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Indian Court orders Internet block of Sci-Hub, Sci-Net and Libgen after publisher request


The Delhi High Court ordered the blocking of Sci-Hub, Sci-Net, and LibGen in India on August 19, 2025, following a copyright infringement case brought by academic publishers Elsevier, Wiley, and the American Chemical Society[^5][^7].

The court found that Alexandra Elbakyan, Sci-Hub's founder, violated her December 2020 undertaking not to upload new copyrighted content by making post-2022 articles available through both Sci-Hub and a new platform called Sci-Net[^7]. While Elbakyan claimed this was due to technical errors and argued Sci-Net was a separate project, the court rejected these arguments[^7].

The ruling requires India's Department of Telecommunications and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to issue blocking orders within 72 hours, with Internet Service Providers required to implement the blocks within 24 hours[^7].

This case marks the first time Sci-Hub and LibGen faced legal action in a developing country[^2]. Earlier intervention attempts by Indian scientists and researchers had argued these platforms were "the only access to educational and research materials" for many academics in India[^2], with social science researchers specifically highlighting the "detrimental effect" blocking would have on research in India[^9].

[^2]: InfoJustice - Update on Publisher's Copyright Infringement Suit Against Sci-Hub

[^5]: Substack - GPT-4o about Sci-hub: The Delhi High Court's latest order

[^7]: SpicyIP - Sci-Hub now Completely Blocked in India!

[^9]: Internet Freedom Foundation - Social Science researchers move Delhi High Court



Nature can adapt to climate change – but not at this speed


The natural world is built for change. Seasons shift. Rivers rise and fall. The climate gradually warms and cools again. Animals migrate, adapt, and evolve in response to these rhythms. This is how Earth has always worked – and how it’s supposed to work.

The pine forests of the Western U.S. offer a perfect example. For thousands of years, ponderosa and lodgepole pines evolved with periodic wildfires that swept through every decade or two. These fires weren’t disasters – they were essential.

Lodgepole pines actually depend on fire to reproduce. Their resinous cones only open in intense heat, releasing seeds onto the ash bed below. Ponderosa pines developed thick, fire-resistant bark to survive the low-intensity ground fires that cleared out undergrowth. These frequent, cool burns created open forests with widely spaced mature trees, healthy and highly productive ecosystems that provided clean water, timber, and wildlife habitat.

So the problem today isn’t change. It’s the speed of change.

Changes that used to take centuries or millennia are now unfolding in a matter of years. Levels of climate-warming carbon dioxide in the atmosphere have risen to well above 400 parts per million, a concentration that last occurred about 15 million years ago.

But even more concerning is the rate of change: By burning fossil fuels, we are emitting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere 30 times faster than at any point in the last 100 million years. That’s like putting nature’s slow-moving film on fast-forward – only the device is overheating as a result.



Juliana Moreira svela: “Ero un Uomo e mi chiamavo Roberto”


Juliana Moreira ed Edoardo Stoppa, ospiti di Caterina Balivo a La Volta Buona, hanno ripercorso i 17 anni della loro storia d'amore, mostrando il lato più autentico e ironico della loro coppia... leggi
#News
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How OnlyFans Piracy Is Ruining the Internet for Everyone | Innocent sites are being delisted from Google because of copyright takedown requests against rampant OnlyFans piracy.




How OnlyFans Piracy Is Ruining the Internet for Everyone


The internet is becoming harder to use because of unintended consequences in the battle between adult content creators who are trying to protect their livelihoods and the people who pirate their content.

Porn piracy, like all forms of content piracy, has existed for as long as the internet. But as more individual creators who make their living on services like OnlyFans, many of them have hired companies to send Digital Millennium Copyright Act takedown notices against companies that steal their content. As some of those services turn to automation in order to handle the workload, completely unrelated content is getting flagged as violating their copyrights and is being deindexed from Google search. The process exposes bigger problems with how copyright violations are handled on the internet, with automated systems filing takedown requests that are reviewed by other automated systems, leading to unintended consequences.

These errors show another way in which automation without human review is making the internet as we know it increasingly unusable. They also highlight the untenable piracy problem for adult content creators, who have little recourse to stop their paid content from being redistributed all over the internet.

I first noticed how bad some of these DMCA takedown requests are because one of them targeted 404 Media. I was searching Google for an article Sam wrote about Instagram’s AI therapists. I Googled “AI therapists 404 Media,” and was surprised it didn’t pop up because I knew we had covered the subject. Then I saw a note from Google at the bottom of the page noting Google had removed some search results “In response to multiple complaints we received under the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act.”

The notice linked to the Lumen Database, which keeps a record of DMCA complaints, who filed them, and for what. According to the Lumen Database, the complaint was filed by a company called Takedowns AI on behalf of content creator Marie Temara. Takedowns AI is one of many companies that help content creators, especially adult content creators, to scan the internet for images and videos they posted behind paywalls on platforms like OnlyFans and posted elsewhere for free. These companies also file DMCA takedown requests and navigate the copyright systems of big platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and Reddit. One of the most effective ways of preventing people from finding this pirated content is sending DMCA takedown requests to Google asking the search engine to delist results to sites that share it. As its name implies, Takedowns AI heavily relies on automation to do this work.

The complaint that impacted 404 Media included a list of 68 links to different websites that allegedly violated Temara’s copyright on content she posted to Instagram, OnlyFans, and other platforms. This was the allegedly offending link on 404 Media, which is a collage Sam made for her AI Facebook therapists story.

The collage includes Meta's AI-generated profile pictures of three of these AI therapists. The story itself has nothing to do with Temara, and the profile pictures look nothing like her. In fact, it would be hard for anyone to claim copyright for that image because in 2023 a U.S. court ruled that AI-generated art can’t be copyrighted.

