Most exoplanets orbiting close to their stars don’t have atmospheres. But Gliese 486b – orbiting a red dwarf star only 24 light-years away – does. It’s close enough to see well. Astronomers will be watching it! Source: https://earthsky.org/space/gliese-486b-hot-super-earth-with-atmosphere…
Tag: spy
SolarWinds’ Former CEO Blames Intern for ‘solarwinds123’ Password Leak
“Current and former top executives at SolarWinds are blaming a company intern for a critical lapse in password security that apparently went undiagnosed for years,” reports CNN. The password in question, “solarwinds123,” was discovered in 2019 on the public internet by an independent security researcher who warned the company that the leak had exposed a SolarWinds file server… It is still…
Apple Mail and Hidden Tracking Images
John Gruber, writing at DaringFireball: In my piece yesterday about email tracking images (“spy pixels” or “spy trackers”), I complained about the fact that Apple — a company that rightfully prides itself for its numerous features protecting user privacy — offers no built-in defenses for email tracking. A slew of readers wrote to argue that Apple Mail does offer such a…
The Long Hack: How China Exploited a U.S. Tech Supplier
Supermicro chips and software were tampered with by Chinese operatives in the past decade, Bloomberg reported Friday, doubling down on its 2018 report that was widely disputed by several tech giants and government agencies. Today’s report says that U.S. security and defense officials knew of the hack but kept it secret in an effort to learn more about China’s hacking capabilities….
A Home Security Worker Hacked Into Surveillance Systems To Watch People Have Sex
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Gizmodo: A former employee of prominent home security company ADT has admitted that he hacked into the surveillance feeds of dozens of customer homes, doing so primarily to spy on naked women or to leer at unsuspecting couples while they had sex. Telesforo Aviles, 35, pleaded guilty to a count of computer fraud in…
Are Google, Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft ‘Digital Warlords’?
EFF special consultant/blogger/science fiction writer Cory Doctorow warns in Locus magazine about the dangers of what Bruce Schneier calls “feudal security”: Here in the 21st century, we are beset by all manner of digital bandits, from identity thieves, to stalkers, to corporate and government spies, to harassers… To be safe, then, you have to ally yourself with a warlord. Apple, Google,…
Tech Giants Are Giving China a Vital Edge In Espionage.
schwit1 shares a report: The embrace between China’s intelligence services and Chinese businesses has gotten tighter, U.S. officials say. In 2017, under Xi’s intensifying authoritarianism, Beijing promulgated a new national intelligence law that compels Chinese businesses to work with Chinese intelligence and security agencies whenever they are requested to do so — a move that codified “what was pretty much what…
SpaceX launches classified US spy satellite, sticks rocket landing to cap record year
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX launched a clandestine U.S. spy satellite into space for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) Saturday (Dec. 19) , marking its 26th rocket of the year. Source: https://www.livescience.com/spacex-launches-nrol-108-spy-satellite-lands-rocket.html
AI Just Controlled a Military Plane For the First Time Ever
On December 15, the United States Air Force successfully flew an AI copilot on a U-2 spy plane in California, marking the first time AI has controlled a U.S. military system. Dr. Will Roper, the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, reveals how he and his team made history: With call sign ARTUu, we trained uZero…
Hackers at Center of Sprawling Spy Campaign Turned SolarWinds’ Dominance Against It
An anonymous reader shares a report: On an earnings call two months ago, SolarWinds Chief Executive Kevin Thompson touted how far the company had gone during his 11 years at the helm. There was not a database or an IT deployment model out there to which his Austin, Texas-based company did not provide some level of monitoring or management, he told…