Submission + - ZOSCII: Post-quantum security through address-based encoding (no encryption) (github.com) 1

Submitted by ZhuLien
ZhuLien writes: After optimizing software for retro Z80 computers, I stumbled onto something interesting: what if instead of encrypting data, we just store memory addresses pointing to characters in a ROM file?

The result is ZOSCII — Zero Overhead Secure Code Information Interchange. Unlike AES-256 which uses mathematical complexity, ZOSCII uses "address indirection" for security:

1. Your data becomes a sequence of memory addresses
2. Without the ROM file, addresses are meaningless random numbers
3. Same message can encode millions of different ways (non-deterministic)
4. Creates "weaponized ambiguity" — any address sequence could decode to anything

Security researcher Bruce Schneier called it "snake-oil of the highest degree" expecting traditional encryption. But ZOSCII isn't encryption — it's information-theoretic security through mathematical impossibility rather than computational complexity.

Try the interactive demo: drop any file as your "ROM key" and see what messages appear on the bulletin board. Different files reveal completely different content from the same data. Wrong ROM = Orwellian privacy quotes.

I've also put this to the test with a 64-character private key encoded using ZOSCII — publicly available challenge file with real cryptocurrency bounty.

Live demo: https://zoscii.com/zosciibb/
Challenge details: zosciicoin.com
GitHub: https://github.com/PrimalNinja...

What do you think — revolutionary encoding method or elaborate snake-oil?

Submission + - Maryland Can Tax Internet Advertising, But Can't Prevent Tax Disclosure (reason.com)

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit rejects Maryland's attempt to hide the consequences of its internet advertising tax.

The states are free to make controversial policy. That is part of our federalist bargain. See Gregory v. Ashcroft, 501 U.S. 452, 458 (1991). But with that freedom comes constraint. States may not forbid regulated parties to talk about their regulations unless they withstand First Amendment scrutiny. Maryland's pass-through provision does not.

Submission + - Tech-Backed Nonprofit Code.org Pondering What AI Means for Its Brand

Submitted by theodp
theodp writes: "There won't be an Hour of Code and an Hour of AI," tech-backed nonprofit Code.org clarified for members of its Advocacy Coalition in a meeting last week (video, 29:34). "Hour of Code is totally becoming Hour of AI. [...] There will be adult-facing activities [...] We're leaning into the 'K-Gray' learning [a switch from the Hour of Code's focus on K-12 schoolchildren]."

Asked what the switch from the Hour of Code to Hour of AI means for the Code.org brand, Chief Academic Officer Pat Yongpradit replied, "That is a question that needs to be answered, for sure. And certainly something that all of us need to wrestle with. What is our place in a world where CS and AI are mashing together and evolving and everything." Code.org Director of Government Affairs Anthony Owen added, "I'm not touching the brand-changing question with a 10-foot-pole, but I will say that [...] we need to accept [...} AI is CS."

Slides from the meeting show that the new Hour of AI, which will launch during CS Education Week in December, aims to have 25 million participants ("Every Student. Every Teacher. Every Leader"), including 1,000 'Policymakers.'

Submission + - Scientists just made vibrations so precise they can spot a single molecule (sciencedaily.com)

Submitted by alternative_right
alternative_right writes: Rice University scientists have discovered a way to make tiny vibrations, called phonons, interfere with each other more strongly than ever before. Using a special sandwich of silver, graphene, and silicon carbide, they created a record-breaking effect so sensitive it can detect a single molecule without labels or complex equipment. This breakthrough could open new possibilities for powerful sensors, quantum devices, and technologies that control heat and energy at the smallest scales.

Submission + - Scientists may have found the tiny DNA switch that made us human (sciencedaily.com)

Submitted by alternative_right
alternative_right writes: Scientists at UC San Diego have discovered a small but powerful section of DNA, called HAR123, that could help explain what makes the human brain so unique. Instead of being a gene, HAR123 acts like a “volume control” for brain development, guiding how brain cells form and in what proportions. The human version of HAR123 behaves differently from the chimpanzee version, possibly giving us greater flexibility in how we think and learn. This finding could also help researchers understand the roots of certain brain-related conditions, including autism.

