SoylentNews

Pentagon lawyer Sharon Woods gives a LibrePlanet presentation about free software in the US DoD (video).

An Anonymous Coward writes in with this summary:

A battle is underway at the US Department of Defense (DoD) to improve the way DoD develops, secures, and deploys software. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is not common reading for most people, but buried within the DoD's 2,000-page budget authorization is a provision to free source code. The lively history behind this provision is simultaneously frustrating and encouraging, with private industry giants, Congress, and other federal agencies jockeying around the effort to free the code at DoD. Come listen to this important, but perhaps lesser known, chapter of the free software narrative, and learn how a small group of impassioned digital service experts are defying all odds to continue the fight for free software adoption.

The relevant bit of the NDAA, H.R.2810 § 875.

Original Submission

takyon and BsAtHome write in with this story:

Did the FBI engineer its iPhone encryption court showdown with Apple to force a precedent? Yes and no, say DoJ auditors

The [San Bernardino] attack stoked fears of Islamic extremism within the United States but the shooting has become renowned for a different reason: a showdown between the FBI and Apple over access to Farook's mobile phone. Now a new report [PDF] by the US Department of Justice's internal inspector general, published Tuesday, has blown open the case and indicates the FBI might have been trying to play Apple for a patsy.

The report title is remarkable in itself: "A Special Inquiry Regarding the Accuracy of FBI Statements Concerning its Capabilities to Exploit an iPhone Seized During the San Bernardino Terror Attack Investigation." Which could perhaps be more accurately titled: "Did the FBI lie about not being able to break into a terrorist's phone in an effort to win a legal precedent granting it access to everyone else's digital devices?" And the answer is, remarkably, yes and no.

[...] In the end, the issue was resolved the day before a crunch court hearing when the FBI said it had found a third-party solution to cracking the phone and no longer needed to force Apple to break its own encryption. The timing of that last-minute back down raised suspicions that the FBI had engineered the showdown to create a legal precedent that would force US companies to give it backdoor access to everyone's digital devices now and in the future.

[...] [The] report does flag some very disturbing conversations and inconsistencies that appear to point quite clearly to the fact that the FBI made the most out of the situation and may have done its best not to find out if some parts of the FBI were able to crack the phone in order to pursue its legal case.

Also at Ars Technica

Original Submission #1  Original Submission #2 

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

Bacterial cellulose (BC) nanofibers are promising building blocks for the development of sustainable materials with the potential to outperform conventional synthetic materials. BC, one of the purest forms of nanocellulose, is produced at the interface between the culture medium and air, where the aerobic bacteria have access to oxygen. Biocompatibility, biodegradability, high thermal stability and mechanical strength are some of the unique properties that facilitate BC adoption in food, cosmetics and biomedical applications including tissue regeneration, implants, wound dressing, burn treatment and artificial blood vessels.

In the study published in Materials Horizons researchers at Aalto University have developed a simple and customizable process that uses superhydrophobic interfaces to finely engineer the bacteria access to oxygen in three dimensions and in multiple length scales, resulting in hollow, seamless, nanocellulose-based pre-determined objects.

[...] This facilitated biofabrication can be explored in new ways by the biomedical field through scaffolding of artificial organs. Advances in bioengineering, for instance by genome editing or co-culture of microorganisms, might also allow further progress towards the simplified formation of composite materials of highly controlled composition, properties and functions.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Astronomers spy runaway star in Small Magellanic Cloud

Astronomers at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, said on March 27, 2018. that they've discovered a rare runaway star in the Small Magellanic Cloud, a small satellite galaxy of our Milky Way. The star is speeding across its little galaxy at 300,000 miles per hour (500,000 km/hour). At that speed, it would take about half a minute to travel from Los Angeles to New York. The runaway star is designated J01020100-7122208, and it's believed to have once been one of two stars orbiting around each other. Astronomers think that, when the companion star exploded as a supernova, the tremendous release of energy flung J01020100-7122208 into space at its high speed.

The star is the first runaway yellow supergiant star ever discovered, and only the second evolved runaway star to be found in another galaxy. A paper about its discovery has been accepted for publication in the peer-reviewed Astronomical Journal and is currently published online via Arxiv. A statement from Lowell Observatory said:

After ten million years of traveling through space, the star evolved into a yellow supergiant, the object that we see today. Its journey took it 1.6 degrees across the sky, about three times the diameter of the full moon. The star will continue speeding through space until it too blows up as a supernova, likely in another three million years or so. When that happens, heavier elements will be created, and the resulting supernova remnant may form new stars or even planets on the outer edge of the Small Magellanic Cloud.

These stars typically only spend thousands or tens of thousands of years in the yellow supergiant phase before becoming red supergiants.

