@comdak | Digg

46min

Carney rolls out 'aggressive' plan to build up domestic defence sector

Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced a $6.6 billion defence industrial strategy to boost the domestic defence sector, aiming to increase Canadian firms' share of federal defence contracts to 70 percent, boost defence exports by 50 percent, and add 125,000 jobs over the next decade.

/hacking

48min

Dutch defense chief: F-35s can be jailbroken like iPhones

The Dutch defense secretary claims that the F-35 fighter aircraft can be jailbroken like an iPhone, suggesting that European forces could maintain their aircraft's software without US assistance. However, experts note that the high barrier to entry for researchers and hackers makes it unlikely for a jailbreak to become public knowledge. The F-35's software is managed through the Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS), which delivers updates through service packs every year or two.

/technology

49min

Linus Torvalds tells The Reg how Linux evolved from solo act

This article delves into the origins of Linux, detailing how it evolved from a solo project by Linus Torvalds to a collaborative effort with contributions from early developers like Theodore 'Ts'o and Dirk Hohndel. It highlights the technical challenges, the role of the GNU General Public License in broadening its appeal, and the community-driven nature of its development.

/hacking

49min

Dell 0-day exploited by suspected Chinese snoops since 2024

A suspected Chinese threat group has been exploiting a zero-day vulnerability in Dell RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines since mid-2024. The vulnerability, CVE-2026-22769, allowed attackers to deploy malware like Brickstorm and Grimbolt, creating backdoors for long-term access. Dell disclosed and patched the flaw, but the full scale of the infections remains unknown. Organizations are urged to check for Grimbolt in their environments.

/hacking

50min

Data breach at fintech firm Figure affects nearly 1 million accounts

Hackers have stolen personal and contact information of nearly 1 million accounts from fintech firm Figure Technology Solutions, attributed to a social engineering attack. The exposed data, dating back to January 2026, includes over 900k unique email addresses, names, phone numbers, physical addresses, and dates of birth. The ShinyHunters extortion group claimed responsibility for the breach, leaking 2.5GB of data on their dark web leak site.

/science

51min

Hallucinogen DMT an effective antidepressant in small clinical trial

Ars Technica reports on a small clinical trial showing that the hallucinogen DMT may be an effective antidepressant, with effectiveness correlating with the intensity of the mystical experience. The trial, conducted in London, found that nearly half of participants who received DMT reported improvements in their depression symptoms one week after the initial dose, compared to only 6% in the control group. While the antidepressant effects began to fade by the 14-week mark, participants still showed significant improvement. The study suggests that DMT's antidepressant effects may be linked to its hallucinogenic properties, though more research is needed.

/news

52min

FDA reverses surprise rejection of Moderna's mRNA flu vaccine - Ars Technica

Score one for intelligence prevailing!

/news

53min

Mark Zuckerberg is taking the stand as social media goes on trial

This article reports on the testimony of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a major Los Angeles trial where parents who lost their children due to alleged social media harms are seeking accountability. The trial centers on the design of social media platforms, particularly Instagram, and their impact on young users' mental health. Parents, including Lori Schott and Julianna Arnold, have made it a mission to be present during the trial, hoping Zuckerberg will see their faces and understand the consequences of his company's actions.

/lifestyle

54min

Meta's own research found parental supervision doesn't really help curb teens' compulsive social media use

Meta's internal research study, Project MYST, found that parental supervision and controls have little impact on teens' compulsive social media use. The study, conducted in partnership with the University of Chicago, revealed that teens with adverse life experiences are more prone to overuse social media. This finding was highlighted during the ongoing social media addiction trial in Los Angeles, where the plaintiff, identified as Kaley, accuses Meta, YouTube, ByteDance, and Snap of creating harmful products. The study's results could influence future regulations and company policies regarding social media use among minors.

/technology

55min

Microsoft says Office bug exposed customers' confidential emails to Copilot AI

Microsoft has acknowledged a bug that allowed its Copilot AI to summarize customers' confidential emails without permission, bypassing data protection policies. The bug, identified as CW1226324, affected draft and sent email messages with a confidential label, allowing Copilot Chat to read and outline their contents since January. Microsoft has started rolling out a fix for the issue in February.

