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-- OriginalOwner_ writes:

TechDirt reports:

A team of hackers working for cybersecurity startup MedSec found a bevy of flaws in medical devices sold by St. Jude Medical Inc, ranging from a lack of overall encryption to vulnerabilities letting unauthorized devices communicate with the company's pacemakers and defibrillators. And while we've talked about the threat of hackable pacemakers for more than a decade, hackers are increasingly worming their way into poorly secured radiology equipment, blood gas analyzers and other hospital and nursing home equipment to steal data for identity theft, giving the threat an added dimension.

[...] Historically, many hackers and security firms either contact companies to alert them to vulnerabilities, or try to sell the not-yet-public vulnerabilities to corporate espionage and security firms or government agencies, who then happily exploit any impacted, unpatched systems (in this case, with potentially fatal results). But MedSec did something notably different. It reached out to the Muddy Waters Capital LLC investment firm, suggesting a partnership to short sell St. Jude stock before reporting the vulnerabilities to the FDA. Under the deal, MedSec makes more money the further shares fall.

Updated: El Reg reports:

"We're not saying the [MedSec] report [on St Jude Medical's implanted pacemakers and defibrillators] is false. We're saying it's inconclusive because the evidence does not support their conclusions. We were able to generate the reported conditions without there being a security issue", said Kevin Fu, [University of Michigan] associate professor of computer science and engineering and director of the Archimedes Center for Medical Device Security.

[...] MedSec's report [...] reads:

In many cases, the Crash Attack made the Cardiac Device completely unresponsive to interrogations from Merlin@home devices and Merlin programmers. It was therefore impossible to tell whether, and how the Cardiac Devices, are functioning. MedSec strongly suspects they were in many cases "bricked"--i.e., made to be non-functional. It is likely physicians would explant a device that did not respond to the programmer.

In some cases, a Cardiac Device subjected to a Crash Attack was still able to communicate with the programmer, and the information displayed was alarming.

According to U-M's team, though, the implanted pacemaker or defibrillators can and will continue operating as normal even if readings to the monitoring station are disrupted.

In other words, there's no conclusive evidence that the pacemaker or defibrillator actually stopped working after the radio communications were jammed. It's more of an annoyance for whoever is using the monitoring terminal than a potentially lethal situation.

MrPlow writes:

Submitted via IRC for Runaway1956

Flames once again licked the historic buildings of Britain's capital as a wooden replica of 17th century London went up in smoke to mark the 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of London.

The Great Fire began at a baker's shop in Pudding Lane in the early hours of Sept. 2, 1666, and spread rapidly through the wooden structures of the old city.

[...] The old, medieval St Paul's Cathedral was completely destroyed by the fire, and then rebuilt in its present form following the designs of architect Christopher Wren.

The wooden replica was designed by American artist David Best and built by unemployed young Londoners over several months.

Source: Reuters

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Original Submission

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

On a technological behemoth like a ship, in many cases the crew, or "human element" get little attention when planning the design and operations – a mistake, as statistics show: most accidents at sea can be traced back to human error, not technical error. The CyClaDes project brought the industry together and showed how more consideration can be given to the human operators and their contexts in the shipbuilding and operational process.

Ships are a safe means of transport. When something happens, ships are being planned and designed. How the crew can be included in the on-board procedures then either takes second chair or gets left out completely. "Established ergonomic concepts that improve the interaction between man and machine have, up to now, scarcely been implemented in the maritime industry. The reason often lies in the lack of communication or understanding between crews and engineers, who build the vessels and approve them. Even when there is a transfer of available knowledge, there are often still barriers to implementing it, such as extra costs and inherent risk in changes to a technically proven design," says Dr. Eric Holder of the Human-Machine System's Department of the Fraunhofer Institute for Communication, Information Processing and Ergonomics FKIE in Wachtberg near Bonn.

