In the last few years, big technology companies have faced growing pressure from employees to become involved in social justice issues. This pressure intensified this summer with the George Floyd protests. But this week, CEO Brian Armstrong of the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase staked out a contrarian stance. "While I think these efforts are well-intentioned, they have the potential to destroy a lot of value at most companies, both by being a distraction, and by creating internal division,"  in a blog post. "We've seen what internal strife at companies like Google and Facebook can do...…In the last few years, big technology companies have faced growing pressure from employees to become involved in social justice issues. This pressure intensified this summer with the George Floyd protests. But this week, CEO Brian Armstrong of the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase staked out a contrarian stance. "While I think these efforts are well-intentioned, they have the potential to destroy a lot of value at most companies, both by being a distraction, and by creating internal division,"  in a blog post. "We've seen what internal strife at companies like Google and Facebook can do...WW…

The paper that was the focus of this coverage has been retracted due to issues found in the underlying data used in its analysis. As such, the following article should not be considered an accurate description of the biology.Late last year, a Chinese researcher shocked the scientific community when he announced that the first gene-edited humans had already been born. He Jiankui barreled past that the technology and, once it was, should be reserved for otherwise untreatable diseases. Instead of respecting those boundaries, He did much of his work without any clear institutional...…The paper that was the focus of this coverage has been retracted due to issues found in the underlying data used in its analysis. As such, the following article should not be considered an accurate description of the biology.Late last year, a Chinese researcher shocked the scientific community when he announced that the first gene-edited humans had already been born. He Jiankui barreled past that the technology and, once it was, should be reserved for otherwise untreatable diseases. Instead of respecting those boundaries, He did much of his work without any clear institutional...WW…

Taiwan has faced existential conflict with China for its entire existence and has been targeted by China's state-sponsored hackers for years. But an investigation by one Taiwanese security firm has revealed just how deeply a single group of Chinese hackers was able to penetrate an industry at the core of the Taiwanese economy, pillaging practically its entire semiconductor industry.At the Black Hat security conference today, researchers from the Taiwanese cybersecurity firm CyCraft plan to present new details of a hacking campaign that compromised at least seven Taiwanese chip firms over...…Taiwan has faced existential conflict with China for its entire existence and has been targeted by China's state-sponsored hackers for years. But an investigation by one Taiwanese security firm has revealed just how deeply a single group of Chinese hackers was able to penetrate an industry at the core of the Taiwanese economy, pillaging practically its entire semiconductor industry.At the Black Hat security conference today, researchers from the Taiwanese cybersecurity firm CyCraft plan to present new details of a hacking campaign that compromised at least seven Taiwanese chip firms over...WW…

An ongoing malware campaign is blasting the Internet with malware that neuters the security of Web browsers, adds malicious browser extensions, and makes other changes to users’ computers, Microsoft said on Thursday.Adrozek, as the software maker has dubbed the malware family, relies on a sprawling distribution network comprising 159 unique domains with each one hosting an average of 17,300 unique URLs. The URLs, in turn, host an average of 15,300 unique malware samples. The campaign began no later than May and hit a peak in August, when the malware was observed on 30,000 devices per...…An ongoing malware campaign is blasting the Internet with malware that neuters the security of Web browsers, adds malicious browser extensions, and makes other changes to users’ computers, Microsoft said on Thursday.Adrozek, as the software maker has dubbed the malware family, relies on a sprawling distribution network comprising 159 unique domains with each one hosting an average of 17,300 unique URLs. The URLs, in turn, host an average of 15,300 unique malware samples. The campaign began no later than May and hit a peak in August, when the malware was observed on 30,000 devices per...WW…

One of the first big challenges neophyte sysadmins and data hoarding enthusiasts face is how to store more than a single disk worth of data. The short—and traditional—answer here is RAID (a Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks), but even then there are many different RAID topologies to choose from.Most people who implement RAID expect to get extra performance, as well as extra storage, out of all those disks. Those expectations aren't always rooted very firmly in the real world, unfortunately. But since we're all home with time for some technical projects, we hope to shed some light on how...…One of the first big challenges neophyte sysadmins and data hoarding enthusiasts face is how to store more than a single disk worth of data. The short—and traditional—answer here is RAID (a Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks), but even then there are many different RAID topologies to choose from.Most people who implement RAID expect to get extra performance, as well as extra storage, out of all those disks. Those expectations aren't always rooted very firmly in the real world, unfortunately. But since we're all home with time for some technical projects, we hope to shed some light on how...WW…