Submission + - New Brain Device Is First To Read Out Inner Speech (scientificamerican.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: After a brain stem stroke left him almost entirely paralyzed in the 1990s, French journalist Jean-Dominique Bauby wrote a book about his experiences—letter by letter, blinking his left eye in response to a helper who repeatedly recited the alphabet. Today people with similar conditions often have far more communication options. Some devices, for example, track eye movements or other small muscle twitches to let users select words from a screen. And on the cutting edge of this field, neuroscientists have more recently developed brain implants that can turn neural signals directly into whole words. These brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) largely require users to physically attempt to speak, however—and that can be a slow and tiring process. But now a new development in neural prosthetics changes that, allowing users to communicate by simply thinking what they want to say.

The new system relies on much of the same technology as the more common “attempted speech” devices. Both use sensors implanted in a part of the brain called the motor cortex, which sends motion commands to the vocal tract. The brain activation detected by these sensors is then fed into a machine-learning model to interpret which brain signals correspond to which sounds for an individual user. It then uses those data to predict which word the user is attempting to say. But the motor cortex doesn’t only light up when we attempt to speak; it’s also involved, to a lesser extent, in imagined speech. The researchers took advantage of this to develop their “inner speech” decoding device and published the results on Thursday in Cell. The team studied three people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and one with a brain stem stroke, all of whom had previously had the sensors implanted. Using this new “inner speech” system, the participants needed only to think a sentence they wanted to say and it would appear on a screen in real time. While previous inner speech decoders were limited to only a handful of words, the new device allowed participants to draw from a dictionary of 125,000 words.

Submission + - Aging Can Spread Through Your Body Via a Single Protein, Study Finds (sciencealert.com)

Submitted by alternative_right
alternative_right writes: Take note of the name: ReHMGB1. A new study pinpoints this protein as being able to spread the wear and tear that comes with time as it quietly travels through the bloodstream. This adds significantly to our understanding of aging.

The researchers were able to identify ReHMGB1 as a critical messenger passing on the senescence signal by analyzing different types of human cells grown in the lab and conducting a variety of tests on mice.

When ReHMGB1 transmission was blocked in mice with muscle injuries, muscle regeneration happened more quickly, while the animals showed improved physical performance, fewer signs of cellular aging, and reduced systemic inflammation.

Submission + - Starlink tries to block Virginia's plan to bring fiber Internet to residents (arstechnica.com)

Submitted by AmiMoJo
AmiMoJo writes: Starlink operator SpaceX is fighting Virginia's plan to deploy fiber Internet service to residents, claiming that federal grant money should be given to Starlink instead. SpaceX is already in line to win over $3 million in grant money in the state but is seeking $60 million.

Starlink is poised to benefit from the Trump administration rewriting rules for the $42 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) grant program. While the Biden administration decided that states should prioritize fiber in order to build more future-proof networks, the Trump administration ordered states to revise their plans with a "tech-neutral approach" and lower the average cost of serving each location.

Submission + - Plex users urged to update Media Server after security flaw exposed (nerds.xyz)

Submitted by BrianFagioli
BrianFagioli writes: If you run Plex Media Server, itâ(TM)s time to drop everything and update. The company has quietly patched a security issue that affects recent versions of its software, and users are being told to upgrade as soon as possible.

According to an email Plex sent to affected customers, versions 1.41.7.x through 1.42.0.x are vulnerable. The newly released build, 1.42.1.10060 or later, contains the fix. Plex says the flaw was found through its bug bounty program, but sadly, it has not publicly shared details about how severe the issue is or whether it could be exploited remotely.

Plex isnâ(TM)t saying whether this vulnerability could be used to run code on a server or gain unauthorized access, but its urgency in contacting users directly suggests itâ(TM)s not something to ignore. If your Plex instance is exposed to the internet for remote streaming, the risk could be even greater.

Updating is straightforward: you can do it through the serverâ(TM)s management page or by downloading the installer from Plexâ(TM)s official site. If you self-host, itâ(TM)s also a good moment to review your setup, disable outside access if you donâ(TM)t need it, and check your logs for anything suspicious.

