An anonymous reader writes from a report via CNET: Researchers from the University of South Carolina, Zhejiang University and Qihoo 360 have discovered how to fool Tesla's Autopilot sensors, according to a report from Wired. The researchers were able to trick the system into thinking an object didn't exist when it did, and that an object existed when in fact it did not. Therefore, possible security concerns arise as Autopilot could drive incorrectly, potentially putting passengers and others in danger. CNET reports: "Two pieces of radio equipment were used to convince Tesla's radar sensor that a cart was not placed directly in front of it. One of those pieces, a signal generator from Keysight Technologies, costs about $90,000. The group also tricked the car's short-range parking sensors into malfunctioning using about $40 worth of equipment. Wired points out that this was, thankfully, a rather difficult feat. Most of the technological tomfoolery was done on a stationary car. Some of the required equipment was expensive, and it didn't always work. But it brings up an important point -- even though Autopilot is quite capable, there's still no substitute for an attentive human driver, ready to take control at a moment's notice."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

There are more than a few Republicans who believe his campaign is geared at simply clearing a path for Hillary Clinton.

There are more than a few Republicans who believe his campaign is geared at simply clearing a path for Hillary Clinton.

The Department of Homeland Security is reportedly looking at designating elections as critical infrastructure, on par with the electricity grid or banking system, to help protect against cybersecurity threats. DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson said during a breakfast with reporters on August 3rd, "We should carefully consider whether our election system, our election process, is critical infrastructure. There is a vital national interest in our election process, so I do think to consider whether it should be considered by my department and others as critical infrastructure." Demerara writes: I'm fascinated to hear the opinions of Slashdotters on the practical implications of any decision to designate "elections" as critical national infrastructure. For those of you who have worked on systems that are already under this regime: given that there are just over 90 days to the November elections, what can be achieved with respect to elections and in particular to electronic voting machines (whether direct-recording electronic (DRE), touch screen etc., or precinct ballot scanning machines)? What might the designation require of state and county boards (the buyers of these systems) and what would the vendors have to do?

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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A lesson of the Trump candidacy

davewiner

One of the lessons of the Trump candidacy is that we'd do better if the press weren't so nitpicky of candidates who are competent, who can do the job they're running for. 

Such an imbalance in this campaign. Hillary is willing to respond intelligently to your gotcha questions. The other guy is the exact opposite. If you get too close to something he doesn't want to talk about he gives you a juicy crazy quote and you report on that instead. 

Now that you know a candidate can do this, you have to try to cut the ones who don't a little more slack. 

Rights group says pellet guns should be banned immediately, a day after third person dies from pellet wounds.

When it comes to computing capacity for public cloud services, Amazon and Microsoft are dominating the pack. According to research firm Gartner, Google is the third in this cloud race. The conclusion comes as Gartner looks into Magic Quadrant's annual report surveys, which estimates the amount and type of cloud computing services offered for rent by big companies. Fortune reports: Amazon's continued strength will not surprise many considering the resources it has poured into this now-$10-plus billion a year business. AWS "has the largest share of compute capacity in use by paying customers -- many times the aggregate size of all other providers in the market," according to the report. Last year, Gartner's take was that AWS ran more than 10 times the cloud compute capacity as the next 14 cloud players combined. Asked whether that means Amazon's dominance has held steady, grown, or decreased year over year, Gartner managing vice president Rakesh Kumar told Fortune the research firm does not have the exact comparable figure, but that it is "reasonable to assume" that AWS has maintained the same lead this year. The odd man out here appears to be Google, which has been trying hard to win market share from the other two powers and to prove that it is serious about the public cloud market. Google remains the third largest player by Gartner's measures, but it has slipped a bit relative to the top two.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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A note from the afterlife

davewiner

Just saw the notices on Twitter and Facebook about the passing of a much-beloved tech guy -- Blake Krikorian. He was 48 and died while surfing. Sounds like a heart attack.

I've found it's impossible when hearing of someone dying, no matter how close they were to you, to experience it in any way other than how it relates to you. When my grandmother died it was the realization that I'd never see her again. When my uncle died, it was how close in age he was to me, and of course that a lifelong friend was gone forever. (I am now older than he was when he died.)

I was 47 when I had bypass surgery. My feeling on coming home from the hospital was that I was in a dead man's house. I decided at that point that the best way to digest the incredible events that had just happened was to act as if I had died, and I was watching the world as it existed after my passing.

The realization as I watch the tech industry digest the passing of this very young man is how true that premonition was. To the extent I am part of the tech industry now, it is as a memory, as if I really did die in 2002. I get that feeling from people I occasionally hear from. They have memories of me, but no knowledge of who I am, what I am doing, today. 

Anyway if you can actually hear me, and you were a friend of Krikorian's, I feel for your loss. I am experiencing it in a personal way, the same way I would if we had been close, as the idea bounces off me. Death for such a young person with so much promise is a wake-up call for everyone who hears of it. Tick tock. The grim reaper waits for us all. 

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A note from the afterlife

davewiner

Just saw the notices on Twitter and Facebook about the passing of a much-beloved tech guy -- Blake Krikorian. He was 48 and died while surfing. Sounds like a heart attack.

I've found it's impossible when hearing of someone dying, no matter how close they were to you, to experience it in any way other than how it relates to you. When my grandmother died it was the realization that I'd never see her again. When my uncle died, it was how close in age he was to me, and of course that a lifelong friend was gone forever. (I am now older than he was when he died.)

I was 47 when I had bypass surgery. My feeling on coming home from the hospital was that I was in a dead man's house. I decided at that point that the best way to digest the incredible events that had just happened was to act as if I had died, and I was watching the world as it existed after my passing.

The realization as I watch the tech industry digest the passing of this very young man is how true that premonition was. To the extent I am part of the tech industry now, it is as a memory, as if I really did die in 2002. I get that feeling from people I occasionally hear from. They have memories of me, but no knowledge of who I am, what I am doing, today. 

Anyway if you can actually hear me, and you were a friend of Krikorian's, I feel for your loss. I am experiencing it in a personal way, the same way I would if we had been close, as the idea bounces off me. Death for such a young person with so much promise is a wake-up call for everyone who hears of it. Tick tock. The grim reaper waits for us all. 

Brazilians angry with the spiralling cost of the Olympic Games are venting their frustration on the iconic torch.