Welcome to This Week’s [in]Security. New trending stories section with updates on Coronovirus, Ransomware Evolution, and Election Security. PCI PTS 3 expiry. PCI Events. Magecart. More sextortion. Changing Disclosure Shame Culture. FCC privacy enforcement. IP addresses are not PII. Legal WTFs. India's Data Protection Bill. Nist updates on ransomware, supply chain risk and more. SIM fraud. Women in Cybersecurity Nominations. Chrome ups the bar. 'Radioactive Data' vs. AI. Phone Forensics. Bugs in Windows search, Sudo, and Azure. More air-gap exfiltration. Why patch Windows 7. Scam losses in Canada. Beware the cleaners. IoT Supply Chain Malware. Corp.com risk. Y2K all over again. Anti-Vax fatality. Regulating AI. Faking traffic jams. And more.

Now here's this week’s selection of news, opinions, and research. Quickly skim annotated links organized by topic: compliance and payment security, breaches, regulation, bugs, privacy, hacking/malware, other security & risk, and more. We hope you enjoy and find them useful.

New - Emerging Issues and Trending Stories

This special section is dedicated to emerging issues and trending stories that cross multiple of our regular news categories.

• Coronavirus updates - infection, quarantine, fall-out, and social-media stupidity:

  • Could the new coronavirus go from epidemic to pandemic? https://globalnews.ca/news/6498652/coronavirus-pandemic-china-who/
  • Coronavirus death toll rises to 490 in China as Japan confirms 10 cases on cruise ship https://globalnews.ca/news/6507744/coronavirus-deaths-china-japan-cruise/
  • The Wuhan coronavirus death toll in mainland China has exceeded the amount of people who died in China during the SARS outbreak https://www.businessinsider.com/death-toll-for-wuhan-coronavirus-in-mainland-china-exceeds-sars-2020-2
  • Virologists Find Coronavirus Is 80% The Same as SARS, Which May Help Us Neutralise It https://www.sciencealert.com/genetic-analysis-shows-wuhan-coronavirus-is-similar-to-sars
  • As death toll rises to 811, the new coronavirus has now killed more people than SARS https://globalnews.ca/news/6526637/coronavirus-death-toll-surpasses-sars/
  • B.C. passengers living under 'cabin arrest' on quarantined cruise ship https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-passenger-coronavirus-quarantined-cruise-ship-1.5453793
  • Japan quarantined a cruise ship with 3,700 people onboard after one passenger contracted the Wuhan coronavirus https://www.businessinsider.com/wuhan-coronavirus-japan-quarantine-cruise-ship-photos-inside-2020-2
  • Japan turns away Westerdam on coronavirus fears https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/news/japan-turns-away-westerdam-coronavirus-fears
  • China says it will ban the trade in wild animals, like bats, believed to be behind the Wuhan coronavirus, and tighten supervision on 'wet markets' https://www.businessinsider.com/china-ban-illegal-animal-trade-tighten-supervision-on-wet-markets-2020-2
  • UCSC genome browser posts the coronavirus genome https://scienmag.com/ucsc-genome-browser-posts-the-coronavirus-genome/
  • How AI Is Tracking the Coronavirus Outbreak https://www.wired.com/story/how-ai-tracking-coronavirus-outbreak/
  • Coronavirus Hits Electronics Manufacturing Hard, Companies Are Scrambling https://www.forbes.com/sites/annashedletsky/2020/02/07/coronavirus-hits-electronics-manufacturing-hard-companies-are-scrambling/
  • Man with ‘I have the coronavirus’ sign sprays aerosol on Walmart food https://globalnews.ca/news/6520490/coronavirus-prank-walmart/
  • Flight to Jamaica forced to return to Toronto after passenger makes false coronavirus claim https://globalnews.ca/news/6503789/false-coronavirus-claim-passenger-westjet-toronto-jamaica/
  • Coronavirus: Russian media hint at US conspiracy https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-51413870
  • No, The Wuhan Coronavirus Was Not Genetically Engineered To Put Pieces Of HIV In It https://www.forbes.com/sites/victoriaforster/2020/02/02/no-coronavirus-was-not-bioengineered-to-put-pieces-of-hiv-in-it/

