Author: esimantiras

New, New Solid-State Battery News From MIT

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source: cleantechnica.com  |  images:  pixabay.com  |  contributed by Artemus FAN Steve Page

 

We all know — or think we know — that a solid-state battery is better than a battery with a liquid or semi-liquid electrolytes. A solid-state battery has a lower risk of thermal runaway (what ordinary people call fires). It also has a higher energy density, can charge and discharge more rapidly, performs better in cold temperatures, and lasts longer. So why isn’t everyone using them to power their battery electric vehicles?

The answer is, nobody knows how to manufacture them outside of the laboratory — yet — but scientists are getting closer all the time. According to MIT, one of the main stumbling blocks to making a solid-state battery is that instabilities in the boundary between the solid electrolyte layer and the two electrodes on either side can dramatically shorten its life. Adding special coatings to improve the bonding between the layers solves some of the problems but adds to the expense of manufacturing.

A team of researchers at MIT and Brookhaven National Laboratory has come up with a way of achieving results that equal or surpass the durability of coated surfaces without the need for coatings. The key is to eliminate any trace of carbon dioxide during a critical step in the manufacturing process known as sintering.

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Apple Just Gave AirTag Owners a Major Warning

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It’s a lesson in platform responsibility.

 

source: Inc.com  |  image: pexels.com  | contributed by Artemus FAN Steve Page

Apple’s AirTag trackers are one of the most useful, yet controversial products the company has introduced in a long time. They’re great for sticking in or on things you might lose, like your keys, for example. I have several, and they’re great. I don’t tend to lose things, but there have been a few times when they give me extra peace of mind, knowing that my backpack isn’t going to accidentally disappear. 

The problem is that, simply put, AirTags work too well. Everything about them is perfect for something you want to track. They’re small, they’re very accurate, and they exist in an ecosystem of a billion iPhones capable of transmitting their location back to you.

As a result, they’re also ripe for abuse. A New York Times article this week demonstrated just how easy it is to track someone using an AirTag. That might not seem like a problem if you’re talking about your son riding his bike, but it gets problematic quickly when you think about the nefarious possibilities. 

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War in Ukraine Brings Out Scammers Trying to Exploit Donations

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War in Ukraine Brings Out Scammers Trying to Exploit Donations

source: cnet.com | Photo by Katie Godowski from Pexels

 

The world has responded to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with an outpouring of support for the Ukrainian people. That hasn’t escaped the notice of scammers, who are all too willing to take advantage of people’s desire to help.

One scam email sports a logo in the blue and yellow colors of the Ukrainian flag. It asks for donations to a humanitarian organization in the form of US dollars and a handful of cryptocurrencies. Other bogus emails ask recipients to send money to help children or to buy weapons for the Ukrainian military.

Fake charity websites are popping up, too. Researchers at ESET, a Slovakia-based antivirus company, said they’d discovered a handful of sites using the colors of Ukraine’s flag and dramatic images of soldiers and explosions. The websites solicit “aid,” ESET said, but they don’t provide specifics as to how the money will be used.

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Microsoft App Store Sizzling with New ‘Electron Bot’ Malware

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Microsoft App Store Sizzling with New ‘Electron Bot’ Malware

source: threatpost.com  |  image: pexels.com

 

 

The SEO poisoning bot, capable of full system takeover, is actively taking over social media accounts, masquerading as popular games like Temple Run.

A backdoor malware that can take over social-media accounts – including Facebook, Google and Soundcloud – has infiltrated Microsoft’s official store by cloning popular games such as Temple Run or Subway Surfer.

The backdoor, dubbed Electron Bot, gives attackers complete control over compromised machines. Among the multiple evil deeds it can execute remotely, it enables its operators to register new accounts, log in, and comment on and like other social media posts – all in real time.

In a Thursday report, Check Point Research (CPR) said that the malware has claimed more than 5,000 victims in 20 countries – most from Bermuda, Bulgaria, Russia, Spain and Sweden– in its actively ongoing onslaught.

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Why Technical Surveillance Countermeasures Matter

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WHY TECHNICAL SURVEILLANCE COUNTERMEASURES MATTER

 

source: nvestigations.com  |  Image: pexels.com

When most people think of security, they picture physically protected people and properties. However, in the modern world, this frequently isn’t enough. Digital and electronic security are equally important. That is why technical surveillance countermeasures, also known as bug sweeps, are a must-do form of security for most businesses.

What Are TSCM?

TSCM is a category of countersurveillance. They are tools and techniques that help security professionals defend against covert surveillance using “bugs” and other electronic equipment. These are some example of the types of surveillance devices that you may need to be concerned about:

  • Microphones
  • Cameras
  • Voice recorders
  • Intercom system bugs
  • Phone bugs
  • Consumer electronics (many bugs are repurposed toys and gadgets)
  • Baby monitors/nanny cams

Bug sweeps help to detect these devices so they can be removed or neutralized. Electronic surveillance devices often emit electromagnetic radiation, often in the form of radio waves.

Examples of electronic countermeasures include multimeters, radio frequency field detectors, near field detectors, and feedback detectors. These can be used to sweep for any bugs emitting radiation.

