ICT news

• Meta's New 'Movie Gen' AI System Can Deepfake Video From a Single Photo

  04-10-2024 23:20 via meta.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: On Friday, Meta announced a preview of Movie Gen, a new suite of AI models designed to create and manipulate video, audio, and images, including creating a realistic video from a single photo of a person. The company claims the models outperform other video-synthesis models when evaluated by humans, pushing us closer to a future where anyone can synthesize a full video of any subject on demand. The company does not yet have plans of when or
  
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• 60TB Hard Drives Arriving in 2028, According To Industry Roadmap

  04-10-2024 22:41 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: The arrival of energy-assisted magnetic recording (EAMR) technologies like Seagate's HAMR will play a crucial role in accelerating HDD capacity growth in the coming years. According to the new IEEE International Roadmap for Devices and Systems Mass Data Storage, we will see 60 TB hard disk drives in 2028. If the prediction is accurate, we will see HDD storage capacity doubling in just four years, something that did not happen for a while. Also, IEEE believes
  
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• Matt Mullenweg: 'WordPress.org Just Belongs To Me'

  04-10-2024 22:01 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg has asserted his personal ownership of WordPress.org in a new interview, offering new insight into his clash with hosting provider WP Engine. "WordPress.org just belongs to me personally,"Mullenweg told The Verge, justifying his decision to cut WP Engine's access to WordPress.org servers. He cited trademark concerns and insufficient ecosystem contributions as key reasons for the action.
  Mullenweg said he altered WordPress Foundation's trademark policies to spe
  
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• Bird Flu Fears Stoke the Race for an mRNA Flu Vaccine

  04-10-2024 21:21 via science.slashdot.org
  
  Concern over potential human-to-human transmission of bird flu has risen after six Missouri healthcare workers developed mild respiratory symptoms following contact with a patient infected with H5N1. The CDC reports only the original patient has tested positive for the virus. Scientists are ramping up efforts to develop mRNA vaccines against H5N1, with researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and major pharmaceutical companies like Moderna, Pfizer, and GSK leading the charge. While mRNA tec
  
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• We May Have Passed Peak Obesity

  04-10-2024 20:40 via science.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: The year 1963 was surely one of the most significant of the 20th century. President John F Kennedy was assassinated, Martin Luther King delivered his "I have a dream" speech, and the Beatles recorded and released their debut album. But for all the huge political and cultural events, it was arguably an even more momentous year for public health: 1963 was the year cigarette sales peaked and began to fall in the US.
  A generation from now, we may look back on 202
  
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• Thousands of Linux Systems Infected By Stealthy Malware Since 2021

  04-10-2024 20:01 via linux.slashdot.org
  
  A sophisticated malware strain has infected thousands of Linux systems since 2021, exploiting over 20,000 common misconfigurations and a critical Apache RocketMQ vulnerability, researchers at Aqua Security reported. Dubbed Perfctl, the malware employs advanced stealth techniques, including rootkit installation and process name mimicry, to evade detection. It persists through system reboots by modifying login scripts and copying itself to multiple disk locations. Perfctl hijacks systems for crypt
  
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• Collapse of National Security Elites' Cyber Firm Leaves Bitter Wake

  04-10-2024 19:22 via it.slashdot.org
  
  Cybersecurity firm IronNet, founded by former NSA director Keith Alexander, has collapsed after failing to deliver on its promise to revolutionize cyber defense. The company, which went public in 2021 with a $3 billion valuation, shut down in September 2023 after running out of money.
  IronNet's downfall has left investors and former employees bitter, with some accusing the company of misleading them about its financial health. "I'm honestly ashamed that I was ever an executive at that company,"
  
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• Apple Fixes Bug That Let VoiceOver Shout Your Passwords

  04-10-2024 18:44 via apple.slashdot.org
  
  Apple just fixed a duo of security bugs in iOS 18.0.1 and iPadOS 18.0.1, one of which might cause users' saved passwords to be read aloud. It's hardly an ideal situation for the visually impaired. From a report: For those who rely on the accessibility features baked into their iGadgets, namely Apple's VoiceOver screen reader, now is a good time to apply the latest update. In typical Apple fashion, the company hasn't released much in the way of details about the first security issue, tracked as C
  
