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Showing posts from August, 2020

Attackers are trying to exploit a high-severity zeroday in Cisco gear

Exploits can exhaust memory in hardware used by telecoms and cloud providers. https://bit.ly/3bbbBGP

AT&T reportedly trying to sell DirecTV after massive customer losses

Sale could value DirecTV at much less than $49B AT&T paid in 2015, reports say. https://bit.ly/2EHRpjA

Going all-in on remote work: The technical and cultural changes

The new way of work requires a new way of managing, whether you like it or not. https://bit.ly/32wFcGQ

Russian tourist offered employee $1 million to cripple Tesla with malware

“This was a serious attack,” Elon Musk says. https://bit.ly/2EF0CZV

TikTok CEO quits as company reportedly plans sale to Microsoft, Walmart

Can’t do global work if the White House is forcing sale of US business, Mayer said. https://bit.ly/34AhjAJ

5G in US averages 51Mbps while other countries hit hundreds of megabits

It's an upgrade over 4G but not a huge one due to reliance on low-band spectrum. https://bit.ly/3b0lPtm

Feds avert Russian man’s $1 million plot to infect Nevada company’s network

The MO? If you can't hack a network, pay big money for an employee to infect it. https://bit.ly/31u06ac

Code-execution bug in Pulse Secure VPN threatens patch laggards everywhere

If you haven't updated Pulse Secure VPN, now would be an excellent time to do so. https://bit.ly/32qguYx

Ars readers on the present and future of work

“It will suck, until it suddenly stops sucking.” https://bit.ly/2Enoj9e

Apple apologizes to WordPress, no longer requires free app to add purchases

Apple, under pressure, is getting a little jumpy with its App Store enforcement. https://bit.ly/3grilRE

Microsoft backs Epic against Apple in legal fight over Unreal Engine on iOS

MS says maintaining Epic’s access “is the right thing for... developers & gamers.” https://bit.ly/34sshrP

Bridgefy, the messenger promoted for mass protests, is a privacy disaster

Researchers notified the company in April of serious flaws that have yet to be fixed. https://bit.ly/2Qmak68

Respawn point: The inevitable reincarnation of the corporate office

Forget the utopian visions—nothing ever happens neatly, or without struggle. https://bit.ly/34hLM6x

Apple helped US government build a secret iPod, former engineer says

iPod engineer says only four people inside Apple knew of project. https://bit.ly/2Yh3Jht

AT&T, T-Mobile fight speed tests that could prove their coverage maps wrong

Carriers oppose FCC drive-test mandate despite history of exaggerating coverage. https://bit.ly/2YikhWu

Want Verizon or AT&T 5G? You’ll have to buy an expensive unlimited plan

5G technically doesn't cost extra, but it's only in the pricier unlimited plans. https://bit.ly/2Efs00z

The Golden Age of computer user groups

Long before subreddits, computer enthusiasts used to get together—in-person! https://bit.ly/2E6NBZf

Booze and cruise providers are the latest to be hit by ransomware scourge

Jack Daniel's distiller and Carnival cruise operator both warn of personal data theft. https://bit.ly/347zRbk

FCC asks for more public input on whether to let Charter impose data caps

FCC reopens docket after court ruled Charter can charge for network connections. https://bit.ly/2FtoVua

Apple threatens to boot Epic—including Unreal Engine—off Mac and iOS

Fortnite is just one game; Unreal Engine powers dozens more. https://bit.ly/2YccA45

SpaceX Starlink speeds revealed as beta users get downloads of 11 to 60Mbps

Ookla tests aren't showing the gigabit speeds SpaceX teased, but it's early. https://bit.ly/3g1ZGeZ

Spooky action at a distance: The future magic of remote collaboration

In a world where you have to social distance, how do you scrum? https://bit.ly/2Y1a94g

FCC beats cities in court, helping carriers avoid $2 billion in local 5G fees

Judges uphold FCC preemption of city rules, including limits on small-cell fees. https://bit.ly/3fVjy3J

Epic gives Fortnite players discounts for skirting Apple, Google fees

Epic was not shy about its frustrations with Apple and Google's 30% cut of sales. https://bit.ly/3kB8E6y

Hackers can eavesdrop on mobile calls with $7,000 worth of equipment

VoLTE calls were supposed to be more secure. A fatal flaw can unravel that promise. https://bit.ly/3iBP9ZN

Firefox maker Mozilla lays off 250 workers, says COVID-19 lowered revenue

Mozilla reduces investment in developer tools and platform feature development. https://bit.ly/2Cle7gy

0days, a failed patch, and a backdoor threat. Update Tuesday highlights

A few of the more notable updates in this month's patch batch from Microsoft. https://bit.ly/30NYkjF

Charter tries to convince FCC that broadband customers want data caps

Charter petitioned FCC to eliminate merger condition that forbids data caps. https://bit.ly/3adPM94

Why movie theaters are in trouble after DOJ nixes 70-year-old case

The end of Paramount could eventually make your local theater a Disneyplex. https://bit.ly/3afFGEw

AT&T to lay off 600 at HBO and Warner Bros. after revenue decline

AT&T’s WarnerMedia suffered across-the-board revenue drops in Q2. https://bit.ly/31BLqEF

Chinese hackers have pillaged Taiwan’s semiconductor industry

Operation Skeleton Key has stolen source code, SDKs, chip designs, and more. https://bit.ly/31sycde

The quest to liberate $300,000 of bitcoin from an old ZIP file

A few quintillion possible decryption keys stand between a man and his cryptocurrency. https://bit.ly/30C6N9K

Trump declares TikTok, WeChat “national emergency,” preps bans

Admin’s “Clean Networks” initiative aims to curtail Chinese tech firms in the US. https://bit.ly/2XBDuCo

Lawn chairs and kitchen tables: Ergonomics in the involuntary work-from-home era

Or, how to work at home for the long haul without violating workplace health and safety laws. https://bit.ly/33C2u07

More than 20GB of Intel source code and proprietary data dumped online

"Exconfidential Lake" leak includes docs Intel provided under NDA as recently as May. https://bit.ly/2EQ3eEj

Insecure satellite Internet is threatening ship and plane safety

Attacks that worked 10 years ago have only gotten worse despite growing use. https://bit.ly/3gymB2Q

Beware of find-my-phone, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth, NSA tells mobile users

And don't forget to limit ad tracking. Advisory contains a host of recommendations. https://bit.ly/2XJQRk3

EU launching deep probe into Google’s planned $2.1 billion Fitbit buy

Google could both abuse the data and also lock out competitors, EU regulators warn https://bit.ly/31m36E2

SpaceX now plans for 5 million Starlink customers in US, up from 1 million

SpaceX asks FCC for license expansion after 700,000 people register interest. https://bit.ly/2BYfrpA

Trump administration gives TikTok 45 days to sell to Microsoft or leave US

Short-form video platform beloved by teens seen as a national security threat. https://bit.ly/3k5wd7i

What’s this? A bipartisan plan for AI and national security

More Pentagon spending, a Cold War-style "hotline," and a curb on chip exports to China. https://bit.ly/3i09OGS