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FFmpeg, the open source multimedia framework that powers video processing in Google Chrome, Firefox, YouTube and other major platforms, has called on Google to either fund the project or stop burdening its volunteer maintainers with security vulnerabilities found by the company's AI tools. The maintainers patched a bug that Google's AI agent discovered in code for decoding a 1995 video game but described the finding as "CVE slop." The confrontation centered on a Google Project Zero policy announced in July that publicly discloses reported vulnerabilities within a week and starts a ninety-day countdown to full disclosure regardless of patch availability. FFmpeg, written primarily in assembly language, handles format conversion and streaming for VLC, Kodi and Plex but operates without adequate funding from the corporations that depend on it. Nick Wellnhofer resigned as maintainer of libxml2, a library used in all major web browsers, because of the unsustainable workload of addressing security reports without compensation and said he would stop maintaining the project in December.

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Democratic U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren is escalating pressure on the defense industry to stop opposing military right-to-repair legislation, as House and Senate negotiators work to finalize the fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Act. From a report: In a sharply-worded November 5 letter to the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) obtained by Reuters, Warren accused the industry group of attempting to undermine bipartisan efforts to give the Pentagon greater ability to repair weapons and equipment it owns. She called the group's opposition "a dangerous and misguided attempt to protect an unacceptable status quo of giant contractor profiteering." Currently, the government is often required to pay contractors like NDIA members Lockheed Martin, Boeing and RTX to use expensive original equipment and installers to service broken parts, versus having trained military maintainers 3D print spares in the field and install them faster and more cheaply.

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China has introduced a visa that will allow young foreign researchers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics to move there without having to secure a job first. From a report: Before the introduction of the K visa, most foreign STEM researchers hoping to move to China had to find a job in advance and then apply for a work visa. The Chinese government is making "a serious bid" to attract the world's brightest minds in STEM, says Jeremy Neufeld, the director of immigration policy at the Institute for Progress, a think tank in Washington DC. South Korea, Singapore and several other countries have also launched STEM-oriented visa programmes. The K visa was officially rolled out on 1 October, but Nature understands that applications are yet to open. Few details about eligibility have been released, except that restrictions will apply on the basis of an applicant's age, education and work experience. Foreign researchers who have graduated from 'famous' universities or institutes in China or abroad with a bachelor-or-higher degree in STEM will be eligible to apply. That also includes people who teach or research STEM topics in such organizations.

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Animal testing in science would be phased out faster under a new plan to increase the use of artificial intelligence and 3D bioprinted human tissues, a UK minister has said. The Guardian: The roadmap unveiled by the science minister, Patrick Vallance, backs replacing certain animal tests that are still used where necessary to determine the safety of products such as life-saving vaccines and the impact pesticides have on living beings and the environment. The strategy says phasing out the use of animals in science can only happen when reliable and effective alternative methods with the same level of safety for human exposure can replace them. The government said new funding for researchers and streamlined regulation would help develop methods such as organ-on-a-chip systems -- tiny devices that mimic how human organs work using real human cells. Greater use of AI to analyse vast amounts of data about molecules and predict whether new medicines will be safe and work well on humans would be deployed, while 3D bioprinted tissues could create realistic human tissue samples, from skin to liver, for testing. Other plans under the strategy include an end to regulatory testing on animals to assess the potential for skin and eye irritation and skin sensitisation by the end of 2026. By 2027, researchers are expected under the strategy to end tests of the strength of botox on mice, while by 2030 pharmacokinetic studies -- which track how a drug moves through the body over time -- on dogs and non-human primates will be reduced.

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BrianFagioli writes: Mozilla has released Firefox 145.0, and the standout change in this version is the official end of support for 32-bit Linux systems. Users on 32-bit distributions will no longer receive updates and are being encouraged to switch to the 64-bit build to continue getting security patches and new features. While most major Linux distributions have already moved past 32-bit support, this shift will still impact older hardware users and lightweight community projects that have held on to 32-bit for the sake of performance or preservation. The rest of the update introduces features such as built-in PDF comments, improved fingerprinting resistance for private browsing, tab group previews, password management in the sidebar, and minor UI refinements. Firefox also now compresses local translation models with Zstandard to reduce storage needs. But the end of 32-bit Linux support is the change that will leave the biggest mark, signaling another step toward a web ecosystem firmly centered on 64-bit computing.

