It’s a win for privacy advocates, but it’s sure to enrage law enforcement officials by making it harder than ever for them to get information out of locked phones. The news: Apple plans to send out a software update to iPhone users that will make the smartphone’s charging and data port inoperative an hour after the phone has been locked. Though you’ll still be able to charge a phone without tapping in a password, you’ll now need one to pull data off it via that port. Why it matters: Apple has a history of fighting law enforcement efforts to […] […]
Category: Research
China’s ambition to power the world’s electric cars took a huge leap forward this week
China’s grand designs to dominate the future of clean energy paid off spectacularly this week. In a public offering on June 11 in Shenzhen, battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd. (CATL) raised nearly $1 billion to fund ambitious expansion plans, and its stock has been shooting up every day since. Thanks largely to the company’s new plants, China will be making 70 percent of the world’s electric-vehicle batteries by 2021, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). The rapid rise of CATL is arguably the clearest, though certainly not the only , payoff from China’s calculated efforts to bolster […] […]
A few big players may have been behind Bitcoin’s huge surge last year
New research (PDF) suggests that a price manipulation scheme may have been behind the cryptocurrency’s extraordinary rally in 2017. The study: Researchers at the University of Texas analyzed blockchain data and found that large purchases of cryptocurrency from multiple trading platforms in exchange for Tether, a crypto-token that’s supposedly pegged to the US dollar , were “timed following market downturns” and, since cryptocurrency prices tend to move as one, resulted in “sizable increases in Bitcoin prices.” This suggests, according to the New York Times , that a few players may have been propping up the price of Bitcoin and […] […]
University of Leeds project is developing tarmac 3D printing robots to repair roads
The University of Leeds is pioneering a £4.2 million national infrastructure research project that will use tarmac 3D printing robots to repair potholes and cracks. These robots will be both aerial and ground-based in order to thoroughly inspect and identify damaged areas on roads in the UK. As part of a visionary project to create “ Self Repairing Cities ”, the University of Leeds has formed a research consortium for the project which includes engineers and faculty from University College London (UCL), the University of Southampton and the University of Birmingham . The project’s teams are currently halfway through […] […]
3D printing in construction, architecture and the built-environment
The use of 3D printing for construction and architecture is a rapidly developing area. Additive manufacturing is used not only in the design stages of construction projects, but is also bringing remarkable full-scale structures to life. This article highlights some of the possibilities that 3D printing brings to the built-environment. These include 3D printed houses, buildings, bridges and infrastructure. The 3D printed Housing 05 Project by CLS Architetti The 3D Housing 05 project from CLS Architetti , an Italian architecture firm, is a sustainable, 3D printed house. The project was showcased at Milan Design Week 2018 . Massimiliano Locatelli, […] […]
Microsoft Issues Emergency Patch For Critical Flaw In Windows Containers
Just a few days prior to its monthly patch release, Microsoft released an emergency patch for a critical vulnerability in the Windows Host Compute Service Shim (hcsshim) library that could allow remote attackers to run malicious code on Windows computers. Windows Host Compute Service Shim (hcsshim) is an open source library that helps “Docker for Windows” execute Windows Server containers using a low-level container management API in Hyper-V. Discovered by Swiss developer and security researcher Michael Hanselmann , the critical vulnerability (tracked as CVE-2018-8115) is the result of the failure of the hcsshim library to properly validate input when […] […]
Oprichter WhatsApp vertrekt bij Facebook vanwege huidige koers
Jan Koum is een naam die je misschien niet kent, maar de miljardair is de CEO en mede-oprichter van WhatsApp . Hij is bij de overname van het bedrijf in 2014 opgenomen in de raad van comissarissen van Facebook, maar volgens de Washington Post is hij alleszins van plan […] .
AI Can Help Cybersecurity—If It Can Fight Through the Hype
There are a ton of claims around AI and cybersecurity that don’t quite add up. Here’s what’s really going on. Walking the enormous exhibition halls at the recent RSA security conference in San Francisco, you could have easily gotten the impression that digital defense was a solved problem. Amidst […] .
Data Protection Standards Need to Be Global
Broadly, customers around the world should be in charge of the information companies have about them, and companies need to be liable if they misuse it. Whether it is Cambridge Analytica gaining access to private information on up to 87 million Facebook users, or the large-scale data breaches at […] .
This test will tell you how likely you are to fall for fraud
Researchers have devised a test that gauges a person’s susceptibility to falling for online scams and other types of internet crime. The freely available questionnaire – called “ Susceptibility to Persuasion – II ” (StP-II) and developed by scientists at the Universities of Cambridge and Helsinki – asks the […] .
A New Cryptocurrency Mining Virus is Spreading Through Facebook
If you receive a link for a video, even if it looks exciting, sent by someone (or your friend) on Facebook messenger—just don’t click on it without taking a second thought. Cybersecurity researchers from Trend Micro are warning users of a malicious Chrome extension which is spreading through Facebook […] .
Chinese Firm Claims It Scans Workers’ Brainwaves to Boost Earnings
China has been pushing the dystopian aspects of its society fairly aggressively of late. The country has rolled out a social “credit” monitoring system, in which citizens are rated based on the social media posts and actions of both themselves and their friends and family. Those with low social […] .
Have we hit peak ransomware? Maybe, according to F-Secure
Ransomware is really nasty. Once it’s infiltrated your system, it’ll place your crucial work files and cherished family photos out of reach, and demand a small fortune in Bitcoin for their return. Fortunately though, new research from Finnish security firm F-Secure suggests that this is a threat that’s hit […] .
Interview: Why We Need Less Tech, Smarter People
Before taking the stage at PSFK’s CXI 2018 conference, cyborg anthropologist Amber Case makes an argument for better, quieter design In the innovation space, we see a lot of tech for tech’s sake. Amber Case is a proponent of the opposite. The author of a book on calm technology […] .
pCloud is the unhackable cloud storage service that is cheaper than Dropbox
Save more than $60 and get more than you would with Dropbox. Heads up: All products featured here are selected by Mashable’s commerce team and meet our rigorous standards for awesomeness. If you buy something, Mashable may earn an affiliate commission. We all need to rethink our approach to […] .
How network theory predicts the value of Bitcoin
Philosophers, economists, and theorists have various ways to judge how money should be valued. Some have said that its worth lies in a high cost of production. Others see it as simply a form of credit that allows the transfer of resources, which is why it can take the […] .
Under Armour says MyFitnessPal data breach affected 150 million users
Under Armour, the fitness company that owns MyFitnessPal, disclosed today a data breach that affected about 150 million users . MyFitnessPal, a food and nutrition application, earlier this week became aware of the breach, which took place late last month. The breached data did not include any Social Security […] .
New York City is launching public cybersecurity tools to keep residents from getting hacked
In a week of harrowing city-level cyber attacks , New York is taking some precautions. While the timing is coincidental, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio just announced that the city will introduce the first tools in its suite of cybersecurity offerings to protect residents against malicious online […] .
AI can invent new ways to create complex molecules
A new algorithm trained on millions of reactions can tell scientists the steps required to build organic compounds. How it works: Researchers at the University of Manchester trained a neural network on the 12.4 million single-step organic-chemistry reactions currently known to science. That data set lets the network predict […] .
A robotic camera system films sports like a human does
New AI software can move and focus a camera to frame shots that look incredibly natural for viewers. How it works: A robotic camera system, called Polycam Player and made by Nikon company MRMC , uses image recognition to track players on the field . Instead of panning and […] .