A major chat log database belonging to popular messaging app JusTalk was left unprotected on the web for months, accessible to anyone who knew where to look.
Cybersecurity researcher Anurag Sen uncovered the database, which did not have a password, storing unencrypted data including plenty of personally identifiable information, useful for cybercriminals looking to engage in identity theft, social engineering, or other forms of cybercrime.
The data included the messages themselves, user phone numbers (both sender and receiver), call logs, all sorted out just enough to be able to identify specific people and specific conversations.
Millions of potential victims
In fact, while going through the logs, TechCrunch says it managed to find a pastor soliciting a sex worker who listed their phone number publicly. The log included the time, location, and price of the meeting.
The database itself is “hundreds of gigabytes” large, and hosted on a Huawei server in China. In order to access it, the only thing a person would need is a browser, and its IP address. With the help of database search engine Shodan, the researcher discovered that the server was storing new data in the database as early as January this year, when it was first exposed.
It’s impossible to know exactly how many people have had their sensitive data exposed in this blunder, but we do know that JusTalk has roughly 20 million users. It also has JusTalk Kids, a separate app for minors, with more than a million downloads on Android.
After Sen reported the problem to JusTalk, it apparently shut down the database, but also decided not to comment on the findings.
Sen was also apparently not the first to discover this database, as it contained a ransom note, meaning someone had tried to use it to extort money from the company, but whether or not they succeeded is unknown at this time.
Let me ask you a question: what does the name “Wi-Fi” mean? Considering how omnipresent Wi-Fi connections are, this should be an easy question to answer; especially if you work in the tech industry.
If your answer is “wireless fidelity”, that is actually incorrect despite what you were lead to believe, so keep guessing. Could it be “wireless fiber”? “Wishful firedrake”?
Give up? It’s actually a trick question: the name doesn’t mean anything.
An old 2005 interview with one of the founding members of the Wi-Fi Alliance has been making the rounds again and recounts the origin story of Wi-Fi. According to founding member Phil Belanger, the name was picked from a group of ten names that were created by consultancy firm Interbrand.
The original name for Wi-Fi was “IEEE 802.11b Direct Sequence” and the Alliance knew that name couldn’t be used. They needed something catchier if the standard was going to be widely adopted, so "Wi-Fi" was picked.
Mistakes were made
If you sincerely thought Wi-Fi stood for “wireless fidelity”, blame the Wi-Fi Alliance for that one. Belanger recounts that some of his colleagues felt the need to explain what “Wi-Fi” meant as they apparently couldn’t wrap their minds around the fact the name was just some marketing mumbo-jumbo meant to entice people. This led to the Alliance creating the tagline “The Standard for Wireless Fidelity''.
Belanger admits “this was a mistake and only served to confuse people... ” He called it “a clumsy attempt to come up with two words that matched Wi and Fi.” This mistake was exacerbated when the Alliance printed hats and shirts with the tagline. The tagline was so successful you even had people in the US military calling it “wireless fidelity”.
And if you stop to think about it, that name doesn’t make any sense, either. Fidelity, in a technical sense, refers to how well a device can reproduce a signal. High-fidelity (hi-fi) TVs, for example, can reproduce images that could be mistaken for the real thing. But Wi-Fi doesn’t do that; it’s just a way to connect devices to one another. You’re not reproducing anything.
But why let facts get in the way of a popular misconception? In the nearly two decades since, people have embraced the inaccurate meaning and, if you ask them, would likely argue strenuously that Wi-Fi means “wireless fidelity”. Belanger, though, asks people to do their part and “forget the tagline” and its false meaning.
Wi-Fi accessories
Perhaps it's better to focus less on the meaning of the term, than on what the technology means for us.
Wi-Fi is an integral part of society and it’s hard to imagine life without it. How many times have we asked a friend what's the Wi-Fi password when you go to their house for the first time? And many of us get frustrated when the Wi-Fi suddenly goes out.
If you frequently experience connection drops, we recommend getting Wi-Fi extenders. Also known as boosters, these devices push the signal beyond its normal reach. You should also look into getting a high-quality router to better deal with multiple devices that demand a large portion of bandwidth.
As for the future, multiple companies are hard at work establishing the Wi-Fi 7 standard. Qualcomm even claims its Wi-Fi 7 compatible chip will be able to achieve speeds of 5.8Gbps and sub-2 millisecond latency. And Mediatek promises its Wi-Fi 7 platform will achieve speeds that are 100 times faster than the current UK broadband standard.
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Data breaches are costlier and more impactful than ever before, a wide-ranging study by IBM has found.
Surveying 550 organizations from all over the world, the company claims that the global average cost of a data breach has now hit $4.35 million - an all-time high, and up 13% compared to the same period two years ago.
