ICT news

• DoNotPay Is Launching An AI Chatbot That Can Negotiate Your Bills

  13-12-2022 23:30 via slashdot.org
  DoNotPay, the company that bills itself as "the world's first robot lawyer," is launching a new AI-powered chatbot that can help you negotiate bills and cancel subscriptions without having to deal with customer service. The Verge reports: In a demo of the tool posted by DoNotPay CEO Joshua Browder, the chatbot manages to get a discount on a Comcast internet bill through Xfinity's live chat. Once it connects with a customer service representative, the bot asks for a better rate using account deta
  
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• New Zealand Passes World-First Tobacco Law To Ban Smoking For Next Generation

  13-12-2022 22:51 via yro.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: New Zealand has introduced a steadily rising smoking age to stop those aged 14 and under from ever being able to legally buy cigarettes in world-first legislation to outlaw smoking for the next generation. New Zealand is believed to be the first country in the world to implement the annually rising smoking age, ensuring tobacco cannot be sold to anyone born on or after January 1, 2009. It will be accompanied by a slew of other measures to ma
  
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• Apple To Allow Outside App Stores in Overhaul Spurred by EU Laws

  13-12-2022 22:12 via apple.slashdot.org
  Apple is preparing to allow alternative app stores on its iPhones and iPads, part of a sweeping overhaul aimed at complying with strict European Union requirements coming in 2024. From a report: Software engineering and services employees are engaged in a major push to open up key elements of Apple's platforms, according to people familiar with the efforts. As part of the changes, customers could ultimately download third-party software to their iPhones and iPads without using the company's App
  
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• Microsoft Releases December 2022 Security Updates

  13-12-2022 20:43 via us-cert.cisa.gov
  Original release date: December 13, 2022
  Microsoft has released updates to address multiple vulnerabilities in Microsoft software. An attacker can exploit some of these vulnerabilities to take control of an affected system.CISA encourages users and administrators to review Microsoft’s December 2022 Security Update Guide and Deployment Information and apply the necessary updates. This product is provided subject to this Notification and this Privacy & Use policy.
  
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• EU Advances Its Data-Flow Deal After US Makes Surveillance Changes

  13-12-2022 19:40 via news.slashdot.org
  The European Union took a significant step toward completing a deal with the U.S. that would allow personal information about Europeans to be stored legally on U.S. soil, reducing the threat of regulatory action against thousands of companies that routinely transmit such information. From a report: The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, on Tuesday published a draft approval of the preliminary deal it struck in March with the U.S. government. The agreement would re-establish a framework
  
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• China Hits Back at US Chip Sanctions With WTO Dispute

  13-12-2022 19:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  China has hit back against sweeping US export controls on chips, filing a dispute with the World Trade Organization and escalating the tech war between the two countries. From a report: China's commerce ministry said on Monday its WTO complaint was a legal and necessary measure to defend its "legitimate rights and interests," after the US Department of Commerce introduced sanctions in early October to make it harder for China to buy or develop advanced semiconductors. "At a minimum, the case is
  
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• CISA Updates Advisory on #StopRansomware: Cuba Ransomware

  13-12-2022 18:59 via us-cert.cisa.gov
  Original release date: December 13, 2022
  The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and CISA have updated joint Cybersecurity Advisory AA22-335A: #StopRansomware: Cuba Ransomware, originally released on December 01, 2022. The advisory has been updated to include additional indicators of compromise (IOCs).CISA encourages organizations to review the latest update to AA22-335A and apply the recommended mitigations. This product is provided subject to this Notification and this Privacy & Use poli
  
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• Scientists Achieve Nuclear Fusion Breakthrough With Blast of 192 Lasers

  13-12-2022 18:20 via news.slashdot.org
  Scientists studying fusion energy at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California announced on Tuesday that they had crossed a major milestone in reproducing the power of the sun in a laboratory. From a report: Scientists for decades have said that fusion, the nuclear reaction that makes stars shine, could provide a future source of bountiful energy. The result announced on Tuesday is the first fusion reaction in a laboratory setting that actually produced more energy than it took to sta
  
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• Citrix Releases Security Updates for Citrix ADC, Citrix Gateway

  13-12-2022 18:02 via us-cert.cisa.gov
  Original release date: December 13, 2022
  Citrix has released security updates to address a critical vulnerability (CVE-2022-27518) in Citrix ADC and Citrix Gateway. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability to take control of an affected system. This vulnerability has been exploited in the wild.CISA encourages users and administrators to review Citrix security bulletin CTX457836 and Citrix’s blog post for more information and to apply the necessary updates. Additionally, CISA urges
  
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• Mozilla Releases Security Updates for Thunderbird and Firefox