I went through every other link in the same complaint and couldn’t find even one link that looked like it violated Temara’s copyrights. There were images from Grand Theft Auto V, famous baseball players, robots, stock images of people at theme parks, and movie posters, none of which looked remotely similar to Temara. In addition to 404 Media’s article about AI therapists, some of the pages that Google removed from search results due to this complaint included tech site wccftech.com, horror movie site bloody-disgusting.com, and rugby and wrestling sites.

These links are also just part of one complaint out of hundreds that Takedowns AI files every day. I looked through dozens of complaints to Google filed by Takedowns AI that were archived by the Lumen Database. The vast majority of them appear to be legitimate, but I did find other egregious mistakes. One of the worst mistakes I saw was a takedown request filed on behalf of a creator who goes by “honeyybee” against an article about actual honey bees on the University of Missouri’s website. The takedown request clearly targeted the article and caused Google to remove it from search results just because it was about a subject with a similar name to that of Takedown AI’s client.

Temara and honeyybee did not respond to a request for comment.

Takedowns AI CEO Kunal Anand told me that the company has filed 12 million takedowns requests to Google since 2022. He said that Takedowns AI uses facial recognition, keyword searches, and human reviewers to find and take down copyrighted content, and said he was overall confident in the company’s accuracy. Anand told me that sometimes his clients use Google Search’s API to see what results come up when they search for themselves, then ask Takedowns AI to remove everything on that list as is, which is what he thinks might have happened with Temara and honeyybee.

“We don't really review it [the list] because we are an agent for them,” Ananad said. “For the requests that we send out ourselves, usually they get reviewed, but sometimes they [clients] do a search by themselves, and they come across some content and they flag it and they're like, ‘We want this taken down.’ We don't review that because that is something that they want taken down. I'm not particularly sure about this case, but that is what happens. What we planned on doing was also reviewing these but it's usually not very fruitful, because the user is very sure they want that claim. And even if we say, ‘Hey, we don't think you should do that,’ they're like, ‘We want to do it. Just do it because I'm paying you for this.’ And if we just say, do it yourself, that kind of takes away the business from us. So that is basically how it works.”

Yvette van Bekkum, the CEO of Cam Model Protection, a company that’s offering the same services as Takedowns AI but that has been in business since 2014, told me that her company does not process requests like Anand described for clients. Cam Model Protection also uses AI, reverse image searches, and keyword searches to find infringing material, but it has systems in place to prevent false positives, Bekkum told me. These include a database of “whitelisted” content that it shouldn’t file takedown requests against, and human verification that each link the company sends to Google actually points to infringing content.

“Just a news article is not a copyright infringement,” Bekkum told me. “If there is no content being used or only a name being named, I don't need to explain to you that it's not in violation. Everybody can make a mistake, of course, but if you just randomly gather [links] and then report it, if it's not grounded on an infringement, you should not report it, of course.”

Bekkum and Ananad both said they understand why creators don’t want to click on every link that might be infringing on their copyright. It’s not only too much work—that’s why companies like Cam Model Protection exist in the first place—it also requires sifting through a sea of pornography they don’t want to see.

“This process is so time consuming,” Bekkum said. “And they do not want to focus on all that negative energy in Googling their name and seeing pages and pages full of links leading to illegal content.”

Elaina St. James, an adult content creator, told me she used a copyright takedown service and that it was most helpful when she flagged offending sites herself. St. James said she used the service to take down pirated content as well as catfishing accounts using her images, a problem 404 Media previously talked to her about. Overall, St. James said these services are useful but imperfect.

“I think they [DMCA takedown request companies] should stop overpromising,” she told me in an email. “There are some platforms—TikTok in particular—that do not comply. Tube sites in foreign countries also rarely comply.”

Automation of DMCA takedown requests has existed for years and has always resulted in some errors. Similar problems have also plagued YouTube’s automated Content ID system for years. More sites are likely to get caught in the crossfire as more content creators strike out on their own and turn to these services in an attempt to protect their income.

It’s an issue at the intersection of several critical problems with the modern internet: Google’s search monopoly, rampant porn piracy, a DMCA takedown process vulnerable to errors and abuse, and now the automation of all of the above in order to operate at scale. No one I talked to for this story thought there was an easy solution to this problem.

“It's all science fiction, but in the dumbest possible way,” Meredith Rose, a senior policy counsel with Public Knowledge who focuses on copyright, DMCA, and intellectual property reform, told me. “At the end of the day, the DMCA takedown provisions are a way to get speech off the internet. That's a very powerful tool. Even if you're not outright malicious, if somebody says something nasty about you and you want to keep your name out of their mouth, the DMCA kind of lets you do it without anybody checking your work. And so it is this really interesting case study in when you build these tools that give the power to anybody, even people who might not be who they say they are in these applications to get stuff taken down. Abuse happens. Sometimes it happens at scale. It happens for all different kinds of reasons. Sometimes it's just malice, sometimes it's incompetence, sometimes it's buggy automation [...] I feel like with AI, we're going to see a lot more of this.”

Anand said he believes the responsibility is with creators.

“The best way to solve that is to educate the creators more that this is not their content,” he told me. “A lot of creators are very scared, and what they want is everything about them taken down from everywhere. And then they start getting more aggressive with their takedowns.”

A spokesperson for Google told me that the vast majority of DMCA removals come from reporters who have a track record of valid takedowns, and that its DMCA removals process aims to find a balance between making it easy and efficient for rightsholders to report infringing content while also protecting free expression on the web.

“We actively fight fraudulent takedown attempts by using a combination of automated and human review to detect signals of abuse,” the Google spokesperson said. “We provide extensive transparency about these removals to hold requesters accountable, and sites can file counter notices if they believe a removal was made in error.”


