ICT news

• Hackers Stole Access Tokens From Okta's Support Unit

  20-10-2023 23:20 via it.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Krebs on Security: Okta, a company that provides identity tools like multi-factor authentication and single sign-on to thousands of businesses, has suffered a security breach involving a compromise of its customer support unit, KrebsOnSecurity has learned. Okta says the incident affected a "very small number" of customers, however it appears the hackers responsible had access to Okta's support platform for at least two weeks before the company fully conta
  
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• Frying Pan Company Sued for Claiming Temperatures That Rival the Sun

  20-10-2023 22:40 via science.slashdot.org
  
  Can you heat up a pan to 30,000 degrees Fahrenheit? That's the burning question at the center of this proposed class action lawsuit, which claims the advertising for SharkNinja's nonstick cookware violates the laws of physics and thermodynamics. From a report: While SharkNinja is the company best known for its Shark robovacs and Ninja kitchen gadget, this lawsuit takes issue with the Ninja NeverStick Premium Cookware collection, a line of pots and pans it advertises as having superior nonstickin
  
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• In-memory Database Redis Wants To Dabble in Disk

  20-10-2023 22:05 via it.slashdot.org
  
  Redis, the go-to in-memory database used as a cache and system broker, is looking to include disk as part of a tiered storage architecture to reduce costs and broaden the system's appeal. From a report: Speaking to The Register, CEO Rowan Trollope said he hoped the move would help customers lower costs and simplify their architecture. Redis counts Twitter X, Snapchat, and Craigslist among its customers, and it's popular among developers of modern internet-scale applications owing to its ability
  
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• New Nvidia AI Agent, Powered by GPT-4, Can Train Robots

  20-10-2023 21:25 via slashdot.org
  
  Nvidia Research announced today that it has developed a new AI agent, called Eureka, that is powered by OpenAI's GPT-4 and can autonomously teach robots complex skills. From a report: In a blog post, the company said Eureka, which autonomously writes reward algorithms, has, for the first time, trained a robotic hand to perform rapid pen-spinning tricks as well as a human can. Eureka has also taught robots to open drawers and cabinets, toss and catch balls, and manipulate scissors, among nearly 3
  
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• 'Mind-Blowing' IBM Chip Speeds Up AI

  20-10-2023 20:59 via slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: A brain-inspired computer chip that could supercharge artificial intelligence by working faster with much less power has been developed by researchers at IBM in San Jose, California. Their massive NorthPole processor chip eliminates the need to frequently access external memory, and so performs tasks such as image recognition faster than existing architectures do -- while consuming vastly less power.
  "Its energy efficiency is just mind-blowing," says Damien Q
  
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• Faze Clan Acquired for $17 Million, One Year After Its $725 Million SPAC

  20-10-2023 20:05 via slashdot.org
  
  Gaming analytics and esports brand company Gamesquare, which counts Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones as one of its investors, is acquiring the struggling gaming influencer group Faze Clan. From a report: The all-stock deal is worth about $17 million, Bloomberg reports, a steep drop-off from Faze's $725-million valuation at the time of its special purpose acquisition company, SPAC, merger in July of 2022. Since the SPAC made it publicly traded on the Nasdaq exchange, Faze Clan, like much of the e
  
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• Pfizer Hikes Price of COVID Antiviral Paxlovid From $530 To Nearly $1,400

  20-10-2023 19:20 via science.slashdot.org
  
  Pfizer this week revealed that it raised the list price of a course of Paxlovid -- its lifesaving antiviral drug used to reduce the risk of severe COVID-19 in those most vulnerable -- to nearly $1,400, more than double the roughly $530 the US government has paid for the treatment in the emergency phase of the pandemic. From a report: Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla had noted in an investor call at the beginning of the week that the company would increase the price of Paxlovid as it moves from governmen
  
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• Telegram is Still Leaking User IP Addresses To Contacts

  20-10-2023 18:40 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  The popular messaging app Telegram can leak your IP address if you simply add a hacker to your contacts and accept a phone call from them. From a report: Denis Simonov, a security researcher, who is also known as n0a, recently highlighted the issue and wrote a simple tool to exploit it. TechCrunch verified the researcher's findings by adding Simonov to the contacts of a newly created Telegram account. Simonov then called the account, and shortly after provided TechCrunch with the IP address of t
  
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• The Latest High-Severity Citrix Vulnerability Under Attack Isn't Easy To Fix