  13-12-2022 18:00 via us-cert.cisa.gov
  Original release date: December 13, 2022
  Mozilla has released security updates to address vulnerabilities in Thunderbird, Firefox ESR, and Firefox. An attacker could exploit these vulnerabilities to take control of an affected system. CISA encourages users and administrators to review Mozilla’s security advisories for Thunderbird 102.6, Firefox ESR 102.6, and Firefox 108 for more information and apply the necessary updates. This product is provided subject to this Notificat
  
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• Bipartisan Group of Lawmakers Seek To Ban TikTok From the US

  13-12-2022 17:49 via news.slashdot.org
  A press release from the office of U.S. Senator Marco Rubio: TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, is required by Chinese law to make the app's data available to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). From the FBI Director to FCC Commissioners to cybersecurity experts, everyone has made clear the risk of TikTok being used to spy on Americans. U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) introduced bipartisan legislation to ban TikTok from operating in the United States.
  The Averting the National Threat of
  
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• Binance See Withdrawals of $1.9 Billion in Last 24 Hours, Data Firm Nansen Says

  13-12-2022 17:01 via slashdot.org
  Binance has seen withdrawals of $1.9 billion in the last 24 hours, blockchain data firm Nansen said on Tuesday, as the world's biggest crypto exchange said it had "temporarily paused" withdrawals of the USDC stablecoin. From a report: Scrutiny of how crypto exchanges such as Binance and its now-bankrupt former rival FTX handle customer deposits is under close scrutiny from users and regulators. FTX's founder Sam Bankman-Fried was charged by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday
  
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• CFTC Sues Bankman-Fried, FTX and Alameda for Law Violations

  13-12-2022 16:21 via news.slashdot.org
  The Commodity Futures Trading Commission sued Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX and Alameda Research for violations of federal commodities laws. From a report: The top US derivatives regulator claims Bankman-Fried and other FTX executives took hundreds of millions of dollars in loans from Alameda they used to buy real estate and make donations to politicians. "At Bankman-Fried's direction, FTX executives created features in the underlying code for FTX that allowed Alameda to maintain an essentially unlimit
  
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• Rise of Open-Source Intelligence Tests US Spies

  13-12-2022 15:50 via news.slashdot.org
  China outpaces efforts by U.S. intelligence agencies to harness power of publicly available data. From a report: As Russian troops surged toward Ukraine's border last fall, a small Western intelligence unit swung into action, tracking signs Moscow was preparing to invade. It drew up escape routes for its people and wrote twice-daily intelligence reports. The unit drafted and sent to its leaders an assessment on Feb. 16, 2022, that would be eerily prescient: Russia, it said, would likely invade U
  
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• NSA, CISA, and ODNI Release Guidance on Potential Threats to 5G Network Slicing

  13-12-2022 14:51 via us-cert.cisa.gov
  Original release date: December 13, 2022
  Today, the National Security Agency (NSA), CISA, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), published Potential Threats to 5G Network Slicing. This guidance—created by the Enduring Security Framework (ESF), a public-private cross-sector working group led by the NSA and CISA—presents both the benefits and risks associated with 5G network slicing. It also provides mitigation strategies that address potential threats to 5G ne
  
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• SEC Charges Sam Bankman-Fried With Defrauding Investors in FTX

  13-12-2022 14:05 via news.slashdot.org
  The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Samuel Bankman-Fried with orchestrating a scheme to defraud equity investors in FTX, the crypto trading platform of which he was the CEO and co-founder. Investigations as to other securities law violations and into other entities and persons relating to the alleged misconduct are ongoing. From a statement: According to the SEC's complaint, since at least May 2019, FTX, based in The Bahamas, raised more than $1.8 billion from equity investors,
  
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• Gold Nano-Coating Works Like an Anti-Fog Heating Element For Glasses

  13-12-2022 14:00 via science.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from New Atlas: While anti-fog sprays work to a certain extent, warming a glass surface is a better way of keeping it fog-free. A new coating material is designed to do so, and it utilizes light-absorbing gold nanoparticles instead of electricity. Most of the anti-fog sprays used on things like eyeglasses incorporate hydrophilic (water-attracting) molecules. These draw in and evenly dispense condensation, making it easier to see through. By contrast, your car'
  
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• Robots Set Their Sights On a New Job: Sewing Blue Jeans

  13-12-2022 11:00 via hardware.slashdot.org
  "Almost all clothing is made by hand due to robots' inability to handle limp fabrics," writes Slashdot reader jonzornow. "A new approach avoids these issues by temporarily stiffening fabric. A robotic system developed to use this technique is now heading to its first factory for testing." Reuters reports: Work at Siemens grew out of efforts to create software to guide robots that could handle all types of flexible materials, such as thin wire cables, said [Eugen Solowjow, who heads a project at
  