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in reply to silence7

It's monopolistic corporations and incompetent governments that are runing the Internet for everyone. OF is a pox, but compared to those larger factors, OF piracy is nearly irrelevant. It might even be a positive if it damages OF.


The Evidence That AI Is Destroying Jobs For Young People Just Got Stronger


In a new paper, several Stanford economists studied payroll data from the private company ADP, which covers millions of workers, through mid-2025. They found that young workers aged 22–25 in “highly AI-exposed” jobs, such as software developers and customer service agents, experienced a 13 percent decline in employment since the advent of ChatGPT. Notably, the economists found that older workers and less-exposed jobs, such as home health aides, saw steady or rising employment. “There’s a clear, evident change when you specifically look at young workers who are highly exposed to AI,” Stanford economist Erik Brynjolfsson, who wrote the paper with Bharat Chandar and Ruyu Chen, told the Wall Street Journal.

In five months, the question of “Is AI reducing work for young Americans?” has its fourth answer: from possibly, to definitely, to almost certainly no, to plausibly yes. You might find this back-and-forth annoying. I think it’s fantastic. This is a model for what I want from public commentary on social and economic trends: Smart, quantitatively rich, and good-faith debate of issues of seismic consequence to American society.

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in reply to elephantium

Just wait all this is just a scam without any real revenue. That's why it's just investments right now into big companies. They're already starting to fail not really recognizing AI isn't supposed to be used in that way anyways.
in reply to DeathsEmbrace

Eh, I don't think it's an outright scam, rather "just" a bad investment / overhype. The language model programs do have some real uses, after all.



Climate technology reporting: without context and perspective we mislead our audiences


The key context that's missing is that we need a pretty wide mix of technologies to get off fossil fuels — each does part of what's necessary, and they need to see widespread adoption, not just exist as a demonstration project somewhere.


Scientists could soon lose a key tool for studying Antarctica's melting ice sheets as climate risks grow


Scientists say the planned decommissioning of a valuable research vessel is part of a series of actions by the Trump administration that take aim at climate science.




Zimbabwe Publishes Draft Regulations to Establish Climate Fund




Trump cuts to climate satellites will make weather prediction harder, scientists say


The Trump administration is scrapping satellite observations of Earth that officials say go beyond the essential task of predicting the weather.


Access options:
* gift link — registration required
* archive.today - should load a few minutes after this post goes up

in reply to silence7

One is free floating and the other is attached to the international space station. The original team hopes to find funding to save the ISS attached monitor. A more detailed article below

apnews.com/article/trump-nasa-…



Protesters deny planting listening devices inside Microsoft exec’s office; company fires four workers


A group that infiltrated Microsoft’s headquarters building this week disputed the company’s account of the incident — describing their sit-in as nonviolent and saying the “listening devices” allegedly left behind were phones that fell from their pockets when they were arrested.

“As Brad himself admits, if someone were to plant listening devices, this is not how they would do it,” said Hossam Nasr, one of the leaders of the group No Azure for Apartheid, referring to comments made by Microsoft President Brad Smith after seven members of the group occupied his office Tuesday afternoon. “If anything, we would like our phones back, please.”

The group, which is calling on Microsoft to cut ties with Israel over the alleged use of its technology against Palestinians in Gaza, also disputed the company’s assertion that its members do not represent elements of its workforce, and questioned the sincerity of Microsoft executives in addressing the issues the protesters have raised.

https://www.geekwire.com/2025/protesters-deny-planting-listening-devices-inside-microsoft-execs-office-company-fires-four-workers/

#tech


Kevin Spacey Torna a Venezia: Un Red Carpet pieno di Emozione


Un’altra Mostra del Cinema si accende con una presenza che fa discutere e riflettere: quella di Kevin Spacey. L’attore è tornato a calcare un red carpet internazionale di grande rilievo, scegliendo il Lido di Venezia per segnare un ulteriore passo nel suo atteso ritorno sotto i riflettori, dopo la conclusione positiva delle sue vicende legali.

Fonte

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Data di Uscita Gli Incredibili 3, Novità su Trama e Cast


La famiglia Parr sta per tornare, ma armati di pazienza! I fan de Gli Incredibili dovranno aspettare ancora un po’ per il terzo capitolo. L’annuncio ufficiale è arrivato, ma la data di uscita è ancora lontana: 2028, se tutto va bene.

Fonte

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Ci sarà la Seconda Stagione di If You Love 2? Notizie sulla possibile seconda stagione della serie tv


Il finale di If You Love ha lasciato i fan con il cuore spezzato, ma anche pieni di gioia. Dopo settimane di passione, è tempo di dire addio ad Ates, Leyla e al resto del cast. Ma quindi, ci sarà una seconda stagione? Scopriamolo insieme!

Fonte

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Warwick Davis nella Serie TV Harry Potter, sarà di nuovo Filius Vitious


Grandi novità dal mondo magico! Per celebrare il “Ritorno a Hogwarts”, è stato annunciato che Warwick Davis tornerà a interpretare il professor Filius Vitious nella serie TV di Harry Potter targata HBO. Un ritorno che farà felici i fan! Ma non è l’unica sorpresa che ci aspetta.

Fonte

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China’s chip startups are racing to replace Nvidia


Technology Channel reshared this.



TIL about Android Translation Layer (ATL), a way to port Android apps to Linux Mobile


I was searching for YouTube clients on my KDE Plasma Bigscreen GNU/Linux TV box, and found NewPipe, a popular Android YouTube frontend. Turns out this tool is how they moved it over.

Great solution alongside projects like Waydroid, as you can post individual apps to Flathub or other Linux storefronts, rather than needing to install a whole ROM to get your Android apps to appear in your Linux app tray.

