APT groups are exploiting outdated VPNs to spy on international targets, U.K. and U.S. warn

International hacking groups are exploiting vulnerabilities in virtual private network technologies to steal user credentials and monitor sensitive traffic, the United Kingdom’s National Cyber Security Centre said, amid recent warnings that the Chinese government has used similar tactics to collect intelligence. The NCSC, an offshoot of Britain’s intelligence agency, the GCHQ, said on Oct. 2 hackers are leveraging outdated versions of Palo Alto Networks, Fortinet and Pulse Secure products. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency published its own advisory on the vulnerabilities, which attackers could use to take over an affected system, on Oct. 4. Neither warning speculates on who may be behind the attack, though the alerts come after Microsoft in August said Manganese, a Chinese hacking collective also known as APT5, was focusing attacks on Pulse Secure and Fortinet products. Pulse Secure, Palo Alto and Fortinet have each released security updates for all of […]

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Moldy Rechargeable Batteries

What’s worse than coming in from the workbench for a sandwich only to discover that the bread has molded? That red bread mold–Neurospora crassa–can transform manganese into a mineral composite that may improve rechargeable batteries, according to a recent paper in Current Biology.

Researchers used the carbonized fungal biomass-mineral composite in both lithium ion cells and supercapacitors. The same team earlier showed how fungi could stabilize toxic lead and uranium. Mold, of course, is a type of fungus that grows in multi-cellular filaments. Apparently, the fungal filaments that form are ideal for electrochemical use of manganese oxide. …read more

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