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• Antarctica is 'Greening' at Dramatic Rate as Climate Heats

  04-10-2024 18:04 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Plant cover across the Antarctic peninsula has soared more than tenfold over the last few decades, as the climate crisis heats up the icy continent. From a report: Analysis of satellite data found there was less than one sq kilometre of vegetation in 1986 but there was almost 12km2 of green cover by 2021. The spread of the plants, mostly mosses, has accelerated since 2016, the researchers found. The growth of vegetation on a continent dominated by ice and bare rock is a sign of the reach of glob
  
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• Rivian Now Says It Will Make Fewer Electric Vehicles This Year Than It Did in 2023

  04-10-2024 17:24 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Rivian said it would make fewer electric vehicles this year than it did in 2023, resulting from a parts shortage. From a report: The news came as the company reported third quarter production and delivery numbers that came in below analyst expectations. Rivian says it expects to produce between 47,000 and 49,000 vehicles this year, down from the 57,000 vehicles it originally forecast. That number was flat from the previous year, when the company produced 57,232 vehicles and delivered 50,122. Riv
  
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• Tencent, Guillemot Family Mull Ubisoft Buyout Amid Share Slump

  04-10-2024 16:41 via slashdot.org
  
  Tencent and Ubisoft's founding Guillemot family are weighing a potential buyout of the French game maker, according to Bloomberg News. The move comes as Ubisoft's shares plunged 54% this year, hitting decade-lows after production delays and weak sales. Tencent, which bought 49.9% of Guillemot Brothers in 2022, holds 9.2% of Ubisoft's voting rights, while the Guillemots control 20.5%.
  Further reading: Star Wars Outlaws Is A Crappy Masterpiece.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
  
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• 159 Employees Leave Automattic as WordPress CEO Escalates Fight With WP Engine

  04-10-2024 16:00 via slashdot.org
  
  Automattic, the company behind WordPress, has seen a reduction of about 8.4% to its workforce after 159 employees accepted severance packages, CEO Matt Mullenweg said. The move follows disputes over the company's direction and its clash with web host WP Engine. Most departures hit the WordPress division, with some from other business units. Employees received $30,000 or six months' pay, but are ineligible for rehire, Mullenweg added.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
  
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• Cloudflare Defeats Patent Troll

  04-10-2024 15:00 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  Cloudflare has emerged victorious in a patent infringement lawsuit against Sable Networks, securing a $225,000 settlement and forcing the patent holder to dedicate its entire portfolio to the public domain. The case, which began in March 2021 with Sable asserting nearly 100 claims across four patents, concluded after a Texas jury found Cloudflare not guilty of infringement in February 2024.
  Sable, described by Cloudflare as a "patent troll," had previously sued several tech companies, including
  
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• AI Agent Promotes Itself To Sysadmin, Trashes Boot Sequence

  04-10-2024 12:00 via slashdot.org
  
  The Register's Thomas Claburn reports: Buck Shlegeris, CEO at Redwood Research, a nonprofit that explores the risks posed by AI, recently learned an amusing but hard lesson in automation when he asked his LLM-powered agent to open a secure connection from his laptop to his desktop machine. "I expected the model would scan the network and find the desktop computer, then stop," Shlegeris explained to The Register via email. "I was surprised that after it found the computer, it decided to continue
  
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• Cheetos Food Dye Turns Mice Transparent

  04-10-2024 09:00 via science.slashdot.org
  
  Researchers have discovered that a popular food dye used in Cheetos "alters the optical qualities of skin, allowing light to pass through (Source paywalled; alternative source)," according to the Wall Street Journal. Larger doses of the dye used on humans could make searching veins for blood draw easier. From a report: Tartrazine, the yellowing agent for the "dangerously cheesy" snack, was tested on the stomachs and heads of mice -- with surprising results. Researchers were even able to see musc
  
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• 23andMe Is On the Brink. What Happens To All Its DNA Data?

