Archive for the 'Technology' Category
Apple Is Building a Self-Driving Car in Silicon Valley
August 14th, 2015Via: Guardian: Apple is building a self-driving car in Silicon Valley, and is scouting for secure locations in the San Francisco Bay area to test it, the Guardian has learned. Documents show the oft-rumoured Apple car project appears to be further along than many suspected. In May, engineers from Apple’s secretive Special Project group met […]
Facial Recognition Software Moves From Overseas Wars to Local Police
August 12th, 2015The countries that run ECHELON, the largest civilian communications surveillance program in the world, have developed unified standards for biometric identification. See how this might look in the future by looking at Iraq. That’s the beta testing phase for what’s in store for the rest of us. —Cryptogon, 2007 Via: New York Times: Facial recognition […]
Chinese Military Trains Students to Control Machines with Their Minds
August 12th, 2015The source article is in Chinese. So, Daily Mail warning. Via: Daily Mail: Forget joysticks and exoskeletons, the future of warfare could see robot armies controlled using just a commander’s mind. China has been training students at a military academy to use headsets that detect and interpret the brain activity of the wearer, allowing them […]
Google Creates New Company Called Alphabet, Restructures Stock
August 11th, 2015Via: Bloomberg: Google Inc. is reorganizing into a holding company that gives its main Web operations greater independence while offering investors more visibility into ambitious plans to expand new businesses, including health and Internet access. Alphabet Inc. will be name of the new conglomerate. Google Inc., along with YouTube, Android mobile software and other Web-based […]
Web’s Random Numbers Are Too Weak, Researchers Warn
August 9th, 2015Low entropy. Via: BBC: The data scrambling systems used by millions of web servers could be much weaker than they ought to be, say researchers. A study found shortcomings in the generation of the random numbers used to scramble or encrypt data. The hard-to-guess numbers are vital to many security measures that prevent data theft. […]
Windows 10 Is Possibly the Worst Spyware Ever Made
August 8th, 2015Via: Network World: The usual bumps of an OS launch are understandable and forgivable, but some of the terms of the end user service agreement for Windows 10 put the NSA to shame. Microsoft is already getting heat after it was found that Windows 10 was being auto-downloaded to user PCs without warning, and more […]
The No Download List
August 8th, 2015Via: The Register: Software export controls are being applied to blacklisted people as well as countries: and these controls apply to routine security packages such as freebie antivirus scanning software, as well as more sensitive technologies, El Reg has concluded. We’ve come to this way of thinking after investigating why Reg reader Hasan Ali was […]
Electronic Frontier Foundation: Privacy Badger
August 6th, 2015Looks good. Via: EFF: How is Privacy Badger different to Disconnect, Adblock Plus, Ghostery, and other blocking extensions? Privacy Badger was born out of our desire to be able to recommend a single extension that would automatically analyze and block any tracker or ad that violated the principle of user consent; which could function well […]
NSA Tried Stuxnet Cyber-Attack on North Korea Five Years Ago but Failed
August 6th, 2015Via: Guardian: The US tried to deploy a version of the Stuxnet computer virus to attack North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme five years ago but ultimately failed, according to people familiar with the covert campaign. The operation began in tandem with the now-famous Stuxnet attack that sabotaged Iran’s nuclear programme in 2009 and 2010 by […]
China to Plant Internet Police in Top Online Firms
August 5th, 2015Via: PC World: China’s control over the Internet is set to expand. In a bid to better police local websites, the country’s security forces are establishing offices at the biggest online firms in the country. The country’s Ministry of Public Security announced the new measures on Tuesday, at a time when authorities have been increasingly […]
