Posts made by mlnews

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UK worries Starlink and OneWeb may interfere with each other, plans new rules

Ofcom says complexity of giant satellite networks raises interference concerns.
A UK government agency is worried that OneWeb, SpaceX's Starlink, and similar low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite-broadband systems could block each others' signals. Ofcom, the UK's communications regulator, proposed new rules today in a report that details its interference concerns. Ofcom also said it intends to amend satellite licenses already issued to SpaceX and OneWeb to require coordination of frequency use. Without new requirements, the risk of interference could prevent competition by shutting new players out of the market, Ofcom said.

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Over-60s with only virtual contact 'more lonely'

Over-60s who relied on only telephone and online contact felt more lonely during the pandemic, a study suggests.
"Virtual contact on its own is not beneficial to older adults' mental health," researcher Dr Yang Hu of Lancaster University told the BBC. However, when used to supplement face-to-face contact, it was associated with "enhanced mental wellbeing". But researchers stress their findings reveal an association, not causation - and more research is needed. The study, published in the journal Frontiers in Sociology, was conducted by Dr Yang Hu and Dr Yue Qian, at the University of British Columbia in Canada. The researchers used data collected from 5,148 older people aged 60 or over in the UK and 1,391 in the US, surveyed both before and during the pandemic.

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Tokyo Olympics: 2020 Games begin as Naomi Osaka lights Olympic flame in poignant ceremony

The honour fell to Naomi Osaka to light the flame, the beacon of hope the Olympics attempts to be.
It marked the official opening of Tokyo 2020, a year later than planned, and in the midst of a global pandemic. Perhaps as expected, Friday's opening ceremony was not of the usual ilk. No carnival like Rio, no skydiving monarchs like London, but a more sombre tone, a sobering reminder that this is a Games taking place in a world still facing its toughest challenge. "Today is a moment of hope," said Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). "Yes, it is very different from what all of us had imagined. But let us cherish this moment because finally we are all here together." This Games is going to be different, dampened by masks, positive tests and the absence of fans. But it is still the Olympics; still the greatest show on Earth, still faster, higher, stronger and now together.

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Zuckerberg wants Facebook to become online 'metaverse'

Mark Zuckerberg has laid out his vision to transform Facebook from a social media network into a “metaverse company” in the next five years.
A metaverse is an online world where people can game, work and communicate in a virtual environment, often using VR headsets. The Facebook CEO described it as “an embodied internet where instead of just viewing content - you are in it”. He told The Verge people shouldn't live through “small, glowing rectangles”. “That’s not really how people are made to interact,” he said, speaking of reliance on mobile phones. “A lot of the meetings that we have today, you’re looking at a grid of faces on a screen. That’s not how we process things either.”

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Kaseya gets master decryptor to help customers still suffering from REvil attack

REvil ransomware struck as many as 1,500 networks, but a master key is now available.
Kaseya—the remote management software seller at the center of a ransomware operation that struck as many as 1,500 downstream networks—said it has obtained a decryptor that should successfully restore data encrypted during the Fourth of July weekend attack. Affiliates of REvil, one of the Internet’s most cutthroat ransomware groups, exploited a critical zero-day vulnerability in Miami, Florida-based Kaseya’s VSA remote management product. The vulnerability—which Kaseya was days away from patching—allowed the ransomware operators to compromise the networks of about 60 customers. From there, the extortionists infected as many as 1,500 networks that relied on the 60 customers for services.

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Akamai Edge DNS outage brings down Playstation Network, Steam, others

Contrary to popular belief, it's not always DNS... but it is today.
A massive Internet outage today has downdetector.com covered in warnings for popular websites and services such as the PlayStation Network, Steam, Fidelity Investments, Airbnb, FedEx, LastPass, UPS, Amazon, and others. The root cause of the outage appears to be a failure in Akamai's Edge DNS Service. Its system status page reports that Akamai is aware of "an emerging issue with the Edge DNS service"—one downgraded to "Minor Service Outage" with no further explanation as of press time.

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Covid: China rejects WHO plan for second phase of virus origin probe

China has rejected the next stage of a World Health Organization (WHO) plan to investigate the origins of the coronavirus pandemic.
The WHO wants to audit laboratories in the area the virus was first identified. But Zeng Yixin, deputy health minister, said this showed "disrespect for common sense and arrogance toward science". WHO experts said it was very unlikely the virus escaped from a Chinese lab, but the theory has endured. Investigators were able to visit Wuhan - the city where the virus was first detected in December 2019 - in January this year. But earlier this month WHO head Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus outlined the terms of the inquiry's next phase. This included looking at certain science research institutions.

