AJ Dellinger, Author at Gizmodo

China to Make RFID Chips Mandatory in Cars So the Government Can Track Citizens on the Road

The Chinese government, in its ongoing pursuit to create the dystopian police state dreamed up in many a science fiction tale, is reportedly readying a new vehicle identification system that will be capable of monitoring the movement of citizens. The Wall Street Journal reported on the system, which will begin rolling out on July 1st…

Privacy & Security AJ Dellinger

Oopsie! A Democrat Accidentally Voted to Give Trump More Nuclear Weapons

Joe Kennedy, the Democratic congressmen representing Massachusetts’s 4th congressional district, is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and a pretty reliable vote against just about anything President Trump wants. So it was more than a little weird to see him cast his lot Republicans and vote against an amendment that would cut spending on…

Tech News AJ Dellinger

Canada’s ‘Random’ Immigration Lottery Uses Microsoft Excel, Which Isn’t Actually Random

Last year, Canada introduced a new lottery system used to extend permanent-resident status to the parents and grandparents of Canadian citizens. The process was designed to randomly select applicants in order to make the process fairer than the old first-come, first-served system. There’s just one problem: the software used to run the lottery isn’t actually…

Tech News AJ Dellinger

Factory Making Amazon Products in China Violated All Kinds of Labor Laws

Factory workers in China tasked with building Amazon’s popular Echo speakers and Kindle e-readers are exposed to horrendous work environments and conditions that often are in violation of Chinese law, a recent report from a watchdog group found. China Labor Watch spent nine months investigating the working conditions of a Foxconn-owned factory that manufactures Amazon…

Commerce AJ Dellinger

Florida Didn’t Run FBI Background Checks on Gun Buyers for a Year Because of a Forgotten Login

The state of Florida failed to conduct national background checks on tens of thousands of applicants looking to procure a concealed weapon permit for more than a year, and the reason is about as dumb as it gets: the person in charge of performing the checks forgot their login information. An Office of Inspector General…

Tech News AJ Dellinger

Anheuser-Busch Pulls Funding From Controversial, Industry-Backed NIH Study on Daily Drinking

The National Institutes of Health has taken a whole lot of heat for allegedly cozying up to Big Alcohol in order to secure funding for a major study on the effects of having a daily drink. On Friday, the NIH lost one of its backers from the booze business, as brewing giant Anheuser-Busch InBev pulled…

Tech News AJ Dellinger

Looks Like White House Chief of Staff John Kelly Got Hacked

White House Chief of Staff John Kelly informed his staff in an email that one of his personal email accounts hacked while he was still serving as Secretary of Homeland Security, confirming previous reports that suggested one of his phones may have been compromised. The breach, which the White House has previously declined to comment…

Tech News AJ Dellinger

China Hacked a Navy Contractor and Stole 600GB of Data

Hackers working for the Chinese government compromised a US Navy contractor and stole a massive cache of highly sensitive data, including details about a planned supersonic anti-ship missile, American officials said Friday. The hack, reported by the Washington Post, took place in January and February and resulted in more than 614 gigabytes of data being…

Privacy & Security AJ Dellinger

Surprise, Facebook Reportedly Gave Companies Your Friends’ Data After It Said It Wouldn’t

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but it looks like Facebook may have been sharing more of your data than you thought it was. The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that the social network cut deals with a number of companies to provide access to user records and friend data even after its…

Social Media AJ Dellinger

Uber Is Trying to Patent an AI System to Identify Erratic Behavior in Riders

It looks like Uber has a growing interest in the behaviors of its users. According to a patent application filed by the company Thursday, Uber is planning to use machine learning to better understand the “state” of a passenger when they request a ride. The patent—which is pretty vague as to its purpose and full…

Tech News AJ Dellinger

Kanye West and Kid Cudi’s ‘Kids See Ghosts’ Livestream Did Not Go Well [Update: It’s Finally Working]

Kids See Ghosts, a collaboration between Kanye West and Kid Cudi, was supposed to debut its self-titled album during a livestreamed listening party set to be broadcast Thursday night on the semi-obscure app Wav. It didn’t go very well. The stream missed its original start time of 8:00pm Pacific time and began incrementally pushing back…

Tech News AJ Dellinger

Google Could Face Up to $11 Billion Fine From EU for Android Antitrust Violations

Facebook has been on the receiving end of a lot of government scrutiny in recent months, but it looks like Google’s turn is coming soon. According to a report from Politico, the European Commission is preparing to hand down its decision on an antitrust investigation into the search giant’s Android mobile operating system. A fine…

Tech News AJ Dellinger

Trump Saved China’s ZTE, But Senators Are Still Trying to Kill It

On Thursday, the Trump administration made official its deal to save Chinese phone manufacturer ZTE—a company that was almost dead and buried thanks to crushing sanctions put in place by the president’s own Commerce Department. In response, a bipartisan group of senators announced a plan to reverse the agreement. Under the terms of the deal…

Privacy & Security AJ Dellinger

Ticketfly Confirms Hack Exposed Personal Information of 27 Million Accounts

One week after suffering a hack that took its website and services offline, events ticketing company Ticketfly revealed Thursday just how bad the data breach was, and it certainly doesn’t look great. According to the company, the personal information of 27 million accounts—including ticket buyers and venue operators—was accessed by a hacker. The stolen information…

Privacy & Security AJ Dellinger

US Hits ‘WannaCry Hero’ With More Malware Charges

Federal prosecutors charged security researcher Marcus Hutchins—better known by his online handle MalwareTech—with four new charges accusing him of creating and promoting malware used to steal financial information. Hutchins, recognized as the person responsible for stopping the spread of the WannaCry ransomware attack, called the charges “bullshit.” The new charges, introduced in a superseding indictment,…