  04-10-2024 05:30 via science.slashdot.org
  
  The one-and-done nature of 23andMe is "indicative of a core business problem with the once high-flying biotech company that is now teetering on the brink of collapse," reports NPR. As 23andMe struggles for survival, many of its 15 million customers are left wondering what the company plans to do with all the data it has collected since it was founded in 2006. An anonymous reader shares an excerpt from the report: Andy Kill, a spokesperson for 23andMe, would not comment on what the company might
  
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• Fly Brain Breakthrough 'Huge Leap' To Unlock Human Mind

  04-10-2024 03:25 via science.slashdot.org
  
  fjo3 shares a report from the BBC: They can walk, hover and the males can even sing love songs to woo mates -- all this with a brain that's tinier than a pinhead. Now for the first time scientists researching the brain of a fly have identified the position, shape and connections of every single one of its 130,000 cells and 50 million connections. It's the most detailed analysis of the brain of an adult animal ever produced. One leading brain specialist independent of the new research described t
  
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• OpenAI Launches New 'Canvas' ChatGPT Interface Tailored To Writing and Coding Projects

  04-10-2024 02:45 via slashdot.org
  
  OpenAI has introduced "canvas," a new interface for ChatGPT that provides a separate workspace for writing and coding projects. "Canvas is rolling out in beta to ChatGPT Plus and Teams users on Thursday, and Enterprise and Edu users next week," reports TechCrunch. "Once canvas is out of beta, OpenAI says it plans to offer the feature to free users as well." From the report: In our demo, [OpenAI product manager Daniel Levine] had to select "GPT-4o with canvas" from ChatGPT's model picker drop dow
  
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• Mystery Creator of Bitcoin Identified, New HBO Documentary Claims

  04-10-2024 02:02 via slashdot.org
  
  A new HBO documentary directed by Emmy-nominated filmmaker Cullen Hoback claims to have revealed the true identity of the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto. As Politico notes, Hoback "drew critical acclaim for his series 'Q: Into the Storm' that exposed the authors of the QAnon conspiracy theory." The bitcoin documentary is scheduled to air next Wednesday at 2 a.m. CET (Tuesday at 9 p.m. EST). From the report: [T]he exposure of Satoshi as its alleged creator threatens to raise so
  
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• A Single Cloud Compromise Can Feed an Army of AI Sex Bots

  04-10-2024 01:20 via it.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from KrebsOnSecurity: Organizations that get relieved of credentials to their cloud environments can quickly find themselves part of a disturbing new trend: Cybercriminals using stolen cloud credentials to operate and resell sexualized AI-powered chat services. Researchers say these illicit chat bots, which use custom jailbreaks to bypass content filtering, often veer into darker role-playing scenarios, including child sexual exploitation and rape. Researchers
  
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• Cloudflare Blocks Largest Recorded DDoS Attack Peaking At 3.8Tbps

  04-10-2024 00:40 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  BleepingComputer's Ionut Ilascu reports: During a distributed denial-of-service campaign targeting organizations in the financial services, internet, and telecommunications sectors, volumetric attacks peaked at 3.8 terabits per second, the largest publicly recorded to date. The assault consisted of a "month-long" barrage of more than 100 hyper-volumetric DDoS attacks flooding the network infrastructure with garbage data. In a volumetric DDoS attack, the target is overwhelmed with large amounts o
  
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• Senator Calls Out John Deere For Clean Air Act Violations, Blocking Farmer Repairs

  04-10-2024 00:02 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  "The Fight to Repair Newsletter is reporting that U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren is calling out agricultural equipment giant John Deere for possible violations of the federal Clean Air Act and a years-long pattern of thwarting owners' ability to repair their farm equipment," writes longtime Slashdot reader chicksdaddy. From the report: Deere "appears to be evading its responsibilities under the Clean Air Act to grant customers the right to repair their own agricultural equipment." That is costing
  
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