Technology Evolution - Red Hot Cyber

Red Hot Cyber

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Category: Technology Evolution

Your VPN is a Trojan! Here are 17 Free Apps Made in China That Spy on You While Google and Apple Get Fat

Redazione RHC 23/06/2025

“If you don’t pay for the service, you are the product. This is true for social networks, but also for free VPNs: your data, your privacy, is often the real price to pay. Researchers at the Tech Transparency Projecthave reported that at least 17 free VPN apps with alleged ties to China are still available in the US versions of the Apple and Google stores, and big tech companies are managing to make money from these apps despite the risks to user privacy. The first investigation by TTP surfaced in April, revealing that the data of millions of users from more than two

Bringing Your Imagination to Life: AI-Generated Images from Your Description

Ashleigh Crause 14/05/2025

Remember when you had a vivid image in your mind but struggled to describe it to someone else? Maybe it was a character from a dream, a breathtaking landscape, or a unique design you wished existed in reality. Back then, we relied on that one talented artistic friend to bring our visions to life. But explaining a mental image was often frustrating after all, you were relying on another person’s interpretation of your words, which often led to results that weren’t quite what you had in mind. AI image generators use deep learning algorithms to interpret text descriptions and transform them into

NIST selects second PQC Key Encapsulation algorithm

Tara Lie 18/03/2025

The fourth round of the American National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Post Quantum Cryptography (PQC) competition has selected HQC as a secondary quantum-resilient key encapsulation mechanism (KEM) to the previously selected ML-KEM (based on CRYSTALS-Kyber). HQC, or “Hemming Quasi-Cyclic” in full, is a code-based KEM which utilises the cryptographically challenging Quasi-Cyclic Syndrome Decoding Problem as its base and built around the concept of error-correcting codes. NIST has stated that they have selected HQC as a backup algorithm to ML-KEM, which utilises a different mathematical approach. ML-KEM is a modular lattice-based algorithm which was first selected by NIST in 2022, and

Interviewing ChatGPT: the AI that feels human, to its Asperger’s users.

Ashleigh Crause 07/03/2025

Have you ever experienced that ChatGPT recognizes who it is talking to? I share my ChatGPT account with my spouse, and when he uses it, he gets the generic, prepackaged answers that most users receive. However, I get a more human-like, personal response that almost sounds like myself responding. The difference in our usage is that he treats it as a tool with direct research requests, while I interact with it in a more human-like way, using phrases like “please,” “may you,” “do you mind,” and “thank you” when I ask for help. We have never disclosed that two different people are

Microsoft presents Majorana 1: The Quantum Processor Promising to Reshape the Future

Tara Lie 24/02/2025

Microsoft has taken a significant step forward in the field of quantum computing with the launch of its first quantum processor: Majorana 1. Unlike most quantum chips that are based on electron-based qubits, this revolutionary processor exploits Majorana particles, a revolutionary development in the field. At the World Governments Summit in Dubai last week, Google CEO Sundar Pichai compared quantum computing to artificial intelligence from a decade ago, highlighting its potential to reshape the future. Despite its promises, quantum computing remains one of the most complex challenges in modern science. Microsoft presents Majorana 1 In a revolutionary announcement on Wednesday, Microsoft presented

Cryptography at Risk: MIT develops a Quantum Algorithm to crack RSA.

Tara Lie 27/08/2024

Modern encryption methods, such as RSA, are based on the fact that even the most powerful classical computers are not able to quickly decompose a large number into prime factors. However, quantum computers promise to considerably accelerate this process, thanks to an algorithm proposed by Peter Shor in 1994, which demonstrated that a quantum computer could break RSA encryption. Over the last 30 years, scientists have been actively developing quantum computers, but up until now they have not been able to create a powerful enough device to execute Shor’s algorithm. It requires a quantum computer with about 20 million qubits, while modern

The other side of cybersecurity: stress and burnout are “by design” in domain experts

Redazione RHC 23/07/2024

We often talk about cyber security and the importance of a complete cyber program today. Today, however, we will focus on analyzing another important point in the profession of the cyber security expert : stress. Many aspiring cybersecurity professionals dream of establishing themselves firmly in the industry and one day even taking on a leadership position by becoming a CISO in some large company. However, before you strive for career growth and increased responsibility, you should be aware of all the pitfalls that plague the industry, which are often not talked about. Working in the cybersecurity industry comes with significant stress and

Musk’s Supercomputer in Memphis is ready! 100,000 liquid-cooled Nvidia H1s.

Redazione RHC 23/07/2024

Elon Musk, who simultaneously heads six innovative companies-Tesla, SpaceX, Starlink, X (formerly known as Twitter), Neuralink, and xAI-is not stopping there. He recently announced that xAI has begun training its models on the world’s most powerful artificial intelligence cluster: the Memphis Supercluster, located in Memphis, Tennessee. According to the publication WREG , this supercomputer will represent the largest capital investment by a new market company in the city’s history. However, despite its ambitious plans, xAI does not yet have an agreement with the local energy company Tennessee Valley Authority, which is necessary to provide the project with electricity with a capacity of

Intel CPUs Vulnerable! New “Indirector” Attack Threatens Sensitive Data Detection.

Raffaela Crisci 03/07/2024

Modern Intel processors, including Raptor Lake and Alder Lake CPUs (i.e., 12th and 13th generation Intel “Core” processors), are vulnerable to a new high-precision Branch Target Injection (BTI) attack called “Indirector.” Discovered by security researchers Luyi Li, Hosein Yavarzadeh, and Dean Tullsen of the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), Indirector exploits vulnerabilities within the Indirect Branch Predictor (IBP) and Branch Target Buffer (BTB). These two critical components in Intel CPUs could be abused to hijack execution and leak sensitive data. This attack represents a significant security threat, bypassing existing protection mechanisms. Full details will be disclosed at the upcoming USENIX Security Symposium in August 2024. BTI BTI (Branch Target

Discover Quantum Computing

Tara Lie 20/03/2024

Welcome to the Red Hot Cyber community’s Quantum Technology Group page. The themed group will be lead by industry experts, and will focus on the dissemination and the study of advanced computing solutions based on quantum technology. In particular the applications of Quantum Computing and of Quantum Communication will be explored in various fields, amongst which are cyber security, cryptography, machine learning, and optimisation problems. Several use cases will be analysed in different applicable areas of the national and international landscape, and public and private research activities will be monitored. The objective is to share the real state of Quantum Computing and