In the EU-sponsored CyClaDes (Crew-Centered Design and Operation of Ships and Ship Systems) project, the FKIE sat at one table with universities, professional organizations, shipbuilders, ship owners, government agencies and ship crews. The goal of the collaboration: To better integrate the "human factor" in the development phase and the life cycle of a ship – to make shipping even safer. The interdisciplinary team extensively analyzed the places on ships where human needs have been neglected up to now, discovered potential areas where processes could be improved and sent the latest research findings to the relevant parties involved.

[...]

This knowledge is critical since these days architects and engineers seldom go to sea and sailors hardly have any opportunities to meet with them and exchange ideas. Government agencies can use the guidelines and checklists developed during CyClaDes in regulatory standards and design guidelines or directly in the ship design audit.

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n1 writes:

Craig Murray has some thoughts on Uzbekistan's anti-terrorism policies in the wake of Islam Karmimov's death.

Hillary Clinton and John Kerry courted Islam Karimov, Uzbekistan's brutal dictator, every bit as assiduously as George Bush and Donald Rumsfeld.

The west is interested in gas, gold and uranium, but is still more entranced by the allure of the false gold of Uzbekistan's "successful" anti-terrorism strategy. Karimov was courted as the strong man who held Central Asia against Islamic fundamentalism. His methods – imprisoning, torturing and killing anybody who appeared religious – were viewed as admirable. That all reputable sources acknowledge that 10,000 people are imprisoned solely for their political and religious beliefs did not matter. That young men can be imprisoned or "disappeared" solely for growing a beard, or for praying five times a day, was viewed as "effective".

The truth is that western governments wished they could do the same thing. The very first words Karimov ever spoke to me were to congratulate me on the fact that Blair had just instituted detention without charge for terrorism suspects – a prime example of the effect abroad of western abandonment of civil liberties.

But of course banning legitimate religious expression does not halt extremism, it creates extremism through frustration. That is why there are so many Uzbeks fighting with ISIS or the IMU in Afghanistan, why it was Uzbeks who blew up Istanbul airport. Unreasonable repression creates terrorism, which is just the effect of the Prevent programme in the UK – or banning the burkini in France.

Western politicians' idealisation of Karimov shows the attraction to politicians of the idea of absolute power, and the simplicity of their approach to the complex issues being faced across the globe. The destruction of liberty is not the answer.

Craig Murray is an author, broadcaster and human rights activist. He was British Ambassador to Uzbekistan from August 2002 to October 2004 and Rector of the University of Dundee from 2007 to 2010.

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Original Submission

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

Chemists at The University of Texas at Arlington are developing novel ways to use metal ions to activate simple hydrocarbons present in natural gas or petroleum products to produce more complex molecules valuable to the chemical and pharmaceutical industries.

The research also involves developing a new portable, easy-to-use sensor to detect the presence of some specific gaseous hydrocarbons in plant product storage facilities. Current technology is more complex, expensive and not portable.

"We want to develop a new class of catalysts to do difficult chemistry, like activating inert molecules and converting them to more useful products," said Rasika Dias, UTA Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry and leader of the project. "Then we will study the properties of the reactive intermediates –— chemical substances produced during the conversion process, which usually involves a series of steps. Finally, we will also develop the new portable sensor for specific gaseous molecules like ethylene, which is a plant hormone, in a specific environment."

The project, supported by a three-year grant from the Welch Foundation, involves using highly fluorinated supporting ligands – molecules that bind to a central metal atom – on metals such as copper, silver and gold, to generate new types of reactive metal sites, Dias said.

Fluorine is the most electronegative of the elements, meaning it tends to "grab" electrons from other bonded atoms, including metal ions. As a result, the metal ions attached to fluorinated support ligands tend to go after or attract nearby molecules in search of electrons and activate them in the process.

During the past few years, Dias' laboratory has developed several highly fluorinated nitrogen-based ligands and utilized them successfully in the stabilization of reactive metal-containing species in bottleable form. Some of the metallic systems serve as catalysts to prepare pharmaceutical intermediates from cheap and widely available hydrocarbons and to activate oxygen for oxidation chemistry.