• The Evoloution of Ransomware into Shameware, Breachware, and Data Corruption:

  • More proof that ransomware=breach … DoppelPaymer Ransomware Gang Threatens to Dump Victims' Data https://www.bankinfosecurity.com/doppelpaymer-ransomware-gang-threatens-to-dump-victims-data-a-13683
  • Malware Attack 'Damages' Patient Records https://www.bankinfosecurity.com/malware-attack-a-13690
  • New Ransomware Doesn't Just Encrypt Data. It Also Meddles With Critical Infrastructure https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2020/02/new-ransomware-intentionally-meddles-with-critical-infrastructure/ and https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2020/02/newransomware.html
  • Maze Team continues naming victims and dumping data… https://www.databreaches.net/maze-team-continues-naming-victims-and-dumping-data/
  • Why you can’t bank on backups to fight ransomware anymore https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2020/02/why-you-cant-bank-on-backups-to-fight-ransomware-anymore/

• Election Security brought into sharp focus after Iowa:

  • The Cybersecurity 202: Iowa caucus app is latest example of politicos building faulty technology with disastrous results https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-cybersecurity-202/2020/02/05/the-cybersecurity-202-iowa-caucus-app-is-latest-example-of-politicos-building-faulty-technology-with-disastrous-results/5e39b69d88e0fa7f82544648/
  • Iowa’s caucus fracas shows we’re still too ignorant about how apps work https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/5/21123337/iowas-caucus-fracas-tech-literacy
  • Faulty Iowa App Was Part of Push to Restore Democrats’ Digital Edge https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/04/us/politics/iowa-caucus-shadow-app.html
  • Here’s Everything We Know About The App That Reportedly Disrupted The Iowa Caucus https://www.forbes.com/sites/lisettevoytko/2020/02/04/heres-everything-we-know-about-the-app-that-reportedly-disrupted-the-iowa-caucus/
  • Clog the lines': Internet trolls deliberately disrupted the Iowa caucuses hotline for reporting results https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/clog-lines-iowa-caucus-hotline-posted-online-encouragement-disrupt-results-n1131521
  • Iowa Forgot the Whole Point of the Caucus https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/02/iowa-forgot-whole-point-caucuses/606061/
  • Iowa Election Snafu: What Happens When IT And Cybersecurity Best Practices Are Ignored https://www.forbes.com/sites/jodywestby/2020/02/06/iowa-election-snafu-what-happens-when-it-and-cybersecurity-best-practices-are-ignored/
  • The Iowa caucus debacle shows why tech and voting don’t mix https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/5/21122497/iowa-caucus-app-debacle-voting-election-technology
  • FBI Reportedly Says DDoS Attack Targeted an Unamed State's Voter Registration https://www.bankinfosecurity.com/fbi-reportedly-says-ddos-attack-targeted-voter-registration-a-13691
  • Twitter Moves to Target Fake Videos and Photos https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/04/technology/twitter-fake-videos-photos-disinformation.html and https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/twitter-label-deepfakes-deceptive-media-1.5451948
• YouTube Says It Will Ban Misleading Election-Related Content https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/03/technology/youtube-misinformation-election.html
• Tool to Help Journalists Spot Doctored Images Is Unveiled by Jigsaw https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/04/technology/jigsaw-doctored-images-disinformation.html

PCI Compliance and Payments

News and announcements relating to Payment Security, PCI, Card Brands, Payments, Payment Malware and Fraud.

