Tangle Tech

Firewalls and VPNs are being used as a point of entry for Iranian state-sponsored hackers, tracked as Pioneer Kitten, looking to gain access to American schools, banks, hospitals, defense sector firms, and government agencies. The attackers are gaining access through vulnerable devices from Check Point, Citrix, and Palo Alto Networks, according to a joint statement released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center (DC3) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Pioneer Kitten’s objectives are likely to be intelligence gathering operations to steal data from US defense contractors in line with the wider aims of the Iranian government, as well as fundraising by providing access to ransomware groups. State-sponsored hackers team up with ransomware gangs “The FBI assesses a significant percentage of these threat actors' operations against US organizations are intended to obtain and develop network access t...

New research from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) shows that China is now leading the way in 57 out of the 64 technologies assessed by its Critical Technology Tracker, which has now been updated to cover the last 20 years. The tracker measures a country’s performance based on the high-impact research it produces, specifically looking at the number of publications its institutions released in the top ten percent of cited papers in that specific field. The data studied was from a range of fields, like AI , cyber, defense, and robotics. Potential Monopolies From 2003-2007, the US led in 60 out of the 64 categories, with China picking up three, and Japan the final category of distributed ledgers. Whereas now, the US only leads in small satellites, genetic engineering, quantum computing, vaccines and medical countermeasures, nuclear medicine and radiotherapy, and natural language processing. Among the things monitored by the ASPI is the potential for monopoly control...

Research from Google’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG) has found evidence Russian-backed threat actor APT29 used iterations of watering hole campaigns which were ‘identical or strikingly similar’ to exploits developed by notorious spyware companies NSO Group and Intellexa. TAG found Mongolian government websites were hit by multiple campaigns earlier in 2024 after discovering hidden exploit codes embedded in the sites. The exploits meant anyone who used the sites using an iPhone or Android device may have had their phone hacked and data stolen. APT29 is well-known for its links to Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service and notable attacks on high-ranking western targets, such as US and German Government officials , as well as SolarWinds and Microsoft. All patched up The exploit code used in the attacks targeting iPhones shared the “exact same trigger as the exploit used by Intellexa,”, whilst the Android version used a “very similar trigger” to a code developed by NSO Group, TAG said....

Social Media and its Section 230 protection may have met its Waterloo. For most of the two-plus decades we've been using social media like X (nee Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and others, they've operated under protections designed 25 years ago primarily to shield platforms like Compuserve and AOL. Those protections, which are part of the Communications Decency Act of 1996, said that online computer services couldn't be held liable for content posted on their platforms by third parties. These services were like dumb, vast warehouses with shelves of information placed there by others. A warehouse doesn't create what's inside, it just accepts the content and gives consumers access.  This was back in the days of AOL, which controlled the pages you saw using keywords, a rough organizing principle for such a vast amount of information. In some ways, early platforms like Prodigy, CompuServe, and AOL were just one pretty interface removed from the Bulletin Boar...

Starting today all Claude.ai users – whether you pay for the service or enjoy it for free – can create and view Artifacts across the website, as well as Android and iOS apps, and it’s an upgrade ChatGPT is sorely lacking. To catch you up to speed on this AI bot, Claude is a ChatGPT rival from Anthropic with similar features – such as being able to be prompted by text, files, and images, or a combination of the three. However, beyond privacy it doesn’t have much that truly sets it apart from the big-name AI – which is perhaps why Claude on iOS saw 157,000 total global downloads in its first week compared with ChatGPT’s 480,000 downloads in its first five days (via TechCrunch ). This is where Artifacts could lend a hand in helping Claude finally stand out. As explained by Anthropic in a blog post Artifacts turn conversations with its AI into a more ‘collaborative experience.’ With Artifacts turned on Claude will open a separate window that shows you the project it’s helping to crea...

