Oshkosh, the 108-year-old American company that makes military vehicles and other specialty equipment, has big plans for your neighborhood.
Technology
Security experts say new EU rules will damage WhatsApp encryption
On March twenty fourth, EU governing our bodies introduced that that they had reached a deal on probably the most sweeping laws to focus on Large Tech in Europe, referred to as the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Seen as an formidable legislation with far-reaching implications, probably the most eye-catching measure within the invoice would require that each massive tech firm — outlined as having a market capitalization of greater than €75 billion or a person base of greater than 45 million individuals within the EU — create merchandise which can be interoperable with smaller platforms. For messaging apps, that will imply letting end-to-end encrypted companies like WhatsApp mingle with much less safe protocols like SMS — which safety consultants fear will undermine hard-won beneficial properties within the discipline of message encryption.
The primary focus of the DMA is a category of huge tech firms termed “gatekeepers,” outlined by the scale of their viewers or income and, by extension, the structural energy they can wield in opposition to smaller rivals. By way of the brand new rules, the federal government is hoping to “break open” a few of the companies offered by such firms to permit smaller companies to compete. That would imply letting customers set up third-party apps exterior of the App Retailer, letting exterior sellers rank increased in Amazon searches, or requiring messaging apps to ship texts throughout a number of protocols.
However this might pose an actual drawback for companies promising end-to-end encryption: the consensus amongst cryptographers is that will probably be tough, if not inconceivable, to keep up encryption between apps, with probably monumental implications for customers. Sign is sufficiently small that it wouldn’t be affected by the DMA provisions, however WhatsApp — which makes use of the Sign protocol and is owned by Meta — actually can be. The end result may very well be that some, if not all, of WhatsApp’s end-to-end messaging encryption is weakened or eliminated, robbing a billion customers of the protections of personal messaging.
Given the necessity for exact implementation of cryptographic requirements, consultants say that there’s no easy repair that may reconcile safety and interoperability for encrypted messaging companies. Successfully, there can be no approach to fuse collectively completely different types of encryption throughout apps with completely different design options, stated Steven Bellovin, an acclaimed web safety researcher and professor of pc science at Columbia College.
“Attempting to reconcile two completely different cryptographic architectures merely can’t be performed; one aspect or the opposite must make main adjustments,” Bellovin stated. “A design that works solely when each events are on-line will look very completely different than one which works with saved messages …. How do you make these two programs interoperate?”
Making completely different messaging companies suitable can result in a lowest widespread denominator method to design, Bellovin says, wherein the distinctive options that made sure apps useful to customers are stripped again till a shared degree of compatibility is reached. For instance, if one app helps encrypted multi-party communication and one other doesn’t, sustaining communications between them would normally require that the encryption be dropped.
Alternatively, the DMA suggests one other method — equally unsatisfactory to privateness advocates — wherein messages despatched between two platforms with incompatible encryption schemes are decrypted and re-encrypted when handed between them, breaking the chain of “end-to-end” encryption and creating a degree of vulnerability for interception by a nasty actor.
Alec Muffett, an web safety professional and former Fb engineer who just lately helped Twitter launch an encrypted Tor service, instructed The Verge that it might be a mistake to assume that Apple, Google, Fb, and different tech firms have been making similar and interchangeable merchandise that might simply be mixed.
“For those who went right into a McDonald’s and stated, ‘Within the curiosity of breaking company monopolies, I demand that you just embrace a sushi platter from another restaurant with my order,’ they might rightly simply stare at you,” Muffett stated. “What occurs when the requested sushi arrives by courier at McDonald’s from the ostensibly requested sushi restaurant? Can and will McDonald’s serve that sushi to the shopper? Was the courier reputable? Was it ready safely?”
At present, each messaging service takes duty for its personal safety — and Muffett and others have argued that by demanding interoperability, customers of 1 service are uncovered to vulnerabilities which will have been launched by one other. In the long run, total safety is barely as sturdy because the weakest hyperlink.
One other level of concern raised by safety consultants is the issue of sustaining a coherent “namespace,” the set of identifiers which can be used to designate completely different gadgets in any networked system. A primary precept of encryption is that messages are encoded in a approach that’s distinctive to a recognized cryptographic identification, so doing job of identification administration is key to sustaining safety.
“How do you inform your telephone who you need to speak to, and the way does the telephone discover that particular person?” stated Alex Stamos, director of the Stanford Web Observatory and former chief safety officer at Fb. “There is no such thing as a approach to permit for end-to-end encryption with out trusting each supplier to deal with the identification administration… If the aim is for all the messaging programs to deal with one another’s customers precisely the identical, then this can be a privateness and safety nightmare.”
Not all safety consultants have responded so negatively to the DMA. Among the objections shared beforehand by Muffett and Stamos have been addressed in a weblog put up from Matrix, a undertaking geared across the improvement of an open-source, safe communications normal.
