ICT news

• Six Ransomware Gangs Behind Over 50% of 2024 Attacks

  13-08-2024 23:22 via it.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: Despite a law enforcement takedown six months ago, LockBit 3.0 remains the most prolific encryption and extortion gang, at least so far, this year, according to Palo Alto Networks' Unit 42. Of the 53 ransomware groups whose underworld websites, where the crooks name their victims and leak stolen data, that the incident response team monitored, just six accounted for more than half of the total infections observed.
  For its analysis, Unit 42 reviewed announceme
  
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• US Considers a Rare Antitrust Move: Breaking Up Google

  13-08-2024 22:42 via news.slashdot.org
  
  A rare bid to break up Alphabet's Google is one of the options being considered by the Justice Department after a landmark court ruling found that the company monopolized the online search market, Bloomberg News reported Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the matter. From the report: The move would be Washington's first push to dismantle a company for illegal monopolization since unsuccessful efforts to break up Microsoft two decades ago.
  Less severe options include forcing Google to share mo
  
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• Google Makes Your Pixel Screenshots Searchable With Recall-like AI Feature

  13-08-2024 22:08 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: Google has announced Pixel Screenshots, a new AI-powered app for its Pixel 9 lineup that lets you save, organize, and surface information from screenshots. Pixel Screenshot uses Google's private, on-device Gemini Nano AI model to analyze the content of an image and make it searchable.
  During a demo at its Pixel launch event, Google showed how you can take a screenshot and then save it to a collection, like "gift ideas." You can also search through all your ot
  
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• Google's Pixel 9 Lineup is a Pro Show

  13-08-2024 20:26 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Google unveiled its latest Pixel smartphone series on Tuesday, introducing four new models with enhanced AI capabilities and updated designs. The Pixel 9 lineup includes the standard Pixel 9, two Pro models, and a foldable device. The new Pixel phones feature flat sides and an elongated camera module on the rear, departing from the curved edges of previous generations. Screen sizes range from 6.3 inches on the standard Pixel 9 to 6.8 inches on the Pixel 9 Pro XL.
  All models are powered by Google
  
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• The Nation's Best Hackers Found Vulnerabilities in Voting Machines - But No Time To Fix Them

  13-08-2024 19:25 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Hackers at the DEF CON conference in Las Vegas identified vulnerabilities in voting machines slated for use in the 2024 U.S. election, but fixes are unlikely to be implemented before November 5, organizers said. The annual "Voting Village" event, held away from the main conference floor due to security concerns, drew election officials and cybersecurity experts. Organizers plan to release a detailed report on the vulnerabilities found.
  Catherine Terranova, an event organizer, said major systemic
  
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• Copyright Group Takes Down Dutch Language AI Dataset

  13-08-2024 18:50 via it.slashdot.org
  
  Dutch-based copyright enforcement group BREIN has taken down a large language dataset that was being offered for use in training AI models, the organization said on Tuesday. From a report: The dataset included information collected without permission from tens of thousands of books, news sites, and Dutch language subtitles harvested from "countless" films and TV series, BREIN said in a statement. Director Bastiaan van Ramshorst told Reuters it was not clear whether or how widely the dataset may
  
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• Waymo Cars Honk at Each Other Throughout the Night, Disturbing SF Neighbors

  13-08-2024 18:06 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Driverless Waymo vehicles in a San Francisco parking lot have been repeatedly honking at each other, disrupting nearby residents' sleep and daily lives, according to local media report. The incidents, occurring at random times over the past two weeks, have prompted complaints from multiple condo dwellers. Randol White, a local resident, first noticed the problem when he was awakened at 4 a.m. by the cacophony. Another resident, Russell Pofsky, reported being woken up more times in the past fortn
  
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• AI PCs Made Up 14% of Quarterly PC Shipments

  13-08-2024 17:33 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  AI PCs accounted for 14% of all PC shipped in the second quarter with Apple leading the way, research firm Canalys said on Tuesday, as added AI capabilities help reinvigorate demand. From a report: PC providers and chipmakers have pinned high hopes on devices that can perform AI tasks directly on the system, bypassing the cloud, as the industry slowly emerges from its worst slump in years. These devices typically feature neural processing units dedicated to performing AI tasks.
  Apple commands ab
  
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• Ask Slashdot: Could Apple Survive If It Had To Pay a 30% 'Apple Tax'?