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PODCAST: The threat of cyber-warfare

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The threat of cyber-warfare

source: economist.com  |  image: pixabay.com

Our podcast on the science and technology making the news. This week we investigate the technology and tactics of digital warmongering, and assess why Russia hasn’t yet wielded its cyber power

Click below to listen

THE CONFLICT in Ukraine has brought renewed fear of a global cyber-war. We explain the technology behind the digital threat and its role in modern warfare. And, why hasn’t Russia carried out large-scale cyber-attacks so far? Alok Jha hosts. Runtime: 42 min

Apple AirTags can be used to track you. How to protect yourself.

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Apple AirTags can be used to track you. How to protect yourself.

 

source: cnet.com  |  image by apple.com

 

AirTags can be used to stalk someone’s location. Here are some tips to safeguard against the risk.

Apple’s AirTag tracking devices promise to help you locate lost keys, bags or other items — but there’s also a risk that someone  could use one of the small discs to try to track you.

Apple has built-in certain protections to discourage unwanted tracking, but it’s still possible for someone to slip an AirTag into your bag or car without your consent and track your location. And unfortunately, there are few ways to detect if someone is using an AirTag (or any similar device, like a Tile or Samsung SmartTag tracker) to follow you. 

“Location tracking is a serious concern for survivors and a common tactic of abuse,” said Erica Olsen, director of the Safety Net Project at the nonprofit National Network to End Domestic Violence. “Apple is getting a lot of attention because of the size of their network, which can make these devices more precise than other similar tracking devices. We are concerned about all possible tracking options because of the safety risks.” 

So what can you do to try to protect yourself from being tracked by an AirTag? 

New tech, old privacy concerns 

AirTags use a combination of sensors, wireless signals and Apple’s extensive Find My network to help people locate lost items. Apple built in several safeguards to prevent the devices from being used to track people — an industry first. However, many have noted that those protections may not be enough to protect victims. 

At launch, these included a notification that says “AirTag Found Moving With You” — but only if you have an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch running iOS or iPadOS 14.5 or later. In June, Apple said it was working on an Android app to notify those users of unwanted AirTags traveling with them as well, to be released later this year. 

Apple also initially had AirTags make a noise if separated from their owner after three days. With the update, that alarm will sound at a random time inside a window lasting between 8 and 24 hours. 

The privacy concerns around AirTags are part of a larger issue, Olsen said. 

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How SpaceX’s new mission hopes to improve life here on Earth

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How SpaceX’s New Mission Hopes to Improve Life

Here On Earth

source: fastcompany.com  |  image by pixabay.com 

 

Polaris Dawn’s crew will test Elon Musk’s Starlink broadband satellite constellation—and raise money for St. Jude, too.

One of SpaceX’s upcoming missions will send astronauts farther from Earth than they’ve traveled at any time since the early 1970s—with hopes of upgrading health care and communications for the rest of us stuck down here.

Polaris Dawn, announced on Monday, will be the first of three privately-funded spaceflights commissioned by Jared Isaacman, the financial-services billionaire and pilot who led and paid for last year’s Inspiration4 mission.

With Polaris Dawn, Isaacman and SpaceX have set their sights higher. Plans for this mission, set to launch no earlier than the fourth quarter of 2022 from the Kennedy Space Center using SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft, include breaking an 853-mile altitude record for Earth orbit that’s stood for more than half a century and staging the first private spacewalk.

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Free Cybersecurity Tools and Services List Published by CISA

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Free Cybersecurity Tools and Services List

Published by CISA

 

source: pewresearch.org  | image by pixabay.com

 

Asked to ‘imagine a better world online,’ experts hope for a ubiquitous – even immersive – digital environment that promotes fact-based knowledge, offers better defense of individuals’ rights, empowers diverse voices and provides tools for technology breakthroughs and collaborations to solve the world’s wicked problems

 

This report is the second of two analyzing the insights of hundreds of technology experts who responded in the summer of 2021 to a canvassing of their predictions about the evolution of online public spaces and their role in democracy in the coming years. In response to the primary research question, many said they expect that these forums will be significantly improved by 2035 if reformers, big technology firms, governments and activists tackle the problems created by misinformation, disinformation and toxic discourse. At the same time, they expressed ongoing concerns about the destructive forces in culture and technology that could continue to plague online life and disrupt beneficial change in the coming years.

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TrickBot Ravages Customers of Amazon, PayPal and Other Top Brands

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TrickBot Ravages Customers of Amazon, PayPal and Other Top Brands

source: threatpost.com  |  image by pixabay.com

 

The resurgent trojan has targeted 60 top companies to harvest credentials for a wide range of applications, with an eye to virulent follow-on attacks.

Cyberattackers are targeting 60 different high-profile companies with the TrickBot malware, researchers have warned, with many of those in the U.S. The goal is to attack those companies’ customers, according to Check Point Research (CPR), which are being cherry-picked for victimization.

According to a Wednesday CPR writeup, TrickBot is targeting well-known brands that include Amazon, American Express, JPMorgan Chase, Microsoft, Navy Federal Credit Union, PayPal, RBC, Yahoo and others.

“Trickbot attacks high-profile victims to steal the credentials and provide its operators access to the portals with sensitive data where they can cause greater damage,” researchers noted in their report.

On the technical front, the variant that’s being used in the campaign has also added three interesting modules, and new de-obfuscation and anti-analysis approaches, researchers added.

TrickBot’s Back with a New Bag

The TrickBot malware was originally a banking trojan, but it has evolved well beyond those humble beginnings to become a wide-ranging credential-stealer and initial-access threat, often responsible for fetching second-stage binaries such as ransomware.

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