San Francisco's Municipal Transportation Agency [1]approved a $212 million contract with Hitachi Rail to modernize the Muni Metro system's outdated train control system, which [2]currently uses floppy disks and wire loops . Government Technology reports:

> The software that runs the system is stored on floppy disks that are loaded each morning and an outdated type of communication using wire loops that are easily disrupted. It was expected to last for 20 to 25 years, according to Muni officials. It moves data more slowly than a wireless modem, they said. By late 2027 and into 2028, a new communications-based system, which employs Wi-Fi and cell signals to precisely track the locations of trains, will be installed by Hitachi, which will provide support services for 20 years under the agreement.

>

> While the current train control system operates only on the Market Street subway and Central Subway, the new system will control Metro light rail trains on the system's surface lines as well. The Hitachi system is said to be five generations ahead of the current system, said Muni Director of Transit Julie Kirschbaum, who described it as the best train control system on the market.



[1] https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/muni-board-approves-new-train-control-system-19846976.php

[2] https://www.govtech.com/transportation/s-f-muni-will-spend-212m-to-move-train-control-off-disk

A civil liberties group has filed a lawsuit in Virginia arguing that the widespread use of Flock's automated license plate readers [1]violates the Fourth Amendment's protections against warrantless searches . 404 Media reports:

> "The City of Norfolk, Virginia, has installed a network of cameras that make it functionally impossible for people to drive anywhere without having their movements tracked, photographed, and stored in an AI-assisted database that enables the warrantless surveillance of their every move. This civil rights lawsuit seeks to end this dragnet surveillance program," the [2]lawsuit notes (PDF). "In Norfolk, no one can escape the government's 172 unblinking eyes," it continues, referring to the 172 Flock cameras currently operational in Norfolk. The Fourth Amendment protects against unreasonable searches and seizures and has been ruled in many cases to protect against warrantless government surveillance, and the lawsuit specifically says Norfolk's installation violates that. [...]

>

> The lawsuit in Norfolk is being filed by the Institute for Justice, a civil liberties organization that has filed a series of privacy and government overreach lawsuits over the last few years. Two Virginia residents, Lee Schmidt and Crystal Arrington, are listed as plaintiffs in the case. Schmidt is a Navy veteran who alleges in the lawsuit that the cops can easily infer where he is going based on Flock data. "Just outside his neighborhood, there are four Flock Cameras. Lee drives by these cameras (and others he sees around town) nearly every day, and the Norfolk Police Department [NPD] can use the information they record to build a picture of his daily habits and routines," the lawsuit reads. "If the Flock Cameras record Lee going straight through the intersection outside his neighborhood, for example, the NPD can infer that he is going to his daughter's school. If the cameras capture him turning right, the NPD can infer that he is going to the shooting range. If the cameras capture him turning left, the NPD can infer that he is going to the grocery store. The Flock Cameras capture the start of nearly every trip Lee makes in his car, so he effectively cannot leave his neighborhood without the NPD knowing about it." Arrington is a healthcare worker who makes home visits to clients in Norfolk. The lawsuit alleges that it would be trivial for the government to identify her clients.

"Fourth Amendment case law overwhelmingly shows that license plate readers do not constitute a warrantless search because they take photos of cars in public and cannot continuously track the movements of any individual," a Flock spokesperson said. "Appellate and federal district courts in at least fourteen states have upheld the use of evidence from license plate readers as Constitutional without requiring a warrant, as well as the 9th and 11th circuits. Since the Bell case, four judges in Virginia have ruled the opposite way -- that ALPR evidence is admissible in court without a warrant."



[1] https://www.404media.co/lawsuit-argues-warrantless-use-of-flock-surveillance-cameras-is-unconstitutional/

[2] https://ij.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024.10.21-1-Complaint.pdf

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Wired:

> When Canadian developer Peter Todd found out that a new HBO documentary, Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery, was set to [1]identify him as Satoshi Nakamoto , the creator of Bitcoin, he was mostly just pissed. "This was clearly going to be a circus," Todd told WIRED in an email. The identity of the person -- or people -- who created Bitcoin has been the subject of speculation since December 2010, when they disappeared from public view. The mystery has proved all the more irresistible for the trove of bitcoin Satoshi is widely believed to have controlled, suspected to be worth many billions of dollars today. When the documentary was released on October 8, Todd joined a long line of alleged Satoshis.