However, it’s not just the affected businesses that feel the sting of a data breach - everyone else does, too, albeit passively. IBM says that there is a chance that the rising costs of goods and services could be tied back to these incidents, as well. The company bases these conclusions on the fact that almost two-thirds (60%) of the respondents claimed to have raised the prices of their products or services, due to a data breach.
Paying ransomware doesn't pay
What’s more, if a company suffers one data breach, it’s bound to suffer another. More than four in five (83%) have experienced more than just one breach in their lifetime, the report found. Then, there are also the after-effects of breaches: almost half (50% of breach costs are incurred more than a year after the initial incident).
The report also states that businesses that suffer a ransomware attack and decide to pay up for their data, don’t usually end up with lower breach costs, compared to those that don’t. Ransomware victims that decided to pay saw only $610,000 less in average breach costs, and that’s not including the cost of the ransom.
“Businesses need to put their security defenses on the offense and beat attackers to the punch. It’s time to stop the adversary from achieving their objectives and start to minimize the impact of attacks. The more businesses try to perfect their perimeter instead of investing in detection and response, the more breaches can fuel cost of living increases.” said Charles Henderson, Global Head of IBM Security X-Force. “This report shows that the right strategies coupled with the right technologies can help make all the difference when businesses are attacked.”
IBM’s report suggests that Zero Trust is the way to go. However, 80% of critical infrastructure organizations said they did not adopt the practice across their endpoints just yet, despite the fact that they’re paying an average of $1.17 million more for data breaches, compared to those with Zero Trust.
Keep tabs on enterprise traffic with the best firewalls around
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Google Workspace has unveiled a much-needed upgrade to some of its most popular software tools aimed at making them easier to use and experience on larger-screen mobile devices.
The updates will cover Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Keep on Android, and look to address several key pain points seen by users with larger-screen Android smartphones or business tablets.
With more of us now working flexibly and across multiple devices, Google hopes that the updates will bring improved usability and less frustration for workers everywhere.
Google Workspace on tablets
The new features include the ability to drag and drop files from one Google Workspace app to another to improve the links between different services.
For example, users can now drag a table from a Google Sheets form directly into a Google Docs document on the same display, ending fiddly copy-and-paste functions, or drag a Google Drive file into a new Keep note.
(Image credit: Google Workspace)
Mobile and tablet devices will also see much-improved keyboard support for Drive, Docs and Sheets, making it much easier to use your device when on the move. Google says all your favorite shortcuts will be available, making it a lot smoother to use a keyboard when on a train or bus, for example.
(Image credit: Google Workspace)
Finally, Google Drive users can get a clearer view of their files by having two windows open side-by-side at the same time, allowing them the chance to view video or photos without having to juggle multiple overlapping windows.
"As part of our mission to provide a top-class user experience on large screen devices, we’re adding several new features and functionality," the official Google Workspace Updates blog post noted.
"We hope these updates enhance flexibility by giving you more ways to work with, display and organize your content across Google Workspace."
The new features are rolling out now to users across the world, and will be available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers, along with users who have personal Google Accounts.
James Cameron’s 2009 sci-fi epic Avatar is being remastered in high frame rate (HFR), along with his 1997 film, Titanic. That announcement comes from Pixelworks, the developers of the TrueCut Motion technology being used to transform the director’s signature blockbusters for a return to theaters.
“We’re bringing Avatar and Titanic back to the big screen, looking better in every way,” said James Cameron in a Pixelworks press release. “We will be presenting both films in 4K with high dynamic range visuals and have been working with Pixelworks’ TrueCut Motion platform to remaster the films in high frame rate, while keeping the cinematic look of the original.”
What is HFR?
To explain HFR, we first need to discuss frame rates, and how they differ between film and video formats. Motion pictures shot using both film and digital cinema cameras are captured at a 24 frames per second (fps) rate, while TV shows like news, sports, and sitcoms are shot on video at either 50 or 60 fps depending on the country.
The main benefit to displaying images at a higher refresh rate like 50 or 60 Hz is that programs like sports with plenty of fast action look more clear and detailed. That same action captured and displayed at a 24 fps rate will have much lower motion resolution, with the end result being that images look comparatively blurry, and the action less smooth.
To address this situation for movies, filmmakers like Peter Jackson in The Hobbit, for example, boosted the camera’s frame rate to 48 fps HFR. And while the HFR version of The Hobbit got a mixed reception at the cinema (including from this writer), the motion resolution improvement it brought to that movie’s many action sequences was undeniable.
Enter TrueCut Motion technology
TrueCut Motion technology, according to the Pixelworks release “allows filmmakers to dial in the motion, with any source frame rate, shot by shot, in post-production.” The release adds that the platform “ensures that these creative choices are delivered consistently across every screen, whether in the theater or the home.”
I caught a demo of TrueCut Motion technology put on by Pixelworks and TV-maker TCL at the CES tradeshow in early 2022. The demo gave me the chance to once again see HFR footage from The Hobbit, except this time processed using TrueCut Motion.
