Scientists can finally hear the brain’s quietest messages—unlocking the hidden code behind how neurons think, decide, and remember.
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Passwd: A walkthrough of the Google Workspace Password Manager
Passwd is a Google Workspace–only password manager using zero-knowledge AES-256 encryption, Google SSO, audit logs, and scalable team pricing.
Italy fines Apple $116 million over App Store privacy policy issues
Italy’s competition authority (AGCM) has fined Apple €98.6 million ($116 million) for using the App Tracking Transparency (ATT) privacy framework to abuse its dominant market position in mobile app advertising.
ATT requires developers to request consent to collect their data for targeted advertising before tracking them across websites, apps, and services owned by other companies. Apple introduced ATT in June 2020 and began enforcing it in April 2021 with the release of iOS 14.5 and iPadOS 14.5.
As the AGCM said in a Monday press release following a two-year investigation, Apple’s ATT policy requires third-party apps to display a standardized prompt requesting user permission to track activity across other companies’ apps and websites.
Microsoft rolls out hardware-accelerated BitLocker in Windows 11
Microsoft is rolling out hardware-accelerated BitLocker in Windows 11 to address growing performance and security concerns by leveraging the capabilities of system-on-a-chip and CPU.
BitLocker is the native full-disk encryption feature in Windows that protects data from being readable without proper authentication. During normal device boot, it relies on the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) to securely manage encryption keys and automatically unlock the drive.
Microsoft states that as non-volatile memory express (NVMe) storage has become more performant, BitLocker’s cryptographic operations have a more noticeable performance impact for gaming and video editing activities.
WebRAT malware spread via fake vulnerability exploits on GitHub
The WebRAT malware is now being distributed through GitHub repositories that claim to host proof-of-concept exploits for recently disclosed vulnerabilities.
Previously spread through pirated software and cheats for games like Roblox, Counter Strike, and Rust, WebRAT is a backdoor with info-stealing capabilities that emerged at the beginning of the year.
According to a report from Solar 4RAYS in May, WebRAT can steal credentials for Steam, Discord, and Telegram accounts, as well as cryptocurrency wallet data. It can also spy on victims through webcams and capture screenshots.
Malicious extensions in Chrome Web store steal user credentials
Two Chrome extensions in the Web Store named ‘Phantom Shuttle’ are posing as plugins for a proxy service to hijack user traffic and steal sensitive data.
Both extensions are still present in Chrome’s official marketplace at the time of writing and have been active since at least 2017, according to a report from researchers at the Socket supply-chain security platform.
Phantom Shuttle’s target audience is users in China, including foreign trade workers who need to test connectivity from various locations in the country.
Alzheimer’s Paper Retracted; Lipoic Acid and MS; Botched Autism Drug Rollout
Science Signaling retracted a 2017 paper that linked a specific amyloid form (amyloid-beta 56) to tau pathology after an investigation into allegations of data manipulation. Author Sylvain Lesné, PhD, who resigned from the University of Minnesota earlier this year, objected to the retraction.
Older adults who were awake more during the night performed worse on cognitive tests no matter how long they slept, data from the Einstein Aging Study showed. (Sleep Health)
Human herpesvirus 7 could be a contributing factor in multiple sclerosis (MS) etiology, a case-control study in Sweden suggested. (Brain Communications)
— News and commentary from the world of neurology and neuroscience.