Israeli-built “AdFection” spyware infects phones through targeted ads
Citizen Lab researchers uncovered an Israeli-developed technique, “AdFection,” that infects phones without the owner touching anything, according to the FT. The delivery route is the advertising system. Ads are routed to chosen people based on profile data, so an attacker can pick a victim by buying placement. Ad networks have no practical way to inspect every ad, and the buyers are hidden behind intermediaries. That gap favors spyware vendors and their government clients.
France and Germany near a deal that would let the UK into EU car subsidies
Paris and Berlin are close to agreeing the “Made in Europe” subsidy programme and the combustion engine phaseout, the FT reports. Britain could join the programme if it aligns with EU tariffs on Chinese cars. Britain would gain access to a larger subsidy market. The EU would gain a bigger tariff area against Chinese carmakers, and London would have to accept Brussels’ trade line on China.
Brain-computer interfaces move from treatment toward data collection
The FT notes that brain-computer interfaces already treat Parkinson’s disease and let paralysed patients operate computers. The next question is who owns the neural data these devices record. Device makers and the AI firms that decode the signals hold that data, and rules on its use are still thin.
NASA spreads $12 million across 12 universities
NASA picked 12 U.S. institutions to receive up to $1 million each through its M-STAR programme, NASA says. The money supports Moon, Mars and deep-space research. It is small next to the agency’s budget. Its effect is to train the engineers who will staff Artemis contractors.
Guggenheim unit loses customers after probe into Mark Walter
Customers are shying away from a unit in Mark Walter’s empire that supplies funding to Wall Street, the WSJ reports. A probe into Walter is the cause.
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