Plex has had its share of security incidents in the past, including a 2022 breach that forced a password reset for all users. While thereâ(TM)s no evidence this latest issue has been exploited in the wild, the best move is to patch now and ask questions later.

The update is available today, and if you havenâ(TM)t installed it yet, you should make it your next click.

Submission + - Applied Materials Sued in China Over Alleged Trade Secret Theft (msn.com)

Submitted by hackingbear
hackingbear writes: Top US chip-equipment supplier Applied Materials Inc. was sued by a rival in China over alleged trade secret theft, a further escalation in the technology war between the world’s two largest economies. Beijing E-Town Semiconductor Technology Co. filed a lawsuit with the Beijing Intellectual Property Court against Applied Materials accusing the later "illegally obtained, used and revealed its core technologies related to the application of plasma source in treating the surface of wafers," according to a company statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Applied Materials earlier hired two employees who were privy to the Beijing company’s proprietary plasma technologies from E-Town’s fully owned US subsidiary, Mattson, and filed a patent application crediting the duo as inventors with the National Intellectual Property Administration in China. “The patent application violated the rules of China’s Anti-Unfair Competition Law, and it infringes on trade secrets, and has caused significant damage to the plaintiff’s intellectual property and economic interests,” E-Town said in the filing, adding that Applied Materials is also suspected of marketing and selling the technologies involved in the case to Chinese customers. E-Town is asking the court to demand that Applied Materials stop using its trade secrets and destroy related materials. It’s also seeking about 100 million yuan ($13.9 million) in recompense for damage.

Submission + - ICE buying eye-scanning tech to deport and remove people from a foot away (9news.com)

Submitted by SonicSpike
SonicSpike writes: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has issued a notice to purchase licenses for mobile artificial intelligence-powered iris recognition technology to aid in deportations and removals.

The mobile software from BI2 Technologies can identify individuals from 10 to 15 inches away using a smartphone app, according to the the Massachusetts-based company. It then connects with a second product that includes a database.

ICE posted a Wednesday announcement for a sole source purchase order to BI2 Technologies for licenses to both BI2's Inmate Recognition & Identification System and the Mobile Offender Recognition & Identification System for "enforcement and removal operations."

Steve Beaty, a computer science professor at Metropolitan State University of Denver, explained iris biometric capabilities.

"In general, it's quite accurate," Beaty said. "The iris is the part of your eye that everybody sees — the color has stripes in it and they are unique to an individual."

Beaty said recent technological advances have made iris scanning more accessible and affordable.

"The innovation is now that it's much less expensive that it can be done on less expensive devices such as phones," Beaty said. "In the past it was kind of a big standalone machine that these sorts of things could be used on."

The system compares iris scans to existing databases of photos. Beaty says that can come from a criminal database or even from photos scraped from social media profiles.

"Facial recognition companies have scraped the internet for photos," Beaty said.

But in Colorado, law enforcement agencies couldn't use the technology the same.

Democratic state Rep. Jennifer Bacon co-sponsored a 2022 Colorado law requiring police agencies to disclose their facial recognition plans and prohibiting its use as the sole basis for arrests or investigations.

"The way that we saw facial recognition working was with one to identify and match, versus profiling," Bacon said. "That's two different things."

She expressed concerns about ICE's intended use.

"The notion that ICE is going to use it to do some of those things actually scares me a little bit because that's what we were, in fact, trying to get ahead of," Bacon said.

Bacon outlined specific worries about potential civil rights violations.

"We had a lot of conversations about how law enforcement cannot use it to profile, how law enforcement cannot use it to circumvent due process, how law enforcement cannot use it to circumvent First Amendment rights," she said.

She emphasized the need for safeguards given the high stakes involved.

"When you get it wrong, people's due process are violated," Bacon said. "We're talking about jail time, we're talking about how much one earns. We're talking about if someone can rent an apartment, and so we want to be sure that we can protect our communities from bad decisions."

She questioned underlying assumptions and bias built into artificial intelligence systems too.