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The furious push by AI hyperscalers to build out data centers will need about $1.5 trillion of investment-grade bonds over the next five years and extensive funding from every other corner of the market, according to an analysis by JPMorgan. From a report: "The question is not 'which market will finance the AI-boom?' Rather, the question is 'how will financings be structured to access every capital market?'" according to strategists led by Tarek Hamid. Leveraged finance is primed to provide around $150 billion over the next half decade, they said. Even with funding from the investment-grade and high-yield bond markets, as well as up to $40 billion per year in data-center securitizations, it will still be insufficient to meet demand, the strategists added. Private credit and governments could help cover a remaining $1.4 trillion funding gap, the report estimates. The bank calculates an at least $5 trillion tab that could climb as high as $7 trillion, singlehandedly driving a reacceleration in growth in the bond and syndicated loan markets, the strategists wrote in a report Monday. The analysts project $300 billion in high-grade bonds going toward AI data centers next year. That could account for nearly one fifth of total issuance in that market, which a report from Barclays estimates will grow to $1.6 trillion.

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The iPad Pro went on sale ten years ago, launching with a 12.9-inch screen that Apple believed would redefine computing through size alone. The company initially resisted making the device a laptop replacement and maintained strict limitations on multitasking, browser capabilities, and app installation. Over the past decade, Apple reversed course. The iPad Pro gained USB-C ports, external drive support, keyboard and trackpad accessories, and an improved Files app. The current M5 model includes OLED screens in 13- and 11-inch sizes. iPadOS 26 added free-form multitasking, a menu bar and the Preview app. The webcam now sits in landscape orientation. Despite these advances, the device remains constrained by App Store-only software installation, The Verge writes, limited system access, and the absence of desktop-class browsers. Apple spent years positioning the iPad as a third category between phones and computers. The hardware and accessories now support full computer functionality, but artificial software limitations remain in place.

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Apple has launched the iPhone Pocket, a knitted bag designed to hold iPhones. The limited edition collaboration with Japanese designer Issey Miyake costs $229.95 for the crossbody version. A shorter version is priced at $149.95. Apple said the 3D-knitted design was inspired by "a piece of cloth" and was born from the idea of creating an additional pocket for any iPhone and small everyday items. Yoshiyuki Miyamae, design director at Miyake Design Studio, said the product "speaks to the bond between iPhone and its user" and explores "the joy of wearing iPhone in your own way." Steve Jobs mocked similar $29 iPod Socks as "a revolutionary new product" in 2004.

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Sam Altman's Tools for Humanity has verified around 17.5 million people through its iris-scanning Orb device. The company has set a goal of reaching 1 billion users, so it is less than 2% of the way there. The startup has raised $240 million from investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Bain Capital and Khosla Ventures. PitchBook estimates its valuation at $2.5 billion. The Orb is a volleyball-sized metal sphere that scans irises to generate a World ID. Users can claim tokens of the cryptocurrency Worldcoin, currently worth around 80 cents per coin. Business Insider spoke to former Tools for Humanity employees, a former Orb operator from Kenya, and a former head of operations in Mexico City. Some questioned whether the company had a clear long-term strategy. Nick Maynard, vice president of fintech market research at Juniper Research, said he does not see a killer use case that will drive major traction. The company also continues to face regulatory headwinds. In October, agencies in the Philippines, Colombia and Thailand took action to halt operations. German authorities determined last year that the company's data protection measures would not be sufficient to protect against cybercriminals or state attackers.

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Samsung is rolling out new conversational AI across its 2025 TVs that lets users ask questions about what's on the screen and beyond it. From a report: First announced in September, the generative AI update is rolling out now with support for several languages. Vision AI Companion is based on an upgraded, generative AI-based version of Samsung's virtual assistant Bixby. Samsung suggests you can use it to ask questions about on-screen content -- what that actor is famous for, who painted that artwork, or what the final score was in a football game. It can go beyond that though, offering TV and movie recommendations along with cooking advice, travel tips, and local restaurant discovery.