  13-08-2024 16:41 via apple.slashdot.org
  
  theodp writes: With Apple threatening to remove crowdfunding app Patreon from the App Store unless they use Apple's own in-app purchasing system (and make the required 'protection' payments), it's interesting to consider whether Apple could survive if it was subject to a 30% 'Apple Tax' on its own revenue.
  In its 2023 fiscal year, Apple reported a net income of $97 billion on total revenues of $383 billion. Which is very impressive, but what if Apple had to pay 30% of its revenue -- $115 billion
  
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• Jobhunters Flood Recruiters With AI-Generated CVs

  13-08-2024 16:02 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  About half of all job seekers are using AI tools to apply for roles, inundating employers and recruiters with low-quality applications in an already squeezed labour market. From a report: Candidates are turning increasingly to generative AI -- the type used in chatbot products such as ChatGPT and Gemini to produce conversational passages of text -- to assist them in writing their CVs, cover letters and completing assessments. Estimates from employers and recruiters who spoke to the Financial Tim
  
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• SpaceX Announces First Human Mission To Ever Fly Over the Planet's Poles

  13-08-2024 15:00 via news.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: SpaceX will fly the first-ever human spaceflight over the Earth's poles, possibly before the end of this year, the company announced Monday. The private Crew Dragon mission will be led by a Chinese-born cryptocurrency entrepreneur named Chun Wang, and he will be joined by a polar explorer, a roboticist, and a filmmaker whom he has befriended in recent years. The "Fram2" mission, named after the Norwegian research ship Fram, will launch into
  
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• Microsoft Releases August 2024 Security Updates

  13-08-2024 14:00 via cisa.gov
  Microsoft released security updates to address vulnerabilities in multiple products. A cyber threat actor could exploit some of these vulnerabilities to take control of an affected system.
  CISA encourages users and administrators to review the following and apply necessary updates:Microsoft Security Update Guide for August
  
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• Ivanti Releases Security Updates for Avalanche, Neurons for ITSM, and Virtual Traffic Manager

  13-08-2024 14:00 via cisa.gov
  Ivanti released security updates to address multiple vulnerabilities in Ivanti Avalanche, Neurons for ITSM, and Virtual Traffic Manager (vTM).  A cyber threat actor could exploit some of these vulnerabilities to take control of an affected system. Ivanti advises users to reduce their attack surface and follow industry best practices by adhering to Ivanti’s network configuration guidance and restrict access to the management interface. 
  CISA encourages users and administrators to
  
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• CISA Releases Ten Industrial Control Systems Advisories

  13-08-2024 14:00 via cisa.gov
  CISA released ten Industrial Control Systems (ICS) advisories on August 13, 2024. These advisories provide timely information about current security issues, vulnerabilities, and exploits surrounding ICS.ICSA-24-226-01 AVEVA SuiteLink Server
  ICSA-24-226-02 Rockwell Automation AADvance Standalone OPC-DA Server
  ICSA-24-226-03 Rockwell Automation GuardLogix/ControlLogix 5580 Controller 
  ICSA-24-226-04 Rockwell Automation Pavilion8
  ICSA-24-226-05 Rockwell Automation DataMosaix Private Cloud
  ICSA
  
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• Horses Can Plan and Strategize, New Study Shows

  13-08-2024 12:00 via science.slashdot.org
  
  Researchers from Nottingham Trent University found that horses are more intelligent than previously believed, as they quickly adapted to a treat-based game with changing rules, demonstrating strategic behavior when a penalty was introduced. The BBC reports: The study involved 20 horses, who first were rewarded with a treat for touching a piece of card with their nose. In the second stage, a "stop light" was introduced, and the rule was changed so that the reward was only given if they touched th
  
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• Milky Way May Escape Fated Collision With Andromeda Galaxy

  13-08-2024 09:00 via science.slashdot.org
  
  sciencehabit shares a report from Science.org: For years, astronomers thought it was the Milky Way's destiny to collide with its near neighbor the Andromeda galaxy a few billion years from now. But a new simulation finds a 50% chance the impending crunch will end up a near-miss, at least for the next 10 billion years. It's been known that Andromeda is heading toward our home Galaxy since 1912, heading pretty much straight at the Milky Way at a speed of 110 kilometers per second. Such galaxy merg
  