"How does one determine what an illegal immigrant looks like or is?" Bacon said. "In America we believe in innocence before proven guilty and so the tools that we have need to also act upon those values as well," she said.

Federal regulation of facial recognition technology differs significantly from state oversight though.

"That's why the states are worried about it," Beaty said.

Beaty noted that this particular software has been used by sheriff's departments elsewhere in the country, primarily as a way to help run jails.

But he raised questions about data handling and privacy protections.

"Let's say my iris is taken and I haven't committed a felony, which I have not," he said. "Where does the data go?Does it stay on the phone? And how long will it be on the phone?"

He highlighted a key concern with biometric data collection.

"Another concern about all biometrics is it's something we cannot change," Beaty said. "Our fingerprints, our faces in general, certainly irises, retinas, we can't change. If it is misreported, then we have a huge problem," he said.

Submission + - It's Official: 'Ghost Particle' That Smashed Into Earth Breaks Records (sciencealert.com)

Submitted by alternative_right
alternative_right writes: In February 2023, a detector called KM3NeT, located deep under the Mediterranean Sea, picked up a signal that seemed to indicate a neutrino with a record-shattering energy of 220 petaelectronvolts (PeV). For reference, the previous record was a mere 10 PeV.

Now, an exhaustive analysis of all the data on and around the event, designated KM3-230213A, not only supports the conclusions that the signal was caused by a 220-PeV neutrino, but adds to the mystery about where the heck in the Universe it came from.

Submission + - The disappearing planet next door has astronomers intrigued (sciencedaily.com) 1

Submitted by alternative_right
alternative_right writes: NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has detected strong evidence for a giant planet orbiting Alpha Centauri A, the nearest Sun-like star to Earth. Located just 4 light-years away, this possible Saturn-mass world may travel between one and two times the distance from its star that Earth does from the Sun. The planet appears to lie in the habitable zone, though its gas giant nature makes it unlikely to host life.

FYI 4 Light Years 23,514,501,492,734 Miles

Submission + - Pirating back in vogue as enshitification stretches patience, and wallets (theguardian.com) 1

Submitted by Bruce66423
Bruce66423 writes: Even journalists have noticed — and some are resorting to piracy, again

'A decade and a half on from the Pirate Bay trial, the winds have begun to shift. On an unusually warm summer’s day, I sit with fellow film critics by the old city harbour, once a haven for merchants and, rumour has it, smugglers. Cold bigstrongs in hand (that’s what they call pints up here), they start venting about the “enshittification” of streaming – enshittification being the process by which platforms degrade their services and ultimately die in the pursuit of profit. Netflix now costs upwards of 199 SEK (£15), and you need more and more subscriptions to watch the same shows you used to find in one place. Most platforms now offer plans that, despite the fee, force advertisements on subscribers. Regional restrictions often compel users to use VPNs to access the full selection of available content. The average European household now spends close to €700 (£600) a year on three or more VOD subscriptions. People pay more and get less.

'A fellow film critic confides anonymously: “I never stopped pirating, and my partner also does it if he doesn’t find the precise edition he is looking for on DVD.” While some people never abandoned piracy, others admit they have recently returned – this time turning to unofficial streaming platforms. One commonly used app is legal but can, through community add-ons, channel illicit streams. “Downloading is too difficult. I don’t know where to start,” says one film viewer. “The shady streams might bombard me with ads, but at least I don’t have to worry about getting hacked or caught.”'

Personally, as a reader not a viewer, I find a few months of Netflix and my BBC iplayer access as a result of having a TV in the UK, sufficient, along with rather more DVDs than I will ever actually watch...
User Journal

Journal + - Journal: Testing AIs

Journal by jd

Ok, I've mentioned a few times that I tried to get AIs (Claude, Gemini, and ChatGPT) to build an aircraft. I kinda cheated, in that I told them to re-imagine an existing aircraft (the DeHavilland DH98 Mosquito) using modern materials and modern understanding, so they weren't expected to invent a whole lot. What they came up with would run to around 700 pages of text if you were to prettify it in LaTeX. The complexity is... horrendous. The organisation is... dreadful.

Slashdot Top Deals