More details of OpenAI’s secretive Project Strawberry have dropped, including its expected release date and the areas it will specialize in. A recent report in The Information quotes “two people who have been involved in the effort”, and goes on to say that Project Strawberry could drop this Fall, and be better at math and programming than any chatbot we’ve seen so far.  Previously it was thought that OpenAI’s Project Strawberry would be aimed at “deep research”, the ability to perform follow-up research on its own, without human intervention. While this still seems to be true, the additional information that Project Strawberry will do math better than we’ve seen before comes as welcome news to many, given that ChatGPT ’s relationship with math so far has been, shall we say, fraught? For a while now, there have been plenty of memes of screenshots showing ChatGPT getting simple math problems wrong, leading many to ask why ChatGPT can’t do basic math . The reason for ChatGPT's ...

Volkswagen is the latest automotive manufacturer to announce a partnership with mobile gaming platform AirConsole, which allows drivers and passengers to stream a number of gaming titles when stationary. Initially to be rolled out in the VW ID.7 Pro S and VW ID.7 Touring Pro S models, with various other all-electric ID products running ID. software 4.0 slated to receive the update in the coming months, the platform sees the smartphone serve as a controller, allowing up to four players to enjoy a selection of arcade-style games. The BMW group partnered with AirConsole back in 2022 and has since started to introduce app support in a number of BMW and Mini models, including the all-new electric Mini that we tested recently .  Although readily available on web browsers, Android TV, Google TV and Amazon Fire TV, it is only recently that AirConsole has been introduced to vehicles, with battery EVs the first obvious targets.  The extended downtime faced by EV owners as they wai...

After the Crowdstrike incident shone a light on Windows’ utter dominance across enterprise in late July 2024, users may be relieved to hear perennial up-and-comer Linux may be on course to hit 5% market share by 2025. While new data from StatCounter , providing data for July 2024, shows that Windows is still the stalwart favourite with 72% market share, Linux was recorded as having reached 4.5% market share. This could be welcome news for anyone not already in or looking to get out of the Apple ecosystem, or displeased with Microsoft’s interminable attempts to turn Windows into a service. Linux and your small business As our sister site Tom’s Hardware has addressed - Linux’s rise hasn’t been smooth sailing. Though it reached 4% in late February 2024 , it then slipped back to a 3.9% share in April and May. This latest result, however, shows that progress is happening thick and fast, and if the alternative operating system ’s current market share trajectory holds, it will hit 5% b...

We’ve heard before that Windows 11 could be getting a ‘hot-patching’ feature with version 24H2, arriving later this year , whereby (some) future cumulative updates won’t require a reboot – and we’ve just been treated to another clue that this might come to fruition. Windows Latest reports that PhantomOfEarth on X flagged up a new support article for hot-patching in Windows 11, though there’s a twist here in that it was evidently accidentally published – and swiftly yanked down by Microsoft. It's gone. RIP https://t.co/MNX9PDXWKg August 23, 2024 The post can still be viewed using the Wayback Machine but as you’ll see if you take a look, the article is just a copy-and-paste of guidelines for crafting a support document (which, as mentioned, has clearly been mistakenly published). The key part here is that Microsoft beavering away in the background with content relating to hot-patching for Windows Ge or Germanium – which is Windows 11 24H2 , with Germanium being the codena...

LG Electronics, which is currently undergoing a strategic transformation to become a "Smart Life Solution Company," focusing on innovation and growth under its Future Vision 2030 strategy launched in 2023, has outlined plans to expand its business to meet these goals. During an investor forum on August 21 at LG Sciencepark in Seoul, CEO William Cho reviewed the company's progress, asFuture Vision 2030 has set ambitious "Triple Seven" targets for the company: a 7% average growth rate, 7% operating profit, and an enterprise multiple (EV/EBITDA) of 7. To achieve these objectives, LG is focusing on four key areas: maximizing the potential of existing businesses, expanding platform-based service models, accelerating growth in the B2B sector, and developing new ventures - one of which might be quite unexpected. Liquid immersion cooling The company is particularly focused on its Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) business, which has seen over 15% an...

Vivo Y18i has been launched in India as the company's newest affordable smartphone. It is available in Gem Green and Space Black colour options in a single 4GB+64GB colourway. The Vivo Y18i is powered by an octa core Unisoc T612 chipset and packs a 5,000mAh battery that can be charged at 15W. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/f1sNPnM

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now nearly 1,000 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers. Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my Wordle today , NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles. S POILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers. Quordle today (game #945) - hint #1 - Vowels How many different vowels are in Quordle today? • The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 4 *. * Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too). Quordle today (game #945) - hint #2 - repeated letters Do any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters? • The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is...