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California sues Activision Blizzard over alleged harassment

One of the world's largest game companies is being taken to court over an alleged "frat boy" culture that discriminates against women.
Activision Blizzard is accused of unequal pay, promoting men over women, and widespread sexual harassment. California's Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) is taking legal action against the company, following a two-year investigation. ctivision called the action "disgraceful and unprofessional". And it called the DFEH "unaccountable state bureaucrats".

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China floods: 12 dead in Zhengzhou train and thousands evacuated in Henan

Twelve people have died after record-breaking rainfall flooded underground railway tunnels in China, leaving passengers trapped in rising waters.
Video shared on social media shows evening commuters just managing to keep their heads above water. Water is seen rushing onto platforms. More than 500 people were eventually rescued from the tunnels in Henan province, officials said. Days of rain have caused widespread damage and led to 200,000 evacuations. Above ground, roads have been turned into rivers, with cars and debris swept along in fast moving currents. A number of pedestrians have had to be rescued. More than a dozen cities in Henan province are affected. President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday that there had been "significant loss of life and damage to property". Several dams and reservoirs have breached warning levels, and soldiers have been mobilised to divert rivers which have burst their banks. Flights and trains in many parts of Henan have also been suspended.

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Zoom offers app store with team-building games

Zoom is integrating third-party apps into its video conferences, as it looks to stay ahead in the post-pandemic world.
It hopes that the addition of apps will "make meetings more engaging, more productive and actually even more fun". Zoom is betting on a future of hybrid working, and hoping to maintain its 300 million daily meeting participants. Experts say it is also keen to compete with rivals such as Microsoft Teams. Zoom already has a marketplace that has 1,500 apps, but they need to be downloaded and added to meetings separately. At launch, 50 apps will be available, including meeting planning app Asana and Dot Collector, which allows for real-time feedback and polling. In an interview with the BBC, Zoom's product lead for Apps, Ross Mayfield, explained how he saw apps being used in Zoom: "Using apps for things like taking notes, whiteboarding, logging action items and managing your tasks to make you more productive."

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Jeff Bezos launches to space aboard New Shepard rocket ship

Billionaire Jeff Bezos blasted into space on Tuesday, in the first crewed flight of his rocket ship, New Shepard.
He was accompanied by Mark Bezos, his brother, Wally Funk, an 82-year-old pioneer of the space race, and an 18-year-old student. They travelled in a capsule with the biggest windows flown in space, offering stunning views of the Earth. All four passengers have now parachuted safely back to Earth after their 10-minute, 10-second trip. New Shepard, built by Bezos' company Blue Origin, is designed to serve the burgeoning market for space tourism. On this flight was the oldest person who has been to space - Ms Funk - and the youngest, student Oliver Daemen. The spacecraft lifted off at 14:12 BST (09:12 EDT) from a private launch site near Van Horn, Texas.

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Apple under pressure over iPhone security after NSO spyware claims

Apple urged to work with rivals after alleged surveillance of journalists, activists.
Apple has come under pressure to collaborate with its Silicon Valley rivals to fend off the common threat of surveillance technology after a report alleged that NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware was used to target journalists and human rights activists. Amnesty International, which analyzed dozens of smartphones targeted by clients of NSO, said Apple’s marketing claims about its devices’ superior security and privacy had been “ripped apart” by the discovery of vulnerabilities in even the most recent versions of its iPhones and iOS software.

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Oregon Bootleg Fire: Evacuations as largest US fire burns 300,000 acres

In the US state of Oregon, the nation's largest active wildfire has burned through more than 300,000 acres, prompting thousands of evacuations.
The Bootleg Fire, already among the biggest in the state's recent history, is one of more than 80 major blazes raging across 11 western states. Fed by hot temperatures and intense winds, the Bootleg has been burning since 6 July. In neighbouring Canada, heat waves have also fuelled hundreds of fires. Wildfires have torn through more than 1.1m acres in the US - mainly in western states - according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Climate change increases the risk of the hot, dry weather that is likely to fuel wildfires. The world has already warmed by about 1.2C since the industrial era began and temperatures will keep rising unless governments around the world make steep cuts to emissions.

