Warren Shepell had an unsettling experience this month when boarding his flight from Cleveland heading home to Toronto. Just before getting on the plane, he says two uniformed officers approached him on the boarding ramp (Jetway), and one took his photo. “I was aghast. I felt ambushed,” said Shepell, a noted Canadian psychologist. Read full story here: U.S. to photograph Canadian travellers when they enter and exit at all land borders, airports | CBC News
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Man Alarmed to Discover His Smart Vacuum Was Broadcasting a Secret Map of His House | Futurism
Forget your phone spying on you — maybe it’s your vacuum you should really be worried about. In a post on his blog Small World, the computer programmer and electronics enthusiast Harishankar Narayanan detailed a startling find he made about his $300 smart vacuum: it was transmitting intimate data out of his home. Narayanan had been letting his iLife A11 smart vacuum — a popular gadget that’s gained mainstream media coverage — do its thing for about a year, before he became curious about its inner workings. Read full story…
Read MoreScientists develop method to identify people by how their bodies disrupt Wi-Fi | TechSpot
A hot potato: As Wi-Fi spreads everywhere, a new technology could identify you just by how your body disturbs wireless signals – no cameras, no devices needed. This breakthrough raises urgent questions about privacy in a world where invisible tracking might soon become routine. Researchers at La Sapienza University of Rome have developed a method they say can re-identify individuals based solely on how their bodies disrupt Wi-Fi signals – a breakthrough likely to reignite debates over privacy and surveillance. The technique is more powerful and less invasive than biometric…
Read MoreWhat could possibly go wrong? DOGE to rapidly rebuild Social Security codebase. | arsTECHNICA
The so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is starting to put together a team to migrate the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) computer systems entirely off one of its oldest programming languages in a matter of months, potentially putting the integrity of the system—and the benefits on which tens of millions of Americans rely—at risk. The project is being organized by Elon Musk lieutenant Steve Davis, multiple sources who were not given permission to talk to the media tell WIRED, and aims to migrate all SSA systems off COBOL, one of…
Read MoreWho’s hacking CRA accounts? | CBC News
The drive from Kelowna to Creston, B.C., carves south through snow-covered mountains, joins up with the Kettle River and then follows the Crowsnest Highway east as it detours north at Christina Lake. Five hours later, sprawling farmlands welcome visitors on their way into town, 12 kilometres north of the U.S. border. Heidi Germann was born and raised in Creston, travelled the world and then returned to her roots. She says it was community that pulled her home, and a deeply shared history that binds the town together. Read full story…
Read MoreCape Breton woman makes one-of-a-kind pens from reclaimed wood | CTV News
A wood turner in Cape Breton makes handcrafted pens from reclaimed wood, and offers customers one-of-a-kind keepsakes. Fay Wambolt is the owner of Full Circle Wood Turning. She says the local, repurposed wood is what makes her pens unique. Wambolt said she has wood from Sydney Steel, Holy Angels High School, Senator Mongomery’s house in Prince Edward Island and church pews from decommissioned churches in Cape Breton. Some samples come from further abroad, including a piece from a bog in Ukraine that is more than 5,400 years old. Read full…
Read MoreHow to use Google’s Dark Web Report to find out where your data has been leaked | Mashable
“Dark Web Report” is about to be free for everyone, and, yes, you should care. The title may make this feature sound like some unappealing podcast, but it’s actually a handy Google security tool that everyone should try. Previously exclusive to those who pay for Google One — the paid service that launched around the time Google began suddenly telling everyone their cloud storage was full — Dark Web Report is rolling out to (basically) all free Google Account holders at some point this month (as of this writing). In…
Read MoreOne of the biggest data leaks ever has just been revealed – here’s what to do if you’ve been hit | TechRadar
A massive database containing the gains of thousands of data breaches has been found online, amounting to 12TB and comprising over 26 billion records, making it the largest ever discovered. Cybernews claims to have made the discovery along with Bob Dyachenko, the owner of SecurityDiscovery.com. Read full story here: One of the biggest data leaks ever has just been revealed – here’s what to do if you’ve been hit | TechRadar
Read MoreGovernments can spy via smartphone push notifications, Apple and Google confirm | Mashable
Well, here’s something you might have never considered: Your iPhone and Android device push notifications can be used by law enforcement or governments to spy on you. U.S. Senator Ron Wyden sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice with a concern that his office was attempting to investigate. According to Senator Wyden’s letter as first reported by Reuters, his office received a tip in the Spring of last year about how foreign governments were requesting push notification data from companies like Apple and Google. Read full story here:…
Read MoreCanadian 15-year-old students’ math scores have been dipping since 2003: study | CTV News
Most 15-year-old students in Canada met the basic standards for math and the country was among the top 10 performers in the tests, though scores have been dropping since 2003, according to a new global report. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Programme for International Student Assessment’s (PISA) latest study focused on mathematics and also tested the reading and science knowledge and skills of 23,073 students in 867 schools from all 10 provinces in Canada. Read full story here: Canadian 15-year-old students’ math scores have been dipping since…
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