All posts tagged: alleged

US Charges 12 Alleged Spies in China’s Freewheeling Hacker-for-Hire Ecosystem

US Charges 12 Alleged Spies in China’s Freewheeling Hacker-for-Hire Ecosystem

Published by skeptic

Only rarely does the West get a glimpse inside the vast hacker-for-hire contractor ecosystem that enables China’s digital intrusion campaigns worldwide. Now a new set of criminal charges against a dozen Chinese men, including two government officials, accuses them of a vast espionage campaign that included breaching the US Treasury, and goes as far as revealing the internal communications of some of those alleged hackers, their tools, and their business relationships. The US Department of Justice on Wednesday announced the indictments of 12 Chinese individuals accused of more than a decade of hacker intrusions around the world, including eight staffers for the contractor i-Soon, two officials at China’s Ministry of Public Security who allegedly worked with them, and two other men who were allegedly part of the Chinese hacker group APT27 or Silk Typhoon, which prosecutors say was involved in the breach late last year of the US Treasury. “Today, we are exposing the Chinese government agents directing and fostering indiscriminate and reckless attacks against computers and networks worldwide, as well as the enabling companies …

Alleged Leader of Roko’s Basilisk Murder Cult Says She Did Nothing Wrong

Alleged Leader of Roko’s Basilisk Murder Cult Says She Did Nothing Wrong

Published by José

After being arrested in connection with a years-long, country-spanning string of murders, the alleged leader of a “Roko’s Basilisk” cult is insisting she hasn’t done anything wrong — and that she should be granted access to a vegan diet. As the San Fransisco Chronicle reports, Jack “Ziz” LaSota spoke ramblingly during her Maryland bail hearing last week that occurred after two young alleged “Zizians” were apprehended for a pair of slayings that took place in California and Vermont. “I haven’t done anything wrong,” LaSota told a judge during the February 18 hearing. “I shouldn’t be here.” A militant vegan whose animal rights beliefs are at the center of her writings — as does the concept of “Roko’s Basilisk,” a hypothetical artificial superintelligence that would retroactively torture anyone who didn’t help it come into existence — the 33-year-old former tech worker also begged Judge Erich Bean, the jurist presiding over her hearing, to give her food she could eat. “I must… I might starve to death,” Ziz told the judge. “I need… I need the jail to …

Meta’s Alleged Torrenting and Seeding of Pirated Books Complicates Copyright Case

Meta’s Alleged Torrenting and Seeding of Pirated Books Complicates Copyright Case

Published by skeptic

This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more. “Torrenting from a corporate laptop doesn’t feel right”: Meta emails unsealed In the initial news-breaking and opinion-slinging around Meta’s LLM training data, not much consideration was given to where the book data it was using came from. Mostly because neither of the two camps’ argument (using books at all is theft v. this is how things go in technology) really care if they were using legally acquired books. But the law, it turns out, might care. If you can prove that the books in the data set were both pirated and seeded (aka provided for other people to pirate), that might poison the well. It doesn’t answer the more philosophical questions about training LLMs on human output without consent and compensation (outside presumably at least buying like an ebook of each title in the data set), but it …

David Geffen Faces Lawsuit Over Alleged Fraudulent Art Sale

David Geffen Faces Lawsuit Over Alleged Fraudulent Art Sale

Published by skeptic

In the latest blue-chip art world lawsuit, Hong Kong–based cryptocurrency mogul Justin Sun is suing billionaire collector David Geffen for the return of an Alberto Giacometti sculpture, Le Nez, claiming it was sold out from under him by a rogue art adviser in an elaborate scheme of forged signatures and fictitious lawyers. Sun, who purchased the Le Nez at Sotheby’s for $78.4 million in 2021, alleges that his former adviser, Xiong Zihan Sydney, orchestrated the sale to Geffen without his consent, fabricating documents and even impersonating a lawyer via email to push the deal through.  Related Articles Now, Sun wants his sculpture back—“or substantial damages.” Geffen’s attorney, Tibor L. Nagy, told the New York Times, which first reported the news, that the complaint was “bizarre and baseless,” and suggested that Sun simply regrets the deal.  The complaint does not contain any allegations that Geffen had any contact or connection with Xiong. “Deals get done through intermediaries,” Nagy said. “If Mr. Sun is now, a year later, unhappy with the deal his intermediary got him, that’s no basis for a claim …

Misconduct alleged in report ex-UCLA professors tried to block. They got no discipline

Misconduct alleged in report ex-UCLA professors tried to block. They got no discipline

Published by Sam

Revelations that three UCLA orthodontics professors solicited unauthorized fees from international students sent shock waves through the university’s highly regarded dentistry school in 2020. An independent investigation commissioned by UCLA — including scores of interviews, reviews of over 300,000 emails, and 79,000 other documents and financial records — concluded that the influential faculty members had engaged in serious misconduct, leading them to leave their prestigious positions. But until recently, the full report has been suppressed, and it paints a far more troubling picture of alleged improper governmental activities, including allegations of fraud, extortion, violations of conflict of interest laws and misappropriation of public money. The three professors waged a legal battle against The Times for more than two years to muzzle the report by the Hueston Hennigan law firm. However, in June, an appeals court ruled that the Hueston investigation was extensive and that UCLA must release the report, with redactions, emphasizing its public interest and reliability. In its opinion, the appeals court upheld a trial judge’s prior order to release the report, after The …