/digg

Digg/Excavator Updates - New Charts/Graphs, More Data

I've added a whole bunch of historical information and current syncs are occurring now. I also added some more analysis/details to both Users and Communities. See something weird? Lemme know :) I added a feedback form to make it easier

/hacking

16h

New Keenadu backdoor found in Android firmware, Google Play apps

A sophisticated Android malware called Keenadu has been discovered embedded in firmware from multiple device brands, compromising all installed applications and gaining unrestricted control over infected devices. According to Kaspersky, Keenadu has multiple distribution mechanisms, including compromised firmware images, embedded in system apps, and even through apps on Google Play. The malware is capable of broad-range data theft and risky actions on the compromised device, including monitoring search queries in incognito mode. The researchers warn that because the malware is embedded so deeply in the firmware, it is impossible to remove it using standard Android OS tools.

/technology

A Basic Guide To (Signal) Shielding

This article from Hackaday provides a basic guide to shielding in the context of radio frequency emissions. It explores three common types of shielding—absorber sheets, shielding tapes, and shielding cabinets—and demonstrates their effectiveness using a near-field probe and a software-defined radio (SDR). The article concludes that higher frequencies respond best to conductive shielding, while lower frequencies benefit from absorptive shielding materials.

/hacking

AirTag Has Hole Behind The Battery? It’s Likely Been Silenced

This Hackaday article explains how to disable the speaker in an Apple AirTag without compromising its water resistance. The process involves making a small hole behind the battery, desoldering the speaker wire, and cleaning up with solder wick. The modification is useful for those who want to prevent the AirTag from beeping when it is separated from its owner, such as when used on a pet collar, luggage, or a theft target like a bike.

/canada

Better call DAVID? AI chatbot gives legal advice in Alberta personal injury cases

This news article reports on DAVID, an AI chatbot developed by Alberta-based personal injury law firm Painworth, which provides legal advice in personal injury cases. The chatbot, available 24/7 and in multiple languages, is overseen by human lawyers and was inspired by its co-founder's personal experience with a difficult legal process. The Law Society of Alberta has granted exemptions for AI tools like DAVID to operate within its Innovation Sandbox initiative, allowing them to assist with legal claims. However, concerns about privacy and the potential for AI to provide incorrect information remain.

/news

Eager to unload two orcas, French government learns more about Nova Scotia proposal

French government officials met with a U.S.-based group to discuss moving France’s last two captive orcas, Wikie and Keijo, to a proposed coastal refuge in Nova Scotia. The Whale Sanctuary Project aims to build a 40-hectare seaside pen, but requires a transfer licence from the federal Fisheries Department and funding before construction can begin. The French government is considering this proposal alongside a rejected option to move the orcas to Spain's Loro Parque zoo.

/technology

GitHub previews Agentic Workflows

GitHub has introduced Agentic Workflows in technical preview, a new feature allowing AI agents to run automatically within GitHub Actions. Developed by GitHub Next and Microsoft Research, these workflows are sandboxed and feature secure output to prevent misuse. They are intended to complement, not replace, traditional CI/CD workflows and are designed for tasks that benefit from AI's flexibility. Security measures include isolated execution, restricted internet access, and content sanitization. Despite these safeguards, GitHub warns that the feature is in early development and should be used with caution.

/hacking

Password managers don’t protect secrets if pwned • The Register

Researchers from ETH Zurich and USI found flaws in three popular password managers - Bitwarden, LastPass, and Dashlane - that could expose user passwords if the servers were compromised. The researchers tested the managers' zero-knowledge encryption claims using a malicious server model and found multiple attacks that could lead to password disclosure. The vendors responded by fixing some of the issues and promising to address the rest. The researchers believe the same weaknesses likely apply to other password managers in the industry.

/technology

The Small English Town Swept Up in the Global AI Arms Race

This article from WIRED discusses the conflict in Potters Bar, a small English town, over the construction of a large data center on farmland that locals consider part of the green belt. The residents have formed a protest group to block the project, citing concerns about the loss of green space and mental health benefits. Despite the local government's approval of the project, citing economic benefits and reclassification of the land, the protest group continues to fight the decision through various legal and administrative channels.

/hacking

Man arrested for demanding reward after accidental police data leak

Dutch authorities arrested a 40-year-old man for demanding a reward after accidentally downloading confidential police documents that were mistakenly shared by an officer. The man contacted police about potentially relevant images for an investigation but was mistakenly given a download link to confidential files. Despite being instructed to delete the files, he refused unless he received something in return. The Dutch police emphasized the legal obligation to report such errors and refrain from accessing or retaining documents not intended for the recipient.