The put up, written by Matrix co-founder Matthew Hodgson, acknowledges the challenges that include mandated interoperability however argues that they’re outweighed by advantages that can come from difficult the tech giants’ insistence on closed messaging ecosystems.
“Previously, gatekeepers dismissed the hassle of [interoperability] as not being worthwhile,” Hodgson instructed The Verge. “In spite of everything, the default plan of action is to construct a walled backyard, and having constructed one, the temptation is to attempt to entice as many customers as attainable.”
However with customers typically blissful to centralize belief and a social graph in a single app, it’s unclear whether or not the top-down imposition of cross-platform messaging is mirrored by demand from under.
“iMessage already has interop: it’s referred to as SMS, and customers actually dislike it,” stated Alex Stamos. “And it has actually unhealthy safety properties that aren’t defined by inexperienced bubbles.”
Technology
The maker of the electric USPS truck is also building garbage robots and EV firefighters
The company appeared at CES in Las Vegas for the first time to announce a raft of new commercial electric vehicles, including plug-in fire engines and garbage trucks as well as AI-powered technology that it says will make these vehicles safer and more convenient.
You may know Oshkosh, which has a lot of credibility as a defense contractor, from its contract with the United States Postal Service to build the first all-electric postal truck. Last year, The Washington Post reported that the project was mired in delays, with only 93 trucks delivered to the USPS as of November.
1/3
But despite these delays, Oshkosh thinks it’s well positioned to help build these next-generation specialty vehicles and says it plans to eventually deliver 165,000 vehicles to USPS, up to 70 percent of which will be electric. The company also announced plans to build a variety of electric and autonomous vehicles for airports, including a robot cargo handler and EVs for construction sites.
But the “neighborhood” EVs, as Oshkosh calls them, stand the chance to be the most visible and impactful — if the company can get them built.
The first vehicle to be announced today is the McNeilus Volterra ZFL, an all-electric front-loader garbage truck with an AI-powered detection system for refuse bins. The sensors detect the location of the garbage cans and communicate with the truck to ensure it’s positioned accurately. Then a robotic arm is deployed to snag the bin and lift it for trash disposal. Oshkosh is also rolling out a new AI-powered, vision-based contamination system to identify and remove items that don’t belong in the waste or recycling streams.
1/3
Speaking of robots, Oshkosh has introduced HARR-E, an autonomous electric refuse collection robot that purports to offer on-demand trash and recycling pickup via a smartphone app or virtual home assistant like Amazon Alexa.
The robot “makes trash removal as easy as ordering an Uber or a Lyft right from your home,” said Jay Iyengar, Oshkosh’s chief technology officer. HARR-E deploys from a central refuse collection area within the neighborhood and navigates to the resident’s home autonomously for collection before returning to the base to unload and recharge.
“Trash removal as easy as ordering an Uber or a Lyft right from your home”
For firefighters, Oshkosh is introducing a new Collision Avoidance Mitigation System, or CAMS, that aims to tell emergency workers when it’s safe to get out of their vehicles. According to Iyengar, “CAMS uses an advanced camera and radar sensor suite with AI to accurately detect the trajectory, the speed and proximity of ongoing vehicles relative to a parked emergency vehicle. CAMS can provide up to two to three seconds of advanced notice of an impending collision, giving an extra layer of safety during roadside operations.”
It’s an ambitious suite of technologies. Oshkosh says it’s up to the task. But political headwinds, including President-elect Donald Trump’s promises to eliminate billions of dollars in EV incentives, could make success more difficult.
Despite this, Oshkosh executives tried to project a sunny outlook. “The reviews on the first vehicle are fantastic,” Oshkosh CEO John Pfeifer said of the new USPS delivery truck. “It’s been written up in a lot of publications about the postal carrier’s responses to the first vehicles. But it’s going exceptionally well.”
Technology
Lost your contacts on your phone? Here's how to get them back
As high-tech and advanced as all our modern mobile devices are, there’s no way of getting around basic user errors. Luckily, the makers of your mobile devices kept such errors in mind. That is why we were eager to respond to Lynne’s question about how to restore a deleted contact on your mobile device.
“I must have ‘FAT’ fingers, as I accidentally deleted information in my contacts. I had typed in a couple of other contact phone numbers. But guess I accidentally deleted these. I would [like] to get this information back. I am guessing I am asking for a miracle.” — Lynne P. of Lakewood Ranch, Florida
There are several options or methods to restore your contact information on an iPhone or Android, so it is easy to find a solution that should work for you.
I’M GIVING AWAY THE LATEST & GREATEST AIRPODS PRO 2
Enter the giveaway by signing up for my free newsletter.
How to restore your contacts
Luckily, the makers of iPhones and Android phones understood that mistakes happen and contacts can be erased by accident. Below are ways to restore your contacts on an iPhone or Android phone:
How to restore your contacts on an iPhone or a Mac
There are two resources for iPhone owners in order to restore contacts: via iCloud or iTunes Backup. Before attempting to restore your contacts, back up your iPhone so you have recourse if you lose data.