• PCI Security Standards Council bulletin on Expiring PTS POI version 3 devices https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/pdfs/PCISSCBulletinontheexpirationoftheapprovalofPTSPOIv3devices.pdf
• 2020 PCI Events and training in India, Latin America, NA, EU, and AP https://events.pcisecuritystandards.org/
• Magecart Gang Attacks Olympic Ticket Reseller and Survival Food Sites https://threatpost.com/olympic-ticket-survival-sites-hit-by-cyberattack/152648/
• Joker's Stash Advertises Second Batch of Indian Card Data https://www.bankinfosecurity.com/jokers-stash-advertises-second-batch-indian-card-data-a-13697
• Almost half a million Indian debit and credit cards found up for sale on dark web https://www.databreaches.net/almost-half-a-million-indian-debit-and-credit-cards-found-up-for-sale-on-dark-web/
• Visa planning changes to interchange rates possibly raising e-commerce fees https://www.mobilepaymentstoday.com/news/visa-plans-major-reset-of-interchange-rates/
• Payments giant Worldline to buy rival Ingenico amid fintech threat https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/03/payments-giant-worldline-to-buy-rival-ingenico-amid-fintech-threat.html
• Mastercard CEO Pushes Back Against National Payments System https://www.pymnts.com/mastercard/2020/mastercard-ceo-pushes-back-against-national-payments-system/
• Mastercard's CEO ditched Facebook's Libra after multiple red flags https://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/news/mastercard-ceo-ajay-bangea-quit-facebook-libra-red-flags-2020-2-1028871194

Breaches / Ransomware / Leaks

Covering breaches, leaks, data exposures, ransomware (as potential breach), and their fallout.

• Twitter API Abused to Uncover User Identities https://threatpost.com/twitter-api-abused-to-uncover-identities/152521/
• Twitter Confirms ‘Nation-State’ Attack: User Identities Breached https://www.forbes.com/sites/zakdoffman/2020/02/04/twitter-confirms-alarmingly-simple-nation-state-attack-user-identities-breached/
• Facebook Hack: Social Network Confirms 13.4 Million Follower Twitter Account Compromised https://www.forbes.com/sites/daveywinder/2020/02/08/facebook-hack-social-network-confirms-134-million-follower-twitter-account-compromised/ and https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/7/21128779/facebook-twitter-messenger-account-ourmine-hacked-nfl
• Personal Data Of 650,000 Oregonians Exposed After Medical Vendor’s Computer Stolen https://www.databreaches.net/personal-data-of-650000-oregonians-exposed-after-medical-vendors-computer-stolen/
• Educational Enrichment Systems, Inc. – Notice Of Data Breach https://www.databreaches.net/educational-enrichment-systems-inc-notice-of-data-breach/
• School district officials investigating possible breach of online grading system https://www.databreaches.net/school-district-officials-investigating-possible-breach-of-online-grading-system/
• Arizona Department of Education redaction failure exposed 7,000 parents’ scholarship accounts https://www.databreaches.net/arizona-department-of-education-redaction-failure-exposed-7000-parents-scholarship-accounts/
• Data breach potentially exposes Eastern Virginia Medical School employees’ bank accounts https://www.databreaches.net/data-breach-potentially-exposes-eastern-virginia-medical-school-employees-bank-accounts/
• Oh buoy. Rich yacht bods' job agency leaves 17,000 sailors' details exposed in AWS bucket https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/02/04/crewandconciergedatabreach/
• 100K IU Student GPAs Accidentally Made Available To All Students, Staff https://www.databreaches.net/100k-iu-student-gpas-accidentally-made-available-to-all-students-staff/
• IL: Belvidere City Hall victim to cyberattack https://www.databreaches.net/il-belvidere-city-hall-victim-to-cyberattack/
• School's out as ransomware attack downs IT systems at Scotland's Dundee and Angus College https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/02/04/dundeeanguscollege_ransomware/
• Australian Shipping Giant Toll Hit by Ransomware https://www.securityweek.com/australian-shipping-giant-toll-hit-ransomware
• Google Accidentally Shared Private Videos of Some Users With Others https://thehackernews.com/2020/02/google-photos-videos.html and https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/4/21122044/google-photos-privacy-breach-takeout-data-video-strangers
• Deliveries stranded across Australia as Toll confirms ransomware attack https://www.zdnet.com/article/deliveries-stranded-across-australia-as-toll-confirms-ransomware-attack/
• Ottawa won’t say whether cabinet ministers’ offices have suffered privacy breaches https://thelogic.co/news/exclusive/ottawa-wont-say-whether-cabinet-ministers-offices-have-suffered-privacy-breaches/
• WannaCry ransomware attack on NHS could have triggered NATO reaction, says German cybergeneral https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/02/03/wannacrynatoresponse/
• Breaches just keep giving Ashley Madison Breach Extortion Scam Targets Hundreds https://threatpost.com/ashley-madison-breach-extortion-scam-targets-hundreds/152481/
• Lawsuit in India Seeks to Shut Down Access to U.S. Journalism Website https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/01/lawsuit-india-seeks-shut-down-access-us-journalism-website
• Salesforce Data Breach Suit Cites California Privacy Law https://www.databreaches.net/salesforce-data-breach-suit-cites-california-privacy-law/
• Changing the Disclosure Shame Culture https://www.securityweek.com/changing-disclosure-shame-culture