At about 9.30pm on Easter Monday, in the small Dutch town of Almere near Amsterdam, the fire brigade was called to put out a blaze at a large telecoms mast—the second fire of its kind that night in the area.Though neither of the Almere towers were equipped with any of the latest 5G telecoms equipment—in fact one was designed only for use by the emergency services—authorities soon concluded that the fires were perpetrated by vandals acting in the name of an unusual theory: that 5G networks have contributed to the coronavirus pandemic.The Dutch mast fires are just the latest escalation in a...…At about 9.30pm on Easter Monday, in the small Dutch town of Almere near Amsterdam, the fire brigade was called to put out a blaze at a large telecoms mast—the second fire of its kind that night in the area.Though neither of the Almere towers were equipped with any of the latest 5G telecoms equipment—in fact one was designed only for use by the emergency services—authorities soon concluded that the fires were perpetrated by vandals acting in the name of an unusual theory: that 5G networks have contributed to the coronavirus pandemic.The Dutch mast fires are just the latest escalation in a...WW…

Software hosting, version-control, and open-source collaboration platform GitHub has made some sweeping to its plans and offerings, extending free service to far more teams and users than before while slashing prices for access to some key features by half.Arguably the most important change is that unlimited repositories and collaborators are now offered as part of the free tier, even if the project is private. Previously, GitHub offered unlimited repositories for free only to public projects or with a small number of users, which precluded use of the free tier by several different types of...…Software hosting, version-control, and open-source collaboration platform GitHub has made some sweeping to its plans and offerings, extending free service to far more teams and users than before while slashing prices for access to some key features by half.Arguably the most important change is that unlimited repositories and collaborators are now offered as part of the free tier, even if the project is private. Previously, GitHub offered unlimited repositories for free only to public projects or with a small number of users, which precluded use of the free tier by several different types of...WW…

On Tuesday, General Motors revealed that its first ventilators are ready for delivery. The automaker with the US Department of Health and Human Services to license-build 30,000 Ventec Life Systems V+ Pro critical care ventilators, following criticism by President Donald Trump in March when he accused the company of "." These ventilators are designed to treat the most critically ill patients, who need invasive intubation (tubes inserted into the lungs) as opposed to non-invasive machines like , which are also often referred to as ventilators.GM says that it will ship the first 600...…On Tuesday, General Motors revealed that its first ventilators are ready for delivery. The automaker with the US Department of Health and Human Services to license-build 30,000 Ventec Life Systems V+ Pro critical care ventilators, following criticism by President Donald Trump in March when he accused the company of "." These ventilators are designed to treat the most critically ill patients, who need invasive intubation (tubes inserted into the lungs) as opposed to non-invasive machines like , which are also often referred to as ventilators.GM says that it will ship the first 600...WW…

A billion or more Android devices are vulnerable to hacks that can turn them into spying tools by exploiting more than 400 vulnerabilities in Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chip, researchers reported this week.The vulnerabilities can be exploited when a target downloads a video or other content that’s rendered by the chip. Targets can also be attacked by installing malicious apps that require no permissions at all.From there, attackers can monitor locations and listen to nearby audio in real time and exfiltrate photos and videos. Exploits also make it possible to render the phone completely...…A billion or more Android devices are vulnerable to hacks that can turn them into spying tools by exploiting more than 400 vulnerabilities in Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chip, researchers reported this week.The vulnerabilities can be exploited when a target downloads a video or other content that’s rendered by the chip. Targets can also be attacked by installing malicious apps that require no permissions at all.From there, attackers can monitor locations and listen to nearby audio in real time and exfiltrate photos and videos. Exploits also make it possible to render the phone completely...WW…

As education systems in the United States scramble to make remote learning possible in , the harsh realities of the country's digital divide continue to present themselves. Not all areas have access to reliable broadband. Not all children have access to a laptop. And even if both of those conditions are met, not all families have a home-Internet connection. According to , about 20 million Americans lack access to fixed broadband with speeds of at least 25Mbps down and 3Mbps up. estimates about 18 percent of US students fall into that category.Yet as school districts nationwide , an...…As education systems in the United States scramble to make remote learning possible in , the harsh realities of the country's digital divide continue to present themselves. Not all areas have access to reliable broadband. Not all children have access to a laptop. And even if both of those conditions are met, not all families have a home-Internet connection. According to , about 20 million Americans lack access to fixed broadband with speeds of at least 25Mbps down and 3Mbps up. estimates about 18 percent of US students fall into that category.Yet as school districts nationwide , an...WW…