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• Excess Memes and 'Reply All' Emails Are Bad For Climate, Researcher Warns

  13-08-2024 05:30 via news.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: When "I can has cheezburger?" became one of the first internet memes to blow our minds, it's unlikely that anyone worried about how much energy it would use up. But research has now found that the vast majority of data stored in the cloud is "dark data", meaning it is used once then never visited again. That means that all the memes and jokes and films that we love to share with friends and family -- from "All your base are belong to us", th
  
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• Reservoir of Liquid Water Found Deep In Martian Rocks

  13-08-2024 04:02 via science.slashdot.org
  
  Slashdot contributors Tablizer, radaos, fjo3, and dbialac highlighted a major discovery by scientists: a reservoir of liquid water hidden deep beneath Mars' rocky outer crust. The BBC reports: The findings come from a new analysis of data from Nasa's Mars Insight Lander, which touched down on the planet back in 2018. The lander carried a seismometer, which recorded four years' of vibrations -- Mars quakes -- from deep inside the Red Planet. Analyzing those quakes -- and exactly how the planet mo
  
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• Locking Up Items To Deter Shoplifting Is Pushing Shoppers Online

  13-08-2024 03:25 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  Longtime Slashdot reader schwit1 shares a report from Axios: Locking up merchandise at drugstores and discount retailers hasn't curbed retail theft but is driving frustrated consumers to shop online more, retail experts tell Axios. Retail crime is eating into retailers' profits and high theft rates are also leading to a rise in store closures. Secured cases can cause sales to drop 15% to 25%, Joe Budano, CEO of anti-theft technology company Indyme, previously told Axios. Barricading everything f
  
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• Google Wallet Widely Rolling Out 'Everything Else' Pass Creator In the US

  13-08-2024 02:45 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Google is rolling out a new feature for Google Wallet that uses AI to generate a digital version of IDs, tickets, and other passes. "Replacing the old 'Photo' option, Everything else lets you 'Scan a photo of any pass like an event ticket, gym membership, insurance card, and more' to create a digital version that appears in Google Wallet," writes 9to5Google's Abner Li. "The app explains how AI is leveraged to 'determine what kind of pass you're adding and to suggest the content of the pass.'" Fr
  
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• Federal Appeals Court Finds Geofence Warrants Are 'Categorically' Unconstitutional

  13-08-2024 02:02 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF): In a major decision on Friday, the federal Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held (PDF) that geofence warrants are "categorically prohibited by the Fourth Amendment." Closely following arguments EFF has made in a number of cases, the court found that geofence warrants constitute the sort of "general, exploratory rummaging" that the drafters of the Fourth Amendment intended to outlaw. EFF applauds this decision becaus
  
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• FBI Investigating After Trump Campaign Says It Was Hacked

  13-08-2024 01:23 via politics.slashdot.org
  
  Over the weekend, former President Donald Trump's campaign said that it had been hacked, with internal documents reportedly obtained illegally by foreign sources to interfere with the 2024 election. While the Trump campaign claimed that Iran was responsible, it is unclear who exactly was behind the incident. The FBI said it was aware of the allegations and confirmed Monday that it is "investigating this matter." The Hill reports: U.S. agencies have thus far failed to comment on the claims that I
  
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• Replika CEO Says It's OK If We Marry AI Chatbots

  13-08-2024 00:40 via slashdot.org
  
  In an interview with The Verge's Nilay Patel, Replika founder and CEO Eugenia Kuyda discusses the role AI will play in the future of human relationships. Replika is an AI-powered chatbot that offers personalized, empathetic conversations to users, serving as a virtual companion for emotional support, mental health, and social interaction. It allows users to engage in meaningful, human-like conversations, enhancing their well-being through AI-driven companionship. Here is an excerpt from the inte
  
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• Stratasys Sues Bambu Lab Over Patents Used Widely By Consumer 3D Printers

  13-08-2024 00:02 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: A patent lawsuit filed by one of 3D printing's most established firms against a consumer-focused upstart could have a big impact on the wider 3D-printing scene. In two complaints, (1, 2, PDF) filed in the Eastern District of Texas, Marshall Division, against six entities related to Bambu Lab, Stratasys alleges that Bambu Lab infringed upon 10 patents that it owns, some through subsidiaries like Makerbot (acquired in 2013). Among the patents
  
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