Security Flaws Put Virtually All Phones, Computers at Risk
January 3rd, 2018Update: Security Flaws Put Virtually All Phones, Computers at Risk
Update: All Macs, iPhones and iPads Affected
Via: The Verge:
Apple confirmed on Thursday that all Mac and iOS devices are affected by the Meltdown and Spectre CPU flaws that have roiled the computing industry for the past 24 hours, resulting in a race to patch operating systems and cloud computing infrastructure at the highest levels.
“‘All Mac systems and iOS devices are affected, but there are no known exploits impacting customers at this time,” the company writes in a blog post. “Since exploiting many of these issues requires a malicious app to be loaded on your Mac or iOS device, we recommend downloading software only from trusted sources such as the App Store.”
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It’s not that bad, it’s worse.
Via: Reuters:
Security researchers on Wednesday disclosed a set of security flaws that they said could let hackers steal sensitive information from nearly every modern computing device containing chips from Intel Corp, Advanced Micro Devices Inc and ARM Holdings.
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Via: Guardian:
A security flaw has been found in virtually all Intel processors that will require fixes within Windows, macOS and Linux, according to reports.
Developers are currently scrambling behind the scenes to fix the significant security hole within the Intel chips, with patches already available within some versions of Linux and some testing versions of Windows, although the fixes are expected to significantly slow down computers.
The specific details of the flaw, which appears to affect virtually all Intel processors made in the last decade and therefore millions of computers running virtually any operating system, have not been made public.
But details of the fixes being developed point to issues involving the accessing of secure parts of a computer’s memory by regular programs. It is feared that the security flaw within the Intel processors could be used to access passwords, login details and other protected information on the computer.
The fixes involve moving the memory used by the core of the computer’s operating system, known as the kernel, away from that used by normal programs. In that way, normal programs, including anything from javascript from a website to computer games, cannot be manipulated to exploit the hole and gain access to the protected kernel memory.
But implementing the fix is expected to significantly affect the performance of the computer, making some actions up to around 30% slower.
Congressional Investigators Find Irregularities in FBI’s Handling of Clinton Email Case
January 3rd, 2018Shocker.
Via: The Hill:
Republicans on key congressional committees say they have uncovered new irregularities and contradictions inside the FBI’s probe of Hillary Clinton’s email server.
For the first time, investigators say they have secured written evidence that the FBI believed there was evidence that some laws were broken when the former secretary of State and her top aides transmitted classified information through her insecure private email server, lawmakers and investigators told The Hill.
That evidence includes passages in FBI documents stating the “sheer volume” of classified information that flowed through Clinton’s insecure emails was proof of criminality as well as an admission of false statements by one key witness in the case, the investigators said.
The name of the witness is redacted from the FBI documents but lawmakers said he was an employee of a computer firm that helped maintain her personal server after she left office as America’s top diplomat and who belatedly admitted he had permanently erased an archive of her messages in 2015 after they had been subpoenaed by Congress.
The investigators also confirmed that the FBI began drafting a statement exonerating Clinton of any crimes while evidence responsive to subpoenas was still outstanding and before agents had interviewed more than a dozen key witnesses.
Those witnesses included Clinton and the computer firm employee who permanently erased her email archives just days after the emails were subpoenaed by Congress, the investigators said.
New York Times Bullshit Crosses Into Comedy Gold: A.I. and Big Data Could Power a New War on Poverty
January 2nd, 2018Here’s one for your Not-The-Onion file folder.
At the link, there’s a picture of a robot shaking hands with a human.
Here’s an idea for a New York Times OpEd: “How to Get a Suntan from a Nuclear Bomb Blast.”
For my story idea, they could show a nice mushroom cloud going up into the sky with a bunch of celebrities on a beach, basking in the… flash.
“If you’re far enough away from ground zero, just close your eyes, and a split second later, you’re done. Sure, nuclear explosions can be a pain, but there’s no reason to let them ruin your day. Turn that frown upside down and get ready to party!”
