ICT news

• US Sanctions Chinese Firm, Hacker Behind Telecom and Treasury Hacks

  17-01-2025 23:40 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  The U.S. Department of the Treasury's OFAC has sanctioned Yin Kecheng and Sichuan Juxinhe Network Technology Co. for their roles in a recent Treasury breach and espionage operations targeting U.S. telecommunications. BleepingComputer reports: "Yin Kecheng has been a cyber actor for over a decade and is affiliated with the People's Republic of China Ministry of State Security (MSS)," reads the Treasury's announcement. "Yin Kecheng was associated with the recent compromise of the Department of the
  
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• Russian Disinformation Campaigns Eluded Meta's Efforts To Block Them

  17-01-2025 23:02 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from the New York Times: A Russian organization linked to the Kremlin's covert influence campaigns posted more than 8,000 political advertisements on Facebook despite European and American restrictions barring companies from doing business with the organization, according to three organizations that track disinformation online. The Russian group, the Social Design Agency, evaded lax enforcement by Facebook to place an estimated $338,000 worth of ads aimed at E
  
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• Fire Erupts At Huge Battery Plant In California

  17-01-2025 22:40 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  Longtime Slashdot reader sfcat shares a report from the Associated Press: Hundreds of people were ordered to evacuate and part of Highway 1 in Northern California was closed when a major fire erupted Thursday afternoon at one of the world's largest battery storage plants. As the fire sent up towering flames and black smoke and showed no sign of easing by Thursday night, about 1,500 people were instructed to leave Moss Landing and the Elkhorn Slough area, The Mercury News reported.The Moss Landin
  
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• Microsoft-OpenAI Partnership Raises Antitrust Concerns, FTC Says

  17-01-2025 22:20 via slashdot.org
  
  Microsoft's $13 billion investment in OpenAI raises concerns that the tech giant could extend its dominance in cloud computing into the nascent AI market, the Federal Trade Commission said in a report released Friday. From a report: The commission said Microsoft's deal with OpenAI, as well as Amazon and Google's partnerships with AI company Anthropic, raise the risk that AI developers could be "fully acquired" by the tech giants in the future.
  "The FTC's report sheds light on how partnerships by
  
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• FBI Warned Agents It Believes Phone Logs Hacked Last Year

  17-01-2025 21:42 via news.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: FBI leaders have warned that they believe hackers who broke into AT&T's system last year stole months of their agents' call and text logs, setting off a race within the bureau to protect the identities of confidential informants, a document reviewed by Bloomberg News shows.
  FBI officials told agents across the country that details about their use on the telecom carrier's network were believed to be among the billions of records stolen, according to the do
  
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• Sony Cancels Two More PlayStation Projects in Broader Retreat

  17-01-2025 21:02 via games.slashdot.org
  
  Sony's PlayStation has canceled previously unannounced games at two of its top subsidiaries, the company said. From a report: The games, at Oregon-based Bend Studio and Texas-based Bluepoint Games, were both "live service" projects designed to draw recurring revenue from players. A company spokesperson confirmed the cancellations.
  In a statement, the spokesperson said the two games were canceled "following a recent review" and that PlayStation will continue making both online and single-player g
  
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• Microsoft Begins Forcing Windows 24H2 Updates on PCs

  17-01-2025 20:21 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Microsoft began mandatory rollouts of the Windows 11 2024 Update (24H2) for eligible devices running Home and Pro editions, the company announced on its Windows 11 issues page. The update, which Microsoft describes as a "full code swap," requires longer installation times, with users reporting processes exceeding an hour.
  While users can briefly postpone the installation, the company is now pushing updates to mainstream users not managed by IT departments. The 24H2 update introduces USB4's 80Gbp
  
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• CEO of Chinese Smartphone Brand Honor Resigns Due To Personal Reasons

  17-01-2025 19:41 via mobile.slashdot.org
  
  George Zhao, the chief executive of Chinese smartphone firm Honor, has resigned from his position due to personal reasons, the company said on Friday. CNBC: "The company and the Board of Directors sincerely appreciate Mr Zhao's outstanding contributions to the company during his tenure," Honor said in a statement.
  Jian Li, who's been at Honor for four years in various senior management positions, will succeed Zhao as CEO. In an internal memo posted by Chinese media and confirmed as accurate by a
  
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• Google Begins Requiring JavaScript For Google Search

