Thomas Hawk posted a photo:
The Wall Street Journal shares the "wild behind-the-scenes story" of how the world's largest and most destructive botnet was uncovered and taken down, writes Slashdot reader sturgeon. "At times, the network known as Kimwolf included more than a million compromised home Android devices and digital photo frames -- enough DDoS firepower to disrupt internet traffic across the U.S. and beyond." From the report: Sitting in his dorm room at the Rochester Institute of Technology, Benjamin Brundage was closing in on a mystery that had even seasoned internet investigators baffled. A cat meme helped him crack the case. A growing network of hacked devices was launching the biggest cyberattacks ever seen on the internet. It had become the most powerful cyberweapon ever assembled, large enough to knock a state or even a small country offline. Investigators didn't know exactly who had built it -- or how. Brundage had been following the attacks, too -- and, in between classes, was conducting his own investigation. In September, the college senior started messaging online with an anonymous user who seemed to have insider knowledge.
As they chatted on Discord, a platform favored by videogamers, Brundage was eager to get more information, but he didn't want to come off as too serious and shut down the conversation. So every now and then he'd send a funny GIF to lighten the mood. Brundage was fluent in the memes, jokes and technical jargon popular with young gamers and hackers who are extremely online. "It was a bit of just asking over and over again and then like being a bit unserious," said Brundage. At one point, he asked for some technical details. He followed up with the cat meme: a six-second clip that showed a hand adjusting a necktie on a fluffy gray cat. Brundage didn't expect it to work, but he got the information. "It took me by surprise," he said.
Eventually the leaker hinted there was a new vulnerability on the internet. Brundage, who is 22, would learn it threatened tens of millions of consumers and as much as a quarter of the world's corporations. As he unraveled the mystery, he impressed veteran researchers with his findings -- including federal law enforcement, which took action against the network two weeks ago. Chad Seaman, a researcher at Akamai, joked at one point that the internet could go down if Brundage spent too much time on his exams.
As they chatted on Discord, a platform favored by videogamers, Brundage was eager to get more information, but he didn't want to come off as too serious and shut down the conversation. So every now and then he'd send a funny GIF to lighten the mood. Brundage was fluent in the memes, jokes and technical jargon popular with young gamers and hackers who are extremely online. "It was a bit of just asking over and over again and then like being a bit unserious," said Brundage. At one point, he asked for some technical details. He followed up with the cat meme: a six-second clip that showed a hand adjusting a necktie on a fluffy gray cat. Brundage didn't expect it to work, but he got the information. "It took me by surprise," he said.
Eventually the leaker hinted there was a new vulnerability on the internet. Brundage, who is 22, would learn it threatened tens of millions of consumers and as much as a quarter of the world's corporations. As he unraveled the mystery, he impressed veteran researchers with his findings -- including federal law enforcement, which took action against the network two weeks ago. Chad Seaman, a researcher at Akamai, joked at one point that the internet could go down if Brundage spent too much time on his exams.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
SOHMOR (ANP/AFP) - Israël heeft met aanvallen met gevechtsvliegtuigen twee vlak bij elkaar gelegen bruggen over de rivier de Litani in het oosten van Libanon verwoest. Israël zegt dat de bruggen gebruikt worden voor het verplaatsen van wapens van de beweging Hezbollah.
De bruggen aan de rand van de plaats Sohmor lagen circa 40 kilometer ten zuidoosten van de hoofdstad Beiroet. Israël probeert Hezbollah uit te schakelen en daarvoor het zuiden van Libanon beneden de Litani te bezetten. Een aantal Israëlische politici dringt erop aan dat de rivier de nieuwe noordgrens van Israël wordt.
Video-language model revises how objects interact when things get removed from a scene
A new Netflix model promises to rewrite the way we make movies. Just imagine this. As the director of the multi-million dollar epic Car Crash III: Suddenest Impact, you've just finished filming the finale where your star, Cruz Control, drives straight into an onrushing semi.…
We’re expected to believe that the NY Times is a serious newspaper when they are sending a reporter to talk to dozens of ppl to debunk a claim from a known conspiracy theorist, fascist, and grifter that he’d teleported into a Waffle House?!?
As Slow As Possible. Very very very slow versions of three classic video games: Pong, Breakout, and Missile Command. On the slowest setting, you’re almost begging for a notification functionality to alert you when you need to next engage.
Amerika heeft natuurlijk wel wat met bombardementen. En niet alleen in het Midden-Oosten: Golfoorlog 1990 -1991, Irak (2003), Afghanistan (2001-2021), Jemen (2024) en nu Iran.
Wellicht heeft in het historische besef van sommige Amerikanen sinds de Tweede Wereldoorlog het idee post gevat dat militaire interventies en bombardementen dé manier zijn om hen onwelgevallige regimes naar het stenen tijdperk te gooien.
Denk aan Laos, Cambodja, Vietnam, Korea, Panama. En als het niet om regimes gaat, dan wel om bootjes waarmee drugs zouden zijn vervoerd (Caribisch gebied, Venezuela, Ecuador 2025 – 2026).
Het is ‘Political science’, het historische besef dat Trump en consorten motiveert. Randy Newman zong er vorig jaar nog over met zijn in 1972 uitgebrachte satirische commentaar op die geschiedenis.
De hele tekst, en zeker de eerste twee coupletten, doen sterk aan de actualiteit van vandaag denken:
No one likes us, I don’t know why
We may not be perfect, but heaven knows we try
And all around, even our old friends put us down
Let’s drop the big one and see what happensWe give them money, but are they grateful?
No, they’re spiteful and they’re hateful
They don’t respect us, so let’s surprise them
We’ll drop the big one and pulverize them
Hopelijk heeft Trump en zijn kliek een mnimaal besef dat ze met hun handen van die ‘big one’ moeten afblijven.
Lees meer berichten op Sargasso
Luiza Laffitte collaborates with Maïsadour to illustrate the debut issue of their internal newsletter. Bringing energy, charm, and clarity to employee communications, France-based Luiza was invited to design the covers  of Mazette, Maïsadour's internal newsletter, which keeps the cooperative's 5,000 farmer-members informed while offering games, giveaways, and engaging content. Drawing on Maïsadour's mission of sustainable, agro-ecological practices, Luiza's illustrations balance warmth, clarity, and personality, reflecting both the cooperative's values and the community it serves. This project marks the beginning of an ongoing collaboration, with six issues planned, allowing her to continue shaping the visual identity of the newsletter over time.
