It seems that just like bees, Amazon can sense your fear.
Because nothing says “nightmare scenario” quite like a giant tech corporation everyone uses knowing what you’re feeling, Amazon announced on Monday that Rekognition, its controversial facial recognition tool, can now detect a person’s fear.
The update includes “improved accuracy for emotion detection (for all 7 emotions: ‘Happy’, ‘Sad’, ‘Angry’, ‘Surprised’, ‘Disgusted’, ‘Calm’ and ‘Confused’)” but, just for kicks, I guess, “added a new emotion: ‘Fear’.”
Experts: ‘Emotion Recognition’ Lacks Scientific Foundation
Not even your precious memories are safe from hackers.
That much was made clear at the annual DEF CON hacking conference in Las Vegas, where a security researcher demonstrated just how easy it is to remotely encrypt a digital camera with ransomware. And once that happens, you can say goodbye to all your photos — unless you pay up.
The specific camera in question was a Canon EOS 80D, but, as Eyal Itkin explained to the early Sunday morning crowd of seemingly hungover hackers, it’s likely not the only model vulnerable.
“If you can do something to cameras, you have many potential victims you can affect,” he observed. “Would you pay to get your camera back?” Read more…
Still, you’d think the folks at the Black Hat cybersecurity conference in Las Vegas this week would have a better handle on things. And yet, according to noted French security researcher Baptiste Robert, they still managed to release a conference app that could put attendees’ phones at risk.
The conference, which is now in its 22nd year, runs Aug. 3-8, and is ground zero for cybersecurity companies peddling their wares. It’s followed by the DEF CON hacking conference, also in Las Vegas, which has a decidedly non-corporate ethos.
“The official Android app of #BHUSA is a joke,” wrote Robert, who is in town for both Black Hat and DEF CON. “For an event of this size this is not serious @BlackHatEvents.” Read more…
Massive, hulking things — the devices looming in the corner of workplaces around the world have come to represent untold hours of frustration in the form of printer jams and toner problems. According to security researchers set to present their findings this Saturday at the DEF CON hacking convention in Las Vegas, they also happen to be a cybersecurity nightmare.
Daniel Romero Pérez and Mario Rivas Vivar, researchers at NCC Group, announced the discovery of major vulnerabilities on Thursday in name-brand printers made by the likes of Xerox, HP, Lexmark, Kyocera, Brother, and Ricoh. NCC Group shared some of the researchers’ findings with Mashable ahead of the aforementioned Aug. 10 talk, and they’re enough to elicit serious double take. Read more…
This recent attack by hacking group Fancy Bear may have exposed a few ways you can better protect yourself. And yes, that includes taking a look at your printer password. Read more…
