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About 4.5 million years ago, the sun passed close to two extremely bright stars, flooding nearby space with their radiation. And that encounter left a ghostly scar that astronomers can still detect today, a new study says.The researchers say this close encounter could help solve decades-old mysteries, such as why the space around the solar system is much more energetic than models predict and contains an excess of ionized helium.A research team led by astrophysicist Michael Schall of the University of Colorado Boulder used computer models to rewind the orbits of stars near the Sun and found that two pale…
Solar power represents an innovative alternative to traditional power sources in terms of enhancing safety and control through remote monitoring systems and its important applications in security and defense. Is it possible that tiny electronic devices made of semiconductor layers just a few micrometers thick could protect people and property? Yes, but in a completely unconventional way. By providing electrical energy in a quiet, undetectable and sustainable manner where other sources cannot do this. Today we invite you to a very special world of applications where solar power is the unspoken hero of our daily safety. Remote monitoring enhances safety…
The US leads in PFAS litigation, providing significant relief for PFAS contamination. Will Canada and the UK follow this example? Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) is a hot topic, gaining widespread public attention. A search of the term ‘PFAS’ on Google yields over 23 million results in under one second. The ‘forever chemicals’ nickname has garnered public attention from people otherwise unconcerned with environmental issues (or with the thousands of other chemicals used in commerce). Hollywood even made a movie about PFAS starring Mark Ruffalo and Anne Hathaway, portraying plaintiffs’ lawyers as courageous warriors against corrupt corporate giants. Media has…
December 18, 2025Ravi LakshmananMalware/Mobile Security The North Korean threat actor known as Kimsuky is said to be behind a new campaign distributing a new variant of Android malware called DocSwap via QR codes hosted on phishing sites imitating Seoul-based logistics company CJ Logistics (formerly CJ Korea Express). “The attackers used QR codes and notification pop-ups to lure victims into installing and running malware on their mobile devices,” ENKI said. “The malicious app decrypts the embedded encrypted APK and launches a malicious service that provides RAT functionality.” “Because Android blocks apps from unknown sources and displays security warnings by default, attackers…
December 18, 2025Ravi LakshmananVulnerabilities/Software Security The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) on Wednesday added a critical flaw affecting ASUS Live Update to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, citing evidence of active exploitation. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2025-59374 (CVSS score: 9.3), is described as “embedding a malicious code vulnerability” introduced by a supply chain compromise, which could allow an attacker to perform unintended actions. “Certain versions of the ASUS Live Update client were distributed with unauthorized changes introduced through a supply chain compromise,” according to the flaw description published on CVE.org. “The modified build may cause unintended behavior…
December 18, 2025Ravi LakshmananVulnerability/Network Security Cisco has warned users of a maximum severity zero-day vulnerability in Cisco AsyncOS Software. This vulnerability, codenamed UAT-9686, is being actively exploited by a Chinese-aligned Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) attacker in attacks targeting Cisco Secure Email Gateway and Cisco Secure Email and Web Manager. The network equipment giant said it became aware of the intrusion campaign on December 10, 2025, and identified “a limited number of devices” that had specific ports open to the internet. The number of customers affected is unknown at this time. “This attack allows an attacker to execute arbitrary commands with…
Patagonian pumas are preying on penguins, changing the way big cats interact with each other.The mountain lion re-established itself in an Argentine national park with a breeding colony of penguins, and the cats quickly began eating the bird. Now it turns out that normally solitary cats that eat penguins tolerate each other more often than expected, according to a new study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B on Wednesday (December 17).The findings suggest that such reintroductions could have surprising ramifications. you may like “Restoring wildlife in today’s changed landscapes is more than simply rewinding ecosystems to the…
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Wednesday that YouTube has won exclusive rights to stream the Oscars starting in 2029. The Google-owned platform beat out other nominees, including ABC, the longtime home of the Oscars, ending the network’s streak of hosting the ceremony since 1976 (with the exception of a brief period in the early 1970s). YouTube’s first show will be the 101st Oscars in 2029, and its contract runs through 2033. ABC plans to continue broadcasting the awards ceremony until 2028. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The news marks a groundbreaking change for…
Cisco announced Wednesday that hackers have exploited critical vulnerabilities in some of its most popular products, allowing them to take complete control of affected devices. What’s worse, there are no patches available at this time. Cisco said in a security advisory that it discovered a hacking campaign on December 10 that targeted Cisco AsyncOS software, specifically the physical and virtual appliances Cisco Secure Email Gateway, Cisco Secure Email, and Web Manager. The advisory says affected devices have a feature called “Spam Quarantine” enabled and can be accessed from the internet. Cisco pointed out that this feature is not enabled by…
December 17, 2025Ravi LakshmananVulnerability/Network Security SonicWall has published fixes to address security flaws in its Secure Mobile Access (SMA) 100 Series appliances. This flaw is reportedly being exploited in the wild. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2025-40602 (CVSS score: 6.6), involves a case of local privilege escalation that occurs as a result of insufficient authentication in the Appliance Management Console (AMC). Affects the following versions: 12.4.3-03093 (Platform Hotfix) and Earlier – Fixed in 12.4.3-03245 (Platform Hotfix) 12.5.0-02002 (Platform Hotfix) and Earlier – Fixed in 12.5.0-02283 (Platform Hotfix) “This vulnerability has been reported to be exploited in conjunction with CVE-2025-23006 (CVSS score…