  17-01-2025 18:50 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Google says it has begun requiring users to turn on JavaScript, the widely-used programming language to make web pages interactive, in order to use Google Search. From a report: In an email to TechCrunch, a company spokesperson claimed that the change is intended to "better protect" Google Search against malicious activity, such as bots and spam, and to improve the overall Google Search experience for users. The spokesperson noted that, without JavaScript, many Google Search features won't work
  
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• Microsoft Research: AI Systems Cannot Be Made Fully Secure

  17-01-2025 18:21 via it.slashdot.org
  
  Microsoft researchers who tested more than 100 of the company's AI products concluded that AI systems can never be made fully secure, according to a new pre-print paper. The 26-author study, which included Azure CTO Mark Russinovich, found that large language models amplify existing security risks and create new vulnerabilities. While defensive measures can increase the cost of attacks, the researchers warned that AI systems will remain vulnerable to threats ranging from gradient-based attacks t
  
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• AI Tools Crack Down on Wall Street Trader Code Speak

  17-01-2025 17:40 via slashdot.org
  
  Compliance software firms are deploying AI to decode complex trader communications and detect potential financial crimes as Wall Street and London regulators intensify scrutiny of market manipulation.
  Companies like Behavox and Global Relay are developing AI tools that can interpret trader slang, emoji-laden messages and even coded language that traditional detection systems might miss, WSJ reports. The technology aims to replace older methods that relied on scanning for specific trigger words,
  
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• Canon Draws Fire for Charging Subscription Fee To Use Cameras as Webcams

  17-01-2025 17:00 via it.slashdot.org
  
  Canon is requiring users to pay a monthly subscription fee to fully use their cameras as webcams on computers. The company's new EOS Webcam Utility software restricts features like HD resolution, brightness adjustments and color correction unless users pay $4.99 monthly or $49.99 annually.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
  
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• Supreme Court Upholds Law Banning TikTok If It's Not Sold By Its Chinese Parent Company

  17-01-2025 16:18 via news.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: The Supreme Court on Friday unanimously upheld the federal law banning TikTok beginning Sunday unless it's sold by its China-based parent company, holding that the risk to national security posed by its ties to China overcomes concerns about limiting speech by the app or its 170 million users in the United States.
  A sale does not appear imminent and, although experts have said the app will not disappear from existing users' phones once the law takes effect on
  
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• Intel Acquisition Target of Mystery Suitor, SemiAccurate Reports

  17-01-2025 15:14 via slashdot.org
  
  Tech news and research site SemiAccurate is reporting that an unidentified company is seeking to acquire Intel in its entirety. The publication -- citing a confidential email that it reviewed and a subsequent confirmation from a second source -- said the prospective buyer has not publicly disclosed its interest but has sufficient resources to purchase Intel at current valuations.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
  
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• Why Fires Spread Quickly in Modern Cities

  17-01-2025 15:00 via science.slashdot.org
  
  Scientists warn that the devastating fires that killed at least 24 people and destroyed more than 12,000 structures in Los Angeles represent a new type of urban firestorm, distinct from traditional wilderness blazes. In densely populated areas, buildings themselves become fuel, creating a chain reaction of destruction, researchers reported Friday in Nature.
  The fires were intensified by steep terrain, powerful winds and a climate pattern of extreme wet-to-dry conditions that created abundant fue
  
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• Indonesia Plans Minimum Age For Social Media Use

  17-01-2025 13:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Indonesia plans to issue a regulation to set a minimum age for users of social media, a move aimed at protecting children, its communications minister has said. From a report: The plans follows Australia's decision to ban children under 16 from accessing social media, with fines for tech giants from Instagram and Facebook owner Meta to TikTok if they failed to prevent children accessing their platforms. Minister Meutya Hafid did not say what the minimum age would be in Indonesia. Her remarks, ma
  
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• CISA and FBI Release Updated Guidance on Product Security Bad Practices

  17-01-2025 13:00 via cisa.gov
  In partnership with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), CISA released an update to joint guidance Product Security Bad Practices in furtherance of CISA’s Secure by Design initiative. This updated guidance incorporates public comments CISA received in response to a Request for Information, adding additional bad practices, context regarding memory-safe languages, clarifying timelines for patching Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEVs), and other recommendations.
  While this voluntary g
  
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• GM Banned From Selling Your Driving Data For Five Years