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The UK and China today signed a new bilateral agreement on scientific collaboration [non-paywalled source], narrowing the scope of their partnership to exclude sensitive technologies. Lord Patrick Vallance, Britain's science and technology minister, met his Chinese counterpart Chen Jiachang in Beijing and agreed to focus cooperation on health, climate, planetary sciences, and agriculture. The previous agreement from 2017 had included satellites, remote sensing technology and robotics. Those fields are absent from the new accord. The countries announced no new funding for joint research. Vallance said the UK had "deliberately gone for areas which we think are not carrying such a security risk."

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A kernel panic still means the same thing it always has '' the Linux kernel hit a fault it couldn't handle and shut down to avoid damage. When it happens, the system stops cold. On hardware, you'll see a frozen console or an instant reboot. In a VM, the guest locks while the host keeps running. Either way, whatever depends on that node is offline until it's restarted.The reasons have shifted with newer stacks. Secure Boot blocks unsigned modules. DKMS sometimes skips a rebuild after a kernel update. A bad initramfs stops the system before it ever mounts root. Hardware faults still trigger panics, too, just harder to trace now that most workloads sit on virtual layers. It's all the same pattern '' the kernel loses stability and shuts down fast to keep data intact.You might not get a clear message when it happens. Some systems reboot right away; others hang without output. The logs tell the real story. The system journal, serial output, or kdump capture usually shows what failed and when.This guide walks through how to handle it step by step: confirm the panic, pull the data that matters, bring the system back cleanly, and fix the cause so it stays that way.What Is a Kernel Panic?A kernel panic is the Linux kernel's hard stop. It happens when the kernel hits a fault it can't recover from and shuts the system down to protect data. Every process ends immediately. Depending on the configuration, the machine either freezes in place or reboots on its own. Nothing runs past that point.That's what a kernel panic in Linux is: a full stop triggered when the kernel decides that system memory or internal state can't be trusted. It's different from an application crash or service failure. This happens at the operating system level, when the code responsible for everything else decides it's unsafe to continue.It's worth knowing how that compares to other stalls. A soft lockup means one CPU core is looping endlessly while the rest of the system still runs. A hard lockup means a core stops responding entirely, often pointing to hardware issues. A kernel panic isn't either of those. It's a deliberate shutdown the kernel performs when it knows recovery isn't possible.When a panic hits, visibility varies. Some systems reboot before any message appears; others hang with a frozen screen. Logs and crash dumps hold the real story. Most modern distributions capture this automatically through journald and kdump , part of standard kernel crash handling routines built into the OS.Typical panic lines include: Kernel panic - not syncing: Fatal exception Kernel panic - not syncing: Attempted to kill init! Kernel panic - not syncing: VFS: Unable to mount root fsThese are the messages most admins search for when confirming a system-wide crash.Primary Causes of a Linux Kernel Panic (2025 Edition)Most linux kernel panic events still come from the same core issues '' hardware instability, driver problems, or a broken boot path. What's changed is how these show up across different layers: bare metal, VMs, and cloud hosts. A kernel panic doesn't start randomly. It's almost always the end result of one of a few predictable faults.Hardware faults remain the most common cause. Bad RAM, failing disks, unstable power, or overheating CPUs can all corrupt data the kernel depends on. Once that corruption hits kernel space, the system halts. Even on virtualized hosts, a bad physical component underneath can surface as a linux kernel panic inside a guest OS.Drivers and modules trigger their share too. DKMS rebuilds sometimes fail after kernel updates, leaving modules out of sync. Secure Boot blocks unsigned or mis-signed modules, preventing them from loading. Third-party GPU, storage, or virtualization drivers are frequent culprits when they aren't compiled for the current kernel release.Boot path problems show up early and stop everything fast. A missing or corrupted initramfs , a wrong rootfs UUID, or a GRUB misconfiguration can all panic the system before it ever mounts the root filesystem.Filesystem