News of the Cyber World

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Farage Ally Richard Tice Also Debanked for Political Beliefs

Internal emails have revealed that Nigel Farage-ally and leader of the rebranded Brexit Party, Richard Tice was also debanked over his political beliefs.

According to bank documents obtained by The Sun on Sunday newspaper, the London branch of financial heavyweight Swiss Re refused to offer a business loan to Reform UK leader Richard Tice’s Quidnet Capital investment firm in April of last year on the basis that he allegedly posed a “reputational risk” to the institution.

The lender went on to note in its “reason for decline” that “Quidnet CEO is Richard Tice, a former member of the European Parliament for the East of England,” adding: “He is currently leader of Reform UK.”

Responding to the apparently politically motivated decision, Tice said: “Because of wokeness I am deemed a reputational risk.

“I am a man who has made money, brought in investment, created jobs and built many homes in this country. If that is how they think of people who are successful businessmen then God help us all… It is insane.”

The leader of Reform UK — formerly the Brexit Party — was one of the leading figures in the 2016 referendum which ultimately saw the United Kingdom leave the European Union.

Tice said that the infection of leftist ideology in the banking sector is holding back the country from truly flourishing post-Brexit, saying: “This is one of the reasons we are struggling to grow as an economy – because people and businesses are being weighed down by all this bureaucracy and it is all down to wokeness.”

New York City Subway’s Payment System
Could Expose Travelers’ Movements to Crooks

404 Media reports that the MTA’s OMNY contactless payment system was designed to make commuting easier for New Yorkers who rely on the city’s famous subway system. However, a feature that allows riders to check their travel history has raised eyebrows among cybersecurity experts. The feature requires only the credit card information used for travel, with no additional verification steps, making it susceptible to abuse.

“Obviously this is a great fit for abusers who live with their victims or have physical access, however brief, to their wallets,” said Eva Galperin, the director of cybersecurity at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). “Credit card info is not a goddamn unique identifier.”

The issue lies in the lack of authentication. Typically, features that provide access to sensitive information require a multiple step verification process. However, the MTA’s feature allows anyone with a person’s credit card details to access their travel history. This opens up the possibility for stalking, harassment, and other forms of abuse.

Cyberattack Shuts Down Two of World’s Leading Telescopes

Space.com reports that the National Science Foundation’s National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory (NOIRLab) recently reported a cybersecurity incident that led to the temporary suspension of operations at its Gemini North and South Telescopes. The cyberattacks also impacted smaller telescopes located on Cerro Tololo in Chile. “Our staff are working with cybersecurity experts to get all the impacted telescopes and our website back online as soon as possible and are encouraged by the progress made thus far,” said a statement from NOIRLab.

The exact nature and origin of these cyberattacks are still under investigation. NOIRLab has been cautious about the information it is releasing.
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Interestingly, the cyberattacks on NOIRLab’s facilities occurred just days before the United States National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC) issued a bulletin warning American space companies and research organizations about the threat of cyberattacks and espionage. The bulletin highlighted that foreign spies and hackers “recognize the importance of the commercial space industry to the U.S. economy and national security, including the growing dependence of critical infrastructure on space-based assets.”

This is not an isolated event in the realm of astronomical observatories. In October 2022, hackers disrupted operations at the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile. Moreover, NASA has been a frequent target of cyberattacks, including being affected by the worldwide SolarWinds breach in 2021, which was called a “big wakeup call” for cybersecurity.

Designer Blasts Tesla’s Cybertruck, Claims It Will Require Complete Redesign

Professional car designer Adrian Clarke told Fast Company that “the Cybertruck is a low polygon joke that only exists in the fever dreams of Tesla fans that stands high on the smell of Elon Musk’s flatulences.”

“As soon as we saw [the Cybertruck], everyone I know in the industry started laughing,” Clarke said. “We just thought there is no way they’re gonna be able to get that into production.”

The car designer explained that car panels are made by stamping them with big metal hydraulic presses, and that if you have a dead flat panel, like the Cybertruck does, it will cause problems in production. “They always have an amount of curves in them because they have to be able to hold the shape when the part comes out of the press,” he said. “It’s going to vibrate and they’re going to have massive problems stamping those panels and having them keep their shape.”

Clarke’s observation reportedly aligns with Musk’s own admission about the dimensional variations being prominently visible due to the truck’s straight edges. This design flaw also causes the doors of a Cybertruck to not always align properly with its body, which is a fundamental issue that speaks to the vehicle’s overall build quality, Fast Company noted.

It remains unclear if the changes in the frame and fake exoskeleton were caused by other potential manufacturing problems.