HackerNews Summary (2023-06-08 06AM)

Source: Another cluster of potentially malicious Chrome extensions

Summary
109 Chrome browser extensions with false pretenses have been found, affecting more than 62 million users in total. Some contained obfuscated malicious code. Four extensions were found to have malicious functionality, including an ad blocker that provided no ad blocking, and a translator extension with affiliate fraud logic.

Facts

🔍 Four browser extensions were found to have malicious functionality.

🚫 “Adblock all advertisements” only had hardcoded blocking rules, and the rule update functionality always returned “502 Bad Gateway.”

🌐 Nine similarly named translator extensions were found, with “Translator – Select to Translate” being one. It contained obfuscated affiliate fraud logic.

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Source: We can ID people from DNA that shows up in environmental studies

Summary
Human DNA is being inadvertently collected in environmental samples alongside the DNA of wild populations and invasive or endangered species. Conservationists studying green turtles discovered that old water, sand, and air samples they had taken as part of a wildlife and pathogen monitoring study contained plenty of genomic regions that could identify a person’s ancestry and susceptibility to several diseases.

Fact

🏹 Human DNA has been found in environmental samples such as water, soil, and air

🔍 Conservationists have identified genomic regions that could identify a person’s ancestry and susceptibility to several diseases

🕵️‍♂️ Malicious uses of this bycatch include location tracking and surveillance of individuals or target populations without their knowledge or consent

🧬 Good uses for human genomic bycatch include correlating pathogen monitoring with human DNA to identify susceptible populations in need of protection

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Source: Le Sénat donne son feu vert à l’activation à distance des caméras ou micros des téléphones

Summary
The controversial Article 3 of France’s justice bill has been passed by the Senate, which authorizes the remote activation of phones’ microphones and cameras during investigations of terrorism and serious organized crime. This law is raising concerns from leftist parties and associations.

Fact

📹 The new justice bill allows for microphones and cameras in phones to be activated for investigations related to terrorism and serious organized crime, despite concerns from left-wing parties and associations.

🕵️‍♂️ The new law also permits geolocation in real time for certain crimes, which many are calling a “security escalation”.

🔒 The new justice bill is surrounded by strong guarantees, including approval from a judge, however, leftist parties believe more protection is needed for journalists.

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Source: Scientists claim over 99 percent identification of ChatGPT

Summary
Researchers at the University of Kansas have developed an algorithm that can distinguish between scientific papers written by humans and those generated by ChatGPT with over 99% accuracy. The team claim their classifier is able to identify differences in paragraph length, vocabulary, punctuation and more, proposing it could be useful in combatting potential plagiarism.

Fact

💻 The algorithm developed was able to correctly classify AI-generated papers from those written by humans with over 99% accuracy.

🔍 The classifier identified differences in paragraph length, vocabulary, punctuation, and language usage in the two styles of paper.

🎓 The researchers suggest their classifier could be useful in detecting potential plagiarism, or at least for flagging papers that require further scrutiny.

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