Computers, Phones and IoT Devices Have the BlueBorne Vulnerability

Source: Wired

"Once an attacker identifies vulnerable targets, the hack is quick (it can happen in about 10 seconds) and flexible. The impacted devices don't need to connect to anything, and the attack can even work when the Bluetooth on the victim device is already paired to something else."
...
"As with virtually all Bluetooth remote exploits, attackers would still need to be in range of the device (roughly 33 feet) to pull off a BlueBorne attack. But even with the extensive and productive BlueBorne patching that has already happened, there are still likely plenty of vulnerable devices in any populated area or building."

Source: Armis

"hackers can leverage Bluetooth connections to penetrate and take complete control over targeted devices. BlueBorne affects ordinary computers, mobile phones, and the expanding realm of IoT devices. The attack does not require the targeted device to be paired to the attacker’s device, or even to be set on discoverable mode."

Recommended actions:
1) Install Blueborne Detector on your Android devices.
2) Click "Tap to Check" and heed the warning if your Android device is vulnerable.
3) Set each of your Bluetooth devices to discoverable
4) Click "Check Devices Around Me"

Repeat steps 3 and 4 for every Bluetooth capable device.

We’re a Cheap Battery Away From Phasing Out Fossil Fuels

Source: VICE Motherboard

Fossil fuels are the most widely used source of energy because of base load power, which means they provide energy at all times, night and day. In contrast, renewables have faced the 'intermittency' challenge—the sun doesn't always shine, and the wind doesn't always blow.
...
By 2050, these irresistible technological and market forces could make oil, gas and coal seem too costly and cumbersome, leading renewables to account for "100 percent of global energy demand."
... There will be an immediate impact within just three years.
...
"Solar storage is pitched to become so cheap it will make relying on natural gas peaker plants pointless…It will lead to rapid adoption of solar by businesses, local governments, and households—not because people are environmentally conscious, but simply because it will make more economic sense." --Vicente Lopez-Ibor Mayor, chairman of Lightsource—the biggest solar energy company in Europe

EXTRATERRESTRIAL ORIGIN OF FAST RADIO BURST PHENOMENON CONFIRMED

Source: Universe Today

Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs)

Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope (MOST)

The BURST project will perform deep FRB searches with MOSTS’s wide field-of-view and nearly constant single pulse searches of the radio sky.

MOST provides a huge collecting area of about 18,000 square meters for a very large field of view, about 8 square degrees of the sky.

1,000 terabytes of data produced by MOST each day

They determined the three new FRBs really were from space because the events were well beyond the 10,000 km near-field limit of the telescope, which ruled out local (terrestrial) sources of interference as a possible origin.

​Have a verified Twitter account? WikiLeaks might track you

Source: CNET

"We are thinking of making an online database with all 'verified' twitter accounts & their family/job/financial/housing relationships," the WikiLeaks Task Force said on Twitter

Source: Twitter

"The blue verified badge  on Twitter lets people know that an account of public interest is authentic.

We approve account types maintained by users in music, acting, fashion, government, politics, religion, journalism, media, sports, business, and other key interest areas."