  20-10-2023 18:00 via it.slashdot.org
  
  A critical vulnerability that hackers have exploited since August, which allows them to bypass multifactor authentication in Citrix networking hardware, has received a patch from the manufacturer. Unfortunately, applying it isn't enough to protect affected systems. ArsTechnica: The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2023-4966 and carrying a severity rating of 9.8 out of a possible 10, resides in the NetScaler Application Delivery Controller and NetScaler Gateway, which provide load balancing and sing
  
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• Amazon Allows Managers To Terminate Employees in Office-Attendance Noncompliance

  20-10-2023 17:20 via slashdot.org
  
  New submitter flashpoint31415 writes: Amazon is now giving managers leeway to effectively fire employees who fail to meet the company's three-times-a-week, return-to-office mandate.
  The guidelines tell managers to first hold a private conversation with employees who don't comply with the three-times-a-week requirement. Then, managers have to document the discussion in a follow-up email. If the employee continues to refuse to come in, the manager should hold another meeting, and if needed, take d
  
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• Indian Authorities Raid Fake Tech Support Rings After Tipoff From Amazon and Microsoft

  20-10-2023 16:40 via it.slashdot.org
  
  Acting on information from Microsoft and Amazon, India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has raided alleged fake tech support operators and other tech-related crims across the country. From a report: The Bureau shared news of a Thursday operation that saw it conduct 76 searches in relation to five cases. The Bureau stated its effort "was conducted in collaboration with national and international agencies, alongside private sector giants," and described two of its targets as international t
  
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• Pipeline Dreams: The Desert City Out To Surpass Phoenix By Importing Water

  20-10-2023 16:00 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Buckeye, Arizona, is eyeing 'crazy' ideas to keep growing, including piping water hundreds of miles uphill from Mexico. From a report: Arizona, stressed by years of drought, has declared its housebuilding boom will have to be curbed due to a lack of water but one of its fastest-growing cities is refusing to give up its relentless march into the desert -- even if it requires constructing a pipeline that would bring water across the border from Mexico. The population of Buckeye, located 35 miles w
  
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• SEC Drops Claims Against Two Ripple Labs Execs

  20-10-2023 15:00 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission dropped claims against two Ripple Labs executives in its lawsuit alleging the blockchain company violated U.S. securities law, according to a court filing in New York on Thursday. The agency said in court papers it is dropping claims that Ripple Chief Executive Brad Garlinghouse and co-founder Chris Larsen aided and abetted sales of the cryptocurrency XRP which a judge has found amounted to unregistered
  
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• CISA Releases Guidance for Addressing Cisco IOS XE Web UI Vulnerabilities

  20-10-2023 14:00 via cisa.gov
  Today, CISA, in response to active, widespread exploitation, released guidance addressing two vulnerabilities, CVE-2023-20198 and CVE-2023-20273, affecting Cisco’s Internetworking Operating System (IOS) XE Software Web User Interface (UI). An unauthenticated remote actor could exploit these vulnerabilities to take control of an affected system. Specifically, these vulnerabilities allow the actor to create a privileged account that provides complete control over the device.   
  CIS
  
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• CISA Releases Fact Sheet on Effort to Revise the National Cyber Incident Response Plan (NCIRP)

  20-10-2023 14:00 via cisa.gov
  Today, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) released a fact sheet on the effort to revise the National Cyber Incident Response Plan (NCIRP). Through the Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative (JCDC), CISA will work to ensure that the updated NCIRP addresses significant changes in policy and cyber operations since the initial NCIRP was released.
  First published in 2016, the NCIRP was developed in accordance with Presidential Policy Directive 41 (PPD-41) on U.S. Cyber Incident Co
  
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• Google Takes Aim At Duolingo With New English Tutoring Tool

  20-10-2023 12:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Is Google laying the groundwork for a true challenger to language learning apps like Duolingo, Memrise and Babbel? In a blog post on Thursday, the search giant announced that it's rolling out a new Google Search feature designed to help people improve their English speaking skills. TechCrunch's Kyle Wiggers reports: Rolling out over the next few days for Search on Android devices in Argentina, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Mexico and Venezuela, with more countries and languages to come in the futu
  
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• A Simple Streetlight Hack Could Protect Astronomy From Urban Light Pollution