The remastered HFR version The Hobbit displayed on the TCL TV looked much better than what I remembered from my theatrical experience: images retained detail in fast-action sequences, but more standard shots didn’t have the same sped-up “soap opera” effect that could look unnatural at best, and sick-making at worst.
To expand a bit on the Pixelworks press release, the tech as explained to me by the company’s reps at CES is a “motion grading” process that allows for image motion to be varied within a 48 Hz high-frame-rate (HFR) container on a scene-by-scene basis. That, in effect, makes it similar to Dolby Vision HDR grading, where the range between the deepest shadows and brightest highlights in images can be adjusted on a similar scene-by-scene basis during post-production.
(Image credit: Paramount/20th Century Fox)
TrueCut Motion on TVs?
While higher-motion resolution versions of Avatar and Titanic are clearly in the works for theaters courtesy of Pixelworks, that doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll get to see the same at home.
The reason why is that TrueCut Motion technology is an end-to-end process – all components in the production and presentation chain need to support it. Even the digital cinema cameras used for movie production can be equipped with the variable motion capture tech.
And that means your TV will also need to support TrueCut Motion. You can think of it as the movie equivalent of Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), an HDMI 2.1 feature included in newer TVs that eliminates screen “tearing” and permits smoother motion during gaming – something it does by syncing the TV’s refresh rate with the variable output of games played on next-gen Xbox and PlayStation consoles.
The set used for the demo I caught at CES 2022 was outfitted with TrueCut Motion, so it’s obviously something that can be easily licensed and incorporated into TVs – which TCL plans to do. At the time, I thought Peter Jackson agreeing to allow The Hobbit footage to be used by Pixelworks was a good sign for the motion grading tech’s future. Now, with James Cameron fully on board, its chances of making it into the best 4K TVs is looking even better.
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Nvidia has unveiled its Enterprise version 2.1, an update to the company's end-to-end artificial intelligence and machine learning workloads software.
The updates affect the Nvidia TAO Toolkit and Nvidia Rapids, with further support being added for Red Hat OpenShift running in the public cloud.
The company says this should “[make] enterprise AI even more accessible across hybrid or multi-cloud environments,” with Microsoft Azure NVads A10 v5 series virtual machines also gaining certification.
Nvidia AI Enterprise 2.1 updates
REST APIs integration, pre-trained weights import, TensorBoard integration, and new pre-trained models are some of the highlights coming to the latest iteration of Nvidia TAO Toolkit, version 22.05, which itself is a low code solution of Nvidia TAO. The tool is designed to make building computer vision and speech recognition models easier.
New models, techniques, and data processing capabilities added to Nvidia RAPIDS 22.04 will provide “more support for data workflows,” which will be available across all of the data science libraries.
Furthermore, enterprise Kubernetes platform Red Hat OpenShift gained certification to work with the updated version of AI Enterprise, along with deployments over bare metal and VMware vSphere, which is intended to standardize AI workflow.
Companies running A10 Tensor Core GPU-powered Azure NVads A10 v5 series virtual machines will now be able to use AI Enterprise 2.1 “to deliver optimized performance for deep learning inference."
For companies who prefer to run something tried and tested, Nvidia says that “support will continue for those relying on earlier versions of Nvidia AI frameworks.”
Users can use Nvidia LaunchPad to get short-term access to the update in a private, accelerated environment with hands-on labs hosted on Nvidia’s own infrastructure, which are set to run over an eight-hour period with two weeks’ availability.
An on-premise evaluation is also available on Nvidia’s website, with a free evaluation license to try EI Enterprise 2.1 on compatible devices.
Apple has finally removed the last traces of Intel silicon from its Macs.
The tech giant's decision to sever the key relationship with the manufacturer was announced during CEO Tim Cook's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) keynote address in June 2020, and it's been gradually rolling out the necessary changes every since.
Apple has been using Intel silicon in its processers since 2006 when it moved from PowerPC processors, built by the 1991 Apple–IBM–Motorola alliance, to Intel x86 processors.
What was the final piece?
Intel's JHL8040R Retimer chips, used for USB4 timer functions, were the final remnant according to the Twitter user and semiconductor aficionado SkyJuice, who apparently had been carefully looking through a teardown of an M2 MacBook Air posted by hardware website iFixit.
The new chips carry the codename ‘U09PY3’, and it's unknown who makes them, though it could well be Apple themselves.
Apple has yet to make a comment on the move, and neither has intel, so we're somewhat in dark about the motivations behind some of these changes.
Unfortunately for Intel shareholders, it's not just Apple that is cutting down reliance on Intel hardware.
AMD has also apparently opted not to use any Intel hardware for its line of Rembrandt laptops, instead opting for retimers such as the KB8001 ‘Matterhorn’ from Swiss start-up Kandou.