>

> Documentary maker Cullen Hoback, who in a previous film claimed to have identified the individual behind QAnon, laid out his theory to Todd on camera. The confrontation would become the climactic scene of the documentary. But Todd nonetheless claims he didn't see it coming; he alleges he was left with the impression the film was about the history of Bitcoin, not the identity of its creator. Since the documentary aired, Todd has repeatedly and categorically denied that he created Bitcoin: "For the record, [2]I am not Satoshi ," he alleges. "I think Cullen made the Satoshi accusation for marketing. He needed a way to get attention for his film."

>

> For his part, Hoback remains confident in his conclusions. The various denials and deflections from Todd, he claims, are part of a grand and layered misdirection. "While of course we can't outright say he is Satoshi, I think that we make a very strong case," says Hoback. Whatever the truth, Todd will now bear the burden of having been unmasked as Satoshi. [3]He has gone into hiding . [...] Todd expects that "continued harassment by crazy people" will become the indefinite status quo. But he says the potential personal safety implications are his chief concern -- and the reason he has gone into hiding. "Obviously, falsely claiming that ordinary people of ordinary wealth are extraordinarily rich exposes them to threats like robbery and kidnapping," says Todd. "Not only is the question dumb, it's dangerous. Satoshi obviously didn't want to be found, for good reasons, and no one should help people trying to find Satoshi."

"I think the idea that it puts their life [at risk] is a little overblown," says Hoback. "This person is potentially on track to become the wealthiest on Earth."

"If countries are considering adopting this in their treasuries or making it legal tender, the idea that there's potentially this anonymous figure out there who controls one twentieth of the total supply of digital gold is pretty important."



[1] https://slashdot.org/story/24/10/09/0157238/bitcoin-creator-is-peter-todd-hbo-film-says

[2] https://slashdot.org/story/24/10/09/1855240/bitcoin-creator-suspect-says-he-is-not-bitcoin-creator-suspect

[3] https://www.wired.com/story/peter-todd-was-unmasked-as-bitcoin-creator-satoshi-nakamoto-now-hes-in-hiding/

OpenAI and Microsoft will [1]give grants of up to $10 million to bring more AI tools into the newsroom. The grants will go to Chicago Public Media, the Minnesota Star Tribune, Newsday (in Long Island, NY), The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Seattle Times. "Each of the publications will hire a two-year AI fellow to develop projects for implementing the technology and improving business sustainability," reports Engadget. "Three more outlets are expected to receive fellowship grants in a second round." From the report:

> OpenAI and Microsoft are each contributing $2.5 million in direct funding as well as $2.5 million in software and enterprise credits. The Lenfest Institute of Journalism is collaborating with OpenAI and Microsoft on the project, and [2]announced the news today.



[1] https://www.engadget.com/ai/openai-and-microsoft-are-funding-10-million-in-grants-for-ai-powered-journalism-193042213.html

[2] https://www.lenfestinstitute.org/institute-news/lenfest-institute-openai-microsoft-ai-collaborative-fellowship/

The FAA has [1]released final regulations for electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicles, introducing a [2]new category of aircraft for the first time in nearly 80 years . These rules provide a framework for pilot training and operational requirements, addressing industry concerns while aiming to support the future of advanced air mobility. The Verge reports:

> The FAA says these "powered-lift" vehicles will be the first completely new category of aircraft since helicopters were introduced in 1940. These aircraft will be used for a variety of services, including air taxis, cargo delivery, and rescue and retrieval operations. The final rules published today contain guidelines for pilot training as well as operational requirements regarding minimum safe altitudes and visibility. [...] Powered lift includes aircraft described by industry watchers as electric vertical takeoff and landing, or eVTOL. Using tilt rotors, eVTOL aircraft are designed to take off and land vertically like a helicopter and then transition into forward flight on fixed wings like a plane.

>

> [...] A new pilot training and qualifications rule was needed because "existing regulations did not address this new category of aircraft, which can take off and land vertically like a helicopter and fly like an airplane during cruise flight," the FAA said. The rule also provides a "comprehensive framework" for certifying the initial group of powered-lift instructors and pilots. According to the agency, the rule would: "Makes changes to numerous existing regulations and establishes a Special Federal Aviation Regulation (SFAR) with new requirements to facilitate instructor and pilot certification and training. Applies helicopter operating requirements to some phases of flight and adopts a performance-based approach to certain operating rules. Allows pilots to train in powered-lift with a single set of flight controls; legacy rules require two flight controls -- one for the student and one for the instructor."

