially identical to one used by farmers to repair John Deere tractors…