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Category: security

Following last week’s surprise update, Google is back again with the December Feature Drop for Pixel owners. This time around, Google is bringing some Pixel 6-exclusive features to Pixel 4a 5G “or newer” Pixel devices. https://youtu.be/FmznwhHlCP8 These include the all-new Quick Tap to Snap, making it possible for you to quickly access and send Snaps through Snapchat right from the Lock Screen. Going along with the Quick Tap to Snap functionality, Google has introduced an all-new Pixel-exclusive lens called “Pixel Face”. The company claims that “more Pixel-exclusive Lenses” will arrive in future Feature Drops. In addition to the Feature Drop, this update includes the December Android Security Patch, and includes the following versions for these devices: Pixel 3a (XL): SQ1A.211205.008 Pixel 4 (XL): SQ1A.211205.008 Pixel 4a: SQ1A.211205.008 Pixel 4a (5G): SQ1A.211205.008 Pixel 5: SQ1A.211205.008 Pixel 5a (5G): SQ1A.211205.008 Owners of the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro will begin receiving their December updates “next week”. With last week’s update, Google announced compatibility with the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro to enable a digital car key with select BMW models. After being set up, you can simply place your Pixel on the key reader and press the engine start button. But now, Google is activating the Ultra-Wideband chip found in the Pixel 6 Pro to improve functionality. Not only will this make it easier to use your Pixel 6 Pro as a digital car key, but Google also states this will offer improved Nearby Share compatibility. Another new feature arriving for Pixel devices comes via the Sound Amplifier app. With this Feature Drop, Google is adding a new “Conversation Mode” to Pixel devices. This uses on-device Machine Learning to “help anyone who has a hard time hearing in loud environments by tuning out competing noise.” It works by pointing your phone at the person you want to have a conversation with, pinning the person, and then being able to actually enjoy hearing what they have to say. Google states this is a “sneak peek” version of the feature, but we could end up seeing it arrive for more devices in the future. Now Playing is getting an updated experience, as you’ll not only be able to identify the song with your Pixel but there’s a new music note icon next to the track information. When tapping on the music note, you’ll be able to save it as a favorite, while being able to view and search your history, along with the list of favorite songs. Keeping with the music trend, Google is bringing enhanced bass-level controls to the Pixel Buds A-Series. After the update has arrived, you’ll be able to adjust the slider between-1 and +4, which is “twice the bass range you currently have”. As we’ve seen with previous events, Google is adding a few new wallpapers to celebrate the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. In celebration of International Day of Persons with Disabilities, we collaborated with Dana Kearly, a disabled multidisciplinary artist from Vancouver B.C., to create three beautiful new wallpapers for the Curated Culture collection. Last, but certainly not least, Google is bringing car crash detection support to owners of the Pixel 3 or newer in Taiwan, Italy, and France. With this feature, your phone will check with you in the event that you are in a car accident. If you do not respond within the pre-determined amount of time, your Pixel will contact emergency responders and will provide your location.

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Clearview AI is about to get formal acknowledgment for its controversial facial recognition technology. Politico reports Clearview has received a US Patent and Trademark Office “notice of allowance” indicating officials will approve a filing for its system, which scans faces across public internet data to find people from government lists and security camera footage. The company just has to pay administrative fees to secure the patent.

In a Politico interview, Clearview founder Hoan Ton-That claimed this was the first facial recognition patent involving “large-scale internet data.” The firm sells its tool to government clients (including law enforcement) hoping to accelerate searches.

As you might imagine, there’s a concern the USPTO is effectively blessing Clearview’s technology and giving the company a chance to grow despite widespread objections to its technology’s very existence. Critics are concerned Clearview is building image databases without targets’ knowledge or permission, and multiple governments (including Australia and the UK) believe the facial recognition violates data laws. The tech could theoretically be used to stifle political dissent or, in private use, to stalk other people. That’s not including worries about possible gender and race biases for facial recognition as a whole.

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Is expanding its lineup of ARM-based chips for Windows and Chromebook with Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 and 7c+ Gen 3 platforms. In addition, the company aims to power handheld gaming devices using Snapdragon G3x Gen 1 chipsets.

Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3, which, is the first 5nm PC platform, according to Qualcomm, which designed it with ultra-slim and fanless laptops in mind. It says that moving to a 5nm process node and other optimizations allowed for improved Kryo CPU performance while sustaining similar power consumption levels as Gen 2 chipsets. The company claims the chipsets will deliver up to 85 percent improved performance compared with the previous generation and up to 60 percent better per-watt performance than x86 chips.

Along with 5G and WiFi 6/6E connectivity, the platform is said to offer multi-day battery life, upgraded camera and audio functions and chip-to-cloud security. Systems with 8cx Gen 3 chipsets will be able to take advantage of “29+ TOPS of AI acceleration,” which Qualcomm claims is three times the performance of “the leading competitive platform.” The AI acceleration could speed up tasks like face detection and background blur on calls. In addition, Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 supports up to 4K HDR camera quality, and as many as four cameras.

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For scanning underground structures and caves. Maybe scanning buildings, and doing security stuff, but doors would be a problem. Also too loud, but would be a nice start point for an Ion Drive flight system.

By Jim Magill

Looking like a micro-sized version of the Death Star, the Dronut X1, which Boston-based start-up Cleo Robotics released for commercial use earlier this month, is the first professional-grade bi-rotor ducted-fan drone – a drone without exposed rotor blades – built to conduct inspections in close-quartered and hazardous environments.

Its unique design, featuring hidden propellers and rounded form, means the Dronut is collision-tolerant and can be operated near sensitive equipment, Cleo Robotics’ CEO and co-founder Omar Eleryan said in an interview.

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Today, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, in close collaboration with the Director of National Intelligence, directed the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence & Security to establish within the Office of the USD(I&S) the Airborne Object Identification and Management Synchronization Group (AOIMSG) as the successor to the U.S. Navy’s Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force. The AOIMSG will synchronize efforts across the Department and the broader U.S. government to detect, identify and attribute objects of interests in Special Use Airspace (SUA), and to assess and mitigate any associated threats to safety of flight and national security. To provide oversight of the AOIMSG, the Deputy Secretary also directed the USD(I&S) to lead an Airborne Object Identification and Management Executive Council (AOIMEXEC) to be comprised of DoD and Intelligence Community membership, and to offer a venue for U.S. government interagency representation.

Incursions by any airborne object into our SUA pose safety of flight and operations security concerns, and may pose national security challenges. DOD takes reports of incursions – by any airborne object, identified or unidentified – very seriously, and investigates each one. This decision is the result of planning efforts and collaboration conducted by OUSD(I&S) and other DoD elements at the direction of Deputy Secretary Hicks, to address the challenges associated with assessing UAP occurring on or near DOD training ranges and installations highlighted in the DNI preliminary assessment report submitted to Congress in June 2021. The report also identified the need to make improvements in processes, policies, technologies, and training to improve our ability to understand UAP.

In coming weeks, the Department will issue implementing guidance, which will contain further details on the AOIMSG Director, organizational structure, authorities, and resourcing.

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sustained technological superiority, and asset security and repair for current and future operations.

To meet this unique challenge, DARPA announced it is taking an initial step to explore and de-risk manufacturing capabilities that leverage biological processes in resource limited environments with its Biomanufacturing: Survival, Utility, and Reliability beyond Earth (B-SURE) program. https://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2021-11-22

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Ruonan Han seeks to push the limits of electronic circuits.

Ruonan Han’s research is driving up the speeds of microelectronic circuits to enable new applications in communications, sensing, and security.

Han, an associate professor who recently earned tenured in MIT

MIT is an acronym for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It is a prestigious private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts that was founded in 1861. It is organized into five Schools: architecture and planning; engineering; humanities, arts, and social sciences; management; and science. MIT’s impact includes many scientific breakthroughs and technological advances.

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Palo Alto Networks on Tuesday unveiled a new cloud security offering, its next-generation Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB), which taps machine learning to bolster the protection of software-as-a-service (SaaS) and collaboration apps.

The company’s next-generation CASB platform will use ML and AI to provide capabilities such as the automatic discovery of applications and improved data loss prevention for sensitive data, the company announced.

The next-generation CASB is the latest product from the Santa Clara, California-based cyber firm to get a significant injection of ML-and AI-powered functionality, said Lee Klarich, chief product officer at Palo Alto Networks, in a briefing with reporters.

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