Hack

Music

Synth hacker helps Gibson Les Paul go MIDI mad

He's transformed an old bike into a rolling synth, and turned a games console into a music machine. Now Sam Battle of Look Mum No Computer goes back in time to revisit one of his earliest builds – a Gibson Les Paul with built-in MIDI keyboard.

As Apple's desktop market share has increased, cybercriminals have taken notice, and Macs are now getting hit with nearly twice the malware attacks that PCs are – just in less harmful categories

Computers

Apple's OSX computers now being hit with twice as much malware as PCs

Mac laptops and desktops running OSX have a reputation as being virus- and malware-free, but as Apple's market share increases, cybercriminals are beginning to focus their efforts on OSX machines, according to a recent report by Malwarebytes.

Look Mum No Computer's Sam Battle uses the FM engine of the Sega Mega Drive to create a monster synthesizer

Music

It's game on with the Sega Mega Drive Synthesizer

He's previously made music mobile with a synth bike, and built a nightmarish noise-maker called the Furby Organ. Now Sam Battle has tapped into the sonic guts of a Sega Mega Drive and created a monster synth ready to get its music-making game on.

Microsoft has taken over 50 domains it claims North Korean hackers are using to compromise individual accounts in the US, Japan and Korea

Computers

Microsoft disrupts North Korean hacker group called Thallium

Microsoft has detected a network of cyberattacks originating from a North Korean hacking group dubbed Thallium. It is the fourth nation-state group Microsoft has identified deploying malicious cyberactivity, following Russia, China and Iran.

Over 100 Facebook and Instagram accounts have been removed with ties to Iran and Russia

Computers

US election interference from Iran and Russia underway, Facebook says

Just a few weeks after Microsoft revealed an Iranian-led cyber campaign to compromise the 2020 US election, Facebook has announced the removal of a number of “inauthentic” accounts, Pages and Groups designed to spread misinformation.

Microsoft suspects several hacking targets are associated with the 2020 Trump presidential campaign

Computers

Microsoft reveals Iranian hackers attacked US 2020 election

Microsoft has revealed it detected a number of attempts to compromise email connected to US government officials and individuals associated with a US presidential campaign.

The DIY turret successfully targets and shoots down a micro-drone

Around The Home

DIY gun turret takes down mini-drones

A technology-enthusiast has invented a Nerf gun turret that can automatically track and shoot down small drones. The ingenious contraption uses a Kinect v2 sensor and a milled steel two-axis gimbal, all controlled by software based on the OpenCV AI library.

The winner of the auction is unknown at this date

Computers

Old laptop infected with the world's most dangerous malware sells for $1.34 million

What happens when the vastly different worlds of modern art and computer malware collide? The answer is an installation called The Persistence of Chaos, and it just sold at auction for US$1.345 million.

Exposed details include email addresses, hashed passwords, private messages and IP addresses

Telecommunications

Poetic justice? Account hijacking forum is itself hacked, exposing details of thousands of users

Web forum OGUsers, popular with individuals who seek to access other people's online accounts, has itself been hacked, exposing the details and messages of some 113,000 users.

With the new device, signals carried by he human body can be kept in close proximity to prevent hacking

Wearables

Prototype watch uses your body to prevent hacking of wearables and implants

To help prevent possible murder-by-hacker, engineers at Purdue University have come up with a watch-like device that turns the human body into its own network as a way to keep data from personal technology like smart pacemakers and insulin pumps private.

The Hardkernel Odroid N2 is due for release at the end of March, 2019

Computers

Connectivity and speed at the core of latest Odroid maker board

Though many alternatives are available, the Raspberry Pi computer boards are probably the most well known and widely used in the maker community. Hardkernel recognizes that there's a strong market for more powerful, more capable and more expensive boards. The Odroid N2 ticks all of those boxes.

The Sphero Rvr robot has been designed as a blank template for hacker creativity

Robotics

Sphero rolls out roving robot that's made for hacking

Sphero is probably best known for its BB-8 rolling droid, but has recently been aiming its products at future programmers and makers. The company has opted to take to Kickstarter for its latest bot, which has been designed to be tweaked and hacked by adult hobbyists and young roboticists alike.