A remarkable investigation has recently been brought to light by WIRED, revealing an alarming number of emergency calls made from the detention centers of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). These calls, comprising recordings of hundreds of such incidents, vividly demonstrate a system on the brink of collapse, where incidents of sexual assault by staff, suicide attempts, and severe injuries are commonplace.
Details gleaned from the records of these calls indicate that the centers are overpopulated, something which only serves to exacerbate the strain on resources. The treatment which detainees require, particularly for life-threatening situations, is often delayed, further escalating the severity of the problem.
In related news, a recent ruling from the US Supreme Court concerning the regulation of content on adult websites has courted controversy. Last Friday, the court upheld a Texas pornography ID law, declaring in a 6-3 decision that it is constitutional to mandate age verification for accessing explicit content online.
Justice Elena Kagan, however, has expressed reservations about the broader implications of the decision. In her dissent, she warned that the law perhaps overlooks long-standing First Amendment principles, and could potentially infrede upon the privacy of adults.
Turning to international relations, an assessment of the damage done by the U.S.’s recent assault on Iranian nuclear facilities has been announced by the social networking sites. The rockets were launched over the course of the past weekend. The analysis is primarily derived from satellite imagery taken before and after the strike.
In the face of developing tensions with China, Taiwan is pushing its boundaries to develop domestic drone technology. The urgency is palpable in view of the impending conflict, necessitating a quicker response from Taiwan.
The world of digital currency has experienced some turbulence lately. Telegram, a popular messaging app, administered a stiff blow to Chinese cryptocurrency black markets last month, banning markets that traded billions of dollars worth of crypto services linked to scams. In light of this decision, the black markets are now exploring rebranding strategies to rebound.
On the subject of border enforcement, developments of technology are not left behind. ICE has started utilizing an application dubbed ‘Mobile Fortify’. The aim of the application is to use facial recognition technologies to cross-reference images captured in the field with those in government databases, such as Customs and Border Protection’s Traveler Verification Service and a DHS biometric intelligence system.
The pitfalls of this technology, however, are only beginning to surface. A significant concern is the frequent cases where the technology generates false matches, culminating in several wrongful arrests all across the country.
In cybercrime news, a notorious group of hackers has been apprehended, accused of executing high-profile data breaches over several years, and essentially running a cyber-underground forum known as ‘Breachforums’. The French authorities have arrested four members of the group who went by the tags – ‘ShinyHunters’, ‘Hollow’, ‘Noct’, and ‘Depressed’.
In tandem, the US Justice Department has charged a young British hacker, Kai West, who used the alias ‘Intelbroker’. West’s malicious spree spanned a few years, and caused total damage amounting to approximately $25 million, before he was apprehended in February.
In the wake of these events, a group historically involved in data theft, known as Scattered Spider, is now broadening their horizons and setting their sights on the aviation and transportation sectors as potential targets.
This infamous group orchestrated a cyber attack on Canadian airline WestJet just last week, which affected its IT systems and the mobile application. The warning for other industrial and transportation entities is unequivocal – watch out for Scattered Spider. They are known to use sophisticated social engineering techniques to fool employees into bypassing two-factor authentication.
In an incident that sent alarm bells ringing, an unidentified hacker seemingly interfered with the computer systems responsible for governing Lake Risevatnet dam in southwest Norway. The stealthy hacker apparently managed to tweak a valve, inadvertently ramping up the dam’s water flow to nearly 500 liters a second.
While there were fortunately no major consequences and the flow rate did not reach dangerous levels, the unauthorized access went undetected for nearly four hours. Officials believe the breach occurred due to a feeble password provided for a web-accessible control panel.