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Hackers hijack Tesla’s cloud for cryptocurrency miningThe AWS breach, which affected a number of companies in addition to Tesla, was detected by cloud cybersecurity company RedLock. According to RedLock, the attackers were able to infiltrate Tesla’s Kubernetes admin console, which was not password protected, leaving it exposed. Kubernetes is an open-source platform which automates the […]

Lasers could offer truly wireless smartphone chargingThe system uses a narrow, invisible beam from a laser emitter, which can deliver charge to a smartphone sitting across a room. The system can also potentially charge a smartphone as quickly as a standard USB cable. To accomplish this, the team mounted a thin power cell to the […]

Book review: ‘Russian Cosmism’ edited by Boris GroysAfter one of my public talks in Kent several years ago, I was approached by a woman from the audience who gave me a thick book in Russian. “I think you’ll enjoy it,” she said, and added that the author – Alexandr Klizovski – was a distant relation […]

AI is a threat to global stability, warns Cambridge University reportIn a report titled The Malicious Use of Artificial Intelligence: Forecasting, Prevention, and Mitigation, the university body warns that malicious manipulation of AI could create a destabilising effect and calls on governments and corporations worldwide to ensure that this does not happen. It also warns […]

Venezuelan oil-backed cryptocurrency raises more than $700m, claims PresidentThis is the first time a federal government has issued a digital currency. A key feature of cryptocurrencies is that they tend to be completely decentralised. “Today, a cryptocurrency is being born that can take on Superman,” said Maduro in one of his regular television addresses. “Petro […]

Driverless vehicles to deplete demand for fossil fuels by 2040, BP predictsDespite an expected increase in demand for transport as poorer economies become wealthier, BP expects that driverless vehicles will reduce the number of cars owned by individuals and they will be largely powered by electric engines. The average electric car is expected to be […]

Robotic system from MIT grasps unidentified objects for sortingWhile picking up and sorting objects is a task most people – and some animals – would think nothing of, this has proved a complex task for roboticists. While there are already many robots handling objects in tightly controlled environments – such as factories – these robots […]