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Submission + - Alphabet Unit Halts Glucose-Detecting Contact Lens Project (reuters.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Alphabet’s life sciences division Verily said on Friday that it was putting on hold one of its oldest and highest-profile projects, a smart contact lens designed to help monitor sugar levels. The project, started in 2014, aimed to help diabetics better manage their blood sugar levels by embedding sensors on a contact lens to monitor the glucose levels in their tears. In a blog update, Verily cited here insufficient consistency in the correlation between tear glucose and blood glucose concentrations to support the requirements of a medical device.

Submission + - Trump Signs Bill Creating the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (zdnet.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: U.S. President Donald Trump signed today a bill into law, approving the creation of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). The bill, known as the CISA Act, reorganizes and rebrands the National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD), a program inside the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), as CISA, a standalone federal agency in charge of overseeing civilian and federal cybersecurity programs. The NPPD, which was first established in 2007, has already been handling almost all of the DHS' cyber-related issues and projects.

As part of the DHS, the NPPD was the government entity in charge of physical and cyber-security of federal networks and critical infrastructure, and oversaw the Federal Protective Service (FPS), the Office of Biometric Identity Management (OBIM), the Office of Cyber and Infrastructure Analysis (OCIA), the Office of Cybersecurity & Communications (OC&C), and the Office of Infrastructure Protection (OIP). As CISA, the agency's prerogatives will remain the same, and nothing is expected to change in day-to-day operations, but as a federal agency, CISA will now benefit from an increased budget and more authority in imposing its directives.

Submission + - The Case Against Quantum Computing (ieee.org)

Submitted by nickwinlund77
nickwinlund77 writes: Quantum computing is complex and it's not all it's cracked up to be. This IEEE article is quite detailed and is written by someone who has worked in the quantum field and the field of condensed matter physics.

Submission + - Linux 4.20 Is Running Slower Than 4.19 On Intel CPUs (phoronix.com)

Submitted by Freshly Exhumed
Freshly Exhumed writes: An intentional kernel change in Linux kernel 4.20 for enhanced Spectre mitigation is unfortunately causing Intel Linux performance to be much slower than with 4.19. That change is "STIBP" (Single Thread Indirect Branch Predictors), which allows for preventing cross-hyperthread control of decisions that are made by indirect branch predictors. It affects Intel systems that have up-to-date microcode and CPU Hyper Threading enabled. Phoronix gives the evidence.

Submission + - Lock-Screen Bypass Bug Quietly Patched in Handsets (threatpost.com)

Submitted by secwatcher
secwatcher writes: A design flaw affecting all in-display fingerprint sensors – that left over a half-dozen cellphone models vulnerable to a trivial lock-screen bypass attack – has been quietly patched. The flaw was tied to a bug in the popular in-display fingerprint reader technology used for user authentication.

In-display fingerprint reader technology is widely considered an up-and-coming feature to be used in a number of flagship model phones introduced in 2019 by top OEM phone makers, according to Tencent’s Xuanwu Lab which is credited for first identifying the flaw earlier this year.

Impacted are all phones tested in the first half of 2018 that had in-display fingerprint sensors.That includes current models of Huawei Technologies’ Porsche Design Mate RS and Mate 20 Pro model phones. Researchers said that many more cellphone manufacturers are impacted by the issue.

Comment Re:using my email for work (Score 1) 62

by arexu (#57349092) Attached to: US Senate Staff Targeted By State-Backed Hackers, Senator Says

You want it to change, put up a list of everyone who uses their personal email for work so that the population can vote against them.

I have NEVER and i mean NEVER worked for any company that allows me to use my personal email for work related things. I would like anyone to show me a company that allows for such things.

Here's one data point - I use my Gmail account for work all the time. Yes, my company knows and allows it. But I'm just a contract archaeologist, I'm not doing anything political, classified, or liable to shake the wall of decorum. If I were involved in something that might turn political, or that involved classified or government monitored operations, or that would scare the horses, I'd take the time to use company email. No, I'm not gonna give you my RL name, who the fuck are you, voices on the internet?
Linux

Submission + - kernel.org compromized (kernel.org) 2

Submitted by JoeF
JoeF writes: There is a note posted on the main kernel.org page, that kernel.org has been compromised earlier this month:
"Earlier this month, a number of servers in the kernel.org infrastructure were compromised. We discovered this August 28th. While we currently believe that the source code repositories were unaffected, we are in the process of verifying this and taking steps to enhance security across the kernel.org infrastructure."