Original Submission

-- OriginalOwner_ writes:

The Independent reports

More than a dozen protesters who clambered into holes dug for a high pressure gas pipeline said they had been found not responsible by a judge after hearing them argue their actions to try and stop climate change were a legal "necessity".

Karenna Gore, the daughter of former Vice President Al Gore, was among more than 198 people who were arrested because of their 2015 actions protesting the pipeline in West Roxbury, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. Thirteen people were to go on trial this week, though prosecutors downgraded their original criminal charges to one of civil infraction.

On [March 27], Judge Mary Ann Driscoll of West Roxbury District Court, found all 13 defendants not responsible, the equivalent of not guilty in a criminal case. She did so after each of the defendants addressed the judge and explained why they were driven to try and halt the pipeline's construction.

Original Submission

tonyPick writes:

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is conducting a public hearing on the safety of internet-connected consumer products, and is requesting comments.

The Commission hearing will begin at 10 a.m., on May 16, 2018, and will conclude the same day. The Commission hearing will also be available through a webcast, but viewers will not be able to interact with the panels and presenters through the webcast.
...
The growth of IoT-related products is a challenge for all CPSC stakeholders to address. Regulators, standards organizations, and business and consumer advocates must work collaboratively to develop a framework for best practices. To that end, the Commission will hold a public hearing for all interested parties on consumer product safety issues related to IoT.

Although this explicitly does not cover data security and privacy it covers many of the other issues seen with IoT devices.

Comments can be submitted to the commission through the web portal:

You may submit written comments, identified by Docket No. CPSC-2018-0007
...
Electronic Submissions: Submit electronic comments to the Federal eRulemaking Portal at: www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.

Seen through the Internet Of Shit twitter feed.

Original Submission

canopic jug writes:

A derivative of Microsoft Windows ransonware, Wannacry, has hit a Boeing production plant in Charleston, South Carolina. An internal memo from Mike VanderWel, chief engineer of Boeing Commercial Airplane production engineering, warned that the company's production systems and airline software were "at risk".

Wannacry was based on Microsoft Windows' CVE 2017-0144 which is used in the EternalBlue exploit kit. EternalBlue was initially utilized in apparent coordination with Microsoft's long delay in patching. Despite massive media spin, Wannacry was found to have hit all recent versions of Microsoft Windows.

From:
The Verge: Boeing production plant hit with WannaCry ransomware attack
The New York Times: Boeing Possibly Hit by ‘WannaCry’ Malware Attack
The Daily Express: Vital Boeing computer network INFECTED with WannaCry VIRUS - is it safe to fly?.

Previously: UK Blames North Korea for WannaCry Attacks, Says NHS Didn't Follow Cybersecurity Guidelines
WannaCry Ransomware Attack Linked to North Korea by Symantec

Original Submission

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

Catalytic converters for cleaning exhaust emissions are more efficient when they use nanoparticles with many edges. This is one of the findings of a study carried out at DESY's X-ray source PETRA III. A team of scientists from the DESY NanoLab watched live as noxious carbon monoxide was converted into common carbon dioxide on the surface of noble metal nanoparticles like those used in catalytic converters of cars. The scientists are presenting their findings in the journal Physical Review Letters. Their results suggest that having a large number of edges increases the efficiency of catalytic reactions, as the different facets of the nanoparticles are often covered by growing islands of a nano oxide, finally rendering these facets inactive. At the edges, the oxide islands cannot connect, leaving active sites for the catalytic reaction.

Catalytic converters usually use nanoparticles because these have a far greater surface area for a given amount of the material, on which the catalytic reaction can take place. For the study presented here, the scientists at DESY's NanoLab grew platinum-rhodium nanoparticles on a substrate in such a way that virtually all the particles were aligned in the same direction and had the same shape of truncated octahedrons (octahedrons resemble double pyramids). The scientists then studied the catalytic properties of this sample under the typical working conditions of an automotive catalytic converter, with different gaseous compositions in a reaction chamber that was exposed to intense X-rays from PETRA III on the P09 beamline.

[...] The investigation showed that the reactivity of the nanoparticles increases sharply at a certain oxygen concentration. "This happens when just enough oxygen is available to oxidise each carbon monoxide molecule and turn it into carbon dioxide," says Stierle. Beyond that concentration, the reactivity gradually drops again because a thick oxide layer grows on the surface of the particles, impeding the reaction. The X-ray analysis reveals the atomic structure of the surface of the nanoparticles at the best resolution yet under the conditions at which the reaction occurs. This shows that once a certain oxygen concentration is exceeded, the different crystal faces of the nanoparticles become coated with an oxygen-rhodium-oxygen sandwich, until eventually the surface of the metal is completely covered by this nano oxide layer.