Privacy & Security AJ Dellinger

Government Researchers Say It’s Only a ‘Matter of Time’ Until a Commercial Airline is Hacked

Here’s a fun thing to think about as you plan your next vacation: researchers at a number of government agencies including the Department of Homeland Security believe that a cyberattack against an airplane is inevitable and could lead to a “catastrophic disaster.” Have a nice trip! Motherboard got its hands on a number of government…

Privacy & Security AJ Dellinger

No One Can Explain the Strange Sounds Making US Diplomats Sick in China

The US State Department evacuated at least two diplomats in China following a mysterious illness experienced after hearing strange noises—the latest in a series of unexplained sicknesses that have hit American diplomats and their family members in recent years. According to the New York Times, the State Department has flown in a medical team to…

Tech News AJ Dellinger

Microsoft Reportedly Set to Acquire GitHub, Deal Could Happen Monday

Microsoft has reportedly agreed to acquire code repository GitHub, according to Bloomberg. The apparent deal, which neither company has publicly confirmed, could happen as soon as Monday. Terms of the deal are still unknown. Microsoft’s apparent interest in GitHub was first raised Friday by Business Insider, and things appear to have escalated mighty quickly from…

Tech News AJ Dellinger

EPA Cleanup Task Force Run by Chemical Industry Lawyer Because Foxes Guard the Henhouse Now

The Trump administration has appointed yet another industry insider as a leading regulator, this time tapping the former lawyer for a plastics and chemicals company to lead the Environmental Protection Agency’s task force specializing in contaminated site cleanups. Steven Cook, who spent 20 years as the in-house corporate counsel for plastics and chemicals giant LyondellBasell…

Tech News AJ Dellinger

Judge Says Amazon Not Liable for Selling Exploding Hoverboards [Updated]

A judge in Tennesse this week found that Amazon isn’t liable for the millions of dollars in damages caused by an exploding hoverboard that was sold through the company’s website. Per CNBC, a family from Nashville who had their home destroyed in a fire caused by the hoverboard sued Amazon for $30 million, claiming the…

Commerce AJ Dellinger

AJ Dellinger

China to Make RFID Chips Mandatory in Cars So the Government Can Track Citizens on the Road

Oopsie! A Democrat Accidentally Voted to Give Trump More Nuclear Weapons

Canada’s ‘Random’ Immigration Lottery Uses Microsoft Excel, Which Isn’t Actually Random

Factory Making Amazon Products in China Violated All Kinds of Labor Laws

Florida Didn’t Run FBI Background Checks on Gun Buyers for a Year Because of a Forgotten Login

Anheuser-Busch Pulls Funding From Controversial, Industry-Backed NIH Study on Daily Drinking

Looks Like White House Chief of Staff John Kelly Got Hacked

China Hacked a Navy Contractor and Stole 600GB of Data

Surprise, Facebook Reportedly Gave Companies Your Friends’ Data After It Said It Wouldn’t

Uber Is Trying to Patent an AI System to Identify Erratic Behavior in Riders

Kanye West and Kid Cudi’s ‘Kids See Ghosts’ Livestream Did Not Go Well [Update: It’s Finally Working]

Google Could Face Up to $11 Billion Fine From EU for Android Antitrust Violations

Trump Saved China’s ZTE, But Senators Are Still Trying to Kill It

Ticketfly Confirms Hack Exposed Personal Information of 27 Million Accounts

US Hits ‘WannaCry Hero’ With More Malware Charges

Government Researchers Say It’s Only a ‘Matter of Time’ Until a Commercial Airline is Hacked

No One Can Explain the Strange Sounds Making US Diplomats Sick in China

Microsoft Reportedly Set to Acquire GitHub, Deal Could Happen Monday

EPA Cleanup Task Force Run by Chemical Industry Lawyer Because Foxes Guard the Henhouse Now

Judge Says Amazon Not Liable for Selling Exploding Hoverboards [Updated]

Artemis 2 by the Numbers: Breaking Down NASA’s Big Return to the Moon

Apple Removes iPhone Vibe Coding App from App Store

China’s Biggest Social Media Celebrity Is… Kris Jenner?

Up to $1,550 Off on pCloud: Pay Once, Protect Data Forever for World Backup Day

National Film and Sound Archive of Australia Adds ‘Succulent Chinese Meal’ Guy

Feds Sniffing Around Polymarket After Suspicious Bets

DJI Osmo 360 Review: The Best 360 Camera for the DJI-Pilled

Don’t Get Too Attached to Any AI App

‘Paradise’ Writer Teases What’s Coming in Season 3 After That Huge Twist

Trump’s New White House App Is Mildly Concerning and Weird for a Lot of Reasons

Aqara Smart Lock U400 Review: Hands-free Unlocking at Its Best

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ Review: A Solid 2-in-1 Laptop With Some Glaring Flaws

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

Asus ROG’s Massive Swift OLED Gaming Monitor Epitomizes Excess in the Best Way

The Ikea Varmblixt Smart Lamp Fills a Donut Hole in My Life

Nothing Headphone A vs. Headphone 1: Which Pair of ANC Wireless Headphones Wins?

Asus ROG’s Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds Might Be Better Than Wearing a Headset

Nintendo’s Talking Flower Is Annoying as Hell. I Love It

Level Lock Pro Review: As Good as a Secret Smart Lock Gets