  20-10-2023 09:00 via science.slashdot.org
  
  Tereza Pultarova reports via Space.com: Light pollution is a growing threat to astronomy, but a new streetlamp technology could restore clear views of the night sky. [...] A study published earlier this year found that stars are disappearing from the sky at an average rate of 10% per year. This trend affects even the world's most remote observatories. Germany-based startup StealthTransit recently tested a solution to this growing issue. "Unfortunately, this problem haunts almost all observatorie
  
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• Casio Keyed Up After Data Loss Hits Customers In 149 Countries

  20-10-2023 04:02 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  Jessica Lyons Hardcastle reports via The Register: Japanese electronics giant Casio said miscreants broke into its ClassPad server and stole a database with personal information belonging to customers in 149 countries. ClassPad is Casio's education web app, and in a Wednesday statement on its website, the firm said an intruder breached a ClassPad server and swiped hundreds of thousands of "items" belonging to individuals and organizations around the globe. As of October 18, the crooks accessed 9
  
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• Canada Will Legalize Medically Assisted Dying For People Addicted To Drugs

  20-10-2023 03:27 via science.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from VICE News: Canada will legalize medically assisted dying for people who are addicted to drugs next spring, in a move some drug users and activists are calling "eugenics." The country's medical assistance in dying (MAID) law, which first came into effect in 2016, will be expanded next March to give access to people whose sole medical condition is mental illness, which can include substance use disorders. Before the changes take place, however, a special pa
  
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• Code.org Presses Washington To Make Computer Science a High School Graduation Requirement

  20-10-2023 03:25 via news.slashdot.org
  
  theodp writes: In July, Seattle-based and tech-backed nonprofit Code.org announced its 10th policy recommendation for all states "to require all students to take computer science (CS) to earn a high school diploma." In August, Washington State Senator Lisa Wellman phoned-in her plans to introduce a bill to make computer science a Washington high school graduation requirement to the state's Board of Education, indicating that the ChatGPT-sparked AI craze and Code.org had helped convince her of th
  
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• Hackers Compromise Accounts of Kodex, Company That Vets Police Data Requests For Tech Giants

  20-10-2023 02:45 via it.slashdot.org
  
  Slash_Account_Dot shares a report from 404 Media: Hackers are targeting accounts on Kodex, a platform that connects law enforcement agencies and tech companies and which is designed to verify emergency requests for customer data, according to multiple online conversations between hackers viewed by 404 Media. Screenshots from one of the compromised accounts shows a panel where a law enforcement officer, or a hacker, can potentially 'create a new request.' The screenshots show a wide range of comp
  
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• Convoy Trucking Startup, Backed By Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates, Is Closing Operation With No Buyer

  20-10-2023 02:02 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Ty Roush reports via Forbes: Convoy, a Seattle-based digital freight booker with investors that include billionaires Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, announced Thursday it would be shutting down, according to Bloomberg, after the company failed to find a buyer amid a "massive freight recession." Convoy's founder and chief executive Dan Lewis notified employees in an internal memo Thursday that "today is your last day at the company," noting the company is "exploring and evaluating strategic options fo
  
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• Julian Assange To Be Made Honorary Citizen of Rome

  20-10-2023 01:20 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Jailed WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will become an honorary citizen of Rome by early next year following a vote this week by its local assembly, the city's former mayor Virginia Raggi said on Thursday. Reuters reports: Assange, 52, has been in London's high-security Belmarsh prison since 2019 and is wanted in the United States over the release of confidential U.S. military records and diplomatic cables in 2010. His supporters see his prosecution as a politically motivated assault on journali
  
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• First Mini-PC With Solid-State Active Cooling System Launches

  20-10-2023 00:40 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  Chinese multinational Zotac has announced a mini-PC built around two solid-state active cooling chips called the AirJet Pro and AirJet Mini. They're designed by a company called Frore Systems. New Atlas reports: The AirJet tech is described as a self-contained active heat sink featuring membranes inside that vibrate at ultrasonic frequency, generating "a powerful flow of air" that's pushed through vents at the top of the unit. These "high-velocity pulsating jets" remove heat from the processor a
  
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• CFPB Moves To Bar Financial Firms From 'Hoarding' a Consumer's Data

  20-10-2023 00:00 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Politico: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Thursday released a landmark proposal restricting how financial institutions handle consumer data. [...] The proposed rule -- which faces months of feedback and lobbying from industry and consumer groups before it's approved -- would bar financial firms from "hoarding" a consumer's data, the agency said. It would require companies to share information, at a customer's request, with other businesses off
  
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