As for the OpEd below, which tries to smooth over what’s coming with a bunch of Magic 8 Ball codswallop, here’s a look at the implications of those driving jobs going away:
It should be clear at a glance just how dependent the American economy is on truck drivers. According to the American Trucker Association, there are 3.5 million professional truck drivers in the US, and an additional 5.2 million people employed within the truck-driving industry who don’t drive the trucks. That’s 8.7 million trucking-related jobs.
We can’t stop there though, because the incomes received by these 8.2 million people create the jobs of others. Those 3.5 million truck drivers driving all over the country stop regularly to eat, drink, rest, and sleep. Entire businesses have been built around serving their wants and needs. Think restaurants and motels as just two examples. So now we’re talking about millions more whose employment depends on the employment of truck drivers. But we still can’t even stop there.
Those working in these restaurants and motels along truck-driving routes are also consumers within their own local economies. Think about what a server spends her paycheck and tips on in her own community, and what a motel maid spends from her earnings into the same community. That spending creates other paychecks in turn. So now we’re not only talking about millions more who depend on those who depend on truck drivers, but we’re also talking about entire small town communities full of people who depend on all of the above in more rural areas. With any amount of reduced consumer spending, these local economies will shrink.
Looks like that AI is going to be busy fighting that, “New War on Poverty.”
Other Not-The-Onion wars to note:
The War on Drugs
The War on Cancer
The War on Terror
Via: New York Times:
When it comes to artificial intelligence and jobs, the prognostications are grim. The conventional wisdom is that A.I. might soon put millions of people out of work — that it stands poised to do to clerical and white collar workers over the next two decades what mechanization did to factory workers over the past two. And that is to say nothing of the truckers and taxi drivers who will find themselves unemployed or underemployed as self-driving cars take over our roads.
But it’s time we start thinking about A.I.’s potential benefits for society as well as its drawbacks. The big-data and A.I. revolutions could also help fight poverty and promote economic stability.
Iran Flashback: Seven Countries in Five Years
December 31st, 2017Via: New York Magazine:
Anti-government protests continued across multiple cities in Iran for a fourth day on Sunday, the most widespread unrest in the country since the pro-democracy Green Movement in 2009 — though nowhere near the same scale thus far. Two protesters were killed overnight Saturday, the first deaths attributed to the unrest. On Sunday, authorities reportedly blocked Instagram and the popular messaging app Telegram, which Iranians have been using to spread news about the protests. The country’s powerful Revolutionary Guard has threatened a violent crackdown if the demonstrations continue.
The Proportion of Medical Procedures Unsupported by Evidence May be Nearly Half
December 31st, 2017Via: Vox:
The recent news that stents inserted in patients with heart disease to keep arteries open work no better than a placebo ought to be shocking. Each year, hundreds of thousands of American patients receive stents for the relief of chest pain, and the cost of the procedure ranges from $11,000 to $41,000 in US hospitals.
But in fact, American doctors routinely prescribe medical treatments that are not based on sound science.
The stent controversy serves as a reminder that the United States struggles when it comes to winnowing evidence-based treatments from the ineffective chaff. As surgeon and health care researcher Atul Gawande observes, “Millions of people are receiving drugs that aren’t helping them, operations that aren’t going to make them better, and scans and tests that do nothing beneficial for them, and often cause harm.”
Australian Banks Reportedly Freeze Accounts of Bitcoin Users
December 31st, 2017Disclosure: I hold cryptocurrencies.
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At some point, the fiat outflows will cause liquidity problems. That’s my guess as to why they fear cryptos so much.
At the link below, see the comments by user CPL that start out with:
Means they are just about to rob the Australians of their savings and are cutting off all the abilities to move capital out of the system. We are about to watch a ‘bail-in’.
Via: ZeroHedge:
Adding to the pressures on bitcoin early this morning, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that bitcoin users across Australia are reporting that their accounts have been abruptly frozen by the country’s “Big Four” banks. And while the banks have remained largely tight-lipped about the closures, many angry account-holders are jumping to conclusions and blaming the banks for punishing them because of their involvement with bitcoin.
Bitcoin investors are claiming Australia’s banks are freezing their accounts and transfers to cryptocurrency exchanges, with a viral tweet slamming the big four and an exchange platform putting a restriction on Australian deposits.