"The surface oxide eventually forms a closed layer over the nanoparticles," reports Hejral. "This is unfavourable for the desired reaction at first, because it makes it difficult for carbon monoxide molecules to attach themselves to the surface. However, the oxygen is unable to form a closed film along the edges between the faces of the nanoparticles, which means that the reactivity along the edges is higher." This finding suggests a direct pathway to making catalytic converters more efficient: "We would expect catalytic converters to be increasingly efficient the more edges the nanoparticles have for a given surface area," says Stierle. This finding can probably also be applied to many other catalytic reactions. Additional studies will have to show by how much the efficiency can be increased as a result.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Justice Dept. charges former Minnesota FBI agent with leaking secret document to news outlet

A former Minneapolis FBI agent who sought to expose what he called "systemic biases" within the bureau has been charged after allegedly leaking secret documents to a national news reporter, according to federal criminal charges filed in Minnesota this week.

The charges, filed by prosecutors for the Justice Department's National Security Division, are the first to come in Minnesota since Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a broad crackdown on government leaks last year.

A two-page felony information, a charging document that typically signals an imminent guilty plea, outlines two counts filed against Terry James Albury of unlawfully disclosing and retaining national defense information.

Albury is alleged to have unlawfully disclosed classified information between February 2016 and January 31, 2017. The Intercept published a series of stories, The FBI's Secret Rules, on January 31, 2017:

The FBI Gives Itself Lots of Rope to Pull in Informants

Over two previous presidential administrations, the FBI, enabled by complacent congressional oversight in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, has transformed itself from a criminal law enforcement organization into an intelligence-gathering operation whose methods are more similar to those of the CIA and NSA. With 35,000 employees and more than 15,000 informants, today's FBI is an intelligence agency without a historical peer in the United States.

Recruiting and managing informants, known in the FBI's parlance as "confidential human sources," is one of the most crucial ways in which the bureau gathers intelligence. Confidential FBI documents obtained exclusively by The Intercept reveal for the first time how the bureau approaches those tasks — including its use of a number of tactics that raise concerns about the civil liberties of those being targeted for recruitment.

Original Submission

canopic jug writes:

A piece of proposed EU legislation has for many months now included drastic changes to the Union's copyright laws. Feedback from industry lobbyists looks very much like it is adopted uncritically to the exclusion of other interests. This is especially noticeable in what has been going on with Articles 11 and 13 of the Council on the European Commission's proposal for a Directive on copyright in the Digital Single Market [2016/0280(COD)]. CopyBuzz summarizes some of the more salient points regarding press publisher's rights (Article 11) and upload/censorship filters (Article 13) identified in the latest set of proposals.

Currently it is Bulgaria's turn to head the Council of the European Union, a position that rotates every six months among EU member states. One of the responsibilities of that position is to oversee the Council's work on EU legislation. However, with the recent rotation, the copyright situation looks grimmer rather than gaining a respite.

See CopyBuzz : Compromises on (c) are clearly no longer on the agenda.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Amazon sheds $53 billion in market value after report on Trump threat

Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) shares fell as much as 7.4 percent on Wednesday, wiping about $53.6 billion from its market value after U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly indicated he wanted to rein in the U.S. technology and retail group. Trump talked about changing Amazon's tax treatment because he is worried about mom-and-pop retailers being put out of business, the Axios website reported.

The stock pared losses after a White House official said it did not know of any specific policy changes related to Amazon at the moment, adding that it was always looking at different options on a range of policy issues.

[...] Less than two hours into the trading session, its trading volume had already exceeded the 10-day moving average for a full day. The stock, which fell as low as $1,386.17, was last down 4 percent at $1,439,50, giving it a market value of around $681 billion. The stock was on track for its biggest one-day percentage decline since Jan. 29 2016.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Ecuador cuts off Julian Assange's internet access at London embassy

The government of Ecuador has confirmed that it has cut off internet access in its embassy in London to Julian Assange, the founder of the whistleblowing site WikiLeaks, saying that he was putting the country's international relations at risk.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Ecuador said that the step had been taken because Assange had failed to abide by an agreement not to interfere in the South American country's relations with other states.

"The government of Ecuador warns that Assange's behaviour, through his messages on social networks, put at risk the country's good relations with the United Kingdom, the other states of the European Union, and other nations," the statement said.

[...] Ecuador temporarily cut Assange's internet connection in 2016, over fears that he was using it to interfere in the US presidential election, but it was later restored.

Also at the Miami Herald and teleSUR.

Original Submission

canopic jug writes:

At the recent LibrePlanet conference, Karen Sandler was awarded the Free Software Foundation's annual Award for the Advancement of Free Software. It is awarded annually to individuals who have made great contributions to the progress and development of free software, as a result of activities in accordance with the spirit of free software.