It doesn't work like Wine, but I suppose the goal one day is to be able to click .APK files to install like you can with .EXE files with Wine. Currently developers need to integrate it for their (or their favourite open source) apps to install on Linux.

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in reply to Canuck

Linux mobile is the way

Lets goo.

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in reply to Canuck

There's some good potential here for sure. I use a project called Sober to run Roblox on my Linux PC, which runs the Android version. It works incredibly well.



Les 5 points à savoir sur l’e-ID


La votation du 28 septembre arrive à grand pas, alors faisons vite un tour du sujet le plus numérique de cette fournée : l'Identité électronique. Qu'est-ce que l'e-ID, comment cela fonctionne et quels sont les points importants à retenir avant la votation

La votation du 28 septembre arrive à grand pas, alors faisons vite un tour du sujet le plus numérique de cette fournée : l’Identité électronique.

Qu’est-ce que l’e-ID, comment cela fonctionne et quels sont les points importants à retenir avant la votation ? HTTPS-VD vous a préparé son top 5 des infos à connaître pour voter avec les bonnes clefs en main.

Nous vous invitons également à nous rejoindre le jeudi 4 septembre 2025 à 19h30 à la SDMB, rue Caroline 16, pour une soirée d’information sur l’e-ID et son fonctionnement expliqué par des experts du domaine.

mobilisons.ch/events/1e42ca47-…

Petit rappel avant propos : une identité électronique n’est ni un identifiant, ni votre login, ne remplace pas vos mots de passe. Une e-ID sert uniquement à vérifier une (ou plusieurs) information précise à votre sujet une unique fois auprès d’un prestataire. Cela correspond à montrer votre carte d’identité, mais pas à utiliser une clef.


1. Maître de son identité


Le système d’identité électronique (et non identification, la nuance est importante) est programmé pour être sous le contrôle complet de l’utilisateur (= titulaire). L’application Swiyu, fournie par la Confédération, enregistrera vos informations uniquement sur votre téléphone et nulle part ailleurs. La Confédération n’intervient que pour valider ces informations et fournir un certificat d’authenticité ; elle agit donc en tant que garant de la véracité de celles-ci (Art. 2, al. 3 LeID.

Seul l’utilisateur peut valider quel prestataire de services (= vérificateur) peut vérifier ses informations. De plus, à tout moment, s’il a le moindre soupçon qu’un prestataire utilise le service d’e-ID de manière non conforme, il peut signaler le fait aux autorités, qui doivent immédiatement déclencher une enquête (audit). L’utilisateur reste donc en permanence maître de la manière dont ses informations sont vérifiées (Art. 3 LeID).

Enfin, la loi précise explicitement que l’e-ID est facultatif. Tout prestataire qui en fait usage doit, en parallèle, avoir une solution équivalente pour qui ne souhaite pas l’utiliser. Il y aura donc toujours une alternative (Art. 25 LeID).

2. Minimisation des données échangées


Les données d’identité sont stockées uniquement sur votre appareil auquel les prestataires de services n’ont pas accès. (Art. 8, al. 2 LeID) Seule sont transmises les informations validées par le titulaire et confirmées par la Confédération, sous forme codée (ou non codée, si le titulaire le choisit). Pour pouvoir utiliser le système d’e-ID, le prestataire doit effectuer une demande à la Confédération, justifiant chaque information pour laquelle il requiert une vérification (Art. 32 LeID). De plus, la vérification est automatiquement effacée après 90 jours (Art. 27 LeID), ce qui limite fortement les possibilités d’usage par les prestataires.

La Confédération ne saura en revanche pas comment le titulaire utilise son e-ID, pas plus que ce n’est le cas aujourd’hui avec la carte d’identité. (Art. 10, al. 2 LeID)

3. Décentralisée (l’identité est dans votre téléphone)


La Confédération se basera uniquement sur les registres existants pour certifier l’identité du titulaire de l’e-ID. Les informations spécifiques à l’e-ID ne seront utilisables qu’à partir de l’appareil de l’utilisateur. Une fois l’identité validée, le système est quasiment autonome vis-à-vis de l’État, ce qui lui limite drastiquement les possibilité de surveillance. Il s’agit donc d’un outil très décentralisé. Cela augmente également fortement la sécurité de l’outil, puisque si un utilisateur voit sont appareil infiltré, il sera la seule victime et les autres titulaires d’e-ID ne seront pas affectés. (eid.admin.ch/fr/technologie-f)

L’application est en revanche uniquement prévue pour les deux principaux distributeurs (Apple store et Google Play store) pour le moment. Les développeurs doivent encore trouver un moyen de s’affranchir des ces distributeurs pour rendre Swiyu accessible depuis des plateformes entièrement libres. (Pour participer : github.com/swiyu-admin-ch)

4. Non obligatoire


La loi encadrant l’e-ID est claire : son utilisation n’est pas obligatoire (Art. 25 LeID). Les organismes devront toujours proposer un autre moyen de vérifier l’identité d’une personne, même si ce service alternatif peut parfois être assorti d’un émolument (Art. 31 LeID). L’e-ID ne remplace donc pas les pratiques actuelles, mais affectera surtout les démarches déjà fortement numérisées (achats en ligne, signatures de contrat à distance, etc.). Les commerçants de quartier continueront donc à demander votre carte d’identité pour vérifier votre âge. Son déploiement plus large prendra du temps en raison des contraintes légales strictes, mais justes, qui garantissent une utilisation conforme à nos lois.