According to the Herald, cryptocurrency trader and Youtuber Alex Saunders called out National Australia Bank, ANZ, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Westpac Banking Corporation on Twitter for freezing customer accounts and transfers to four different bitcoin exchanges – CoinJar, CoinSpot, CoinBase and BTC Markets.
Research Credit: Pookie
America’s Worst Graveyard Shift Is Grinding Up Workers
December 30th, 2017Via: Bloomberg:
Cleanup at the slaughterhouse is as dangerous as it is repulsive, and the immigrants who do the work are under pressure to complete it faster than ever.
Bitcoin is Eating Itself
December 26th, 2017Disclosure: I hold Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
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Bitcoin has become utterly terrible to use. The slow confirmations and high fees are insane. The article below is old. The average Bitcoin transaction fee is now $41.66, which is down from a record high $55.16 from a few days ago.
I did a couple of small transactions with Bitcoin Cash and couldn’t believe the speedy confirmations and pennies for fees.
I like the look of Dash. Lite Coin has a vocal fan base, but can it scale?
What coins do you think have potential to become a popular transaction medium?
Via: Medium:
Fees keep going up. And every time they go up, more of the money stored on the blockchain becomes worthless.
Over 3000 BTC, worth over $4M, is stored in “coins” (or “utxos”) whose value is too low to be spent in a normal transaction without incurring fees greater than the value of the “coin”.
If fees were back at January 2017 levels, only half as much stored BTC would be worthless. Bitcoin is eating itself.
Hinkley Point: The ‘Dreadful Deal’ Behind the World’s Most Expensive Power Plant
December 25th, 2017Disclosure: I sell solar power systems in New Zealand.
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Via: Guardian:
Hinkley Point, on the Somerset coast, is the biggest building site in Europe. Here, on 430 acres of muddy fields scattered with towering cranes and bright yellow diggers, the first new nuclear power station in the UK since 1995 is slowly taking shape. When it is finally completed, Hinkley Point C will be the most expensive power station in the world. But to reach that stage, it will need to overcome an extraordinary tangle of financial, political and technical difficulties. The project was first proposed almost four decades ago, and its progress has been glacial, having faced relentless opposition from politicians, academics and economists every step of the way.
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To pay for it, the British government has entered into a complex financial agreement with Électricité de France (EDF), the energy giant that is 83% owned by the French government, and China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN), a state-run Chinese energy company. Under this contract, British electricity consumers will pay billions over a 35-year period. According to Gérard Magnin, a former EDF director, the French company sees Hinkley as “a way to make the British fund the renaissance of nuclear in France”. He added: “We cannot be sure that in 2060 or 2065, British pensioners, who are currently at school, will not still be paying for the advancement of the nuclear industry in France.”
Many British observers agree that the deal is ludicrously favourable to EDF – “a dreadful deal, laughable” says Prof Steve Thomas, who works on energy policy at the University of Greenwich. But even insiders at EDF aren’t entirely happy with it. In the months before the EDF board finally signed off the deal in autumn 2016, the finance director resigned, along with Magnin. “The Hinkley Point project remains very risky,” Magnin told me. He is particularly concerned about EDF’s ability to complete the project before the current deadline of 2025. “Why have we reached this point?” asked Magnin. “It is the construction of a house of cards.”
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But the irony of Hinkley Point C is that by the time it eventually starts working, it may have become obsolete. Nuclear power is facing existential problems around the world, as the cost of renewable energies fall and their popularity grows. “The maths doesn’t work,” says Tom Burke, former environmental policy adviser to BP and visiting professor at both Imperial and University Colleges. “Nuclear simply doesn’t make sense any more.”
Julian Assange’s Twitter Account Reappears After Mysterious Absence
December 25th, 2017Via: CBS:
The official Twitter account of controversial WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange — @JulianAssange — is back online after disappearing from the social media platform overnight. It’s unclear whether the account was suspended by Twitter or deactivated by Assange.
Representatives at Twitter did not immediately respond to CBS News’ request for comment.