"The regulation published today will ensure the U.S. continues to play a global leadership role in the development and adoption of clean flight," said JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby, in a statement. "Delivering the rules ahead of schedule is testament to the dedication, coordination and hard work of the rulemaking team."



[1] https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/integration-powered-lift-pilot-certification-and-operations-miscellaneous-amendments

[2] https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/22/24276873/faa-powered-lift-evtol-air-taxi-final-rule-sfar

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica:

> Qualcomm has [1]a new chip for flagship phones, and the best part is that it uses an improved version of the Oryon CPU architecture that the Snapdragon X Elite chips brought to Windows PCs earlier this year. The Snapdragon 8 Elite is the follow-up to last year's Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 -- yet another change to the naming convention that Qualcomm uses for its high-end phone chips, though, as usual, the number 8 is still involved. The 8 Elite [2]uses a "brand-new, 2nd-generation Qualcomm Oryon CPU " with clock speeds up to 4.32 GHz, which Qualcomm says will improve performance by about 45 percent compared to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.

>

> Rather than a mix of large, medium, and small CPU cores as it has used in the past, the 8 Elite has two "Prime" cores for hitting that high peak clock speed, while the other six are all "Performance" cores that peak at a lower 3.53 GHz. But it doesn't look like Qualcomm is using a mix of different CPU architectures anymore, choosing to distinguish the higher-performing core from the lower-performing ones by clock speed alone. Qualcomm promises a similar 40 percent performance boost from the new Adreno 830 GPU. The chip also includes a marginally improved Snapdragon X80 5G modem, up from an X75 modem in the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 -- its main improvement appears to be support for additional antennas, for a total of six, but the download speed still tops out at a theoretical 10Gbps. Wi-Fi 7 support appears to be the same as in the 8 Gen 3, but the 8 Elite does support the Bluetooth 6.0 standard, up from Bluetooth 5.4 in the 8 Gen 3.

>

> Qualcomm says the new chip's CPU features "44% improved power efficiency" and "40% greater power efficiency" for the GPU, which ought to keep power usage in line despite the performance improvements -- these gains are probably attributable to the new 3 nm TSMC manufacturing process, compared to the 4 nm process used for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. And no 2024 chip announcement would be complete without some kind of AI mention: Qualcomm's image signal processor is now an "AI ISP," which Qualcomm says "recognizes and enhances virtually anything in the frame, including faces, hair, clothing, objects, backgrounds, and beyond." These capabilities can allow it to remove objects from the background of photos, among other things, using the on-device processing power of the chip's Hexagon neural processing unit (NPU). The NPU is 45 percent faster than the one in the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. Phones using the Snapdragon 8 Elite should begin appearing in "the coming weeks."



[1] https://www.qualcomm.com/products/mobile/snapdragon/smartphones/snapdragon-8-series-mobile-platforms/snapdragon-8-elite-mobile-platform

[2] https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/10/qualcomm-brings-laptop-class-cpu-cores-to-phones-with-snapdragon-8-elite/

On July 4, 2012, CERN physicist Fabiola Gianotti announced a major quantum field theory discovery using a PowerPoint presentation in Comic Sans, sparking both mockery and debate. The font, created by Vincent Connare for Microsoft Bob in 1994, featured deliberately imperfect letters [1]inspired by comic books. Comic Sans shipped with Windows 95 and [2]exploded in popularity as personal computing democratized typography . A backlash emerged as the font appeared on everything from funeral notices to museum signs, culminating in Dave and Holly Combs's "Ban Comic Sans" campaign.



[1] https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2024/10/comic-sans-debate/680319/

[2] https://slashdot.org/FabiolaGianotti

More than 10,500 artists and creators -- including ABBA's Bjorn Ulvaeus, actress Julianne Moore, actors Kevin Bacon and F. Murray Abraham, as well as former Saturday Night Live star Kate McKinnon, author James Patterson and Radiohead's Thom Yorke -- signed a statement condemning AI companies' unauthorized use of creative works for training their models. The initiative, led by former AI executive Ed Newton-Rex, demands an end to unlicensed training data collection amid mounting legal challenges against tech firms. "The unlicensed use of creative works for training generative AI is a major, unjust threat to the livelihoods of the people behind those works, and must not be permitted," reads [1]the statement .

