The Linkielist

Linking ideas with the world

Controversial copyright law rejected by EU parliament

A controversial overhaul of the EU’s copyright law that sparked a fierce debate between internet giants and content creators has been rejected. The proposed rules would have put more responsibility on websites to check for copyright infringements, and forced platforms to pay for linking to news. A slew of high-profile music stars had backed the Read more about Controversial copyright law rejected by EU parliament[…]

Former NSO Group Employee Accused of Stealing Phone Spy Tools

Israeli hacking firm NSO Group is mostly known for peddling top-shelf malware capable of remotely cracking into iPhones. But according to Israeli authorities, the company’s invasive mobile spy tools could have wound up in the hands of someone equally, if not far more, devious than its typical government clients. A 38-year-old former NSO employee has Read more about Former NSO Group Employee Accused of Stealing Phone Spy Tools[…]

App Traps: How Cheap Smartphones Siphon User Data in Developing Countries

For millions of people buying inexpensive smartphones in developing countries where privacy protections are usually low, the convenience of on-the-go internet access could come with a hidden cost: preloaded apps that harvest users’ data without their knowledge. One such app, included on thousands of Chinese-made Singtech P10 smartphones sold in Myanmar and Cambodia, sends the Read more about App Traps: How Cheap Smartphones Siphon User Data in Developing Countries[…]

An AI system for editing music in videos can isolate single instruments

Amateur and professional musicians alike may spend hours pouring over YouTube clips to figure out exactly how to play certain parts of their favorite songs. But what if there were a way to play a video and isolate the only instrument you wanted to hear? That’s the outcome of a new AI project out of Read more about An AI system for editing music in videos can isolate single instruments[…]

DeepMind’s AI agents exceed ‘human-level’ gameplay in Quake III

AI agents continue to rack up wins in the video game world. Last week, OpenAI’s bots were playing Dota 2; this week, it’s Quake III, with a team of researchers from Google’s DeepMind subsidiary successfully training agents that can beat humans at a game of capture the flag. As we’ve seen with previous examples of Read more about DeepMind’s AI agents exceed ‘human-level’ gameplay in Quake III[…]

Mitsubishi Wants Your Driving Data, and It’s Willing to Throw in a Free Cup of Coffee to Get It

Automakers want in on the highly lucrative big data game and Mitsubishi is willing to pay for the privilege. In exchange for running the risk of jacking up its customers’ insurance premiums, the car manufacturer is offering drivers $10 off of an oil change and other rewards. Consumers will have to decide if a gift Read more about Mitsubishi Wants Your Driving Data, and It’s Willing to Throw in a Free Cup of Coffee to Get It[…]

EU asks you to tell them if you want Daylight Savings Time

Objective of the consultation Following a number of requests from citizens, from the European Parliament, and from certain EU Member States, the Commission has decided to investigate the functioning of the current EU summertime arrangements and to assess whether or not they should be changed. In this context, the Commission is interested in gathering the Read more about EU asks you to tell them if you want Daylight Savings Time[…]

Versius Robot allows keyhole surgery to be performed with 1/2 hour training instead of 80 sessions

It is the most exacting of surgical skills: tying a knot deep inside a patient’s abdomen, pivoting long graspers through keyhole incisions with no direct view of the thread. Trainee surgeons typically require 60 to 80 hours of practice, but in a mock-up operating theatre outside Cambridge, a non-medic with just a few hours of Read more about Versius Robot allows keyhole surgery to be performed with 1/2 hour training instead of 80 sessions[…]

Fitness app Polar even better at revealing secrets than Strava and Garmin

Online investigations outfit Bellingcat has found that fitness tracking kit-maker Polar reveals both the identity and daily activity of its users – including soldiers and spies. Many users of Polar’s devices and app appear not to have paid attention to their privacy settings, as a result a Bellingcat writer found 6,460 individuals from 69 countries. Read more about Fitness app Polar even better at revealing secrets than Strava and Garmin[…]

Open plan offices flop – you talk less, IM more, if forced to flee a cubicle

Open plan offices don’t deliver their promised benefits of more face-to-face collaboration and instead make us misanthropic recluses and more likely to use electronic communications tools. So says a new article in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, by Harvard academics Ethan S. Bernstein, Stephen Turban. The pair studied two Fortune 500 companies Read more about Open plan offices flop – you talk less, IM more, if forced to flee a cubicle[…]

Empathic AI (Dutch)

Bedrijven worden emotioneler: gebruikersinterfaces, chatbots en andere componenten zijn steeds beter in staat om de emotionele staat van gebruikers in te schatten en emotie te simuleren als ze terug praten. Volgens een Gartner-rapport eerder dit jaar weten apparaten over vier jaar “meer over je emotionele staat dan je eigen familie”. Herkennen van emotie Deep learning Read more about Empathic AI (Dutch)[…]

Nostalgic social network ‘Timehop’ loses data from 21 million users

A service named “Timehop” that claims it is “reinventing reminiscing” – in part by linking posts from other social networks – probably wishes it could go back in time and reinvent its own security, because it has just confessed to losing data describing 21 million members and can’t guarantee that the perps didn’t slurp private Read more about Nostalgic social network ‘Timehop’ loses data from 21 million users[…]

‘Plane Hacker’ Roberts: I put a network sniffer on my truck to see what it was sharing. Holy crap!

