The social media platform has enrolled external researchers in a one-of-a-kind competition, in which winning participants were those that could come up with the most compelling evidence demonstrating an unfair practice that is carried out by one of the company’s algorithms. Called the “algorithmic bias bounty challenge”, the initiative provided participants with full access to the code that underpins Twitter’s image-cropping algorithm, which determines how pictures should be cropped to be easily viewed when they come up on a user’s timeline....

Exploitation: During our analysis of GPON firmwares, we found two different critical vulnerabilities (CVE-2018-10561 & CVE-2018-10562) that could, when combined allow complete control on the device and therefore the network. The first vulnerability exploits the authentication mechanism of the device that has a flaw. This flaw allows any attacker to bypass all authentication. The flaw can be found with the HTTP servers, which check for specific paths when authenticating. This allows the attacker to bypass authentication on any endpoint using a simple trick....

The challenge was surfaced in a survey of 1,420 IT decision-makers released by RackSpace Technology, which found that focusing on CX implementations helps companies see greater rewards. Organizations that adopt a CX-led focus enjoy 1.6x higher brand awareness, 1.5x more employee satisfaction and nearly double their rates of customer retention, repeat purchases, average order values and customer lifetime value. “The research underscores the impact that modernizing applications to provide better customer experience can have on competitiveness and growth,” the survey’s authors add....

Also: The top Cyber Monday deals at Best Buy The Pixel Watch’s round design is sleek and stylish. It has a 41mm display and runs the latest version of Google’s Wear OS. Best Buy currently has all the color options for the stainless-steel housing and bands available: Obsidian, Hazel, Charcoal, and Chalk. You can expect to get a full day of use out of a single charge with the Pixel Watch....

Phishing attacks can provide malicious hackers with a relatively simple means of stealing usernames and passwords, software vulnerabilities left unchecked could provide backdoors into the whole network, while the spectre of devastating ransomware attacks, which could cost millions of dollars, looms large. In addition to all this, businesses – and their information security teams – have had to adapt to the rise of remote working, which delivers business continuity for organisations and employees, but also provides cyber criminals with additional opportunities for network compromise....

In a statement on Saturday, the Florida hospital system said that in addition to names, addresses and phone numbers, Social Security numbers, bank account information and medical history data was included in the breach. Insurance account information, driver’s license numbers, email addresses and treatments received were also included. The hospital system said it waited months to notify victims because the Department of Justice told them to hold off on sending out breach notification letters....

Amplification attacks are nothing new and have helped attackers knock over servers with short busts of traffic as high as 3.47 Tbps. Microsoft last year mitigated attacks on this scale that were the result of competition between online-gaming players. But there’s a new attack on the horizon. Akamai, a content distribution network firm, says it has seen a recent wave of attacks using “TCP Middlebox Reflection”, referring to transmission control protocol (TCP) – a founding protocol for secured communications on the internet between networked machines....

There’s a lot of malware out there which is very clever and evasive. When planning an attack, attackers try to understand what security systems are installed. They gather information to determine if the attack is worth their effort and if it’s safe for them. Our deception technology stops attackers by generating false information, and deceiving them into believing they’re in a hostile or unattractive environment to attack. On the offensive side, we stop malware by giving them the impression that their attack was successful even though nothing really happened and the machine is intact....

This year’s Dell XPS 13 is better than ever. I had the last two earlier models at hand, so I could easily compare its evolution. I can’t say it blew their doors off, but it’s clearly a more powerful machine. That starts with its CPU heart. The XPS 13 is one of the first laptops to use an Ice Lake Intel Core i7-1065G7 processor. This quad-core, hyper-threading CPU averaged about 20% faster over its older brothers in a wide variety of test workloads....

Also: C++ programming language and safety: Here’s where it goes next Take, for example, its application to supply chains. Avery Dennison, a $8-billion multinational enterprise, uses blockchain to provide a cloud service offering that provides supply chain services to some large consumer goods companies, as well as their customers. The benefit is not only the efficiency blockchain and security provides, but also its across-the-board transparency, according to Neil Hay, market development manager for Avery Dennison’s atma....

