How Russian hackers lured foreign embassy workers in Ukraine with an ad for a cheap BMW
Researchers at Unit 42 were able to tie the fake car advert back to the SVR because the hackers re-used certain tools and techniques which have previously been connected to the spy agency.
BBC adapts ‘open source’ news reporting to beat disinformation fuelled by artificial intelligence
BBC has produced some compelling investigative reporting, but Turness is looking for more immediacy. For example, when Russia claimed a Ukrainian drone tried to attack the Kremlin, the BBC gathered multiple videos of explosions in the night sky, and quickly found video footage to map the actions of police in recent unrest at a housing complex.
White House plans to appeal landmark censorship ruling that limits Biden’s government contact with Big Tech
CNN legal analyst Elie Honig also criticised Tuesday’s injunction, saying that free speech is “a conservative political ideology” and that the ruling’s references “questioning vaccines, questioning masks” were “conservative talking points.”
Keen to clear Russian troops out of Ukraine, US says it’s willing to send Kyiv cluster munitions
In previous conflicts, cluster munitions have had a high dud rate, which meant that thousands of the smaller unexploded bomblets remained behind and killed and maimed people decades later. The US last used its cluster munitions in battle in Iraq in 2003 and decided not to continue using them as the conflict shifted to more urban environments with more dense civilian populations.
Forget how your personal data is harvested by your phone, your car ‘knows’ your sleazy secrets
The Vehicle Privacy Tool says Toyota’s documents are “silent” on whether the company collects data from people’s phones that are synced with its vehicles. Proffitt says it doesn’t collect this data, except for “using an identifier for the sole purpose of connecting a user’s profile on the Toyota/Lexus app with a vehicle” if a profile has been set up. “Any synchronization of contact info and call history for Bluetooth purposes remains on the vehicle and is not sent to Toyota,” Proffitt says.
Dogfight: Facebook parent company launches Threads app that might just cannibalise Twitter
The platform also arrives at a particularly weak moment for Twitter. Musk’s recent announcement that free Twitter accounts would, temporarily, only be able to view 600 tweets per day was met with derision. Such moves will likely further hurt advertising on the platform – worsening a crisis that’s been ongoing throughout Musk’s tenure.
New investigation lays bare how textile firms add dangerous chemicals to clothing for fragrance to boost profits
Although Europe practices precautionary principles, the US assumes chemicals are safe until proven otherwise. Unfortunately, it may take many years before science can prove a toxin triggers negative health effects, unnecessarily exposing you to danger. Laundry detergent, fabric softener and dryer sheets also add fragrance to your clothing, much of which may be vented to your neighbourhood through your dryer, contributing to declining air quality.
Hopes of finding missing submersible in Atlantic bound for Titanic site fade as US, Canadian Coast Guards search draw blanks
OceanGate’s expeditions to the Titanic wreck site include archaeologists and marine biologists. The company also brings people who pay to come along, known as “mission specialists.” They take turns operating sonar equipment and performing other tasks in the five-person submersible.
How Florida-based tech-savvy young woman Marissa Kearny is matching Black-owned businesses with big stores in US
In 2018, Census Bureau data found about 3,115,000 Black-owned businesses had no employees, compared to 134,567 with employees. Yet, Black companies only make up about three per cent of all US businesses.
Truth’s treason: It’s 10 years since Edward Snowden blew whistle on US government spying on journalists
Law enforcement agencies have also begun using facial recognition technology to identify crime suspects despite the fact that the software is known to frequently misidentify people of colour – leading to the wrongful arrest and detention earlier this year of Randal Reid in Georgia, among other cases.