Richard Stallman, President of the FSF, presented Sandler with the award during a ceremony. Stallman highlighted Sandler's dedication to software freedom. Stallman told the crowd that Sandler's "vivid warning about backdoored nonfree software in implanted medical devices has brought the issue home to people who never wrote a line of code. Her efforts, usually not in the public eye, to provide pro bono legal advice to free software organizations and [with Software Freedom Conservancy] to organize infrastructure for free software projects and copyleft defense, have been equally helpful.".

Among other things, Karen Sandler is known for her long-term quest towards getting access to the source code for the embedded medical device on which her life depends.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will introduce a bill to legalize the production of hemp by removing it from the list of controlled substances. The Hemp Farming Act of 2018 would remove the need for a federal permit to grow hemp. Since 2014, the federal farm bill (Agricultural Act of 2014) has allowed state agricultural departments to designate hemp projects for research purposes, with 34 states subsequently authorizing research and production occurring in 19:

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced a new bill on Monday that would legalize hemp as an agricultural product.

The Hemp Farming Act of 2018 would legalize hemp, removing it from the federal list of controlled substances and allowing it to be sold as an agricultural commodity, according to WKYT.

"Hemp has played a foundational role in Kentucky's agriculture heritage, and I believe that it can be an important part of our future," McConnell said in a statement.

See also: McConnell looks to complete hemp's comeback as crop
Hemp gains powerful ally to free it from marijuana ties

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Hunting laws in many countries and U.S. states prevent mother bears from being hunted while they are accompanied by their cubs. In Sweden, that seems to have artificially selected for mother bears that spend an extra year raising their cubs:

Female bears generally spend either 1.5 or 2.5 years with their young. In many ways, the pressures of bear life favor the shorter option — a mother with cubs cannot mate, so the more time she spends with each litter, the fewer offspring she'll have over her lifetime.

But a new study [open, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-03506-3] [DX] of brown bears in Sweden has found a surprising trend: More and more mothers are spending the extra year with their cubs.

"There's about a 30 percent increase in females staying to care for young for an extra year," explains Fanie Pelletier, an ecologist at Sherbrooke University in Quebec, and an author on the study published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications. "Early on, in the '80s, almost all females stayed with their young for 1 year and a half," she says. "It's only since 2005 that we have witnessed this increase in the population [that are] staying with their young the extra year."

The trend is tied to a hunting regulation that protects family groups from hunters. It's illegal to shoot mother or cubs when they are together.

"For females, if you leave your cubs at one year and a half, then you become a target during the next hunting season," explains Pelletier. But "if you stay for a bit longer with your cubs, you're protected an extra year. The hunting is filtering out the females that keep their young for a smaller amount of time."

Abstract:

As an important extrinsic source of mortality, harvest should select for fast reproduction and accelerated life histories. However, if vulnerability to harvest depends upon female reproductive status, patterns of selectivity could diverge and favor alternative reproductive behaviors. Here, using more than 20 years of detailed data on survival and reproduction in a hunted large carnivore population, we show that protecting females with dependent young, a widespread hunting regulation, provides a survival benefit to females providing longer maternal care. This survival gain compensates for the females' reduced reproductive output, especially at high hunting pressure, where the fitness benefit of prolonged periods of maternal care outweighs that of shorter maternal care. Our study shows that hunting regulation can indirectly promote slower life histories by modulating the fitness benefit of maternal care tactics. We provide empirical evidence that harvest regulation can induce artificial selection on female life history traits and affect demographic processes.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Satellite images have been used to identify 81 newly discovered Pre-Columbian sites, including single hamlets, villages, fortified settlements, and roads, in a remote region of the Amazon rainforest:

The remains of dozens of fortified villages, built before the arrival of Europeans, have been found in a relatively remote region of the Amazon. It seems the southern periphery of the Amazon was home to a million people before 1500 AD – far more than assumed.

"Most of the Amazon is still unexplored archaeologically," says Jonas De Souza of the University of Exeter, UK. "The more we survey, the more we realise that different parts of the basin were more settled than we thought."

The first Europeans to travel to the Amazon reported seeing widespread settlements, including cities and roads. But their reports were later dismissed as fantasies. For centuries, the prevailing view of the Amazon was that it was largely a pristine wilderness before Columbus and other Europeans arrived. Supposedly, only around a million people lived in the entire Amazon basin.

In recent decades, deforestation has helped reveal evidence of extensive ancient settlements, such as large earthworks. It now appears the whole river basin was home to perhaps ten million people before Europeans arrived. Disease and genocide later wiped most of them out, and the rainforest hid the evidence. "We have changed our idea about the Amazon," says De Souza.

Pre-Columbian earth-builders settled along the entire southern rim of the Amazon (open, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-03510-7) (DX)

Original Submission