The protest comes as major artists and publishers battle AI developers in court. Authors John Grisham and George R.R. Martin are suing OpenAI, while record labels Universal, Sony and Warner have filed [2]lawsuits against AI music creators Suno and Udio . The signatories reject proposed "opt-out" schemes for content scraping, calling instead for explicit creator consent.



[1] https://www.aitrainingstatement.org/

[2] https://tech.slashdot.org/story/24/08/01/1525210/ai-startup-suno-says-music-industry-suit-aims-to-stifle-competition

The UK parliament is considering clamping down on how young people use smartphones. A bill brought forward by a Labour member of parliament [1]proposes both banning phones in schools and raising the age at which children can consent to social media companies using their data. Wired:

> Calls for smartphone bans have been growing in the UK, driven by fears that the devices are driving a decline in kids' mental health and ability to focus. Smartphone Free Childhood, a prominent pressure group inspired by Jonathan Haidt's book The Anxious Generation, calls for parents to delay getting smartphones for their children until they are at least 13. Florida has already passed a law that bans under-14s from holding social media accounts, and Australia is considering similar restrictions.

>

> But academics warn that smartphone and social media bans are unlikely to be a catch-all solution to the problems facing young people. Experts on the impact of digital technologies argue that the legislation could end up shutting children out from the potential benefits of smartphones, and that more pressure should be put on social media companies to design better digital worlds for children. The latest proposed clampdown in the UK is thin on details, but the MP bringing the bill, Josh MacAllister, told the radio show Today that it would prevent social media companies making use of young peoples' data until they are 16. "We can protect children from lots of the addictive bad design features that come from social media," he said. The bill would also make a ban on phones in schools legally binding.



[1] https://www.wired.com/story/uk-considers-new-smartphone-bans-for-children/

The first cracks are starting to show in Netflix's [1]push into gaming . The Verge:

> First reported in Game File and confirmed by Netflix, the streaming company has [2]quietly closed of one of its studios , the first in the three years since the company began its foray into gaming.

>

> According to Game File, the shuttered studio was known as Blue. In 2022, Netflix announced it hired former Overwatch executive producer Chacko Sonny to run the studio. Since then, Blue had brought on a number of game industry veterans with experience working on high profile franchises including Halo and God of War. Reportedly, Blue was developing a multi-platform AAA game for an original IP but was closed before the game could be announced or released.



[1] https://games.slashdot.org/story/23/10/16/1653204/netflix-deepens-videogame-push

[2] https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/22/24276700/netflix-gaming-studio-closure-blue

An anonymous reader shares a post:

> EVs are [1]still winning . But they [2]haven't won yet ; only 4% of the global passenger car fleet, 23% of the bus fleet, and less than 1% of delivery trucks are electrified.

>

> But at this point I think the writing is on the wall. The phenomenon of a superior technology displacing an older, inferior technology is not uncommon, and it generally looks like the EV transition is looking now. When a new technology passes a 5% adoption rate, it almost never turns out to be inferior to what came before; with EVs, that threshold has now been reached in dozens of countries.

>

> In fact, we don't have to rely on trend-based forecasting to understand why EVs are just going to win. There are a number of fundamental factors that make EVs simply better than combustion vehicles. The longer time goes on, the more these inherent advantages will make themselves felt in the market.

>

> The first of these is price. Currently, EVs often require government subsidies in order to be price-competitive with combustion cars. But batteries are getting cheaper and cheaper as we get better and better at building them. The cheaper batteries get, the smaller the subsidies required to get people to switch to EVs. Goldman Sachs reports that this crucial tipping point will be reached in about two years:

>

> [...] Once batteries cross that tipping point, the EV revolution will take on its own momentum. It will simply be cheaper to buy an EV than a combustion car. People will gravitate toward the cheaper option, especially if it comes with other advantages. And in this case it does.

>

> EVs' second advantage is convenience. Most EV owners will almost never have to fill their cars up at a station. This is because they will charge their cars at night, in their own home garages or driveway.



