Category: Just plain interesting!

That Time Chinese Intelligence Tried to Recruit Me

Posted on by esimantiras

That Time Chinese Intelligence Tried to Recruit Me

source: substack.com (contributed by Artemus founder, Bob Wallace  |  image: pexels.com

 

How I found myself on the receiving end of a Chinese spy recruitment pitch and stumbled into the strange new frontier of AI-assisted espionage.

 

If you’ve ever thought your inbox was full of suspiciously good offers—say, a Nigerian prince asking for your bank details—you may be missing out on another opportunity: being recruited by a foreign intelligence agency.

Yes, I’m here to report that I was pitched by what can only be described as a Chinese intelligence operation masquerading as a hedge fund consultancy. After 20 years of writing about foreign intelligence operations, I found myself in the middle of one.

Let me set the stage: it all began innocently enough on May 21, with a direct message on X from “Mary Taylor.” Her firm, the Visionary Advisory Group, was exploring the possibility of conflict between China and Taiwan, and I was just the guy whose opinion they wanted to hear about it.

Now, I’m really not that guy. I have at best a rudimentary understanding of the tensions in the Taiwan Strait. Don’t ask me to explain the “One China” policy or “strategic ambiguity.”

Continue reading “That Time Chinese Intelligence Tried to Recruit Me” →

World’s Smallest Pacemaker…

Posted on by esimantiras

World’s Smallest Pacemaker Goes in Via Syringe — And Dissolves When No Longer Needed

source: nicenews.com  |  image: pixabay.com

Scientists have developed a tiny pacemaker with tiny hearts in mind. A team of engineers at Northwestern University built a device that’s so small it can be inserted noninvasively via syringe and dissolves when it’s no longer needed. That makes it particularly well-suited for newborns with heart defects, who often only need temporary pacing.
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“We have developed what is, to our knowledge, the world’s smallest pacemaker,” bioelectronics pioneer John A. Rogers, who led the device development, told Northwestern Now. “There’s a crucial need for temporary pacemakers in the context of pediatric heart surgeries, and that’s a use case where size miniaturization is incredibly important. In terms of the device load on the body — the smaller, the better.”
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Experimental cardiologist Igor Efimov, who co-led the research, added that for most of the roughly 1% of children born with congenital heart defects, the heart self-repairs within about a week. “But those seven days are absolutely critical,” Efimov said. “Now, we can place this tiny pacemaker on a child’s heart and stimulate it with a soft, gentle, wearable device. And no additional surgery is necessary to remove it.”

​Watch a video of Rogers explaining how it works.​

 

That water bottle you’re carrying says a lot more than ‘hydration’

Posted on by esimantiras

That water bottle you’re carrying says a lot more than ‘hydration’

source: apnews.com  |  image: pexels.com

 

If you like to stay hydrated no matter where you go, chances are you’ve got a reusable water bottle or two. Or 10. (The collectors know who they are.)

Whether you’re a tech enthusiast, fashion trendsetter, hiker, commuter or just an eco-conscious consumer, there’s a bottle out there for you. There are bottles that sterilize themselves. Bottles that remind you when to drink. Bottles designed for sustainability. And bottles transformed by a paintbox of colors and imagery into mini artworks.

Hydration’s become more than a necessity. It’s got a personality. Continue reading “That water bottle you’re carrying says a lot more than ‘hydration’” →

CIA Leveraging Digital Transformation Tools in HUMINT Missions

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CIA Leveraging Digital Transformation Tools in HUMINT Missions

source: executivegov.com (contributed by FAN, Steve Page)  |  Image: pixabay.com

 

One of the United States’ most secretive agencies is using digital transformation tools such as AI and human-machine teaming as it tries to solve the nation’s toughest national security problems.

Since the CIA established the Directorate of Digital Innovation, or DDI, in 2015, the agency has increasingly encouraged entwining digital technology into its core human intelligence, or HUMINT, mission, where intelligence is obtained from human sources. Juliane Gallina, the CIA’s deputy director for digital innovation, said every DDI mission is guided by human-machine teaming, which starts with data and is improved with AI before being put to use by CIA agents. Continue reading “CIA Leveraging Digital Transformation Tools in HUMINT Missions” →

ChatGPT’s Deep Research just identified 20 jobs…

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ChatGPT’s Deep Research just identified 20 jobs it will replace. Is yours on the list?

source: zdnet.com (contributed by Artemus founder, Bob Wallace)  |  image: pexels.com

 

After researching 24 sources in seven minutes, ChatGPT came up with the top jobs that might be on the chopping block.