5. Code source ouvert


Enfin, la loi prévoit que le code de l’e-ID soit développé en open source, ce qui garantit transparence et auditabilité (Art. 12 LeID). Des exceptions juridiques restent toutefois possibles, et il sera important de rester attentif à leurs applications, même si la jurisprudence actuelle est plutôt favorable à l’ouverture complète du code. Nous sommes rassurés par la manière dont l’aspect « code source » du projet d’eID suisse est géré. Le processus se distingue par son exemplarité : le développement est ouvert aux contributions externes, la documentation est complète et accessible, et la transparence permet à chacun de vérifier et d’améliorer la solution. (swiyu-admin-ch.github.io/intro…)

Conclusion


En résumé, la nouvelle version de l’e-ID corrige avec brio les défauts de la première mouture. Si les exceptions prévues à la transparence forcent les citoyens à rester vigilants, le reste répond de manière explicites aux critiques formulées lors de la précédente votation. Le cadre légal présenté coche presque toutes les cases attendues pour un tel outil, et son aspect facultatif permet, comme avec les cartes bancaires, de toujours garder le choix du papier.

Ressources :


Informations sur la votation:

admin.ch/gov/fr/accueil/docume…

Loi E-ID soumise au vote:

admin.ch/gov/fr/accueil/docume…

Ordonnance sur l’E-ID:

fedlex.data.admin.ch/filestore…

Site de la confédération sur E-ID:

eid.admin.ch/fr

eid.admin.ch/fr/e-id-f

Dépôt du code source de l’E-ID:

github.com/swiyu-admin-ch





[Important] Catbox Needs Your Help


tl;dr - Patreon deleted my page, refused to elaborate, and Catbox is now short $1,300~ in reoccurring income to pay the bill.
Support Catbox Here


I use catbox to post videos and moving webp files to lemmy 😭

edit: to be clear I'm not affiliated with catbox, i just shared

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DDoS Dominate the Digital Battlefield: AI integration, persistent hacktivist campaigns, and nation-state actors weaponize DDoS attacks, creating unprecedented risks for organizations globally


::: spoiler Key Findings
1. Geopolitical Events Trigger Unprecedented DDoS Campaigns
Expand
: Major political events drove increased DDoS activity, evidenced by attack count spikes that coincide with these occurrences. These events saw hacktivist groups launching up to double the normal number of attacks in short timeframes.
2. Botnet-Driven Attacks Dominate with Increased Sophistication
Expand
: Botnet-driven attacks are getting longer, more frequent, and are employing multiple attack vectors to avoid mitigation. They are targeting known vulnerabilities in IoT devices, servers, routers, and more.
3. NoName057(16) Maintains Dominance Among Familiar Threat Actors: Well-known hacktivist and attack groups, such as NoName057(16), are launching more attacks across the globe while leveraging several attack vectors.
4. New Threat Actors Emerge with DDoS-as-a-Service Capabilities: Emerging attack groups like DieNet and Keymous+ are leveraging DDoS-for-hire infrastructure to launch DDoS-as-a-service campaigns, lowering the barrier to entry and expanding the threat landscape.
5. Global DDOS Attack Volume High with Regional Variations: With more than 8 million recorded attacks globally in the first half of 2025, DDoS attack volume remains massive. The attacks also show sustained intensity, reaching speeds of 3.12 Tbps and 1.5 Gpps.
:::

DDoS attacks are no longer just a nuisance, they’re a weapon of geopolitical influence. In the first half of 2025 alone, more than 8 million attacks were recorded globally, with threat actors leveraging AI, botnets, and DDoS-for-hire services to launch increasingly sophisticated and sustained campaigns.


::: spoiler Report Highlights
- DDoS-Capable
Botnets
;
- Country
Analysis
;
- DDoS Attack
Vectors
;
- Global
Highlights
;
- Industry
Analysis
.
:::




A new study of 58 countries shows that many online government services are served and routed via foreign networks and have low HTTPS encryption adoption rates.


  • Understanding network dependencies matters for digital sovereignty, resilience, and security.
  • Canada, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, and the USA distribute government-bound traffic across multiple operators and exchange points, creating greater resilience against technical failures and geopolitical shocks.
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Piracy is for Trillion Dollar Companies | Fair Use, Copyright Law, & Meta AI


Piracy is for Trillion Dollar Companies | Fair Use,...
youtube.com/watch?v=sdtBgB7iS8…
in reply to BentiGorlich

This is why obeyong laws on purpose makes you a boot licker.

Don't lick boot unless you or your partner is sexually gratified by the act.

in reply to BentiGorlich

This is great news for us! If you ever get pulled up for pirating things, just say you're using them to train an LLM and it's legal!

(Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer. This definitely will not work unless it does. But it probably won't.)


in reply to Pro

Do AI music creators actually have any success? I'm gonna need some numbers on that.
in reply to Thorry

McCann, 37, who has a background as a visual designer, started experimenting with AI to see if it could boost his creativity and “bring some of my lyrics to life.” Last month, he signed with independent record label Hallwood Media after one of his tracks racked up 3 million streams, in what’s billed as the first time a music label has inked a contract with an AI music creator.



in reply to Davriellelouna

Good for them:

I wish the Tunisian people well: they've had better-quality democracy, enough to taste their real rights, & hope they take all the wisdoms/insights of Ghandi, & Nelson Mandela, & systematically force the earning of their civil-rights..

_ /\ _



Australia’s government trial of age‑assurance tech to keep under‑16s off social media says social media age checks can be done, despite errors and privacy risks


cross-posted from: programming.dev/post/36686657

Main Report.