"This project is an attempt to extend this work to multi-metallic systems that are more relevant to heterogeneous catalysis and industrial processes," Dias said. "Fluorinated ligands, such as Teflon, are uniquely suitable for this work because they are robust and will produce long-lasting catalysts with highly active metal sites."

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An Anonymous Coward writes:

https://torrentfreak.com/warner-bros-flags-website-piracy-portal-160904/

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takyon writes:

Job automation and self-driving cars are fodder for a new report about the potential impacts of artificial intelligence:

A panel of academic and industrial thinkers has looked ahead to 2030 to forecast how advances in artificial intelligence (AI) might affect life in a typical North American city – in areas as diverse as transportation, health care and education ­– and to spur discussion about how to ensure the safe, fair and beneficial development of these rapidly emerging technologies. Titled "Artificial Intelligence and Life in 2030," this year-long investigation is the first product of the One Hundred Year Study on Artificial Intelligence (AI100), an ongoing project hosted by Stanford to inform societal deliberation and provide guidance on the ethical development of smart software, sensors and machines.

[...] The report investigates eight domains of human activity in which AI technologies are beginning to affect urban life in ways that will become increasingly pervasive and profound by 2030. The 28,000-word report includes a glossary to help non-technical readers understand how AI applications such as computer vision might help screen tissue samples for cancers or how natural language processing will allow computerized systems to grasp not simply the literal definitions, but the connotations and intent, behind words. The report is broken into eight sections focusing on applications of AI. Five examine application arenas such as transportation where there is already buzz about self-driving cars. Three other sections treat technological impacts, like the section on employment and workplace trends which touches on the likelihood of rapid changes in jobs and incomes.

The eight domains discussed in the report are Transportation, Home/service robots, Healthcare, Education, Low-resource communities, Public Safety and Security, Employment and [the] Workplace, and Entertainment (no mentions of sexbots here).

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takyon writes:

SpaceX will need to pay up for its destruction of an AMOS-6 satellite:

SpaceX may be on the hook to compensate Space Communication Ltd. (Spacecom) for the satellite that was destroyed during the explosion of a Falcon 9 rocket — either with a free trip or $50 million, according to Reuters .

The construction, launch preparation and operation of the AMOS-6 satellite, which would have been used to "significantly expand the variety of communications services provided by Spacecom," reportedly cost the company more than $195 million. The officials from the company also noted that it could also collect upwards of $205 million from Israel Aircraft Industries, which built the satellite. SpaceX hasn't said what kind of insurance it purchased for the rocket, or what that insurance might pay for, Reuters reported. SpaceX wasn't immediately available for comment.

The failure of the launch may also kill a deal for Beijing Xinwei Technology Group to acquire Spacecom.

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takyon writes:

Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd has filed for chapter 15 bankruptcy:

Troubled container shipper Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd (117930.KS) has filed for bankruptcy in the United States to protect its vessels from being seized by creditors, the [Wall Street Journal reported], citing a filing by the South Korean firm.

The company's troubles are causing some alarm about the effects on global trade:

Hanjin Shipping's market share stands at 2.9 percent of total container capacity, but the shipper's recent filing for court receivership is putting global commerce in a tight spot ahead of the key holiday season. The unraveling has sent spot freight rates soaring in recent days while its vessels are being blocked from docks at ports in large numbers, stranding their contents for now.

"There is an immediate impact, as shipments already loaded on Hanjin ships are expected to face delays as a result of creditor actions, and recovery could take weeks or even months to be resolved," said H.J. Tan, a consultant at Alphaliner. "Shipments that have not been loaded will also need to be unstuffed, and shippers will need to find alternative carriers that are able to carry them."