  17-01-2025 11:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  The FTC announced Thursday that it's banned General Motors and its subsidiary OnStar from selling customer geolocation and driving behavior data for five years. The Verge reports: The settlement comes after a New York Times investigation found that GM had been collecting micro-details about its customers' driving habits, including acceleration, braking, and trip length -- and then selling it to insurance companies and third-party data brokers like LexisNexis and Verisk. Clueless vehicle owners w
  
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• Google Won't Add Fact Checks Despite New EU Law

  17-01-2025 08:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  According to Axios, Google has told the EU it will not add fact checks to search results and YouTube videos or use them in ranking or removing content, despite the requirements of a new EU law. From the report: In a letter written to Renate Nikolay, the deputy director general under the content and technology arm at the European Commission, Google's global affairs president Kent Walker said the fact-checking integration required by the Commission's new Disinformation Code of Practice "simply isn
  
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• 'Everything We Were Taught About Success Is Wrong'

  17-01-2025 04:30 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Megan Hellerer, a career coach and founder of Coaching for Underfulfilled Overachievers, offers an alternative to the relentless "hustle culture" and "destinational living" mindsets, which often emphasize long-term goals at the expense of present happiness. "There's another way and I call it directional living," writes Hellerer. "Here's the catch: I can't find fulfilment for you. The good news is that it's all up to you..." An anonymous Slashdot reader shares an excerpt from the report published
  
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• Google Strikes World's Largest Biochar Carbon Removal Deal

  17-01-2025 02:50 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Google has partnered with Indian startup Varaha to purchase 100,000 tons of carbon dioxide removal credits by 2030, marking its largest deal in India and the largest involving biochar, a carbon removal solution made from biomass. TechCrunch reports: The offtake agreement credits will be delivered to Google by 2030 from Varaha's industrial biochar project in the western Indian state of Gujarat, the two firms said on Thursday. [...] Biochar is produced in two ways: artisanal and industrial. The ar
  
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• AT&T Kills Home Internet Service In New York Over Law Requiring $15 Plans

  17-01-2025 02:10 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  Ars Technica's Jon Brodkin reports: AT&T has stopped offering its 5G home Internet service in New York instead of complying with a new state law that requires ISPs to offer $15 or $20 plans to people with low incomes. New York started enforcing its Affordable Broadband Act yesterday after a legal battle of nearly four years. [...] The law requires ISPs with over 20,000 customers in New York to offer $15 broadband plans with download speeds of at least 25Mbps, or $20-per-month service with 20
  
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• Toyota Unit Hino Motors Reaches $1.6 Billion US Diesel Emissions Settlement

  17-01-2025 01:30 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: Toyota Motor unit Hino Motors has agreed a $1.6 billion settlement with U.S. agencies and will plead guilty over excess diesel engine emissions in more than 105,000 U.S. vehicles, the company and U.S. government said on Wednesday. The Japanese truck and engine manufacturer was charged with fraud in U.S. District Court in Detroit for unlawfully selling 105,000 heavy-duty diesel engines in the United States from 2010 through 2022 that did not meet
  
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• Starship Rocket Breaks Up Mid-Flight, But SpaceX Catches Booster Again After Launch

  17-01-2025 01:10 via science.slashdot.org
  
  SpaceX conducted its seventh test flight of the Starship rocket on Thursday with mixed results. The upper stage was lost nine minutes after launch, but the Super Heavy booster successfully landed back at the launch site, marking a second successful recovery. CNBC reports: SpaceX said in a post on X that the ship broke up during its ascent burn and that it would "continue to review data from today's flight test to better understand root cause." After the rocket lost communication, social media us
  
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• PC Gaming Has Been Outperforming Console For Years, Report Finds

  17-01-2025 00:50 via games.slashdot.org
  
  A recent 200-page report published by Epyllion reveals that PC gaming has been outperforming consoles over the last decade, "breezing past console platforms and generating more content spending and revenue," reports Insider Gaming. From the report: One slide revealed that since 2011, PC's content spend has dominated 'living room' console revenue by more than 65%, and it has earned 225% more than 'combined console' spend. That's a total of $30 billion if you want to put a number on it. Those numb
  
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• Apple Pulls AI-Generated Notifications For News After Generating Fake Headlines

  17-01-2025 00:10 via apple.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from CNN: Apple is temporarily pulling its newly introduced artificial intelligence feature that summarizes news notifications after it repeatedly sent users error-filled headlines, sparking backlash from a news organization and press freedom groups. The rare reversal from the iPhone maker on its heavily marketed Apple Intelligence feature comes after the technology produced misleading or altogether false summaries of news headlines that appear almost identica
  
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