::: spoiler 12 Key Findings
1. Age assurance can be done in Australia privately, efficiently and effectively: Age assurance can be done in Australia – our analysis of age assurance systems in the context of Australia demonstrates how they can be private, robust and effective. There is a plethora of choice available for providers of age-restricted goods, content, services, venues or spaces to select the most appropriate systems for their use case with reference to emerging international standards for age assurance.
2. No substantial technological limitations preventing its implementation to meet policy goals: Our evaluation did not reveal any substantial technological limitations that would prevent age assurance systems being used in response to age-related eligibility requirements established by policy makers. We identified careful, critical thinking by providers on the development and deployment of age assurance systems, considering efficacy, privacy, data and security concerns. Some systems were easier for initial implementation and use than others, but the systems of all technology providers with a technology readiness level (TRL) 7 or above were eventually capable of integration to a user journey.
3. Provider claims have been independently validated
against the project’s evaluation criteria
: We found that the practice statements provided by age assurance providers with a TRL of 7 or above fairly reflected the technological capabilities of their products, processes or services (to the extent applicable to the Trial’s evaluation criteria). Some of the practice statements provided have needed to be clarified or developed during the course of the Trial, but we observed that they offer a useful option for transparency of the capabilities of the available age assurance systems. Those with a TRL below 7 will need further analysis when their systems mature.
4. A wide range of approaches exist, but there is no one-size-fits-all solution for all contexts: We found a plethora of approaches that fit different use cases in different ways, but we did not find a single ubiquitous solution that would suit all use cases, nor did we find solutions that were guaranteed to be effective in all deployments. The range of possibilities across the Trial participants demonstrate a rich and rapidly evolving range of services which can be tailored and effective depending on each specified context of use.
5. We found a dynamic, innovative and evolving age assurance service sector: We found a vibrant, creative and innovative age assurance service sector with both technologically advanced and deployed solutions and a pipeline of new technologies transitioning from research to minimum viable product to testing and deployment stages indicating an evolving choice and future opportunities for developers. We found private-sector investment and opportunities for growth within the age assurance services sector.
6. We found robust, appropriate and secure data handling practices: We found robust understanding of and internal policy decisions regarding the handling of personal information by Trial participants. The privacy policies and practice statements collated for the Trial demonstrate a strong commitment to privacy by design principles, with consideration of what data was to be collected, stored, shared and then disposed of. Separating age assurance services from those of relying parties was useful as Trial participants providing age assurance services more clearly only used data for the necessary and consented purpose of providing an age assurance result.
7. Systems performed broadly consistently across demographic groups, including Indigenous populations: The systems under test performed broadly consistently across demographic groups assessed and despite an acknowledged deficit in training age analysis systems with data about Indigenous populations, we found no substantial difference in the outcomes for First Nations and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and other multi-cultural communities using the age assurance systems. We found some systems performed better than others, but overall variances across race did not deviate by more than recognised tolerances.
8. There is scope to enhance usability, risk management and system interoperability: We found opportunities for technological improvement including improving ease of use for the average person and enhancing the management of risk in age assurance systems. This could include through one-way blind access to verification of government documents, enabling connection to data holder services (like digital wallets) or improving the handling of a child’s digital footprint as examples.
9. Parental control tools can be effective but may constrain children’s digital participation and evolving autonomy: The Trial found that both parental control and consent systems can be done and can be effective, but they serve different purposes. Parental control systems are pre-configured and ongoing but may fail to adapt to the evolving capacities of children including potential risks to their digital privacy as they grow and mature, particularly through adolescence. Parental consent mechanisms prompt active engagement between children and their parents at key decision points, potentially supporting informed access.
10. Systems generally align with cybersecurity best practice, but vigilance is required: We found that the systems were generally secure and consistent with information security standards, with developers actively addressing known attack vectors including AI-generated spoofing and forgeries. However, the rapidly evolving threat environment means that these systems – while presently fairly robust – cannot be considered infallible. Ongoing monitoring and improvement will help maintain their effectiveness over time. Similarly, continued attention to privacy compliance will support long-term trust and accountability.
11. Unnecessary data retention may occur in apparent anticipation of future regulatory needs: We found some concerning evidence that in the absence of specific guidance, service providers were apparently over-anticipating the eventual needs of regulators about providing personal information for future investigations. Some providers were found to be building tools to enable regulators, law enforcement or Coroners to retrace the actions taken by individuals to verify their age which could lead to increased risk of privacy breaches due to unnecessary and disproportionate collection and retention of data.
12. Providers are aligning to emerging international standards around age assurance: The standards-based approach adopted by the Trial, including through the ISO/IEC 27566 Series [Note 1], the IEEE 2089.1 [Note 2] and the ISO/IEC 25000 [Note 3] series (the Product Quality Model) all provide a strong basis for the development of accreditation of conformity assessment and subsequent certification of individual age assurance providers in accordance with Australia’s standards and conformance infrastructure.
:::



Australia’s government trial of age‑assurance tech to keep under‑16s off social media says social media age checks can be done, despite errors and privacy risks


Main Report.