Privacy

Articles about privacy related news, risks, and trends.

• Privacy commissioner asks federal court to open hearings into Facebook's violation of privacy https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/facebook-privacy-commissioner-hearing-1.5454525
• FCC Announces Enforcement Action on Location Privacy https://epic.org/2020/01/fcc-announces-enforcement-acti.html
• Irish Regulator Probes Google, Tinder Over Data Processing https://www.securityweek.com/irish-regulator-probes-google-tinder-over-data-processing
• How US drug giants can access NHS health records https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/feb/08/fears-over-sale-anonymous-nhs-patient-data
• Alberta judge rules: No expectation of privacy in an IP address https://www.itworldcanada.com/article/no-expectation-of-privacy-in-an-ip-address-alberta-judge-rules/426920
• Wacom Tablet Data Exfiltration Raises Security Concerns https://threatpost.com/wacom-tablet-data-exfiltration-security-concerns/152707/

Laws & Regulations / Standards

News about laws, regulations, and standards affecting security, privacy,  technology, and public interest.

• This weeks legal WTF's:

  • Ontario judge says officers had no right to seize hidden bedside camera from Airbnb condo https://globalnews.ca/news/6516591/ontario-airbnb-hidden-camera-voyeurism/
  • China wants to patent a U.S. drug to fight coronavirus https://globalnews.ca/news/6515020/china-scientists-drug-coronavirus/
• Your Poorly Secured Totally Opaque Medical Credit Score Could Deny You Care https://thetoolsweneed.com/poorly-secured-medical-credit-score-could-deny-you-care/
• Homeland Security reportedly bought phone location data to track people at the border https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/7/21127795/dhs-buying-phone-location-data-marketing-companies-border-immigration
• Opinion: Broadcasting report constitutes a stunning overreach https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/commentary/article-the-crtc-report-constitutes-a-stunning-unjustified-power-grab/
• COMMENTARY: Government sending unhelpful mixed messages on telecom, broadcast regulations https://globalnews.ca/news/6492562/broadcast-telecommunications-legislative-review-yale-panel/
• Not Neutral: Why the Broadcast Panel Report Weakens Net Neutrality in Canada http://www.michaelgeist.ca/2020/02/not-neutral-why-the-broadcast-panel-report-weakens-net-neutrality-in-canada/
• India's Data Protection Bill Threatens Global Cybersecurity https://www.wired.com/story/opinion-indias-data-protection-bill-threatens-global-cybersecurity/
• NIST Draft SP 1800-26: Detecting and Responding to Ransomware and Other Destructive Events open for comments until February 26 https://www.nccoe.nist.gov/webform/comments-draft-sp-1800-26-detecting-and-responding-ransomware-and-other-destructive-events and https://www.nccoe.nist.gov/projects/building-blocks/data-integrity/detect-respond
• NIST Webinar page https://www.nist.gov/itl/applied-cybersecurity/nice/events/webinars
• NIST Webinar on The Intersection of the Privacy and Cybersecurity Workforce (February 19, 2020) https://www.nist.gov/news-events/events/2020/02/nice-webinar-intersection-privacy-and-cybersecurity-workforce
• NIST will update SP 800-161 Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal Information Systems and Organizations and is seeking comments from stakeholders until February 28 https://csrc.nist.gov/publications/detail/sp/800-161/rev-1/draft
• NIST Draft NISTIR 8276, Key Practices in Cyber Supply Chain Risk Management: Observations from Industry is open for public comment period until March 4, 2020 https://csrc.nist.gov/publications/detail/nistir/8276/draft, case studies https://csrc.nist.gov/projects/cyber-supply-chain-risk-management/key-practices
• Netflix has removed nine titles, including Night of the Living Dead, to comply with government requests https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/7/21127965/netflix-remove-movies-tv-shows-patriot-act-full-metal-jacket-report