Kingston Digital has announced its latest data center SSD, which it says can utilize the latest Gen 4x4 PCIe interface, paired with 112-layer 3D TLC NAND. The DC2000B offers low latency and IOPS consistency, which are critical for high-duty cycle workloads. This combination ensures the SSD delivers top-tier performance, making it ideal for internal server boot drive applications. This high-performance PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD works as an internal boot drive for high-volume rack-mount servers. On-board power loss protection (Image credit: Kingston Digital) The DC2000B SSD comes with an onboard hardware-based power loss protection (PLP) not commonly found on M.2 SSDs. PLP reduces the possibility of data loss or corruption due to unexpected power outages. It also features an integrated aluminum heatsink that helps ensure broad thermal compatibility across a wide variety of system designs. This heat management system allows the device to maintain optimal performance levels eve...

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now nearly 1,000 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers. Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my Wordle today , NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles. S POILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers. Quordle today (game #944) - hint #1 - Vowels How many different vowels are in Quordle today? • The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 4 *. * Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too). Quordle today (game #944) - hint #2 - repeated letters Do any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters? • The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is...

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints. Want more word-based fun? Then check out my Wordle today , NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games. SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers. NYT Strands today (game #174) - hint #1 - today's theme What is the theme of today's NYT Strands? • Today's NYT Strands theme is… Crumby theme NYT Strands today (game #174) - hint #2 - clue words Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system. MAIN FAST SACK LORE WRIST CRATE NYT Strands today (game #174) - hint #3 - spangram What is a hint for today's spangram? • Just add cheese NYT Strands today (game #174) - hint #4 - spangram position What are two sides of the board that to...

In recent months, Apple has been forced to make changes to the way its walled garden works thanks to pressure from the European Union (EU) and its Digital Markets Act (DMA). And the latest development could have a massive impact on how you use and download all the best iOS apps onto your iPhone if you live in the EU. For one thing, you’ll soon have far more choice over the default apps that are used to open certain files on your iPhone. Right now, Apple already lets EU users change their default apps for web browsing, email, contactless payments and app purchases, but that’s soon going to expand to cover much more. In a post on the Apple Developer website , Apple explained that EU users will soon be able to change their default apps for “dialing phone numbers, sending messages, translating text, navigation, managing passwords, keyboards, and call spam filters.” That’s a massive increase and should give you much more freedom to set up your iPhone the way you want it. You’ll be...

Lingo Telecom has been ordered to pay a $1 million civil penalty by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) after it relayed a falsified robotic recording of a President Biden voice message urging voters not to turn up to the New Hampshire primary, labelling it a ‘bunch of malarkey’. The FCC said Artificial Intelligence will likely play a significant role in 2024 election ads, and has already proposed a law which would require political ads broadcast on television and radio to disclose any AI generated content. Lingo Telecom, previously known as Impact Telecom, Matrix Business Technologies, VarTec Telecom (and many, many more) is reported to have been carrying out illegal call operations for years. However, it only transmitted the calls - the organization which made the recording was the Life Corporation, a company that is no stranger to spreading misinformation, first cited for delivering ‘illegal prerecorded unsolicited advertisements’ in 2003. A Warning to Telecoms The spe...

AI image generators are having a moment right now with a recent rush of upgrades to many of the options out there. Ideogram is the latest synthetic image developer to join the trend this week with the launch of Ideogram 2.0. The new iteration of the image generator promises to outshine its predecessor as well as its competitors with several new and improved features, as well as a new iOS app and searchable library of the more than a billion images generated by users over the past year. Ideogram 2.0 's text-to-image engine gives the user much more control over shaping the AI-generated image. That includes a collection of several distinct styles to choose from. The Realistic style is undeniably the most interesting, as it produces images that closely resemble real photographs. The skin, hair, and other details are much better than those of the earlier Ideogram model.  The Design style, on the other hand, focuses on text accuracy within images, a notoriously difficult area for AI m...