corruption also plays a role. When a disk remounts as read-only under load, the kernel treats it as unsafe and may panic to protect data integrity. Firmware and microcode issues behave the same way '' a BIOS or UEFI bug can destabilize kernel calls that depend on hardware consistency.In virtualized or cloud environments , panics often come from configuration mismatches. Unsupported instance types, misaligned kernel parameters, or panic_on_oom flags left enabled can all stop a VM cold. Even in managed environments, one wrong kernel argument can cause a full system halt.These patterns are consistent across recent documentation on kernel panic handling , which tracks the same hardware, driver, and initramfs failures seen in modern deployments.How to Confirm a Kernel PanicBefore digging into the root cause, make sure you're actually dealing with a kernel panic. Plenty of issues can crash a system, but only a panic means the kernel has stopped itself to prevent damage. You're looking for proof, not guesses.Check Logs From the Last BootIf the system rebooted too fast to show anything on screen, pull the previous-boot logs:journalctl -k -b -1Search for key strings that confirm the halt:kernel panic - not syncingAttempted to kill init!VFS: Unable to mount root fsThese lines are consistent across distributions and almost always indicate a true panic.Look For Crash DumpsWhen kdump is enabled, you'll find a vmcore file under /var/crash/ . It's a full snapshot of system memory taken at the time of failure '' the most reliable evidence you can get. This is handled through standard kernel crash dumping processes that tie into journald .Keep Logs After RebootIf the journal clears between boots, set it to persist. Edit:/etc/systemd/journald.confSet Storage=persistent , then restart the journal service. That ensures panic traces survive long enough to read.Record the Environment DetailsNote the kernel version, recent updates, and any hardware or configuration changes. That context connects the panic to what actually changed in the system.Once you've confirmed a linux kernel panic through logs or a dump, you can move from symptoms to real diagnosis '' finding out why the kernel stopped trusting itself.Step-by-Step Remediation WorkflowOnce you know it's a kernel panic, recovery starts with control '' not speed. Bring the system back on your terms and keep track of every change. The goal is stability first, then a clean path to root cause.1. Stabilize and confirmIf the system keeps cycling, turn off auto-reboot so you can see what's happening. Make sure it's actually a kernel panic and not a power or hardware reset. On bare metal, grab the screen output. In a VM, check the console log from the hypervisor.2. Boot from a known-good kernelFrom GRUB , pick an older kernel that last ran clean. If that one boots, the issue sits in the newer kernel or something built around it. Don't patch anything yet '' just confirm the difference.3. Rebuild the boot pathOnce the system's stable, rebuild what gets it started:dracut -f # or update-initramfs -ugrub2-mkconfig -o /boot/grub2/grub.cfgCheck that the root UUID in /etc/fstab matches what GRUB points to. A mismatch here is enough to trigger a panic before userspace loads.4. Check modules and driversReinstall critical drivers and confirm DKMS status. Under Secure Boot , sign any third-party modules. Out-of-tree GPU or virtualization modules are common triggers when builds fall out of sync.5. Run hardware testsMemory, disks, and power supplies still cause their share of panics. Run memtest , check SMART data, reseat RAM, and pull any unneeded USB devices. In desktops, test the PSU under load.6. Verify package and kernel stateRoll back or reinstall the current kernel package and its headers. Make sure your toolchain matches the kernel you're running. Incomplete updates often leave modules missing or mismatched.7. Check filesystem healthRun fsck or the vendor's utility from rescue media. Filesystem errors under load can look like driver faults but still end in a kernel panic.8. Review VM and cloud settingsFor virtual machines, confirm kernel parameters and instance type support. A wrong parameter or panic_on_oom flag can stop a guest instantly. Capture console output or enable earlyprintk to see what happens at boot.9. Prepare for the next eventEnable kdump so the next kernel panic writes a vmcore . A dump gives you the full memory state at failure and shortens post-incident analysis.These steps follow standard kernel panic remediation routines, but what matters is the order '' stabilize, confirm, rebuild, test. Keep it predictable, and the system tells you what went wrong.Preventing Future Kernel PanicsOnce a system's stable again, prevention becomes part of normal upkeep. Kernel panics rarely appear without warning '' they follow gaps