Restore contacts with iCloud:
- Type “iCloud.com” in the search bar of your web browser.
- Input the email address used to start your iCloud account. This is usually the same email you use for your Apple ID.
- Input your password (unless you use a passkey)
- There may be a two-step authentication process to verify your identity. You’ll be asked to allow or disallow verification on a secondary device. If so, select Allow.
- Then enter the passcode provided on this secondary device.
- Once logged in to your iCloud account, select the menu icon in the upper right corner.
- In the drop-down menu, select Data Recovery
- Select Restore Contacts
- In the next window, you will have restore date options. Select Restore next to the date before your contact was erased.
- You will be asked to confirm by selecting Restore again. After the contacts are restored, you will get a notification on iCloud.com and whatever email address is associated with your Apple ID.
WHICH IPHONE 16 IS RIGHT FOR YOU? DISCOVER YOUR PERFECT MATCH
Restore contacts with iTunes:
If you have not enabled iCloud to back up your contacts, you may be able to restore contacts with iTunes.
- Connect your iPhone to your PC using the power cable provided by Apple.
- If iTunes does not automatically open on your desktop, open iTunes on your computer.
- In the iTunes app, click the Device button.
- Click Info
- Select items you want to sync from this backup to your iPhone (Contacts), then click Apply.
4 WAYS TO FIND YOUR LOST IPHONE, WITH AND WITHOUT OTHER DEVICES
How to restore your contacts on an Android
There are two resources Android users can use to restore contacts: Google Contacts or Device settings. Before attempting to restore your contacts, back up your Android so you have recourse if you lose data.
Restore contacts with Google Contacts:
Settings may vary depending on your Android phone’s manufacturer.
- On your web browser, go to contacts.google.com and log into your Google account.
- Select the three-line icon in the top left corner
- Select the Trash or bin icon
- You should see the contact you deleted.
- If you hover your mouse over the contact you want to restore, you will see an option to select Recover to the right of the contact’s information. Select Recover.
Restore contacts with Device Settings:
Settings may vary depending on your Android phone’s manufacturer.
- On your Android, open Settings
- Tap Google
- Tap Set up & restore
- Tap Restore contacts
- Tap From account to choose the Google account you want to restore.
- Tap the phone with the contacts you want to copy.
- Choose the source you want to copy: Turn on or off SIM card or Device storage.
- Tap Restore
- You will get a “Contacts restored” notification when the process has concluded.
Please note: Only contacts that aren’t already on your phone will be restored.
FIRST THINGS TO DO IF YOU GOT A NEW ANDROID
Kurt’s key takeaways
While it is ideal if you never make a mistake while using your mobile devices, accidents do happen and contacts do get deleted accidentally. That’s why the makers of iPhones and Android devices have multiple ways you can restore contacts on your phone. Following these easy steps outlined above gives you the ability to rectify that situation quickly. It is best to make sure that your mobile devices are being backed up either to the cloud or physically to a computer or hard drive backup so that there is a source from which to restore your contacts. Additionally, should anything go awry when you’re doing the restoration process, you have the ability to recover lost data. Accidents happen, but practicing safe data hygiene prevents them from becoming a lost cause or needing a miracle.
Have you ever accidentally deleted a contact on your mobile device? How did you recover that contact information? Are your contacts backed up anywhere? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact.
For more of my tech tips and security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to Cyberguy.com/Newsletter.
Ask Kurt a question or let us know what stories you’d like us to cover.
Follow Kurt on his social channels:
Answers to the most asked CyberGuy questions:
New from Kurt:
Copyright 2024 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved.
Technology
Sony is giving the PS5’s accessories an all-black makeover
You can finally make your PS5 gaming set up all black everything. Sony has announced that it will soon release the rest of the PS5 suite of accessories in the midnight black colorway.
Sony’s offering the Dual Sense Edge Controller, the Pulse wireless headphones and earbuds, and the PlayStation Portal in sleek and sexy midnight black to match the PS5 cover and Dual Sense controller it released back in 2021.
PlayStation’s website has the details on pricing for the electronics with pre-orders starting on January 16th.
If you’d rather wait, the accessories will hit retailers on February 20th.
-
Business7 days ago
These are the top 7 issues facing the struggling restaurant industry in 2025
-
Culture7 days ago
The 25 worst losses in college football history, including Baylor’s 2024 entry at Colorado
-
Sports6 days ago
The top out-of-contract players available as free transfers: Kimmich, De Bruyne, Van Dijk…
-
Politics5 days ago
New Orleans attacker had 'remote detonator' for explosives in French Quarter, Biden says
-
Politics5 days ago
Carter's judicial picks reshaped the federal bench across the country
-
Politics3 days ago
Who Are the Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom?
-
Health2 days ago
Ozempic ‘microdosing’ is the new weight-loss trend: Should you try it?
-
World7 days ago
Ivory Coast says French troops to leave country after decades