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A Look Back at The Decade's Worst Hacks

Charlotte Henry ·

As the decade comes to an end, we’re all in a reflective mood. Wired looked back at some of the worst cybersecurity incidents of the last 10-years.

Over the last decade, hacking became less of a novelty and more of a fact of life for billions of people around the world. Regular people lost control of their data, faced invasive surveillance from repressive regimes, had their identities stolen, realized a stranger was lurking on their Netflix account, dealt with government-imposed internet blackouts, or, for the first time ever, literally found themselves caught in the middle of a destructive cyberwar. It’s been apparent for decades that an increasingly computerized world would inevitably invite constant digital threats. But the actual evolution of hacking—with all its scams, criminal black markets, and state sponsored forces—has been characteristically human, not a sterile, dispassionate artifact of an unknown future.

 

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Sling TV Adds News Channels and $5 to Monthly price

Charlotte Henry ·

Sling TV, the live-streaming TV service, added more news channels such as MSNBC and Fox News to its plans on Monday. Existing users will see a $5 increase in their monthly price, 9to5Mac reported.

The price jump means both Blue and Orange service plans will now start at $30/month each. Sling divides channels by plans to make access more affordable. Subscribers who want all channels can subscribe to plans at a new price of $45/month. Sling TV adds that the price increase is the first for the Blue plan since it launched four years ago and the first for the Orange plan since June 2018. During that period, new channels and features including Cloud DVR Free have been added to the service.

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AirPods Pro and Bluetooth Latency

Charlotte Henry ·

As with most Bluetooth devices, audio latency is a problem with AirPods. However, the composer and software developer Stephen Coyle found that Apple noticeably reduced it with the new AirPods Pros.

Looking to the AirPods first, there’s a very encouraging trend occurring. They drop from 274ms to 178ms going from the first to second generation, and the AirPods Pro take it down even further, to 144ms. While a 130ms reduction may not seem like a lot, the perceptual difference from this makes the AirPods Pro tantalisingly close to seamless. Keyboard clicks are near enough to their corresponding keypresses that they feel like they’re actually related to them, not just the cacophony of blips they had seemed before. Tapt is playable, but only just; there’s still additional cognitive load caused by the delay, which I’m sure affects other rhythm-based games equally, and risks upsetting the playability of games that rely heavily on audio cues. However, it’s a lot better, and it looks like things are heading very much in the right direction.

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EU Rules Selling Secondhand eBooks Infringes Copyright

Andrew Orr ·

A European court recently ruled that the unauthorized sale of secondhand eBooks infringes upon the owner’s copyrights.

“The decision is not only important for the book sector, but also for the music and film industry, because now also for music and film, downloaded copies may not be resold. The GAU / Media Federation is happy that after many years there is finally clarity about the application of copyright to e-books.

I’m not sure how you would tell the difference between a “used” eBook and new one, unless a proof of purchase was provided. But it’s unfortunate to me that, unlike physical goods, you can’t sell used digital goods.

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A Festivus for The Geeks in Us – Mac Geek Gab 794

John F. Braun · · Add Comment

Cool Stuff Found galore begins this episode, because that’s the spirit of the holiday season. Equally as important, though, are the airing of the grievances, and Mail.app provides a healthy platform for that…with some hints and tips, to be helpful, of course. After all, we each need to learn at least five new things! That’s not all: there are more tips and questions and answers here to enjoy, as well. Press play and join John, Dave, and the rest of the MGG Family for this week’s episode.

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NYT Reporters Used a Leaked Location Database to Track the President

Andrew Orr ·

I don’t think it’s hyperbole to call this piece “explosive”, “stunning” et cetera. Reporters at the New York Times found a database of location data containing “50 billion location pings from the phones of more than 12 million Americans.” These Americans included two Secret Service agents (and by extension the President), a Department of Defense official, CIA agents leaving for home, and much more. The article is a nightmare to browse because it’s one of their interactive ones, but it’s still worth the read.

The data reviewed by Times Opinion didn’t come from a telecom or giant tech company, nor did it come from a governmental surveillance operation. It originated from a location data company, one of dozens quietly collecting precise movements using software slipped onto mobile phone apps.

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The Launch of Boeing's Starliner Spacecraft Didn't go to Plan

Charlotte Henry ·

Boeing’s Starliner passenger spacecraft launched smoothly on Friday. However, as The Verge reported, things went wrong after that. It is now unable to dock with the International Space Station.

NASA and Boeing are working together to figure out what to do next with the spacecraft. Since the Starliner cannot reach the ISS, Boeing is going to try to bring it safely home, demonstrating how it will land on future missions. It’s possible that Starliner will return to Earth and land at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico in the next 48 hours. However, that’s not official yet, and Boeing says it will provide updates on what the team decides. Today’s botched launch is a big blow for both NASA and Boeing, which have been working for years to get to this flight. Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner is a critical part of NASA’s Commercial Crew program, an initiative to develop private US vehicles to transport astronauts to and from the International Space Station. During today’s test flight, Boeing planned to demonstrate Starliner’s ability to travel to space and dock with the station.

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Twitter Removed 5,929 Accounts Linked to 'State-Backed Information Operations'

Charlotte Henry ·

Twitter announced the removal of 5,929 accounts on Friday. It said the accounts were involved with a “state-backed information campaign” that originated in Saudi Arabia. They were part of a network that consisted of over 88,000 accounts, the firm said in a blog post.

Today, we are sharing comprehensive data about 5,929 accounts which we have removed for violating our platform manipulation policies. Rigorous investigations by our Site Integrity team have allowed us to attribute these accounts to a significant state-backed information operation on Twitter originating in Saudi Arabia. These accounts represent the core portion of a larger network of more than 88,000 accounts engaged in spammy behaviour across a wide range of topics. We have permanently suspended all of these accounts from the service. In order to protect the privacy of potentially compromised accounts repurposed to engage in platform manipulation, and in response to researcher feedback requesting that we pre-filter unrelated spam, we have not disclosed data for all 88,000 accounts. In the interest of offering meaningful transparency, the dataset we are disclosing includes a representative, random sample of the fake and spammy accounts associated with this broader network.

 

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The Day Steve Jobs Returned to Apple

Charlotte Henry ·

In many ways, Apple without Steve Jobs is unthinkable. Yet, of course, for a period of time, it happened. CultofMac reflected on the day he returned home.

The Apple co-founder didn’t just come as part of the NeXT package. He was a major part of the deal. “I’m not just buying software, I’m buying Steve,” Apple CEO Gil Amelio said at the time. As part of the deal, Jobs got 1.5 million shares of Apple stock. Jobs wasn’t initially intended to be Apple’s new CEO. Bizarrely, Amelio apparently thought Jobs could be contained as a creative force. Amelio figured he could continue running the company, and simply wheel out Jobs whenever Apple needed him.