The Register

If you like it to keep working, don’t put a ring on it

Who, Me?  Reg readers are so dedicated it seems some of you are married to the job, although you also admit that no relationship is perfect when you send stories to Who, Me? It's the column in which we share your tales of making massive mistakes and somehow staying together with your employer afterwords.…

1.19MHz eight-bit CPU trounced modern GPUs – can you do better with your retro-tech?

The Atari 2600 gaming console came into the world in 1977 with an eight-bit processor that ran at 1.19MhZ, and just 128 bytes of RAM – but that’s apparently enough power to beat ChatGPT at chess.…

PLUS: Hitachi turns greybeards into AI agents; Tiananmen anniversary censorship; AWS in Taiwan; and more!

China’s space agency has revealed its Tianwen 2 probe has unfurled a ‘solar wing’.…

PLUS: Doxxers jailed; Botnets bounce back; CISA questioned over app-vetting program closure; And more

Infosec in Brief  If a cyberattack hit critical infrastructure in the US, it would likely crumble, former deputy national security adviser and NSA cybersecurity director Anne Neuberger said last week.…

Security, not model performance, is what's stalling adoption

Interview  Before AI becomes commonplace in enterprises, corporate leaders have to commit to an ongoing security testing regime tuned to the nuances of AI models.…

Don't worry, only 100 more years of Sellafield nuclear site cleansing to go

The center for the UK's nuclear industry wasted £127 million ($172 million) during delays and replanning as it scrambled to find alternatives for facilities which treat and repackage plutonium, a Parliamentary report found.…

The authors who claimed America hacked itself to discredit Beijing are back with another report

China’s National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center on Thursday published a report in which it claims Taiwan targeted it with a years-long cyber offensive, backed by the USA, but which was so feeble Beijing complains compared it to an ant trying to shake a tree .…

It's boom time for the next generation of fast travel

On Friday, President Trump signed an executive order telling the FAA to lift its 52-year ban on supersonic flight over the US and told the FAA to devise a scheme to limit noise pollution from such aircraft.…

DOGE moves fast and breaks things, and now our data is at risk, security guru warns in hearing

Security guru Bruce Schneier played the skunk at the garden party in a Thursday federal hearing on AI's use in the government, focusing on the risks many are ignoring.…

They're fighting like cats and DOGEs

Fire up those popcorn makers. The bromance between tech mogul Elon Musk and US President Donald Trump has come to an ignominious end as the billionaires feud on their respective social media platforms.…

FAIR Package Manager project aims to prevent political power plays

The Linux Foundation on Friday introduced a new method to distribute WordPress updates and plugins that's not controlled by any one party, in a bid to "stabilize the WordPress ecosystem" after months of infighting.…

Rangefinder broke during descent so lander didn't slow down

UPDATED  Japanese firm ispace’s latest attempt to land a craft on the Moon appears to have failed, after its Hakuto-R lander, dubbed Reliance, went dark while approaching the lunar surface.…

OpenAI boots accounts linked to 10 malicious campaigns

Fake IT workers possibly linked to North Korea, Beijing-backed cyber operatives, and Russian malware slingers are among the baddies using ChatGPT for evil, according to OpenAI's latest threat report.…

Destructive malware has been a hallmark of Putin's multi-modal war

A new strain of wiper malware targeting Ukrainian infrastructure is being linked to pro-Russian hackers, in the latest sign of Moscow's evolving cyber tactics.…

The world has changed. EU hosting CTO says not considering alternatives is 'negligent'

Interview  European cloud providers and software vendors used this week's Nextcloud summit to insist that not only can workloads be moved from the US hyperscalers, not considering it is "negligent" on behalf of IT bosses.…

The cash has been frozen for more than two years

The US is looking to finally capture the $7.74 million it froze over two years ago after indicting alleged money launderers it claims are behind North Korean IT worker schemes.…

Don't negotiate unless you must, and if so, drag it out as long as you can

Feature  So, the worst has happened. Computer screens all over your org are flashing up a warning that you've been infected by ransomware, or you've got a message that someone's been stealing information from your server.…

Concerns over lack of commercial expertise with big tech suppliers as country implements digital 'Blueprint'

The UK government employs just 15 commercial staff with direct expertise in digital procurement dedicated to dealing with the largest technical suppliers, according to a Parliamentary spending watchdog.…

No matter who wins, the US EV industry is likely to lose, expert tells us

Elon Musk has publicly broken with Donald Trump over the latter's budget reconciliation bill, calling it a "pork-filled … abomination" that would undermine the work his DOGE cost-cutting unit has done. But the bill also hits close to Tesla tycoon's pocketbook, and at least one expert thinks it spells terrible news for the US electric vehicle industry overall.…

Jared Isaacman reveals how space agency might have looked under his watch

Jared Isaacman, former NASA Administrator nominee, has shared how the US space agency might have looked under his leadership and blamed his connections with Elon Musk for the abrupt withdrawal of his nomination.…