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2285 articles · page 3 of 48 · The Tech front page

Security

Hotel booking scam hits Australians after RMS Cloud cyberattack

Australian travellers are being targeted in a sophisticated hotel booking scam after hackers accessed customer information held by accommodation software provider RMS Cloud. The company confirmed on Tuesday it was investigating phishing messages that use genuine reservation details to threaten cancellation unless payment is reconfirmed. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has received 62 reports in three days, with one victim losing more than $300.

·3 min·2 sources
Hardware & Devices

Amazon unveils redesigned Echo Show 16 with new software, $499.99 price tag

Amazon has announced a redesigned Echo Show 16 smart display, priced at $499.99 with a wall mount included, with preorders opening today and a $100 discount available ahead of its release later this year. The device, shown at a media event in New York City this week, features a completely overhauled software experience that includes improved smart home controls and a redesigned calendar interface.

·2 min
Security

Black October's AI-discovered PHP bugs prove hard to exploit, but experts warn of coming 'vulnpocalypse'

The cybersecurity world braced for catastrophe after AI uncovered critical flaws in PHP, the language behind roughly 70% of websites, but the anticipated wave of automated attacks has surprisingly struggled to get off the ground. Security researchers say the vulnerabilities have proven unusually difficult to exploit, drawing comparisons to the Y2K phenomenon where warnings of armageddon helped rally companies to engineer a solution in time. However, experts caution this is a temporary reprieve, with one warning that 'we don't have to wait another two years before this happens (again), it could be three hours from now.'

·3 min·7 sources
AI

AI math tutor Rori shows learning gains across Africa, parents embrace tool

An AI-powered math tutor called Rori, developed by Sierra Leone-based Rising Academies, is expanding into government schools across West and East Africa after a study found students using it achieved improvements equivalent to an extra year of learning. Unlike in the United States, where parents are often skeptical of AI in classrooms, Shabnam Aggarwal, the company’s chief technology officer, said African parents see the tool as a way to give their children an advantage.

·2 min
Tech

Welsh inventor's pellet stove cuts indoor pollution by 20 times, DEFRA report confirms

An engineer from Cardiff has developed a wood-burning stove that eliminates indoor air pollution, with a UK government report finding the pellet stoves are 20 times cleaner than modern log burners. Marc Howell, founder of Island Pellet Stoves, spent seven years in his garage near Cowbridge designing a computer-controlled system that pre-heats air and automatically feeds pellets, removing the need to open the stove door during operation.

·2 min
AI

AI bots flooded UK vapes consultation with fake responses, researchers say

Artificial intelligence bots generated three-quarters of the responses to the UK government's 2023 consultation on its tobacco and vapes bill, in what researchers describe as the first documented attempt to use AI to derail health policymaking in the country. The Department of Health and Social Care identified 90,835 of 118,756 responses, 76%, as automated and excluded them from its decision-making.

·2 min·3 sources
Tech

MPs warn UK landline switch-off could cut off remote communities in an emergency

MPs have warned the security minister that plans to switch off the UK's traditional landline network by the end of January next year could leave people in remote areas unable to contact help in an emergency. Dan Jarvis said he would look closely at the concerns and raise them with telecoms firms, while the government and operators insist the move to digital landlines will offer a more reliable service.

·3 min