[1] https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/evs-are-just-going-to-win

[2] https://x.com/colinmckerrache/status/1846820781755367794

The Financial Times:

> In the paediatric centre at one of London's largest hospitals, doctors are confounded each day by a ward computer that is not connected to a printer. The computer is used for managing the daily list of patients. Doctors can only access and update the list, using one shared account. So twice a day, two doctors on the ward said one of them had to log in to this computer, update the patient list, send the list to themselves via NHS email, and then log in to another nearby computer to print it off for the team. "I am at a top London hospital and yet at times I feel as though we are operating in the Stone Age," said one paediatrician on the ward.

>

> Tackling [1]the frustrating delays caused by outdated technology [Editor's note: [2]non-paywalled link ] is one of health secretary Wes Streeting and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's core missions, having vowed to shift the service "from an analogue to a digital NHS." The monumental task of moving the world's largest publicly funded health service into the digital age is not lost on doctors working on the frontline of the NHS. While many sectors of the economy have been "radically reshaped" by technology in recent years, a landmark report into the state of the health service in England last month concluded that the NHS stood "in the foothills of digital transformation."

>

> But doctors and nurses point out that the basic infrastructure needs to be brought up to a minimum standard, given significant regional variations between hospitals, before politicians extol the virtues of cutting-edge tech. "Some of us just want the printers to work," noted one NHS hospital doctor. "The complete flip-a-coin nature of how equipped your hospital is is mind-boggling," they added. "I have worked in hospitals that are at least 12 years behind others." A report published in 2022 by the British Medical Association, the UK's main doctors' union, estimated that doctors in England lost 13.5mn working hours a year as a consequence of "inadequate IT systems and equipment." One reason for the outdated infrastructure is that the country has spent almost $48bn less than its peers -- such as Germany, France, Australia -- on health assets since the 2010s, according to a government-commissioned study by Lord Ara Darzi last month.



[1] https://www.ft.com/content/e456bd4c-d7b1-4446-a538-be5b555166a1

[2] https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/the-nhs-is-in-an-it-stone-age-staff-struggle-with-creaking-infrastructure/ar-AA1sr6hc

A federal rule banning fake online reviews is now in effect. The Federal Trade Commission issued the rule in August [1]banning the sale or purchase of online reviews . The rule, which went into effect Monday, allows the agency to [2]seek civil penalties against those who knowingly violate it . AP:

> "Fake reviews not only waste people's time and money, but also pollute the marketplace and divert business away from honest competitors," FTC Chair Lina Khan said about the rule in August. She added that the rule will "protect Americans from getting cheated, put businesses that unlawfully game the system on notice, and promote markets that are fair, honest, and competitive."



[1] https://yro.slashdot.org/story/24/08/14/2121242/ftc-finalizes-rule-banning-fake-reviews-including-those-made-with-ai

[2] https://apnews.com/article/ftc-rule-fake-reviews-ban-b7e57e33c1818fa58dd742a921643239

Anthropic has [1]released an upgraded version of its AI model Claude 3.5 Sonnet and announced a new model, Claude 3.5 Haiku, alongside a public beta feature enabling AI to operate computers like humans. The enhanced Sonnet model improved its coding capabilities, scoring 49% on the SWEbench Verified benchmark, surpassing OpenAI and other competitors. The Haiku model matches the performance of Anthropic's previous flagship Claude 3 Opus while maintaining lower costs and faster speeds.

The computer use feature, available through Anthropic's API and cloud partners, allows Claude to perform tasks like navigating web browsers, filling forms, and manipulating data. Early adopters include Asana, DoorDash, and Replit, though Anthropic -- backed by investors including Google and Amazon -- acknowledges the feature remains experimental and error-prone. Claude 3.5 Haiku will launch later this month, initially supporting text-only inputs with image capabilities to follow.



[1] https://www.anthropic.com/news/3-5-models-and-computer-use

Democratic senators Elizabeth Warren, Ron Wyden, Richard Blumenthal and Representative Katie Porter are demanding the Justice Department [1]prosecute tax preparation companies for allegedly sharing sensitive taxpayer data with Meta and Google through tracking pixels. The lawmakers' call follows a Treasury Inspector General audit confirming their earlier investigation into TaxSlayer, H&R Block, and Tax Act. The audit found multiple companies failed to properly obtain consent before sharing tax return information via advertising tools. Violations could result in one-year prison terms and $1,000 fines per incident, potentially reaching billions in penalties given the scale of affected users.