::: spoiler 12 Key Findings
1. Age assurance can be done in Australia privately, efficiently and effectively: Age assurance can be done in Australia – our analysis of age assurance systems in the context of Australia demonstrates how they can be private, robust and effective. There is a plethora of choice available for providers of age-restricted goods, content, services, venues or spaces to select the most appropriate systems for their use case with reference to emerging international standards for age assurance.
2. No substantial technological limitations preventing its implementation to meet policy goals: Our evaluation did not reveal any substantial technological limitations that would prevent age assurance systems being used in response to age-related eligibility requirements established by policy makers. We identified careful, critical thinking by providers on the development and deployment of age assurance systems, considering efficacy, privacy, data and security concerns. Some systems were easier for initial implementation and use than others, but the systems of all technology providers with a technology readiness level (TRL) 7 or above were eventually capable of integration to a user journey.
3. Provider claims have been independently validated
against the project’s evaluation criteria
: We found that the practice statements provided by age assurance providers with a TRL of 7 or above fairly reflected the technological capabilities of their products, processes or services (to the extent applicable to the Trial’s evaluation criteria). Some of the practice statements provided have needed to be clarified or developed during the course of the Trial, but we observed that they offer a useful option for transparency of the capabilities of the available age assurance systems. Those with a TRL below 7 will need further analysis when their systems mature.
4. A wide range of approaches exist, but there is no one-size-fits-all solution for all contexts: We found a plethora of approaches that fit different use cases in different ways, but we did not find a single ubiquitous solution that would suit all use cases, nor did we find solutions that were guaranteed to be effective in all deployments. The range of possibilities across the Trial participants demonstrate a rich and rapidly evolving range of services which can be tailored and effective depending on each specified context of use.
5. We found a dynamic, innovative and evolving age assurance service sector: We found a vibrant, creative and innovative age assurance service sector with both technologically advanced and deployed solutions and a pipeline of new technologies transitioning from research to minimum viable product to testing and deployment stages indicating an evolving choice and future opportunities for developers. We found private-sector investment and opportunities for growth within the age assurance services sector.
6. We found robust, appropriate and secure data handling practices: We found robust understanding of and internal policy decisions regarding the handling of personal information by Trial participants. The privacy policies and practice statements collated for the Trial demonstrate a strong commitment to privacy by design principles, with consideration of what data was to be collected, stored, shared and then disposed of. Separating age assurance services from those of relying parties was useful as Trial participants providing age assurance services more clearly only used data for the necessary and consented purpose of providing an age assurance result.
7. Systems performed broadly consistently across demographic groups, including Indigenous populations: The systems under test performed broadly consistently across demographic groups assessed and despite an acknowledged deficit in training age analysis systems with data about Indigenous populations, we found no substantial difference in the outcomes for First Nations and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and other multi-cultural communities using the age assurance systems. We found some systems performed better than others, but overall variances across race did not deviate by more than recognised tolerances.
8. There is scope to enhance usability, risk management and system interoperability: We found opportunities for technological improvement including improving ease of use for the average person and enhancing the management of risk in age assurance systems. This could include through one-way blind access to verification of government documents, enabling connection to data holder services (like digital wallets) or improving the handling of a child’s digital footprint as examples.
9. Parental control tools can be effective but may constrain children’s digital participation and evolving autonomy: The Trial found that both parental control and consent systems can be done and can be effective, but they serve different purposes. Parental control systems are pre-configured and ongoing but may fail to adapt to the evolving capacities of children including potential risks to their digital privacy as they grow and mature, particularly through adolescence. Parental consent mechanisms prompt active engagement between children and their parents at key decision points, potentially supporting informed access.
10. Systems generally align with cybersecurity best practice, but vigilance is required: We found that the systems were generally secure and consistent with information security standards, with developers actively addressing known attack vectors including AI-generated spoofing and forgeries. However, the rapidly evolving threat environment means that these systems – while presently fairly robust – cannot be considered infallible. Ongoing monitoring and improvement will help maintain their effectiveness over time. Similarly, continued attention to privacy compliance will support long-term trust and accountability.
11. Unnecessary data retention may occur in apparent anticipation of future regulatory needs: We found some concerning evidence that in the absence of specific guidance, service providers were apparently over-anticipating the eventual needs of regulators about providing personal information for future investigations. Some providers were found to be building tools to enable regulators, law enforcement or Coroners to retrace the actions taken by individuals to verify their age which could lead to increased risk of privacy breaches due to unnecessary and disproportionate collection and retention of data.
12. Providers are aligning to emerging international standards around age assurance: The standards-based approach adopted by the Trial, including through the ISO/IEC 27566 Series [Note 1], the IEEE 2089.1 [Note 2] and the ISO/IEC 25000 [Note 3] series (the Product Quality Model) all provide a strong basis for the development of accreditation of conformity assessment and subsequent certification of individual age assurance providers in accordance with Australia’s standards and conformance infrastructure.
:::





Australia’s government trial of age‑assurance tech to keep under‑16s off social media says social media age checks can be done, despite errors and privacy risks


Main Report.