Unfortunately, while companies are working hard to keep their staff, there are tell-tale signs that tech staff are not entirely content in their current roles, with many blaming it on feeling burnt-out and stressed. A recent study by Mulesoft found four leading causes that contribute to these disgruntled feelings among Australian developers: learning new skills to adapt to new technologies and approaches; increasing workload and demand from other teams; the pressures of digital transformation; and difficulties of onboarding new hires quickly....

Writing code can get tedious, but you don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time you start a new project. With Monday Hero Pro, you can create reusable components and convert your designs to code. And right now, two-year subscriptions are on sale for only $79. Monday Hero is a developer tool for Windows and Mac that converts Adobe XD, Figma, and Sketch designs into mobile code. It saves you time by letting you create reusable design elements, which you can customize and organize before publishing....

Nearly anyone who can qualify for a credit card may be able to get a business credit card as long as you’re in some phase of running a business. It may mean you’re just starting to develop an idea for a company, sell crafts, work as a rideshare driver, or your startup has finally taken off. It’s important to understand that most business credit cards will require a personal credit check and a personal guarantee....

After initial reconnaissance steps were done, a Tinder domain with multiple client-side security issues was found - meaning hackers could have access to users’ profiles and details. Immediately after finding these vulnerabilities, we contacted Tinder via their responsible disclosure program and started working with them. We learned that the vulnerable endpoint isn’t owned by Tinder, but by branch.io, an attribution platform used by many big corporations around the globe. The Tinder security team helped us get in touch with them, and accordingly, they’ve put out a timely patch....

But. There are some settings that you should just leave alone because messing with them can have big downsides. OK, your iPhone isn’t going to explode, but messing with it could leave you tearing your hair out as to what’s causing the problem. There’s no reason to mess with it. In fact, messing with the date or time is a fast-track way to have problems connecting to websites or downloading data....

Managing networks of charging stations is not a trivial task – it is key to the success or failure of EVs. Where the chargers are positioned; how to manage hundreds of different charging hardware systems; remote maintenance, administration, billing; and interfacing with utilities for best times to charge – these are some of the complexities that Driivz offers to solve for its top-tier clients. See also: Until EV charging is fixed, electric cars are stuck in neutral...

The DTA plans to replace the current data centres panel, which is set to expire in 2023, with a slightly expanded panel arrangement. Much like the current panel arrangement, the proposed panel will similarly consist of companies as sellers that the DTA believes will best represent value for money to the government. Under the proposed arrangement, the DTA wants to expand data centre procurement to include whole-of-government hosting strategy and hosting certification frameworks, more supply and scope of data centre services for buyers, more innovation and sustainability, and enhanced security provisions....

As several states update their cottage food laws, making it easier and safer to create kitchen-based services – from home-based to commercial kitchens – a group of software developers have recently created Castiron, a new e-commerce platform launched in October that acts as a central hub for independent kitchen-based artisans to sell their products online, connect with customers, grow their businesses and save time and money in order to focus on their culinary creations....

Founded in 2011 and headquartered in London, Depop is a fast growing apparel resale marketplace popular among the under 26 crowd. In 2020, Depop’s gross merchandise sales (GMS) increased 100% year-over-year and the company’s revenue climbed to $70 million. Etsy said Depop is the tenth most visited shopping site among Gen Z consumers in the US. Etsy and Depop share a number of similarities in terms of business models and strategies....

The company posted a Q3 net income of $89.9 million, down 2% year-over-year, with diluted earnings per share of 62 cents. The decline in net income was due to acquisition-related expenses and non-cash amortization for the acquisitions of Depop and Elo7. Revenue came to $532.4 million, up 17.9% versus a year prior. Wall Street was expecting earnings of 54 cents a share on revenue of $518.86 million. “Last year, Etsy dramatically outperformed e-commerce industry benchmarks, and now, in 2021, we’re lapping that performance with flying colors, reinforcing the significant market share gains we have made,” CEO Josh Silverman said in a statement....