Our picksWeaponized Ticks | Evolution of a Russian Troll | Facebook & 3D-printed Guns, and more
· The Evolution of a Russian Troll
· 5G Health Fears Stem from Inaccurate, Debunked Claims
· Microsoft Says It Notified Nearly 10,000 Customers that They Were Cyberattack Victims
· Pentagon Contractor Allegedly Threatened to Kill Congresswoman Over Vaccine Bill
· U.S. Cyber Command Simulated a Seaport Cyberattack to Test Digital Readiness
· Army Goggles Will Feature Facial Recognition Tech ‘Very Soon’
· Privacy Concerns Over Viral Photo Apps Are Totally Valid. But They’re Also Often Overblown.
· Active Chinese Hacking Campaign Targeted Diplomats from Slovakia, South America
· Facebook Quietly Relaxed Its Ban on Sharing Blueprints for 3D-printed Guns
· The Conspiracy Theory That’s Got a Congressman Demanding a Probe into Weaponized Ticks
The Evolution of a Russian Troll (Amy Mackinnon, Foreign Policy)
Alexander Malkevich, whose employees were detained in Libya, is part of Moscow’s efforts to create a “concert of chaos” around the globe.
5G Health Fears Stem from Inaccurate, Debunked Claims (Jeremy Horwitz, Venture Beat)
If anything had the potential to delay or derail the rollouts of new 5G cellular networks, it was a series of claims that the technology’s higher-frequency wireless signals might threaten human health. But those claims are “wrong,” the New York Times reports, and based on the work of two scientists whose views were debunked — just not before Russian disinformation campaigns used them to spread unwarranted fear of the new technology.
According to the Times, the key to the scientists’ inaccurate claims is a 19-year-old graph by Dr. Bill Curry that purports to show the human brain absorbing greater quantities of microwave radio signals as frequencies increase, rising in the spectra used by 2G and 3G cellular standards, then spiking at 4G and 5G frequencies. Curry suggested that the radio waves would cause brain cancer, and the sensational claim was treated as authoritative for a time, becoming a primary source for anyone concerned about technology’s health risks.
Microsoft Says It Notified Nearly 10,000 Customers that They Were Cyberattack Victims (Alex Ward, Vox)
Those victims were targeted or compromised by countries like Russia, North Korea, and Iran in the past year.
Pentagon Contractor Allegedly Threatened to Kill Congresswoman Over Vaccine Bill (Jackie Kucinich, Lachlan Markay, Daily Beast)
Feds charged Darryl Varnum in late June after he told a member he was ‘gonna kill your ass if you do that bill.’ The contractor threatening to kill a member of Congress over the introduction of a bill that would require public schools to vaccinate children, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in the District of Maryland.
U.S. Cyber Command Simulated a Seaport Cyberattack to Test Digital Readiness (Shannon Vavra, Cyberscoop)
When U.S. Cyber Command simulated a cyberattack against a seaport last month, military personnel hunted for adversaries who appeared to be using malware against a critical trade hub.
Army Goggles Will Feature Facial Recognition Tech ‘Very Soon’ (Patrick Tucker, Defense One)
A modified gamer headset will allow soldiers to see through a drone’s eyes, aim around corners, and identify the faces of enemies in their sights.