Defense / Techniques / Solutions

Covering developments and opportunities that may help improve security.

• Breach Report: Sometimes, Encryption Is Still Overlooked https://www.bankinfosecurity.com/breach-report-sometimes-encryption-still-overlooked-a-13696
• CRTC asks carriers to crackdown on SIM card fraud https://bc.ctvnews.ca/crtc-asks-carriers-to-crackdown-on-sim-card-fraud-1.4798586
• Nominations wanted for new initiative to recognize top cybersecurity women in Canada https://www.itbusiness.ca/press-release/new-recognition-for-canadas-top-women-in-cyber-security
• Automatic Call Screen starts rolling out to the Pixel 3, 3a, Pixel 2 and original Pixel (Updated) https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/02/06/automatic-call-screen-starts-rolling-out-to-the-pixel-3/
• Facebook's Bug Bounty Caught a Data-Stealing Spree in the Act https://www.wired.com/story/facebook-bug-bounty-app-data-stealing/
• RIP FTP? File Transfer Protocol switched off by default in Chrome 80 https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/02/05/ftpdeprecatedchrome/
• Chrome 80 Released With 56 Security Fixes https://www.securityweek.com/chrome-80-released-56-security-fixes
• TLS 1.0/1.1 end-of-life countdown heads into the danger zone https://portswigger.net/daily-swig/tls-1-0-1-1-end-of-life-countdown-heads-into-the-danger-zone
• Google Chrome To Bar HTTP File Downloads https://threatpost.com/google-chrome-to-bar-http-file-downloads/152674/
• To Combat Rogue AI, Facebook Pitches 'Radioactive Data' https://www.bankinfosecurity.com/blogs/to-combat-rogue-ai-facebook-pitches-radioactive-data-p-2862
• Wireshark 3.2.1 Released https://isc.sans.edu/diary.html?storyid=25762
• Obtaining evidence from devices http://revforensics.com/obtaining-evidence-from-devices/
• Burn, drown, or smash your phone: Forensics can extract data anyway https://www.zdnet.com/article/burn-drown-or-smash-your-phone-forensics-can-extract-data-anyway/

Bugs / Design Flaws / Vulnerabilities / Research

Articles about newly discovered vulnerabilities and research.