in update routines, driver checks, or hardware monitoring. The goal is to keep those weak points closed.Keep software layers aligned: Most panics start with a mismatch. Make sure kernels and modules update together, and that DKMS rebuilds finish cleanly. Verify module signing after Secure Boot changes. A linux kernel panic caused by a half-built module is preventable every time.Protect data before risk: Snapshot the system before major updates. Btrfs Snapper , Timeshift , LVM , or ZFS all provide rollback points that turn failed patches into short recoveries instead of long rebuilds. Keep a fallback kernel in GRUB and confirm it still boots after each upgrade.Collect and use crash data: Enable kdump on all servers and test it during maintenance windows. It's the kernel's built-in way to capture a vmcore for analysis, described under crash analysis configuration . A working dump cuts investigation time from hours to minutes.Watch hardware health: SMART data, temperature sensors, and ECC counters show problems long before they trigger a kernel panic. Track firmware and microcode baselines as part of patch management. Hardware drift is quiet until it isn't.Keep a clear record: Note kernel, firmware, and configuration changes in version control or a change log. After a crash, the difference between guessing and knowing is one line of history.Prevention isn't a special process '' it's what happens when updates, visibility, and documentation stay in sync. That's what keeps a kernel panic from turning into downtime.Advanced Debugging and Root Cause AnalysisAfter recovery, analysis is where the real work starts. A kernel panic is only useful if it teaches you why it happened. The goal here isn't just to decode a crash dump '' it's to trace behavior until the cause makes sense in context.The path usually begins with kdump . When configured, it captures system memory at the moment of failure and writes it as a vmcore file under /var/crash/ . That dump becomes your snapshot of the kernel's state. Load it into the crash utility with the matching vmlinux symbol file:crash /usr/lib/debug/lib/modules/$(uname -r)/vmlinux /var/crash/vmcoreFrom there, commands like bt for stack traces, ps for active processes, and files for open file handles reveal what the kernel was handling before it stopped. These are the starting points of any serious postmortem '' not guesses, but evidence. If no dump exists, the oops or call trace becomes your record. The function names and module identifiers point directly to where the kernel failed. Watch the taint flags '' they tell you if nonstandard modules or forced loads were involved. That detail saves time when the panic originates from third-party or experimental code.Some teams go further with live debugging when they can reproduce the crash safely. Tools like kgdb attach a debugger to a running kernel, while netconsole , serial console , and earlycon stream messages off-system before it locks. These setups aren't for production nodes; they're lab tools for controlled testing.Every architecture has its quirks. On x86 , check CPU microcode and firmware versions. On arm64 , look for device tree mismatches. On s390x , I/O channel anomalies can mimic kernel faults. Each platform surfaces errors in its own way '' knowing what ''normal'' looks like makes anomalies stand out faster.The last step I have for you. Every investigation should end with a short RCA note: what triggered the kernel panic, what fixed it, and what could've caught it sooner. Feed that back into monitoring and update routines. Over time, those notes turn troubleshooting from reaction into prevention.Common Kernel Panic Questions (and Straight Answers)What is kernel panic, and how is it different from a soft lockup?A kernel panic means the kernel hit a fatal error and stopped on purpose. It halts to keep data safe. When it happens, everything ends '' no shell, no cleanup, just a frozen system. A soft lockup 's different. One core hangs, but the rest of the system keeps breathing. You can still pull logs or SSH in for a few minutes. With a panic, that window's gone.How do I check kernel panic logs after a reboot?If the machine reboots before you can read the message, pull the previous boot's log:journalctl -k -b -1That's the kernel log from before the crash. Look near the end for ''not syncing'' or ''VFS'' lines. If kdump 's running, check /var/crash/ for a vmcore . That dump captures memory at the moment the panic hit '' what the kernel was doing, which modules were loaded, and what tipped it over.How do I fix ''kernel panic not syncing: VFS: unable to mount root fs''?That one shows up when the kernel can't find the root filesystem. Usually, a UUID mismatch occurs after an update or drive swap. Boot into rescue, run blkid , and check what's real. Make sure /etc/fstab and