Parliament Bar To Close For Safety Review Following Alleged Spiking

Parliament Bar To Close For Safety Review Following Alleged Spiking

Published by Sam

Houses of Parliament, Westminster, London, Sunset 1 min read17 January A parliament bar has been closed for a safety review following an alleged spiking.  On Friday, a House of Commons spokesperson said: “Strangers’ Bar will close from Monday 20 January while security and safety arrangements are reviewed. “The safety of everyone on the estate remains a key priority of both Houses.” The closure comes after the Metropolitan Police confirmed that they were investigating after a woman reported having her drink spiked in the bar. The incident, which was first reported by Politico, is reported to have taken place on 7 January.   The Stranger’s Bar is used by MPs, parliamentary staff and journalists. MPs are sometimes allowed to take guests. Spiking occurs when an individual gives someone alcohol or drugs without them knowing or agreeing, for example through a drink or even a needle.  Speaking earlier this week, Mike Clancy, General Secretary of Prospect trade union, said: “This is a very concerning alleged incident, especially given the long history of allegations about behaviour in parliament.  “We will be seeking more information about this case …

How Sarah Ferguson urged Prince Andrew to skip Christmas at Sandringham amid alleged Chinese spy links

How Sarah Ferguson urged Prince Andrew to skip Christmas at Sandringham amid alleged Chinese spy links

Published by skeptic

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Prince Andrew was persuaded by Sarah Ferguson not to join the royal family at Sandringham on Christmas Day, sparing the Windsors’ further embarrassment amid allegations of his close friendship with an alleged Chinese spy. The Duke of York is at the centre of fresh controversy after Yang Tengbo, one of his former confidants, was barred from the UK for “covert and deceptive activity”. The Chinese businessman, named on Monday after a judge lifted a court order, is said to have leveraged his friendship with Andrew to gain access to Buckingham Palace. In the wake of the revelations, the duke had faced calls to withdraw from a Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace on Thursday and to avoid appearing with the royal family at Sandringham next week. It is understood that his ex-wife, Sarah, Duchess of York, convinced him to step away from the celebrations, giving up …

Minister: MPs Must Be Careful Over Naming Alleged Chinese Spy

Minister: MPs Must Be Careful Over Naming Alleged Chinese Spy

Published by Sam

A minister has called for MPs to “exercise caution” when it comes to naming the alleged Chinese spy who was involved with Prince Andrew. The Duke of York reportedly invited a businessman, who was only as H6 until this afternoon, to Buckingham Palace, St James’s Palace and Windsor Castle, according to The Times. The man, whose identity was protected by a court order, has since been banned from the UK by the government on national security grounds in 2023. The High Court lifted restrictions on his name on Monday, revealing H6 is called Yang Tengbo. The businessman, who also met Theresa May and David Cameron, was described in court as having an “unusual degree of trust” with the Duke of York. But Andrew said last week he had “ceased all contact” with Yang since the concerns were first raised. Reform UK’s MPs were considering using their parliamentary privilege – legal immunity which allow parliamentarians to bring topics into the public domain when speaking in the Commons or in the Lords – to name H6 this …

Comedian Fern Brady’s poster banned for alleged ‘blasphemy’ by ASA

Comedian Fern Brady’s poster banned for alleged ‘blasphemy’ by ASA

Published by skeptic

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned a poster depicting the comedian Fern Brady as the Virgin Mary squirting breast milk into the mouth of a kneeling man dressed in ecclesiastical clothing over fears it could offend Christians. This ban in effect reintroduces censorship on the basis of blasphemy. Blasphemy laws were repealed in England and Wales in 2008, and Scotland in 2024. Humanists UK is calling on the ASA to overturn the ban. Censoring adverts on grounds of causing religious offence amounts to a de facto anti-blasphemy law, which is an unreasonable restriction on free expression. The ASA has applied a similar ban on adverts in the past even though the law is clear that blasphemy cannot be treated as an offence and this level of censorship oversteps their remit. The ASA is the self-regulator of almost all advertising space in the UK. It maintains a Code on Advertising Practice, and routinely bans adverts that don’t comply with the Code. The Code says ‘Marketing communications must not contain anything that is likely to cause …

Haitian authorities say 28 alleged gang members killed by police, residents | Conflict News

Haitian authorities say 28 alleged gang members killed by police, residents | Conflict News

Published by Sam

Armed gangs attacked a wealthy suburb of the capital, police say, as part of an effort to bring down the government. The Haitian National Police have reported that 28 alleged gang members were killed by state security forces and armed residents in the latest clashes in the capital city of Port-au-Prince. A Tuesday attack targeting the upscale suburb of Petion-Ville overlooking the capital had been announced over social media by Jimmy Cherizier, a former elite police officer turned leader of the powerful gang coalition calling itself Viv Ansanm (Haitian Creole for “Living Together”). The latest violence comes in the wake of the collapse of Haiti’s government last week and more than three years of constant turmoil following the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021. Cherizier has called for the resignation of the Presidential Transition Council (CPT) now leading the country. “The Viv Ansanm coalition will use all its means to achieve the departure of the CPT,” Cherizier said on Monday. The police say that two vehicles carrying alleged gang members tried to enter Petion-Ville …