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An edited collection of advanced computing news from Communications of the ACM, ACM TechNews, other ACM resources, and news sites around the Web.


Gear from Netgear, Linksys, 200 Others Has Unpatched DNS Poisoning Flaw
From ACM TechNews

Gear from Netgear, Linksys, 200 Others Has Unpatched DNS Poisoning Flaw

Researchers at security firm Nozomi Networks identified an unpatched vulnerability in third-party code libraries used by 200 hardware and software vendors.

Apple Rushes Out Patches for Zero-Days Threatening iOS, macOS Users
From ACM TechNews

Apple Rushes Out Patches for Zero-Days Threatening iOS, macOS Users

Apple recently released patches for two critical zero-day vulnerabilities discovered by an anonymous researcher that affect the operating systems of iPhones, iPads...

Bug Lurking for 12 Years Gives Attackers Root on Most Major Linux Distros
From ACM TechNews

Bug Lurking for 12 Years Gives Attackers Root on Most Major Linux Distros

Polkit, a system-wide privilege manager for Unix-like operating systems, contains a 12-year-old memory-corruption vulnerability.

Booby-Trapped Sites Delivered Potent Backdoor Trojan to macOS Users
From ACM TechNews

Booby-Trapped Sites Delivered Potent Backdoor Trojan to macOS Users

Security researchers have uncovered macOS malware that can be installed by exploits almost impossible for most users to detect.

Microsoft's Emergency Patch Fails to Fix Critical 'PrintNightmare' Vulnerability
From ACM TechNews

Microsoft's Emergency Patch Fails to Fix Critical 'PrintNightmare' Vulnerability

Researchers warn a Microsoft software patch did not fully correct a flaw in the Windows operating system that allows hackers to commandeer infected networks.

Newly Discovered Vigilante Malware Outs Software Pirates, Blocks Them
From ACM TechNews

Newly Discovered Vigilante Malware Outs Software Pirates, Blocks Them

SophosLabs researcher Andrew Brandt has discovered malware that identifies and blocks software pirates.

Security Researcher Successfully Jailbreaks Apple AirTag
From ACM TechNews

Security Researcher Successfully Jailbreaks Apple AirTag

German security researcher stacksmashing was able to break into, dump, and reflash the microcontroller of Apple's AirTag object-location product.

'A Damn Stupid Thing to Do'—the Origins of C
From ACM News

'A Damn Stupid Thing to Do'—the Origins of C

Today, C may be a lingua franca among programmers. This is its (abridged) history.

FBI/DHS: Government Systems Face Threat From Zerologon Exploits
From ACM TechNews

FBI/DHS: Government Systems Face Threat From Zerologon Exploits

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Homeland Security have detected attackers exploiting a Windows vulnerability against state and local...

One of This Year's Most Severe Windows Bugs Is Now Under Active Exploit
From ACM TechNews

One of This Year's Most Severe Windows Bugs Is Now Under Active Exploit

Microsoft warns a high-impact vulnerability that allows hackers to instantly take control of Windows' Active Directory is being actively exploited by malicious...

Supply-Chain Attack Hits RubyGems Repository with 725 Malicious Packages
From ACM TechNews

Supply-Chain Attack Hits RubyGems Repository with 725 Malicious Packages

ReversingLabs researchers found more than 725 malicious packages in RubyGems, the official channel for distributing programs and code libraries for the Ruby programming...

Ethiopian Air Pilots Turned Off 737 MAX Anti-Stall System. Then It Turned On Again
From ACM News

Ethiopian Air Pilots Turned Off 737 MAX Anti-Stall System. Then It Turned On Again

The pilots of Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 apparently followed the proper steps to shut down an errant flight control system as they struggled to regain control...

They Didn't Buy the DLC: Feature that Could've Prevented 737 Crashes Was Sold As an Option
From ACM News

They Didn't Buy the DLC: Feature that Could've Prevented 737 Crashes Was Sold As an Option

The crashed Lion Air 737 MAX and the Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX aircraft had more in common than aircraft design and the apparently malfunctioning flight system...

­ber Escapes Criminal Charges for 2018 Self-Driving Death in Arizona
From ACM News

­ber Escapes Criminal Charges for 2018 Self-Driving Death in Arizona

A prosecutor in Arizona has decided not to press charges against Uber in the March 2018 death of Elaine Herzberg. One of Uber's self-driving cars crashed into Herzberg...

String of Ions May Out-Compute Best Quantum Computers
From ACM News

String of Ions May Out-Compute Best Quantum Computers

Usually, I reflexively delete press releases. This one was no different, but as the message vanished, the subject line registered—"IonQ… quantum computing."

Researchers, Scared by Their Own Work, Hold Back 'Deepfakes for Text' AI
From ACM News

Researchers, Scared by Their Own Work, Hold Back 'Deepfakes for Text' AI

OpenAI, a non-profit research company investigating "the path to safe artificial intelligence," has developed a machine learning system called Generative Pre-trained...

Bless the Overclockers: In the Data Center World, Liquid Cooling Is Becoming King
From ACM News

Bless the Overclockers: In the Data Center World, Liquid Cooling Is Becoming King

In Iron Man 2, there is a moment when Tony Stark is watching a decades-old film of his deceased father, who tells him "I'm limited by the technology of my time,...

How the Government Shutdown Is Flushing Away Federal Cyber-Talent
From ACM Careers

How the Government Shutdown Is Flushing Away Federal Cyber-Talent

The US Federal government is in the midst of the longest gap in funding for many of its agencies in history. As the "shutdown" extends into a second month, the...

Imaging Ever Closer to the Event Horizon
From ACM News

Imaging Ever Closer to the Event Horizon

While black holes themselves swallow any light beyond their event horizon, the area outside the event horizon tends to emit lots of light.

Machine Learning Can Offer New Tools, Fresh Insights for the Humanities
From ACM News

Machine Learning Can Offer New Tools, Fresh Insights for the Humanities

Truly revolutionary political transformations are naturally of great interest to historians, and the French Revolution at the end of the 18th century is widely...
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