Cars are turning into computers on wheels and airplanes have become flying data centres, but this increase in power and connectivity has largely happened without designing in adequate security controls. Improving transportation security was a major strand of the recent Cyber Week security conference in Israel. A one-day event, Speed of Light, focused on transportation Read more about ‘Plane Hacker’ Roberts: I put a network sniffer on my truck to see what it was sharing. Holy crap![…]

Is Facebook a publisher? In public it says no, but in court it says yes

Facebook has long had the same public response when questioned about its disruption of the news industry: it is a tech platform, not a publisher or a media company. But in a small courtroom in California’s Redwood City on Monday, attorneys for the social media company presented a different message from the one executives have Read more about Is Facebook a publisher? In public it says no, but in court it says yes[…]

More on how social media hacks brains to addict users

In a followup to How programmers addict you to social media, games and your mobile phone Ex-Facebook president Sean Parker: site made to exploit human ‘vulnerability’ He explained that when Facebook was being developed the objective was: “How do we consume as much of your time and conscious attention as possible?” It was this mindset Read more about More on how social media hacks brains to addict users[…]

Is My Phone Recording Everything I Say? It turns out it sends screenshots and videos of what you do

Some computer science academics at Northeastern University had heard enough people talking about this technological myth that they decided to do a rigorous study to tackle it. For the last year, Elleen Pan, Jingjing Ren, Martina Lindorfer, Christo Wilson, and David Choffnes ran an experiment involving more than 17,000 of the most popular apps on Read more about Is My Phone Recording Everything I Say? It turns out it sends screenshots and videos of what you do[…]

Could electrically stimulating criminals’ brains prevent crime?

A new study by a team of international researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and Nanyang Technological University suggests that electrically stimulating the prefrontal cortex can reduce the desire to carry out violent antisocial acts by over 50 percent. The research, while undeniably compelling, raises a whole host of confronting ethical questions, not just over Read more about Could electrically stimulating criminals’ brains prevent crime?[…]

This Sand Printer Seems Perfect for Beach Wedding Proposals

Wedding proposals are just one of the many minefields you have to navigate on social media platforms, and Ivan Miranda isn’t making things any easier. He’s designed and built an autonomous printer that can draw messages in sand, so now’s probably a good time to brace yourself for an endless barrage of “will you marry Read more about This Sand Printer Seems Perfect for Beach Wedding Proposals[…]

Europe is reading smartphones and using the data as a weapon to deport refugees

Across the continent, migrants are being confronted by a booming mobile forensics industry that specialises in extracting a smartphone’s messages, location history, and even WhatsApp data. That information can potentially be turned against the phone owners themselves. In 2017 both Germany and Denmark expanded laws that enabled immigration officials to extract data from asylum seekers’ Read more about Europe is reading smartphones and using the data as a weapon to deport refugees[…]

Google allows outside app developers to read people’s Gmails

Google promised a year ago to provide more privacy to Gmail users, but The Wall Street Journal reports that hundreds of app makers have access to millions of inboxes belonging to Gmail users. The outside app companies receive access to messages from Gmail users who signed up for things like price-comparison services or automated travel-itinerary Read more about Google allows outside app developers to read people’s Gmails[…]

Dear Samsung mobe owners: It may leak your private pics to randoms

Samsung’s Messages app bundled with the South Korean giant’s latest smartphones and tablets may silently send people’s private photos to random contacts, it is claimed. An unlucky bunch of Sammy phone fans – including owners of Galaxy S9, S9+ and Note 8 gadgets – have complained on Reddit and the official support forums that the Read more about Dear Samsung mobe owners: It may leak your private pics to randoms[…]

Newer Diameter Telephony Protocol (4G / LTE) Just As Vulnerable As SS7

Security researchers say the Diameter protocol used with today’s 4G (LTE) telephony and data transfer standard is vulnerable to the same types of vulnerabilities as the older SS7 standard used with older telephony standards such as 3G, 2G, and earlier. Both Diameter and SS7 (Signaling System No. 7) have the same role in a telephony Read more about Newer Diameter Telephony Protocol (4G / LTE) Just As Vulnerable As SS7[…]

China brings Star Wars to life with ‘laser AK-47’ that can set fire to targets a kilometre away

China has developed a new portable laser weapon that can zap a target from nearly a kilometre away, according to researchers involved in the project. The ZKZM-500 laser assault rifle is classified as being “non-lethal” but produces an energy beam that cannot be seen by the naked eye but can pass through windows and cause Read more about China brings Star Wars to life with ‘laser AK-47’ that can set fire to targets a kilometre away[…]

ProtonMail / ProtonVPN DDoS Attacks Are a Case Study of What Happens When You Mock Attackers

For the past two days, secure email provider ProtonMail has been fighting off DDoS attacks that have visibly affected the company’s services, causing short but frequent outages at regular intervals. “The attacks went on for several hours, although the outages were far more brief, usually several minutes at a time with the longest outage on Read more about ProtonMail / ProtonVPN DDoS Attacks Are a Case Study of What Happens When You Mock Attackers[…]

Every Android Device Since 2012 Impacted by RAMpage Vulnerability

Almost all Android devices released since 2012 are vulnerable to a new vulnerability named RAMpage, an international team of academics has revealed today. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2018-9442, is a variation of the Rowhammer attack. Rowhammer is a hardware bug in modern memory cards. A few years back researchers discovered that when someone would send Read more about Every Android Device Since 2012 Impacted by RAMpage Vulnerability[…]