Longtime Slashdot reader theodp writes: The UK Department for Education is "replacing its narrowly focused computer science GCSE with a broader, future-facing computing GCSE [General Certificate of Secondary Education] and exploring a new qualification in data science and AI for 16-18-year-olds." The move aims to correct unintended consequences of a shift made more than a decade ago from the existing ICT (Information and Communications Technology) curriculum, which focused on basic digital skills, to a more rigorous Computer Science curriculum at the behest of major tech firms and advocacy groups to address concerns about the UK's programming talent pipeline. The UK pivot from rigorous CS to AI literacy comes as tech-backed nonprofit Code.org leads a similar shift in the U.S., pivoting from its original 2013 mission calling for rigorous CS for U.S. K-12 students to a new mission that embraces AI literacy. Code.org next month will replace its flagship Hour of Code event with a new Hour of AI "designed to bring AI education into the mainstream" with the support of its partners, including Microsoft, Google, and Amazon. Code.org has pledged to engage 25 million learners with the new Hour of AI this school year.

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China's CO2 emissions have been flat or falling for 18 months, "adding evidence to the hope that the world's biggest polluter has managed to hit its target of peak CO2 emissions well ahead of schedule," reports the Guardian. From the report: Rapid increases in the deployment of solar and wind power generation -- which grew by 46% and 11% respectively in the third quarter of this year -- meant the country's energy sector emissions remained flat, even as the demand for electricity increased. China added 240GW of solar capacity in the first nine months of this year, and 61GW of wind, putting it on track for another renewable record in 2025. Last year, the country installed 333GW of solar power, more than the rest of the world combined. [...] The analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (Crea), for the science and climate policy website Carbon Brief, found China's CO2 emissions were unchanged from a year earlier in the third quarter of 2025, thanks in part to declining emissions in the travel, cement and steel industries. But China has a record of underpromising and overdelivering on climate targets. Li Shuo, the director of the China Climate Hub at the Asia Society Policy Institute, a US-based thinktank, said in a recent note that the latest Chinese climate targets should be seen as a baseline and not a ceiling.

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Version:next-20251111 (linux-next) Released:2025-11-11

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Gizmodo: It appears that Neom -- Saudi Arabia's hugely expensive, architecturally bizarre urban development project -- is floundering and close to collapse. A new report from the Financial Times cites high-level sources within the project to paint a picture of dysfunction and failure at the heart of the quixotic effort. Neom was envisioned as a vast series of fantastical urban developments spread across the coast of the Red Sea. At the center of the project is The Line -- a proposed 105-mile-long city which developers had initially projected could house as many as 9 million people by the year 2030. The Line is defined by bizarre architectural flourishes that, as the story notes, have seemed impossible even to the execs tasked with making them a reality. One such addition is an upside-down building, dubbed "the chandelier," that is supposed to hang over a "gateway" marina to the city: "As architects worked through the plans, the chandelier began to seem implausible. One recalled warning Tarek Qaddumi, The Line's executive director, of the difficulty of suspending a 30-story building upside down from a bridge hundreds of metres in the air. 'You do realize the earth is spinning? And that tall towers sway?' he said. The chandelier, the architect explained, could 'start to move like a pendulum,' then 'pick up speed,' and eventually 'break off,' crashing into the marina below." Yes, that doesn't sound great. Now, according to those sources the FT talked to, the project is looking more and more like a hugely expensive pipe dream that will never come to pass: "Today, with at least $50 billion spent, the desert is pock-marked with piling, and deep trenches stretch across the landscape. But Prince Mohammed, who chairs Neom, has dramatically scaled back the first phase of the plans. Neom told the FT that The Line remained 'a strategic priority' that would ultimately 'provide a new blueprint for humanity by changing the way people live.' But they described it as a 'multi-generational development of unprecedented scale and complexity.'" The outlet interviewed workers on the project who seem to feel that it's only a matter of time before the project is declared DOA: "While Neom employees say that much of The Line might still be technically buildable, they are not convinced anyone is ready to pay for it. Construction work across Neom has slowed, with the desert ski resort Trojena, the intended venue for the 2029 Asian Winter Games, one of the few sites still moving ahead at pace ... one former employee has said that everyone knows the project won't work; it is now just a matter of letting MBS down gently." Chief among the project's problems is the fact that, as Neom's bizarre developments have failed to materialize, it has become increasingly difficult to encourage investors to put up money for the absurdly expensive project. FT notes: "Senior executives were constantly asking for more money, but The Line was competing with other Neom projects. Some wealthy Saudi families put modest sums into the project, but the large investments Riyadh hoped to lure from foreign backers never materialized." The lack of adequate funding coming in has led a senior construction manager to tell FT that he feels the Line will never be built.