This week, OpenAI launched its Deep Research feature which can synthesize content from across the web into one detailed report in minutes leveraging a version of the company’s latest model, o3. 

This feature is a powerful tool for workers, as it can save them hours by completing research autonomously. But can the technology’s underlying model replace workers? Yes, suggests Deep Research. Continue reading “ChatGPT’s Deep Research just identified 20 jobs…” →

X is blocking links to Signal

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X is blocking links to Signal

source: theverge.com (contributed by FAN, Steve Page)  |  image: pexels.com

Users attempting to add their Signal.me URL to posts, DMs, and bio descriptions are being met with error messages.

X users are currently unable to post links to Signal.me, which are used to quickly and securely send direct messages to Signal users. A variety of failure notifications are being reported when X users attempt to post Signal links on the platform, some of which identify the blocked message as containing spam, harmful content, or malicious activity. Continue reading “X is blocking links to Signal” →

The Secrets of the Black Chamber…

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The Spy Who Exposed the Secrets of the Black Chamber, One of America’s First Code-Breaking Organizations

source: smithsonianmag.com (contributed by FAN, Bill Amshey)  |  image: pexels.com

In 1931, Herbert O. Yardley published a tell-all book about his experiences leading a covert government agency called the Cipher Bureau

Herbert O. Yardley was being followed. He knew it, as much as he knew something was off when a beautiful woman struck up a conversation with him at an illegal speakeasy in New York City in 1929. “Her friendliness was a bit forced,” he later recalled. “It did not seem reasonable for one of her beauty and charm to possess such warmth for a bald-headed man.” The drinks flowed liberally as Yardley sipped straight whiskey, only to let it run slowly through his lips into the ginger ale cup used as his chaser. The woman removed a compact mirror from her purse and disappeared into the ladies’ room. Yardley wasted no time in searching the purse but found nothing except $15, a key and two or three handkerchiefs.

At the end of the night, after Yardley helped the stranger home in a taxi, he waited until she fell asleep, then searched her apartment. In a dresser drawer, he found a typewritten note: “Have tried to reach you all day by telephone. See mutual friend at first opportunity. Important you get us information at once.” The cryptologist covered the woman with a blanket and quietly let himself out. Once again, he’d avoided falling into a spy’s trap. Even so, his days as the head of the top-secret Black Chamberagency were numbered.

READ THE FULL STORY AND VIEW THE MANY IMAGES FROM THIS FASCINATING SMITHSONIAN ARTICLE.  CLICK HERE

The scourge of “malvertising” is nothing new…

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Malicious Ads in Search Results Are Driving New Generations of Scams

source: wired.com (contributed by Artemus founder, Bob Wallace)  |  image: pixabay.com

 

The scourge of “malvertising” is nothing new, but the tactic is still so effective that it’s contributing to the rise of investment scams and the spread of new strains of malware.

MALICIOUS DIGITAL ADVERTISEMENTS and “SEO poisoning” that gets those ads to prime spots in search results have been mainstays of the digital scamming ecosystem for years. But as online crime evolves and malicious trends like “pig butchering” investment scams and infostealing malware proliferate, researchers say that so-called “malvertising” is still a key technique for scammers—and still a growing problem. Continue reading “The scourge of “malvertising” is nothing new…” →

US data-center power use could nearly triple by 2028

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US data-center power use could nearly triple by 2028, DOE-backed report says

source: finance.yahoo.com (contributed by Steve Page)  |  image: pixabay.com

 

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. data-center power demand could nearly triple in the next three years, and consume as much as 12% of the country’s electricity, as the industry undergoes an artificial-intelligence transformation, according to a Department of Energy-backed study that was first reported by Reuters.

The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory produced the report as the U.S. power industry and government attempt to understand how Big Tech’s data-center demand will affect electrical grids, power bills and the climate. Continue reading “US data-center power use could nearly triple by 2028” →

True story of a CIA plane crash in Death Valley

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The incredible true story of a CIA plane crash in Death Valley National Park

source: sfgate.com (contributed by Bill Amshey)  |  image: pixabay.com

 

The plane was part of a ‘super-secret operation’

On a cold, dark night in January 1952, a distress call went out over Death Valley.

“Mayday. Mayday. Mayday. This is Air Force 001 bailing out north of Barstow, California,” an official crash report would later read. Seconds later, six men jumped out of a 16-ton, two-engine, SA-16 Albatross plane into total darkness. The plane — with its backdoor hanging open — continued unmanned for a few moments, eventually crashing into a nearby desert mountain.

More than 70 years later, the metallic carcass is still there. Continue reading “True story of a CIA plane crash in Death Valley” →