Microsoft says governments should stop ‘hoarding’ security vulnerabilities

"Microsoft references the WannaCry ransomware's source as an vulnerability known by the NSA, noting that similar security holes were revealed on WikiLeaks in documents stolen from the CIA. It says that the governments of the world should treat the WannaCry attack as 'a wake-up call,' to consider the 'damage to civilians that comes from hoarding these vulnerabilities and the use of these exploits,' and to adopt the 'Digital Geneva Convention' the company first suggested in February. That Convention would have a new stipulation, too: 'a new requirement for governments to report vulnerabilities to vendors, rather than stockpile, sell, or exploit them.'" Continue reading

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Louisiana Committee Passes Bill to Expand Right to Try Act, Further Reject Some FDA Restrictions

BATON ROUGE, La. (May 11, 2017) – On Wednesday, a Louisiana House committee unanimously passed a bill that would expand the state’s Right to Try law to include technology designed to help ALS patients with mobility. Passage into law would set the foundation to nullify in practice a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rules that…

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Texas House Votes to Expand Right to Try Act; Further Reject Some FDA Restrictions on Personal Choice

AUSTIN, Texas (May 14, 2017) – On Friday, the Texas House unanimously passed a bill that would expand the Texas “Right to Try” law, setting the foundation to nullify in practice additional Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rules that deny access to experimental treatments by patients with severe chronic diseases. Rep. Tan Parker (R-Flower Mound)…

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Delaware Committee Passes Bill to Legalize Marijuana; Foundation to Nullify Federal Prohibition

DOVER, Del. (May 14, 2017) – On Wednesday, a Delaware Assembly committee passed a bill to legalize marijuana for recreational use, taking a big step toward nullifying federal cannabis prohibition in practice. House Bill 110 (HB110) was introduced by Rep. Helene Keeley (D-South Wilmington) and 13 co-sponsors. The legislation would legalize marijuana under a tax-and-regulate…

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Texas House Passes Legislation to Facilitate Use of Bullion Depository

AUSTIN, Texas (May 14, 2017) – On Wednesday, the Texas House unanimously passed a proposed state constitutional amendment that would authorize the legislature to exempt precious metals held in the Texas Bullion Depository from ad valorem taxation. Passage of the amendment would take another step toward the everyday use of gold and silver in financial transactions…

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Missouri House Passes Bill to Prohibit Warrantless Stingray Spying

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (May 12, 2017) – Today, the Missouri House passed a bill that would ban the use of “stingrays” to track the location of phones and sweep up electronic communications without a warrant in most situations.The proposed law would not only protect privacy in the Show Me State, but would also hinder one…

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UK hospital meltdown after ransomware worm uses NSA vuln to raid IT

"UK hospitals have effectively shut down and are turning away non-emergency patients after ransomware ransacked its networks. Doctors have been reduced to using pen and paper, and closing A&E to non-critical patients, amid the tech blackout. The security hole has been patched for modern Windows versions, but not WindowsXP – and the NHS is a massive user of the legacy operating system." Continue reading

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Supreme Court hands family’s 1933 double eagles to the feds

"The Supreme Court’s decision means that the coins will remain the property of the federal government and will not be returned to the Langbord family, which reportedly discovered the 10 coins in a family safe deposit box in 2003. The family — Joan Langbord and her sons, Roy and David — turned them over to the United States Mint in 2004 for authentication. Mint officials informed the family in 2005 that it was keeping the coins. A legal battle over ownership ensued, with both parties to the suit at different points being awarded the coins." Continue reading

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Baidu AI helps parents find their abducted son 27 years later

"Tens of thousands of kids are abducted in China every year and are either sold to foster parents or to more sinister individuals who'd use them for prostitution or child slavery. Baobeihuijia was created to reunite families torn apart by those abductions. For years, its volunteers would painstakingly compare images uploaded by parents against those uploaded by people looking for their families or by concerned citizens one by one. This March, though, Baidu offered the group its cross-age facial recognition technology, which it's been testing since November last year." Continue reading

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