Google Chrome Sync Feature Can Be Abused For C&C and Data Exfiltration

Threat actors have discovered they can abuse the Google Chrome sync feature to send commands to infected browsers and steal data from infected systems, bypassing traditional firewalls and other network defenses. From a report: For non-Chrome users, Chrome sync is a feature of the Chrome web browser that stores copies of a user’s Chrome bookmarks, browsing history, passwords, and browser and…

2020 tied for warmest year on record

2020 was Earth’s hottest year in the 140-year record, effectively tying 2016, the previous record-holder. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/2020-tied-for-warmest-global-year-on-record…

No leap second for December 31, 2020

World timekeepers have decreed there will be no leap second on December 31, 2020. Source: https://earthsky.org/human-world/leap-second-june-30-december-31-why-need-controversy…

New type of atomic clock could help scientists detect dark matter and study gravity’s effect on time

Atomic clocks are the most precise timekeepers in the world. These exquisite instruments use lasers to measure the vibrations of atoms, which oscillate at a constant frequency, like many microscopic pendulums swinging in sync. The best atomic clocks in the world keep time with such precision that, if they had been running since the beginning of the universe, they would only…

Ask Slashdot: What’s the Ultimate Backup System? Cloud? Local? Sync? Dupes? Tape…?

Long-time Slashdot reader shanen noticed a strange sound in one of their old machines, prompting them to ponder: what is the ultimate backup system? I’ve researched this topic a number of times in the past and never found a good answer… I think the ultimate backup would be cloud-based, though I can imagine a local solution running on a smart storage…

How C++ Programming Language Became the Invisible Foundation For Everything, and What’s Next

The origins of C++ date back 40 years, yet it remains one of the most widely used programming languages today. TechRepublic spoke to C++ creator, Bjarne Stroustrup, to find out why. An excerpt from the interview: Today, Stroustrup is a Technical Fellow at Morgan Stanley. His work with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for the C++ standard and on the…

‘How 30 Lines of Code Blew Up a 27-Ton Generator’

After the U.S. unveiled charges against six members of the Sandworm unit in Russia’s military intelligence agency, Wired re-visited “a secret experiment in 2007 proved that hackers could devastate power grid equipment beyond repair — with a file no bigger than a gif.” It’s an excerpt from the new book SANDWORM: A New Era of Cyberwar and the Hunt for the…

Announcing Coursera for Campus free pricing options and academic integrity upgrades

By Jeff Maggioncalda, Coursera CEO The pandemic has been a catalyst for universities to make online learning core to the student experience. In March, we launched the Campus Response Initiative to give students and faculty free access to Coursera for Campus during pandemic-related closures. Since then, we have grown from 30 universities using Coursera for […]
The post Announcing Coursera for Campus…

AI can edit video in real time to sync new audio to people’s lips

An algorithm can rapidly alter video footage of a person talking or singing to make them appear to lip sync to any sound – which could be useful for dubbing movies into different languages Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2254326-ai-can-edit-video-in-real-time-to-sync-new-audio-to-peoples-lips/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…

Amazon Drivers Are Hanging Smartphones in Trees To Get More Work

A strange phenomenon has emerged near Amazon.com delivery stations and Whole Foods stores in the Chicago suburbs: smartphones dangling from trees. Contract delivery drivers are putting them there to get a jump on rivals seeking orders, Bloomberg reported Tuesday. From a report: Someone places several devices in a tree located close to the station where deliveries originate. Drivers in on the…