The good news is that since Hanjin's global market share is relatively small, it can be filled soon by competitors, he said. Hyundai Merchant Marine plans to step up services by deploying at least 13 of its ships to fill demand on two routes that had been exclusive to Hanjin, Reuters reported. [...] "The timing is unfortunate, as it coincides with the peak shipping season to the U.S. and Europe that typically runs from July to September," Tan said. For now, retailers are also watching the situation unfold.

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Original Submission

MrPlow writes (Submitted via IRC for Gravis):

A 5.6 magnitude earthquake struck Saturday morning near Pawnee, Oklahoma, rattling through at least six surrounding states in the US heartland, according to the US Geological Survey.

takyon: The story has been updated to note:

The Oklahoma Corporation Commission is telling operators to shut down 35 disposal wells that may have played a role in a 5.6-magnitude earthquake that shook at least six states Saturday, Gov. Mary Fallin said. The disposal wells, which are linked to fracking and other industries that need to dispose of toxic waste water by injecting it deep into the earth, have recently drawn concern that they may actually induce earthquakes.

USGS: M5.6 - 15km NW of Pawnee, Oklahoma

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Original Submission

takyon writes:

Multiple sources have reported that a paper about EmDrive has cleared peer review and will be published in December, although there is no certainty yet about whether NASA scientists have found evidence to support thrust apparently in violation of the law of conservation of momentum (and not within experimental error):

Long thought to be nothing more than a space dream, the EmDrive, a rocket propulsion technology that requires no propellant, has cleared peer review, the International Business Times reports. The new engine, first proposed 17 years ago, relies on microwaves for its thrust, which are fired into a metal cone, causing acceleration. The latest design, which will be published in the Journal of Propulsion, was the brainchild of scientists at NASA's experimental lab, Eagleworks Laboratories.

Also at Inverse.

Meanwhile, a company formed by Cannae Inc. has announced that it will launch a similar propulsion device into space to prove that it works:

On August 17, Cannae announced plans to launch its thruster on a 6U cubesat. Each unit is a 10-centimeter cube, so a 6U satellite is the size of a small shoebox. Approximately one quarter of this will be taken up by the drive. Fetta intends the satellite to stay on station for at least six months, rather than the six weeks that would be typical for a satellite this size at a altitude of 150 miles. The longer it stays in orbit, the more the satellite will show that it must be producing thrust without propellant.

Cannae has formed a company called Theseus with industrial partners LAI International of Tempe, AZ and SpaceQuest Ltd. of Fairfax, VA to launch the satellite. No launch date has yet been announced, but 2017 seems likely. "Once demonstrated on orbit, Theseus will offer our thruster platforms to the satellite marketplace," says the optimistic conclusion on their website.

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Original Submission

Open4D writes:

Last month an article was published in the (open access) Open Library of Humanities, "You have to keep track of your changes": The Version Variants and Publishing History of David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas, and picked up in the Guardian as Cloud Atlas 'astonishingly different' in US and UK editions, study finds. (Cloud Atlas is a 2004 sci-fi novel by David Mitchell.)

In the UK text, for example, Mitchell writes at one point that: "Historians still unborn will appreciate your cooperation in the future, Sonmi ~451. We archivists thank you in the present. [...] Once we're finished, the orison will be archived at the Ministry of Testaments. [...] Your version of the truth is what matters."

In the US edition, the lines are: "On behalf of my ministry, thank you for agreeing to this final interview. Please remember, this isn't an interrogation, or a trial. Your version of the truth is the only one that matters."

[more...]

n1 writes:

In the past two weeks, the Democratic presidential nominee has faced increased scrutiny from critics to take questions at a news conference — something she hasn't done in 273 days.

[...] New York Times columnist Jim Rutenberg criticized Clinton for her aversion toward the press in a searing piece on Sunday, and CNN senior media correspondent Brian Stelter has not been shy when offering his opinion.

"She is acting in some ways as if she is already president," Stelter said in a recent CNN appearance. "By not acknowledging the importance of a press conference, the uniqueness of a press conference — it makes me wonder how accessible she'd be in the White House as president."

