SolarWinds Hack Was ‘Largest and Most Sophisticated Attack’ Ever, Microsoft President Says

A hacking campaign that used a U.S. tech company as a springboard to compromise a raft of U.S. government agencies is “the largest and most sophisticated attack the world has ever seen,” Microsoft Corp President Brad Smith said. From a report: The operation, which was identified in December and that the U.S. government has said was likely orchestrated by Russia, breached…

YouTube Class Action: Same IP Address Used To Upload ‘Pirate’ Movies and File DMCA Notices

An anonymous reader quotes a report from TorrentFreak: YouTube says it has found a “smoking gun” to prove that a class-action lawsuit filed by Grammy award-winning musician Maria Schneider and Pirate Monitor Ltd was filed in bad faith. According to the Google-owned platform, the same IP address used to upload ‘pirate’ movies to the platform also sent DMCA notices targeting the…

Credit Card Numbers For Millions of Hotel Guests Exposed By Misconfigured Cloud Database

“A widely used hotel reservation platform has exposed 10 million files related to guests at various hotels around the world, thanks to a misconfigured Amazon Web Services S3 bucket,” reports Threatpost. “The records include sensitive data, including credit-card details.” Prestige Software’s “Cloud Hospitality” is used by hotels to integrate their reservation systems with online booking websites like Expedia and Booking.com. The…

What If the Government Ran a Social Network?

A publicly-funded social network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation “has been proposed as one possible response if Facebook and Google limit services in Australia when the mandatory news code becomes law this year,” reports the Guardian: Facebook has warned it will block Australians from sharing news if the landmark plan to make digital platforms pay for news content becomes law….

Netflix Ends Free Trials In the US

Netflix has ended free trials for new customers in the U.S., after years of giving away the first month of its service free. CNET reports: The streaming service’s U.S. sign-up page said trials are no longer available, with Netflix instead touting how it lets you cancel anytime at not cost. “We’re looking at different marketing promotions in the United States to…

What if a Medical Treatment Could Change Your Political Or Religious Beliefs?

A research fellow at the University of Oxford’s Wellcome Centre for Ethics and Humanities writes in Scientific American: How would you feel about a new therapy for your chronic pain, which — although far more effective than any available alternative — might also change your religious beliefs? Or a treatment for lymphoma that brings one in three patients into remission, but…

Trump Cracks Down on Visas. Indian Firms May Benefit.

As the president clashes with the courts, some companies and investors say tougher limits on temporary work visas will help push jobs overseas. From a report: When President Trump suspended a raft of visa programs in June, including temporary permits for highly technical foreign workers known as H-1B visas, he portrayed the order as a victory for the American work force….

China Preparing an Antitrust Investigation Into Google

China is preparing to launch an antitrust probe into Google, looking into allegations it has leveraged the dominance of its Android mobile operating system to stifle competition, Reuters reported Wednesday, citing two people familiar with the matter. From the report: The case was proposed by telecommunications equipment giant Huawei last year and has been submitted by the country’s top market regulator…

A giant raft of rock may once have floated across Mars’ ancient ocean

Mars could have had an ancient ocean in its northern hemisphere, and a large raft of volcanic rock may have floated across it to settle into mounds we can see today Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2241189-a-giant-raft-of-rock-may-once-have-floated-across-mars-ancient-ocean/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…

A giant raft of rock may once have floated across Mars’s ancient ocean

Mars could have had an ancient ocean in its northern hemisphere, and a large raft of volcanic rock may have floated across it to settle into mounds we can see today Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2241189-a-giant-raft-of-rock-may-once-have-floated-across-marss-ancient-ocean/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…