/hacking

Poland arrests suspect linked to Phobos ransomware operation

Polish police have arrested a 47-year-old man suspected of being linked to the Phobos ransomware group, seizing devices containing stolen credentials and server access data. This arrest is part of 'Operation Aether,' a global initiative targeting Phobos' infrastructure. The suspect faces charges for producing and distributing hacking tools, with a potential five-year prison sentence.

/technology

New AI model could cut the costs of developing protein drugs

MIT chemical engineers have developed an AI model that optimizes codon sequences for protein drugs produced by yeast, potentially reducing the costs of developing and manufacturing these drugs. The model, trained on the genetic code of the yeast Komagataella phaffii, predicts the best codons for manufacturing specific proteins, boosting production efficiency. This innovation could significantly cut the time and cost of developing biologic drugs, which currently account for a substantial portion of the overall cost of commercialization.

/science

Space Station returns to a full crew complement after a month - Ars Technica

The International Space Station has returned to a full crew complement of seven astronauts after a month with only one NASA astronaut, Chris Williams, on board. The arrival of four new astronauts as part of the Crew 12 mission, Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, Sophie Adenot, and Andrey Fedyaev, brought the crew back to full strength. This was made possible by the quick response of NASA and SpaceX to bring Crew 12 forward and the talented workforce at NASA and its partners.

/science

Ancient Mars was warm and wet, not cold and icy

A recent study published in Ars Technica reveals that ancient Mars was warm and wet, not cold and icy, during the Noachian epoch. The discovery, based on kaolinite pebbles showing evidence of alteration under high rainfall conditions, contrasts with the prevailing theory that this era was mainly cold and icy. This finding has implications for the potential habitability of Mars during this time and is being further investigated by the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover.

/science

NASA has a new problem to fix before the next Artemis II countdown test

NASA is facing fueling issues with the Space Launch System rocket, which have delayed the Artemis II mission. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman acknowledges the challenges but emphasizes the importance of safety and the need to address the leaks before the Artemis III mission. Engineers are working to redesign the propellant loading interfaces and cryoproof the vehicle to prevent future leaks.

/technology

Cohere launches a family of open multilingual models

Cohere has launched a family of open multilingual models called Tiny Aya, which support over 70 languages and can run on devices without an internet connection. The models are available on HuggingFace and the Cohere Platform, and are ideal for developers building apps for audiences that speak native languages.

/digg

Excavator - Community-Driven Content Discovery Platform

I posted some screenshots of an earlier build of this the other week, but after some rework to make it less of a 'for me' tool, and more of a 'for the community' tool.. I present Excavator. Now in #darkmode !Think trend analysis, post-level metrics, membership growth, engagement

/technology

Why are Epstein’s emails full of equals signs? (encoding)

The garbled symbols in Jeffrey Epstein's emails, which appeared to be a secret code, are likely due to a technical error during the Department of Justice's conversion of the emails to PDFs. Experts suggest that the symbols are remnants of the Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) encoding standard, which was not properly decoded during the conversion process.

/canada

Canadians are ready for Chinese-made autos, but experts note there are security risks

Weeks after Ottawa announced that it would allow a limited number of Chinese-made vehicles into the Canadian market, some have warned that the move puts data privacy at risk. However, many consumers appear to be unfazed by these concerns, with 61% of Canadians surveyed by Leger in favor of Chinese EVs in the Canadian market. While privacy and security are significant issues, vehicle quality and impacts on the Canadian auto industry were cited by more respondents. Experts agree that data security is a major issue for modern, digitally connected vehicles, but Canada's privacy laws are not strong enough to protect consumers from having their data obtained by the manufacturing country, including China.

/canada

How Ryan Wedding’s ‘right-hand man’ turned on him and helped take him down

CBC News reports that Andrew Clark, a Canadian man described as Ryan Wedding's right-hand man, turned FBI informant after the murder of a key witness. Clark's cooperation with the FBI led to the arrest of Wedding, who was allegedly leading a drug-smuggling empire. Court filings suggest Clark provided crucial evidence against Wedding and his associates, leading to multiple arrests in both Canada and the U.S.