The note goes on to say that it is unlikely to have affected the source code repositories, due to the nature of git.
News

Submission + - Researchers Create Rain By Firing Lasers at Sky (inhabitat.com)

Submitted by formaggio
formaggio writes: Last year a team of researchers at Switzerland’s University of Geneva had come up with an interesting way of making it rain– by shooting lasers high up into the sky. At the time it seemed like science fiction, but now it is science fact after the team successfully finished tests around Lake Geneva.

Submission + - NZ Illegal Downloading Crackdown Law in Effect (newstalkzb.co.nz)

Submitted by
sfranklin
sfranklin writes: "As of Sept 1 at midnight, "anyone caught downloading copyrighted content illegally could face fines of up to $15,000 and have their internet cut off" in New Zealand. You don't even have to do the deed yourself. The "account holder needs to know what's going on even if they themselves don't do anything online..." Scary stuff, although I wonder how much actual enforcement is likely to happen."
Apache

Submission + - "Apache Killer" Web Server Hole Plugged (computerworld.com)

Submitted by
CWmike
CWmike writes: "The Apache open-source project has patched its Web server software to quash a bug that a denial-of-service (DoS) tool has been exploiting. Apache 2.2.20, released Tuesday, plugs the hole used by an "Apache Killer" attack tool. On Aug. 24, project developers had promised a fix within 48 hours, then revised the timetable two days later to 24 hours. The security advisory did not explain the delay."
ISS

Submission + - Roscosmos close to findings on Soyuz & Proton. (spaceflightnow.com)

Submitted by neBelcnU
neBelcnU writes: It's still early, but there are findings for the recent losses of a Proton and Soyuz rockets. There was a procedural error in the Proton's flight planning, and the 3rd stage gas-generator is the center of attention in the Soyuz. This means a return-to-flight, which would allow the ISS to remain staffed.
Medicine

Submission + - Potential Organ Donors could jump the queue (sfgate.com)

Submitted by laron
laron writes: In Israel, a new law is in the making: Holders of donor cards and their families would get preference if they should need an organ for themselves. Apparently this initiative faces resistance from Orthodox rabbis, who hold that organ donation is against religious law. Jacob Lavee , director of the heart transplant unit at Israel's Sheba Medical Center, and one of the draftees of this new law, hopes that a broader pool of organs will ultimately benefit everyone, but acknowledges that one of his primary motivations is "to prevent free riders." (Apparently receiving an organ is OK under religious law).

Submission + - Obama Backs MPAA, RIAA, and ACTA 1

Submitted by
boarder8925
boarder8925 writes: "In a move sure to surprise no one, Obama has come out on the side of the MPAA/RIAA and has backed the ACTA: "We're going to aggressively protect our intellectual property," Obama said in his speech, "Our single greatest asset is the innovation and the ingenuity and creativity of the American people [...] It is essential to our prosperity and it will only become more so in this century. But it's only a competitive advantage if our companies know that someone else can't just steal that idea and duplicate it with cheaper inputs and labor.""

Submission + - Classmates.com Settles Lawsuit over Phony Friends

Submitted by
Hugh Pickens
Hugh Pickens writes: "Techflash reports that Classmates.com has agreed to pay up to $9.5 million to its users to settle a lawsuit that accused the social network of sending deceptive emails that made people believe their old friends from high school were reaching out to connect — only to discover, after paying for a membership, that their long-lost buddies were nowhere to be found. Lawyers for the plaintiffs asserted that that Classmates had "profited tremendously from their false or deceptive e-mail subject lines and related marketing tactics." Under terms of the proposed settlement, Classmates.com members who upgraded to premium memberships after receiving one of the "guestbook" emails will be able to choose either a $3 cash payout or a $2 credit toward the future purchase or renewal of a Classmates.com membership. Classmates.com is also among companies that have come under scrutiny for their use of "post-transaction marketing" tactics — in which customers are given additional offers as part of the online payment process, sometimes in such a way that they aren't aware that they're also signing up to pay more. A November 2009 U.S. Senate Committee report said Classmates made more than $70 million through its relationship with post-transaction marketing firms. The Classmates Media unit posted $58.8 million in operating profit for 2009, up more than 24 percent from the previous year making Classmates "the most profitable social network in the world," according to CEO Mark Goldston."

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