• Growing Medical Device Sophistication Opens Security Issues https://www.bankinfosecurity.com/blogs/growing-medical-device-sophistication-opens-security-issues-p-2856
• RobbinHood Kills Security Processes Before Dropping Ransomware https://www.darkreading.com/attacks-breaches/robbinhood-kills-security-processes-before-dropping-ransomware/d/d-id/1337000
• Attackers Actively Targeting Flaw in Door-Access Controllers https://www.darkreading.com/iot/attackers-actively-targeting-flaw-in-door-access-controllers/d/d-id/1336947
• These are the top ten software flaws used by crooks: Make sure you've applied the patches https://www.zdnet.com/article/these-are-the-top-ten-software-flaws-used-by-crooks-make-sure-youve-applied-the-patches/
• Windows 10 Warning: Anger At Microsoft Rises With Serious New Failure of Windows File Search https://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2020/02/06/windows-10-warning-serious-failure-provokes-questions-and-anger/
• Serious flaw that lurked in sudo for 9 years hands over root privileges https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2020/02/serious-flaw-that-lurked-in-sudo-for-9-years-finally-gets-a-patch/ and https://thehackernews.com/2020/02/sudo-linux-vulnerability.html
• Remote Cloud Execution - Critical Vulnerabilities in Azure Cloud Infrastructure (Part I) https://research.checkpoint.com/2020/remote-cloud-execution-critical-vulnerabilities-in-azure-cloud-infrastructure-part-i/
• ‘Critical’ Bitcoin Hardware Wallet Flaw Revealed https://www.forbes.com/sites/billybambrough/2020/02/08/crypto-exchange-kraken-reveals-serious-bitcoin-wallet-flaw/
• Researchers transmit data covertly by altering screen brightness https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2020/02/07/researchers-transmit-data-covertly-by-altering-screen-brightness/ and https://www.securityweek.com/hackers-can-steal-data-air-gapped-computers-screen-brightness
• Google fixes no-user-interaction RCE bug in Android's Bluetooth component https://www.zdnet.com/article/google-fixes-no-user-interaction-bug-in-androids-bluetooth-component/ and https://threatpost.com/critical-android-bluetooth-bug-enables-rce-no-user-interaction-needed/152699/
• The Cybersecurity 202: Here’s why NSA rushed to expose a dangerous computer bug https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-cybersecurity-202/2020/02/06/the-cybersecurity-202-here-s-why-nsa-rushed-to-expose-a-dangerous-computer-bug/5e3b0f41602ff15f8279a52e/
• Microsoft Teams went down because of an expired certificate https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/03/microsoft-teams-expired-certificate/
• Your Philips Hue light bulbs can still be hacked — and until recently, your network https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/5/21123491/philips-hue-bulb-hack-hub-firmware-patch-update and https://thehackernews.com/2020/02/philips-smart-light-bulb-hacking.html
• Attacking Driverless Cars with Projected Images https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2020/02/attacking_drive.html and https://threatpost.com/tesla-autopilot-duped-by-phantom-images/152491/

Hacking / Malware / Cybercrime / Exploitation

News covering active trends and events.

• Canadians lose at least $130 million in scams last year https://beta.ctvnews.ca/local/toronto/2020/2/5/1_4799282.html
• Pirated Software is All Fun and Games Until Your Data’s Stolen https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/pirated-software-is-all-fun-and-games-until-your-data-s-stolen/
• Police are warning crooks are using cleaners to compromise businesses https://securityaffairs.co/wordpress/97254/cyber-crime/crooks-using-cleaners-hack-firms.html
• FBI Director Warns of Ongoing Russian 'Information Warfare' https://www.securityweek.com/fbi-director-warns-ongoing-russian-information-warfare
• "Charming Kitten" APT Uses Fake Interview Requests to Target Public Figures https://threatpost.com/charming-kitten-uses-fake-interview-requests-to-target-public-figures/152628/
• Gamaredon APT Improves Toolset to Target Ukraine Government, Military https://threatpost.com/gamaredon-apt-toolset-ukraine/152568/
• TA505 APT Group Returns With New Techniques https://www.bankinfosecurity.com/ta505-apt-group-returns-new-techniques-report-a-13678
• Crypto Exchange 'Altsbit' Loses "Almost All Funds" in Hack https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/crypto-exchange-loses-almost-all/
• IoT Devices at Major Manufacturers Infected With Mining Malware via Windows 7 Supply Chain Attack https://www.securityweek.com/iot-devices-major-manufacturers-infected-malware-supply-chain-attack
• Booter Boss Busted By Bacon Pizza Buy https://krebsonsecurity.com/2020/02/booter-boss-busted-by-bacon-pizza-buy/
• Hacker Pleads Guilty To Stealing Nintendo Secrets https://www.scmagazine.com/home/security-news/cybercrime/hacker-pleads-guilty-to-stealing-nintendo-secrets/

Other Security / Risk

Articles covering other types of risks.