In a letter shared with The Verge, the lawmakers said:

> "Accountability for these tax preparation companies -- who disclosed millions of taxpayers' tax return data, meaning they could potentially face billions of dollars in criminal liability -- is essential for protecting the rule of law and the privacy of taxpayers," the letter reads. "We urge you to follow the facts and the conclusions of TIGTA and the IRS and to take appropriate action against any companies or individuals that have violated the law."



[1] https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/22/24275913/warren-tax-prep-companies-doj-prosecute-data-meta-google-tracking-pixel

Companies hiring specialized AI talent are [1]seeing better stock market returns , according to new Barclays research. Analysis shows firms with higher ratios of specialized AI roles to general IT positions outperformed the market, with the top quintile returning 31.78% since October 2023, beating the S&P 500 Equal Weighted index. The findings suggest that targeted recruitment of "wonky IT people" with specific skills in natural language processing, computer vision, and specialized frameworks like TensorFlow could be a subtle indicator of future stock performance, offering investors a new lens for identifying companies poised to capitalize on AI productivity gains.



[1] https://www.ft.com/content/67cf5838-a6b4-4b08-b942-356ac263842f

Session, a small but increasingly popular encrypted messaging app, is [1]moving its operations outside of Australia after the country's federal law enforcement agency visited an employee's residence and asked them questions about the app and a particular user. 404 Media reports:

> Now Session will be maintained by an entity in Switzerland. The move signals the increasing pressure on maintainers of encrypted messaging apps, both when it comes to governments seeking more data on app users, as well as targeting messaging app companies themselves, like the [2]arrest of Telegram's CEO in August . "Ultimately, we were given the choice between remaining in Australia or relocating to a more privacy-friendly jurisdiction, such as Switzerland. For the project to continue, it could not be centred in Australia," Alex Linton, president of the newly formed Session Technology Foundation (STF) which will publish the Session app, told 404 Media in a statement. The app will still function in Australia, Linton added. Linton said that last year the Australian Federal Police (AFP) visited a Session employee at their home in the country. "There was no warrant used or meeting organised, they just went into their apartment complex and knocked on their front door," Linton said.

>

> The AFP asked about the Session app and company, and the employee's history on the project, Linton added. The officers also asked about an ongoing investigation related to a specific Session user, he added. Linton showed 404 Media an email sent by Session's legal representatives to the AFP which reflected that series of events. Part of Session's frustration around the incident came from the AFP deciding to "visit an employee at home rather than arranging a meeting through our proper (publicly available) channels," Linton said.



[1] https://www.404media.co/encrypted-chat-app-session-leaves-australia-after-visit-from-police-2/

[2] https://tech.slashdot.org/story/24/08/24/2253249/telegram-ceo-arested-in-france

WordPress sites are [1]being compromised through malicious plugins that display fake software updates and error messages, leading to the installation of information-stealing malware. BleepingComputer reports:

> Since 2023, a malicious campaign called ClearFake has been used to display fake web browser update banners on compromised websites that distribute information-stealing malware. In 2024, a new campaign called ClickFix was introduced that shares many similarities with ClearFake but instead pretends to be software error messages with included fixes. However, these "fixes" are PowerShell scripts that, when executed, will download and install information-stealing malware.

>

> Last week, GoDaddy [2]reported that the ClearFake/ClickFix threat actors have breached over 6,000 WordPress sites to install malicious plugins that display the fake alerts associated with these campaigns. "The GoDaddy Security team is tracking a new variant of ClickFix (also known as ClearFake) fake browser update malware that is distributed via bogus WordPress plugins," explains GoDaddy security researcher Denis Sinegubko. "These seemingly legitimate plugins are designed to appear harmless to website administrators but contain embedded malicious scripts that deliver fake browser update prompts to end-users."