::: spoiler 12 Key Findings
1. Age assurance can be done in Australia privately, efficiently and effectively: Age assurance can be done in Australia – our analysis of age assurance systems in the context of Australia demonstrates how they can be private, robust and effective. There is a plethora of choice available for providers of age-restricted goods, content, services, venues or spaces to select the most appropriate systems for their use case with reference to emerging international standards for age assurance.
2. No substantial technological limitations preventing its implementation to meet policy goals: Our evaluation did not reveal any substantial technological limitations that would prevent age assurance systems being used in response to age-related eligibility requirements established by policy makers. We identified careful, critical thinking by providers on the development and deployment of age assurance systems, considering efficacy, privacy, data and security concerns. Some systems were easier for initial implementation and use than others, but the systems of all technology providers with a technology readiness level (TRL) 7 or above were eventually capable of integration to a user journey.
3. Provider claims have been independently validated
against the project’s evaluation criteria
: We found that the practice statements provided by age assurance providers with a TRL of 7 or above fairly reflected the technological capabilities of their products, processes or services (to the extent applicable to the Trial’s evaluation criteria). Some of the practice statements provided have needed to be clarified or developed during the course of the Trial, but we observed that they offer a useful option for transparency of the capabilities of the available age assurance systems. Those with a TRL below 7 will need further analysis when their systems mature.
4. A wide range of approaches exist, but there is no one-size-fits-all solution for all contexts: We found a plethora of approaches that fit different use cases in different ways, but we did not find a single ubiquitous solution that would suit all use cases, nor did we find solutions that were guaranteed to be effective in all deployments. The range of possibilities across the Trial participants demonstrate a rich and rapidly evolving range of services which can be tailored and effective depending on each specified context of use.
5. We found a dynamic, innovative and evolving age assurance service sector: We found a vibrant, creative and innovative age assurance service sector with both technologically advanced and deployed solutions and a pipeline of new technologies transitioning from research to minimum viable product to testing and deployment stages indicating an evolving choice and future opportunities for developers. We found private-sector investment and opportunities for growth within the age assurance services sector.
6. We found robust, appropriate and secure data handling practices: We found robust understanding of and internal policy decisions regarding the handling of personal information by Trial participants. The privacy policies and practice statements collated for the Trial demonstrate a strong commitment to privacy by design principles, with consideration of what data was to be collected, stored, shared and then disposed of. Separating age assurance services from those of relying parties was useful as Trial participants providing age assurance services more clearly only used data for the necessary and consented purpose of providing an age assurance result.
7. Systems performed broadly consistently across demographic groups, including Indigenous populations: The systems under test performed broadly consistently across demographic groups assessed and despite an acknowledged deficit in training age analysis systems with data about Indigenous populations, we found no substantial difference in the outcomes for First Nations and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and other multi-cultural communities using the age assurance systems. We found some systems performed better than others, but overall variances across race did not deviate by more than recognised tolerances.
8. There is scope to enhance usability, risk management and system interoperability: We found opportunities for technological improvement including improving ease of use for the average person and enhancing the management of risk in age assurance systems. This could include through one-way blind access to verification of government documents, enabling connection to data holder services (like digital wallets) or improving the handling of a child’s digital footprint as examples.
9. Parental control tools can be effective but may constrain children’s digital participation and evolving autonomy: The Trial found that both parental control and consent systems can be done and can be effective, but they serve different purposes. Parental control systems are pre-configured and ongoing but may fail to adapt to the evolving capacities of children including potential risks to their digital privacy as they grow and mature, particularly through adolescence. Parental consent mechanisms prompt active engagement between children and their parents at key decision points, potentially supporting informed access.
10. Systems generally align with cybersecurity best practice, but vigilance is required: We found that the systems were generally secure and consistent with information security standards, with developers actively addressing known attack vectors including AI-generated spoofing and forgeries. However, the rapidly evolving threat environment means that these systems – while presently fairly robust – cannot be considered infallible. Ongoing monitoring and improvement will help maintain their effectiveness over time. Similarly, continued attention to privacy compliance will support long-term trust and accountability.
11. Unnecessary data retention may occur in apparent anticipation of future regulatory needs: We found some concerning evidence that in the absence of specific guidance, service providers were apparently over-anticipating the eventual needs of regulators about providing personal information for future investigations. Some providers were found to be building tools to enable regulators, law enforcement or Coroners to retrace the actions taken by individuals to verify their age which could lead to increased risk of privacy breaches due to unnecessary and disproportionate collection and retention of data.
12. Providers are aligning to emerging international standards around age assurance: The standards-based approach adopted by the Trial, including through the ISO/IEC 27566 Series [Note 1], the IEEE 2089.1 [Note 2] and the ISO/IEC 25000 [Note 3] series (the Product Quality Model) all provide a strong basis for the development of accreditation of conformity assessment and subsequent certification of individual age assurance providers in accordance with Australia’s standards and conformance infrastructure.
:::



U.S. takes 10% stake in Intel as Trump flexes more power over big business


Trump tweet:

It is my Great Honor to report that the United States of America now fully owns and controls 10% of INTEL, a Great American Company that has an even more incredible future. I negotiated this Deal with Lip-Bu Tan, the Highly Respected Chief Executive Officer of the Company. The United States paid nothing for these Shares, and the Shares are now valued at approximately $11 Billion Dollars. This is a great Deal for America and, also, a great Deal for INTEL. Building leading edge Semiconductors and Chips, which is what INTEL does, is fundamental to the future of our Nation. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! Thank you for your attention to this matter.


in reply to themachinestops

Wait. The point of the unbelievable amount of telemetry you can't even disable was to collect info in situations like this. Right? Why is there telemetry if they have to ask?

Edit: title of the article is a bit misleading, as I obviously commented before reading the article.

The "another" company they are in contacting is Phison, the manufacturer of thr affected controllers, so it doesn't sound as bad as from the title

Questa voce è stata modificata (2 settimane fa)
in reply to infeeeee

This will help them keep the (reported) number of incidents down. Only a fraction of people will report it.
in reply to infeeeee

They have received no official reports, and cannot reproduce the issue. I'm betting this is a case of a couple drives failing and then everyone screaming at MS without any verification.


Apple accuses former Apple Watch staffer of conspiring to steal trade secrets for Oppo


I wanted to post this yesterday, but my instance was having issues the entire day. Apologies if this is a repost.

Shi allegedly sent a message to Oppo saying that he was working to “collect as much information as possible” before starting his job. And he searched the internet for terms like “how to wipe out macbook” and “Can somebody see if I’ve opened a file on a shared drive?” from his Apple-issued MacBook before leaving the company.


For someone who is presumably pretty intelligent, this is pretty dumb.

reshared this

in reply to puppinstuff

If they just made up a bunch of accusations with paltry evidence to prove it, the scandal would make headlines. "iPhone maker found to be full of shit in court!" is clickworthy gold. I don't think your stance is very strong. Every entity tries to spin things in their favor, but you make it sound like they'd bring an empty case and they very much would not. No one starts a lawsuit they don't think they can win unless they're someone with no credibility and endless money like Elon Musk (see lawsuit against Apple and OpenAI) or oil companies going after environmental lawyers.
in reply to some_guy

I politely disagree. Apple legal will most certainly make extreme accusations and throw the book at individuals as a deterrent to other staff who may be considering bringing “trade secret” knowledge with them as they leave. Which is basically turns any kind of creative solution to a tech problem into a “trade secret” 🍆in this reality of patents and intellectual property.

I suspect that this person thought they were getting away with something minor and it’s being spun into mustache-twirling supervillains as a warning to staff.