[...] The campaign, which did not return requests for comment for this story, frequently cites a figure that asserts Clinton has granted more than 350 interviews this year.

[...] Holly Shulman, a former spokeswoman for the Democratic National Committee, told Business Insider that technology has changed the way candidates run for office and suggested there was less of a need to lean on the press to disseminate a message.

"Campaigns have changed," she said, noting that candidates can now reach voters directly through social media. "[T]his type of direct engagement has a much bigger impact on voters' decisions."

[...] Trump has continued to spotlight Clinton's refusal to take questions from the media in an open setting.

In recent weeks, the New York businessman's campaign has sent out an email each morning reminding reporters exactly how many days it has been since "hiding Hillary" last held a press conference.

[...] Brian Fallon, the campaign's top spokesman, seemed to acknowledge the importance of one on Friday. He promised ABC News that if elected, "Hillary Clinton will hold press conferences."

Source: Business Insider

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Original Submission

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

AMD and its primary fab partner GlobalFoundries have signed an updated five-year wafer supply agreement that will extend through the end of 2020. The restructuring simultaneously deepens the commitment between the partners and gives AMD limited freedom to see other foundries. In exchange, GlobalFoundries will get some additional compensation.

Per the terms of the agreement, which pertains to AMD's microprocessor, graphics processor, and semi-custom products, AMD will make $25 million cash installments to GlobalFoundries over the next four quarters, for a total cash transfer of $100 million. Beginning in 2017, AMD will be required to make quarterly payments to GlobalFoundries based on the volume of certain wafers it is obtaining from another foundry.

The agreement also stipulates annual wafer purchase targets for the five-year period, sets fixed wafer prices for 2016, and provides a framework for yearly wafer pricing. If annual targets are not met, a penalty will be imposed based on the difference between actual wafer purchases and the target for that year.

takyon: Those are some of the costs of outsourcing your semiconductor fabrication. Let's hope AMD meets those targets.

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Original Submission

-- OriginalOwner_ writes:

Replicant (AKA The Little Red Robot) is an Android-based OS whose mission is to stick to the Free Software Foundation's guidelines more closely than its parent project.

The Replicant OS project reports

At Replicant, things are moving again: Replicant is being updated from Android 4.2 to Android 6.0 by Wolfgang Wiedmeyer. The status and feedback takes place in the forums before it is reviewed and integrated [into] the official Replicant repositories. This work is currently being done for the Galaxy S 3 (I9300).

[...] Wolfgang Wiedmeyer is also working on [...] Graphics acceleration [...] Building the toolchains [...]full device encryption and SELinux support.

Future directions: [...] support the upstream Linux kernel for devices with a minimal amount of effort [...] support upstream bootloaders, such as U-Boot.

[...] Helping Replicant by contributing to F-Droid

Replicant is supported [by and] recommended by the FSF and listed as a fully free software distribution that respects the GNU Free System Distribution Guidelines.

[...] F-droid is committed to distributing only free software, and it does. However, some [F-Droid apps promote non-FOSS sortware and/or depend on non-FOSS software and do] not comply with the GNU Free System Distribution Guidelines.

While the list of such anti-features is displayed in red when selecting an application in F-Droid, applications with anti-features are still listed aside compliant ones. This is also quite confusing since free software isn't expected to contain such anti-features in the first place.

[...] The anti-feature display is confusing and [...] there was no clear smoking gun.

[...] If you're interested to jump-in and help resolve this issue, please get in touch with us or with F-Droid developers directly to get directions on how to get started.

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[Ed Note: Despite the significant number of "[...]" in this submission, after careful checking, they do not change the intent of the piece. This is something that we watch for in pieces that cut out parts of a quote, as leaving out words can be used to change the entire meaning of a piece, and effectively negate or intentionally confuse what is being said].

Original Submission