>

> The malicious plugins utilize names similar to legitimate plugins, such as Wordfense Security and LiteSpeed Cache, while others use generic, made-up names. Website security firm Sucuri also noted that a fake plugin named "Universal Popup Plugin" is also part of this campaign. When installed, the malicious plugin will hook various WordPress actions depending on the variant to inject a malicious JavaScript script into the HTML of the site. When loaded, this script will attempt to load a further malicious JavaScript file stored in a Binance Smart Chain (BSC) smart contract, which then loads the ClearFake or ClickFix script to display the fake banners. From web server access logs analyzed by Sinegubko, the threat actors appear to be utilizing stolen admin credentials to log into the WordPress site and install the plugin in an automated manner.



[1] https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/over-6-000-wordpress-hacked-to-install-plugins-pushing-infostealers/

[2] https://www.godaddy.com/resources/news/threat-actors-push-clickfix-fake-browser-updates-using-stolen-credentials

NASA will rely on SpaceX's Crew Dragon for two crewed missions to the ISS in 2025 while [1]evaluating whether Boeing's Starliner requires another test flight for certification . SpaceNews reports:

> In an Oct. 15 statement, NASA said it will use Crew Dragon for both the Crew-10 mission to the ISS, scheduled for no earlier than February 2025, and the Crew-11 mission scheduled for no earlier than July. Crew-10 will fly NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers along with astronaut Takuya Onishi from the Japanese space agency JAXA and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov. NASA has not yet announced the crew for the Crew-11 mission.

>

> Earlier this year, NASA had hoped that Boeing's CST-100 Starliner would be certified in time to fly the early 2025 mission. Problems with the Crew Flight Test mission, which launched in June with NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams on board, led NASA to conclude in July that the spacecraft would not be certified in time. It delayed that Starliner-1 mission from February to August 2025, moving up Crew-10 to February. NASA also announced then that it would prepare Crew-11 in parallel with Starliner-1 for launch in that August 2025 slot.

"The timing and configuration of Starliner's next flight will be determined once a better understanding of Boeing's path to system certification is established," NASA said in its statement about the 2025 missions. "NASA is keeping options on the table for how best to achieve system certification, including windows of opportunity for a potential Starliner flight in 2025."



[1] https://spacenews.com/nasa-further-delays-first-operational-starliner-flight/

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica:

> 37Signals is not a company that makes its policy or management decisions quietly. The productivity software company was an avowedly Mac-centric shop until Apple's move to kill home screen web apps (or Progressive Web Apps, or PWAs) led the firm and its very-public-facing co-founder, David Heinemeier Hansson, to declare a "Return to Windows," followed by a stew of Windows/Mac/Linux. The company waged a public battle with Apple over its App Store subscription policies, and the resulting outcry helped nudge Apple a bit. 37Signals has maintained an active blog for years, its co-founders and employees have written numerous business advice books, and its blog and social media posts regularly hit the front pages of Hacker News.

>

> So when 37Signals decided to pull its seven cloud-based apps off Amazon Web Services [1]in the fall of 2022 , it didn't do so quietly or without details. Back then, Hansson described his firm as paying "an at times almost absurd premium" for defense against "wild swings or towering peaks in usage." In early 2023, Hansson wrote that 37Signals [2]expected to save $7 million over five years by buying more than $600,000 worth of Dell server gear and hosting its own apps.

>

> Late last week, Hansson had an update: [3]it's more like $10 million (and, he [4]told the BBC , more like $800,000 in gear). By squeezing more hardware into existing racks and power allowances, estimating seven years' life for that hardware, and eventually transferring its 10 petabytes of S3 storage into a dual-DC Pure Storage flash array, 37Signals [5]expects to save money, run faster, and have more storage available. "The motto of the 2010s and early 2020s -- all-cloud, everything, all the time -- seems to finally have peaked," Hansson writes. "And thank heavens for that!" He adds the caveat that companies with "enormous fluctuations in load," and those in early or uncertain stages, still have a place in the cloud.



[1] https://world.hey.com/dhh/why-we-re-leaving-the-cloud-654b47e0

[2] https://tech.slashdot.org/story/23/12/28/188258/why-37signals-abandoned-the-cloud

[3] https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2024/10/basecamp-maker-37signals-says-its-cloud-exit-will-save-it-10m-over-5-years/

[4] https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd114lllyp6o

[5] https://world.hey.com/dhh/our-cloud-exit-savings-will-now-top-ten-million-over-five-years-c7d9b5bd