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China accused of cyber-attack on Microsoft Exchange servers

The UK, US and EU have accused China of carrying out a major cyber-attack earlier this year.
The attack targeted Microsoft Exchange servers, affecting at least 30,000 organisations globally. Western security services believe it signals a shift from a targeted espionage campaign to a smash-and-grab raid, leading to concerns Chinese cyber-behaviour is escalating. The Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS) has also been accused of wider espionage activity and a broader pattern of "reckless" behaviour. China has previously denied allegations of hacking and says it opposes all forms of cyber-crime. The unified call-out of Beijing shows the gravity with which this case has been taken. Western intelligence officials say aspects are markedly more serious than anything they have seen before.

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Hubble space telescope's function is restored

Engineers have restored the science instruments aboard the Hubble Space Telescope, after a glitch took them offline.
Astronomers can now begin collecting data for the first time since 13 June, when a computer stopped working. Last week, engineers began switching over to backup hardware, in a bid to get one of the most important research tools in history up and running again. It's the worst malfunction in years to hit the venerated observatory. "Hubble is an icon, giving us incredible insight into the cosmos over the past three decades," said Nasa's administrator Bill Nelson. "I'm proud of the Hubble team, from current members to Hubble alumni who stepped in to lend their support and expertise. Thanks to their dedication and thoughtful work, Hubble will continue to build on its 31-year legacy, broadening our horizons with its view of the Universe."

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Pegasus: Spyware sold to governments 'targets activists'

Rights activists, journalists and lawyers around the world have been targeted with phone malware sold to authoritarian governments by an Israeli surveillance firm, media reports say.
They are on a list of some 50,000 phone numbers of people believed to be of interest to clients of the company, NSO Group, leaked to major news outlets. It was not clear where the list came from - or how many phones had actually been hacked. NSO denies any wrongdoing. It says the software is intended for use against criminals and terrorists and is made available only to military, law enforcement and intelligence agencies from countries with good human rights records. It said the original investigation which led to the reports, by Paris-based NGO Forbidden Stories and the human rights group Amnesty International, was "full of wrong assumptions and uncorroborated theories".

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Mystery 19th Century botanist tracked down following appeal

A mystery 19th-Century botanist has been found, thanks to sleuthing work by the public.
Isabella Anne Allen had been known only by the secrets she left behind, tucked between the pages of an old book. But following an appeal for information, on the BBC News website, she has now been traced to the village of Madresfield, Worcestershire. Her story came to light when clues such as pressed flowers, poems and doodles were found inside The English Flora. Donated to the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) decades ago, the botanical text was rediscovered by staff sorting through boxes ahead of a move to a new library.

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Apple Watch lead Kevin Lynch shifts focus to car development

Evan Doll will take over some responsibilities leading health product strategy.
Another executive shuffle is underway at Apple, according to Insider. Kevin Lynch, a key Apple VP overseeing health and the Apple Watch, is moving into a new role working on Project Titan, Apple's car project. Lynch has been one of the most visible Apple leaders at WWDC and the company's various product unveiling events. He is one of the faces of Apple's health initiatives and the Apple Watch. The report doesn't go into much detail about what Lynch will be doing on the car project. Recently, Apple's automotive product development has been led by the company's AI chief, John Giannandrea.

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Climate change: Science failed to predict flood and heat intensity

Top climate scientists have admitted they failed to predict the intensity of the German floods and the North American heat dome.
They've correctly warned over decades that a fast-warming climate would bring worse bursts of rain and more damaging heatwaves. But they say their computers are not powerful enough to accurately project the severity of those extremes. They want governments to spend big on a shared climate super-computer. Computers are fundamental to weather forecasting and climate change, and computing will underpin the new climate science “Bible”, from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) next month.

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Disable the Windows print spooler to prevent hacks, Microsoft tells customers

The third serious Windows print flaw in 5 weeks prompts new Microsoft warning.
Microsoft hit yet another snag in its efforts to lock down the Windows print spooler, as the software maker warned customers on Thursday to disable the service to contain a new vulnerability that helps attackers execute malicious code on fully patched machines.The vulnerability is the third printer-related flaw in Windows to come to light in the past five weeks. A patch Microsoft released in June for a remote code-execution flaw failed to fix a similar but distinct flaw dubbed PrintNightmare, which also made it possible for attackers to run malicious code on fully patched machines. Microsoft released an unscheduled patch for PrintNightmare, but the fix failed to prevent exploits on machines using certain configurations.