152406715
submission
ytene writes:
As reported by CNBC, the US Court of Federal Claims has released a redacted version of the lawsuit, filed by Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin, in a complaint against NASA.
Earlier this year the agency had awarded a $2.9 billion contract to SpaceX, for the design and development of a lunar lander.
Although NASA has a long history of awarding contracts to promote innovation and competition, the Blue Origin suit seemed a little unusual given the company's current lack of launch experience (they have completed numerous successful tests, including a high-altitude 'edge of space' flight for Bezos, his brother and guests, but have yet to place any vehicle in orbit, let alone establish a credible, commercial space flight presence).
As was also reported by CNBC, the Government Accountability Office conducted an investigation in to the initial Blue Origin complaint, after NASA suspended the process, but found no evidence that NASA awarded the contract incorrectly and denied the initial Blue Origin complaint.
152311169
submission
ytene writes:
Danika Fears over at The Daily Beast carries some pretty explosive reporting, describing how Peter Thiel — of Palantir infamy — claims in a new biography by Max Chafkin that Mark Zuckerberg agreed to push "State-Sanctioned Conservatism" in return for the Trump administration steering clear of any "heavy-handed regulations".
This could well be one of those situations where it doesn't matter if the core claim is true or false — because either way this is going to get ugly.
149901629
submission
ytene writes:
CNN are claiming an exclusive scoop, with an article showing that US intelligence agencies have scored a massive trove of Covid-19 genetic data, which, CNN suggests, comes from the Wuhan research lab.
More than the complex challenge of absorbing and understanding the "mountain" of raw data, US researchers are going to have to translate the material from native Mandarin before the real work can begin.
Whilst there has obviously been a lot of interest in a clear identification of the source, it isn't clear how such a revelation could have a material impact on the efficacy of vaccines or the take-up of the treatment. It might, however, give useful clues to help understand where or how the next deadly outbreak could develop.
147764766
submission
ytene writes:
The BBC are showing a first set of images of NASA's now-assembled SLS vehicle, noting that NASA intends to use it to launch a human crew back to the moon later this decade — although testing will take place before astronauts are expected to ride the vehicle to space some time in 2023.
147764620
submission
ytene writes:
As reported at The Hill and elsewhere, a live-streamed auction for the seat lasted less than 10 minutes after opening at $4.9 million.
The trip is scheduled to take place next month, with the auction winner sharing a ride with both Bezos and his brother.
147032520
submission
ytene writes:
According to a report filed by CNN, the attackers behind one of the worst data breaches of all time have launched a new global attack on more than 150 government agencies, think tanks and other organizations.
This iteration of the attack was initiated when more than 3,000 email accounts were targeted, through what seems to be a compromise of a "Constant Contact email marketing account used by the US Agency for International Development".
James Lewis, a cybersecurity expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, theorizes that this new assault is part of a Russian campaign plan for massive cyber attacks against the US and is part of a process of testing the new administration.
What do you think President Biden should do with respect to raising these attacks with foreign counter-parts in countries like Russia, China and North Korea? But what do you think will actually happen?
145969788
submission
ytene writes:
As reported by The Intercept, U.S. Customs and Border Protection have just spent $456,063 for a package of technology specifically designed to access smartphone data via a motor vehicle. From the article:-
"...part of the draw of vacuuming data out of cars is that so many drivers are oblivious to the fact that their cars are generating so much data in the first place, often including extremely sensitive information inadvertently synced from smartphones."
This data can include “Recent destinations, favorite locations, call logs, contact lists, SMS messages, emails, pictures, videos, social media feeds, and the navigation history of everywhere the vehicle has been, when and where a vehicle’s lights are turned on, and which doors are opened and closed at specific locations” as well as “gear shifts, odometer reads, ignition cycles, speed logs, and more. This car-based surveillance, in other words, goes many miles beyond the car itself."
Perhaps the most remarkable claim, however, was, “We had a Ford Explorer we pulled the system out, and we recovered 70 phones that had been connected to it. All of their call logs, their contacts and their SMS.”
Mohammad Tajsar, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), is quoted as saying, “Whenever we have surveillance technology that’s deeply invasive, we are disturbed,” he said. “When it’s in the hands of an agency that’s consistently refused any kind of attempt at basic accountability, reform, or oversight, then it’s Defcon 1.”
144272704
submission
ytene writes:
As reported by the BBC, a Team at the Large Hadron Collider are reporting a hint of new physics thanks to analysis of results from exploring the so-called Beauty Quark.
Results from the LHCb are currently standing at three-sigma — offering a roughly one-in-one-thousand chance that the measurements reported are a statistical coincidence, still considered short of the so-called "gold-standard" of five-sigma.
If further analysis and experiments confirm these results, they might point the way to an as-yet undiscovered particle, hints of something beyond the Standard Model.
144225630
submission
ytene writes:
As covered by a fascinating and hilarious video from the BBC, Twitch Streamer and YouTube star, Kitboga, has teamed up with some software developers to produce an AI that can interact directly with phone scammers.
Although only brief samples of the solution at work were shown in the clip, the reporter suggests that it has worked for periods of up to 30 minutes.
Will this be enough to finally put an end to the phone scammers, or do you think even more drastic steps will be required?