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• US Air Force Launches First Operational Hypersonic Missile

  13-12-2022 08:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  The United States Air Force (USAF) has successfully tested its first prototype hypersonic missile. Space.com reports: The service's new AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon, or ARRW ("Arrow") is expected to be the United States military's first hypersonic weapon to reach operational status. The exact speed of the AGM-183A isn't known, although the Lockheed Martin-designed weapon is said to be based on previous test vehicles built by DARPA that have an alleged maximum speed of Mach 20, or
  
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• Google Delays Start of Manifest V2 Chrome Extension Deprecation

  13-12-2022 04:30 via tech.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from 9to5Google: Google was originally set to phase out Chrome support for old Manifest v2 extensions in 2023, but that's now being postponed. In 2021, Google announced its deprecation plans and last provided an update this September. On Friday, the company said that the "Manifest V2 deprecation timelines are under review and the experiments scheduled for early 2023 are being postponed."The original plan called for Chrome Beta, Dev, and Canary builds to start
  
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• China Bans Deepfakes Created Without Permission Or For Evil

  13-12-2022 03:02 via slashdot.org
  China's Cyberspace Administration has issued guidelines on how to do deepfakes the right way. The Register reports: [T]he Cyberspace Administration (CAC) has issued regulations that prohibit their creation without the subject's permission, or to depict or utter anything that could be considered as counter to the national interest. Anything counter to socialist values falls under that description, as does any form of "Illegal and harmful information" or using AI-generated humans in an attempt to
  
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• Only a Quarter of US iPhones Are Sold Through Apple

  13-12-2022 02:25 via mobile.slashdot.org
  A new report from CIRP says that only about 24 percent of recent iPhones purchased in the US were sold directly by Apple. Instead, the most popular way to buy a new iPhone was through a wireless carrier, which accounted for 67 percent of sales. The Verge reports: CIRP (Consumer Intelligence Research Partners) surveys iPhone buyers to find out which models they're buying and where they're shopping -- information Apple doesn't disclose. Outside of carriers and Apple retail, CIRP attributes 4 perce
  
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• 'Diablo IV' Developers Work Long Hours, Bracing For Impending Release

  13-12-2022 01:45 via games.slashdot.org
  Activision Blizzard employees developing the upcoming dark fantasy action role-playing game "Diablo IV" say it will be hard to meet a June 6, 2023, release date without working significant overtime, in a process they say has been plagued by mismanagement. The release date, which has not been announced publicly, comes in the same month that Microsoft's proposed $68.7 billion acquisition is set to close. The Washington Post reports: Fifteen current and former Blizzard employees spoke to The Washin
  
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• FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Arrested

  13-12-2022 01:13 via yro.slashdot.org
  The Royal Bahamas Police Force arrested FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, a press statement said. CoinDesk reports: The arrest came after the U.S. filed criminal charges against Bankman-Fried, the statement said, and the nation expects the U.S. to request The Bahamas extradite Bankman-Fried in short order. "As a result of the notification received and the material provided therewith, it was deemed appropriate for the Attorney General to seek SBF's arrest and hold him in custody pursuant to our nati
  
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• Microsoft Seeks To Settle EU Antitrust Concerns Over Teams

  13-12-2022 01:02 via slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: Microsoft is seeking to address European Union antitrust concerns about its business practices prompted by a complaint from Salesforce.com's workspace messaging app Slack, people familiar with the matter said. The move, which may head off the opening of a formal EU antitrust investigation, underscores once again Microsoft's new preference for working out issues with regulators rather than jousting with them as it did in the previous decade. Micro
  
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• Raspberry Pi Inventory Improving, Could Reach Pre-Pandemic Levels In 2023

  13-12-2022 00:20 via hardware.slashdot.org
  According to CEO Eben Upton, "hundreds of thousands" of Raspberry Pi Zero, 3A+, and 4 models should show up next year. Ars Technica reports: In a "Supply chain update" blog post ("It's good news!"), CEO Eben Upton wrote that Raspberry Pi has "set aside a little over a hundred thousand units, split across Zero W, 3A+, and the 2GB and 4GB variants of Raspberry Pi 4, for single-unit sales." During the pandemic-spurred component shortage, most of the Pis produced every month were going to businesses
  
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• Alameda Research Borrowed FTX Customer Funds Without Limits

  13-12-2022 00:00 via news.slashdot.org
  The testimony of the new FTX CEO, John Ray III, is now public (PDF), and it includes some shocking revelations about the nature of the cryptocurrency firm. The court documents show that Alameda Research borrowed FTX customer funds for trading and investment purposes without any limits. Watcher Guru reports: In the court documents, Ray relayed a detailed account of how Alameda Research would utilize FTX customer assets. Subsequently, the firm utilized them for the purposes of trading and investme
  
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