• Dangerous Domain Corp.com Goes Up for Sale https://krebsonsecurity.com/2020/02/dangerous-domain-corp-com-goes-up-for-sale/
• Boeing finds another software problem on the 737 Max https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/6/21126364/boeing-737-max-software-glitch-flaw-problem
• A lazy Y2K solution called windowing used in 80% of the fixes was expected to bite (but not much seems to have happened?)- https://www.newscientist.com/article/2229238-a-lazy-fix-20-years-ago-means-the-y2k-bug-is-taking-down-computers-now/
• These 4 Graphs Show Why We Can't Blame Climate Change on Solar Activity https://www.sciencealert.com/these-4-graphs-show-why-we-can-t-blame-the-climate-crisis-on-solar-activity
• Destructive Super Solar Storms Hit Us Every 25 Years Or So https://www.universetoday.com/144814/destructive-super-solar-storms-hit-us-every-25-years-or-so/
• Russia says plane 'almost hit' by anti-aircraft fire in Syria https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-51411860
• A 4-year-old boy died of the flu after an anti-vaxxer Facebook group told his mom to treat him with elderberries and breast milk instead of Tamiflu https://www.businessinsider.com/child-dies-flu-anti-vaxxers-advice-facebook-2020-2
• (More proof we no longer own things) Tesla remotely disables Autopilot on used Model S after it was sold https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/6/21127243/tesla-model-s-autopilot-disabled-remotely-used-car-update
• An Algorithm That Grants Freedom, or Takes It Away https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/06/technology/predictive-algorithms-crime.html
• EPIC Asks Federal Trade Commission To Regulate Use Of Artificial Intelligence In Pre-Employment Screenings https://www.forbes.com/sites/patriciagbarnes/2020/02/03/group-asks-federal-trade-commission-to-regulate-use-of-artificial-intelligence-in-pre-employment-screenings/
• Virtual traffic jams another way to decieve Google Maps https://mspoweruser.com/a-google-map-hack-helped-this-man-create-virtual-traffic-jams/

Off-Topic / Science & Tech / Lighter Side

A variety of scientific, technical, historical, and more light-hearted news.

• It turns out recycling wind turbines is difficult - What happens to all the old wind turbines? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-51325101
• How Renewable Energy Will Make All The Cheap Hydrogen We Need https://www.forbes.com/sites/kensilverstein/2020/02/06/the-cost-to-produce-and-distribute-hydrogen-from-clean-energy-will-plummet/
• New Research Explains How Solar Panels Could Soon Be Generating Power at Night https://www.sciencealert.com/here-s-how-solar-panels-could-soon-be-generating-power-at-night
• Incredible NASA Simulation Reveals How Earth Would Look if The Oceans Drained Away https://www.sciencealert.com/nasa-video-reveals-the-hidden-three-fifths-of-earth-s-surface
• There's a Cancer Treatment That Gives People 'Night Vision', And We Finally Know Why https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-have-figured-out-how-a-cancer-treatment-gives-patients-night-vision
• The future is now: how exoskeletons are changing Canada's construction industry https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/construction-exoskeletons-exosuits-business-robotics-1.5444092
• Researchers report progress on molecular data storage system https://scienmag.com/researchers-report-progress-on-molecular-data-storage-system/
• No One Can Explain Why Planes Stay in the Air https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/no-one-can-explain-why-planes-stay-in-the-air/
• NASA's experimental X-59 supersonic jet could be built by the end of 2020 https://www.space.com/nasa-x-59-supersonic-plane-cleared-for-assembly.html
• A Sunset Night Sky over the Grand Canyon https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200204.html
• How Big Is the Solar System?(In Superbowl terms) https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/1164/how-big-is-the-solar-system/
• Tree Code https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2020/02/tree_code.html
• The "Kryptos" Sculpture Holds a Decades-Old C.I.A. Mystery. And Now, Another Clue. - The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/01/29/climate/kryptos-sculpture-final-clue.html