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Slashdot reader alternative_right shares an exclusive BBC interview with Vyacheslav "Tank" Penchukov, once a top-tier cyber-crime boss behind Jabber Zeus, IcedID, and major ransomware campaigns. His story traces the evolution of modern cybercrime from early bank-theft malware to today's lucrative ransomware ecosystem, marked by shifting alliances, Russian security-service ties, and the paranoia that ultimately consumes career hackers. Here's an excerpt from the report: In the late 2000s, he and the infamous Jabber Zeus crew used revolutionary cyber-crime tech to steal directly from the bank accounts of small businesses, local authorities and even charities. Victims saw their savings wiped out and balance sheets upended. In the UK alone, there were more than 600 victims, who lost more than $5.2 million in just three months. Between 2018 and 2022, Penchukov set his sights higher, joining the thriving ransomware ecosystem with gangs that targeted international corporations and even a hospital. [...] Penchukov says he did not think about the victims, and he does not seem to do so much now, either. The only sign of remorse in our conversation was when he talked about a ransomware attack on a disabled children's charity. His only real regret seems to be that he became too trusting with his fellow hackers, which ultimately led to him and many other criminals being caught. "You can't make friends in cyber-crime, because the next day, your friends will be arrested and they will become an informant," he says. "Paranoia is a constant friend of hackers," he says. But success leads to mistakes. "If you do cyber-crime long enough you lose your edge," he says, wistfully.

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Linux just cleared 5% of the U.S. desktop market, based on recent Linux adoption statistics. That's small in absolute terms but meaningful if you've watched the curve over the years. Linux used to sit in racks and lab machines '' out of sight, mostly stable, rarely targeted. Now it's on more workstations, inside environments that weren't built with it in mind.

Version:6.18-rc5 (mainline) Released:2025-11-09 Source:linux-6.18-rc5.tar.gz Patch:full (incremental)

"For months, extremely personal and sensitive ChatGPT conversations have been leaking into an unexpected destination," reports Ars Technica: the search-traffic tool for webmasters , Google Search Console. Though it normally shows the short phrases or keywords typed into Google which led someone to their site, "starting this September, odd queries, sometimes more than 300 characters long, could also be found" in Google Search Console. And the chats "appeared to be from unwitting people prompting a chatbot to help solve relationship or business problems, who likely expected those conversations would remain private." Jason Packer, owner of analytics consulting firm Quantable, flagged the issue in a detailed blog post last month, telling Ars Technica he'd seen 200 odd queries — including "some pretty crazy ones." (Web optimization consultant Slobodan ManiÄ helped Packer investigate...) Packer points out "nobody clicked share" or were given an option to prevent their chats from being exposed. Packer suspected that these queries were connected to reporting from The Information in August that cited sources claiming OpenAI was scraping Google search results to power ChatGPT responses. Sources claimed that OpenAI was leaning on Google to answer prompts to ChatGPT seeking information about current events, like news or sports... "Did OpenAI go so fast that they didn't consider the privacy implications of this, or did they just not care?" Packer posited in his blog... Clearly some of those searches relied on Google, Packer's blog said, mistakenly sending to GSC "whatever" the user says in the prompt box... This means "that OpenAI is sharing any prompt that requires a Google Search with both Google and whoever is doing their scraping," Packer alleged. "And then also with whoever's site shows up in the search results! Yikes." To Packer, it appeared that "ALL ChatGPT prompts" that used Google Search risked being leaked during the past two months. OpenAI claimed only a small number of queries were leaked but declined to provide a more precise estimate. So, it remains unclear how many of the 700 million people who use ChatGPT each week had prompts routed to Google Search Console. "Perhaps most troubling to some users — whose identities are not linked in chats unless their prompts perhaps share identifying information — there does not seem to be any way to remove the leaked chats from Google Search Console.."

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